So, if you’re a new fan of Dragon Ball, you probably have a thousand different questions swimming around your head right now.
How many battles has Goku won? How many kinds of Super Saiyan are there? Which movies does Broly appear in? Who’s the main character again? How many times has Krillin died!? How is Tien a human, but has three eyes!?
So many questions! So little time! One of the most memorable things about Dragon Ball is its massive collection of memorable characters. They may not be in it for long or do too much at times, but they’ve managed to worm their way into the hearts of many fans over the years.
But some characters are so brief in the series, and so bizarre, that they feel like you’ll miss if you aren’t paying attention. And something so strange happens to them, that you’ll wonder if you imagined it.
Except for the sea of fans telling you that Monster Carrot is the best character in Dragon Ball, reminding you that yes, that did just happen. Don’t know who that is? Don’t worry. He blew up with the moon. He’s not important anymore.
Again, Dragon Ball is a wild ride. There are SO many characters like this. Take Vegito, for example. He’s probably one of the most popular characters to be introduced in the latter half of the series, but he’s barely in it.
Who is this mysterious fighter? Where did he come from? Why is he so popular? And just how strong is he? Well, we’re here to give you the whole story!
Dragon Ball Z: The Buu Saga
Ah, the Buu Saga.
The last major arc of the original Dragon Ball Z show, and the final arc of the series creator Akira Toriyama’s original run of the Dragon Ball Manga. It’s full of twists and turns, transformations, and memorable moments for both the heroes and the villains of the saga. It’s classic Dragon Ball, through and through.
The main antagonist of this part of the series is a character by the name of Majin Buu. Buu is a mysterious creature with vague origins, and a monster that lives for four things: Eating, playing, fighting, and more eating.
Not only is this character obscenely powerful, taking out the strongest heroes with barely any effort, but he has the magical ability to regenerate from pretty much any attack. With no one strong enough to turn to try and beat him, the heroes have to turn to strange powers to level the playing field.
Before we continue, it’s important to understand, from a real-world perspective, where Akira Toriyama was when he created fusion as a concept.
Fusion as a concept was introduced in late 1994. By this time, Toriyama had been writing and drawing the Dragon Ball manga for 10 years at this point, releasing a chapter a week for this entire time, with barely any breaks for rest, and with no chance to plan any story ahead of time by more than a few weeks, if that!
After having written so many story arcs, and giving the characters so many power-ups, it was getting harder and harder to explain how and why characters were getting so powerful.
The answer to both the in-story villain, and the out-of-story problem, was one answer: Fusion!
Enter: Fusion!
Fusion had already appeared at several points before we come to the Buu saga. The character Piccolo fused with two Namekians of his own race, Nail, and Kami, to receive a power-up for the fights to come.
But these were more like absorptions rather than fusing, as Piccolo was still the character we had after the fusion was complete.
With the fusion powers introduced in the Buu saga, things were a little different. For one, the character that appeared after the fusion technique was complete was a completely different person from the two characters that merged, with a different design, combined voices, new powers.
And, most importantly, a major boost in power to boot. This makes pretty much any fusion fighter we see amongst the strongest characters in the entire series.
The first fusion we get to see is the fusion between the characters Trunks and Goten, two young Super Saiyans that, through the Fusion Dance technique, created the incredibly powerful, yet obscenely obnoxious, fusion known as Gotenks.
However, Gotenks would not be enough to defeat Majin Buu. As the pink monster transformed, and gained more power from the characters he absorbed into his body, it would eventually fall on two rivals to come together, and beat the powerful Majin: The protagonist Goku, and his long-time rival, Vegeta.
Vegeta And Goku Together: That Makes Vegito
Vegito is the result of a fusion between Goku and Vegeta through a pair of earwear known as the Portara Earrings. With no need to learn a technique to create this fighter, creating a fusion through this method is quick, and happens almost as soon as the earring is placed on your ear.
From the moment that he appears on-screen and in the manga, Vegito turns the tables on Majin Buu, showing the difference in power between the two fighters. Buu tries everything he can to even faze the fused Saiyan warrior, but nothing seems to scratch him even.
The fight ends when Vegito manages to trick his way into Buu’s body so he can free his absorbed friends. As he enters, the timer ends on their fusion, and Goku and Vegeta separate again.
This is the only time that Vegito appears in the original run of Dragon Ball: For a few chapters in the manga, and a few episodes in the show. This goes to show how much impact even his brief appearance had on the series!
Vegito would eventually return in the sequel series Dragon Ball Super, where he would fight against the villain Zamasu, another fused character, during the final chapters of the Future Trunks Arc, showing just how much everyone loves the favorite fused fighter.
Portara Vs Fusion Dance
Whilst there are plenty of similarities between the two fusion techniques, the Fusion Dance and the Portara Fusion do have some pretty big differences.
For one, how fusion is achieved is pretty different between the two. The Fusion Dance requires both participants to both know the correct moves to the technique, be of a similar power level, and execute the dance perfectly.
If even the slightest detail is off, not extending the index finger enough, not bending the right amount at the waist, then the fusion will fail, creating a weak warrior that can barely even stand up, much less fight.
With the Portara fusion, there’s no such difficulty. Simply put the earrings on, and the fusion will begin.
How the fusions look is also pretty different. Although different characters fusing will change their height, hair, face, and voice, all Fusion Dance characters wear a similar vest, with a sash and white martial arts gi pants, with the only difference being in the color of the vest.
The Portara fusion, meanwhile, will wear a combination of the two fusee outfits they were wearing before the fusion starts.
The best example of this is comparing Goku and Vegeta’s two fused forms: Vegito, the Portara fusion, and Gogeta, their fusion that occurs when they use the Fusion Dance.
Whilst Vegito is wearing a combination of Vegeta and Goku’s outfits, Gogeta appears wearing the classic Fusion Dance uniform.
How Strong Is Vegito?
Given that both Vegeta and Goku are some of the individual strongest fighters in the universe, it begs the question: Just how powerful is the fusion?
In a word: Very. Very powerful.
In his original appearance in Dragon Ball, Majin Buu goes from being this unimaginably powerful character, that Goku and Vegeta could barely even touch, to being so completely outclassed and humiliated by Vegito, that his frustration and anger almost rip the fabric of the universe apart.
Vegito is the strongest character to appear in the original show and manga. There’s no competition, it is a curb-stomp from start to finish if he is up against any other character.
Even after this appearance, as later entries into the series would introduce even more insanely powerful characters, Vegito would remain amongst the strongest characters that Dragon Ball has to offer, especially once he has access to the Super Saiyan Blue transformation in Dragon Ball Super, which puts him at the level of strength where he can face Gods, and almost certainly win.
Conclusion
So, Vegito is certainly no slouch in the power department, being one of the strongest characters to ever exist in Dragon Ball, and his fan base is there to remind us just how popular this fusion fighter is.
It isn’t too surprising. Rivals working together is always a great moment in any show. It’s always cathartic when two people at each other’s throats come together and settle their differences. Even if, in this case, coming together is taken a little too literally!
