The third volume of the Great Saiyaman story has Gohan finally getting his super-hero costume and starting to help the citizens of Satan City. His troubles aren't over though, because Videl is still trying to find out who the new super-powered person in town is, and another classmate may have found out his secret identity.

Series background:

Since the Cell Games, several years have passed on Earth. Young Gohan has been studying hard with his mother at home and now is a teenager. Gohan may have traveled across the universe and saved the Earth, but there is one great challenge he hasn't yet faced: high school. With no schools near his mountain home, Gohan travels to Satan City, named after the person that the world thinks was responsible for defeating Cell, to attend formal school for the first time.

On his way to Orange Star High School, Gohan encounters a police stand off. Thieves are robbing a bank and are in a battle with the police. Gohan decides to put a stop to things so he turns into Super Saiyan mode and easily defeats them. Of course his exploits are the talk of the town and by the time he gets to school, everyone is talking about the 'Golden Fighter' who stopped the bank robbery.

One of his new classmates is Videl, the daughter of Mr. Satan, and she's determined to find out who this new hero is. Gohan, on the other hand wants to be just a normal kid and is trying to fit in without revealing his true strength.

This volume:

In order to protect his secret, Gohan has Bulma design a costume for him. The green shirt, red cape, black pants and white gloves and boots may look tacky, but Gohan loves it. Bulma created a watch for Gohan to wear, and whenever he touches a button on the side his costume pops on.

Unfortunately, Gohan seems to have seen the Ginyu Force once too often, and he insists on creating an introductory speech and poses that he used whenever he appears. He names his alter-ego the Great Saiyaman, much to the amusement of everyone around him. Still, he's managed to get everyone to stop talking about the "Golden Fighter."

I am the Great Saiyaman! Defender of truth! Protector of the innocent! Upholder of justice! Doer of ... ah....good!

Things get off to a bad start though when he arrives at school one day and changes into his regular clothes only to notice one of his classmates looking at him. Angela is a cute girl, but a little pushy. She says that she'll tell everyone his secret if he doesn't go out with her. Gohan isn't really interested in dating, but what choice does he have.

The final episode on the disc could almost have come from an old Superman comic. In this episode Videl suspects that Gohan is really the Great Saiyaman, and tries to prove it.

This was another fun disc. Though it's not as humorous as the previous volume, this storyline is one of the more amusing DBZ stories. Gohan's simple and innocent outlook is the source of a lot of the humor, and the little opening speech he gives whenever the Great Saiyaman flies into action is great. They are developing Videl's character too (as much as characters ever get developed in DBZ) and she's becoming quite a fun person. Another great set of episodes.

This disc contains three episodes of Dragon Ball Z in its uncut format. The disc comes in a standard keepcase. One irritating thing is that FUNimation included a trailer for the new Tenchi series before the menu that is unskippable. That is really irratating.

Audio:

This DVD includes the original Japanese track in stereo and an English stereo dubs. I preferred the original soundtrack over the English dubs, though the English actors did a good job for the most part. The teachers at Orange Star High all have a different accent that sounds really phoney, but aside from that, the dub wasn't too irritating. The English track has different background music added and though it generally fits in well with the show, I liked the original music a bit more. The sound is very good, there isn't any noticeable hum or distortion, and the range is fine. The dialog is easy to discern and is very clear. I would have preferred that they had included a 5.1 mix also, like they've been doing with the new Vegeta saga discs, but this is satisfactory.

Video:

The full screen video looks excellent. The lines are sharp, the colors are bright and solid, and digital defects are nonexistent. The image is clean and clear. A fine looking DVD.

Extras:

There aren't any extra features on this disc aside from a series of trailers.

Final Thoughts:

I had fun watching this disc. This story arc, while not as exciting and dynamic as most of the others, sure has more than its share of laughs. Gohan has grown into a fine young man, and seeing his dating problems are a riot. The only this is I wish that FUNimation would include more than just three episodes per DVD. Even so, this DVD is Recommended.