If Vegeta is anything to go by, then popularity can be deadly. The legendary Saiyan prince has consistently earned the top rank in the series' character popularity polls. Unfortunately for him though, it's those very same fans who made him popular that inevitably lead to his death.
First debuting in Dragon Ball's chapter 204, Vegeta famously started out as a straight-up villain. In an Vegeta's stark contrast with Goku. This naturally led to Vegeta getting a much larger role in the story. The doesn't mean, however, that Toriyama didn't end up getting revenge on the fans who were begging him to continue Vegeta's story.
In, Dragon Ball Daizenshu: TV Animation, Part 2 Toriyama revealed that he was inundated with fan-mail asking him not to kill off Vegeta during his reappearance in Dragon Ball's Frieza arc... which is of course why Toriyama inevitably killed him. The saga saw Vegeta, Goku, and many others travel to Piccolo's home of Namek, which was under threat from the evil warlord Frieza. Though he participates in many impressive fights throughout the arc and even kills a few of Frieza's generals, Vegeta is ultimately killed by Frieza.
Of course, despite this, Vegeta would be resurrected as most of Dragon Ball's heroes inevitably are. It's a good thing that he was resurrected too, as Vegeta's already strong popularity would only explode as the series progressed. The character clearly grew on Toriyama, as Vegeta would play a major role in every subsequent arc of the original manga. Vegeta's rivalry with Goku is a defining part of the series, so it's difficult to imagine what the rest of Dragon Ball would look like had Vegeta stayed dead. Even with his status as a fan-favorite though, Vegeta ended up dying again during the Majin Buu saga, luckily that death was also met with another resurrection.
All of this highlights an important aspect of Akira Toriyama's creative process that often gets looked over in the grander scope of the series. Though Dragon Ball is famous for its thrilling action, Toriyama has always been a comedy writer at heart. This is more evident in Dragon Ball's earlier chapters, but can still be seen even as the series became more serious. Given Toriyama's sense of humor, it only makes sense that he would do exactly the opposite of what fans ask him. Fans can only be grateful that Toriyama knows not to take a joke too far, as Dragon Ball just wouldn't be the same without its resident egotist, Vegeta.
