Name(s): Dragon Ball Z Special 2: The History of Trunks / Dragon Ball Z Special 2: Zetsubou e no Hankou!! Nokosareta Chousenshi – Gohan to Trunks / Dragon Ball Z: Resist Despair!! The Surviving Fighters – Gohan and Trunks / ドラゴンボールＺ・絶望への反抗！！残された超戦士・悟飯とトランク / Dragon Ball Z Special 2: Die Geschichte von Trunks / Dragon Ball Z TV Especial 2: ¡Resistencia hasta la Desesperación! Los dos Super Guerreros Supervivientes, Gohan y Trunks
Format: TV Special (48 minutes)
Studio(s): Toei Animation
Related: Dragon Ball Z (1989-1996)

I remember watching this for the first time at my grandma’s house in her room on a tiny CRT with a built-in VCR. As far as I know, Americans could only watch this at the time by buying the video tape. My wealthy cousin owned a bunch of DBZ curio and brought this over so I could watch. Good times.

No, really: good times. This is one of the best supplementary DBZ animations. As with Bardock, The History of Trunks gives us some excellent backstory on a major character and thus functions both as a non-canon “what-if” story in an alternate timeline, and something that expands upon the main series. The post-apocalyptic setting is probably the closest Dragon Ball Z has ever come to having a strong atmosphere. This is mandatory viewing for fans and should be honorably accepted as canon, because it’s on par or better than most of the actual series. Part of me wishes the story went in this direction for real, but alas.