Nope, Yamcha was clearly portrayed as a treat when he first appeared. Sure, it was only because Goku was hungry, but they were clearly in an even match. Yamcha running away from Bulma at the time was portrayed as a lucky event. During the rest of Pilaf saga (all of the 2 volumes) Yamcha have been consistently portrayed as quite competent, Weaker than Goku, sure, but still helping and hindering the team depending on the circumstances. As for cutting Goku's tail, Puar didn't do it alone. In fact, his only contribution was the act of cutting itself. It was Yamcha who grabbed the tail in the first place, stopping the Oozaru onslaught.
So, yeah, Yamcha wasn't useless since the beginning. Sure, it is a comedic series, so he made a full of himself quite often and was obviously weaker than Goku. Still a important and valuable member of the team back in the day, as the only one aside Goku who could fight at all.
Btw, this is from the manga. No idea how the anime treated him, never watched it. I just quickly skimmed through the early chapters to make sure I was remembering correctly, too, so I am sure all I've said above is completely accurate.
PS:Of course, I believe he became a joke immediately after all that. The story actually still keep trying to play him up as important, but he got his ass handed to him every relevant fight he got himself into. His primary job was to be Worfed in the tournaments, to showcase one of the opponents (Jackie Chun, Tenshihan and Kami-sama, in order).
edited 12th Jul '15 1:24:38 PM by Heatth
You just defeated your entire argument right there. Yamcha was only a "threat" to Goku because Goku was too distracted to fight back.
Also, I specified that Yamcha only ever defeats one named opponent.
edited 12th Jul '15 3:21:49 PM by Zelenal
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He defeated Goku as Oozaru too. That is kinda impressive. I think he might be the only character in the series to successfully grab an Oozaru tail.
Yeah, that. Yamcha was definitively "a threat" back then. He couldn't defeat Goku in a fair fight, of course, but no one could. That doesn't mean the villains in that arc weren't a threat either. Even freaking Pilaf was dangerous back then, and he is certainly weaker than Yamcha. Also, Yamcha was far from useless. He straight up save Goku from the Rabbit Gang. It is weird to think about it, but without Yamcha, Goku might as well have died.
So, yeah, Yamcha is a joke and have been a joke through most of the story. But he was relevant in the very first arc.
edited 12th Jul '15 4:36:08 PM by Heatth
Don't mess with me man. I got a plethora of Torches and Pitchforks.
Good answer. Though I should warn you, not only am I an enemy of the Uchiha's, I'm also a member.
.....Yes, I am an Uchiha, and an enemy of the Uchihas. It's complicated, but I came to accept it.
Though frankly, I consider myself an enemy of the entire Naruto series, but that's neither here nor there.
One Strip! One Strip!It might be a build up toward the moment where Gohan's frustration with him leads to him not listening to the latter, which results in Goku's death.
When he did finally started acting with some common sense, that's when Gohan chose not to hear what he says.
One Strip! One Strip!Well, he did forget he could teleport...
But he also assumed Vegeta and Trunks aren't going to be able to stop Cell. So perhaps he's just getting very self-aware. It might be foreshadowing to when he decides to stay dead. He realises he's the main character, and if he's alive, trouble will follow.
edited 12th Jul '15 7:07:37 PM by LOLypop1224
The *Legendary* Super Saiyan is motivated by a crying infant! He is a literal giant f***ing baby!Plus he might assume that since Gohan is both stronger and smarter than him, the latter would be a better hero.....
But as we already pointed out, Goku isn't very smart.
One Strip! One Strip!Abridged Goku's not entirely as dim-witted as he lets on. Popo just recently called him out for deliberate trolling via Obfuscating Stupidity.
- GOKU: That's what makes it Hypersonic, Gohan.
- POPO: That one was on purpose.
- GOKU: Could have been!
He's an idiot but he's self-aware about being an idiot and the way it gets under other people's skin, because of course he is; he's a fighting savant and that's psychological warfare.
Which is why he can make really good points like,
- GOHAN: Mr. Piccolo would let me go!
- GOKU: No, he wouldn't, and he's smarter than me.
and then turn around and forget he can teleport. Goku is one part dumbass, one part clever fighter, and one part clever application of dumbass. He's not really that stupid; he's just simple.
edited 13th Jul '15 8:34:57 AM by TobiasDrake
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.My impression of TFS's treatment of Goku has for some time been this: When they were first starting out, Goku was fairly simple-minded but not to what could be considered truly dumb. As the episodes progressed TFS noticed people responding well to it and/or started enjoying it themselves, so they started cranking it up for comedy. However, now that we have a more-serious arc and a more-serious attempt at actual character development TFS has realized they might have pushed Goku too much over the edge and are backing off, hence why Goku, while still plenty silly, is now snarkier and more self-aware.
Just like playing Maxi in Soul Calibur! Zing!
RENEGADE FOR LIFE: METAL GEAR RISING REVENGEANCE – 7 –
Every minute of this that isn't the final boss is disappointing.
...If Vegeta skips the final boss cutscenes I will be pissed at Lani.
edited 13th Jul '15 12:25:12 PM by unnoun
She did create a time machine....which is supposed to be impossible according to a being who's job it is to monitor time.
I could see her creating a heart medicine / intelligence increasing formula totally by accident to be honest.
One Strip! One Strip!Breakdown 48
, though I forget if it was linked when it hit their main site.
edited 13th Jul '15 9:37:10 PM by wanderlustwarrior

Okay let me rephrase that:
1. Saiga is a kind, wonderful, loving, sensitive individual who does not know literally EVERYTHING about Dragon Ball and there have been times when he admitted that he was wrong that I knew beforehand.
2. I've already tried linking video proof that Yamcha is the hardest mammasita alive. Just go watch Super Saiyan 3 Broly Vs. Yamcha on Thundershot69's youtube channel.
3. Nah, Handsome Rob is cool with me. Any enemy of the Uchihas is a friend of mine
4. I would if I could but I'm new so I won't.
5. I may be new, but to prepare for this I read the entire One Piece and Dragon Ball Manga threads so I already know the ropes.
edited 12th Jul '15 12:10:18 PM by PushoverMediaCritic