What happens when an ordinary and perverted Dragon Ball fan wants to look up a girl’s skirt after his friend mentions how short her skirt is?
“Are you for real?” the friend remarks as the unnamed protagonist of this manga rushes over to get a closer look, only to slip and fall down the stairs.
When said protagonist awakes, he suddenly discovers that he has been reincarnated as Yamcha and is in the Dragon Ball universe.
So yes, this fan died and was reincarnated as Yamcha because he wanted to get a glance at a girl’s panties. I believe that means a lesson was imparted here…
Dragon Ball: That Time I Got Reincarnated as Yamcha! has essentially one problem — despite this being a reincarnation story that should in general change a decent portion of the events that affect Yamcha, they kinda don’t. While there are a few moments that were changed (like Yamcha being included in Goku’s battle with Vegeta), the Dragon Ball timeline still remains the same. I feel like at least a chapter or one of the extra stories could’ve had an alternate sideline where Yamcha manages to accomplish something big (like maybe get Bulma, or maybe get rid of Vegeta). We know going in this is supposed to be the punching bag, Yamcha, getting his time to shine, so I think going crazy is fine for this. Probably doesn’t help it’s pretty short — with nothing overly complicated story or text wise, you can finish reading this in maybe 30 minutes or less.
But the fun for this manga is the references to Dragon Ball from Yamcha’s perspective from a super fan. The protagonist, who isn’t named, pretty much is into the series, and he uses that information for many well-timed jokes as he navigates being Yamcha. From getting strong enough to face the cultivars (the Saibamen) alone, to having the Grand Elder at Namek find out he’s been isekai’d, to referencing Beerus during his fight with Vegeta, there are enough moments where the Dragon Ball knowledge and how it’s used is pretty fun.
The art is pretty much like Dragon Ball, so fans can feel acquainted and step into a work where Yamcha would go with Bulma back to the city, except reincarnated Yamcha realizes that he has to train with Goku so he doesn’t die when the Saiyans eventually arrive. Most readers will probably get to the end and wonder why it was pretty short though. If you are a big fan of the franchise, this manga is hard to pass up. But for those who might have passing knowledge, this might be a bit of a let down due to its length.