Dragon Ball Z’s Future Trunks is a fan favorite character whose momentous return in Dragon Ball Super weakens their original exit!

Dragon Ball Super has kept its audience entertained for nearly a decade as the latest chapter in Akira Toriyama’s totemic battle shonen series. Toriyama’s Dragon Ball has endured for as long as it has because of its intense battles, superpowered attacks, and prolific transformations. However, none of these spectacles mean anything without a foundation of strong characters underneath it all. Dragon Ball is full of memorable characters, but Future Trunks connects on a whole other level and he immediately found success upon his debut in Dragon Ball Z.

Dragon Ball Super gives into both temptation and nostalgia when it brings Future Trunks back into the fray. Future Trunks’ return is a highlight that’s appreciated, but this rewarding reappearance ultimately comes at the expense of his exceptional exit in DBZ. Any of Dragon Ball Super’s highs with Future Trunks come at the greater cost of what he loses in this reunion.

Dragon Ball Z Ends Future Trunks On A High Point

Happy endings can be rare in a series like Dragon Ball, which makes these warmer conclusions stand out even more. Future Trunks faces his share of losses during his time in the “past” – including his own death – but he leaves the experience stronger than ever. Dragon Ball characters so often either perish or become increasingly mediocre supporting players who sometimes just disappear. Future Trunks has one of the better endings as far as Dragon Ball Z characters are concerned.

He completes his goal, bonds with his mother and father in unprecedented ways, and returns back home as his best self who’s now equipped to take out his own Androids. Future Trunks gets everything that he wants, but it’s not an annoying conclusion because he tirelessly works for these accomplishments and comes from a life of pain that’s finally at peace. Dragon Ball Super loves to bring back familiar faces, whether it’s Frieza, Android 17, or Future Trunks, but this nostalgia and catharsis undoes the happiness that he’s rightfully earned.

Future Trunks’ Return In Dragon Ball Super Becomes A Depressing Epilogue

The return of any “retired” character in Dragon Ball Super runs the risk of weakening their impact. It’s one thing to experience disappointment with the character’s current status and the direction that they’re being pushed down, but there’s also a psychological element to consider. Future Trunks survives his feud against Goku Black and Zamasu in Dragon Ball Super. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s not still changed from the experience. It’s incredibly disheartening for Future Trunks to once again accept the fact that his universe is on the brink of destruction.

It’s a turn of events that reiterates that life will always be full of these types of dangers and that any peace will be short-lived. Future Trunks finds the strongest reinforcements throughout Dragon Ball Super. He still loses more loved ones throughout Goku Black’s attacks. These grim events retroactively turn Future Trunks’ finish in Dragon Ball Z into a momentary reprieve from destruction. Dragon Ball Super establishes Future Trunks’ true ending, and it’s one that takes even more away from him.

Trunks Doesn’t Change Much

It’s not uncommon for the audience’s expectations to fail to meet reality. Sometimes the best possible ending for a character is one that takes them out of the picture so that the audience’s imagination can create their own epilogue for the character. There are limitless possibilities when the specifics of a character’s future are left unspecified. Dragon Ball Super robs Future Trunks of this nuance and presents a version of the character who evidently hasn’t changed much since he was last seen in Dragon Ball Z. It gives his character the least amount of credit possible.

For instance, Future Trunks still makes use of the obsolete Super Saiyan Third Grade transformation upon his return, while Goku and Vegeta have infinitely surpassed this plateau with Super Saiyan Blue. Admittedly, Future Trunks has likely faced fewer challenges and villains that have given him less of a reason to fight. This still speaks to an inherent level of stasis that puts him behind the other heroes. Technically his younger present day form is stronger than him if he happens to fuse into Gotenks. It would have been very easy to showcase Future Trunks’ return with a fancy Super Saiyan 3 transformation to demonstrate his progress. Dragon Ball Super doesn’t take this approach and instead leaves the character behind, strength-wise. Future Trunks does eventually tap into deeper strength during the climax of his fight against Fused Zamasu and his Sword of Hope maneuver, but it still indicates that he’s had years of regression until he’s back in Goku and Vegeta’s presence.

Future Trunks Leaves Dragon Ball Super More Disillusioned Than Before

Knowledge can be power, but that’s not necessarily always a good thing in Dragon Ball’s weird world. Future Trunks goes back to the “past” in order to gain battle reinforcements, but this ill-fated reunion also leads to an unexpected reckoning with his former friends. Future Trunks’ powerful mentor was Future Gohan, who may look a lot like the adult Gohan who’s now around, but they’re completely different in strength and demeanor.

It’s hard for Future Trunks to reconcile these two versions of the same character, not to mention spending time with his younger self. Future Trunks also spends plenty of time with Lord Beerus and his exposure to a God of Destruction and the different tiers of the multiverse is a lot for him to comprehend. Future Trunks leaves Dragon Ball Super exposed to many rogue elements that he’d be better off to know nothing about.

Super’s Bittersweet Farewell For Future Trunks Opens Him Up To Greater Dangers

Dragon Ball Super’s events wouldn’t be so hard to accept if they happened to leave Future Trunks in an even better place than where he’s at when he exits Dragon Ball Z. Dragon Ball Super could have even kept Future Trunks in the main cast and continued to build upon his story. Future Trunks’ mission in Dragon Ball Super is technically a success, but he leaves with an even bigger target on his back after his duel with Zamasu. Trunks now has a relationship with Future Mai that helps keep him going, but he also must grieve Future Bulma’s death at Goku Black’s hand. His timeline is even more ruined than before, and he’ll surely face even greater threats in the coming years, like how he eventually had to take on Future Dabura in his timeline.

Future Trunks unquestionably leaves a strong impression in Dragon Ball Super, but the series shouldn’t have to sacrifice character development and a happy ending in order to spice up the narrative’s storytelling. Some of Future Trunks’ greatest moments occur in Dragon Ball Super during this return, but many fans would prefer him to mysteriously go out on his own terms while he enjoys the rest of his life.

Source: CBR.com