Originally posted by Ridley_Prime
And him admitting Goku was better being the only good change he had? How about his motif for sacrificing himself against the fat Buu (which he didn't do for himself, but for Trunks, Bulma, and even Goku) ? Methinks you're not giving the Saiyan prince quite enough credit.Oh yeah, there was the hyperbolic time chamber thing too.
He started caring about Trunks and Bulma but he really had no choice at this point so the sacrifice is understandable. If he still didn't care about them, then I'd have an even bigger problem with his character. But the thing is, he had three years with Bulma and it didn't change him one bit. Of course, changing him off-screen/panel would have been a dumb idea but the fact that he even settled down without changing makes the whole thing seem silly and pointless.
As for the hyperbolic time chamber thing, yeah, Trunks would grow on Vegeta from being with him that whole year but that still only made it seem like an excuse just for the sake of making Vegeta change when the time comes. Even after his training with Trunks in the HBTC, you still couldn't tell any difference in Vegeta's attitude, even towards Trunks. That just shows that there was still no build-up to any of this. There was no hints of Vegeta even considering these things.
At least in the case with Goku, it was like this;
Saiyan Saga - Vegeta underestimated Goku because he's a lower-class Saiyan who couldn't beat Raditz just that previous year and thus, shouldn't have been a match for a super elite like himself.
Namek/Frieza Saga - Vegeta wants to get stronger now so he can be more prepared to fight Goku and not have a hard time like before.
Androids Saga - Vegeta now desparately wants to surpass Goku, who's now become a Super Saiyan. One was stronger than the other throughout this saga.
Buu Saga - After so long, Vegeta finally admits for the first time that Goku is better than him (though he still wants to fight him again and beat him).
It was a slow but major process for Vegeta's character. The whole him caring about his family stuff happened too fast in comparison. Also, since Bulma is involved with his story, I think this also effects her character too. It just makes her interest him also seem a bit awkward.