Yamcha is a martial artist and former desert bandit turned global defender from the manga and animated series Dragon Ball. He used to be a bandit until he befriends Goku and his friends and joins him in his quest for the legendary Dragon Balls. After this, he becomes Bulma's (ex) boyfriend and one of Goku's most trusted allies. He served as an antagonist turned anti-hero of the Pilaf Saga.
In the English dubs, he has mainly been voiced by Christopher Sabat who also voiced Piccolo and Vegeta of the franchise. In the Japanese dubs, he has mainly been voiced by Toru Furuya.
Biography[]
Emperor Pilaf Saga[]
Yamcha as the desert bandit.
Yamcha is first introduced as a 16 year old bandit who operated in Diablo Desert along with his companion, an anthropomorphic cat named Puar, and robs any travelers who pass through the desert. He ambushed Goku, Bulma and Oolong in order to steal their money and capsules.
When challenged by Goku, they fought, with Yamcha using his signature technique, the Wolf Fang Fist, seemingly knocking Goku out. However, it only slightly injured Goku. Then, Goku starts to have the disadvantage when he starts to get hungry, which drains his power. As Yamcha was about to defeat Goku, he spots Bulma and makes his retreat, due to his extreme fear of women.
Yamcha later returned to their camp that night and, while spying on them, learned of the Dragon Balls and their ability to grant a wish, any wish. He then decided to steal their Dragon Balls and make a wish to overcome his phobia of women, as he dreams of getting married.
He and his companion Puar broke into the group's van that night to do so, but were foiled when the orbs under the sheet which Yamcha thought were Dragon Balls were actually the breasts of a nude and sleeping Bulma, causing him to leave in a confused daze.
He attacked again the following day, by knocking over the group's van with a panzerfaust, but was again challenged by Goku and retreated when Goku damaged his pride by knocking one of his teeth out. Yamcha's attack to the wagon had still done its damage so Goku's group was forced to leave it behind and walk. As Shu, one of Emperor Pilaf's agent, had earlier planted a bomb in the van which exploded shortly after it was abandoned, Yamcha's actions had inadvertently saved Goku.
Realizing that he could not beat now-physically fit Goku, Yamcha instead decided to let the group collect all seven balls and then take the wish. He again came to the group, this time apologizing for his behavior, and gave them a car to make up for damaging their van. The car, of course, had a tracking device in it.
While on the group's trail, Yamcha encounters a mysterious girl who slew a T-Rex with a sword and was frightened by Yamcha and attacks him, causing him to retaliate and knock her out. Later, when eavesdropping on Goku's conversation with Ox-King, he realizes that the girl is Chi-Chi, Ox-King's daughter.
Not wanting to face the wrath of an angry Ox-King, Yamcha races back to the scene and apologizes to Chi-Chi, saying he did what he did because he is crazy with love for her. He quickly hides when he sees Goku coming and, by luck, witnesses Chi-Chi pull Goku's tail, exposing his weak spot.
Yamcha returns to Fire Mountain and remains hidden as Goku returns with Chi-Chi and Master Roshi, the legendary martial arts master who trained both Ox-King and Goku's grandfather, Grandpa Son Gohan.
He is awed by Master Roshi's display of the Kamehameha, an energy wave Master Roshi used with the intention of putting out the massive fire at Ox-King's residence, but instead, destroyed the castle and the entire mountain it was on. He also can not help, but be somewhat envious after Goku is chosen by Master Roshi to be his disciple.
Yamcha continues to tail the group, letting it slip in front of Puar he thinks Bulma has a beautiful voice, after they recover the sixth Dragon Ball from Ox-King into a remote village. There, he has to intervene and help Goku after Bulma is turned into a carrot by Monster Carrot, leader of the Rabbit Mob. He orders Puar to turn into a bird and rescue the hostage carrot-Bulma while he takes out Monster Carrot's two henchmen.
Working with Goku, the two recover carrot Bulma and through Puar's trickery get Monster Carrot to change her back. Yamcha quickly hides again after this, letting Goku deal with the gang without having to worry about Bulma's safety. While watching Bulma's disappointment at his absence, Yamcha silently curses his extreme shyness around her.
When Shu ambushes Goku, Bulma and Oolong, stealing five of their six balls along with destroying their car with his Pilaf Machine, Yamcha has to again intervene, this time joining the group. They track the balls to Pilaf's Castle, but are soon trapped. From a hole blasted in the wall by Goku they witness Emperor Pilaf summoning Shenron and Yamcha orders Puar to go with Oolong and stop it.
Emperor Pilaf's wish is interrupted by Oolong and, as punishment, the group is moved into a giant solar-oven like cell to die the next day when the sun comes up, but they are not contained long before Goku transforms into a rampaging Great Ape and destroys their cell by the light of the full moon.
To get the group to safety, Yamcha is forced to pick up Bulma despite his girl phobia. Just as Goku is about to crush Bulma, pinned by some rubble, Yamcha comes to the rescue and grabs his tail, stunning him long enough for Puar to transform into a giant pair of scissors and cut the tail off, returning Goku to his normal state. The next morning, with the balls now inert, the gang goes their separate ways. Yamcha and Bulma are satisfied though, as they now have each other and, therefore, no need to make any wishes. They go with Bulma back to the city while Goku goes off to train with Master Roshi.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Yamcha on the Dragon Ball Wiki
- Yamcha on the Heroes Wiki
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 Villains
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Pilaf Gang Red Ribbon Army Crane School King Piccolo's Demon Clan Other Video Game Exclusive Movie | ||
