Where Did Future Trunks Go During the 3 Year Time Skip?

[@LSMMIKE]

Where did Trunks go and what did he do during the 3 year time skip in the Cell Saga? Did the SAME Trunks return, or another one from a different timeline? I discuss that all and MORE in-depth in this video!

[@donovanbradford8231]

A fun video and I think the answer really depends on what you are looking at manga vs anime because the dialogue is very different in both versions which leads to believe things unfold differently in the grand scheme of things. But always fun to listen to these and nerd out with everyone.

[@otherhalf228]

Mike.. (another awesome video by the way 👍🏻)@laughingstockmedia while this theory is sound.! There's just one problem. He stated that before he returned using trunks time machine he was in search of 17 and &18 and wasn't able to locate them since trunks killed both of them. Meaning THIS trunks would have to have been stronger . Thus trunks{16 post training} had to have been the one who killed the androids. Since trunks {13, pre timeskip} stated he wasn't anywhere near their power level. So while I like this theory... It just isn't adding up. But ultimately there are just way too many plot holes in the whole of the android arc honestly toriyama has stated many times that they (I'm assuming the shonen jump higher ups) weren't happy with his ideas so he made alterations.. again and again and again. With all the interference.. I'm surprised we have this arc at all. RIP toriyama 🕶️ legend

[@najadamu2724]

@@otherhalf228 Cell doesn't know how the #17 and #18 in his timeline disappeared; he just assumed that Trunks had something to do with it. He could've gotten stronger than them and defeated them in conventional battle, or he found/had Bulma create the remote control that deactivated them.

[@luckimonster2298]

I was thought that Trunk never went back to his future but just leap 3 yrs after meeting Goku 🤔! Thats y he never realized at the time he didn't change anything in his timeline 🙂.

[@hunterXhamster]

He went back to the future.

[@101mrcrazyman]

thanks now i dont got to watch this

[@AndrewAce.]

:)

[@anthonywomack2260]

Lol @ your name😂

[@famalam943]

Doc! We have to go back!

[@barrysmith4610]

Ikr didnt know this was such a mystery

[@deviousj5868]

They told Trunks "Relax buddy, we're professionals." As they prepared to execute the least coordinated effort in Dragon Ball history.

[@OBITOMAJIN]

😂😂😂

[@OBITOMAJIN]

😂😂😂😂

[@HakumeiTenshi]

I'm just glad that Mike finally realized that Trunks isn't a time travel expert. A few points made in the Dragon Ball Plot holes video involved Trunks' decisions related to time travel and it bugged me that he expected Trunks would know how exactly tine travel worked when he had nothing to do with the time machines creation.

[@bryankennedy3719]

This needs to be pinned Exactly!

[@kitkat6959]

He's like me with my car. I don't know much besides how to steer and brake and accelerate

[@LSMMIKE]

That's one of the great things about the story, you can read or watch it countless times and still pick up on new perspectives. My video coming out Thursday, April 21st at 1pm EST is all about this.

[@joehispanico]

@@LSMMIKE hey Mike, any chance we can get a graph or chart showing each of the timelines created? In my count there’s at least 4 trips by Trunks and 1 by Cell.

[@blaketindle4703]

I like the phrase “Let’s take a closer look, and find out.”

[@MrJoey889]

Me too, the phrase he used in the video just isn’t “it”

[@Izelor]

What's stupid in this arc is that Trunks didn't have to wait 3 years. Dude, you have a time machine, just set the date 3 years later and you are there. Or even better, stay and train with them! An extra Super Saiyan could be really useful during sparring.

[@George-u4i]

he would have ended up in a whole new timeline thats how time theory works. when you go to the past you affect that timelines future not yours which would explain why when he went back to his timeline all the z fighters were still dead

[@Izelor]

@@George-u4i you didn't understand what I was saying. Trunks went back to his timeline and waited for 3 years before he went back in time again, when he could just time travel in the same timeline 3 years later without having to wait.

[@George-u4i]

@@Izelor that's if his time machine can keep him in the same timeline. It was probably required for him to wait the three years just like they did in order to meet them in their present time and not end up in a whole new timeline

[@Izelor]

@@George-u4i this is just a hypothetical scenario though. The only possible explanation would be that this is an early 90s show, when time travel wasn't so saturated and, since the internet didn't exist, questions such as this would never come up.

[@gohanking12]

@@George-u4iNo he wouldn’t because he didn’t go further back to when he originally came like Cell did he’s going forward… The events already happened!

[@shark94lol]

I always assumed that he didn’t actually waited for three years and just went to the Android arrival day after seeing that is timeline didn’t change

[@deegee2416]

Yes, that's what I'm curious about. I mean, does it take him 3 years to energizer the time machine? Why does he have to wait 3 years in his timeline for a previous timeline to go back 3 years forward from that event? The only time he waited 3 years for his own timeline is after he already beat the androids. We are just assuming he went back to tell his mother he gave Goku the vaccine. And everything is working out like they planned. Then he probably told Bulma that he would go back there to help them.

[@veryangryboi4128]

In the viz translation Bulma states it takes 8 months for the time machine to charge if that counts. I assume he waited that long then went back to the past. I think Trunks is the same Trunks that fought Mecha Frieza. Since Cell came from 3 years futher than Trunks did. We don't know if the future can affect the past. All we know is changing the past will create a new future.

[@dereckkessler]

He should have went back to save future Gohan. Even if it doesn't help his time-line

[@divineeternity7268]

The most interesting arc in all of Dragonball. Hands down.

[@AnxMa]

DB Z (and GitS) introduced me into Anime genre. I was so close to visiting Japan one point myself. I had experience with modeling and in late 2015 I was in contact with Capcom about the facial likeness role of Leon for the Resident Evil 2 Remake. I failed to mention I also have a voice acting background, in the end I lost the part and I can't forgive myself for wasting such an opportunity to visit the place that inspired artists like Toriyama San. R.I.P.

[@shyplox]

Save up some $$ and make it happen bro i believe in you

[@bwilson774]

Consistency and lore building was never Toriyama's strong suit. He was trying to end the story since the Freeza arc, but fans kept asking for more. He said himself that he didn't want to do dragon ball until he died. He said himself "I want to live to be 100". The man had a family and a life outside of writing Dragon Ball, just enjoy the story on its face value as the man wrote it.

[@DADRB0B55]

I was actually pondering this question to myself just yesterday while half asleep, Trunks seemed to not age or get any stronger unlike when he went into the time chamber which was odd unless trunks spent 3 whole years doing nothing but sitting on his ass

[@VidelxSpopovich]

I always just assumed he headed further in time.

[@justinarzola4584]

It also makes me question what he was doing while the future androids were running around unless he was spending that time in an alternate plane.

[@KaimIICOD]

When Trunks examines the time machine that Cell used to travel, he notes that it came from the year 788, which is three years in the future from the year he comes from. This means that in his second trip, Trunks comes from the year 785. We know that Trunks was born in the year 766 and that during his first visit, he was 17 years old, which means that took place in the year 783. Therefore, Trunks is not the same age during his first and second visits.

[@David-mk5yq]

I still wonder about what happened in the 'unseen timeline.' In that timeline, Goku survived the heart virus, just like in ours. The key difference is that Future Trunks, who visited this timeline, was killed by Cell, and there was no future Cell time traveling back to the unseen timeline. The only Cell present here is the one from Dr. Gero's lab, but that cell isn't released from the lab until around Age 785. I speculate that in this timeline, the Z fighters only had to deal with Androids 16, 17, and 18, or perhaps those androids turned 'good' like in our present timeline and weren't aggressive like in Future Trunks' timeline. My headcanon for what happened in this timeline is the movie 'Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13.' I wonder if Majin Buu appeared in this timeline, or if events like 'Dragon Ball Super' unfolded. It would be wild if they did, and this version of Cell somehow acquired god ki from all the cells and data collected during 'Super.' Maybe in age 785, this timeline got the "perfect cell max" we never got lol.

[@LSMMIKE]

I did a video all about the Unseen Timeline that you can see here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6S3l3yPiM6Goac

[@superiorkaos]

you should check out dragon ball multiverse. They have their own fan take on the unseen timeline and others

[@petscorner.official]

Trunks goes to his timeline , he sees nothing changed , he came back again, where he sees lots of things changed , he collects information about androids in cave, creates remote to kill them, tested it , it worked out , went to his timeline kills androids then After winning he tried to tell this news to that timeline Cell shows up kills him and went back Creating different timeline which we see in our canon But... in manga its mention cell just pushed button to go back 1 year friza arrived ..which completely falsify my theory But cell mentioned there was no androids in that timline so cell show up and went back.. But why trunks heading before 1 year frizza arrived Does he wanted to create again a new timline ??? B

[@anthonywomack2260]

Why didn't Dr.Gero just make Cell as strong as he wanted him to be in the first place?

[@mario125ww]

Probably as a fail safe. If cell was strong enough, he could kill him. But making him weak he control android 18, 17 and cell.

[@MaxIronsThird]

he couldn't

[@marks2053]

There were always problems with the bio-organic androids. They had more free will, and cells biology was basically a pool of saiyan, human, friezas, namekian DNA. It would be too dangerous to make him perfect immediately. Cell is the first and only of his kind, lots of power in him.

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Amazing work as always! You're the Best 🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤❤

[@primetimetv8452]

Man I love these future timeline breakdowns!!

[@deviousj5868]

It's the one arc with the biggest plot holes and raises the most questions.

[@newhybrid101]

It was always obvious he was went away for 3 years,thats how it was implied. He came back stronger cause the dialogue implies he was closer to Vegeta and Gokus level than he was at Piccolos. Id say he was at 155,000,000 when he attacked Mecha Frieza(suppressed) and when he returned he was at like 200,000,000,while Goku and Vegeta were over 250,000,000

[@Luke973T]

Where exactly in the manga I'd it implied that he got stronger than his first appearance? Being the 3rd strongest just means that vegeta surpassed him and piccolo is closer to trunks than he was 3 years prior. Vegeta was still significantly stronger than trunks and goku was close to vegeta.

[@deviousj5868]

He just went to his time. That's my logic, at least.

[@najadamu2724]

@@Luke973T After the Z-Warriors are beaten up by #17 and #18, Trunks muses that they're stronger than the ones in his own timeline, because he could at least put up a decent fight against his own timeline's Androids. And no, I don't subscribe to the theory that #17 and #18 were holding back against Trunks. It's simpler to assume that the butterfly effect just made the present timeline's #17 and #18 stronger for whatever reason, beause it's part of the narrative to hype up the threat of the Androids until Cell arrives on the scene and becomes the real Big Bad.

[@Luke973T]

@najadamu2724 that's not a theory. 17 said he wasn't even using half of his strength in the future. Then he destroys gohan so bad that the fight isn't even shown. Trunks was just unaware of this and the anime did a poor job by not showing it as it was in the manga.

[@oxymrn7038]

@newhybrid101 That doesn't make sense because Future Bulma straight up says Trunks grows taller after he comes back from the past the final time. Going by your logic your saying Trunks would have been 20 years old after the timeskip and 22 years old when he went back to the future. Not to mention he looks exactly the same. The time machine only takes 8 months to recharge and Trunks says that charging the time machine was the only reason for him to delay his return, and he wasn't sure he would even survive that long. He didn't have the luxury that the present Z fighters had to train for 3 years.

[@Bioguy5]

Actually, it makes sense that the original Trunks that gave Goku the medicine was the one killed by Cell. If the Trunks in Cell's timeline defeated his android, but wasn't strong enough to defeat imperfect Cell, then that means that he probably used the Killswitch. If Trunks could defeat both androids at once, then he could have also cooked imperfect Cell too. Cell also said that he "just pushed the button" when he used the time machine. And if the time machine was set to the same time as before when Trunks defeated Freiza, then that's where it would have taken Cell. I actually think it's very compelling that the Trunks that saved the Earth from Frieza, saved Goku, and freed his own timeline was ultimately killed. It's very tragic. It seems that Trunks in all future timelines is doomed to never catch a break.

[@adolfodef]

When the "original" (not the "first iteration", but rather the world were no time machines have ever existed in its past) version of mirai!Bulma was creating the first time machine, she have had already collected enough energy for TWO complete round trips. . The first trip was supposed to be a short "test drive" to DISPROVE the other conflicting theory regarding ontological inertia (that changing things on the past "erased" the future of the previous timeline and/or also "retconned" the time machine & its passengers on their return. -> The existence of this "hidden timeline" is suggested by the numbers of time rings seen in Universe 10 (once we account for another documented time-traveler from Universe 12), since all universes are locked to a single common timestream. . The mirai!Bulma of the other timelines have had the same idea (collecting enough energy for two round trips), but as soon as she planned the details regarding how she would VERIFY the initial "test drive" (using some kind of time-displacement sensors), she discovered that the exact same "trace" she designed already existed [meaning her timeline was not "original", but an iteration]. -> This is why mirai!Trunks could go first to the date Freeza arrives to Earth, back to his time & then almost immediately (from his point of view) travel to the day of the Android Attacks [but then he had to wait ~3 years for another trip]. [Alternatively]: In Dragon Ball Super, Bulma asks Goku to retrieve a rare blue crystal from the depths of planet Earth (a solid version of the same liquid "Unobtanium" normally used to power the time machine). This sugests that in the future Bulma may have found a rare deposit on the surface that contained it (brought from the core by an extremely rare/lucky volcanic eruption). -> Then this "initial supply" would be enough for 2 round trips (actually just 1, plus an "almost" enough for another, with the second trip still needing some time to artificially produce the rest of this substance in enough quantities). Given that actually "finishing" the Time Machine took more effort than expected (because of the regular disruptions in Bulma´s "supply chain" from the random attacks of 17 & 18); the exact value of the "fuel tank" on the Time Machine varies slightly on each iteration [changing how likely it is for Trunks to appear sooner or later than intended]. In any case, Cell comes from an iteration were the Time Machine had more than enough fuel and SHOULD be manually piloted to prevent "overshooting" & waste of fuel. Because Cell was incapacitated & unconscious (as an egg), he was unaware of all the alarms, warnings & suggestions to "stop" or "abort" (even if the piloting system was simple enough for him to understand it). -> The Time Machine "defaulted" to continue to move into the past (also drifting in space, because of lack of guidance), until it completely run out of fuel; materializing & automatically performing an emergency landing in a random place of Earth.

[@chopstyx141]

Im glad you made this video, i recently watched a video explaining this topic and how theres potentially like 25 different timelines by the time we have caught up to current super

[@anthonymurchison8035]

“He raced off to face them and woke up in the hospital” 😂😂😂

[@michaelmayers3622]

Bulma either knew trunks couldnt go back in his own timeline or they said fuck it lets test it out

[@ppmusikk]

Hey Mike, in your “unseen timeline” video, you stated everything pretty much played out the same as the main timeline up until piccolo fusing with Kami. How could all the butterfly effects that took place in the main timeline also play out in the unseen timeline if it’s implied that cell going back in time and creating the main timeline is the reason for all the changes? (i.e. Goku’s heart virus occurring later, androids 19 & 20 showing up to the island, 17 & 18 being stronger yet less evil, & the existence of 16. I’m sure you’ve already tackled this but Id love to have it explained in detail. Thanks!

[@ppmusikk]

I know Trunks time traveling to the unseen timeline would have created some of those butterfly effects as well but how could all of them occur just like they did in the main timeline if there was no cell that traveled to the past of the unseen timeline?

[@eranshachar9954]

I think that it make sense the Trunks we originally saw, was the one that got killed by Cell. Imagine if both Future Trunks showed up to battle. We would have a trio of the same character which is freaking insane. This only raises more questions like- How did the Trunks that showed up knew about a conversation that he didn't do with Goku? Time traveling only make things more insane than we could possibly imagine. As for him getting stronger I believe he did. I believe the Trunks we saw fought at least once more with the androids to get a Zenkai. I highly disagree that they can't get Zenkais from fighting the androids, I believe they did get them.

[@CJ-111]

Is Super not one big plot hole? Are there not only one set of angels? Would they not only be found in the OG timeline?

[@chrisblanc663]

I never understood why he left their time. He should have just stayed with them for the 3 years before the android attack.

[@trisonicbrandtech]

I mean he didn't want to stay around and risk his mom finding out who he was and how we came to be, plus possibly upending the existence of that timeline's trunks. With that said, he could have just stayed in the background and did absolutely nothing in staying away from all the other characters but I figured he felt it there's no need to risk it

[@zerocks88]

him going into the future and exploring the lab to create the control and or learning how to open the lab in the past and then preparing to go back to try it out makes the most sense

[@WetBanditYGO]

Yes! this has always been my biggest question about trunks. Thanks for making this video bro!

[@kiweeltyler3586]

Hey Mike can you please do a video on how trunks got his sword? I know it’s from a movie but was it at a certain time before the androids arrived?

[@Balrog-tf3bg]

If memory serves me right he got the sword shortly after Gohan was killed

[@hanshawks5088]

Did Trunks and Gohan sword 🗡️ fight?😮😮😮

[@Balrog-tf3bg]

@@hanshawks5088 no… Gohan died before Trunks got it sadly.

[@xfourxshadowsx]

This is incredibly thought-provoking. It's been a while since I saw it, but I don't believe I recall qaaman talking about this in his alternate timeline theory video a couple years back. This whole time I've thought he was the same Trunks and that cell being in the main timeline was a plothole. This video actually inspires another theory in my head which is slightly different with what you're saying. What I gather is that CELL essentially created TWO alternate timelines by going back in time. There is only one future trunks we see the main timeline though. In what you might call an unseen timeline, Trunks goes back to fight Frieza and give Goku medicine. He then goes back to the future. In supposedly three future years, he returns to the past 3 years after fighting freeza where attains a means to destroy the androids (probably the remote we see bulma give krillin in the main timeline). After defeating the androids, he prepares to go back to the past to tell everybody there he's won only to get killed by cell before he can leave. Cell goes to the past to before trunks went back to the past laying dormant in his larval state. This is where it gets interesting. Cell is in the past of this unseen timeline where trunks was already meant to appear in it, but because of cell's presence there, the outcome is now the main timeline which is what we see and is completely different as cell's presence makes it so that trunks stays to train and to figure out the situation with cell rather than focusing on going back to the future. Cell's presence in the past and the events that transpire because of it prevent any possibility of the same future events which would bring him to the past. This means cell traveling to the past created an alternate past and future that did not exist prior to cell time traveling. That's pretty much it, but some more details into this theory are that this follows alternate timeline theories as trunks explained and that the following timelines exist : unseen timeline- Goku gets medicine and lives. We can speculate the androids are destroyed by nonviolent means- most likely a remote. Goku gets medicine from Trunks who is from the future, more specifically, from what we can call "Cell's timeline" Cell's timeline- The future where the original trunks and time machine existed. This is the same trunks and time machine as mentioned above where trunks went to the unseen past and attained a means to defeat the androids Main timeline and alternate future(or you could call it alternate unseen timeline and alternate cell's timeline)- originally this could've been the past of the unseen timeline because Trunk is preordained at that point to arrive, but it changes because cell goes back BEFORE trunks ever arrived, therefore creating a timeline in which the cell games transpire and eventually a FUTURE where Trunks beats the androids and cell. I feel pretty solid about this but there might be some issues I missed. Not sure you'll even see this since I'm so late commenting but it was fun to think about either way. I kind of just wanted to make sense of what this video was about and ended up with something a little different AS I was typing lol

[@jacejan3128]

I remember having a similar conversation with my friends back when DBZ was first coming out on Toonami. It was about whether or not that was the same Trunks, or if they were different iterations. It always seemed plausible to me that we were seeing different Trunks (is the plural of Trunks, Trunks? Like Moose, right?)

[@NickMorrison78]

He went back home to his mother of course.

[@rossbaker7400]

I've just rewatched the Broly movie and was thinking, if it did take place during the 10 days before the cell games based on how it ended with Boku getting the power up how would this impact the cell games. I wonder was this after Vegeta and trunks 2nd time in the chamber or first? If first then would they get stronger after knowing Goku's true strength and Brolys? Would they in fact all get a small zenkai from facing Broly. Would they be able to take down the cell JRs after fighting Broly? Would vegeta take Trunks with him on his 2nd turn to spar with knowing he has to do something drastic to catch up to Gokus new power up? So many possibility's in this what if and I don't think anyone has yet covered this?

[@SporkyMcFly]

In my head he travels a certain amount of time, not to a specific date. He went back 20 years to end up at the correct date. Then when he steps back into the time machine he goes forward the same exact amount of time to end up in his own timeline. He spends three years in his own time, presumably training, to go back the exact amount of time that he did last to end up in the correct timeline. If he hops back to the moment he left he will now be in a different timeline to his own.

[@sonicgen20]

20 actually. Trunks is from 20 years in the future. Trunks was about 17 the first time, and 20 years old when he returned.

[@SporkyMcFly]

@@sonicgen20 Thanks for the clarification. Edited and fixed.

[@sonicgen20]

@@SporkyMcFly your welcome.

[@brad-leelindo25]

how did both adult size androids fit in perfect cell if they weren't digested?

[@LSMMIKE]

Perhaps the same way Kami fit inside of a tiny jar after Piccolo shrunk him.

[@Spurgte]

The androids are shrunk inside its tail using piccolo genes idk its either that or they're already dead

[@talcumx2124]

Maybe the same way capsule technology works.

[@justinarzola4584]

I assumed their bodies shrunk.

[@AndrewAce.]

He was in the future for three year training, right? Or did he just jump ahead in time?

[@Marsuru1]

He couldn't have jumped ahead. If he did, he probably would've come back to warn the Z-Fighters of the extra two androids.

[@OneCut1Slash]

I don't even think he trained 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@pkj2148]

@@Marsuru1 What he means is that he went back to his future, the one he came from. 19 and 20 don't exist there.

[@Marsuru1]

@@pkj2148 Oh, I see! My bad.

[@DrBacalex]

1:18 “let me know in the comments” hits different now

[@Rikoyasha15]

I kinda assumed he jumped 3 more yrs when the Androids appeared and not wanting to damage change the timeline anymore than what he already had cause if he said with them the whole 3 yrs that may have affected Vegeta and Bulma getting together or conceiving Trunks

[@chrismorgan4298]

Got caught up with crona and became a time trooper

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Love your content Mike! You're amazing 😊😊😊❤❤

[@joehiker1914]

I've always suspected that the first Trunks to show up was the one that Cell killed and stole his time machine. Then there was an alternate Trunks timeline created where that Trunks traveled back to the current timeline and is the one who took part in the Cell games.

[@________5347]

If Trunks took 3 years to return, he’d be 20. He didn’t age a day. He went in the RoSaT and retuned taller and more mature. By the time he killed his timeline’s Cell, he looked even older.

[@plains7000]

Wait to I turn 3x11 in age on June 5th then I own the last 3 in 1 manga books of DBZ's Cell and Boo sagas. I'm still busy reading the Namek saga here with what I currently have here with Volumes 1-27

[@Nury-nkay]

PLEASE READ THAT IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ! What actually happens in the timeline where cell never appears because Trunks ends the loop of the main timeline. Does that not create another timeline where a loop is made that is similar to the unseen timeline. And is there then only one timeline the main timeline that has the cell saga. Please if these question has been anwesered once comment.

[@lavishtalkg26]

Yo bro i got a question its kinda all over the place but ima try and near it down as much as possible if goku first went ssj on namek and trunks went ssj on his first appearance in the android saga is safe to say that trunks and gohan went ssj before goku ?

[@DarkapostlesASMR]

I always assumed he just returned in the same place just three years later. Outside it was three years. To him, it was three seconds

[@sonicgen20]

If he did that would end up a different version of 767(the year the androids appeared). To ensure he always returns to the same timeline he knows he has to keep the coordinates fixed to 20 years ago. Changing it to any different amount of years through time, 17 years ago, 10 years years, anything other than 20 years ago will simply result in Trunks visiting a different timeline than before, it won’t be the same version of the Z warriors he met in the 20 years ago coordinates. To properly see his friend’s future he just has to wait out that same amount of time. Likely Trunks spent those three years hiding from his androids and self training the best he can.

[@JayyyTheGr8]

Wen I was younger watching it. I also wondered how trunks fought the androids in the future if they were defeated/absorbed in the past. Then I got older and learned about multiverses. 😅

[@jerimyjohnston4192]

This is unrelated but i recently saw a short of frieza blowing the planet up. Do you think majin buu survived?

[@kylebrandon4556]

The trunks cell killed was from the future he came from. So the one that appears is the same one that we met at the start of this arch

[@spartangreg1]

I've definitely come across this theory before, how Trunks created the problems by going back in time and creating a multiverse. The thing that throws me off though is how the original Trunks get killed by Cell (for killing the androids) since he wasn't strong enough. Based on what we know from the comic, show and this video, there was no major power boost from when he left Goku originally, up until his meeting Cell. Because if the time machine was already pre-set, after Trunks had already killed the androids, then he shouldn't have been killed by Cell, given that he would be strong enough after killing BOTH androids himself.

[@JonathanHayes-uz3ee]

he went straight to 3 years in the future

[@sonicgen20]

No, remember, multiverse theory. If Trunks did jump straight to 3 years later, it would be a completely different version of that year that never met a future Trunks before nor were they warned about androids in the future. It won’t be the same main timeline that the viewers follow.

[@muhammod95]

Idk, Mike blew my mind with that one 😅 If him going back in time created a parallel timeline, can he truly go back to his original timeline, or did he return to a different, parallel future? We don't really know, nor do we know why or how Cell ended up traveling to 1 year earlier than future Trunks originally traveled to. What we do know is that, somehow, there were multiple different "future" timelines

[@JonathanHayes-uz3ee]

@@sonicgen20 why? why would jumping three years immediately matter? wouldn't jumping to the future, and then jumping back also lead to that as well? A completely different version?

[@sonicgen20]

@@JonathanHayes-uz3ee Only if Trunks sets the time machine to anything other than that same 20 years into the past. If he sets it to anything else, 19, 18, 17, 10, etc. years into the past it will be a different new time line that Trunks has never visited before. 20 years ago is essentially his friends home dimension.

[@JonathanHayes-uz3ee]

@@sonicgen20 so its "The Tomorrow War" time-travel logic?

[@petscorner.official]

Thank you ❤well understood

[@TheJadeFist]

In the case of the Androids, I always just assumed that because Trunks came back and stepped into the fight with Freiza and Cold and notified everyone of the dangers ahead, he created a new timeline from that point. So that's 2, then he came back again so that's 3, and Cell traveled back, 4, Trunks again this time going forward while strong enough to take on Cell before that Cell can travel backwards so it affected the past, that's 5. There are at least 5 timelines here, maybe forgetting something there, but at least 5. Then of course we end up with Future-er Trunks and Zamatsu/ Black in Super, but we can ignore for this discussion.

[@carloscatarino7890]

I've always assumed he just traveled 3 years to the future straight away.

[@Mike-u8g]

The trunks from movies is likely the same trunks that appeared when the androids appeared after warning goku and the z fighters

[@matheusribeirosoares3427]

What about a video about future Doctor Gero? Brazil 🌴

[@hanshawks5088]

Trunks should have gone to King Kai for training

[@mikeg8768]

The other Trunks was going back to let the others know of the remote to deactivate the Androids.

[@lololol924]

Its crazy to think just what kind of tech bulma created. She didnt just make a time machine, she made a parallel universe transport. Trunks is able to jump to timelines that no longer connect to his own on a whim. The moment trunks killed freeza and gave goku the medication to save his life, he created a branch that no longer connects to his future, and yet hes able to jump back and forth between them.

[@mazerinthemage2395]

I always thought it was a different Trunks, even as a kid, when it first aired on Toonami. I didn't know that was a controversial take XD

[@mr.patriotjol]

17:30 I don’t think this is a different trunks from the future. This is the same one that we met from his first appearance. It’s just a time paradox issue due to cells influence

[@arrownoir]

He went Alabama with Bulma for those 3 years. Gotta repopulate the earth somehow.

[@jenothemississippianofmand5202]

I had a theory that the trunks we see initially isn’t the same trunks we see in the middle of the android saga. From the time we see trunks the first time an entirely different timeline plays out. Tho up to the point where we see him again its the same events goku training, vegeta super saiyan etc. The divergence happens when trunks returns to see Android 20. Because cell hadn’t yet made his trip back trunks only focus is on destroying the androids via shutdown remote. Which was made from schematics in Gero’s lab. He takes this to the future and is killed by Cell who then makes his trip back. Cell’s presence in the timeline is what keeps the second trunks from going back as he is notified of the original time machine. Cell makes his presence known and we see how this play out. This second Trunks goes back to his time and eventually kills Cell. As it would have started the events again.

[@dariusturner1171]

Hey Mike!!! Question can you do a video of what if Goku took a senzu bean right after fighting Cell? Please

[@SamsarasArt]

I presume Trunks went back to his own timeline. I always figured he trained there in preparation for the androids showing up in the past three years later. I think time flows at the same rate between the two timelines.

[@demigod1014]

I love time travel but I didn't understand much what he said lol. Still love this video

[@WRaeth_]

You got that bit at the end wrong, it’s the same Future Trunks that came back the first time. The one that was killed went to timeline 2 which we never actually see and saved Goku. He then went back and killed the androids in timeline 1 but was then killed by cell. Cell then went back in time to timeline 4. Future Trunks from timeline 3 then went back to timeline 4 to save Goku. After cell from timeline 1 was killed (perfect cell) trunks went back to timeline 3, killed the androids and then killed cell because he knew of his existence this time.

[@CJ-dk3im]

Or a THIRD theory: It’s the same Trunks that returns three years later, but an alternate PAST he returns to with ALTERNATE Z fighters.

[@alexandrostheodorou8387]

I just thought right after he beat Frieza and met Goku. He got in his machine and traveled to when the android would appear. I didn’t think he went straight home to Bulma.

[@KenyionDouglas]

Another video idea what if Cell tried to self destruct against Vegeta and Trunks like he tried with Gohan

[@kda9x]

It seems like Gero was unprepared to deal with the Dragon Team after they trained for the 3 years, and was forced to release the main timeline androids, earlier then they were supposed to. In the original timeline, Gero probably made some attempts to limit the Androids' personalities and power. Likely why 16 was never released. 19 and 20 probably attacked the city on the same day, but were only brought into conflict with the warriors later on. Hell, it's even possible that 19 and 20 weren't killed by 17 and 18, and instead died to Vegeta or something. Unlikely, but possible.

[@deegee2416]

I'm kind of confused. So, the Trunks that gave Goku the vaccine, that told Goku, he would go back to let his mother know what happened. Why does this Trunks have to wait 3 years? In other words, that can't be the same Trunks. Because the only Trunks that stopped Cell. Is the Trunks that trained in that Room of Spirit. The Trunks that came back, could not be the untrained Trunks. Because Cell would have killed him. If it's the untrained Trunks. Then it could only be the Trunks that maybe has the remote to turn off the androids. And if that is the Trunks. Then it's still not possible. Because there needs to be a Trunks that successfully goes back without getting killed by Cell. So I'm not understanding this theory. When the original Trunks went back in time to tell his mother what happened. I mean, does it take him 3 years to energizer the time machine? Why does he have to wait 3 years for a previous timeline to go back 3 years forward? It's a time machine. Unless it takes 3 years to energize the machine?

[@galacticgalaxyonezerone7235]

I will say I like the route they went with how time travel works as far as changing stuff in one time line won’t affect another directly the only way it can is like trunks did himself went back to his timeline super strong compared to his previous power and resulted in the androids being easily eliminated plus cell later on. Also in cases that me cause a zamasu situation because it seemed like he was transitioning and existing in multiple time lines which corrupted that whole multiverse almost much worse who knows what would have happened had goku not called Zeno when he did.

[@tk24life]

Maybe I'm wrong, but if someone arriving from the future starts a new timeline, doesn't that mean Trunks going back the second time starts a new timeline? Wouldn't that mean there's a timeline where Trunks arrives the first time but not the second time? I'd like to know what that timeline would look like.

[@RigalicReign]

The main problem with the dead Trunks is how he got rid of the androids in that timeline. He would have to have had the controller to get rid of the androids because if he was strong enough to kill them he should not have been snuck up on by cell

[@SSJ2LINK]

I was under the impression he just travelled three years into the future in the main timeline. I didn’t think he went back at all

[@Jreaddy]

This is so damn confusing that’s why I ignore it lmfao. It’s true tho, our OG trunks was killed when trying to come back by cell. That’s all I got lmfao

[@najadamu2724]

One could say the Trunks we're introduced to was never the OG Trunks, because by that time, OG Cell had already been there for a year. So we never got to see the OG Trunks, because he was killed and had his time machine stolen by Cell a year before we see this duplicate Trunks - ostensibly identical to the original up until his second trip to the past - kill Freeza & King Cold; give Goku his medicine; and then wind up surviving because of the awakening of the OG Cell from a timeline parallel to his own.

[@relicdad88]

​@@najadamu2724but wouldn't trunks have 2 get 2 the past b4 cell? Cuz if cells cells came from the fight with Frieza n king cold on earth. Idk it's all a mess really I always thought trunks went back in time warned them went back 2 his time and was planning 2 come back and help fight n thats when he got killed and cell took the machine. But again its jus confusing, was there a timeline where Goku beat Frieza n cold on earth cuz that would make more sense how cell could go back b4 trunks.

[@johnnycee9325]

@@relicdad88 it's 3 timelines. The original where goku dies of the heart virus, the one when trunks comes back kills frieza gives goku the medicine goes back somehow kills the androids and tries to go back again only to be killed by cell, THEN the one where trunks isn't killed by cell only to make it to 2 years after frieza.

[@relicdad88]

​@@johnnycee9325man talk about a mess lol I get confused jus thinking bout all that stuff dang butterfly effect stuff

[@tim6454]

I always assumed that he traveled to the next time we see him. Its not like he had to wait the 3 years.

[@_.El._]

Theory-Trunks returned back to his time to let Bulma know everything went as planned. Returned to May 12th to aide the Z-fighters vs the Androids. The Time Machine took about maybe months to recharge so Trunks is would still be 17 yrs old.

[@smob0]

I think he could have been training for a large part of the 3 years. We don't get to see anything that compares Android saga trunks to when he killed freeza, and it's possible he might be stronger. I wouldn't expect him to have anywhere near the kinds of gains as goku or vegeta, since goku has sparring partners and vegeta has gravity training. Trunks also seemed to only really have raw power from being a super saiyan and lacks technique. When he went back during the android arc, he seemed to benefit a lot from being around all the experienced warriors, and I think that this was the major factor in him beating the androids in his time. The androids I feel are the same as trunks when he first comes back, they are pretty bad at fighting, but just stomped everyone with raw power. Which is a nice compliment to cell, who is kinda the opposite, cell is relatively weak but very good at fighting on a technical level.

[@artizzy2k2k]

I feel like it's the same Trunks since he goes back to his timeline, survives, he has no means of destroying the androids yet, thus Cell wouldn't need to find Trunks and steal the time machine. The timeline Cell came from was an alternate timeline where Trunks just gets the schematics and destroys the androids that way I feel like.

[@Epsilonsama]

Charging that time Machine

[@Mike-u8g]

The events of Goku black likely took place in cell saga trunks timeline as that trunks had grade 3 ssj but the sword he wields is not that of the same cell sagas trunks by the hilt of the blade

[@HwoarangtheBoomerang]

"Whack" seems like a word Trunks would use a lot.

[@MatthewJamesKalasky]

I'd have thought he just skipped ahead a bit when he went back.

[@kickflippro3]

I thought he just went straight to when he meets them when they fight the androids

[@digitaladventurer2142]

Well to be honest he went back to the future and then tried to stay low long enough for the time machine to get recharged then returned to the past 3 years after he first arrived. So yeah for the gang the whole 3 years passed but for Trunks it had only been a few months.

[@classicgameplay10]

What people seem to forget is that Cell came first. Cell was the one who split the timeline and changed the future. When future Trunks came the first time, he thought that he was changing things for the first time, but Cell already had done that. So the timeline where there is no Cell in the past also has no future Trunks. Which means future Trunks does not come from the original reality, but from an alternative one as well. Cell was the one who came from the original timeline.

[@mikeg8768]

All theories probably weren’t thought of at the time. So Toriyama probably would of had it so Trunks can change the dial pad to travel where he needed to be. That theory wasn’t introduced until Super. Thats why he is still 17 when he returns to the past timeline to face the Androids. All the proof you need of this is the room of spirit and time and the anime specials they were doing at the time. Trunks uses time machine to take Goku and friends back to the past to kid Goku era.

[@segaherman_twitch]

Yeah that theory was serious mind fuck 😆

[@jonathanleake6176]

It has to be a different trunks. Because trunks his first arrival said that goku from his past killed freiza. But cell explains to piccolo that the big didnt collect trunks dna during the battle with freiza because they already had Saiyan dna.

[@megaxrocker5073]

Here's my headcanon: We know for a fact that future trunks is the one that defeated Frieza in Cell's original timeline as he stated that the mecha flies that collected dna for his creation did not get a sample of trunks because it already had enough saiyan dna from Goku and Vegeta, meaning that Cell comes from an altered timeline as opposed to Future Trunks who comes from the timeline where Goku kills Frieza, aka the original timeline. So what happened? 1-Original Timeline results in future Trunks, We'll name this timeline A. 2-Future Trunks creates a new timeline where he kills Frieza then jumps further in time 3 years from this timeline, we'll name this timeline B. 3-Timeline B goes similar to Timeline A, everyone dies regardless of Trunk's interruption and results in a timeline where Trunks B grows up and eventually kills the androids, but is killed by Cell, the time machine Cell takes has a different date of arrival because this Trunks never went back in time before and was planning the same plan the original future trunks did, except his time machine was made after he had already defeated the androids, as opposed to the original who had it long before he defeated them, probably wanted to change the past or use the dragon balls from the past. 3-Trunks A arrives in a new timeline that is 3 years from Timeline B, this timeline happens to be created as a result from Cell B coming here using Trunks B's time machine, meaning that Trunks A goes from Timeline B that is altered by him, into a new timeline that is pre-altered By Cell B and him, timeline C, where the main story takes place. So the original Trunks comes from Timeline A, creates Timeline B from his first jump which leads all the way to Cell Creating Timline C, which Trunks A lands in after his second jump. Meaning Trunks didn't wait 3 years in his timeline, he made a second jump, it's just that the timeline he jumps from progresses into the creation of it's own time machine and results in Timeline C in which he arrives in right after. It's confusing, but it makes since considering all the given facts, the only thing that might feel weird is that the timeline Cell is from is much further into future the from Future Trunk's timeline, despite Trunk's being the original and Cell's being an altered version due the fact Cell mentioning that Trunks killed Frieza in it.

[@CJ-dk3im]

If Trunks went back to the future to charge the time machine, none of this matters to a time traveler. Even if it took him 50 years to charge the time machine, he could still travel back to three years AFTER he first gave Goku the heart virus medication. He’d just be 50 years older. So being that he was very much unchanged in appearance and strenghth when he came back three years later, it stands to reason that all he had been doing is working with future Bulma to recharge the time machine. And we know it had to be the SAME Trunks because the Z fighters remembered the warning he gave Goku about the upcoming android threat.

[@Shiyoken]

Trunks goes back to his Future Timeline > Waits until the Time Machine's Energy Replenishes (However long) > Then proceeds to go back in time to the date of arrival of the Androids; which would be 3 years from when he arrives before. It doesn't make sense for him to wait three years, just so the Z-Warriors can age 3 years and come face to face with the arrival of the androids. Trunks, literally HAD to go back for more fuel, checks and whatever else; let's say a year, and then went to the date that the androids arrived. If Trunks had plenty of fuel, I believed he would have either went back to his future timeline and discussed what happened during his brief time in the past with Bulma. OR, after saying goodbye to the Z-Warriors, he would of went 3 years into their timeline to meet them on the battlefield. The main reason for him going back was besides fuel but making sure Bulma was safe and sound and also not faults with the time machine.

[@TrayvonIndustries]

In my.opinion, everyone has their own 😅 I believe when Trunks(Og) left to go back to the Future. Another Trunks was set to arrive there to possibly warn them again (like a time loop) but Cell killed the past version of Og Trunks, which allowed him to take the time machine. You're thinking this would most likely kill Og Trunks right? Wrong. See when Trunks(Og) left, it created a split timeline, so not only did he succeed but this created 2 different people. Thus creating Trunks 2. Trunks 2 timeline is merely when Cell killed him and stole the time machine and returned to the past as he planned. Now Trunks (Og) and Trunks 2 are different people, so when Trunks 2 died it didn't affect Of Trunks. Trunks 2 existence came to an end, When Og Trunks found the time machine and mentioned it was set around the same time he left, that's when he learned of Trunks 2 existence, and pondered the idea of alternate timelines being created by him.

[@classicgameplay10]

What

[@TrayvonIndustries]

@@classicgameplay10 I was saying what if there were two Trunks. Remember when he told them he'd come back? What if, that's the moment another timeline was branched

[@ravensmansand8285]

I have honestly never thought about this, did he just cower from the androids for 3 years? Lol

[@manuelpinzon7207]

I dont think is a diff trunks, time there is not linear, is just multiverse ( as abridged explain it) because vs black they come and go without a problem and don’t become tone else

[@MetaITurtle]

Trunks literally could of went back in time and destroyed Dr Gero himself in dragonball saga