Yamcha Appreciation Thread

[Olympian]

Yeah Yamcha is awesome but it's too bad they never really fixed his beta-male-ness in the series. Tenshinhan too. I kind of wish Toriyama wrote something for the humans to ascend to Saiyan levels as well.

Serious question but Fandom aside, what Beta male-ness in the series? He`s been a sucessfull bandid, Martial Artist, dated the world`s richest woman, had fangirls and then after breaking up he still had at least one other girlfriend that we can tell.

Are we equating having the most crap luck in Tournaments with being beta?

[precita]

Yamcha not getting a single fight in Super was absurd.

[8000 Saiyan]

He has one of the best designs in the franchise and he's voiced by Toru Furuya. His Wolf Fang Fist is also cool.

[Ki Breaker]

Wolf fang fist had potential as a technique had he taken the time to develop it with the right teachers, that "he" right there stands for both Toriyama and Yamcha considering you wanna go in or out Universe...

[precita]

It's odd that Toei made Yamcha look good through filler scenes in DBZ but couldn't do the same in Super. Surely they could have had him fight in a filler story even if Toriyama didn't want him in the main arcs.

[Gaffer Tape]

It's odd that Toei made Yamcha look good through filler scenes in DBZ but couldn't do the same in Super. Surely they could have had him fight in a filler story even if Toriyama didn't want him in the main arcs.

I would guess it's the simple reason that Yamcha wasn't yet the comedic meme fandom has developed him into in recent years. He was just one of the gang who wasn't being focused on in the manga and so was ripe for the picking for filler opportunity.

[precita]

It's odd that Toei made Yamcha look good through filler scenes in DBZ but couldn't do the same in Super. Surely they could have had him fight in a filler story even if Toriyama didn't want him in the main arcs.

I would guess it's the simple reason that Yamcha wasn't yet the comedic meme fandom has developed him into in recent years. He was just one of the gang who wasn't being focused on in the manga and so was ripe for the picking for filler opportunity.

Even in training scenes they made him look good. Yamcha Vs. Tien on Kami's lookout while Krillin/Yajirobe just got comedic slapstick scenes. On King Kai's planet we also have Yamcha punch Piccolo in the stomach and get a clear hit on him when they briefly trained.

[GamerSkull]

It's odd that Toei made Yamcha look good through filler scenes in DBZ but couldn't do the same in Super. Surely they could have had him fight in a filler story even if Toriyama didn't want him in the main arcs.

I would guess it's the simple reason that Yamcha wasn't yet the comedic meme fandom has developed him into in recent years. He was just one of the gang who wasn't being focused on in the manga and so was ripe for the picking for filler opportunity.

The birth of the Yamcha meme has ruined the character even further than he already was, imo.

As for the anime filler throwing him a bone... well, I also think that the staff at Toei was different too and that might be a partial reason.

But the meme is referenced in other anime too. He's a joke in the fandom, but I wonder if the japanese fandom likes him better despite that. (Clearly, he must have some fans because he did get that baseball episode).

[Spider-Man]

His wolf fang was the coolest technique and I like his design,too bad he turn into joke character,really wish he fought in Super.

[GamerSkull]

I'm not sure if it's right for me to blame Chris Sabat for some of the perception of Yamcha in the west.

If you watch the dubs, they make Yamcha look far more unflattering than the japanese does. He says "Why'd they send Piccolo. I'd have beat Freeza myself" on King Kai's planet when he doesn't say that in japanese. And when Trunks arrives he says "It isn't too late to just go home" when in the japanese he said, "What the hell is going on, guys?". So it seems there is added cowardice and arrogance in the dub that originally was there and it doesn't help that most fans in the U.S. started out with Z.

I know Sabat wrote some of the dialogue but I'm not sure if it was ultimately his idea to change the dialogue like that. Although, he still poked fun at Yamcha in the Dragon Ball Super dub and I wonder if it was his idea to have Piccolo say "I see why Bulma left you for Vegeta" in the FighterZ dub when Piccolo says something completely different in japanese.

Well, it's a good thing I prefer the japanese all-around. Even Yamcha's voice in japanese is way better.

[Lightdasher]

There's a Goten-appreciation thread?!

Onto topic, I appreciate that Yamcha gets quite a bit of respect in the games. Sure, characters like Vegeta will always get the spotlight, but from Yamcha having the only Punch, Pause Punch infinite in Budokai 3 (as far as I'm aware), to having the Yamcha Games in Tenkaichi 3, to getting his own Parallel Quest in Xenoverse 2 where he's ultra strong (though, the other characters constantly pointing out that Yamcha usually is weak is uncalled for..). I quite enjoy the underdog love.

[GamerSkull]

There's a Goten-appreciation thread?!

Onto topic, I appreciate that Yamcha gets quite a bit of respect in the games. Sure, characters like Vegeta will always get the spotlight, but from Yamcha having the only Punch, Pause Punch infinite in Budokai 3 (as far as I'm aware), to having the Yamcha Games in Tenkaichi 3, to getting his own Parallel Quest in Xenoverse 2 where he's ultra strong (though, the other characters constantly pointing out that Yamcha usually is weak is uncalled for..). I quite enjoy the underdog love.

His moveset in FighterZ is quite enjoyable... even just to look at.

[Hyena_Yamcha]

I'm not sure if it's right for me to blame Chris Sabat for some of the perception of Yamcha in the west.

If you watch the dubs, they make Yamcha look far more unflattering than the japanese does. He says "Why'd they send Piccolo. I'd have beat Freeza myself" on King Kai's planet when he doesn't say that in japanese. And when Trunks arrives he says "It isn't too late to just go home" when in the japanese he said, "What the hell is going on, guys?". So it seems there is added cowardice and arrogance in the dub that originally was there and it doesn't help that most fans in the U.S. started out with Z.

I know Sabat wrote some of the dialogue but I'm not sure if it was ultimately his idea to change the dialogue like that. Although, he still poked fun at Yamcha in the Dragon Ball Super dub and I wonder if it was his idea to have Piccolo say "I see why Bulma left you for Vegeta" in the FighterZ dub when Piccolo says something completely different in japanese.

Well, it's a good thing I prefer the japanese all-around. Even Yamcha's voice in japanese is way better.

Yeah i agree with all what you said.

The dub is a big reason why many people dislike Yamcha.

[Jaetinh]

It's odd that Toei made Yamcha look good through filler scenes in DBZ but couldn't do the same in Super. Surely they could have had him fight in a filler story even if Toriyama didn't want him in the main arcs.

I would guess it's the simple reason that Yamcha wasn't yet the comedic meme fandom has developed him into in recent years. He was just one of the gang who wasn't being focused on in the manga and so was ripe for the picking for filler opportunity.

The birth of the Yamcha meme has ruined the character even further than he already was, imo.

As for the anime filler throwing him a bone... well, I also think that the staff at Toei was different too and that might be a partial reason.

But the meme is referenced in other anime too. He's a joke in the fandom, but I wonder if the japanese fandom likes him better despite that. (Clearly, he must have some fans because he did get that baseball episode).

Yeah, like in Gintama. He's being parodied many times in Gintama but I'm sure Sorachi is fan of him.

[Michsi]

We need to be honest here, while the fandom might have blown this image of him as a washout way out of proportion, we can't deny that Toriyama himself is the reason this all started in the first place. I recently re-read his fight against Shen ,and, well, that head-butt to the crotch was anything but flattering. This was long before super saiyans started popping up left and right, yet he was still very much used as a source of demeaning jokes. What makes this worse is that the story was aware of this even back then, so Super poking fun at him isn't actually that unprecedented.

However, going back to that fight of his with Shen, there was much more to it than that embarrassing moment. The Sokidan move was cool as hell and Shen serioused up suddenly because he recognized what a threat Yamcha could be. Someone who was stronger than the previous villain was wary of Yamcha's ability, that is something of note. Too bad that whatever cool moments he had get overshadowed by this reputation, and there seems to be little intent to remedy that.

[GamerSkull]

I would guess it's the simple reason that Yamcha wasn't yet the comedic meme fandom has developed him into in recent years. He was just one of the gang who wasn't being focused on in the manga and so was ripe for the picking for filler opportunity.

The birth of the Yamcha meme has ruined the character even further than he already was, imo.

As for the anime filler throwing him a bone... well, I also think that the staff at Toei was different too and that might be a partial reason.

But the meme is referenced in other anime too. He's a joke in the fandom, but I wonder if the japanese fandom likes him better despite that. (Clearly, he must have some fans because he did get that baseball episode).

Yeah, like in Gintama. He's being parodied many times in Gintama but I'm sure Sorachi is fan of him.

Oh, really? Maybe he's a loveable punching bag for that guy.

We need to be honest here, while the fandom might have blown this image of him as a washout way out of proportion, we can't deny that Toriyama himself is the reason this all started in the first place. I recently re-read his fight against Shen ,and, well, that head-butt to the crotch was anything but flattering. This was long before super saiyans started popping up left and right, yet he was still very much used as a source of demeaning jokes. What makes this worse is that the story was aware of this even back then, so Super poking fun at him isn't actually that unprecedented.

However, going back to that fight of his with Shen, there was much more to it than that embarrassing moment. The Sokidan move was cool as hell and Shen serioused up suddenly because he recognized what a threat Yamcha could be. Someone who was stronger than the previous villain was wary of Yamcha's ability, that is something of note. Too bad that whatever cool moments he had get overshadowed by this reputation, and there seems to be little intent to remedy that.

I think that it was more just Toriyama mishandling the character than intentionally making him out to always be a joke. Of course, that changed in Z.

[Michsi]

We need to be honest here, while the fandom might have blown this image of him as a washout way out of proportion, we can't deny that Toriyama himself is the reason this all started in the first place. I recently re-read his fight against Shen ,and, well, that head-butt to the crotch was anything but flattering. This was long before super saiyans started popping up left and right, yet he was still very much used as a source of demeaning jokes. What makes this worse is that the story was aware of this even back then, so Super poking fun at him isn't actually that unprecedented.

However, going back to that fight of his with Shen, there was much more to it than that embarrassing moment. The Sokidan move was cool as hell and Shen serioused up suddenly because he recognized what a threat Yamcha could be. Someone who was stronger than the previous villain was wary of Yamcha's ability, that is something of note. Too bad that whatever cool moments he had get overshadowed by this reputation, and there seems to be little intent to remedy that.

I think that it was more just Toriyama mishandling the character than intentionally making him out to always be a joke. Of course, that changed in Z.

Yeah, but it was that mishandling that started everything. I think it's obvious he is not the type of author that gets attached or cares deeply about the characters. Yamcha was there from the very beginning, yet that didn't deter Toriyama from leaving him behind.

[GamerSkull]

We need to be honest here, while the fandom might have blown this image of him as a washout way out of proportion, we can't deny that Toriyama himself is the reason this all started in the first place. I recently re-read his fight against Shen ,and, well, that head-butt to the crotch was anything but flattering. This was long before super saiyans started popping up left and right, yet he was still very much used as a source of demeaning jokes. What makes this worse is that the story was aware of this even back then, so Super poking fun at him isn't actually that unprecedented.

However, going back to that fight of his with Shen, there was much more to it than that embarrassing moment. The Sokidan move was cool as hell and Shen serioused up suddenly because he recognized what a threat Yamcha could be. Someone who was stronger than the previous villain was wary of Yamcha's ability, that is something of note. Too bad that whatever cool moments he had get overshadowed by this reputation, and there seems to be little intent to remedy that.

I think that it was more just Toriyama mishandling the character than intentionally making him out to always be a joke. Of course, that changed in Z.

Yeah, but it was that mishandling that started everything. I think it's obvious he is not the type of author that gets attached or cares deeply about the characters. Yamcha was there from the very beginning, yet that didn't deter Toriyama from leaving him behind.

Yeah, you’re right. A lot of the human characters were left in the dust and Yamcha got it the worst.

[doomydoomydoom]

I loved Yamucha when he first appeared in the story (and Pu'ar too for that matter). I thought he was really cool and that initial thing with Bulma was hilarious. Sadly Toriyama basically dropped him during the Red Ribbon Army arc IIRC, and there were moments during the Z era where I wondered why he had even bothered having Yamucha show up at all. It wouldn't be the last character he did that to...

But that probably has much more to do with the fact that Toriyama was making up the plot on the fly.

[GamerSkull]

I loved Yamucha when he first appeared in the story (and Pu'ar too for that matter). I thought he was really cool and that initial thing with Bulma was hilarious. Sadly Toriyama basically dropped him during the Red Ribbon Army arc IIRC, and there were moments during the Z era where I wondered why he had even bothered having Yamucha show up at all. It wouldn't be the last character he did that to...

But that probably has much more to do with the fact that Toriyama was making up the plot on the fly.

Yeah, I just wish Yamcha and the other characters who were left behind got a meaningful send-off if they were gonna end up being dropped.

It sure beats them standing around doing essentially nothing.