Dragon Ball: That Time I Got Reincarnated as Yamcha!

by Akira Toriyama, Akira Toriyama (Creator)

One Dragon Ball fan's dream of being reincarnated in the Dragon Ball world turns into a nightmare when he's actually reborn as everyone's favorite punching bag.

A Dragon Ball fan’s greatest dream is getting to live in the Dragon Ball universe and fight alongside Goku and his friends! But one particular fan is in for a rude awakening when he suddenly dies and gets reincarnated as everyone’s favorite punching bag, Yamcha!

A Japanese high school student is on his way to a Dragon Ball event and makes a detour to hit on a cute girl. Unfortunately, he meets with an unfortunate and fatal accident before he reaches her and, to his great surprise, wakes up in the Dragon Ball universe as Yamcha! Being a Dragon Ball fan, he knows exactly what misery awaits him as Yamcha, so he takes matters into his own hands and vows to make Yamcha the strongest Dragon Ball character ever! 

Genres: Manga, Comics, Humor, Fantasy, Shonen, Fiction, Comedy

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2017

About the author

Akira Toriyama (鳥山明) was a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for creating the popular manga series Dr. Slump, before going on to create Dragon Ball (his most famous work) and acting as a character designer for several popular video games such as the Dragon Quest series, Chrono Trigger, and Blue Dragon. Toriyama came to be regarded as one of the most important authors in the history of manga with his works highly influential and popular, particularly Dragon Ball, which many manga artists cite as a source of inspiration.
He earned the 1981 Shogakukan Manga Award for best shōnen/shōjo manga with Dr. Slump, and it went on to sell over 35 million copies in Japan. It was adapted into a successful anime series, with a second anime created in 1997, 13 years after the manga ended.
His next series, Dragon Ball, would become one of the most popular and successful manga in the world. Having sold 260 million copies worldwide, it is one of the best-selling manga series of all time and is considered a key work in increasing manga circulation to its peak in the mid-1980s and mid-1990s. Overseas, Dragon Ball's anime adaptations have been more successful than the manga and are credited with boosting anime's popularity in the Western world. In 2019, Toriyama was decorated a Chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to the arts.
In October 2024, Toriyama was inducted into the Harvey Awards Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a lot better than I thought a bit shorter than I thought as well. I would you have given this 3.5 stars, but I thought it deserved a round up rather than down. Except for one thing.

A Dragonball super-fan finds himself in the body of his faverite but underwhelming character. He knows Yamcha's potential is limited and not with a memorable ending. Can he change things?

All in all, a good "What If" style story. A bit on the short side, but the actual thing that annoyed me the most about this was they rushed and forwarded through the fights. That is the only reason I had to take an extra star off. It's a pretty good idea thought.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

A teenage Dragon Ball fanboy dies trying to get a closer look at a girl in a short skirt and gets reincarnated as Yamcha (a very minor character in the saga). True to form, now as Yamcha, the teenager lusts after hot girl Bulma and tries to use his fanboy knowledge to get into her pants. Finally, a Dragon Ball book for creepers!

I love Dragon Ball but the latest books - which are basically official fan-fic - are pretty bad and lean way too heavily on nostalgia than try to do anything new or interesting. So it goes with That Time I Got Reincarnated as Yamcha which is a brief tour of some of the Dragon Ball storylines, even drawn in Akira Toriyama’s style, and made me wish I was re-reading them instead of this load of nonsense!

The concept is a little like the Marvel series Gwenpool where a fangirl finds herself in the Marvel Universe and uses her knowledge to survive. Yamcha does the same and chooses to train with various powerful masters in order to not get killed. Except that happens in between the panels - the actual new material! - so we’re left with reading the familiar famous scenes but this time with a more competent Yamcha.

But that doesn’t actually make them any better, particularly as the outcomes aren’t affected, and “Yamcha” didn’t get what he really wanted - Bulma - anyway, so… what was the point? Oh that’s right, it’s just another book to make money off the Dragon Ball fanbase.

Pointless, stupid and boringly uncreative, even if you’re a Dragon Ball fan, don’t bother with That Time I Got Duped Into Re-Reading Dragon Ball.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Japanese High Schooler, who happens to be a Dragon Ball fan, dies trying to check out a girl.

When he wakes up he finds out that he's Yamcha early in the Dragon Ball saga.

After being momentarily freaked out he gets excited. Yamcha is in a relationship with Bulma and he's never had a girlfriend so he's psyched. Until he remembers that Yamcha is going to die.

Then he vows to get stronger so he can save himself.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as Yamcha is basically fan fiction. An ultimate Dragon Ball fan being reincarnated as a character in the series is hardly a groundbreaking concept. It was good that instead of him being Goku, Gohan, or Vegeta he became Yamcha. He knows at best he's screwed so he trains his behind off to try to buy himself some time, but he has no hope of keeping up with the Saiyans and Piccolo long term. He was pretty ingenuous. I enjoyed it overall even though the ending was silly and the story felt short.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of either Dragon Ball side stories or isekai, but combining the two didn't end up all that bad. "Yamcha" here goes through a bunch of trouble he'd otherwise not have gone through, gets his own challenges, and grows as a person. It gives a bit of something to go for some of the weakest and most ridiculed characters in the canon.

I was disappointed that it just skipped over the entire first half of the story, though, and straight to Saiyans. I would've wanted to see more of how his foreknowledge changed things in the tournaments and with Piccolo and what have you.

Overall, decent but not good. There's just not a whole lot you could do with the premise anyway I guess.

[Burden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

I am an avid fan of the Dragon ball universe, but I have been relatively disappointed with everything since the end of Dragon ball Z. Dragon ball GT was mostly garbage, Evolution was worse, and all the new movies aren't much better. So I was glad to finally come across something that deserves to have the Dragon ball name.

Admittedly this manga is a little rushed and could have done with being doubled in length, but if anything, that statement is a tribute to how much I was enjoying myself whilst reading this book. I feel that the writer really understands the Dragon ball universe and gets what the fans love about the franchise. The manga was perfectly drawn, homages were paid to all our favourite scenes and the classic Akira Toriyama humour was masterfully duplicated.

This manga was nearly perfect. Although I must say I was slightly disappointed with the ending, but the additional 'deleted-scenes' were a nice touch.

Recommended to all fans of the Dragon ball universe.

[Rasheed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great alternate twist of the main arc. I loved it!

[Nate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐

[the_deepest_black]

Pomysł kuriozalny, niemniej estetycznie przyjemne.

[Aravena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simply put, this reads like a cash grab Dragon Ball fanfic/doujin starring Yamcha (or, more precisely, a random teenage fan of DB in Yamcha’s role) in the quest to rehabilitate his image of basically being the series’ butt-monkey.

First and foremost, there’s absolutely no use at all reading this if you’re not into Dragon Ball, seeing that the comic is chock full of inside jokes and references to the main story. Heck, even though I can still recall the original story and thus was able to enjoy most of the jokes here, there were still newer references from Dragon Ball Super that went over my head. You can say that this was very specifically aimed at those fans that really can't get enough of DB and/or have a soft spot for the living sa(n)dsack that is Yamcha.

The plot itself was really short, with the key events being heavily compressed. At the very least, the art and overall feel are very much in the spirit of the original series instead of, say, feeling like a fanfic with terrible production value that just happen to borrow the original’s world and characters. A few scenes were reproduced from the original manga, but re-contextualized with Yamcha playing a key role, and these made me giggle a few times. The plot eventually takes a logical direction, and I quite like the resolution in which the main character’s ego was defeated by his unwillingness to ‘ruin’ the world and characters that he loves so dearly.

Still, in the end it’s a very slight story, and I can’t help but feel that a lot more could’ve been extracted from this idea. Another very strange omission: why there’s no Puar (Yamcha’s lifelong friend and his eternally loyal partner, no less) at all!? Well, as long you maintain your expectation as low as Yamcha’s power level and do not think too deeply of the story, I suppose this really isn’t too bad as a light-hearted nostalgia trip. Now, where’s my KrillinxAndroid 18 spin-off??

[Ernesto Juárez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un divertido spin off, realmente solo para fans pero no está nada mal.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jumping on the "isekai" bandwagon, this is a short gag manga about a high-schooler Dragon Ball fan who dies and is reincarnated as Yamcha shortly after Goku's first rampage as a Great Ape.

As a fan of Bulma, our hero plans on living a simple life with a girlfriend. But then he remembers the memetic image of Yamcha in the crater after dying to the Saiyan cultivars. He decides to train with Goku and Krillin at Master Roshi's house, later traveling to Namek to have Guru awaken his potential and to train with Nail while Vegeta and Nappa arrive on Earth. With his knowledge of Dragon Ball and his newfound strength, our hero solos all six cultivars AND Nappa, teaming up with Goku to defeat Vegeta. There is a vague plan to kill the escaping Vegeta, until our hero remembers Trunks and decides to spare him. Things proceed normally into the Cell Game, but a new challenger appears in the form of another reincarnated human....

As with Toyotarou's Dragon Ball Super manga, Dragongarow LEE's Yamcha isekai shows the mark of a true DB fan. Interestingly, LEE's art is actually "better" than Toyotarou's, at least insofar as it more closely resembles Toriyama's own. The "real world" art actually looks kinda bad, but LEE can at least simulate Toriyama well enough that we don't have to worry about whatever his -own- style might look like. Aside from this, there are many cute references to smaller details in the parent manga. Oolong jokes about kid Goku being an alien, which pleases our Yamcha who knows Goku is a Saiyan. We see quick glimpses of Yamcha using both of Korrin's special waters. Yamcha distracts Vegeta in the Saiyan Arc by pretending to see Lord Beerus. We see early (off-screen in Toriyama's work) flirtation between Bulma and Vegeta. The other reincarnated human is Chaozu. The whole isekai thing is a game between Beerus and Champa. All very cute shit.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to enjoy this - really, I did. But I didn’t like the plot. I like Yamcha well enough - yes, he’s not that powerful, and he only seemed to exist as a side character and as one of Bulma’s love interests. And then he was discarded. There was no more big storyline or development for his character. This doesn’t help. It doesn’t even change the outcome. I don’t see the point of this little story so I won’t consider it as part of the canon universe. It’s just like a silly little fanfiction you wish you hadn’t read.

[Sheepy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting take on an amazing series.
A character normally the butt of jokes and memes all over the internet gets the chance to shine when an otaku gets reincarnated into his body, the body of yamcha!
Instead of being resigned to his fate he uses his knowledge to make Yamcha the centre attention.

It was really cool and like the concept. Would love to see other manga series do something like this.
🐑

[Ben Nealis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and well done fan manga. I wish it was a tad longer. The super fast pace helps the story but I do wish it went to at least the Buu saga. The humor can be a bit childish but also calls back to some points only serious Dragon Ball fans would probably get. Overall a fun 45 minute read.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're not up on your Dragonball, this is more like 2.5, but it's a fun enough take on a persistent genre that it works.

[Abdulla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun short read

A cool sidestory for fans. I enjoyed reading it, and the what if scenarios were done pretty well. It made me think of what I'd do in a similar situation lol

[Karson Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unless a work is offensive or seems particularly damaging in what I understand it to espouse, a stock score is 3... Even if you're really into Dragon Ball, it's hard for me to say I recommend this. It's a cute fanfiction of sorts, but if one is to put their time into Dragon Ball, I think the original 42 volumes is sufficient. Though not drawn by Toriyama himself, there's something like tribute done in these pages to not only his character design of course, but the way he conveys impact, speed, emotion, and overall how panels are composed. It's enjoyable to recognize Toriyama's style as something distinct and channeled by an admirer in this work.

Separate but related is also the way this work stands as an "Isekai", a general term literally meaning "another world" that often denotes works wherein a character from "our world" is teleported into a fictional world. I'm not generally comfortable with these as they seem to prey upon escapist insecurities and discontents on readers that their often "nerdy"-typed protagonists are designed to emulate and thus be projectable onto. Though the work is brief and gag-oriented enough to be generally inoffensive in this regard, it still piques some of those concerns. At what point do these sorts of stories - particularly those with established fan-bases such as Dragon Ball - move beyond an exercise in imagination into the realm of feeding a fixation and fantasy of power, popularity with women, and notoriety?

[Bob Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesante. Eso sí, solo para fans y podía haber dado más de sí sí hubiera arriesgado un poco más

[Albine Eien · Rating 3 out of 5]

C’était marrant. J’adore les What if et celui-là ne déçoit pas

[Pablo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bastante simpático y divertido. Y con un dibujo soberbio

[Saidák Tamrevad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Está bueno para completar colecciones de mangas y leer algo alternativo, aunque ésta no aporta nada a la historia.
Las peleas son pauperrimas y se desarrollan en uno o dos cuadros.
El estilo es muy similar al de Toriyama, en algunas partes es divertido y te hace reír un poco.
El otro punto positivo es que se puede leer en un rato nomás, se disfruta bastante ya que, como dije es similar al estilo del autor original.
El desarrollo de la historia es bastante floja.
Tres estrellas está bien.

[Doc · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Look! It's Beerus, the God of Destruction!"

Just fair warning this series is rated Teen wit ha very minor appearance of Goku's penis as he sleeps (pretty sure it is right after transforming into his great ape form) and some martial arts violence so if these things bother you...seriously do not consider any of the Dragon Ball books at all. :)

What happens when a you mix a popular series like Dragon Ball with a story about being reborn into another world? This story about a student and super fan of Dragon Ball who died in a less then glorious manner finds himself in the body of Yamcha during the original Dragon Ball series and with his knowledge forges forward to become a reckoning (or at least not die) as the story continues on to Dragon Ball Z. If you liked the original series the artwork is a tribute and the inner monologues from the MC now as Yamcha show the troubles of how far one can change the future to get your waifu versus the importance of letting the plot go on as before so the future can be protected.

My favorite part of the story would have to be Yamcha versus Vegeta. With far more training and preperation thanks to his knowledge the lowly human Yamcha actually is able to help fight Vegeta with an assist from Goku but it is his knowlege of Beerus from the God of Destruction movie that gave them an opening to force Vegeta to retreat at last. :)

[Emmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, fluffy, and very quick read. However, readers who are expecting a full-on adventure or a full series are going to be disappointed. This one-off really jumps around the DBZ universe quite a bit, and wraps up Dragon Ball to the Cell games all in one quick go. Still, it was a lot of fun, and I'm sure very relatable to anyone who is very passionate about their fandoms. I mean, who doesn't have a series that they would just love to live in? And who doesn't wish at times that they could live life with full knowledge of what has happened and what will happen so that they can secure the best possible future for themselves?

Oh, and did I mention that Dragongarow Lee copies Toriyama's style perfectly? Perhaps seasoned fans might notice a difference, but for me, if I hadn't of known that this was a different artist, I never would have guessed! (Except of course for the scenes in the "real world").

All in all, a fun little book that I think DB fans (especially Yamcha fans) will enjoy!

[Matisse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is SO UNSATISFYING.

The artist mimics Toriyama's original work so well, and he so accurately captures how the average fan would feel going into this scenario, but it ends too quickly.

The whole point of the Xenoverse games was seeing how the Dragon Ball timeline is changed by genre-savvy out-of-continuity characters showing up; players went through all the DBZ sagas and most of DBS, and you really felt like the world was a safer place for your efforts. I find it hard to believe that the character in this manga, who woke up as a Yamcha genre-savvy enough to unlock his potential before the saiyan saga happens, didn't do anything more useful.

The ending chapters acknowledge that the Frieza saga onwards means Yamcha is useless, like every other human; how are we supposed to accept that the original Dragon Ball went down the same way?

This needed to be a series.

[Rosario · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a love letter to Dragon Ball. And it's done incredibly well.
Recommended if you loved Dragon Ball too, but you must have read it (or at least watched) entirely and more than once before (from the beginning, not just Z!), as otherwise you might miss references or not really understand what's going on.

This manga almost moved me at some point, as it gets kind of emotional and nostalgic, in a way!

[Gustavo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esto fue una lectura cortita y simpática sobre un fan que se golpea/muere y reencarna en Yamcha. A partir de ahí, intenta mejorar el desempeño de este personaje en la saga con el único objetivo de quedarse con Bulma y que ella no termine con Vegeta. Lo mejor es que el arte imita muy bien el estilo de Toriyama, y es interesante como una historia alternativa, pero no suma nada al universo Dragon Ball más que algo anecdótico.

[Lois E. Froiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pequena gracieta á que lle daría un 3'5 se puidese. Mola como idea metalingüística e hai un par de coñas pequenas sobre a propia historia de DB que funcionan. Fai, se iso, demasiado fincapé en humor sexual e de nerds, pero que narices, tenta orientarse ao público fan da serie e consígueo, porque iso era parte esencial, e tamén algo fundamental no que é a base narrativa dos shonen. Non é perfecto polo curto e por quedar só no chiste, pero é o suficientemente resultón.

[AsianMerr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah this is the fun side of dragon ball that got me hooked as a kid with a blend of modern era stuff with the Isekai. “What-ifs” are something in the DB universe that we all think about and have been around since the early 2000s. This was fun to read, you do need some DBZ knowledge to understand it, this does spoil DB to early DBZ content so be warned. Fun fact I got this signed by Chris Sabat, the voice of Yamcha. He’s one of my fav characters, even if he’s bad.

[Enia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manga pertama di tahun 2022.

Baca manga ini seperti baca fanfiction versi manga hehe. Yah, saya cukup terhibur baca manga ini, apalagi memakai Yamcha sebagai pemeran utama yang notabene bukan tokoh yang terkuat.

Tiga bintang buat manga ini.

[Gelasio Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es una historia hilarante, cuenta una versión pararela en donde el protagonista saca ventaja de sus conocimientos de Dragon Ball, lo que más me agradó es que respetan las bases de la historia original, no se inventan nuevos poderes o argumentos sino que se basan en lo ya ocurrido a lo largo de la historia original y contribuyen a ampliar la historia.