Despite their entertainment value, shonen stories like Dragon Ball are often simply morality tales with thrilling fight scenes thrown in. Although their audience extends beyond the demographic, shonen mangaka design their stories for young boys, slipping in applicable life lessons for an impressionable audience. In the case of Dragon Ball, manga legend Akira Toriyama found that Vegeta was the perfect character to use for delivering complex, mature moral values in a way that felt both natural and impactful.

Vegeta is the perfect person for fans to learn from in Dragon Ball because he is someone who is constantly learning and growing himself. The lessons Vegeta learns about humbling himself, caring for others, and trusting the strength of his friends, are all things that don't only apply to unbelievably powerful Super Saiyan warriors: they also apply to regular people in everyday life.

Updated by Brett Cardaro, March 9, 2024: Vegeta has come a long way from his first introduction in DBZ as the major villain up until the latest arcs of Dragon Ball Super. From becoming a Super Saiyan to starting a family to reaching a level of strength befitting of the Gods, Vegeta has truly done and seen it all. All that life experience has certainly bred wisdom, and there's a lot that fans can still learn right alongside the Saiyan Prince. This article has been updated with even more information about the life lessons Dragon Ball's proudest warrior can teach fans, as well as to better fit CBR's current style guidelines.

10 Changing Priorities Is Part Of Growing As A Person

The Selfishness That Informed Vegeta's Character In DBZ Makes Way For A Kind Father Figure In Super

"I fight for Bulma, for Trunks and Bulla; I fight for the oath I made to a fellow warrior, for my Saiyan pride; I fight for all I've built and all I am."

- Vegeta, Dragon Ball Super

Dragon Ball Super was a point of controversy within the Dragon Ball fandom for quite a while. Everyone was excited to see the series return, but many fans were disappointed with how some characters changed. However, one character who still gets consistent praise for their growth is Vegeta.

In Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta retains the bloodthirsty competitive drive that made him a fan favorite while also allowing his softer, paternal side to become equally prominent. Vegeta has accepted that being a husband and father outweighs his ego-driven quest for glory and validation through violence, making him even more compelling as a character and more admirable as a person.

9 The Path To Redemption Isn't Passive

Vegeta Didn't Change From a Terrifying Villain Into One of Earth's Greatest Heroes Overnight

When Dragon Ball first introduced Prince Vegeta, it was difficult for fans to imagine a more villainous character. Even though Vegeta wasn't as purely evil as King Piccolo, the prince of all Saiyans still remained impossibly vicious. One of Vegeta's most heinous acts to this day remains his wanton murdering of scores of Namekians for no good reason.

In Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta returned to Namek with a repentant heart. However, he knew that a simple apology would never be enough to atone for the sinister crimes of his past, it would take a radical physical action to make any real difference. Vegeta going out of his way to defend the Namekians was his way of trying to be the change he wanted to see in the world.

8 Hard Work Always Pays Off

There's No One More Willing to Put in the Long Hours Than Vegeta

The key to achieving any major goal is to ride out the difficult moments. Vegeta's ability to endure a task when the labor outweighs the immediate reward is what constantly keeps him on par with Goku.

When Goku attained the Super Saiyan form for the first time, Vegeta recognized there was a new benchmark for excellence. Aiming his intentions to replicate the process drove Vegeta to the brink of death on several occasions due to his intense training regimen. All of his hardships finally bore fruit when Vegeta achieved the Legendary Super Saiyan form himself during the Android Saga.

7 Being Emotional Isn't A Weakness

Vegeta Finds Strength By Drawing Upon His Emotions During Battle

Upon his introduction into DBZ, Vegeta was the tough-guy type who rarely showed any emotion other than anger. He viewed any other emotion as weak and not befitting of a warrior.

That all changed during the Buu Saga. Vegeta was at his lowest point when he allowed himself to become a Majin, once again pushing aside his loved ones for the sake of pursuing power. However, Vegeta was finally able to discover the kind of strength that comes from vulnerability when he sacrificed himself for his son and the fate of the planet, and even shed tears as he gave his life.

6 Self-Belief Manifests Positive Outcomes

Vegeta's Overconfidence Can Be a Gift and a Curse

"You say I'm arrogant. I say, damn right. That's pride. Pride in the Saiyan I am."

- Vegeta, DBZ

Confucius famously said that "the man who thinks he can and the man who thinks he can't are both correct." If a person has their thoughts divided between failure and victory, the results of their endeavor will be equally mixed. That's never been an issue that Vegeta has faced, because he is easily the most goal-driven warrior in Dragon Ball, even more so than Goku.

No matter how dire the situation, Vegeta always believes in his ability to overcome any obstacle, even if no one else does. His persistence to believe in himself, despite the external reality offering copious evidence to the contrary, is how he consistently attains results.

5 Adaptability Is Key To Growth

Vegeta Isn't Afraid to Switch Up His Game Plan In the Middle of a Fight

Nothing in life is immune to change. The reality of evolution is simple: adapt or die. No creature in the Dragon Ball universe understands those concepts more intrinsically than Saiyans.

After a brutal defeat in battle, Saiyans experience a power boost called Zenkai, which enables them to grow even stronger than before. However, the power boost is useless without a mind that is adaptable enough to learn from the defeat. Despite his rampant ego and Napoleon complex, Vegeta possesses an amazingly flexible mind. Vegeta always learns from his mistakes and never confronts a problem the same way twice.

4 It's Best To Be Single-Minded On A Goal But Flexible On The Details

Vegeta's End Goal Never Changes, Even if His Means of Reaching it Does

Keeping focused on his vision is what pulled Vegeta through the most difficult struggles and defeats. Vegeta knows that, while being adaptable is important on a micro level, having too flexible a vision on the macro level would mean the death of his dream of being the strongest.

Vegeta always knows where he's going, yet he's able to alter his plans based on the means available to him at the time. On Planet Namek, Vegeta joined forces with his former enemies Krillin and Gohan because they aligned with his end goal of defeating the Ginyu Force and usurping Frieza. Had Vegeta remained stubborn and refused to adapt to the circumstances, he would definitely have been killed far sooner.

3 A Person Is Only As Great As Their Closest Friends

Vegeta's Rivalry With Goku is His Main Motivating Factor in Reaching New Heights of Power

"Kakarot, you're quite impressive. I never stood a chance against Buu, you're the only one who can fight him. I think I finally understand how a genius like myself can't surpass you."

- Vegeta, DBZ

As the saying goes: a rising tide raises all ships. It's only by associating with friends who constantly strive for the best that a person can hope to reach the same standard, and that's something that Vegeta has learned through personal experience.

While their relationship can be volatile and antagonistic, if Vegeta had never met Goku, he would still believe that he was at the apex of his potential. His love-hate relationship with Goku is what constantly pushed him forward to become a Super Saiyan and beyond. Ever since he accepted Goku as his sparring partner, Vegeta has continuously hit new milestones.

2 The Journey Is More Important Than The Destination

Vegeta's Love of the Struggle is What Helps Him Constantly Grow Stronger

Ironically, there's nothing as dissatisfying as achieving a goal in life. While most people get an exhilarating feeling of completion when they finish a task, they soon after experience an equivalent sense of despair because the moment of victory is so fleeting. Vegeta understands this, which is why he never stops striving for the next level of power.

From the moment Vegeta first began training to attain the Super Saiyan form after the Frieza Saga, he found himself constantly in Goku's shadow, never seeming to reach him no matter how strong he got. However, over time, Vegeta came to love the struggle of growing stronger, even after Super Saiyan was long in the rearview. There have been many times when Vegeta even briefly got stronger than Goku, but that's no longer his goal. Vegeta genuinely enjoys training and fighting, and no end goal is greater than that journey for him.

1 A Person Should Never Compromise Who They Are

Vegeta May Change and Evolve, But He'll Always Be the Prince of All Saiyans

"Kakarot's body may have a mind of its own, but I'm all ego. In fact, go ahead and call this Ultra Ego."

- Vegeta, Dragon Ball Super

Regardless of how corny the phrase has become through overuse, a person should always stay true to themselves. Vegeta is renowned for his personal growth throughout Dragon Ball's story, but at the same time, his personality has hardly changed.

Vegeta may not quite be the exact same arrogant and bloodthirsty Saiyan that fans met in the late 80s, but he's pretty close. Vegeta has grown a lot in Dragon Ball Super, but a lot of that growth was about learning to accept who he is and how to use his characteristic saiyan pride to protect others instead of hurting them. While Vegeta has come to accept the mistakes he made in his past, he still finds pride in his identity as the Prince of All Saiyans.