Dragon Ball x Naruto: 10 things Sasuke and Vegeta have in common

Two of the most popular shounen animes, Naruto and Dragon Ball, have portrayed unique and unforgettable characters throughout their runtime.

However, sometimes characters like Sasuke and Vegeta are adored due to their amazing writing and their overall hype. While it is safe to say that they are far apart strength-wise, they are quite alike in a lot of different ways.

Every fiery and somewhat slow anime protagonist absolutely "needs" calm, collected and intelligent counterparts. One simply cannot achieve a shounen dream team without a logical and cool character who carries a lot of emotional baggage. It seems like this description matches two of the most influential and fan-favorite characters in all of anime history, Sasuke and Vegeta.

Thus, the dedicated fan bases of these masterpieces have never stopped comparing their favorites. This article dives into their overall similarities and how both of them have left an impact on their respective universes.

Note: The list is subjective and reflects the opinions of the writer.

Exploring the similarities between Sasuke and Vegeta in Naruto and Dragon Ball

1) Both are deuteragonists

Goku and Vegeta (Image via Toei Animation)

Sasuke and Vegeta are the second most important characters in their respective animes right after the protagonists, Naruto and Goku. They act as foil characters to the protagonists and share some qualities with them, like strength and skill, but differ greatly when it comes to mentality.

Sasuke decided to leave his village and friends entirely in pursuit of power and Vegeta killed his comrade, Nappa, when he was not deemed useful anymore. Naruto and Goku, on the other hand, cherish their friends and are empathetic to them.

2) Rivals to the Naruto and Goku

Initially, the only reason Sasuke and Naruto were considered "rivals" was thanks to Sakura being madly in love with Sasuke while Naruto had a huge crush on her. He never considered Naruto could be regarded as his equal, thanks to his pride. In the end, they did consider themselves to be equal as they laid on the ground with their dominant arms severed.

As for Vegeta, he was portrayed as a very egotistical and prideful individual as he was the Prince of all Saiyans. It wasn't long into the anime when his immense pride was shattered by Goku's very own Kamehameha. Soon. he found himself protecting the Earth and raising a family on it.

3) Their attitude towards others

Sasuke uses Chidori in an attempt to kill Sakura (Image via Studio Pierrot)

Initially, Sasuke was always portrayed as a calm and collected shinobi. Later on in the story, he was shown to be cruel, arrogant and selfish. He was ready to kill his comrade, Karin, with no hesitation — and even Sakura when she decided to confront him.

Sasuke always found a way to flaunt his superior skills and taunt Naruto ever since they were little kids. That changed, however, when the latter kept picking up his pace and came close to being on par with him.

Similarly, Vegeta was considered to be cruel, arrogant, vengeful and even sadistic when he was introduced into the world of Dragon Ball. His immensely cold-blooded and egotistical nature stemmed from his royal blood and his association with the tyrant, Frieza.

Soon, Vegeta developed a sense of respect for his fellow Super Saiyan, Goku, as he trained hard to surpass him.

4) Thirst for revenge

Vegeta was taken from his parents and his planet by Frieza, as he possessed immense strength which was deemed quite abnormal for a child. Eventually, the galactic tyrant destroyed Vegeta's Homeland, wiping the proud race of Saiyans out of existence.

He was trained to be a soldier for Frieza and was ordered to conquer planets by the same. This did not interfere with his plans to overthrow and kill the tyrant, though, to bring justice to his father and planet.

When it comes to Sasuke, however, his whole story is based on his thirst for revenge. When Sasuke introduced himself to Kakashi Hatake, he was quite frank about his goal. He wanted to avenge his parents and fellow clan members by killing his older brother, Itachi Uchiha.

He would resort to anything to get stronger and kill Itachi, and he proved that by leaving his friends and village behind to pursue strength from Orochimaru. Later on in the story, he would hear the truth about Itachi's sacrifice and seek to destroy the same village he once considered to be his home.

5) Battle intelligence

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Sasuke has always been regarded as a prodigy in the village, as expected from an Uchiha. He analyzes his enemies extremely fast and has quick reflexes. thanks to his Sharingan. He was the best of Konoha 12 and has killed Kage Level Shinobi like Danzo.

Sasuke was also smart enough not to give into Deidara's final trick. His immaculate use of Rinnegan, which uses a lot of chakra, has also been noted as a way to portray his sense of timing and patience while in a fight.

Similarly, Vegeta was also an incredibly smart fighter. He carefully planned strategies that gave him the upper hand over his intellectually inferior opponents. While he did make some pretty dumb mistakes due to his superiority complex, his battle IQ had to be recognized as a lot of his eliminations in the Tournament of Power were a direct result of his superior intelligence.

6) They realised their mistakes

One of the most heart-wrenching moments of Dragon Ball Z happened when Vegeta gave out a speech about how Frieza bullied his father into being evil and how Goku had to stop him.

While facing death and being forced to think about his father’s death, Vegeta had an epiphany and realized that he didn’t need to keep killing people. Unfortunately, Frieza then finished Vegeta off, but this also marked the end of the evil in Vegeta. When he was brought back to life, though, he was no longer evil to his core.

Similarly, Sasuke had a change of heart because Naruto never gave up on him. The latter kept insisting that he could get through, convincing him to break the cycle of hatred. After the pair fought their final battle at the Valley of the End, he accepted Naruto's plea to return to the village.

7) They atoned for their sins

Adult Sasuke in Boruto! (Image via Studio Pierrot)

The same Sasuke who planned to destroy Konoha, murdered innocent people, and alienated himself from everyone, now works as the "Shadow Kage" as portrayed in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.

Now, he protects the village from external threats and takes on difficult missions. He also redeemed himself by battling the likes of Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki and Jigen.

As for Vegeta, he was self-aware of the crimes he had committed in the past. They did remain unaddressed, though, and fans could witness his redemption when Vegeta sacrificed himself while fighting Majin Buu after becoming the villainous Majin Vegeta.

8) Their current relationship with the protagonists

When it comes to fusion, it requires people with similar power levels and also a deep connection, to work properly. This shows how far Vegeta and Goku have come in terms of understanding each other.

Vegeta also overcame his Saiyan pride and gave out his last remaining energy to Goku in an effort to finally defeat Jiren during the Tournament of Power. It can be said that the mutual respect they have for each other is quite remarkable.

Similarly, Sasuke did admit that Naruto was his best and only friend when Naruto said they could change the world together even if they weren't brothers by blood.

The two were nothing but young boys when they became friends and their bond is unbreakable. They also coordinate with each other on the battlefield flawlessly, which cannot happen without a strong and resilient mental connection.

Final thoughts