Vegeta looked a bit unusual in Dragon Ball GT for a few episodes. However, his daughter and a relative of Akira Toriyama found his appearance so terrible that the creators of the anime changed it back.
What feature is it about? Vegeta had a mustache in the first episodes of Dragon Ball GT. His father, King Vegeta, also had a beard. You can see what Vegeta looked like with a beard in a short clip on YouTube on the channel Wheerus 007.
Since Akira Toriyama was responsible for the character design of GT, the idea for the mustache came from him (via X). It was presumably meant to symbolize that Vegeta had aged and adapted to life on Earth.
After 23 episodes, Vegeta shaved off his mustache again. He shows his new appearance to Goku’s son, Goten, but is ignored by him. Even his own wife Bulma, whom he loves dearly, and Chi-Chi do not notice the change. Vegeta then has a fit of rage because no one notices his shave.
Actually, it should have ended before Dragon Ball GT:
Vegeta’s mustache is controversial in the community
Why is it controversial? The mustache caused a split among fans in the community, as can be seen in the Reddit forum:
- Some fans wish Vegeta had kept the mustache or that it would return in one of the video games.
- Others are glad that the mustache is gone. This way, Vegeta looks more like his old self.
Because from the story perspective, Vegeta shouldn’t actually have a mustache. He stated during the Cell Saga that a Saiyan’s hair never changes over time. Presumably, Toriyama simply forgot that this rule exists – just like he forgot some characters.
Why did it have to go? In the anime, Vegeta’s daughter Bra comments on his mustache. She tells him that he looks like a “total geek” with the mustache. But in reality, a relative of Toriyama is responsible for him having to shave it off.
The daughter of a relative complained that Vegeta would look cooler without the mustache (via dbzeta.net). The animation team then removed the mustache to comply with the wishes of Toriyama’s family.
Also, in the current anime Dragon Ball Daima, there was a surprise for Vegeta. He achieved a new form in battle that has not been seen in the series before. In a spin-off, fans could already see the new form ten years ago: Dragon Ball: Vegeta surprises fans with a new form, which has already existed for 10 years.
