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yamcha-thelonewolf · 4 months

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🫀The Heart's Savior.

Guys, we have come to the end, but how is it that they say? The end of something will be the beginning of something else. There will always be so much to say about Yamcha and I don't want to stop that soon. For now I would like all Dragon Ball fans to consider this topic, not because I wrote it. I am well aware that I am not the first person to talk about it, and I am glad that someone other than me has noticed, but in Yamcha's case it is never enough. The more the merrier! Even at the cost of repeating ourselves…. It doesn't matter! In latin they used to say repetita iuvant, meaning that something by dint of being repeated is eventually learned. Can it stew? Maybe. But it's still better than keeping quiet, right? And I believe that all of us Yamcha fans have a sacred right to protect one of the most misunderstood and unnecessarily mistreated characters ever.

Well, it's time to begin, but before we go into the last, most important chapter, I would like to remind you one last time of the previous two parts, so that we have a clearer and more obvious situation. I mean, at this point it's really impossible to ignore that Yamcha is useless. PART 1: The Past PART 2: The Present

PART 3: The Future

It is no accident that I wanted to divide the topic in a temporal sense. As I had said at the beginning, in the Androids and Cell Arc, Yamcha has seriously contributed to improving the past, the present and the future. He didn't fight with his muscular body, but by bringing the resounding strength of his heart into play, he made sense of Dragon Ball's most important chapter. At least it is the most important to me. Not only because it is the first and only time the warriors are really all together, but also because this is where the story begins to expand with the appearance of alternate realities. Everyone does their own thing, and while I regret that Yamcha was not given a real action moment in which to shine (with the exception of the fight against that Cell Junior together with Tien to save Goku), I'm still glad that in the same arc in which Toriyama tried to completely sideline him, Yamcha left his mark. And believe me, it is a very important mark.

We could say that Yamcha saved everyone's mood, everyone's heart, everyone's soul…. The meaning will always be the same. We are not on Planet Vegeta, where everyone is callous and devoid of humanity. We are on Earth, on that planet that made Goku an outstanding saiyan and especially the protagonist everyone has loved for years. This means that if you can't feel pure emotions, you can't go anywhere. You can't even get on the Flying Nimbus! We learned this with OG Dragon Ball: if you don't act from the heart and for the heart, you certainly won't make a good end. This is what Jackie Chun/Muten Roshi explains to Tenshinhan when he tries to convince him to abandon the path of evil and take the path of good. It was an important teaching, and it saddens me that Akira Toriyama has completely forgotten it since forty years later he has failed to reward the character who most of all was a living heart.

If you think about it, this is really Goku's strong point: his heart. In the beginning he always acted for the sake of someone else: he wanted to look for the dragon ball with four stars because it reminded him of his grandfather, then he collected them all to bring Upa's father back to life, then again to save Krillin, Muten and Chiaotzu. Always thanks to his heart he became a Super Saiyan for the first time and thanks to his good feelings he was able to save the earth many times. So it is really his heart that made him legendary. It is because of it that he was able to go on, become stronger and be the ultimate hero. ...So... Why should Yamcha be any less? He is a human, so what? He possesses superhuman strength. There is nothing different from a saiyan awakening his feelings. Both of them go against the grain. They are two sides of the same coin. Whatever...

To recap:

Yamcha saved the past. He has taken care of Goku since he was little, helped him when Goku's innocence hindered him, always supported him, and always stepped forward whenever he was in danger of getting hurt. Finally, he took care of his heart, the most important core of Goku's character, during his illness.

Yamcha saved the present. While everyone feared the worst or simply struggled without much success, Yamcha was always ready to comfort and warm that chill that could have turned the present into Trunks' horrible future. He took care of Tien, or at least he would have liked to, then Gohan and finally Krillin, helping him to hope on his chance with Android 18. It seems little, but in everyday life such a turnaround is more important than a victory against an invincible monster. After all... What remains when peace returns?

Although The Past and The Present show how big Yamcha's heart is, we still have to admit that up to now he has taken care of his friends. This is an easy thing to do. I mean, any human with a heart of gold would do all this for someone he loves, but Yamcha's value goes beyond that. After all, it is when you leave your comfort zone that you truly realize how much you are worth, and that is what I am referring to when I say that Yamcha has been the strongest of all. Nietzsche once said:

Love your enemies because they bring out the best in you.

It's true. By loving those who hate you, those who have hurt you or simply those who do not appreciate you, you become incredibly better, because you can overcome the evil you get and make it your strength in a sense.

That's exactly what Yamcha does, but you know, I even believe that he doesn't do it completely to feel better. I think he does it because he knows how to love. That's always the point: by knowing how to love he automatically knows how to forgive and overcome the hatred that he would have the right to feel. Therefore, dear friends, today we will talk about how Yamcha cared even for those whom he was not bound to love for different reasons. I want to say this will be the part that will touch me the most. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be sentimental as hell but I can't help it. Yamcha is a treasure chest of emotions and I want to express them just as he would. To talk about what follows means first of all having to come to terms with the most humiliating thing of all: Yamcha and Bulma's breakup. I don't want to dive into details, not in this topic, but what I do want to point out is that for me Yamcha never cheated on Bulma.

Look at him. One who has cheated would not react like that. You can see that he is pissed off and disappointed, rather than mortified or distressed about the mistake he made. I am more accepting of the speculation that Bulma simply preferred Vegeta, although here we open a big digression about yet another writing problem in Dragon Ball. Consequently, as I see it, Yamcha suffered the breakup as a real tragedy, came out as a victim of it, and therefore his heart was severely wounded by it. With these things in mind, it is logical to think that what we see from this point on is literally a saint-made man, because not only does Yamcha accept the new reality with Bulma, but he even stays by her side to continually watch over her until the end of DBZ.

Once again Yamcha stays. He is there, he does not back down, and with his head held high he faces the greatest disappointment of his life, because without ever forgetting this we must consider that his goal was (is) always love. He strongly desired to marry Bulma and have children with her, but in the end she chose to do this with the one who had once killed her boyfriend.

Heartbroken and disillusioned, Yamcha would have many reasons for never speaking to Bulma again. Yet he does. He stays close to her, and in facing this great humiliation he proves not only that he has that usual big heart, but also that he is seriously better than those who treated him as if he were worthless. Yeah, I am really talking about Vegeta. I hope I am not annoying any Vegeta fans, but believe me, for any Yamcha fan it is impossible to accept certain attitudes that the saiyan prince had with the earthling.

Don't worry, though. I am not going to denigrate a character to glorify Yamcha. It's not my style and frankly he doesn't need it. He already shines on his own, it's just that unfortunately his brightness is obscured by super energy attacks. I will simply show the evidence, but more importantly I will talk about how Yamcha loved even Vegeta and Trunks.

Actually, why he helped Trunks should not surprise us. Trunks did nothing wrong to Yamcha. He is simply the son of Bulma and Vegeta, and even if that means Yamcha has lost his Bulma forever, that is certainly not a valid reason to hate this boy. Well, if we clearly allow ourselves to be guided by instinct and the most impetuous emotions, it is quite normal to think that Yamcha may also have felt frustration at seeing that son who should have been his. Trunks is the most concrete form of Yamcha's humiliation: not only is he not his son, he is even Vegeta's son. From this point of view, Trunks represents the beginning of a new hope for the planet but also the end of Yamcha's hopes. It's a subplot that nobody gives a damn about, but as much as I love Trunks, I can't help but think every time I see him, "oh boy, Yamcha's downfall is coming."

Whatever… These are assumptions we don't have to worry about. Yamcha may have had a small moment of annoyance with little Trunks, but he is still an innocent child, and what's more, although he is Vegeta's son, he is also Bulma's son, and Yamcha loves Bulma. Now as a friend, but he still loves her. So loving Bulma necessarily means loving Trunks as well. This to me is a great proof of his inner strength that I mentioned earlier, although at this point I wonder... Is his strenth really that inner? It seems so damn noticeable to me. Now let's take a closer look at the whole situation.

Through Trunks' words we learn for the first time about the breakup between Yamcha and Bulma. Trunks very naively explains that the main reason was Yamcha's attitude toward the girls. Bulma got fed up and so she broke up with him once and for all. Leaving aside the fact that Yamcha playboy is a kind of joke, because we have seen many times how in reality he has always been the exact opposite, it is highly probable that this statement is unfortunately the result of Bulma's usual hysteria toward Yamcha. I say "usual" because we have plenty of evidence on this. For example, in OG Dragon Ball we saw how she was pissed off at Yamcha simply because a fanclub of pretty girls had formed for him. This trifle had been enough for Bulma to leave Yamcha alone in the city, and go with Goku to search for the dragon balls. It is not hard for me to imagine that much of Yamcha's alleged faults were simply in Bulma's head. Perhaps she feared losing him and consequently imagined realities that Yamcha would never allow.

The fact is that in my opinion Trunks' explanation should not be taken as true. Future Bulma told his son a lot of lies, surely for good, because living in such a tragic time it was right to ease the boy's soul by telling him about his father's noble deeds. The point is that Future Bulma knew perfectly well that Vegeta was neither a saint nor a hero. She never knew the Vegeta of the Buu Arc. She had only experienced the impassive, distant, indifferent, and untamable Vegeta, the one you still had to worry about because you still couldn't tell if you could trust him or not. But Vegeta was still the father of her son, and her son was the only thing she had left of Vegeta. So out of love for her son, Bulma has elevated Vegeta, and as one does when telling a fanciful fairy tale in which one exaggerates many things, Future Bulma necessarily has fictionalized how she and Vegeta ended up together. I try hard to think of it that way. I find it in very bad taste that Future Bulma spoke ill of Future Yamcha, who died and did not have a chance to tell his side. So I just assume that she told this bullshit not to insult Yamcha's memory but to comfort young Trunks. As I said, the lie about Yamcha is not the only one. To glorify Trunks's father, Future Bulma also tells that Vegeta had a hidden and "warmer" side, but in reality even she was not sure about that because in the future Vegeta had never shown affection toward their son. It was a supposition she made up to give her son hope.

In short, through Future Bulma's words we can imagine that Future Yamcha is a moron, while Future Vegeta is a pretty decent man. Cold but decent. Mind you: accusing Yamcha of being "something of a playboy" does not just mean that he is a jerk who gets off on girls. Above all, it means that Yamcha is unintelligent, vile, and without dignity. But when Trunks gets into the time machine and goes back to the past, which for us is the present, all the cards get messed up and a very different reality jumps out. From here on, the paths diverge. There are those who believe Future Bulma's words and those who find the whole thing a terrible stretch. True or not, everything Yamcha does in this saga completely negates the idea that he was a shitty person with no brain or heart. Trunks sees that, but he also sees something more important: Vegeta is not as worthy as he thought.

In this scene, the tension is very high. It is not just a clash between a saiyan and an earthling. It is a clash between one who has lost everything and one who has taken everything. After all, Vegeta took Yamcha's life once and a few years later he took his girlfriend. The way Vegeta tries to cut Yamcha out of Dragon Ball has always bothered me, simply because many fans have taken all his insults against Earthlings as true. Nowadays, unfortunately, there are many who believe that Yamcha is really scum. Seeing him in this scene with that clenched fist, his gaze threatening but equally filled with goodness tugs at my heartstrings. However, the best part of this scene is really Trunks' reaction.

He seems really upset. Somehow it's as if he wants to stop it, but not just because Vegeta is taking it out on Yamcha. Trunks comes from a future where love no longer exists. There is only fear, anger, frustration. He lives in a world where there is no time to laugh, joke, play, simply feel human, and he suffers a lot from that. His warm melancholy is directly proportional to the cold evilness of the two androids. With this interpretation in mind, I am quite convinced that in this scene Trunks saw the two androids in his father. Or rather, it is as if Trunks was upset by his father's coldness very similar to that of androids. Understand me, it is as if he at that moment is witnessing the confrontation between the two times: Yamcha represents the happy past, Vegeta the ruthless future. Moreover, Trunks in those days is fully experiencing the reality he desires in his time. There is his father, there is Goku, there are his friends, laughing is still possible but most of all, the planet is so alive that hope and love do not even have to be searched for in a mad rush because they are part of it. They have not yet been eradicated as in his future. As I had already said, hope and love are precisely what convinced Trunks to accomplish this feat. Not only that. If you remember what I wrote in the previous part, I openly stated that Yamcha is the representation of these two feelings. So... Joining all the dots, it really seems that in this scene Trunks is standing up for his own ideals. If Yamcha is love and love is what Trunks wants back in a world now filled with hatred, it is only natural that he would side with the earthling. I mean, he is fed up with witnessing injustice. Besides, Trunks has respect for Yamcha as Fighter-Z. He knows that Yamcha also tried to fight against the androids and that unfortunately he did not succeed, so it is natural for him to stand up for him. It is that code of honor that is created between warriors. Well, I really think Trunks realizes here what I was saying at the beginning: Yamcha is not that much of an asshole and Vegeta is not that much of a saint. At this point Trunks seriously needs proof that negates everything he is observing. It is just a detail. The best is yet to come.

Before we get to that, I would like to briefly address the relationship between Yamcha and Trunks. We have come to understand by now that Yamcha acts out of love and precisely because of this he does not look the recipient in the face. The fact that Trunks is Vegeta's son does not matter to him. Trunks is a good guy who even though he materialized the separation between Yamcha and Bulma still saved the world by going back to the past. Moreover, as already mentioned, he is Bulma's son. All this is enough for Yamcha to respect, love and protect him.

This is a decisive moment. Trunks' death acts as a catalyst for the final fight, but more importantly it makes Vegeta bring out that "side." Everyone remembers the prince's anger against Cell after seeing his son die, but... How many remember who was the first to rescue Trunks?

Come on, seriously?! I would never have said that. ...Yes, hell, yes. Of course would have said that. There are so many characters who witness this tragic death but it just so happens that the first one to intervene is Yamcha. I don't think it's random. And even if it was, that's pretty damn consistent with his character. You see. He reaches Trunks even before Vegeta, but that certainly does not mean that Vegeta loves Trunks any less. I just mean that, despite all that Trunks represents to Yamcha, Yamcha rushes to save him, moved again by that unconditional love that distinguishes him from all others.

The very brief scenes in which Yamcha protects Trunks' corpse together with Tien are wonderful. For two sensitive souls like Yamcha and Tien, it is really the least to defend the one who allowed them to live a little longer. It is really moving to see how Yamcha and Tien take care of the body to prevent it from being profaned. Little does it matter to them that there are dragon balls and that Trunks can be brought back to life even if full of scratches and wounds. The respect for the corpse is the only priority, with or without dragon balls, and this attitude is so human that it brings tears to my eyes every time I realize how special these two earthlings are.

I mean... Trunks's corpse could have been lying there somewhere and been picked up at the end. He was dead, not unconscious like Android 18. Watching over his body was not strictly necessary, but Yamcha and Tien do it anyway. And they do it because they are the best characters in Dragon Ball their humanity is their secret weapon. A pity that for Toriyama it is just a joke.

The relationship between Trunsk and Yamcha is only part of the whole. We could trace it to the same kind of paternal bond that Yamcha establishes with Goku and Gohan, but in Trunks' case it becomes even more fascinating because he is literally the son she would have wanted with her Bulma. Of course, it's just a feeling. I highly doubt that Yamcha ever realized that he possessed "daddy-like" attitudes, and then we also have to say that protecting someone younger than you doesn't mean you do it because you have the makings of a father. To be precise, Yamcha does have it, but he certainly doesn't act thinking that everyone is his missing child. That's just the way he is, and that's why I insist on the idea that he could have been a perfect dad. Perhaps the most perfect.

I am insisting on the father figure because Future Trunks strongly misses his dad. He tells us that he was too young to remember him and that the idea of meeting him for the first time in the past moved him. But why did it move him? Let's remember it: thanks to Future Bulma. With her fantasies about Future Vegeta she colored Trunks' dark life a little, even though at the time she was not sure what she was telling. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that Trunks at least grew up with the idea that the past was a good place thanks in part to his father. As we read in this scene, therefore, we understand that Trunks has a serious need to create memories of his own. It is also a way to give a visual image to his mother's stories, like when a child prefers a book with pictures to a book with only text. That is why Future Trunks stays close to his father, observes him, that is all he needs. As we have noticed, however, things are not quite as he imagined them to be. Vegeta is not what he expected, but the joy of being able to be with him is enough for him to accept him as he is. But... Is it really enough? Think about it. After such a long and difficult journey, after so many legendary tales and especially after so many expectations, how much can it hurt to return home with fewer answers and so many more questions? We do not know exactly what happened during the training between Vegeta and Trunks in the Room of Spirit and Time, but we can safely assume that Vegeta did not open up as Trunks would have liked. It was certainly an emotional moment for him, but not enough to say, "yeah, man, he's really my dad."

The decisive moment occurs precisely during Trunks' death. Earlier we saw that the first one to rescue him is Yamcha, but "obviously" nobody cares because all the attention goes to Vegeta. I understand that. This is the moment when the saiyan prince finally shows his feelings for someone else for the first time. It is not just revenge. Behind Vegeta's reaction is love, and this very feeling will make him frighteningly strong. This naturally amazes everyone, but I am sure that the reaction of the Z-Fighters is due not so much to the increase in his strength as to the fact that Vegeta is having an emotional reaction of this caliber. No one has ever seen him like this. He has officially changed for the better. I am sure Vegeta fans recognize in this scene the split between the ruthless Vegeta of the saiyan saga and the Vegeta we will see in the Buu saga. A new Vegeta has just been born, and everyone has noticed him, even Yamcha who has not had a positive idea about him until then. Actually, it must be said that Yamcha had forgiven Vegeta before anyone else. When Yamcha was still with Bulma, he had agreed to let the saiyan be hosted at his girlfriend's house.

Tien had been the voice of truth. Perhaps his third eye had glimpsed the future, I don't know, but it is quite disturbing to think that some time later this fateful decision would seal the break between Bulma and Yamcha.

What matters for now is that Yamcha has the gift of forgiveness. He did it with Tien when he broke his leg and, although in a different way, he did it with Vegeta who committed much more heinous acts against him. The only difference is that Vegeta never apologized. Once again it is Yamcha who takes a step forward, or rather three steps forward: he forgives the man who killed him, he forgives the man who took away the woman he loved and finally he forgives the man who deprived him of the chance to become a father. Excuse me, but I believe that these three battles are much more intense and difficult than any of the battles we see in Dragon Ball between our heroes and strong monsters. Especially if we think about the fact that Yamcha stays, which doesn't mean that he is just there: the way Yamcha is, it means that he learns to love even those who hurt him and especially to act for their good.

There is only one problem. Trunks cannot see all the love that Vegeta radiates for him. The essence of this scene lies precisely in the fact that finally Future Bulma's tales of Vegeta become real, but what good is all this if Trunks has no way to witness it? A new tale is needed, but this time a real one, based on facts and no longer on memories. A tale that can definitively confirm that Vegeta has a good side and especially cares about his son. So someone must necessarily step up and help Trunks hope again just because of this fantastic news.

...You again, Yamcha?! Then it is a vice! Or maybe you are simply the most beautiful Dragon Ball character ever. Well yes, guys, it is indeed Yamcha who tells Trunks about Vegeta's unexpected heroic feat. He could have told them Krillin or anyone else, but Yamcha's sensitivity precedes all others. In a sense it is as if he is the first to realize that Vegeta has actually changed. We are at the end of the battle. Trunks has been brought back to life and everyone is at Kami's palace. After some small talk and the twist between Krillin and Android 18 (to which Yamcha contributed), the fighters part ways to return home. Yamcha and Trunks head to West City and it is during this journey that Yamcha confesses to the boy what happened. To many it may seem like the least, but think about it very carefully: how many in Yamcha's place would have done the same? I mean, at that moment Yamcha is praising Vegeta for what he did for Trunks. In different words, Yamcha is praising the very man who took away his life, his woman, and the possible marriage he has dreamed of all his life. He had no reason to do it, yet he did it. He could have kept quiet, or told Trunks anything else by deliberately omitting the part about Vegeta out of some sort of personal revenge, but he does not. He does not do it because Yamcha's big heart does not allow him to act in such a mean way. At this very moment he no longer cares what Vegeta did to him. It was enough for him to see him go crazy over Trunks' death to change his mind and accept the fact that Vegeta has changed. That is all Yamcha cares about. Yamcha cares that love guides people, and in this case he cares that Bulma and little Trunks are finally in good hands. The rest no longer matters. The disappointment, humiliation, and anger he feels toward the whole disastrous situation that happened between him, Vegeta, and Bulma is water under the bridge. Yamcha has officially moved on. But it's not just about that. Here Yamcha demonstrates superhuman empathy. He never heard the revelation that Future Trunks told Goku when he first appeared. He did not hear that Trunks had no memories of his father and that this distressed him terribly, yet Yamcha senses this. We have seen how he has formidable intuition, so I am not surprised to believe that he sensed this need in Trunks. He must have imagined that in the future he misses his father figure, and so without a second thought he wanted to give him that warmth that you feel when your father loves you. Once again Yamcha went further and reasoned about situations that are much broader than people think. He took care of the present, but he also took care of the future, and this time without receiving anything in return. Telling Trunks about Vegeta doesn't change his life, but it certainly improves it. It enriches him and he just through all this love that he literally gives to anyone feels stronger and better. Making others feel good is his personal mission. Here we can see that he did it, he got his victory. Trunks' face as he says "my father did?" is full of pride because simply the circle has come full circle. Trunks got the confirmation he was looking for because he knew because of Future Bulma, but he needed to verify it. Yamcha gave peace to his tormented soul.

So guys... I hope it's clear to everyone that if this iconic scene exists, it's really because of Yamcha. I mean, surely Vegeta and Trunks would have said goodbye to each other regardless. But the power of this scene lies precisely in the fact that Trunks knows exactly what happened, what Vegeta did for his son, and as we have seen if he knows it is precisely thanks to Yamcha. In short: Yamcha helped redefine the relationship between Vegeta and Trunks. Yamcha, who as we have seen is the bearer of hope, finally made sense of why Trunks embarked on this journey. He made all of Trunks' dreams come true and in a way allowed him to become stronger, because let's face it, what allows Trunks to beat the androids in his future is not just the super training and battles he does in the past, but more importantly the chance to have experienced all the emotions he was missing and that motivated him to improve his time.

When Trunks returns home, one of the first things he does is tell about the very thing his father did. And if he tells it, let us remember, it is always because of Yamcha. Do you see what I mean? He doesn't give a damn about winning against Cell and the androids. What Trunks takes with him is mostly the emotions accumulated during this incredible experience. Telling about how those monsters were beaten would not have added anything new, because they live in a world where people fight for survival. Telling instead how love and teamwork made all the difference is completely new for him. That is what really matters. We are humans, not robots. There is no point in struggling if you don't have emotions with you. Trunks finally got them. He is finally different from the androids and can now defeat them.

I think the best part of this scene is Future Bulma's reaction. Here we learn that she had indeed ventured a little in telling Trunks about Vegeta. She was not sure about Vegeta's good side either, but she still told her son about it to comfort him. We can see how shocked she is to learn such news. From here we can infer that Future Vegeta was not even a partner in attendance. Somewhat like the Vegeta of the present. In fact, his closeness to Bulma and Trunks occurs after Cell Arc. Not having been able to experience it, Future Bulma was left with the idea that Vegeta had an unexplored good side that she never really saw. She only guessed at it. Therefore, we can say that Yamcha's words have resolved even Future Bulma's doubts. In the present, Yamcha must have noticed the substantial difference between him and Vegeta vis-à-vis Bulma. If Yamcha was affectionate and close, Vegeta is distant and cold. He probably resents that Vegeta behaves this way toward Bulma. Assuming Yamcha sensed that Trunks' future was loveless, it is easy to imagine that he also thought Future Bulma was left alone with her conflicts. After all, Vegeta's change occurred only in the past because some events were changed with Trunks' arrival. It is an exception. I like to think that Yamcha also wanted to help Future Bulma by letting her know that Future Vegeta could learn to love if he had a little more time. Why he did this we will never know. We may think that he did it because Yamcha still loves Bulma, but that would be reductive. Yamcha did it because he just loves. Giving hope is what he does best. It is quite ironic that Yamcha helped the same person who besmirched his memory by telling that he was some kind of playboy. I think it is particularly noticeable here how great Yamcha actually is. Of course he does not know what Future Bulma actually told about him. Trunks only reveals it to Goku, and the only one who hears it is Piccolo. But I am sure that even if Yamcha had known that Future Bulma did not speak highly of him, he would still have done his best to take care of her in every time arc. Lastly he simply enhanced Vegeta's own image. I think it is the most immense act Yamcha could do: to love his greatest enemy. I proudly say that Yamcha, after taking care of the past and the present, has saved even the future. Without exaggeration, he is the one who maintained the link between these three time arcs. If I may say so, he is precisely the one who most represents the theme of this saga.

I would like to conclude with two thoughts...

Any nostalgic Dragon Ball fan knows full well how important Goku's grandfather is. Son Gohan is a kind of angel who watches over the little saiyan from the very beginning, via the dragon ball with the four stars. There is one scene in particular that moves me so much. This is the exact moment when Son Gohan relinquishes this role of guardian angel to Goku's friends. If we want to dwell on Yamcha, I think he is the one who most of all took these words literally. Not only because indeed Yamcha took care of Goku during his illness, but especially because he extended this commandment. Yamcha has really taken care of everyone who is connected to Goku for some reason, precisely because Goku's happiness also depends on those around him. Taking care of Goku also means taking care of his affections, and Yamcha, as we have seen, has done this with everyone. He took care of his wife Chichi, his son Gohan, but also Tien and Krillin, two of Goku's great friends, and finally the saiyans and Bulma. I like to think that it all starts from this very scene, even though Yamcha has always been inclined to help anyone.

At the end of the Cell Arc, the carefree atmosphere of Dragon Ball returns. The one we can't do without, the one that brings us back, when gags were the soul of this story. The reason for all the laughter we witness at Kami's palace is Yamcha. He is the one who makes people laugh because he is afraid of Android 18 and he is the one who relieves the tension by entertaining everyone with his jokes. Among these jokes is one really particular one that on the surface makes him look like an idiot.

Theoretically we should mock him because he has not exactly been lucky in love. His one experience was shattered. Bulma even describes him as a playboy, so his line seems rather grotesque. Butl... After all we've seen, did Yamcha really say bullshit? Okay, he may not be lucky in love relationships, but who says that the love he is talking about is only that which is born between two guys? We saw through him that love is not only between lovers. Love can be between friends, brothers, fathers and sons, ex-girlfriends and even rivals. It doesn't matter who gets it and how they get it: the important thing is only to get it. Yamcha is the one who most spreads love in Dragon Ball. He is the one who gives soul and humanity to Dragon Ball. It is sad to think that he is the one who does not get love in return. But he doesn't care. By giving love he feels loved.

Since hope is what Dragon Ball is based on…. I continue to hope that Yamcha, too, will one day get his well-deserved victory in battle. Because... Let's face it, as a character he has long since won.

Thank you, Yamcha.

Thank you for coming so far. This is definitely my most difficult and exciting topic. It was crazy to write so much about Yamcha but it was worth it. I don’t care how many people read. Having left this opinion could be useful in the future, maybe not, but it’s okay: analyzing Yamcha’s soul was like rediscovering the beauty of being human. I think that’s the most important thing.

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