This is also what made the Saiyan arc so good that nothing that came after it will surpass it IMO. No other shounen that came after Dragon Ball will ever match the Saiyan arc in terms of raw brutality because Vegeta BREAKS Goku. And before anyone says "so what, other villains beat Goku to a pulp", Vegeta doesn't just beat up Goku, he BREAKS him.

There is no super shounen bullshit. No "everything i've got!" last-ditch ultimate move, no "~share your energy~" everybody-contributes, no suddenly-relevant legends, no self-sacrificing heroism, no miracles. Hell, most of these come up and Vegeta just gives them the middle finger.

The main character spends half the fight in a crumpled heap with Vegeta occasionally jumping over and kicking him in the ribs. Mr. Hidden Potential gets his shit wrecked no matter how mad he gets. All their Super Special Mystical training is useless. The Everybody Helps technique fails completely. Even Oozaru doesn't work, Vegeta cuts off Gohan's tail before the beast really damages him. It's only the pure dumb luck that Gohan happened to land on Vegeta that finally brings him down after an entire day of fighting him.

It's a beautifully brutal fight that outdoes everything before and after, and perfectly encapsulates on who Vegeta is: the complete opposite of everything "shounen."

Also, even if I think the Saiyan arc was the apex of Dragon Ball, there were still traces of that raw brutality in the Cell and Buu arcs. Cell came back after Goku literally sacrificed himself, and suddenly was just as strong as Gohan and his sacrifice amounts to nothing. If this was any other shounen, then Goku's heroic sacrifice would work or weaken Cell just enough for Gohan to deliver the final blow.