

From what I know, they look at the full moon with their tails still intact
before they turn into great apes, or "ozaru" as it is called in Japanese.

How does their transformation work?


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dragon-ball-series dragon-ball-z dragon-ball
How do Goku and Gohan manage to turn into great apes in Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z?


Saiyan's have an ability which allows them to transform into a _Great Ape_ ,
which comes along with a massive power boost making them even stronger.  
The premise of your question basically answers how the transformation happens.
With reference to what exactly happens after, apart from the transformation
change as described, the Saiyan's power increases **10 folds**.

You can read more about the transformation
[here](http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Great_Ape).


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According to the [Dragonball
Wiki](http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Great_Ape):

In order for the transformation to take place, the Saiyan needs to have a
tail, as the glands responsible for initiating the transformation are located
exclusively there. The Saiyan also needs to absorb at least 17 million zeno
units of Blutz Waves through the eyes to initiate the transformation. Blutz
Waves are found only in sunlight reflected by a moon. If there is no moon, a
planetary body will reflect the same amount of rays. The easiest way to
achieve this is to gaze at the full moon, making Saiyans similar to werewolves
in this aspect. If any clouds covered the moon and/or a planetary body, it
would block certain amounts of the radiation. Vegeta once made himself
transform by firing Power Ball, which is a "fake moon" reflecting the
requisite amount of Blutz Rays into the air, and then staring at it. A device
on board Saiyans' Attack Pods also project a hologram of a moon that was
realistic enough to allow Blutz Waves to be reflected in the event of their
landing on a planet that lacks a moon, as evidenced by an incident where Gohan
went Great Ape while training for fighting the Saiyans prior to their invasion
due to Goku's attack pod reactivating.


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