[Androzani84]

Scroll 11: The Dream Eater and Starting Anew

After a recap of the Hurricanegers losing to the Gouraigers over the last 4 episodes (way to rub it in), we begin the episode with Kouta waking up in hospital with Nanami and Yosuke beside him. But then they turn into the Kasumi Bros and attack him, revealing that this is a dream Kouta is having while he and the others recover in the hospital for real. Oboro and Hamster Headmaster narrate that it’s been 3 days since they were beaten up by Gouraijin and repairs on the Shinobi Machines are underway. Hamster Headmaster then wonders who in Ikazuchi could’ve created Shinobi Machines (I think this will be important later, but I’m not sure).

At the Centipede, having finished celebrating the Hurricanegers’ supposed demise, Chuzoobo then prepares to begin his next plan. It’s noted that the Gouraigers won’t be helping out, because they’ve vanished. We then see where they are: they’re in a gym after hours (I’ve no idea if the building is abandoned, they broke in or if this is their base) with Isshu pumping weights and Ikkou meditating above the swimming pool (show off).

We then cut to the house of a girl named Rika, whose mother tells her she can take the day off school to walk their dog Sherry, much to her happy surprise. It then turns out this is a dream Rika is having while she turns to stone (god, is everything in this episode a dream someone’s having while they’re in a dire situation?) and her mother begs her to wake up. As for Sherry, we then pan over to a headstone in the backyard with a collar on it, labelled “Sherry’s Grave” (no alternate interpretations there).

As Oboro notices the influx of kids having good dreams and turning to stone being brought to the hospital, we learn this is the work of Chuzoobo’s latest (and supposedly most powerful, but they say that about every monster) servant, Nightmare Ninja Yumebakushi. (What use turning children to stone could have is not elaborated upon). Oboro then whips out a device which downloads the Hurricanegers’ minds into the dream world (Don’t ask how), whereupon they see how weird it is: Yosuke sees a baby carriage with a goat’s skull in it, Nanami sees a building distorting and Kouta sees balls bouncing up stairs. Unfortunately, Yumebakushi sees the three in his dream world (and the Jakanja learn that they’re still alive and a threat) and sends them off into their own dream worlds.

Yosuke ends up at an all-you-can-eat buffet with Furabijo and Wendinu as his mini-harem, Nanami finds that “Shinobi Koi” is a hit record that has ended the battle with Jakanja and Kouta finds himself in a field, dancing with kids and the flowers. But this is a bad thing, since the three also begin to turn to stone. But then Kouta realises he’s dreaming when everyone’s dreams begin to cross over (and someone is dreaming that he has endless ice pops, apparently), reversing the spell. Attempts to wake Rika up to reality fail and Yumebakushi appears to dance with everyone in his dream world, even the other two Hurricanegers. This proves fatal, as it pushes Kouta to shinobi change into HurricaneYellow (Nice going there, Yumebakushi). Yumebakushi commends him for breaking through his Uchuu Ninpo, before doing another Uchuu Ninpo: Kamon Goryja. As the Romanji suggests, manifestations of the Gouraigers appear to attack Kouta, who emphatically states that he isn’t scared of them anymore. This motivates everyone to realise that they’re dreaming and break the illusion. The Hurricanegers defeat the fake Gouraigers with the Gyro Shurikens (if only the real ones were that easy to beat) and dispel the dream world, before defeating Yumebakushi with the Quake Gadget, which causes him to die in real life, which causes Furabijo to fail him.

As the Hurricanegers and the kids wake up and celebrate, Yumebakushi is revived as a giant, with Hamster Headmaster sending the Shinobi Machines. When the Hurricanegers are on the ropes, they learn that the Sword Slasher and Hurrier Mode still haven’t been repaired (just how strong was that Plant Axe?), forcing them to defeat Yumebakushi with the Goat Hammer. The Gouraigers look on and note that they’ll make the Hurricanegers regret coming back (guess they think it’ll just go their way until the show ends or they get written out). The episode then ends with the Hurricanegers looking on as Rika apologises to Sherry’s grave for forgetting about her and vowing to move on (glad that that subplot got closure)

Next time: Oboro goes out into the field. This and more in “The Steel Frame and Father and Daughter”

Final thoughts: A fairly solid episode about the danger of being trapped in your own dreams instead of facing your fears head on. Plus the Hayate Ninjas have grown out of their fear of the Kasumi Bros, which means things are likely to turn around in the future.