Why Goku vs Vegeta's First Dragon Ball Z Fight Is in My Top Three

The first fight between Goku and Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z (1989) isn't my number one fight in the series, but it's in my top three without question. It runs only two episodes, and I think it's well done, well crafted magic from start to finish.

Many people have said it's their favorite fight in Dragon Ball Z. Whether or not it's yours, it was the gateway for many fans. I can't tell you how many people got into the series because of this fight: Goku, Vegeta, the moves, the Kaioken, the Kamehameha, the Galick Gun. This fight is blood, sweat and tears, and it personifies the action side of Dragon Ball Z.

Without the first Goku vs Vegeta fight, Majin Vegeta wouldn't exist

Goku vs Majin Vegeta is a good, fun and great fight, but it's great for its own reasons. The main reason is Vegeta's demeanor and the mental choices he went through before he reached the point where he could become Majin. That later fight wouldn't exist without this first one.

The first clash between Goku and Vegeta is the blast off, the catapult, the beginning of Vegeta's entire character arc. Without it, his character would not have evolved through Z into who he became in the Buu saga. The rivalry between the two runs deep across the whole series, and this is where it starts.

It doesn't matter whether you know this fight from Z or from Kai. I'd recommend going back to the original Dragon Ball Z in Japanese to experience the way Masako Nozawa and Ryo Horikawa put everything into it. This was a performance of a lifetime for both of them. Still, everyone who has dubbed this fight did a great job, whether that's Sean Schemmel and Chris Sabat, Ian Corlett and Brian Drummond, or the Spanish dub with Mario Castañeda and René García. I think that's because the source material is so great.

Raditz and a year of buildup made Vegeta and Nappa a serious threat

This fight was built up for a very long time, even though Goku and Vegeta didn't know who each other were. Raditz shows up and tells Goku who he really is, then Goku dies and spends a year training. Throughout, the narrator, Raditz and King Kai keep telling us that Vegeta, Nappa and the Saiyans are a serious threat beyond anything else.

If you go through the series in order from Dragon Ball to Z, you'd think King Piccolo was the biggest threat the Earth ever faced. He took over the Earth and was destroying it. Dragon Ball Z then raises the power scale enormously by introducing Goku's brother, who essentially says: you think I'm strong, but the other two who survived Planet Vegeta are going to make mincemeat out of you.

That year of buildup also gives us the story between Gohan and Piccolo and their bond, which would be important going forward in the series. But it was mainly about Goku and his journey to the Other World. Kai took out much of the great filler in the Saiyan saga, so if you've only seen Kai, I recommend the Z version. There's plenty of great filler there.

Goku returns from King Kai stronger, and Vegeta kills Nappa

The main character dies right at the beginning of this part of the series. In the Other World, Goku learns new tricks, mainly the Kaioken and the Spirit Bomb, and his body gets stronger too. His base form is stronger, so the Goku who fought Raditz is not the Goku who fought Vegeta and Nappa.

Goku shows up and puts a pounding on Nappa, Vegeta's bigger, seemingly stronger but actually weaker partner. Vegeta is so embarrassed by him that he kills him and wipes him out. That tells you the kind of guy Vegeta is: he has no room for weakness.

When Goku and Vegeta face off, it starts with confident, boastful trash talk. Vegeta calls himself a super elite and Goku a castaway and a scavenger, and declares that he is royalty. Then they start trading blows, and Vegeta shows he's no pushover. He didn't lie to Goku. He's really strong, and he taunts Goku to show his real power. So Goku powers up, glowing white, and goes into the Kaioken.

Dragon Ball Z episode 30: Goku's Kaioken against Vegeta's full power

The fight is in Dragon Ball Z episode 30. Skip about four or five minutes in, past some recap and talking, and most of the rest of the episode is the fight. It's awesome.

Once Goku uses the Kaioken, the tables turn. He flicks his wrist and the mountain blows up underneath Vegeta. Then Goku hits him with a big right hand to the face, and Vegeta's eyes go wide like he can't believe it. Goku follows with left jabs to the jaw over and over, like something out of Rocky, and then a big kick. But when Goku comes in for the kill, Vegeta sees him and kicks him in the face. The message is that the Kaioken might have taken out his partner, but Vegeta is no pushover.

Goku has a shocked look, and Vegeta laughs, asking whether that's all he's got and saying he'd be disappointed if so. Goku realizes the Kaioken isn't enough and calls Vegeta a powerful fighter, but then he smiles and says he's getting excited. That's the first indicator in this fight that he is a Saiyan who loves to fight, and he starts to enjoy it. Vegeta wonders why he's smiling: has he given up, is he being defiant, or does he have more power? I love this fight so much.

Then Vegeta has an awesome power up that shakes the entire Earth. When I was first getting into Dragon Ball, I read fan recaps of the manga, and I remember one listing this as a technique with a name meant to be Japanese for elite. I haven't seen that in the guidebook, so I'm not sure whether it's true. Either way, his pupils go white, the Earth shakes, and every cloud around them disappears. Goku is shocked, and Vegeta tells him, "it's over Kakarot."

Vegeta starts to ravage Goku. Goku goes to Kaioken times two, the highest he's allowed to go, but Vegeta stays on him. So Goku decides on a triple Kaioken. His muscles rip, his biceps, triceps and chest all bulking up, and he's so strong that steam comes out of his pores. Vegeta wonders whether this guy is going to die.

Dragon Ball Z episode 31: triple Kaioken, the Galick Gun and the first big beam struggle

The second half is in episode 31. The steaming, triple Kaioken Goku hits Vegeta with a big right hand, then comes around the back and catches him again. Vegeta comes out of the mountain furious, arms up and veins showing, asking how dare he. Then comes the scene where they go back and forth: Vegeta throws a big left, Goku ducks and lands an uppercut to the stomach, right in the solar plexus. It might even have been the liver, which would have been very painful. Do Saiyans even have livers? I guess they do, since they're like humans.

Vegeta holds his stomach in pain while Goku keeps pounding him ruthlessly, until Vegeta starts to question his own power. He looks at his blood and can't believe his noble blood was shed by this low class warrior. That's when he decides the planet is history. He jumps up, vows to kill Goku and the planet, and we see the first ever Galick Gun.

Goku answers with an epic Kamehameha. I don't care what dub you're hearing, this scene is epic. It's a triple Kaioken Kamehameha, and it leads to the first major beam struggle in Dragon Ball Z. Not the first in Dragon Ball, but the first in the Z portion. Rocks fly everywhere as the Earth seems to shatter, and then Goku goes to times four and sends Vegeta packing. It's perfection.

You have a right to your opinion, and so do I. This might not be the best fight in the series, and it isn't my number one, but it's in my top three. You don't need a fight that drags across nine or ten episodes. This one is just two episodes of well crafted magic, and in the manga it's just as good.