[Androzani84]

Scroll 14: Crybaby and Candy

We begin our episode with Yosuke trying to return a pair of bird eggs to their nest, much to his friends’ consternation (Kouta has gone to get a ladder. That’s how concerned they are). Yosuke succeeds in his task, due to being a Sora Ninja, but then he falls out of the tree and manages to perfectly stick the landing on a fence… before gravity kicks in and drags him into the pond (At least he had a soft landing). At the ninja base, as Oboro finishes the next Karakuri Ball after Gatling Leo, the trio enter still arguing over their leader’s recklessness. Yosuke insists he’s been fearless since he was a kid (foreshadowing) and Hamster Headmaster stating that a leopard never changes its spots… to which Yosuke can only say “I am not a leopard.”

At the Centipede, as Sargain is tasked with the next plan, Chuzoobo barges in (having been grounded after his last failure) and begs for another chance with his best man. As if on cue, an urn appears from space and the contents emerge to reveal Back To Ninja Octonyudo, Chuzoobo’s cousin (Your guess as to which side of the family he comes from is as good as mine) who has successfully corrupted 87 planets.



Tau Zant is impressed enough to give Chuzoobo one last chance. Chuzoobo tells the Gouraigers that he doesn’t need them for this plan, as he and Octonyudo set off for Earth. After crashing the urn into a beach, Octonyudo then proceeds to spray people with his ink, including a make up lady, a doctor and an elderly Air Force captain (are we sure this guy is as impressive as he was hyped up to be?). The Hurricanegers catch wind (badum tish) of this and set off.

The Hurricanegers find Octonyudo, with Yosuke running in without a plan, only to get sprayed with ink as well (LEEROY JENKINS). As the other two Shinobi Change, Octonyudo reveals his trick: Uchuu Ninpo: Back to the Child, which causes everyone he sprayed to revert to 5 years old, with glowing orbs of light emerging from them and entering the urn. As Chuzoobo shows up and Octo attacks with his Tako Shuriken, Nanami and Kouta use the old empty costumes trick to escape with Yosuke, but Chuzoobo sends the Magerappa to kill the heroes, while the Kasumi Bros note that Chuzoobo actually might not need them this time.

As our heroes take cover, Yosuke starts whining about how scared he is and how hurt he was by an injury he sustained… a tiny scratch (as Nanami says “Fearless, my foot. He’s a crybaby.”). The two thus try and convince him he is brave, as we see the chaos the de-aged people are causing (the make up lady is doodling on her client’s face, the doctor runs away from surgery and the captain has to be restrained from piloting a helicopter by his subordinate), in addition to two new ones: a bus driver (who is driving like crazy and barely following road safety) and a policeman (who has to be restrained by his kohai). After hiding from the Magerappas with Kouta’s Oka Ninpo: Chameleon no Jutsu, Oboro directs the Hurricanegers to the bay where Octonyudo’s urn is.

When they get there, they find Octonyudo, who gloats that everyone’s proper ages are stored inside his urn as candy (way to blow your own plan, doofus. You just told them how to undo your hard work). As our two remaining Hurricanegers face down Chuzoobo and Octonyudo, doing well against neither, Yosuke regrows his spine and grabs the urn, running away from the resulting explosions. Just as it seems Chuzoobo has luckily managed to vanquish him (do you really believe he did so?), Yosuke reveals he escaped using Ninpo and taking his uniform off. He then eats his candy (which is not only colour-coded, but glowing), returning to his true age in a very smooth transition… which unfortunately means that the resulting fight begins with a Kage no Mai. Though it does pick up, with Yosuke blasting Chuzoobo with Chou Ninpo: Maboroshi Henge (this time, turning into a tank) before knocking Octonyudo down with the Hayate-Ryu Kengi: Shippuzan. The Hurricanegers destroy the enemy with the Dry Gadget, restoring everyone to normal (though sadly, this time, it’s just a flash effect).

As Chuzoobo is placed on his third strike, he throws the scroll, reviving Octonyudo as a giant. As the Shinobi Machines appear and form Senpuujin, Oboro sends Nanami the Medal for Karakuri Ball 06: Squid Attacker, which attaches to the leg as a drill.



It’s at this point that Ikkou and Isshu, watching from the side, decide to Shinobi Change and summon their Shinobi Machines. But instead of joining the fight, they wait for Senpuujin to use its new add on to destroy Octonyudo. Then they combine into Gouraijin, leading to this exchange.

Chuzoobo: Gouraigers, why didn’t you help Octonyudo?

Isshu: I thought you said you didn’t need us?

Ikkou: Next time, make sure you can do what you say you can do.

(Seriously, these guys just get all the best dialogue and at this point, I am half-rooting for them) Ikkou then reveals a new Shinobi Medal, which allows Gouraijin to summon something old: the Sword Slasher.



The Hurricanegers decide to counter by forming the Goat Hammer. But Gouraijin’s Sword Slasher not only cuts it in half, but it also destroys the Shinobi Medals for Goat Crusher and Tortoise Hammer (it doesn’t even use a finisher. It can just cut them in two). The Kasumi Bros then leave, content with their work. The episode then ends with Yosuke revealing he remembers everything from being a kid and that he expects Kouta to give him a piggyback and Nanami to give him a hug (which doesn’t go down well with the latter). Next time, the Gouraigers show how far they’re willing to go to achieve their goals and Sargain enters the fray with a new monster. All this and more in Scroll 15: Giant Water Bug and Competition.

Final thoughts: Well considering that Kiramager’s “turned back into a kid” episode is, to quote one guy on Twitter, “the closest thing the show has to a bad episode”, this had a fairly low bar to clear. This episode managed to clear the bar not only be being totally hilarious, but by resolving its conflict quickly, as I’ve come to expect from this show. Also, the Gouraigers are continuing to win the show and I can’t wait to see how the Hurricanegers adapt to them now.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 15: Giant Water Bug and Competition

This is Arakawa’s second episode for the series. And I’ll say now that watching this reminded me of this quote.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

In what I'm sure is a complete coincidence, this episode is by Hirohisa Soda, the same guy who wrote 22, which had a similarly disappointing showing for Muteki Shogun. This leads me to something I've been wanting to mention for a while. Now, Soda is a massively prolific writer for Sentai, and having not seen any of the many, many series he was the head of, I don't want to make any hasty judgments about the quality of his work, but I've gotta speak my mind here. The episodes of Kakuranger written by him, and fellow old-school Sentai veteran (to a lesser extent) Susumu Takaku, have universally been the least entertaining of the series so far, even when I still liked them. Go look at an episode I said had a thin plot, or just plain wasn't great, and rest assured Sugimura probably wasn't the one behind it. While this is the first series helmed by him I've seen too, based on how excellent this show has been, and the reputation of shows like Dairanger, I can't help getting the impression Sugimura and Arakawa were this exciting new wave for Sentai, full of fresh ideas and innovative concepts, that the old guys were starting to struggle to keep up with.

Why? You’ll see when we get on with the review.

We open at night, on a full moon. Gouraijin is approaching a mountain, but this time, a new figure has joined them. The Megatagame, a robot built and piloted by Sargain.



The Gouraigers use the Plant Axe to destroy a mountain, to which Sargain decides to open his face to reveal his ant-self, speaking in his squeaky voice (there’s adding levity to a serious scene and there’s… this). And speaking of squeaky voices, we cut to Manmarva, who has gone from singing the Gouraigers’ praises to criticising their whole operation (This is subtle derailment. It gets worse). We get told that the Kasumi Bros requested he build a robot to their specifications in order to help them cut the small rock they got from the mountain into an even smaller rock. The Kasumi Bros examine the rock, before leaving, with Ikkou dismissing Sargain’s suggestion that he could manufacture it (“If that could be done, I would’ve done it already”), and failing to notice Chuzoobo (who is supposed to be grounded) running after them.

The next day, the Hurricanegers fly over the debris, before reporting back to Hamster Headmaster, with Nanami revealing that the mountain used to be called “Ikazuchi Mountain” (of course). Hamster Headmaster then realises that the Kasumi Bros were after Shinobinium (when looking for a good name for your fake mineral, just add “inium” onto the end of a word), a mineral exclusive to the Ikazuchi Way, which was depleted through a mix of overuse (I can see why Isshu hated them) and scientists stealing the meteorite it came from. We then cut to a university, where the Kasumi Bros assault a professor and his assistant to take a small wedge of Shinobinium (How’d they find out it was there? Hell if I know). On the way out they are confronted by the Hurricanegers, with Yosuke asking what they want with the crystal. Ikkou reaffirms their goal to be the #1 Space Ninjas, with Isshu pointing out that they don’t care about the Earth because it’s going to rot anyway. When Yosuke tries to stop them, they zap him with Lightning from their hands (ass pull much? They haven’t even been hinted to have such a power) and escape to a cave, where they use the crystal to create a hologram of a Knight (played by Return of Ultraman’s Jiro Dan), while Chuzoobo looks on.



The hologram man begins to narrate how to unlock the final secret technique (ie. “that”), but gets disrupted after mention “the brave” by the crystal turning out to be a fake. Our heroes speak to the Professor at the university hospital, where he reveals that they were experimenting to try and manufacture the crystal (you know, the one thing Ikkou said he couldn’t do), the real crystal is in the energy research centre. As they wait, Yosuke states that despite the Kasumi Bros saying that they don’t care for the Earth, he believes there is still good in them (See what I mean about derailment? He already went through this arc 6 episodes ago and grew out of it) and wants to prove this through the power of their teamwork (which wouldn’t work. The Gouraigers would just dismiss your speech and then beat the crap out of you, either on the ground or in Gouraijin). The first half of the episode ends with Chuzoobo running to Tau Zant, to tell him what he discovered.

As the Hurricanegers stand guard over the Shinobinium vault, Kouta wonders where that second pair of giant footprints at the ruins of Ikazuchi Mountain came from. As if on cue, Megatagame teleports down, with Sargain aiming to capture the Shinobinium. Since they need to fight him and protect the vault at the same time, the Hurricanegers form Senpuujin, with Nanami being given full control by Oboro, the Gatling Leo Shinobi Medal by Kouta and a chocolate coin from Yosuke. As the two robots clash (and Megatagame reveals that it has Lightning powers), the Kasumi Bros break into the vault and steal the Shinobinium, with Yosuke and Kouta racing to stop them. The former two shinobi change into the Gouraigers and beat the crap out of the latter two (see what I was talking about) as Megatagame begins to get the upper hand against Senpuujin. But things turn around after Nanami eats Yosuke’s chocolate, giving her the resolve to fight back using the spin gimmick on her dolphin arm (which works the same way as the Tategami Hurricane), befor summoning both Gatling Leo and Squid Attacker to form a new Karakuri Combo: Gatling Attacker



At the same time, Yosuke gets propelled into Ikkou’s back by Kouta, allowing him to reclaim the crystal. The Gouraigers form the Double Gadget, but Ikkou’s newfound back problems make him unable to fire it, forcing Isshu to give chase alone. Nanami then destroys Megatagame with the Finish Trick: Hurricane Spiral, which, despite the weapon clearly being a drill, acts more like a gun (which makes me wonder why they didn’t just use Gatling Leo instead of pointlessly attacking the Squid Attacker to it. For that matter, how did Nanami know how to do that? At least with the Goat Hammer, they showed Oboro coming up with the idea and had her tell them about it. This is just lazy writing). The Megatagame explodes, with Sargain escaping and vowing to crush them with the next model (hopefully, it’s a lot more mobile than this one. Seriously, I wonder how the suit actor can even move in that thing). As the Hurricanegers celebrate their victory, an almost rabid Isshu attacks, trying to get the crystal back and avenge the Ikazuchi Way (I thought he hated those guys). It’s then that Ikkou recovers and fires the Double Gadget at the Hurricanegers… and his own brother Isshu!!!



Ikkou chides his brother for being weak and the two leave. The episode then ends with Chuzoobo approaching the Kasumi Bros in their cave (seriously, do they live there now? What happened to the gym? Why do they keep coming back there?) stating that Tau Zant wants to meet them. The next instalment teases the prophecy “When the brave defeats the brave at the fated hour, the final secret will be revealed.” (Make your own Kyoryuger joke. I’m too lazy). All this and more on Scroll 16: Mist and Prophecy Machine.

Final Thoughts: So yeah, this episode wasn’t much better than Arakawa’s previous contribution to the series. The reason I used the quote was because this time, Arakawa is the older writer who’s output had been pretty bad, while everyone else has been comparatively fresh (Miyashita and Sakai, while more experienced, had only done episodes for one Sentai show each, while Maekawa was in the middle of his three year trial period), making the strengths of their scripts stand out compared to Arakawa’s weaknesses.

One thing in particular I would change would be to get rid of the Megatagame altogether and just have Isshu pilot Gouraijin alone, contrasting with Nanami piloting Senpuujin alone. Not only would it allow the Hurricanegers to gain a much needed victory over the Gouraigers, but it would add greater impact to Ikkou shooting his own brother for weakness than the cheap shock value it ultimately was.

Luckily, Miyashita will be doing the rest of the arc this episode started, so I have hope this is just the slow start to a great arc.

[DreamSword]

Gotta say, while I am lacking alot of context having not see the show, it is interesting to read how you'd go about the plots.

[Androzani84]

The Mist and the Prophecy Device

Last time, the Kasumi Bros went to great lengths to recover a specific crystal to power their hologram device. This is what happens next.

At Ninja base, our heroes are wondering why the Gouraigers went out of their way to get a hold of the Shinobinium, with Hamster Headmaster figuring that they need it as a power source. Yosuke then declares that he’s sick of the Gouraigers whooping their asses and intends to make sure they get defeated once and for all the next time they meet (where was this Yosuke last week? It’s much more in line with his recent development than that episode), a sentiment the others agree with. At the Centipede, the Gouraigers reveal the message from the Hologram Man, along with its next chapter: “At the end of the world, when the brave defeats the brave, Ninja’s ultimate secret technique will appear. Tau Zant scans the device and asks the Gouraigers who the braves in the prophecy are, to which Isshu answers that the prophecy refers to the Hurricanegers being defeated by the Gouraigers (and now it’s the Kasumi Bros’ turn to have a “pride before the fall” moment”). As soon as the two leave, Tau Zant speaks to Chuzoobo in private. As the rogue Ikazuchi Ninjas discuss their plans to conquer the universe, Chuzoobo appears to offer his strongest monster to end the world for them to fulfill the prophecy. The two are (rightfully, given Chuzoobo’s track record) sceptical, pointing out that he’s said that before all his other failures, yet Chuzoobo somehow convinces them to go along with it.

We then cut to a brother and sister, who happen upon the machinations of said strongest Ninja, Mist-Spitting Ninja Kirkirimaishi. Kirikirimaishi sprays everyone except the two kids with mists that alter their emotions, generating Minus Energy that he collects in his shell.



The Hurricanegers arrive on the scene to face the threat, with the brother, Shohei, getting excited at all the Ninjas showing up (that includes the Gouraigers). In the midst of the battle with Kirikirimaishi, he uses his Uchuu Ninpo: Kirigakure to escape, while the Gouraigers make their appearance, intending to finish things once and for all. Once more, the fight is almost hilariously one-sided, with Isshu countering Yosuke’s Chou Ninpo: Soragake with his own Chou Ninpo: Kibagaki, while Isshu defeats Kouta’s Chou Ninpo: Mai Jishi and Nanami’s Chou Ninpo: Suiryuha. The Hurricanegers are then chased through the factory they’re fighting at by Kirikirimaishi, who eventually chases them into a clearing. After they push his buttons, he leaps down and does battle with them (I’m beginning to think Chuzoobo’s standards for “strongest ninja” are incredibly low). They dispel his mist with their group technique, Sanmitai: Triple Hurricane, before beating him in a fight and destroying him with the Dry Gadget. Ikkou is ready to just crush the 3 with Gouraijin, before Kirikirimaishi revives as a giant, drawing their attention. When Senpuujin is formed to face him, he transforms into his shell to fight back.



The Gourai Machines approach, but Gourai Beetle comes to a halt when Ikkou receives the final page of the prophecy from the device (conveniently): The brave will be defeated, which despite being vaguely worded, makes Ikkou stop as he processes that Tau Zant and Chuzoobo knew this, while Gourai Stag also stops as Isshu is confused by his brother’s hesitation.



Back to the battle, where Senpuujin Hurrier knocks Kirikirimaishi back to normal, before defeating him with the Sword Slasher. It’s at that point that Ikkou gets out of his funk, and forms Gouraijin, which summons the Plant Axe. As the two robots battle, observed by the two kids, Chuzoobo zaps Kirikirimaishi’s broken shell, which is still filled with minus energy.



The shell then disrupts the battle by exploding, creating a portal which sucks the 5 warriors and two kids inside. Tau Zant then declares that he’s giving the Gouraigers a special battleground that he prepared for them.





Our heroes then wake up on an island, whereupon they stumble upon the Gouraigers, who declare that this will be their battleground, with the two kids looking on. The episode ends with an evil laugh from Tau Zant. Next time: Ikkou battles… Isshu? And “that” is about to be born. Plus, though it’s not in the trailer, the Uchuu Ninja File tells us that Kirikirimaishi’s dad will be in the next episode, “Scroll 17: Darkness and the Island of Fights to the Death” (way to spoil that last one, narrator).

Final thoughts: As the start of this show’s first real multi-parter, I’m a bit reluctant to give my opinions on the plot on its own. Though I will say that I did enjoy this episode a lot more than the last one. And I am intrigued as to who the braves in the prophecy really are.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 17: Darkness and the Island of Battles to the Death

(Man, that’s a long title)

When we last left the Hurricanegers, their latest battle with the Gouraigers was interrupted when the minus energy gathered by Chuzoobo’s latest warrior Kirikirimaishi sent them into another dimension, on an island. Isshu assumed it would be the site of their final battle, but Ikkou has darker ideas. Also, two kids are there.



Back on Earth, Oboro struggles to locate our trio of heroes, while HH notes that the dark clouds are sucking all the light and heat from the Earth (though it hasn’t begun to have any effect yet). Back on the island, the Hurricanegers find the Kasumi Bros, with Isshu (whose voice seems to have gain an octave, while still being as raspy as ever) expositions the prophecy which he has taken to mean the Gouraigers will defeat the Hurricanegers, while Ikkou remains silent. The two sides shinobi change and do battle, with the two reds having a gunfight, while KuwagaRaiger knocks HurricaneBlue back with HurricaneYellow’s Gyro Shuriken, before throwing the latter aside with Cho Ninpo: Kiba Inazuma (which lets him generate erm, Lightning from the fangs on his head). But at a crucial moment, Ikkou gets distracted by the prophecy, allowing Yosuke to overpower Isshu, before the Hurricanegers FINALLY (sweet, sweet catharsis) get one up on the Gouraigers, blasting them with the Triple Gadget and hitting them back with their swords. But it’s then that Chuzoobo shows up with his latest warrior, Island Ninja Girigirigaishi, father to Kirikirimaishi (I’ll just call him Papa G).



Papa G then engages the Hurricanegers top with a group of Magerappas, while back at the Centipede, Sargain asks why they’re bothering with a monster when the Gouraigers are this close to killing the Hurricanegers. (That would be a good question, but…) Tau Zant and Chuzoobo then reveal that the prophecy doesn’t refer to the two groups when it mentions two braves. Ikkou takes this opportunity to begin attacking a confused Isshu, much to the Hurricanegers’ equal confusion (Nanami suggests it might be sibling rivalry). Back in our dimension, the power and heat begins to vanish (there it is), while elsewhere on the island, the kids recoil from a pocket of gas. Speaking of gas pockets, another one appears near the battlefield, with Papa G deciding to throw the Hurricanegers into it. But they escape and kick a Magerappa in their place… causing its face to turn green.



The green Magerappa begins to attack all of the others, causing Yosuke and Nanami to realise that the gas removes all conscience, rendering people who breath it in mindless and berserk. It’s at this point the two kids show up, only to be caught between three gas pockets (of course!). In a rare display of humanity, Ikkou stops fighting to push them out… only to be hit by all three gas pockets, breathing in a large amount and getting the same green face as the Magerappa. (And in turn, drops the prophecy device, causing Isshu to realise that Ikkou knows something he doesn’t).



As Ikkou begins to attack his brother once more, the Hurricanegers stop fighting and save the latter. Isshu is non too pleased to have been rescued by Hayate Way students (where’s the thank you for saving your ungrateful hide?), before playing the final part of the prophecy, with Hologram Man revealing the full thing: the brave will be defeated by one born from the same darkness (onaji yami), which Kouta and Nanami realise is a corruption of “same parents” (onaji oya). Isshu then smashes the machine, identifying the Hologram Man as his father, who he declares to be “worse than Jakanja”, because he cared more about “that” than the lives of his sons. The episode (and the first third of the series) ends with the Hurricanegers in shock, Ikkou and Isshu calling each others’ names, the heat and light going out in Ninja base, the two kids still lost on the island and Tau Zant gloating that Earth is now corrupted enough for “that” to be born. To be continued in Scroll 18: Father and Sibling Bonds.

Final thoughts: Again, I doubt I can give a conclusive look at the storyline as a whole until it ends. Though I will say, the end of the episode really gave me chills. I will say that the two kids are starting to get annoying, considering their biggest contribution in this episode is to drive Ikkou to madness and Isshu to angrish. Not the best look.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 18: Father and Sibling Bonds

Here we are, at the end of this arc. Not much to say for the preface, except for the fact that the next post I do will be tomorrow, since over in Japan, it will be what is unofficially known as “Ninja Day”. With that said, on with the review.

Last time, the Hurricanegers and Gouraigers, along with a pair of kids, were transported to an island made by Kirikirimaishi’s father Papa G. The island produced gas, which contaminated Ikkou, driving him crazy. Isshu then revealed that the hologram man telling them the prophecy was his (and Ikkou’s) abusive father. Here’s what happened next.

As the crazed Ikkou continues to roam the island, Isshu deposits about his father to the Hurricanegers (and by extension, the audience). Kasumi Ikki was a man who wanted to be a Gouraiger, but he was deemed too unstable due to his penchant for gratuitous murder on missions (He’d make a great dark fic writer) and only sent on really dangerous missions. He also treated his sons like crap, beating them up until they hated him so that they’d associate fighting enemies with hatred.







(Worth noting that the kid playing Isshu in these flashbacks is Sion Tsuchida, who grew up to be JK in Fourze. He’s also fluent in English and confirmed that the catchphrase translates as “Space is here”, not “It’s space time” or “blast off”).

While on a mission to the Egypt soundstage, Ikki saw a meteor shower which gave him knowledge of “that”. Ikazuchi was horrified enough to destroy all knowledge of it (explaining why the Kasumi Bros said there was nothing about “that” in Ikazuchi Valley), but Ikki kept a copy of the information for himself (explaining how the Gouraigers knew about it). He then created Shinobi Suits, Gourai Changers, Shinobi Machines and a prophecy device for his sons to use to find that, before going and getting himself killed on his next mission (what’s it suicide or just him getting sloppy? You decide). The Hurricanegers call him out on still listening to the asshole’s will after all he did for them. To which Isshu yells at them to shut up, saying that they don’t know him and pointing out that Ikki was still his dad and that his hatred of Ikazuchi stems from them driving his father to death (no, I think that was his own hubris).

After two cutaways, one to the two kids and one to Oboro and Hamster Headmaster trapped by the cold (with a hint that Hamster Headmaster serves a higher power who he was talking to on the phone from episode 5), we get back to the story. Isshu states that he can’t bear to see his brother like this, so he wants to kill him to put him at ease, not caring if “that” gets released in the process. The others point out that Ikkou likely intended for Isshu to kill him in clear conscience, which is why he breathed in the gas. They then introduce themselves by name (which is a nice touch, since they actually haven’t shown that the Kasumi Bros know or care who the Hurricanegers are outside of the Shinobi Suits) and vow to help save Ikkou from his father’s influence. Speaking of Ikkou, as he begs for Isshu to find and kill him (compete with a great shot showing his face behind the helmet), he is instead found by Chuzoobo, who suggests he breathe in more of the gas and find KuwagaRaiger. As Isshu, Yosuke, Nanami (or to use her apparent stage name, Nana-chan) and Kouta race to find Ikkou, only to be interrupted by Papa G. To get by him, the 4 do our first 4 man Shinobi Change and pose.



And then Isshu initiates a new Chou Ninpo. Yonin Kage no Mai (which is the same as the regular version, but with KuwagaRaiger).



This weakens Papa G to the point that the Hurricanegers kill him easily with the Triple Gadget, restoring power and light to the world and allowing for a brief bit humourous conversation with Oboro. But the explosion alerts Ikkou to their location, causing him to charge in and attack his brother, leaving the Hurricanegers to face Chuzoobo.



During this fight, we actually get some really good “mental world” images showing both Ikkou and Isshu’s inner turmoil during this fight.





Despite his reluctance, Isshu steels his resolve and begins to fight seriously. (And I do apologise for the shakiness of this photo)



As the fight gets to the point where Ikkou is about to land the death blow, the two kids show up. They beg Ikkou not to do it, stressing that he’s obviously a good person (dear god, not this again) because he saved them from the gas (okay, that’s actually a good argument for once). Isshu states that he didn’t do it for their sake and we see through a flashback that both sides have a point. Ikkou saved the two because they reminded him of the better times he and Isshu had when they were kids.



This calms Ikkou down enough for him to revert to normal and acknowledge that Kasumi Ikki was ultimately more pathetic than awesome (quite right). Chuzoobo is so taken aback hat the Hurricanegers get the drop on him and force him to retreat. An angry Tau Zant curses the Gouraigers, but states that there will be other ways to get “that”. Chuzoobo then enlarges Papa G, with both sides summoning their Mecha, with Oboro and Hamster Headmaster getting as excited as the audience probably were when this episode first aired.



Papa G tries hitting them with his Uchuu Ninpo: Hi no Mori (for an idea of what it does, think of that bear from those old PSAs). Both Senpuujin and Gouraijin prove that old adage right by extinguishing the flames, before defeating Papa G for good with Gouraijin’s Daikaiten Todoroke Giri and Senpuujin Hurrier’s Hurrier Dangan Giri. The kids celebrate, but without Papa G to maintain it, the island begins to fall apart. Ikkou saves the kid as the two giants walk home.



Back at the Centipede, Tau Zant zaps Chuzoobo for his failure, but he doesn’t fall to the floor. And speaking of things not falling to the floor, Floaty-Head is missing. Turns out that he’s going to a private room wherein he creates a cocoon to surround himself, as he begins to feel sleepy (what’s happening. The Narrator only says that something strange is happening to him. Which doesn’t help reassure me.)



Next time: Chuzoobo unleashed a full assault and a new robot the narrator identifies as GouraiSenpuujin debuts. All this and more in “Scroll 10: The Box and the Wind Thunder Giant”.

Final thoughts on this arc: After a rough start with episode 15, this storyline really kicked into gear with episode 16. We learned quite a bit about the Gouraigers which would normally diminish their menace and intrigue somewhat. But the show manages to resolve that problem by having them change sides and join with the heroes. And it actually feels a lot more natural than most other redemptions in Sentai and Rider in recent years (in particular, other shows by the same producer as Hurricaneger, Hideaki Tsukada) mostly because instead of beating them over the head that they were supposedly good people beneath all the irredeemable acts they commit, most of their acts are generally mild in threat and they realise on their own that being evil is a bad thing the moment they actually come close to doing something truly irredeemable.

Also, can we all agree Kasumi Ikki is confirmed worst dad in Toku?

[Androzani84]

Scroll 19: The Big Box and the Wind-Thunder Giant

(And I thought episode 17 had a long title)

It’s the 22nd of February, which to some people in Japan is Ninja Day. To celebrate that, I thought I’d bring this week’s first review up a day. Here we go with the epilogue to the island battle arc, written by Atsushi Maekawa.

We begin with the Hurricanegers assured that the Kasumi Bros are now their friends, a notion which Ikkou quickly rids them of. Isshu points out that just because they worked together against the Jakanja, it doesn’t make them friends. Isshu states that they’ll defeat Jakanja by themselves before pulling out. At the Ninja base, Oboro analyses Gouraijin and comes up with a new idea. At the Centipede, as Floaty Head is found in his cocoon and the girls renounce their Gouraiger worship, Sargain sees Chuzoobo pulling out a scroll and reacts with shock (even though it looks like every other scroll he uses to grow his monsters). Yosuke tails the Kasumi Bros to a beach, where they operate a mechanism disguised as sea shells (very clever, I’ll admit) to summon the travel sphere from episode 8. But Chuzoobo destroys the sphere and challenges the two to a fight. They Shinobi Change, but Chuzoobo uses his Uchuu Ninpo: Hako Jigen to trap them in the dimension box on his back.





Yosuke tries to attack, but gets pushed aside and told to wait his turn. Chuzoobo then retreats to a waterfall to meditate, allowing him to inflict all manner of illusionary attacks on the Gouraigers inside the box. (Props to the costume department for removing it for these scenes)



The Kasumi Bros and Chuzoobo reiterate their mutual hatred of each other, before mentioning their latest transgressions: trying to destroy the former twos’ sibling bond and costing the Jakanja “that” respectively. The Hurricanegers find the real Chuzoobo and try to attack him, but he summons a never ending army of Magerappa from the ground.



Luckily, Nanami uses her Sonic Megaphone to banish them back into the ground (unless a later episode brings it up, they’re still down there presumably). Chuzoobo then disrupts their attempts to blast him with the Triple Gadget using his Uchuu Ninpo: Kyodai Ni no Yari. But they survive and attack the necklace on his body, freeing the Kasumi Bros from their torment. After a brief scene where the Hurricanegers tell the Gouraigers that they don’t have to go it alone, we get our first group role call and shot of the Earth Ninjas standing side by side (which easily trumps last week’s shot of the two Karakuri Giants standing side by side).



After some coordinated attacks, both groups assemble their weapons and aim at Chuzoobo. But he has one last trick up his sleeve: a technique that allows him to take control of the Hurricanegers and force them to aim at the Gouraigers. Ikkou decides not to shoot and risk hurting them, which Chuzoobo takes as a sign of weakness but the Hurricanegers state is a sign that he’s not a bad guy anymore. The Hurricanegers hold off on attacking long enough to resist and let Ikkou get a shot in on Chuzoobo. Now fully freed, both groups fire their weapons, creating a combined ball of fire and thunder.



But Chuzoobo survives, having Sargain hand the scroll from earlier to Wendinu so she can fire it. It turns out to be necessary for the Uchuu Ninpo: Yami Majin Damashii Shokan no Jutsu, which increases the user’s strength, but greatly shortens their lifespan (kind of like the Barba Extract in Gingaman).



Both groups summon their Shinobi Machines and combine, but nothing they do can so much as scratch Chuzoobo. Not the Axe Cutter, not the Sword Slasher and not even the Gatling Attacker (if only it worked like it was meant to). Oboro then sends both Yosuke and Ikkou a new Shinobi Medal, which she says will allow them to combine as one. After some hesitation, everyone agrees, summoning the two new Karakuri Balls 07: FuraiHead and 08: FuraiKnuckle…



Which then combine to form the Karakuri warrior Furaimaru, who in a first for Sentai Mecha (but by no means a last) is capable of speech. He bids that the two robots do a Pathway Transcendent Wind-Thunder Combination (Ryuuhachozetsu Furai Gattai) with the command of “Fu! Rai! Go! Ha!”



Furaimaru: The winds start up a tempest. The clouds part and thunders roar. When Hayate and Ikazuchi come together, the crescent moon head is authorised by providence. GouraiSenpuujin, on stage! (If you think the speech sounds familiar, than it’s because it doesn’t. Furaimaru in Gokaiger doesn’t have his voice processed.)

And to celebrate the new combination, a new insert song by Akira Kushida plays.

Chuzoobo is not impressed and tries attacking with his staff… which leads to it snapping in two (which gave the Power Rangers version of this episode a really funny conversation. I suggest you watch it to see for yourself).



Furaimaru then has the two groups perform the Hissatsu Ougi: Rolling Thunder Hurricane, unleashing their full power on Chuzoobo, who had decided to brute force the mecha.



Fatally wounded by the blast, Chuzoobo declares his loyalty to Jakanja before exploding. Furabijo throws his page out, showing that she passed him, while Sargain acknowledges him as a worthy warrior in the end. Tau Zant says nothing and Floaty Head doesn’t come out of his shell to say anything. We then cut back to the ground, ending the episode with the reveal that the Kasumi Bros have gone off on their own again, with the main takeaway being at least they’re not working with Jakanja anymore. Next time: Yosuke and Ikkou butt heads, a mysterious cloaked figure joins Jakanja and we debut a combination of the Double and Triple Gadgets. All this and more on Scroll 20: Punch and Rival.

Final thoughts: I do like that the redemption of the Kasumi Bros isn’t painted as them becoming full good guys, and Chuzoobo did get a very epic last stand. Also, Furaimaru is my new candidate for best character in the show.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 20: Punch and Rival

Not much to say here. Just that this is another Sakai episode. Moving on to the review.

The episode opens with Ikkou and Isshu discussing what they do now (Gee Brain, what are we going to do today? I have no idea Pinky). Isshu states his desire to defeat the Jakanja and reestablish Ikazuchi as the best (no change there), but Ikkou wonders if they have the right, considering they were helping Jakanja (nice to see there’s some actual angst involved there), though he states he no longer desires to be the best ninjas in space. He states that he’s leaving to find his resolve. At Ninja Base, our trio celebrates their victory over one enemy and manage to leave before they can be scolded for being lax to work their respective jobs. But over at the Centipede, Tau Zant has news that distresses even the other Spears.





Scared shitless at this possibility, Sargain and the two Kunoichi decide to corrupt the Earth before he can get there. Back on Earth, Yosuke gets a job working at the docks (Looks like he finally told his old boss where she can stick his job) and just so happens to run into Ikkou (cue Scar from the Lion King getting horrified). Yosuke’s attempts to start a conversation amount to little result, even when the two start a competition to see who can carry the most sandbags (Ikkou is clearly winning in that regard). Ikkou then states he considers Yosuke a lazy guy who’s only made it his far due to dumb luck (That’s certainly true in some regards). Meanwhile, Sargain unleashes a new Puppet for the first time since episode tw-EIGHT. Disaster Ninja Kangaroulette.



Kangaroulette’s gimmick is that he forces people to play a roulette game which has 6 effects that he uses to attack: water, fire, thunder, earthquake, bomb and old man. Our two reds feel his earthquake and run to the scene. After calling their allies in, they transform and fight. But it turns out Kangaroulette can respond to their attacks with an equivalent from his wheel. Ikkou figures this out and stops Yosuke’s attack so he can absorb the thunder attack with his Ikazuchimaru to perform the Ikazuchi-Ryu Kengi: Raigeki-zan. This attack hurts Kangaroulette enough to flee, but the way Ikkou went about achieving it causes him and Yosuke to come to blows, which are only stopped by Kouta, Nanami and Isshu showing up. Back at the Centipede, Floaty-Head’s cocoon begins to glow, while Kangaroulette gets an upgrade: a pair of new gloves (and here I thought GoKiramager was a letdown)





Our 5 heroes make their way to where Kangaroulette is attacking with his upgraded powers, which allow him to channel his attacks into flying fists (I take it back. This is way better than GoKiramager). The two groups decide to hit him with their respective gadgets, but get deflected. Sargain, Wendinu and Furabijo have arrived, with the latter using her Elegant Barrier to protect the puppet. A fight breaks out, with Yosuke facing Kangaroulette, Nanami and Kouta going against Sargain (and losing), while Ikkou and Isshu face the two Kunoichi, who once more attack with special effects, with Wendinu making her sword fly along on strings, while Furabijo uses a ridiculously long tongue.



As Yosuke is on the verge of losing and Oboro is frantically searching for a new element to send him, the former reiterates that he works hard because he had it easy in becoming a hero, while Ikkou looks on. It’s at that point that the element of thunder shows up on the Hayatemaru, which Yosuke uses to absorb Kangaroulette’s thunder attack to perform the Chou Ninpo: Raigeki-zan.



After this, the villains all crowd behind Furabijo’s Elegant Barrier, to which Ikkou suggests they combine their Gadgets, forming the Victory Gadget.



The new weapon shatters the barrier and kills Kangaroulette, but Wendinu creates a Copy Giant of him (also bringing back something that’s been sorely missing since episode 8). Our heroes summon their robots and deploy their Sword Slashers, but when neither can scratch Kangaroulette, they combine into GouraiSenpuujin and destroy him (and Furaimaru gets a slightly modified speech. That’s what happens when you can actually put in the effort to bring the actor back). In the Centipede, Floaty-Head’s cocoon burst open to reveal something, as a figure covered in gunk approaches Tau Zant, who has been waiting for him.



Back with the heroes, Yosuke thanks Oboro for the help, but she insists she wasn’t able to do anything and is surprised as he is to find out they can do the Raigeki-zan. As the Kasumi Bros take their leave, Nanami and Kouta rag on about them, while Yosuke realises that Ikkou called him by name. Ikkou then explains to Isshu that HE gave the Raigeki-zan to Yosuke because sometimes you deserve to have it easy (that’s a pretty good lesson there). Back at the Centipede, the returning Spears find somebody new waiting.



Sargain wonders if he’s the Sixth Spear, but Furabijo realises there’s something familiar about him. So the hooded figure clears things up.





(Holy crap, Motordrone was Manmarva?)

Manmarva (The nickname no longer works, so I’ll stick to the SS/HaroRanger romanisation) states that the Sixth Spear is still coming and Tau Zant says that when he arrives, Earth will be corrupted. The trailer for the next episode, “Masks and Riddles” gives us a good glimpse at said Sixth Spear, along with his name and voice (provided by Bin Shimada, a VA known for simultaneously only having one voice and having an impressive range).



Final thoughts: This was a pretty good episode. I said that I loved the way they handled the Gouraiger redemption compared to other more recent Sentai redemptions and this episode continues that. I like that Yosuke has to actually earn their respect and comradeship rather than having them hit it off instantly. And Manmarva’s new look (and voice) are a definite upgrade to his old ones.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 21: Masks and Riddles

This is another Arakawa episode. If you’ve been following this thread, you’ll know that I had a personal distaste for his previous contributions to Hurricaneger. Will he continue that streak, or will he impress me? Let’s find out.

(Key: words in italics are in English)

To start with, our titles have been updated to add Manmarva and Satarakura.





We begin with Wendinu doing her makeup to look good in front of the Sixth Spear when he shows up. Furabijo on the other hand, is slightly sceptical about his character.



Tau Zant assures her that he’s destroyed thousands of planets (the bad guys in Power Rangers SPD say the same thing about their monsters of the week, so that’s not very reassuring). Wendinu then notices Manmarva is gone. Sure enough, he’s in the city, walking through a crowd who are for reasons the episode doesn’t explain (I assume it’s to do with the cloak, since they start seeing him once he takes it off) can’t be seen by anyone.



We then see the Hurricanegers at the batting cage (From here to San Diego, talkin soooftball), on a feeling Nanami had (Its called foreshadowing). As they decide to invite the Kasumi Bros, Manmarva notes that they’re not here and move on. At a construction site where Ikkou and Isshu have found work, they sense something.



After some jackassery, Manmarva throws off his cloak so we can get a good look at his new bod. (And Ikkou and Isshu get a good look at his new look)



Manmarva identifies himself and announces that he’s going to make the duo pay for tricking him into thinking they were the other two Spears. A fight breaks out, but the Gouraigers are on the receiving end of a beatdown, which ends with Mamnmarva punching Ikkou so hard, the image of a scorpion briefly appears on his chest (if this whole being evil thing doesn’t pan out, he could always start a tattoo parlour). He then comments that the Grim Reaper is smiling on Ikkou before leaving.



Back at the Centipede, Sargain, Wendinu and Furabijo think the Sixth Spear is here… but it’s just Manmarva. But Manmarva then says that the Sixth Spear ‘is’ here. As everyone looks around, presents appear from nowhere, addressed to the universe’s cutest girl Furabijo, the universe’s greatest beauty Wendinu, the universe’s greatest genius Sargain and the universe’s greatest prophet Manmarva.



Furabijo, Wendinu and Sargain all open the gifts (Manmarva, like me, has seen what’s coming)… and all end up with pie in their faces (and Sargain opened his faceplate for this), much to the amusement of a newcomer in a silly outfit (and that’s saying something, because he already looks pretty flamboyant).





The newcomer reveals that he set the whole thing up for “Space Candid Camera”, and after showing a replay, addresses Tau Zant as ‘Taza-yan” (yan being an old-fashioned honorific, similar to Isshu referring to his brother as ‘Ani-jan’), much to everyone’s shock.



The newcomer then introduces himself (again, if you saw last week’s next time trailer) as the Seven Dark Spears’ Sixth Spear, Satarakura (portmanteau of Saturday and Sakura (cherry blossoms)).



Satarakura then states that his MO is having fun while doing evil, chiding Manmarva for not opening his gift (maybe you shouldn’t have tried pulling a fast one on a guy who can see the future. Just saying), being a boring stiff. He then prepares his plan.



Elsewhere, the Kasumi Bros share their encounter with the Hurricanegers. As Yosuke is laughing about them losing to Manmarva (apparently, they left out the part where he isn’t a Floaty-Head anymore). Ikkou feels pain in his chest (it wasn’t that sick a burn. Man up) as scorpions emerge from his trousers (man, that’s an unsanitary construction site if they have scorpions) and Nanami and Kouta feel pain all of a sudden. It’s then that a new monster appears: Mirage Ninja Jin-Giron.



Hamster Headmaster wakes Oboro up from her nap to send the Shinobi Machines (well, it’s more in character than he was in episode 12). As Senpuujin attacks, Jin-Giron vanishes and they hit a building. Ikkou states hat he knew it was a mirage because he couldn’t sense its presence. Satarakura then laughs at the irony of heroes of justice destroying a building. After stating that he’s a new commander (Shin Kanpuu) rather than a new member (Shinkansen), along with some other puns, he states that the real Jin-Giron is going around turning people into exclamation marks by surprising them, with over 1500 victims so far (the specifics of how he does this are not explained). Once he has 10000 exclamation marks, he can use them to create a bomb that will eradicate all life on Earth (I thought he was all about fun. This just seems needlessly complicated). Before the heroes can do anything, he traps them in a box.



Satarakura then declares the start of his Quiz! Satarakura show, brought to you be the Jakanja: Corrupting planets and making children cry for 500 years.



The rules of the game are simple. The contestants answer riddles given by the host. If they get one of the questions right, then he’ll tell them where Jin-Giron is making the bomb. But if they get all the questions wrong, then they’ll drop into hell. If any of them try to transform, then the room will explode. If any of the contestants try to help the one being asked the question, then it will be taken as cheating and result in a disqualification. Everyone of the Spears but Manmarva is sceptical that it could work.

Question 1 goes to Ikkou: What has water on the top, but fire on the bottom? His answer: a flooded city with a fire at the underground mall (came on, really). Unsurprisingly, he’s wrong. The actual answer is a boiling pot. The floor opens slightly, revealing the pit of lava beneath them (convection, what’s that?)

Question 2 is for Isshu, with Yosuke assured of his success because his name sounds like Ikyu (a monk famous for solving riddles). Kouta unsurprisingly calls him on his bullshit as the question is asked. “What food do you need to open the bag to eat?” Isshu answers with ‘Pan” (bread). While he is correct, he failed to answer it within the time limit (oh come on, now you’re just making up rules), so the floor angles slightly. At Ninja Base, Oboro is worried, as is Hamster Headmaster, as we learn just who he’s been talking to on his phone.



(Note: Gozen is an old fashioned term of address for someone in authority. Either Master Gozen’s parents knew he was destined for greatness someday, or HH is attaching a meaningless honorific). In the middle of this, we cut to a mysterious shadowy figure at the same batting cage, who is in the process of shattering the world record.





Back with the quiz, Yosuke is the next to be asked a question: What food does Papa hate? As Oboro pressures Hamster Headmaster for an answer (even though that would technically be cheating), Yosuke answers with “papaya”. Which is… wrong. The answer is “it changes depending on the person”. The floor then slants all 5 towards the lava. As the Jakanja note how close this plan is to succeeding, Manmarva states that the best is yet to come. The episode ends with the shadowy figure shattering the record and the machine, causing it to show that it was programmed by Hoji Tomasu.

“Super cool! Perfect”

And speaking of Engrish.

Shadowy figure: “Baby, I’m coming.”

Next time, the heroes are possessed by something mid battle, with a new guy showing up to help. All this and more on Scroll 22: Wings and Ninja.

Final thoughts: Way better than Arakawa’s previous efforts for this season. The new guy plays perfectly to Arakawa’s strengths as a writer and has an interesting enough gimmick to stand out from every other villain in the show. My main complaint is that the segment with Manmarva beating up the Gouraigers felt divorced from the rest of the episode tonally. But I assume that’s just setting up something later on.

[DreamSword]

You know with how much Ninja Storm embraced its goofiness, I'm surprised the quiz show episode wasn't kept.

(unless it totally was and i just don't remember)