Like, I know they played Goku and Frieza up as these two rivals going at it, but they were never rivals. From Frieza's point of view, he was just having a normal day, Goku just showed out of nowhere, fulfilled an ancient prophecy, beat the shit out of him, and never showed up again.
Vegeta grew up under Frieza's heel. He hated him his entire life and always wanted to get revenge. Frieza and Vegeta have had a lot of history, whereas Goku was pretty much a Diabolus ex Machina for Frieza.
That's true. Frieza was Vegeta's nemesis. The villain of Vegeta's story.
Problem is, Vegeta's story is a "Shaggy Dog" Story. It ended the only way it was ever going to end: in tragic despair and crushing defeat. Frieza is insurmountable. The only way he was ever going to lose was the fulfillment of a legend, and Vegeta's not the kind of guy that gets to do that. Vegeta is a shithead, a mass murderer, almost as bad as Frieza himself; he's not the kind of guy who gets narratively rewarded by pulling an 11th-Hour Superpower out of his ass. He's the kind of guy who chokes on his own Fatal Flaw in the third act and dies, still desperately reaching for the prize he wanted so badly but never deserved.
Goku, meanwhile, is the hero, the kind-hearted master, the guy who pops up out of nowhere to conquer the unconquerable. He had less connection to Frieza than anyone, barely even knowing who he is. He just showed up to beat up Frieza, because that's what Goku does. But again, Frieza was insurmountable. Goku did what he does, he brought out everything in his arsenal, unloaded the entirety of Chekhov's Armory, and to no avail. He fought strong, he fought smart, he exhausted every technique he knows. He went full-Goku and it wasn't enough. Just like Vegeta, Goku broke on the brick wall of Frieza's impossible strength. As far as Frieza was concerned, he was just some asshole who wandered into the plot; that was never going to be enough to overcome him.
Because Vegeta was right: only the Super Saiyan could defeat Frieza. Someone had to realize the legend, which was why he passed it on to Goku. Neither Goku nor Vegeta could surpass Frieza, but Goku realizing Vegeta's legend, completing the narrative Vegeta introduced but was unfit to finish, could.
In short, Frieza was Vegeta's villain and the narrative elements required to defeat him were Vegeta's story, but the universe went, "Yes, the Super Saiyan shall defeat Frieza, but you're a f*cking asshole and should die in a fire. Bring me a pinch hitter!"
edited 8th Oct '15 7:57:22 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Also true. The only reason Vegeta's bearable as a protagonist outside of just getting his shit kicked for the purpose of schadenfreude is because all of that is behind him.
In the context of, say, protecting his family or making amends for his past mistakes, it is possible to root for Vegeta. But in the context of his long-standing conflict with Frieza, he's still that asshole who, legitimate grievance or not, deserved to choke on his pride and die trying to surmount the insurmountable. Frieza is not a flattering context for Vegeta.
Back on Namek, Frieza was a Big Bad who needed to be overthrown, but Vegeta was a Tragic Hero whose profound character flaws would inevitably lead him to failure and ruin, no matter how legitimate or illegitimate his grievances.
edited 8th Oct '15 8:07:22 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Yea, I can agree with that; Frieza may have been a more personal enemy to Vegeta than Goku at that point, but Vegeta honestly didn't have much moral high ground, it was essentially Black-and-Grey Morality and Vegeta is A Darker Shade of Grey.
Goku had no personal beef with Frieza beyond just being an asshole, but it definitely got personal on Frieza's end once Goku kept pulling out all of the stops. Actually, the difference between Goku & Vegeta is what beat Frieza: Vegeta just lost the will to fight when he knew he was outmatched, Goku didn't care and would have fought to his last breath, Super Saiyan or not.
So yea, Goku definitely deserved it more.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.Even from a point of motivation in fighting.
On some level, Vegeta always knew he couldn't win. It's why he wanted immortality so bad. Why he reached so hard for the Super Saiyan legend. Why he tried to avoid Frieza's direct notice as he was killing his men and plotting around him. Vegeta knew, deep in his heart, that he could never defeat Frieza.
Goku had no idea whether he could or not. He just wanted to try.
In Vegeta's fight, Frieza slowly stripped away his denial until he had nothing left but the naked truth. In Goku's fight, it was worth a shot to see what he could do.
edited 8th Oct '15 8:21:11 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.I see your point.
Even now, when Vegeta has more than enough power to actually get the job done, his past deeds mean he still won't ever be able to kill Frieza, as Resurrection F showed. He's denied that opportunity at the last second.
It's a shame Frieza didn't try and hurt Bulma and Trunks. Then he might have been able to do it because it wouldn't just be about revenge, but about saving his family.
One Strip! One Strip!Yeah, someone responsible for the filler parts of the anime thought having him bust out the Super Kaioken would be awesomely cool.
But because Super Kaioken is just a shittier version of Super Saiyan 2, it's actually kind of dumb, especially after he's already made such a fuss about how the Graded forms of Super Saiyan are pointless.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Dead people can still die.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.You would implode so hard you might take your opponent with you.
Like a spiraling black hole of power. A void in the universe where a person once was. The greatest battle power crash since Yamcha was born.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.What if Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Vegetto used the 20x Kaiouken?
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!The universe would end in a Divide By Zero error.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.Well, everyone already answered Arha's question.
It's a shame Kaiouken became completely useless after a while. I liked the concept behind it. I hate that the way the story unfolded meant that not only was there no point to Goku fully mastering it (it didn't help him beat Vegeta, and it was useless against Frieza too), but that there was no point in anyone else learning it (since the enemies that came next were far too strong for it to make a difference).
But that's an issue that we've beaten to death, and I fully acknowledge that bringing it up again means I should get my ass kicked, so that's that.
One Strip! One Strip!

Goku figured just having a higher power output wouldn't be enough to best Cell, so even if there was a power beyond super Saiyan, it'd drain too much energy to be useful.
Since Super Saiyan 1 is the most familiar form, it makes sense to get used to that than a newer form.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.