Anime Series Reviews - DBZ: The Trunks Special

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Anime Series Review:
DBZ: The Trunks Special

Titles

English: The History of Trunks
Japanese: Defiance In The Face of Despair!! The Remaining Super Warriors Gohan and Trunks; Also called the Trunks Special

Rating

Total Number of Episodes

1 TV Special

Episodes Seen

1 TV Special

Version

Japanese subtitled and English dubbed

Voice Acting

The Japanese voice cast is talented and they fit their roles nicely. I also liked the English VAs of Trunks, Gohan, 17-gou and 18-gou. The rest of the English cast, I'm not so fond of...but, those listed are the major players in this story, so it's okay. ^_^

Music

The music in this movie is largely up to the usual standards for DBZ. Decent BGM, and upbeat ending theme. "Aoi Kaze no HOPE" is a staple for any DBZ music fan. ^_^

Animation

The animation is up to standard for the series. It is in Toriyama-sensei's traditional style, which people seem to either love or hate. It is a bit simplistic compared to other anime styles, but I like it just fine. Not too dated, but not overly new-looking, either.

Plot Summary
(May contain spoilers. You've been warned!)

The Trunks Special tells the story of the alternate future that Mirai Trunks came from.

In this future, Son Goku did die of his heart disease. Thirteen years later, we see Jinzouningen Juunana-gou and Juuhachi-gou ravaging the Earth, and we learn that only two Z-senshi remain: Son Gohan and Trunks. One day, as Trunks and his mother Bulma are driving in their car, they hear of another city being attacked by the Jinzouningen. Angered by this, Trunks leaps out of the car and heads to the nearby town. However, by the time he gets there, it is too late. As he stands amid the wreckage, Son Gohan arrives.

Later, we see Gohan and Trunks sitting in Trunks' room. He begs Gohan to train him, so that he can help fight the Jinzouningen. Gohan agrees, but breaks off the conversation as Bulma returns home. As the three of them sit down to dinner, Bulma asks Gohan about his role in battling the Jinzouningen, commenting how much like his late father he is. She then mentions that she knew that Trunks looked up to him, and she didn't want him encouraging her son to fight the Jinzouningen.

Later, we see Gohan training Trunks, encouraging him to get angry enough to transform into a Super Saiya-jin. After a training session, Trunks asks Gohan about his father, Vegeta. Gohan describes him as we all know him to be: very strong, and very proud.

We later see the Jinzouningen playing around at an amusement park. Gohan and Trunks soon arrive to challenge them. Gohan insists that Trunks stay out of the fight, as he takes on Juunana-gou. He manages to hold his own pretty well until Juuhachi-gou decides to join the fray. Upon seeing his friend being beaten, Trunks leaps in to help. Juuhachi-gou easily knocks him away, then engages him. When he manages to land a good blow, she strikes back fiercely, then prepares to finish him off. Seeing this, Gohan rushes to save him. Juunana-gou fires a ki blast, which hits Trunks. Gohan grabs him, and shields him from Juuhachi-gou's blast with his own body. He then hides in the amusement park below, while the twins destroy it with ki blasts. As the Jinzouningen stand amidst the rubble, Gohan hides behind a large fragment of a building wall. The two decide to leave the Saiya-jins for dead, and take flight. After they leave, Gohan, who is now missing his left arm, gives Trunks his last Senzu bean. Trunks then brings Gohan back to Capsule Corp, where he tells Bulma what had happened.

Later, after Gohan had recovered, he resumed his training of Trunks, who was getting ever closer to attaining SSJ. Their training session is interrupted by the Jinzouningen attacking a nearby city. Gohan prepares to go fight them, but Trunks stops him, saying that he wants to help. Gohan seems to agree, but before they leave, he knocks Trunks unconscious. Not wanting the boy to be hurt, he leaves him behind as he goes to face the Jinzouningen. The twins attack together, and are able to kill him fairly quickly.

Later, Trunks wakes up and rushes to the city. As he flies overhead, he stops when he sees a body lying in the street. Upon landing, he walks over to it, staring in disbelief at the body of his friend. He stands quietly for a moment, then he cries out, a mixture of sadness and anger. As he wails, his ki suddenly swirls golden around him, as his hair turns blonde and spikes upward.

The scene then jumps ahead three years, showing Trunks returning home with supplies. His mother informs him that her time machine will be completed soon. He says that he doesn't need to use it; he feels that he is strong enough to defeat the Jinzouningen as he is. Bulma then reminds him of what happened to Gohan.

Their conversation is interrupted when the radio reports that the Jinzouningen are attacking another town. Trunks rushes out to confront them. He first faces Juuhachi-gou, who easily avoids his attacks. When he comes a little too close, Juunana-gou joins in. He distracts the teen while his sister attacks again. She knocks him backward, then the two fire a simultaneous ki blast at him. Trunks then surprises them with an attack from above. Unfortunately, it did little damage. When the Jinzouningen go on the offensive, Trunks is forced to run and hide among the wreckage of the city. The two quickly catch him, beat him, and leave him for dead.

Later, we see Trunks awakening in a hospital bed, with Bulma leaning over him. He apologizes for his actions and agrees to use the time machine. Bulma then tells him a little about Goku, who he is going to meet. Later, we see Trunks getting into his time machine; he then departs for the past.

Objectionable Material

Violence - Typical DBZ level violence...one death, though it is off-camera
Nudity - None
Sexual Situations - None
Profanity - Standard DBZ level...occasional cursing, though nothing major.
Mature Ideas/Issues - None, really.

Kat's Rating

Being the huge Trunks fan that I am, I love the Trunks Special. It gives you a little more insight into Mirai Trunks by showing you his world....also, you get to see Mirai Juunana-gou and Juuhachi-gou. The twins make good villains.

Dub vs. Sub

See my review.

Manga vs. Anime

I'm not sure if there is a manga equivalent to the Trunks Special. If there is, I have not read it yet.