Yamcha and Existentialism

Episode Preview:I ran a 10K race I wasn’t prepared for, and in the thick of the pain, I thought of Yamcha—the most ridiculed character in Dragon Ball. But the more I reflect on it, the more I see Yamcha as something far more profound: an existential hero. In this episode, I unpack Yamcha’s endless defeats through the lenses of Camus, Sartre, and Nietzsche, and argue that he embodies the absurd struggle with dignity, will, and defiance. He’s not the strongest, not the chosen one—but that’s exactly why he matters. Because most of us aren’t Goku. Most of us are Yamcha.