Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
It has been thirteen years since the Androids began their killing rampage and Son Gohan is the only person fighting back. He takes Bulma's son Trunks as a student and even gives his own life to save Trunks's. Now Trunks must figure out a way to change this apocalyptic future
History of Trunks is a remarkably distinct entry in the DBZ canon — a dark, dystopian alternate-timeline story that strips away the typical tournament arcs and power-level escalation in favor of genuine tragedy and loss. The plot is emotionally compelling and unusually bleak for the franchise, following Gohan and young Trunks through a world already lost, culminating in Gohan's death — a genuinely gutting moment. Its novelty is high because it perfects a singular tone: mournful, hopeless, yet heroic, unlike virtually anything else in the Dragon Ball universe. The acting (Japanese dub) carries emotional weight, particularly in the Gohan-Trunks dynamic, though it doesn't transcend the medium. Cinematography is solid TV-special quality animation for the era — expressive and occasionally striking, but not exceptional. The ending, while emotionally resonant in setup, relies on the bittersweet ambiguity of Trunks departing to the past — satisfying for fans but somewhat open-ended by necessity, keeping it from being truly definitive.