The Great Saiyman storyline is a very amusing and entertaining segment of the Dragon Ball Z series.  Having a different feel from most of the other sagas in the show, this one is played for laughs and makes a nice change of pace.  This volume has another three uncut episodes and starts the next big storyline: The world martial arts tournament.

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:

An unscrupulous circus owner steals a baby flying dinosaur to use in a new act, but that's just the beginning of his troubles.  The kidnaped dino is Chibi, a friend of Goten's, and Son-Gohan promises to get him back and return Chibi to his parents.  Getting the dino out of his cage of away from the circus is child's play for the Great Saiyaman, but when Videl shows up she assumes that Saiyaman is a thief.  Until Chibi's parents show up of course.

Next up, Videl blackmails Gohan into entering the World Marital Arts Tournament (aka the Tenkaichi Tournament.)  Mr. Satan won the last tournament and in the previous one Goku was the champion.  Videl want to have the daughter and son of the old winners to meet in the finals.  Gohan reluctantly agrees and when he tells Bulma about the tournament, Vegeta states that he's going to enter.  Then, from beyond the grave Goku announces that he's earned a day on Earth, so he'll enter too.  Everyone decides to get into the act.  Soon  Krillian, his wife, the now-human Android 18, and Piccolo all enter.  All Gohan has to do is get permission from his mom.  Something that is easier said than done.

Finally Gohan starts getting ready for the tournament and decides to train with his younger brother Goten.  Training gets off to a slow start, but Goten has a little surprise for his big brother.

These were some fun episodes.  They continue to be some of the funniest DBZ episodes that there are, with the interaction between Gohan and Videl being particularly entertaining.  My favorite part of this volume has to be the running joke about Gohan's disguise.  The Saiyaman costume is green and red with a cape; outrageously ludicrous by any standards.  In one episode Goku, Kirillian and Picollo all tell him how stupid he looks in it, but Gohan doesn't believe them.  He chalks it up to poor fashion sense and jealously.
This volume starts the plot rolling for the next big story arc, and it looks like it will be a fun ride.  The world tournament promises to be a great set of shows.

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 uncut DBZ series before the menu that is unskippable.

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:

Dragon Ball Z is a guilty pleasure of mine.  This is one of the funnier storylines in the epic series, and it is a nice change of pace from the Earth destroying menaces that usually populate the show.  Gohan understands etiquette and proper behavior a little more than his father did, but that makes it all the more humorous when he makes some bone-headed mistake.  The preparations for the world martial arts tournament are going well, and the next couple of discs promise to be a lot of fun.  Another great disc.  Recommended.