Walk into any middle school playground in 2002 and you’d hear the same whispered rumor. It was the "mew under the truck" of the anime world. Fans swore that if you watched a specific VHS tape or visited a certain geocities site, you’d see it: Gohan with silver hair down to his waist, red fur, and power levels that broke the scouter. We’re talking about Dragon Ball Z Gohan Super Saiyan 5, a transformation that technically doesn't exist in any official Akira Toriyama script, yet remains more famous than half the characters in Dragon Ball Super.
It's weird.
How does a fake form from twenty years ago still pull thousands of searches every month? Why are people still obsessed with a version of Gohan that never actually hit the screen? To understand that, you have to look at the chaotic era of the early internet when "Dragon Ball AF" was the king of the message boards.
The Myth of Dragon Ball AF and the Silver-Haired Saiyan
The "AF" stood for After Future. Or Alternative Future. Or, if you were a cynical teenager back then, April Fools.
The most iconic image associated with Dragon Ball Z Gohan Super Saiyan 5 didn't even start as Gohan. It was a drawing of a character named Tablos, created by Spanish artist David Montiel Franco in 1998. He drew a bulky, silver-haired warrior for a fanzine. Once that image hit the early web, it was like wildfire. Fans didn't have Google Lens back then. They saw a Saiyan with gray fur and hair and immediately decided it was either Goku or Gohan reaching a level beyond Super Saiyan 4 from Dragon Ball GT.
It felt real. It felt possible.
Gohan had always been the character with the most "potential." Since the Raditz saga, we were told he’d eventually surpass Goku. When he reached Super Saiyan 2 against Cell, it was the peak of the series for many. But then GT happened, and Gohan was relegated to a guy in a sweater vest who barely fought. Fans were hungry. They were desperate for Gohan to reclaim his throne. That’s why the idea of a Dragon Ball Z Gohan Super Saiyan 5 took such deep root; it was wish fulfillment in its purest form.
Breaking Down the "Super Saiyan 5" Look
If you look at the fan art—and there are millions of pieces of it now—the design of Super Saiyan 5 is basically Super Saiyan 4 on steroids.
The hair is usually silver or white, a precursor to what we eventually got with Ultra Instinct and Gohan Beast. The fur on the body is typically silver or red, and the aura is chaotic, often featuring sparks of black or blue lightning. It looks cool. There's no denying it. It captured that "edgy" late-90s aesthetic perfectly.
What’s fascinating is how close the fans actually got to the truth. Decades later, when Toei Animation and Akira Toriyama introduced Dragon Ball Super, we started seeing silver hair everywhere. Ultra Instinct Goku? Silver hair. Gohan Beast? Massive, upright silver hair. It’s almost as if the collective consciousness of the fandom forced the creators to acknowledge that silver is the "ultimate" color for a Saiyan.
Why Gohan?
Why wasn't the focus always on Goku?
Goku is the protagonist, sure. But Gohan is the prodigal son. There’s a specific kind of "what if" energy around Gohan. We saw him go from a crying toddler to the strongest being in the universe (at the time) during the Buu Saga as Ultimate Gohan. When the official series stopped giving him new forms, the fans took over. They created an entire lore where Gohan, pushed by some new cosmic threat, skipped the traditional levels and hit Super Saiyan 5.
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The Evolution of Fan Manga: Young Jijii and Toyotarou
You can't talk about Dragon Ball Z Gohan Super Saiyan 5 without talking about the creators who kept the flame alive.
Before he was the official artist for the Dragon Ball Super manga, a guy named Toyble (now known as Toyotarou) was drawing his own Dragon Ball AF manga. He wasn't the only one. Young Jijii is another massive name in the scene. These artists didn't just draw one-offs; they wrote hundreds of pages of story.
In these fan-made stories, Super Saiyan 5 wasn't just a palette swap. It usually had a heavy cost. It was a form that required a Saiyan to reach a level of "primal" mastery. In some versions, Gohan achieves it through sheer rage, much like his SSJ2 transformation. In others, it's a meditative state.
These fan projects were so high quality that for a long time, people genuinely thought they were leaked storyboards from Japan. It’s a testament to the passion of the community. They didn't just want a new form; they wanted a story where Gohan mattered again.
Comparing SSJ5 to Gohan Beast: Did the Fans Win?
When Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was released, the internet exploded.
Gohan Beast is, for all intents and purposes, the official version of what fans wanted from Dragon Ball Z Gohan Super Saiyan 5. He has the red eyes. He has the absurdly long, silver/white hair. He has the overwhelming power that puts him back in the conversation with Goku and Vegeta.
- Hair Color: Both use silver/white.
- Trigger: Both are triggered by witnessing a loved one (usually Piccolo or Pan) in danger.
- Vibe: Both forms move away from the "golden" hair of the Z-era and toward something more "otherworldly."
Honestly, seeing Gohan Beast felt like a victory for the "AF" believers. It was an acknowledgment that the fans were right about Gohan's trajectory. He was never meant to be just a scholar; he was meant to be the vanguard.
The Legacy of a Fake Transformation
So, is it "real"? No. You won't find it in any official databook. You won't see it in Dragon Ball FighterZ (unless you’re using mods, and there are a lot of them).
But in terms of cultural impact? It’s as real as it gets. It shaped how an entire generation of fans engaged with the series. It taught us about "headcanon." It gave rise to some of the best fan-art and fan-manga in the history of the medium.
The story of Gohan reaching Super Saiyan 5 is really the story of a fandom that refused to let a story end. We wanted more. We wanted Gohan to be the hero we knew he could be. Even now, with Dragon Ball Super on hiatus, the search for that old-school, silver-haired myth continues.
Actionable Insights for Dragon Ball Fans
If you're looking to dive deeper into this specific rabbit hole, here is how you can actually experience the "Super Saiyan 5" phenomenon today without getting lost in fake news:
Track down the Toyble (Toyotarou) and Young Jijii scanlations. These are the gold standard. They provide the narrative context for why Gohan would ever need a fifth form. It's essentially the "lost" history of the franchise that never happened but is still incredibly fun to read.
Check out the Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 and Budokai Tenkaichi 3 modding scenes. The community has literally built Gohan Super Saiyan 5 into these games. If you want to see what the move-sets and animations would look like in 3D, that's your best bet.
Analyze Gohan Beast through the lens of AF. Watch the Super Hero movie again. Look at Gohan's transformation sequence. If you compare the framing and the "weight" of the silver hair to the old Dragon Ball AF sketches, the similarities are staggering. It’s a fascinating study in how fan culture eventually influences official canon.
Avoid the "leak" clickbait. In 2026, you'll still see YouTube thumbnails claiming "Gohan SSJ5 Confirmed for New Movie." They’re fake. Always check official sources like Weekly Shonen Jump or the official Dragon Ball website before believing a new form is coming. The real "Super Saiyan 5" is the one the fans built along the way.