Dragon Ball Z Cosplay Hilariously Re-Enacts Yamcha’s Most Infamous Death

Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball is no stranger to character deaths as many characters, even Goku, have died and been revived over the course of the franchise. But there’s been one death so infamous, so iconic, that the character has never quite recovered from the admittedly embarrassing way they died. Yamcha’s death during the Saiyan saga is still one of the most memorable moments in the franchise, for all the wrong reasons.

But its perfect imagery of Yamcha’s lifeless body lying in a crater is one of the reasons its stuck out for so long. And during Anime Expo 2019, some cosplay artists brought it to life in a pretty dedicated way. Check it out!

Cosplay Artists Alex Drastal (who you can find on Instagram here) and Brian Hobbs (who you can find on Instagram here) parked right in the middle of the convention floor and re-created Yamcha’s famous Saibaman death. Drastal, as Yamcha, sits in the crater (complete with leftover Saibaman claw) in Yamcha’s famous death pose. To add to this effect, Drastal vapes to hilariously add a little more smoke to the resulting “explosion.”

For an added bit of salt in the wound, Hobbs’ Vegeta stands victoriously over Yamcha, and revels in his death. Re-enacting the pose must have taken a lot of dedication considering that someone would have to curl up into Yamcha’s death pose for extended lengths of time, but it’s the perfect way to bring this hilarious moment to life.

This isn’t the only time Yamcha has died over the course of the series, but it’s certainly the most infamous as Yamcha’s reputation never quite recovered. Though it was a surprise at the time as it showed just how strong the Saiyans are if their underlings were strong enough to kill Yamcha, fans ridiculed the death as Yamcha never even fought the Saiyans. It has sense been seen as a pathetic moment as Yamcha never joined the fight, and the series soon made him the butt of the joke for the remainder of its run.

Dragon Ball Super currently airs its English dub on Adult Swim during the Toonami programming block on Saturday evenings. It is also available to stream on Funimation and Amazon Video. The Japanese-language release of the series is complete, and available to stream on FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. The manga has chapters that can currently be read for free thanks to Viz Media, and Dragon Ball Super’s big movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.