Saiyans ( サイヤ 人 じん Saiya-jin ) are a race of extraterrestrials in the Dragon Ball anime and manga and its adaptive sequels, Dragon Ball Z , Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super . In the series, the Saiyans from Universe 7 are a naturally aggressive warrior race who were supposedly striving to be the strongest in the universe, while the Saiyans from Universe 6 are protectors. Nearly all of the Saiyans from Universe 7 were obliterated by Frieza before the start of the Dragon Ball series . The Saiyans play a central role in the series once it is revealed that the protagonist, Goku , is actually a Saiyan sent to Earth to escape the destruction of Planet Vegeta . The name is a pun on y ajin (野人) which means "wildman", and an anagram of yasai (野菜) which means "vegetable". The suffix ...