Vegeta is easily one of the most complex characters to appear in the Akira Toriyama’s franchise of Dragon Ball, originally being introduced as a planet destroying hijacker and eventually succumbing to the peaceful ways of the Earth and we’re sorry to say that we believe he is never going to have a better story arc than the one that was given to him in the Majin Buu saga. With the third and final major arc of the Dragon Ball Z series, the story line gave Vegeta a wrap to his long running story line and perhaps will never be topped in the franchise!
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With some of the most pivotal moments for Vegeta shown during the Buu Saga, we want to take this opportunity to walk you through just why this arc will never be beat when it comes to the Prince of the Saiyans!
Majin Vegeta
When Vegeta allowed himself to be “taken over” by the magic of Babidi, he did so knowing that he would have the opportunity to fight his eternal rival, Son Goku. With Babidi’s magic not only giving him a power up, it seemingly allowed the Prince of the Saiyans to access his darker side and killing a number of civilians as a result. With a fresh “M” tattooed on his forehead and a thirst for revenge, Majin Vegeta has become one of, if not the, most popular transformations of Vegeta.
Majin Vegeta wasn’t simply Vegeta becoming evil once again, it was bringing out a darker side to a more experienced Saiyan warrior, able to rely on his battle prowess from his years on Earth while simultaneously having to battle the internal struggle between his pride and the love he found with his family of Bulma and Trunks! This transformation for Vegeta didn’t simply look amazing, it created one of the most complex character arcs for any figure in the Dragon Ball universe.
The Best Saiyan Battle
Dragon Ball Z was known for a number of its amazing battles, with the likes of Freeza, Cell, and Buu giving the Z fighters a number of life or death battles. However, when Majin Vegeta and Goku tussled during the final major arc of the series, it was a fight that was a long time coming and with both Saiyan warriors at around the same power level, it made for one of the most even brawls that took place in the anime’s history!
Of course, Goku was hiding Super Saiyan 3 up his sleeves, but that didn’t stop this battle from using an amazing combination of hand to hand combat and trademark energy battles from each Super Saiyan 2 warrior! When push comes to shove, the Majin Vegeta vs Goku fight remains one of the top battles of the Dragon Ball franchise across three series!
Self Sacrifice
Perhaps the shining moment in Vegeta’s time in Dragon Ball Z was when he was willing to sacrifice himself to save the Earth. Having never before exhibited such levels of heroism, this moment in time truly was a turning point for Vegeta, despite his Majin possession. Though he was ultimately wished back thanks to the Dragon Balls, it didn’t take away from the act itself as it truly seemed as if the Prince of the Saiyans had permanently said farewell to the world by self destructing in Majin Buu’s face. The sacrifice itself was ultimately unsuccessful in destroying the creature Buu, but it gave us the most human moment of Vegeta up to that point and showed him as a father for perhaps the first time as he embraced his son.
It’s no surprise that this moment is typically thought of as one of the shining moments in Vegeta’s career as even Dragon Ball Super attempted to mimic it during the Tournament of Power arc!
Making Peace With Goku
The Majin Buu arc gave us the biggest moment of Vegeta’s life wherein the Prince of the Saiyans finally acknowledged that Goku was his better. With Vegeta attempting to bring down the “common” Saiyan warrior since arriving on the planet Earth, his quest for power was entirely about healing his wounded pride. In this moment of battle between Goku and Kid Buu, he did what many thought was simply impossible and admitted that he simply could not surpass Son.
While Vegeta is still trying to become stronger than Goku in Dragon Ball Super, this moment for Vegeta put a crescendo on the prideful villainous character that was the Prince of the Saiyans and replaced him with a hero that was willing to sacrifice anything for his family and the planet he called home.
A Character’s Conclusion
Throughout the Majin Buu story, Vegeta saw his best and worst moments, culminating his story line in Dragon Ball Z and with that being said, we have to wonder where on Earth the Prince of the Saiyans can go from here. Sure, he can become stronger and attempt to bridge the gap in power between himself and Goku, but he’s become a different person from the man he once was. Regardless of where Vegeta’s future lies in the Moro arc or beyond in Dragon Ball Super, there’s simply nothing that can surpass his character development in the Buu arc.
