Dragon Ball is famous for its epic, world-shaking battles. Through the franchise’s long and complex history, many fighters have gone head-to-head, deploying a massive variety of punches, kicks, and energy attacks in their quest to put their opponent down. But while the manga and anime versions of Dragon Ball tell the same story and feature the same fights, they approach them in separate ways, leading to them feeling massively different. Nowhere is this better seen than with one of Dragon Ball’s best fights, as while the anime version is excellent, the manga version takes things to the next level.
The Vegeta saga is Dragon Ball Z’s second saga and the second half of the Saiyan saga. Starting in the manga’s 206th chapter and the Dragon Ball Z anime’s 7th episode, this saga begins with everyone trying to deal with Goku’s sudden death and the news that two more Saiyans are on their way to Earth. Knowing something needs to be done, Piccolo takes it upon himself to train Gohan, hoping he will be strong enough to help protect the Earth when the time comes. At the same time, Goku starts to train with King Kai in his domain. This leads to him learning two of his signature moves, the Kaio-ken and the mighty Spirit Bomb.
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Goku And Vegeta’s Battle Has Superior Pacing In The Manga
The Anime Version Moves A Lot Slower, Harming The Overall Experience
Eventually, Vegeta and Nappa, the two Saiyans, arrive on Earth. Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu try to slow them down to give Goku time to return, but the Saiyans quickly take them down. When Goku arrives, he finds that most of his friends are dead, leading to him quickly destroying Nappa. Goku then tells Vegeta that he’ll fight him one-on-one, provided they go to the desert, as Goku doesn’t want to damage his friend’s bodies. Vegeta accepts this offer, and the pair begin their epic confrontation.
The most instantly noticeable difference between the anime and manga versions of the clash is the length. The manga version of the fight starts in “Mano a Maniac!!”, the manga’s 228th chapter, and finally concludes in chapter 241, “Goku’s Request.”
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The anime version of the fight starts in the 30th episode of Dragon Ball Z, “Goku vs. Vegeta,” and concludes in “Mercy,” the anime’s 35th episode. Because of this, the anime version of the battle moves at a much slower pace, with the anime adding loads of extra scenes to stretch the runtime. This includes several cutbacks to Bulma and the others at the Kame House, flashbacks to Grandpa Gohan warning Goku about the moon, and many other additions. While these moments are not bad in and of themselves, when looked at as a whole, they utterly destroy the pacing and drag the battle out to the point that most of the tension and intensity is lost.
On top of this, Toriyama’s artwork massively enhances the manga version of the fight. Throughout the battle, Toriyama wonderfully conveys Goku and Vegeta’s personalities through their facial expressions and body language. At the start of the duel, Vegeta radiates arrogance, clearly believing he can’t lose this fight. But as Goku slowly starts to power up and take control of the clash, readers can see Vegeta’s confidence falter, giving way to confused frustration as he refuses to believe his confidence was misplaced.
The pinnacle of this comes when Vegeta gets ready to transform into Great Ape form, as his half-slouched posture, slanted eyes, and half-open mouth perfectly capture the feeling of someone who is in a manic state and is unraveling more with each passing second. This only gets more intense once Vegeta loses his tail, as while he’s taunting Krillin, Goku, and Gohan, Vegeta has a sadistic smile on his face that makes him look like something from a slasher movie, giving him a terrifying aura that makes him feel like a genuine threat. The same is true with Goku, as Toriyama’s art helps capture Goku’s initial rage and determination and the slowly dawning horror he experiences as he realizes that even his new moves are not enough to take the evil Saiyan down, making him feel like a true underdog and keeping readers on the edge of their seats.
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Additionally, Toriyama excellently uses panel composition to give the fight a fantastic sense of speed and intensity. During the early parts of the battle, where Goku and Vegeta are furiously clashing and trying to gain the edge over the other, the panels are arranged non-symmetrically, with each page featuring a mix of square and vertical rectangular panels of different sizes. The layout of these pages, combined with how Goku and Vegeta are drawn in each panel, naturally guides the reader’s eye from image to image, making the fight flow together beautifully and imbuing the battle with a sense of speed that makes it feel like Goku and Vegeta are flying around at the speed of light.
This fight is also a great showcase of one of Toriyama’s often-overlooked hallmarks. Throughout the fight, Toriyama changes the characters’ sizes and proportions in an almost cartoon-like way. Not only does this add to the manga’s flow and sense of speed, but it also enhances the fight’s impact. Having Goku’s arm grow when he throws a big punch or drawing him slightly squished when he’s thrown into the ground helps the audience feel the sheer power of the attacks the two Saiyans are launching at each other and the immense pain these attacks cause. This helps give the battle a palpable and visceral edge that makes it feel like a fight to the death between two men who utterly hate each other and will stop at nothing to come out on top.
The Anime Has Numerous Issues That Bring It Down
Dragon Ball Z’s Animation Was Good, But It Lacked The Spark Needed To Fully Capture The Manga’s Brilliance
This all comes together to form the manga’s Great Ape transformation sequence. As this transformation starts, Vegeta takes on an almost demonic appearance, his cackling face looking like something pulled directly from a horror movie. While the transformation only lasts a few panels, each panel sees Vegeta’s face stretched or distorted differently, perfectly conveying to the audience that he’s going through an inhuman process and becoming something utterly terrifying. Plus, whenever Great Ape Vegeta attacks, Toriyama uses perspective to really hammer home how gigantic this form is, making Vegeta’s Great Ape form one of the most imposing and memorable forms in Dragon Ball history.
While the anime does try to bring this to the screen, it falls short in several ways. Most notably, the animation can’t fully capture the manga’s intense emotion. Vegeta is the best example of this, as his expression remains similar for large chunks of the fight, meaning that he doesn’t feel as unhinged or as vicious as his manga counterpart, something that severely reduces his aura. Similarly, while the anime does depict Goku’s terror as he realizes that he can’t take Vegeta down, his more static face means that these moments are nowhere near as visceral as they are in the manga.
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The battle also fails to capture the manga version’s sense of speed and flow. Part of this is because of how stiff the animation is. However, the more prominent issue is that while the manga can jump from big moment to big moment without worrying about geographical continuity, the anime is forced to add linking moments between attack flurries. This leads to the anime having many shots of characters moving into position or staring each other down while preparing for the next flurry, making the experience feel more stilted and overall slower.
These issues were carried through to the Great Ape transformation. While it is longer than its manga counterpart and features some excellently grotesque sound effects, the actual transformation is shown via close-ups, dulling this moment’s horror and impact dramatically. Plus, the stiffer animation means that Vegeta loses the arrogant, megalomanic energy that his manga counterpart does, further reducing the impact of this almighty transformation.
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As long as anime and manga exist as sibling mediums, fans will debate which version of each story is superior, especially because so much of it often comes down to personal preference. However, even diehard anime fans will struggle to argue that the manga version of Goku and Vegeta’s Saiyan saga clash isn’t far superior to the anime version. The enhanced pacing combined with Toriyama’s sumptuous art and expert use of the manga medium means that it is a one-of-a-kind experience that will stick in readers’ minds long after the fight concludes. While the anime team clearly tried their best, the nature of the medium combined with time and budget restrictions meant they couldn’t reach the high bar the original had set, meaning that, despite its merits, the anime version sits in second place.
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Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, grant any wish of choice.
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With the help of the powerful Dragonballs, a team of fighters led by the saiyan warrior Goku defend the planet earth from extraterrestrial enemies.
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