There are plenty of anime series that resonate with audiences and turn into evergreen franchises, but Dragon Ball Z has become one of the most recognizable anime series of its generation and has played a major role in the medium’s prominence outside of Japan. Dragon Ball Z connects with audiences because it continues Goku’s ongoing journey, but also introduces beloved new characters, like the Saiyan Prince, Vegeta.
Dragon Ball Z has nearly 300 episodes, but there is also a couple of sequel anime series that continue to explore the series’ characters. Vegeta is an individual that’s shown a tremendous amount of growth since his Dragon Ball Z days, but there are still some areas in which he’s more stubborn than ever.
10 Ways He’s Grown: He's Better At Defending His Family
Dragon Ball Z does an impressive job with not only the introduction of Vegeta as a terrifying villain but also his transformation into a valued ally and a family man on top of everything else. Vegeta’s skills as a husband and father exceed Goku’s, but he still learns a lot throughout Dragon Ball Z’s run.
Dragon Ball Super presents a genuinely changed Vegeta that’s willing to go on vacations with his family, take the time to properly train his son, and even risks his life against a God of Destruction after Beerus publicly humiliates Bulma in front of everyone.
9 Ways He Hasn’t: His Pride Still Gets The Better Of Him
Pride and hubris can be an extremely dangerous thing in Dragon Ball and it’s something that can corrupt individuals and lead to unnecessary ruin over something that’s seemingly petty. Vegeta genuinely wrestles with this subject due to his past as the Prince of Saiyans.
Dragon Ball Z features several occasions where Vegeta runs his mouth and gets lost in his own arrogance, which ends up in his defeat. Vegeta still can’t get past this and Dragon Ball Super contains a painful instance where Vegeta’s taunting over Frieza allows the villain enough time to set in motion the Earth’s destruction.
8 Ways He’s Grown: He's Able To Work Alongside Past Enemies
Dragon Ball Z contains some exceptionally stubborn characters and Vegeta can often have quite the unswayable opinion. It’s not easy for Vegeta to open himself up to others and cooperate as a team and even in Dragon Ball Z, he struggles to truly work with Goku and put their history behind them.
Vegeta is able to grow a lot in this department and Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power shows that Vegeta can accept Frieza as a partner even though he’s always viewed the tyrant as one of his greatest enemies and a plague on the Saiyan race.
7 Ways He Hasn’t: He's Still Susceptible To Possession
A common tradition to not just Dragon Ball Z, but shonen series, in general, is that a hero or villain will experience a temporary change of heart and switch sides. Dragon Ball Z’s Buu Saga brings Vegeta back to his darker impulses when he’s possessed by Babidi and becomes Majin Vegeta.
It’s quite interesting to see that both Dragon Ball GT and Dragon Ball Super also contain instances where Vegeta’s body is taken over for nefarious purposes, whether it’s Super’s short Copy-Vegeta arc or Baby’s more extensive domination in Dragon Ball GT.
6 Ways He’s Grown: He's Willing To Accept Help From Others
Vegeta is far from invincible. He’s been humbled a number of times and the most severe cases have even resulted in the Saiyan’s death. Surprisingly, Vegeta sometimes might prefer defeat to receive someone else’s charity and it takes him a long time to accept that sometimes others are able to genuinely help him.
Vegeta sheds this baggage after Dragon Ball Z, which can be seen through his training with Whis or his formative visit to Planet Yardrat in Dragon Ball Super. Vegeta even allows Bulma to create technology to push him to Super Saiyan 4 status in Dragon Ball GT.
5 Ways He Hasn’t: He Still Has A Difficult Time Agreeing To Fuse With Goku
By the time of Dragon Ball Z’s conclusion, it’s finally clear that Vegeta has been able to accept Goku as a friend and finds a way to mentally justify working by his side.
Vegeta tolerates Goku as a partner, but the duo almost faces defeat in Dragon Ball Z because of Vegeta’s reluctance to share a body with Goku through fusion. Dragon Ball Super illustrates that this is still a hang-up for Vegeta and serious persuasion is required for him to agree to become both Vegito and Gogeta.
4 Ways He’s Grown: He Appreciates Life's Milestones
It makes sense that as people grow older that they become more sentimental and appreciative of the events that pass them by. Vegeta’s history is filled with death and destruction. Sentimentality wasn’t his priority back on Planet Vegeta and he continues to struggle with it in Dragon Ball Z.
Goku attempts to recruit Vegeta for the Tournament of Power in Dragon Ball Super, but Vegeta initially refuses because of Bulma’s pregnancy. Vegeta won’t miss the birth of his daughter, Bulla, and it shows that he’s grown to appreciate this side of life even more than combat in some respects.
3 Ways He Hasn’t: He Still Turns To Unnecessarily Sacrifice Himself When He's Overwhelmed
Nobody in Dragon Ball Z likes to lose, but it’s even more humiliating when a hero prematurely realizes that they don’t have what it takes to succeed without doing something incredibly drastic. Majin Vegeta’s loss against Buu leads to the Saiyan turning to a self-destructive maneuver that will take the both of them out. Vegeta perishes, but Buu survives.
Vegeta faces a similar moment of hopelessness in Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power and he decides to pull off the same approach. It once again fails to accomplish what he wants, but Vegeta at least doesn’t pass away this time.
2 Ways He’s Grown: He’s No Longer In Goku's Shadow
So much of Vegeta’s dynamic in Dragon Ball Z revolves around him perpetually measuring himself up against Goku. Dragon Ball Z ends with Vegeta finally finding peace over the fact that Goku is stronger than him. Dragon Ball Super continues down this path as Vegeta establishes his own method to become stronger that intentionally diverts from Goku’s strategy.
Vegeta develops a new form of Super Saiyan Blue instead of Ultra Instinct, but he also learns Forced Spirit Fission on Planet Yardrat rather than master a technique that Goku already knows. He’s determined to continue with this new direction for himself.
1 Ways He Hasn’t: He Remains Enslaved To His Saiyan Roots
The Saiyans are an increasingly important part of Dragon Ball’s mythology and by the end of Dragon Ball Z they’re practically the only relevant fighters left. Vegeta feels shackled to his people’s past and their collective sins, whereas Goku has adopted a healthier attitude where he lets his human side influence his Saiyan roots.
Vegeta strains himself to find a balance and feels constant grief over his ties to his past, whether it’s the Saiyan history with the Tuffles and Baby’s resulting rage in Dragon Ball GT or the damage done by Beerus and Broly in Dragon Ball Super.
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