Created by Akira Toriyama, she first appears in Chapter 421 of the Dragon Ball manga originally published in Issue 23 of Weekly Shōnen Jump on May 11, 1993.

When Gohan appears as a costumed vigilante known as the Great Saiyaman, she quickly figures out his identity, and blackmails him into teaching her new techniques using her ki.

After the main antagonist of the story arc Majin Buu is defeated, the two establish a settled lifestyle and later have a daughter named Pan.

[5] Unlike her father, who is depicted as a showboating yet cowardly comic relief character, Videl is characterized with more heroic traits and displays an admirable fighting potential.

Videl later enters the 25th Tenka'ichi Budokai martial arts tournament, but is brutally beaten to near-death by a magically empowered man named Spopovitch in a slanted match, enraging Gohan and sparking a chain of events which leads to the revival of the ancient primordial creature Majin Buu.

A noteworthy subplot in the anime version of Super involves Videl being coveted by famed actor Barry Kahn, who is corrupted by an alien organism and later defeated by Gohan who revives his Great Saiyaman gimmick.

[11] She appears in post-launch downloadable content DLC for 2018's Dragon Ball FighterZ, initially as a match commentator in March 2018,[12] and later as a playable character in 2019.

Videl's unique gameplay mechanics reflect her portrayal in the original source material as a skilled human martial artist who is underpowered compared to other recurring series characters, but nevertheless is bolstered by her partnership with Gohan.

[6][13] Videl is the only character in FighterZ with an alternate appearance: players may toggle between her default short haired look and her original twin pigtail hairstyle.

Antonio Sánchez-Migallón from HobbyConsolas lamented that Videl went from a strong heroic character who is determined to defend her city as a vigilante to emulating her mother-in-law as a domesticated housewife whose only function is to look after Pan and her home.

[5] Conversely, Valdez praised Videl's characterization as a supportive wife to Gohan and dedicated mother to Pan during the Barry Kahn subplot in Super.

[21] In response to a Valencian television network's decision to ban the airing of Dragon Ball due to allegations of its sexist content, Maigo Gomez from GeeksTerra argued that Videl is one of several examples of a strong female character with agency in the series, as opposed to a damsel in distress who is in need of rescuing.

[22] Ian Walker from Kotaku reported that multiple professional esports competitors praised Videl's playable appearance in Dragon Ball FighterZ for her “fast, tricky” style as well as her strong "mix ups", which refers to a combination of different attacks that require the opposing player to employ specific defenses to guard against.