Sasuke Uchiha is one of the most popular and instantly recognizable characters in anime history. Since making his debut in Naruto's third chapter, "Sasuke Uchiha!!," and the anime's first episode, "Enter: Naruto Uzumaki!," the character has cemented himself as one of the medium's most popular supporting characters, with his rivalry with lead character Naruto being the stuff of legend. Due to his general personality and relationship with Naruto, anime and manga fans often compare him to Vegeta from Dragon Ball. But how much 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 most notable with their hair, as both men have long spikey black hair and widow's peaks (though Sasuke's widow's peak is much less pronounced than Vegeta's). The pair's backstories also feature several interesting parallels. Most notably, both come from elevated families, with Vegeta being a Saiyan prince and Sasuke being a member of the famous Uchiha clan. Even more importantly, Sasuke was the son of the Uchiha clan's leader, Fugaku Uchiha, meaning that while he lacked Vegeta's formal title, he was still of noble breeding and held a privileged position in society.
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Sasuke And Vegeta Have Similar Arcs And Personalities
Both Sasuke And Vegeta Are High-Ranking People Who Are Made Cold By Tragedy
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However, neither man got to enjoy the fruits of their birth. Vegeta would remain forever a prince as the space tyrant Frieza, the man who enslaved the Saiyans and turned them into his personal army, would grow fearful of the Super Saiyan of legend and opt to destroy Planet Vegeta, killing Vegeta's family and the vast majority of the Saiyans, robbing Prince Vegeta of a nation to rule. Similarly, the Uchiha clan was slaughtered when Sasuke was still a young boy, with him being one of only three survivors of the horrific event, leaving him without a family and without a clan to call his own. This leads to both of them becoming fixated on 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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Even more interestingly, Sasuke and Vegeta also have similar character arcs. At first, both Vegeta and Sasuke are the main character's rivals, with their unresolved tension with the protagonist causing issues for the other characters. Eventually, this tension and their single-minded focus on their goals of revenge and power leads to both men temporarily siding with the villains, with Vegeta allowing Babidi to cast a spell on him and Sasuke allying with Orochimaru.
However, as the story progresses, Vegeta and Sasuke heal some of their trauma and become kinder and more rounded individuals. This emotional growth causes them to strike up a genuine friendship with the lead character, and they quickly cement themselves as the hero's most helpful and dedicated ally. Something shown by both Sasuke and Vegeta coming to terms with the fact that the hero is mightier than them by the end of the story.
Additionally, Sasuke and Vegeta have similar personalities, especially in contrast to their protagonist. Unlike Goku, who is outgoing and foolish, Vegeta is more serious and stoic (especially before he has kids), approaching every fight with a cold formality. Sasuke is similar, as he is much colder than Naruto and treats battle much more seriously, refusing to be drawn into silly games.
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Sasuke and Vegeta also show open disdain for those they deem to be less powerful than them. Doubly so if they are put 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. Similarly, whenever Sasuke meets someone new, he usually attempts to evaluate how strong they are. If the new acquaintance is weaker than him, he ignores or insults them.
Masashi Kishimoto Has Always Been A Vocal Dragon Ball Fan
Naruto's Creator Has Always Admitted That He Drew Inspiration From Dragon Ball
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However, it shouldn't be surprising that Sasuke and Vegeta are similar as Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto's creator, has never been shy about his love for Dragon Ball and has always been open about how much Akira Toriyama's legendary series influenced the development of Naruto. One of the best examples of this 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 that clear & simple mindset that makes readers feel great. It motivated me too.
That's my image of a hero!"
And this is far from the only time Kishimoto declared his love for Dragon Ball. The Naruto tankobons featured a segment called "The World Of Kishimoto Masashi," where Masashi would write about his creative process and personal history, explaining how he learned to draw, how the ideas for Naruto came to be, and how he got picked up by Shōnen Jump. During these segments, Kishimoto frequently references Dragon Ball, his enduring love for Toriyama's work, and mentions how it influenced his creative process.
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In the Primary School section featured in Naurto's 7th volume, Masashi notes that Dragon Ball wasn't his first exposure to Akira Toriyama, writing:
"Then on another day, I saw another incredible TV show and thought, "W-wow! The art is amazing! And it has such style!!" the program was "Dr. Slump: Arale-Chan." from that point on, all I wanted to draw was Arale-Chan.
I even entered a crayon sketch of Arale-Chan into an elementary school art exhibition. I can 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 red lipstick to my drawing of arale-chan.
I also remember clearly that that was the first time in my life that I completely lost my temper."
However, in the column included with the 8th volume, Kishimoto explains how he fell in love with Dragon Ball and how quickly he started to draw inspiration from the legendary series:
"I'd become so obsessed with Dragon Ball that, before I had even realized it, my own art had begun to so completely mimic the style of Toriyama Akira's artwork that my drawings looked just like his."
In the 13th installment of the segment, Masashi explains how Akira made him return to art after stopping for several years to focus on baseball. But even in this segment, his love of Toriyama shines through:
"And that's when it came to me: "Wow, this is the first time since seeing Mr. Toriyama's work that I've been so strongly affected by someone's art. I had absolutely no idea why Mr. Toriyama's and Mr. Otomo's art were both so fascinating, but there were two things that I was sure of. Both of them did work that seemed original and had a great sense of style."
In that same write-up, 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 creep in, and my end product wasn't original after all. Still unsatisfied with my results, I began studying the work of many different manga artists, one by one, wondering if I could find any others whose art could rival that of the two I already revered."
This perfectly illustrates that Kishimoto's love of Dragon Ball runs so deep that he's constantly drawing on Toriyama for inspiration, even when he tries not to.
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Kishimoto's Admiration For Dragon Ball Continues To This Day
Dragon Ball Has Influenced Modern Anime More Than Any Piece of Media
And this wasn't just a feature of Kishimoto's younger days. The Kanzenban releases of the Dragon Ball manga came with bonus pamphlets called Dragon Ball Children. These featured new, Dragon Ball-themed artwork drawn by famous manga creators who had grown up with the franchise alongside an interview where they talked about what Dragon Ball meant to them. Masashi Kishimoto was featured in the second one, and during his interview, he noted that:
"24, 25, 26, 27, 28... that's the order of ages of the guys here where we make Naruto. The youngest assistant is 24, I'm the oldest fogey at 28, and we're each one year apart.
I'm always giving them directions like this: "Make the surface in the background of this panel like the ground on Planet Namek."
This gets it across to everyone.
This is our common ground, something that greatly remains in our hearts... Dragon Ball."
This clearly shows that Kishimoto is aware and accepting of how much Dragon Ball has influenced his creative process, to the point 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 during their franchise, with several parts of their arc being basically one-to-one. However, this shouldn't come as a surprise. Dragon Ball was one of the biggest and most popular shows of the 1980s. This means it influenced hundreds of creators, including the generation of manga and anime makers 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 tribute.
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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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Naruto
Naruto Uzumaki, a mischievous adolescent ninja, struggles as he searches for recognition and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the village's leader and strongest ninja.