Vegeta’s armor in Dragon Ball is a huge part of the cosplay culture revolving around him. It was an integral part of his character design when he was first introduced in the series. And it still remains an honorary member, despite Vegeta not wearing it as much.
But why does Vegeta keep wearing the obsolete artifact when he and his colleagues are too powerful to need any such device? Does he simply think that it looks cool? Or is it a symbol of something else entirely?
Vegeta’s armor in Dragon Ball represents his attachment to his loved ones
Vegeta debuted in Dragon Ball while donning a traditional Saiyan armor. It consisted of elongated shoulder pads as well as a skirt-like formation around his waist. But over the years, the armor has become more and more minimalistic. Currently, Vegeta chooses to wear a casual bodysuit when he does not fight.
The slow but gradual removal of his armor represents Vegeta’s change from a bloodthirsty Saiyan to a defender of the Earth. In fact, at one point, he ditches the Saiyan armor as a whole and opts for a model created by Bulma, another sign of just how much he has begun to trust humans.
The more Vegeta became emotionally attached to humans, the more his armor diminished over the years. But the fact that he has not let go of the armor altogether might be a sign of how he acknowledges the destruction he has created in the past. He did not forget his dark past but at the same time, he is ready to move on and become a better person.
Settling down on Earth might have calmed Vegeta’s nerves
Back when Vegeta debuted, he was always donning his armor. Whether he was actively fighting or not didn’t quite matter. Though he was admittedly always in some kind of battle. But fans could only see him without his armor much later when he settled down with Bulma.
It is possible that when Vegeta served under Frieza, he was always in fight-or-flight mode. After all, his boss couldn’t really be trusted, and everyone he was surrounded with was a bloodthirsty warrior with next to no moral code. Thus, he simply could not take off the armor.
But after settling down on Earth and marrying Bulma, he found a home. A place where he won’t face any threats and where constant battles are no longer crowding in his mind. Though it takes some time to overcome his past habits, he still makes appearances without his armor, a sign of how secure he currently feels.
Dragon Ball anime is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
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