The Impact of Bulma: Unveiling Dragon Ball's Ultimate Heroine

Highlights

Bulma is the most important character in the Dragon Ball franchise, as she sets the entire journey into motion by seeking the Dragon Balls.

Bulma's intelligence and scientific expertise play a crucial role in the plot, as she invents the Dragon Radar and other critical technologies. The series heavily relies on her contributions, without which significant events like the revival of Piccolo and the ability to time travel would not have occurred. Undoubtedly, Bulma serves as the backbone of the Dragon Ball narrative.

Bulma Briefs, a seemingly overlooked character in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise, holds immense importance and influence. Despite not being a fighter, she plays a crucial role in shaping the events of the entire story, spanning from the original Dragon Ball to Super and possibly beyond. Without Bulma, the fundamental premise of Dragon Ball would be nearly unattainable for the majority, if not all, of the characters. With her scientific expertise and fearlessness in challenging the laws of the world and universe, Bulma Briefs emerges as the franchise's paramount character, potentially surpassing even Goku in significance.

Call to Action

Goku initially leaves Mount Paozu in the original Dragon Ball because Bulma arrives there in search of the Four-Star Dragon Ball, which Goku had inherited from Grandpa Gohan. Bulma's initial reason for seeking the Dragon Balls was to find a boyfriend, but this seemingly insignificant purpose sets off a chain of events that continue to this day, almost four decades later.

Upon witnessing Goku's extraordinary strength, Bulma realizes she needs a powerful bodyguard like him, especially as she collects more Dragon Balls. Along his journey, Goku encounters characters such as Yamcha, an initially rebellious bandit who is ultimately defeated in part due to his difficulty in interacting with girls.

Amidst the undeniable fact that Bulma serves as the catalyst for the Dragon Ball adventure, her intelligence and scientific expertise hold a much greater significance.

The Dragon Radar

Bulma's family has passed down several things in her life, but the most significant is the Capsule Corporation, founded by her father. This company is crucial in the Dragon Ball series because of its development of DynoCaps technology. These capsules allow users to carry large objects in a compact form. This technology plays a vital role in Bulma's journey to Paozu, as she utilizes it to transport various items such as vehicles and homes. Without the capsule technology and the abundant resources it provides, Bulma would not have been able to survive her journey to Goku's house on Mount Paozu and beyond.

However, Bulma's contributions are pivotal to the Dragon Ball storyline, and her most significant achievement is the invention of the Dragon Radar. This device enables users to locate the exact whereabouts of the Dragon Balls. Remarkably, Bulma created this technology when she was only 16 years old. By merging magic and science, she transformed the seemingly impossible task of finding seven mystical orbs scattered across the Earth into a simple endeavor. Although it is unknown how she discovered the legend, Bulma's insatiable curiosity and thirst for adventure are ultimately responsible for elevating the Dragon Balls from mere folklore to commonplace household decorations.

A Brief Overview

Additionally, Bulma's impact throughout the sagas goes beyond just the creation of the Dragon Radar. One notable example is her successful utilization of alien technology; she repaired Raditz's broken scouter and decrypted its language. Furthermore, Bulma and her father played a crucial role in the gang's journey to Planet Namek, as they were responsible for the space shuttle that transported them there. This mission aimed to use the Namekian Dragon Balls to revive Piccolo, who had sacrificed himself to protect Gohan from Nappa. Given that Piccolo's death meant the death of the Dragon Balls themselves, Bulma's ability to extract information about the Super Dragon Balls from the all-knowing Zuno in Dragon Ball Super is impressive. She subsequently created the Super Dragon Radar, a device capable of detecting these planet-sized orbs.

Moreover, during the Android Saga, Bulma displayed her analytical skills by repairing Android 16 before his ultimate destruction at the hands of Cell. She also developed remote controls that could have deactivated Androids 17 and 18 without the need for combat, suggesting that her technological prowess rivals that of Dr. Gero. However, it is in this saga that Bulma's intelligence truly shines, as she invents a time machine that allows Future Trunks to travel back in time. This achievement is unprecedented, considering even Whis, a literal angel, believed time-travel to be unattainable for mortals without the use of magic. In Dragon Ball GT, under the influence of Baby's mind control, Bulma invents a mechanism capable of generating Blutz waves, enabling her to transform even tailless Saiyans into Great Apes. It is this machine that also facilitates Vegeta's Super Saiyan 4 transformation.

Impact

The absence of Bulma would result in the nonexistence of the Dragon Radar, preventing her from discovering the Four-Star Dragon Ball and meeting Goku. Without meeting Goku, there is a high probability that he would never leave Mount Paozu. Even if Bulma somehow still encountered Goku, embarked on the quest to find the Dragon Balls, and succeeded, they would only have one chance to use them unless they found another Dragon Radar created by antagonists in the series.

Furthermore, the inevitable apocalyptic future caused by the Androids would remain unchanged without Future Bulma's significant time machine. Without it, Future Trunks would never travel back in time, Goku would succumb to his heart virus, and the grim future would be confirmed once more. The importance of this time machine is on par with that of the Dragon Radar. Without Bulma's involvement, the Dragon Ball narrative would not even commence, solidifying her position as the most crucial character in the series.

Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, & Dragon Ball Super are available to stream on Crunchyroll.