Favorite/Least Favorite Couple?

[Nikkolas]

So I may be pro-Dragonball over "Z" but even I have problems with Goku and Chi Chi. I just...it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
And then Vegeta/Bulma makes even less sense to me.

(GokuxBulma 4 life)

However I do think Toriyama finally got it right with Kuririn and Eighteen. Maybe it's the simple fact they weren't as heavily in the spotlight as the first two, or maybe it's just a nice case of "throw the dog a bone", but I found them legitimately sweet. And unlike the first two, it didn't come out of left field so I could honestly imagine it.

But that's just me. What do you all think of AT's forays into romance?

[TheBlackPaladin]

So I may be pro-Dragonball over "Z" but even I have problems with Goku and Chi Chi. I just...it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
And then Vegeta/Bulma makes even less sense to me.

(GokuxBulma 4 life)

However I do think Toriyama finally got it right with Kuririn and Eighteen. Maybe it's the simple fact they weren't as heavily in the spotlight as the first two, or maybe it's just a nice case of "throw the dog a bone", but I found them legitimately sweet. And unlike the first two, it didn't come out of left field so I could honestly imagine it.

But that's just me. What do you all think of AT's forays into romance?

The romances are--in my opinion, of course--easily one of the weakest areas of Toriyama's writing, if not the weakest.

Vegeta and Bulma were the worst in my opinion. They have no reason to get together and no reason to be attracted to each other other than for Toriyama to advance the plot. For that reason, I'm extremely excited to see how TFS will cover that "romance." I once posted a thread asking what Bulma saw in Vegeta (and the other way around), and the best answer people could come up with was...well. Lust.

As for favorite couple.......I suppose Krillin and 18 is my favorite couple too, now that I think about it. However, I'd still say it's a tad on the weak side.

[Jackal puFF]

I really like Bulma and Vegeta. It's just still so funny how they ended up together, of all the people haha. I also really enjoyed Gohan and Videl's budding romance in the anime and how Krillin would tease Gohan at the tournament.

My least favorite is probably Goku and Chi-Chi.. I mean that's not love.. Chi Chi totally forced Goku to love her..

[sailorspazz]

Toriyama didn't really bother to develop a lot of the couples, they just kind of happened (and he kept all the romance off screen...err, off panel). Probably the most developed pairing is Gohan and Videl, simply because we got to see them getting to know each other so it makes sense that they'd end up together. Gokuu and Chichi were just...well, she decided she wanted him, he didn't know what was going on, but he decided to keep his word anyway. A contractual obligation, how romantic Kuririn and 18 was kinda set up, what with him getting a boner from her kissing him on the cheek, and her being grateful that he made a wish on her behalf. But none of these couples really do it for me...

My favorite is the most poorly explained and nonsensical of them all, Vegeta and Bulma. When I first heard about the pairing, I thought it was a brilliant creative move on Toriyama's part, doing something so unexpected (I later realized it was for plot convenience more than anything, but it seemed like a bold choice at the time!) They actually have fairly similar personality traits: both are very much "my way or the highway" types (which I can imagine would lead to huge fights about anything they don't already agree on). And Bulma always had a tendency to be attracted to bad boys (she hit on A LOT of villains).

But as for explaining how and why they ended up together...well, that's what fanfics are for The pairing that launched a million fangirls' imaginations in search of an explanation probably started with something as mundane as this:

Bulma: I'm bored. Wanna have sex?
Vegeta: *shrug* Eh. Whatever.

[Storm]

I have no strong feelings one way or the other.

I guess Gohan/Videl was kind of cute.

[ABED]

Goku and Chichi are probably the worst couple. Goku married her because he made a promise despite not knowing what he was promising. I can look past her overprotectiveness of Gohan since her obsession with his education is mainly played for laughs, but what I shake my head about is her "love" for Goku. Her entire idea of marriage and love comes from TV, magazines and media. She's in love with the idea of being in love. She doesn't actually love Goku. Suno had greater genuine affection for our hero than Chichi did.

[VyeRo]

Vegeta and Bulma all the way.

It didn't make a lot of sense at first, because it was so out of left field and wasn't really explained all that well in the series. Toriyama needed a uterus, simple as that, and Bulma was the best option available because the readers already know her. And I don't think anyone could have imagined Vegeta in that situation.

But I think Toriyama didn't even realize what he set in motion here. Like Sailorspazz already mentioned, FANFICS. Thousands of fanfics and shippers everywhere. The mystery surrounding this couple is what made them a very popular pairing. And although I know Toriyama didn't really think this through, when you stop and think about it, Vegeta and Bulma do make sense in the long run. They are exactly alike, in personality and character traits (minus the killer part). They are both arrogant, vain, pride themselves on their qualities (strength/royalty and in Bulma's case intelligence/beauty), are assholes, and generally they have high and mighty attitudes. I could write a long essay but what it comes down to is that I can see why they would be attracted to each other (other than lust of course).
The fact that Vegeta settles down with his family and eventually gets married (?) shows that Bulma and Vegeta do have an attraction that goes beyond lust eventually. I think BoG showcases this perfectly.

I also really like Gohan/Videl. Arguably the most developed couple, and they are cute together.

I don't get Goku/Chichi, but I would have liked to see more affection between them.

[ABED]

It only makes sense if you think it's sane for someone to look past attrocities that would make Pol Pot blush.

"They are both arrogant, vain, pride themselves on their qualities (strength/royalty and in Bulma's case intelligence/beauty), are assholes, and generally they have high and mighty attitudes"
You think they are even comparable in their personalities? Bulma is arrogant, but she never let the universe almost get destroyed. She's an asshole but she never murdered children.

[VyeRo]

That's why I said 'minus the killer part'.
And Bulma isn't the only one who looks past the atrocities of Vegeta's past. Everyone does, even Goku. Hell, Goku spared Vegeta's life not out of the goodness of his heart but because of selfish reasons.
Because this is Dragon Ball, and evil people get accepted in the group because it's no big deal to them. In Dragon Ball, ethics are different than in the real world.

[Saiyan Prince Vegeta]

Vegeta and Bulma, even more so now after BoG made them better as a couple IMO.

[Hades]

Vegeta/Bulma is quite contrived. I mean, it takes a LOT for not only Bulma, but also Piccolo and Kami to overlook the fact that he is DB's equivalent of Jeffrey Dahmer.

[VyeRo]

Vegeta and Bulma, even more so now after BoG made them better as a couple IMO.

I agree. I am honestly surprised at the amount of interaction between them in this movie. Moreso than Krillin/18, Goku/Chichi and I think even Gohan/Videl but I'm not sure. There are more moments between them than just Vegeta getting a power boost from seeing his wife get hit. Watanabe must be a fan.

[ABED]

I find Goku's selfish (in the true sense of the word) reasons more admirable than if he did it out of mercy.

Vegeta/Bulma is quite contrived. I mean, it takes a LOT for not only Bulma, but also Piccolo and Kami to overlook the fact that he is DB's equivalent of Jeffrey Dahmer.

I agree, but serial killers' death tolls pale in comparison to dictators'.

I think the best actual couple is Gohan and Videl. It's the only real convincing romance in the show I can think of. Bulma and Yamcha was nice at first but all they ever did was fight and break up.

[Hades]

Vegeta/Bulma is quite contrived. I mean, it takes a LOT for not only Bulma, but also Piccolo and Kami to overlook the fact that he is DB's equivalent of Jeffrey Dahmer.

I agree, but serial killers' death tolls pale in comparison to dictators'.

I was talking more in terms of personality than scale.

[ABED]

Vegeta/Bulma is quite contrived. I mean, it takes a LOT for not only Bulma, but also Piccolo and Kami to overlook the fact that he is DB's equivalent of Jeffrey Dahmer.

I agree, but serial killers' death tolls pale in comparison to dictators'.

I was talking more in terms of personality than scale.

I still wouldn't go as far as Dahmer since vegeta didn't have sex with his victims, nor with their corpses, and he wasn't gay. He did eat them, so he's more like Hannibal Lecter.

I think Vegeta's primary motivation is power. He believes that the only thing that matters in the universe is power. You either have it and squash people, or you don't and get squashed.

If Yamcha was going to be cuckholded, I would have liked to see him end up with someone else, or at least see him play the field a little.

[RandomGuy96]

None of the romances were really good. All of them came out of left field and had little development. For good, I'd probably say Videl/Gohan, because objectively it had the most development. The worst is definitely Bulma/Vegeta; that and the whole beginning of the Android arc honestly sounded like a bad fanfiction.

[ABED]

Bulma and Vegeta seem to be the only one that came out of left field. Gohan and Videl was a high school romance and it was always hinted at so I fail to see how that came out of left field.

An argument could be made that 18 and Kuririn was out of nowhere, but I think she was affected by him destroying the remote and wishing away the bomb inside her.

[VyeRo]

I find Goku's selfish (in the true sense of the word) reasons more admirable than if he did it out of mercy.

What I meant was, Goku shouldn't have overlooked how Vegeta was at that point, he should have let Krillin kill him if he truly cared about the fact that Vegeta was still very evil at that point. But he didn't care, so that's what I meant by him (and everyone else) overlooking Vegeta's past.

Edit: and I completely forgot about Krillin/18. Also a cute couple but again so little is shown of their relationship.

[ABED]

Goku knew what he was, but also wanted desperately to fight him because he was stronger than anyone he had ever faced. He believed he could get better than Vegeta, and I trust Goku. I found that way more ethical than letting Freeza live.

[VyeRo]

So Goku let him live because he wanted to fight him again for the sake of a challenge, knowing that Vegeta might kill other people in the mean time or destroy planets. Did he care about the fate of those people? Nope. It shouldn't matter that Goku would one day become stronger than him, because Krillin had Vegeta at his mercy right there. He could have ended it but Goku wouldn't let him.

With Freeza, Goku honestly thought that he would change, feel remorse or at least be so humiliated that he would never show his face again. It was severe lack of judgment on Goku's part, but at least it wasn't for selfish reasons like getting a good fight.

And we're going terribly off-topic.

So, romance! At least it's something that Toriyama acknowledges that he sucks at writing romantic storylines. I wonder how much he changed in the initial script of BoG.