[Fish Sandwich]

More fairly standard but well-executed sixth Ranger stuff this week. There's still not a thing here that's going to really throw anybody who's seen a Sentai before for a loop, but, again, maybe there doesn't have to be.

The focus of the episode is naturally still on establishing Takamichi, with a pretty even split between establishing his personality in the present, and providing backstory to give context to his role in the show's universe. It's all fairly interesting, and new curveballs are thrown out at a rapid enough pace to keep you on your toes, whether they're being played for drama, or for laughs. And there are some darn good laughs in this one. Leave it to Lifelong Sentai Fan/Longtime Sentai Writer Naruhisa Arakwa to find a new twist on the ever-classic group "EEEEEEEEEhhhhhhhh!!!???" by working Sayo's catchprase in there.

There's also a huge sense of adventure. I might be imagining it (like it's pretty much the same amount of action as usual?), but something about the pacing this week just seemed like they were going even heavier on the excitement than usual. Kiramai Silver is just bouncing ALL over the place on that stupidly endearing rocket jackhammer of his, hunting treasure, fighting mooks and saving people, hunting more treasure, driving his absurdly huge drill car thing directly through city streets (!), and even having an underground showdown that builds up a pretty promosing rivalry between him and Garza. By the time it was over, I was left with this feeling that a ton had happened, but the episode also didn't feel pressed for space, which is a good sign. I also appreciate seeing Land Mage again, and switching up the setting for the mecha fight... even if thanks to Takamichi the collateral damage wasn't much better than usual. Or, man, I don't know. Would you rather have the buildings getting smashed, or giant holes where the road is supposed to be? Either way, I can't help but take another moment to ponder how miserable it must be to live in the world of a Sentai show sometimes.

So all in all, another reliably solid episode, although I'm still waiting for Takamichi for truly wow me. But then, this episode makes the good decision to leave a lot of the issues it introduces unresolved for the sake of future drama, so it's not like I won't be seeing a ton of Takamichi in the coming weeks. He'll have plenty of chances! Sure, it stinks a little when a Sentai focuses too much on one character, but let's be honest: you just can't beat a good Showa era toku hero.