Hey there! Hope all is well with you guys n’ gals in this crazy world we call home. Throughout the anime community we as fans experience a lot of things; some good, some not so good, and some just downright ugly. One thing I can say about the anime community as a fan, is the fact that we look out for each other like any other community. Although I don’t really keep up with everything that happens in Hollywood (unless it’s got something to do with an anime convention or Marvel), one of the latest headlines that has been going on for a good week or so, is a social media post from Kim K. about Darling in the FRANXX character; Zero Two, being her ‘inspo’. For those who don’t know what that means, it’s short for inspiration. (Millennial slang.)

I’m not sure what happened after that post was made, but it did open up another hot-button issue plaguing the anime community; anime gatekeeping. As far as I know (and I could be wrong about this) there have been a large handful of famous people from Hollywood, coming out as anime fans (Black Panther’s Michael B. Jordan). So where does the ‘gatekeeping’ come in? Well, anime is one of the most popular mediums in the world. Not only is it popular in North America, but you can also find it in other countries like South America, the Philippines, New Zealand, and a few other places. Back in year’s past anime was a niche medium that only a small handful of us knew about, now in 2018 there are more anime conventions and more ways to watch the anime titles that we love.

Like with any medium or type of the like, when something gets too popular, there’s bound to be issues somewhere along the line. Yes, not everyone will understand nor appreciate anime as the beautiful medium that it is, but the last thing we as fans want to do, is treat it like its a country club. I’ve heard of the term ‘elitist’ come up a lot in life, but we also have to know that each and every one of us who’s an anime fan, come from ALL walks of life. We may not share the same religion, we may not have the same skin color, we may not even have the same body shape, but we all have something in common; we love anime and the people that make it!

I know that we don’t want to lose that one thing that makes being an anime fan so special, but I’m pretty sure most of us know what it was like to be ‘outsider’ of a group of individuals, that knew so much about a topic of interest we knew nothing about. There are some people out in the world who are curious about anime (just like you were), and instead of shutting them out because of the fear of it getting too popular (mostly through memes, AMVs, and abridged series’), we should celebrate and welcome the fact that we’ve got more people becoming anime fans. We veteran fans can teach the newbies a thing or two about anime, and show them different titles of different genres.

I used to be a casual anime fan back when I was in junior high, but then my friend of 15 years; A. Goldman, showed me various titles similar to the genres that I liked. (Romantic-Comedy, Action-Adventure, Slice-of-Life, and some Harem.) I don’t think we have to worry too much about anime, because it lives and dies with us; the fans! (Remember when Toonami went off the air?)

Everyone has their favorite titles and favorite genres, so instead of locking people out who want to learn more about anime, we should welcome them. Take this with a grain of salt though, because not everyone in the fandom is a fan. Stay golden! 🙂

This character needs no introduction. If you’re a 90’s kid then you’ve already seen his face, heard his voice, and saw his battle with his greatest rival. Wait, you didn’t think we were talking about Goku, did you? Sorry, not this time guys n’ gals. We’re talking about the Saiyan Prince, the undisputed ‘King of all Saiyans’, the one and only…Prince Vegeta!

From the manga to the anime, Dragon Ball Z is a historic part of anime history, as being one of the best pioneering action-packed titles straight outta Japan. From King Piccolo to Beerus the Destroyer fans both old and new have watched Goku and Co. battle powerful villains in order to keep the earth safe. There are a lot of memorable fighters among the Z-ranks, but one of the most iconic has to be Bulma’s heel-turned-hero husband. Although he’s a favorite among the fanbase, there are a few things about him that some fans don’t know about. Some.

Not to worry though, because we’ve been combing through the web and found some interesting things about our favorite ruthless saiyan prince. So from us to you here are seven things you didn’t know about Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans!

7. He Was Supposed to be “Killed” in the First Arc!

Yeah, even we didn’t believe it, but it’s true! According to Toriyama, Vegeta was deemed one of his least favorite characters at the time he was working on the Saiyan Invasion Arc. At first he was supposed to be a one-and-done villain for the first arc, but then a couple “things” happened that involved fan letters and story development, and here we are in 2018 with Vegeta a part of the Z-Fighter’s Crew! (He was killed by Frieza though, but was brought back by the Namekian dragon balls.)

6. He “Had” a Brother!

Yes Trunks, you “had” an uncle. In fact Vegeta’s brother is a part of the DBZ canon, but never in the entire series is he seen. Although he’s completely unlike his older sibling (in terms of being a warrior or even sharing his aggression), Tarble is in fact Trunks’ uncle, even though he’s never seen him nor even knows where he currently is; only because Vegeta himself doesn’t know.

5. He Has a Super Saiyan 3 Transformation!

Okay, we all know how bad he wants to surpass Goku in terms of power (and he’s done so on a few occasions in his own way), but what many of us may not know, is the fact that he has a SSJ3 transformation. Although it would have been appropriate to have used it during the Majin Buu Saga, Vegeta knew how much power it would drain from user’s body, plus it would be rendered useless after SSJ3 Gotenks was defeated by Copy Vegeta in Dragon Ball Super.

4. He Can Survive in Space!

Long enough to blow up a planet, yes. It was made clear to us that during the Frieza Saga as well as the rest of the series, saiyans really can’t breathe in space the same way we can’t. However thanks to Vegeta disproving this theory, saiyans can ‘survive’ in space for a while thanks to their strong lung capacity.

3. He Retains his Majin Power!

While Babidi’s spell unleashes the evil in a person’s heart, it also unlocks their hidden potential (much like Gohan and Krillin did when they paid a visit to the Namekian elder). As Majin Vegeta, the ‘Demon Prince’ was powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with SSJ2 Goku, and proved to be more than a match. Even after blowing himself up Vegeta retained the power from his Majin state through training, much like Goku did with his Godly power during his battle with Beerus.

2. He Defeats/Kills the Ginyu Force!

Sometimes being a saiyan really does pay off. In Vegeta’s case he actually kills the entire Ginyu Force because of sneak attacks and power level (Zenkai) boost while on Namek. Ginyu himself wasn’t killed until Resurrection ‘F’ when Ginyu changed from being a frog to one of Frieza’s soldier’s Tagoma. Gohan defeated him, but the Saiyan Prince kills him.

1. He’s The Oldest Z-Fighter!

At this point in the franchise Vegeta is older than the recurring main cast (with a few exceptions). He was five when Goku was born, so that makes him four years older than Krillin. (With Yamcha, Tien, and Bulma coming just a year younger than the Saiyan Prince.) By the time the Buu Sage swung around, it was confirmed that Vegeta is indeed older than the rest of the main cast; physically and mentally.

So there you have it! The seven things about everyone’s favorite saiyan prince you never knew. Although his heart has mellowed out, one thing that will never change about Vegeta, is his pride. And that’s a fact!