I'm social distancing; it's rainy; let's go to Universe 10. #dbsreread Thread #5: Future Trunks arc

Shoutouts to both Toyotaro and the (criminally uncredited) Shueisha digital colorists for these opening pages.

Can you believe I lost a fight for "Android" over "Artificial Human" on the Kanzenshuu Wiki, when it's right here on the page?

Android No. 17 No. 18 is Dead! Just in case you were wondering.

...But were they ever really alive to begin with?

(Yes.)

The first chapter of the arc is largely silent, outside of sound effects, for quite a few pages, as Trunks runs home, avoiding some unseen presence, and losing another city to an explosion in the process. It's ... it's really effective. I like the opening a lot.

Good page alert.

We learn Future Bulma has been killed between the last time Trunks and Mai saw each other and now (though we don't yet know by what), and it's fairy affecting.

Also, along with (possibly), the Piccolo Daimao arc beginning with the death of Kuririn, after a somewhat serious but still fairly light-hearted tournament, this is probably as radical a shift in tone between arcs as DB has ever had. Comedy with traces of tension into pure drama.

As someone who likes DB's willingness to engage in tonally radical swings, and who thinks it's at its best whipping wildly between them, I am pro this sudden, all-in shift.

By the way--Mai opens the door to Trunks and it's the first we see of Future Mai. Nothing in these scenes really invites any comical reading, but it is genuinely very funny outside of this context that the gag-pairing of Trunks and Mai has become a love to transcend timelines.

There's a bit of funny half-English on the canned meat Mai's found (which, incidentally, Toyotaro draws a little too large). "Meat" is written in English, but it also features "kanzume," a romanization of 缶詰め ("canned") in Japanese.

Sometimes grocery items will feature English translations on the packaging, but I've never seen anything just romanize Japanese words that aren't part of the name or a specific food item like that. Seems like it was just done for aesthetics, but it's a little silly.

The excitement over the canned meat not being catfood is the grimmest shit.

Trunks' life is hell.

Trunks calls the world they intend to take the Time Machine to a "並行世界の過去" (heikousekai no kako), the "past of a parallel world."

I'd forgotten Tights was present at Capsule Corp. for the setup here. She's brought Jaco along after letting it slip that Bulma was involved in time-travel research (even though she protests that's just her future self, further arousing Jaco's suspicions).

Incidentally, Jaco makes excuses about not having arrested Hit for his time-control since he wasn't altering the past.

Meanwhile, Trunks' tutor is giving a lesson about parallel timelines (convenient!), which is the weirdest thing in the world.

It's specifically the first lesson, on the first page, of a new textbook too, so I feel like Toyotaro is just acknowledging how silly it is that this is coming up in their lessons at all and leaning into it.

The tutor's explanation of parallel timelines features a guest appearance from the "Timeslip" invention from Dr. Slump.

I actually laughed out loud at her explanation too, which involves "Boy A" (Trunks) going back in time to ...

... give his mother some tasty daifuku in her childhood, causing her to choke to death.

The choking to death is so weird and sudden (intentionally, as is Trunks' put-out reaction to it) that it got me.

I guess this overview actually is necessary for people who aren't total weirdos about DB timetravel being able to pick up on what happens in the arc.

Laughed out loud again as the textbook was revealed to be a mistake--she accidentally uses an advanced college textbook just long enough to deliver the exposition. I've forgotten so many details from this arc.

She then immediately switches to subtraction, starting with 10-3. The timing on all of this is very funny.

Not quite sure what to make of Whis' talk about the Earth-Saiyans perhaps being over-reliant on controlling (suppressing? reserving?) their ki (including during Goku's fight with Hit). Reads a little ambiguously.

Toyotaro accidentally uses jagged speech bubbles for Whis' dialogue for one panel the group discuss Zen'oh. Those have to be tough to keep track, so it's surprising there are so few slip-ups with it either in Super and the original run.

Whis uses higher levels of keigo (Japanese honorific speech) when talking about Zen'oh.

We get the revelation that he destroyed six entire universes when offended once, but I'm sure that'll never be relevant again.

*tough to keep track of (two tweets up)

It'll never not weird me out that there's so much actual Japanese food highlighted in Super, after largely nothing but vaguely presented Chinese-inspired dishes in the original run. But I suppose the import of two gourmand characters learning about specific Earth food demands it.

Jaco has received a new ship as a hush-up deal from the Galactic King over what they witnessed with Hit.

A note I'd completely forgotten is that Trunks notes, while revealing to Mai that Black may have gained the ability to read ki, that ki-reading is the specialty of Earth warriors, and wonders what that means for Black's identity. I wonder what hypothesis he had in mind.

The scenes with Trunks and Mai in the future, including her "death" scene, are genuinely dramatic and effective.

I can't imagine what it would have been like to hit the ending panel reveal of Goku Black not knowing what the thrust of the arc would be, either.

(Of course, that'll just have to remain a hypothetical, since in the days of two versions running simultaneously, and advance planning and press for the arc across all kinds of media channels, absolutely everyone following this arc in the manga knew in advance about Goku Black.)

The after-chapter interstitial has Future Bulma speculating that if they can just make their one-way trip to the past, somehow they can work something out. Or, at the very least, the three of them (her, Mai and Trunks), can live there.

This is canon.

I want to acknowledge without this reading as pointless criticism that Toyotaro's figure work is a little rougher in this chapter than it has been previously--and it's an obvious anomaly even comparing it to the interstitial drawing. I feel like it might have been due...

...to the sudden increase in scenery work all of the future scenes demand, with their landscapes of wrecked buildings and desolate interiors. Consequently, though, all of the future scenes in this chapter look *really* good in color, so props to the colorists again.

I bring up the interstitials being canon because there are two really important ones this arc, and it's important to know just how absolutely canonical they are.

Summarized Bulma's interstitial dialogue wrong above, having put down the comic by the time I wrote it. "Or even better," they might be able to live in the past. Pretty notable character beat.

The second chapter of the arc starts off with the first appearance of Super Saiyan 2 Trunks. There's some fun action in his skirmish against Black, and knowing he's in 2 sells Black's power for longtime fans, but there's otherwise nothing visual/visceral that communicates it.

Trunks coming down ruthlessly from above with his sword, backflipping off of it, and later regrabbing it to fling a chunk of concrete off its end as a weapon are all fun. Toyotaro's figures and action are still a bit rougher than in their peak in U6, though.

I said that my personal favorite action in Super might be in the U6 arc, and unless I note otherwise, just assume that continues to be the case through this arc. Again, increased scenery detail and page counts are likely culprits in any rougher art. It is what it is.

Holy wow; the scene of Trunks escaping with the Time Machine is excellent.

I don't think I've read any of this arc since it very first came out, in English. A lot of this feels almost brand new.

We get a conversation as we return to the present that I want to bookmark for later in the arc. Beerus tells Vegeta and Goku they'll never become gods of destruction at their current rate. Goku reiterates that they aren't interested in the position, and Beerus pitches...

...how easy it is--all you have to do is destroy unnecessary planets every once in a while, and you can sleep as much as you want. Goku says he couldn't do anything nasty (bussou; 物騒) like that.

Remember 物騒.

Beerus flicking Goku into the pond with his tail after Vegeta knocks him flying their way is great.

Despite Beerus taking offense to Goku's slights about his work, Whis comments that he hasn't been doing that work at all recently himself.

A small note, but I feel like it's important that Beerus isn't actively destroying things while palling around with Goku and co.

DB (and all Toriyama works) are pretty flippant with morals, but it really doesn't do to have the main cast being friendly with someone who's out being an active wanton murderer (looking at you, DBS: Broly); just let us assume Goku and co. have softened him up.

Karin and Yajirobe playing Twister when Goku goes to pick up Senzu is an enjoyably goofy beat; get a kick out of the punchline of Karin admitting it's not very fun with only two guys.

Meanwhile, Yajoriobe barking out the command for "Right foot, yellow," (in SFX style) may be one of the the only instances of dialogue appearing without furigana in Dragon Ball--original or Super.

Karin, who barely has limbs, being the one playing is a visual gag of its own.

Wouldn't it be wild if Yajirobe popped up again this arc in a major role?

He won't. There's no reason I mention that.

Man, Trunks realizing that it's the real Goku and seeing his mother still alive/realizing he's made it to the past and breaking up kind of got me.

These chapters build up sympathy of Trunks in a hurry.

Of course Goku assumes his current problems are due to Majin Boo, but Trunks reveals that he's a total champ and prevented his resurrection altogether.

I wonder if Goku feels a tiiinge guilty about having actively played a hand in said resurrection. Vegeta is proud.

Lots of good background humor here that doesn't undercut the drama, like Kid Trunks™ and the Pilaf gang wondering if Large Trunks™ is a secret lovechild, Trunks' reaction upon learning the other is his future self...

...and Bulma claiming credit for creating a time machine via her future self, before immediately clarifying that it's not actually like its *her* as Whis asks if she hasn't heard that time travel is a serious offense. (An absurd echo of Jaco's dialogue last chapter)

Trunks says that Black claims to have already laid waste to a number of worlds. I'll try to keep track of this on this reread, as the exact course of Black's actions in Trunks' timeline (regarding wiping out other worlds first, etc.) have always seemed a little unclear to me.

There's so much good character work in the next page or so. Trunks finally names Goku Black (a name selected by his future mother). Goku thinks it sounds kind of cool, while Bulma wonders about her future self's sense of taste if she chose such a hackneyed name.

We get our reminder that Trunks had no plan coming to the past other than to survive, on the wishes of his mother. His survival was supposed to ensure their continued hope, but with only enough fuel to go one way (and Mai and his mother dead), all he could do was run away.

Trunks is really breaking down over this--and you can feel his frustration for having succeeded in arriving in the past, only to to have to make terms with resolving nothing--but Vegeta gets fired up over his resolution to failure, having learned Bulma's killer is at large.

Bulma angrily reminds both the gung-ho Goku and Vegeta that Trunks isn't a battle-junkie like them and deserves space to rest. Even though Vegeta's feelings on the situation are pretty understandable. 'Tis a good moment for him.

Goku stays maybe just a bit upbeat through all of this, but in general everyone feels like they're in the right place, and the tone remains serious. I like that no one jumps straight to conclusions. There's still more talk after they realize they can go to the future.

Goku also has every reason to be cocky at this point. Even if Black is strong compared to Trunks...

It's hard to tell outside of major transformation and power-up panels, but Toyotaro is careful to give Super Saiyan 2 Trunks distinct hair from his normal Super Saiyan form.

Goku tries to show off Super Saiyan 3 like a big shot (I am pro-cocky Goku), but Trunks ain't having it.

I suspect this is a somewhat controversial moment, but I don't care. I love it. I chuckled out loud when I got to it. The timing is so good.

Super Vol. 2 ends with Whis revealing the connection between Kaioshin and gods of destruction, meaning that the Beerus of Trunks' timeline is dead.

The bonus pages give us the Pilaf gang of Trunks' timeline making their wish for youth just before Piccolo dies.

Thankfully it's presented so that Gohan and Bulma (who, as @DBReduxTDC has noted, is weird to see with blue hair in pre-Super scenes), also attempting to use the DBs, wouldn't have made it in time regardless, or we'd really feel badly toward Future Mai.

I'm not so sure on mining these events for humor, but it's all a stealth setup for ending the final panel on narration about that being the first time Trunks and Mai met (as they stare at one another as babies), and that bait-and-switch *does* make me laugh.

I'm off for the night with this, but this just struck me, and I've never thought about it before. Toyotaro consistently draws Trunks' sword larger and differently shaped than it was in the original manga (sheath included).

I've always just though this was just discomfort in drawing it, but... Is it actually a different sword? The sword he uses on Freeza breaks while fighting the androids in the original Dragon Ball. Is he consciously trying to imply that this is a replacement?