Episode 30 – Goku vs. Vegeta/A Hot, Unbounded Battle! Goku vs Vegeta

The next pick is an obvious, but very necessary choice to include: “Goku Vs. Vegeta,” the beginning of Goku and Vegeta’s first fight, the beginning of their rivalry and easily one of the greatest battles in Dragon Ball and all of anime. While the Piccolo Jr. Saga of Dragon Ball set the stage for what Dragon Ball Z would become, it’s this fight that would not just solidify the series’ battle style, but also greatly influence later shonen series at large.

This alone is enough to consider the episode amongst the best of DBZ, but it’s also just damn good. The iconic stand-off, the choreography of the fight, Goku pushing the limits of the Kaioken, Vegeta dominating Goku — it’s all just so well-crafted, an epic build-up to Goku underdogging his way to victory and the beginning of the iconic rivalry between the two Saiyan warriors. This is an episode that changed Dragon Ball, an episode that changed all of anime, and one of the best DBZ has to offer.