Dragon Ball Artist Reveals Secrets & Origin of Vegeta’s Ultra Ego Form

The name and design of Vegeta‘s Ultra Ego transformation didn’t come from Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama but Dragon Ball Super artist Toyotarou, as revealed in an interview translated by DBS Chronicles.

Debuting recently in Dragon Ball Super, Ultra Ego is possibly Vegeta’s most powerful transformation to date. Though the new form wasn’t enough to defeat the series’ latest villain, Granolah, it was still met with applause from fans. It’s only natural then to wonder about how Ultra ego came to be.

In the interview with DBS Toyotarou explained that, although he worried about it being too obvious, he came up with the name because “it has a similar meaning and feel on Ultra Instinct, but with a different undertone” while noting that the word Ego “fits the character so well.”  Toyotarou also gave an explanation about the lettering of both forms in their native language:

“The original Japanese words for ‘Instinct’ and ‘Ego’ are similar, but depending on the kanji or the reading, ‘Instinct’ becomes ‘Your body moves on your own,’ right? So that’s Ultra Instinct … On the other hand, even though the Japanese for ‘Ego’ is similar to ‘Instinct,’ if you look closely at the kanji, you could explain it as ‘Doing as you please,’ right?… In short, it’s the difference between ‘your body moving freely’ and ‘moving your body freely.”

Toyotarou even commented on how he came up with the overall look and design of Vegeta’s Ultra Ego form: “Fundamentally, I was trying to capture Beerus’ appearance… I envisioned how Vegeta would look like if you incorporated a little of Beerus’ design.“

Even though Toyotarou created Beerus himself and has every right to find influence wherever he pleases, it is ironic that he chose to stylize Vegeta as Beerus. In chapter 75, Vegeta does mention to his opponent Granolah the Cerealian that the God of Destruction taught him about the power that he currently wields, but when Granolah mistakeably interprets as Vegeta receiving Beerus’ power, the Saiyan immediately corrects him, saying that it’s his own. Everything about Ultra Ego just screams Vegeta. It’s basically his version of Ultra Instinct where he benefits from the unbounded power that Ultra Instinct provides but without having to give up control of his body like Goku does, which he finds dishonorable and weak. Moreover, his very personality drives how Ultra Ego functions. Vegeta is almost the personification of strength and war incarnate, so it’s natural that Ultra Ego would grant him more power the hotter his “battle soul burns.” In other words, this isn’t Beerus’ power. It’s Vegeta’s. That’s why it’s odd that Toyotarou decided to mix in some of Beerus into the Saiyan for this form.

In fact, when Vegeta tried to harness the Gods of Destruction’s power before achieving Ultra Ego, it wasn’t enough to take down Granolah who even commented that Vegeta was making up for his lack of destructive power with quantity over quality. Of course, there are still many unknowns about Vegeta’s Ultra Ego form as he’s only tapped into that power once – which, ironically, failed. And it appears as though fans won’t see it for some time as of chapter 78 in Dragon Ball Super. For the last chance he had to confront their newest villain Gas, Vegeta set aside his Saiyan pride to give Granolah the chance for vengeance.

Source: Twitter

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