[Androzani84]

Scroll 8: Hayate and Ikazuchi

To start with, I fixed the problem with the pictures in the last post. I’d deleted the tweet I’d sourced them from and thus the links went nowhere. I’ve fixed that problem by delinking them to a new tweet. That said, on with the episode.

We begin by recapping last episode, with the Gouraigers appearing, introducing themselves as the Ikazuchi Style’s legendary champions and vowing to defeat the Hurricanegers before Jakanja.

Then we cut back to the present, where our heroes are thinking about recent events, only to be distracted by the kuroko-bots (my new name for them) playing Kendama (a kids game involving a hammer with a ball attached by a string and stored on a spike on top). As Oboro sends them out, Hamster Headmaster recounts the missing details in his history lesson from episode 1: while the Hayate Style won the right for their champions to be called “Hurricanegers”, the Ikazuchi Style and their champions, the Gouraigers, were banished into the darkness. He then reveals that the Kasumi Bros are two of the most dangerous members from the current Ikazuchi students. Our heroes come to the conclusion that the two merely want to settle the old rivalry, since the Jakanja prevented the yearly contest from taking place (Ah, to be young), thinking they can get the two on their side by telling them this.

At the Centipede, Furabijou, Wendinu and Floaty Head continue to gush over the Gouraigers (the latter is still convinced they’re the two Spears. Blind faith, much?), while Chuzoobo still thinks they don’t need them. Tau Zant then bids Sargain begin his next plan to corrupt the planet with a new puppet: Water-Absorbing Ninja Gamajakushi (Who I will refer to as “Tad” from now on).



Tad then proceeds to send out his tadpoles (because he’s amphibious. Geddit?) into every water source, draining them dry. Oboro discovers this through a mix of the news and one of the tadpoles being delivered courtesy of the kuroko-bots, and alerts the trio, who head off to stop Tad, assuming he’ll go after the sea next. (That seems like a logical deduction)

Along the way, they run into Ikkou and Isshu, who are observing Jakanja’s latest scheme and feel confident in labelling them idiots. (That’ll be important later. Remember that now) Our trio try to persuade the brothers with the pitch they were working on earlier. Ikkou calls them naive, before they get interrupted by Tad appearing to kill them all (I guess Sargain decided he wanted the Gouraigers out of the picture). Our trio transforms and does their role call, but none of their weapons prove effective against Tad and he manages to knock them down with his tadpoles. Then the Kasumi bros leap in and do their transformation (in all honesty, this scene manages to work in every way, from the music, to the staging, to the creepy way they say “Shinobi Change”, a phrase you’d normally associate with safety, but not here.), following up with THEIR role call, which you can hear in the video on the last post. I haven’t found a good translation for KuwagaRaiger’s intro, so I’m just leaving it there.

The Gouraigers run in to attack… Tad. (Shocker, I know) Their Ikazuchimarus prove capable of not only deflecting his tadpoles, but dealing major damage to him. They then pull out their personal weapons, the Horn Breaker for Ikkou (a gun) and the Stag Breaker for Isshu (a claw) (somebody called Kabuto and Gatack Gouraigers RX and he had something of a point). These damage Tad further on their own, but when combined into the Double Gadget, manage to finish him off for good. As the Hurricanegers cheer at having apparently won them over, and the Jakanja fume at the apparent betrayal, Tad gets revived as a giant.

The Hurricanegers form Senpuujin, but still prove no match for Tad, even at giant size (just how damn powerful did Sargain make him?). Oboro then gets the idea from the Kendama game to combine Goat Crusher and Tortoise Hammer into the Karakuri Combo: Goat Hammer.



With its new weapon, Senpuujin knocks away Tad’s projectiles before destroying him with their Finish Trick. Goat Hammer: Hurricane Suisei. The Hurricanegers then approach the Gouraigers, assured of their alliance. But the two shove them aside, stating they don’t give a rat’s ass about Ikazuchi (considering them hypocrites afraid to grow stronger) or the Earth. They only stopped Tad because “that” needs water to be born. The Hurricanegers are clueless as to what they’re talking about, causing the two to laugh about how they didn’t know what Jakanja was after (they have a point). Isshu then reveals he wants to use it to remake the Ikazuchi Style into the greatest in the world, while Ikkou states he intends to use it to make the Gouraigers the greatest ninjas in space, (apparently, they didn’t agree on what to use it for) stating they’d rather die trying to get it than let Jakanja or the Hurricanegers obtain it. Speak of the devil, Tau Zant has overheard this and realised the Gouraigers know more about “that” than he does. So he decides to rectify that.



Tau Zant sends a sphere to pick up the Gouraigers. They transform and board it, leaving the Hurricanegers lost for words as the episode ends.



Next time, Yosuke once more tries to appeal to Ishhu’s non-existent better nature (give it a rest man), while Isshu tries to see if he can beat up Yosuke. All this and more in “Scroll 9: Thunder Siblings and Hourglass”.

Final thoughts: Well, my worries about this show being similar to Ryuki were semi-unfounded. The Gouraigers aren’t being set up as secretly good people like Ren was, and they’re all the better as characters for it. And I also like how the Gouraigers, despite being a dangerous wild card, didn’t totally hijack the episode away from the regular bad guys (Looking at you, Basco and Bangray). And the fact they beat a monster the Hurricanegers could barely scratch speaks volumes to the difference in their power levels. This show’s still continuing to deliver and I look forward to the next episode, where our third writer comes in.

[Androzani84]

Thought I’d come and do something special to celebrate the last unsubbed Sentai finally getting subbed. Which is why I’m dedicating this special post to

Turboranger Episode 1: Ten Great Sentai Gather! Counting on You, Turboranger!



Turboranger is a show I’ve been wanting to watch for a while. I tried working on a Power Rangers adaptation after reading up on it, but I got stalled at episode 3, due to lack of footage. Now I have no reason not to finish it, but it might be a while. Anyway, on with the write up.

We begin with the introduction to our villains for the series, the Hundred Bouma (Sorrowful Demon) Tribes through their generals, Dr. Lehda(C), Zimba(L) and Zulten(R), leading an army of their henchmen, the Wulars.



Lehda notes that the Earth has been invaded by many others before them, all of whom were defeated. He vows that the Bouma will not fall like they did (You know, this is the kind of thing missing from most anniversary seasons. The new bad guys acknowledging the existence of the old ones). It’s at that point that our heroes make their debut.



Red Turbo introduces the 5 as the Kousoku Sentai Turboranger. Lehda expresses disbelief that these 5 could’ve defeated all those evils. Black Turbo then sets him straight by pointing to the ones who actually defeated all those bad guys: the 10 Great Super Sentai (Gorenger and JAKQ don’t count yet, for anyone who’s confused).



The 10 Great Sentai then do their poses (which I will use to bridge each segment), before we lead into an explanation of each Sentai’s exploits (in case anyone’s confused, Turboranger was created as the 10th anniversary of Super Sentai. It’s not considered as such anymore, so this episode might seem weird to those not in the know). We begin with the first Sentai, Battle Fever J.



The Secret Society Egos began its attack on the world, causing a non-descript secret organisation (seriously, it never got a name as far as I know, Beyond Team Battle Fever) to recruit 5 youths from around the world (more technically, 4 Japanese people who’d trained in different countries [Japan, Russia, France and Kenya], plus an agent from the CIA in America) to fight back with their varied dance moves (no, really). To counter Egos’ monsters, they constructed the Battle Fever Robo, to which Egos responded by giving every monster a “little brother/little sister” (a giant robot in the monster’s likeness) as a counter. (Worth mentioning that Battle Kenya went on to be Gavan, the first Battle Cossack was previously Midorenger and his replacement was previously Kikaider and Inazuman)



The Vader Clan, who destroyed the peaceful planet Denzi moved to attack the Earth. The Denzi Dog IC (yes, the mentor for this season is a talking dog) entrusted the planet’s technology to 5 youths, who became the Denji Sentai Denziman. Vader’s monsters had the ability to alter their cells at will, allowing them to grow in size. To counter this, the Denziman had the DenziTiger, which could turn into DaiDenJin to fight back. (Worth noting that DenziGreen went on to be a VA best known for Death Note and the main villain for this season was played by Machiko Soga, who US fans might know better as Bandora from Zyuranger/Rita Repulse from the original Power Rangers)



The Machine Empire Black Magma (No relation to Machine Empire Baranoia from Ohranger, though Boukenger’s retrospective drew a similarity) rose from the depths of the North Pole, with their leader Fuhrer Hell Satan (He sounds friendly, doesn’t he?) declaring war on humanity. The United Nations assembled the world’s best fighter pilot, the world’s best navy officer and the world’s best army marine to wear the VulSuits and become Taiyou Sentai Sun Vulcan (If you wonder why there’s no women on this Sentai, it’s because there aren’t that many women in the armed forces). Black Magma’s monsters were equipped with a stock clip of a spinning wheel, allowing them to grow giant. Sun Vulcan fought back against this with the first two-piece robot, Sun Vulcan Robo, combined from Bull Vulcan and Cosmo Vulcan. (Worth noting that one of the villains is Amazon’s from Japanese Spider-Man, while the second VulEagle went on to be somewhat big in Japan)



The Dark Science Empire Deathdark, which has been behind every negative use of science since the Stone Age, attacked humanity. The Future Science Laboratory under Dr. Hongou (no relation to Takeshi) assembled 5 youths to inherit the power of ancient civilisations to become the Dai Sentai Goggle V. They fought Deathdark’s synthetic beasts using gymnastics weapons (not just ribbons, despite what Gokaiger would have you believe). When defeated, the synthetic beasts were revived to pilot a giant mechanical “Kong”, which would be countered with the Goggle Robo. (First Sentai to be written by Hirohosa Soda)



The Salamander Tribe’s Jashinka Empire attacked humanity, with their leader, Emperor Aton hoping to gain a tenth tail that would grant him immortality (similar to the Orgs, the hierarchy in Jashinka was based on the number of tails they have). To oppose them, five prominent scientists are assembled to become Kagaku Sentai Dynaman. Jashinka’s Evolution Beasts (later replaced by Mechavolution Beasts) grew via a Big Bang Progress (again, later replaced with the Big Bang Beam), which were countered by Dynaman’s Dyna Robo. (First Sentai to give one of its members a super mode. Yes one. Eat it, you ‘Sentai should only ever do team power-ups’ nuts)



As the New Empire Gear began its attack on humanity, 5 youths were gathered by the Bio Robo, one of the last relics of the destroyed Planet Bio alongside the robotic assistant Peebo. The 5 were chosen due to their ancestors being bathed in Bio Energy Particles 400 years ago to become the Choudenshi Bioman. Eventually, their fated rival Bio Hunter Silva arrived along with his robot Balzion to finish wiping out the rest of the Bio Energy Particles. The Bioman eventually defeated Silva and put an end to Gear’s ambitions. (First series with two female members)

We then cut to commercials with a shot of all 11 Reds, followed by a return using a shot of all 14 girls (yes, before sixth Rangers were a thing, girl Rangers were the non-red badasses of the group).





We now return to our recap with the next Sentai.



The Star League Gozma under Emperor Bazoo attacked Earth. 5 youths were chosen by Commander Yui Ibuki to wield Earth Power to fight back as the Dengeki Sentai Changeman. Through the power of their convictions, Changeman inspired others to rise up, eventually defeating Bazoo and restoring peace to the universe.



20 years ago, the Reconstruction Experiment Empire Mess abducted 5 children from Earth for their experiments, only to be saved and taken in by the people of the Flash Star. 20 years later, the 5 returned to Earth as the Choushinsei Flashman to fight back against Mess and find their lost parents. Flashman found out that another warrior, known as Titan, once fought Mess as they did before his death (the guy who told them this died before he could clarify what did Titan in). Inheriting his robot, the Flash Titan, the 5 were able to defeat Mess. (First series to have two robots in use and the first to have opening narration).



The Underground Empire Tube sent its armies to attack the surface, where they were resisted by the Hikari Sentai Maskman. Red Mask, Takeru, was caught up in a feud between the twin sisters of Tibe, Prince (no, that’s not a typo. She spends most of the series disguised as a man) Igam and Princess Iyal. Using the Galaxy Robo and the Jet Cannon alongside their Aura Power, with the help of the feelings they inherited from those who created the weapons, the Maskman defeated Zeba and restored peace to Tube.



Grand Professor Bias whispered in the ears of three youths, encouraging them to sell their souls to the devil (Ha ha, opening narration reference) and kill their friends. He then launched an attack on Academia Island with his Weapon Brain Army Volt. However, three other youths who were also friends with the two who got murdered unveiled a set of mechanical Choujuu to fight back with, becoming the Choujuu Sentai Liveman. They were joined eventually by the younger brothers of their slain friends, whose own robot Live Boxer could combine with Live Robo to form Super Live Robo, giving Liveman enough power to defeat Volt.

The episode then ends with the Turborangers assuring the 10 Great Sentai that they can handle the Bouma, before charging into battle. We then get a trailer for the series in lieu of the usual credits, followed by the usual next time trailer. I won’t go into details on the plot, for anyone who wants to watch the episode, but I will say that the Bouma’s leader is their god Ragorn, while they do have one female member.

Final Thoughts: As a retrospective of 10 years, this episode works. As an introduction… while it teases that we can see the origins of the Turborangers if we continue to follow the series, I think it works. So overall, I’d rate this… 4 out of 5.

[DreamSword]

I too have really wanted to watch Turboranger. It's still gonna have to wait a bit since I have a bunch of other shows I wanna get through first, but I'm glad it's finally been subbed in full.

I actually half-adapted it into the Tabletop Campaign my friends and I are doing. There I labeled the team "Nitro Boost."

[Androzani84]

Scroll 9: Thunder Brothers and the Hourglass

After yesterday’s side step, we’re back on track with an episode written by another new writer, Atsushi Maekawa. He wrote a few more episodes of this show and Abaranger, then he skipped Dekaranger to write the Battle City Finals arc of Yu-Gi-Oh (a franchise he still contributes episodes to). Then he became the head writer for Magiranger, and since then he’s mostly done anime such as Bakugan and Fresh Pretty Cure. The best reason I’ve been given for his lack of further involvement in Toku, despite seemingly being built up as the next Inoue or Kobayashi, was that he decided it was easier to do an animated teleplay than it was to do a live action one. With that said, on with the review.

Continuing from last episode, the Gouraiger join the Jakanja at the Centipede, with both sides conceding that they need each other: the Jakanja are the only ones who can corrupt the Earth and the Gouraiger know how to obtain “that”. It then leads to one of my favourite exchanges in the series so far.

Ikkou: When we find “that”, who is going to be the one to receive it?

Tau Zant: We will have to make the decision then.

(It kind of loses something in writing, but it’s worth it for those watching).

Tau Zant then tasks the Gouraiger with Chuzoobo’s latest plot, much to the latter’s dismay (leading to a good moment of hypocritical humour). A plan that involves a time limit recorded by an hourglass.

We then cut to the Hurricanegers playing a card game, talking about what the Jakanja and the Gouraiger are after. It turns out even Hamster Headmaster can’t say much, other than it can’t be good. It’s then that Yosuke has an idea: simply go up and ask the Kasumi Bros what “that” is (Yeah, I can see why people remember him as not too clever). We then cut to the city, where people are being kidnapped by cicadas launched by the newest monster, Propogation Ninja Kurukkuhoshi (I’ll just call him Orlin). Then, at their campsite, Ikkou and Isshu decide that they don’t like Chuzoobo (to be fair, the feeling is mutual) and that once they get “that”, they intend to make sure they keep it. (Ah yes, what’s a good Sentai series without villains trying to backstab each other as naturally as they breath?)

The next morning, Yosuke journeys to Ikazuchi Valley, former home of the Ikazuchi Way Ninja School. As he predicted, the Gouraigers attack him. He asks his three questions: “What is ‘that’?”, “What is its significance?” and “Is it really so important that you’d join Jakanja?” The two leave without answering, so he follows them to ask for their answer (leading to one of my favourite responses of all time, courtesy of Isshu).

Isshu: The answer is ‘yes’. (Throws Yosuke off the cliff)

Isshu then recounts how he and his brother found the Gourai Changers in a sealed cave while the School was destroyed by Kekkaibou. Isshu then launches into a rant about how he became disillusioned with the Ikazuchi Way for spending 500 years living into the shadows, so he’s allowing it to stay dead so he can craft a new Ikazuchi (Got to say, this is a pretty good use of monologuing). He then transforms into KuwagaRaiger (this time, adding the word “Jinrai” (thunderclap) before “Shinobi Change”. I assume the only reason it wasn’t there before was to add to the creepy factor?) and proceeds to beat up Yosuke, wanting to prove in a fair fight who is the better of the two. (Ikkou, meanwhile, is apparently so self-assured of his own superiority that he just sits back and watches). Elsewhere, Orlin continues gathering victims, but passes up a Kuroko-bot playing Kendama. In revenge, the bot alerts Oboro, who in turn alerts Kouta (who is coming away from helping an old lady) and Nanami (who ran away from her singing career again. Thank god her manager is so understanding) to face Orlin, who has finished collecting 100 humans with his cicadas. Yosuke meanwhile, is still being beaten up, stating that he won’t Shinobi Change to fight a fellow Earth Ninja (I admire your honour, but dude, he’s trying to kill you). This only annoys Isshu further and causes him to keep up the barrage. Meanwhile, Orlin is told to pull away from the fight by Chuzoobo, who notes that there isn’t much time left. However, Nanami and Kouta give chase quickly. At Ikazuchi Valley, Isshu finally has enough of Yosuke and drops him off a cliff, before the two Kasumis leave to help Orlin.

In the woods, the other two Hurricanegers find all the people webbed up by Orlin, who intends to use them for a ritual that will allow his cicadas to multiply and cover the Earth. The Gouraigers arrive to keep the two Hurricanegers busy while Orlin casts his spell. Ikkou counters Kouta’s Chou Ninpo: Mai Jishi (the technique where he replicated himself) with his own Chou Ninpo: Maboroshi Kabuto, which allows him to conjure a giant copy who crushes Kouta (not an empty costume, not a scarecrow, the real Kouta), while Isshu deflects all of Nanami’s moves with his Ikazuchimaru (the subs have stopped translating “maru”, by the way). Just as it seems the Gouraigers have emerged triumphant, Yosuke appears, having survived the fall. He declares that he’s given up trying to team up with the Gouraigers and is now going to defeat them with his full power (a lesson Shinji Kido should’ve learned, but never did). But, this doesn’t help, as Ikkou proceeds to shoot Nanami and Kouta into submission with his Horn Breaker, while Isshu zaps Yosuke down with his Stag Breaker. But before the Double Gadget can kill our heroes for good, Orlin dies mid ritual, with his spell breaking itself (no, really).

It then turns out that Orlin only had a short lifespan to begin with, being a cicada, and the hourglass was counting down to his death. The Gouraigers leave, their services no longer needed, while Furabijo fails Chuzoobo for thinking this guy was a good choice. Wendinu grows Orlin to giant size, the Hurricanegers summon Senpuujin and defeat him (there’s really not much to say about this part of the episode. It’s very by the numbers). The episode ends with the Hurricanegers deciding that they need to train hard in order to beat the Gouraigers next time, whith Yosuke advocating that they start now.

Next time: the Gouraigers awaken the hidden secret of Ikazuchi Valley. This and more in “Scroll 10: The Raijin and the Destroyed Valley”.

Final Thoughts: HOW DOES THIS SHOW DO HERO VS HERO BETTER THAN THE SHOW THAT HAD THAT AS ITS CENTRAL PREMISE?

Seriously, I got more invested in the Hurricaneger/Gouraiger conflict in this episode alone than I did the entirety of the Rider War in Ryuki. While Yosuke was the one who came out of this with some character development, Isshu was clearly the real star of the episode. The monster plot felt slightly tacked on, but I did like the gimmick that the monster does not by the heroes, but due to his own natural lifespan. I’m a sucker for unique monster deaths and this episode delivers.

[Sunred]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

I too have really wanted to watch Turboranger. It's still gonna have to wait a bit since I have a bunch of other shows I wanna get through first, but I'm glad it's finally been subbed in full.

I actually half-adapted it into the Tabletop Campaign my friends and I are doing. There I labeled the team "Nitro Boost."

The theme song is definitely one of the best 80s toku songs out there. Kenta Sato who played Riki/Red Turbo sang it and it actually was done well.
And let us not forget, these were the original teenagers with attitude only a few years prior to MMPR.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 10: The Thunder God and the Destroyed Valley

Not much to say for the beginning section. Just that Naoyuki Sakai is heading this episode. Given that he helped bring the Gouraigers into the plot, I’d love to see how he handles them here (given how well the other two writers have done with them).

We open with the Hurricanegers in their base, who are still no closer to finding out what “that” could be, which frustrates them (recall that Jakanja and the Gouraigers both know what “that” is). It’s then that Kouta suggests they go into Ikazuchi Valley and find the sealed cave where the Gourai Changers were found. And speaking of caves in Ikazuchi Valley, the Gouraigers are trying to create a power recharger for the titular “thunder god” (if you haven’t figured out what it is, then I’ll give you some etymology “Senpuujin” translates as “Whirlwind God”).

The Hurricanegers try to navigate the Valley, only to find the Kasumi Bros have booby-trapped the whole place to get rid of any interlopers. And hen it turns out that Sargain and Furabijo are also in the valley (because why not, I guess?), the former wanting to know more about the Gouraigers’ intentions, the latter just wanting a picnic. As lightning begins to be generated by the Kasumi Bros’ experiments, Furabijo becomes terrified (nice little moment of comedy there), with Sargain assuring her that he won’t attract any, as his body is made of a special Jakanja metal (apparently, he hasn’t heard of non-conductive metals).

The Hurricanegers find nothing, so they meet up at a quarry, where the two Jakanja Spears find them. The Hurricanegers shinobi change and Furabijo sits down to eat her picnic, with Sargain facing them with his Ankoku Niitoryu: Ganryuken. (Apparently, he’s a master swordsman)



After spending about a minute beating down our heroes, Sargain withdraws into hiding with Furabijo, as Ikkou and Isshu arrive. They are annoyed that both Hayate and Jakanja are intruding, shinobi changing into the Gouraigers and pulling out their own Shinobi Medals. And I assure you, despite my jokes three episodes ago, and the various jabs at Ryuki I’ve been giving since then, I can assure you without a doubt, that these two insect based heroes have nothing solid in common with Kamen Ri-



ARE YOU KIDDING ME????!!!

With their new Bari Thunders, the Gouraigers proceed to overpower the Hurricanegers, who aren’t able to get a hit in. (Buy the toys) After this is done, Isshu expresses disappointment that guys like these forced the Gouraigers into the shadows 500 years ago (We get it, you’re bitter about that), while Ikkou tells them they wasted their time searching for information they don’t have here (which begs the question of how the Kasumi Bros know about ‘that’). But Isshu decides not to make it a wasted journey, instead deciding to use their Gourai Changers to show off the power they’ve just finished awakening. From the rocks and the forest come the Ikazuchi Way’s Shinobi Machines, Gourai Beetle and Gourai Stag.





Oboro, not wanting to be shown up, summons the Hayate Way’s Shinobi Machines to do battle. But the Ikazuchi Machines’ techniques prove too much for the Hayate Machines (buy the toys). The Hurricanegers then combine into Senpuujin to try and even the odds. But this fails to impress the Gouraigers, who basically say “Big deal, we can do that too”.

And so, the show’s second Karakuri Giant, Ikazuchi Gattai Gouraijin, takes the stage.



Senpuujin summons the Sword Slasher, but that proves unable to so much as scratch Gouraijin (buy the toys), before the enemy robot just gets annoyed and kicks Senpuujin down. Oboro then reveals she’s completed Karakuri Ball 04: Plant Axe, which can cut through anything. She then sends the Shinobi Medal to Yosuke.



But before he can use it, Ikkou steals it (don’t ask how) and has Gouraijin summon the Plant Axe (sorry if it’s not visible in this picture, but the video above should serve as accurate visual reference)



And true to the music playing (here’s a hint, it’s those same music cues in that video I shared a week ago), Gouraijin defeats Senpuujin by using the Plant Axe to perform the Dai Kaiten Todoroke Giri (Great Revolving Roaring Slash). Senpuujin is downed, with Yosuke, Nanami and Kouta all knocked unconscious as the robot begins to explode. Furabijo then decides to give the Gouraigers a pass and we find out what that gets you.



Wendinu and Floaty-Head do a victory dance, Chuzoobo is aggravated, Tau Zant has the same expression as usual and the Gouraigers leave with their new toy. The episode ends with Senpuujin still exploding as Oboro tries to wake Yosuke, Nanami and Kouta up.

Final Thoughts: As I’ve joked about throughout this review, this is basically a commercial for Gouraiger toys as much as it is an episode. But it works as a creepy episode, with the idea that the Hurricanegers currently have no advantage over the Gouraigers (at least until the next tier power up debuts).

[Sunred]

It was during this time I was rooting for the Gouraigers more than our titular heroes.
Seriously, I loved everything about them back in the days. Wine red and navy blue was definitely a nice choice to give them that darker contrast to the more brightly-colored Hurricangers to indicate they are a different team. I remember the pre-debut rumor at the time saying there will be a evil duo ranger team with unique colors for their costumes, and I was intrigued right off the bat. The end result was me just going "OHMYGODTHEYDIDIT" and just going nuts at how badass they seemed. Good times.

[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.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 12: The Steel Frame and Father And Daughter

This episode is written by Naruhisa Arakawa. You probably know who he is (and if you don’t, what’s wrong with you?), but I will include an explanation. He started off by doing an episode of Kamen Rider Black, but then he became a staff writer on Super Sentai from Jetman through Gingaman (except Ohranger, where the requirements to be on the writing staff was apparently to have been the head writer on a previous Sentai), before being poached by Shigenori Taketera to revive some franchise about insects and motorcycles (can’t imagine it lasting long afterwards). After Hurricaneger, he went on to head write the next two Sentai seasons, Abaranger and Dekaranger, before becoming a staff writer for the next 4 shows (including doing a good deal of Gekiranger’s plot points, particularly some I didn’t like the way they were handled), before skipping Shinkenger and only doing one arc for Goseiger (which if you ask me, is the weakest of the series), before heading Gokaiger (You probably know my opinions on that show. If you don’t, then I didn’t like much of it), before taking 4 years off during which he headed Akibaranger and the Next Generation Space Sheriff V-Cinemas. He returned to Sentai with Zyuohger, and has stayed ever since, most recently being the head writer for Kiramager(which has proved popular for those willing to look past the silliness and low budget monster suits. Heck, I like the show and even I think it gets TOO silly at times) . Now that that’s over, on to the episode.

The episode begins with our monster for the week, Metal Ninja Tekkotsumoeba, on the attack, grabbing things made of metal and absorbing them. The Hurricanegers give chase and after Yosuke knocks him off the car he’d merged with, they weaken him with a Kage no Mai and destroy him with the Sonic Gadget. (That’s got to be one of the quickest victories for the heroes ever, right?). Nanami says that the attack had been augmented by Oboro, who celebrates her success while Hamster Headmaster chides her for using a powerful attack on a weak foe (while I can buy that moral in a regular martial arts story, this was a monster trying to destroy the Earth!). The Gouraigers observe the aftermath, calling the Hayate Way pupils still naive. At the Centipede, Sargain refuses to accept he failed (even though as Wendinu points out, his monster didn’t even last long enough for a Copy Giant to be sent out, which doesn’t jive with what’s been established about Copy Giants, but whatever), insisting that “failure is the mother of success” (whatever that means) to let Tau Zant allow him to continue (surprisingly, this works).

Back at Ninja Base, the Hurricanegers and Oboro plan to celebrate their latest victory and because they’ve been doing so well lately. (Haven’t we been here before? When the Gouraigers debuted) Hamster Headmaster chides them all for this, insisting that they should investigate where Tekkotsumoeba appeared (I don’t understand why? Nothing indicates it was any sort of trick). Oboro, frustrated with his sh*t, loads him into a wooden ball and fires him towards the site. At that site, Sargain talks with Tekkotsumoeba, who’s remains have fused with one of the nearby skyscrapers, allowing him to prevail (what the hell does this have to do with corrupting Earth? Hell if I know). As the sphere approaches, Sargain knocks it away into a nearby high-rise, before leaving after noting that it wasn’t a enemy (mwah mwah). Hamster Headmaster ends up in the hands of a little girl name Yuriko, who apparently wished for a pet hamster to keep her company.

At the arcade, Kouta notes that Oboro is pretty OOC this episode (when your characters can point out the OOC, it’s generally not a good sign). So she sits down on the slide at a playground (way to kill any seriousness you were going for, Arakawa), while Yuriko shares why she’s so lonely. The latter reveals that her parents are always working and when they are home, they nag her to succeed at everything. Oboro meanwhile reveals she feels overworked worrying about Gouraijin and feels that her dad’s nagging is getting overwhelming. Hamster Headmaster tells Yuriko that her parents only want her to succeed so they can be proud of her (though the evidence he uses, that they hung her one award on the wall, doesn’t really sit right with me. If anything, it proves her right, given they care more about the award than her). Yosuke then reveals to Oboro that he read Hamster Headmaster’s web diary (don’t ask how a hamster can keep a web diary) and saw that her dad wants the fight to be over as soon as possible… so he can see his daughter get married (which probably won’t seem that heartwarming to some people).

It’s then that the skyscraper partially transforms into a giant Tekkotsumoeba - as in, even bigger than the norm. Sargain reveals that the scattered cells have been absorbed into the buildings and will pull together all 70000 of his cells within them, creating an even bigger Tekkotsumoeba. Oboro calculates that the result will be 500 times the size of Senpuujin (helpfully illustrated using a DX toy and a cardboard cutout). The Hurricanegers summon Senpuujin to try and stop him, only to be countered by the arrival of the Gouraigers in their Shinobi Machines, which combine into Gouraijin. Kouta summons the Goat Crusher to fight against them, to which they counter by detaching their chest plate to form the Double Claw.

Elsewhere, with Yuriko having broken her leg as the high-rise is being pulled into Tekkotsumoeba, Hamster Headmaster contacts Oboro through a device in his hamster ball (which does make her throwing him out there less callous than it seemed at first, so I’ll give the episode that). Back at the fight, the Gouraigers have the upper hand, so Senpuujin throws down a smokescreen. But Gouraijin finds them seemingly easy and attacks with an itto ryodan (Butagiri! Dogon, Dogon, Dogouken Gekido! Okay, I’ll stop). But it turns out they hit Hurricane Leon and Hurricane Dolphin, the smokescreen having been a distraction for them to disengage the combination. Yosuke then uses Karakuri Ninpo: Kaen Taka to incinerates Tekkotsumoeba’s main core, vanquishing him for good. But the buildings are still falling, with Yuriko and Hamster Headmaster being saved by Oboro arriving on a bike (and it turns out she’s part of Hayate Way Class 487, which puts her at least 20 years older than our heroes. Good to know). Angered at being duped, the Kasumi Bros in Gouraijin decide to split.

As Yuriko reunites with her parents, Oboro and HH have a heart-to-heart, wherein the latter finally calls his daughter pretty (which makes him seem worse, if you ask me) and mentions he wants to be human again someday (which contradicts how happily he seemed to have took to being a hamster in previous episodes). And that’s where we end the episode. Next time, Yosuke and Nanami try to recover a guy’s engagement ring and Karakuri Ball 05 debuts. All this and more in Scroll 13: Moustache and Engagement Ring.

Final verdict: I think this is the first episode of the show I didn’t like. The monster not only feels massively divorced from the usual concepts behind Jakanja’s monster, but the plan he was involved in only makes sense if you assume he was intended to destroy the Hurricanegers (which would contradict the Jakanja’s strict MO of trying to corrupt the planet to get “that”). The main characters all felt like an afterthought here, for a family drama that felt contrived for this episode. Plus the way Hamster Headmaster was portrayed here demonstrates one of Arakawa’s main flaws when it comes to writing: he can’t write a Jerkass character who’s supposed to be likeable (Mikoto feels more like an accident rather than any attempt to do this). Overall, I would not recommend this episode.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 13: Moustache and Engagement Ring

Not much to say here. Just that this episode is Maekawa’s second contribution to the series. I also got a better quality subbed video to use for screenshots (though a lot of them will look worse than my other screenshots (So I’ll try not to rely on them, unless I absolutely have to). With that said, on with the review.

We begin with Yosuke’s window cleaning service being asked to manage a bakery (Look, just go with it, okay?). The manager, Mr. Nakata, has a hot date today and needs someone to manage the store and give out 100 free cookie bags to the first 100 customers. As he leaves, Yosuke’s boss foists all responsibility onto him, as she’s also going on a hot date (surprisingly, the two don’t turn out to be seeing each other) At the Centipede, Chuzoobo introduces the “Higerappa plan”, which is to make humans into more lower ranked ninjas like the Magerappas. To which Isshu responds with my opinion on the last episode.


(In the sub I watched to review the episode, he says “Boring. Even if it’s for “that”, the plan just lacks zest.”) Chuzoobo is pissed at what he said, until Tau Zant steps in to authorise the plan.

After a scene of Oboro working on a new Karakuri Ball, we see Yosuke calling Kouta for help. He says he’s busy helping out the old folks, but points out that Nanami is off until 3. One jump cut later, Nanami is helping out in the bakery instead of shopping (nice to see she has her priorities straight). Yosuke and Nanami manage to misplace the last bag of cookies, before finding a cookie bag on Nakata’s desk and giving that away. Elsewhere, a man is accosted by Jakanja’s latest monster, Dancing Ninja Higenamezukin.



As Yosuke and Nanami are closing up, Nakata returns, having forgotten his birthday present for his girlfriend: an engagement ring he made himself that he put in a bag of cookies (wait for it). It’s at this point our duo of amateur bakers find that last bag of cookies under the table (should’ve checked there first). Yosuke then sees how much Nakata wanted to propose to his girlfriend with that ring, he drags Nanami along to help chase down the last three customers, a trio of high school girls. Elsewhere, Higenamezukin’s MO is revealed: He gives people atrocious moustaches (hige = moustache) (Is it bad I think this guy is the best monster so far? Purely for how silly his gimmick is?)



Yosuke find and cross off the first girl in the park, who points them in the direction of the second girl at the arcade, who they also cross off (as Yosuke laments, why can’t the three of them stick together?) In the midst of this, they run into Ikkou and Isshu, basically telling them “Do you mind? We’ve kind of got our own problem right now.” As the two sit in a park, Yosuke tells Nanami that the reason he’s going along with this search is because Nakata reminds him of a koala: just as Nakata only wants to give his girlfriend that ring, koalas only want to eat bamboo (which makes no sense, but is hilarious to hear). This causes Nanami to tell Hase (her manager) to shove it and join him in redoubling the search (while also pointing out that its pandas who eat only bamboo. Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves). They eventually find the girl… only for her to be approached by Higenamezukin, who turns her into another Higerappa. And then the second part of the name comes in, when the people start to act like Magerappa.

Kouta, now done with his job, gets called in to help with the Jakanja (and told of the new Karakuri Ball as we get a shot of Hurricane Leon being scanned). The Hurricanegers are outmatched by the Higerappas (especially since Higenamezukin gave them Magerappa weapons), so they use a substitution technique to escape and take the battle to Higenamezukin, with Nanami declaring she won’t let him get in the way of “Koala-san’s proposal plan” (much to Kouta’s understandable confusion). They fight Higenamezukin set to this song

Yosuke debuts his new ability, Chou Ninpo: Maboroshi Henge, which allows him to turn into anything, in this case a toy plane (I’d talk about how op this ability is, but I’m instead going to ask where all that extra weight goes? He must be a very dense toy plane). They then finish of Higenamezukin with the Sonic Gadget, which gets countered by reviving the monster as a giant. Senpuujin is formed, but before they can finish their foe with the Sword Slasher, the Gouraigers show up to disrupt them, combining into Gouraijin and summoning the Plant Axe (You’d think the Hayate Way would’ve figured out a way to regain control of it by now) Ikkou tells the Hurricanegers they should’ve just continued their search (Um, they did. That’s how they ended up here), before debuting a new weapon combo.



(Don’t ask how a weapon built for Senpuujin has compatibility with a weapon built for Gouraijin. I can’t explain it). It’s at this point the new Karakuri Ball is completed, with Kouta receiving the Shinobi Medal for Karakuri Ball 05: Gatling Leo (yes, Kyuranger was not the first series with two lion based Mecha. I’m shocked too)



Gatling Leo destroys Higenamezukin, Gouraijin leaves and Chuzoobo gets both failed and berated for failing. Yosuke and Nanami resolve the mixup and get the ring back to Nakata just as his girlfriend is about to break up with him. The happy couple reconcile, Yosuke and Kouta celebrate a job well done (just going to show that as long as you fix your screwup, you will face no consequences) and Nanami gets abducted by Hase, who is already an hour behind schedule as the episode ends. Next time, Yosuke gets turned into a child. All this and more on Scroll 14: Crybaby and Candy.

Final thoughts: A much stronger effort than the last episode. This plot managed to mix being funny and being sappy really well. And as stated, Higenamezukin is my favourite monster so far. What’s yours (if you have one)? Let me know.