Dragon Ball is known for its very explicit array of designs whether it is a hero or a villain, Vegeta or Goku. Each and every one of them has a unique design and to accompany as well as enhance it, a wide variety of other forms and modes. Akira Toriyama’s creative genius has never known any bounds. That was one thing fans knew and understood.
He created the Saiyans then gave them the Super Saiyan forms and then found a way to make them even better. If Toriyama had a project in his hands, fans knew it was going to be incredible. While they all have a unique design, each coordinating with its holder, that is not to say that one form cannot inspire another. Or perhaps, one character cannot inspire another.
Vegeta’s Ultra Ego’s True Origins
Dragon Ball characters are known for their various forms, especially the Saiyans who can whip up the strongest forms according to a battle’s needs with ease, understanding, and experience. From Super Saiyan to Ultra Instinct, the range was never-ending and the power scaling only seemed to grow more and more. For Vegeta, his strongest form stands as Ultra Ego.
Ultra Instinct is a technique of the Angels, but Ego is different and it’s a technique used by Gods of Destruction. So fundamentally, I was trying to capture Beerus’ essence. I haven’t confirmed if Toriyama-Sensei had planned this or not, but I feel like Ultra Instinct Goku has silver hair because Whis has it of the same color. He continued, I envisioned how Vegeta would look like if you incorporated a little of Beerus’ design.
Toyotarou, Akira Toriyama’s artist for a very long time, revealed during an interview (via X) that this form came into being because of his creative mind and not that of Toriyama’s. He stated that when he was designing Ultra Ego, he wanted to add the elements of Ultra Instinct, making it similar but different at the same time. So he sought after Beerus.
Beerus’ design became the blueprint for Toyotarou to adapt to Ultra Ego. He wanted to bring about elements of the character after speculating that it was Whis who inspired Goku’s Ultra Instinct look. The outcome became a spectacular form that stands as Vegeta’s strongest.
Similar but Not the Same
Toyotarou further expanded on why he picked the name Ultra Ego. While it may fit the character of Vegeta because of its implications, there was a much deeper meaning to it than just the English translation of the form. Kanjis can have drastically different meanings with the minor difference of a stroke. Using that as an advantage, Toyotarou found a way to showcase Goku and Vegeta’s differences in the most subtle way possible.
The original Japanese words for ‘Instinct’ and ‘Ego’ are similar, but depending on the kanji or the reading, Instinct becomes ‘Your body moves on your own, right?’ So that’s Ultra Instinct… On the other hand, even though the Japanese for ‘Ego’ is similar to ‘Instinct,’ if you look closely at the kanji, you could explain it as ‘Doing as you please,’ right?… In short, it’s the difference between ‘your body moving freely’ and ‘moving your body freely.’
The Kanji for Ego and Instinct as words was narrowly similar and the manner in which it changed the meaning of their forms reflected their own inner thinking. Instinct and Ego are two words with very different meanings, however, when put together in Kanji, one expresses free will while the other expresses to be bound by fate.
It showcased the free way in which how one lets their body control them while the other controls their body. Free will and fate are tied together always. One exists for the sake of the other and it stands as an ongoing battle. Goku and Vegeta too take up that through their strongest forms.
