In the latest installment of Dragon Ball, released for the series’ 40th anniversary, Vegeta once again falls short of Goku. Dragon Ball has become a hugely popular and influential franchise worldwide, largely thanks to its memorable characters and exciting fights. As a classic shōnen series, it features many elements typical of the genre, but one of its greatest strengths is the ongoing rivalry between the main characters, Goku and Vegeta.
The rivalry between Goku and Vegeta is legendary, ranking among the best in all of entertainment, not just anime. The Dragon Ball series recognizes how important this competition is and keeps bringing it back in different ways. Ultimately, Goku usually wins. He’s proven himself stronger multiple times, and he’s often the first to reach new power levels. Now, Goku is even more popular than Vegeta, though Vegeta remains a very close second.
Goku Defeats Vegeta in Dragon Ball’s Popularity Contest
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Dragon Ball held a global popularity contest called Dragon Ball The One. The contest, which started in November 2025, included 212 characters. Recently, the top 20 were revealed at a Dragon Ball event, confirming Goku as the most popular character, followed by Vegeta in second place. While Goku winning isn’t surprising, Vegeta consistently taking second place has become a defining characteristic of the series.
I’ve noticed a lot of fans really want to see Vegeta finally outshine Goku, but it feels like the series just isn’t built that way. Honestly, I don’t think that’s a bad thing – it seems consistent with how the whole story is structured. And it definitely doesn’t mean Vegeta is weaker! If anything, I think Vegeta has shown he can be more emotionally resilient than Goku at times.
In Dragon Ball Daima, Vegeta surprisingly displayed a wider range of human emotions than Goku, which is notable considering Goku was raised by humans and Vegeta wasn’t. This suggests a deliberate pattern in how the series is developing. Adding to this, Vegeta now reaching Super Saiyan 3 hints that the franchise might finally be giving him the recognition he deserves, and fans could potentially see him win against Goku for the first time ever in the Dragon Ball series.
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2026-01-27 03:11