[A One-Sided Rivalry? Goku and Vegeta's Relationship as Analyzed by a Psychology Expert!] | DRAGON BALL OFFICIAL SITE (2024)

In the story that unfolds in Dragon Ball, you can see how characters grow by overcoming fierce battles and how the relationships between these characters deepen as a result. In a previous article we took a look at Piccolo and Gohan's master-student relationship, and this time we will be talking about two rivals who are also very popular with readers: Goku and Vegeta!

Originally debuting in Tale 204 of the manga, Vegeta and Nappa invade Earth in an attempt to use the Dragon Balls to obtain immortality. Afterwards, through multiple intense battles, Vegeta slowly but surely begins to fight alongside Goku to defend the Earth.

Goku and Vegeta are both members of the Saiyan warrior race, but their upbringings and attitudes towards fighting are very different. I asked Professor Nobuyuki Ota, who specializes in research on the subjects of competition and rivalry, to analyze the relationship of these two warriors.

Ota: Goku and Vegeta cooperate when necessary, but also sometimes fight to determine who is stronger. From an outsider's perspective they do indeed look like rivals.

However, it is unclear whether both of these warriors feel the same way. It does seem like Vegeta considers Goku to be his rival, but I believe that Goku is not the kind of individual who sees others as his rivals.

Goku's driving emotion is not of competitiveness, but rather an intense desire to become stronger.

Ota: Actually, one-sided rivalries are rather common.

In a psychological survey, if you ask the question, "Is there someone that you consider to be your rival?", over half of the participants will answer yes. However, that number decreases significantly when you ask those same people whether they think that their rival feels the same way about them.

Just like in a romantic relationship, it isn’t normally possible to confirm what both individuals are feeling at any given moment, so it's common for just one person in such a situation to be thinking, "That's my rival".

Ota: As the story progresses, Goku and Vegeta start to fight together because they have the same goal.

Fighting together allows them to learn more about each other and provides an opportunity for them to acknowledge each other's strength. This kind of situation normally leads individuals to develop trust, so in reality a rivalry could certainly result from this sort of situation.

Ota: The biggest merit to having a rival is to give yourself a sense of purpose. If you have someone that you want to win against at any cost, it is easier to give your all.

Try not to become obsessed with winning, though. If the pressure of having to win is too great, your mental health may suffer as a result.

Ota: Actually, Vegeta is rather strong mentally.

Even after seeing how strong Goku has become he never wavers in his quest to become stronger. I think that this level of mental toughness is only achievable by someone with Saiyan blood.

Ota: Hmm... I actually don't recommend trying to become that mentally resilient. People who are too mentally strong tend to put a strain on others around them. I bet that at least some of your readers know someone in their lives who is so stoic they seem a bit distant.

Goku's wife, Chichi, and Vegeta's wife, Bulma, both have very strong personalities, and I think you would need to have their type of mentality in order to put up with someone as tenacious as a Saiyan.

Ota: I would recommend choosing someone who is similar to yourself. I think that Vegeta chooses Goku as his rival because he, too, is a Saiyan.

In psychology, we use the term "social comparison" to refer to the habit humans have of comparing themselves to others in order to be able to accurately evaluate themselves. Social comparisons are easiest to do when you choose someone who is similar to yourself.

Ota: Rivalries where an individual wants to become as strong as someone else are the most common. This type of rivalry includes cases where both parties seem to be at near-equal proficiency levels to outsiders, but the individual considers their rival to be better than them.

For this type of individual, their rivals are usually only slightly more competent, so competing frequently leads to increased motivation levels and personal improvement.

Ota: Compared to other Saiyans or humans, Vegeta has a high amount of pride. In psychology, we refer to pride as "self-esteem", and it refers to an individual's sense of personal worth.

Young children tend to have high self-esteem. The reason for this is that children are usually unable to view themselves in an objective manner. Upon reaching adulthood, people become able to compare themselves to others around them, and as a result their self-esteem lowers to reasonable levels.

People who continue to have high self-esteem even into adulthood never experience this lowering of their self-esteem. In particular, individuals who happen to be exceptional at the things that they consider to be important will have higher self-esteem.

In Vegeta's case, he values strength due to his Saiyan blood. In addition, he himself is a powerful Saiyan warrior, so it is easy for him to have high self-esteem.

Ota: Hmm... I imagine that since Vegeta is part of the Saiyan royal family he was raised in an environment where there was a lot of pressure to become stronger. It is also reasonable to assume that he realized he was stronger than those around him.

I think that it was this realization, along with being in a position of power where he was leading subordinates of his own, that molded his view of the world.

Ota: When I look at both of these Saiyans, Vegeta seems the more human of the two. His high self-esteem and quest to prove his own strength are very relatable.

I think that one of the interesting aspects of the Dragon Ball story is that Vegeta, raised on another planet, seems very human, while Goku, raised on Earth, seems very Saiyan-like.