[Kamen Rider Die]

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



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.



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.