Since I reviewed the 2011 Bardock 2, considered the worst DBZ special, now I will review what is arguably the best DBZ special: History of Trunks! Can something as silly and lighthearted as DBZ pull off tragedy?! Well...it sort of can actually. I am not saying this is Clannad or anything, but when I watched this at 12 years old, it was depressing as SHIT!
Background:
I bought the VHS in the year 2000, when it first came out in the US. As mentioned before, I was 12 at this time. Obviously this is a highly nostalgic review for me, so someone seeing this for the first time in 2014 may feel completely different. Also keep in mind that I had really only seen very campy and "happy go lucky" anime at this point in my life. I didn't have an elder brother or sister that showed me uber violent and depressing anime at age 6 to see what my reaction would be. I WAS the elder brother and this little DBZ special caught me totally unprepared. Unlike so many anime fans of this current generation, I was "weened" on Pokemon, Digimon, and Yugioh, NOT Berserk, Hellsing Ultimate, and Elfen Lied. If the latter 3 had been my first anime, then obviously something like History of Trunks wouldn't have had any impact at all. Now that we have some perspective, lets begin!
Oh and spoilers!!!
Story: 8/10
The story shows what happened during Trunks' timeline before he came back in time and created an alternate universe. The story was clearly inspired by the Terminator movies with machines wiping out most of mankind and a strong resistance fighter having to go back in time to defeat the machines. The difference is that in Terminator, mankind starts winning the war and it is the machines out of desperation that go back in time to try kill the mother of the human resistance. In DBZ, the androids streamroll mankind and it is the human resistance that has to go back out of desperation. Literally, EVERY ONE of the characters gets brutally murdered in this special. This is the action Shonen version of the Eclipse Saga from Berserk! We see Gohan train a young Trunks while occasionally trying to fight the androids and repeatedly getting the shit beat out of him. Gohan even gets his arm blown off trying to protect Trunks. The now one armed Gohan fights the androids one last time and is killed like you would expect at this point. Trunks is furious at his teacher's murder and turns Super Saiyan out of anger and grief. Although in the manga, Trunks was already a Super Saiyan when Gohan died. That transformation scene was made up for this special. It IS actually very effective though. We don't even see how Trunks transforms in the original manga! Trunks then fights the androids himself, but is brutally beaten and nearly killed. He then finally goes to Bulma and travels back to fight Freeza and meet the Z fighters!
Characters: 8/10
One thing that is different in this special vs. the main anime DBZ is that when characters die, they stay dead! That forces the characters to grieve in a way that is completely different than in the main series. Trunks and Gohan in this special have to deal with loss the same way we all have to deal with loss in real life. There is no hope that it is going to be fine and our loved one that died can just be brought back to life with a magic dragon. The fact that Gohan and Trunks have to suffer in a realistic manner this time makes them far easier to identify and empathize with. Trunks grows up living in constant fear in a world where every day he is still alive is a miracle. This helps shape his personality and explains why he is FAR more dark and serious than the alternate Trunks that grew up in a happy world with 2 parents, friends, and not so much danger. Even when everyone was killed by Buu, they didn't stay dead for longer than a few days. That means the Trunks of the main timeline never had to overcome the pain of losing someone. This makes future Trunks a far more interesting character in my opinion. The androids (technically they are cyborgs) in the future are purely evil and nothing like the fun loving and silly 17 and 18 from the main timeline. Future 17 and 18 may be simplistic characters, but they serve the role of antagonists in a very effective manner. You the viewer will actually REALLY hate them and want them to die! An antagonist is effective if the viewer finds himself or herself constantly cheering for their death to occur.
Art: 5/10
This was originally made in 1993, so it is par for the course early 1990s anime. It isn't very good by today's standards, but it certainly looked fine for the time.
Sound:7/10
This was one of those late 90s, early 2000s dub anime that for the US release had a new soundtrack with Western rock bands. The same thing was done for the Street Fighter 2 movie. The Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin in this special! This was before "AMVS" even existed, so seeing popular music mixed with our favorite anime was AMAZING! Those were simpler times!
Enjoyment: 7/10
Ok, so watching all of your childhood heroes get butchered doesn't sound like a fun time, but this is a very well made special and mandatory viewing for any DBZ fan.
Overall: 7/10
DBZ was a precious anime of my childhood and this special is one of the DBZ moments that had the biggest emotional impact on me. You could even say that THIS was my first "dark and edgy" anime I had ever seen! It was a small step in the process of maturing my tastes and not just watching slice of life rainbows, puppies, and sunshine all the time. I avoided tragedy and brutality as a kid, and this helped me see the psychological drama and value in tragedy that has made it the most respected and enduring form of storytelling throughout human history across cultures.
