First Fun Fact: in the Early Funimation Dub: they changed Cell’s explanation of how he survived his explosion. Rather then having a mass inside his head, he said every cell has a life of its own. If even one cell survives, that’s all he needs.

Trunks being contradictory with time travel is explainable as him initially being misinformed. Nobody Bulma knew has ever gone back in time so maybe they assumed it worked on Back to the Future rules. But when their timeline didn't change it proved the multiverse theory of time travel was right

For the first one that was trunks first jump to the past wasn't it so he could have assumed that it would affect his timeline but after he goes back and sees nothing changed then he learns that going back in time and changing things only affects that timeline

There's no plot holes in Dragon Ball whatsoever- it's the most perfectly written story of all time! 😤

Cell was completely surprised he could regenerate from a self destruct. I really don't believe cell understood what his body was capable of after his two new forms. I took it as his understanding was of his imperfect specs.

This is not a plot hole but something that have bothered some people about the cell saga and that is how the characters are able to end the saga whatever they want but they just continue to make it even longer. 1- The z fighters could have ended the saga if they destroy the androids before they are awaken. 2- Piccolo could've ended the saga if he one shot cell. 3- Vegeta could've ended the saga, but he didn't because he is a saiyan. 4- Gohan could've ended the saga but instead he wasted time by playing with him. 5- When cell lost 18, the other z fighters could've kill him but they were watching the fight when in fact they could've end the saga.

The first two are not plot holes, they are clearly showing that Trunks does not fully understand how the multiverse works when he first appears. Both in that he was unaware of Instantaneous Movement and that he was unaware of his future not changing due to actions in the past.

The first one isn't a plot hole around all. It is before he ever went back to the Future. So he didn't know that changing past doesn't change HIS present. He was still under the impression that helping Goku will help out His time as well

I always wondered whatever happened to the timeline Cell came from. Poor Bulma, even her only son has died. She's all alone with only the surviving human population. That can also explain why Beerus and Whis oppose time travel. Creating new timelines is like Jenga. Taking away the foundation and adding new layers will only cause the whole thing to collapse.

I don't know who would say dragon ball has no plot holes whatsoever, in fact, Launch went through a plot hole and was never seen again.

They establish in both the Namek and Sayian Sagas that the energy required to regrow limbs can take you out of the fight, to the point where Piccolo would rather fight Raditz with one arm than regrow his. I always headcanoned that Cell was surprised because after draining Piccolo's arm he either loses from the martial arts disadvantage or takes a second to regrow his arm and has his power level drop like a rock. Unfortunately for Cell, Piccolo has recently fused with Kami so regen is much less taxing. If that isn't enough, Piccolo only regrows his arm once before on Earth and we know the bots didn't make it to Namek. It's very possible Dr. Gero's computer never got data on the technique as it didn't happen during a fight, especially since the flashback panels imply they got Piccolo's DNA during his fight with Nappa, when he didn't regenerate.

About the " Don't tell my parents or I may never exist" thing. I believe he didn't know any better because it was his first Timetravel, not his third, where he explains everything, and Multiverse theory was to him a theory and nothing else

Cell assumed Piccolo couldn't regenerate because he assumed he stole so much power that Piccolo was too weak to regenerate.

I like how TFS addressed all these things you mentioned including the multiple timelines and the regeneration part. (Cell regenerated after being blasted by Goku’s Kamehameha) Piccolo: I’m pretty sure I can’t do that Cell: We’ll figure that out later..

Regarding the "Trunks afraid of never be born" plot hole, it can be explained with himself not wanting to accidentally stopping his past self to be born in that timeline just because he showed up and reveal earlier than Bulma and Vegeta would fall in love

Regarding the fact that Imperfect Cell didn't seem to realise that Piccolo would regenerate, due to his imperfect form it's possible the knowledge was missing or forgotten. I mean he grew up in a test tube tank listening to Dr. Gero's prerecorded messages until he outgrew the tank right? Then later regresses back into "larval form", is it possible in some hairbrained way that Cell's knowledge diminished during this regression and regrowth? That would be a really stupid explanation though, I always just assumed that Imperfect Cell was kinda what his name implies - Imperfect, meaning he was not above forgetting critical information when in a situation where he feels he is not threatened in any way (i.e. when Piccolo submits).

You know, I’d like to see toriyama make a one shot on his original plans for the cell saga, I wonder how hed make 19 and 20 the big bosses for the arc

I think Trunks setting the time machine wrong by 3 years could be a fine tunning issue. For example say I need to calibrate the Time Machine by using dials. First dial selects a range of 10 years. Next dial further breaks down those 10 years into smaller chunks. Next dial breaks that year down to months and so on. When Cell arrives he interupts Trunks before he could fully set the time machine. Thus Cell arrives too early.

Trunks always knew that going back in time wasn’t going to change his own timeline. He had always heard how amazing Goku was from his mom, and felt that if he could learn how Goku solved the Androids, he could apply it to his own timeline. Also, he was worried that he would not be born in the abstract sense. That this timeline’s Trunks would not be born and he was worried for a fellow timeline self.

23:07 honestly the dub explanation even though it's not canon it makes sense compared to the manga explanation.

The Android/Cell saga is my favorite arc of the story as well. If a story introduces time travel, it gets my hyped. Even if there are plotholes, i toss it up to time travel shenanigans This arc is also the best because a lot of different characters got to play a part this go around it felt like

1) Definitely. The Instant Transmission thing makes no sense because Bulma was present during that fight, and should have known about IT. Which Goku also went out of his way to demonstrate and explain to them all afterwards. 2) I definitely found Trunks' phrasing weird, but I always interpreted it as him not wanting main timeline's version of himself not to be born. Which is reasonable. 3) This is yet another issue with discovery writing, especially when telling a time travel story. Toriyama got a LOT of grief from his editor, but without that we would have gotten 19 & 20 as the final bosses. Yikes... 4) TotallyNotMark made a video explaining how bad Cell's exposition drop was an a narrative level. I recommend it. Basically the point is that Cell was very creepy and enigmatic, then he just explained everything about himself in the most obtuse monologue ever, destroying any element of mystery and fear factor. And yes, it's also continuity swiss cheese... Side note, interesting how Cell is the one who creates the main timeline. 5) People should just accept that there are plot holes and move on. Cells regeneration, and knowledge about his regeneration is inconsistent. He even seemingly forgets that Piccolo can do it too. My plotholes are: 1) Why does Bulma know where Gero's lab is in the main timeline, but not the future? Trunks said that if he knew, he'd be "paying Gero a visit instead of Goku", so how come his Bulma never told him where to find it? TFS Even pokes fun at this one.. 2) Why is Future Gohan so weak compared to Main Gohan who had far less time, training, and motivation? After several years of battle, he's weaker than two weaker versions of 17 & 18 who never use more than half their power to fight him, at least in the manga. In the anime, he does considerably better against the both of them despite their infinite energy, but still, his present timeline counterpart would have easily destroyed them after coming out of the chamber. And why didn't Popo tell them about the chamber anyway? Why didn't Goku contact them from other world? Why didn't King Kai contact the Namekians and ask them to make a wish to revive Piccolo and the others? In my opinion, there are many ways the outcome could have been altered and prevented, if everything was written consistently. But every time I mention it, I get a laundry list of excuses and contrivances that basically amount to fans rewriting the story retroactively to make sense if it.

The second isn’t a plot hole or an inconsistency. The first time we see Trunks (this Trunks) is the first time anyone has EVER time traveled. And till someone time travels, no matter what theories someone may have had previously as to what of the 3 most prominent timeline thoughts are, you wouldn’t know for sure till it happened. So when Trunk came back home, and Goku was still dead, but more importantly when Bulma still thinks Goku killed Frieza let’s Trunks know 100% how it works. So when he speaks to Krillin later, it’s not a theoretical anymore, he knows how time travel works. The biggest is definitely Cell’s head blowing up. There is no explanation for that.

Nice yu yu haskusho sound bite at 1:32

Great video, Mike! My argument about Cell's nucleus in his head is that the reason he survived both the IT Kamehameha and the explosion on King Kai's planet is that the nucleus simply wasn't destroyed. In the first instance, yes, his head was blown off, but probably the nucleus remained and this is how he was able to regenerate. Same on King Kai's planet - his whole body was destroyed, but yet thanks to the nucleus surviving, Cell managed to regenerate completely. Going back to his perfect form without 18 was definitely an asspull, but it still works for me due to the shock factor of him coming back with IT and scaring the shit out of everyone else back on the battlefield!

I love time travel, but it's seldom done well and free of paradoxes. Ironically, Toriyama went with one of the most stable structs, multiple timelines. I've been making time maps of various franchises and giving logics to how they work. DBZ's is one of the more complex ones. I'd love to see your mappings for this.

6:16 trunks asking goku to not reveal his lineage is not a plot hole because at THAT moment he is unaware of the fact time traveling makes a new timeline. He’s just making a guess and he was wrong.

Sure, cell's introduction was a sight to behold, but what if it took place after dark, and you could vaguely spot him underneath a dimly lit streetlight. It really doesn't make much sense that a horror inspired (atleast he gives those vibes) entity wouldn't take advantage of being more nocturnal. It was right there, Toriyama liked making homages to popular movies in his work, so having an alien/predator vibe going on with him would've been seamless.

I think the trunks not being born was more of him joking around about not being born in the present timeline. I dont think he was thinking it would affect his existence. He knew he didnt want his parents to be weirded out by the fact and would then not have another version of him be born lol

So glad you're uploading again Mike! You were missed!

He simply did not know that it was a multiverse/ branch timeline yet! He only found that out, when he returned to his future, and it was the same or unchanged. From his first jump he went straight to when the androids arrived, meaning he hadn't been back to his future yet! The real plothole, is how he travels between different timelines!

It’s also possible turnks doesn’t understand how time travel works so him worrying about not being born is just him still thinking what he does in the past effects the future. He only learns nothing changes when he goes back after meeting goku

I think an easy resolution for Cell's regeneration is by assuming some of the "core cells" he has, actually upgraded into his new "main brain". Like maybe his composition is a bit modular or homogeneous in that he has braincells all over his body, and his body chose to make a cluster into the new control center.

Remember how Trunks was too slow to fight Cell when he got buff… and then it’s never mentioned again and later on waaaay buffer characters have no problem out speeding and keeping up with slimmer character? I do. I remember.

1. Trunks was the issue here. Goku outright stated himself that he was about to come down there but Didn't because he sensed trunks. 2. This is explained as well. When trunks came back the 1st time he thought it would change his future. By the time he came back the 2nd time he had known from having gone back to his future originally that everything he did like giving goku the medicine didn't actually change his time. Which is why he knew later on that time travel didn't help his own time line. 3. The cast wouldn't have been there at the time, and it's very easy to suggest that 17 and 18 would have killed 19 and 20 before they met the Z fighters..

The arrival of Trunks in the past altered the timeline. This is why things change slightly from the way it was described to Trunks by his mom in the future.

About the plot hole of Cell going back a year before Trunks' original arrival in the past. In Cell's timeline: Future Trunks is prepping his time machine to arrive in the past, ie, setting the date, coordinates etc. He is in the middle of setting the "proper date/coordinates" when Cell ambushes him, he gets distracted by Cell and accidentally pushes the wrong buttons which sets the wrong date before he tries to fight and is killed by Cell. Or when Cell is entering the time machine after the fight he accidentally pushes the wrong button/buttons and alters the preset time. This isn't exactly that farfetched since in Back To The Future 2 during the struggle to get the Sports Almanac from Biff the Doc Brown accidentally hits the time settings on the Delorean which caused his next time jump to 70 years into the past.

Cell not thinking Piccolo was able to regrow the arm, does he know he's fused with Kami before that? either way it could be his misjudging the amount of damage he's done and thinking he can't win even if he does regenerate at that point because it takes more power to do that and then Cell will beat him with his remaining power

Based on Cell's own explanation about the nucleus being in his head, he should have died by Goku's hand. Don't get me wrong, love the Gohan stuff. He was a bad ass. Still. Out of all the plot holes, that is the one that I still have an issue with to this day, lol. Toriyama is notorious for forgetting his own rules, really bro? That mistake was so egregious.

Loved the video Laughingstock! I love when u point out stuff in db like plot holes or u talking about your theories!

Piccolo vs android 17 was my highlight of that arc. Too bad cell ended it prematurely!

The biggest plot hole is Toriyama's plot convenient memory loss.

It's possible that Trunks time traveling caused a disrupt in which Goku would've arrived 3 hours EARLIER, but as he didn't need to, he arrived "on time." That would also mean Frieza arrived 3 hours early as well. In the original timeline, let's say Frieza arrives at 3pm and Goku teleports there at 3pm and kills him. Trunks time travels. Frieza now arrives at 12pm, and Goku WOULD'VE teleported but Trunks steps in and kills Frieza. So Goku rides his ship and arrives at 3pm. Thus, Goku arrives at 3pm in both timelines.

The one that always annoys me is why in god's name didn't anyone think that Goku could teach trunks instant transmission so he can go to namek and wish everyone back in his time... Or .... Have briefs / bulma capsule a ship to get to namek in his own time.

I kind of wish we knew how original trunks beat the androids, and cell going back cause the main timeline right?

Gohan will always be the best character in this franchise he's arguably the soul reason the show is popular in the first place because so many kids related to him including myself!

The first plot hole - trunks warning not to alert anyone to bulma / vegeta being his parents to avoid risking him not being born - is easy to explain and isn't a plot hole He explains when he returns to the main timeline that he didn't realise this was how time travel worked (diverting timelines). He thought on his first trip to the past that would change his future, but it didn't. So it makes sense that he would be cautious to avoid preventing his birth, as he didn't know better.

Love your videos bro. They really give more insight and a different perspective on these type of topics

I wouldn’t be surprised if the first time we see Trunk’s he actually believed he might get paradoxed out of existence it is the first time he time travels but when he returned to his future and nothing changes he goes back again to help them change the past but then he sees that the timeline has changed with 19s head which would mean that due to his future not changing but the past changing would mean that he now has a new perspective on time travel.

It actually makes more sense to think Cell didn't know about Piccolo's regeneration... which is very possible. He knows Piccolo's techniques but it isnt like he was taught everything about the namekians lol that would also explain why he didnt just 'rip his limps off when going in the time machine'.

Actually, for the regeneration part, there's a way it can be argued that I haven't seen many mention, or rather not explained in this manner much. The Frieza race can stay alive under almost any conditions. Frieza was blown almost entirely to bits on namek. Couple that with namekian regeneration, and it'd make sense how Cell is very hard to put down.

I love your content! Very easy to listen to and digest!

Trunks intervening against Frieza is retroactively explained by Cell. There really was a time discrepancy there because Cell had already time traveled to the main timeline a year prior. We never saw how the initial confrontation with Frieza and Cold happened in the other timelines, maybe things went as planned.

You're not boring I think you're rather informative

22:39 when i was a kid i always thought Cell had like a mutated corrupted version of Piccolo's regeneration, like Gero took Namekian's ability to regenerate and turned it up to 11 and made it unnatural and monstrous through technology. But only recently, with video analysis like this one, i learned this was never the case and it's actually a retcon that made it so Piccolo was supposed to have been able to do that all along which doesn't make any sense whatsoever

From the start i liked the vid but when I saw "King cold wasted potential" link appear and he didnt stop to say "check out my other dadadada" I knew I was in for a solid 30 minutes of good content

It could be possible cell was not totally used to all his powers when he went to the past. He had only trunks in the way. Any real threat was in the past for him to understand how far he can Regen with piccolos cells. Also if he has friezaa DNA he might have superior Regen hacks but yeah it's a bit of a long shot. Good video I loved imperfect cell the most cunning hideous scary.

Cell’s conversation with Piccolo was always a huge red flag for me when I finally understood what he was saying. But correct me if I’m wrong, didn’t Super acknowledge the existence of further branched timelines with the 5 time rings? I thought that implied there was a further branched timeline which made the Future Trunks’ Cell referred to from his timeline possible.

I'd like to provide you with a unique perspective, the Danish translation of Dragon Ball: 11:45 Trunks just says Cyborgs number 19 and 20, not Mechanical Men. It's a translation of Jinzoningen, or Artificial Human. 14:13 Piccolo doesn't mention the Kamehameha here, he says "Years ago, Son Goku wasn't nearly as strong as he is now." Cell also specifies Saiyajin cells in the next panel. 17:27 "And from egg to maturity ..." "Three years pass. Nicely guessed, Bright Boy!" 20:51 "God came up with that idea." "Heeey! You're Piccolo AND God?"

I like the headcannon of Cell being made with the absolute worst combination possible of Goku, Vegeta, and Frieza's headspace. The absolute idiocy of Goku, the confidence of Vegeta, and the malicious and pathological lying of Frieza. This man(bug?) has no idea what the hell is going on, but is utterly convinced he knows, and is gleefully willing to fill in the gaps and just lie to everyone on the side. He hit the peak of Dunning Kruger, and then remembered he could fly, so kept going.

So glad to see you making content again Mike. You always been one of my favorite DragonBall content creators. And I appreciate any videos you put out. Also caught the Super Hero stream congrats on the weight loss man. Keep up the good work!

I don't see the Trunks not wanting to be born thing as a plot hole. He simply didn't want the current timeline of himself to be put in danger

Man I was sad when you ended your chanel but you lookin good man. Looks like you found the balance you needed. Gald it worked out for you. You sound and look happier. Keep up the good content and keep your balance.

I mean, that first "plot hole" isn't really a plot hole. Bulma even in this timeline was not close enough. She likely wouldn't have seen Goku teleport, and maybe Goku might have told her afterwards, but memories are fickle. Bulma could easily have forgotten that detail. So that's more of a nitpick. And Trunks not really knowing how time travel works also isn't a plot hole. This is the first time anyone's time traveled in the timeline we've witnessed in the story. Of course he wouldn't know how it works until he returned to his timeline and seen that nothing changed from his interference. His conversation with the others in the ship with the passed out Goku happened after he came back for the second time.

Why didn't Cell just murk Tien instantly to chase 18? Why was the heart virus not a bigger part of the arc, at least in the background, making it less random? How come Trunks couldn't notice he was slower? Why wasn't the Time Chamber tried out again earlier than this saga? Why would Gero make the shutdown device an easily swipable remote instead of it being an implant? Why is Gohan harder to anger, when Buu saga Gohan , a more mature version, was more susceptible to rage spouts?

Yeah, cant really overthink about the details of this arc.

I don’t think you’re boring, I really enjoy your videos. That being said, thank you got making them and posting them!

You could explain trunks being confused about how time travel works, saying it's because he is traveling in time for the first time, and he expected to save goku and get to a better future, but then he didn't

Good to see you back doing videos. This was really interesting to watch. Wouldn't mind you doing something similar to this with the other arcs. The changes between anime and manga are also very interesting, makes me wonder what else they changed in the story

There’s also the plot hole where Gero a human on earth can make normal people androids stronger than a super saiyan yet they couldn’t make mecha frieza stronger than super Trunks with space technology. In fact just the idea that he can make androids stronger than Frieza is ridiculous. He was feared throughout the universe

Cell Saga: I have many plot holes. Goku Black: Hold my beer….

I am so happy that you are back

I think this arc tore open so many plot holes that would only be matched by Super when it came out.

This video is a case study in how the term "plot hole" is a lot more limited than people think. A "plot hole" is, very broadly, when the things that we see don't seem to be possible based on the things we've seen before. It's when a character knows another characters name without having ever heard it, or someone manages to cover vast distances in little time with no mode of transportation, or a character uses an item that we know they had no way to get (lockpicking a door with a paperclip after they were locked naked in an empty room with no prep time), that sort of thing. It's not just when we, the audience, haven't been told how something happened... it's when what we *have* been told seems to suggest a thing *couldn't* have happened, and yet it did. With that in mind: "Why did Trunks show up and kill Frieza and King Cold, when he should have known Goku would teleport there and kill them?" This isn't a plot hole, it's just an unanswered question; the two are not synonymous. We might *think* that Trunks probably would have been told that Goku could teleport... But we don't actually have any evidence of that. Keep in mind that Trunks would have just been a baby when Goku died, and spent his entire life dealing with Androids. By the time he would've been old enough to be told any details about the past, the focus is definitely on day-to-day survival and trying to figure a way to deal with the Androids... Not to mention that there's only Bulma left who knows about it. Like, sure, it's a *little* weird that she didn't specifiy that Goku was going to teleport there to fight Frieza, but hell, maybe she just forgot, it's been a traumatic decade or two. Not a plot hole. "Why was Trunks worried that if Bulma heard he was her future son, it might prevent her birth, even though he later shows that he clearly knows he's in a separate timeline?" Like you say, he could just be talking about prime timeline Trunks being born. That aside; Trunks is a hot-headed Saiyan, they're pretty prone to jumping into action without actually thinking things through. It wouldn't be too weird for him to *academically* know that "fixing" a separate timeline won't actually help his own, but still want to try on the basis of "I have to do *something* ", and likewise act as though this is his past. In fact, I haven't read the manga, but the page you showed seemed to show him coming to the realisation that his trip was kinda pointless, with Yamcha literally asking the question. I wonder what his answer was on the next page? Anyway, bad character decisions are not plot holes. "Why were 17 & 18, and then Cell, the villains, when Trunks said 19 & 20 were the issue?" I think a lot here depends on who Trunks winds up fighting when he goes back at the end of the saga in the manga. If he goes back and we see it was 17 & 18 that were wreaking havoc then, yeah, that's seems like a plot hole, plain and simple. "Why did Cell talk about potentially taking Trunks' cells, when he couldn't have done that in his original timeline?" The Fandom wiki claims another Future Trunks from a different timeline did kill Frieza/Cold, but that seems to be something they've just inferred based on Cell saying they could've added Trunks cells, so a bit of circular logic there. That aside, even if there was no Future Trunks in Cell's original timeline to take Cells from... there was still regular ol' Trunks, who lived his entire life until time travelling before Cell emerged. So there was definitely opportunity for them to use *a* Trunks' cells, even if not during that specific event. So this isn't a plot hole... but more by accident than planning, they clearly were implying the cells were taken from the Trunks who killed Frieza/Cold. "Why was Trunks' time machine set to go back to before he originally appeared when Cell used it, instead of after?" Weird, but unless Trunks at some point said "this time machine can't be set before this point" or "I'll come back a year from now, have on, let me set the return co-ordinates, can someone hand me a calendar?" or something, then... like, this is *weird,* but just an unanswered question. You bring up the idea that maybe he wanted to go back and make a better timeline and then dismiss it, but maybe he learnt about Cell, and was planning to go back again and take that into account on his next attempt? Maybe Bulmer re-programmed it for some reason we're not aware of? Maybe Cell didn't check the owners manual and hit the wrong controls, or accidentally brushed the "-1 year" button a few times with his tail without noticing? Like, this is clearly explainable, even if we haven't been given the explanation. Remember; a plot hole isn't just "something we haven't been told", it's "something that contradicts what we have been told", and this doesn't actually contradict anything. Not a plot hole. (If there is a plot hole here, it's Piccolo floating his nonsensical "he probably wanted to travel to our past to tell us about his victory" theory. Come on, KP, you're the smartest guy around, you have to know that doesn't make sense!) "How does Cell not know Piccolo can regrow his arm when he has his cells?" You share 60 percent of your DNA with a banana. Do you know everything a banana tree can do? If someone told you the how it creates its bark, how some internal chemical is synthesized, how it responds to different types of soil, would you be like "uhh, yeah, I know, I have loads of banana DNA already, duh"? Are you even fully aware of everything your *own* body does? Like, sure, you just inherently know some thing your body can do... no-one had to teach you how to breathe... But there are other things your body is capable of that it either does without your awareness, or you need to learn you can do before you can do it (like, I dunno, someone first realising they have double-jointed elbows). Not a plot hole. "How did Cell regenerate from the Kamehameha that vaporised his head, when later he says that his regeneration relies on a mass in his head?" I'm... torn on this one. Like, as you said, there *is* a pretty simple explanation (that the mass is *currently* in his head when he says that, but he can move it anywhere in his body, and it just wasn't in his head the first time around)... But there's nothing in the story to actually support that, and it doesn't seem to be the intent. Yeah, OK, plot hole. So, 2/7 of these "plot holes" were plot holes. Actually not bad, in 2023 terms, when the term is so misused!

Recently found your content and have been binging. Very well put together and appreciate your videos

Dude, you're one of my favorite dbz youtubers. I listen to every one of your videos everytime they come up. Haters will br haters. Everyone has them, but you are still making money bro. They have to go to your video to make those comments. Head up, bro

did you lose weight?

About the "Trunks' cells" plothole: Cell was probably referring to his creation process in his own timeline, but didn't explain it too much and the background images of Freeza and King Cold being killed (in "our" timeline) by Trunks added to the confusion. What *I think* he meant was that his computer got cells from both Freeza and King Cold when they came to Earth and the research progressed. Time passes, the androids appear, the Z Warriors almost all die, etc., etc. Gohan steps in as Earth's champion and starts training Trunks, who eventually becomes a powerful warrior in his own right. The computer was spying all of that, but decided to not take his cells, since Saiyan samples were more than enough, by then, and that timeline's Trunks never showed any special feats. Of course, I'm probably putting way too much thought in this. 🤣🤣🤣

Too bad my man Yamcha was saddled retroactively with a new character flaw to justify him and Bulma breaking up. Like her general lack of commitment and flightiness wasn't enough and maybe she just needed a guy who was a bit less nice.

Wish I could double like and subscribe. Love your content and the way you present it. You have a clear passion for the topic and love to hear your takes. Keep up the great content!

Trunks didn't know that time travel worked like that until he comes back and sees the wrong Androids. That's when he realizes it. So when he first talks to Goku, his line about "never being born" was just his assumption, since he literally didn't really know.

7:53 Third idea: Trunks just actually doesn't know what he's talking about. Remember: This is the first time he's time travelled. The first time that we know of that his time machine was ever activated. WHY WOULD HE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WOULD HAPPEN BETWEEN TIMELINES? He just realizes what would happen later because he's already seen the effects (or lack of effects) first-hand

I just found you and omg I love these videos. Your format is so simple and great for long form discussions. Definitely gonna subscribe

That yu yu hakusho song at 1:30 always hit 😂 possibly my favorite anime top five for sure

1) The fact that Trunks knew the exact time and place Goku's ship landed implies that his future self didn't use Instant Transmission to stop Future Frieza and instead just landed on Earth normally for some reason, otherwise it'd be pretty random for Future Bulma to record when/where Future Goku's ship landed if he ditched it and teleported to the battlefield anyways. Ultimately, this means Future Bulma likely never learned of the technique 2) How was Trunks and Bulma supposed to know how time travel works when that was literally the first time they did this? Sure they had done the calculations to prove that it could theoretically work but there was no way to actually confirm it until Trunks made the first trip 3) Yeah I got nothing on the Android name drop, kinda just have to suspend disbelief on that like with how they changed Gohan's starting age from 3 to 4 4) You can argue Cell was talking about taking cells from Trunks when he was a baby but choosing not too because they have enough saiyan DNA and because well... he's a baby. Other than that, yeah this arc got big holes

Cell didn't know about Piccolo fusing. Just like the Dr. didn't know what happened on Namek.

Any argument I had about the alternate Future Trunks being a part of the inconsistentncies or plot holes you addressed or acknowledged so I apperciate that. You are very thurough in covering all bases.

Regarding the timelines not affecting each other and trunks seemingly knowing.. in the anime he finds out only after travelling back that his timeline doesn’t change because it is the first time the time machine was used. It might have been left out in the manga but it would still be the best explanation for this because I believe the panels you are showing of him talking about timelines dividing are after he comes back again - possibly with more knowledge.

Not to mention, if Goku teleports as planned, he doesn't arrive in the ship. The ship just shows later, probably. Even if we assume Goku has a longer kill time because he dicks around, it seems unlikely they would even be there hours later for Bulma to know when. That's a very obscure detail to remember. Let's say Bulma has the data. Fine. Why would she even mention it if he never arrived in the ship. It implies she told Trunks he arrived in the ship for Trunks to have the info. If not a plot hole, it's negligence on Bulma. Either she just didn't tell him, or she somehow just assumed he arrived on a spacepod he never came in that she never saw him leave out of.

I feel like the first “plot hole” isn’t one in my eyes. I think he just wants that timeline to have a Trunks.

For the last plot hole…we can’t see if a microscopic piece of his core remained because it was microscopic but you can’t say it wasn’t there because cell still indeed regenerated

My own personal head cannon for Cell is that he doesn't actually know how his body works, he just does stuff and it works out for him. He's like that guy who wipes out on a skateboard, then pops right up and says, "I meant to do that!" "Didn't hurt!" "You should see the other guy!" "Once I fired a kamehameha THIS big!"

I choose to imagine Cell just is just making things up to justify himself because he'd feel embarrassed otherwise.

About the "Trunks didn't know about Instint transmission" thing. Maby future, Bulma lied to him so that Trunks could kill Frieza and earn Gokus trust

Well done, I enjoyed your editing and humor, while sharing "cell saga best saga" beyond any doubt.

Great video. Like the new style

Some of this could easily be explained. Goku died the year Trunks was born, he wasn't around to know Goku's techniques and clearly no one told him about Goku's Instant Transmission. As for why Trunks didn't know how time travel worked initially, this is Trunk's first time traveling through time, he had no knowledge of how time travel works and there are many people in the series, including the gods that believe-in the Grandfather Paradox, which is revealed to not be the actual concept of this form of traveling, which we now know deals more with Multiverse theory as Trunks later learns. As much as I love finding plot holes and contradictions, doing so requires a lot of thinking outside of the box. Now, to explain why Trunks contradicts this later in the panel where Goku is trying to recover from his heart virus, in that panel, Trunks had already traveled back to his time to find that nothing had changed, he also noticed that there were some differences when he returned to the other timeline, so at that point, he realized that his form of time travel supports multiverse theory and not the grandfather paradox.

Was that sad music at 1:30 from Yu Yu Hakusho? Well placed, my friend. *Looks up and is resolved*

The fact that Inperfect Cell was able to sneak upon Trunks and kill him without Trunks sensing him.

8:20 the best argument for that is he said that before he even knew the effects of time travel