To get into some voice acting trivia, hearing Gorisaki talk is always a fun yet weird experience for me knowing that's Japan's Optimus Prime being a mechanical simian who babies his partner ranger like a timid father figure (which, by the way, Optimus Primal in Japan, like the English dub, is done by a different voice actor in Japan as well named Takehito Koyasu, another prolific voice actor who is known for being Dio Brando in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure). I guess this is what some Transformers fans feel when they watch Eeyore talk. :lolol

I don't think I appreciated Ryuuji's character quite as much as Hiromu or Yoko watching through Go-Busters the first time, but I've really come to love how much the show makes him unique by deliberately putting him off kind of to the side of the other two in so many ways. It's immediately apparent through his age, with the whole responsible big brother thing, but the show just keeps going from there.

The difference in his dynamic with Gorisaki compared to the others is something that's always great to see highlighted, because it gives such a strong sense of these characters as real people who have actually lived those 13 years (the Buddyroids all tell you a lot about their partners just from how they interact), and this episode here, starting to build that idea that Ryuuji maybe has a goal in life above being a superhero, it's yet another way he's characterized that's fundamentally different from the other two.

The three of them all share that same promise, but it means something a bit different to each of them, and that sort of nuance is a big part of what makes this show so endlessly compelling to me.

Neat! Thanks!

I love how distinct all three Buddyroids are in the way they protect their charges: Nick is the motorcycle that takes Hiromu into action, so he's more of a direct partner, and sort of complicit in Hiromu's typical nonsense; Usada and Gorisaki are left back at base, so they act more as concerned parents -- Gorisaki as the hand-wringing, nervous parent, and Usada as the figurative and literal helicopter parent, which is my favorite joke. Usada and Gorisaki are used to interacting with Yoko and Ryuji in only protective ways, which is why they only go into battle when their kids are safely ensconced with them in Buster Machines. Very fun details on this show!

Good to know that you also enjoy the ED theme. I recall you took a long time to finally come around on Saber's. But yeah, episodes like this one really show how Gobusters are more than just the 3 cool-looking guys on the field. Even if they don't always see it, they rely heavily on their support team to keep them and their gear operational. It's not just the Buddyroids and Nakamura and the others at the base either, even mechanics like Koyama are important. They're all Gobusters in spirit. It's a good moral for Hiromu, since his rudeness isn't accidental here but actually uncalled for. I like that he learned to see the worth in others and accept that everybody can screw up sometimes.

Mouri is the ultimate secondary writer. Not only does he frequently nail the theme and characters of whatever show he's writing, he adds his own spin on them to show us new angles as well. Reminds me of when this was brought up in one of those Zi-O BTS shorts for the OOO arc and I'm like, yeah, it's better this way! He's not infallible, of course, but he's a pretty safe bet.

I plan to talk more about Gorisaki later when his focus episode comes up, but for now, I totally agree that the difference in how the Buddyroids interact with their partners is an intriguing part of the show. While Abaranger, Go-Onger and Kiramager have their own partners who they talk to as well, only Gobusters goes in to detail about what exactly that connection means to each of them.

It's continuously interesting to me that Hiromu isn't just Accidentally Blunt or whatever, he's sort of a prick. He definitely thinks he's the best part of the Go-Busters, and he has a massive blind spot when it comes to his weaknesses or mistakes. (Again: the story where Hiromu has zero tolerance for other people's mistakes comes an episode after Hiromu fails 20 times in a row!!!) He genuinely thinks that Koyama's single mistake is a huge failing of his character, and he looks down on him for it. It makes for a more interesting arc in the episode than Hiromu just realizing that he came off a little mean to a random guy.

Another episode I don’t remember that well, but I remember enough for two bits of trivia.

Drillloid is one of two monsters of the week from ago-Busters to get an action figure in the Power Rangers toyline (which means that somebody likes him, even if he isn’t a fan favourite).

The hook of the plot is the plans for a new Buster Machine. Meaning either we’ve got a new Go-Buster in the cards, or Hiromu’s getting another mech. Either way, be prepared for a 99.8% chance of a bulkier Mecha combination, or a 99.9% chance of cross compatibility with the main three.

I sort of assume there's just going to be an additional Buster Machine? I can't imagine this show's going to stick with only three Buster Machines.

That touch of narcissism is one of Hiromu's less desirable qualities for sure. However, I think it's due to his strong sense of responsibility and pride in his performance as Redbuster that he's willing to admit his mistake and make it right. He doesn't really want to be mean, but having to save the world, find his parents and stay alive for his big sis puts a lot of pressure on him, so those feelings can get misdirected at others. Especially since he literally just learned that he needs to have faith in his teammates and now this episode is about him being let down by a teammate. Hiromu's seriousness is admirable, but he can overdo it sometimes.

Yeah, it's not the Showa Era anymore, after all. You can probably imagine that Gobuster Oh is going to look comparatively tidy at the end of all this.

Congrats on your 2600th post!

Oh, for sure, I don't want to make it sound like I find it disqualifying or anything. I actually think it's sort of refreshing to get a lead hero (or "lead hero") who has this much work to do on himself. He's excellent at destroying the Vagras, and kind of innately bad at almost everything else. (Casually insulting to everyone around him, relentlessly assured of his own greatness, and borderline incapable of telling his friends how much he cares about and respects them.) That gives him something to work towards, and it's the best thing about Hiromu for me.

Hiromu at the time was also something I felt the creative staff were trying to be different so to speak. Aside from Captain Marvelous from Gokaiger, Takeru from Shinkenger, and Satoru from Boukenger, a good majority of the 2000s red rangers were upbeat or loud in the name of hotbloodedness or nekketsu, the Japanese term, for a lack of better words. While I have no qualms about red rangers who fall under that category, it was refreshing to see a red ranger like Hiromu for a change. Off topic, this talk of Hiromu has me craving fried chicken.