Super Saiyans are Real
On Feb 14, 2012 a young boy named Jalen tried to turn into a Super Saiyan on film and then posted it on YouTube. The video instantly went viral!
The video was so popular that “Super Saiyan” trended worldwide on Twitter.
People everywhere were talking about Super Saiyan’s and Dragon Ball. Retweeting how they loved the show when they were a kid, or laughing in response to his video.
Jalen’s YouTube name is KillerKarisma, and on the KillerKarisma YouTube page Jalen has the following description. “im a very strange character, i like performing social experiments, its hard to put me in one category and im random but i always do things for a reason you never know what to expect from me……..”
This makes me wonder if the whole thing was one big social experiment. I contacted him for an interview and am waiting to hear back.
The next day on Jalen’s Facebook page he said this:
“alot of ppl ask me if i was faking or sincere……….its kind of hard to explain….i have multiple personalities, so the one in that video believed what he was saying, but a part of me did it as a social experiment just to see how ppl would react, all in all, i believe there are powers that we can achieve if we stop limiting our thinking, i believe u can achieve anything with the power of your mind, and that goes for ANYTHING, not just being a super saiyan. if not in the literal sense, we have super saiyans among us everyday, army troops that fight and die for us everyday are super saiyans, single moms struggling to raise kids on their own are super saiyan? know what im saiyan??”
I guess this means he really does have multiple personality disorder.
In any case, in the video, Jalen gives a speech about how he believes people can go Super Saiyan in real life. It is very obvious that Dragon Ball strongly influenced his life.
Jalen’s Super Saiyan Speech
Here’s his speech, transcribed from the video.
“What’s up YouTube. This is something that’s been on my heart for a long time. All I ever wanted to be in life was a Super Saiyan. Ever since I was a kid I used to always look up to Goku and Vegeta, Gohan. I used to look at them and wonder, “How come I’m just a human being? I’m so worthless. Oh, what can I do? I can run, I can jump, I can flip.” And we are just so limited as human beings. And I feel like, when I see superheroes, why can’t life be that exciting and that awesome? Why can’t I wake up, and if I’m late for school, just teleport there and just be on time?
But I feel like, during that time of meditation and just thinking about it, I realized something. All of that is possible and more. It’s in here [points to his head], it’s all in your mind. Think about anything that you ever tried to do. You thought to yourself, “Man, I could never do that.” But then when you practiced it, guess what? You got better at it and you actually achieved it, didn’t you? It’s the same thing when you look at super powers. Of course it sounds absurd when you first look at it. But if you try it! If you actually set your mind to it and believe, you can achieve it.
I saw a Chinese man set a piece of paper on fire with just the power of his hands! Now you gonna tell me that that was fake? No it wasn’t fake! He channeled that energy from within, and he believed, he channeled that energy through the creation of his mind, what his mind believed and what he spoke into existence, of the power that he had! You understand what I’m saying?
I feel like anything that you set your mind to, your mind can create that force, because your mind is just this powerful machine, and whatever you set it to, and you believe, and you work towards achieving it, you can do it! You can do it.
And I believe I can be a Super Saiyan.
So this is my first time exposing this side of me to the world. And I know a lot of you are laughing, but the people who really, who are on my level of intellect, they understand what I am saying. And thank you all for understanding.
I’m going to attempt to go Super Saiyan on film, and I’m gonna upload it to YouTube. This is my first attempt. Now I’m believing. And I’m going to create that energy and channel it through my mind.
Now I might not turn full Super Saiyan, I might turn full Super Saiyan, or you might just see a glimpse of it, of that power. But this is my first attempt, I’m going to turn the music on. Super Saiyan 3 Goku theme.
This is it. Alright.”
Jalen turns on the Super Saiyan 3 Goku Theme music, by Faulconer Productions, featured on the American Dragon Ball Z, and starts to power up!
Transforming into a Super Saiyan
Jalen centers himself.
The power surges through his body. He starts snapping his head back like Goku when he first turned Super Saiyan while battling Freeza.
Then he SCREAMS!
And he screams louder!
He crosses his arms and separates them, while powering up and screaming like crazy.
Jalen stands up, takes his shirt off, stares into the camera and starts screaming even louder!!
“AAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
AAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
He plays the part exactly like Goku when he transforms into Super Saiyan 3.
And then all of a sudden he stops…
The music stops.
His eyes roll into the back of his head for a moment and then he stares at the camera.
“My name is Jalen,” he says. “And I am a Super Saiyan.”
The video immediately ends.
AWESOME.
The Reaction
What type of reactions did people have to Super Saiyans are Real?
Most of the comments and reactions were laughter and jokes, making fun of Jalen and calling him names.
Jalen said on his Facebook page, “when these ppl insult me i wonder if they think they’re actually effecting me or hurting my feelings. LOL i was brave enough to put myself out there for everyone to see, you honestly think your little snide remarks is gonna make me cry or commit suicide? LOLOLOL BITCH im a super saiyan u cant harm me!! NOPE!!”
But some people really understood what he was trying to say and do.
For example, “I take this video as a form of inspiration. i don’t think you’re being serious while doing this, but i do believe you are being serious on trying to make a point. that us as human beings limit ourselves to so many things. but you my friend, will open many peoples eyes into seeing they can achieve what they want. at least i know i can now.”
There were also several video reactions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2JlQ0s4k9E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mBqZX5Fox8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXQLrcPIlTw
People on Twitter continued to talk about it for the next 48 hours, continuously retweeting the video and laughing like crazy about Dragon Ball Z. On Feb 17, 2012, Super Saiyan was still trending.
At 8 pm PST, the rapper Teboe sent me a new song about Jalen via The Dao of Dragon Ball Facebook page. He wrote and mixed a custom track called Super Saiyan, featuring Jalen’s voice, the Super Saiyan 3 music, and audio samples from the American Dragon Ball Z. Listen to it now because it’s awesome.
Human Dynamo Jack Chang
In case you’re curious, this is the video that Jalen referred to when he said, “I saw a Chinese man set a piece of paper on fire with just the power of his hands!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gid-Ag082lo
It’s from the History Channel’s special on Spontaneous Human Combustion. There are longer videos available online.
This is a video that inspired his belief in Ki / Chi and Super Saiyan powers.
Still Going Viral
It’s too early to say what the results of this will be. Although over 323,328 views in 3 days and dozens of video responses is already pretty big!
And it’s too early for any analysis.
But I can’t help but ask, why did this video go viral? Why was it so popular across the world?
It’s because Dragon Ball is a global phenomenon and because everybody, across the world, WANTS to go Super Saiyan!
The amazing thing about Jalen is that he had the guts to explain his beliefs, film his attempt, and then actually put it on YouTube after failing!
Also because of his amazing performance, the fact that he rips his shirt off half way through, and acts just like a screaming Saiyan the entire time. Perfect!
That is the confidence and absolute belief of a young man. Even in the face of potentially millions of people, he wasn’t afraid to say what he believed and then LIVE it.
The very shonen spirit that Dragon Ball represents… Jalen represents in real life.
In the description of the video Jalen says, “add me on facebook, good luck becoming a super saiyan as i did!”
Indeed, good luck in becoming a Super Saiyan!
Are Super Saiyans real?
On rapper Lil B “The Based God”‘s Facebook page, Jalen wrote, “THANK U BASED GOD IM A MEME ON THE INTERNET NOW SUPER SAIYAN BASED KID!! OMG!!”
Jalen may not have succeeded at becoming a Super Saiyan, but his video did go Super VIRAL, and that’s a real accomplishment all its own!
Update, July 31, 2020: Jalen contacted me, over 8 years after the publication of this article. He wrote to explain that he does not actually have multiple personality disorder. Rather than paraphrase his message, I’ve decided to share it with you here.
Jalen: “Hey. I like the article you wrote about me. But tbh, you have to understand the only reason I lied and said I have multiple personalities is because I thought it would make me seem less crazy if people perceived I was just acting, and I felt heavily scrutinized and wanted acceptance. But I realize that by saying that, I actually gave people the impression that I have multiple personality disorder which in itself is also a crazy thing! The point I’m making, is I don’t have multiple personalities and the video is not an act. The energy was and is 100% real. I’m really Super Saiyan Jalen, authentically. Everything I said and expressed came from my soul authentically.”
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