Yamcha

Yamcha (

When Toriyama decided to create Dragon Ball, he used Chinese author Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West as a prototype for his own series.^[3][4] Yamcha took the role of Sha Wujing.^[5] His name is a pun on a form of Cantonese brunch called yum cha.^[6] A prototype for Yamcha was Gojō, the river monster, from Toriyama's one-shot series Dragon Boy.^[7]

Voice actors

In the original Japanese version, Yamcha is voiced by

Though Yamcha is a skilled swordsman[10]^[11] he is an exceptional martial artist.^[12] His signature technique is the Rōgafūfūken (狼牙風風拳, "Fist of the Wolf Fang", "Wolf Fang Fist" in the English anime dub), a quick flurry of punches and kicks.^[13] After training with Master Roshi Yamcha became Superhuman gaining Super strength, speed, agility, reflexes, the ability to fly, with telepathy, telekinesis, generate energy from his very being called ki, produce energy blasts, absorb energy and energy blasts and control energy as well as sense energy around him and enhance his abilities by increasing his energy through force of will. He has the ability to perform the Kamehameha, a concentrated beam of a chi energy blast that many other characters in the series have the ability to perform as well.^[14] Yamcha also uses the Sōkidan (繰気弾, "Spinning Chi Bullet", "Spirit Ball" in the English anime dub), a technique that forms a ball of chi energy to assault an opponent with. He can fully control the ball, allowing it to home in on enemies and to go underground for a surprise attack.^[15]

Summary

Yamcha's original outfit with his unique emblem (left) is replaced with an orange dogi bearing the emblem of the Turtle School (right) after he is formally accepted as Master Roshi's student

Yamcha enters the series ambushing Goku,

By the time of the 25th Tenkaichi Budōkai, Yamcha has given up fighting and goes with the others to be a spectator and also meet Goku, who is given a single day to return from death.[25] Yamcha is later killed again when Majin Buu turns him into chocolate and eats him, along with Krillin, Bulma, and the other allies. During Goku and Vegeta's battle against Buu, Yamcha and Krillin try to fend off the Majin who's rampaging the Grand Kai's Planet; before he is brought back to life by the Namekian Dragon Balls, and he and the others on Earth give their energy to Goku's Genki-Dama, which he uses to destroy Majin Buu and restore peace to the universe.^[26]

Yamcha returns in Dragon Ball Super where he and Puar attend Bulma's birthday party along with the other characters, while there he meets Beerus the God of Destruction and later witnessed Goku's fight against the deity. Sometime after Frieza's 2nd death, he goes with the others to the Nameless Planet to watch the Tournament between Universe 6 and Universe 7. Yamcha plays a prominent role during the baseball match between Universe 6 and Universe 7, he is the team's captain uses his newly invented technique (Wolf Fang Pitching Fist) to effortlessly strike out Universe 6 during the first half of the first set, afterwards both Whis and Vados call off the match after Beerus and Champa started fighting physically, not before Vados points down to Yamcha laying at home base, scoring the winning run. During the Universal Survival saga, Yamcha's eager of the Tournament of Power, but wasn't recruited by Goku at all.

In the Galactic Patrol Prisoner arc, Yamcha is informed of Moro's invasion of Earth and is recruited by Gohan and the Galactic Patrol. Yamcha flies off on his own and easily defeat/subdue 3 of Moro's goons, before flying off to the next location. Yamcha soon finds himself in a difficult battle against Saganbo's adviser Zauyogi (even with the later assistance of Tien and Chiaotzu). Luckily for the three, Son Goku intervenes and easily beats Zauyogi, Yamcha informs Goku to assist Son Gohan and Piccolo, whilst assuring the Saiyan that he, Tien, and Chiaotzu can handle the rest of the remaining convicts. Yamcha later appears and collectively lends his energy to Vegeta (whom reverse engineers his newfound technique) in order for Goku to re-awaken Mastered Ultra Instinct. Yamcha and the others continue to view the battle, until Goku attains the power-up he needed to finally defeat the earth-infused Moro. Yamcha and the others (barring Vegeta) cheer for Goku's victory, and later attended a party hosted at Mr. Satan's house.

Appearances in other media

In Dragon Ball GT, Yamcha makes two cameo appearances.^[27]

Yamcha is the main subject of the spin-off manga Dragon Ball Side Story: The Case of Being Reincarnated as Yamcha (ドラゴンボール外伝　転生したらヤムチャだった件, Doragon Bōru Gaiden: Tensei-shitara Yamucha Datta Ken). Written and illustrated by Dragon Garow Lee, it is about a high school boy who after an accident wakes up in the body of Yamcha in the Dragon Ball manga. He trains as Yamcha to make him the strongest warrior, having known what happens to him later in the manga against the Saiyans.^[28]

Yamcha is a

Yamcha has had mixed reviews during his inception. He is commonly described as useless and outclassed as a fighter in the Dragon Ball series yet has also been described as fun and an iconic anime character to other publishers.

Furuya, the character's voice actor, designates Yamcha as one of the characters by whom he was inspired to create his music, as well as one of the top six favorite characters he voiced.