Trunks' biggest blunder in Dragon Ball is the same as Vegeta's, but no one blames him for Perfect Cell

Modified Jul 02, 2024 11:30 GMT

Trunks from Dragon Ball has traveled through time two times to rescue his world. Although he is rejoicing in his most prominent triumph, he also becomes accountable for one of the primary errors in the story.

Vegeta, who primarily acts from a place of intense ego, has made numerous mistakes in the series. He let Cell achieve his perfect form only because he desired to fight against him at maximum strength. But as always, Vegeta finds ways to improve himself. Trunks' biggest error is similar to Vegeta's, but he isn't held responsible for Perfect Cell.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the Dragon Ball series.

Trunks made a huge mistake in the battle against Cell in Dragon Ball

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Trunks, motivated by an honorable intention to safeguard his timeline from the Android danger, confronts Cell after Android 18 is absorbed. Cell transforms into a Semi-Perfect form. In a fit of franticness and fury towards Vegeta for letting Cell reach this power level, Trunks starts attacking the semi-perfected villain relentlessly with powerful blows. For an instant, he gains control in the fight.

But, Trunks makes the most critical error when he faces Android 18 directly. Instead of making sure she gets caught or annihilated, Trunks tells her to run away. This choice brings a serious calamity because it lets Android 18 escape and stop Cell from getting into his perfect form at that time.

This one little good deed by Trunks sets off a chain reaction, which finally results in Cell absorbing Android 18 and converting into Perfect Cell, an extremely mighty and risky figure within Dragon Ball's intricate time web story.

Mistakes that led to Cell's rise in Dragon Ball, explored

Trunks as seen in anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Many important yet silly choices occurred when Cell was in his second form. Each of these had their own reasons for happening, but together they added to the crisis worsening.

One clear example is Vegeta's choice to let Cell reach his last and complete form. Motivated by his Saiyan pride and wish for a strong battle, Vegeta's self-centeredness ignores how much more dangerous Cell will become if he finishes evolving. His overconfidence stops him from seeing the possible results, which results in Cell obtaining maximum power and the subsequent threat it brings.

Krillin's inability to turn off Android 18 with the remote control is a crucial error in his judgment. Although he has an evident chance to remove a big danger, Krillin stops for unknown reasons, possibly showing compassion or doubtfulness. This pause becomes expensive because it lets Cell absorb Android 18 and improve his powers, increasing the danger for everyone involved.

Finally, the mistake of Android 18 to not run away even when told by others is shown. Although her friends are aware of the danger and encourage her to flee, she doesn't listen because she has too much pride and believes in her strength. Her decision to not escape ultimately results in Cell capturing her, which causes his final transformation.

Final thoughts

In Dragon Ball, Trunks has traveled twice in time to save his world. On the other hand, Vegeta's choices are driven by his ego - he lets Cell reach a perfect form so they can have a tough fight together because he always wants more power.

Caught up in feelings, Trunks also makes a big mistake when he doesn't kill Android 18. This lets Cell keep evolving. Hence, what appears to be good-heartedness results in Cell absorbing Android 18 and becoming Perfect Cell—a key event within Dragon Ball's complicated story of actions leading to outcomes.

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Edited by Shreya Das