About
Super Saiyan Remixes are videos and animated GIFs that are edited to appear as if the subject is turning into a Super Saiyan, a transcendent state of being assumed by the warring members of the Saiyan race in the Dragon Ball manga franchise.
Origin
On August 12th, 2008, YTMND user Herald77 submitted a page titled Michael Phelps is going Super Saiyan, which featured an animated GIF of olympic swimmer Michael Phelps turning into a Super Saiyan while celebrating at a competition (shown below).
Spread
On July 14th, 2009, YouTuber alreson uploaded a video of American radio host Alex Jones turning into a Super Saiyan (shown below). In the next five years, the video gained over 740,000 views and 2,300 comments.
On February 23rd, 2011, YouTuber CalicoJackCash uploaded a video titled “Real Life Vegeta Super Saiyan Transformation,” garnering more than three million views and 3,200 comments in four years (shown below).
On May 27th, 2013, the /r/SuperSaiyanGifs[1] subreddit was launched, which gained over 9,100 subscribers in the next year. On February 10th, 2014, Redditor bfinleyui posted a GIF of an Iowa Cheerleader turning into a Super Saiyan to the /r/CollegeBasketball[3] subreddit, accumulating upwards of 1,000 votes (90% upvoted) prior to being archived (shown below).
Notable Examples
Super Saiyans Are Real
“Super Saiyans are Real!” is a YouTube video of a teenager named Jalen discussing the possibility of becoming a Super Saiyan. On February 21st, 2012, YouTuber TheSheepKnowThings uploaded an edited version of the video in which Jalen appears to become a Super Saiyan (shown below).
Miguel Herrera’s Goal Reaction
On May 27th, 2013, Redditor chluaid submitted an edited GIF of Mexico’s national footbal team manager Miguel Herrera turning into a Super Saiyan from Dragon Ball Z while celebrating a goal made during a match between America and Cruz Azul in 2013 to the /r/gifs[2] subreddit, where it gathered more than 1,100 points and 50 comments prior to being archived.
