Key takeaways
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The Kaioken technique multiplies the user's power level but causes enormous strain on the body.
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Goku's mastery over Ki control allows him to stack Kaioken effects and later combine it with Super Saiyan transformations.
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The kaioke's advantage of increasing power is offset by serious disadvantages such as physical strain and limited use time.
When Goku found out his Saiyan heritage in the earliest part of Dragon Ball Zit presented a raising of stakes like the original Dragon Ball saw with the rise of the Demon King Piccolo. Goku, one of the most powerful fighters in the story at the end of Dragon Ballwas badly outmatched in battle against his older brother Raditz and sacrificed his own life to beat him.
After crossing the snake path in the afterlife, Goku was able to receive training from King Kai, who taught him one of the most important moves in Goku's arsenal: the Kaioken. What exactly is that, and what makes it such an important point in Goku's training throughout the franchise?
FAMILY
Dragon Ball DAIMA: Who are the Glinds?
The name of the Kai race has been revealed in Dragon Ball DAIMA. Who are Glinds?
What is Kaioken?
Power boost invented by King Kai himself
Kaioken, also romanized as “Kaio-ken”, “Kaioh-ken” and “Kaiōken”, is a technique invented by King Kai (the Kaio) which amplifies the user's physical abilities by several multiples at the cost of enormous strain on the body. When activated, the user's skin and clothing glow with a fiery purple-red aura that can also cause their blood vessels to dilate and cause their muscles to swell, instantly increasing their power level, strength, speed, and awareness in battle for the duration of the technique. At its base level, the Kaioken doubles the user's base power level, but its true value lies in its ability to stack its power multiple times. During the battle against Vegeta in the Saiyan Saga, Goku managed to remove the Kaioken x4, but this increased output had extremely negative side effects due to the strain the technique places on the body.
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Canonical vs non-canonical iterations of Kaioken |
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Technique |
Canon | Media of appearance |
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Kaioken (x2 – x10) |
Canon | Manga and Anime |
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Kaioken x100 |
Non-Canon | Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug |
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Kaioken x Super Saiyan Blue |
Non-Canon | Anime only |
After training under 100 times normal gravity, Goku learns to handle increased power outputs and reach heights such as Kaioken x20 against the Ginyu Force during the Frieza Saga, but its limits are related to the user's durability and battle experience. The mechanic that allows one to master and use the Kaioken is the mastery of Ki control, which is part of the reason it is almost never used in conjunction with the much more powerful Super Saiyan transformations (the first of which is sometimes compared with the user's base power multiplied 50 times) as these transformations are initially linked to heightened emotional states that affect Ki control thus making the technique even more dangerous to apply alongside a transformation.
However, given that Goku overcomes these with mastery over each form, it should be possible to combine Kaioken with a Super Saiyan transformation as seen in Dragon Ball Superwhen Goku combined the technique with the Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan several times with huge disadvantages before perfecting it in the fight against Jiren during the Tournament of Power.
Its biggest advantage is its biggest disadvantage
A technique created to kill giants
Kaioke's ability to multiply the user's base power multiple times makes it the perfect technique to use when facing an opponent much stronger than oneself, and without the technique in his arsenal, Goku would likely have been crushed by Vegeta in their first battle. However, the technique follows the commonly held idea that the stronger a technique, the greater the consequences of using it, and therefore its biggest drawback is how much strain it causes the body for long periods of time after it has been used. After using Kaioken x4 in the Galick Gun/Kamehameha beam battle, Goku's body was so worn out that a pat on the shoulder from Yajirobe made him cry out in pain.
“It's like a massive surge of energy. Everything increases: power, speed, even hearing and vision improve dramatically. You kind of become a super-self. But it can only be sustained for a short time, so you have to get the job done quickly. “
The strain is caused by the immense concentration required to keep the Kaioken activated, and the fact that it basically forces the body to work with a flow of ki increased to several times its normal maximum output. It is therefore terrible to use in fights that are drawn out, and even when used by Goku in Dragon Ball Superhe cannot avoid the negative effects of the technique despite using it in conjunction with Super Saiyan Blue, a form that came with minimal ki leakage, a problem with the non-divine Super Saiyan transformations.
Dragon Ball Z
Dragon Ball Z is a Japanese anime series produced by Toei Animation and a sequel to the 1986 Dragon Ball series. It continues the adventures of Son Goku as an adult while simulating the life of his son Gohan. Son Goku usually defends Earth from villains like Vegeta, Frieza, Cell and Majin Buu. The series is followed by Dragon Ball GT and then Dragon Ball Super.
