Dragon Ball 10 Times Vegeta Earned Gokus Respect

Vegeta's grown into someone Goku is happy to call a friend, even if the two are frequently fighting over who gets to finish off their latest opponent.

Vegeta has gone through more character development in Dragon Ball Z than anyone else short of Piccolo. He began as a conquering space pirate who was a former prince, having had his planet stolen from him by Frieza. But over time, he grew from a monstrous enemy to a father and husband that was no less of a proud Saiyan warrior.

During his time on Earth, Vegeta has grown into someone Goku is happy to call a friend, even if the two are frequently fighting over who gets to finish off their latest opponent. Several times, Vegeta has garnered Kakarot's respect.

10 Their First Fight Was So Impressive Goku Spared Vegeta's Life

When he was first introduced, Vegeta was one of the most dangerous opponents Goku ever fought. His transformation into the Giant Ape form led to every member of the Z Fighters having to work together to stop him, from Yajirobe cutting off his tail to Gohan bouncing the Spirit Bomb back at him.

After finally putting him down, Goku wouldn’t allow Krillin to kill Vegeta. Instead, he hoped Vegeta would give up being a bad guy and become someone that Goku could fight again down the line.

9 When Vegeta Worked With Them Fighting Ginyu

After realizing he couldn't beat Goku in a fight and with no other members of the Ginyu Force around to help him, Ginyu heavily damaged his own body and swapped bodies with Goku, leaving him with the more powerful body. Gohan and Krillin, along with an injured Goku, fought back as long as they could, and Vegeta beat Goku's body up bad enough to make Ginyu finally swap into his old body again.

In the end, after defeating Ginyu, Vegeta admitted it would be better to work together against Frieza than fight him by himself. This is the only reason any of them survived long enough for Goku to finish healing.

8 When Vegeta Told The Story Of Their Planet's Destruction

Upon getting healed by Dende, Vegeta was convinced that he had finally transformed into a Super Saiyan. But he had no idea what that even meant at the time, and was instead completely destroyed against Frieza after he reached his final form.

By the time it was over, Goku had to come save him, and Vegeta and Goku had their first real conversation. Vegeta explained his history and what Frieza had done to his home planet, but before he could finish, Frieza finished him off. Still, understanding the life Frieza had forced him to live, Goku gave Vegeta a proper burial before getting into battle with the galactic tyrant.

7 When Vegeta First Went Super Saiyan & Saved Goku's Life

Goku surpassed Vegeta seemingly for good when he transformed into a Super Saiyan. Vegeta spent the next four years chasing that power, wanting to reach what he believed was rightfully his. During the fight against the Androids, Goku lost against Android 19 mostly through his own stupid behavior.

But then Vegeta transformed into a Super Saiyan, making Goku realize that he wasn’t the only Saiyan that was capable of reaching that level of power. He was also able to save Goku’s life from Android 19 as he finally got the opportunity to prove he was stronger than his mortal enemy.

6 When Vegeta Discovered A Level Beyond Super Saiyan

After Vegeta and the others’ defeat at the hands of the Androids, Goku and Vegeta both realized the truth: there was a level beyond Super Saiyan neither of them had attained yet. Goku gave them both a chance to train within the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and Vegeta was the one who took the opportunity first.

After over a day of training, Vegeta exited with control over a brand-new Super Saiyan form, and Goku instantly understood the effort Vegeta must have gone through to have become as powerful as he had.

5 When Vegeta Sacrificed Himself Fighting Buu

Vegeta’s actions during the Buu Saga are a big part of why Majin Buu was set free in the first place. It was something Vegeta didn’t seem to care about at first, using his Majin tattoo as an excuse to kill an entire crowd of tournament watchers. This was all to make Goku fight, and they did until Vegeta sensed Majin Buu's incredible energy.

After knocking Goku out by pretending they were in a truce, Vegeta rushed over and fought Majin Buu, trying to use his powers to take Buu out. In the end, he had to sacrifice himself to try to stop Buu, and Goku only found out after the fact, but respected Vegeta’s attempt to atone for what he had done wrong.

4 When Vegeta Fought To Hold Off Buu While Goku Made The Spirit Bomb

Kid Buu was Majin Buu's final version—the being's purest form, with no elements of the people he absorbed still inside of him. While Kid Buu isn’t as powerful as Super Buu, he’s more ferocious in terms of fighting. At first, Goku is able to hold him off by going Super Saiyan 3, but eventually, he realizes this isn't going to be enough to put a stop to Buu.

Vegeta tags in to fight Kid Buu while Goku gathers the energy necessary to use a Spirit Bomb on Buu. The entire time Vegeta just narrowly hangs on, but fortunately, Goku is able to get the Spirit Bomb finished before Kid Buu is destroyed again.

3 When Vegeta Went Up Against Beerus

During Battle of the Gods, Beerus laid out Super Saiyan 3 Goku in a handful of moves. Later on, in that same film, Vegeta, enraged by Beerus putting his hands on his wife, fights Beerus despite being terrified of him. Though he’s only capable of going Super Saiyan 2, an offended Vegeta puts up a much better fight than Goku did.

Even though Goku made fun of him for being so family-oriented, Goku had to respect the fact that no one else was able to keep up until he went Super Saiyan God.

2 When Vegeta Figured Out Frost Was Cheating

During the Universe 6 vs. Universe 7 arc, Vegeta spotted something during Frost’s matches that nearly got Frost disqualified. He had a special groove in his body that allowed him to fire poison-tipped darts that knocked people out for a while.

When Vegeta noticed this, he also got Goku back into the tournament as a sort of mulligan to make up for Frost’s actions. Afterward, Vegeta also participated in the tournament for the express purpose of knocking Frost out of the tournament to make him pay for his cheating ways.

1 When Vegeta Gave His Energy To Goku Against Jiren

Vegeta vs. Top is one of the greatest anime fights of the last decade. He managed to stop a god of destruction candidate, which also makes this victory one of Vegeta's best achievements since the Frieza Saga. Afterward, Vegeta steps in to hold off a more powerful member of the Pride Troopers in Jiren, and as before, he doesn't stand a chance.

In the end, he gives up some of his energy to Goku to allow him to keep fighting and takes a horrendous beatdown at the hands of Jiren until he's finally eliminated, giving Goku the chance to win the match for Universe 7.