It’s easy to pinpoint Son Goku as the central plot-armor-bearing protagonist and poster-child of the Dragon Ball franchise, but that has never stopped creator Akira Toriyama and others from putting the spotlight on other characters. The series may have let much of the Dragon Team roster fall by the wayside even around the early arcs of Dragon Ball Z, but other mainstays like former villains Piccolo and Vegeta have continuously found great moments to shine, with Son Gohan even momentarily stealing the show entirely. But one character who became a joke for decades in his first shot at glory was Earth’s very own Yamcha.

Introduced as a fierce bandit and practitioner of the Wolf Fang Fist, Yamcha’s primary weakness turned out to be his inability to speak to women, being instantly bewitched at the sight of Bulma. Yamcha was never a completely serious character, but he was still among the mightiest Earthling heroes alive even by Dragon Ball Z, only to discover his even greater weakness: the exploding Saibaman he defeated mere moments before. But, 38 years after Yamcha’s greatest humiliation hit the pages with Dragon Ball chapter #215, the next Dragon Ball anime will put this joke to rest once and for all with the expected release of Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol.

Dragon Ball Super’s New Anime Will Pull Yamcha Out Of The Crater And Into The Spotlight

While nobody should reasonably expect Yamcha to suddenly become one of the strongest fighters of the Dragon Ball Super era, it may have been easy to lose sight of the fact that he’s canonically one of the three strongest Earthlings. Not factoring in half-Saiyans like Gohan, Goten, or Trunks, Yamcha’s mightiest human competitors are still Krillin and Tien. This is confirmed in glorious fashion with Dragon Ball Super chapter #56 where, alongside the rest of the Dragon Team including newer additions like Androids 17 and 18, Jaco recruits Yamcha to help repel the outlaw onslaught unleashed by Moro.

To even the shock of the extraterrestrial attackers, Yamcha makes short work of three of them simultaneously. He adds by reminding them that he’s indeed one of Earth’s mightiest fighters, not factoring for other Dragon Team members like Chiaotzu and Roshi out of the equation. He leaves his opponents in a defeated heap to be arrested by the Galactic Patrol, without making the same old mistake of waiting around for one to latch on and take him out with them. Yamcha continues to survive in subsequent chapters, joining fellow teammates like Tien and Chiaotzu to face tougher opponents while waiting for backup. It’s small, but a nice touch.

It’s almost a little sad that Yamcha fans may settle for something as simple as him not being killed off or thrown around too easily by the latest arc’s villain. Being able to confidently assert that he and the other Dragon Team members can handle Moro’s goons puts Goku’s mind at ease, and it’s Yamcha himself who guides him to those who actually need him the most. Dragon Ball Super’s powerscaling obviously leaves no room for Yamcha to ever shine like he once did in the early Dragon Ball days, but he’s still a nightmare for lower-level thugs in the universe, and a good ally to Goku and others, illustrating a strong point of the series.

Supporting Characters Like Yamcha Have Improved Presence In Dragon Ball Super

Considering the incredible moment where Roshi, of all characters, successfully demonstrates to Goku the blueprint to attaining Ultra Instinct, Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power was just one particular instance where supporting characters get to shine. While most arcs continue to fall to Goku, Vegeta gains fantastic presence, even more so than in the later arcs of Dragon Ball Z, with even Piccolo remarking on his immense growth as a person. Speaking of Piccolo, even everyone’s favorite Namekian gets a much-needed transformation to go alongside other new forms like Gohan Beast and Ultra Ego Vegeta.

Yamcha’s moments aren’t about awakening raw power or their true potential, but simply by existing to help due to the main heroes being unable to exist in two places at once, no matter how much Vegeta may have trained his one-use Instant Transmission. It inevitably means that the animated Galactic Patrol Prisoner saga will have plenty of smaller moments where the combat is slightly more grounded, yet equally satisfying. But there’s something to be said about old Z-Fighters no longer being turned to fodder, only to be resurrected to die again later. Dragon Ball Super’s big anime return is certainly thrilling for bringing the story forward, but it’s also a great moment for its supporting characters.