Vegeta leaving his armor

[DragonBallFoodie]

Does anyone recall why Vegeta ditched his armor plates?



He looks pretty good IMO, he should keep it. And it's not as if he needs armor at this stage.

[KBABZ]

I always wondered this as well. Leaving the armour behind I always interpreted as being two things. 1) That he didn't nessecarily need it anymore, 2) He felt that if he was good enough to not get hit in the first place, but primarily 3) It showed how he gradually became accustomed to Earth civilian life, and that he was settling into a more relaxed lifestyle.

Ultimately though I don't think a given reason has ever been stated for the world's longest armour stripping.

I don't think its a coincidence that both Vegeta and Goku have been shoehorned back into their most recognizable and "default" costumes because they're scared Super won't make money otherwise. I really liked the new outfits they were when training under Whis, they were very modern takes on their classic costumes. It's backwards because the manga was not afraid to change a character's design. I think Bulma's a great example. She's had dozens and dozens of outfits in the manga, but comparatively with what I've seen of Super I've only ever seen her in one.

[ABED]

It should also be noted that in the Buu arc, he wears that outfit because he was going to fight in the Tenkaichi Budokai and to my recollection, they don't allow armor.

[KBABZ]

It should also be noted that in the Buu arc, he wears that outfit because he was going to fight in the Tenkaichi Budokai and to my recollection, they don't allow armor.

...huh, I never realized that! Going back through old clips, Vegeta sports a singlet and sweat pants getup until he learns about the Tournament. I don't think the use of armor is ever outright stated, but given that we never see anyone with artificial armour like Saiyan gear, I'd say the rule is very much like with weapons. That is, not allowed unless it's a natural part of your body. Not sure who Tao had to pay off to let his weapon and armour upgraded allowed, though.

[LightBing]

It should also be noted that in the Buu arc, he wears that outfit because he was going to fight in the Tenkaichi Budokai and to my recollection, they don't allow armor.

This is the reason, remember even Gohan had to modify his Great Saiyaman suit to enter.

Regarding why the still carries the armor, Saiyan habits I guess? He mentions in the Tarble special that armor isn't only for fighting but serves other purposes, kinda like a suit you can take to the gym.

Toyotarõ gave us Vegeta in a tanktop and sweatpants for a little before ToP, he looked good. A bit of variety would be nice at the very least bring back FnF armor.

[ABED]

It should also be noted that in the Buu arc, he wears that outfit because he was going to fight in the Tenkaichi Budokai and to my recollection, they don't allow armor.

...huh, I never realized that! Going back through old clips, Vegeta sports a singlet and sweat pants getup until he learns about the Tournament. I don't think the use of armor is ever outright stated, but given that we never see anyone with artificial armour like Saiyan gear, I'd say the rule is very much like with weapons. That is, not allowed unless it's a natural part of your body. Not sure who Tao had to pay off to let his weapon and armour upgraded allowed, though.

Tao Pai Pai wasn't allowed. He got disqualified when he brought out the huge blade.

[KBABZ]

It should also be noted that in the Buu arc, he wears that outfit because he was going to fight in the Tenkaichi Budokai and to my recollection, they don't allow armor.

...huh, I never realized that! Going back through old clips, Vegeta sports a singlet and sweat pants getup until he learns about the Tournament. I don't think the use of armor is ever outright stated, but given that we never see anyone with artificial armour like Saiyan gear, I'd say the rule is very much like with weapons. That is, not allowed unless it's a natural part of your body. Not sure who Tao had to pay off to let his weapon and armour upgraded allowed, though.

Tao Pai Pai wasn't allowed. He got disqualified when he brought out the huge blade.

Correct (forgot about the blade thing, which is weird because I love that moment), but what I meant was that, being a cyborg, he had artificial armouring and protection that should have rendered him unsuitable to compete.

[ABED]

Good point. I guess a suitable answer could be he convinced the tournament powers that be he was wearing high tech prosthetics he needs to live, which isn't technically untrue.

[Chuquita]

Isn't one of the character design charts for Vegeta in Brolli 4 of Vegeta in his Buu arc outfit? Meaning we should see him wearing that there for a little while.

[Kunzait_83]

Good point. I guess a suitable answer could be he convinced the tournament powers that be he was wearing high tech prosthetics he needs to live, which isn't technically untrue.

Pretty sure at some point the Budokai rules acknowledge that if a weapon or piece of armor is a natural part of a competitor's body somehow (since non-humans are allowed to compete as well), then it can technically be allowed in. Which in Tao Pai Pai's case as a cyborg is about as close to being so as you can get with regards to the armoring. The blade, while technically being a part of his cyborg body as well, was something he had to first unsheathe: the line there is murky enough to where I can see the judges/announcer saying "yeah that's a bridge too far" and citing it as grounds for disqualification.

To the main topic at hand: I always liked the (however unintentional/incidental) touch that the further into the series it gets and the further Vegeta's character develops. the more and more bits of his old Freeza Empire armor get slowly stripped away once piece at a time, till there's basically none of it left by the end. Despite the likelihood that it was totally accidental, it provided a nice bit of a visual metaphor for Vegeta slowly, gradually, and only a little at a time letting go of the genocidal, mass murdering prick he used to be before finally evolving into a legit martial artist like Goku and the rest of the group.

Super's Resurrection F outfit for Vegeta actually DID lend a bit more to this costume progression as well, despite its inclusion of armor: underneath its armor is Vegeta's first and only ever actual Kung Fu dogi, which is just a great touch. It looks awesome on him in itself and again adds a fun bit of visual metaphor to his overall series character arc. Where Super leaves me more cold visually for Vegeta is that it otherwise defaults him into his Cell arc armor. Bleh. Lame for messing with the fun visual progression of the character (again however intentional or unintentional it was), and doubly lame for doing so simply to pander to fan familiarity with that outfit. The Resurrection F armor/dogi combo definitely should've been his default look throughout Super (with maybe a brief return of his Boo arc jumpsuit in the Battle of Gods portion).

[ABED]

While I like the look, the sheer scale of the battles makes the armor worn by the Saiyans, Freeeza, and his soldiers to be superfluous. It's akin to kids ducking under a table when they're at ground zero of a bomb blast.

[DragonBallFoodie]

He mentions in the Tarble special that armor isn't only for fighting but serves other purposes, kinda like a suit you can take to the gym.

That special said it was formal evening gear. But he said it to Goku ad added a challenge to it, so I doubt he was serious.

While I like the look, the sheer scale of the battles makes the armor worn by the Saiyans, Freeeza, and his soldiers to be superfluous. It's akin to kids ducking under a table when they're at ground zero of a bomb blast.

Armor isn't impractical to utilise, no matter how much power you have.

[ABED]

He mentions in the Tarble special that armor isn't only for fighting but serves other purposes, kinda like a suit you can take to the gym.

That special said it was formal evening gear. But he said it to Goku ad added a challenge to it, so I doubt he was serious.

While I like the look, the sheer scale of the battles makes the armor worn by the Saiyans, Freeeza, and his soldiers to be superfluous. It's akin to kids ducking under a table when they're at ground zero of a bomb blast.

Armor isn't impractical to utilise, no matter how much power you have.

Not sure what you mean. It protects very little. It took Freeza zero effort to pierce Kuririn's and Vegeta's armor.

[KBABZ]

Good point. I guess a suitable answer could be he convinced the tournament powers that be he was wearing high tech prosthetics he needs to live, which isn't technically untrue.

For me where it crosses the line is the fact that he in all likelihood could have used prosthetics that were soft and unarmoured (I mean, they have tech to bring him back to life basically!), but instead he goes for cold-hearted assassin stuff. There's one area that I could see being exempted though: the Super Dodon-pa. The name implies that it's still using his core ki, and while at this stage we don't know if full robots can use Ki like that (Android 16 is our best take on it), Tao could easily justify it as being something he needs to keep up the pace with fighters like Goku and Tien.

Pretty sure at some point the Budokai rules acknowledge that if a weapon or piece of armor is a natural part of a competitor's body somehow (since non-humans are allowed to compete as well), then it can technically be allowed in. Which in Tao Pai Pai's case as a cyborg is about as close to being so as you can get with regards to the armoring. The blade, while technically being a part of his cyborg body as well, was something he had to first unsheathe: the line there is murky enough to where I can see the judges/announcer saying "yeah that's a bridge too far" and citing it as grounds for disqualification.

Yeah, you'd be thinking of the match with Giran where Goku, after being ruled out on using Kinto-un, points out Giran's wings and his gum. Giran then explains that they're a natural part of his body and thus are allowed. And in the dub at the start of the same arc the head honcho of the tournament says that "Claws are allowed but only if they're natural".

To the main topic at hand: I always liked the (however unintentional/incidental) touch that the further into the series it gets and the further Vegeta's character develops. the more and more bits of his old Freeza Empire armor get slowly stripped away once piece at a time, till there's basically none of it left by the end. Despite the likelihood that it was totally accidental, it provided a nice bit of a visual metaphor for Vegeta slowly, gradually, and only a little at a time letting go of the genocidal, mass murdering prick he used to be before finally evolving into a legit martial artist like Goku and the rest of the group.

Yeah I thought it was cool too. First he loses the waist armour, then the shoulders, and then the chest. Of course I can also see being more convenient to draw as a strong motivator as well, what with all that extra linework on the segmentation of the armour.

While I like the look, the sheer scale of the battles makes the armor worn by the Saiyans, Freeeza, and his soldiers to be superfluous. It's akin to kids ducking under a table when they're at ground zero of a bomb blast.

Umigame: Remember Suno! When you see the flash from Central City, duck and cover!