The power of redemption stories: Vegeta from DBZ

[Alejo]

Hi everyone,

I realize this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I found it interesting enough for a few reasons that I wanted to share here and that I think still carry a lot of valuable concepts despite the medium.

I grew up watching Dragon Ball, an anime series that probably needs no description, and I've discussed it a few times over the years with several friends. and most of those who have watched it would agree that their favorite character was Vegeta, an initial antagonist who switches to the side of the good guys.

And there were several reasons, but they were all centered around the relatable effort it takes to change and grow past a traumatic past. To really change and be something other than what circumstance would have you become. Recently I came across a few videos that explored these aspects in great detail that were not just very well made, but had a lot of interesting psychological concepts in them.

But it reminded me once again the power of the stories we tell one another, imagine all the depth that people have grabbed from a cartoon animation. I realize it's not for everyone and the videos are rather long, but should there be any DBZ fans that loved Vegeta, I figured I'd share them here:

Vegeta! Why Healthy is Terrifying​

And these

Vegeta's Humanity: A Villain Dismantled (Part 1: The Namek Saga)​

Vegeta's Humanity Part 2 - The Ginyu and Frieza Sagas​

 

[whitecoast]

Thanks for this Alejo. I never really got into the Dragonball Z series, but I am acquainted with the major characters.

Since I enjoy going into storytelling tropes and dynamics, Vegeta is what's considered a Lancer character.
From Gab.ai:

The Lancer is the classic “second-in-command” who mirrors, complements, and challenges the protagonist—usually in ways that make the lead sharper. Think Aragorn to Frodo, Watson to Holmes, or Han Solo to Luke Skywalker.
Core traits

• Sword arm of the group: puts the “action” into the protagonist’s “vision.”
• Loyal but rivalrous: will follow the hero into hell, yet never quite concedes superiority.
• Contrasting style: if the hero is cerebral, the lancer is brash; if the hero is idealistic, the lancer is pragmatic. The audience learns what the hero is not.
• Moral friction: willing to push boundaries the hero won’t, forcing ethical debates that refine both characters.
• Leadership understudy: when the hero is absent or falls, it’s the lancer who steps up—sometimes reluctantly, sometimes hungrily.

Visual shorthand

• Sleeker or darker costume colors.
• Often dual-wields or uses a spear/lance (hence the name) to accent speed over raw strength.
• Tends to stand left of the hero in group shots—symbolic of the “sinister” Latin root (“left”), hinting at rebellious streak.

Function in the story

1. Catalyst: disagrees just enough to keep plots moving.
2. Tension valve: internal squabble stops the team from becoming a bland chorus.
3. Sacrifice slot: red-shirt familiarity makes the lancer the go-to emotional gut-punch if a hero needs motivation.

Sub-flavors

• Dark Lancer (Vegeta, Winter Soldier): once an enemy, now uneasy ally; broody aura and traumatic backstory.
• Comic Lancer (Pippin, Rocket Raccoon): levity incarnate, keeps grimdark heroes human.
• Fallen Lancer: the prodigal second who defects, clarifying the hero’s values by negative example.
• (WC's comment: Understudy Lancer: the second who rivals the hero in competence, but is often outshone except in situations like the hero's absence, where the lancer has a chance to step forward.)

Bottom line

The lancer’s job isn’t to outshine the lead, but to sculpt him—like flint striking steel, sparks fly, and both blades get sharper.

I don't share that to just reduce him to a trope, since that would not be fair to the complexity of this character and his demons and battles. But if you see these types of "teams" has microcosms of perpendicular souls or social memory complexes, the nature and role of the Lancer as a shadow element of the Hero I think does carry a lot of weight in understanding the overall nature of the journeys to growth depicted in stories.

 

[Alma.Innovadora]

imagine all the depth that people have grabbed from a cartoon animation.

A lot! Remembering what the Cass always said, "knowledge is everywhere"... In fact, they've been my greatest source of inside/internal information, as absurd as it may seem to some who only watch "comics."

Even in this, one can see much deeper than the superficial drawing lines.

I grew up with that series and many others. I'm not an anime fan; I only watch the ones that resonate with me for some reason, and wow! I've already mentioned in previous posts that much of what I've read here, I've seen adapted into anime series, especially Naruto.

Since you've opened this space, Itachi from Naruto, has a very good story about the integration of shadows. How did you adapt it to the character's power? I have no idea, but what a way to integrate esoteric and cosmic knowledge into this type of audiovisual material.

It's also Vegeta's parallel story. He was evil and then switched sides, but Itachi's case is practically at the end of his life for a bigger reason. I think these stories are parallel to "the hero's journey" and would be "the hero's fall."

FullMetal Alchemist integrates the STO and STS path very well too.

 

[sid]

I am a big DBZ fan and have seen every series in the Canon. And I could see right away how Goku is an embodiment of STO and how the strength of his character and persistence in giving his enemies another chance to redeem themselves led to the complete transformation of Vegeta. Heck they nearly transformed Frieza by the end of DB Super simply because he was fighting alongside Goku. He certainly isn’t interested in killing Goku anymore. But agree that Vegeta’s story is very compelling and references can be drawn to a 4D STS deciding to become STO and walking the tough path of redemption.

Another interesting thing is the Super Saiyan transformatiom. Goku achieves it first with a lot of hard work and training going into it but also with non-anticipation and letting go of the limiting emotional attachments, like. 3D STO candidate progressing to 4D STO. Goku goes through a lot of struggle leading up to this but what really gets him there is how he treats others and his respect for all life forms. Vegeta achieves it by taking the negative path of rage, anger and infinite hatred of Goku’s power but zero care for the self. Very similar to a 3D STS candidate progressing to 4D STS.

Also, Vegeta is not fully redeemed until the end of Buu saga as I can see the videos are talking about Ginyu saga. He was only growing to be more cunning and power hungry during those events which he demonstrates in the latter Android and Cell sagas. And much later, the magician Babidi is able to sense that rage and power hunger inside him to then possess him which again leads to a massive battle against Goku and the latter doesn’t try to hurt him as is his nature. Its a beautifully made anime, even though its drags a bit sometimes. Fwiw

 

[mkrnhr]

Haven't seen Dragon Ball but very late I watched a kids cartoon called Avatar the last airbender and there was a nice redemption story of a protagonist who goes through some soul searching, falls, doubt himself and finally takes his destiny in hand despite external pressure.

 

[ryu]

Haven't seen Dragon Ball but very late I watched a kids cartoon called Avatar the last airbender and there was a nice redemption story of a protagonist who goes through some soul searching, falls, doubt himself and finally takes his destiny in hand despite external pressure.

Oh yeah I remember! It was prince Zuko. He started out as the villain and then by traveling and meeting people, he changed his views. At the end he took the throne and ended the war. Great series.

 

[Seato]

Watching through the Buu saga I found it interesting that Vegeta is the one that suggests using the Spirit Bomb to defeat the villain Majin Buu after everything else has failed. Even Goku questions whether it would work as before this point in the main series the technique had never before successfully finished off a villain including both Frieza and Vegeta himself. Narratively even if the Spirit Bomb was strong enough to defeat Buu it would not necessarily logically follow that he would be destroyed given he was shown to regenerate from complete vaporization earlier in the saga.

It appeared to me that Vegeta was acting on faith and maybe even some level of divine inspiration that it might work. It involved the heroes putting their faith in the people of Earth and beyond, that they would willingly give their energy and work together to save the universe from Buu. Notable for Vegeta who through so much of his life has only ever felt able to rely on himself. Earlier in the saga he had to grow and sacrifice his independence to fuse with Goku for a chance at defeating Buu; not realizing at the time the fusion could be reversed. By the end he chooses to place his own life and everything he cares about in the hands of others to bring an end to Buu, whilst continuing to fight to delay Buu so the plan can be carried out.

The Spirit Bomb technique seems to close things thematically with the idea given across the saga that willing bringing peoples energies together (STO) is more effective than simply stealing power and energy (STS) as done by Buu and Cell before him. Evolving from previous saga’s messaging of training and self-improvement being superior to inherent strength. In a way the Spirit Bomb finale represents the cosmic will of humanity in the broader sense unifying against evil and manifesting some form of divine intervention to defeat it.

 

[Alejo]

Another interesting thing is the Super Saiyan transformatiom. Goku achieves it first with a lot of hard work and training going into it but also with non-anticipation and letting go of the limiting emotional attachments, like. 3D STO candidate progressing to 4D STO. Goku goes through a lot of struggle leading up to this but what really gets him there is how he treats others and his respect for all life forms. Vegeta achieves it by taking the negative path of rage, anger and infinite hatred of Goku’s power but zero care for the self. Very similar to a 3D STS candidate progressing to 4D STS.

I have actually always liked that transformation, when I was a kid it was cool as heck!!

But then I watched Goku explain it to Gohan as "power comes in response to a need, not a desire" and it always struck me as an essential difference between STS and STO, the desire for power or the need for power to respond to a request. Which is interestingly one of the things that Vegeta considers and has to face as he's undergoing his process. His jealousy of Goku's power was rooted in the fact that he never used to search for power as a need, rather as a desire.

 

[benklerk]

I also watched DB and DBZ as a child. I also watched the newer DB super. Goku would in a lot of ways sacrifice himself so the ones that he loves would get a chance survive. But overtime he become stronger to also protect the people around him. It did take Vegeta quite a while to learn that protecting the things you love out weigh to prove his better in all ways.

In one of the episode Goku was explaining that the way he get to SS1 and held on to it was though raw emotion when he saw Frieza killing Krillin.

But I always remember the line Its over 9000!!!!. If you watched and loved DBZ you would understand it. But the dragon ball universe is still one of my best Japanese anime alongside with Studio Ghibli.
.

 

[Alejo]

I also watched DB and DBZ as a child. I also watched the newer DB super. Goku would in a lot of ways sacrifice himself so the ones that he loves would get a chance survive. But overtime he become stronger to also protect the people around him. It did take Vegeta quite a while to learn that protecting the things you love out weigh to prove his better in all ways.

In my opinion Super kind of forgot a lot about what made Goku inspiring, they made him a guy who was looking to fight stronger opponents because he enjoyed it, which IMO contradicted a lot of what made him admirable. Maybe only on the Trunks saga with Goku black did we see some classic traits in the character.

 

[SasaM]

Haven't seen Dragon Ball but very late I watched a kids cartoon called Avatar the last airbender and there was a nice redemption story of a protagonist who goes through some soul searching, falls, doubt himself and finally takes his destiny in hand despite external pressure.

Off topic here, but nevertheless... thank you very much for the recommendation.

Binge watched the series over the weekend, and although a cartoon it managed to make me drop a tear or two on several occassions troughout the series and especially towards the end of it, apparently touching on the emotional center as it were. And it also made me laugh at times wholeheartedly.

Thanks again, subscribe to your description and recommendation.

 

[3DStudent]

I also had friends in school that watched it, but every time it was on, it was in the middle of the series. So I never watched it not having seen the first episode. But I'm kind of interested now, however:

Binge watched the series over the weekend,

I noticed it's something like 291 episodes and is on Crunchyroll. How did you manage watching them all?

 

[SasaM]

I noticed it's something like 291 episodes and is on Crunchyroll. How did you manage watching them all?

The Avatar: The Last Airbender series is only about 60 episodes of cca 20 mins duration of one episode, i.e. 3 seasons with cca 20 episodes each.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV Series 2005–2008) ⭐ 9.3 | Animation, Action, Adventure

23m | TV-Y7-FV

m.imdb.com

Watched first several episodes split in smaller pieces on YT first, then all together on some online platform.

 

[3DStudent]

The Avatar: The Last Airbender series

Ah ok. I thought you were talking about DBZ.

 

[Alma.Innovadora]

In one of the episode Goku was explaining that the way he get to SS1 and held on to it was though raw emotion when he saw Frieza killing Krillin.

And yet I still wanted to forgive Freeza, lol.

Goku is a kind of embodiment of always seeing things with curiosity, regardless of one's age. It reminds me that we're socially pressured to act "maturely" based on our age, but it's more of a "way of behaving" according to public opinion, and it's not linked to self-awareness, allowing us to have the right attitude for the context we find ourselves in.