Why didn't Yamcha ever surpass Tenshinhan or Kuririn?

[In Brightest Day]

Funny, I always thought Yamcha was actually stronger than Krillin during the 21 TB. He was 3-4 years older than Krillin and seemed more serious and experienced.

It's the 22nd where he and Krillin are equalis IMO.

I agree about the 22nd Budokai. In fact, I personally think Yamcha was the stronger of the two at the time.

The 21st Budokai is a completely different scenario altogether. Kuririn had a pretty back and forth battle with Jackie Chunn and while Roshi certainly had the advantage in both strength and experience, Kuririn was still able to give his master a pretty good fight. As we both know, Yamcha couldn't even land a hit on him. The fact that Yamcha was able to catch up three years later is very impressive, though.

Yamcha did seem more experienced at the beginning of the series and at the 21st Budokai, though.

Unfortunately, there ARE signs which point to the fact that Yamcha was never as dedicated as or as hard headed as the others althaugh they appear only later...... He is the loudest one to protest going against Freeza despite that there really wasn't any other option, he is the first to give up in doing anything against the androids...so yeah Toriyama wasn't exactly subtle....

I don't think we should really hold the fact that Yamcha is a pretty regular guy (personality wise) against him. Most people would have done the same thing, and he's still a very dedicated fighter. I always interpreted it as while he was certainly crapping his pants at Frieza's power, the fact that he had only just came back to life was a big factor in him not wanting to go. If it came down to it, I'm sure he would have stuck around and fought Frieza and his father if the Z-Fighters really had to.

As far as the Android arc goes, Yamcha had just had another guys arm through his chest. Why in the hell would he want to have a rematch against someone who nearly killed him 10 minutes ago? He was skeptical of the Androids even existing (which is fair enough, honestly) but still jumped straight into battle when they appeared. He showed up at the Cell-Games too. Hell, the guy showed up to fight King Piccolo with a broken leg.

I also like the thought of him, Android #18 and Krillin all trying to fight off Super Buu after he escaped from the ROSAT.

[Michsi]

I agree about the 22nd Budokai. In fact, I personally think Yamcha was the stronger of the two at the time.

The 21st Budokai is a completely different scenario altogether. Kuririn had a pretty back and forth battle with Jackie Chunn and while Roshi certainly had the advantage in both strength and experience, Kuririn was still able to give his master a pretty good fight. As we both know, Yamcha couldn't even land a hit on him. The fact that Yamcha was able to catch up three years later is very impressive, though.

Yamcha did seem more experienced at the beginning of the series and at the 21st Budokai, though.

I have to admit, I don't remember the 21 TB that well, but I suppose you are right. He just seemed wiser and more knowledgeble than the others. Or maybe that was just for exposition....

I don't think we should really hold the fact that Yamcha is a pretty regular guy against him.

I think in the end this was what hurt him most as a character. Compared to the others, personality wise, desing wise, background wise , he wasn't anything special....

Most people would have done the same thing, and he's still a very dedicated fighter. I always interpreted it as while he was certainly crapping his pants at Freeza's power, the fact that he had only just came back to life was a big factor in him not wanting to go. If it came down to it, I'm sure he would have stuck around and fought Freeza and his father if the Z-Fighters really had to.
As far as the Android arc goes, Yamcha had just had another guys arm through his chest. Why in the hell would he want to have a rematch against someone who nearly killed him 10 minutes ago? He was skeptical of the Androids even existing (which is fair enough, honestly) but still jumped straight into battle when they appeared. He showed up at the Cell-Games too. Hell, the guy showed up to fight King Piccolo with a broken leg.

I've mentioned this before: I belive the fact that he died/experienced death shook him up more than it did the others. Yes, he was willing to fight King Piccolo with a broken leg, but his attitude in a similar situation later(against Freeza) was completely different.
I have no doubt that he woud fight to the death if the situation called for it. As you said his fear or dying is normal, but this is a story about extraordinary people doing extraordinary things, so of course the normal guy would fall behind .

[Piccolo Daimao]

Funny I always thought Yamcha was actually stronger than Krillin during the 21 TB. He was 3-4 years older than Krillin and seemed more serious and experienced.

Kuririn seemed to do a lot better against Jackie Chun than Yamcha did, though. I guess tournament fights aren't exactly a perfect indicator, but I always got the opposite impression, personally.

Same here. Yamcha gets blown out of bounds by Kame-sennin without one hit making contact. Kame-sennin remarks that Kuririn can keep up with him, Kuririn survives some blows from Kame-sennin and Kame-sennin decides to end the match because he doesn't want to tire out before the final. Plus, Kuririn's been training with Kame-sennin, while Yamcha's likely been training on his own.

The only time I think Yamcha was ever stronger than Kuririn was before Kuririn's training with Roshi, because Yamcha managed to hold off somewhat and at the 21st TB, Goku said that he was really fast and super-duper strong, while Kuririn was forced to say "uncle" after that short brawl when Kuririn stole Goku's rock.

[Goten Forever]

Yamcha never did anything that would lead to him surpassing either of them. He started off behind Tenshinhan and then did the same sort of training as him, even training under the same masters. I wouldn't be surprised if he only kept up or maybe closed the gap between them, since he never does anything that would rocket him ahead. As for Kuririn, I'm not sure I agree that he and Yamcha were equals in the 22nd tournament. I could be wrong though, so I'll ask what you're basing that on. But again, Yamcha never does any better training than Kuririn until he trains under Kaio, and Kuririn got a magical boost in the meantime.

You could say the same about Trunks and Goten. Both recieved similiar training in later life (Though in earlier life, Vegeta trained Trunks to be a prince and Chi-chi trained Goten to be Goku). The gap between them seemed the same, so much that they were able to fuse.

Then, in the transition from Z to GT, things changed.

Goten was beaten by Trunks.
Trunks was launched into space whilst Goten became Yamcha.
Trunks became stronger, Goten stayed the same.

The only air time Goten gets is killing his girlfriend (Hooray for Fresh Start) and turning evil.

So, we could say Goten has turned into Yamcha, because they suffered same fate. Even same hairstyle.

[Bussani]

The only air time Goten gets is killing his girlfriend (Hooray for Fresh Start)

Do you get bored while watching GT and just make up your own show in your head?

[Goten Forever]

The only air time Goten gets is killing his girlfriend (Hooray for Fresh Start)

Do you get bored while watching GT and just make up your own show in your head?

Yes. My boredome of GT made me create imaginary friends from DBZ characters when I was 9.
And then make their stories.
And then later on write them as fanfictions, though not word for word because my imagination is a strange place.

[djkalteraphine]

Then, in the transition from Z to GT, things changed.

Goten was beaten by Trunks.
Trunks was launched into space whilst Goten became Yamcha.
Trunks became stronger, Goten stayed the same.

To be fair, Trunks was always a bit stronger than Goten, even as children. And Goten was supposed to go into space too, but y'know, Pan.

Let me take this moment to grieve with you, fellow fan of Chibi Goten, for the character molestation that was GT Goten.

[Rocketman]

Let me take this moment to grieve with you, fellow fan of Chibi Goten, for the character molestation that was GT Goten.

What was different about GT Goten?

[Kaboom]

GT Goten is just end-of-Z Goten with a different haircut.