KakaVege

"Goodbye Bulma, Trunks...and you, Kakarot"

- Vegeta in Dragon Ball Vol.39, 110p

KakaVege is the slash ship between Goku and Vegeta from the Dragon Ball fandom.

Canon
They are probably the most famous duo in Dragon Ball. The two of them are the last pure-blood Saiyans in the universe, although the OVA includes Tarble and Dragon Ball Super includes Cabe. In the Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Broly is newly added as a Saiyan survivor, but in the original manga, only Goku (Kakarot) and Vegeta survived to the end.

They were former enemies and fought fierce battles in the past, but now that they have reconciled Vegeta has become the most reliable battle companion on Goku's side. Goku has absolute trust in Vegeta, and their relationship of trust is unshakable after many years of going through various battle scenes together. Even so, as Saiyans, they are eternal rivals who compete with each other on a daily basis, training and striving to reach new heights.

Vegeta, who is easily irritated, is often pushed around by the simple-minded Goku.

Due to their different personalities and ways of thinking, they often get into quarrels like a couple, which have become a regular interaction in their relationship. This bickering is also present in the game version and the movie version.

They spend a lot more time training together alone than they do with their wives. In Dragon Ball Super episode 32 there's a plot point that they spent THREE YEARS in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, with no one else joining them. We all know that Goku and Vegeta are just training, but it’s fun to imagine what other kinds of “training” are also occurring.

They have fused several times using Potara Earrings or via fusion dance. While fusion is fun and hilarious to watch, it also has a sexual implication.

In addition, they often wear matching things together, such as training clothes with the same logo, aprons, jackets made by Capsule Corporation, and earrings (although they only wear one ear at a time).

Goku is 175cm tall and Vegeta is 164cm tall, so Vegeta is much smaller than Goku, but Vegeta is 5 years older than Goku.

These two, said to be the strongest in the universe, have had many astonishing episodes in the Dragon Ball series.

Saiyan Attack Saga
Goku and Vegeta met in the Saiyan Attack Saga, where Vegeta and his companion Nappa landed on Earth after learning that Raditz, the first to attack the planet, has been defeated. Vegeta tried to eliminate Goku, who he viewed as a traitor that lost his mission and pride as a Saiyan. Goku fought Vegeta for the survival of the Earth nearly to the death. Vegeta was also defeated by Goku and the others, and was almost killed by Krillin when he tried to escape in a single-person pod that he had summoned. Goku's plea not to kill Vegeta saved his life and he escaped from the Earth. He and Goku met again in the Nameksei Saga that followed.

At the end of the final episode of Dragon Ball Super, there was a scene when Goku and Vegeta, in their blue state, faced each other on a rocky terrain and fought in the same stance as in their first confrontation.

Nameksei Saga
In the Saiyan Attack Saga, the flow of the story between the original and the anime is almost the same, but in the Nameksei Saga, there are a couple of scenes that's different between the original manga and the TV anime with Goku and Vegeta involved.

After the battle with Ginyu, the leader of the Ginyu Special Forces, Vegeta put Goku in the medical machine and tried to restore his strength.

However, soon after, Vegeta was also exhausted and decided to take a nap. Even though there were other places to take a nap, he chose to lean against the medical machine where Goku is healing, closed his eyes happily and contented. In the manga, unlike the anime, Vegeta was leaning against a foot post of the spaceship to take the nap.

Later in the story, Goku sensed that Vegeta was in danger and destroyed the medical machine before the door opened and went to Vegeta, who was being tortured by Frieza. Sensing Goku's increased strength, Vegeta began laughing and taunting Frieza that Goku is the Super Saiyan who will defeat him. The irritated Frieza fired a strike and pierced through Vegeta's heart. While dying slowly and painfully, Vegeta poured out his past to Goku, begging the only other pure-blooded Saiyan to defeat Frieza for the pride of the saiyan race.

Witnessing the death of Vegeta, Goku exploded in anger at Frieza and made a huge hole in the ground with lazer blast from his eyes. Goku picked up Vegeta's corpse and carried it in his arms, burying it with great care. Goku then challenged Frieza to a final battle, but here too, a shocking original anime development occurred.

In the middle of the battle against Frieza, the dying Goku started to have a hallucination with Vegeta's image in his head and voice in his ears, and the two start having conversation inside Goku's mind. Goku thought it was his limit and it was the end. Vegeta denied and challenged him to have more faith in the pride of the Saiyans. And Goku relied feeling encouraged that Vegeta was by his side.

The dialogue was full of passionate lines, as if Goku wanted Vegeta to at least fight with him in his heart after the tragic death.

But the most interesting thing here is that the hallucination of Vegeta that appeared in Goku's mind was not wearing any clothes, and was completely naked. It became even more strange since Goku's father Bardak and King Vegeta, who also appeared in Goku's mind, were in their uniforms. So in this scene, only Vegeta was completely naked...This is one of the mystery in Dragon Ball that we will never know.

It was actually a touching scene where Vegeta encouraged Goku to avenge his death and the deaths of the people on Planet Vegeta, but audience were too focused on Vegeta's appearance to pay attention to the dialogue. Some Dragon Ball fans argued that it was not Goku's imagination but was Vegeta's soul speaking to him, but the truth is not clear.

When Goku returns to reality, he couldn't stop talking to Vegeta in his brain. When he kept talking to himself, Frieza told him, "I don't understand."

While Goku was battling against Frieza, Vegeta was resurrected by the power of the Dragon Balls. The first thing he noticed after resurrection was that Goku was fighting Frieza in Super Saiyan's form. Although Vegeta failed to accomplished his own wish, upon seeing Goku battling Frieza he praised with joy and proud, "Kakarot, you have finally became the Legendary Super Saiyan!"

Under the wish of the Dragon Ball, Vegeta was transported along with others to Earth. Desiring to learn how to become a Super Saiyan, Vegeta stayed on earth temporarily to wait for Goku to come back. However Goku refused to go back to earth soon but promised that he will return himself later. In the anime, Vegeta was unwilling to wait. He stole a Capsule Corporation spaceship and ventured out to search for Goku in the outer space. One year and eight months after, Vegeta returned to Earth, not having found Goku.

Cell Game Saga
Vegeta's pursuit of surpassing Goku continued in the Cell Game Saga. After witnessing the lower class Goku and Future Trunks transforming into Super Saiyans, Vegeta was so anxious and jealous that he trained with even more determination in the gravity machine. This eventually led to him getting injured in a training-related accident and being hospitalized temporarily and caused Bulma to get closer to him. Vegeta was having some nightmares in the fear of further falling behind.

After two years of intense training, Vegeta was able to transform into Super Saiyan just like Goku. In this new form, he managed to fight Android 19 and saved Goku who was suffering from a heart attack.

At the end of the Cell Game, Vegeta was shocked at Gohan's awakened power, but he was further shocked when Goku sacrificed himself by teleporting Cell to King Kai's Planet and was killed in the explosion. With Goku dead and gone, Vegeta vowed to never fight again.

Majin Buu Saga
The rivalry dynamics between Goku and Vegeta reached new heights in the Majin Buu Saga. Hearing that Goku will use his one-day pass to the living world to attend the World Tournament after dead for seven years, Vegeta was more than happy to break his vow of never fight again and eager to have a rematch with Goku. To his delight, his first match was with Goku. However their match was interrupted by Shin, who came all the way to stop the resurrection of Majin Buu. When Goku prepared to go with Shin, Vegeta was enraged that he had to put the rematch aside. Goku reassured to Vegeta that he will put their rematch as top priority when they are back, and even suggested that Vegeta could join him to go to the Other World.

During the battle against Babidi's fighters, Vegeta realized that despite seven years of hard training, there was still a gap between Goku's power and his. In order to level Goku's power, Vegeta deliberately let Babidi take over him, thus allowing himself to be transformed into a much more powerful stage, aka Majin Vegeta. Despite being controlled by Babidi, Vegeta still kept his pride and fiercely fight Babidi's mind control. He refused Babidi's order to destroy Goku, Gohan and Shin, saying that he will only fight Goku. Again this is a very passionate chapter that shows Vegeta's obsession and possessiveness towards Goku.

As the story continued, it was equally shocking that Goku responded to Vegeta's zealous invitation. When they were transported back to the World Martial Arts Tournament，Vegeta provoked Goku to fight him by blowing up spectators, killing dozens of people and almost killing his wife. Shin tried to get in the way to prevent Goku from accepting Vegeta's offer. To everyone's suprise, including Vegeta's, Goku threatened to blast Shin off if he insisted on getting in the way. Goku and Majin Vegeta then were teleported to a secluded mountain area, where they proceed to fight.

During their fight, there was an erotic scene where Vegeta used Ki-Sealing Handcuff to lock Goku on a rocky mountain and then slaped his face. This is from TV anime and not in the manga. Well done Toei Animation.

After sensing Majin Buu's extraordinary power, Goku called the fight to a halt, only to be ambushed by Vegeta in the back and knocked out. Majin Vegeta then took the Senzu Bean and went to fight Majin Buu by himself. When he realized that Majin Buu could not be destroyed with normal attacks, Vegeta decided the only way was to sacrifice himself. Before his tragic final explosion, he bid an emotional farewell to his family and Goku.

Later on in the saga these two were able to fight side by side again after Goku revived by receiving life from Old Kai, and Vegeta was given the chance of fighting Majin Buu as a dead man. At first Goku was trying to fuse with Gohan with Potara Earrings but failed, Goku then begged Vegeta to fuse with him. But Vegeta refused, saying that Goku crushed his pride once again by holding back his Super Saiyan 3 transformation in their battle when Vegeta was under Babidi's control and Goku told Vegeta at that time he didn't have time to use it. Just when Super Buu was about to attack them, Vegeta agreed and put on another earing. Only then Goku revealed to him that the fusion will be permanent. They were drawn towards each other and merged into one person. Thus Vegito is created.

Goku and Vegeta were seperated back into two individuals when Vegito was absorbed by Super Buu. Inside Buu's body, Goku and Vegeta were the only allies who could move. Since they were trapped in a small space, there was a lot more conversation and interaction between them than usual. There was a hilarious anime original scene where Goku and Vegeta attacked Buu in a very intimate stance, with Goku vigorously rubbing his cheek against Vegeta's. Goku then piled on top of Vegeta from behind, destroying the fleeing Buu's body with a horizontal and vertical combination of their arms.

Immediately afterwards, seeing that Goku were still clinging on to him, Vegeta got angry and urged Goku to get off from him. The expression on Goku's face as he came back to himself was quite meaningful. Vegeta awkwardly wiped his cheek where he had touched, and when Goku approached again, he panicked and warned Goku to stay away.

When they encountered some giant roundworms that lived inside Buu's body, they were both surprised with comical gag faces, and Vegeta, who was very upset, was hiding behind Goku.

Towards the end of Majin Buu Saga, knowing that he was no match for Kid Buu, Vegeta was still trying to hold off Kid Buu to buy more time for Goku to gather the Spirit Bomb. And when Spirit Bomb was ready to be fired, Goku was hesitated as Kid Buu was holding a battered Vegeta as hostage. With the help of Mr. Satan, Vegeta was carried far away from Kid Buu. Goku then fired the Spirit Bomb and finished Kid Buu for good. In anime Vegeta had a monologue showing his respect for Goku and for the first time in Dragon Ball Z series he admitted that Goku is "the best". A touching panel of this chapter features Goku and Vegeta smiling at each other with thumbs up. After Dende healed Goku and Vegeta, they found Majin Buu still alive. Vegeta attempted to finish him off but Goku convinced Vegeta to spare him. They were then teleported back to Earth and rejoiced with their families.

Dragon Ball GT
One of the reasons Drgaon ball GT received poor reviews among fans is that Vegeta looked so particularly dated with mustache and flat top, but it still has some pretty interesting aspects when it comes to KakaVege. In Dragon Ball GT Vegeta doesn’t become relevant for most of the series until he was able to transformed into Super Saiyan 4. Afterwards he began fighting Omega Shenron with Goku by his side, but neither were able to win. So Goku and Vegeta did the fusion dance to become Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta. It should be noted that Vegeta was the one who suggested fusion this time. In the anime, hearing Vegeta's suggestion, Goku couldn't help but smirked in satisfaction and responded that, "I'm happy to hear from you that you want to fuse...This is super, Vegeta."

Later on Goku and Vegeta were seperated from Gogeta after the fusion time ran out before they could deliver the final blow. Goku proposed they do the fusion again, but Vegeta got very upset and even blushed. In their attempt to fuse again these two were having conversations like a married couple and ignore the Omega Shenron as if the boss didn't exist.

When the battle was over, before leaving, Goku passed the role of protector of the Earth and anyone in need of help, to Vegeta. When Pan found Goku's Ki on the ground, Vegeta confirmed that they were indeed Goku's clothes and told her to treasure them dearly before he left. Vegeta was the only one aware of where Goku was heading.

Dragon Ball Super
In both Dragon Ball Super manga and anime, although still being each other's rivals, Goku and Vegeta seems to grow closer and fight together more often.

In Dragon Ball Super anime episode 14 Vegeta caught Goku in the arm to prevent him from hitting the ground after a collision with Beerus. In anime, there is a scene where Goku and Vegeta are sitting side by side on the sofa, with Goku sits right next to Vegeta and puts his arm around Vegeta's back like they are a couple, hugging his shoulder as they talk.

In Dragon Ball Super episode 32 there's a plot point that they spent THREE YEARS in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, with no one else joining them.

In Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 24, during the battle against Fused Zamasu, Vegeta asked Future Trunks not to heal him but gave the chance to Goku since Goku was the only one who can fight Fused Zamasu with equal power. It is also revealed that these two shared no secrets during fusion. Then Vegeta saved Goku from Fused Zamasu's assault and, in order to buy more time for Goku, he was brutally tortured almost to death. In chapter 26, when Zamasu began taking over the multiverse, instead of going back to the past, Vegeta decided to stay and fight until the very end. Without any hesitation, Goku chose to stay with him and fight to death together.

In Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 40, to save Vegeta from Jiren's attack, Goku hold Vegeta in his arm and did the instant transmission.

There is a scene in which Vegeta took a friendly approach towards Cabba, a Saiyan from another planet. Seeing this Goku acted unusually jealous. When asked by Piccolo, who is standing next to him, "Do you think he likes you?" Goku replied that he doesn't hate Vegeta, which is an indirect way of expressing that he is actually rather fond of Vegeta.

In Dragon Ball Super manga chapter 44, when Goku did instant transmission to new Nameksei, instead of hesitant and reluctant to do so as in Resurrection of 'F', Vegeta naturally offered his hand and Goku grabbed it gladly. It looks like they are very used to holding hands during instant transmission. Later on in chapter 47, Goku and Vegeta ran out of option and decided to head out to Moro, before they attacked, they struggled to raise their Ki together, smiling at each other with determination and encouragement.

Fusion
Goku and Vegeta, who are almost equal in power in terms of combat, are suitable for merging, and can be mentally and physically fused to create powerful warriors such as Vegito and Gogeta, who have the combined power of the two.

Vegeta's usual response to Goku before the fusion is that he would rather die than do the embarrassing pose. But in the end, he has no other choice but to do so, so he accepts it every time without shame. In the Potara merging with Goku, he doesn't have to do the embarrassing pose, but he and Goku are drawn together by a strong force like a magnet, and they end up merging body to body, which is also an embarrassing act for Vegeta.

Goku, on the other hand, is always willing to merge with Vegeta, and in fact seems to be happy to merge with Vegeta no matter what the situation.

Dragon Ball Movies
In this movie there was a scene where Goku caught Vegeta in the arm after he was blown away by Metal Cooler's attack.
 * Fight! 10 Billion Power Warriors (1992)

In this movie there was a scene where Vegeta claimed his possessiveness over Goku, with lines like "Kakarot is mine. Nobody touches him. Not even you." while attacking Super Android 13.
 * Super Android 13! (1992)

In this movie there was a scene where Goku caught Vegeta when he was about to be thrown into a pile of needles by Janemba, and rescued him by holding him. After another lover's quarrel, they fused and defeated Janemba. At the end, they were alone, smiling at each other and vowing to meet again. Then Vegeta's soul disappeared like a breeze.
 * Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995)

In the chorus of the ED song "The Strongest Fusion", the lyrics sound like it was Goku singing to Vegeta, including "I am the sun, you are the moon", "Let's put our fingers together", "Let's put our hearts together," and so on.

Another song that didn't show up in the movie is Vegeta's theme song "Love Is Like a Ballad". The lyrics clearly indicated it was for Goku, which showed a tremendous amount of affection from Vegeta's point of view, making it a counterpart to the "Strongest Fusion".

In this movie Vegeta and Goku hold their hands for the first time to help Goku reach the Super Saiyan God form.
 * Battle of Gods (2013)

In this movie there was a scene in which Goku tried to return to Earth with Instant Transmission. Although he usually just do that with other person touches his shoulder or other part of his body, he insisted on Vegeta holding his hand this time. Vegeta rejected this offer at first but then Goku persuaded him as Bulma was also in danger. Eventually Vegeta took Goku's hand reluctantly.
 * Resurrection of 'F' (2015)

As a comparison, in the manga version Vegeta didn't hesitated and took Goku's hand right away. Later in the Dragon Ball Super manga, Vegeta even offered his hand to Goku as if it were a matter of course. Goku naturally took his hand as well.

Again Goku did instant transmission grabbing Vegeta's hand. When they landed in front of Piccolo, Vegeta shook off Goku's hand immediately. In this movie they performed fusion dance once more.
 * Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018)

Saiyan Attack Saga
Chapter #240 A Final Gamble!!


 * Krillin is seconds away from destroying Vegeta when Goku begs him to stop. He wanted Vegeta to have the chance to recover so they could fight again when they both became stronger. While Vegeta eventually became a good guy, he was everything but good at that moment, as he had just tried to annihilate Goku and his friends moments before. Goku had no idea that Vegeta would eventually switch sides, and he didn't care. Goku wanted a rematch with Vegeta. Despite the fact that others may be put in danger because of this, Goku still wanted Vegeta to be spared.

Fanon
Ever since Vegeta made his debut in Drgaon Ball Z manga, the dynamic and relationship between the two full-blooded Saiyans has became one of the hot topic among fans. And Vegeta was portrayed so successful that Akira Toriyama decided to keep him alive at Dragon Ball fans' request, despite the fact that his original plan was to kill him in Saiyan Attack Saga. The TV series that's produced by Toei Animation added some original scenes that make the interaction between the two even more interesting. So from the very moment Goku met Vegeta KakaVege is born. The Fanon gained more popularity as the plot developed and their rivalry relationship thickened.

In Asian countries like Japan, China and Korea KakaVege is the dominant Dragon Ball slash pairing. Outside Asia shippers seemed to favor a bit more VegeKaka than KakaVege. Some reasons behind this might be cultural difference, and also could be due to how Vegeta's characters portrayed via different voice actors. On AO3, KakaVege is the second most written ship for Goku and the second most written ship for Vegeta, right after their heterosexual canon pairing.

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Trivia

 * Goku's voice actress, Masako Nozawa, said that Goku likes Vegeta very much because he considers him his best friend, and Ryo Horikawa, who plays Vegeta, also says that Vegeta may not like him on the surface and is not honest, but deep down he likes Goku.
 * Furthermore Nozawa commented that, "The two of them look great together," and "You can't have Goku without Vegeta." Nozawa said,"I like you!" and laughed.
 * On 2017 AnimeExpo Dragon Ball Super Panel, Chris Sabat said if Vegeta kissed Goku the show will be over. He even said "Hold me Kakarrot!" in Vegeta's voice.
 * In the TV special "Goku Gaiden: Proof of Courage is a Four-Star Ball," which takes place 100 years after the events of Dragon Ball GT, children named Son Goku Jr. and Vegeta Jr. who look very similar to Goku and Vegeta have a fateful encounter at the World Tournament. The relationship between the Son and CC families, which had gradually faded since Goku and Vegeta left this world, is reconnected here, and the story ends with a foretaste of a new story between Goku and Vegeta through the descendants of their blood.