[Androzani84]

Scroll 28: Hurrier and Counterattack

And we’re back, with a sequel to episode 15 (which so far, has been the worst episode I?€™ve come across). Will this be better? Let’s find out.

We open with Senpuujin in battle with Sargain’s Megatagame Mk II (already?), thinking that this one will be easy to defeat, given how much of a pushover the last one was (nice to see Miyashita and I are once more on the same page).



However, Gouraijin isn’t here, because Isshu is on the ground, wondering where “Anija” is at a time like this.



(Given that the lack of Isshu piloting Gouraijin alone was a major gripe I had with episode 15, it’s nice to see they explained why that didn’t happen. Still slightly disappointed though)

It turns out that Ikkou is at a cabin in the woods, wearing nothing on his upper body, not even his Gourai Changer, doing… something with someone unseen (well, I’ve seen enough hentai to know where this is going).



Tenkuujin joins the battle, warning the Hurricanegers to be wary, since this Megatagame is an upgrade from the first one. Sure enough, when Senpuujin hurries up, Megatagame Mk II follows suit with its own Hurrier Mode.



And unlike Senpuujin, Sargain’s Hurrier Mode doesn’t have a time limit: he can change between the two forms at will (though the patent for this is pending). Senpuujin gets wrecked, Tenkuujin and the Hurricanegers barely escape with their lives and Ikkou only now receives Isshu’s call for help. As Isshu calls out Ikkou on his recent mysterious disappearances (aren’t they employed now? What does their foreman think of the absences Ikkou takes?), Oboro tells them in no uncertain terms that they’ll need Gouraijin to beat Megatagame Mk II. At the Centipede, while Furabijo and Wendinu think the new Megatagame is an undisputed success, Satarakura points out that the Gouraigers haven’t been defeated by it, to which Manmarva makes his point to Tau Zant, who uses his one line of the episode (seriously, he’s been getting less and less dialogue as of late) to tell him to carry on as usual.



Isshu follows his brother to the cabin, where we learn he’s been working with an old teacher by the name of Yusaku Ramon (played by Toshiya Fuji, better known as Gaku Hoshikawa/FiveRed from Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman, who was also incidentally a teacher) to try and remove the scorpion egg from Ikkou’s heart.



But as it turns out, they’ve only been able to slow it down. Ramon suggests that Ikkou tells his brother about what they’ve been doing, revealing that he knew the latter was here the whole time. Isshu says that he wants to be an equal partner during this, to which Manmarva enters with an entourage of Magerappas, offering to put an egg in his heart so they’ll both go to hell (I’m not sure that’s what he meant). Ramon remains behind while the brothers escape, beating up the Magerappas with a mix of martial arts amid mist dispelling powers (how he has these is sadly, never explained). But Manmarva simply beats him up and continues on his way.

Meanwhile, Megatagame Mk II reappears, with Senpuujin having conveniently just been repaired (so, the damage wasn’t that bad, considering Gouraijin’s damage took more than 3 days to fully repair), but managing to struggle. In the woods, Ramon is found by Shurikenger, who asks if he’s associated with the Kasumi Bros.



Speaking of whom, they manage to come to a river, where they think they’re safe. Unfortunately, Manmarva returns and blasts Ikkou with his dark energy, then revealing what the blast does.







But before he can do anything else, Ramon seemingly returns and beats up the Magerappas. This time, Manmarva chooses to withdraw, having already done what he set out to do. Ramon gives the brothers some advice.



He explains that there’s a temple there where they can learn Qipong to help remove the egg. Ikkou refuses, instead choosing to stay and fight, even though that would limit his time. The Kasumi Bros then receive Oboro’s SOS and leave, at which point it turns out that Ramon has been replaced by Shurikenger (and in case you don’t believe he’s FiveRed… then I can’t help you, since he doesn’t do the pose), working with the real Ramon.

Gouraijin appears in the battle with Megatagame Mk II, saving Senpuujin. Sargain shifts to Megatagame Mk II Hurrier to continue the fight. Yosuke suggests they combine, summoning FuraiHead… which is promptly grabbed by Megatagame MK II Hurrier (nice display of genre savvy, Sargain).



But as all seems lost, Shurikenger shows up in Tenkuujin with Karakuri Ball 12: Catch Spider. After using it to throw Megatagame Mk II Hurrier onto its back, he then uses it to grab Karakuri Ball 07 and use it as a mace (okay, this is one of the most epic uses of a mundane object as a weapon I’ve seen).



With 07 back in hand, Ikkou summons 08, allowing for Furaimaru to be formed. After apologising for that bit of weirdness, Furaimaru combines the two into GouraiSenpuujin, which shrugs off Megatagame Mk II Hurrier’s attacks, before destroying it. However, Sargain survives, swearing vengeance (hopefully, the next Megatagame isn’t made of explosive materials. Oh who am I kidding? You know it will be).

Back at the cabin, Ramon tries the ritual again, only to find that Manmarva’s spirit wave has not only sped up the egg’s hatching, he’s also made slowing it down impossible (just how powerful was that energy?) and now Ikkou’s only hope is to go to Tibet. But as he once more refuses, Manmarva predicts that KabutoRaiger will die on the next full moon (which going by the shape of the moon in this episode, isn’t too far away). As the Jakanja celebrate this, Manmarva foresees himself exploding (well I didn’t need prediction powers to know that was coming) as the episode ends. Next time: Kouta becomes leader of the Hurricanegers (for some reason) and Yosuke isn’t happy. This and more on “Scroll 29: Lingering Summer Heat and Stamps”.

Final thoughts: Well, this was mostly a bleak episode. But it did give us a good look at Ikkou, who was mostly flat when he first appeared. Plus, it gave the Megatagame a better showing than the last time, so there’s that. Overall I don’t think this arc with the scorpion egg is particularly unwelcome here.