Prince Vegeta

 Vegeta is my favourite character in Dragon Ball Z because he is an unlikely hero, which is pretty uncommon in the space of anime. I think he is so interesting for this very reason, although he was meant to be the first villain we encountered in dbz; he becomes self aware and goes on a journey to find himself. I think that is why Vegeta is more loved than hated in the fanbase because everyone can relate to him. He is by far the most petty and savage person in the anime but in a funny and good way, he says things no one else would dare to say. Vegeta being grounded in reality and because he is the devil’s advocate on everything, makes him so likeable as the anime is seen as everything over the top. As the nature of the anime is like this, that’s why Vegeta stands out so much because he is the most unique character in dbz.

Vegeta's unwavering determination to surpass all his rivals, no matter what it will be, even if it's doing what others like Goku wouldn’t do. This makes him the best, because he's always wanting to work on himself and has an unwavering ego that only works for his character. Vegeta can be a mean spirited guy, but it works for him because once Vegeta lost his wings from fighting Frieza, he was shot down by a stronger person than him and showed Goku surpass him. This grounded him and it’s when his heart changed from evil slowly to good, finally slipping from Frieza's grasp. Vegeta had an unspoken character development that could be on the same level of Gohan's development. Vegeta is someone to be inspired by because he can be compared to the likes of Mike Tyson, who used boxing for anger issues which helped him through a bad time and now Tyson is super zen and in tune with himself. It is the same with Vegeta, his training and realisation of that he had greater heights to achieve, Goku that we already know is the poster child of antihero behaviour; but Goku gave Vegeta a reason to live and their rivalry is Vegeta's fuel to surpass everyone.

He becomes almost like an underdog, just 35% way through DragonBall Z. Someone like me, starts rooting for Vegeta and even though he's supposed to be a polarising character to most; you actually see that he shows love through being hateful but in his weird supporting way. When he makes quips and polemic commentary, his words actually have a lot of meaning and you can't help but love him because he is so savage that he doesn’t give it to anyone lightly, as he wants to make his sardonic realistic points across without arguments. Making Vegeta a refreshing character, in DBZ because of an anime that’s everyone's childhood anime and overly upbeat, he brings the opposite which makes it super endearing about Vegeta.

He's like one of those villains that actually makes a lot of sense and it's in his mind, he is the hero. Comparable to Thanos or 2019 Joker; he has this unyielding spirit that you get so infested into and with Goku being the opposite but also has the same energy in a different way. You get motivated just from them never giving up, even when it seems like Freiza was going to win they trained harder and harder until they could beat Frieza. This is what I call confident energy. I went to the gym more just because of DragonBall and many other avid anime-watching gym goers love DragonBall so much and have motivation for them to start working out.

These characters are so inspiring and work so hard, it's actually contagious and makes you want to be like Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo or Future Trunks. People may hate DBZ, but if you take out all the fillers that would make it long winded; you'd find that the anime is actually one of the greatest anime. That people need to watch as it gives anyone unmatched strength and motivation to be the best version of ourselves. It also shows that you can never judge a book by its cover as in the beginning vegeta was portrayed as an unforgiving villain that seemed to only want to cause harm. Later on we learnt his backstory and realised he was very misunderstood and his coldness is actually more of a heart of fire than anyone else.

Vegeta's character development throughout the series showcases his growth from an overly prideful and arrogant stuck-up saiyan to showing his more compassionate and selfless side although not blatantly. Once we get more introduced to Vegeta's personality and go with him on his journey of himself, we find his more heroic and righteous side. Resulting in making him one of the most beloved characters in the anime community. That is not an easy thing to accomplish, considering Vegeta is supposed to be intolerant in nature. We see the mean-spirited Vegeta who is supposed to be so hateful become a role model and his arrogant side is appreciated more because he is so hardcore and full of courage, which he infects other people with courage from his bravery to dance with death.

Vegeta is a character that a lot of people are afraid to be, to face evil in the face and laugh at it. His courage is overwhelming. That shows that you can be the right amount of polarisation, but also be a good person deep down. Vegeta does everything he can to protect his friends and family, and is willing to sacrifice everything to improve himself. I love that he fights fire with fire and makes it work, he will give them the taste of his their own medicine; because of this he’s my favourite character as he’s not overwhelmingly filled with superficial attitudes. Him and Piccolo, are super realistic as what a regular person would be like if they were like superman level of powers; without being too overpowered that it’s fake.

Thanks for Reading!!