This is where a great conflict between Anime (cartoon) and Manga (comic books) exists. In the Anime, Vegeta states that only 1 in every 1,000 Saiyans is born a Legendary Super Saiyan. In the Manga, Vegeta states that once every 1,000 years a Super Saiyan is born. It's not a difficult choice which one you need to trust. Believe the Manga when it comes to pure facts. So, does this mean that most of the Saiyans are just incredibly lucky?? No, of course not. A myth is a myth. Myths and Legends were made to entertain and explain certain inexplicalbe events. A huge plot difference exists in the anime that validates events in DragonBall GT, but destroys DragonBall Z. I will try to explain it from all sides. (You'll see why Anime and Manga must be considered two separate stories).
Anime: When Vegeta talks about the Legendary Super Saiyan, we see a shadow of a Great Monkey. This is the Golden Monkey form seen in DragonBall GT. This was the form of Super Saiyan held by the Legendary Super Saiyan. This form of the Super Saiyan can be attained two ways, by absorbing an enourmous, (far more than are given off by any moon, the must come from a planet), amount of Brute Waves, or by having a tail and meeting standard requirements for Super Saiyan. (More on that later). This said, the Legendary Super Saiyan was either a fake, and simply absorbed that astronomical amount of Brute Waves, or he actually was born with the requirements of Super Saiyan.
Manga: No form of the Legendary Super Saiyan is seen. This is very difficult when combined with the anime. Does having a tail affect how a Super Saiyan looks at all? (Yes) It was said that the golden hair, and emerald green eyes were merely the result of not having a tail when turning Super Saiyan. Can this be trusted? (Again, Yes) Opinion: If you're going to be a manga purist, there is no Golden Monkey. The only form of Super Saiyan is that with golden hair and light green eyes. That is what the original Legendary Super Saiyan was. However, if you hold this true, then you must turn back completely on the DBZ Anime and on all of DragonBall GT.
What do you need in order to become a golden-haired, emerald-eyed, Super Saiyan? Well essentially, there are three main requirements that need to be met.
- A minimum power level of 300,000
- A quiet, pure, and calm heart (evil/good)
- Extreme Rage
- A tail is not neccessary
The power level, not a confirmed minimum pl, is what Goku's power level was when he was fighting Frieza without the Gravity Kaioken Techniques. As such, this is defined as the minimum power level. Like Frieza's transformations, such is the Super Saiyan form. The body of the Saiyan can only hold so much power in its normal form, hence the upgrade to Super Saiyan physically changed the Saiyan's body and allows them to posses a greater power. (This is true for each level of Super Saiyan as well). Having a quiet, calm, and pure heart is a simple task. Mainly because it doesn't matter if you're pure good, or pure evil, as exemplified by Vegeta. Extreme rage is a challenge actually. It can't be flat out anger. One must do a bit of soul searching to find what truly makes them hate. For Vegeta, he had to redirect anger to himself for being weak, not at Goku for being stronger. The no tail rule was briefly discussed before. In the anime it's clear that having a tail results in the Golden Monkey, while not as clear in the Manga...
