Highlights
- Majin Vegeta’s transformation exemplifies a midlife crisis, torn between family life and the desire for power and glory of youth.
- Vegeta’s ruthless past, driven by pride, jealousy, and desire for strength, led him to a point of desperation and self-destruction.
- Through a sacrificial act of redemption, Vegeta sheds his dark past, embracing his family and finally confronting the darkness within him.
As far as anime anti-heroes go, Vegeta’s character development inDragon Ball Z set the bar for the vast majority of redemption arcs in shonen manga and anime. His journey from being a cold, ruthless killer, to a family man and sworn defender of Earth, is perhaps one of Akira Toriyama’s greatest achievements throughout the series, solidified through one particular version of him in story.
This version of his character, known as Majin Vegeta, represents the all-too-real phenomenon of a battle-worn adult experiencing a midlife crisis, as the comfort of their domesticated life makes them yearn for the wildness of youth once more. What makes this version of Vegeta so memorable, is the immense growth he experiences after comprehending the consequences of his actions, cementing his transformation into a hero by the end of Dragon Ball Z.
A Saiyan Warrior’s Damaged Pride
Initially, Vegeta was as bloodthirsty and barbaric as any antagonist could be. Even his original reaction to the Saiyan genocide was to remark that his race deserved it for being too weak. His prior actions from the Saiyan Saga, till the Cell Saga, were driven solely by a desire to assert his self-declared superiority, and prove that he was the strongest in the universe.
Naturally, this pride and conceit always made him fall short of his goals, which is something he would never acknowledge. To make matters worse, watching Goku and his son, Gohan, continually surpass his strength, added to Vegeta’s frustration. While he had developed more amicable relationships with Bulma, Trunks, and most of the Dragon Team by the end of the Cell Saga, his resentment continued to brew beneath the surface.
Once the dust had settled after Cell’s defeat, Vegeta became a family man, who was beginning to enjoy a peaceful life on Earth. Although he was far from a doting father and husband — having never hugged Trunks — Vegeta started to let go of his earlier goals, and showed a more compassionate side, shedding the persona of the merciless killer he had been. However, he was also secretly ashamed of his newfound happiness, believing that he had grown weaker due to his attachments, even as he spent all his time training incessantly.
Embittered By Goku’s Progress
While these emotions had been building up for a while, the trigger that sent him over the edge was the return of Goku during the World Tournament Saga. Seeing this as an opportunity to finally assert his superiority over his old rival, Vegeta craved a rematch against the Saiyan who had surpassed him and shattered the beliefs he had once held. Unfortunately, the arrival of the Supreme Kai and Babidi forced them to put this long-awaited face-off on hold.
During their battles against Babidi’s forces, Vegeta started to grasp how much stronger Goku had become in the seven years he spent in Other World, heightening his jealousy even further. Realizing that he had still come up short, he began to see his earthly connections as shackles, and craved a return to his former sociopathic self. In the end, this led him to give up his body to Babidi, becoming a Majin and gaining power in the process. That being said, he continually fought against Babidi’s mind control and still retained his own self-agency. All in all, this sequence of events highlighted the fact that Vegeta had still not overcome his inner demons, and had a ways to go before he was fully redeemed.
Vegeta’s Desperate Attempt To Turn The Clock Back
Beyond the enthralling return of the sneering, disdainful, and remorseless warrior that was introduced in the Saiyan Saga, Majin Vegeta depicted the Saiyan prince at his lowest point. Instead of finding strength in those he sought to protect, like Goku and Gohan, Vegeta chose to discard everything in the self-absorbed pursuit of power. Allowing his darkest thoughts to consume him while forsaking everyone he loved, Vegeta desired one last chance to defeat Goku, and soothe his bruised ego.
To provoke his rival, Vegeta mercilessly killed a cohort of spectators at the World Martial Arts Tournament, forcing Goku to acknowledge the threat he posed. After teleporting himself and his opponent to a mountainous area to minimize collateral damage from their fight, Goku finally took up Vegeta’s challenge and the two warriors powered up to Super Saiyan 2 before ferociously battling one another in one of the series’ most heated confrontations. Although this was a great moment for Goku and Vegeta’s rivalry, it was underscored by the fact that Vegeta was trying to convince himself about his own reasons to return to his old ways.
Spend most of your life ruled by another, watch your race dwindle to a handful, and then tell me what has more meaning than your own strength!
Sensing this conflict, Goku implored Vegeta to let go of his pride and accept the new life he had built. Needless to say, his words fell on deaf ears, even as Goku halted the fight due to Majin Buu’s revival. Despite his wavering resolve, Vegeta continued to push on with the fight, as Goku begged him to stop, since Majin Buu was more than capable of defeating both of them and killing everyone on the planet. Upon being angrily reprimanded by Goku, Vegeta finally conceded, although this proved to be a ruse as he knocked Goku out once his back was turned.
A Valiant Sacrifice In A Moment Of Clarity
At this juncture, it became apparent that all of Vegeta’s cruelty had been for show, a simple outlet for the repressed emotions he had been contending with. Once Goku was unconscious, Vegeta’s true intentions came to the fore, as he expressed genuine regret for his actions and vowed to defeat Majin Buu as penance for his sins. He even displayed grief at Gohan’s apparent death and swore to avenge him.
Arriving at Majin Buu’s location, Vegeta threw everything he had at the monster, but none of it had any lasting effect. Grasping what he had to do, Vegeta readied himself to make the ultimate sacrifice. In effect, this was the moment that completed his redemption arc, as he tearfully hugged his son for the first time, stating how proud of Trunks he was. He then went on to knock his son out, before asking Piccolo what would become of him after dying, and receiving a grim warning in return of the bleak fate that awaited him.
Trunks, Bulma, I do this for you. And, yes, even for you, Kakarot.
Surprisingly, this did not deter him one bit, and after Piccolo left with Goten and Trunks, Vegeta let out all of his energy in a cataclysmic Final Explosion that destroyed everything in the vicinity. While his sacrifice was ultimately in vain, this single sequence of events illuminated how far Vegeta had come as a person, after finally confronting the darkness within his heart.
Dragon Ball Zcan be streamed on Crunchyroll.
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