“It’s not like anyone can become a Super Saiyan”: Vegeta Fans Won’t be Happy With What Akira Toriyama Had to Say About His Rivalry With Goku
Although it may be a constant source of frustration for Vegeta, Dragon Ball has demonstrated that, in terms of power, Goku will always be one step ahead of his fellow Saiyan. It turns out that the reason why that is the case is quite straightforward and reasonable, but the source of the information comes from an interview with Akira Toriyama, the creator of the Dragon Ball series.
Goku leaped ahead of Vegeta in terms of strength the minute he became Super Saiyan for the first time, and he has essentially been ahead of him ever since. This is not meant to minimize Vegeta’s strength in the slightest; he is unquestionably a formidable warrior, but to his chagrin, Goku is the one who consistently shatters records and demonstrates the limits of human strength.
It’s the main source of the two’s rivalry and one of Vegeta’s main inspirations to work harder in his training. However, Toriyama claims that Vegeta might not be able to defeat Goku because of something that isn’t explicitly stated in the series: S-Cells.
Akira Toriyama Revealed Why Goku Is Always Able To Beat Vegeta
In a January 2018 interview from Saikyo Jump and translated by Kanzenshuu, Akira Toriyama spoke about the process of becoming Super Saiyan and what exactly that entails. Toriyama explained:
It’s not like anyone can become a Super Saiyan through training and anger. In order to become a Super Saiyan, one’s body must contain something called “S-Cells”. Once these S-Cells reach a certain amount, a trigger such as anger will explosively increase the S-Cells and cause a change in the body; that’s Super Saiyan.
Most Saiyans have some S-Cells, although not a great quantity. The reason why Goku and Vegeta’s children can become Super Saiyan relatively easily is probably because to a certain extent they inherited a lot of S-Cells, and also because Earth’s environment is gentler and easier to live in than Planet Vegeta.
The way Toriyama explains how to cultivate S-Cells is far more fascinating. According to Toriyama, S-Cells can proliferate due to a kindly spirit, but this requires more than just a gentle spirit; it also demands a certain amount of battle power and experience.
Since the majority of Saiyans share Vegeta’s boisterous, violent tendencies, S-Cells became extremely rare, which caused the Super Saiyan to vanish into myth and legend. But Goku is a unique example of a kind-hearted Saiyan with extensive fighting experience, which gives him the ideal mix of qualities to unleash Super Saiyan for the first time in centuries. He further stated:
Having a gentle spirit is the best way to greatly increase one’s S-Cells, but most Saiyans have trouble with this, which I think is why no Super Saiyans appeared for such a long time that they became the stuff of legend.
However, one can’t reach the quantity necessary for becoming a Super Saiyan simply by having a gentle spirit, so a certain amount of battle power is indeed necessary. Looked at in this light, it’s easy to see why becoming a Super Saiyan came easy for Goku.
Therefore, Goku will always have an easier time unlocking new Super Saiyan levels since his body and temperament are exactly suited for success, according to Toriyama himself. Vegeta, on the other hand, lacks such a kind nature.
Although he has become more composed and kind over time, he still has trouble controlling his attitude, and as long as that persists, he will never be able to fully catch up to Goku. That’s why allying with Goku and leading a relatively calm life on Earth is one of Vegeta’s greatest power-boosting decisions to date.
The Competition Between Goku And Vegeta Is One-Sided
Nobuyuki Ota, a professor at Chubu University who specializes in “competition and rivalry,” examined the relationship between Goku and Vegeta on the official Dragon Ball website. He claims that the rivalry between the two is extremely one-sided since Goku just wants to get stronger, regardless of the opponent, while Vegeta views Goku as a specific person he must defeat. Professor Ota said:
I think that Goku is not the kind of person who views other people as his competitors.
Considering Vegeta’s competitive attitude, this makes sense. Vegeta recently showed in Dragon Ball Super that he was never truly done burying the hatchet when he once again displayed “evil” behavior, attacking Goku and saying that his genuine objective was still to defeat him.
While Vegeta wants to outdo Goku, Goku wants to get stronger through wider-ranging competition. Both Goku and Vegeta will only grow stronger as the Dragon Ball stories go on, but Goku’s overarching objective will always drive him to positively pursue new challenges, while Vegeta will become fixated on Goku as a peer in an intensely competitive and one-sided rivalry.
