The Dragon Ball Couple That Fans Still Can't Wrap Their Heads Around
Akira Toriyama's "Dragon Ball" is one of the most celebrated and influential manga and anime. Its juggernaut presence can be felt among even modern Shonen series that capture the attention of fans today. The adventures of Son Goku and his Z Warrior friends usually feature a hunt for seven wish-granting orbs, as well as battles against aliens, androids, and even beings from alternate universes. "Dragon Ball" is still in the midst of a long run that will continue with the upcoming movie, "Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes." During that ever-evolving span, fans have become accustomed to certain expectations from the series, including action-packed fights and hair-coloring transformations.
"Dragon Ball" also has a trend of producing some unexpected couples. For instance, although it wound up ultimately being sweet, the initial romantic pairing of Trunks and Mai was a little jarring considering Mai's age difference before being transformed into a child. Krillin and Android 18 shined in "Dragon Ball: Super," but we can't forget that she and her brother terrorized the heroes at one point in the series. Yet, as strange as those pairings might be, there's one "Dragon Ball" couple whose relationship has struck some fans as even weirder than the ones mentioned above.
Vegeta and Bulma being together is weird
In the Dragon Ball Manga Chapter 141 (via Viz), Trunks meets with Goku and drops some huge bombshells about a doomed future with killer robots. But the most staggering revelation is that he's the son of Bulma and Vegeta. The future does indeed become the present, as Vegeta and Bulma hook up and have Trunks, but their union still puzzles some fans on the "Dragon Ball" Reddit. The initial post on the subject brings up a solid point: As Vegeta tried to murder much of the cast earlier and has too much of an ego, that should dampen any type of romance, right?
As some fans pointed out on the post, in the aforementioned manga chapter, Trunks gave a brief reason for how the two got together in the first place. Yamcha's constant cheating puts an end to his relationship with Bulma. And when Bulma sees Vegeta all alone, it just sort of happens. Two characters that become romantically entangled because they're at their lowest is a common trope in media, so it makes sense. Still, as one fan noted, we never officially saw the beginning sparks of their relationship. "... But it would be nice to see in some flashback in 'Super' how that relationship started," u/ERu39 posted. "A lot of people are legitimately curious about that."
Saiyans are attracted to strong-willed partners
If "Dragon Ball Super" should be recognized for anything besides expanding the story of Goku and his comrades, it's that the series gives these neat little nuggets of insight into its cast that explains so much. In Episode 31 (via Crunchyroll), we get a brilliant example that also puts Vegeta's initial attraction toward Bulma into the spotlight. In one scene, he explains to Goku that Saiyans are hard-wired to be attracted to strong-willed partners. We could feel the dots connecting after the scene played because Bulma is one of the most resolute characters in the series. She's never been afraid to argue back against Vegeta or stand up to him. Furthermore, her temper is sometimes as fearsome as his.
On the flip side, Bulma's attraction to a former enemy of the Z Warriors is a head-scratcher until fans started thinking about her ex, Yamcha. "Bulma isn't exactly the best when it comes to relationships," u/TheTrueDeathSkeleton posted. "Yamcha, for example, was a bandit and more or less Goku's first rival, yet also Bulma's on again off again boyfriend until the Android Saga." Perhaps deep down, Bulma always liked the challenge of dealing with a bad boy. Also, being rich and a genius probably raises one's standards fairly high. In any case, despite the confusing nature of their courtship, they've definitely developed into the series' most exciting couple.