Without a doubt, one of the most popular couples in Dragon Ball Z is Bulma and Vegeta. Although many of us were shocked at first when we learned that these two were an item, the idea slowly grew on us all. Nowadays, their relationshup is a big part of the entire series, and their children have gone on to enjoy starring roles in the legendary anime series.
Bulma's presence in Vegeta's life has even spurred him on to achieve greater things in his life and his personal journey towards success. Vegeta has become an even more powerful fighter, because now he's not just trying to best Goku, he's trying to protect his family. Put simply, he's fighting for something that actually matters.
Although the relationship really helped to flesh out the characters of Bulma and Vegeta, and it's something that remains very popular even to this day, there's one thing that no one can deny. At its core, the relationship makes very little sense. We've all just waved aside these little problems, suspending our disbelief long enough to see this relationship blossom into something deep and beautiful. But when we actually take a closer look at how, when, and why this relationship began, everything begins to fall apart. Let's be clear - we love the fact that these two have gotten together. We wouldn't have it any other way. And you know what? Sometimes love doesn't even make sense! That's the beauty of it.
Here are 20 Things That Make No Sense About Vegeta And Bulma's Relationship.
Vegeta's Prejudice Against Half-Saiyans
One of the most notable things about Vegeta and Bulma's relationship is the fact that they had a very important son - Trunks. This might have been the one thing which really kept Vegeta and Bulma together, causing them to bond over their child.
Why would Vegeta ever choose to have a half-human child?
This is the same guy who completely shot Nappa down when he suggested rebuilding the Saiyan race with half-human hybrids on Earth. Not only did he reject Nappa's suggestion of breeding with humans, but he seemed utterly disgusted. Some might even say that he was horrified, and even frightened by the possibility of creating life forms which could be even more powerful than pure Saiyans. It seemed almost like a taboo in Saiyan culture never to breed with other races. Why would he suddenly go back on that?
Their Entire Relationship Is A Plot Device To Create Future Trunks
Akira Toriyama had a problem to deal with right around the time of the Android Saga. He needed to introduce another character - a time traveler of incredible power. He needed to find two characters who could have a baby, which would later grow up into this time traveler, but there were few options available to him. Goku and Chi-Chi were the only couple in the series, and it didn't make sense for them to have another young child at the time.
Toriyama took the only available female character in the series, Bulma, and paired her up with the second most popular male character in the series, Vegeta. He really didn't have a lot of options, and this might explain why Vegeta's relationship with Bulma seems so forced and illogical.
They Only Got Together To Keep Vegeta In The Story
Creating a new time-traveling hero wasn't the only problem that Akira Toriyama faced during the Android Saga. He also needed to find a way to keep Vegeta involved in the story after he became incredibly popular among Dragon Ball Z fans. Bringing him back to life wasn't enough - Toriyama needed to find a way to keep Vegeta attached to the "family" of the Z-Fighters.
He needed a reason for Vegeta to stay on Earth, and not go rampaging through the universe on another warpath.
Vegeta quite literally became part of the family, by marrying Bulma and having a child with her. In this way, Akira Toriyama was able to keep a fan favorite in the story while also creating Trunks, effectively taking out two birds with one stone. This also explains why the relationship seems so out of the blue.
At Times, Bulma Seems More Attracted To Goku
When it was revealed that Vegeta and Bulma were together, fans were surprised for many different reasons. Many Dragon Ball Z fans had assumed that Bulma was secretly in love with Goku the entire time, and that if she was going to fall for anyone, it would be him.
There's a lot of evidence to back this up, as the entire series is filled with moments where Bulma openly expresses her feelings towards Goku. Whether these feelings are more "sisterly love" is up for debate, but there's no denying the fact that she feels strongly about him. They have a long history together as young children. Many fans have commented that whenever Bulma says Goku's name, there's a slight tone of longing in her voice.
We don't Know how they got together
Speaking of how Trunks was created, it's never really revealed how that happened. Of course, we have a general idea of how it went down, but it just kind of... happens.
There is no flashback to a point where the romance begins, no explanation of how they grew close.
We basically just see Bulma at the beginning of a new season with a baby, and we're just given this passing, nonchalant explanation that Vegeta is the father.
Some details would actually make this relationship way more believable in the long run. There have been plenty of episodes since this happened, and not one of them has been dedicated to how this relationship started, and how Trunks came to be.
Vegeta Helped Destroy Bulma's Boyfriend
Everyone loves to make jokes about Yamcha and his tendency to fall in battle, but Bulma definitely wasn't laughing when he was ended by the Saiyan invaders of Earth. Now, let's be clear - Vegeta didn't actually take down Yamcha. At this point in the battle, Vegeta was standing off to the side and watching Nappa "have fun" with the defenders of Earth. As a matter of fact, Nappa didn't even destroy Yamcha either. That honor goes to a single Saibaman.
That's beside the point. Bulma must have known that Vegeta assisted in the destruction of her boyfriend at the time, and she still found him attractive. It's worth pointing out that Yamcha supposedly cheated on Bulma before she got with Vegete, so maybe it was an act of revenge, but that seems a little excessive.
Vegeta Beat Gohan Numerous Times, Yet Bulma Decided To Have Children With Him
If watching her boyfriend get destroyed by Vegeta's team didn't disturb Bulma, then this definitely should have. Vegeta was inexplicably abusive towards poor Gohan during the Namek saga, continuously beating him up and stealing the dragon balls from him. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that it was Goku's son, but Vegeta seems to rejoice in slapping Gohan around.
When most women see an abuser, they take it as a clear sign that the man is not fit to be a father.
Not Bulma! She was on Namek when this was taking place, so she must have known that Vegeta had been beating Gohan up. Still, only a few years later, she decided to have a child with him.
Why Did Bulma Invite Vegeta To Live With Her In The First Place?
This leads us to perhaps the most important moment in this relationship: the decision by Bulma to let Vegeta stay with her. Yes, she decided that this violent, abusive maniac would make for a great roommate. Never once is this decision explained, except the vague fact that Vegeta didn't have anywhere else to live at the time.
Of course, them living together eventually led to them falling in love, so this was the pivotal moment in the relationship. Sure, you can say that Vegeta was a broken man after his experience with Frieza, so Bulma might have felt sorry for him. That doesn't magically delete Vegeta's long history of committing awful acts.
There Was Zero Foreshadowing Or Lead Up To Their Relationship
As a plot device, Vegeta and Bulma function quite well together, but the idea to pair them up might have been a bit of an afterthought, and this argument gains more credibility when you think about how out of the blue this relationship really was.
Aside from a few comments by Bulma, there wasn't even the slightest hint that these two would end up together. No foreshadowing, no lead up, and certainly not any flirting by either party. It really does seem like Toriyama hastily created this relationship out of nowhere, without any plan beforehand to have them end up together. In the end, this compounded the feeling that the entire relationship was a bit illogical.
We Never Saw Them Get Married
Even though their relationship might have started as a big of a fling or a one-night stand, it is made adamantly clear that the two are in fact wed. Vegeta is Bulma's husband, and she is his wife. This is stated numerous times throughout the series, and it's an established fact. But there's only one problem - no wedding ceremony is ever seen or even referenced.
There are no flashbacks, no conversations about any wedding, nothing.
Even if a lot of fans would probably love to see Bulma walking down the aisle in a wedding dress, this will probably never happen. It's never clear whether Vegeta actually put on a tux and said "I do." Perhaps it was more of a private wedding, or an informal agreement. The point is, we'll never actually know the truth.
Bulma Is Way Too Kind-Hearted For Vegeta
We get it, Bulma can be pretty hot-headed at times, and some would even say that she verges on narcissistic. But at the end of the day, she is a good person. Time and time again, she's displayed a tendency to put others above hersel. She embarks on a very dangerous journey to Namek, even though she has no powers. She is endlessly searching for the dragon balls in order to bring her friends back to life.
All of this makes it really strange that she would ever fall for a guy like Vegeta. Obviously he's changed and become less evil, but we're still talking about a guy who has destroyed planets and wiped out entire species. How is she not disturbed and horrified by the prince of all Saiyans?
Vegeta Is Too Reliant On Bulma for someone so independent
No one really expected Vegeta to settle down. Being in a relationship means learning how to cooperate with another person, and it also means accepting that you can't do everything yourself. The best relationships are symbiotic ones, meaning that each person has an equal level of reliance on the other. That doesn't sound like Vegeta at all, does it? Of all the characters in the Dragon Ball Z universe, Vegeta is the most fiercely independent.
He fights alone, trains alone, and sulks alone.
It really doesn't make a lot of sense that he becomes so reliant on Bulma. You might say that he doesn't really show any reliance on Bulma, but what about the fact that he needed Bulma's Blutz Wave Generator to progress to Super Saiyan 4?
Vegeta Never Showed Any Affection Towards Trunks
Many of us were left completely confused by the lack of affection Vegeta showed to his only son, Trunks. It succeeded in alienating even the most hardcore Vegeta fans, as man were left scratching their heads. Seriously, Trunks is actually an awesome character and as good a son as anyone could hope for. He's strong, determined, and brave. We wanted to see Vegeta show pride in his son, or at least show an ounce of affection, but that didn't come for many, many years.
Sure, there was that climatic moment where Vegeta hugs his son before he sacrifices himself, but even that was pretty awkward and emotionless. We get it, Vegeta doesn't show much passion or love, that's just his personality. But going so long without even showing any emotion to your son goes beyond introversion - it's plain psychotic.
Vegeta Is Rarely Kind To Bulma
In the same way that Vegeta rarely shows affection to his son, he rarely shows any love to Bulma. This is perhaps even more confusing, because these two are supposed to have feelings for each other - at least enough to create a child.
We rarely see even the slightest hint of passion from Vegeta, which makes us wonder how Trunks was even created in the first place.
In more recent episodes Vegeta warms up to Bulma, but he still seems very distant most of the time. He also leaves for long periods of time, much like Goku. Of course, he has his Saiyan reputation to consider, so perhaps it makes sense that Vegeta is never kind of affectionate towards his wife. He might see it as a sign of weakness, but we are led to believe that Vegeta has left behind his more brutal Saiyan ways.
Bulma Seems To Like Vegeta Because Of Her Attraction To "Bad Boys"
We previously mentioned the fact that Bulma's attraction to Vegeta doesn't make much sense, given the fact that he's a pretty awful person. The fact that Bulma might be into "bad boys" could be a somewhat believable answer. After all, Bulma first fell for a Yamcha, and he was a desert bandit, but can all agree that Vegeta is on a completely different level. This guy is the real deal, and he is essentially pure evil when Bulma falls for him.
We can see small glimpses of this during the Namek saga, when Bulma cheers Vegeta on as he's fighting Frieza's lackeys, and also comments that she finds him attractive. This might actually explain why Bulma fell for Vegeta, but the reason itself doesn't make much sense.
Vegeta Likes Bulma Because She Reminds Him Of Saiyan Women
When fans talk about why this relationship doesn't make much sense, they usually mention the weirdness of Bulma being attracted to Vegeta, and not the other way around. While few people ask themselves what Vegeta sees in Bulma, it's actually a really good question. Was it just a passing fling? Or did Vegeta actually see something in Bulma that he didn't see in other human females?
There is probably something deep inside Vegeta that is wired to find strong women attractive, due to his Saiyan genetics.
While this may explain his attraction to Bulma, it doesn't really make sense in the grand scheme of things. Vegeta knows, deep down, that Bulma is a human female. He is fooling his mind into thinking she is one of his kind.
Vegeta abandoned Bulma and Trunks
Not showing affection to your son and wife is bad, without a doubt, but what about leaving them to perish? Yes, Vegeta really did do that, and in case you forgot, it happened during the Android saga. Without even showing a hint of remorse or responsibility towards his new family, Vegeta flew off and abandoned Bulma and Trunks, where they would almost certainly be destrotd by Dr. Gero and his Androids.
The only thing that saved this mother and son was Future Trunks arriving on the scene and rescuing them.
The adult version of Trunks couldn't believe that his father could do such a thing, and we couldn't believe our eyes either. No one could understand how a father could do that to his wife and son.
Vegeta Is Still A Better Father And Husband Than Goku
We all know that Goku regularly gets accused of being a bad father, and those arguments definitely carry a lot of weight. Athe same time, we've definitely criticized Vegeta in this very article for being a terrible father. So how could we possibly come to the conclusion that Vegeta is objectively the better father? The answer is simple - Vegeta is actually there for his kids.
You have to remember that Vegeta lost his own father when he was very young, and was raised essentially as a slave to Frieza. Even with these massive disadvantages, he still ended up being a better father than Goku. After Future Trunks gets eliminated by Cell, Vegeta realizes that being a father is important. From that day on, he spends much more time with his children than Goku ever does.
Vegeta's Height Was Changed Because of Bulma
We all know that from the very beginning, Vegeta was rather vertically challenged. That never stopped him from being powerful, but it was one of his defining features. Standing more than a head shorter than Goku, this small stature might have been one of the reasons why Vegeta always had an inferiority complex.
In more recent episodes, Vegeta has changed a lot. This is nothing new, as Vegeta used to have red hair as well.
If you look close enough, Vegeta's height was actually increased so that he would appear taller than Bulma.
Dragon Ball Z fans with a keen eye for detail spotted this right away, and it surprised a lot of people.
Vegeta Becoming Good Makes No Sense
Of course, a huge portion of things we talk about in this article can be explained away with, "Vegeta is a good guy now." But does that actually make any sense? While he's certainly calmed down in recent times, there is no denying that at his very core, Vegeta is a bad guy.
You can argue against this all you want, but when Akira Toriyama himself backs this up, it's hard to deny. Comic Book quoted him as saying, "“With Vegeta, well, I don’t like him all that much, but he was extremely helpful to have around.”
The fact that he built up a huge fanbase was not something Akira Toriyama expected or even desired. In fact, the decision to keep Vegeta around was probably a reaction to the huge amount of people who love the character. Therefore, Toriyama hastily devised a plot to make Vegeta a good guy - which didn't really fit with his established character, or the arc of the story.
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What else doesn't make sense about Vegeta and Bulma's relationship in Dragon Ball? Let us know in the comments.