Despite the franchise mainly focusing on adventure and battles, there's always been an undercurrent of love and friendship at the core of the Dragon Ball series. But one of the oldest friendships in the storyline actually was briefly teased to turn into a romance. After being only momentarily hinted at as a possibility in the original Dragon Ball, would a romance between Goku and Bulma have ever actually worked?
A 12-year-old Goku and a 16-year-old Bulma met each other in the very first installment of Dragon Ball. Recruiting Goku to accompany her on a globe-trotting journey to recover the seven Dragon Balls, Goku and Bulma quickly became close friends. However, there was a moment when their relationship could have become something different.
During a time-skip after their initial journey together, at the onset of the "Piccolo Jr. Saga," The pair met again and Goku, having spent years training and going through puberty, surprises Bulma with how tall, handsome and strong he'd grown up to be. She admits to herself she would have likely fallen head over heels for him if this had been how they first met.
There's even a brief moment before the 23rd World Martial Art's Tournament where Bulma briefly considers the possibility of a romance between them. But an unaware Goku was soon engaged to Chi-Chi, leaving Bulma happy for the pair and free to continue her then-relationship with Yamcha. Goku and Bulma instead remained incredibly close over the years, even opening up about their personal fears to one another in times of crisis. Instead, Bulma eventually ended up in a romance with another Saiyan like Goku -- Vegeta, who grew from a planet-threatening villain to become a major member of the Z-Warriors.
However, the possibility -- even fleeting -- presented itself for Bulma and Goku to begin a romance. It would have been an interesting tweak to Goku's future relationships, especially with his family. While Goku loves Chichi in the core-storyline, she's often concerned about his safety and the safety of their children. By contrast, Bulma's own adventurous spirit is at the heart of much of Dragon Ball, with the character remaining an active participant in the storyline all the way into Dragon Ball Super. She may have embraced Goku's life of action and adventure with more ease than Chi-Chi.
If she'd been the mother of Gohan, she may have even redirected his natural intelligence into more mechanical expertise instead of the general scholarly work that Chi-Chi foisted upon her son in the core timeline.
However, this would have also prevented the eventual birth of Trunks, Bulma and Vegeta's son and fan-favorite hero. It would have also likely meant that Vegeta wouldn't have developed as much of a connection to the Earth as he would in the core-timeline, to the point where he's even tried to keep his infamous pride at bay in a bid to protect his family and adopted world.
The future of Dragon Ball would be almost unrecognizable as a result of Vegeta's importance to the rest of the series. It would have also denied his and Bulma's romance, which compliments the natural passion of both figures and has proven throughout Dragon Ball Super to be incredibly sweet and loving.
Ultimately, it's more interesting and enjoyable for Goku and Bulma to have remained just friends. It gives each of the pair a true confidant and reinforces the idea that bonds of friendship are the most important thing in the world -- something that's carried through the rest of the series as Goku turns multiple enemies into eventual allies. But it's still an interesting possibility to wonder about.