Are Goten & Trunks Useful Anymore?

[theherodjl]

They have the potential to become much stronger but does that translate to being useful? If I recall, they were left out of the ToP in favor of the older & more-experienced humans for being too immature to properly grasp the severity of the situation or the rules of the tournament. Now that they're older and have had time to learn(presumably) from their mistakes, could they actually become useful in future arcs?

[Ssjcell]

They have the potential to become much stronger but does that translate to being useful? If I recall, they were left out of the ToP in favor of the older & more-experienced humans for being too immature to properly grasp the severity of the situation or the rules of the tournament. Now that they're older and have had time to learn(presumably) from their mistakes, could they actually become useful in future arcs?

Yes goten and trunks are useful in the sense that they can train with whis over summer vacation and attain blue in 3 months probably. The problem is Akira wrote himself into a corner saying goten and trunks are weaker than Buu at the world tournament at the end of the manga . I can't see them attaining blue and being weaker than Buu even if he becomes stronger, although Buu has potential there may be a chance.

[Koitsukai]

They are still useful, they guarded Monster Island during the ToP and gave 17 the chance to enter the ToP and win it, but that would be it. The enemies are just too strong and nobody seems to pay the kids any attention or try to keep them fit. Piccolo moved on to watch over Pan and their parents are focused on themselves, only FTrunks vibed with him.
They have no chance in Pre-EoZ arcs to be actually relevant or should I say have interesting adventures? EoZ had them having normal lives, Goten gets owned by Pan lol. Post EoZ if that ever happens, they definitely could pick up the torch from their parents or at least from 17, 18, Buu and Gohan and maybe later take over their parents. The next generation should be them, Uub, Pan, and why not Bra and Marron?

[Hugo Boss]

They can entertain the little girls while the adults go out to fight or quickly pick up dragon radar when it’s needed. That’s pretty useful.

[Lord Beerus]

They are as useful to the plot as Toriyama wants them to be.

[Alruneia]

They are as useful to the plot as Toriyama wants them to be.

This just about sums it up, but I'd also add this: Goten and Trunks are currently stuck in a kind of negative feedback loop. Since they never do much, they're not very popular among the fans, and since they're not very popular among the fans, there's not a whole lot of drive for the writers to make them do much.

[Grimlock]

Since they never do much, they're not very popular among the fans, and since they're not very popular among the fans, there's not a whole lot of drive for the writers to make them do much.

That loop is one of the greatest problems in this franchise. Until someone from the production finally decides to give opportunity to some characters, no one will get a chance to be useful unless they are named "Goku" or "Vegeta".

[Rubens]

They do have use, just like any character in the cast. I understand they could (and probably should) have received more focus or had done something more significant: for example in Super, while everyone was away for the tournament, I think there was a missed opportunity for them to have a subplot on Earth while protecting 17's island. On the other hand, what hurts them the most in my opinion is the fact the series seems to be stubbornly stuck whithin the 10 year gap, in a timeless window. If the series was to move forward I believe there would more chances to give Goten and Trunks the spotlight eventually.

[Alruneia]

For example in Super, while everyone was away for the tournament, I think there was a missed opportunity for them to have a subplot on Earth while protecting 17's island.

Considering how far the anime went with setting that story up, I don't think it was a missed opportunity as much as it was something that was suddenly dropped. They set up everything right down to an "incoming poachers" tease, and then they just scrapped it. It's really weird, and I'm inclined to think that they didn't miss the opportunity at all; instead, they were halfway through taking it when something stopped them.

[Rubens]

For example in Super, while everyone was away for the tournament, I think there was a missed opportunity for them to have a subplot on Earth while protecting 17's island.

Considering how far the anime went with setting that story up, I don't think it was a missed opportunity as much as it was something that was suddenly dropped. They set up everything right down to an "incoming poachers" tease, and then they just scrapped it. It's really weird, and I'm inclined to think that they didn't miss the opportunity at all; instead, they were halfway through taking it when something stopped them.

I see, or possibly leaving that as an option if they felt like using it. Still, the tournament of power came to a point it became tiresome to watch and I feel that idea would have been useful for a brief change of pace.

[Waluigiman]

Judging by Dragon Ball Fighterz and Dragon Ball Super, it looks like Gotenks is more relevant than both of them (especially Goten) even if he is just a fusion. For someone who thinks that the show has too many saiyans, I still think there something wrong when the show and maybe games prefer the fusion over the actual characters, especially when you realize that Goten's only purpose is to cause the fusion. They can still be useful but not when it is about fighting "god" level enemies. Maybe they are no longer trusted by the adults because they failed to defeat Majin Buu when they had the chance, but that hypocritical because the other characters make terrible decisions as well.

[Lionel]

In theory, yes. Hybrids have been noted for their enormous potential and incredibly accelerated rate of growth when they apply themselves. With regards to resume and possible future use, Goten and Trunks don't have very promising profiles. When you really get down to it, the extent of their utilitarianism in the Buu arc was rescuing Vegeta from the clutches of Buu shortly before his attempted kamikaze and as puzzle pieces to the amalgamated stopgap that inevitably built up to Buu regressing back to his chaotic puerile form. Nothing substantial was ever really given to them as individuals beyond Kid Trunks' interactive subplot with Future Trunks in his namesake arc. What's worse is that they've become so dependent on fusion that it stifles their attempts to strive for individual accomplishment and prestige. Now with the stakes having been risen as high as they are now, I'm not too confident in their odds -- even Gohan is treated haphazardly and he's the prototypical example of a Saiyan hybrid with vast depths of untapped potential who was poised at one point to became the protagonist of the series.

[Dbzfan94]

Since they never do much, they're not very popular among the fans, and since they're not very popular among the fans, there's not a whole lot of drive for the writers to make them do much.

That loop is one of the greatest problems in this franchise. Until someone from the production finally decides to give opportunity to some characters, no one will get a chance to be useful unless they are named "Goku" or "Vegeta".

This. Look at 17. Before the ToP, he wasn't very popular especially compared to 18. Then that arc came up and he exploded in popularity.

[Son Dragon]

They have the potential to become much stronger but does that translate to being useful? If I recall, they were left out of the ToP in favor of the older & more-experienced humans for being too immature to properly grasp the severity of the situation or the rules of the tournament. Now that they're older and have had time to learn(presumably) from their mistakes, could they actually become useful in future arcs?

They should be. But as with some things we have to wait it out until writers decide now's the time to do something with them. Personally I like to imagine the colorful future where Goten goes around dressed in a fancy school uniform performing various poses as he saves the denizen of west city from a mysterious murderer with the power to make objects explode on contact.

[Kataphrut]

They are as useful to the plot as Toriyama wants them to be.

This just about sums it up, but I'd also add this: Goten and Trunks are currently stuck in a kind of negative feedback loop. Since they never do much, they're not very popular among the fans, and since they're not very popular among the fans, there's not a whole lot of drive for the writers to make them do much.

That, and because they're best known as the wacky kid-appeal characters, they can't age out of that role. Nobody outside the hardcore fanbase wants to see slack-jawed teenage Goten and Trunks. The most noteworthy thing about them and their biggest claim to relevance is Gotenks, whose entire personality and gimmick is tied to being a child.

[Grimlock]

This. Look at 17. Before the ToP, he wasn't very popular especially compared to 18. Then that arc came up and he exploded in popularity.

Yeah, Android 17 is a great example. He has become a fan favorite and very popular after they decided to give him a chance. This is how things work in Dragon Ball, characters can only be interesting when someone decide to give them such opportunity.

The problem is that they think it is the other way around, they think the loop starts with us, the character somehow has to be popular already even if they haven't done much during the series so that more can be done with the character. It's very terrible and neither the character itself or the fans win here.

[Regarder]

In theory, yes. Hybrids have been noted for their enormous potential and incredibly accelerated rate of growth when they apply themselves.

What if they lose power quicker too when not training? Gohan has lost power from not training twice now and it seemed to be a drastic amount, so it's not unreasonable for Goten and Trunks to power up a lot because of some threat and then you could still have them be weak again by EoZ. Gohan has established the pattern at this point.