Tree juice! The juice from a tree! Like a beetle drinks!

A balanced meal in the Go-Busters universe: Meat, bananas, lettuce, and tree sap.

That is quite the extreme keto diet if there ever was one. *Scratches head*

So I said that I’d give my two cents only when you’d done 15 and 16…

Regarding the two new guys… I wasn’t exactly sure what to think. In a show where I was struggling to find anyone likeable on the side of good, the new guys being assholes wasn’t the easiest sell. But after a while, I turned around to considering Jin and J the second and third best characters in the show, mostly due to their fairly unique “bickering roommates” dynamic standing out compared to the other three partnerships.

And I haven’t talked much about the toys here, so here’s a discussion in the form of our new weapon for the two 6th Rangers, the Drivlade.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=uaakdui5...megGIT_uqNZlb4

I’ll mention that the two new guys’ toys were both voice activated, a feature Bandai rarely uses because the microphone in the toy has issues picking up sound (either that, or they’re not great sellers regardless). But with this, there is a bit more functionality with the finisher sounds and the vehicle launching sounds, which are the closest the VA comes to managing emotion while speaking English. The latter I’m calling attention to because Go-Busters is the one post-Dekaranger Sentai with no way to summon the mechs using the main Morpher (which is an odd choice for a throwback in a show all about advanced technology, to say the least).

Next time, I’ll continue this Ted talk by discussing the new guys” mechs.

I thought their steering wheel swords were neat, but I think I mostly just liked the visual of them bending and folding their swords as they slowly docked inside their Buster Machines. It felt real Voltron to me, you know?

Jin: "I didn't ask to be sacrificed!"

also Jin: (sacrifices himself to missiles)

Sounds about right. So even Jin couldn't completely return from Hyperspace, since transporting biomass is problematic for anybody who hasn't received the Gobuster program. This means Hiromu's deduction about him being a fake was technically correct, as the 27 year-old Jin we know is a hardlight projection from J's marker system, not the real Jin in Hyperspace. However, it's proof that he's alive, a miracle that gives hope for the lives of Gobusters' families.

The scene at the end with Hiromu's Christmas music box playing is especially memorable for me and probably the most melancholic version of Jingle Bells you'll hear. It's a memory of despair, but like the song itself, it's also a symbol of hope and the promise made 13 years ago, that renews Hiromu's drive to keep fighting until he can bring his parents home.

He acts drunk when he demands Enertron but sobers when he gets it. His full name is Beet Jueki Stag, as the Buddyroid for both Beetbuster and Stagbuster. I love this eccentric guy for sure. He wouldn't know much considering how he's lived in Hyperspace his whole life, but also he's a proud egotist, yeah, so he already knows everything important to him anyway.

I'm sure there's a way to make that meal work. Maybe as pancake topping? I'd eat it.

Ha ha, sure, but I think Jin's point about Hiromu's dad deciding the best course of action for everyone is maybe something you'd feel a little conflicted about after spending 13 years trapped in hyperspace with only J for company. I think it's less about the actual sacrifice -- Jin's fine throwing himself at missiles (even though that's merely a brief inconvenience, not a demise), and he probably recognizes the necessity of stopping Messiah 13 years ago -- and more that Jin didn't have a say in the matter. Jin thinks a lot of himself, after all!

One of the many reasons that, in spite of my aforementioned reluctance to accept them, Jin and J were smart additions to the show, is that Jin in particular tends to bounce off the existing cast in interesting ways. Him and Hiromu are a particularly fun pairing for me because it's like the most water and oil possible combination of two people in this show? Hiromu is generally serious to a fault, with his major shtick being how blunt and direct he is in a conversation, and then you've got Jin showing up, generally being a complete goofball who frequently talks in such a roundabout manner his actual meaning might as well be subtext. Just about the only personality trait they really share is a high opinion of themselves, which is itself the least helpful common ground possible. It's great. Love how Jin deliberately (and easily) riles up Hiromu in this one.

Oh, and since it's clear how Jin and J came from hyperspace now, I'll throw in a mention of a touch I love about Beet and Stag Buster's transformations, which is how J is always shown basically Casting Off his parts Kabuto style to become Jin's suit, further emphasizing how J is that all-important marker, the same way as him calling in their Buster Machines.

It's a subtle enough visual that I actually completely failed to clock the significance for a good while watching the show originally, so when I finally noticed it, it felt like that much more impressive a touch as a result.

I did not notice that! Thanks for the heads-up!

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 17 - “AND THEY CALLED IT GO-BUSTER BEET!”

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/sen...busters17a.png

Am I nuts, or did they not debut the Beet and J Buster Machines last episode? In a fairly low-key battle sequence? The entire back half of this episode is devoted to BC-04 and SJ-05, to a degree that felt a little like previous episodes had put the cart in front of the horse by using the vehicles in a more rushed and unimpressive fashion. (Even this episode, they’re just siphoning Enetron with their Buster Machines like it’s their raison d'?tre!) Everything about their appearance and usage here is BIGGER and more captivating, but it feels like someone getting a grand entrance after they’ve been here for a while.

I don’t know that I cared a lot about it? There’s some real interesting stuff this episode is doing with its narrative, but a lot of the second half of this one for me felt like a toy commercial. It’s fun to watch, but it wasn’t what landed most with me this time out.

The meat of this one for me is the continued storyline of Jin trying to turn the Busters into a team that can actually win against Messiah. With someone like Hiromu, that’s fairly easy to accomplish: just kick his ass hard enough, and he’ll turn that defeat into fuel for the most fiery success you’ve ever seen. With Ryuji, it’s a little tougher. Ryuji’s already level-headed, intensely dedicated, highly-trained, and generally aware of his shortcomings enough to be able to compensate for them in battle. (Give or take a few overheated rampages that almost kill his teammates.) The improvement for Ryuji doesn’t lie within his skills or his focus, it lies within his motivation.

Ryuji never wanted to be here, which is firmly established by now. He’s putting in the time because he knows what’ll happen to the world if he doesn’t, and because he knows how hard Hiromu and Yoko are fighting to save their families. He cares for his siblings, and he'd do anything to keep them safe and happy. But Ryuji’s story isn't the tragic losses his siblings felt, it's just Wrong Place Wrong Time, telescoped out 13 years. His skin in the game is his feelings for other people, and guilt, and obligation, and a half-dozen other feelings that aren’t strong enough to prevent an interdimensional apocalypse or rout the Vagras once and for all. Jin immediately identifies Ryuji’s problem as being one of helpfulness, rather than hopefulness. Ryuji has to want something for himself in this fight, or he’ll only hold back the rest of the team, who all have strong reasons to fight.

I like that it just ends up being Ryuji fighting for a future where he’ll be free to pursue his dream of being an engineer. It’s not a massive If Fighting Is A Sin-style proclamation, but it’s refreshingly direct and previously established. Ryuji put his life on hold 13 years ago, just like Jin had to, and Jin recognizes a guy who wants that life back someday. Doing a story where Jin once again has to give Ryuji what sounds like a horrible lesson (Jin is basically saying that Ryuji’s selflessness is worth less than Hiromu and Yoko’s selfishness) that turns out to be a way for Ryuji to look past his politeness to find a deeper strength? That’s some excellent Go-Busters storytelling.

https://kamenriderdie.com/images/sen...busters17b.png

IT’S TIME FOR Kurorin!

Of all the little aggravations that Jin and Juice (I love that, best pun, no idea if it's on purpose) introduce into the military precision of the Go-Busters organization, my favorite this time out was how Jin and the Commander have a history, and Jin will never ever ever let anyone within earshot forget it. It’s a consistently funny joke, Jin boisterously chatting with that kid from work, Kurorin, and then cutting back to Commander’s pained and embarrassed expression. Always cracked me up.

So here we are, at the debut of our 6th Ranger mech, Buster Heracles. I forgot what I was going to say, and I’m contractually bound by the spoiler clause not to share any videos of the toy, so I’ll just mention that I saw the Hasbro version of BC-04 (or as it was renamed, the Beast-X Wrecker Zord) for a while after Beast Morpheus ran its course.

Also, our Metaloid and accompanying Megazord is based on a fork. I like the design, but the motif is fairly lame and this is where I noticed the repetitive “steal energy” plots I complained about a while back, so there’s some points against it.