Vegeta is a dominant force within the Dragon Ball franchise who has received more character development than any other prominent character within the series. He is the prince of a fallen Saiyan race, possesses a regal demeanor, and has no qualms showing off his prideful nature. Although he was once a ruthless, cold-blooded warrior, he abandoned that role and relocated to Earth. Here, he meets his future wife Bulma, and they cultivate a family together.
Creator Akira Toriyama introduced The Brief family as a whole through Bulma, and named them after various types of undergarments. Upon Vegeta's entry into the family through his relationship with Bulma and their two children, Bulla and Trunks, the Briefs are part of the Saiyan Royal Family. This extends further to Vegeta's father, King Vegeta, and his younger brother Tarble. They are one of the only families in the series to contain both Human and Saiyan bloodlines.
Although the Brief lineage has a laissez-faire perspective for generations, Bulma gains autonomy and full control over their familial relations as a rule. The family runs a scientific corporation called Capsule Corporation. Dr. Brief and Bulma possess some of the most brilliant scientific minds on Earth, much like Vegeta demonstrates in his lineage as well. Together, the Brief family expand their knowledge to their children, share each other’s unique quirks, and feel the weight of the power they possess on Earth.
25 Bulma's Changing Hair Colors
Bulma's hair colors have alternated between blue, green, and even purple tones inconsistently throughout the series. Dragon Ball was animated during the 80s and 90s, which was long before digital colors were utilized in the production process. Due to this, Bulma’s hair color occasionally varies in tone from episode to episode given that it was unpredictable how the inks were going to be mixed each day.
Interestingly enough, Bulma’s hair was even blonde in an issue of Weekly Jump.
Such a discrepancy can be attributed to how animation supervisors were always rotating positions. Without one person being consistently tracking Bulma’s hair color, it is not difficult to image how such an issue arose. Contemporary character sheets now utilize hex values for colors to avoid this problem.
24 King Vegeta Transforms Into A Great Ape
King Vegeta hides the ability to transform into a Great Ape, which can be seen during a flashback present in Plan to Eradicate the Super Saiyans and Dragon Ball GT. This transformation can also be seen in the video games Dragon Ball Heroes and Budokai Tenkaichi 3. While transformed, King Vegeta contains full mental control over the transformation.
Saiyans can only partake in this transformation during a full moon, but it increases their already formidable strength to a heightened degree.
King Vegeta retains his beard during this transformation, and even has the ability to fully communicate verbally in this form. As if King Vegeta was not already incredibly intimidating, this added ability further accentuates his brooding nature.
23 Bulla Inherited Pivotal Genes From Vegeta And Bulma
Bulla is the very first half-Saiyan, half-Earthling female hybrid in the series. On top of that impressive title, she is also the first princess born into the Saiyan Royal Family following several generations of male heirs. This makes her extremely special, and an innovative force within the Brief family.
Though, when Vegeta and Bulma are your parents, it’s not surprising that you would inherit a couple of superior traits.
Hybrid Saiyans still possess the potential to eventually become Super Saiyans. Given how sparsely Hybrids are found, it is unclear exactly the amount of generations removed from their Saiyan ancestor they can be before transformation becomes impossible, down the line.
22 Dr. Brief Is A Weirdo
Dr. Brief’s favorite hobby is collecting dirty magazines, despite being one of the most successful individuals of the series. Within the early Dragon Ball series, Dr. Brief can be seen periodically stashing these dirty magazines inside random capsules. Bulma becomes keenly aware of his antics, and is both embarrassed and distressed by his obsession.
It's a known fact that Dr. Brief often causes his daughter various levels of embarrassment.
In Dragon Ball: Origins 2, Bulma is even asked by Dr. Brief to retrieve a dirty magazine from a capsule that was hidden on General Blue’s Camp Island as a bonus level mission. These magazines are appropriately called Naughty Books in Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors.
21 Trunks Has Successfully Saved Goku Many Times
Trunks has managed to alter the flow of time twice within his life. Both of these instances have radically changed events through initiating a butterfly effect, which led to Goku being saved in both cases. The first event consists of Trunks going back in time to save Goku from a heart virus, which eventually leads him to end Frieza and King Cold as well. This even drastically changes the course of the future.
The second time Trunks saves Goku, he accomplished it unbeknownst to himself.
Trunks goes back in time during Dragon Ball Super to recruit help from Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta in hopes of fighting Goku Black. Trunks travels back in time long enough to a point in which Goku and Zamasu haven’t met. Due to this interference, Whis and Beerus become aware of Zamasu’s evil intentions and stop him from carrying on his plans, thus saving Goku from his end, and the ultimate creation of Goku Black.
20 Future Trunks Successfully Avenged Vegeta
Future Trunks has already managed to end two villains that had struck down his father. He ended Frieza within the present timeline, and managed to also end the Androids in his own future timeline.
Trunks' time-manipulation abilities definitely establish his position in Vegeta's lineage.
Due to his elimination of Frieza, Future Trunks managed to avenge the ends of his paternal grandfather, as well as the other Saiyans that were ended by Frieza during the Battle of the Saiyans. Such a deed is both commendable and fitting considering the fact that it serves as an homage to his royal Saiyan heritage, and retaliates against Vegeta’s disappearance.
19 Future Trunks Defeated Frieza And King Cold
It has been officially stated that Goku was the one responsible for defeating Frieza and King Cold within Cell and Future Trunks’ timeline. However, Cell has implied that Future Trunks is actually just as responsible for these ends due to the fact that he was in the main timeline while interacting with Piccolo.
During this main timeline, Future Trunks tells Piccolo about his origins, and provides the information pertaining to the cells that were infused to him. This information is crucial as it puts motive, foundation, and reason to the forefront. As usual, Future Trunks appears to effect those around him in a positive manner.
18 Trunks Is Everyone's Favorite Character
The composer for the FUNimation English dub of Dragon Ball Z, Bruce Faulconer, has stated on his website that Future Trunks is his absolute favorite Dragon Ball character.
Christopher Sabat, and American voice actor, has also agreed with the sentiment, adding that apart from Vegeta, Trunk is his favorite within the whole series.
They both shared mutual admiration for Future Trunks' characteristics, specifying that they enjoyed him as a “lone survivor of the apocalypse, son of the most angry and the most headstrong characters.” Future Trunks' fights were also praised, stating that the one in which he easily takes down Frieza and his father is a major highlight.
17 Bulma Manipulated Time Twice
Future Bulma’s Time Machine invention constituted the second time an invention of hers unintentionally endangered the entire Earth and universe, due to it manipulating the natural order of time.
Still, Future Bulma’s intentions were entirely honorable.
The first iteration was called the Dragon Radar, which allowed the Dragon Balls to be overused and overloaded with negative energy. This effectively gave rise to the Shadow Dragons and Black Smoke Shenron in Dragon Ball GT. Overall danger was later mitigated due to Kami’s end. As the Dragon Balls were rendered inert, a potential overuse was averted, leaving the Shadow Dragons at bay during Future Bulma’s timeline.
16 Bulma Prefers Men With Short Hair
In episode 19 of Dragon Ball, Bulma makes it very clear that she has a preference for men with short hair. Though this is more obvious and straightforwardly stated in the Japanese dub, Bulma is very impressed by Yamcha’s new look. This is the first episode where he is seen with short hair, although he later regains his original long locks in a later episode.
Such news must not bid well onto Vegeta’s ego given his long hair, but luckily, Bulma does not seem to take to him only for his looks.
Given how often Bulma’s hair changes within the entire series, it is not surprising that she contains strong feelings regarding hair.
15 Trunks Is Almost A Prince
Due to the fact that Vegeta is a Saiyan prince, it is technically true that Trunks could hold the title of prince as well. Given the lineage that is utilized in the series, it is evident and entirely rational that Trunks would hold that title if he inherits it from his father.
Although the franchise never outwardly states that he is worthy of a royal title, he is referred to as “Prince Trunks” one time total.
Though, it is not practical to believe that Vegeta ever wants to crown himself as king out of respect for his father. If he had, and participated in the coronation that leads such a rule, Trunks would possess the title of prince in no time.
14 King Vegeta Loves Fighting Other Saiyans
Most of King Vegeta’s fighting within the Dark Empire Saga have been fought against other Saiyans, including Broly Dark, Turles (Xeno), and the alternate dimension of Bardock (Xeno).
The fights between Broly Dark and Turles (Xeno) are incredibly fitting given the fact that Turles is a lower-class Saiyan Army defector. He had retreated away on his own to create a unique rival origination called the Turles Crusher Corporation. Broly Dark was sentenced to vanish by King Vegeta while he was a child in hopes of escaping Planet Vegeta’s destruction, and end.
The fight against Bardock (Xeno) is in reference to their status as the fathers of Goku and Vegeta correspondingly.
13 Dr. Briefs Is Not A Doctor In The Usual Sense
Mr. Brief’s title of “doctor” (博士, hakase in Japanese) is in reference to someone who has received a research doctorate, similar to a Ph.D. This is important to note as it differentiates him from a medical doctor (医師, ishi in Japanese), as well as from a professor.
Though, this is not merely an honorific title, either.
Dr. Brief’s training consists of an engineering and scientific program, meaning he more than likely possesses a Sc.D, which would make him a doctor of science, or Eng.D., which would grant him a doctor of engineering degree. His signature white lab coat conveys his doctoral status, but can be interpreted of one belonging to a doctor of medicine or standard scientist, which is incorrect.
12 Vegeta Had Other Plans For Bulla’s Name
Vegeta originally had no intention to name Bulla what she would go on to be called, and instead, wanted to name her Eschalot. This was set to be her Saiyan name, and comes from the word “shallot”, which is a type of onion that fits the visual aesthetic of Bulla’s head shape while she was a baby.
Given that Saiyan names often follow a vegetable pun, it is not surprising that Vegeta himself attempted to honor that trend.
If she had been named Eschalot as Vegeta suggested, she would have gone on to be the only Saiyan hybrid and child of Vegeta who contained a Saiyan name.
We think naming your child "Shallot" is infinitely better, but what do we know?
11 Panchy's Unusual Name
In accordance with the rest of her family, Panchy’s name is a pun in reference to some type of undergarment. In her case, her name takes after “panties” or “panty” in a long-standing tradition within the Brief family. Although Panchy stands out in respect to the rest of the family, including extended family, she could not escape the naming tradition.
On the bright side, it seems like only fate that Panchy would marry Dr. Brief, whose name also falls under that category.
In thinking about that correlation, it is unsurprising that their children are named Tights and Bulma. Trunks and Bulla are the icing on the cake, with Vegeta’s name sticking out like a sore thumb.
10 Gure Bears A Striking Resemblance To Another Character
Gure’s aesthetic design choice is incredibly similar to the Tech-Tech aliens that first appeared within Nekomajin. These aliens later reappeared in Oishii Shima no U-sama and the Dr. Slump special “Dr. Mashirito and Abale-chan.”
Gure differs from the members of the race that are depicted within this media only in the sense that they were entirely hostile.
The small humanoid features that consist of oval heads and several different skin tones resemble an uncanny physical parallel when comparing Gure to this race, but contain staunch differences when comparing their overall temperaments. This juxtaposition makes Gure come off as even more saccharine, as her passive nature and usual smiles separate her from being directly clustered in with Tech-tech aliens.
9 Tarble Is One Of A Kind
When Tarble first appears, he is the sole surviving full-blooded Saiyan within Universe 7 that has never transformed into a Super Saiyan. Uniquely, he also becomes the only full-blooded Saiyan to have never ended throughout the series.
Tarble becomes the only one of his kind who is still able to transform into a Great Ape, given the fact that he is the last remaining Saiyan who possess a tail. All of these factors allow for Tarble to stand out, be it in a favorable or disappointing manner. Regardless, he certainly proved to be incredibly unique and made a fine addition to Vegeta's growing family.
8 Trunk’s Changing Hair
Trunk’s hair color is massively inconsistent throughout the entire franchise. His hair often alternates between tones of blue and purple, or various gradients of red during his Super Saiyan Third Grade state.
These constant changes left fans confused for years, and generated a string of various theories based on his new designs within Super.
The real reason was in part due to Toriyama’s unconscious intents. In an interview with Daizenshuu 1, Toriyama stated “Yeah, that’s right, I don’t do it consciously. When I’m applying the color, I tell myself it was more or less this color. However, with people that I’ve already drawn in color before, I generally don’t go back and check, so sometimes I end up using different colors than I did before.”
7 The Multiple Meanings Behind Trunks' Name
Trunks' unusual name comes for the constant running joke of his family members being named after various undergarments, as stated previously. An interesting tidbit is that these names are actually downplayed in the English dub.
The word “trunks” contains several meanings, one being the plural of tree trunks. This is an interesting correlation as Trunks uses an attack called Big Tree Cannon. In an episode of Dragon Ball GT, the English dub mistakenly refers to Trunks as Mr. Brief during an appearance of his as President of Capsule Corporation.
We feel like naming a whole family after undergarments is a little odd, but it certainly can't be odder than naming them after vegetables?
6 Trunks And Vegeta Have A Lot In Common
Trunks directly inherited Vegeta’s prideful attitude and dislike of Goku. This is evident when Goku arrives on Earth during his one-day revival pass, and encounters Vegeta’s complete indifference. This attitude was present regardless of the fact that this moment was an emotional feat that reunited Goku with everyone he is familiar with, and highlights the nastier side of Vegeta's personality that was eventually passed on to his son.
Trunks does eventually show respect for Goku as a warrior upon witnessing his Super Saiyan 3 transformation, which shows personal progress for him, unlike his father Vegeta. In Wrath of the Dragon, Trunks expresses sincere concern for Goku’s well-being upon witnessing him being crushed between the hands of Hirudegarn.