[Kamen Rider Die]

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 12 - “DO YOU LIKE DISGUISES?”



There’s a bit in the opening sequence of this episode where Nakamura asks the assembled Busters and Buddyroids what Yoko does for fun, and all five of them stare blankly and mumble answers that indicate that they have no idea what, if anything, Yoko does to have fun. While that’s the direction in which the episode would inevitably travel – delving into Yoko’s life outside of and beyond being a Go-Buster – I honestly found it even funnier that I couldn’t tell you what anyone in this cast does outside of a mission, so it’s a little hypocritical for this show to make a big deal out of Yoko’s single-minded dedication to the mission. That’s this whole series!!!

But I’m not here to gripe. (If I were, I’d 100% point out how ridiculous it is for the daughter of a world-famous actress to treat success in the film industry as some impossible dream, rather than the all-too-common birthright of nepo babies; also, come on, you can switch out Angie for Yoko at the press conference, but she HAS to wear the crystal earrings instead of some fakes; also, what exactly was the Megazord even doing there, besides giving us a cute Ace V Ace scene – the entire plan was about infiltrating the press conference, not distracting the Go-Busters with a two-pronged battle.) I’m here to enjoy this episode about Yoko being the socially-damaged byproduct of a childhood spent as a soldier, trained by robots and other soldiers.

It’s nice that the story about Yoko not having a dream doesn’t have her suddenly revealing a hidden talent or passion, like Ryuji’s engineering career. She’s been a Go-Buster since she was three years old, and her entire social circle is the Go-Busters organization; I’m sure they did the best they could with making sure she was cared for and educated (Usada rolls his eyes), but there’s no sense that she was properly socialized. She doesn’t seem to have any hobbies, or friends outside the various soldiers and employees that fill up the background. We’ve never seen her care about anything that didn’t directly impact the mission.

What’s great about this story is it basically just goes Yeah, We Should Work On That. It’s weird that Yoko doesn’t have a life outside of Go-Bustering, but that’s what she needs to do right now for the safety of everyone she cares about. Still, it’s a job with a goal – defeating the Vagras and rescuing the people trapped in hyperspace – but it’s not a dream. There will come a point when Yoko is a young woman that needs to figure out what her future looks like. It’s not today, but now she realizes it’ll eventually happen.

I like that, the small step Yoko has to take into a wider world. There’s no immediate pressure for her to join a band or work in a cafe or start dating or write a book or whatever, but it’s nice for her to start considering a life beyond training and fighting. Tiny little story about the show acknowledging how sheltered and warped Yoko’s vision of her future must be, with the hope that recognizing it can start to change it. Works for me!



IT’S TIME FOR a talk about how much privacy Yoko has in her life!

It’s a funny gag, that Yoko reads over this heartfelt letter from her doppelganger Angie Sue and then reveals that she can’t actually read it because it’s in English (despite Angie Sue being a Hong Kong actress that speaks fluent Japanese I’m not here to gripe), but afterwards I really got worried for Yoko. First, Ryuji’s just reading her mail? How long has that been going on for? But then I continued to get even more worried about Yoko, with this entire episode sketching in a life as a child soldier: she lives at the base, presumably for her entire life; her support system – emotionally, physically, and mentally – are her teammates and superiors, with seemingly no one in her life outside of that; and there is no sense that this girl is prepared for a life outside of a very specific mission to defeat hostile otherworldly forces. This is all incredibly weird and sad! This is like Evangelion, but at least those kids got to go to a regular high school! I feel like Yoko needs the state to step in and put an end to this!

[Androzani84]

If I had a nickel for every Kobayashi-penned Sentai series where there was an episode involving the sole girl having a doppelg?nger who’s a famous actress, I’d have two nickels.

And in both cases, neither was actually written by Kobayashi, with this episode being Mouri’s second contribution. Which made me realise that his episodes for this series tend to focus on the Busters… through the lens of their relationship with a one-shot character.

Aside from that, I’ve not got much to say about this one. The Gingaman episode with this plotline was more memorable.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Aside from that, I?ve not got much to say about this one. The Gingaman episode with this plotline was more memorable.

I don't think this one is going to make my Top 10 for the series, no!

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 12 - ?DO YOU LIKE DISGUISES??

It?s nice that the story about Yoko not having a dream doesn?t have her suddenly revealing a hidden talent or passion, like Ryuji?s engineering career. She?s been a Go-Buster since she was three years old, and her entire social circle is the Go-Busters organization; I?m sure they did the best they could with making sure she was cared for and educated (Usada rolls his eyes), but there?s no sense that she was properly socialized. She doesn?t seem to have any hobbies, or friends outside the various soldiers and employees that fill up the background. We?ve never seen her care about anything that didn?t directly impact the mission.

What?s great about this story is it basically just goes Yeah, We Should Work On That. It?s weird that Yoko doesn?t have a life outside of Go-Bustering, but that?s what she needs to do right now for the safety of everyone she cares about. Still, it?s a job with a goal ? defeating the Vagras and rescuing the people trapped in hyperspace ? but it?s not a dream. There will come a point when Yoko is a young woman that needs to figure out what her future looks like. It?s not today, but now she realizes it?ll eventually happen.

The surprising part is that Yoko seems like a typical genki girl on the surface, the type that has many friends and hobbies. Nakamura, being the newest member, is the only one normal enough to even question life outside of Gobusters and I like how the show didn't forget that after the first episode. The mission is their whole life until they complete it, which is pretty sad to think about, especially for Yoko who signed up for this as young as 3 years old. For a show that's so grounded in a tragic event that occurred in the distant past, it's cool to see gradually how everybody starts to feel about the future beyond the mission, whether with ambivalence, anticipation or apprehension.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

IT?S TIME FOR a talk about how much privacy Yoko has in her life!

It?s a funny gag, that Yoko reads over this heartfelt letter from her doppelganger Angie Sue and then reveals that she can?t actually read it because it?s in English (despite Angie Sue being a Hong Kong actress that speaks fluent Japanese I?m not here to gripe), but afterwards I really got worried for Yoko.

Even though Angie is fluent in Japanese (like every HK girl in Japanese media for some reason), she may find it easier to type in English. Only Japanese keyboards have kana after all, while Greco-Roman characters are ubiquitous. Furthermore, it's pretty reasonable for Angie to assume that someone in the espionage business would have basic English reading comprehension. But poor Yoko didn't have much time for school, so she can only say "Let's Morphin'!"

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

The mission is their whole life until they complete it, which is pretty sad to think about, especially for Yoko who signed up for this as young as 3 years old.

It was really funny watching this episode so soon after the Rika/Hiromu one, since Mission 10 briefly entertains the idea that the Go-Busters have coerced and manipulated a young person into signing up for a deadly conflict that they were far too young to effectively consider the implications of. Rika was right, but she was missing the bigger victim: Yoko. You're telling me a 3-year-old has the ability to judge the danger inherent in becoming a Go-Buster?!

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 11 - “TARGETING THE WEAK POINT”

I love the Buddyroids to begin with, so this episode is a pretty easy sell for me as soon as you've got Gorisaki jumping into the fray for a big hero moment on top of the usual charming banter and solid character-building. It's also a pretty relevant thing for this show to have a plot where a character basically yearns to have a life that's seemingly less ideal than the way their own (also seemingly) appears, so I think Shimoyama did a proper job demonstrating his grasp on the show in his first outing as well. Plus, the ending scene where Ryuuji immediately regrets telling Gorisaki to be more open with him is pretty classic. Or at least, it's always been the thing I most remember from this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

*Kobayashi has admitted she remembers nothing about working on any of the shows she’s penned

I don't know much about Kobayashi's personality, but I get the feeling she would just say that to get out of doing interviews.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 12 - “DO YOU LIKE DISGUISES?”

...

IT’S TIME FOR a talk about how much privacy Yoko has in her life!

It’s a funny gag, that Yoko reads over this heartfelt letter from her doppelganger Angie Sue and then reveals that she can’t actually read it because it’s in English (despite Angie Sue being a Hong Kong actress that speaks fluent Japanese I’m not here to gripe), but afterwards I really got worried for Yoko. First, Ryuji’s just reading her mail? How long has that been going on for? But then I continued to get even more worried about Yoko, with this entire episode sketching in a life as a child soldier: she lives at the base, presumably for her entire life; her support system – emotionally, physically, and mentally – are her teammates and superiors, with seemingly no one in her life outside of that; and there is no sense that this girl is prepared for a life outside of a very specific mission to defeat hostile otherworldly forces. This is all incredibly weird and sad! This is like Evangelion, but at least those kids got to go to a regular high school! I feel like Yoko needs the state to step in and put an end to this!

There's a lot to unpack in this paragraph, so, roughly in order:

- I like the sort of continuity of Yoko having trouble with foreign languages between this and Enter
- I don't think it's that inexplicable for that letter to have been in English for a number of reasons, some of which Sh Ranger just mentioned
- The mail itself was actually sent to the Go-Busters as a whole, so my snarky question is actually if there's like some official address to send them fan-mail or something?
- All the child soldier stuff, on the other hand, that's probably a pretty rational assessment of Yoko's life. Bummer!

The episode is still a fun one though, and typically character-building, despite the, uh, unflattering way you can look at it all.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The episode is still a fun one though, and typically character-building, despite the, uh, unflattering way you can look at it all.

Oh, totally. I can get pretty animated talking about what a horrifying indictment Yoko's upbringing is on the humanitarian aspect of the Go-Busters organization (a toddler cannot sign up for military service!!!), but it's mostly just fun to do in proximity to this particular story. I don't really care about the verisimilitude of Yoko's backstory or whatever, and it certainly didn't detract from the episode's effectiveness as either an action story (good combat!) or an examination of Yoko's character. It was a good episode, despite the intensely problematic indoctrination of a teenager!

[Kamen Rider Die]

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 13 - “A SURPRISING DAY OFF”



Our first two-parter! What a pleasant surprise!

The welcome trade-off of not really having a complete villain story to talk about (the Tubaroid and Tubaroid Ver 2 are up to something that involves tagging all three Busters, but we don’t know why yet) is that we get so much more interaction between our main cast, in ways both comedic and dramatic.

Mainly comedic for this part, which is fine with me. Yoko’s decision to create a Buddyroid Day Out is a delightful way to encounter our main six cast members in a completely different light – literally, because they’re all outside for a change! (Gorisaki even wears a cute little scarf, to keep from getting sunburned.) We only get two of the four surprise locations in this one – saving Nick’s and the conclusion for next time – but it’s a blast to see the gang at both a zoo and a theme park. There’s a real sweet domesticity to it all, and it’s a pleasant reminder of how much of a family this whole group is, and how badly Yoko needs the connection with all of them. She clearly wants this to be a meaningful and emotional day, despite the Hiromu of it all (he’s such a petulant baby!), and it’s nice to have a goal within a story that isn’t contingent on defeating a Vagras threat. We’re outside the usual bounds of a Go-Busters story, in almost every way.

Beyond the new environment, we get a fun series of vignettes for each Buster/Buddyroid pairing, to see how the dynamics differ: Ryuji needs Gorisaki to help track down the Tubaroid, but Gorisaki prioritizes keeping Ryuji hydrated instead; Nick wants to split from Hiromu so they can cover more ground in the search, and then immediately gets so lost that he’s outside the theme park; Yoko sticks Usada on theme park rides he clearly hates, while smugly acting like she’s reading his mind by delivering exactly what he wants. Most of it isn’t in service to much yet, but you can already see how it’ll start to impact things next episode.

Oh, and Commander is doing something weird and secretive in hyperspace?!?!



IT’S TIME FOR Enter!

A+ episode for everyone’s favorite flamboyantly French flunky. He visibly tenses up at Messiah’s quick omission of what’s really going on with the new Megazord construction, adding a nice new wrinkle to his sycophancy. BUT! The real excellence in this episode comes from Enter deciding that the best way to take out two tuba players was to put on a bear mascot costume, and then immediately take it off. There’s no reason for him to be in a disguise, because the Vagras goons instantly swarm the tuba players, and it’s not like he’s infiltrating anything – he seriously seems to put on a bear costume just to wear a bear costume for a few minutes. It’s inexplicable, and hilarious, and I loved it.

[Sunred]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I don't know much about Kobayashi's personality, but I get the feeling she would just say that to get out of doing interviews.

In her defense, though, she also pens anime episodes when not writing adventures for good-looking Japanese superheroes who wear tights and ride giant robots. So I wouldn't be surprised if she can't remember them all. It's work, after all.

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 13 - "A SURPRISING DAY OFF"

...

IT'S TIME FOR Enter!

I don't have a lot to say about this one off the top of my head beyond "yes yes, that that" to how fun the entire premise is, so I'll just take this opportunity to mention that I always want to pepper my speech with classy French when talking about Go-Busters in tribute to Enter, but have always been held back by the fact that I know close to nothing about French. Actually, I still vividly remember -- even though this years ago at this point -- Die using the word "ennui" once to describe an episode of Kuuga and having to go look that up.

I'm not sure exactly what my point is here, but I guess what I'm saying is that even though I consider Hiromu the guy in this show I relate the most to, I might actually be more like Yoko.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunred

In her defense, though, she also pens anime episodes when not writing adventures for good-looking Japanese superheroes who wear tights and ride giant robots. So I wouldn't be surprised if she can't remember them all. It's work, after all.

Oh, I'm sure she doesn't have an encyclopedic memory of these things with how much she's done and how long she's been at it; it's just amusing to me to imagine her trolling people asking about her work by feigning complete and total ignorance of even the most basic facts.