Goten and Trunks getting shortchanged in DBS

[Polyphase Avatron]

Has anyone else noticed that Goten and Trunk rarely get to do anything in the series, and when they do it's either unimpressive, a joke, or something that doesn't make them look very good?

Forget Gohan, Goten and Trunks are the ones who are really getting the short end of the stick here. Of course I'm only referring to the present Trunks.

- In the first episode, they fight a big snake and have trouble with it
- In the BoG saga, they're fodder for Beerus (although to be fair so was everyone else except Vegeta and Goku)
- In the RoF saga they only have a brief appearance in the fight as a gag and are quickly sidelined (and in the original movie they didn't appear at all)
- They aren't part of the team and don't do anything in the Champa saga
- In the Copy Vegeta filler arc they are treated as a joke and fodder to Copy Vegeta
- In the Zamasu arc, Goten does nothing other than get killed by Black, and Trunks has one brief fight with his future self (who wasn't even taking it seriously) and a bunch of shipping with Mai that only serves to set up his future self's romance
- They're not part of the team for the Universe Survival arc and have to stay behind

[Ki Breaker]

I ask this, since their conception, when has goten and trunks individually done anything cool or worthwhile?

[JulieYBM]

I see no problem here. If the production crew wanted to do anything big with them then they would.

[omaro34]

I see no problem here. If the production crew wanted to do anything big with them then they would.

Exactly, Toei simply doesn't care about them. Hell, they don't even care enough about them to change their designs showing that they have aged! Its blatant considering they should have looked a bit older by now because they look the exact same now as they did back at the Buu Arc.

I ask this, since their conception, when has goten and trunks individually done anything cool or worthwhile?

So much for the whole concept of the "passing of the torch to the next generation" right?

[Chuquita]

I just want to see them physically age the way kid Future Trunks did. I'm tired of them never getting any age-related design updates (same with Marron).

I get they probably aren't getting them because they aren't being utilized (Gohan and Future Trunks were utilized and as a result got continually updated appearances until adulthood) but it still forced me to suspend my disbelief. I feel like using Gokû and Krillin as examples for it took them forever to physically age only goes so far.

Cell arc Gohan and Trunks Special Future Trunks are the sizes they should be close to by now.

[Ki Breaker]

I ask this, since their conception, when has goten and trunks individually done anything cool or worthwhile?

So much for the whole concept of the "passing of the torch to the next generation" right?

It's probably for the best..
Boruto is doing it and it's as bland as it gets, it's not a bad show but it will always remain in the shadow of its awesome awesome predecessor..
Ending the story with goku is the best possible scenario

[Neon Z]

I ask this, since their conception, when has goten and trunks individually done anything cool or worthwhile?

Well, although they were mostly used for comical battles during a part of the Buu Saga they were presented as the only possible saviors. There was also 18 fearing their sudden strength when facing them and Piccolo being treated as a joke when taking the role of their mentor. The Buu Saga overall seemed to act like only the Saiyans really could do anything battle-wise and that benefited Goten and Trunks a lot. Of course, now they've stepped back on that and they're taking a hit for it.

[Yedis]

I ask this, since their conception, when has goten and trunks individually done anything cool or worthwhile?

So much for the whole concept of the "passing of the torch to the next generation" right?

Isn't Uub set up to be Goku's successor?

[ckal9]

I ask this, since their conception, when has goten and trunks individually done anything cool or worthwhile?

So much for the whole concept of the "passing of the torch to the next generation" right?

I think that whole idea went out the window when Toriyama wanted to make Gohan the successor to Goku after Cell arc and the fan backlash that ensued. At least, that's what I remember reading. I don't know how accurate that is in reality.

[omaro34]

I ask this, since their conception, when has goten and trunks individually done anything cool or worthwhile?

So much for the whole concept of the "passing of the torch to the next generation" right?

It's probably for the best..
Boruto is doing it and it's as bland as it gets, it's not a bad show but it will always remain in the shadow of its awesome awesome predecessor..
Ending the story with goku is the best possible scenario

Agreed, Dragonball wouldn't be the same if Goku isn't the main character at the end, and that's saying a lot considering I'm not the biggest Goku fan out there.

And yes Z is definitely better than Super thus far, but I would say that the original Dragonball is better than Super as well.

[kinisking]

I ask this, since their conception, when has goten and trunks individually done anything cool or worthwhile?

So much for the whole concept of the "passing of the torch to the next generation" right?

It's probably for the best..
Boruto is doing it and it's as bland as it gets, it's not a bad show but it will always remain in the shadow of its awesome awesome predecessor..
Ending the story with goku is the best possible scenario

It's not the passing of the torch that's the problem. It's that Boruto is a worse character.

[omaro34]

So much for the whole concept of the "passing of the torch to the next generation" right?

It's probably for the best..
Boruto is doing it and it's as bland as it gets, it's not a bad show but it will always remain in the shadow of its awesome awesome predecessor..
Ending the story with goku is the best possible scenario

It's not the passing of the torch that's the problem. It's that Boruto is a worse character.

Forgive me for my ignorance, who's Baruto?

[Ki Breaker]

Forgive me for my ignorance, who's Baruto?

Boruto? he is basically an advert for comdoms

It's probably for the best..
Boruto is doing it and it's as bland as it gets, it's not a bad show but it will always remain in the shadow of its awesome awesome predecessor..
Ending the story with goku is the best possible scenario

It's not the passing of the torch that's the problem. It's that Boruto is a worse character.

That's the thing though, its extremely difficult to make the next generation seem intriguing at all , somewhere we always end up comparing them with the previous generation who were the sole reason for watching the show, dosen't help Boruto is a piece of shit either

[perucho1990]

I ask this, since their conception, when has goten and trunks individually done anything cool or worthwhile?

Well, although they were mostly used for comical battles during a part of the Buu Saga they were presented as the only possible saviors. There was also 18 fearing their sudden strength when facing them and Piccolo being treated as a joke when taking the role of their mentor. The Buu Saga overall seemed to act like only the Saiyans really could do anything battle-wise and that benefited Goten and Trunks a lot. Of course, now they've stepped back on that and they're taking a hit for it.

The Bio Broly movie bombing is the main reason why Trunks and Goten will never be relevant again like in the Buu Saga.

[precita]

The Bio Broly movie bombing is the main reason why Trunks and Goten will never be relevant again like in the Buu Saga.

That makes no sense at all as they had a fairly big role in Movie 12, and Trunks had a large role in Movie 13. Plus the 2008 special focused on Trunks/Goten.

[Chuquita]

Is it possible they've done any semi-recent polling that we're unaware of where the two of them scored poorly?

[precita]

Is it possible they've done any semi-recent polling that we're unaware of where the two of them scored poorly?

They've always been decently popular, I don't think that's the issue. It seems Toriyama has no interest in them fighting anymore. He likely felt the same way about Gohan too but I guess the Toei writers convinced him of Gohan's popularity to bring him back into the action.

[perucho1990]

That makes no sense at all as they had a fairly big role in Movie 12, and Trunks had a large role in Movie 13. Plus the 2008 special focused on Trunks/Goten.

Fighting Hitler and later being offpaneled after using the fusion

I agree about Trunks role in Movie 13, though Goten did nothing after Gotenks got defused..

I believed the reason Goten/Trunks were the focus in the OVA was because Naho Ooishi liked them?

[Ki Breaker]

Is it possible they've done any semi-recent polling that we're unaware of where the two of them scored poorly?

They've always been decently popular, I don't think that's the issue. It seems Toriyama has no interest in them fighting anymore. He likely felt the same way about Gohan too but I guess the Toei writers convinced him of Gohan's popularity to bring him back into the action.

I honestly think he had no other choice than to bring gohan back because the nature of this story, Gohan can't really sit back studying when universe is at danger..
Pretty sure he will vanish as soon as the arc ends..

As for the kids, he seems to have no interest in them whatsoever, or he is saving their development for future when all of the new generation develops together in an arc dedicated to them

[kinisking]

Forgive me for my ignorance, who's Baruto?

Boruto? he is basically an advert for comdoms

It's probably for the best..
Boruto is doing it and it's as bland as it gets, it's not a bad show but it will always remain in the shadow of its awesome awesome predecessor..
Ending the story with goku is the best possible scenario

It's not the passing of the torch that's the problem. It's that Boruto is a worse character.

That's the thing though, its extremely difficult to make the next generation seem intriguing at all , somewhere we always end up comparing them with the previous generation who were the sole reason for watching the show, dosen't help Boruto is a piece of shit either

It can be done. JoJo does it really well. It changes main characters all the time, and still remains just as good. Yeah, comparing is done. However, if the new cast are good characters then comparing doesn't really matter. Main characters aren't the sole reason for watching the show either. There's many other things that make a show unique.