[Kamen Rider Die]

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 41 - “PINK BUSTER, THIEF FATALE!”



Why not spend an episode on giving Hiromu a principled thief partner who falls in love with him? It doesn’t further the series story in any visible way – Enter and Escape are absent, we’re not doing anything with Jin’s revelation from last time, the Megazords continue to exist with no clear purpose – but it’s a cute story that gives Hiromu some new notes to play.

It’s neat to see Hiromu spar with a potential love interest, because this show generally shies away from human antagonists. We might get an episode where a tiny boy wallops the crap out of Ryuji, but even he’s just possessed by Messiah. There aren’t a ton of stories that put the Busters in opposition with another person, and that makes those episodes a little more interesting to talk about for their deviation from the template. (Like… the one where Ryuji has to get the scientist’s teen daughter out of the maze? And she’s not even really an antagonist, just sort of a brat.) Pink Buster is a different kind of puzzle to solve, and it forces Hiromu out of his comfort zone of Attacking and Being A Surly Jerk.

Well… maybe not the second one? Reika’s a smooth criminal, and her combination of subterfuge and Sunday Morning Japanese Television-level feminine wiles (basically encroaching on Hiromu’s personal space until he falls apart from bashfulness) is a fun counter to Hiromu’s mission-oriented focus. Hiromu tries to talk her into doing the right thing, but what he eventually figures out – all on his own! – is that Reika was already doing the right thing, just in her own way. It’s an episode that’s thankfully less about Hiromu dictating morality to another person, and more about Hiromu learning to respect someone who has a different view on morality than him.

Besides that, we’re 100% in Lupin territory, as mandated by the 1979 “Every Toku Show Must Do A Gentleman Or Gentlewoman Thief Story” Accords. The Lupinroid (Over-Time has it as Louperoid, and that’s ridiculous to me) is doing a very fun nonviolent scheme of stealing people’s greed, while the Pink Buster leaves a calling card and only steals from people who deserve it. Nothing that really happens is a surprise if you’ve ever seen a single Lupin-indebted toku story, but it’s a standard nowadays for a reason – they’re just fun to watch? The Pink Buster’s acrobatics are cool to see in conflict with the Go-Busters combat maneuvers, crescendoing with the elegant dance of Pink and Red demolishing a squad of Bugglars. It’s what every toku Lupin story is leading up to, and this one doesn’t disappoint.

I wasn’t disappointed by this one at all, regardless of several obvious drawbacks. (Besides the stated ones in the first paragraph, you can toss in Yellow and Blue spending the episode on the sidelines.) It’s a charming little action/romance for the least charismatic Buster, and that’s enough for me tonight.



IT’S TIME FOR Pink Buster!

She’s great, Reika. Gorgeous, obviously, but I like how she both plays Hiromu and then can’t help trying to impress him. She’s a Robin Hood-style thief, and she doesn’t mind getting Hiromu flustered just for fun. The two of them had great chemistry, and I sincerely hope the Pink Buster makes a return appearance.