[VoidinToku]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I have no clue how, on a Sentai show helmed by Naruhisa Arakawa, my favorite scripts are largely by someone with nowhere near the proven track record or experience, but hey, if even Arakawa started off as a guest writer, just imagine how bright Ayumi Shimo's future is looking.

This episode was spectacular. Like all of the other episodes from this writer I've gushed about, the story is full of heart, full of delightfully absurd comedic scenarios, and splendidly paced because it expertly uses the latter to feed into the former.

There was maybe a tiny window during the opening – just the briefest little moment of trepidation – at how sudden the premise for this one was. Zabyun tells us all about Mabusheena's mom suddenly being alive when we've barely had time to process the shocking truth behind her "death", and that, along with the typical "we've gotta keep a character in the dark for reasons!" dramatic thrust, could've been a hurdle for the plot to get over. But it just... wasn't like that at all.

Right away, it immediately becomes apparent the episode knows how to leverage all of these elements in ways that make them more than worthwhile. The often frustrating and arbitrary element of the protagonists heroically deciding the people they care about are too emotionally fragile to handle the truth proves to be shockingly entertaining, with the story playing it for laughs that the Kiramagers are barely managing to keep this ruse up the whole time, getting a lot of fun beats in during the process, like Shiguru being noticeably dejected from being denied the starring role in the "play" even as the group is heading out to fight the monster again. Which probably directly influences his dedication to staying in-character afterwards even into the mecha fight, as though he needs to reassert his status as the genuine actor of the team in service of his bruised ego.

It's full of personality, and that doesn't only apply to the comedy. Mabusheena is a character I'm generally fairly neutral on, but the way this episode builds on her, it just makes me root for everything that's happening, you know? I see those new little bits of backstory, and I see that amazing payoff with her singing her peppy song to turn the fight around, and I see her and her mother sharing a tender moment or two afterwards, and it's weird and it's funny and it's touching and it's emotional. It makes me feel things – lots of things – and there's rarely a greater victory for any story than getting that out of the audience.

So to reiterate, this episode is a real winner, wild and energetic in the most fun ways possible, while also showing a lot of discipline in things like how sparing and effective Takamichi's role is. It's these kind of episodes that make Kiramager arguably the most entertaining tokusatsu show on the air right now, and that also make me beyond excited to see what's next from a writer consistently turning out episodes this good this early in her career.

When you have less toys to sell and promotes on a week by week basis helps.