Dragon Ball: Trunks’ Best Transformation Scenes, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Trunks, born in the Android saga, didn’t grow up in time, so Toriyama introduced Future Trunks, a fan favorite.
• Kid Trunks shocks Vegeta by turning Super Saiyan at age 8, closing the power gap between him and Goten.
• Future Trunks absorbs a Spirit Bomb, gains a blue aura, and defeats Fused Zamasu in Dragon Ball Super.

If fans saw Goku’s son grow up to become a strong Sayian, it’s only fair that Vegeta’s son, Trunks, also gets some spotlight. Born in the Android saga, there wasn’t enough time for him to grow up into a man, even till the end of Dragon Ball Super. So in a stroke of mastery, Akira Toriyama brought a grown-up Trunks from the future, merging time travel with the concept of various timelines, while introducing fans to Future Trunks, who quickly became a fan favorite after he made short work of Mecha-Frieza.

This list includes transformations from Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super and ignores any transformations in non-canon shows like Dragon Ball Heroes or any of the Dragon Ball video games.

6 Kid Trunks Super Saiyan

“Super Saiyan Bargain Sale” – Vegeta

• Anime: Dragon Ball Z
• Episode of first appearance: 207

Being the child of a Saiyan is not an easy task, and this applies two-fold if the father in question is none other than the Prince of Saiyans, Vegeta. In the Majin Buu arc, while training with Vegeta in 150x Earth Gravity, Kid Trunks turns Super Saiyan for the first time. He not only blows Vegeta’s mind by achieving this transformation at the meager age of eight but also manages to land a punch on him.

The spectacle of this transformation mostly comes from Vegeta’s surprised expressions, but many fans think that Kid Trunks did not deserve this transformation, and the creators only added this to cover the massive power gaps between Trunks and Goten and their fathers, so they can be more relevant to the story.

5 Gotenks

Fu-Sion-Ha!

• Anime: Dragon Ball Z
• Episode of first appearance: 251

The first Saiyan fusion in Dragon Ball Z occurred in the Majin Buu arc, and it was between Kid Trunks and Goten. In the wake of the looming threat of Majin Buu, Goten and Trunks try the fusion dance, and after multiple failed attempts, they finally manage to successfully execute it.

Gotenks has much more power than both Trunks and Goten combined, a keener sense of humor, the ability to turn into a Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 3, and a two-tone shade of hair.

4 Future Trunks Spirit Bomb Absorption

The Power Of Spirit Bomb In A Sword

• Anime: Dragon Ball Super
• Episode of first appearance: 66

Future Trunks made a return to the series in Dragon Ball Super, with a backstory much darker and gloomier than in Dragon Ball Z. Trunks brings Goku and Vegeta back to his future to ask for their help in fighting Zamasu and Goku Black, but when even the Super Saiyan Blue form of Vegito was unable to bring the Fused Zamasu down, Trunks had to step in.

In a moment of anger and determination, Trunks was able to create a Spirit Bomb, collecting energy from everyone on the planet, including the knocked-down Goku and Vegeta. But instead of hurling it toward Fused Zamasu, he absorbed it. This resulted in him getting a blue aura and his sword getting bigger and glowing blue. With this, he was able to slice Fused Zamasu in two.

3 Future Trunks Ascended Super Saiyan

Bulkier Trunks

• Anime: Dragon Ball Z
• Episode of first appearance: 162

With Perfect Cell threatening the very existence of planet Earth and even the universe, the Saiyans took turns training in the hyperbolic time chamber, where one year equals one day in the outside world. While Goku and Gohan tried to master the base Super Saiyan form, Vegeta and Trunks tried to increase their power beyond it, achieving the Ascended Super Saiyan form.

The form gave Trunks much more power and came with cool-looking muscles. But in an actual fight, it wasn’t very useful. The extra bulk made him slower and also drained his stamina, making him tired more quickly.

2 Future Trunks Super Saiyan Rage

A Touch Of Super Saiyan Blue

• Anime: Dragon Ball Super
• Episode of first appearance: 61

Gohan isn’t the only half-Saiyan that has untapped potential. Being the son of the Prince of all Sayians and an elite warrior comes with perks that allow him to tap into the power of the Gods and achieve a form that’s a mixture of standard Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan Blue.

With golden hair and a blue aura, Trunks was able to step up his power level to match that of SSJGSS Goku and Vegeta and face Goku Black Super Saiyan Rose. Being one of the coolest moments of the entire Goku Black arc in Dragon Ball Super, it’s a testament to what Saiyans can achieve when they’re pushed to their limits.

1 Future Trunks Super Saiyan

The Most Emotional Transformation

• Anime: Dragon Ball Z: History of Trunks (TV special episode)

Arguably the best transformation scene for Trunks was when Gohan died. In Future Trunks’s timeline, every Z-fighter is dead, and only Gohan and Trunks remain. Gohan had grown up and trained Trunks himself, but he lost one of his arms when fighting the Androids.

When the Androids start wreaking havoc in the cities, Gohan goes to stop them. When Trunks tries to follow, he puts him down, worrying for his safety. When Trunks comes to, Gohan, the only other remaining Saiyan in his timeline, has been killed by the Androids. The rage and sorrow Trunks felt seeing his mentor lying dead on the ground finally pushed him to become a Super Saiyan.