The Trunks TV Special was released out of order (theory)

[Rafa Fast]

The release date for this special is something that really bugs me and I'll try to explain it, I couldn't find anyone talking about this or any info on this, so it's purely speculative, any actual info on this is appreciated

First of all, the original special manga chapter was released on August 11, 1992, while the TV special, aired on February 24, 1993
This is a longer time gap than the one between the regular manga chapters and anime episodes, which was usually 3 months

You can say that they just took much longer to adapt the special or they just really decided to develop it much later, but now I'll enter the part that for me is very interesting and I think that can be a evidence for why this Special was actually made around late August-October 1992 and was for some reason delayed to 1993.

I'm pretty sure everyone here is aware that the first character designer and animation supervisor for Z (and the first entire DB series) was Minoru Maeda, he was later replaced by Tadayoshi Yamamuro and Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru.
Maeda's final contribution to the series was in Episode 164, post 164 til the end of GT is Nakatsuru and Yamamuro as supervisors and char designers (the switch is most specifically in 168, you can notice how much more salient the Yamamuro style becomes when compared to his work under the Maeda era)

Now, episode 164 was released on November 11, 1992, considering that episodes were made at least 2 months prior to their release, we can assume that Maeda quit in September 1992, so starting from October 1992, all Dragon Ball animated content were meant to have Nakatsuru and Yamamuro as the supervisors and char designers, including the Trunks TV Special, released in February 1993, right?

Not really, even though it was released in 1993, and probably made around late 1992, during the Nakatsuru & Yamamuro era, the special still have Maeda as the Animation supervisor and character designer, not only that, but Masaki Sato also is in the movie, he also left the series after episode 164, I know he was still in Movies 8 and 9, but I'm talking about TV production only.

So for some reason, Maeda is the one behind this TV special which was released and supposedly made during the Yamamuro/Nakatsuru era, but I'm still not over yet, it just becomes more interesting

The Original Special manga chapter, was released in between chapters 386 and 387, and guess which are the anime equivalent episodes of these chapters? Exactly, Episodes 163 and 164, the two final episodes of the Maeda era
And it's extremely suspicious that episode 164 have those flashbacks that almost look like reanimated scenes from the TV Special, and the Maeda style is strong there, when you compare those scenes to some shots from the TV special, you'll notice that it's the exactly same art style.

Now let's do something, let's move the TV Special from February 11, 1993, and put it somewhere in between November 4 and 11, 1992 (release dates for Episodes 163 and 164), and you have the TV Special releasing at the exactly same story point (Trunks vs Perfect Cell) that the Manga special chapter was released, not only that works perfectly, but you also have the TV Special, with Maeda's contribution, still released during the Maeda era of the anime, before episode 164, his last.

This is just a huge coincidence, I actually don't believe it's one, I do believe that all of this is evidence that the Trunks TV Special was indeed made during the Maeda era and was supposed to be released before Episode 164, Maeda's final episode, the anime equivalent of chapter 387, the manga chapter released after the original Manga Special chapter.

If it's true, then something must've happened that made Toei decide to delay the special to February 1993 during the Yamamuro/Nakatsuru era, it just doesn't make sense for the special to be released in 1993, but in 1992, before the end of the Maeda era, it makes all sense.

What do you think

[JulieYBM]

Hmm...I'm not sure. I think the special was simply broadcast when it was because it was finished when it was. Being that the specially is basically twice the length of a regular Maeda Minoru-supervised in-house episode, I think the case was simply that the special aired when it did due to the production needing twice as much time as usual.

Ueda Yoshihiro directed the Trunks special. Let's take a look at his schedule as an both a storyboard artist and episode director:

1992.09.16: Dragon Ball Z #157
1993.01.20: Dragon Ball Z #171
1993.02.24: Trunks Special
1993.03.17: Dragon Ball Z #178
1993.05.12: Dragon Ball Z #185
1993.07.10: Dragon Ball Movie #12: The Galaxy at the Brink!! The Super Incredible Guy
1993.11.03: Dragon Ball Z #205
1993.12.08: Dragon Ball Z #209:
1994.01.26: Dragon Ball Z #214

Ueda's time away from the series despite being a prominent episode director kind of goes to show that the length of production for these specials (combined with the length of production for the similarly double episode-length films) simply requires staff to skip a rotation. Despite the Trunks special being twice as long as normal it still has roughly the same number of animators as a regular TV episode, too.

[Rafa Fast]

So that means production for the special went for far too long to the point that they had to keep working with what was already made for the special even though Maeda and his team weren't even there anymore for months? Weird, but I can get the idea

It's interesting because the special was just two weeks away from the release of Movie 8, which was Yamamuro's theatrical debut as character designer and animation supervisor, replacing Maeda, so both were in development at the same time, and technically making the Special some kind of a hybrid between Maeda and Post-Maeda.

Unless he quit in 164, but returned for the special, which I think it's unlikely

[Joujou]

The release date for this special is something that really bugs me and I'll try to explain it, I couldn't find anyone talking about this or any info on this, so it's purely speculative, any actual info on this is appreciated

First of all, the original special manga chapter was released on August 11, 1992, while the TV special, aired on February 24, 1993
This is a longer time gap than the one between the regular manga chapters and anime episodes, which was usually 3 months

You can say that they just took much longer to adapt the special or they just really decided to develop it much later, but now I'll enter the part that for me is very interesting and I think that can be a evidence for why this Special was actually made around late August-October 1992 and was for some reason delayed to 1993.

I'm pretty sure everyone here is aware that the first character designer and animation supervisor for Z (and the first entire DB series) was Minoru Maeda, he was later replaced by Tadayoshi Yamamuro and Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru.
Maeda's final contribution to the series was in Episode 164, post 164 til the end of GT is Nakatsuru and Yamamuro as supervisors and char designers (the switch is most specifically in 168, you can notice how much more salient the Yamamuro style becomes when compared to his work under the Maeda era)

Now, episode 164 was released on November 11, 1992, considering that episodes were made at least 2 months prior to their release, we can assume that Maeda quit in September 1992, so starting from October 1992, all Dragon Ball animated content were meant to have Nakatsuru and Yamamuro as the supervisors and char designers, including the Trunks TV Special, released in February 1993, right?

Not really, even though it was released in 1993, and probably made around late 1992, during the Nakatsuru & Yamamuro era, the special still have Maeda as the Animation supervisor and character designer, not only that, but Masaki Sato also is in the movie, he also left the series after episode 164, I know he was still in Movies 8 and 9, but I'm talking about TV production only.

So for some reason, Maeda is the one behind this TV special which was released and supposedly made during the Yamamuro/Nakatsuru era, but I'm still not over yet, it just becomes more interesting

The Original Special manga chapter, was released in between chapters 386 and 387, and guess which are the anime equivalent episodes of these chapters? Exactly, Episodes 163 and 164, the two final episodes of the Maeda era
And it's extremely suspicious that episode 164 have those flashbacks that almost look like reanimated scenes from the TV Special, and the Maeda style is strong there, when you compare those scenes to some shots from the TV special, you'll notice that it's the exactly same art style.

Now let's do something, let's move the TV Special from February 11, 1993, and put it somewhere in between November 4 and 11, 1992 (release dates for Episodes 163 and 164), and you have the TV Special releasing at the exactly same story point (Trunks vs Perfect Cell) that the Manga special chapter was released, not only that works perfectly, but you also have the TV Special, with Maeda's contribution, still released during the Maeda era of the anime, before episode 164, his last.

This is just a huge coincidence, I actually don't believe it's one, I do believe that all of this is evidence that the Trunks TV Special was indeed made during the Maeda era and was supposed to be released before Episode 164, Maeda's final episode, the anime equivalent of chapter 387, the manga chapter released after the original Manga Special chapter.

If it's true, then something must've happened that made Toei decide to delay the special to February 1993 during the Yamamuro/Nakatsuru era, it just doesn't make sense for the special to be released in 1993, but in 1992, before the end of the Maeda era, it makes all sense.

What do you think

i don't think so
Tv special re-use shots from episode 166 that was supposed to aired later in your theory

Episode 166 use around 3mn (when future trunks made a kind of ki explosion and this part is even longer in episode 166 than tv special 2) in the tv special 2, this part is used right before the end scene when c18 use his finishing blow against Trunks
this scene was done for episode 166 simply because grey sky that you can see in thoses shots match the sky between the fight against cell and sky is blue at the end (why they cut the end in tvsp2)
in tv special 2, when this part is used, the day is falling so no blue sky
if tv special 2 was supposed to air right after 164, it couldn't use shots from episode 166 mostly if it was another team that worked on it

there is probably other re-used shots but i don't have any others in mind

more than that, i'm very doubtfull that they'll have done re-animated sequences in 164 for flashback if tvspecial 2 was in production
If they had "shots/scenes" that could be re-used, they'll have done it for sure