A lot of anime fans grew up with Goku when the genre was all but Niche in the early days. From his Journey to collect all Dragon Balls with Bulma as a kid to becoming an adult and having his kid. But just as he has grown old, he faces a foe to know more about than anyone in the world. Who he was, where he came from, and who he was. Raditz had come on earth to conquer the earth with Goku’s help, a mission Goku was supposed to do when he landed on earth. And it was then Goku learned his real name, Kakarot.
This was one of the most shocking moments for Goku and the fans as the character’s life is turned upside down. Followed were his death and an ultimatum that would destroy everything he loved. Goku had to give his life to stop Raditz alongside Piccolo, but he wasn’t worried as he could be revived with Dragon balls. They made a mistake telling this to Radtis as he transmitted this message to other Saiyans who will come to revive with the said Dragon Balls. Having no choice but to train in heaven, Goku went off to meet King Kai, and everyone else trained on earth for a year.
When the time had come to return Goku went full speed to reach earth only to find almost all of his friends had died. And the ones to kill them were Saiyans. Goku easily defeated one of them, Nappa. But Vegeta gave him a run for money, and this was the first time the Saiyan prince called him by his original name, Kakarot.
Why does Vegeta Call Goku Kakarot Still?
Goku and Vegeta have come a long way, and their friendship continues in Dragon Ball Super. He has fought alongside his friends against Freeza. The two teamed up to fight Cooler, Freeza’s brother( in a movie). They have sons that are friends and close to each other in age. Then why does Vegeta call Goku Kakarot after all that they have been through? For that, we need to understand how the once prideful prince of Saiyans used to think.
Right off the bat, Vegeta is introduced as a prideful, selfish, and arrogant warrior who is above everyone else. His visit to earth along with Nappa is to have Dragon Balls make him immortal, so he can fight Freeza. When he first meets Goku, he looks at him as a lowly Saiyan who is low in Hierarchy than him. But Goku doesn’t give off a meek impression and is instead self-righteous. To remind him of his heritage, Vegeta Call Goku Kakarot and reminds him of reality. But Goku being the aloof guy he is, doesn’t pay much heed and focuses on the fight instead.
The first time Vegeta did it was out of contempt, but that contempt didn’t last long as the fight ended in his loss. However, throughout the series progression, Vegeta has changed a lot. His first biggest change was when he gave up his life to protect Trunks, a selfless act that was unthinkable to him. It was the first time his pride didn’t get the better of him, but he was dead for good after that until he was revived to fight alongside Goku against Majin Boo.
The two have fused and know each other as brothers at this point, and this shows in Vegeta’s attitude towards Goku as well. This is why when Vegeta calls Goku Kakarot, it is out of respect rather than contempt like it used to in earlier times. Goku has also gotten used to Vegeta calling him by his Saiyan name and doesn’t mind it at all. There was even a moment when Goku asked Brolly to call him Kakarot. To remind the Original Super Saiyan that they are of the same creed.
What does Kakarot mean?
One thing Akira Toriyama is notorious for is his naming convention. Gohan means dinner or food in Japanese, Piccolo is a musical instrument, Raditz is a radish spell different, and Trunks is trunks? And this is no different when it comes to Goku’s real name, Kakarot. Toriyama himself admitted that the name is a pun on the word carrot, but given Vegeta’s hairstyle, it might have suited him better.
