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I don't believe I've ever seen Goten or Trunks with tails, which doesn't quite
make sense, seeing as how Gohan had a tail at his birth, and was also half
saiyan half human. From what I've read, it's assumed that they were cut off at
birth, but I'd like to know officially if that's the case, since the articles
I read had no sources. And I'm pretty sure Saiyan tails normally grow back. Is
there anywhere in DBZ that they mention the permanent removal of Goten's and
Trunks's tails?


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dragon-ball-z dragon-ball-series
Why is it that Goten and Trunks don't have tails?


A common theory is that Akira Toriyama just didn't want to / forgot that
Saiyans had tails. This wouldn't be surprising as Akira makes several other
errors/omittances in the series.

Here's an interview segment from him talking about Goku's tail:

[Is it true that Goku’s tail was a
nuisance?!](http://www.kanzenshuu.com/translations/full-color-comics-freeza-
arc-vol-5-akira-toriyama/)

> It’s true. (laughs)
>
> Goku was originally an actual monkey in the initial sketches, after all. My
> editor told me, “Without a tail, he has no distinguishing traits,” so I
> added a tail.
>
> That tail I added was such a nuisance when I was drawing, I couldn’t stand
> it… so I immediately thought up an episode where his tail gets cut off.
> (laughs)

It wouldn't be surprising if having gotten rid of the tail that he so hated,
he didn't really want to reintroduce it into the story again, so rather he
left Trunks and Gohen without one.


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There is very little by way of actual evidence to answer this question (for
example, in the manga Krillin asks Bulma why Trunks has no tail, and whether
she had it removed; she never gives an answer). There is however a lot of
speculation on the internets about it.

The closest thing to an official answer can be found in the ["DragonBall
Daizenshuu 4 – World Guide" databook (1995, Shueisha
Inc.)](http://www.kanzenshuu.com/databook/daizenshuu/daiz-04/), endorsed by
Toriyama Akira, which has this to say (on the subject of "Saiyan"):

> **The tailless second generation are super ultra child prodigies.**
>
> Saiyan genes have an extraordinarily good compatibility with Earthling
> blood. Because of this, when the two races are mixed together children with
> formidable power are born. Particularly, those Halflings born without tails
> hide an exceptional battle power. There are many things that they naturally
> master from a young age, such as the ordinarily arduous transformation into
> a Super Saiyan. In spite of having such an outstanding battle sense, they do
> not have a fondness for battle like a pure Saiyan. Instead, it seems that
> the violent temperament of the Saiyan has been relaxed through their
> Earthling blood.

The text doesn't outright say it, but the strong implication is that a
Saiyan/human hybrid is not born with a tail (or at the very least, some of
them are born without tails, and those of this category are notable for being
extraordinarily powerful).


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It may be possible that as soon as Goten and Trunks were born, their tails
were cut off right away. (Or, Due to their mother's genes, they didn't have
tails) Unlike Gohan who most likely took Goku's genes, had a tail.


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