[Androzani84]

Commencez-vou week 8, with?

Timeranger Case File 08: An Artistic Explosion, 02/04/2000

And whereas Time Force has the same two people (Judd Lynn and Jackie Marchand, namely) doing every epusode, this is our first episode of Timeranger not written by Yasuko Kobayashi. Instead, it?s written by Ryota Yamaguchi, better known for show-running Sailor Stars and DokiDoki Pretty Cure. And no, I don?t co spider a new writer a significant enough plot beat to justify including pictures on an otherwise unimportant episode.

We open with Yuri Havong got everyone a new job searching for the landlord?s missing dog, John. Unfortunately, all they have to go on is a poorly drawn doodle, that in the eyes of everyone but Yuri looks nothing like a dog - Sion compares it to a ?nuug? from ?the 4th Galaxy? (Home of the Drahvins?). But then they see our Londarz of the week, Hijacker Nabokov, flying to the park to menace a street artist named Kenji Toba and steal his painting, before kidnapping him.

Fortunately, the heroes show up to thwarts the kidnapping. Unfortunately, Nabokov is practically immune to everything but Yuri?s Vector Harley, which makes him annoyed enough to retreat. As Tatsuya, Domon and Sion dig Kenji out of the pond he was thrown into, Tock updates Yuri and Ayase with information on Nabokov. Namely that he?s prisoner no. 53. As Kenji regains consciousness, he gets a good look at Yuri and ?gets hungry?. The group take him home (with Tatsuya covering Tock up with his jacket), whereupon Kenji admits he?s an artist living on the streets, due to having no luck selling paintings (I?m pretty sure Sailor Moon SuperS did this plot. At least Nabokov can?t go out complaining that he hasn?t even done anything). Yuri checks the police servers for similar cases, but Kenji is more concerned with taking mental nudes and gets flustered when she turned to notice him.

It then turns out that Kenji is a famous artist in the future, whose painting are worth trillions of yen, and Lila hired Nabokov to kidnap him to paint a picture of herself (which Gien feels is a waste, since Nabokov used to hijack aeroplanes in the future), to memorialise her beauty. Meanwhile, Tomorrow Research eagerly visit Kenji?s house, which is typically low income (with the only other inhabitant being the landlords missing dog). Tatsuya is prevented from taking a painting for free, since it will change the future. But this makes Kenji reiterate his desire to give up painting and look after his elderly parents. Tatsuya and Domon convince him to keep going, and he agrees? provided he gets to draw Yuri. And to everyone?s shock, she accepts.

Going outside, the men wonder if Yuri likes Kenji, while inside, she?s going along with it while waiting for the Londarz to show up, to the point of getting jumpy at the mails goofing off while waiting. And then since Tatsuya loses at Rock-Paper-Scissors, he goes inside to check on everything. But Kenji is still unable to draw Yuri, since he feels he can?t see her soul.

It?s at this point that Nabokov returns to kidnap Toba, with Lila showing up to gloat. In a fancy upscale building (okay, this is exactly like the SuperS episode), Lila informs Kenji that he?ll be a great painter in the future and bribes him with food and art supplies to paint her. Meanwhile, Yuri blames herself for this kidnapping, since she only agreed to model to be next to him when the Londarz attacked, to which Tatsuya calls her out for disregarding his feelings.

Meanwhile, Kenji finds himself unable to draw Lila for her offers, causing her to decide to kill him. But the Timerangers have found her, due to the dog recognising Kenji?s scent. And we get this exchange.

Lila: You?re that stupid Ranger Captain from the Time Protection Bureau!
Tatsuya: I wish people would stop saying that.

Yuri apologises to Kenji, before vowing to protect him, with the group transforming to battle Nabokov and Yuri going first in the roll call this time. His inspires Kenji to draw again, as Lila summons Zenits to join the fray. The fight begins, with the Rangers making short work of the enemy robots at an industrial site, before Lila shoots Yuri down (which means only one thing: girl battle). As Kenji finally finds his inspiration, Yuri and Lila engage in a shoot out, which ends with Yuri disarming her form, before trying to strike with Vector End: Beat 6? only for Nabokov to get in the way to cover her escape. The Rangers all use their Vector Harley to strike Nabokov?s weak spot in his mouth, before hitting him with the Voltech Bazooka. (Well that was anticlimactic)

But this just pisses Nabokov enough to trigger a rebound, after which Tock gets the jacket off him and summons the TimeJets. They combine into TimeRobo Beta and shoot and kick Nabokov, before breaking apart and reforming into Alpha to finish off the alien. Some time later, the boys watch as Yuri waves Kenji off, with him giving her the portrait he drew of her as a parting gift, but the train?s imminent departure prevents Yuri from being overwhelmed by a love confession, so she just waves him off. The episode ends with everyone laughing at Yuri having crushed Kenji?s feelings for the second time, while she refuses to let them see the painting.

Next time: Dolnero gets wistful as an old friend is released from freeze-compression, alienating his current allies, in Case File 09: The Don?s Depression.

Final thoughts: For our first epusode under a guest writer, I suppose it wasn?t a bad first crack. There?s some differences in style to be noticed, such as the show discussing the regular time travel plot of ?meeting someone who?s a celebrity in the future?, and what Nabokov got arrested for gets glossed over beyond a cryptic reference. The plot was recycled wholesale from a Sailor Moon episode, but I liked that particular episode, so I?m not going to be too harsh on this one for the reuse. Though I did like the return of characters noting Tatsuya?s resemblance to Ryuya.