Dragon Ball: 20 Things About Vegeta That Make Absolutely No Sense

Of all the characters in Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta is one that makes a real impact on all of us. A classic antihero, Vegeta isn’t trying to impress anyone. Doing the right thing isn’t his main goal. He lives by his own rules, and pursues his own goals. Because of this, Vegeta is one of the popular characters in the entire series. Why? Because Vegeta is actually someone we can relate to. He’s not a perfect paragon like Goku was in the original dub, and he has major character flaws that many of us see in ourselves. While other Z Fighters have fallen into the shadows lately, Vegeta remains a focal character with a major part to play in almost every movie and episode. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll see a movie with Vegeta as the lead.

Until then, it’s fun to reflect on everything Vegeta has given us. Through all the ups and downs, Vegeta always stayed true to himself, never compromising. But through all of those memorable moments, there have been quite a few confusing ones as well. Just like any character in Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta has certain odd features that make absolutely no sense. Let’s take a closer look at 20 of the most confusing things about Vegeta…

20 Vegeta Has A Chronic Injury That Never Heals

One of the strangest things about Vegeta is his “chronic injury.” A chronic injury is one that never really goes away, and it continues to flare up with stress, trauma, and extreme physical exertion. In Vegeta’s case, it’s his left arm – possibly his left shoulders. Fans of Dragon Ball Z point to the fact that Android 18 broke Vegeta’s arm once with an extremely strong kick.

But in reality, Vegeta has been exhibiting problems with his arm since before the Cell arc. It’s easy to forget that Vegeta is one of the oldest characters in the show. At that age, injuries do take a much heavier toll on the body, and older people are not able to heal as well as younger fighters. So why doesn’t this make any sense? Vegeta has eaten plenty of Senzu. Why hasn’t the injury healed? And after all, he’s a Saiyan. He’s supposed to bounce back from seriously damaging injuries…

19 People Loved Him Even Though He Was A Brutal Villain

One of the most confusing things about Vegeta is his popularity. Make no mistake, Vegeta is definitely one of the most popular characters in theseries. He might even be THE most popular Dragon Ball character in the west. But why? After all, Vegeta is a total villain. At the start of the series, there’s nothing really likable about this alien raider… In fact, he’s a pretty terrible person.

So why do so many people absolutely worship Vegeta? It’s probably because he’s so relatable. We can relate much more to someone who struggles with inadequacy and constant failure. In the end, Vegeta is the quintessential antihero. His popularity might have been a bit of a surprise at first, but we should have seen it coming.

18 His Height Changed Over The Series

Another slightly odd feature of this character is his height. There’s nothing weird about being a little bit vertically challenged, but in Vegeta’s case, it’s much more than that. This character’s height actually changes significantly throughout the series. When we first meet Vegeta, he is seriously short. Nappa towers over him, and even Goku looks down on this character with some serious height advantage.

But over the series, Vegeta’s height begins to change. He gets taller, and a lot of people attribute this to his relationship with Bulma. Vegeta gets slightly taller in order to match up better with his new wife, and this is understandable from a practical standpoint. Obviously, these scenes are easier to draw if both characters are the same height. But from a logical standpoint, it makes no sense in the context of the show.

17 He Had Brownish Red Hair In His First Appearance

Many fans actually loved the first color scheme that was used on Vegeta. Although we’ve never seen it since, it certainly made a big impression on a lot of people, and you can still see references to this color scheme in various forms of Dragon Ball Z media, such as video games. When Vegeta first appeared on the show, he had reddish brown hair – which is a stark contrast to his signature jet black tone in later episodes.

But it wasn’t just the hair that was different. His armor and clothing also featured unique shades of orange, brown, and navy blue. Some fans like to explain this in various ways. Perhaps this alien planet has an atmosphere which distorts colors. In reality, it was just the fact that Vegeta had never been colorized before, since his only prior appearance was in the manga.

16 The Fact That He Suddenly Became A Good Guy Doesn’t Make Much Sense

Out of all the characters in Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta has shown some of the most interesting transformation. Since appearing as a heartless, cold alien invader, he’s become a passionate family man with a much more practical mindset. He’s learned that fighting for one’s family gives him immense strength. He has realized that there’s more life than destruction and endless invasion.

Make no mistake – Vegeta’s transformation was handled well. It was somewhat gradual in nature, and he slowly started to leave his evil ways behind. But there was a certain point in the story where Vegeta rather abruptly switches direction in life. For whatever reason, he decides to stay on Earth. Then, even more amazingly, he falls in love with Bulma and they have children together. Even to this day, Vegeta’s role as a good guy seems a little strange at times.

15 Bulma Choose To Have Kids With Him

Yes, Vegeta’s romance with Bulma seemed to come out of nowhere. It seemed inconceivable that the prince of all Saiyans would choose to settle down with a common Earthling – even if she was one of the brightest minds on the entire planet. But even more amazing was the fact that Bulma felt attracted to Vegeta in the first place. Sure, fans might say that Bulma has a thing for “bad boys.”

But every woman has a limit. Let’s not forget that Bulma personally witnessed Vegeta bullying and beating Gohan on Namek. Goku’s son was just a small child at the time – not much more than a toddler. How could Bulma look at this man and think, “That’s the guy I want to father my children.” Does this really make any sense whatsoever? In a way, yes, actually since the scene of Vegeta beating up Gohan was filler invented for the anime.

14 Why Did He Destroy Nappa?

Okay, we get it. Vegeta was cold and heartless when he first arrived on Earth, and he refused to tolerate weakness or failure. Seeing him completely obliterate Nappa was one of the most epic moments in the entire series. When Vegeta wiped Nappa from the face of the Earth, we all realized that this guy was not playing around.

But was this really a smart decision? After all, Vegeta was well aware of the fact that he and Nappa were the last surviving Saiyans in existence – other than Goku, of course. Nappa could have helped rebuild their entire race. Vegeta didn’t seem overcome with rage when he destroyed Nappa. He seemed relatively calm and collected. So if he wasn’t overcome with rage, what was the rationale behind this decision?

13 He Was A Total Joke In Battle Of The Gods

Everyone seems to have a different opinion about Battle Of The Gods. This Dragon Ball movie introduced new characters to the series, and followed up with plenty of old familiar faces we were yearning to see again. On a surface level, it’s a pretty standard movie for the franchise. A new bad guy shows up, a few Z Fighters try to take him on, and Goku ends up saving the day.

But one of the most talked about things in the series was Vegeta’s role. To put it bluntly, Vegeta acted like a fool. He was seen groveling and stuttering in front of Beerus, and at one point he even put on a dance performance in order to calm the God Of Destruction down. As funny as this was, did it really make sense for Vegeta’s character? While it might not at first glance, it’s important to consider just how much Vegeta grew over the course of the series. He’s someone who can now act like a fool to protect his family and world.

12 His Relationship With Bulma Was Just A Plot Device For A Twist

For years, Bulma and Yamcha were the couple in Dragon Ball. They’d been together since the first arc and, despite not always getting along, clearly cared for one another. Come the Cell arc, however, we get introduced to Trunks who reveals that he’s not only Bulma’s son from the future, he’s an actual Super Saiyan like Goku. For such a twist to work, Trunks needed a Saiyan father. As Goku was taken by Chichi, Toriyama had no choice but to pair Vegeta with Bulma.

When it comes down to it, their relationship exists solely for the sake of the Trunks twist. Not that this is a bad thing, though. In truth, Trunks’ appearance is one of the series’ highlights and Dragon Ball ends up making very good use of Vegeta’s relationship with Bulma even if all logic dictates that they should never have gotten together in the first place.

11 The Famous “It’s Over 9,000” Line Isn’t What You Think It Is

It’s one of the most iconic lines in Dragon Ball Z history. It’s been turned into various memes, referenced again and again in pop culture, and it never seems to go away. We’re talking about Vegeta’s line: “It’s over 9,000!!” Vegeta is of course speaking about Goku’s power level, which has risen to incredible levels. It’s funny to think about how insignificant that power level is by today’s standards.

But what’s even more interesting is the fact that this iconic line was changed pretty drastically. Originally, the line was “It’s over 8,000.” In addition, the line was spoken in a very calm tone. The dub that most of the west ended up watching was one where the voice actor changed the line to “It’s over 9,000,” and also performed the line with much more emotion and passion.

10 What Was Up With That Mustache?

Hey, we’re all for character transformation. Vegeta has changed a lot over the years, and we love seeing him go through various phases. But what on earth was up with that mustache? For some reason, Vegeta randomly started to sport the most ridiculous mustache possible, and fans could’t believe their eyes. To be fair, it fit with Vegeta’s character to some extent. Even so, most of us couldn’t wait until he shaved that ridiculous thing off.

Luckily, Vegeta’s daughter came to the rescue. Bra, the only female half-Saiyan in the series, convinced her dad to shave the mustache off, and we’ve never seen it since. Was Toriyama trying to pull some kind of a prank on the fans? Or was this a genuine attempt to portray Vegeta as a more distinguished character? We’ll never know for sure…

9 Why Would Such An Angry Man Choose To Wear A Pink Shirt?

But strangely enough, Vegeta has made other questionable choices regarding his appearance. And the one that immediately comes to mind is his famous pink shirt. Fans were shocked to see the prince of all Saiyans wearing such a feminine color, and they could hardly believe their eyes. The shirt also featured the words “Bad Man” emblazoned on the back, which seriously confused a lot of people. This was definitely one heck of a fashion statement.

So why did Vegeta choose to wear the shirt? Perhaps he was trying to show that only real men wear pink. Maybe the color pink was seen as masculine on his home planet of Vegeta back in the day. Who knows. The most likely explanation is that the people behind Dragon Ball Z were trying to illustrate that Vegeta had become a good guy. Dressing him up in a very non-threatening color is obvious way to show that he’s not going to hurt anyone anymore.

8 Amazingly, He’s Never Been Defeated By Goku

In all of Dragon Ball history, there’s one rivalry that continues to keep fans coming back: the endless competition between Goku and Vegeta. These two have fought many times in the past, and it’s always amazing to watch. These days, they mostly spar for training purposes and the general consensus is that Goku’s always one step ahead of Vegeta. Goku’s strength is probably what keeps Vegeta going. They fuel each other, and that’s the beauty of this rivalry.

However, even though Goku always gets the upper hand in their rivalry, he’s never actually defeated Vegeta. That’s right, there hasn’t been a single moment in the series’ history where Goku has successfully beaten Vegeta. When we look at the bigger picture, this doesn’t make much sense. After all, if Goku really is stronger, then shouldn’t this be established in a clear way? Perhaps the masterminds behind the series like to keep fans guessing…

7 Why Does He Never Improve His Training Methods?

Most fans will tell you the same thing. Vegeta trains hard, but Goku trains smart. There’s a big difference. Some might say that Goku is a little dim-witted, but his training techniques are incredibly sophisticated. As a fighter, Goku is a genius. There’s no question about that. The most successful fighters in the world know how to train themselves to perfection. Goku was the first to train in high gravity, something that Vegeta later copied.

Training is the reason why Goku is always one step ahead. In terms of natural ability, there’s not much that separates the two fighters. Some would even say that Vegeta was born with more potential – considering his elite Saiyan bloodline. But he never really improves his training methods. Instead, he relies on very simple techniques. He believes that in order to get stronger, all he needs to do is push himself to the limits, almost destroying himself in the process. Why doesn’t Vegeta ever improve his training methods?

6 The Names Of His Signature Moves Are English In The Japanese Version As Well

It’s always pretty epic when characters unleash new attacks that we’ve never seen before. It’s even more awesome when characters give cool names to those attacks. Sure, there might be a few attacks that have pretty strange names… Piccolo’s “Special Beam Cannon” comes to mind… But those strange sounding names are largely due to translation difficulties from the original Japanese.

But in this regard, Vegeta is unique. His attacks are English in both the Japanese and the English dubbed versions. Attacks like “Galaxy Breaker,” “Galick Gun,” and “Final Flash” were all intentionally English from the start. Why? Because Akira Toriyama wanted Vegeta’s attacks to sound alien and foreign. He was from another planet, after all.

5 He Completely Abandoned His Own Family

No matter how evil you are, it doesn’t make much sense to abandon your own family. But this is exactly what Vegeta did in the Cell Saga. Bulma and baby Trunks were in a very dangerous position, and they were being threatened by very powerful foes coming towards their position. Instead of helping his family, Vegeta simply left them there to their fate.

Strangely, it was future Trunks who ended up saving himself and his mother. Perhaps the show was trying to depict Vegeta as a conflicted individual, torn between his villainous past and his desire to become a family man. This was before he truly accepted his role as a “good guy.” Even so, it makes no sense to start a family and then abandon it within barely a few years.

4 He Was Shown Randomly Eating Aliens

Let’s rewind back to that moment when we first met Vegeta. We already mentioned the fact that the Prince of all Saiyans was sporting brown hair and a different fashion sense back then. But if we looked closely at this scene, we witnessed something much more disturbing. Vegeta was eating some poor alien creature. This wasn’t an animal – it was an intelligent insectoid humanoid species that was capable of communicating and creating technology. Because of this, Vegeta’s actions are basically on par with cannibalism.

Let’s abandon the fake outrage for just a second. Instead of talking about the moral implications, can we just take a step back and appreciate how random this scene was? They could have shown Vegeta doing anything. Instead they chose to depict him taking a big bite out of an alien’s charred leg. Why? They were obviously trying to illustrate his evil nature. Was this really necessary?

3 Why Can’t Vegeta Use His Rage More Effectively In Battle?

Even though Vegeta often gets overshadowed by Goku, there are plenty of examples where the Prince reaches a completely different level of power. During these rare moments, it’s clear that Vegeta is tapping into some truly stellar power. One example is when Beerus slaps Bulma. When this happens, Vegeta enters a so-called “rage mode,” and his power is vastly increased. All of a sudden Vegeta is landing several hard blows on a God of Destruction.

Roshi even mentions that Vegeta might’ve surpassed Goku at this point. But here’s the problem – Vegeta can’t actually keep himself in that enraged, berserk state. It’s totally random, and it’s only triggered by certain events. But what if Vegeta could learn to control that rage? What if he figured out a way to unleash it on demand? It shouldn’t actually be that hard. So why hasn’t he learned to control his rage?

2 Vegeta Shuts Down Nappa’s Idea Of Creating Hyrbrid Babies With Earthlings

When Vegeta first arrives on Earth, he doesn’t really see the potential of the planet. All he sees is another weak world to be conquered, destroyed, and annihilated. Vegeta doesn’t see any value in the average Earthling, and he probably wouldn’t have hesitated to destroy the world if he saw fit. But one person who DID see the potential for Earth was Nappa. He even suggested that they breed with humans to rebuild the Saiyan race with hybrids.

Upon hearing this suggesting from Nappa, Vegeta immediately shut him down. He seemed to think it was a taboo subject, something that was frowned upon in Saiyan culture. But Nappa’s suggestion definitely makes sense. Even though Vegeta dismisses this idea, he later does exactly what Nappa suggested! How does that make any sense?

1 How On Earth Did Yajirobe Manage To Cut Off Vegeta’s Tail?

Yajirobe is a fan favorite in the world of Dragon Ball. Although we don’t really see too much of him anymore, he was a pretty major character between the Piccolo Daimao and Saiyan arcs. And in the end, Yajoribe definitely showed his worth. Sure, some might say that he’s cowardly and not physically fit enough to be a fighter. But he played a vital role in the initial battle against Vegeta.

In fact, it was Yajirobe who cut off Vegeta’s tail while he was in Great Ape form. This forced him to transform back into his normal state, and it put an end to his rampage. But how did this even happen? Yajirobe isn’t very fast, and Vegeta should have sensed him before he had the chance to strike. And even after Yajirobe delivered his blow, Vegeta still couldn’t destroy Yajirobe after beating him to a pulp.