Dragonball GT Episode 41 (Aired 03/12/97)
Tenkaiichi budoukai. Satan no koukeisha wa dare Tenkai-Ichi Budoukai. Who Will Be Satan's Successor?
It's the beginning of another Budoukai, and little Gokuu has to fight in the children's rounds. He wins because his opponent hurts himself on Gokuu's arm. Gohan, Videl, and Kuririn come up and ask him why he's not in the adults rounds. Gokuu flashes back to his talk with Satan. Mr. Satan was mooning over the fact that Buu is no longer around. He tells Gokuu that there is a height requirement, and Gokuu was 1 cm too short to be admitted as an adult. Kuririn and Gohan think that Satan just didn't want Pan to risk being hurt by Gokuu. Gokuu doesn't care either way, although he's disappointed that none of the kids are very strong.
Pan is up against a 100 foot tall giant. The giant steps on her, scratching Pan's face. She gets angry and blows the giant out of the stadium. A masked fighter (Papaya-man) blows his opponent through the stadium wall, and out to the street to disrupt traffic. Goten is still dating the same girl, and she is still having problems coping with things like eating hamburgers with her fingers. Satan comes on the TV, and announces that the winner of the Budoukai will become his replacement as leader of the city. It is clear that Satan is in a funk and misses Buu enough to want to chuck it all and disappear somewhere (Goten is happy that the announcement was not something that would affect his date.)
In Capsule Corp. HQ, Trunks is in a meeting with international business leaders. He's secretly listening to the radio, and pulls out the earphone jack. The other leaders hear the news about Satan, and become distracted enough to allow Trunks to sneak out of the building. He hopes to get to the stadium before the final battle.
Pan easily wins her next round (all of the fighters are normal humans, except for her, and Papaya-man.) The announcer asks Pan how she feels about becoming Satan's successor. Pan didn't know about her grandfather's plans. She imagines herself with Satan's hair and moustache, and balks at the thought. Satan is getting a massage, and his woman asks if he shouldn't be out watching the games instead. Satan is convinced that Pan will win easily. A judge enters the room with the list of entries in the Best 4 Rounds (Kid Katsu (Kid Win), Super One, Ebichiyu (I Beat You), and Papaya-man). Satan asks what happened to Pan, and is told that she'd pulled herself from the tournament.
For some reason, there are many traffic accidents outside Capsule Corp., and one pile up gets in Vejiita's way. He blows the cars up as he heads for the stadium. He's pissed that Gokuu is in the Budoukai without him. Vejiita vows to defeat "Kakkarot" this time.
[Commercial Message]
Pan, Gohan, Videl, and Kuririn are in the stands, licking on suckers, as Pan explains that she doesn't want to be her grandfather's replacement. The next round starts, and the kid facing Gokuu gets stage fright. Vejiita blows his way past the guards, and yells at Gokuu for wasting time in the children's rounds. As they talk, the other boy panics and runs, accidently knocking Gokuu almost out of the ring. The boy recovers and tickles Gokuu. Gokuu falls, and is disqualified. Vejiita is so disgusted with this that he spends the next hour punching the wall of the building.
Trunks arrives, and asks why Gokuu and Pan aren't fighting. He ends up joining the group in licking on a sucker. The last battle is about to start, and the group speculates on why Papaya-man is strong enough to beat everyone so quickly. The green-suited, masked fighter uses a pro-wrestling "backwards arch" to win this round. The others think that Papaya-man is just a strong normal human, but Gokuu knows better. He yells out to Uubu; the Magic One removes his costume, and shrugs.
Satan prepares to face the finalist, as Uubu is asked by the announcer why he used a fake name. Uubu is interrupted by the fireworks. The announcer tells everyone that it's now time for the main event -- "Papaya-man, no, Uubu vs Super Champion Mr. Satan." Satan acts arrogant as ever, until seeing Uubu's face. He is told that Papaya-man is Uubu, and he bows in fear. Uubu is in awe of Satan, and wants to make a good showing for himself.
Satan gets pummelled really badly. Uubu is only using pro wrestling moves. As Uubu is about to finish Satan off, the spirit of Buu tells the Magic One that it's forbidden to defeat Satan. Satan is Earth's Hero, and if he is defeated, it will make everyone disappointed in him. Uubu freezes, and eventually Satan recovers, gets pissed, and punches Uubu out of the ring. Satan wins, is overwhelmed at the applause, and decides to remain the Champion of the World. The rest of the group greet Uubu, and think that Uubu just didn't want to take Satan's place. Uubu watches the crowd, and finally understands why Satan is called "everyone's hero."
As the group leaves the stadium at the end of the day, Gokuu comments on having had fun. But, on the bridge, Vejiita appears and challenges Gokuu to a showdown. Gokuu is willing, and they both power up (to their families' horror). Gokuu's stomach growls, and he powers back down. The boy wants to eat first. Vejiita relents, laughing. The narrator says that after all this time, Gokuu hasn't changed, and it is this Gokuu that everyone likes. However, the peace that the Earth is enjoying can not last.
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Curtis' comments: This is not my favorite episode. The reasons for everyone losing or quiting are really stupid, and the animation for Uubu is really bad. I won't be watching this episode again.
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Note, there will be a short break. There will not be a DBGT episode on the 19th. There will be a 60-minute DBGT TV special on the 26th. Afterwards, the series will be on holiday. A new storyline will start up on April 16.
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This summary is the copyright of Curtis H. Hoffmann, March 1997.
Permission is granted to copy this file as-is. Permission is NOT granted to reprint this summary in a for-profit magazine or publication. If you want to print this summary, in part or whole, in a fan magazine, please contact me first.