[Fish Sandwich]

Kakuranger 8-9:

Episode 8 is a pretty bog-standard Sentai episode that I can't work up the energy to say much about. Which is a bit weird, when the plot is about a Youkai abducting children to eat them, but that just goes to show what a high bar this show has set for weirdness already. It's a satisfying enough romp, but it's paper thin, accomplishing nothing in terms of developing the cast, despite some extra attention for Nekomaru, and it isn't outrageous enough to compete with the other episodes so far for comedy.

Thankfully the next episode does a lot to make up for this by cutting to the chase and finally giving Jiraiya his day in the limelight. Apparently it turns out he's a massive dork who becomes easily obsessed with watching his favorite Japanese TV shows about awesome heroes to the point he starts imitating their mannerisms and dialogue. 熱いな、それ！Talk about relatable! So, yeah, this is a pretty stellar episode with a great escalation, that isn't afraid to make Jiraiya look completely insane if it means we get to see him get into a shirtless swordfight with the Youkai of the week, a rival TV nerd whose heart has been corrupted by a desire for fame, whereas your boy Jiraiya knows how to keep things humble, helping out a kid for no other reason than he's just that compassionate. Seriously, the Kakurangers don't know how lucky they are to have this guy around.