This ‘Dragon Ball’ Fan Is Trying to Become the Real-Life Future Trunks

We’ve recently shown you just how far Dragon Ball fandom can go with a post of one super fan’s nearly head-to-toe tattoo of Vegeta and Beerus. Well, today brings an example of Dragon Ball devotion that goes even further, as the super fan seen in the video above is taking steps to actually transform himself into a real-life version of Future Trunks!

As you learn in the Facebook post, the man dressed in character is Julian Louw, a South African stunt actor and professional dancer. Here are the details of his story, as shared by Hooked on the Look:

“Meet the real-life Trunks of hit 90’s TV show Dragon Ball Z, who is transforming inside and out to become his idol. Julian Louw, a stunt actor and professional dancer, was first introduced to the popular Japanese anime series when he was teenager and admits that he fell in love with the character of Trunks, connecting to him on a personal level. Three years ago Louw made the decision to embark on a ‘character development project’ to become the real-life Trunks after strangers told him that he resembled the fictional character, but to become a living version would be impossible.”

In the video, Louw details that level of Trunks-inspired training he puts in to look the part, and even shares a vlog-style experience of going to get his hair dyed and styled after Trunks for the first time. It ends with Louw celebrating having risen to the challenge of looking like Trunks, or “surpassing that challenge in human form,” as he puts it.

As you may expect, the Internet is not all too kind in its responses to the video showcasing Louw; however, what’s surprising is that the biggest swell of negative response isn’t people making fun of Louw; it’s actually Dragon Ball Z fans who are tearing into the man for (in their opinion) failing to get the look of Future Trunks right, given all the work Louw puts in!

In a cruel twist, the character of Future Trunks has been updated in Dragon Ball Super, and now has a completely different costume and hair color! If Louw is going to remain current, he’s going to need to head back to the salon.

Dragon Ball Super’s “Universal Survival” arc is part of the recent simulcast agreement that sites like Crunchyroll and Funimation have scored. DragonBall Super airs on Crunchyroll Saturday evenings at 7:15 p.m. CST. Adult Swim airs the English dub during its Toonami block Saturday evenings at 9:30 p.m, and is now available to stream on FunimationNOW and Amazon Video.