[Kamen Rider Die]

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 39 - “THE UNSTOPPABLE FISTS OF MESSIAH!”



Or, y’know, The One Where A Kid Beats Up Ryuji.

I mean, I’m basically just teasing. This was a cute episode about how fighting for your dreams is more important than fighting other people, and real strength comes from being honest with what you want out of life. Ryuji’s the one Go-Buster with a clear dream post-Vagras, so it works out great to have him try and get Kenta to come to terms with how beating up his own dad is not the solution to his problems, but to instead be willing to stand up for his dream of becoming an engineer. It’s a heartwarming episode, truly.

But it’s also the one where a kid beats the holy Enetron out of Ryuji, and I don’t think this episode would be anywhere near as effective as it was if Kenta’s actor couldn’t deliver the martial arts goods. This was an action-heavy episode, and it needed a guest star who could convincingly defeat not just a dozen possessed bystanders, but also the Blue Buster. And this kid did it! He’s as good as any member of the stunt team, and the slow-mo shots of him demolishing Ryuji were almost as joyful to watch as last episode’s showdown in the squared circle. There’s precious little in this episode that isn’t Kenta kicking people’s asses, come to think of it: a little bit with Enter saving Escape, the obligatory Megazord fight, and that’s really all. When you got a kid like Kenta coming in for an episode, I guess you just get out of his way?



IT’S TIME FOR TATAKAE!

It’s a Kobayashi joint, so we gotta have someone screaming TATAKAE sooner or later. Was I expecting it to be a tiny boy with the voice of Messiah? No. Was I happy that it was a tiny boy with the voice of Messiah? Yes!