By Joshie Jaxon 

Greetings, geek fans! My housing drama is nearly over, and I’ll be able to devote the time and energy to my posts that you deserve. As previously stated, I’ve acquired lots of new media/games that I’ll be posting on. Some of which I’ve never seen/played before, but are cultural icons. It’s going to he fun. Until then, I know that Ani-May was severely short changed for you, and I apologize. I’ll pepper in some anime during the rest of the year to make up for it. I owe you that much. Until then, I’m going to at least give you another anime related Character Crush, this time on the prince of all Saiyans, Vegeta. Let the geeks begin!

I got involved in Dragonball Z when the Cell Saga was airing on Cartoon Network back in the early 2000’s. As such, I missed Vegeta’s initial arc and storyline during the Freiza Saga. I think that’s why, at least for me, I find Vegeta to be his best from Cell forward. Don’t get me wrong, the earlier stuff is great, but I prefer him as an anti-hero to full villain. Plus, by the Buu Saga they’d really found their comedy not just in visual gags, but in the various one-liners the characters got off. Vegeta had some of my favorites. Like saying he wanted to wish for new boots, while in the middle of a fight to save Earth. Classic.

To give an accurate history on our Saiyan prince, we have to look at the Z/GT series, as well as the movies. I haven’t seen Resurrection F yet, but it’s part of my newly acquired media. Anyhow, Vegeta’s father of the same name, who ruled the planet of the same name, yes, I’m serious, had his people working for Freiza. Saiyans were sent all over the universe to exterminate the inhabitants of the planets he wanted to conquer. Vegeta was one of a few Saiyans who happened to be away on a mission when Freiza destroyed his entire race. Despite his father’s death, and technical ascension to King, Vegeta still considers himself the Saiyan prince, out of respect. 

He came to Earth after Raditz had lost to Goku, to finish the job. It was during this initial appearance that we got our first real look at his personality. Vegeta is arrogant and believes himself to be an elite with no equal. He destroys Nappa, one of the last of his kind, just to prove a point. Sadly, he’s defeated, and sent packing with his tail between his legs. Oh wait, it was cutoff. My bad. He returns to Freiza and gets healed while plotting his next move. 

During his exploits on Namek, Vegeta gets his ass handed to him, but we learn when a Saiyan gets beaten, it just makes them that much stronger when they heal. Personally, I think he and Goku should have beat each other half to death, taken a senzu bean, and done it again and again. That’s just me though. Freiza manages to kill Vegeta, who tells Goku to avenge their people. I’ll spare you Goku’s story, but he wins, and Vegeta eventually gets wished back to life, and settles on Earth. He hooks up with Bulma, and they have a son, Trunks. As price of a warrior race, Vegeta doesn’t relax during times of peace, and is always training. When the androids appear, he’s able to go Super Saiyan himself, since he refuses to be second to Goku. 

The other defining characteristic of Vegeta is the thrill of battle, and wanting to be the best. When Imperfect Cell states that he’s able to become stronger, Vegeta wants to see his power, so that he can test himself against it. He doesn’t care if it puts Earth in danger, he wants what he wants, and everyone else can suck it. Which I would. Just Saiyan. Yes, I went there. I’m not sorry. Moving on. When Cell “kills” Future Trunks, Vegeta goes mad with rage and attacks Cell to avenge his fallen son. He loses, but he at least began to realize that he had priorities other than training and fighting.

The Buu Saga brought my favorite incarnation of Vegeta, the smartass. When Kid Trunks goes Super Saiyan, and mentions Goten can too, Vegeta makes a crack about it being a Super Saiyan bargain sale. He then asks Trunks to try and hit him, stating that if he does, he’ll take him to the park for an hour. Trunks manages to graze him, and Vegeta backhands him good. Trunks says that Vegeta didn’t say he’d hit back. Vegeta says he didn’t say he wouldn’t, either. He then tells Trunks to dry his eyes cause they’re going to the park right now. Such a good dad. 

The battle with Buu also brings us another great version of Vegeta; Majin Vegeta. Tired of Gohan not finishing a fight quickly, he says he could do better. Babidi calls him a beautiful, arrogant, selfish piece of work. He boosts Vegeta’s power, and turns him back to the dark side. Vegeta, still retaining his pride, refuses to follow orders, and instead wants to use this new power to finally beat Goku. To accomplish this, he murders hundreds of stadium people, prompting Goku to agree to a fight. For a while, Vegeta has the upper hand, but they are still evenly matched. Only by distracting Goku and knocking him out does he technically win. Vegeta then goes to take on Buu, and in the end, realizes that he’s been a bad father to Trunks. He hugs him, then knocks him out. In an act of heroism, Vegeta sacrifices himself to try and stop Buu. 

Ultimately, Vegeta acts in the Earth’s best interest, and tries to rally people to helping Goku win the battle. He becomes a loving husband, father, and friend, while maintaining his hard edge. I adore Vegeta, and always root for him, cause that’s what you do. You’ve gotta respect royalty. Until next time, stay geeky, and keep gabbing!