Dragon BallZis the progenitor of so many character archetypes in anime, as well as brilliant examples of the heroes, villains, and especially the progression from villain to anti-hero in the form of Vegeta. Many fans of the show are not unfamiliar with his character, especially those who grew up watching Vegeta’s development from planet-destroyer to warrior with pride and something to care for. As a result of this, his influence on anime as the anti-hero has shown many fans the best example of one, although with that many comparisons followed as more anti-heroes popped up over the years. Even so, with many anti-heroes popping over the course of 40 years of anime, it bears mentioning that all of these have different personalities and outcomes. Is it truly fair to judge an individual anti-hero on Vegeta, the one who set the golden standard for anime protagonists of a certain moral edge?
Vegeta, prince of the Saiyans, started off as prideful as he is now. However, that didn’t mean he was necessarily a likable individual at first. It isn’t until certain arcs, and then the Android/Cell Saga where his anti-hero traits became more pronounced. Even more than that, his personality was rough all the same, but his priorities and values change as a result over time. Because of this change andhis character development overthe course of years, many fans of the anime and others have a tendency to compare anti-hero characters to Vegeta. This typically consists of them calling characters the ‘Vegeta’ of the main cast, or the ‘Vegeta’ of the show. However, this is most likely not a fair assessment to make for many characters trying to be anti-heroes in their own way.
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Vegeta’s Influence
Dragon BallZtook a risky move when it came to establishing Vegeta as the villainous character he was portrayed at first. In fact, being portrayed that way started off in such a way that it made it easy to hate him but engaging to watch him progress as he goes through a character arc over the course of his shows run time. As an anti-hero,Vegeta also shines as a golden exampleconsidering his actions benefited people on some level, despite his motivations being inherently selfish and not merciful towards his enemies. It’s this very influence however that continues to affect how many people wrote Anti-Hero’s in anime as recent as today and even only after the original run ofDragon Ball Z.Certainly to a great benefit, but its fairness is left ambiguous and up for debate depending on who you ask.
Vegeta as a character is a special case where he began explicitly as the villain in the story, and eventually became the anti-hero as well as a valued member of the main cast ofDragon Ball. However, Vegeta also went through peaks and valleys when it comes to his actions and standing with the people he surrounds himself with. It doesn’t help that he’s one of thefirstprogenitors of the anti-hero trope, establishing a standard for many anime fans as to what an anti-hero ought to be, and whether they fit perfectly in the Vegeta standard or not.Much of Vegeta’s personalityis also transferred over to many tough characters that are portrayed as the ‘Vegeta’ of the anime, one example being Katsuki Bakugou fromMy Hero Academia, who is often referred to as such in the series.
The Key Difference
With the information on Vegeta as well as his influence on the Anti-Hero archetype, it bears mentioning that we have gained a variety of interesting characters that fit the archetype fittingly. However, even more than that, there is an important difference to make between Vegeta and other characters. For example, Bakugou may be recognized as the ‘Vegeta’ ofMy Hero Academia, being prideful and antagonistic towards Izuku much like how Vegeta was to Goku. However, the key difference between the two is that Bakugou is more of a recent interpretation of a young talent attempting to come to terms with a bigger world that he has to come to grips with.Vegeta’s story of redemptionwas well-paced, but it also didn’t reward him for his decisions when they lead to poor outcomes for the characters or himself. It was noticeably harder on his character, and Bakugou doesn’t get the same harshness considering his character isn’t one of villainy but rather disliked behaviors. Bakugou started off as Izuku’s bully after all, and while his progression is only subtle and not as drastic as Vegeta’s, Bakugou as a character is different from Vegeta as a result.
Comparing Bakugou to Vegeta is the same as making an unfair comparison from a recent entry to a long-standing legend. One has established a familiarity with the audience as well as the story related to him over the course of 40 years, and the other is only recent for about 8 to 9 years since his debut. Vegeta shouldn’t be compared to Bakugou, or even vice versa because the two aredifferent characters with a different storysurrounding them. Why would one try to judge the usage of the archetype based on two different characters when they have such a disparity in treatment and familiarity with the audience.Dragon Ball Z’sVegeta has a story of redemption and finding pride in something other than itself, andMy Hero Academia’sBakugou has a story not of redemption but of realization and growing from his thorny personality. In the ultimate sense, these characters being compared is unfair to both the story and trials they go through.
