A Dragon Ball Z filler episode explained the romance between one of Dragon Ball’s most unlikeliest couple that the manga left completely unanswered.

Like most shonen, Dragon Ball has difficulty portraying romance and sometimes skips the most important parts entirely. Although Goku and Chi-Chi are an odd couple, the one that absolutely makes no sense is Vegeta and Bulma’s relationship. In the manga it feels like it comes out of nowhere. One filler episode in the Dragon Ball Z anime though goes to great lengths to show Bulma falling for Vegeta while capturing their chemistry, to the point where they had to get together, even though Future Trunks had already foretold it.

In episode 124, the Z Fighters are in the throes of their intense three-year training to prepare for the Androids invasion as forewarned by Trunks. The most fervent trainer is understandably Vegeta as he hopes to achieve Super Saiyan like Goku and Future Trunks, to the point where Bulma begins to worry and even fear for his wellbeing. After Bulma’s mother mentions how Vegeta possesses characteristics that in her day would have made him husband material, Bulma cradles Vegeta after finding him buried in the wreckage of a ship he destroyed while training. She later falls asleep in the same room as him while he’s sleeping. And, finally, she interrupts Vegeta once he returns to training by trying to get him to rest.

Vegeta & Bulma’s Romance Makes Much More Sense in the Anime

Bulma’s compassion for Vegeta is clear in these scenes, and it’s quite touching. Although it might appear as a stretch that Bulma’s mother put the idea in her daughter’s head that Vegeta is an eligible bachelor, it’s more than just pure coincidence that at that exact moment, the explosion that leads to Bulma cradling him in her arms erupts nearby. Except for the sleeping scene, Bulma clearly expresses an understanding of Vegeta’s needs while also teasing him. Although it’s impossible to know what Vegeta is thinking, the extra support could be reassuring for Vegeta who is truly alone by this point, and her persistence could be attractive to him, as Saiyans are known to be quite persistent, especially Vegeta.

Moreover, since this support comes from Bulma, it’s not overly sensitive, which could be a turn-off for a warrior like Vegeta. Bulma’s lack of sensitivity is apparent when she later interrupts his training after the explosion, allowing her fierceness to come on full display. While she later masks her true feelings when she smugly wonders if he’ll finally apologize for destroying the side of her house during the same confrontation, she is uncharacteristically hurt when Vegeta tells her to leave him alone. Regardless, the chemistry is clear throughout.

Vegeta & Bulma’s Relationship is More Complex Than it Appears

Although this episode presents enough for fans to grasp what Vegeta and Bulma see in each other, the anime explores their dynamic further than the manga does at the very end of the Frieza arc. In chapter #329 of the original Dragon Ball manga by Akira Toriyama, Bulma invites Vegeta to temporarily live at Capsule Corp with the Namekians as they find a new planet, but warns him to not get naughty even though she is hard to resist. Although Vegeta’s reaction is hilarious, the anime went above and beyond in episode 107 when Bulma instead tells Vegeta that he’s kind of cute.

Although a more effective and direct use of foreshadowing, the anime did add some exclusive scenes during the Frieza saga that ironically make Bulma’s love for Vegeta more surprising. In the manga, Vegeta is of course a jerk after getting transported from Namek to Earth in the anime. But in the anime, he laughs, rejoices at Goku’s death, and even beats up Gohan. He would have killed Gohan too if Piccolo hadn’t interjected. So even though the anime’s filler episode during the Androids saga helped justify Vegeta and Bulma’s relationship, it somehow even made it more unlikely by exposing Bulma to a darker side of her future beau. But that’s love. It’s complicated. And that’s how Dragon Ball‘s anime finally presented Vegeta and Bulma’s relationship.

Source: Screenrant.com