Yamcha (Japanese: ヤムチャ, Hepburn: Yamucha) is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama.

When Toriyama decided to create Dragon Ball, he used Chinese author Wu Cheng'en's Journey to the West as a prototype for his own series.

[7] In the Japanese version, Yamcha is voiced by Tōru Furuya in all media until he was replaced by Ryōta Suzuki for Dragon Ball Daima in 2024.

[16] Yamcha enters the series ambushing Goku, Bulma, and Oolong as they are traveling through his territory and attempts to rob them of their money and hoi poi capsules.

[17] He also becomes a student under the Turtle Hermit, known as Master Roshi in the English anime, and loses a long-held fear of women through his relationship with Bulma.

[18] Yamcha also enters the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd Tenkaichi Budōkai along with Goku, but loses in the first round of each tournament, to "Jackie Chun", Tien Shinhan, and Shen (Kami) respectively.

[25] By the time of the 25th Tenkaichi Budōkai, Yamcha has given up fighting and goes with the others to be a spectator and also meet Goku, who is given a single day to return from death.

During Goku and Vegeta's battle against Buu, Yamcha and Krillin try to fend off the Majin who's rampaging the Grand Kai's Planet; before he is brought back to life by the Namekian Dragon Balls, and he and the others on Earth give their energy to Goku's Genki-Dama, which he uses to destroy Majin Buu and restore peace to the universe.

[27] Yamcha returns in Dragon Ball Super where he and Puar attend Bulma's birthday party along with the other characters, while there he meets Beerus the God of Destruction and later witnessed Goku's fight against the deity.

Yamcha later appears and collectively lends his energy to Vegeta (whom reverse engineers his newfound technique) in order for Goku to re-awaken Mastered Ultra Instinct.

Yamcha also appears in an unofficial Chinese live-action remake of the first Dragon Ball feature film, played by Cheng Tung-Chuen.

He joins Monkey Boy, Sparkle, Turtle Man and Seeto in the quest to destroy King Horn and his powerful warriors.

[30] He was played by Korean pop singer Joon Park[31] in the film Dragonball Evolution, for which James Kyson Lee also auditioned.

[38] Despite this, he has been used as a joke that appears in internet memes, T-shirts and action figures,[39][40] especially regarding his initial death which has been described as "iconic" and is subject to many parodies and homages.

", in which Yamcha, during a baseball game between Universe 7 and 6, steals home base during a confrontation between God of Destruction Beerus and his brother, Champa.

In the ensuing fight between the two Destroyers, Yamcha ends up wounded, laying face down in a crater in the same pose with his hand on home base.

[45] Rebecca Bundy of Anime News Network takes note of resemblance of scars between Yamcha and Kenshin Himura, but also observes that their meaning is quite different.