Summary
Shadow the Hedgehog’s creator, Takashi Iizuka, has once again denied that the edgy hedgehog is based onDragon Ball Z’s Vegeta and claimed that he’s not like him “in any way”.
From the moment Shadow the Hedgehog was introduced to the world as the dark and brooding yin to Sonic’s cheery yang,there’s been one fictional character he’s constantly been compared to - Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z. Both characters start off as antagonists before becoming anti-heroes, have brooding personalities, and are total fan-favourites, so it’s natural to think Vegeta was an influence for Shadow’s creation.
That comparison isn’t helped by the fact that concept art for Shadow the Hedgehog (from when he was called Terios)directly confirmed that Vegeta was at leastsomewhatof an inspiration for the character. It seems that bothSegaand Shadow’s creator, Takashi Iizuka, are sick of hearing about it, though, as it’s once again been denied.
Shadow The Hedgehog Is Apparently Nothing Like Dragon Ball Z’s Vegeta
GamesRadar+ recently had the chance to sit down with Sonic creative officer Takashi Iizuka at Gamescomto talk aboutSonic x Shadow Generations. After admitting that Shadow is his favourite character because of his tragic backstory, Iizuka noted that fans have “misinterpreted” the chaos controller several times, most notably when it comes to the comparisons to Vegeta.
Iizuka said that Shadow is “not Vegeta in any way”, noting that he started out that the Saiyan Prince started out as an enemy and then became an ally fighting for justice, something that Shadow has never done because he’s “not like that”. Iizuka goes as far as saying that Shadow isn’t even friends with Sonic, something I’m sure is going to ruin the Blue Blur’s day when he hears about it.
Vegeta really starts out as an enemy and then later becomes a friend and an ally and kind of, like, fights for justice and trying to save the world and whatnot. Shadow is not like that. I never want him to be like that. Shadow is doing his own thing, he’s not friends with Sonic, and he’s gonna go off and, you know, do whatever he feels is correct or right, or what he needs to do. - Takashi Iizuka
While it’s true that Shadow is much less of an active hero than Vegeta and that they’re both different characters at heart, it is a little hard to just pretend that we didn’t all see the concept art specifically calling out Vegeta as an inspiration.
