[Fish Sandwich]

Kakuranger 42-43:

42 does a whole lot improve my opinion on Daimaou, which I haven't mentioned yet, since I figured an episode like this would come along. For all the build up he got, he hasn't been the most imposing villain so far. With how little work he was putting in, it almost came off at points like all he wants to do is sit in his chair all day, and world domination is just an occasional hobby. So when, instead of planning for his latest tea party or whatever, the episode opens with him vomiting up an egg containing the spawn of pure evil, you know, I'm hooked. How could I not be excited to see what kind of devious s*** he's gonna do with his newly hatched disgusting slime monster? Amazingly, the rest of the episode lives up to the hype that introduction creates. The plot essentially starts and ends with Ninjaman getting kidnapped in an effort to lure out the Three God Generals, and yet it does such a good job at building tension that it doesn't feel thin. There's a great escalation as the situation keeps getting worse and worse for the heroes, with occasional spots of hope that only serve to make it that much more shocking when you get hit with a cliffhanger ending and realize this was only part one of two. The focus on the God Generals also means this episode is really heavy on the mecha action, which is an easy way to win my affection. It gets so epic I even saw Muteki Shogun walk for a few steps. That's how you know they aren't messing around. Of course, he only shows up after Kakure Dai-Shogun has already been doing its thing in a much more dynamic fight with the monster, and putting them onscreen together just makes it all the more glaring that, even with a giant bird strapped to its back, Kakure Dai-Shogun's suit was designed to accommodate a human being's actual range of motion way better. I also find it kind of hilarious that the show gift-wraps itself an opportunity to bring back the Jusho Fighters by having the Kakurangers, already aware of Daimaou's plan, worrying that they can't risk summoning any of the Generals, before immediately going for it anyway. That's probably just Sugimura's way of keeping things trim though. If this episode were written in the age of 24-ish minute Sentai episodes, we probably would've gotten a brief scene of them trying that first, but it doesn't actually affect the plot either way, so who's got time?

The ante is further upped by 43, which spends the vast majority of its runtime further rubbing in how screwed the Kakurangers are. With a power-absorbing monster on the loose that seemingly can't be destroyed without killing Ninjaman, it's looking an awful lot like their only option is just to sacrifice his life for the greater good. The Three God Generals even say as much. Of course, the Kakurangers aren't having it. It's cool seeing them stick up for Ninjaman, even if their attempt to do something about it ends up resulting in everyone except Sasuke getting captured and put in the same situtation as Ninjaman. My summary here probably isn't doing justice to how tense this one is. Toward the end, it starts hitting all the best notes of Kakuranger's more dramatic episodes, including some great use of sunset lighting, and my personal favorite trope, a wounded, solitary Sasuke having a "What should I DO?!" internal monologue. Things continue to look bad for our heroes by the end, when... wait what?! There's a part THREE?! And the "To Be Continued" is even written in a more dramatic font?! Or is it just black instead of white for better contrast against the all the fire engulfing the screen?! So many questions! So much hype!