Yamcha

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Not to be confused with Yum cha.
Yamcha
Dragon Ball character

Yamcha by Akira Toriyama
First appearance Dragon Ball, volume 1, chapter 7
Dragon Ball, episode 5
Created by Akira Toriyama
Voiced by See Voice actors
Profile
Aliases Zedaki (Harmony Gold dub)1 Yamucha
Gender Male
Species Earthling
Known relatives Puar (companion)

Yamcha (ヤムチャ Yamucha?) is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball universe created by Akira Toriyama and developed into a media franchise, which consists of a series of manga, anime, soundtracks, movies, television specials, video games, and other collectibles. He is introduced as a thief and started out as an antagonist of Son Goku but eventually reforms and becomes an ally and Z Fighter. His constant companion is Puar. His seiyū is Tōru Furuya. In the English dub, he is voiced by Ted Cole and later Christopher Sabat.2

Contents

Creation and conception

When Toriyama decided to create the Dragon Ball manga, he used Chinese author Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West as a prototype for his own series. 34 The role prototype for Yamcha was Gojō, the river monster, from Toriyama's one-shot series Dragon Boy.5 Gojō was based off of Sha Wujing, the bandit from the Journey to the West that eventually joins the heroes' side. When translated from Chinese into Japanese-language, Sha Wujing becomes Sa Gojō.

Yamcha's name is identical to the Cantonese pronunciation and spelling of yum cha (literally "drink tea", Chinese: 飲茶), referring to a gathering to drink tea and eat dim sum.67

Appearance

Yamcha's appearance stays relatively the same for the majority of the series, although his clothes and hairstyle are changed several times.8910111213141516 Many of Yamcha's hairstyles are also used by Son Gohan at various points in his life.171819 During the Android Saga, Android #19's scanner reads that Yamcha is 183 centimeters tall and weighs 68 kilograms.20 Yamcha is shown to be a baseball player in the anime filler material for Dragon Ball Z. This was suggested by Toriyama.21 The first kanji Yamcha has on his clothes "樂" stands for "happy" or "music". After training with Master Roshi, he takes the turtle kanji "亀" as a sign of respect.22 Later, after training with King Kai, he wears both "Kame" and "Kaio" kanji. He wears them the opposite way Goku did, "Kame" on the back, "Kaio" on the chest, except in Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might where he wears the "Kaio" kanji on the back and "Kame" on the chest.23

Summary

Yamcha as he is mortally wounded by Android #20, after getting his chi drained.

Yamcha enters the series early in Dragon Ball as a young bandit in a desert.24 He ambushes Goku, Bulma, and Oolong as they are traveling through his territory and attempts to rob them of their money and hoi poi capsules. 25 He also becomes a student under Roshi and loses a long-held fear of women through his relationship with Bulma.26 Yamcha also enters the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai along with Goku, but loses in the first round of each tournament, to Jackie Chun (Roshi), Tien Shinhan, and Shen (Kami) respectively.27

In the Saiyan Saga, Yamcha is killed along with Tien, Chiaotzu, and Piccolo in a battle against a fictional race called the Saiyans. He is killed when a Saibamen grips onto him and self-destructs. Yamcha goes on to train with King Kai in the afterlife just as Goku did, growing greatly in power.28 Through King Kai, he is able to witness his friends battles on Planet Namek; when Goku is thought to have been killed in the destruction of the Planet Namek after defeating Frieza, Yamcha relays the information to everyone through his girlfriend Bulma. He is returned to life 130 days later from a wish to Porunga and continues to live at Capsule Corp with Bulma and, after the two finally end their relationship, she and Vegeta enter a long-term relationship.29

During the Android Saga, Yamcha is the first to encounter Android #19 and #20, and is left for dead when #20 absorbs his chi and drives a hand through his chest.30 He is later revived by a Senzu bean and takes the heart-diseased Goku home to get his medicine after the Super Saiyan loses to #19. Yamcha later joins the others in the Cell Games and teams up with Tien to protect the weakened Goku from the Cell Juniors, before losing to them.31 Following Cell's defeat at the hands of Gohan and Goku's death, Yamcha and the others return to their peaceful lives. In the alternate timeline of the Cell Saga, like most of the Z Fighters, Yamcha was killed in the encounter with the androids.32

By the time of the Majin Buu Saga, Yamcha has given up fighting and goes to the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai with the others to be a spectator and also meet Goku, who is given a day to return from the Other World.33 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 is brought back to life by the Namekian Dragon Balls, and he and the others on Earth give their energy to Goku's Super Spirit Bomb, which he uses to destroy Buu and restore peace to the universe.34

In Dragon Ball GT, Yamcha makes two cameo appearances.35 In the final episode of Dragon Ball GT, Yamcha is seen fixing his car in the middle of a desert, possibly returning to his vagabond life with Puar.

Abilities

Yamcha using Bukû-jutsu to fly Son Goku to safety.

Though Yamcha is a skilled swordsman363738 he is an exceptional martial artist.39 His signature technique is the Rogafūfūken, literally "Wolf Fang Wind Fist" (Wolf Fang Fist in the English dub), a quick flurry of punches and kicks.40 Yamcha uses the technique often during the Dragon Ball anime, though by Dragon Ball Z, he appears to have discarded its use. 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.41 Yamcha also uses the Sôkidan, literally "Spinning Ki Bullet" (Spirit Ball in the English 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.42 He also possesses superhuman strength, speed and reflexes.

Like most characters in the series, Yamcha has the ability of flight, which he uses many times throughout the story.

Appearances in other media

Video games

Yamcha fusing with Tien Shinhan in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 to become "Yamhan" ("Tiencha" in the English-language games).

Yamcha is a playable character in the following Dragon Ball-related video games:

He also appears as a Boss/NPC in the following:

Live action movies

Yamcha also appears in an unofficial Chinese live-action remake of the first Dragon Ball feature film. Here he is known as Westwood. He joins Monkey Boy, Sparkle, Turtle Man and Seeto in the quest to destroy King Horn and his powerful warriors.43 He will also be played by Korean pop singer Joon Park44 in the upcoming film Dragonball, for which James Kyson Lee also auditioned.45

Reception

Yamcha, along with Tien, has been described as "under-utilized", but still a "fan favorite".46 His anti-hero beginnings also contributed to the characters popularity.47 Park, who plays the part of Yamcha in Dragonball, sees him as an ironic and humorous character,48 and finds it his dream role.49 Furuya, the character's seiyū, 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.50 Yamcha officially premiered in the United States when Dragon Ball Z first aired in September 1996 on The WB Television Network,51 and later in the manga when Shōnen Jump began United States distribution in January 2003.5253 T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews notes that the character has had a heavy development throughout Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z.54 Anime News Network takes note of resemblance of scars between Yamcha and Himura Kenshin, but also observes that their meaning is quite different.55

Many pieces of merchandise have been released under his name and in his likeness. This merchandise includes, but is not limited to, T-shirts,56 mugs,57 caps,58 DVDs,59 and action figures.6061 Yamcha has also been featured in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.62

References

  1. ^ "Harmony Gold USA Dub Names". Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
  2. ^ "Anime News Network Voice Cast". Retrieved on 2008-08-28.
  3. ^ Wiedemann, Julius (2004-09-25). "Akira Toriyama", in Amano Masanao (ed.): Manga Design. Taschen, p. 372. ISBN 3822825913. 
  4. ^ Clements, Jonathan; Helen McCarthy (2001-09-01). The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917, 1st ed., Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press, pp. 101-102. ISBN 1-880656-64-7. OCLC 47255331. 
  5. ^ Interview with Toriyama, Shōnen Jump (Japanese volume 23, issue #59); 11-1986
  6. ^ "Yum cha culture article". Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  7. ^ "Experiencefestival article on Yum cha". Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  8. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 1, chapter 7
  9. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 3, chapter 34
  10. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 10, chapter 113
  11. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 14, chapter 166
  12. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 18, chapter 209
  13. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 28, chapter 329
  14. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 28, chapter 337
  15. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 36, chapter 431
  16. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 42, chapter 519
  17. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 18, chapter 209
  18. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 28, chapter 330
  19. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 42, chapter 519
  20. ^ Dragon Ball Z, episode 126: "Killers Without a Trace, Who are the Artificial Humans?"
  21. ^ "Biography for Akira Toriyama". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
  22. ^ Dragon Ball, volume 10, chapter 113
  23. ^ Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might
  24. ^ Dragon Ball, volume 1, chapter 7
  25. ^ Dragon Ball manga, vol. 1, chapter 9
  26. ^ Dragon Ball manga, vol. 3, chapter 35
  27. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volumes 3, 10, and 15, chapters 37, 118, 175
  28. ^ Dragon Ball Z manga, vol. 5, chapter 261
  29. ^ Dragon Ball Z manga, vol. 12, chapter 337
  30. ^ Dragon Ball Z manga, volume 13, chapter 337
  31. ^ Dragon Ball Z manga, volume 18, chapter 408
  32. ^ Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks
  33. ^ Dragon Ball Z manga, volume 20, chapter 432
  34. ^ Dragon Ball Z manga, volume 26, chapter 515
  35. ^ Dragon Ball GT, episodes 40, "Piccolo's Decision" and 64, "Until We Meet Again..."
  36. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 1, chapter 8
  37. ^ Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins
  38. ^ Dragon Ball: The Path to Power
  39. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 4, chapter 37
  40. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 10, chapter 117, page 9
  41. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 10, chapter 117, page 13
  42. ^ Dragon Ball manga, volume 15, chapter 175
  43. ^ "Dragon Ball: Magic Begins". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  44. ^ http://blogs.ign.com/McKlyde/ Live-Action DBZ info., McKlde's Live-Action DBZ movie blog, 2007-12-14.
  45. ^ "Heroes' Lee Auditions for Dragon Ball Z Movie", Anime News Network (2007-11-11). Retrieved on 6 February 2008. 
  46. ^ "Daizex". Retrieved on 2008-07-02.
  47. ^ "Anime News Network". Retrieved on 2008-07-02.
  48. ^ "DBlive-action". Retrieved on 2008-07-02.
  49. ^ "Dragon Ball Live action official Interview". Retrieved on 2008-09-18.
  50. ^ "Music Japan Interview". Retrieved on 2008-07-03.
  51. ^ "Release date on IMDB". Retrieved on 2008-07-03.
  52. ^ U.S. Shonen Jump, volume 1, issue 1
  53. ^ "ICv2 on distribution of Shonen jump at the time". Retrieved on 2008-07-03.
  54. ^ "T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews on Dragon ball". Retrieved on 2008-09-27.
  55. ^ "Answerman of Anime News Network". Retrieved on 2008-09-27.
  56. ^ "Amazon.com". Retrieved on 2008-06-16.
  57. ^ "Amazon.com". Retrieved on 2008-06-16.
  58. ^ "Amazon.com". Retrieved on 2008-06-15.
  59. ^ "Amazon.com". Retrieved on 2008-06-16.
  60. ^ "Amazon.com". Retrieved on 2008-06-16.
  61. ^ "Amazon.com". Retrieved on 2008-06-16.
  62. ^ "Dragon Ball CCG". Retrieved on 2008-06-16.

Bibliography

External links

v • d • e
Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
Franchise
Films and TV specials
Dragon Ball
Dragon Ball Z
   Dragon Ball GT
Video games
Action-adventure
RPG/Card-based
Fighting
Other
Related
Characters
Son Goku • Vegeta • Son Gohan • Trunks • Bulma • Piccolo • Krillin • Yamcha • Master Roshi • Frieza • Majin Buu
Concepts
Related
Dr. Slump (Arale Norimaki) • Neko Majin • Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins (1989 Chinese live action film) • Dragonball (2009 American live action film)

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  • This page was last modified on 18 November 2008, at 10:59.

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