Manga/Dragon Ball

I mean. In the manga, it hasn't. It's been like two chapters. Garlic Jr. arc has its ups and downs, but inserting filler here was a good idea for the sake of making the audience genuinely feel like Goku's been missing for some time.

Anime/Manga: Trunks cuts straight through Frieza with a single vertical slice. At that moment, Gohan spots the fight in the air above them. Everybody looks up to see the final moments of Frieza's life. For the sake of thoroughness, Trunks dices Frieza into multiple small pieces, then closes with a point-blank spray of ki that incinerates the pieces. As he promised, it's over almost instantly. Nothing remains of the terrifying tyrant.

On the ground below, everyone gives reaction shots. That was unmistakably Frieza that died up there. Bulma assumes that Goku arrived in the nick of time again, but Yamcha corrects her: That is absolutely a Super Saiyan up there, but it's not Son Goku. (How Yamcha could possibly identify a Super Saiyan goes unanswered in both anime and manga.)

Screw the stealthy approach. Vegeta takes off into the air, bolting towards the fight. The other fighters take him dropping stealth as a sign that they should too, and the whole group flies off, leaving Yamcha, Bulma, and Puar behind. Though Yamcha states that he's going as well.

When we see them later in the manga, Yamcha is with the group, and he has Bulma clinging onto him so that he can carry her with. Toei bridges that by having Bulma yell at him for trying to leave her behind and then latch on forcefully to his neck.

Cold-Daio and Trunks land on a rocky mesa. Cold offers his compliments; He's impressed by how quickly Trunks slaughtered his son. He offers to adopt Trunks. As a member of his clan, Trunks could have whatever he wants not only from Earth but from any planet he so chooses. Trunks refuses.

Funi Cold offers to let Trunks "take Frieza's place at my side as the Supreme Ruler of the Universe", but refrains from offering to let Trunks become his new son.

Pity that. Moving along, Cold asks to see Trunks's sword. He'd like to inspect the quality of it. A blade that can cut through Frieza doesn't come along often, after all. Trunks hesitates but after a bit of goading from Cold, he unsheathes it and tosses it over.

A closer look confirms Cold's suspicions. This is a well-forged blade with an impressive edge to it. He speculates that this sword was what allowed Trunks to defeat Frieza. Without this sword, Trunks has no chance of defeating Cold.

Cold swings the sword down at Trunks, but Trunks catches it with his left hand. Guess that was wrong. With his right, he fires another point-blank ki blast, this time blowing a hole through Cold's stomach. Cold falls backwards, slamming against the cliffside behind him.

Toriyama's Trunks wastes no time following up with a second shot, which obliterates Cold. Toei Trunks stands back, allowing Cold the time to plead for his life. Cold offers to pay Trunks with a planet, then raises the deal to "every planet in this solar system". The second shot is Toei Trunks's answer to that offer.

Instead of offering bribes, Funi Cold appeals to Trunks's sense of mercy. He insists that his son was a bad apple but he's a well-meaning guy who wants nothing but peace for the universe. Funi Trunks answers his cries for mercy in the same stone-cold way that Toei Trunks answered his bribery, which is still unlike Toriyama Trunks who didn't even give him a chance to speak.

Trunks finishes by shooting Frieza's ship, destroying it utterly. With that, the last trace of the Planet Trade's forces on Earth is eradicated.

Well, that's over. Trunks's personality does a complete 180. He turns to the assembled Dragon Team and cheerfully calls out to them, telling them he's going to meet Goku. He invites them to come along. He points out Goku's landing site and assures everyone that he'll be there shortly.

No one is quite sure what to make of him. But whatever he is, Vegeta's mad about it. There aren't any Saiyans left but himself and Goku. (Laughs in Broly.) There is no possible way he could be a Super Saiyan. Chapter 138 ends here.

Funi Vegeta issues the same objection, but the voice acting makes him sound desperate and rambling. Toei Vegeta is like, "This is bullshit." Funi Vegeta is like, "There's no way! This must be bullshit! I refuse to accept this new reality!"

Gohan wants to go with Trunks, but Krillin is suspicious of the rando new guy. Ten agrees with Gohan; He knows Son Goku and killed Frieza, so how bad can he be? Yamcha and Bulma want to see if he's right about Goku's imminent arrival. Vegeta wants to expose him for the fraud he must be. And Piccolo says absolutely nothing for the sake of preserving his mystique.

Funi Yamcha and Bulma have different arguments to make. Yamcha's on Team Vegeta in this version; He doesn't trust Trunks. Bulma retorts, "You don't trust me either. I say we go!" Also, on the way to the site, Funi adds a clue of their own: When Trunks is using his watch as a GPS, he states that his tracking computer still works with the "original" satellite. He then throws in, "You rule, Gramps!"

Trunks takes everyone to an unremarkable patch of dirt, then pulls a Capsule case out of his pocket. He pops out a refrigerator and offers the group some frosty Jetap, which Toei labels Hetap.

It's not super clear where the name for the drink comes from. I've heard that it's a reference to "hepat", which means liver. And also to "hetappi", which means shitty. Trunks brought Shitty-brand liver poison from his shitty future. It's unmistakably Jetap in the manga, though, so I don't know.

Gohan and Bulma are the first to accept Trunks's offer. Trunks smiles at them while holding a Jetap, the first letter of which is visible above his hand; Toei forgets to change it to an H. As they peruse the drinks, Bulma drops another hint about Trunks's identity: She doesn't remember a Capsule product like this fridge ever existing.

Toriyama doesn't give us a great look at what Gohan's drinking, but the label looks slightly different from the Jetaps. The pattern on the can is diagonal instead of straight vertical. Given Gohan's age, it's probably not Shitty-brand liver poison and is instead a soda, but it's hard to make out. Either way, Toei has him grab a Jetap.

Krillin, motivated by Gohan and Bulma's enthusiasm, moves in and snags a Jetap as well. Bulma, classless as always, knocks back a white can seen in the fridge behind the Jetap earlier, unmistakably labeled "BEER".

During this sequence, Funimation clearly and unambiguously has the characters declare that these cans are sodas. To deal with the "BEER" label, Bulma identifies the thing she grabs as a Root Beer. They make room for this exchange by removing the clue about Bulma failing to recognize the Capsule fridge.

Bulma can't help but notice something familiar about Trunks. She asks if they know each other. Trunks waffles away from the question. Gohan inadvertently rescues him from uncomfortable topics by asking about his relationship to Goku. That's easier to talk about. Trunks explains that he only knows Goku by reputation; He's never had the privilege of meeting him.

(Trunks probably grew up hearing all of the stories from Bulma. And since it's Bulma, he probably got the most rose-tinted version imaginable. Goku defeated Piccolo-Daimao by flexing so hard he exploded, then flew off into space and oneshotted Frieza. With Gohan offering more level-headed versions of the parts he was there for.)

Krillin clues in on the hole in Trunks's story: If he's never met Goku, how does he know where and when Goku's going to land? Backed into a corner, Trunks resorts to simply saying no to answering that question. Vegeta presses it, demanding to know who Trunks is and how he became so powerful, but Trunks won't answer that either.

Gohan asks Trunks if he was a Super Saiyan when he defeated Frieza. Trunks confirms, prompting Vegeta to call bullshit. Only three Saiyans exist: Goku, Gohan, and himself. Not one more, anywhere in the universe. Furthermore, it is biologically impossible for Trunks to be a Saiyan. All Saiyans have black hair. It's a racial trait Trunks clearly lacks, proving his status as an imposter.

Funimation removes the clue about Saiyans having black hair. Instead, Gohan points out that Trunks defeated Frieza, to which Vegeta retorts, "I'm calling him a liar, not a weakling."

Bulma notices the Capsule Corporation insignia on Trunks's jacket. She asks if he works for them. He cryptically answers that it's not exactly like that. She probes further about his name and age. He withholds his name, but offers that he's 17 years old. Tenshinhan and Yamcha press him about his name. What purpose is there in withholding it?

(To avoid revealing his thematic name pun to the audience, as well as its associated connections with the rest of his maternal family, of course.)

Bulma calls everyone off, pointing out how visibly uncomfortable Trunks is with this interrogation. He saved the Earth, so he's earned a little privacy if that's what he wants.

Funi Yamcha and Tien straight up whine about the secrecy like twelve-year-olds. Tien asks if his shoe size is some tightly kept secret too, while Yamcha accuses him of having a secret decoder ring. Yamcha also complains aloud, "Why can't I have a secret name too?" Funi Bulma responds by accusing everyone of being jealous of how cool and strong Trunks is.

Anime Only: Meanwhile, Gyumao arrives at the Son residence to find Chi-Chi unpacking new tech equipment for the house. He walks in the door in time to have a box labeled "MY STADY" flung at his face. Chi-Chi declares that she's purchased the latest in study equipment from a TV home-shopping show.

She shows off a "Somnioscholastic" bed, which will let Gohan increase his knowledge even while he's sleeping. She also bought a Walkman with a portable encyclopedia tape. She does not explain the yellow computer she placed on the table when Gyumao entered. But with these things, Gohan can study every moment, night and day!

(Chi-Chi bought a bunch of useless crap that probably doesn't even work from a TV shopping network. This is maximum Trailer Park.)

Funimation removes the part about this stuff being infomercial garbage and presents it as if it were legitimate high-tech study equipment. Funi Chi-Chi also decides, apropos of nothing, that the reason Gohan doesn't study enough is because of the TV. She declares that it's rotting Gohan's brain cells, so she's throwing it away!

When we cut back to the Dragon Team, Funimation has Vegeta catch Trunks looking at him and demand to know what he's staring at. Trunks insists that it's nothing; He likes Vegeta's shirt. Vegeta scoffs and replies, "You would." I think that's supposed to be a using-gay-as-insult remark.

Anime/Manga: Moving right along, new topic: Gohan asks Piccolo why he didn't leave Earth with the rest of his people. Piccolo answers that a peaceful, idyllic life sounds boring to him. He wants action and would rather keep his training up than whatever they're doing on their new planet.

Funi Gohan gets racist about it, saying out loud, "They're your people." In keeping with his much gentler depiction, Funi Piccolo asserts that he may join them some day; However, he must remain on Earth for the sake of his mission. He then calls Gohan out for being racist, stating that connections between people run deeper than where they're from or what color their skin is.

Bulma whispers to Krillin that Vegeta tends to disappear during the days too. (Toei depicts this line faithfully despite it contradicting their Space Adventures with Vegeta.) She figures he's probably working out, which Krillin agrees with. Vegeta's almost certainly training to try and catch up to Goku. Krillin explains to Bulma that Vegeta has a huge chip on his shoulder, on account of being the Saiyan Prince.

Bulma points out a curious resemblance between Trunks and Vegeta. There's something similar about their features. Krillin disagrees, however; There's a huge gulf in their dispositions that makes it difficult for him to see any resemblance.

Vegeta catches Trunks staring at him. He snarls at Trunks, suspiciously pointing out that a real Saiyan wouldn't find anything unusual about him. (He says this while being one of three remaining members of a near-extinct people, wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and a bright pink shirt that reads "BADMAN" on the back. I'd say there's plenty to be surprised by, even from a "real Saiyan".) Funi Vegeta instead offers to give Trunks his pink shirt if he likes it that much.

Tenshinhan speculates that Goku might have met Trunks in space somewhere, but Chiaotzu shoots that down. He points out Trunks's clear familiarity with Earth. Funi Chiaotzu points out the more obvious counterargument: Trunks told them that he's never met Goku.

Funimation adds some extra dialogue to create yet another fight between Bulma and Yamcha. Yamcha suggests that Trunks is lying about Goku's return. Bulma points out that the only way to know is to wait the two hours (not three like in the manga) for Goku to get here, and it's only been one thus far. She tells Yamcha to chill out for one more hour, and Yamcha snaps back at her that she can find another ride home. (That escalated quickly.) Bulma screams "FINE!" at him and that's the end of that.

(Given the watch clue they added, Funimation is keenly aware at this point that Bulma will, indeed, find another ride home.)

Trunks stands up and declares that it's time, looking up at the sky. Everyone follows his gaze up. Those capable of ki sensing confirm: Son Goku's ki signature is on its way. Funi Bulma insists that they must be wrong because she can't sense anything with her "woman's intuition". (So that's what Ginyu acquired from being in her body!)

A Saiyan Pod enters Earth's atmosphere and lands directly on top of everyone, killing them all with the force of its impact. Thanks, Trunks. a short distance away because this isn't the exact landing site.

Funimation adds this amazing joke: Upon seeing the crater, Krillin remarks that he hopes the ship has airbags in it. Yamcha asks, "Why?! To protect the ship from Goku's head?!"

The group races to the edge of the crater. The Pod, visibly emblazened with the Ginyu Tokusentai insignia, pops open to reveal its inhabitant. Sure enough, it is Son Goku, dressed in a bizarre loose-fitting outfit with half of a breastplate and one shoulderpad.

Goku is visibly surprised to see everyone gathered here. To be continued.