When Did Vegeta Stop Hating Goku in DBZ? (2024)

Goku and Vegeta are anime’s greatest rivals. They are essentially inseparable in Dragon Ball Super, always fighting side-by-side and training to push one another to the next level. Still, every fan of the series knows that Vegeta has a sort of love-hate relationship with his fellow saiyan warrior. The two have truly become friends (whether Vegeta would admit it or not), but it wasn’t always like that between the pair.

In the early arcs of Dragon Ball Z, Vegeta was a villain, and a particularly terrifying one at that. He was easily the strongest character seen in the series at that point, and would have destroyed the entire Earth had it not been for the combined efforts of Goku and his friends. It took a long time for Vegeta to finally accept Goku as his equal, let alone for him to warm up to Goku as a comrade. From the first time he arrived to invade the Earth in the Saiyan Saga, to the point where he showed Goku genuine respect for the first time in the Buu Saga, a lot had to happen between Goku and Vegeta before the Saiyan Prince was finally willing to admit that he didn't hate Kakarot.

How Vegeta First Began to Have a Change of Heart

When Goku Spared Vegeta's Life During the Saiyan Saga it Planted a Seed of Trust Between Them

Following his defeat at the hands of Goku and the other Z Fighters during the Saiyan Saga, Vegeta was left in a near-death state, barely able to crawl away and escape. Hoping to deal a finishing blow on the villain, Krillin took up Yajirobe’s sword, but Goku pleaded with his friend to reconsider. Goku begged Krillin to let Vegeta live, so that he could fight him again someday. It seemed like a ridiculous choice at the time, but anyone who has followed Goku’s story throughout Dragon Ball would understand it.

Goku’s passion for fighting transcends all traditional moral codes or values, allowing him to always see the best in even his greatest enemies. For Goku, anyone who has strength enough to defeat him in combat is someone he can respect, and that’s enough to want to keep them close by his side. Goku has a strong sense of justice, but he also has a way of always seeing the good in others. It was for that reason that Goku begged Krillin to let Vegeta live. Even though Vegeta saw Goku as a fool and vowed to return to finish what he started, things ended up going differently somewhere along the way.

Following his defeat, Vegeta set his sights on loftier goals. Namely, the Namekian Dragon Balls, which he planned to use to wish for immortality in his endless pursuit of power. This caused him to cross paths with Krillin, Gohan and Bulma, who also sought the Dragon Balls to wish back their friends who had been killed during the fight with Nappa. Of course, this common goal brought both the Z Fighters and Vegeta face to face with the Frieza Force, who were also seeking the Namekian Dragon Balls at the behest of Frieza.

Eventually, Frieza dispatches his elite team of fighters, the Ginyu Force, to collect the Dragon Balls for him. With no other choice and in the face of a shared threat that was far too great for them to face alone, Vegeta, Gohan and Krillin were forced to team up to try to survive their fight with the Ginyu Force. While they did survive as a group, they would have surely died had it not been for Goku showing up just when they needed him most.

Witnessing how much Goku had grown in a short time, Vegeta was forced to acknowledge for the first time that Goku was truly more powerful than him, and that was something that had a profound effect on him. From that moment on, Goku was as his greatest rival, and Vegeta would do whatever it took to reach the same level of power that Goku had. Vegeta was the first person who saw that Goku had potentially even become a Super Saiyan - a fact which completely damaged his pride.

In Vegeta’s eyes, it should have been him who became a Super Saiyan first, because Goku was a lower-class saiyan far weaker than him at birth. Throughout the rest of the Frieza Saga, Vegeta went to desperate means to try to reach the level Goku had. He even had Krillin nearly kill him, just to force a Zenkai boost and become stronger. While Vegeta was always concerned with strength before, Goku was the first person that showed him that anyone could become the strongest if they set their mind to it.

Even at that point, though, Vegeta was still concerned with seeking artificial improvements to his power, instead of training and achieving it through hard work like Goku had. Within this backdrop, Vegeta continued to fight alongside the heroes against Frieza, if only because Frieza had become their common enemy. In his final moments before he was killed by Frieza, Vegeta even used his dying breath to tell Goku the truth about what Frieza had done to their race.

This showed that, even though he didn’t particularly like Goku, he at least shared a common sense of pride in his race with him. Vegeta was still the Saiyan Prince, and Goku was the last remaining full-blooded saiyan that he knew of in existence. Above all, Vegeta had acknowledged Goku’s power, pleading with his fellow saiyan to defeat Frieza in the name of their people.

The Exact Moment When Goku Became Vegeta's Rival

During the Android and Cell Sagas, Vegeta Ramped Up His Training For the Sole Purpose of Surpassing Goku

After learning that Goku had defeated Frieza on Namek, Vegeta refused to accept his weakness any longer. Vegeta’s greatest fears were realized during the Trunks saga, when he witnessed Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation for the first time. This solidified the reality of what Goku had achieved, giving Vegeta a new level of power to set his sights on. At this point, Goku officially became Vegeta’s greatest rival and - even though he never would have said it - his inspiration.

Vegeta had already begun training at high gravity to emulate what Goku did on his way to Namek to reach the Super Saiyan form, but witnessing Goku’s transformation made him work even harder. Eventually, he did finally pull it off, becoming a Super Saiyan and showing off his new SSJ form during the fight with Androids 19 and 20. While he continued fighting alongside the heroes throughout the Android and Cell Sagas, Vegeta’s entire system of values was still centered around gaining power and being the strongest. Vegeta had no good-willed intentions or desire to call any of the Z Fighters his friends.

In reality, Vegeta had never thought about anything else other than strength being important to him before. Vegeta was raised as a member of the Frieza Force, and taught that power and being the strongest were the only things that mattered. The Frieza Force was truly a world of survival of the fittest, because as soon as a subordinate was of no use to him, Frieza would dispose of them as though they were trash. Flashes of this ideology were shown, having informed Vegeta’s own personality as early as the Saiyan Saga, when he killed Nappa for disappointing him.

That’s why it was so important for Goku to be his rival, because Goku also happened to be the strongest. Chasing after the hero to become a better hero than him is what turned Vegeta into a hero himself, even though he never thought of it that way at the time. Vegeta slowly learned that a person doesn’t have to be merciless and evil to be the most powerful. Unfortunately, living under Frieza’s rule his entire life, that’s exactly what Vegeta thought it took to be the strongest. It wasn’t until Goku (and Gohan) showed him otherwise that things turned around for Vegeta.

Just as Vegeta was forced to fight for good due to the shared goal of defeating Frieza, Vegeta was essentially forced to become Goku’s rival due to their shared goal of growing stronger. Throughout the Cell Saga, Vegeta continued to fight alongside the Z Fighters for his own selfish reasons, but all that never made him any less of a member of their ranks. When the Cell Games commenced, Vegeta stood on the side of humanity, fighting Cell to protect the Earth. Even if he didn’t see it that way, that was ultimately what he was doing.

A major turning point came for Vegeta during the Cell Games. There are a few factors which triggered a change in Vegeta during the fight with Cell. The first was witnessing Gohan’s power. Vegeta has always had an incredible sense of strength and combat awareness, often being the first person to recognize a change in the battlefield or when something is off about a fighter. Even though Vegeta is blinded by his pride, there’s no denying that he has an incredibly high combat IQ. This sense for battle is what likely allowed him to recognize before almost anyone else other than Goku himself that Gohan was the strongest.

While he was as shocked as the other Z Fighters when Goku picked his own son to fight against Cell, he was also one of the first to realize why Goku made that decision. It was Vegeta who first speculated that human-saiyan hybrids could become Super Saiyans during the Saiyan Saga, and Vegeta had witnessed Gohan’s incredible potential numerous times before. However, upon seeing Gohan transform, something changed for Vegeta. It was no longer just Goku who had surpassed him, but Gohan as well.

When Gohan risked his life and gave his arm to save Vegeta, Vegeta recognized the error in his ways. Vegeta was forced to accept that he was powerless, and that he was actually holding Gohan back from defeating Cell. Even Gohan was completely shocked when Vegeta apologized to him, and given the context of the surrounding circ*mstances, this apology had a double meaning. Vegeta apologizing for his weakness was also a way of apologizing for his father’s death, which was technically also Vegeta’s fault, because he actively helped Cell to reach his Perfect form. Vegeta took Goku’s death particularly hard, even vowing that he would never fight again. Vegeta had lost his greatest rival, and he had lost his only friend.

Vegeta Relapsed During the Babidi Saga

Vegeta Gave in to His Baser Urges in Becoming a Majin to Defeat Goku One Last Time

There’s an argument to be made that Vegeta stopped hating Goku when he lamented his death at the end of the Cell Saga. However, the development of their relationship was far from complete at that point. Following the death of his son at Cell’s hands, Vegeta had also come to terms with the fact that his family mattered to him, causing him to take a much more active role in Bulma and Trunks’ lives in the peaceful period between the Cell Games and the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament.

By the time fans see him again, Vegeta had truly become a new man, albeit a bit reluctantly. Vegeta’s constant grumpy attitude has become a staple of who he is as a character, but during the Great Saiyaman Saga, it would have been safe to say that Vegeta was one of the good guys. While he was hard on his son about training, by all accounts, Vegeta was a good father and husband. That’s what made his relapse during the Babidi Saga all the more shocking. However, there was an important trigger for Vegeta that actually caused this relapse to happen, and that’s Goku’s return from the Other World.

Goku’s death during the Cell Games caused Vegeta to vow to leave fighting behind, and he essentially did that. Vegeta never slacked off on his training, but he did lose the drive to become stronger, and he certainly had no desire to conquer the world. Goku coming back to fight in the World Tournament, however, reawakened something in Vegeta’s heart, which was definitely helped along by the uprising of Babidi and his Majin minions.

All this fighting served as a reminder to Vegeta of who he was before. As the fighting between the Z Fighters and Babidi’s Majin commenced, Dabura noticed the impurity within Vegeta’s heart. That’s what allowed Babidi to take Vegeta under his control to create Majin Vegeta. However, as fans would discover, this was not done entirely against the will of Vegeta. Something inside him still wanted to be that person he used to be, and Goku was the trigger for him.

Vegeta remembered his desire to surpass his rival, and in one last denial of his humanity, Vegeta embraced the Majin transformation to become a villain once again. Vegeta fully gave in to his pride as a Majin, hoping that he could relive his glory days as a conqueror and prove his superiority to Goku once again. In a way, this was almost like a midlife crisis for Vegeta. Being around Goku reminded him of who he was, and he was willing to risk everything he had, and throw away all the growth he had made as a person for his selfish pride.

Of course, this was all fairly short-lived, because the arrival of a greater threat (Majin Buu) forced Goku and Vegeta’s fight to a halt. Freeing himself and his conscience of the atrocities he committed, Vegeta made one last final sacrifice against Majin Buu which - while in vain - was important for Vegeta. In fact, Majin Vegeta’s sacrifice against Buu could be seen as his way of emulating Goku, whose own sacrifice as a hero against Cell made such an impact on Vegeta before. This was almost his way of once again one-upping his rival, proving that he could be just as great of a hero as Goku was.

Vegeta Finally Accepted Goku During the Fight With Kid Buu

Witnessing Goku Fight Kid Buu Gave Vegeta a Humbling New Perspective

Despite his heroic sacrifice, Vegeta was sentenced to go to Hell after dying because he hadn’t quite made up for his lifetime of evil. Fortunately for Vegeta, he was given a second chance, though it was mostly out of necessity for the good of the Universe. After being reborn to fight Buu alongside Goku, Vegeta was still a bit reluctant to place his trust in Goku’s hands. There’s no denying at this point that Vegeta had an admiration for Goku’s strength, and Goku likewise respected Vegeta’s unwavering desire to grow stronger. Still, Vegeta wasn’t exactly fond of Goku as a person yet.

The most obvious indication of Vegeta’s distaste towards Goku was when it was suggested he wear the Potara Eearring to fuse with Goku. Vegeta was entirely against this idea, as he had hardly warmed up to the fact that he was forced to fight as teammates with Goku. The idea of joining bodies with his greatest rival would have been entirely out of the question in any other situation.

Despite not wanting to literally become unified as one person with Goku, it was during this period of the Buu Saga that it became clear that Vegeta’s hatred for Goku was a thing of the past. In fact, his fusing with Goku into Vegito may have only helped the process along. While it seems that neither Goku or Vegeta are conscious during a fusion because the person created is an entirely new individual with their own personality, there is the possibility that the uniting of their souls is something that has a lasting effect.

Whatever the case, all that Vegeta went through with Goku led to the point of him being willing to fuse with him, and that proved that he truly no longer hated Goku. In fact, as their fight against Kid Buu commenced in the Other World, Vegeta even outwardly admitted his respect for Goku for the first time. Even though he and Goku continue to fight Buu as partners, the balance of power clearly shifts when Goku unveils his SSJ3 form.

Vegeta realizes that his rival has once again surpassed him, and that’s the fate of the Universe is in Goku’s hands. All he can do is look on as Goku and Kid Buu fight, fully embracing his admiration for Goku’s fighting spirit. In one of the greatest speeches in the series, Vegeta admits the truth:

“You never fought to kill, or for revenge. Only to test your limits and to push yourself beyond them, to become the strongest you could possibly be. How can a Saiyan fight like that and at the same time be so gentle that he wouldn't hurt a fly? It makes me angry just thinking about it! But, perhaps it is my anger that has made me blind to the truth for so long. I see it now, this day has made it all too clear.”

It was clear that not only did Vegeta no longer hate Goku during the Buu Saga, he truly admired and respected him as a warrior. For Vegeta, a person who grew up as a warrior and made the life of fighting his entire identity, appreciating another person’s fighting spirit is the ultimate sign of camaraderie he can offer. While Goku and Vegeta’s relationship was a rocky one throughout DBZ, Goku was the person that pulled Vegeta through his darkest points. By setting his sights on becoming Goku’s equal as a fighter, Vegeta inadvertently became Goku’s equal as a hero and person.

Dragon Ball Super

TV-PG

Anime

Action

Adventure

With Majin Buu defeated half-a-year prior, peace returns to Earth, where Son Goku (now a radish farmer) and his friends now live peaceful lives.

Release Date

January 7, 2017

Cast

Masako Nozawa , Takeshi Kusao , Ryô Horikawa , Hiromi Tsuru

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

5