Key findings
- Sega has recently been fighting back against comparisons between Shadow the Hedgehog and Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z.
- In a recent interview, Shadow’s creator claimed that he is “in no way” like Vegeta. Hmm…
- While it’s true that they’re different characters, it’s a little hard to ignore the concept art that directly mentions Vegeta as the inspiration.
Shadow the Hedgehog creator Takashi Iizuka has once again denied that the angular hedgehog is based on Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z, claiming that he bears no resemblance to him “in any way.”
From the moment Shadow the Hedgehog was introduced to the world as the dark and brooding yin to Sonic’s cheerful yang, there was one fictional character he was constantly compared to – Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z. Both characters start out as antagonists before becoming anti-heroes, have brooding personalities, and are absolute fan favorites, so it’s reasonable to assume Vegeta had an influence on Shadow’s creation.
This comparison is not made easier by the fact that the concept art for Shadow the Hedgehog (from the time when he was still called Terios) directly confirmed that Vegeta was at least something an inspiration for the character. It seems that both Sega and Shadows creator Takashi Iizuka are sick of hearing about it, as it has been denied once again.
Shadow The Hedgehog apparently has nothing to do with Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z
GamesRadar+ recently had the chance to sit down with Sonic Creative Officer Takashi Iizuka at Gamescom to talk about Sonic x Shadow Generations. After admitting that Shadow is his favorite character due to his tragic backstory, Iizuka noted that fans have “misinterpreted” the Chaos Controller several times, especially with the comparisons to Vegeta.
Iizuka said that Shadow is “not Vegeta in any way,” noting that the Saiyan prince was initially an enemy and then became an ally in the fight for justice, something Shadow has never done because he’s “not like that.” Iizuka even goes as far as to say that Shadow isn’t even friends with Sonic, which will surely ruin the Blue Blur’s day when he finds out about it.
Vegeta starts out as an enemy and then later becomes a friend and ally and fights for justice and tries to save the world and so on. Shadow is not like that. I never want him to be like that. Shadow does his own thing, he’s not friends with Sonic and he’s going to go off and do what he thinks is right or proper or what he needs to do. – Takashi Iizuka
While it’s true that Shadow is much less active as a hero than Vegeta and that they’re fundamentally different characters, it’s a little difficult to just pretend we haven’t all seen the concept art that specifically cites Vegeta as an inspiration.
