Fans of Dragon Ball Super It might be surprising to learn how close the series came to getting a spinoff, as evidenced by an interview with artist Toyotarou. While little is known about the proposed spinoff in general, it is known who the story will star: Trunks.
Trunks has been a popular character since his future self first appeared in Dragon Ball Z's Android Saga. Future Trunks has been the subject of animated specials before, but no version of Trunks has ever had the honor of leading a Dragon Ball series. Instead of Future Trunks, as many fans might prefer, the proposed spin-off is actually about the present-day version of Trunks and will likely feature Goten.
Judging by what we got, some fans may be glad this spin-off never got made.
Dragon Ball Super Artist Toyotarou Wants a Trunks Side Story
Trunks spinoff movie may be high school themed
In an interview posted on the official Dragon Ball website in 2023, only partially translated, Toyotarou said that he once considered making a spin-off starring young Trunks, now, when Akira Toriyama suggested to him that he should make Trunks the main character of the next Dragon Ball Super.. The Dragon Ball Super arc is the High School Saga, which takes place right before the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie adaptation. This arc features Trunks and Goten, who have replaced Gohan as the heroes Saiyaman X-1 and X-2.
In previous interviews, Toyotarou has expressed his fondness for the Saiyaman arc of the original Dragon Ball, so it's perhaps no surprise that he'd jump at the chance to create his own version. It seems likely that if a Trunks-centric spin-off were to be created at this point, it would be a continuation of Trunks' high school life, as we saw in a few chapters of Dragon Ball Super. Many fans aren't too excited about this arc because it's a continuation of the exciting ending of the Granolah the Survivor Saga, so a full spin-off dedicated to Trunks' high school antics probably wouldn't be well received.
However, if this spin-off were to somehow continue, it would likely no longer be part of the Dragon Ball Super manga, instead jumping straight into the Super Hero adaptation. It's also unknown how long such a spin-off might last; there's always the possibility that it would just be a small arc, covering more or less what we got in Super.
Ultimately, Toriyama was probably right to encourage Toyotarou to simply take his Trunks-centric story straight into Dragon Ball Super. While Trunks is certainly strong enough to be a main character, such a series would be quite different from the regular Dragon Ball that fans know and love. And that's all without even going into the extra work a spinoff would involve, beyond drawing Dragon Ball Super. It's hard to say how serious Toyotarou is about a Trunks spinoff, but Dragon Ball Super It would probably be better that it didn't happen.
