Sasuke Uchiha is one of the most popular and instantly recognizable characters in anime history. Since its beginnings in Naruto’s third chapter, “Sasuke Uchiha!!”, and the first episode of the anime, “Enter: Naruto Uzumaki!”, the character established himself as one of the most popular secondary characters in the medium, with his rivalry with the main character Naruto being the stuff of legend. Due to his overall personality and relationship with Naruto, anime and manga fans often compare him to Vegeta from Dragon Ball. But to what extent did Vegeta influence Sasuke’s character?
When Vegeta and Sasuke are put side by side, they share many elements. One immediately obvious similarity between the two is their appearance. This is particularly notable with their hair, as both men have long, spiky black hair and widow’s peaks (although Sasuke’s widow’s peak is much less pronounced than Vegeta’s). The couple’s stories also present several interesting parallels. Most notably, both come from high families, with Vegeta being a Saiyan prince and Sasuke being a member of the famous Uchiha clan. Most importantly, Sasuke was the son of the head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku Uchiha, meaning that even though he did not have the official title of Vegeta, he was still of noble origin and held a privileged position in society .
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Sasuke and Vegeta have similar arcs and personalities
Sasuke and Vegeta are both high-ranking people who are chilled by tragedy
However, neither man was able to enjoy the fruits of their birth. Vegeta would forever remain a prince while the space tyrant Frieza, the man who enslaved the Saiyans and turned them into his personal army, would fear the Super Saiyan of legend and choose to destroy Planet Vegeta, killing Vegeta’s family and the vast majority of the Saiyans, depriving Prince Vegeta of a nation to rule. Similarly, the Uchiha clan was massacred when Sasuke was still a young boy, with him being one of only three survivors of that horrible event, leaving him with no family and no clan to belong to. This causes them both to become obsessed with revenge, with Vegeta vowing to do whatever it takes to kill Frieza and Sasuke being desperate to hunt down and kill the people who wiped out his clan.
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More interestingly, Sasuke and Vegeta also have similar character arcs. At first, Vegeta and Sasuke are both rivals of the main character, their unresolved tension with the protagonist causing problems for the other characters. Eventually, this tension and their single-minded focus on their goals of revenge and power lead the two men to temporarily side with the villains, with Vegeta allowing Babidi to hex him and Sasuke allying himself with Orochimaru.
However, As the story progresses, Vegeta and Sasuke heal some of their trauma. and become kinder, more balanced individuals. This emotional growth leads them to form a true friendship with the main character, and they quickly solidify themselves as the hero’s most helpful and devoted ally. Something shown by Sasuke and Vegeta accepting the fact that the hero is more powerful than them at the end of the story.
Additionally, Sasuke and Vegeta have similar personalities, especially in contrast to their protagonist. Unlike Goku, who is outgoing and dim-witted, Vegeta is more serious and stoic (especially before having children), approaching each fight with cold formality. Sasuke is similar, as he is much colder than Naruto and treats battle much more seriously, refusing to get drawn into silly games.
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Sasuke and Vegeta also show open contempt towards those they deem less powerful than themselves.. This is even more true if they are placed in a situation where they are forced to work alongside them. Vegeta killing Nappa is the best example of this, as it shows that Vegeta initially cares little for those around him beyond what they can do to help him achieve his goals. Likewise, whenever Sasuke meets someone new, he usually attempts to gauge their strength. If the new acquaintance is weaker than him, he ignores or insults him.
Masashi Kishimoto has always been a vocal Dragon Ball fan
Naruto creator always admitted he was inspired by Dragon Ball
However, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Sasuke and Vegeta are similar. Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto’s creator, never hesitated to express his love for Dragon Ball and has always been open about how Akira Toriyama’s legendary series influenced the development of Naruto. One of the best examples is found in Art collection: Uzumaki, where Masashi Kishimoto admits that Naruto is heavily based on Goku, saying:
“Son Goku from Dragon Ball is the ultimate Shōnen Jump model that made me think ‘THIS is a main character’.
I wanted a character like Goku in my manga. It’s this clear and simple mindset that makes readers feel good. It motivated me too.
This is my hero image!”
And this is far from the only time Kishimoto has declared his love for Dragon Ball. THE Naruto tankobons featured a segment titled “The World of Kishimoto Masashi”, in which Masashi wrote about his creative process and personal history, explaining how he learned to draw, how Naruto’s ideas came about, and how he was picked up by Shōnen Jump. During these segments, Kishimoto frequently references Dragon Ball, his lasting love for Toriyama’s work and mentions how it influenced his creative process.
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In the Primary School section presented in that of Nauto 7th volume, Masashi notes that Dragon Ball This was not his first exposure to Akira Toriyama, writing:
“Then another day I saw another amazing TV show and I thought, ‘W-wow! The art is incredible! And it has so much style!! “The program was”Dr. Slump: Arale-Chan“From that point on, all I wanted to draw was Arale-Chan.
I even featured a pencil drawing of Arale-Chan in a primary school art exhibition. I still remember my mother saying, “If this Arale-chan is a girl, then you have to put lipstick on her.” » And just like that, she added lipstick to my drawing of Arale-chan.
I also remember very well that it was the first time in my life that I got completely angry.”
However, in the chronicle included with the 8th volume, Kishimoto explains how he fell in love with Dragon Ball And how quickly he began to draw inspiration from the legendary series:
“I would have become so obsessed with Dragon Ball that, before I knew it, my own art had begun to imitate the style of Toriyama Akira’s works so completely that my drawings resembled his.
In the 13th installment of the segment, Masashi explains how Akira brought him back to art after taking several years off to focus on baseball. But even in this segment, his love for Toriyama shines through:
“And that’s when I said to myself, ‘Wow, this is the first time since I saw Mr. Toriyama’s work that I have been so strongly affected by someone’s art A. I had absolutely no idea why the works of Mr. Toriyama and Mr. Otomo were so fascinating, but I was sure of two things. Both produced work that looked original and had a great sense of style. »
In this same article, he would go on to say:
“After that, I tried to make sure that everything I drew was truly original… But I always ended up letting outside influences seep in, and my final product ended up not being original. Still unsatisfied with my results, I began studying the work of many different manga artists, one by one, wondering if I could find others whose art could rival that of the two I already revered.
This perfectly illustrates that Kishimoto’s love for Dragon Ball is so deep that he constantly looks to Toriyama for inspiration, even though he tries not to..
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Kishimoto’s admiration for Dragon Ball continues to this day
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And this wasn’t just a characteristic of Kishimoto’s youth. The Kanzenban outings of Dragon Ball the manga came with bonus booklets called Dragon Ball Kids. These presented new, Dragon Ball-themed illustrations drawn by famous manga creators who grew up with the franchise, plus an interview in which they talk about what Dragon Ball meant to them. Masashi Kishimoto was featured in the second, and during his interview, he noted that:
“24, 25, 26, 27, 28… that’s the age range of the guys here where we do Naruto. The youngest assistant is 24, I am the oldest at 28, and we are each a year apart.
I always give them instructions like this: “Make the surface in the background of this panel look like the ground on the planet Namek.”
This makes everyone understand.
It’s our common ground, something that remains greatly in our hearts… Dragon Ball“.
This clearly shows that Kishimoto is aware and accepts how much Dragon Ball influenced his creative processso much so that he uses the series as a touchstone when talking with his team and other creators.
Sasuke Uchiha was clearly heavily influenced by Vegeta. Not only do they share similar personalities, but they also undergo similar story arcs over the course of their franchise, with several parts of their arc being essentially individual. However, this should come as no surprise. Dragon Ball was one of the biggest and most popular shows of the 1980s. That means it influenced hundreds of creators, including the generation of manga and anime creators who followed in Toriyama’s footsteps. Combine this with Masashi Kishimoto’s open adoration of Akira Toriyama, and the influence becomes even more apparent, making it clear that their similarities are not an accidental coincidence but an active homage.
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Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball tells the story of a young warrior named Son Goku, a peculiar young boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when once the 7 reunite , grants any wish of choice.
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Naruto
Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous teenage ninja, struggles as he seeks recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage, village leader, and strongest ninja.
