Will Yamcha get a Mr. Satan or Yajirobe moment in Super?

[precita]

I find it bizarre people are acting like Yamcha's defeats aren't taken seriously. Yamcha's death to the Saibaman literally had the main cast in shock. Bulma burst into tears, Krillin went enraged and went ballistic against the Saibaman, and then when Goku got back to Earth and saw Yamcha's dead body he was angry.

Likewise everytime Yamcha lost to someone in the tournament, it was a character Goku himself struggled to take down at the same time (Jackie Chun and Tenshihan specifically, and of course Yamcha would lose to Kami), etc.

I honestly think some people view all these parody youtube videos they've been seeing lately as canon over the actual anime.

[Totamo]

Tien tanked Yamcha's strongest attacks and broke his leg, that has to be the most humiliating defeat of that entire arc and Yamcha lost to basically to basically a footsoldier.

But that leg-break is presented horrifically, and is used to build up how ruthless and powerful Tenshinhan is. It's quite a ruthless and drawn-out battle on both sides.

You can't seriously tell me that a character losing in a horrific, dramatic way constitutes their being played for comedy? If that's the case, Vegeta's defeat at the hands of Freeza is a gag scene, and he's the funniest character in the series.

I feel like this is a case of a need for characters to be "powerful" and "bad-ass" affecting the experience of watching the series. It's not about who gets "humiliating" defeats. It's about how scenes are executed, and the way relationships are portrayed between characters.

A parody dub should have no place in conversations like these, but I feel like that goes without saying.

Thats the thing. I never saw those scene as horrific or dramatic.You do. Thats called an interpretation. I saw them as pitiful. he talked all that smack when he has no legit feats to back them up and I'm supposed to be shocked when he gets his ass kicked? I thought drama was about being emotional and horrific was about being awful. I saw that beating coming and he deserved it. Yamcha being a joke doesn't mean his life is just funny to me, its also pathetic.

Vegeta against Freeza is far different because all through Namek, Vegeta was taking names and making plans, I took him seriously and I really didn't think he was going to lose when I saw that for the first time. That made Freeza a legit threat in my eyes and I felt bad for Vegeta because he was already broken and Freea just kept going and going and going.


Tien broke Yamcha's leg and that was the end of it.


i disagree with this line wholeheartedly. Its not about how scenes are executed or the relationships, its about how the character is portrayed throughout the entire show and how he is treated during its telling by the author. Yamcha is treated like a pathetic joke in this story. Its not about him being badass or powerful, because Bulma is far less powerful than he is. She was used for fanservice and I still have more respect for her than the desert bandit.

Its all about who the characters are and what they do for the narrative that define their character.

We have different opinions on this as we often do and I will not insult your interpretation of those scenes but in my eyes, Yamcha is a joke and a pathetic loser who I really only have ever laughed at or felt bad for.


Once again, I strongly but respectfully disagree with you.

[Totamo]

I find it bizarre people are acting like Yamcha's defeats aren't taken seriously. Yamcha's death to the Saibaman literally had the main cast in shock. Bulma burst into tears, Krillin went enraged and went ballistic against the Saibaman, and then when Goku got back to Earth and saw Yamcha's dead body he was angry.

Likewise everytime Yamcha lost to someone in the tournament, it was a character Goku himself struggled to take down at the same time (Jackie Chun and Tenshihan specifically, and of course Yamcha would lose to Kami), etc.

I honestly think some people view all these parody youtube videos they've been seeing lately as canon over the actual anime.

How the audience see the defeats and how the characters see the defeats are 2 different things especially when you have hinsight.

yamcha losing in the tournaments didn't really have a point like vegeta losing to opponents, because Yamcha ain't impressive

[precita]

How the audience see the defeats and how the characters see the defeats are 2 different things especially when you have hinsight.

yamcha losing in the tournaments didn't really have a point like vegeta losing to opponents, because Yamcha ain't impressive

I don't understand this logic, the finals of the tournament were always going to be Goku and his final opponent (Jackie Chun, Tien or Piccolo). Therefore Yamcha like everyone else was going to lose.

Krillin lost every tournament too. How are Krillin's losses any different than Yamcha's?

[Totamo]

How the audience see the defeats and how the characters see the defeats are 2 different things especially when you have hinsight.

yamcha losing in the tournaments didn't really have a point like vegeta losing to opponents, because Yamcha ain't impressive

I don't understand this logic, the finals of the tournament were always going to be Goku and his final opponent (Jackie Chun, Tien or Piccolo). Therefore Yamcha like everyone else was going to lose.

Krillin lost every tournament too. How are Krillin's losses any different than Yamcha's?

Krillin made it farther.

[precita]

How the audience see the defeats and how the characters see the defeats are 2 different things especially when you have hinsight.

yamcha losing in the tournaments didn't really have a point like vegeta losing to opponents, because Yamcha ain't impressive

I don't understand this logic, the finals of the tournament were always going to be Goku and his final opponent (Jackie Chun, Tien or Piccolo). Therefore Yamcha like everyone else was going to lose.

Krillin lost every tournament too. How are Krillin's losses any different than Yamcha's?

Krillin made it farther.

Krillin made it further in the first one because he fought Bacterium while Yamcha fought Jackie Chun. Meanwhile in the final tournament Krillin and Yamcha both lost their first matches.

[DBZAOTA482]

Man, the Yamcha hate is real in this thread!

[TekTheNinja]

I hate how Super became self aware and turned Yamcha into a joke character. I woulda loved if the reaction to Yamcha being treated as a joke by the fanbase was turning him into a badass. That would have been an awesome subversion. Leaving him out of RoF and the tournament in favor of Roshi of all people should be a crime.

[Jaetinh]

Me seeing yamcha as a joke, is not a "sloppy analysis" it's me not trying to put more meaning into something and seeing things as they are. Yamcha losing like he always does. It's not a shock that the fandom sees him as a joke. I have met very little yamcha fans in my life.

You don't see a difference between the fandom treating him as a joke and the series treating him as a joke?

I'm not sure how anyone can watch or read his fight against Tenshinhan or his death against the Saibaimen and come away thinking he's not a character you're supposed to take seriously (or at least as seriously as any other silly main character in Dragon Ball). I'd argue those are obviously dramatic moments that have only been plastered over with a level of irony and humor in the intervening twenty years, as the characters' continued losses have built him into a meme.

Tien tanked Yamcha's strongest attacks and broke his leg, that has to be the most humiliating defeat of that entire arc and Yamcha lost to basically to basically a footsoldier.


Though TBH, TFS has changed my views on a lot of characters and I have heard some people say that those characters are better than in the manga or anime so maybe I see yamcha as a joke because they put a lot of the things he did in the perspective of a joke.


I am going to do a dragon. ball marathon after super is over, maybe I might see what you mean.

Did TFS start this whole thing with Yamcha being a joke? I don't watch TFS and I don't have any interest in watching their videos so I wouldn't know.

Back in the day, for people who watched Dragon Ball (the entire series) for the first time, I'm pretty sure not many saw Yamcha as a joke. If you're one of those people who grew up with Goku as a kid, do let me know if you already saw Yamcha as a joke character, I'd like to know. When Yamcha and the rest were murdered durig the Saiyajin saga, that shit was fucking shocking. I don't think many people who watched Dragon Ball from the beginning at that time would think "HA, Yamcha, what a fucking joke. I knew this would happen."

Again, do let me know if I'm wrong. None of my friends who grew up with Dragon Ball felt that way. Sure, some of them do see Yamcha as a joke NOW, but that's only because of all the hate he's getting on the internet.

[Roronoa-pt]

I do hope he'll get some shining moment in the future, I always liked Yamcha and never saw him as joke, far from it. Perhaps Yamcha will be pissed they chose Roshi over him and he'll start training again, who knows ? If they are bringing Roshi back to the scene, Yamcha and even Chaozu have a chance to be relevant again.

[precita]

Back in the day, for people who watched Dragon Ball (the entire series) for the first time, I'm pretty sure not many saw Yamcha as a joke. If you're one of those people who grew up with Goku as a kid, do let me know if you already saw Yamcha as a joke character, I'd like to know. When Yamcha and the rest were murdered durig the Saiyajin saga, that shit was fucking shocking. I don't think many people who watched Dragon Ball from the beginning at that time would think "HA, Yamcha, what a fucking joke. I knew this would happen."

Again, do let me know if I'm wrong. None of my friends who grew up with Dragon Ball felt that way. Sure, some of them do see Yamcha as a joke NOW, but that's only because of all the hate he's getting on the internet.

That's exactly what I mean too. When Yamcha died to the Saibaman it was a shocking and horror filled moment for the cast in the Saiyan saga. I don't know why that turned into a joke with online fans.

The reactions of the main cast (Krillin and Bulma in particular, and then Goku when he arrives and sees Yamcha's dead body), and the fact that it was the moment the main cast realized how outclassed they were compared to the Saiyans. Even when Yamcha was struck by Dr. Gero, or beaten up by Cell Jr's, neither of these moments made Yamcha look inferior to the rest of the cast because....EVERYONE ELSE got beat up too! Goku and Vegeta were getting their asses kicked by the Cell Jr's as well and nobody cares.

[Krillin1994]

Yamcha clearly wasn't designed to be a joke character, just because he got defeated a lot and occasionally in humiliating ways doesn''t mean it's not serious.

Is Vegeta's defeat to 18 portrayed as a joke? He had been giving her smack talk the entire fight like Yamcha did to Tien in their fight.


If I recall correctly Yamcha vs Tien got two episodes dedicated to it and featured a lot of intense fighting. Yamcha even scratched him and drew blood I believe.

Yamcha vs Shen had the comedy of the groin shot. But Kami even acknowledged Yamcha's strength in that fight.

Yamcha's defeat to the Saibaman was due to him lowering his guard he beat him in the fight though. Goku did that in the fight against Frieza, was Sorbet's laser portrayed as a joke?


I wouldn't say it was until the buu arc after he retired where he was portrayed more as a comical joke character. I also think it's too soon to remove anyone from this show completely. HIs recent appearance was a pleasant surprise.

At this point I'd just love to see him in his Turtle school uniform again. I hate his white shirt he wears now.

[Rubens]

What also bothers me more than just what the fans think of him, is how I think Yamcha is seen in-universe: he was always a good, trustworthy ally, a friend who everyone always got happy to see; now sometimes in Super he seems to be portrayed as an inconvenient moron who crashes parties and boasts about his (lack of) power, where everyone reacts like "Oh, it's Yamcha...", or like last episode where Gohan pretended there was no tournament so that Yamcha wouldn't find out about it. If they're going with this, I think Yamcha should get better friends (and ofcourse Bra was going to cry when she saw him, it was so predictable I knew that was going to happen the second he asked to hold her...). When Yamcha appeared last episode, for a second I thought "maybe they'll ask Yamcha to come but he'll decline"... instead that pitiful scene happened .

Situations like Yamcha almost ruining the whole plan of Beerus dressing up as Monaka to keep Goku oblivious about the gist, by pointing out there were two Monakas, makes me believe Yamcha is acting out of character - in addition of undermining his heroic actions - just to mold it into the kind of character they want him to be: a literal joke. Seriously, in early Dragon Ball he was the one to offer exposition about artifacts or other characters and came up with good plans, his potential was always acknowledged by the same masters Goku had, and in Z he was always training to help out in the frontlines. He even has his own theme song! Now he is reduced to something he is not. I'm ok with him giving up fighting and being a minor character, but I'm not ok with him being out of character.

Alas, will he get a Yajirobe moment? I wish he would, but I'm pretty sure he won't. His moment was that baseball episode.

[TekTheNinja]

What also bothers me more than just what the fans think of him, is how I think Yamcha is seen in-universe: he was always a good, trustworthy ally, a friend who everyone always got happy to see; now sometimes in Super he seems to be portrayed as an inconvenient moron who crashes parties and boasts about his (lack of) power, where everyone reacts like "Oh, it's Yamcha...", or like last episode where Gohan pretended there was no tournament so that Yamcha wouldn't find out about it. If they're going with this, I think Yamcha should get better friends (and ofcourse Bra was going to cry when she saw him, it was so predictable I knew that was going to happen the second he asked to hold her...). When Yamcha appeared last episode, for a second I thought "maybe they'll ask Yamcha to come but he'll decline"... instead that pitiful scene happened .

Situations like Yamcha almost ruining the whole plan of Beerus dressing up as Monaka to keep Goku oblivious about the gist, by pointing out there were two Monakas, makes me believe Yamcha is acting out of character - in addition of undermining his heroic actions - just to mold it into the kind of character they want him to be: a literal joke. Seriously, in early Dragon Ball he was the one to offer exposition about artifacts or other characters and came up with good plans, his potential was always acknowledged by the same masters Goku had, and in Z he was always training to help out in the frontlines. He even has his own theme song! Now he is reduced to something he is not. I'm ok with him giving up fighting and being a minor character, but I'm not ok with him being out of character.

Alas, will he get a Yajirobe moment? I wish he would, but I'm pretty sure he won't. His moment was that baseball episode.

This all stems from the show becoming self aware and realizing that there were all these Yamcha memes, so they just decided to go along with it in-universe, which was a total mistake.

[Kanassa]

Back in the day, for people who watched Dragon Ball (the entire series) for the first time, I'm pretty sure not many saw Yamcha as a joke. If you're one of those people who grew up with Goku as a kid, do let me know if you already saw Yamcha as a joke character, I'd like to know. When Yamcha and the rest were murdered durig the Saiyajin saga, that shit was fucking shocking. I don't think many people who watched Dragon Ball from the beginning at that time would think "HA, Yamcha, what a fucking joke. I knew this would happen."

I grew up watching dragonball (THough at first, i stopped around the Goku VS Frieza fight), and I always thought Yamcha was simply a character there to amke everyone look better by comparison with how pathetic he is. Does that count as a joke character? When Yamcha died in the Saiyan saga, it had little effect on me aside from 'Oh, I liked him', because kid me was knew he would die the minute he was on the field. The rest dying was shocking for me though.