It’s not surprising for Vegeta, Prince of All Saiyans, to earn the occasional enemy due to his inherent cold attitude and characteristic arrogance. After all, it did take the entire Dragon Ball series just for him and Goku to develop a proper rivalry, and even then the occasional new character appears with a bone to pick with Vegeta - sometimes due to his attitude as a warrior in the past, and oftentimes due to the hardships they experienced at the hands of the Saiyan race and Vegeta’s father.

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While Vegeta often takes hatred towards him as an invitation to fight them, it may be worthwhile for fans to even get to know how some of these individuals developed quite a hostility towards the Saiyan prince. Interestingly enough, the existence of these figures provides a look not just into Vegeta’s growth but also his past as a Saiyan, especially with how his experience as Frieza’s lackey and even his connection with his father King Vegeta can affect him in Dragon Ball stories today.

7 Future Trunks

More Disbelief And Disappointment In His First Encounter

Making quick work of Mecha Frieza and King Cold easily became the highlights of the debut of Future Trunks in Dragon Ball Z, to the point where his appearance as a Super Saiyan had astounded even his father Vegeta. Having hailed from a future where Androids have ruined Earth, Future Trunks would stop at nothing to ensure his future never happens. This background forced Trunks to be an expert tactician, hyper-efficient, and pragmatic in his actions - a far cry from established behaviors of Vegeta who had tendencies of being brash, overconfident, and eager to enjoy a fight even at a disadvantage.

Unfortunately, Vegeta’s behavior throughout the Android and Cell Sagas simply pushed Trunks’ initial admiration towards disappointment, disbelief, and even disgust. Trunks immediately questions Vegeta’s uncaringness towards others, to the point where he didn’t even rescue Bulma and his unborn child from Dr. Gero’s attack. It didn’t help that Vegeta gave Semi-Perfect Cell the time to absorb the Androids, only to be embarrassingly defeated upon his Perfection. While not necessarily hateful of Vegeta, he’s one to constantly call out and reasonably react in disbelief towards Vegeta’s brash actions.

6 Yamcha

Bulma’s First Love

Introduced in the early parts of the Dragon Ball story, Yamcha remains one of Goku’s closest friends and one of Earth’s fiercest Z-Fighters. While initially presented as Goku’s rival, his death at the hands of Nappa (under Vegeta’s orders) and lack of power development afterwards presented him as a meme in the fandom. To add insult to injury, the boss of the man who killed him ended up marrying his ex-girlfriend. Finding out about Bulma’s pregnancy became a point of resentment to Yamcha, with the latter bitterly saying he is not Trunks’ father during the Android Saga.

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During the Cell Saga, he even berates Vegeta for losing against Cell, a man whose ascent to Perfection was attributed to his arrogance. Some say Yamcha’s initial apprehension towards Vegeta is justified, especially with the way Earth almost got destroyed at the hands of the man Bulma chose to be her new boyfriend. Yamcha’s disposition towards Vegeta only changed when he saw his emotional reaction towards Future Trunks’ death, only after which he ended up being on more casual terms with him.

5 Tien Shinhan

Held A Grudge For Almost Saving The Earth

Initially Goku’s more ruthless and merciless rival, Tien Shinhan became one of Goku’s most loyal and honorable allies by the time Vegeta arrived in the Dragon Ball story. While Tien lets go of the initial grudges he had towards Goku and his friends, he draws the line on the suffering he and Chiaotzu had suffered at the hands of the Saibamen, Nappa, and Vegeta. Tien’s hatred and animosity towards Vegeta stems from the fact that the Prince’s arrival had almost caused the destruction of the Earth. It didn’t help that he bore witness to Vegeta transitioning from an arrogant and insufferable warrior to a dependable ally of the Z-Fighters.

While Tien seems to be civil in Vegeta’s presence, one might think if he’s simply tolerating the warrior. Throughout the story of Dragon Ball Z, Tien bore animosity towards Vegeta even after knowing his initial status as a slave of Frieza. It seems Tien has only forgiven Vegeta for his transgressions after the warrior has become instrumental in defeating Kid Buu, which was practically at the end of the Dragon Ball Z anime.

4 Zarbon

A Frieza Loyalist Who Dislikes Vegeta’s Attitude

Serving as Frieza’s personal advisor, Zarbon is known for his rather handsome appearance - at least, until he’s pushed to undergo a beastly but more powerful reptilian transformation. In the events of Dragon Ball’s Frieza Saga, Zarbon was Frieza’s go-to elite henchman for helping him get information on the Namekian Dragon Balls. Upon learning about Vegeta’s betrayal, Frieza also tasked Zarbon to investigate and eliminate the threat - especially if Vegeta has learned about the Dragon Balls and tried acquiring them for himself.

While Zarbon’s mission would ultimately end in his demise, his interactions with Vegeta also reveal the Prince’s experiences as a soldier under Frieza’s reign. It turns out Vegeta has suffered mockery at the hands of Zarbon, with the latter often calling him “monkey” due to Saiyans having tails. It’s also revealed that Zarbon has a general dislike for Saiyans, although he has a specific displeasure towards Vegeta - likely due to Vegeta’s arrogance and overall displeasing attitude.

3 Frieza

A Tyrant Hell-Bent On Control

When Frieza initially appeared in the Dragon Ball series, the Galactic Tyrant simply wanted immortality to ensure domination over the galaxy. While Frieza’s embarrassing defeats at the hands of Goku and his allies had transformed them into arch-rivals, Vegeta has had a deeper history with the tyrant. As it turns out, Vegeta’s father King Vegeta had once served under Lord Frieza’s rule. It’s only thanks to Vegeta being sent on a mission that he avoided being part of the Frieza’s Saiyan genocide. Since then, Vegeta has served as a slave warrior under Frieza’s rule, with the continuous prospect of death for defiance initially humbling the Prince.

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It is exactly because of Vegeta’s history as Frieza’s lackey that the tyrant found it unbelievable that he had the audacity to try and betray him. This may be the catalyst why Final Form Frieza took extra time breaking Vegeta’s spirit by mercilessly torturing him in front of his Earthling “allies.” Since then, it seems much of Frieza’s animosity towards Vegeta has more to do with his relationship with Goku more than their personal grievances.

2 Guldo

Being Bullied By Vegeta Developed A Fierce Resentment

Aside from Zarbon and Dodoria, Frieza can call the Ginyu Force as a last resort should he need more special talents for certain jobs. This is precisely what the tyrant has done in the Frieza Saga of Dragon Ball Z, where the psychic Guldo was among those called for aid in the tyrant’s mission to secure the Dragon Balls. Thankfully for Guldo, the orders came with instructions to eliminate Vegeta - something he relishes due to his past experiences with him.

It’s revealed that Vegeta once tormented Guldo whenever they were together. In their anime-only flashbacks, Vegeta frequently insulted Guldo which, depending on the dub, is something along the lines of Guldo having bad breath, being a “four-eyed freak”, or a “four eyes frog face.” During the Z-Fighters’ fight against the Ginyu Force, Guldo was about to kill Krillin and Gohan when Vegeta decapitates him. Such was Guldo’s resentment to Vegeta that his decapitated head still managed to curse him for using underhanded tactics, only after which did Vegeta disintegrate his head.

1 Paragus (Super)

A Vengeful Father Only Proud Of His Son

Shortly after the events of the Tournament of Power, Paragus presents himself and his son Broly to Frieza in the hopes of getting an opportunity to kill Vegeta. According to him, Vegeta’s father King Vegeta had exiled him and an infant Broly to a faraway planet upon learning that the latter could potentially be stronger than the infant Prince Vegeta. Since then, Paragus has trained Broly to exact his revenge against the King. And upon learning of Planet Vegeta’s destruction from Frieza, Paragus has turned his sights to the Saiyan Warrior.

Such was Paragus’s fury towards Vegeta that he was the first target he asked Broly to attack. Due to Broly’s training and immensely powerful nature, he’s able to make quick work of not just Vegeta but even Goku. It took Frieza killing Paragus to force Broly to snap and become the Legendary Super Saiyan. Even in the moments leading to his death, Paragus was hell-bent on exacting revenge on Vegeta, even if it was King Vegeta who’s exiled them to a hospitable planet.

Dragon Ball Z (1989)

Release Date

April 26, 1989

Studio

Toei Animation

Number of Episodes

291

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll