Future Trunks learned most of his tricks in battle from an older Gohan, who acted as the budding warrior’s mentor. The story between the two of them is a highly emotional one (it’s not surprising that it also happens to function as the catalyst for Future Trunks’ Super Saiyan transformation), so it’s satisfying, albeit fair reason to be nervous, that the show would attempt to continue that story. It’s also a nice touch that this episode re-animates and extends certain pivotal moments from “The History of Trunks” so that these powerful scenes can be presented in a new, more beautiful light. Admittedly, the grown up version of Gohan that’s apart of Dragon Ball Super may look pretty similar to “Future Gohan,” but they’re entirely different characters.

Future Trunks certainly doesn’t confuse Gohan with his deceased mentor, but it makes sense that spending time with him would trigger some memories. This also acts as a great opportunity for Future Trunks’ to honor the memory of his fallen friend by training alongside Gohan where the two are able to teach each other. Gohan has been looking for an excuse to get back in the fray and show everyone that he still deservers to be taken seriously. Future Trunks’ presence might be exactly what the complacent Saiyan needs. That being said, the look on Future Trunks’ face when he sees that this version of his ruthless leader is a bookworm who prefers frozen yogurt to fisticuffs is priceless.

On this note, “Gohan and ‘Future’ Trunks” makes the differences between these two versions of Gohan as apparent as possible. The installment even embraces its more comedic sensibilities when Future Trunks and Gohan make a trip to the Satan household. Not only does Pan take to the skies and become a humorous obstacle (although it’s not as bad as before), but Gohan even dons the Great Saiyaman garb just to make sure that his time-traveling friend loses any remaining respect that he has for him. Mr. Satan also helps rub in just how domesticated Gohan has become. At one point Future Trunks is stuck watching television with Gohan and his family and his interior monologue screams, What am I doing here with these losers? I travelled through time to save the universe, not watch the local news!

The bulk of this episode is about the series’ examination of where Gohan currently fits in and if he’s able to be an asset to Future Trunks, but there’s still a little more that goes down outside of that. It may not amount to much, but Vegeta gets an exceptional training sequence that highlights that he’s still able to fight and get some work in even though everyone else is currently caught up in a period of preparation. Vegeta also appears to use the death of his “family” in Future Trunks’ timeline as the necessary fuel to push himself to work harder. This small detail goes a long ways as it continues to show that Vegeta has become more sentimental throughout Dragon Ball Super. His heart is growing and it’s great to see that the loss of loved ones has increasingly become his motivation as opposed to the egocentric quest to just be the strongest.

Elsewhere in the Capsule Corporation, Bulma is still hard at work to get that troublesome time machine back in operating order. The episode doesn’t really provide any substantial developments in this area and it looks like it’s still going to be a while before this heap of metal tears through the fabric of space and time. Mai and Shu are both pretty cute here as Bulma’s assistants in the science lab and it also finds a use for these displaced former-villains. Pilaf and his gang have a tendency to float around in the background until the series is in need of a dose of humor or a lighthearted adventure. The arrival of Future Trunks has helped re-focus these characters a little and given them a renewed sense of purpose. They at least know their way around Bulma’s lab at this point and Pilaf and Dr. Briefs as a team is rather adorable. This innocent lab material kicks the episode off and while it’s pleasant enough, it’s a little surprising to see how much time the episode spends here. The very relaxed start to “Master and Pupil Reunited” helps prepare the audience for the fact that this is a slower episode, but it still could have condensed the material.