Vegeta is one of Dragon Ball‘s most complicated characters. Fans have watched him progress from a major villain to an antihero and finally to a bona fide good guy and dedicated family man in Dragon Ball Super. Over time, viewers have gotten glimpses of his internal evolution not just through his actions, but also through his words. Voicing Vegeta in Funimation English dubs of the series, voice actor Chris Sabat was able to bring out the often ill-timed sense of humor, as well as the varying degrees of cynicism that reside on in this prideful prince across the Dragon Ball franchise.
Updated Oct. 29, 2020 by Patrick Mocella: When it comes to the colorful characters of Dragon Ball, Vegeta’s quotability level is beyond any other. Whether it be because of his stabbing insults, emotional outbursts, or deep introspective admissions, Vegeta was never one to hold back what he thought in any given situation. These quotes show all the positive qualities we associate with Goku’s rival.
Updated Nov. 15, 2021 by Patrick Mocella: Unlike Goku, who is not one for speeches or trash talk, Vegeta revels in both. He isn’t afraid to make grandiose boasts of his power or even thumping his chest about what he believes in. With lines spanning “The Cell Saga” all the way to the “Tournament of Power” in Dragon Ball Super, there are always more great quotes from the Prince Of All Saiyans.
“He Will Pay The Ultimate Price For What He Has Done To My Son.”
The “Cell Saga” has arguably some of Vegeta’s most selfish and pig-headed moments. Throughout the storyline, he lets Cell achieve his perfect form just so he could have a worthy opponent and also treats Future Trunks like an unwanted visitor. However, it took a newly revived Cell killing his alternate timeline son for Vegeta to finally feel something for Trunks.
After Cell blasts Future Trunks with a Death Beam, Vegeta’s inner monologues about all the various insults Cell has hurled at him throughout the saga, but Cell killing Trunks is what sends him over the edge. While the resulting flurry of energy blasts ends up meaning nothing (as is often the case with Vegeta), the quote still shows what Trunks ultimately came to mean to Vegeta.
“At Least Try To Face Your Death With Some Honor.”
Fans no doubt rose out of their chairs when they saw Vegeta transform into his Super Saiyan Blue form during the climax of Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’. While Frieza was absolutely spent by his battle with Goku, Vegeta saw his turn to attack his former boss and slayer of his race. Instead of boasting about his power, Vegeta calmly and slowly let Frieza know just how strong he had become.
As Vegeta was set to deliver the killing blow to a now non-golden Frieza, he commented on just how pathetic Frieza looked with that quote. Unfortunately, Vegeta would wait too long and Frieza would blow up Earth, causing Whis to reverse time and have Goku deliver the final energy blast. Despite having his moment stolen, this remains a great quote and shows how Vegeta has grown since his days as Frieza’s soldier.
“Only A Failure Abandons His Principles And Pride.”
While Goku was easily the star Saiyan of the Tournament Of Power, Vegeta had his share of great moments as well. While Goku’s newest rival Jiren was on another level, his mentor Toppo was no slouch either and it was this mustached brawler who did battle with Vegeta.
Despite boasting about maintaining “justice,” Toppo eventually tapped into his God Of Destruction powers and voiced a desire to save his universe no matter the cost, a stark change of what he said earlier throughout the arc. As Vegeta takes the fight to him, he comments with the above quote showing how whether fans love or hate Vegeta, he has always been proud of what he stands for. Thankfully, by the end of Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta’s ideals are to not only fight for his pride but to protect his loved ones and the universe.
“Every Breath You Take Is An Assault On My Honor.”
If fans had a nickel every time Vegeta said the word “honor,” they might have a few thousand Zeni to their names. It is a word that clearly means a lot to Vegeta as he often makes dumb decisions as long as it upholds his own perceived honor. The peak of his stupidity came when he allowed himself to become corrupted by Babidi to receive a power boost.
In a speech he delivers to a restrained Goku, he tells him how for all those years that Goku lived and outshone Vegeta, it was an insult to his very being. Vegeta would end up winning their battle (in very dubious fashion) but the quote shows Vegeta’s state of mind during their rematch.
“You’ll Never Learn To Think Like That Clown.”
In the Goku Black arc of Dragon Ball Super, Vegeta loses decisively in a brawl against Goku Black. However, their rematch goes much differently as Vegeta is able to overpower the fake Saiyan while also delivering a hell of a speech to him as he pummels Goku Black.
To summarize an incredible monologue, Vegeta tells Zamasu that while he may have stolen Goku’s body and has his power, he’d never be able to use it like Goku does because Goku actually earned that power. Of course, Vegeta still calls Goku a clown, but that’s to be expected. Like other quotes in the series, though, it shows that despite his animosity towards Goku, Vegeta still respects him like no other being in the universe.
“Spend most of your life ruled by another, watch your race dwindle to a handful, and then tell me what has more meaning than your own strength.”
The Buu Saga of Dragon Ball Z saw Vegeta make one last pit stop on his arc into becoming a hero of Earth. Siding with the evil wizard Babidi, Vegeta made a Faustian deal to gain power. When he challenged Goku to one more battle, the Supreme Kai calls their rivalry a “meaningless squabble.” Not the right thing to say to Vegeta though, as he delivers a spine-tingling speech worthy of the Gods. That specific quote is the highlight of it and a tremendous moment for voice actor Chris Sabat.
“You’re better than me, Kakarot. You are the best.”
At the end of the Buu saga, the fate of the universe is on the line as Goku battles against Kid Buu. Try as he might, Vegeta is unable to keep up with the demented monster and has his royal butt handed to him. This prompts Vegeta to stay on the sidelines and watch his rival fight a battle that he cannot.
While one would expect Vegeta to be furious about this and try to attack Buu anyway, this quote which caps off a lengthy internal monologue shows just how much he has grown emotionally. While he accepts Goku as his better, this doesn’t stop him from training his hardest to surpass him.
“That’s my Bulma!”
In Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Gods, Bulma tries to break up the fight between Beerus and Vegeta by yelling and slapping the God Of Destruction. Annoyed by this, Beerus simply slaps Bulma to the ground. He should not have done that though as this prompts Vegeta to fly into a rage which, according to Master Roshi, makes him even more powerful than Goku. This was a fleeting moment however as his strongest assault is not even enough to hurt Beerus in any meaningful way. Still, the delivery of the line is perfect.
“You may have invaded my mind and my body, but there’s one thing a Saiyan always keeps: his pride.”
Babidi thought he had it all figured out. He thought that with his possession of Vegeta that he had secured his evil victory. How wrong this short, pathetic, and evil wizard was.
Rather than being controlled by the villain, Vegeta overpowered the mind control and directed all of his newfound power into fighting Goku rather than killing the Supreme Kai as Babidi commanded him to do. With the above quote, Vegeta proved just how much willpower he possesses.
“Trunks, Bulma, I do this for you. And, yes, even for you, Kakarot.”
Throughout most of Dragon Ball Z, one would be gravely mistaken to consider Vegeta a team player. This Saiyan always looked out for himself above and all else and only ever helped others if it served his own selfish goals. In this pivotal moment, however, Vegeta showed the growth that took over a hundred episodes to reach.
Believing the only way to stop Buu was to sacrifice his own life, Vegeta unleashes the desperate Final Explosion attack in an attempt to end Buu for good. As he leaves this world, he thinks to himself who he is doing this for. The three most important people in his life; his wife, his son, and his rival. Unfortunately, it all meant nothing in terms of stopping Buu, but the quote is legendary regardless.
“Servant woman! Bring me a drying cloth at once!”
After Frieza was defeated, Vegeta found himself with nowhere to go. It was Bulma who welcomed him into her home, despite all the vile things he’d done before then, and it didn’t take Vegeta long to abuse her kindness. At the time, it was unfathomable that a relationship was brewing between them, since Vegeta regarded her as a lowly servant. One thing’s for certain: He wouldn’t dare talk to her like this now.
“I’ll eat your whole race!”
During a family vacation with Trunks and Bulma in Dragon Ball Super, Bulma pointed out that he had changed after fighting Buu, and Vegeta nearly gave himself the goal of proving her, and everyone else, completely wrong. When presented with a whole octopus for dinner, Vegeta threatened to eat its “whole race.” Only Vegeta could make something as trivial as eating seafood about genocide. It seems like that planet-destroying maniac that he used to be all those years ago is still somewhere deep inside of him.
“Welcome to the end of your life, and I promise it’s going to hurt.”
Though outwardly intimidating, Babidi’s minion Pui Pui couldn’t even land a single hit on Vegeta, who hadn’t even relied on a transformation to defeat him. Unimpressed by Pui Pui’s speed and agility, Vegeta hurled this threatening insult at the alien warrior before a single punch was thrown. More importantly, he was able to back up his words. When Vegeta talks big to an opponent, he’s usually the one who ends up with his face in the dirt. Poor Pui Pui. He would’ve been better off just fighting Gohan.
“Whose face is ugly?”
After surviving a Spirit Bomb that nearly propelled him into Earth’s orbit, Vegeta landed back to the canyon in tatters. Thinking that he was dead, Krillin mentioned that they wouldn’t have to “look at his ugly face anymore,” to which Vegeta promptly responded with a firm, “Whose face is ugly?” This left Krillin, Gohan, Goku, Yajirobe, and even King Kai speechless. Not only was this a clever, well-timed comeback, but it also showed us just how resilient a Saiyan elite was, since he still had enough sense to deliver a retort even on the verge of death.
“I do a lot of push-ups and sit-ups, and I drink plenty of juice.”
After spending a year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Vegeta was more than enough for Semi-Perfect Cell. When Cell asked Vegeta just how he’d gotten so strong, Vegeta responded with an answer so silly that we would’ve thought it was straight out of Saitama’s playbook had One Punch Man been released first. It seems he wasn’t only just working on his fighting technique. Clearly, he’d been training his comedic delivery as well.
“I find it hard to believe that my cells are in your body. How could you have turned out so ugly?”
Sticking with some of Vegeta’s most infamous Cell disses, the Saiyan prince decided to take a jab at the Bio-Android’s looks. Though it was meant to be a joke to further aggravate Cell, this quote actually brought up a valid point. If Cell was composed of the organic matter of all these different fighters, why did he look nothing like any of them? Sure, he inherited Piccolo’s green skin, but other than that, he looks nothing like any of the handsome heroes.
“Let me ask you: Does a machine like yourself ever experience fear?”
Vegeta delivered this iconic line right before unveiling his Super Saiyan powers to the world. This quote showed us just how confident he was in his own abilities despite having just attained the Super Saiyan transformation. Vegeta quickly got the answer to his own question after Android 19 could only stare in terror after his arms were ripped from their sockets and he was blown to bits.
“Is it slavery when you get what you want?”
Despite rocking the forehead M tattoo and receiving the boost in power that came with joining Babidi’s ranks, Vegeta was still wholly in control of his actions, acting on his own selfish desires to fight Goku after years of waiting. Goku asked Vegeta why he’d allow himself to become Babidi’s slave, to which Vegeta responded by killing even more World Tournament spectators and delivering this iconic line. At the end of the day, Vegeta did get that rematch that he wanted all along.
“When we fight, we’ll need whole planet for an arena.”
The Buu Saga was a turbulent time for Vegeta. Not only did he get the chance to fight Goku again, but he briefly reawakened the darkness in his heart before sacrificing himself for the sake of his family and friends. In the end, he was forced to come to terms with the fact that Goku was the superior fighter between them. Years after Kid Buu was defeated, the two entered the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament. As the tournament’s strongest fighters, they were destined to meet in the ring at some point, until Goku decided to bail to train Uub. Instead of getting upset, Vegeta responded with this friendly remark that bears as much truth in it as anything else that’s been said in the series. With both Saiyans having enough power to destroy the planet even in their base forms, Earth would quickly be reduced to a mountain of rubble if they truly went all-out.
“You say I’m arrogant. I say, damn right. That’s pridem pride in the Saiyan I am.”
Despite its flaws, Dragon Ball Super is worth the watch for any die-hard Vegeta fan. It’s hard to watch Super and believe that Vegeta actually used to be one of the most malicious men in the galaxy. During the Tournament of Power, Vegeta’s identity was put to the test. After Goku had awakened the powers of Ultra Instinct, Vegeta tried his hardest to follow in Goku’s footsteps, going as far as to take on Jiren alone despite knowing that the Universe 11 warrior could easily toss him aside like trash. Jiren called him out for this, telling him that his technique was impure due to his arrogance. This is one thing that’s never changed over Vegeta’s development, and of course, has everything to do with his royal upbringing. Unlike Goku, who’s had a complicated relationship with his Saiyan heritage, Vegeta fully embraces it. Instead of seeing his Saiyan pride as a weakness, Vegeta sees it as an affirmation, which is exactly what got him this far in the first place.