Goku and Vegeta are the two greatest rivals not only in Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball show but also in anime history. Their competition goes through many sagas in the story starting from when Vegeta first arrived during Dragon Ball Z.
As time passed, Goku and Vegeta turned from enemies to training partners. Eventually, they formed a bond that resembled brothers. But still, in their journey, Goku and Vegeta fought many times against one another.
Their initial meeting occurred when Vegeta, the Saiyan Prince, visited Earth with the intention of annihilating it and later selling its fragments for money. Goku’s desire to prevent such a catastrophe prompted him into direct confrontation with Vegeta.
Vegeta’s Emotional Depth Outshines Goku’s Raw Power in Dragon Ball
In the Dragon Ball series made by Akira Toriyama, Goku always gets stronger after every fight. He normally wins against the ultimate villains in different sagas. However, there’s one area where Vegeta clearly triumphs over Goku and it has nothing to do with their power levels whatsoever.
Even though Goku has defeated powerful foes like Frieza whom Vegeta couldn’t win against before, he has never achieved a straightforward victory over Vegeta in their personal battles. Akira Toriyama also mentioned this other aspect where Vegeta is better than Goku.
This is related to how they are emotionally connected and their family relationship. In an interview, there was a question if Vegeta can be considered a kinder Saiyan than Goku because he loves his family and wife deeply, as typically Saiyans are known for not showing much affection towards their loved ones.
“Vegeta, whose pride had been deeply wounded, sought help from Bulma, and little by little, his ruthless personality changed. Nowadays, you certainly might be able to say that. On the other hand, Goku might not have a sense of family members like Gohan and Chi-Chi except as one of his companions.”
Therefore, even though Goku might be stronger in raw power, Vegeta has more emotional depth and family connections.
Akira Toriyama Never Intended to Create Shonen Battle Manga
In the beginning, Akira Toriyama worked as an illustrator for a design company. He used to draw illustrations and lettering but he quit because it wasn’t fulfilling to him.
In the year 1977, at only 23 years of age, Toriyama started his profession as a manga artist. His initial idea was to concentrate on making gag manga.
The funny talk and unique humor in the work clearly indicate this first interest. It was his editor who recommended that he should try creating battle manga, a thing he didn’t initially want to do. But in the end, he agreed and tried it.
The debut of Toriyama in the battle manga genre made a huge and lasting change in shonen anime. It permanently changed its scenery, creating an impact that cannot be overstated.
You can watch the Dragon Ball series on Crunchyroll.
