Lenguy's Future Trunks Arc Review Part 2.
SPOILER WARNING!
Trunks, Goku and Vegeta have arrived in the future and things still look bleak. Before the gang head off in search of Black, Trunks needs to make sure everybody is doing fine. We learn a few things in the scene. For one we learn that Mai he we thought kicked the bucket a few episodes ago is in fact not dead. Number two, Yajirobe is also still alive in this time line. We were under the assumption that he perished along with the rest of the Z-fighters when the Androids attacked. Here we learn that Korin had given him the last Senzu bean so he could survive. Which is cool but I mean of all people Yajirobe? Whatever, I guess they needed somebody for comic relief. Also Vegeta has a heart! Vegeta seems to show affection towards the remaining survivors and encourages them to not give up. We don't normally see this side of Vegeta. We like to think that he's the mighty proud stuck up Saiyan Prince who cares for nobody but himself. Over the years how ever that solid exterior has cracked and we get to see more and more of the affectionate side of the Saiyan Prince. I keep saying this to people but Vegeta has the most character development throughout the entire franchise. It was a treat to watch him develop throughout Z and its good to see that trend continue in Super. I love that Vegeta is becoming more and more like an Earthling every passing day. Its moments like this that has had Vegeta swiftly climbs to the top of my favorite character list. Z did a marvelous job to develop his character while Super takes it a step further to flesh it out entirely.
Once the people are taken care of its time to take off and search for Black. Black a bit taken back when seeing Trunks and the gang ponders how he could have come back after destroying the time machine. Vegeta however gives zero fucks and straight into Super Saiyan Blue he goes. The amount of fucks Vegeta gave earlier is only matched but the sheer amount of fucks Goku Black seems to give upon seeing SSB. Its like Trunks said, its as if he's seen it somewhere before. Vegeta then charges at Black pushing him back and laying into Back with a series of strikes and Black just sits back and takes them all. Full on strikes from SSB Vegeta all all Black does is smile at him and dust himself off; what a beast. Its inconceivable to think Black progressed that much since fighting Goku a few episodes prior. So much so that taking full powered attacks from Vegeta at SSB in his base hardly so much as puts a scratch on him; again, what beast. Black then tells Vegeta that for progressing so much as a mortal he'll show him something as a reward. This is where we see Goku Black power up to Super Saiyan Rose. Great scene the way the the surroundings turn a dark purple, the earth shakes and lightning strikes all around and and how about the music guys?? If there is one thing this arc needs to be praised for its definitely the OST. It was on point during this entire arc and it made this transformation scene that much more intense. As for the form itself, I like it. Pink was not the color most were expecting but I think the color goes good with villains. Worked for Buu so why not Goku Black? The aura itself gives off a sinister vibe and looks really well animated every time. Its not entirely clear if SSR is a variation on Super Saiyan or Super Saiyan God. I and most people think its just regular Super Saiyan and if that's true then my god is Black OP. To compete with SSB at a Super Saiyan level is ridiculous.
Vegeta and Black then go for round two and Vegeta manages to get some shots in but Black doesn't care and he strikes him down in an instant and stabs him right through the chest. That's pretty brutal. It's here we get to see Goku Black demonstrate his Ki blade that he and Zamasu seem so fondly of using. We don't get to see very many people use their Ki in such a way but every time somebody does I love it. Goku is up next and he's down as quickly as Vegeta. The Power of SSR seems to be far above the power of SSR which is unreal. Just as Black is about to finish the job a voice appears from the heavens and Zamasu descends from the sky! Wait, what?? But I thought Black was Zamasu?? What's going on! I gotta say this reveal was a giant mind fuck in the community. Everybody and their mothers scrambled to find new answers and put together new theories. It was one of those great moments where we think we have all the answers and then they pull a swerve like this on us. Of course we do eventually find out that Black is Zamasu but I'll talk about that later. Also a great cliff hanger to leave us on. Back to the action!
Episode 57 in my opinion was one of the best episodes in the entire arc. The action was phenomenal, the music was fantastic and the animation was on a different level. You know the scene I'm talking about. That one minute scene with Goku, Trunks, Goku Black and Zamasu was incredible. The pacing, the camera angles, the fluidity was just insane. It really captures the essence of DB with the quick action and movements. The one little scene was done by a made named Naotoshi Shida. I'm not familiar with his work but damn he's great. We don't see him again until the Vegito/Zamasu fight in 66. Still, great work over all.
Now, lets quickly talk about power scaling here. Its a mess, plain and simple. I can understand Goku at SSB going toe to toe with Black and Zamasu. That I can believe but how does Trunks come in and just not get instantly KO'D by Black?? I can understand Zamasu since he's not that strong at all but man, its just strange. Anyway, Trunks goes after Zamasu and gets a strike in with his sword but here we learn Zamasu has attained an immortal body. Still though, immortal or not, that's still got to hurt him right? Oh and apparently Trunks can do the Final Flash.....and the Galick Gun....and the Spirit Bomb because, ass pulls. Bleh, ok fine. Final Flash and Galick gun I'm okay with but the Spirit Bomb is another story. Whatever. Anyway, Black and Zamasu eventually do get the better of Trunks and Goku here and Black hits them with his version of the Kamehameha. Both are down and just when things are about to come to an end, good guy Vegeta comes in with the save! With the help of Mai and Yajirobe they manage to escape back to the past to come up with some kind of strategy.
So they head back to the past to work some things out. A few things of note happen. We learn of how Zamasu learned of Goku and Vegeta's SSB form. We get a nice scene where we see present Trunks motivate Future Trunks. Which was great. To see his child self talk to him in such a way really gave Trunks the kick he needed to get back into the game. After we see Beerus, Whis and Goku head over to universe 10 to confront Zamasu. However, they lack any real proof to convict him of any crime since the Zamasu of this time line hasn't do anything yet. Beerus and Whis do however sense the intent to kill off Zamasu and decide to leave and observe from a distance to see what Zamasu's real intent is. As expected he does strike down Gowasu but almost immediately after Whis reverses time and uses an oven mitt to stop his attack.
Okay, a couple things here. This oven mitt Whis uses. Is it suppose to be made out of some unbreakable material that Zamasu's KI blade couldn't cut through it? Does it some how nullify his KI? Also why didn't Zamasu sheath his KI sword instead of leaving it active?? Did this oven mitt somehow have something to do with that?? I'm not sure. That's really peculiar writing I thought. Anyway, so they head back and inform Gowasu of Zamasu's plans. Zamasu surprised that they know of all this when it hasn't happen insists that he can't fall if he is to succeed in his ambitions. He lunges at Goku but Beerus with cat like reflexes(Sorry for the terrible pun) gets in the way and stops his attack. The scene that follows was bone chilling. Beerus grabs Zamasu's hands, twists in and tells him not to get cocky. The two have a brief stare down before Beerus simply says "Destruction" and Zamasu proceeds to disintegrate into nothing and is gone from this world. This was such a great scene guys the music was on point and Seeing Beerus in destruction mode again was awesome. He's been so chill over these past couple arcs but its great to be remind that the dude is a God of destruction and can easily annihilate most people at a moments notice. Great stuff.
Beerus is confident that that Zamasu has been destroyed then the future should have been repaired but Trunks has is doubts. Rightfully so as his time line did not fix its course once Cell and the Androids of this time line were defeated. The only way to know for sure is to go back and check, right? Sure enough they head back and nothing had changed at all. Black and Zamasu were still around waiting for they're return. Vegeta and Black clash for a moment before Goku informs them that they had their plan figured out; to create an immortal body for Zamasu and a fake Son Goku. Black Says he has it all wrong. He tells Goku that they body is the true Goku but that the heart that beats within belongs to Zamasu. He then informs to Goku that after they had switched bodies he had killed the other Goku with these hands.
Now, for much of the community this confirmed basically what a lot of us had already seen coming; that Black was indeed Zamasu. I too had this in mind but I was holding out for a different take and I guess I was slightly let down by the reveal as it seemed far too predictable. But it is DB and predictable is the usual route Toriyama likes to take so I guess story wise it did make sense. Its meh, whatever I just felt like it would have been better if Goku Black was his own villain you know? Now, that leaves a lot of questions needing to be answered. Mostly having to do with time lines. Which had a lot of convoluted exposition that was often confusing. The time rings, the time traveling, the alternate time lines. It could be some what confusing at times and I've seen many video's on Youtube where people do their best to explain it. So instead of posting some of these videos I found this little diagram that I think does a fair job explaining it. It was released by Toei so it's official.
The following episode I thought was another highlight. We get some solid action and some great character moments. We see great dynamic between Black and Zamasu. I think the reason why our heros struggle with them is because they fight as individual's. Goku Black and Zamasu are the same person so its natural to think they would have steller team work. They combine Ki waves and attack with strategic timing and know how to play those mind games too. They dominate because they work together where as Goku and especially Vegeta are too proud to work with each other and it proves to cost them more than a few times. The highlight of the episode though was Black and Zamasu revealing to Goku what had happened to his family. I thought this was a very dark scene. We don't get to see the violence but the action is implicated and is still very haunting. How terrified must Chi Chi and Goten had been to not understand what's going on and then to be cut down by the face of their beloved father/husband. People seem to think that Goku doesn't care about his family but this scene really brought out a rage in him that we haven't seen since Frieza Killed Krillin on Namek. Also that instant transmission back hand on Zamasu was pure gold. It doesn't last though as Goku eventually succumbs to Blacks Ki sword assault. Trunks tries to get involved but is swatted away like a fly. Black and Zamasu tell Trunks that one of the main reason they have engineered the zero mortal plan is because of Trunk's reckless efforts by traveling through time; they call Trunks a sinner.
Now I find this sort of a bit of a contradiction. In the beginning of thid arc When we are introduced to Black, he doesn't really seem to know who Trunk is; just that he's a Saiyan. Also Black doesn't seem to know that the device Trunk's used to escape was a time machine. He doesn't realize it until Trunk's mentions it. I like the idea that Trunk's a catalyst for Black and Zamasu's plans, calling him a sinner and everything because really, he is. But this is just another case of sloppy Toriyama inconsistencies. I mean its not a huge deal but it is something I did pick up on. Anyway, by the end of the episode we see Trunk get angry and as a result his rage brings out in him some kind of new transformation. Just what the hell is it? I'm still waiting for an explanation.
I'll try not to dive too much into this form mostly because of the serious lack of information behind it. Its like some kind of false SSB or some shit, I don't know. I like Trunks but I don't like how he gets these power boosts from nothing. Actually, its not even so much that, I don't like how these power boosts make him seem equal to or even more powerful than an SSB. That's a bit of a stretch for me. Goku badly injured and Vegeta at a lose on what to do. Trunks buys them some time to go back into the past to find a solution on how to defeat this duo. The fight that follows is rather forgettable and didn't really have the best animation. It didn't really do a good job to convey to me the value and strength to Trunk's new form. Sure he was able to put up a better fight but he still lost. The whole thing was kind of dull.
Back in the past Goku and Vegeta struggle with a means for an end. However, it seems Piccolo has a solution; The Mafuba. Piccolo seems to think the Mafuba is the trick they need to seal Zamasu and Black away. Goku goes off the learn the technique for master Roshi while Vegeta heads off back to the room of spirit and time for more training. Back in the future Trunks wakes up from being defeated by Black and Zamasu(weird how we never get to see that finish). Trunks concerned he doesn't see Mai around and finds out she's found Black and Zamasu's hide out and has went there to take them out. So yeah, apparently Black and Zamasu have some kind of headquarters in a cabin in the middle of the forest, what for? Who the fuck knows. Anyway, Mai has this secret bullet that was specially designed to take out inhuman like beings. She fies it and of course it does nothing. How crazy would it have been if it did kill Black though?? That's be quite the twist haha. Seriously though, Black and Zamasu aren't too pleased and they fire right off into the forest but Trunks Ex Machina makes the save! Then they go on to have a much better fight than the previous episode. Seeing Trunks firing a Galick Gun and hurling Black into a mountain side was great. Trunks fights Zamasu for a bit but of course he's immortal and he does nothing. Then he has the bright idea that he'll ax himself by blowing himself up. Like, Trunks, seriously, what part of immortality do you not get?? Blowing yourself up will do nothing but cause your own death. Before Trunks can pull the trigger, surprise! Black is still alive and stabs poor Trunks. Just before Trunks is about to bit the dust, Surprise! Vegeta, Goku and Bulma return Ex Machina. This arc has far too many plot conveniences for my liking. Oh, remember that Mafuba idea they had? Yeah, Goku left in the time machine and Black blew the time machine up. Good Job Goku. But good thing they brought along Bulma. If she weren't fixing time machines then she'd be pretty useless, right? Humor aside though, its great to see Bulma play a major role again. Not enough people give her enough credit but without her, the gang would be kind of screwed. Though, its a good thing Trunks is great at Jigsaw puzzles though, right guys!?
Vegeta gives Black a thrashing unlike we've never seen before and great short little scuffle. Its finally good to see our hero's starting to get the upper hand and turn the tides around. Even Goku seems to have found his footing again while fight Zamasu. We get this weird scene where Black creates some kind of scythe and creates some kind of divide in the sky that creates...fake Goku Blacks? I don't know, this whole scene was pointless and just a time waster to give Zamasu time to get to Trunks. I still don't know how he got away from Goku after all. Trunks has finished putting back together the Mafuba jar but Goku isn't around to perform the ritual. Its a good thing Bulma has the ritual tapped on her phone so Trunks can learn it in 5 minutes. Seriously, what's with Trunks just all of a sudden learning everything out of pure convenience?? The Final Flash, The Galick gun, The Mafuba and the spirit bomb?? Ugh. Anyway, we get a pretty comical since where Bulma tries to seduce Zamasu but of course Zamasu wants none of it. Its a good think Trunks has mastered the Mafuba ritual just in time! Trunks pulls off the ritual perfectly(somehow) and seals Zamasu away. But of course they don't have the actual seal to lock him away. It's still back in the past because Goku is an idiot. Zamasu breaks free and seems a bit shaken. Now afraid of this great new power these mortals have discovered he figures the only way to combat this new attack is to fuse. Black and Zamasu fused and merged Zamasu is born! This is where the arc begins to suffer.
I don't mean that as in it starts to get bad, no. It's just the pacing becomes really convoluted and rushed. They don't really give any time to flesh out the plot anymore at this point. The course of the closing 3 episodes seem incredibly crammed. They could have spread all the content in those episode's a litte bit out more. 66 especially is a mess, a wonderful amazing beautiful mess albeit, but still a mess. So Zamasu has joined with Black and he begins ravaging the land and dismantling our hero's. I like the fact that there is a lot of religious over tone here with Zamasu. The way he sees and refers to himself, the name of his attacks and just is overall new behavior he displays. We've never seen such a religious tone in DB before and with a villain, which is different but pretty bold. Our hero's have seemed to have met their match in this new supreme god. Goku and Vegeta find the strength to get in a powerful attack and shake Zamasu's composure if only for a moment before he manages to have them back on the ground. Trunks still holding on to his resolve baring a heavy responsibility refuses to give up and fires a Galick Gun and before long Vegeta joins in. Together they fire a forceful father son Galick gun and attempt to finally put an end to the supreme god. As it turns out it does nothing but irritate Zamasu. Zamasu then fires out an attack but good guy Vegeta steps in to take the blow for Trunks. Now these couple of scenes really bring Vegeta's character to the forefront on things. Joining in his son for a joined Galick Gun effort and then taking a death like dealing blow for his son. It shows up just how much he cares for his son. Enough that he's willing to die for him. I think its an iconic scene that will go down as one of the greats in DB.
I won't get into episode 66 too much as I made an entire post on that episode. I'll give it a quick rundown though. Goku inflicting damage to Zamasu and breaking out the Kaio-Ken was killer. Vegito was awesome but he was in their for such a brief time that it felt cheap and almost pointless. That Final Kamehameha was boss though. Trunks slicing Zamasu in two was cool and IMO the way to go. But the way he did it was the asspull of asspulls and really made no fucking sense no matter how cool it looked. Episode 66 had so much potential and while in a way it did deliver it just ended up being a giant mess that feels super rushed. 67 was similar. I liked the visual of Zamasu spreading across the sky and killing all the survivors and leaving the planet a barren wasteland. You really felt for Trunks and Mai. After all they went through to protect everybody, they still failed. Zamasu had won and its really rare for a villain to get the last laugh. Then when you remember that all the Dragon Balls of this time line have been erased it really hits home just how hopeless their situation is. Nobody is left, Trunks and Mai are the only ones left. Of course Zeno-sama gets involved and decides to just eradicate the entire time line. I find it strange how Zeno never got involved before. Surely he must have know that all the Gods have been destroyed and that races off all kinds were being brought to extinction. Its odd to me that he never got involved. Also they way the explain how they are gonna fix everything is confusing. So Whis is gonna go to a different time line, tell the Beerus of that time line to destroy Zamasu before Zamasu goes bat shit crazy and Trunks and Mai can live in that time line...with themselves? That's weird. Also wouldn't Whis's actions create yet another time ring? Eh, whatever, its a fine closure to the arc I guess. The real tears come as Trunks says his goodbyes. To Vegeta to Gohan, it all hit really strong and I think that was how it should have ended.
In Summary, I really enjoyed this arc. There was a lot to love. Black and Zamasu were compelling villains that had actual goals and motives. They carried and different weight to them than the typical cliche villains we see who are just evil to be evil. They were gripping and engaging enough that at times almost had me rooting for them. They did kind of drop the ball with merged Zamasu but I did like the physical representation of Zamasu's inner conflict brought to the surface. That was nice storytelling. There was some great and consistent animation throughout only made better from some great action sequences; Ep 57 and 66 are prime examples of some great animation. I loved the dark and moody tone of the future world. It made you get a sense at just how desperate things have become and how close to the brink they are. The OST was phenomenal this arc and really brought certain scenes to life in grand fashion. Great character moments that mostly involved Vegeta and Trunks. But unfortunately they were some story aspects that fell apart and or felt rushed. The time traveling was over done and the exposition behind it was often disorienting and exhausting. They last 3 episodes or so felt especially rushed as they tried to jam way to much content in these final episodes. They definitely could have handled the pacing a bit better. Also, this is random but why did we not see Goten until the final few episodes? I felt a huge missed opportunity to get some interactions between him and Future Trunks. Nice to also see Bulma play a significant role again and more importantly just give her something to do. When I did my Universe 6 arc review, I gave that arc a 9/10. I feel that might have been a bit generous. It was still fresh in my mind and I was still hyping over new content. While a good arc I'm going to retcon my score on that and downplay it from a 9 to a still very solid 8/10.
This arc however, I enjoyed significantly more. It gave us some of the best villains in the franchise, complimented by some great action and great story telling(For DB). so I'm going to award it a 9.4/10. What did you guys think?
+Future Trunks
+Vegeta
+Goku Black
+Goku Black
+Very solid action
+More great call backs(Mafuba, Android 8 cameo ect.)
+OST was outstanding this time around
+Hero's resorting to think outside to box to defeat Zamasu
+Yet still failing in their efforts
+Darker tone
+Vegito
+Ep. 66
-EP. 66
-Vegito
- All the asspulls
-convoluted time travel exposition
-Rushed plot points
-Pilaf gang continues to annoy
If you guys stuck around to the end of my review then thanks for sticking around and reading through! I tried to condense it as much as I could yet it still turned into an essay report. I left parts out because I felt it was already long enough. I need to work on that, sorry guys
. Still I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!
