Beneath the big golden hair, rippling muscles, and alien despots, there is an undeniable heart to the Dragon Ball franchise. If it was just about the big ki blasts and a flurry of punches and kicks, there would be tons of other anime franchises that could take the crown from DB. The relationships between the characters are the thing that really keeps us coming back for more and one of the most interesting relationships (romantic or otherwise) comes in the form of Vegeta and Bulma Briefs.

If we go by the first interaction between the two, you would have never thought that these two would end up as one of the most beloved couples in the franchise. Bulma is a headstrong and pushy woman whose love lies in science and not in martial arts. Vegeta, on the other hand, was a proud warrior who cared not for others' lives and only wanted to get strong. But as time went on the two formed a bond and came to love one another as husband and wife.

So while the couple has grown to be quite endearing to watch, if you start digging a little bit deeper, it's easy to come to the conclusion that this relationship is the darkest one in the franchise. At the time they got together, these people should have stayed far away from each other as possible. Well, that's where I'm going to dive in with some facts about their relationship.

20 Happy: It Oddly Makes Sense

Now to be clear, I'm not talking about this relationship when it first happened. But as time went on, it's clear that there really isn't any other mates that make more sense for these two than their significant other. Let's start with the Prince of All Saiyans first.

Vegeta spent most of his life training as a fighter or serving in Frieza's army, so he wasn't going to have much time to explore the dating world. After all, I don't think there's space Tinder. But thanks to an explanation from Vegeta in episode 31 of Dragon Ball Super, we get the reason why he's attracted to Bulma so much: "To be honest, I like her feistiness. (Speaking to Goku) We're wired that way, didn't you know? Saiyans only like strong women." Not many could put up with Bulma's temper, but Vegeta loves it.

On Bulma's end, the relationship undoubtedly started out as one of pure physical attraction that resulted in her being pregnant. But at the end of the Cell saga, Vegeta decided to settle down with her and raise Trunks. In this time, Vegeta mellowed out significantly and showed off his more sensitive and emotional side, something only Bulma has ever really seen. Also, Bulma is a little shallow and likes strong muscly men.

19 Bad: Vegeta Never Loved Bulma In Future Trunks' World

Future Trunks' timeline is a messed up world. As we all know, the defining feature of this world is that Goku lost his life for good before Androids 17 and 18 emerged from their pods to unleash their cyborg wrath on the world. Even when that threat was defeated, Goku Black and Zamasu came and did so much damage that Zeno decided to erase the reality from existence. But you know what really is the worst part about this timeline? Bulma and Vegeta never got together!

In this timeline, we never see Vegeta dancing for Lord Beerus. That is the ultimate tragedy.

Oh sure, they did their thing which eventually resulted in the birth of Trunks, but aside from that, nothing happened. Just as he did in the regular timeline, Vegeta went off into space after having his time with Bulma to train and become a Super Saiyan. Two years after Mecha Frieza is defeated, Future Goku succumbs to the heart virus leaving Vegeta crushed as he never gets the chance to defeat his rival in battle. Six months later, he meets his own demise after Android 17 blasts him out of this world with a Photon Flash. Future Trunks grows up without a father and never sees his father change into the decent man that our Trunks knows well.

18 Happy: They're The Most Powerful Couple In The Franchise

Power in the world of Dragon Ball is kind of an important thing. After all, power levels and power scaling are still something that a large swath of fans yammer on about to this day. And yes, if we go by pure physical power, then the strongest couple probably wouldn't be Vegeta and Bulma as Bulma has never shown an aptitude for martial arts. But I still believe that they would be able to wreck all other couples in the series in a fight.

Let's start with the obvious powerhouse of the two; Vegeta. While he may be slightly behind Goku in terms of power, he's still on relatively equal footing and would surely give Earth's mightiest defender the fight of his life, meaning that he is not to be trifled with. With his massive energy blasts, crushing strikes, and various transformations, Vegeta is one of the strongest in the universe.

Now onto Bulma. For what she lacks in physical strength, Bulma makes up for in her scientific knowledge. Given enough prep time, it's possible that Bulma would be able to whip some technological gadget that could incapacitate her foes, or at the very, least buff her husband to the point where he would be unstoppable. Even if you do slay Bulma, you do not want to deal with a ticked-off Vegeta. So good luck with that.

17 Bad: Vegeta Destroyed Her Boyfriend

News flash; when Vegeta first came to Earth, he was not the same man he is today. Instead of the endearing and loving jerk that he is now, he was more along the lines of a Genghis Kahn jerk. You know, the one where you don't invite to parties because he would leave your house in a state of burning abyss. But what does it say about Bulma that she ended up marrying the man who caused her one-time boyfriend to be destroyed in a meme for the ages?

As if it wasn't easy enough to dunk on Yamcha for his shortcomings.

Before Vegeta and his trusty underling, Nappa, decided that they were going to fight the Z-Fighters, they wanted to test our heroes with creatures that the Saiyans used to train; the Saibamen. Even though Yamcha won his fight against the green creature, he didn't count on the fact that these monsters are willing to off themselves and it exploded while latching itself onto Yamcha's chest. Now yes, while the ending blow didn't come from Vegeta's hand, it still came from a creature that he unleashed on Yamcha. At this time, Bulma was still in a relationship with that man. I wonder if Bulma and Vegeta laugh about this over a campfire ever.

16 Bad: They're Privileged Brats

In the real world (that would be the one where there are no alien monkeys with golden hair) the royal wedding just occurred not too long ago. While some people may enjoy those things, others detest them for the fact that it's basically an excuse for the rich and powerful to have others drool at their wealth. Well, if we extend that logic to Bulma and Vegeta, they would be annoying as heck in our world.

Yes, we understand that Bulma has worked hard for what she has as she is a scientific wiz but let's not forget that she was born into her wealth because of how successful her father was. Vegeta grew up as a prince so it's fair to say that he lived a life of luxury during the early years of his childhood. When he came to Earth, all he had to do was train as Bulma would pay for any expenses he would have. The ultimate demonstration of their privilege though has to be Bulma's 38th birthday party. Not only does the lavish celebration take place on a freaking cruise, but the prize of its bingo game is A SET OF WISH GRANTING ORBS. Face it, a lot of us would HATE Bulma and Vegeta if they were real.

15 Happy: Unified Parent Front

Any parents reading can likely back me up on this; it's important for parents to be on the same page when it comes to raising your kids. As easy as it might be to fall into the trap of telling your kids to listen to you and you only, it's best if you and your wife/husband make choices together. Now, Chi-Chi and Goku suffer from having widely different values and worldviews, which caused tension for their kids. Thankfully for Trunks and Bra, their ma and pa are on the same page.

If nothing else, their diaper wrapping skills are incredible.

While Trunks is spoiled in a way that is unavoidable with how rich Bulma is, it's not like he's had everything handed to him. Both parents know the value of hard work as Vegeta has trained to become one of the strongest fighters who ever lived and Bulma has been a scientist in the highly respected Capsule Corporation since she was young. While Trunks may have been a disrespectful brat in the Buu saga, I'd let that slide considering he was 7 years old and in Dragon Ball Super he has matured quite a bit. The fact that Trunks turned out this way with the parents he had says something to their parenting skills. Considering how much more acclimated Vegeta is to Earth now, I think Bra is in good hands.

14 Bad: She Had A Thing For A Maniac

Unlike western kids' shows, Japanese anime isn't afraid to have their heroes straight-up end the lives of villains and vice versa. Whereas superhero shows here might just send someone off to another dimension or leave their fates ambiguous, Dragon Ball doesn't hide behind any of that. While this is cool, it also highlights a pretty big problem with Bulma's attraction to Vegeta; she has issues, dude.

Fun fact; Bulma has a fangirl blog on the cuteness of Pol Pot, Stalin, and Napoleon.

Before Vegeta began to be a quasi-protector of Earth in the Cell saga, he was either a straight-up villain or an ally only because of circumstance. Before he ever arrives on Earth in the Saiyan saga, we're made aware of just how bad of a dude he is by being told that he and Nappa conquer entire planets. If that isn't enough, their very first act when arriving on our planet is destroying a city without regard for human life. In the Frieza saga, he brings the figurative scythe to a Namekian village in his search for the Dragon Balls.  But when he skulks on a tree Bulma tells him to lighten and calls him cute! Yes Bulma, the unrelenting freak is cute. Good lord, what is wrong with her head?

13 Happy: Was Willing To Fuse With Goku Forever

Think about the person who you would like to hit most in the face. Maybe it's your boss at work, maybe it's that person who owes you money or whoever. Now imagine if I told you that there's the only one way that you can save the world, and that was to share one body with that person you hate. It would be absolutely terrible, but that's exactly what Vegeta was willing to do in order to save the lives of his family.

How interesting would Dragon Ball Super be if these two had to stay fused?

In the final episodes of Dragon Ball Z, Super Buu has managed to absorb some of the strongest warriors on Earth including Goten, Trunks, and Gohan. Not even Goku would be able to take him down on his own so he makes the ultimate request to Vegeta; put his differences and his pride aside in order to fuse with him. The thought of Vegeta giving up his free will doesn't thrill him, but as soon as Goku makes it clear that if he doesn't do this he will never see Bulma or his son, Vegeta puts on the Potara earring. Even when Goku tells him that the fusion is permanent, the prince puts it on anyway.

12 Bad: Bulma Probably Chose The Wrong Guy

Shipping, for those unfamiliar with the term (or think that a large portion of the internet is obsessed with water vehicles), is when fans of a fiction debate about which characters belong together as a romantic couple.  You might remember the internet blowing up a while back about how Captain America and Winter Soldier should be together. The Dragon Ball fan community is no stranger to this and one of the most persistent shippings in the fandom are the first two characters we ever see; Bulma and Goku.

Goku would probably make the most if he were single, to be honest.

There is quite an argument to be made that Bulma should have pursued the man she knew since she was a teenager instead of the royal saiyan who would come later. There are two occasions in the series where Bulma ponders pursuing him. The first time being at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament and again on Namek where she thought that she picked the wrong man (she was with Yamcha at the time). The bond between Bulma and Goku has always been stronger than Goku and Chi-Chi so it makes a lot more sense for her to be attracted to Goku than Vegeta. Also, think of the humor of trying to get Goku acclimated to life in the city? Comedic opportunities waiting to happen.

11 Happy: Vegeta Refuses To Have Her Be Used

Superman and Goku are often compared to one another as the faces of both western and eastern comic books respectively. The truth is, though, that Goku is much less of a moral pillar than the Man of Steel is and that was proved when Vegeta rightfully scolded him in the Buu saga for suggesting something awful.

I know fans accuse Vegeta of having a big head, but this is ridiculous.

Despite the Earth being at risk, the Old Kai is not willing to allow Goku to use the Dragon Balls in order to bring back all the lives of those lost due to Majjin Buu. Goku, however, has an idea! Knowing that all old men in the world of Dragon Ball seem to be creepy, he tells Old Kai that if he lets this slide, he will give him pictures of a human woman. Sensing something is up, Vegeta probes him about which one he's talking about and Goku confesses that he means Bulma. Vegeta refuses to let this happen defending the honor of his wife. Bulma probably would have 'rewarded' him greatly if she found out about this. Goku, on the other hand, would need Zeno to save his behind from the whooping Bulma would give him.

10 Bad: Bulma's First Impression Of Him Was Weird

Despite coming to Earth in the Saiyan Saga, Vegeta did not actually interact with Bulma or many of the other supporting characters. In the case of the blue haired wonder, her first visual of the prince was him blowing through Zarbon in his monster form. While technically Vegeta protected her (really he was just protecting the Dragon Ball) she is quite horrified by his blood lust and rage. That would serve as the basis for the nightmare she has of the prince later on in the saga.

The voice acting from Chris Sabat and Tiffany Vollmer in the Funimation dub is on point in this scene.

While Bulma is trying to keep some sleep in a cave on Namek, she dreams that a red-eyed even more sinister looking Vegeta has tracked her down and wants the Dragon Ball. More than that, however, he wants her in the ground six feet under. Ignoring her pleas for mercy, "Nightmare Vegeta" charges an energy blast that would have incinerated her but Bulma wakes up just in time. I don't know what's darker, the fact that I can see Vegeta at this point of his life totally doing this or the fact that Bulma proceeds to call him cute near the end of the saga. Maybe these two messed up people truly deserve each other.

9 Happy: He Sacrifices His Life For Bulma

The Buu Saga isn't the most classic of arcs for many Dragon Ball fans but for Vegeta fans, it might be the Prince's finest hour. Although it definitely doesn't start out that way. Early in the saga, Vegeta realizes just how far away he is from the resurrected Goku on a power level and decides drastic needs for vindicated pride call for drastic measures.

If Vegeta hadn't knocked out Goku, would they have been able to beat Majjin Buu together?

Vegeta enters a Faustian bargain with the evil wizard Babidi and is granted a massive power increase at the cost of his soul. With this new power, he is able to take on Goku in combat (Goku could have gone Super Saiyan 3 the entire time, but we'll just ignore that) but Goku eventually smacks some sense into this dense Prince and tells him their fighting is going to unleash the greatest evil the galaxy has ever seen. Once he gets the truth knocked into him, Vegeta decides that he will be the one to save the planet from Majin Buu but all his attacks are useless. Seeing only one option, he decides to destroy himself in a self-destruction attack and I'll let his own words end this; "Trunks, Bulma I do this for you."

8 Bad: Goku's Sacrifice Is The Only Reason They're Together

The idea of Vegeta settling down with a human woman would seem preposterous to him before the Buu Saga. And you know what, despite the events of the Cell Saga, I still don't think that Vegeta would have actually become a loving husband and father to Bulma and Trunks if it wasn't for one person; Goku.

If Goku was alive, he'd definitely be Vegeta's best man at the wedding.

Let's think about this for a second. After the defeat of Frieza, Vegeta's goal in life is to surpass his rival in terms of power. But once Goku blows himself up on King Kai's planet along with Cell, Vegeta is crushed as now he won't get the chance to test himself anymore. Finding himself with no purpose in life, he vows to never fight again. This opens the door to Vegeta settling down with Bulma and becoming the character we all love nowadays. There's absolutely no chance that it would have happened if Goku never did his sacrifice or if he allowed himself to be revived. Though it would pain Vegeta to say it, Kakarot is the true reason why his eyes were opened up to the joy that is Bulma.

7 Happy: Demonstrates Independence In Relationships

We all have that friend, you know the one I'm talking about. The friend who gets a girlfriend and instead of the relationship being between two people with distinct personalities, they end up becoming attached at the hip and they can't do anything without the other. Sure you can understand that they love each other, but it's also important that you have lives outside of them. Vegeta and Bulma show this brilliantly with their marriage.

In terms of their hobbies and interests, Vegeta and Bulma couldn't be any different. If it was up to Bulma, a great day would be tinkering around in her science lab or shopping at the mall. Vegeta, on the other hand, would rather be eating and training until the end of time. One doesn't try and change the other, instead they accept the fact that they have different interests and are likely not going to cross over. Instead, they enjoy each other's company and love each other for who they are. Would it be hilarious to try and see Bulma training as a fighter and Vegeta trying to figure out chemistry? Yes, but as it stands I think it works out fine for both of them.

6 Bad: Vegeta Left A Pregnant Bulma Behind

Well, you all saw this one coming. For whatever reason, Bulma decided that she would like to have a day with the smelly alien warlord that has the manners of one to match. Without thinking, she ends up pregnant by Vegeta and nine months later, poof, Trunks is born.

Skipping town when faced with a baby? Vegeta is more human than we thought.

At this point of his life, Vegeta has no idea of responsibility or honor. His only goal is to reach the level of Super Saiyan and he will be darned if a paltry child will get in the way of his dream. He takes off into space to train and does attain the level of Super Saiyan, coming back to Earth to show off his power by blowing up Android 19 with his Big Bang Attack. If that wasn't bad enough, he ignores Baby Trunks throughout the entire arc and only acknowledges Future Trunks because he's powerful and is their tour guide to taking on the Androids. Vegeta would eventually go on to become a great father, but his early days of being one aren't something that this pride-filled warrior should look back on.

5 Bad: Shows That Bulma Has Strange Taste

In the original Dragon Ball series, Bulma was on a quest for the Dragon Balls as she hit Goku with her car. Later on, we find out that her original two wishes on the wish-granting orbs were the most stereotypical things a teenage girl would want. The first being a lifetime supply of strawberries and the second was to have the perfect boyfriend. Well, given her dating record, she might have been on to something with that wish as her taste in men isn't exactly strong.

Before she shacked up with Vegeta, Bulma dated Yamcha. Just as a refresher, the first thing that Yamcha did when he met Bulma and Goku was try and rob them blind. Yamcha was just a dirty crusty desert bandit but Bulma thought he was cute anyway. By the time of the Cell saga, she breaks up with him because she suspects that he's cheating on her (which is never confirmed). Her next boyfriend? Vegeta, the guy who made Yamcha look like a Nobel Prize winner by comparison. Unlike other women in this franchise, it's clear that Bulma loves her some bad boys but there's some point where you have to wonder what the heck is wrong with this woman.

4 Bad: Their Relationship Is A Plot Device

By his own admission, Akira Toriyama doesn't like writing romantic plots and isn't very good at them. This explains why the majority of female characters on the show have the same basic archetype: strong domineering women who eventually settle down and have babies. While their relationship eventually developed into something more, their initial one night stand was absolutely phoned into the story so that one specific character can be born; Trunks.

If we're being honest, most of the relationships in this franchise also serve this purpose.

Think about it. In order for the Future Trunks origin to work as it did, they needed to have a character who fit a checklist of demands. First, they needed a character who was a Saiyan. Well since all the Saiyans except for Vegeta and Goku were extinct, they needed a child of Vegeta or Goku to be made. Another child of Goku would have seemed boring *cough Goten cough* so what's the most shocking thing? Pairing up Vegeta and Bulma! That Saiyan also needs to time travel, so who better than the science-oriented woman to make a time machine for her son! The more you line up the pieces, the more it makes sense that Bulma and Vegeta are a couple just for Trunks to exist.

3 Bad: They Don't Speak Much To Their Siblings

A big cliche in fiction is the trope of the long-lost sibling. You know, when a brother or sister of a character shows up that we never heard about before? Well, the Dragon Ball franchise is no stranger to this trope as it has been used multiple times. Sometimes it ends up being amazing. Think of Raditz' arrival on Earth revealing that Goku is actually an alien, that was brilliant. Other times though, it just doesn't make much sense. To that end, I'm talking about Tarble and Tights, the long-lost siblings of Vegeta and Bulma respectively.

These characters are the most disposable in franchise history.

Just a quick explanation for both of them; Tarble is the younger brother of Vegeta who was banished by their father because he was too weak. Tights, on the other hand, is the older sister of Bulma who prefers to write instead of studying science. She has a significant role in another Akira Toriyama story Jaco The Galactic Patrolman (yes the same guy from Dragon Ball Super) and makes some little appearances in DBS. The fact that these two got married, raised a child, and went through all the adventures they did, without even bringing up their siblings, shows that they're kind of jerks.

2 Happy: Dragon Ball Super Was Kind To Them

Dragon Ball Super wrapped up recently and at the end of the day, it was a mixed bag. While there were some plots that made us scratch our heads and some characters who lost some of their development that they underwent in DBZ, the highs ultimately outweighed the lows. For myself and many fans, the high point of this entire show was the moments between Trunks, Vegeta, and Bulma.

For such a feisty woman, Bulma has a ton of patience to put up with Vegeta's foul moods.

In Dragon Ball Z, the family dynamic between these three is largely non-existent. But by this point, the series decided to dive into it face first and it was brilliant. Right from the second episode, we see Vegeta going on vacation with Bulma and Trunks for the first time. Later on, we get moments like Vegeta unleashing his wrath on Beerus after he slapped Bulma, Bulma cheering Vegeta on at baseball, and when Vegeta put on an apron to cook food at his wife's birthday. Moments like these show just how far they have all come. This family might not have been given a proper shot in Dragon Ball Z, but thankfully, Dragon Ball Super has gone all-in on the potential goodness of this family.

1 Bad: They Kept Vegeta's Past A Secret

Sometimes parents have to lie to their kids. Most of the time the lies are harmless like telling your kid that Santa Clause comes around once a year and delivers you a gift if you were a good boy or the Tooth Fairy gives you a dollar if you put your tooth under your pillow. But lying to your kid becomes a little bit more questionable when you have to lie to your son about your past life.

I suppose this isn't lying but just not saying the truth, but my point stands.

As we all know, Vegeta did a lot of terrible things throughout out his life. From wiping out entire civilizations to living in servitude to his master Frieza, Vegeta was a bad man even when he wasn't wearing that pink shirt. Now I can understand not telling Trunks about his father's past when he's a younger kid but by DBS he's a teenager and we've gotten no indication that he's ever learned about Vegeta's past aside from knowing he was a prince. I think it's better for Trunks to hear it from his parents than from a second-hand source, no? At the least, this is a missed narrative opportunity. At worst, it's Bulma and Vegeta painting a false narrative to their child.