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After the Tournament of Destroyers, Future Trunks makes a return to the Dragon Ball series. The future he lives in is on the brink of destruction and humanity is almost extinct. After previously traveling to the past in hopes for a better future, a new threat puts the future in jeopardy. This new threat goes by the name Black. Future Trunks is no match for Black. Future Bulma has enough fuel for the time machine to send Future Trunks to the past to get help from Goku and Vegeta to defeat this more powerful threat to the future.
Plot
The Future Trunks saga is the second original story arc of the Dragon Ball Super series. This story arc centers around the identity of Black and his intentions for Future Trunks’ world. The first observation is that Black looks just like Goku which is why Future Trunks calls him Goku Black. The mystery of Goku Black unfolds in a clever way that will keep your attention. One minute you think you figured out who he is and then another event will have you questioning his identity again. Even the God of Destruction Beerus and his servant Whis were having a hard time trying to figure out Goku Black’s identity which made finding out who is more intriguing. Once his identity is revealed, the little seeds being planted up to the reveal will be clear and the reveal will be satisfying. In this story arc, the heroes couldn’t just fight their way out this situation and save Trunks’ future. They had to use their brains along with physically battling an invincible opponent. It was refreshing to see everyone from Goku to the Supreme Kais get together again to figure out how to take down someone like Goku Black. Time travel plays an important part of this story arc. According to Beerus and Whis, traveling through time is forbidden so learning that humans have time machines is shocking to them both. Traveling through time has consequences as Future Trunks has learned the hard way with the existence of Goku Black.
Characters
Future Trunks
He’s the main character of this arc. He has gone through the most emotional hardships of all the characters in the series. He’s still fighting for his future even after Cell & the Androids were defeated. He even prevented Majin Buu from being released. Throughout this arc, you see him become stronger & reaches another level of power which surprises Goku Black. We see him put the weight of the future of humanity on his shoulders. We see a side of him helping the surviving humans which is a side we didn’t see in Dragonball Z. He’s constantly putting himself on the line for everyone to ensure humanity survives and the future he lives in gains peace.
Goku Black
He’s one of the main protagonists of this story arc. The main question throughout this arc is who is Goku Black? He looks exactly like Goku but he’s killing everyone on sight. His obsession with power, strength & justice is what made him a formidable villain. Besides looking like Goku, Goku Black was a unique character because of the focus on trying to figure out his identity. There hasn’t been this much focus on other villains in the series. He reaches a new form of Super Saiyan that is introduced as Super Saiyan Rosé. His fighting with Goku, Vegeta & Future Trunks helped him gain this more powerful form which makes it more difficult to defeat him.
Zamasu
He’s the second main protagonist of this story arc. Due to his fighting skills, he became the Supreme Kai in training under Supreme Kai Gowasu in Universe 10. His character development is the most interesting. We see him as a calm Kai who has questions of the role of a Supreme Kai when it comes with dealing with mortals. It takes one interaction to push him over the edge. This interaction begins his downward spiral into becoming the villainous Kai.
Art and Animation
From the beginning of this arc, the animation & the music took a bit of a darker tone. Future Trunks’ timeline was visually dark which fed into the danger of his time. The present timeline was always sunny which reflected a more peaceful time. The visuals of each fight scene captured each blow from each fighter to where you felt that punch in the gut & that energy blasts that sent someone straight back to the ground or through a building. With today’s animation being in high definition, everything is crisp, clear, & bold.
Verdict
The Future Trunks Saga was a breath of fresh air to the Dragonball Super series at this point. The storyline could get a little confusing because of the different timelines but it was good for the audience to pay attention to the story & not so focused on just the fighting. The fight scenes were still awesome. Seeing the villain not being defeated by a spirit bomb or a Kamehameha wave was also a great decision. I give the Future Trunks Saga an 8 out of 10. Until we meet again!
