Vegeta is by far one of the most popular characters in the classic anime Dragon Ball Z, and for good reason. Honestly, my opinion of Vegeta has improved every time I watch the series. He is also one of the few characters who truly undergoes major development throughout the show.

He first comes to Earth as the first main antagonist of the entire series, but he spends most of the Saiyan Saga flying in a spaceship or watching Nappa beat up the Z Fighters. Especially in the original airing, it takes a long time before we actually see Vegeta fight Goku.

It was a brilliant move to have Vegeta turn into a Great Ape, just like Goku did all the time during the original Dragon Ball anime. According to the series, transforming into this form is supposed to make a Saiyan ten times stronger, which would technically make Vegeta as strong as Captain Ginyu. It is hard to believe Yajirobe was even able to damage his tail with a sword, let alone sever it.

He spends most of the Namek Saga hiding from Frieza and his men like a stubborn little child. Then he convinces himself he is a Super Saiyan, only to realize he is not. I still get emotional when Vegeta is killed by Frieza, especially during that heart-to-heart conversation with Goku before he takes his last breaths.

During the Android/Cell Saga, Vegeta finally becomes a Super Saiyan after wanting that pretty blond hair since he was a little kid. After going inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Vegeta technically becomes the strongest character in the series, at least if you exclude future characters like Beerus, Majin Buu, and Whis.

Then he completely fumbles against Cell by taking the bait and allowing Cell to absorb Android 18 so he could have a worthy opponent. Which is kind of ridiculous, because Vegeta already knew there would always be a gap between him and Goku. If he really wanted a true test of power, it would have been much safer to wait for the Saiyan he calls a clown than to gamble on the biological weapon that wants to obliterate the entire planet for fun.

By the Majin Buu Saga, Vegeta had mostly settled into the life of a wealthy husband and father, though he still wanted to be the warrior he always was. After betraying his friends and family by allowing himself to become Majin Vegeta, he decides to sacrifice himself in an attempt to destroy Majin Buu. It does not work, but every time I watch that episode, I almost end up in tears.

I will say that tricking Goku was pretty stupid. For somebody obsessed with surpassing Kakarot, knocking him out with a surprise attack from behind did not exactly prove he was superior. Then he gets angry with Goku and almost refuses to fuse, which would have doomed Earth. Vegeta has been portrayed in almost every version of the story as smarter than Goku, but I guess Saiyan pride lowers his intelligence by at least 30 points.

The same goes for refusing to fuse again to fight Kid Buu. Setting aside the fact, later established in Dragon Ball Super, that the fusion appears to be temporary unless a Kai is involved, it seems perfectly reasonable that the Dragon Balls could undo a permanent fusion anyway. Vegeta could not even handle Fat Buu on his own, yet he still wanted to fight Kid Buu separately.

I like that by the end of the original Dragon Ball Z story, Vegeta finally gets over his rivalry with Goku and gives him genuine respect. That aspect of his character got sidelined a little in Dragon Ball Super, though not as badly as it could have. Vegeta was not even that surprised when Goku chose to leave his family behind to train Uub. Honestly, Vegeta had some of the best luck in the entire series. He arrived on Earth as an alien with no home and ended up marrying one of the richest women on the planet.