| Vegeta | |
|---|---|
| Dragon Ball character | |
 Vegeta, as drawn by Akira Toriyama | |
| First appearance | Dragon Ball chapter #204 Sayonara, Son Goku, January 7, 1989 (Weekly Shōnen Jump 1989) |
| Created by | Akira Toriyama |
| Voiced by |
|
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Saiyan |
| Title | Prince of all Saiyans |
| Family |
|
| Spouse | Bulma (wife) |
| Children | Trunks (son) Bulla (daughter) |
| Abilities |
|
Vegeta (Japanese:ベジータ,Hepburn:Bejīta) (/vəˈdʒiːtə/və-JEE-tə), fully referred to asPrince Vegeta IV (ベジータ王子四世,Bejīta-ōji Yon-sei),[2] is a fictional character in the Japanese franchiseDragon Ball created byAkira Toriyama. Vegeta made his appearance in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published inWeekly Shōnen Jump magazine on January 7, 1989,[3] seeking the wish-granting Dragon Balls to achieveimmortality.
As the first major antagonist ofDragon Ball Z, Vegeta is the prince of an eliteextraterrestrial warrior race known as the Saiyans. As a person, he is naturally blunt, regal, hard-working and is full of his Saiyan pride; he often refers to his heritage and royal status throughout the series, but can also have negative traits such as being extremely haughty along with a destructive temper.[4] He believed that he should be regarded as the strongest fighter in the universe, and becomes obsessed with surpassingSon Goku after losing his battle with the Z fighters. However, afterFrieza's death, Vegeta unites with the heroes to thwart greater threats to the universe, most notablyCell,Majin Buu,Beerus,Zamasu,Jiren,Broly, Moro and Granolah. Throughout the series, Vegeta's role changes from villain to later as one of the heroes, while remaining a key rival to Goku.
Vegeta has been hailed as one of the most iconic characters not only in theDragon Ball franchise, but also inmanga andanime history as a whole. He is often cited as one of the most popular examples of rival characters in the industry, due to his character arc and narrative throughoutDragon Ball Z andDragon Ball Super.
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When creating Vegeta, Toriyama originally intended for him to be a short-lived antagonist and second-tier character, with little influence toDragon Ball's story. Toriyama intended for Goku to simply kill him at the climax of their first battle, and portrayed him as simply and one-dimensional as he should have been considering this.
Despite this, the character became more popular than he had expected, and Toriyama became afraid of the backlash of killing him unceremoniously. Thus Toriyama decided to keep Vegeta in the story for longer.Frieza, who was designed as the antagonist of a later story arc whom Vegeta would come into conflict with much later in the story, was used with the secondary aim to create a reasonable "Death" for Vegeta. But he would be revived due to his popularity still.
He explained his surprise at the character's popularity in an interview during the release ofDragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, "I had thought about bringing an end to [his story] as just a villain, but as I was writing, I felt that his villainous [...] warped straightforwardness was unexpectedly interesting. I couldn't imagine that a guy with this kind of hairstyle would become popular, and yet he'd get more votes thanGoku in favorite-character polls."[5][6]
Toriyama initially harbored a dislike for Vegeta since he was created as a despicable character, but grew to like him as he considered the character's personality to be straightforward, therefore easier to write.[5][6][7] He also found the character "Extremely helpful to have around".[8] He stated at one point when he received a lot offan mail telling him not to kill Vegeta, he purposely did just that.[9] After the release ofBattle of Gods, Toriyama expressed interest in having Vegeta be the lead in the event of another animated feature, though he insisted this was only his intent and no decision had been made.[10]
Following the trend that names of members of the Saiyan race are puns on vegetables, Vegeta's name is a pun of the wordvegetable itself.[11]
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In the original Japanese version of the anime and all media, Vegeta is voiced byRyō Horikawa,[12] with the only exception beingDragon Ball Daima, where a mini Vegeta was voiced by Yūdai Mino.[1]
In the Ocean Productions English dub, Vegeta was voiced byBrian Drummond. Drummond returned in the Funimation dub ofDragon Ball Super to voice Vegeta's Duplicate.
In Funimation (now Crunchyroll)'s in house dub,Christopher Sabat has voiced Vegeta in allDragon Ball media, including video games. While Sabat continued to dub Vegeta's adult incarnation inDragon Ball Z Kai,[13]Laura Bailey voiced Vegeta's child incarnation inDragon Ball Z Kai andJustin Briner voiced Vegeta's child incarnation inDragon Ball Super.
In Brazil, whereDragon Ball is a huge success, Vegeta has been voiced by Alfredo Rollo since his debut. In Latin American Spanish, he's consistently been voiced by René García.
Vegeta is introduced as a member of the Saiyan (サイヤ人,Saiya-jin) race. He travels to Earth with his partnerNappa to use the Dragon Balls to wish for immortality.[14] Nappa easily fights off Earth's heroes and killsTien Shinhan,Chiaotzu,Yamcha, andPiccolo in the process. Goku then arrives after completing his training withKaiō-sama. Goku easily defeats Nappa who is then killed by Vegeta, for the shame of being defeated by a low class Saiyan such as Goku. Vegeta fights Goku and is severely beaten by Goku's Kaioken technique, forcing him to resort to hisOzaru form to overpower Goku, the first time he has ever transformed in single combat, but he is unable to beat the rest of the heroes due to his sustained injuries from Goku,Gohan,Krillin andYajirobe. Exhausted and on the brink of death, he barely escapes with his life and is further humiliated by the fact that Goku pleaded with Krillin to spare his life.[15]
Vegeta then travels to planet Namek in an attempt to wish for immortality using that planet's Dragon Balls, Earth's Dragon Balls having ceased to exist following Piccolo's death, cutting the tyrantFrieza off from making the same wish in the process.[16] Upon arrival, Vegeta manages to kill many of Frieza's henchmen and also mercilessly destroys a defenseless Namekian village for their Dragon Ball. Later on Vegeta is forced to team up with Gohan, Goku, Piccolo, and Krillin so they can fight off theGinyu Force and later Frieza. He also kills most members of the Ginyu Force after they are weakened by Goku. Ultimately, he is severely beaten and mortally wounded by Frieza; as he dies, he begs Goku to avenge him and all the other Saiyans whom he was their prince. Vegeta is later unintentionally revived with a wish to revive all of Frieza's victims from the Dragon Balls from Earth, and is subsequently sent to Earth with another wish so that he will survive Namek's impending explosion. Vegeta later learns that Goku defeated Frieza and managed to flee Namek in time.[17][18]
After Frieza's final defeat, Vegeta chooses to stay on Earth to await Goku's return and has a son namedTrunks withBulma.[19][20][21][22] Three years later, Vegeta finally becomes a Super Saiyan and easily destroysAndroid 19, sent byDr. Gero to kill Goku.[23] However, even as a Super Saiyan, he is easily defeated byAndroid 18. Afterwards, Vegeta ascends beyond the Super Saiyan level while training with Future Trunks, a version of his son from an alternate timeline, in the Room of Spirit and Time (精神と時の部屋) and pummels the artificial life formCell after he has absorbedAndroid 17. Vegeta's overconfidence leads him to allow Cell to absorb Android 18, upon which Cell achieves his third "perfect" form. After Vegeta fails to defeat Perfect Cell, he is forced to participate in Cell's martial arts tournament known as the Cell Games, in which he makes a crucial intervention soGohan can overpower and defeat Cell in his Super Perfect form.[24][25]
Seven years later, Vegeta allows himself to be consumed byBabidi's evil power for his own desire to become powerful enough to fight and defeat Goku. The M on Vegeta’s forehead stands for Majin. It is a seal put by Babidi to indicate that he controls Vegeta in a certain way. It was placed through black magic. He knew that he was powerful enough to resist mind control.[26] He then goes on an indiscriminate killing spree to provoke Goku to fight him.[27] However, when the monsterMajin Buu is revived as a result of the energy released from their fight, Vegeta knocks out Goku from behind after deceiving Goku by feigning a truce. Vegeta then faces Majin Buu alone and ends up sacrificing himself in an attempt to defeat Buu, dedicating his sacrifice to Bulma, Trunks, and also Goku.[28] With all other fighters dead or absorbed, Vegeta is allowed to recover his body and returns to Earth to help Goku, the last warrior remaining, against the threat of Buu. He reluctantly combines bodies with Goku using thePotara earrings, to create the fused warrior Vegito, who completely overwhelms Buu with his strength.[29][30] Eventually, Vegito allows himself to be absorbed into Buu's body to free the other heroes absorbed by Buu, but this leads to the splitting of the fusion.[31] Goku and Vegeta manage to free their allies who have been absorbed by Buu, causing him to undergo a final transformation, which results in his return to his original Kid Buu form. On theKaiō-shin's planet, after getting revived once more thanks to the Namekian Dragon Balls, Vegeta battles Buu again to buy time for Goku to gather energy for theGenki Dama, which he uses to defeat Majin Buu once and for all. It is during this fight that Vegeta finally admits Goku as both his superior and friend.[32]
Ten years later, at the next World Martial Arts Tournament, Vegeta is among those who witnesses Goku's battle with Buu's human reincarnation, Uub, and later bids Goku farewell as Goku departs with Uub to his village to train him as his successor.
InDragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, Vegeta tries to appease Beerus so that he will not destroy the Earth and briefly surpasses Goku because of a power boost induced by rage by Beerus slapping Bulma; he then later participates in a ritual to transform Goku into a Super Saiyan god and watches him fight the god of destruction,[33] and inDragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', Vegeta trains off planet with Whis and returns to Earth to combat the resurrected Frieza, being killed by him when he destroys the Earth, which is reversed by Whis, allowing Goku in the nick of time to finish the tyrant off with aKamehameha wave, in which Vegeta moves out of range.[34]
After the latter two films and anime adaptation inDragon Ball Super, Vegeta participates in a tournament where he defeats Frost,[35] Magetta,[36] and Cabba,[37] but is defeated by the assassin Hit.[38] He travels to Planet Potaufeu to retrieve Goten and Trunks, where he fights a copy of himself created by Commeson. He is then reunited with Future Trunks and begins training to fight the evil Goku Black,[39] also training Trunks for the fight.[40] Vegeta travels to the future to counter Goku Black, but is defeated[41] and returns to the past.[42] Vegeta heals and returns to the future for a rematch.[43] Failing to defeat Goku Black before traveling to the present, where he trains, giving him enough strength to best Goku Black in their next encounter.[44] Vegeta and Goku then meet their match against Zamasu's fused form,[45] forcing them to once again fuse into Vegito, who defuses from overusing his energy. Vegeta later aids Trunks in defeating Zamasu.[46] Vegeta loses a battle toArale,[47] and later declines training with Goku due to Bulma's pregnancy.[48] When his daughter, Bulla, is born, Vegeta develops a strong attachment to her and becomes very protective over her wellbeing.
Vegeta decides to enter in the Tournament of Power in order to protect his family. During the tournament Vegeta is successful in knocking out numerous fighters. He knocks out Toppo, who achieved the power of a God of Destruction, and then aids Goku in fighting the last remaining member of Universe 11, Jiren. It is during his fight with Jiren and Toppo that Vegeta breaks his limits by his own accord. With two minutes remaining in the tournament, Jiren knocks Vegeta out, who then tearfully sends the last of his remaining power to Goku. In the filmDragon Ball Super: Broly, Vegeta and Goku battle Frieza's newest recruit, the Saiyan Broly, but he proves too powerful for either of them. Left with no other options, Vegeta learns the fusion dance and fuses with Goku, becoming Gogeta and stopping Broly's rampage.[49] After these events, Vegeta and Goku had been recruited by the Galactic Patrol to stop the wicked warlock Moro, who escaped along with his comrades. They confront and fail to defeat him, suffering wounds from the battle. Vegeta resolves to go to Yardrat to train and obtain a means to stop Moro. Returning after having usedShunkan Ido, Vegeta takes away Moro's stolen life energy and revives the victims of Namek in an act of redemption using a new technique. He maintains the upper-hand, savagely beating the warlock until the tide turns against his favour when Moro absorbs one of his comrades to bolster his power, beating Vegeta into unconsciousness. When Moro starts absorbing the Earth's energy after having merged with it, a healed up Vegeta arrives just in time to aid Goku by not only fissioning the energy out of him to prevent him from hiding his weakpoint, but also by personally gathering the necessary energy from the other Dragon Team members and Oob to send it to Goku for him to channel his Ultra Instinct powers one more time and kill Moro (while saving the planet) for good.
Later on, Vegeta and Goku were invited by the alien beings called the Heeters into defeating the powerful Cerealean sniper named Granolah. He engages Granolah in battle after he defeats Goku in his Ultra Instinct state, and gains the upper-hand using the power of Destroyer Gods in a new form he labelsUltra Ego, in opposition to his rival's Ultra Instinct, that he achieved during training with Beerus, but is beaten in turn after Granolah unleashes his true power.[50] After the Namekian, Monaito, intervenes, he confirms to Goku about the identity of his father, Bardock. After the Heeter, Gas, shows up in order to settle a grudge on the Cerealean, Vegeta, in a show of stubborn pride, gives Granolah a senzu bean so he can fight Gas. Later, he and Goku struggle against the powerful Heeter and are beaten, but are saved at the last moment by the unexpected arrival of Frieza, who proceeds to murder Gas and Elec for their betrayal. He beats Vegeta and Goku down in one blow upon unveiling his new powers, but ultimately spares them.
InDragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Vegeta trains with Goku and Broly on Beerus' planet, where he attempts to learn the ways Jiren uses to efficiently use his power. He spars with Goku without transformations or energy attacks. He is unable to get contacted because of Beerus' ice cream cup obstructing Whis' staff, leaving the situation on Earth to be handled by Piccolo and whoever associates he can enlist. In the post-credits scene, exhausted, Vegeta lands the last blow on Goku, triumphantly declaring himself the winner, much to the boredom of Cheelai and comically moved emotion from Broly and Lemo.[51]
In filler episodes ofDragon Ball Z, set during the Saiyan arc, Vegeta and Nappa travel to Arlia while in space, being hailed as a hero after saving the people there. After leaving, Vegeta destroys the planet from space. After the Namek arc, Vegeta travels across space in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt at finding Goku, defeating remnants of Frieza's army. After the Buu arc, Vegeta attends a gathering with the other heroes.
In addition, Vegeta appears in six of the non-canonicalDragon Ball Z movies; in thesixth, Vegeta comes to Goku's aid against Meta-Cooler, foiling his attempt at powering the Big Gete Star with their energy by overloading it;[52] in theseventh, Vegeta appears to aid the others in combating a new wave of androids, destroying Android 15;[53] in theeighth, Vegeta shows hesitation in fighting Broly due to his immense strength in his true form, though he overcomes it in time to supply Goku with his energy, contributing to Broly's defeat;[54] in theninth, Vegeta withdraws from attending a tournament, disillusioned by Goku's death, but comes to help Trunks when believing he is in danger;[55] in thetwelfth, after having a difficult time with Janemba, Vegeta fuses with Goku to form Gogeta who destroys Janemba easily;[56] in thethirteenth, Vegeta fights Hirudegarn after he steps on his home;[57]
In the anime sequelDragon Ball GT, Vegeta is confronted by a Baby-possessed Gohan. Baby possessed Vegeta during their battle despite strong resistance by Vegeta,[58] and the resulting Baby/Vegeta fusion battles Goku.[59][60] Vegeta is later split from Baby's body before Baby is destroyed.[61] Later, he fights Super Android #17, but again, he is knocked out and nearly killed.[62] When Omega Shenron wreaks havoc, he fights with Goku as a Super Saiyan 4 but the two eventually revert to normal.[63][64] Afterwards, Vegeta says a farewell to Goku, who leaves the duty of protecting Earth in Vegeta's hands before he flies off into the sky on Shenron.[65]
Vegeta has appeared in many video games related to theDragon Ball franchise as both aplayable character andboss. In several games, Vegeta is capable of transforming into a Super Saiyan 3,[66][67][68] first introduced inDragon Ball Z: Raging Blast.[69] In the 2003 gameDragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, Vegeta can be absorbed by Boo as one of the alternate forms exclusive to the game.[70] In the 2010 arcade gameDragon Ball: Heroes, Vegeta bests Super 17 before and after he merges with Android 18.[71] A Time Breaker-possessed version of Vegeta also appears in the game.[72] In the 2015 gameDragon Ball: Xenoverse, Vegeta serves as a mentor to the player character, teachingGalic Gun,Final Barrage,Shine Shot, andFinal Flash.[73][74] He has also appeared in other nonDragon Ball-related video games, such asJump Super Stars,Jump Ultimate Stars, and even in theDragon Ball Z/One Piece/Naruto crossover gameBattle Stadium D.O.N.
Vegeta has made several appearances in other manga, one of which is in Akira Toriyama'sDragon Ball self-parodyNeko Majin, where he battles the titular character. In theDragon Ball andOne Piece crossover,Cross Epoch, Vegeta is re-imagined as a captain of a crew of air pirates which includes Trunks,Usopp, andNico Robin. On September 15, 2006, Vegeta made a guest appearance in a chapter of theKochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo manga,Super Kochikame, entitledKochira Namek-Sei Dragon Kōen-mae Hashutsujo (こちらナメック星ドラゴン公園前派出所, This is the Dragon Police Station in front of the Park on Planet Namek).[75] Vegeta appears in theKarate Shōkōshi Kohinata Minoru manga in Chapter 178. Two characters go to a restaurant that features live Muay Thai boxing and Vegeta is in the background cheering. He also makes a single panel appearance in Toriyama's 2014Dragon Ball Minus: The Departure of the Fated Child special.[76] He is also had an appearance in the newest Dragon Ball Super and Dragon Ball Heroes.
Vegeta has also been the victim of parody: theWeekly Shōnen JumpGag Special 2005 issue released on November 12, 2004, featured aBobobo-bo Bo-bobo one-shotDragon Ball parody manga. The manga was a humorous retelling of the battle between Goku and Vegeta initial battle;Jelly Jiggler was Goku andDon Patch was Vegeta.[77]
Vegeta has made two contributions to music: in the eighth installment ofHit Song Collection series entitledCharacter Special 2, Vegeta sings the song "Vegeta-sama no Oryori Jigoku!!". The song focuses of Vegeta cooking a specialOkonomiyaki,[78] and inDragon Ball Kai: Song Collection he sings the song "Saiyan Blood", which he brags about how great he is.[79] OtherDragon Ball-related songs that center around Vegeta are "Koi no Nazonazo" by Kuko and Tricky Shirai which focuses on his and Bulma's relationship[80] and "Ai wa Ballad no Yō ni~Vegeta no Theme~" by Shin Oya which represents Vegeta's reflections on his life and then current family.[81]
Up until his tail was cut off, Vegeta could turn into a gigantic monkey-like creature called anŌzaru (大猿, lit."Great Ape") by looking at a full moon, an ability common of all Saiyans with tails.[82][83] Vegeta has the ability to create and enhance attacks with the use ofki. He also has the ability to useBukū-jutsu (舞空術, lit: "Air Dancing Technique"), which enables him to fly.[84] Constant training and his Saiyan heritage have given him vast superhuman strength, durability, speed, and reflexes.[84] Vegeta can increase his physical capabilities and flight speed many fold if he directs ki into them.
Vegeta is known to give names for his various energy attacks. In his early appearance, Vegeta is seen to use attacks similar to several of the protagonists of the series, such as a Destructo Disc (気円斬,Kienzan, lit. Ki Disk Razor), a laser-like disk capable of cutting through solid objects, and a ki wave similar to Goku'sKamehameha. One of his better known attacks is theGalick Gun (ギャリック砲,Gyarikku Hō), although he uses it only once in theZ series proper; during his battle against Goku in an attempt to destroy the Earth.[83][84] He later develops theBig Bang Attack (ビッグ・バン・アタック,Biggu Ban Atakku)[85][86] and theFinal Flash (ファイナルフラッシュ,Fainaru Furasshu)[87][88] techniques, which are much more powerful than his older energy attacks. One of Vegeta's most commonly used tactics in the series is when he bombards an opponent with an array of smallki blasts. He is not known to have an official name for this attack, but it is occasionally calledRapid-Fire Energy Balls (連続エネルギー弾,Renzoku Enerugī Dan). Later on in the franchise, he develops an even more powerful version of hisFinal Flash attack, calledGamma Burst Flash (ガンマバーストフラッシュ,Ganma Bāsuto Furasshu). InDragon Ball GT, Vegeta displays a powerful new attack, entitling it theFinal Shine Attack (ファイナルシャインアタック,Fainaru Shain Atakku), where he uses his left hand to fire off a massive beam of greenki that widens with distance.[89] Because of his immense strength and power, Vegeta, along with many other characters from theDragon Ball franchise, candestroy entire planets if not star systems, galaxies and even entire Universes with single attacks if he intends to.[83][90][91]
Vegeta also possesses several transformations that greatly enhance his abilities to varying degrees. Though he lost his Great Ape form, he gains the ability to transform into a Super Saiyan and, through training, can further transform into advanced states of Super Saiyan as the series continues.[92][93][94] Vegeta later achieved the immensely powerful Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (超サイヤ人ゴッドSS（スーパーサイヤ人ゴッドスーパーサイヤ人）,Sūpā Saiya-jin Goddo Sūpā Saiya-jin), "Super Saiyan Blue" for short, under Whis's tutelage. It is later revealed that he now has access to the red-haired Super Saiyan God (超スーパーサイヤ人じんゴッド,Sūpā Saiya-jin Goddo) form, originally obtained by Goku, most notably during his fight against Broly.[95]
During his fight with Jiren, a mortal stronger than a destroyer, Vegeta unlocks an enhanced version of the Super Saiyan Blue form, evolving his transformation by breaking his limits by his own accord.[96]
During the "Granolah the Survivor" arc of the manga, Vegeta trains under Beerus to master the God of Destruction's power ofHakai (破壊, lit: "destruction"). This training eventually culminates in Vegeta acquiring a form that he labelsUltra Ego (我儘わがままの極意ごくい,Wagamama no Goku'i, lit. "Secret of self-indulgence"), elevating him to be as powerful as Goku's completedUltra Instinct.[50][97] TheUltra Ego state allows Vegeta to become more powerful as he takes more damage.
Vegeta can also fuse with Goku and create a warrior who has the combined power and skills of both. One method is by using thePotara earrings, presented to Goku by theOld Kaiō-shin. This results in a 'potara fusion' creating Vegito (ベジット,Bejitto, "Vegerot" inViz Media's manga translation), who, in his reappearance inDragon Ball Super, can also transform into a Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan. The other method is by performing the 'Metamorese Fusion Dance', which creates Gogeta (ゴジータ,Gojīta).
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Vegeta has generally received praise by various reviewers from manga, anime and other media. Theron Martin fromAnime News Network noted Vegeta's pride as being partially responsible for the success of the series. His fight against Goku during the final story arc was also commented to be very entertaining, despite its length as well as Goku and Vegeta's fighting styles, which Martin considered to have become stale.[98] In another review, Theron noted Vegeta's overcoming his pride to help defeat Cell as the best scene from the fight against said antagonist due to how it creates the climax of the scene.[99] Todd Douglass Jr. fromDVD Talk commented on Vegeta's skills and anger, noting them to be a good combination for any fight even though it is a one-sided battle due to how powerful he is. Douglass called his reveal as a villain during the appearance of Babidi, "the real meat" of the story.[100] Carlos Ross from Them Anime Reviews found Vegeta and Bulma's relationship to have too much comic potential and comments that such characterization was lost.[101]
Vegeta is a popular character in the series, placing fourth in the 1993Dragon Ball character popularity poll voted on byWeekly Shōnen Jump readers, and moved up to second in the 1995 one.[102] In 2004, fans of the series voted him the second most popular character for a poll in the bookDragon Ball Forever.[103]
There has also been multiple criticism to his relationship with Bulma with writers finding it forced. InAbout.com "Top 8 Anime Love Stories", Vegeta and Bulma's relationship ranked second with Katherine Luther commenting that such a relationship was unpredictable by fans.[104] Japanese voice actor Toru Furuya expressed shock Trunks was Bulma's and Vegeta's child from the future despite the fact that Yamcha and Bulma were often in a relationship and Yamcha was turned into a cheater to cause such change. Hiromi Tsuru, Bulma's first Japanese actress, was also shocked by this change, believing her character would end with Yamcha.[105] Bulma's voice actress joked that it was difficult for her to love Vegeta, having thought Bulma would end up with Yamcha.[106] Mania Entertainment writer Briana Lawerence listed Vegeta 9th in the article 10 Male Headaches of Anime, criticizing his personality and his repeated desire to surpass Goku's power.[107]
Vegeta has appeared in theAnime Grand Prix poll taking high places in the category "best male character" in the 1991 poll[108] and 1992 poll.[109] Vegeta was placed twenty-first inIGN's 2009 top anime character of all-time list, calling him "the original unmitigated bastard" that precededLight Yagami andLelouch Lamperouge,[110] and in the tenth spot in 2014.[111] Vegeta came third on IGN's 2014 Top 10 Anime Villains list, stating, "The most famous bad-guy-turned-not-so-bad in all of anime. Vegeta started out as an alien punk with a sadistic streak and an inferiority complex, but over time he became one of Goku's friends, and every now and then, if he was feeling nice that day, he'd help save the world."[112] A Biglobe poll conducted in 2012 listed Vegeta at number 16 of Japanese fans' favoritetsundere characters, the highest among male characters on that list,[113] and a Thai magazine about anime characters also listed him among male tsunderes.[114]
A poll by Viz Media, editor responsible for the publication of the series in North America and Europe, confirms that Vegeta is the most popular character inDragon Ball Super.[115][116] Both Goku and Vegeta were criticized for being too overpowered inSuper to the point they steal the series' spotlight to the supporting cast while their strategies either lack complexity or create a plothole such as the time limit to the fusion Vegetto.[117]
Vegeta's quote "It's Over 9000!" has become aninternet meme and a popular catchphrase referring to a large number or great quantity. The line originates from the 21st episode of theOcean Productions English dub, "The Return of Goku", where Vegeta is voiced by Brian Drummond.[118]
The costume worn by the antagonistErik Killmonger in the 2018 filmBlack Panther is strikingly similar to Vegeta's costume. Killmonger is portrayed byMichael B. Jordan, who is known to be a fan ofDragon Ball.[119][120] Jordan said Killmonger's battle armor may have been inspired by Vegeta's battle armor.[121]
American UFC fighterMarcus Brimage is an avid fan ofDragon Ball Z, even citing the series as one of his inspirations for taking up mixed-martial arts. He names the first fight between Goku and Vegeta as one of his favorite battles in the series.[122] American athleteRonda Rousey wore a singlet referencing Vegeta and the 'It's Over 9000!' meme atWrestlemania 31.[123]Boca Juniors playerEduardo Salvio often celebrates his goals with aDragon Ball Z reference, including Vegeta'sFinal Flash attack.[124]
American rapperSoulja Boy has two songs, titled “Anime” and “Goku”, which reference Vegeta in the lyrics.[125]
In the song entitled "Christ Conscious" byJoey Badass, the song's lyrics include the following line:Got dragon balls, like my name was Vegeta.[126]
The demo version of the song from "First Impressions" byThrice has a sample of Vegeta in the intro from the original Ocean dub:No way! How? It can't be! Kakarot a Super Saiyan? But he's a low-class soldier, it doesn't make any sense!.
Thethird album released by themusical-comedy groupStarbomb features a song titled "Vegeta's Serenade". The song centers around Vegeta trying to write a love song forBulma, but keeps getting distracted by his hatred forGoku.
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