|
|
Commonly Used Name:
Bulma (Burumā / ブルマ)
Full Name:
Bulma Brief (Brief Bulma / ブリーフ ブルマ)
Alternate Names:
Bloomer / Buluma
First Introduced in Anime:
Dragon Ball
Parents:
Dr. Brief and Mrs. Brief
Spouse/Significant Other:
Vegeta (Vegita)
Children:
Trunks, Bra (Bulla, Bura)
*Height:
165 cm / 5'5 feet
*Weight:
49 kg / 108 lbs
*Hobbies:
Inventing
*Favorite Food:
Strawberries
*Favorite Vehicle:
All vehicles
**Bust Size:
34-C
Anime Appearances:
Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT
Dragon Ball Movie Appearances:
"The Path to Power", "Mystical Adventure", "Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle", and "Curse of the Blood Rubies"
Dragon Ball Z Movies Appearances:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, and 13
Appearances in Specials:
"Yo! The Return of Son-Goku and Friends!!", "The History of Trunks", "Goku's Traffic Safety", and "Goku's Fire Brigade"
Appears in manga?:
Yes
*From the "Super Exciting Guide - Character Volume"
**From manga volume 1, chapter 5 (anime episode 4)
NOTE: Because of the amount of Dragon Ball material in existance, and because Bulma is a major character, documenting is still taking place with regards to certain information, so what you see here may be incomplete. If you think you have some information that belongs here, or you see an error, contact me using the link in the menu.
Goku was the main character in Dragon Ball, that much was certain. However, next in line would have been Bulma. She was introduced at the beginning of the manga and anime at the age of 16, where she accidentally ran over Goku with her car. That incident sparked the beginning of their hunt for the Dragon Balls. Along the way, they met many other characters such as Master Roshi (Muten Roshi/Kamesenin) - the lecherous "Turtle Hermit" - , Yamucha, the Ox King, ChiChi, Oolong, and many others.
Bulma's role for most of Dragon Ball was as a female side kick/big sister type to Goku, and her only usefulness was her inventions such as the Dragon Radar. Bulma had a primary role throughout Dragon Ball as a sex-symbol and fan service oriented character with a temperamental attitude. The focus was mainly a mix of comic relief and perversion in many scenes, especially early scenes involving Roshi. As Dragon Ball neared its end, she became less and less important, and was relegated to the sidelines to cheer Goku on in his many fights in both the World Martial Arts Tournament and in battle.
When Dragon Ball Z began, she was still relegated to "watching" most of the various plots unfold. However, as the Namek/Frieza arch began, she had a resurrection of sorts as the technical conduit by which the characters could get to planet Namek. However, as soon as battles started being fought on Namek, she began to get less and less focus being a non-fighter, and besides a humorous side plot involving Ginyu as a frog, and body swaps, she slowly faded into the background again as Dragon Ball Z's focus became predominantly intense combat.
Her only purposes in the Cell arch were being the mother of Trunks, having some information on Dr. Gero, and repairing and examining Android 16, the latter of which turned out to be a huge mistake, as she removed 16's bomb that he had intended to use against Cell.
The Majin Buu arch of Dragon Ball Z allowed her some respite as she was responsible for creating the Saiyaman costume, but other than that, her purpose was as a sideline character who mourned those who died, and eventually died herself at the hands of Majin Buu when he turned her, Videl, Android 18, and others into chocolate and ate them after escaping from the time chamber. She was later resurrected by Namek's set of Dragon Balls, along with everyone else.
Bulma's personality throughout the entire series remained very consistent; never changing much at all. She was portrayed as "strong willed", as most other Dragon Ball women were. However, she was often very reactionary and a bit eccentric at times, taking her anger and frustration out on people like Goku, Krillin, Yamucha, and even Oolong in early Dragon Ball. As her character became less important to the outcomes of the series, this happened less and less, but it never went too long without Bulma chiming in with something. Bulma's motherly role developed more as the Buu arch took place, although the dynamic was there from the Cell arch onward. Bulma was not portrayed as obsessively as ChiChi when it came to her children, although it was obvious she cared about them and kept them pretty much in line.
During Dragon Ball GT, she had two important roles to fill. She was again responsible for getting others into space, but she was also responsible for the brute wave antenna that was used to allow Baby/Bebi Vegeta and normal Vegeta to transform into a level 4 Super Saiyan (SSJ4). However, as Dragon Ball GT neared its end, all she could do was watch from the sidelines as Goku became victorious once again.