Pan's Super Saiyan Transformation: Unlocking Power And Mystery

In the Dragon Ball universe, Pan is the granddaughter of Goku and the daughter of Gohan and Videl. Despite having Saiyan blood, Pan never becomes a Super Saiyan. This is despite the fact that, in the Dragon Ball GT series, Pan is established as a powerful character and a vital member of Goku's team.

There are several reasons posited for why Pan doesn't become a Super Saiyan. One out-of-universe explanation is that the GT staff decided that Pan should be a damsel in distress and didn't want to deviate from that characterisation. Another is that series creator Akira Toriyama didn't know how to design a female Super Saiyan.

In-universe, it's suggested that Pan never had the right catalyst or power level to transform, and that she didn't undergo the same rigorous training as other young Saiyans like Goten and Trunks.

Pan's role in Dragon Ball GT

Pan is the granddaughter of Goku, the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball series. She is the daughter of Gohan and Videl, and the great-granddaughter of Ox-King and Bardock. She is also the first female Saiyan-Earthling hybrid, as she is a quarter Saiyan and three-quarters Earthling.

Pan is introduced at the end of Dragon Ball Z, and her role is extended into the anime-only series Dragon Ball GT, which takes place several years after the end of Dragon Ball Z. She is the last member to "join" the Z Fighters, fighting alongside and supporting the others against the enemies within Dragon Ball GT.

In Dragon Ball GT, Pan is first pictured as a school-going girl. She is shown to have gotten stronger since she was very young, as she beats up a group of men at a hostage scene in the beginning. It is unknown who trained her, but it is possibly Gohan. She is close to her grandfather, Goku, and the series heavily focuses on their bond. She is also good friends with Bulla, Vegeta Jr.'s mother, and they are the only featured female partial Saiyans in the Dragon Ball series.

In Dragon Ball GT, Pan embarks on a quest for the Black Star Dragon Balls with Goku, Trunks, and Goten. She sneaks aboard their spaceship to recover the Black Star Dragon Balls and ends up crash-landing on the planet Imecka with them. They face various challenges on their quest, including being swarmed by merchants on Imecka, getting lost in the desert on Rudeeze, and being hypnotised by the Para Para Boogie on an unnamed planet.

Pan also helps fight off numerous villains that have appeared from the portal between Earth and Hell. She notably fights members of the Red Ribbon Army, including Captain Yellow, General Blue, and Staff Officer Black. She also attacks and captures Dr. Gero, and later gives Goku energy to recover so that he can fight Golden Great Ape Baby Vegeta.

In the final battle of Dragon Ball GT, Pan, along with everyone on Earth and some from other planets, gives energy to Goku's Universal Spirit Bomb to finish off Omega Shenron.

At over 100 years old, Pan is still in excellent physical shape. She has a grandson, Goku Jr., who she has trained as she sees great potential in him.

Akira Toriyama's hesitance

Firstly, Toriyama envisioned Pan as a strong character who faced challenges but ultimately needed rescuing by Goku, creating a dynamic of the "heroine who makes Goku a hero." This narrative pattern, seen in episodes like Pan being turned into a doll, established a cycle of Pan facing peril and Goku coming to her rescue. Making Pan a Super Saiyan would have disrupted this dynamic and deviated from the traditional "damsel in distress" trope that the GT staff chose to employ.

Secondly, Toriyama expressed uncertainty about how to design and portray a female Super Saiyan. This hesitance was likely due to his masculine-oriented perspective at the time, as he primarily focused on male characters' transformations. It's worth noting that female Super Saiyans eventually appeared in video games and later iterations of the Dragon Ball franchise, such as Dragon Ball Super.

Additionally, Toriyama's involvement in Dragon Ball GT was minimal, and he only envisioned Pan as a little girl in a time of peace. Without significant conflicts or training, there was less narrative impetus for Pan to undergo a Super Saiyan transformation. However, it's important to note that Pan's potential to become a Super Saiyan was acknowledged in supplementary guidebooks and production staff interviews.

In conclusion, Akira Toriyama's hesitance to depict Pan as a Super Saiyan stemmed from narrative choices, design challenges, and his limited involvement in Dragon Ball GT. However, the character's potential for transformation was left open-ended, and her strength and importance in the story were still highlighted throughout the series.

Lack of rigorous training

One of the reasons why Pan never transforms into a Super Saiyan is the lack of rigorous training. While Pan is incredibly powerful, she never undergoes rigorous training, which is necessary to unlock the Super Saiyan transformation. In the Dragon Ball universe, rigorous training and a strong desire to increase one's power are crucial factors in achieving the Super Saiyan form.

Pan, being the granddaughter of Goku and the daughter of Gohan, possesses strong Saiyan blood. However, she does not undergo the same intense training regimens as her male counterparts, such as Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta, who are known for their relentless pursuit of physical improvement. Pan's approach to training is more casual, taking it up as a hobby rather than a dedicated discipline. This lack of rigorous training may have hindered her ability to unlock the Super Saiyan transformation.

It is important to note that other female Saiyans, such as Bra (Vegeta's daughter) and Fasha, also do not transform into Super Saiyans. This could be attributed to a similar lack of rigorous training, indicating that female Saiyans in the Dragon Ball universe may not have had the same opportunities or motivations for intense training as their male counterparts.

Additionally, the creators of Dragon Ball GT, in which Pan is a central character, envisioned her as a "damsel in distress" who needed to be rescued by Goku. This narrative choice further diminished the likelihood of Pan undergoing rigorous training and achieving the Super Saiyan transformation. The decision to portray Pan as a damsel in distress was met with criticism, with some fans arguing that it was a missed opportunity for character development and a perpetuation of gender stereotypes.

In summary, while Pan possesses the genetic potential to become a Super Saiyan due to her Saiyan blood, her lack of rigorous training may have been a significant factor in her inability to unlock this transformation. The narrative choices made by the creators of Dragon Ball GT, as well as societal influences and gender dynamics within the Dragon Ball universe, also contributed to the portrayal of Pan as a powerful character who never achieves the Super Saiyan form.

No powerful emotional event

Pan, the granddaughter of Goku and Gohan's daughter, never turns Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball GT. This is largely because of the creator, Akira Toriyama's hesitance and uncertainty over how to approach and draw a female Super Saiyan.

According to Toriyama, Pan never had a reason or situation to turn Super Saiyan. Her debut is in the last episode of Dragon Ball Z, as a little kid, and since Dragon Ball GT is not based on the actual manga, Toriyama only envisioned Pan as a little girl in a time of peace, so there would be no reason for her to become a Super Saiyan.

One fan theory suggests that Pan never lost control of her emotions and was always in control of what she was doing, which is why she never went Super Saiyan.

No female Super Saiyan design

While Pan is a powerful character in the Dragon Ball universe, she never transforms into a Super Saiyan. This is largely because the creator of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama, did not know how to design a female Super Saiyan. He claimed that Pan never had a reason or situation to turn Super Saiyan, and he envisioned her as a little girl in a time of peace.

Toriyama's hesitance over how to approach female Super Saiyans meant that Pan's character development in Dragon Ball GT was limited. There were many opportunities for her to transform, including when she believed Baby had killed Goku, and during her showdown with Dr. Gero and Super 17. However, the GT staff decided that Pan should be a damsel in distress and stuck to this pattern throughout the series.

Some fans have theorised that Pan didn't transform because she was always in control of her emotions, or because she lived a peaceful life and didn't feel the need to train. However, others have pointed out that this didn't stop male characters like Goten and Trunks from becoming Super Saiyans. Ultimately, the lack of a female Super Saiyan transformation in Dragon Ball GT is due to Toriyama's creative decision-making, and the narrative choices of the GT staff.

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