Bulma
The genius scientist who built the time machine and fuels the might of Earth's defenders.
Bulma is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball franchise, first appearing in the original manga series created by Akira Toriyama. She is Goku's first friend and the eventual wife of Vegeta and mother of Trunks and Bulla. She made her appearance in the first chapter "Bulma and Son Goku", published in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on 19 June 1984, issue 51, meeting Goku and befriending him and traveling together to find the wish-granting Dragon Balls.
Bulma is the daughter of Dr. Brief, the founder of Capsule Corporation, a company that creates special small capsules that shrink and hold objects of various sizes for easy storage. Being the daughter of a brilliant scientist, Bulma is also a scientific genius, as well as an inventor and engineer. Along with creating the Dragon Radar, a device that detects the energy signal emitted by a Dragon Ball, Bulma's role as an inventor becomes important at several points in the series; including the time machine that brings her future son Trunks to the past.
Quick Facts
- Franchise
- Dragon Ball
- Creator
- Akira Toriyama
- First
- Dragon Ball chapter #1 "Bulma and Son Goku", 19 June 1984 (Weekly Shōnen Jump 1984 #51)
- Portrayed by
- Emmy Rossum (Dragonball Evolution); Other:, Lee Joo-hee (Fight Son Goku, Win Son Goku); Jeannie Hsieh (The Magic Begins)
- Family
- Dr. Brief (father); Panchy (mother), Tights (older sister)
- Spouse
- Vegeta
- Children
- Trunks; Bulla
- Relatives
- King Vegeta (father-in-law, deceased)
- Tarble (brother-in-law)
- Tights (sister)
- Vegeta Jr. (descendant; Dragon Ball GT)
Lore & Background
In Dragon Ball Super, before Bulla's birth, during the events of Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods and the first half of the first season of Dragon Ball Super, Bulma hosts a party with the prize being the Dragon Balls and unknowingly provoked the Destroyer God Beerus into nearly destroying Earth when she slapped him for ruining the event. She would soon learn of the resurrected Frieza's advance on Earth from her old friend Jaco during the second half of the first season and Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F', narrowly escaping when Frieza destroys Earth thanks to Whis rewinding the event so he can quickly be killed. After Frieza's defeat, she creates the Super Dragon Radar to find the Super Dragon Balls in Universe 7 first to prevent Beerus from using them to wish for something.
Reader's Guide
Bulma is the heart and mind of Earth's defense network. Her defining moments include creating the Dragon Radar, which jumpstarted the entire series, and building the Time Machine that saved the future from Cell's tyranny. In Dragon Ball Super, she demonstrates her loyalty by repairing Goku's armor and managing the logistics of the Tournament of Power. Bulma is a scientific genius, inventor and engineer whose creations include the Dragon Radar and the time machine.
Did You Know?
- Bulma's name 'Buruma' is the Japanese pronunciation of 'bloomer', a type of gym shorts worn by Japanese girls at school.
- Bulma was voiced by Hiromi Tsuru in all Japanese media until her death in November 2017; Aya Hisakawa took over in February 2018.
- In the manga version, Bulma's hair color is violet, while in the anime it is turquoise.
- Bulma's mother is never named in the original series, but Toriyama suggested 'Panchy' as a pun on panties; the video game Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot revealed her name as Bikini.
More in Characters & Transformations
Elsewhere in Dragon Ball Super
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