# Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks

Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks is a TV special anime based on Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball manga series. Originally airing in Japan on February 24, 1993, between episodes 175 and 176, the special is based on an extra chapter of the manga series. It depicts the original post-apocalyptic future in which Goku has died from a heart virus and a teenage Trunks, under the tutelage of Goku's son Gohan, tries to defeat the Androids 17 and 18 (native name:人造人間), a pair of biologically-enhanced humans who were originally programmed to murder Goku and his allies and who now continue to terrorize the Earth and the human race.

## Plot

In an alternate timeline, Goku succumbs to a viral heart disease. Goku's death, being the result of natural causes, means that he can no longer be revived with the Dragon Balls. Six months later, Piccolo, Vegeta, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu are killed by Android 17 and Android 18. With the death of Piccolo, Earth's guardian, Kami, dies as well and the Dragon Balls are permanently rendered unusable, making it impossible for anyone to be revived.
Thirteen years later, most of humanity has been killed by the Androids who routinely terrorize the planet, while Gohan, the sole survivor of the battle, repeatedly fails to defeat them despite having achieved the Super Saiyan transformation. He decides to train Trunks, the adolescent son of Vegeta and Bulma, who struggles to become a Super Saiyan. The two confront the Androids terrorizing an amusement park, only to be brutally defeated. Gohan loses his arm in the battle, and uses the last remaining Senzu bean to heal Trunks. After recovering from his injuries, Gohan continues to train Trunks. Soon afterwards, the Androids attack another city. Trunks begs Gohan to join him, but Gohan pretends to let the former come with him before he knocks out Trunks, fearing that the Earth won't have anybody left to defend it if both he and Trunks die in battle. Gohan challenges the Androids alone, but Gohan's lack of an arm and the Androids' superior stamina puts the former at a severe disadvantage, and he is eventually killed. Alerted by Gohan's ki signal disappearing, Trunks awakens and heads into the city only to find Gohan's corpse lying in the ground. Trunks screams in despair and rage, finally becoming a Super Saiyan in the process.
Three years pass and against Bulma's warnings, Trunks fights the Androids by himself. Despite becoming a Super Saiyan, he is no match for the Androids and is swiftly defeated and almost killed. After recovering from his injuries, Trunks uses Bulma's newly-made time machine to travel twenty years to the past and give Goku the cure for his heart virus, hoping to discover something in the past that will help them defeat the Androids when he returns.

## Cast

| Character name | Voice actor | Voice actor | Voice actor |
| Character name | Japanese | English | English |
| Character name | Japanese | Funimation (2000 - original/2008 - remastered) | Chinkel Post-Production/AB Groupe (c. 2003) |
| Trunks | Takeshi Kusao (teen) Hiromi Tsuru (baby) | Eric Vale (teen) Stephanie Nadolny (baby) | Doug Rand (teen) Jodi Forrest (baby) |
| Gohan | Masako Nozawa | Dameon Clarke (adult) Stephanie Nadolny (child) | David Gasman (adult) Jodi Forrest (child) |
| Android 17 | Shigeru Nakahara | Chuck Huber | Doug Rand |
| Android 18 | Miki Itō | Meredith McCoy | Sharon Mann |
| Bulma | Hiromi Tsuru | Tiffany Vollmer | Bloomer |
| Bulma | Hiromi Tsuru | Tiffany Vollmer | Sharon Mann |
| Ox-King | Daisuke Gōri | Mark Britten (original) Kyle Hebert (re-dub) | Paul Bandey |
| Chi-Chi | Naoko Watanabe | Cynthia Cranz | Sharon Mann |
| Krillin | Mayumi Tanaka | Sonny Strait | Clearin |
| Krillin | Mayumi Tanaka | Sonny Strait | Sharon Mann |
| Vegeta | Ryō Horikawa | Christopher Sabat | Doug Rand |
| Piccolo | Toshio Furukawa | Christopher Sabat | Big Green |
| Piccolo | Toshio Furukawa | Christopher Sabat | Ed Marcus |
| Tenshinhan | Hirotaka Suzuoki | Tien Shinhan | Tenshin |
| Tenshinhan | Hirotaka Suzuoki | John Burgmeier | Sharon Mann |
| Yamcha | Tōru Furuya | Christopher Sabat | Doug Rand |
| Kame Sennin | Kōhei Miyauchi | Master Roshi | Ed Marcus |
| Kame Sennin | Kōhei Miyauchi | Mike McFarland | Ed Marcus |
| Puar | Naoko Watanabe | Monika Antonelli | Jodi Forrest |
| Oolong | Naoki Tatsuta | Brad M. Jackson | David Gasman |
| Turtle | Daisuke Gōri | Christopher Sabat | Ed Marcus |
| Announcer | Shinobu Satouchi | Justin Cook | David Gasman |
| Shopkeeper | Shinichiro Ohta | Sean Schemmel | David Gasman |
| Clerk | Kazunari Tanaka | Sean Schemmel | David Gasman |
| Woman | Naomi Nagasawa | Stephanie Nadolny | Sharon Mann |
| Narrator | Jōji Yanami | Dale D. Kelly (original) Kyle Hebert (re-dub) | Ed Marcus |