TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 38 - “ACE DEATH MATCH LIVE!”

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I feel like this is going to end up being my favorite Go-Busters episode when it’s all said and done. It isn’t the deepest episode, or the most intricate, or features some character aspect that’s brand new, or anything like that. It doesn’t leverage metaphor or symbolism to any great degree. But it’s the episode that changes the language of Megazord/Buster Machine combat into 20-odd minutes of pro-wrestling action, and that’s going to make this one unbeatable in my mind.

This one harkened back to the sweet spot of the first dozen episodes, where we were confronted with a Vagras plot that the Go-Busters need to neutralize, and that’s about it. There was a precision to some of those stories that I really loved, and this one had that energy to it. There’s a mysterious Metaroid, Hiromu’s been separated from the group inside a stadium, go. Everything after that is just Hiromu trying to stay alive while the outside team works to puzzle out his capture, and I kind of love how straightforward it all is. (Very much like the movie, which also eschewed a lot of plot development or introspection for wall-to-wall action.) I don’t have a problem with an episode that wants to dig into a character in a new way, but it’s nice to be reminded how solid this show is at the basics.

Even the Hiromu moral… it’s just him saying that an hour of getting pummeled is nothing compared to thirteen years of training for hyperspace, so why in the world would Enter think that he'd lose trust in the team now? It’s a great big heroic declaration of trust and resourcefulness, and it’s perfect for this episode. It’s a Big Emotion about resolve, about gaining strength from the support of others… just like in pro-wrestling! The other Go-Busters are the crowd cheering Hiromu on, and that’s enough for him to mount the comeback that fends off Enter’s plans. Perfect. It’s perfect!

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IT’S TIME FOR BAH GAWD HE BROKE HIM IN HALF!!!

I have to confess that at least half of my love for this episode is that whoever subbed it had the Metaroid call the match just like Good Ol’ JR, Jim Ross. There are so many specific JR quotes in this one from the Metaroid, and every one had me grinning like an idiot. (“Business is about to pick up”, though… chef’s kiss.) And then there’s even random stuff like Yoko calling the Bugglars “jobbers”, and… man! Such a great job subbing this episode, whoever at Over-Time did this one!

It's funny you should say that, because this is also the episode where Over-Time's efforts to give everyone very natural sounding localizations where possible backfired on them in a way I remember seeing people roast them for a bit back in the day. You see, they'd been calling Go-Buster Oh by the translated Go-Buster King this entire time, since of course, they probably didn't expect 40-some weeks later for the show to introduce a combination that was called Go-Buster King... which they then just translated backwards as Go-Buster Oh, because, I mean, 38 episodes in is a little late to back down on the choices you've already made.

As much as I'd like to continue on the subject of fansubbing anecdotes, though, I've gotta say this episode is also a big favorite of mine, for the opposite simple reason that it changes the language of pro-wrestling into 20-odd minutes of sheer, unadulterated Megazord/Buster Machine combat. Like, man, my boy Ace hanging tough in an endurance bout against like every bad guy robot type in the show all by itself? I don't need anything else in an episode at that point. This story is already a winner, simply for grasping the deep truth that these sorts of hero shows are kinda *always* pro-wrestling, and just leaning right the heck into being that, but with giant robots.

Hiromu pulling an I Can Do This All Day to Enter as Ace is coming apart at the seams... pretty good! Pretty good toku moment!

Reminds me of Gekiranger. They had a kung fu practitioner who became a fly and did fight commentary during the giant mecha battles.

Not much to say here. It’s an interesting premise (an already giant monster who spawns 4 Megazords), and we get our second ultimate formation (I’d make the obvious joke, but there’s one other Sentai with multiple ultimate formations) in Go-Buster King. But that’s about all I remember.

Oh, that sounds neat!

It's a very fun episode! Definitely worth watching again.

I can tell that this episode has more appeal to wrestling fans, but like many sports-themed stories, it's a pretty good way to test the endurance of the focus character to the limit, both physically and mentally. I do pick up some terminology though, like "Babyface" from Gotchard, which I guess would apply to Redbuster and Nick here.

Other than the main plot, I recall this is the one where poor Bluebuster almost breaks his hand by punching glass? :lol

I'd say this is Toei's fault for not giving this Gattai a better name. I think King Buster Oh could've worked, as Over-Time could translate that to King Buster King.

Bae's mecha fight commentary was entertaining enough that even Jungle Fury had to adapt it!

He does! The whole first half of the episode is the rest of the team trying to break into the dome, to no effect, and the funniest one is Ryuji maybe actually hurting himself in the attempt.

The crazy part for me was that Bae was voiced by Akira freakin' Ishida. :lolol

By the way, since this is the episode where all the recurring ones are treated like super-star pro-wrestlers, this seems like a great spot to mention how much I love the Megazords in general? Their basic designs are generally quite cool, all come with pretty distinct silhouettes, the show lays out their unique traits super clearly so they don't feel interchangeable, and then on top of that, you get the whole shtick where instead of a bigger version of the monster of the week, they're simply big robots loaded up with custom equipment themed after the monster, allowing for the same variety in the action while also helping the show to save some money making wholly new suits. (Which also makes them feel like a precursor to what seems to be the Reiwa standard for monster design in both Sentai and Rider now, where monsters generally share a base suit design.)

There's just kinda a lot going on with them, and even though I'm quicker to call out how much I love the Buster Machines, it'd be a shame if I let this whole thread go by without making it clear that the reasons I think the mecha action is such a highlight in this series have just as much to do with the antagonists' side of things as they do the heroes'.