Anti-hero is the main character that does not follow the cliché trope of having all the good qualities and demeanor. An Anti-hero character gives any anime and manga a fresh breath of air with its imperfect qualities and flaws. There have been numerous anti-heroes in different anime across the years but none of them match the bar set by the Dragon Ball franchise's Vegeta. Vegeta is often the first character that comes to the minds of anime fans when the topic of the conversation is a great anti-hero.
Vegeta as an anime character is quite popular among anime fans in general as he is one of the main characters from the immensely famous Dragon Ball franchise. With a character like Vegeta, Akira Toriyama, the author of the Dragon Ball manga franchise has set the bar for anti-hero characters very high. Vegeta is everything that anime fans could ask for in an anime anti-hero. There are certain factors and character traits why the prince of all Saiyans is so greatly admired as an anti-hero character of one of the biggest anime franchises of all time.
From Violent Maniac to a Respected Saiyan
Vegeta was introduced in the Saiyan saga of the Dragon Ball Z series. He was one of the last four Saiyans left in the world along with Raditz, Nappa, and Goku. His father was King Vegeta which makes him the prince of all Saiyans. He, Nappa, and Raditz survived Frieza's abomination on the Saiyan race as they were completing a mission far away from their home planet. Raditz came to Earth to look for Goku as he presumed that Goku would've taken over the Earth by that time. After Raditz was killed by joint efforts of Piccolo and Goku, Vegeta and Nappa came to Earth to avenge Raditz and establish their control over Goku and the Earth.
Vegeta was a violent, egoistic, and chaotic maniac who loved fights and despised weakness so much so that he killed his comrade Nappa when the latter tasted defeat at Goku's hands. Vegeta tried to kill everyone that stood in his path to defeating Goku and conquering the Earth. He was so evil and messed up that he even beat a kid Gohan and several Namekians. The first hint of some good hidden in his heart was shown when he was genuinely proud to see Goku become a Super Saiyan. Afterward, he and Goku become rivals, and he settles on Earth after marrying Bulma while fighting along with Goku and his friends to save the Earth from various threats.
The peak of Vegeta's anti-hero personality kicks in during the Majin Buu arc where he delivers one of the most loved anime speeches of all time and sacrifices himself by generating a big blast to defeat Majin Buu and save the Earth. Vegeta went from destroying the Earth and its people to saving them from any potential or actual threat since he loves his family and friends a lot. He has also learned to make more friends over the years and become somewhat humble though his Saiyan pride remains one of the closest things to him. He has developed into a Saiyan warrior who can even die to uphold his Saiyan pride.
Still Remains An Anti-Hero
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One major factor that sets Vegeta apart from the rest of the anti-heroes in various anime is the fact that he still is an anti-hero. The usual trajectory of an anti-hero character is that eventually, it develops into an almost protagonist-like character in most anime series or franchises. What makes Vegeta special is that he still has not lost his anti-hero charm and traits even after the Dragon Ball franchise's development and evolution over recent years.
He is a perfect balance of good and evil and has got just the right amount of both in him. He fights the enemies and various threats that target the Earth only because it is the place where he, his family, and his friends reside. However, what matters the most is that he still saves the day along with Goku. Even though he and Goku are close friends, and he cares about Goku, he still does not miss out on any opportunity to provide an occasional beating to the latter. The fact that he has got some of the best dialogues and speeches in the entire franchise serves as icing over the cake.
Fans Love Him
Vegeta is perhaps the most loved character in the Dragon Ball franchise besides Goku. However, the fans have gotten a bit bored with Goku as he keeps on following the same old trope of a protagonist who saves the day for everyone in the end no matter how powerful the antagonist is.
Goku defeats even the worst of the antagonists that the franchise has had in the past with an eventual victory against them. The fans are more excited about and waiting for Vegeta to defeat a main antagonist for once in the future. Fans were hyped to see Vegeta get a new power upgrade in the Dragon BallSuper manga, and await for him to take on an antagonist and defeat them on his own.