Is Yamcha's Death Iconic?

[Kid Buu]

I see his death posture parodied quite a lot in anime. Is his death quite a famous one for an anime/manga series?

[FortuneSSJ]

I didnt know it was this popular.
In gintama, they parodied it too.

[eledoremassis02]

I think, at least for me, he died is a rather realistic pose. It really stuck out from the rest I think.

[RocktheDragon]

I think, at least for me, he died is a rather realistic pose. It really stuck out from the rest I think.

That's actually very true. I never really put much thought into his death in the Saiyan arc, but it is rather tragic (though I guess all of them are in a way).

[RandomGuy96]

More like memetic. That's why the "Yamcha pose" is constantly mocked in video games.

[Kid Buu]

DBZ Video Games or Video Games in general?

[RandomGuy96]

Dragon Ball games.

[Kid Buu]

Apparently there's a new anime crossover game in Japan and if you lose in this game, you get this death pose.

[superkakarrot2]

In Dragon Ball Origins 2 Yamcha does that pose when defeated. It's so iconic pre-DBZ set games mimic it.

[Gokuden]

It was the only death in the series that didn't fit to me. Yamcha in DragonBall was cold and calculating, and when we reached the Saiyan Arc in Z, it seems like he's this loose frat student that's so full of himself, and can barely forsee that turning your back on the opponent (One of the first rules in any martial arts practice) is never a good idea. Maybe his death was to teach kids not to turn their backs on the aggressor?

I don't know, but I feel this character had way more potential. Though, the way he was laying there, on the ground, it spoke to me, I felt so bad, I think I even cried when I first saw him like this.

[Kid Buu]

It seems Toriyama had no idea what to do with Yamcha and Tenshinhan here; Toriyama basically just sacked them out of convenience.

Honestly I wouldn't have minded if Tenshinhan killed Nappa instead of a "Goku comes at the last second to save the day" that we see numerous time in the series. Once Kuririn/Piccolo jump Nappa to stop his assault on Tenshinhan, just have Tenshinhan stay unconscious until Piccolo dies. Then Tenshinhan can get back up and just Tri-Beam him to a draw.

[LordCrumb]

It was the only death in the series that didn't fit to me. Yamcha in DragonBall was cold and calculating, and when we reached the Saiyan Arc in Z, it seems like he's this loose frat student that's so full of himself, and can barely forsee that turning your back on the opponent (One of the first rules in any martial arts practice) is never a good idea. Maybe his death was to teach kids not to turn their backs on the aggressor?

I don't know, but I feel this character had way more potential. Though, the way he was laying there, on the ground, it spoke to me, I felt so bad, I think I even cried when I first saw him like this.

It's funny, a lot of people talk about how characters changed quite quickly... Vegeta for example, and now Yamucha..

But I can't say I have ever seen anyone complain about how quickly Piccolo changed. One episode he's still the bad guy, the next he's helping the Z warriors.

[mAcChaos]

It was the only death in the series that didn't fit to me. Yamcha in DragonBall was cold and calculating, and when we reached the Saiyan Arc in Z, it seems like he's this loose frat student that's so full of himself, and can barely forsee that turning your back on the opponent (One of the first rules in any martial arts practice) is never a good idea. Maybe his death was to teach kids not to turn their backs on the aggressor?

I don't know, but I feel this character had way more potential. Though, the way he was laying there, on the ground, it spoke to me, I felt so bad, I think I even cried when I first saw him like this.

It's funny, a lot of people talk about how characters changed quite quickly... Vegeta for example, and now Yamucha..

But I can't say I have ever seen anyone complain about how quickly Piccolo changed. One episode he's still the bad guy, the next he's helping the Z warriors.

Raditz scared him to death.

[dbboxkaifan]

It seems Toriyama had no idea what to do with Yamcha and Tenshinhan here; Toriyama basically just sacked them out of convenience.

Kuririn on the films was basically a useless character that'd just be there to be knocked out with one punch/kick and I don't even remember them being comical, it was more disappointing than anything else.

He was great and funny in Dragon Ball but then he became as pointless as Yamucha & Ten.

[Gokuden]

It was the only death in the series that didn't fit to me. Yamcha in DragonBall was cold and calculating, and when we reached the Saiyan Arc in Z, it seems like he's this loose frat student that's so full of himself, and can barely forsee that turning your back on the opponent (One of the first rules in any martial arts practice) is never a good idea. Maybe his death was to teach kids not to turn their backs on the aggressor?

I don't know, but I feel this character had way more potential. Though, the way he was laying there, on the ground, it spoke to me, I felt so bad, I think I even cried when I first saw him like this.

It's funny, a lot of people talk about how characters changed quite quickly... Vegeta for example, and now Yamucha..

But I can't say I have ever seen anyone complain about how quickly Piccolo changed. One episode he's still the bad guy, the next he's helping the Z warriors.

You could argue that even as a child, Piccolo wasn't inherently evil like his 'father', he was actually awkward, and even helped an old couple. However, as junior kept replaying the memories of his 'father' vs Goku he became gradually bitter. And growing up alone made human emotions like 'love' difficult, as well as friendships impossible. His sole focus in life was to defeat Goku.

Having spared his life, junior was at a loss, but retained his resolve to kill Goku.

And, unlike other enemies in the series, junior also had the privilege of killing Goku, a promise which he made to honour himself, or 'father'. What happened after that short satisfaction of killing Goku? What became of his demeanor, he realized nothing good had come of it, and he would be grilled in a year with saiyan reinforcements on the way.

Not knowing how to act civilized, Majunior, in typical primitive fashion, stole Gohan to harness the potential of the lad, and who may be --- according to him, ''his biggest enemy yet''.

After spending some time bonding with Gohan, he learned who Goku was through him, and even states that Gohan was the first person to teach him about friendship, love, he then thanked him and cried. That was the pivotal moment for the viewers to realize why Junior changed, and why he had become a caring individual.

If you raise a baby with image of hate in the head, the baby will be hateful as a result, same thing applies to real life. Piccolo jr. himself is but a child.

Junior is around the same age as Gohan, let's not forget that Junior is way younger than Goku.

So you have two reasons to chalk-down why Piccolo jr. changed:
1. Killing Goku, and honouring his father's promised helped settle his raging heart.
2. Character development due to the humanization of his character via the friendship of a kid his age.

[DBZAOTA482]

It was the only death in the series that didn't fit to me. Yamcha in DragonBall was cold and calculating, and when we reached the Saiyan Arc in Z, it seems like he's this loose frat student that's so full of himself, and can barely forsee that turning your back on the opponent (One of the first rules in any martial arts practice) is never a good idea. Maybe his death was to teach kids not to turn their backs on the aggressor?

I don't know, but I feel this character had way more potential. Though, the way he was laying there, on the ground, it spoke to me, I felt so bad, I think I even cried when I first saw him like this.

Well, Yamcha thought he could beat Shen even though even a blind man can see that he's losing.

[Gokuden]

It was the only death in the series that didn't fit to me. Yamcha in DragonBall was cold and calculating, and when we reached the Saiyan Arc in Z, it seems like he's this loose frat student that's so full of himself, and can barely forsee that turning your back on the opponent (One of the first rules in any martial arts practice) is never a good idea. Maybe his death was to teach kids not to turn their backs on the aggressor?

I don't know, but I feel this character had way more potential. Though, the way he was laying there, on the ground, it spoke to me, I felt so bad, I think I even cried when I first saw him like this.

Well, Yamcha thought he could beat Shen even though even a blind man can see that he's losing.

You may call me présomptueux, but if I saw Shen, I would think I could beat him as well. That was sly thing for Kami, the guardian of the Earth to do. I'm sure it weighed in on the situation too.

[Kid Buu]

Gohan has a similar posture when Gotenks Buu knocks him out; that guy really is Yamcha 2.0.

[DBZAOTA482]

It was the only death in the series that didn't fit to me. Yamcha in DragonBall was cold and calculating, and when we reached the Saiyan Arc in Z, it seems like he's this loose frat student that's so full of himself, and can barely forsee that turning your back on the opponent (One of the first rules in any martial arts practice) is never a good idea. Maybe his death was to teach kids not to turn their backs on the aggressor?

I don't know, but I feel this character had way more potential. Though, the way he was laying there, on the ground, it spoke to me, I felt so bad, I think I even cried when I first saw him like this.

Well, Yamcha thought he could beat Shen even though even a blind man can see that he's losing.

You may call me présomptueux, but if I saw Shen, I would think I could beat him as well. That was sly thing for Kami, the guardian of the Earth to do. I'm sure it weighed in on the situation too.

At first sight I can understand doubting Shen but when the guy is practically playing paddy cake with your signature move then you gotta know to fight for real.