Over the years, Dragon Ball has evolved a lot. With each subsequent installment, it went from a simple martial arts story into a layered epic with gods and angels, alternate universes, and endless transformations and power-ups. But if there’s one thing that hasn’t changed, it’s the way Vegeta gets treated by the narrative itself. The once arrogant Prince of all Saiyans is made the butt of many jokes and has to be second-best all the time.

Piccolo’s voice actor, Christopher Sabat, recently shared his thoughts on this, and it might be what the Vegeta fans have been wondering all along. Did Toriyama intentionally nerf and turn Vegeta into a character that seems to get no wins?

Vegeta’s struggles aren’t random, but Toriyama’s gags

It is evident that Goku is the protagonist, but with time, Vegeta grew from an annoying brat to a mature,...