I have no way of proving it but I couldn't deny it either.... I mean, I mean that in this community the devotion and admiration for Akira Toriyama's work is completely superlative and unquestionable... That's why, when it comes to reviewing a chapter of his masterpiece, it's not only not an easy task but it's completely challenging for the one who writes to you. However, I must add that what it says in the title reflects my personal, subjective opinion. There are no absolute truths here. It is an opinion and an argument, nothing more.
However, I cannot stress that I have not hesitated, not even for a moment in deciding what for me is the best chapter of all of Drsgon Ball Z. And I stand by it, guys... But I invite you to do a mental exercise. Place yourselves on the couch at home or wherever you used to watch TV waiting for Dragon Ball. In my case, in my living room. At around 5 or 6 in the evening, with all the volume that old TV could hold... Why do I consider ‘Trunks of the Future’ to be the best episode of all? Well, for a number of rather interesting reasons...
Source
Trunks, brings the inevitable conflict to the Z Warriors storyline. For the first time, the biggest threat isn't even mortal. I mean, it's not another creature that can be defeated, let alone experience terror and die, no? Rather, the news Trunks makes his entrance with is related to Goku's incurable and utterly fatal illness, and the inevitable (until then) arrival of the Androids and Cell (that last one is explained later. But it belongs to the Future Trunks arc). Also, so far (don't forget the mental exercise. We're kids again, we don't know the fate or plot of DBZ.) the only Super Saiyan is Goku, no one else....
We witness three major milestones in the same episode. The defeat of Freezer for the second time, of his father (a complete useless, haha) and of Goku's new technique; teleportation... Plus Trunks, who is a young guy, much older than Yamcha and only slightly older than Gohan from that period, defeats Freezer with a superiority hard to forget. His outfit, I'm pretty sure, was the envy of all the kids of that era. Plus, it brought out how beautifully the sword accessory looks. And if that wasn't enough... Bulma sees face to face what her son will look like in a few years, while not being able to recognise him with the naked eye... And Vegetta, oh God, Trunks consciously knows his father, the Saiyan Prince.
In the original time of this peculiar Trunks, his father, along with almost all of the Z Warriors, died battling against the Androids 17 and 18..... Plus Goku's death from a heart virus. So, Trunks means the hope, the strength, the illusion but above all the plot twist that Dragon Ball Z needed. Don't forget, that after Freezer's defeat at the hands of Goku in the saga, the story returns to that plateau of a bland shonen show, family friendly and half-boyish? It's Trunks I want to bring fresh air and strength to everything. Moreover, the ‘battle’ between Goku Super Saiyan and Trunks Super Saiyan is brief, yes, but totally aesthetic and beautiful from the point of view of the anime. More than 25 years have passed since the premiere of this episode, and much more since the first time we saw Dragon Ball Z, but here I am, a 32-year-old anime-loving woman who still hasn't forgotten Trunks and the impact he had on that little girl...
Source
