Dragon Ball Z Timelines Explained.

This basically confirms that the cell reborn arc will come from the unseen timeline where trunks didnt have any surprises and went back to his original time while cell was never destroyed or even discovered

Take a shot for everytime he says take a shot for when he says “back to the future”

I understand now, cuz it always confused me hope cell was able to kill trunks in his timeline, that trunks didn't train and get stronger but destroyed the androids with a remote

Humans. 🙄 No Matter how HARD you try, you'll never fully understand Time Travel

I don't get why present zamasu (the ome who became Black) had to attack Trunks' future instead of his timeline

The unseen timeline makes no sense whatsoever. We never see Trunks travel to the unseen timeline or even make a move.

Cell randomly says he's from there. But there is nothing that suggests when or how trunks creates it. It just pops up out of thin air.

Trunks works for the TVA now

i have Question ....When Cell Absrobs android 18 Trunks got a flashback of Future Perfect Cell What happened to Him ......what Happened To Future Perfect Cell when cell begin to Transform after absorbing 18 Trunks got a flashback about the dark future and saw an image of Perfect Cell so what happened to him there is a perfect cell on future trunks timeline i know what i'm talking about i'm not Referring to the imperfect cell that Trunks killed No ...trunks got a flashback about Future Perfect Cell i remember watching that episode and i remember the scene

This makes no sense

I love it how the explanations are so clear so I can appreciate how fucked up the time travelling stuff is more xD

Really really really really well explained👏🏻👏🏻

If trunks dies in his timeline, ' the one goku dies' how is he alive for the timeline where he saves Goku? So what, Cell going back to the past, restarts the timeline?

So in one of these timelines, their is two trunks and two cells?

When piccolo meets cell, how is trunks there?
Isn't he dead? Or trunks actually doesn't die in his timeline.

This... makes no sense. Wouldn't a new timeline have been created when Cell traveled back 4 years?

It was all going so good until the freeza saga why did toriyama had to mess it up with the time travel stuff.

'What about the time line where cell never returns but trunks is killed, causing a split because trunks returned to one timeline and the ither time line cell gets killed but killled trunks

Timeline 4 does have a Cell, every timeline does. Cell(3) is the only one that time traveled. The Cell we know, Cell(3), is the ultimate villain Cell, the only one who killed Trunks(twice) and time traveled. Trunks(3) originally traveled to Timeline 4 in which the Androids were defeated via the remote and Cell was never discovered, then Trunks(3) went back to Timeline 3 and was killed by Cell(3). Cell(3) traveled to Timeline 1, AKA the show we watch. Timeline 4's fate is unknown because Cell is still alive, but the androids are dead via remote control. The Z fighters are not strong enough to defeat imperfect Cell because they are all weaker than the androids, but it is unknown what Timeline 4's Cell is up to, and it is unknown if Timeline 4 Z fighters are strong enough for Majin Buu to be revived, likely not as it required SS2 power to revive him. There is also no time machine here, so Cell(4) is stuck here.

What future did trucks return too after his universe was destroyed.

this cleared it all up for me. thank you

Perfect video man great job you earned a subscriber

But why the cell’s time travel was in the past of timeline 1? Why not the past of his own timeline (3)? Since he traveled before the first Trunks travel events (763). That makes no sense

Thanks for this.

Why dont they use dragonballz to defeat the Androids?

Great video hero

Okay there is no paradox cell made a new timeline where he fails early on and so the hot timeline still happens or one where cell catches everyone off guard and does whatver he wants with his perfect form.
But we will just say he fails early on and makee the hot tineline now future trunks 2 goes back in time but cell will be there cuz he should be
Then the rest plays out as normal so there is 4 timelines

must be a very sad future for Bulma as his son was killed by future Cell. To make things worse, she probably never knows her son was killed, it's just simply that his son never returns from his trip to the past, as Cell has taken his Time Machine. But I assume the Earth will return to peace in this timeline, as there is no Androids, no Cell, not even a single Z fighters nor Dragonballs.

Correction timeline 4 is supposed to have a cell (the one in the basement)

Good work with video make sense for smooth brain .

Finally i understand this timeline thing ❣

So did Trunks also bring the Goku from time-line 4 the Medicine? So time-line 4 is one either with a healthy Goku who can destroy the androids, and no cell OR one where Goku dies, Androids win and just casually kill tiime till cell is born? Or is that a 4a 4b scenario?

WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT how would he take him back in time in the capsule??? Is that stated somewhere for real? Because it wasn't big enough for small Cell lol much less trunks PLUS Goku are they gonna like curl up into a ball and stack on top of each other?!

Theres a flaw in your arguement for the second travel while the new main would not create a paradox the old main would as trunks is now changing thay future by bringing goku /vageta there.

Why didnt the present time line changed when future trunks goes back and kills cell,
Why doesnt the futuere change when cell is killed by gohan???😭

I watched the video and finally understood then I read the comments and now I’m confused again 😂😂😂

Why time line 4 dont have cell

Soo there is a time line where all z fighters are dead and only bulma is alive.

Theres something i dont understand or its confusing me ,If someone could answer , idk if in the anime its different but in the manga ,
it is assumed that trunks from the unseen timeline wanted to go back to tell everyone he found a way to deal with the androids, but cell said that trunks was the one who set the time machine to year 763 of the main timeline , but why would trunks go this far back in time to tell them about something the main timeline have no idea about and even who is trunks?

In the Daizenshuu, they say there’s a timeline where a Cell Games takes place but with no Future Trunks present, how is that possible?

Got it. So just to recap for my own sanity:

> Timeline 3 (T3) is the original timeline where Goku dies from the heart virus and all the Z fighters succumb to the androids.
> T3 Trunks goes back to the past and kills mecha Frieza, creating T4
> T3 Trunks discovers the Blueprints of the androids and goes back to his timeline
> He deactivated the T3 androids but unfortunately is killed by T3 Cell in 788.
> T3 Cell travels back to the past but not to T4, since T3 Trunks did not know of the existence of the old ship creating a paradox. Cell therefore creates T1, the main timeline.
> Because of Cell’s existence, this time Trunks is aware of the time machine. He decides not to go to the past therefore creating another paradox.
> This Trunk that we knew as T3 Trunks becomes T2 Trunks (The Trunks that doesn’t get killed)
> However since Cell basically needed someone to kill and hijack their time machine to come to T1 in the first place, T3 continues to exist while branching off into T2
> T3 Cell (Our Cell) is defeated by T1 Gohan and T2 Trunks returns to his timeline.
> There he defeats the T2 androids with his power as well as T2 Cell.
> To summarize, T3 was the original timeline while T1 was created as a result of T3 Cells paradoxical interference (as was T2 so Trunks could contjnue to exist)
> T4 was the “original” main timeline and the only one that was created as a result of a changed event rather than a paradox. It is confirmed that it follows the T1 timeline up to the Cell Games but just without Trunks being present. We don’t know anything beyond that, so for all we know, Cell might have actually succeeded. interestingly enough, this is an entirely different Cell altogether (T5 Cell) that branched off of T3. We know this because T1 Cell was destroyed by Krillin and Trunks, T2 Cell by T2 Trunks, T3 Cell by T1 Gohan and T4 Cell presumably the same as T1.

sonic cd ass shit

So whenever someone creates a paradox, an entire universe is created?

Dragon Ball Z has six timelines. Timeline 1 or T1. The Original Unaltered Timeline where Goku dies from the heart virus, Trunks goes back in time and is eventually killed by Cell, T2. The Goku lives Timeline, Trunks gives Goku the medicine, warns the Z-Fighters, and returns to the future, T3. Trunks returns from the future, gets the blueprints, and returns to the future, OK those first 3 Timelines are the timelines without Cell now when Cell goes back in time he creates Timeline 4 and burys himself into the earth and temporarily goes dormant now we know that other than that this timeline is identical to Timeline 1 because of the fact that Future Trunks still exists because the Future Trunks from TImeline 1 traveled to Timeline 2 neither of which has a Cell from the future which means that Cell only awoke from his stasis because of Future Trunks's actions what those actions were are unknown and irrelevant, T5. Identical to Timeline 2 except for Cell being in the Past and Future Trunks actions somehow causing Cell to become active, Now Timeline 6. Future Trunks returns and the rest of Dragon Ball Z happens, & finally Future Trunks returns to Timeline 4 & kills the Androids 17, 18, possibly 16 & the newly activated Cell which leaves only the still dormant Cell from Timeline 1 left unaccounted for.

And on top of that is the gt trunks

Maybe I'm an imbecile, but I still don't get it lmao 😅

Time Travel Works In Dragon Ball based off Second Dimensional Time Travel, the minute you time travel in dragon ball your interference causes the creation of an alternate timeline.
It’s the idea that every time someone travels across the timeline they create duplicate timelines where things can go differently called alternate timelines which stray from the original timeline. It’s similar to The Multiverse’s Butterfly Effect Theory, except in that theory it states every decision you make as a person either creates a Parallel Universe where you made a different choice, the opposite choice usually or it already exists. The Difference is that despite being used interchangeably, Parallel Universes aren’t created inherently by time travel whereas Alternate Timelines are created by Time Travel.

Let’s go over similarities and differences between Alternate Timelines & Parallel Universes. I usually call Alternate Timelines low level Multiverses because they usually exist by someone altering time or the events in the timeline which creates them. Sounds similar to The Butterfly Effect in The Multiverse. However By The rules of The Butterfly Effect, Parallel Universes are made by someone making choices in the given moment which creates new realities where the person made the opposite decision. That’s usually how Parallel Universes come into effect. I think the difference being when messing with time, alternate timelines are made but with Parallel Universes , making any decision in every day life creates a Parallel Universe or multiple Parallel Universes where differences happen. The Similarities just being making a decision in every day life creates a Parallel Universe and messing with a Timeline creates Alternate Timelines but Parallel Universes are described to have differences regardless of your choices based on the many worlds interpretation which means they exist regardless of whatever happens to the timeline. Alternate Timelines on The Other hand require Time Travel to occur.


The type of time travel in Dragon Ball is Second Dimensional Time Travel which creates Alternate Timelines. Alternate Timelines are Low Level Multiverses. There similar to Parallel Universes in a Multiverse but aren’t exactly the same.

Parallel Universes are described to either (be created by any decision you make causing a Parallel Universe to exist where you make a different choice.) or (described to already exist since you making a decision in one universe, naturally there’s another where you made another decision. Sometimes that can be considered to be the opposite decision. Parallel Universes are also described to have natural differences that exist regardless of making any decisions.)
Alternate Timelines on the other hands exist by time traveling specifically. A Parallel Universe can theoretically exist regardless of time traveling, but alternate timelines require the action of traveling forward or backwards in time to exist. For Example: Luke Skywalker In The Empire Strikes Back having a vision of his friends in danger and possibly dying if he doesn’t save them fits more into Parallel Universe territory because despite him having what can be considered a future vision through the force he’s only seeing a possibility based on his choices. When he confronts Yoda & Ben Kenobi about deciding to go save his friends instead of continuing his training, under some parallel universe rules , his actions cause the existence of a universe where he didn’t decide to try & save them in order to honor what his friends fight for and train long enough to be ready to face the Sith instead of risking that chance on rescuing them from potential death. That’s an example of a Parallel Universe dilemma. However The Flash going back in time to prevent his mother’s murder on the other hand is more of Alternate Timeline Territory because time travel is involved. That’s more of an Alternate Timeline Dilemma.

Alternate Timeline: New Timelines Alternate to the original Timeline when you alter Time (Past , Present or Future)

Alternate Dimension: Realms or Reality Usually smaller than Whole Universes and separate from average space in their own bubbles of existence.

Parallel Universes: Realities that are created or exist based on your everyday choices & decisions. Any choice you make in life means a reality exist where you did something else, or Realities created based on whatever exists one way in a Universe, will exist another way in a parallel universe.

These are the traditional definitions of these terms but people use them interchangeably now and some more modern definitions see The Multiverse and Time Travel as the exact same thing rather then sibling concepts like they were understood originally which further causes this confusion. On top of that modern entries in franchises like DC, Marvel & Star Trek use the two interchangeably so people who are first introduced to concepts like Parallel Universes & Alternate Timelines see them as the same. Sometimes they’ll use them Traditionally like The DC CW Arrowverse with The Flash Show which very well explains the differences between the two. Either way, Future Trunk’s timeline and other timelines that exist are still tied to Universe-7, because there all timelines that exist within the same Universe, just branched off from the prime timeline. Future Trunks Timeline was originally the prime timeline and the one we follow in The Android & Cell Saga was considered an alternate timeline but Dragon Ball Super probably retconned this later because The Gods see Trunks’s Timeline as an alternate future, either way it’s established time travel was crime by The Gods in Dragon Ball which is why Bulma’s Time Machine got destroyed, and since Zeno can have doubles created of him by alternate timelines, that means The Gods & Angels can’t control time travel like they can control The 12 Universes which is probably why it’s outlawed by them. This Implies Alternate Timelines of These 12 Parallel Universes can probably exist regardless of how The Gods & Angels run their limited Multiverse, which to me is fascinating.

Why didn’t Cell absorb trunks before he left in the Time Machine? I mean he absorbs the regular humans in the beginning but wouldn’t absorbing trunks make him crazy powerful?

Good theory, however it has one crucial flaw that can't be explained by it. How did Trunks and Cell travel to the same timeline and meet? The new Trunks is a copy of the original Trunks, who set the coordinates for the Unseen Timeline. Therefore, this "new Trunks" should've done the same and gone to the Unseen Timeline, not the Main Timeline.

I propose a new theory that could alleviate this paradox.

1st Timeline (The Original): Trunks¹ used the time machine to create a 2nd Timeline, where he warned the Z-Fighters of the upcoming Android threat and where he obtained blueprints to create the remote to deactivate the Androids. However, Cell¹ would kill him and steal the time machine to travel even further into the past, creating the 3rd Timeline.

2nd Timeline (Unseen): This is where Trunks¹ went in his trip to the past. This timeline is almost identical to the main one we follow in the show, with the only difference being that no version of Cell came from the future here. How the events played out here is mostly unknown. On Gero's lab, Cell² is being incubated but his fate is also unknown.

3rd Timeline (History of Trunks): This is where Cell¹ went in his trip to the past. Here, he buried himself underground for four years, waiting for the Androids to be unleashed. The Androids from this timeline would kill the Z-Fighters (including Piccolo) just like in the original timeline. Then, Cell¹ would try to absorb them but he underestimated their strength and ended up killed (he can't sense their power levels). Many years later, Trunks² would travel to the past, creating the 4th Timeline where he would obtain knowledge of Cell. This would allow him to stop Cell³ from stealing the time machine again.

4th Timeline (Main One): This is where Trunks² went in his trip to the past. Cell¹ was already buried underground in the 3rd Timeline (the one where this timeline branches off) so he was duplicated the moment Trunks² arrived here, creating Cell⁴. Piccolo wasn't killed in this timeline so he would fuse with Kami to become stronger. This new "Kamiccolo" would be a major obstacle for Cell⁴, who would resort to absorb humans in Gingertown to become stronger than him. Krillin would kill Cell⁵, who was incubating in Gero's lab. Cell⁴ would absorb A17 and A18, becoming perfect. Gohan would kill Cell⁴ and Trunks² would return to his time with knowledge of Cell.