( ), also referred to as is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. Vegeta first appears in chapter #204 "Sayonara, Son Goku", published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on November 7, 1988, seeking the wish-granting Dragon Balls to gain immortality. Vegeta is the prince of an extraterrestrial warrior race known as the Saiyans. He is extremely arrogant, proud and hardworking; he often refers to his heritage and royal status throughout the series, but can also have a destructive temper. He believed that he should be regarded as the strongest fighter in the Universe and becomes obsessed with surpassing Goku after losing his first battle with the Z fighters. However, after Frieza's death, Vegeta unites with the heroes to thwart greater threats to the universe, most notably Cell, Majin Buu, Beerus, Zamasu and Broly. Throughout the series, Vegeta's role changes from villain to antihero and later as one of the heroes, while remaining a key rival to Goku. Vegeta has been hailed as one of the most iconic characters not only in the Dragon Ball franchise, but also in manga and anime history as a whole. He is often cited as one of the most popular examples of rival characters in the industry, due to his character arc and narrative throughout Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super. Development When creating Vegeta, Toriyama originally intended for him to be a short-lived antagonist and second-tier character, with little influence to Dragon Ball's story, portraying him as such during his initial appearances, but the character became more popular than he had expected. Thus Toriyama decided to keep Vegeta in the story for longer. He explained his surprise at the character's popularity in an interview during the release of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, "I had thought about bringing an end to [his story] as just a villain, but as I was writing, I felt that his villainous [...] warped straightforwardness was unexpectedly interesting. I couldn't imagine that a guy with this kind of hairstyle would become popular, and yet he'd get more votes than Goku in favorite-character polls." Toriyama initially harbored a dislike for Vegeta since he was created as a despicable character, but grew to like him as he considered the character's personality to be straightforward, therefore easier to write. He also found the character "Extremely helpful to have around". He also stated that when