I thought the reasons they were stronger in the past is because they never actually fought all out in the future. Trunks never experienced their full strength, so he never knew they were pulling their punches and just toying with him.
One Strip! One Strip!That's the logical explanation that also fits Future 17's dialogue in the Trunks Special but that's also the wrong one. The Future Androids are stronger than the Alpha Timeline Androids because fuck you, that's why.
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!That never really seemed logical to me, from a storytelling point, anyway. What's the point in putting that line in there if that's the case? The point was made to load more on the "Trunks made things a lot more complicated than he realized" train.
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I assume you got those mixed up.
It's not the case, though.
edited 2nd Mar '17 2:55:15 PM by LSBK
Weird. I thought it was something confirmed by Saiga.
I'm near sure he said that.
One Strip! One Strip!
x3 No I didn't. in the Trunks Special (the manga one, not the anime), Future 17 tells Gohan before they start fighting for the last time that he and 18 have only ever used about half their power against him. Ergo, it makes sense that our 17 and 18 aren't actually more powerful, it's just that Future Trunks didn't know how powerful they really were since he never fought them at full strength and wasn't there for that line.
Instead, the Future Androids are just stronger for absolutely no reason. Likewise, they're more evil because reasons. Well, because reasons in universe. So many problems with that saga go away once you learn how it was originally supposed to play out.
edited 2nd Mar '17 3:01:27 PM by Zelenal
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!No, other people have said that. I distinctly remember Saiga commenting that one of those guidebooks or Daizenshuu or whatever they're called, reaffirmed that the current 17 and 18 are stronger than the ones from Future!Trunks' timeline.
Except they aren't. Trunks says as much in the manga proper, and a guidebook apparently reaffirms it. One pair is apparently stronger than the other, but you have which one wrong. And, before you comment again, I know what special you're talking about.
edited 2nd Mar '17 3:04:33 PM by LSBK
It wouldn't make sense for their present counterparts to be weaker anyway because Trunks warning the heroes of their arrival prompted them to train and end up stronger as a result. Vegeta and Piccolo are far stronger than Trunks or Future Gohan, and neither of them managed to beat the present 17 or 18 despite their training.
edited 2nd Mar '17 3:07:52 PM by BlackYakuzu94
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.I'm fairly sure Trunks does not actually know how strong 17 and 18 are. He's never seen them go all out and he cannot feel their energy, he is not a skilled and experienced enough fighter to gauge it on his own.
If it'd been Goku who said "hey these guys are totes weaker than the ones in our timeline" then we could take his word as gospel because Goku would actually know what he's talking about, Trunks doesn't.
himitsu keisatsu seifu chokuzoku kokka hoanbu na no da himitsu keisatsu yami ni magireru supai katsudou torishimariThat's not really the point. He''s saying that Goku is a better judge of a characters strength than Trunks is.
I mean, even without Ki sensing, he'd probably be able to gauge their power pretty well.
Whoops. I'll just be silent then.
edited 2nd Mar '17 3:24:41 PM by HandsomeRob
One Strip! One Strip!Like I said, my issue is what's the point of having Trunks say they're stronger, if the answer is "they're not, Trunks just doesn't know how strong they are". That line, along with a bunch of other things were all part of a sequence to establish just how much he had complicated things by time-traveling. It undermines the point if he's wrong.
Even so, I don't get why Future!17 saying "I'm only used half my strength" would make you think the Future!Androids are the stronger ones. Present 17 and 18 fought much stronger opponents than they ever did, and never broke a sweet. It only makes sense to assume they're weaker if you assume that Future!Gohan was equal to either Vegeta or Piccolo, and there's nothing backing that up.
edited 2nd Mar '17 3:28:26 PM by LSBK
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I see your point.
I'm still gonna say Trunks' word is as solid as his ability to count.
Disclaimer: I'm totally aware that Trunks' count being off is not even his fault [[Don'tExplain the joke, but I'm just making a joke at his expense.]]
edited 2nd Mar '17 3:26:58 PM by HandsomeRob
One Strip! One Strip!And yea, like LSBK said, Trunks` line about the Androids being weaker in his time than the present ones serves to establish how his meddling in the timeline changed things around and to highlight the differences between what Trunks experienced in his future compared to the present.
Him being wrong doesn't make much sense from a thematic point of view, otherwise what's even the point of making that a point to begin with?
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.

I responded wrong and edited my post. Still, the point stands, from the very beginning current 17 and 18 were better than Future!17 and 18.