[Kamen Rider Die]

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 7- “ACE NEEDS REPAIRING?!”



Oh, I liked this one a lot. It’s a great, Go-Busters specific superhero story with nicely defined stakes, a couple thrilling action sequences, and some morals that you couldn’t do without this show’s premise and aesthetics.

This whole episode’s about the difference between a team and an organization, and I love that. It’s not just Koyama learning a lesson about how the real way to make up for a mistake is to stick around and fix it, rather than quitting as a failure. It’s not just Hiromu learning a lesson about not taking non-Busters for granted. It’s an episode with both of those things happening under the umbrella of the characters learning that the Go-Busters organization needs both of them – and dozens of other people, including maybe candymakers and packaging designers – in order to successfully combat the Vagras.

It’s that last part that really made this one sing for me. It’s clear pretty early on that Hiromu is kind of treating Koyama like shit, despite Hiromu not being nearly as flawless as he thinks. (Like: last episode!!! He screwed everything up 20 times in a row last episode!!!) And, you know, Koyama seems like the kind of hero-worshiping mechanic who would beg to be fired after making a crucial mistake on his idol’s Buster Machine. But the bigger story here is how all of that comes from both guys thinking there’s a rigid hierarchy between costumed heroes and jumpsuits extras, but this isn’t that kind of show; it doesn’t want to be that kind of show. Sure, the Busters are the tip of the spear when it comes to combatting the Vagras, but there are dozens of hands pointing that spear back at the base. Hiromu taking everything on his shoulders last time is like the prelude to this episode’s story of him forgetting that no one is dispensable.

My favorite thing about this show is how it’s so much bigger than the heroes. Those shots in the end credits where it’s all of the various workers dancing alongside the Busters, you know? The Busters are the ones out in the field because they are specially empowered to do it, but they’re no more special than anyone else for that. Hiromu’s job and Koyama’s job are just two of many jobs within the Go-Busters organization, and they’re all important. I love how this one keeps hammering that point home, where even the cross-cut climax is between the two operational Buster Machines fighting Megazords, and Koyama finishing his repairs. Every worker matters.

And then after that exceptional message that no one’s too exceptional to not respect another worker, we get cute little stories about how to deal with our failures. It’s very funny to me that Hiromu’s nearly-weekly paralyzing episodes are completely forgotten by him so he can continue to live in a smug cloud of non-stop winning, and his inevitable comeuppance is way more heartwarming than I’d’ve thought. (It’s genuinely great!) Meanwhile, Koyama gets to see that failing is the first step to redemption, but quitting robs you of that journey. Plus, failing hurts the team, but helping someone recover from failure helps the team, so we’re back into these two stories acting in narrative symbiosis. It’s all very sweet.

Again, I really liked this one a lot. It’s a cute little story about people learning to value their co-workers, no matter what their titles might be. Plus, some very cool action, at a variety of scales! Hard to complain about any of that.



IT’S TIME FOR Go-Buster Oh!

I think I liked this guy a bit better this time? There’s a symmetry to the design that I think maybe overcomes some of the Boxes On Boxes of it all, and I think its golden mustache is a fun look. I don’t know, it’s hard for me to say exactly why this time out I warmed to it – the colors all flow together nicely question mark? – but I think a lot of it was just how much I enjoyed the episode leading up the repaired Ace arriving on the scene for the combination. A good episode makes this suit more appealing to me, I guess.

[Androzani84]

So I did some digging on how much the other two writers on this show contributed, and this so the first episode not written by Kobayashi. Instead, we brig on ANOTHER creative from OOO (there’s a reason it took ten years to get an epilogue), in the form of newbie staff writer Nobuhiro Mouri. Aside from 6 episodes of this show, he went on to serve the same role in Ninninger that he did with Zi-O (Shimoyama’s secondary writer), before actually becoming head writer for a series (namely, Kyuranger). I imagine he’s slightly more passionate about Sentai, since it’s said he was a fan of Dairanger in college.

As for the episode… beyond having a train themed monster (and I mostly remember that for the Power Rangers equivalent episode, wherein they had to use a steam locomotive as the object infected to create him, since there isn’t a thriving underground in New Zealand like in Japan), this episode was a bit of a blur.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

As for the episode? beyond having a train themed monster (and I mostly remember that for the Power Rangers equivalent episode, wherein they had to use a steam locomotive as the object infected to create him, since there isn?t a thriving underground in New Zealand like in Japan), this episode was a bit of a blur.

It's a great episode, and I didn't even touch on how awesome the fight was against the Railroid. (The synchronized finish!!!) I'd recommend giving it a quick watch, if you've got time.

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 7- "ACE NEEDS REPAIRING?!"

I remember randomly picking this episode a few times over the years when in the mood to rewatch an episode of Go-Busters, and in part because of that, it's one I've ended up becoming quite fond of myself. It's one of those times where a guest writer comes onto one of these shows, and they just sort of get it, right away? Which I don't think always happens so smoothly, and Go-Busters was one of those shows actively shooting for a subtly different style than normal. But Mouri comes out swinging here with an episode that's already great on a conceptual level (it's just a good idea for a story in this show for a ton of reasons, like Die laid out), and then executes on it in a way that lives up to that potential.

Both the Busters sub-writers would become a lot more notable to me in later years, so it was neat to start looking back eventually and actively realizing a lot of what I loved about this show actually came from more than just Kobayashi. Fits the message about how everyone on the team matters, I suppose!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Oh man, would you hate Kyoryuger.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I definitely remember not having a good time when those characters randomly showed up in a spring crossover movie, so: maybe!

man die if you think kyoryuger is bad just wait until you get to kamen rider faiz

i hear the drama in that one is really forced

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

But Mouri comes out swinging here with an episode that's already great on a conceptual level (it's just a good idea for a story in this show for a ton of reasons, like Die laid out), and then executes on it in a way that lives up to that potential.

My favorite decision is that Koyama's just an incredibly earnest dude who wants to do a good job because the Busters are awesome. You never turn on him, even as he's begging Commander to fire him. There's no, like, twist to him, either. He's a good dude who didn't see his own value, and that's about it.

[Sunred]

Fun fact. Koyama's actor Bishin Kawasumi got into the acting business with the motivation of "I want to become a Kamen Rider." He's more of a stage actor with a small handful of tv and movie roles, but I do hope he becomes one in the future. Dude's still 31 and it's never too late to henshin, especially after Geats.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunred

Fun fact. Koyama's actor Bishin Kawasumi got into the acting business with the motivation of "I want to become a Kamen Rider." He's more of a stage actor with a small handful of tv and movie roles, but I do hope he becomes one in the future. Dude's still 31 and it's never too late to henshin, especially after Geats.

Oh, absolutely. At 31, he's rounding into Wind/Destream/Evol/Cronus territory, and I can't imagine Reiwa's going to slow down on Kamen Rider dads anytime soon. I believe in his chances!

[Androzani84]

So I watched the episode, and I figured out that Mouri has his own niche when it comes to episodes of Go-Busters, as does the show’s secondary writer (who I’ll play coy with the identity of until you get to his first episode. You’ve definitely encountered him in Rider). But I’ll wait until his second episode to discuss it.

And I liked how DenshaLoid actually had a more motif-appropriate scheme for draining Enertron (sapping it from the train lines) than just “barge into a tower”. Definitely not sure why I forgot this now.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

And I liked how DenshaLoid actually had a more motif-appropriate scheme for draining Enertron (sapping it from the train lines) than just ?barge into a tower?. Definitely not sure why I forgot this now.

That was cute! It kept the episode feeling visually different, which was appreciated.

[Kamen Rider Die]

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 8 - “PROTECT THE MACHINE BLUEPRINTS!”



All jobs suck to some degree. Some of them suck a lot – there are any number of jobs that people do to survive, not because they’re the culmination of a long-held dream. But even the jobs that are the expression of a childhood wish, or that to the outside might seem like the best thing in the world… those can sort of suck, too.

I run a comics shop, and I’ve worked in comics retail since I was a kid. (Off-the-books afterschool work at a comics shop for store credit was pretty routine in the 90s!) To many, many people, that’s a dream job. Tons of adults have worked shit jobs for decades, just to be able to eventually open their own comics shop. The thing is, it’s still a job. People have this fantasy that it’s just reading comics all day, and talking to people about stories, but it’s so much more monotonous work besides that. It’s placing orders with vendors, unpacking shipments, cleaning up messes, logging in inventory, responding to emails, hauling boxes, and – since it’s also retail – eating a seemingly endless amount of shit in the name of customer service. It’s grueling, both emotionally and physically. (This is, of course, not counting the persistent low-level anxiety of trying to keep any business afloat in 2024.) It’s easy to lose sight of how lucky I am to be doing something I’ve always loved, and that dozens of my customers would kill to do, because the reality of it can be frustrating and depressing.

And that’s basically Kazuya’s story here. He’s a guy who wanted to be an engineer, eventually became an engineer, and realized that it’s just as annoying in many ways as any other job. He has to take orders, follow instructions, and generally feel like a tiny cog in a giant machine – fitting, since his job is designing Buster Machines. This was his dream as a kid, him and Ryuji both, but now it’s just some pointless corporate boredom.

It’s even Ryuji’s story, from the start of the episode. Ryuji’s a goddamn costumed superhero, but he still has to get up at the crack of dawn to train, since he’s the oldest Buster on the team, and he needs to be able to keep up with Hiromu’s all-star status and Yoko’s youthful enthusiasm. Even Ryuji’s job is sort of a hassle, and he’s a Sentai hero. Every job! They all sort of suck!

But this is a show that’s about preparing kids for the workforce, and while it’s important to be brutally honest in pointing out that getting their eventual dream job is not going to be relentless joy, it’s also important to say that a lot of that joy can still be found if you have the proper perspective. Kazuya isn’t making blue-sky sketches of his dream robot, but he’s still a crucial member of a design team that’s visualizing the next stage of giant robot technology, for use by legit superheroes. Ryuji may be doing a job he never really wanted, but he’s still surrounded by friends, doing something that matters. No job is perfect, or will always feel worth doing, but it doesn’t mean they’re never worth doing.

This was a surprisingly mature episode, which is maybe appropriate for a Ryuji spotlight. It’s all about a sort of professional malaise, and I think anyone lucky enough to work in their dream industry will recognize some of themselves in Kazuya, while anyone unlucky enough to have to work outside of their dream industry in order to make ends meet will recognize some of themselves in Ryuji. A bit more downcast than the typical rousing Go-Busters installment, but no less thoughtful for it.



IT’S TIME FOR Gorisaki!

Cute episode for Ryuji’s soft-spoken, endlessly worried Buddyroid partner. I like the reminder that Gorisaki and Ryuji only got partnered up when Ryuji was already a teen, as opposed to Hiromu and Yoko getting their Buddyroids as younger kids, so the bond between them is a little more tenuous in Gorisaki’s mind. It’s adorable to see this big blue monkey robot fret about whether Ryuji likes working with him or not!