Dragon Ball characters Vegeta and Bulma are among the most popular couples in the fictional world of Shonen. What began as a toxic relationship between an egoistic and aloof Saiyan and an overly possessive woman transformed into a budding romance before the two eventually married.
Similar to other iconic love stories, Vegeta and Bulma didn’t hit off from the beginning. The Prince of Saiyans even threatened to kill the blue-haired girl while on his quest to obtain the Dragon Balls and achieve immortality. While the Saiyan’s arrival on Earth with Nappa was initially thought to be the introduction of a villain, it turned out to be the debut of a heroic side character and the overall personification of Bulma’s wish.
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Akira Toriyama Kept Vegeta In The Dragon Ball Series For The Sake Of Bulma
Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama previously revealed in an interview his initial idea of eliminating Vegeta after the latter had played his part as a second-tier antagonist. However, he stuck with the character after gauging the fan responses in the popularity polls. The next difficult task was to keep developing the resolute character but in the shadow of his main hero, Goku.
Toriyama then connected the dots of Vegeta arriving on Earth with Bulma’s dream of having a ‘perfect’ boyfriend. The blue-haired woman was in an on-and-off relationship with Yamcha for the majority of the series but it was evident that they weren’t perfect for each other. Their love seemed superficial and based on convenience rather than mutual attraction.
Both Bulma and Yamcha struggled in their relationship – Yamcha was bashful in front of women while Bulma sought a better boyfriend and berated the former for not being the best. She hunted for Dragon Balls to wish for the best partner but Oolong was a step ahead and wished for a pair of panties in Episode 12. When hope seemed lost for her love life, Toriyama debuted Vegeta.
Vegeta arrives in Dragon Ball Z in Episode 15: A Black Day for Planet Earth. His goal was to eliminate the killers of Raditz but his plot became more and more Bulma-focused in an effort by Akira Toriyama to shift him to the good side. Bulma is impressed by the strong ‘prince’, loses interest in Yamcha, and plans to break the tough exterior of the Saiyan with chiding and flirting.
Bulma’s ability to intimidate Vegeta, a far more intimidating personality, has made up for some hilarious scenes in the Dragon Ball series. The two even sired a child out of wedlock, making matters more complex, such that their marriage occurs off-screen and keeps viewers guessing whether they truly loved each other to this day.
Storyline Reason For Bulma Not Marrying Yamcha
It can be assumed that Yamcha was supposed to be the right-hand man for Goku before Vegeta’s arrival. He became increasingly irrelevant after Vegeta-Bulma dynamic got more focus such that fans started to call him the ‘weakest’ of the Dragon Ball Z fighters. The Prince of Saiyans not only stole his girlfriend by being better but also surpassed him in strength, making Yamcha a meme.
Why did Bulma leave Yamcha? Tōru Furuya, who is the Japanese voice behind Yamcha, asked Akira Toriyama about the storyline reason and he revealed the mangaka’s answer in an interview transcribed by Kazenshuu.
“That was a shock. I often spoke with Hiromi Tsuru-san, who plays Bulma, both she and I thought Bulma and Yamcha would end up together. And for Vegeta, of all people! It really was a shock. So when I met with Toriyama-sensei, I complained, “Why did it have to be like this?!” Then Toriyama-sensei said, “Come on; Yamcha’s a cheater.”
Ironically, it has been Bulma who has flirted with other characters over the years while Yamcha has been his usual shy self. The blue-haired woman doesn’t complain about the cheating in the anime but rather it is Trunks who breaks the news that the two have split and Yamcha has moved on.
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