The REAL story behind SUPER SAIYAN 100
The recent fan animation on the YouTube channel “Lord Aizen,” which has 1.42 million subscribers, gives us a glimpse of what an SSJ 100 Goku would look like. The video, Evolution of Goku (Super Saiyan 1 to Super Saiyan 100), has had over 11 million views and counting. Incredible animation and voice performance accompanies a twist in the end. Former viewers of Dragon Ball Z will appreciate “Lord Aizen” for the nostalgic trip they provide down memory lane. A creation that has been brought up so often and for so long in the Dragon Ball Z fandom that it has become a meme that is of course… the GOKU SSJ 100 form.
Yes, “that” picture, the one you are thinking of. The infamous long-haired hedgehog Goku, that has a more interesting story than you think!
Now don’t be embarrassed…
…we all thought it was real for the time being as kids. I mean it was done so well that it had to be right??? Especially in an age where there was virtually no social media, and so limited digital artists online, anything of high quality was seen as authentic!
Recently, I saw the Goku transformation video, and among his numerous guises, I was astonished to see his “Super Saiyan 100” form included. The creators, who I initially thought was Toei Animation, were clearly winking at the show’s diehard followers and meme enthusiasts. The fact that it was a YouTube fan animator only added to my admiration for it. What really took me by surprise, though, was wondering who exactly had made the artwork. The renowned Goku Super Saiyan’ 100? Where have they gone? Were they keeping themselves a secret? Someone or a group of people who remain unknown as artists?
Surely not Toei Animation? Was it? No… To find out more, I did some research online and posted a question on Reddit. I use Reddit as a substitute for Google when I need answers to complicated questions. You should never discount the insights of internet-based historians!
My post lead me to a comment by Reddit user mUeXeOp, which lead me to r/Ningen a subreddit dedicated to Dragon Ball (Z) memes. The post was made by Pankulka or (Paweł Kuliński) 24-ish days ago titled “I found “SSJ 100 Goku” Meme source. Please see comment below”. After looking and scanning the comments Pankulka explained that:
…the character wasn’t even Goku but, a “Very old Super Sayia-jin”.
At the bottom of the page, he listed the name of the supposed creator; Artur Sadlos. Rumor had it, Sadlos wasn’t interested in Dragon Ball Z anymore, so I knew I had to tread cautiously.
Curious I asked Paweł: “Where did you find the comic? What age were you? A kid, a teen?”
Paweł Kuliński a fellow artist much like the mysterious Arturo himself explained: “When I was a kid (I was around 10 or 11) I was really interested in Dragon Ball in general, and since the very early years of my life I was into drawing and comics, so naturally I gravitated towards fan creations. DBZ was extremely popular in Poland at the time, so there was plenty of fansites about it. One of them had an online library with fan comics, and one of them was THE comic. I was stunned by the cool art style and the fact that fellow Pole (Polish Person) created it only added to it.”
Me: “Like many others, did you think it was real?”
Pakula: “Not really, no. The art style of Artur definitely was inspired by the original manga in this particular comic, but it was different enough for me. And yeah, I knew the guy from Poland drew it, so…”
Me: “Great answers, did you see Goku turn into super saiyan 100?”
Pakula: “I’m aware of this fan animation, yes.”
With this, I was alarmed to realize it was only a fan animation, I had believed it was real at the time. Especially since I saw it via phone recording the night before (half sleep deprived), and not from its original YouTube channel. But still! I was deep in this story and needed to follow it to the end right? I reached out to Artur. I was skeptical but when we spoke he was a very kind man with a bit of spare time. This is how our conversation went!
Please Note: Due to language limitations and time zone differences, certain words, sentences, or phrases may sound off in this dialogue.
Me: “Hello, I’m curious were you the creator of the super saiyan 100?”
Artur: “Yup, its me. Its SSJ50 :)”
Me: “Wow! I was worried for you, did you see this ?” (Shared the Tiktok snip of Lord Aizen’s fan animation)
Artur: “Thats awesome. Glad to see somebody took time to animate that,Thanks for sharing. ”
Me: “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions for an article I’m writing? 🤔”
Artur: “Hit it :)”
Me: “My first question is: What inspired you back then to make the SSJ50 otherwise known as the Super Saiyan 100?”
Artur: “So the first thing to acknowledge is that is a final page from a fan manga I’d done years ago.”
With this, I was shocked to learn it actually wasn’t just a single piece of fan art but an actual short manga. This had to be the real him. But anyone could know that? Artur sent me a picture file of the complete Manga lost in time. Even with his name at the bottom of it.
Most people are lucky to even find pieces, but this was DBZ Historic Gold. Artur posted the picture and continued:
Artur: “I was a huge fan of Dragon Ball back then. I've drawn a lot of DB stuff.”
Me: “Ok, I see, that’s incredible work! When did you create that? How old were you ? Did it take long?”
Artur: “I was at the beginning of my drawing adventure back then. Im not sure what year was that, I'll try to track it in my files. But it was drawn on paper back then and scanned.”
Me: “Oh sure thing! It’s speculated that you are no longer a dragon ball fan, is this true?”
After some time, which I assume he was researching his old work’s date, Artur came back with an answer.
Artur: “It was maybe even 20 years ago 😅
Cannot be not a fan. I'm not watching it but I have a special place for it in my heart :)
In 2018 I was at the exhibition of the original pages from DB by Akira Toriyama in Tokyo. Loved it! So I guess Im still a fan. Have some artbooks and figures as well.”
Me: “That’s super cool! I’m sure Toriyama saw your work by now! That leads me to my next question, not sure where you are from (he is in Poland) but here in America your final page drawing was a huge part of alot of Dragon Ball z children’s childhoods!
Many of us looked it up and thought it was official work/concept from Toriyama/Toei Animation. Did you ever expect your manga to get this big?”
Artur: “Absolutely not! It was just a fun project to do. Back then there was no Facebook and social media around. So it must gotten popular much later after I’ve done this.”
Artur: “I've uploaded it years later to some really small forums.”
Me: “Well lots of early 2000s kids will always remember it, and thought it was real. Your art is a part of DBZ history. How’s that make you feel?”
Artur: “Super good. Back then it was like the best thing ever to me. DB was a main reason I started to do art. So being a part of this is super rewarding.”
Me: “That’s amazing to hear! Now just a few more questions and I’ll be done, thank you so much so far! When I showed you Goku transforming into your SSJ50 commonly known as SS100, how did that make you feel? Goku even states, “This is for the original fans” before he transformed!”
Artur: “This is a great thing. Discovering that my work connected me (even unknowingly) with so many people who loved the same thing as me. And it’s living its own life inspiring people to build on that even further. Cant wait to see more stuff :)”
Me: “Last question, why do you think it’s so hard to find you? Several people claim to be you jokingly and take credit for your design, most people don’t even know the true origin of it. It’s a mystery. Why do you think that is? Have you moved on from it and don’t want to be associated with it?”
Artur: “Not at all, I just wasn't aware it is so well known. Im not following DB like in the old days so I missed all the attention it got. I'd love to be associated with it again :) Especially that there is more stuff to be shown to DB fans.
Seeing this animated today was dope! I never expected my fantasy about some crazy SSJ level will be so famous 😅”
Me: “I’m glad I reached out to show you. You made a great piece and deserve all the recognition for it. Maybe who knows, Toriyama or the current DragonBall anime team could reach out to you in the future!
Also, do you have anything you’re working on currently you’d like to share with people? Art-wise or other?”
Artur: “Well, currently Im doing different things. Nothing with DB but there are things close to anime. For example Ghibli style works”:
Artur: “Or some LoL (League or Legends) stuff inspired by anime:”
Below is a picture created by Artur featured in the Official League of Legends animation trailer called “Just One More | League of Legends” on their Youtube channel featuring some of Artur’s astonishing background imagery.
Artur: “Maybe some day Ill be hired to do some DB backrounds for DB Super :) It would be a nice touch to be part of the “real thing”.
Me: “Hopefully, someone reaches out to you!”
After that, the meeting was over. I felt like Artur and I had a good talk prior to and during the interview, and I wished he felt the same way. Now we know more about “SSJ50” and its creator a part of the “Goku Super Saiyan 100 meme” hidden by time was all about!
I was relieved to see that he was not this mysterious, underground artist, who hated his old creation and had given up on the franchise not wanting to be connected to it, but rather a kind and dedicated artist who went on to make a career out of art and, was still a devoted Dragon Ball fan.
There are no indications of slowing down for Artur, who has gone on to create concepts for League of Legends, The Witcher, For Honor, and even Apple. It’s inspiring to learn that someone with such a deep and fascinating history is still pursuing his passion for art.
It makes you wonder about all the other pieces of unclaimed media out there, be it art, music, film, or games that go unclaimed with interesting and mysterious backstories.
- The Ghost Writer
You can find more about Artur Sadlos on Artstation at: https://www.artstation.com/artursadlos
You can find more about Paweł Kuliński on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pan.kulka.art/?hl=en
and lastly, go check out Lord Aizen on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@LordAizenBankai
Bonus interview with Lord Aizen:
While finalizing the first article, I had the chance to chat with Lord Aizen, the popular YouTuber, and writer, and ask him a few questions. He initially reacted warily to my attempts to interview him, but once he was assured of my identity and motives, he opened up. How it unfolded was as follows:
Me: “Its great to meet you, you have gained alot of success with your channel and works , I want to thank you for being apart of this interview, do you animate everything in your own ?”
Lord Aizen: “Hello and thank you for wanting to interview me. I wish I had talent in drawing and animating, but unfortunately I don’t, so I partner with different artists to bring my ideas to life. I explain to them what I’d like to see, so they handle the animating part and I edit the audio, music and everything else that is required afterwards.”
Me: “Sounds expensive, but your direction seems great! Yesterday, I was sent a video via Tiktok of your Goku transformation video. I was so shocked, I thought it was official! The voice of Goku is really good and helped sell it alot! I was mostly shocked at the end when I saw Goku SSJ100, a fan favorite creation and meme! When did you see that design? Where you a kid/teen like the rest of us? Did you also think it was official ?”
Lord Aizen: “Yes, when I came with the idea for this video, I wanted to show all of Goku’s main forms and transformations, but I wanted to end it with a surprise, a big bang!
And I kept seeing that Super Saiyan 100 meme and I new that I had to include it in the video” (talking about the aboved meme)
Me: “That was a great direction on your part! What if I told you I was able to do a little bit of research and find the person who made SSJ 100 Goku? I did, and I showed them your video. They loved it!”
Lord Aizen: “I see. I’d love to know the guy that made ssj100 Goku back in the day.”
Me: “He’s a very good guy, he was excited to see his creation become a meme and even become animated! The character actually wasn’t even suppose to be Goku, and unlike what we call it it was actually named SSJ50 instead of its famed SSJ100.
My last question is , are there any projects we can look forward to seeing from you in the future ? Or anything your currently working on?”
Lord Aizen: “I have a plethora of ideas, the difficult part is finding good animators that want to work, since these animations are not cheap to produce!
I will want to add more fan made forms for Goku and also do an Evolution of Vegeta animation…And a few other ones, but it’s too early to reveal it here and now”
Me: “Hahaha ok, I almost forgot, did you know of SSJ100 Goku before the meme or when the memes appeared ?”
Lord Aizen: “I’ve seen this meme for years, even before I had a YouTube channel.
But when I decided to make an evolution of Goku animation, that meme resurfaced and things just clicked. The rest is history!”
Me: “Sounds good! Anything else you’d like to say before we conclude?”
Lord Aizen: “Not much, I’m still surprised that someone wanted to interview me. It means that people really liked what I’ve created!”
Me: “You have made very iconic strides in the DBZ community ! It was essential to have you on the article !”
Lord Aizen: *Thumbs Up*
In this engaging interview, we discussed how Lord Aizen enlisted the services of Nathan (aka bronyburningaxe on fiver) to voice Goku. Nathan did a fantastic job replicating the English dub performed by Sean Schemmel.
However, the “real” English dub voice of Goku, weighed in on Twitter with his thoughts on the meme’s popularity, saying:
This put an end to the mystery and the legends surrounding Artur’s iconic image and many others like it, which required the combined efforts of many people, from Reddit’s historians and meme enthusiasts to animators to keep the legends and their works alive!
