Vegeta’s slow-burn redemption arc into a hero is arguably the most famous in all of anime. Starting his tenure as a main villain at the beginning of Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta would gradually transition into a reluctant anti-hero before ending the series as one of Goku’s closest confidants and, as later material depicts, the franchise’s de facto good guy and deuteragonist.
That long journey saw a lot of false starts and incremental developments, which makes it hard to identify when exactly Vegeta went from villain to hero. So is there a definitive moment in which the tyrannical Saiyan Prince switched allegiances once and for all?
When Does Vegeta Turn Good?
The first time Vegeta sided with the Z Fighters was in the “Namek Saga.” After serving as one of the arc’s major villains, undermining the heroes and slaughtering a village of Namekians, Vegeta begrudgingly teams up with Krillin and Gohan upon learning that the Ginyu Force is on their way. While their partnership lasts well into the battle against Frieza, it’s made clear that this is just an alliance of convenience, and Vegeta makes no attempts to change his ways.
Still, the arc also alludes to the fact that the Saiyan Prince may have more depth than previously shown. After Frieza lands a killing blow against him and Goku arrives, Vegeta reaches out to his former nemesis and pleads with him to defeat Frieza on the Saiyans’ behalf. It doesn’t even begin to make up for his villainy up to that point, but after dismissing Goku outright as lower-class trash in the “Saiyan Saga,” Vegeta humbling himself before the orange-clad hero demonstrates his capacity for growth.
After being resurrected by Shenron, Vegeta takes refuge on Earth, but despite Bulma’s best efforts, the Saiyan Prince makes no effort to amend his ways. While he allies with the heroes again when the Androids emerge, his villainy is still on full display — between recklessly killing civilians during his battle against Android 18 as well as willingly letting Cell reach his perfect form, Vegeta remains bad to the bone during the “Android Saga.” It’s not until the arc’s climax that Vegeta shows his first real signs of redemption. After Cell fatally wounds Future Trunks, Vegeta loses it and unleashes a volley of attacks against Cell in retaliation. After a fraught relationship with his son the entire arc, the fact that his death angers Vegeta so deeply shows that the Saiyan Prince is capable of caring for someone other than himself.
Vegeta Couldn’t Stay on the Good Side Forever
That fact is compounded when, during the final stages of the battle against Cell, Vegeta distracts the insectoid villain long enough for Gohan to land the killing blow. In previous battles, Vegeta would have tried to claim victory for himself, so it’s a major step in the right direction for him to secede the battle to someone else — and the son of his archenemy to boot.
In the seven years between the “Android” and “Buu” Sagas, Vegeta settles down with Bulma and the two raise Trunks together. When Goku and Gohan reunite with him at the beginning of the Saga, they seem on good terms, and Vegeta appears to be fully domiciled. However, when the conflict against the warlock Babidi comes to the forefront, Vegeta’s villainy comes roaring back. After willingly allowing himself to get possessed by Babidi in exchange for more power, which he violently demonstrates on innocent bystanders, Vegeta flips back to being a bad guy.
In his ensuing fight with Goku, Vegeta declares that he’s discarded his family in pursuit of power and that the domestic life never suited him. Goku calls Vegeta’s bluff, however, and is ultimately validated when Vegeta, realizing his mistake in allowing Majin Buu to be resurrected, sacrifices himself to stop the villain. As Piccolo reminds Vegeta, he’s surely destined for hell for all his various misdeeds, but the Saiyan Prince makes the sacrifice play anyway, warmly bidding farewell to Bulma, Trunks and even Goku.
After his sacrifice fails to stop Buu, Vegeta is later brought back by Fortuneteller Baba to once again help in the fight. It’s during this stage of the arc that he willingly fuses with Goku before later admitting that his old rival has long surpassed him, privately cheering him on against Buu. While Vegeta’s bad-tempered nature remains, his death has humbled him greatly, and it’s enough that when the heroes wish for everybody killed by Buu “except the really bad guys” to be resurrected, Vegeta is brought back as well, finally marking the end of his redemption arc.
Vegeta Is Officially a Good Guy Now
As of Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta is firmly in the heroes’ camp. His arrogance never fully goes away, but as the series depicts, Vegeta is far more benevolent than ever before and willing to fight for others over himself. The manga’s “Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga” goes even further, showing Vegeta’s remorse for his villainous actions in the “Namek Saga,” as well as having him acknowledge his belief that he’s still destined for hell but that this fact doesn’t negate his desire to do good while he’s alive.
Like all great character arcs, Vegeta’s development was a gradual process, but it’s clear that the “Buu Saga” left the biggest impact on him as a character, marking the point that the Saiyan Prince finally transitioned into being one of Dragon Ball’s greatest heroes.
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