Slight spoilers may be talked about below, so please be sure to watch the latest episode before reading on! This review is based off of the dub version of Super that currently airs on Toonami.
Once again we’re back into another filler episode as Goku is off training on King Kai’s planet and no universal evils to speak of happening, however to say that this episode was unneeded is an understatement. Episode 73 actually focuses on a few characters that were pushed aside once the Golden Frieza saga ended nearly 6 months ago and those being Videl, Gohan, Jaco and somewhat also, Krillan.
Photo Source: Funimation/Toei Animation/Cartoon Network
First up we find out what Jaco has been up too being the super elite galactic patrolmen that he is. He’s actually in-route with a small dangerous bounty to turn in but makes a pitstop for ramen on some faraway moon/asteroid. The cooks wonders about the bounty that Jaco has contained on his ship and the patrolman says that the creature is highly dangerous and needs to be lock up when suddenly as soon as he says that the creature escapes and flies off into space.
We pick up after the episode title card with Gohan in his studies doing some work when Videl calls him in to look at the TV, turns out that Hercule (Mr. Satan) along with a famous actor Barry Kong and a pop-star Koko are filming a moving about the Great Saiyan Man — the same exact super hero identity Gohan made when he was a teenager after the Cell Saga and just before the Majin Buu saga way back in Dragon Ball Z.
Photo Source: Funimation/Toei Animation/Cartoon Network
Next we go to the movie set where Barry, being the movie star that he is, is all nice to the media that interviews him but is actually a prick to everyone else working on the film. Eventually Videl, Gohan and Pan arrive on set to support Hercule about the movie and to see why they picked the Great Saiyan Man as the subject. Hercule eventually introduces the family to the pop-star Koko, who charms her way with Hercule. Barry then shows up and walks right past Gohan and Pan, trying to swoon his way with Videl. But Videl being Videl want’s none of it and quickly walks off calling for Gohan and Pan to follow her.
Photo Source: Funimation/Toei Animation/Cartoon Network
Everyone is at the location for a stunt scene with Barry having complete control over the production. He tells the stuntman who’s about to take his place as Great Saiyan Man to not dodge out of the way of an oncoming tank but instead to leap over and into the tank itself. The stuntman panics over how dangerous it is, with one thing leading to another and then Barry demanding Gohan does it instead. With Videl’s approval, Gohan dons the great Saiyan Man suit and perfectly lands the stunt just like Barry wanted, much to the stars dismay. This then leads the whole crew to come up and congratulate Gohan alongside the director who is ignited by creative passion now after seeing the stunt and takes control of the production away from Barry.
Photo Source: Funimation/Toei Animation/Cartoon Network
Afterwards we find Gohan walking home with the suit in a bag when he comes across a bank robbery in progress. We cut inside to see two bank robbers that Gohan stopped years ago as a high schooler confronted by Krillian, who’s now a cop in Super. Krillian is just about to stop them when Gohan comes charging in through a wall behind his friend, knocking him out in the process. Gohan then confronts the crooks, but Jaco’s bounty that escaped at the start of the episode appears and takes control of one of the robbers. This causes them to gain powers and starts fighting with Gohan who swiftly knocks them out with a flying kick, Jaco’s bounty then slithers away but not without triggering Jaco’s tracking device inside the super elites space ship. Jaco heads to earth. Krillian on the other hand, is critique Gohan for being the Great Saiyan Man again and wonders if he’s a bit too old for it.
Photo Source: Funimation/Toei Animation/Cartoon Network
Finally, Gohan returns to the movie set the next day and everyone in the crew is sure that it was indeed Gohan who stopped the robbery a day before but before Gohan can be outed, Bulma shows up to say that someone stole the extra suit she designed for the movie and it could have been that person instead. She basically saves Gohan’s unneeded secret identity. Later the two meet up on the roof of a building nearby and talk about the Great Saiyan Man and why Gohan is still doing it, but unaware to them Koko is listening in and knows everything now! Koko then confronts Gohan and blackmails him into spending time with her and to fly her around for a bit. As they fly around the city, Jaco shows up with his space ship and fires a giant laser at the pair thinking that they are possessed by the bounty that escaped. The episode ends.
Photo Source: Funimation/Toei Animation/Cartoon Network
So as you can see it is indeed a filler, but we finally get to catch up on neglected characters especially someone like Gohan who did so much in Z but does absolutely nothing in Super after Frieza beat him so badly and left him to go home to be a family man. So it’s really nice to focus on Gohan for a change while Goku and Vegeta are nowhere to be seen. Could it have been a better story instead for him, like him training to get stronger or something that futures the plot along from Gohan’s perspective, yes. But it is what it is and we have to deal with the superhero story that Gohan tends to always get caught up in it seems.
Is the concept of a secret identity ever needed in Dragon Ball, not at all! It’s one of the most baffling things that Gohan freaks out about in series as an adult. He should be more like the other fighters and not actually care about what the public thinks of him. Him being a bookworm type of character these days is so out of character too especially compared to both his Perfect Cell Saga and Super Buu Saga moments of pure awesomeness where he was the strongest fighter in the series and by the end of Dragon Ball Z, he still was. It’s just so weird to see him degraded time and time again as a weakling in Super. I hope that changes over time and he gets his full power back.
My other grip, is actually with Videl not being the Videl we knew back in Dragon Ball Z. The super version of her makes her out to be a totally relaxed housewife without any fire behind her eyes. Videl back in Dragon Ball Z was actually the 5th strongest human fighter but here in Super all of that is gone and she’s another Chi Chi who only cares about maintaining the house. It’s so jarring of a character shift that I hope, due to her interactions with Barry in this episode and maybe in the second part in Episode 74, she’ll revert back into her former self.
I am actually intrigued by the bounty, parasite creature like that thing that Jaco had to turn in. It has the weird style and similar powers of what Dragon Ball GT villain, Baby would have. So maybe this is Super’s version of Baby and could be something that Gohan and Videl would contain with, without having to rely on Goku to save the day again? I’m also curious on if Jaco and Gohan will actually fight in the next episode too and if the parasite will control Barry, leading to a Barry/Gohan fight?
Photo Source: Funimation/Toei Animation/Cartoon Network
