Saiyan, a fictional race from the Dragon Ball franchise, is destined to be the strongest in the universe.
Since the very beginning of the saga, Son Goku has shown incredible strength and managed to accomplish incredible feats.
Even when still a child, the destructive nature of the pure-blooded Saiyan raised on Earth has helped him win against some of world's worst and strongest enemies, and even winning the World Martial Arts Tournament.
Later in life, when he faced increasingly difficult challenges, the most memorable foe is undoubtedly Vegeta, another pure-blooded Saiyan, when he came to Earth to take the Dragon Balls.
Vegeta was one of Goku's most powerful enemies, but later, he became Goku's frenemy, and at times, even his best friend.
But the relationship between the two characters has since become one of the longest-standing rivalries in the worlds of both manga and anime.
Dragon Ball is an internationally popular media franchise.
With decades worth of anime films and specials, live-action films, anime OVAs, anime crossovers, anime PSAs and more, Dragon Ball has an extensive online fanbase and is consistently one of the most frequently searched-for terms on the internet
After all, the franchise that was first debuted in 1984, is worth billions of dollars, and is already one of the most merchandisable anime based media franchises of all time.
The main character, the protagonist, is Son Goku.
He was supposed to be the last of his kind, sent to Earth because his planet was doomed. But later, when he met Vegeta, the franchise opens itself to more powerful foes, coming from extraterrestrial beings.
Vegeta debuted in Chapter #204 of Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball.
During Goku's first encounter with Vegeta, Goku had to rely on all of his remaining friends, including his son, to defeat him. At the time. Vegeta was a lot more powerful.
But following this, Vegeta became one of the protectors of Earth, and with Goku, they became more rivals than an enemies.
They often spar and compete against one another to be the strongest warrior, besides fighting side-by-side to protect Earth and the Universe from the latest threat.
Thanks to their Saiyan physiology, and throughout the franchise, the two's power levels increase gradually and sometimes exponentially.
The thing is, Goku is almost always one step ahead of Vegeta.
Dragon Ball has stayed quiet about this since 1989, until its website finally give fans an authoritative answer on why Goku is stronger than Vegeta, 34 years after introducing the character to the franchise.
At least according to a university professor who created a post to explain this on the official Dragon Ball website, the reason to why Goku is always stronger, is due to how he approaches his goal.
There is only one that continuously make Goku a stronger fighter than Vegeta.
No matter how far the latter advance, the former will soon become on top, again and again.
According to Nobuyuki Ota, a professor who studies "competition and rivalry" at Chubu University, who discussed and analyzed the relationship between Goku and Vegeta, the competition between the two is very one-sided.
This is because Vegeta sees Goku as someone specific he wants to defeat, always.
In fact, despite living a human-life on Earth and raising a family, Vegeta never really buried his urge to defeat Goku, a person he always refers to as "Kakarot."
Vegeta is always full of pride.
As the prince of all Saiyans, Vegeta came from the royal bloodline, whereas Goku came from a low class bloodline.
This fuels his competitive nature to something illogical.
In Dragon Ball Super for example, Vegeta succumbed to the will of his enemy, in order to become evil again, so he can attack Goku with all his might, declaring for once more from the bottom of his heart, that his true goal is still to defeat him.
In contrast, Goku never sees defeating Vegeta as a milestone.
Goku's goal is simply to get stronger, no matter who he is fighting.
Vegeta has a strong desire to win and come out on top, and it's his mental fortitude as a Saiyan that bolsters his desire.
Vegeta was destined to be the ruler of all Saiyans, following his father, but was cut short when Lord Frieza destroyed his home planet. During his younger years, Vegeta was a lot weaker than Frieza, but was the most powerful of all Saiyans. Thanks to his upbringing, this caused him to have an elevated sense that all other Saiyans should be inferior to him.
And seeing one particular Saiyan to be able to beat him every time, simply frustrates him.
While Vegeta and Goku will definitely get stronger as Dragon Ball stories continue, Goku's broader goal that always make him seek out new challengers in a positive manner, will always make him defeat Vegeta.
Even Vegeta admits that Goku is "the best," despite speaking to himself.
He said this in the fifth episode of the Kid Buu Saga.
As Vegeta watches the fight between Goku and Buu, he begins to recall the past and the struggle he has had with Goku since their initial meeting. Vegeta remembers the time he first met Goku on Earth, and how Goku becomes a stronger fighter since then, and the frustration caused by how he still could not beat Goku no matter his effort.
When Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan for the first time, becoming the first Super Saiyan in 1,000 years, Vegeta was torn apart.
Each and every time Vegeta surpassed Goku, that moment is always brief. No matter how much he trained, how much he worked and concentrated, Goku will always surpass him again.
At that time, Vegeta admits he had always fought for the pleasure of killing and gaining power. He was merciless. Goku is different, and had always shown mercy and never fought to kill or for revenge.
Goku only fought to get stronger, and that's it.
Vegeta admits that Goku is the better fighter because he fights for the love of fighting, to become the best he can be, with nothing that can prevent him from doing that.
"I believe that Goku is not the kind of individual who sees others as his rivals," the professor said.
While the reason why Goku is always superior to Vegeta was not delivered by Akira Toriyama himself, the statement was posted on the official website of Dragon Ball, meaning that it should stay true.
And it does make sense, whatsoever.
Ultimately, Professor Ota said that Goku and Vegeta are able to change their dynamic and become rivals because the challenges they come up against cause them to share common goals.
"Fighting together allows them to learn more about each other and provides an opportunity for them to acknowledge each other's strength. This kind of situation normally leads individuals to develop trust, so in reality a rivalry could certainly result from this sort of situation," he said.