Videl

is a fictional character from the Dragon Ball media franchise. Created by Akira Toriyama, she first appears in Chapter 421 of the Dragon Ball manga originally published in Issue 23 of Weekly Shōnen Jump on May 11, 1993. Her name is a play on words with her father's name Mr. Satan. Within the series, she is adept in martial arts like her father and using her abilities to fight crime in the city. She is the love interest of Gohan and plays an important role during the story arc where he is the lead character of Dragon Ball. When Gohan appears as a costumed vigilante known as the Great Saiyaman, she quickly figures out his identity, and blackmails him into teaching her new techniques using her ki. After the main antagonist of the story arc Majin Buu is defeated, the two establish a settled lifestyle and later have a daughter named Pan. Videl's reception has been generally positive with series fans, whereas commentators have mixed views about her relevance as a character. As one of the few major female Dragon Ball characters, her role in the series as well as other Dragon Ball media has been variously described as important or inconsequential by commentators. Development Like many Dragon Ball characters whose names are puns, the character's name is an anagram of devil as her father's name is Mr. Satan; he is known as Hercule in edited versions of the English dub and in the English manga published by Viz Media. While she is training with Gohan for the World Martial Arts Tournament, Videl mentions that her mother died. Otherwise, Videl's mother is never named or discussed within the series, though Toriyama suggested that her mother is a beautiful singer named "Miguel" (ミゲル, migeru), based on the notion of an unconventional marriage between her (an "archangel") and him (a "devil"). In keeping with the theme of her naming convention, the numerical registration identifier for Videl's vehicle registration plate is 666. Unlike her father, who is depicted as a showboating yet cowardly comic relief character, Videl is characterized with more heroic traits and displays an admirable fighting potential. Her hairstyle went through multiple drafts before the final design of twin pigtails was chosen in 1992, though the alternate hair designs have been used for other characters in the series, including Bulma.