From its power-packed battles to endearing friendships, Akira Toriyama’s manga Dragon Ball is truly iconic. This also stands true to the naming system of characters. While most Saiyan names are vegetable puns, the angelic attendants are named after drinks. However, Bulma and her connection with assorted underwear names is nothing short of nightmarish.
The author passed the underwear naming legacy to Bulma despite her being an impeccable scientist. The Brief family’s names are a running gag in the series due to their allusions to underwear. In contrast to Vegeta, the author might’ve taken it too far in Bulma’s case leading to a third-hand embarrassment.
Bulma carrying the underwear naming tradition in Dragonball is nothing short of embarrassing
Bulma appears in the first episode of the original Dragon Ball series that premiered in 1986. She is the first character to befriend Goku in the series. Her name is an allusion to bloomer, a type of women’s underwear. Throughout the series, there’s a running gag regarding her name which is passed down to her children as well.
Akira Toriyama is known for his naming system for the characters in his manga. While most Saiyan names are based on vegetables, God of Destruction names are allusions to drinks. Although it may seem fair considering how it fits well in the storyline, the author took the naming game too far when it comes to Bulma.
Bulma inherits impeccable innovation skills from her family along with the underwear-naming legacy. Be it Tights, or Trunks, no one in the Brief family is exempt from the embarrassing names. It only gets worse with her daughter Bulla whose name translates to bra. To say the least, the author did her dirty with the naming legacy as compared to her husband Vegeta.
Saiyans named after vegetables seemed ridiculous even to Akira Toriyama
From Kakarot and Broly to Bardock and Vegeta, pure-blood Saiyans have their own unique and peculiar names. While they may have ridiculous names, to begin with, their strength and power is unmatched. The name Saiyan itself is a pun on the word vegetable person. Moreover, Saiyans are one of the strongest fighter races in the series.
The Saiyan names are allusions to vegetables and offer a running gag in the series. With Goku being referred to as Kakarot, the character lives up to the stereotype. Broly’s name is an allusion to Broccoli while Vegeta’s name is a pun on the term vegetable itself. Although the naming system seemed interesting to the author at first, even he admitted to its ridiculous nature.
In a round-table interview that was later published in TV Anime Guide: Dragon Ball Tenka’ichi Densetsu (2004), Akira Toriyama reveals the motivation behind creating vegetable-themed names for the characters. He quoted:
I decided on them without thinking, so it’s embarrassing. But at the very least, if I didn’t create a theme, there’s lots of characters so it would be a big problem. It’s easier to just decide on a theme of vegetable names.
To err is to be human, as it is quoted widely. Even the author admitted to the embarrassment he felt after ridiculously naming characters. While the Saiyans’ vegetable names get away with second-hand embarrassment, the Brief family’s underwear-naming legacy is the complete opposite. All in all, the author did give Bulma the short end of the stick with his naming system.
Dragon Ball is available for streaming on Crunchyroll
