Dragon Ballis chock-full of memorable characters, epic moments, and spectacular drag-out brawls that have defined the shonen genre for decades, with the time-skipping Z-Fighter known asTrunksbeing one of the most recognizable heroes in the franchise’s ever-expanding lore, easily making him one of my favorite Saiyan warriors.WhenDragon Ball Superpremiered ten years ago, Trunks’ character design was changed in a head-scratching way, throwing into question why his already perfect look needed to be altered at all.
Making a strong first impression in hisDragon Ball Zdebut, “Future” Trunks burst onto the scene with purpose after revealing himself to be a Super Saiyan and dusting the seemingly indestructible Mecha Frieza with ease, instantly catapulting him — and his badass character design — into the upper echelons of Dragon Ball stardom.
Eventually introducing “Kid” Trunks later on inDragon Ball Z,Future Trunks re-appeared inDragon Ball Supersporting a much different look than before, witha big change from his previous incarnations altering one of the best parts of Trunks’ character: turning his hair from purple to blue.
Trunks’ New Blue Hair Baffled Fans
Having purple hair in his first manga appearance, Future Trunks retained this hair color when transitioning to the anime space.At the same time, his mother, Bulma, made herblue-haired anime debut inDragon Ballyears earlier — an odd choice considering her manga hair was also purple like her son’s. Jumping forward in time to when Kid Trunks replaced Future Trunks asDragon Ball Z’s “main” version of the character, Kid Trunks was given lavender hair which then carried over toDragon Ball Super, a settled anime detail thatDragon Ball Super’s version of Future Trunks threw a wrench into.
Trunks Finally Obtains Super Saiyan 4 in Rare Dragon Ball Fanart
Trunks is one of the most powerful Dragon Ball characters around, with new fanart showing what he would look like if he ever reached Super Saiyan 4!
With purple being the true hair color of Trunks inofficial Dragon Ball manga continuity, it’s worth wondering whyDragon Ball Super’s creators didn’t abide by the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rule, especially considering how popular Trunks’ original design was with fans, unlike, say, a character like Yamcha who always seemed to have a new look whenever he popped up on screen. Though there are a few timelines at work in Dragon Ball continuity that could explain away some of these cosmetic-related issues,this hair change ultimately affects Trunks more than being just an inconsistent visual detail.
Trunks Made His Anime and Manga Debut With Purple Hair
It’s true that Dragon Ball has its share of plot holes and continuity problems, but changing Trunks’ canon hair color seems like a battle that didn’t need to be fought, especially withSuperalready nerfing Trunks in noticeable ways that turned him into an almost unrecognizable person compared to hisDragon Ball Zcounterpart. And while it makes sense from a certain perspective that the creators ofSuperwanted an easy way to distinguish Future Trunks from his younger self,the change makes it hard to connect who the character was inDragon Ball Zand who Trunks is now.
Baby Trunks has purple hair inDragon Ball Daimacontinuity.
It goes without saying that outside ofFuture Trunks utilizing Super Saiyan Rageagainst Goku Black in an admittedly epic fashion, anything blue-haired Trunks can do, purple-haired Trunks can do better, withDragon Ball Zand its various non-canon movies proving that point time and time again. Furthermore, Trunks’ simpler visual design inDragon Ball Superis a far cry from his badass and bulked-up look inDragon Ball Z, withTrunks’ hair color alteration suddenly going from something seemingly trivial to a clear symbol of how much the character has changed since his debut as a mysterious future man.
Trunks’ Controversial Dragon Ball Hair Color Change Isn’t Going Anywhere
Trunks’ Hair Will Stay Blue in Dragon Ball Super
Oddly enough, now thatDragon Ball Super: Super Herohas shifted the franchise’s timeline forward to feature Trunks as a teenager, his younger self’s previously purple hair has turned a Future Trunks shade of blue, with the only reasonable explanation being that the older Trunks gets inSuper’s continuity, the more his hair grows to match his counterpart’s design. But that theory would break pre-established continuity because inDragon Ball Z,Future Trunks’ hair is still purple, implying thatthis confusing color swap was a purposeful retcon for reasons that are still unclear, despite heavy fan outcry about the decision.
Though it’s possible thatDragon Ball Supersimply made Trunks’ hair blue to match his mom’s stylish look in the anime,it’s worth noting there’s been no official reason for this hue change from either the late Akira Toriyama or Toei Animation, making this visual tweak a mystifying yet entirely deliberate decision that I simply can’t wrap my head around. Regardless of why this questionable change came about, I’d never let something as trivial asTrunks’ hair colorruin my enjoyment ofDragon Ball, but if I had to choose between his blue or purple-haired era, the choice is easy.
