Hello, guys! Today, we’ll be taking a fresh new look at Prince Vegeta, the Saiyan Prince. His tale has always been one of my favorites. I adore the challenges he has faced and the growth he has undergone. Having begun the series as a selfish prince, he has evolved into a guy who sincerely cares for his family and the people of Earth. We’ll go into the specifics of what makes Vegeta tick. Now let’s dive into his character!
Background
Vegeta is the son of the king of all Saiyans. He is considered a fighting prodigy, surpassing his father’s combat skills as a child. Vegeta took great pride in his abilities and would constantly sharpen his skills as a warrior. He would go as far as interrupting Frieza during important meetings for more missions to improve his fighting.
Frieza, who saw potential in the young Saiyan, chose to spare Vegeta from the destruction of his planet by sending him out on a mission. When Vegeta learned of his planet’s destruction and his father’s death, he seemed unphased.
But in actuality, it destroyed him inside. Vegeta chose to cope with this loss by fighting. He would spend his childhood and 20s working under Frieza. He worked with his fellow Saiyans, Nappa and Raditz, to clear out all life on planets. So that Frieza could flip these planets for a profit.
Vegeta does not appear in the Dragonball Z series until he is 29. Despite being initially more powerful than Goku in their first confrontation. He loses the bout after multiple battles with Goku and his friends. His obsession with wanting to be the strongest warrior will begin after this defeat.
His battles on Earth would lead the Saiyan Prince to achieve greater heights. After heading to Namek, he hopes to use the dragonballs to become immortal and overthrow Frieza.
Vegeta eventually learns the truth: Frieza was responsible for destroying his home planet out of fear of the legendary Super Saiyan emerging. After hearing this, Vegeta believes he will transform and defeat Frieza. But this is actually Goku’s destiny.
Following Goku’s beating of Frieza, Vegeta becomes obsessed with surpassing his fellow Saiyan. You see this in the Android and Cell saga through the harsh training regimens he puts himself through. After Goku sacrifices himself to defeat Cell, the prince no longer has a purpose in life. He is unable to prove he is a superior fighter to his rival.
Despite this, Vegeta would continue to train for seven years to become the strongest warrior on earth. When Goku returns, the prince’s psyche becomes an exploding time bomb. Vegeta would go through any means to fight with his rival, even going so far as to go under Babidi’s control. To get a power-up so that he could stand a chance in his fight against Goku.
However, after realizing Majin Buu is a threat to his family. Vegeta finally decides to put his differences aside and work alongside Goku to defeat the villain. This moment is the beginning of their friendship.
Personality Traits
Vegeta’s personality has changed drastically throughout the two series he’s been in. However, despite this, he’s kept several characteristics intact, which define his character and the journey he’s gone through. Without further ado, here are the Saiyan Prince’s core personality traits:
Emotional pain:
Vegeta’s first emotional breakdown comes before his death on Planet Namek. Frieza kills Vegeta upon Goku’s arrival. Through his final words, we learn of the tragic life that he’s lived. Losing his father at a young age, and Frieza forcing him to become a killing machine. Vegeta begs Goku to finish the tyrant off once and for all. He doesn’t wish for anyone to have the life he was forced into at the hands of Frieza.
‘A heart of stone can’t shed tears like you just did. You must have been holding them back your entire life.’
A line that Goku said upon Vegeta’s death. I felt the impact of this statement, as I no longer saw a warrior but a man tortured his entire life and forced to become something he never wanted to be.
Arrogance
Vegeta’s arrogance is a product of the hard work he puts into his training. His arrogance always seems to rise after a new transformation. After becoming a Super Saiyan, his arrogance would reach new heights after killing Android 19. Defeating an opponent that Goku couldn’t.
His arrogance also shows when he achieves an ascended Saiyan transformation after spending a day in the hyperbolic time chamber. He easily overpowers the semi-perfect cell. Being so bored with the fight, Vegeta offers Cell the opportunity to absorb 18 and become perfect. An offer that he would regret as perfect Cell proved to be too much for him. Being able to knock him out in just two blows.
Funny enough, Vegeta’s arrogance also has an impact when he performs the Potara fusion with Goku to become Vegito. The strongest fighter to appear in all of Dragonball Z. Vegito’s cockiness is shown in his first fight with Super Buu, an opponent that he embarrassed the entire time they were fighting.
Nonetheless, arrogance is a core attribute that makes the Saiyan prince who he is. The series would be pretty bland if Vegeta was a humble guy.
Pride
Pride is a feeling of deep satisfaction derived from your achievements. A unique characteristic that all Saiyans shared before being wiped out by Frieza. They take pride in their advanced fighting abilities as a warrior race, able to evolve as fighters quicker than ordinary people. Vegeta is the only one to carry this trait in the anime because he is the only one who’s lived amongst his people.
The most memorable moment of Vegeta showing pride as a warrior would have to come in the Majin Buu Saga. The Prince went under Babidi’s control to get a power boost to stand a chance at fighting Goku. Babidi, wanting to use his new puppet, orders the prince to kill the Supreme Kai, but he refuses. The iconic speech Vegeta gave still gives me chills to this day.
His pride shows through his refusal to team up with Goku to take on opponents. Whether it’s through regular fighting or fusion, the Saiyan prince will always avoid these tactics whenever possible. Good examples are their fights with villains like Kid Buu and Frieza.
One thing that I find interesting is that Vegeta also takes pride in his Saiyan race. He has a genuine desire to see all of his people thrive. You can see this on multiple occasions throughout both anime. Like in the Namek Saga, his excitement at seeing Goku as a Super Saiyan for the first time. Realizing how far his people have come. Another great example is when Vegeta teaches Cabba, a Saiyan who was his opponent, how to become a Super Saiyan.
But my favorite moment of the Saiyan Prince showing pride for his race is during the Tournament of Power. Vegeta mocks the God of Destruction from Universe 11, who thinks Jiren will easily beat Goku. I love how Vegeta praises all Saiyans from both universes for their ability to improve as fighters within the 48 minutes of the tournament. You really felt how proud Vegeta was to see his people prosper.
Vegeta’s pride is the one characteristic that has stuck with him throughout the series, and I’m glad he still has it.
Competitive nature and hard work ethic:
Vegeta’s competitive nature and hard work ethic go hand in hand. He is the ultimate competitor, but when he loses, it motivates him to train harder to become a more skilled warrior. For example, when Goku and the Z fighters hand him his first defeat. From then on, Vegeta concentrated on consistently training to get stronger. Even after attaining the legendary Super Saiyan form, he would not settle.
Vegeta’s consistent training has made him the second-best choice to combat a deadly threat to the earth. While there are more skilled fighters like Gohan, they don’t share the same love for fighting that Vegeta has. Even in times of peace, Vegeta will continue to sharpen his skills, as shown by the 7-year hiatus after the Cell games. You can rest assured that even if the earth is at peace for decades, the Saiyan prince will be training in 450x gravity.
Vegeta’s development over time
Vegeta is a pretty selfish character in most of Dragonball Z. He only thinks about himself and pursues his ambitions. The most important fight that contributes to his character development is his initial fight with Majn Buu.
In this fight, Vegeta realizes he can’t beat Buu through conventional means. Wanting to protect his family from this threat, he makes the ultimate sacrifice, blowing himself up and killing Buu. He knew he was going to hell after this heroic moment, but he didn’t care.
This was the ultimate character development for Vegeta because it was the first time he put someone else’s life ahead of his own. On top of doing this for his family, Vegeta stated he was also doing this for Goku (Kakarot). Despite being tormented by his rival’s fighting superiority, the two finally share common ground. They both acknowledged the earth as their home and died protecting it.
Even more astounding, you see Vegeta’s evolution as a father when his second child, Bulla, is born. Vegeta refuses to train with Goku and Whis in preparation for the tournament because Bulma is close to giving birth. You can see how much more mature Vegeta is as a second-time parent, as he even admits that he never held Trunks as a baby. So watching him with his infant daughter for the first time shows how far he’s come as a man.
Remorse
Vegeta was a villain for so long before finally becoming a hero. He feels a great deal of regret for the people he has hurt in the past. You especially see this in the two newest arcs of Dragonball Super. During the Moro arc on Namek, you see Vegeta save a child from being devoured by Morro. Vegeta states that he has caused so much harm to the Namekians in the past that he can’t allow a single person to die.
In the Granolah arc, Vegeta bears all the hatred the Cerelean has for the Saiyan race. Since the Saiyans were responsible for killing his people. Vegeta could relate to Granolah’s story, understanding what it’s like to lose a home and become an orphan. So much so that he helps Granolah take down Elec, the man who killed his mother.
Best Relationships
Vegeta is relatively quiet and only really connects with a few individuals. The two people I’ll mention are the ones he connects with the most. Now let’s dive into these relationships!
Son Goku
I’m not going to get into the details of how their relationship started, as you already know from my earlier work in this post. I’m here to talk about their relationship in Dragonball Super. This friendship blossomed after the defeat of Kid Buu. Goku is easily Vegeta’s best friend. They spend a ton of time training together, trying to better themselves. They spend more time with each other than anyone else in the series.
Over time, the two Saiyans became teammates. We’ve reached the point where Vegeta would seize the opportunity to save his best friend Goku if his life were ever in jeopardy. The Resurrection F film is a fantastic illustration of how their friendship developed. When Frieza strikes down Goku and gives Vegeta a chance to kill his rival, he refuses. Instead, he uses the opportunity to stand up for his friend.
You can also see this in the Tournament of Power when Vegeta gets eliminated. He entrusts his friend Goku to win the tournament, giving him the energy to take down Jiren. Their friendship is easily the best I’ve seen in any anime.
Bulma Briefs
Bulma really is the influence that led to Vegeta’s change in character. The two fell in love with each other when the Saiyan Prince began using a spaceship that her father had designed for training purposes. From then on, Vegeta began to care more and more for her. After getting eaten by Buu, she became the motivation her husband needed to fuse with Goku to bring the monster down.
Their relationship grew even more during the Super Arc. With the addition of Bulla to their family, Vegeta was even more determined to defend the life he had created with Bulma. When Toppo abandons his belief in justice for power, it reminds Vegeta of his quest for power in the past. But despite wanting to get stronger, he refuses to betray his loved ones, since that is his motivation now. In the end, it was the thoughts of his family that led to Vegeta defeating Toppo.
However, the best example of Vegeta’s love for his wife is when Beerus slaps Bulma. Seeing his wife on the ground, Vegeta goes on a rampage and unleashes a barrage of attacks on Beerus. Master Roshi even noted that, at that moment, Vegeta had surpassed Goku. With these examples, I think it’s safe to say that the Saiyan prince looks out for his own. The love these two share for each other will last forever.
Vegeta’s impact on the Dragonball Plot
Vegeta has had such an impact on the Dragonball Z story. So much so that I would say that he has altered the course of the main DBZ timeline. Before his introduction, it motivated Goku and the Z fighters to train extensively for a year to prepare for his arrival. Also, he made Goku learn the Kaioken, a technique he used throughout his life to fight powerful opponents.
In the Frieza Arc, Vegeta reveals the truth to Goku about how Frieza wiped out their entire species. Out of fear that a legendary Super Saiyan would emerge and overthrow him one day. He motivates Goku to defeat Frieza and avenge their Saiyan race.
When you flash forward four years later to the Cell Games in the closing moments, the Saiyan prince surprises Cell with a blast, temporarily distracting the monster. Which allowed Gohan to defeat Cell with his kamehameha and rescue the planet. Without Vegeta’s assistance, Gohan wouldn’t have won.
Finally, at the end of Dragonball Z, Vegeta plays a crucial role in destroying Kid Buu. He plans for Goku to use a spirit bomb to gather the energy of all the civilians living on Earth. Vegeta also fights Kid Buu to buy Goku time to gather power to form the spirit bomb. From then on, the Z Fighters saw Vegeta as an important teammate on their roster.
So, as you can see from these examples, Vegeta had a heavy impact on Dragonball Z from the beginning to the end of the anime. He helped shape the story and indirectly saved the earth through his actions. I would be scared to see how the main storyline played out if Krillin had killed him at the end of the Saiyan saga. Chances are, the earth would be long gone without the Saiyan Prince.
My Thoughts on Vegeta
Vegeta has been my favorite character in Dragonball Z since I was five. I think his backstory and character development over the years are flawless. There’s absolutely nothing that I would change about his story. He is a relatable character that anyone can connect with.
Growing up, Vegeta was one of my biggest influences, teaching me what it meant to be a man. Concepts like hard work, persistence, confidence, and pride in one’s culture are all values that I carry with me to this day. On top of that, despite having this super masculine personality. Vegeta is a family man first and will go to the depths of hell to defend his own.
Vegeta’s hard work is admirable, a quality that kids who watch anime now should aspire to imitate. While I love characters like Gohan with massive leaps of power through latent potential alone, it’s unrealistic for most regular people. It’s hard work and dedication that help you achieve your dreams.
Who’s your favorite Anime character?
So overall, there’s our fresh new look at Prince Vegeta. I hope he continues to improve as a fighter for years to come. When I rewatch the DB series with my future family, I hope that at least one of my kids will love Vegeta as much as I do. Fingers crossed!
Who’s your favorite anime character of all time? Let me know in the comments. If you liked this post, check out my Slam Dunk Movie Review. Once again, thank you so much for reading, and as always, until next time!
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