Captain Ginyu's body swap

[Evil Vegeta]

I always felt Ginyu was one of the more interesting characters based on his special ability to switch bodies. I would've liked to have seen more of a backstory on this ability, since most fans assume that the body we see him in was stolen at some point. Most games leave the possibility open in his bio, but they're just information from the games.

Ginyu seemed to be quite sure he'd automatically gain Goku's power upon stealing his body, which leads me to believe that's how it often was whenever he stole someone's body...if he ever did. He was able to acquire Goku's superior flight speed, but that doesn't translate to much else.

Now this part made me think: Goku believes it'd all be over if Ginyu acquired Vegeta's battle. Now is it likely Ginyu would've retained all of Vegeta's power at that point? Or could he have been in a similar situation like he was with Goku's body?

The reason why I'm asking is because we know Vegeta is no longer the same "space pirate" type of fighter he was from the Saiyan saga. Vegeta seemed to mirror the Z-warriors on Namek with how he was constantly controlling his power in/out of battle, so I kinda find it hard to believe Ginyu would automatically be able to access his power. Maybe not a level as pathetic as 23k max, but definitely not at the level he was at when he decimated Jheese. We know Ginyu can control his own power, but that's entirely different than controlling someone else's.

Hypothetical question: let's say Ginyu/Goku escaped Namek unscathed and had more time to understand Goku's body. Is it likely that the knowledge of bringing out the power of the body would be something he'd become aware of with time? Or would he likely be unable to ever tap into Goku's true power simply because of how unique his Chi is? If Ginyu was able to make his "mind and body one". Using the Kaio-Ken seems to be highly unlikely, though.

The one cool thing I liked about the Black saga in the manga was how Black needed to get accustomed to using Goku's body before he could transform into a Super Saiyan. Transforming was completely foreign to him.

 

[GreatSaiyaman123]

I don't see why he wouldn't be able to go full power. He seemed pretty surprised when Jeice told he was only 23k:

Chapter: 288 (DBZ 94), P13.2-4
Context: Ginyu powers up in Goku’s body
Ginyu: "Guhahahahaha...!!!! Jheese!! How much is my battle power?!"
Jheese: ".....Twe... 23,000...."
Ginyu: “Twe…23,000…only 23,000…!?”

I don't think it's the first time he used the technique as well. Why would he risk using it if he don't understand the technique? It's just dumb of his part.
It's never showed why Ginyu failed to access Goku's full power, so it's pretty hard to tell. He could or could not be able to use Vegeta's full power.
And i don't see why he wouldn't be able to access his full power if he master Goku's body. I'm sure he wouldn't be able to use the Kaioken, though. Unless he can tap into Goku's memories as well and discover how he mastered the technique, what i found unlikely.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Goku has learned by Kami and others to also train his mind and mental training. At this point people on Freeza's side, including Vegeta (who had defected by this point, but still) mostly relied on pure power, so they probably couldn't figure-out how to use Goku's full-power since his training and gaining power has been more than due to just training to get more powerful. There's lots of philosophies and stuff on the mind. That might be what Goku meant by making his mind and body one too.

 

[Evil Vegeta]

Interesting stuff. Fantastic, you're right about Goku being more into meditation and things of that sort, which would differentiate him from Vegeta by a lot. Vegeta did taunt Dodoria for being too obsessed with power like Freeza and himself in his younger days, but that only seemed to be in regards to learning new skills. Outside of learning how to sense, he was still very much a power junkie, so Ginyu would've likely had an easier time unlocking his power than he would with Goku's.

But yeah, Ginyu being able to use the Kaio-Ken sounds almost impossible.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

Interesting stuff. Fantastic, you're right about Goku being more into meditation and things of that sort, which would differentiate him from Vegeta by a lot. Vegeta did taunt Dodoria for being too obsessed with power like Freeza and himself in his younger days, but that only seemed to be in regards to learning new skills. Outside of learning how to sense, he was still very much a power junkie, so Ginyu would've likely had an easier time unlocking his power than he would with Goku's.

But yeah, Ginyu being able to use the Kaio-Ken sounds almost impossible.

I agree with you.

Vegeta obviously got better, by being able to sense or suppress/adjust his power once on Namek but Goku and the Z-Fighters learned that before, even if they weren't as powerful as Vegeta. Freeza couldn't sense Ki on Namek, but Kuririn could. And there's obviously more too.

 

[Boo Brand Milk]

The more I watch the Ginyu episodes the more I realize that him being weak on Goku's body was trashy writing. There should have been another way to neutralize this Ginyuku, especially because he wouldn't have access to kaio ken.

 

[Let's Go Fearless!]

Vegeta also explained it very well.

Episode: 63
Time: 20:51-21:52
Context: Vegeta explain to Zamasu how Goku's body works
Vegeta: "Shall I tell you where you miscalculated?"
Black: "Miscalculated?"
Vegeta: "That body down to the very corners of its cells was made by Kakarot's long, fierce history of combat! For you it's just a borrowed vessel! Only a true numb skull like him can use the Saiyan cells within it to their fullest!"
Black: "Why is there such a difference in strength?"
Vegeta: "Would you like to know? It's because you're a fake. And I'm the Saiyan prince Vegeta sama! That's why!"

 

[Evil Vegeta]

Black didn't realize Vegeta simply trained and got stronger.

Anime Black's power was more broken than any Saiyan zenkai. He got stronger every single time he took damage.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

We're actually given a small backstory on Ginyu learning the Body Change in the strategy guide for the video game "Super Saiyan Densetsu", albeit, vaguely. It says he first used it to switch bodies with the richest kid in his class, but knew he needed a strong body and used the Body Change many times before ending up in the body he was in on Namek. Still doesn't explain how he learnt the ability to begin with, but it's probably best to assume whatever mutation he said he and Jheese have probably applies to their unique Ki or Soul rather than just their physical body.

Had he the time, he probably could've gained full control of Goku's power as the filler in the Ginyu VS Gohan and Kuririn fight hinted at. I doubt he'd be able to use Kaioken due to having no knowledge of it, but he may be able to go SSJ under the right conditions, considering Black was able to easily go an equivalent of SSB with his Rose form after witnessing Blue.