[Androzani84]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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)

No, only the fight with Manmarva overpowering the Gouraigers was kept, as part of Motordrone’s debut.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 22: Wings and Ninja

Not much to say to begin with. Just that we’re continuing where we left off last time.

Kouta suggests they escape their predicament by all changing at once. After miraculously surviving the room exploding (Don’t ask), Satarakura commends them on a well played move, before stating that they’re doomed anyway and leaving. Oboro then summons all of them (even the Kasumi Bros) to Ninja Base to check something. Back at the Centipede, Satarakura states that he’s changed his mind about Manmarva: he actually does have a sense of fun. Furabijo is understandably confused about his change of heart.



Manmarva explains that he placed a space scorpion inside Ikkou when he punched him last episode, that has now spread to the others due to unexpected pregnancy (That’s why they felt pain last episode, FYI). Then Wendinu points out exactly how dangerous these scorpions are.





At Ninja Base, Oboro analyses everyone and discovers a scorpion in all of them. Ikkou then decides not to sugarcoat the situation they’re in.



Oboro then states that there’s no way to get the scorpions out without killing the hosts. Elsewhere, Jin-Giron has finished constructing his bomb.



Ikkou then gets the idea to find Jin-Giron by analysing the metal that was on his illusion’s foot (Don’t ask how he noticed that) and find a factory rich in the same material. After locating him, everyone heads out to the battle, ignoring advice to wait until they can cure them of the scorpions (That would probably take too long). Elsewhere, the mysterious batter is inside a Karakuri Giant, cleaning off the dust, much to his dismay.



Finding Jin-Giron’s factory hideout, Yosuke steals the bomb before he can set it off and makes a dash for it. Jin-Giron responds by sending all of them into a world of illusions, wherein the Hurricanegers and Gouraigers see each other as Jin-Giron, resulting in them unknowingly fighting each other.



After they clear these illusions, Jin-Giron appears and traps Yosuke in another layer of illusions, where he can’t tell the real from the fakes. That is, until two words appear in his head “Hey, boy.”



The voice tells Yosuke to shut his eyes and focus on sensing Jin-Giron (and there’s more random English in there. The VA has the accent nailed, but his pronunciation leaves something to be desired). With this advice, Yosuke finds and shoots the real one, breaking the illusion (and it turns out the others had the same telepathic message). The Hurricanegers then destroy Jin-Giron with the Victory Gadget, despite being weakened by the scorpions, freeing all the people he captured. Satarakura is happy about this, even when Furabijo tells him that he’s about to fail. So he gives something to a clearly unwilling Wendinu: a Dekkamen (lit. “giant mask”)





With a bit of sweet-talking, Wendinu complies and we get our third monster growth method for the season.









The heroes summon Senpuujin and Gouraijin, with Oboro sending them Karakuri Ball 09: Karakuri Mantle. It’s a cloth (Don’t worry, it’s just a promotional item. It won’t be appearing again).



While this turns both invisible and works as a boomerang, it’s insufficient to beat Jin-Giron (I wonder how Arakawa feels about promotional items being advertised). As our heroes lie close to death on the ground and Furabijo offers to give Satarakura TWO flowers (recall that a flower equals a pass), a fleet of giant helicopters appear as the sun goes down.



After shooting Jin-Giron away from his targets, the hologram disperses, revealing there is in fact one helicopter and it is still very much broad daylight.



The pilot then steps out to reveal himself: the mystery man that’s been appearing throughout this two-parter (who was also the guy who helped out earlier). He uses his bat, which is also a microphone (don’t ask how that works) to announce himself.



“I am Ninja of the Ninja The Ninja among Ninja. The green light bullet, Tenkuu Ninja Shurikenger, is what they call me.”

(The VA for Shurikenger is Taiki Matsuno, better known as Jun Manjoume/Chazz Princeton in Yu-Gi-Oh GX. He’s also the dub voice for Spongebob)

Back to the fight, Shurikenger takes his seat and attacks with his Karakuri Ninpo: Tenkuji Ripper (using his propellor to cut through the ground and send Jin-Giron falling). He then, using a sphere like piece of apparatus, instigates the helicopter’s transformation into Hisho Henkei Tenkuujin (Soaring Transformation Sky God)

The new robot manages to easily overpower Jin-Giron (buy the toys), even more so when Shurikenger summons Karakuri Ball 10: Spin Bee and uses it to defeat his opponent.





Having defeated his opponent, Shurikenger then leaps down to the Hurricanegers and Gouraigers… and pulls a sword out of his bat.



But before you can get the wrong idea, he then uses the mic part to call his attack.



He freezes the 5 and then does some slashes to their bodies, removing and killing the scorpions without harming the hosts.



He then uses his Fire Sword Please to defrost everyone harmlessly (tissue damage, it’s overrated). Then Yosuke asks who he is.



When clarified that they meant his real identity, he merely leaps back into Tenkuujin without saying anything, saying that he’ll reveal that next time. As the heroes wonder who he was and the Jakanja decide they have a new enemy, Manmarva closes the episode by noting this.



Next time: A guy who is seemingly both a badass and a klutz shows up. Could he be Shurikenger? This and more on Scroll 23: Perfume and Detective.

Final thoughts: I take back my criticism of last week’s opening fight. It had a really great payoff for all the setup they gave it (looking at you Kiramager and your handling of a certain Demonic General of Betrayal). And the new guys, Satarakura and Shurikenger, are both a lot of fun and I look forward to more from them, especially seeing who’s behind the green spandex.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 23: Perfume and Detective

Well this episode is another Miyashita one, and it introduces what I’ve been told is one of the main plots for this season. I’m also using it as an excuse to explain who the guest star for Den-O episode 15-16 is (Since I’m not doing live actors on Die’s thread for Den-O this time). With that said, on with the review.

We begin where last week left off, with our main trio wondering who this “Shurikenger” guy could be. Oboro can’t recognise what school he represents, but Yosuke is quick to dub him better than Ikkou and Isshu (I know they tried to kill you, but let it go man). Hamster Headmaster then reveals through an inner flashback that he found out the basic details of Shurikenger, but not his identity or school.



At the Centipede, things are as normal as they get around there… except for one thing.



Sargain insists they ignore him and get on with eliminating Shurikenger.



Wendinu compares him to a “weirdo who likes to make puns”. Speak of the devil, Satarakura appears with a gift that pleases the ladies (and aggravates Sargain’s sense of smell).



Tau Zant can tell that the perfume was made by Kira-Cologne, a monster of Satarakura’s based on hands (Jin-Giron was based on eyes). Sure enough, said monster is attacking the people, turning them into a chemical which will become perfume in 24 hours.



In the midst of this, we are introduced to this guy (played by Hayato Osuba, better known as Kenta Date/Mega Red.). He gladly takes on the case of Kira-Cologne… only to find that she vanished while he wasn’t looking.



Wendinu and Furabijo are suddenly more pleased by their gifts… until Satarakura reveal the truth.







And to add insult to injury, he unleashes a real space cockroach to attack them and Sargain (Some boss Tau Zant is, to be letting this all happen). In the city, the Hurricanegers investigate, with Kouta debuting Hayate-Ryu Ninpo: Inu Hana (which does exactly what you’d get if you translate it into English).



The guy from earlier then shows up and sees that they’re also on the case (Which is a bit of a stretch). He uses a card to introduce himself as the famous detective Taro Kakkio… who is starving and impoverished because no-one is hiring him. (To quote another show by the same producer, he’s half-boiled). Our trio, obviously, leave the nut alone and his attempts to tag along cause him to almost fall into a manhole (that’s what a high school education spent playing video games gets you). Kira-Cologne attacks a restaurant where all the staff and customers turn out to be the Hurricanegers and Gouraigers (the fate of the real staff is left undisclosed). They transform, Kira-Cologne summons the Magerappas and a fight breaks out. Midway through, Ikkou collapses suddenly.



This turns out to be why Manmarva was chanting before: it’s part of his current plan for revenge against KabutoRaiger (what about KuwagaRaiger? He diddled you just as much).



Taro then shows up and gets himself into trouble, eventually falling into the sewers. Nanami and Kouta go to help him, only to end up bottled by Kira-Cologne.



It’s then that Taro leaps up from out of the sewers, proceeding to deliver a beatdown to the Magerappas. Kira-Cologne is so dumbfounded that Ikkou is able to shoot her, even in his weakened condition.



Kira-Cologne then realises that she can simply succeed by leaving and waiting until the bottled humans turn into perfume. Yosuke tries to get frustrated, but Taro stops him (“Don’t worry. I know where she’s going.”)



Turns out he managed to get a tracking device on her before… using a baseball move with a broom (hmmm). He then leads them to a rundown warehouse, where they detect the essences behind an apparently solid wall. As Kira-Cologne appears to stop them, Taro steps forward (“I’m sorry.”) and attacks her, while still pretending to be a detective (“Don’t you believe me?”). He quickly gives this up and prepares to do something (“Attention please.”) before pulling something out of his pocket.



Ikkou (miraculously, considering he never saw it in the previous episode) recognises this as Shurikenger’s Shuriken Ball. (Buy the toys)

Taro then uses the ball to transform into Shurikenger. (And if you doubt that he’s really Mega Red, he does the Megaranger/In Space pose as he transforms)



Shurikenger and the Gouraigers hold off Kira-Cologne while Yosuke finds and frees the people and animals she captured. All but Nanami and Kouta, who Kira-Cologne uses as hostages to get everyone to drop their weapons before releasing them… and attacking our main 5. This ends up breaking Shurikenger’s “seal of anger”, allowing him to throw his vest off.



With a command of “Great Reversal! Face Change!”, he becomes Shurikenger Fire Mode, as his insert song (Shoko Fujibayashi’s one contribution to Tokusatsu songwriting in 2002) plays.

The newly empowered Shurikenger makes an announcement denouncing Kira-Cologne’s status as a ninja and giving himself a lengthier introduction.



Oboro is confused by this, while Hamster Headmaster recognises the name “Space Union Way” as Gozen’s name for a hybrid of Hayate and Ikazuchi. The fight resumes, with Shurikenger using his bat (now named the “Shuriken Zubatto” or “Shuriken’s Bat”, depending on the translation) as is to perform his special attack.





After hitting her with multiple burning softballs that push her outside, Shurikenger then does a more powerful version, which causes the balls (not that kind, you dirty devil) to disappear from in front of her and reappear above her. This defeats her for good.



Until Satarakura begs Wendinu to throw a Dekkamen, reviving Kira-Cologne as a giant. Tenkuujin initially handles the fight, before Senpuujin Hurrier (Manmarva chose now to attack Ikkou again, taking Gouraijin out of the equation) joins in, with the two combining their attacks to destroy the enemy for good. On the ground, while Ikkou recovers, Yosuke, Nanami and Kouta say how cool they think Taro is… before a second Taro emerges from the sewers, having been saved by “a green guy”.



The fake Taro then explains it to them.



He then turns back into Shurikenger and leaves. Taro vows to solve the case of Shurikenger’s identity… only to fall back into the sewers. The episode ends with Hamster Headmaster wondering if Shurikenger is Gozen (Which would certainly make sense, but we’ll have to see). Next time, Ikkou grapples with his own mortality and both Kasumi Bros go drumming (So it’s one of “those” episodes). All this and more on Scroll 24: Taiko and Lightning.

Final thoughts: This was a stronger debut to Shurikenger than last episode. I love the misdirect where we’re made to think that Mega Red will be playing him (especially since that’s how a lot of earlier Sixth Heroes were cast). And the intrigue angle is something I wish more Toku shows do, since it’s a simple yet impressive use of the full body costumes.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 24: Taiko and Lightning

Today’s pre-thread rant will be mostly just me rambling. I’ve seen some early clips for Zenkaiger and I’m already in love with it (the theme song is a definite step up from Kiramager’s). Also, I’ve got something special planned for next week, which I’ll reveal in full at the end. With that said, on with the review.

To start with, the titles have had a major overhaul, not least of which Ikkou and Isshu now get their own “hero” cards. (The hell took so long? They turned good 6 episodes ago)





After a recap of last time, Satarakura is informed that he’s lost twenty points (not that he cares). As he prepares a new plan, Sargain points out that the former has done nothing but fail and that HE has a new puppet ready to go, based on his latest research. He also promises to keep Manmarva informed of the progress. We then cut to a Taiko master (played by Ruichiro Nishioka, better known as Matoi Tatsumi/GoRed from Kyukyu Sentai GoGoV) noticing clouds covering the sky.



On the ground, the Hurricanegers see the change in weather and assume that the Gouraigers are behind it, since only the Ikazuchi Way could do this (oh, come on). Ikkou and Isshu show up quickly to call them on their bullshit (that was fast) and throw some shade at the Hayate Way (Honestly, I love that their dynamic is mostly insults). The true culprit is then exposed; Lightning Ninja Unadaigo (who Sargain made by “taking inspiration from the Gouraigers”).



The Gouraigers confront him, but Unadaigo overpowers them and the Hurricanegers. Not helping matters is Manmarva showing up to distract the Gouraigers with a separate fight. He hits both of them with his Uchuu Ninpo: Kaendama (which involves him turning back into Floaty-Head, setting himself on fire and crashing into his opponents), before Ikkou begins to suffer from chest pains. Manmarva states that the Grim Reaper is laughing at KabutoRaiger, before making his leave. The Hurricanegers then pull back using a smoke out, only to find the Kasumi Bros are missing. The Taiko Master then appears to berate them for not defeating the guy using taiko for evil, before deciding to defeat the guy himself (He probably could, he’s got experience). Shurikenger then makes his appearance, knocking the guy out with a finger click before assuming his appearance (Most OP character ever).

At the Gourai Cave, Ikkou uses a technique to transfer his consciousness into a beetle (instead of say, going to a hospital) to see what’s up with his body. Turns out there’s an egg in there, which Ikkou theorises Manmarva put there when he punched him three episodes ago. Manmarva himself doesn’t confirm this to his compatriots, merely saying that it’s a space scorpion egg (as in, the space scorpions that nearly killed the heroes 2 episodes ago). Satarakura meanwhile is calling in a guy named Vamp-Iyan to come and help out, but he can’t make it this week. (I love this kind of foreshadowing). Elsewhere, the disguised Shurikenger approaches Unadaigo, under the pretence of wanting to learn from him. Unadaigo complies, which allows Shurikenger to do what he intended to do: discover the puppet’s weak point, which turns out to be the lightning absorbing antenna on his head. Shurikenger then drops his disguise (and if you’re still not convinced he’s GoRed, he does the GoGoV/Lightspeed Rescue pose).



Shurikenger and the Hurricanegers then fight Unadaigo, but end up on the receiving end of a beatdown. In the Gourai Cave, the two brothers prepare to move out, but the egg causes Ikkou pain again. Isshu suggests going to Hayate for help, but Ikkou then goes on a lecture about how 500 years ago, the Gouraigers were forced to remain in the darkness, while the Hurricanegers were allowed to stay in the light, so they should keep it that way (Yeah, you just have to watch it to make sense).

As Unadaigo continues to win, the Kasumi Bros show up to challenge him to a taiko battle. They then have their battle, which awakens the Taiko Master from his unconsciousness (and presumably leaves a nearby Oni wondering why the Makamou is so weak this time). Despite Ikkou suffering from chest pains, the Gouraigers pull through and manage to win, impressing the Taiko Master. The fight then begins, with a song I've been wanting to share since this thread began: the Gouraigers’ theme song, which is written by Miyashita and composed by Miyake. And would you believe me if I told you it was performed by the guy who did Ultraman Z’s opening?)

After the fight is over, the Gouraigers kill Unadaigo with the Double Gadget. But then he gets revived by a Copy Giant, causing Taiko Master to faint (it’s just not his day, is it?). The Hurricanegers and Gouraigers summon Senpuujin and Gouraijin, but the fight quickly turns south when Ikkou’s chest pains flare up at the worst time. Then Shurikenger flys in and sends him a new Shinobi Medal, allowing him to summon Karakuri Ball 11: Kabuto Spear (which despite the name, the shape of the Medal and who summons it, actually belongs to Isshu).



Oboro is shocked that Shurikenger has Karakuri Balls 10 and 11 (available in Karakuri Ball set 05, now available at all good toy shops in 2002 Japan). Hamster Headmaster sees this as proof he is Master Gozen… until Master Gozen calls him at that moment (well, you know what they say. Bang goes that theory). Gouraijin uses its new weapon to fire a long blade of electricity through Unadaigo, which is used to throw his body into the air as it explodes. As Sargain gets failed, Satarakura secures his man to show up next week. As Taiko Master regains consciousness and decides he wants the Kasumi Bros to teach him their ways, Shurikenger and a Kuroko-bot both show up to wipe his memory (the former succeeds). As the Hurricanegers compliment the Kasumi Bros on their drumming skills (with Nanami already thinking of new ways to further her own career from it), Ikkou starts hurling insults at the trio and declares that he can’t be allies with such weak warriors, before he and Isshu leave?… which turns out to be the point of his earlier “defend the Earth from the darkness” speech: he wants the Hurricanegers to hate them to make their job easier. The episode ends there. Next time: Kouta meets a mysterious girl who’s always wanted to hold him. This and more on Scroll 25: Ghost and Schoolgirl.

Final thoughts: Admittedly, this episode exists to pad out the “Hayate/Ikazuchi” rivalry a while longer. But I’m okay with that. Ikkou dealing with his surprise pregnancy from his jilted admirer’s date rape sounds like a good reason to extend it. And I love that the “old introductions prove their relevance in the face of new ones” plot was less based on the jealousy of the new guy, but more annoyance that a monster stole their gimmick.

And now for the hint to the special thing I’ve got planned for next week. https://youtu.be/mZYabZgyaPQ

[Androzani84]

Scroll 25: Ghosts and Schoolgirl

Welcome to the beginning of “Tenkuu Gattai” week. We begin with another episode by Naruhisa Arakawa, who one guy on Twitter recently described as “Great at social commentary, not so great at writing villains”. And given that this is a “revived monsters” episode, let’s just see how well that holds up. And now, on to the review.

The episode opens with Kouta paying homage to his grandma Ayame, who died when he was 4 (given it’s been established that his parents died when he was at least 6, I’m surprised he even knew her name). His one memory of her is when she cheered him up by making her folded arm look like a pair of buttocks (apparently, the Bitou clan are renowned for their bizarre sense of humour). At the Centipede, Sargain and Furabijo chew Saturakura out because his “strongest commander ninja” hasn’t shown up (sure, single out the new guy for your complaints). But Manmarva sides with said new guy in saying that he IS here, they just have to listen. They hear a buzzing and Wendinu notices something on her… tools.



Tau Zant then speaks of Vamp-Iyan’s skills highly, before Satarakura sends him out to attack 5 schoolgirls (why schoolgirls? Damn if I know). Vamp-Iyan gets on with his task, attacking 6 schoolgirls. (No, you read that right).



The Hurricanegers arrive on the scene and see Satarakura, who states that there’ll be no riddles this time (good, because you were kind of dickish back then). Vamp-Iyan then fires his beams at several locations across Japan, (some of which will be familiar if you’ve watched the show so far) before leaving with his boss. As the Hurricanegers wonder what happened, someone puts heir hand on Kouta’s shoulder, suggesting they go on a date.



The girl states that she’s wanted to hold Kouta for so long (errmmm), leading Nanami to assume she’s his ex (if she is, then she’s remarkably happy to see him again), which Kouta denies. As the girl drags a reluctant Kouta away, Satarakura realises something.



Vamp-Iyan explains that he got hungry while on the job, but Satarakura doesn’t mind, as he thinks he can get another Commander Ninja out of the deal (wait for it). We then get treated to a montage of the girl dragging Kouta all over the place, set to a generic pop song that was presumably in the charts at the time (if I had to guess the name, it would be “Shiawase Beam”. Apparently, playing one public domain song was mandatory in Sentai at the time. It’s something I don’t miss). As they sit down and ask her who she is, all she says is that she used to hold Kouta in her arms, which (obviously) doesn’t narrow it down. She then picks up a softball and poses with it, as the Shuriken Ball standby plays… before throwing the ball away and clenching her folded arm to look like a pair of buttocks (funny gag, but it requires you to ignore every in and out of universe rule about how Shurikenger works to make sense). She introduces herself as Ayame Bitou, Kouta’s grandma. She insists on being called “Ayaya” and explains she was mysteriously revived by that monster’s beam (which opens up a lot of questions, like why did it revive her immediately, why did it revive her specifically and why it reverted her to the body of a teenage girl). She states that Kouta looks like his grandfather and she wanted to go on a date with him because she didn’t get to go on dates at this age the first time around due to the war (nice explanation, but the first part just seems creepy. This isn’t a sins video, but I’m adding 5 sins for the implications).

Elsewhere, Vamp-Iyan revives the targets of his other beams (which only brings up the same question as before: Why did Grandma Ayame get revived immediately?): Higenamezukin (see episode 13), Yumebakushi (see episode 11), Flora (see episode 5), Orlin (see episode 9) and Octonyudo (see episode 14). (Why did he only revive Chuzoobo’s monsters?). The 5 then proceed to attack the cities of Sapporo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hakata and Okinawa with their abilities.











The Kasumi Bros see the chaos and decide to help out in Sapporo and Okinawa. The Hurricanegers set off for the other locations… except Kouta, who is held back by Ayaya (Geez, lady. Does the fate of the Earth mean nothing to you?). She states that she doesn’t want Kouta to fight because his grandfather died in the war (so, was Kouta’s dad the result of an unmarried teen pregnancy? If so, she seems remarkably blasé about that for a child of the 30s and 40s) and Kouta is a crybaby (Lady, have you been watching his life at all since you passed on? He’s literally has the driest eyes of the cast so far. Besides maybe Ikkou). Kouta ignores her and flies off to face Flora. A fight breaks out with everyone facing an opponent in one of the 5 cities (with some glorious use of split screen), but none of them can be killed, since they already died once (so is Ayaya going to live forever? Imagine what that must be like for her), with only Vamp-Iyan’s defeat being able to send them back to the afterlife. So Ayaya uses her mosquito luring skills to bring him out (fortunately for her and a concerned Kouta, Vamp-Iyan chose that moment to get hungry). Kouta defeats Vamp-Iyan by poking her, much to his grandma’s surprise. Vamp-Iyan is then revived with a Dekkamen at giant size… relative to his original height.



Kouta this has to face him in a regular fight, destroying him single handedly again. Then Satarakura throws another Dekkamen, reviving him at regular giant size (making you wonder why they didn’t do that with all their monsters). The Hurricanegers reunite and form Senpuujin (with Ayaya riding shotgun in Hurricane Leon), but are overwhelmed by Vamp-Iyan sucking up their power enough that the Goat Crusher is insufficient. As Kouta gives a rousing speech about doing it for their ancestors (all of whom are dead and are not being threatened right now). Shurikenger then appears, apologising for being late (seriously, where was he this episode? It might’ve been better if he showed up earlier) and asks HurricaneBlue to detach so he can reward HurricaneYellow for his speech (how he heard it, I can’t tell you). So Hurricane Dolphin detaches and Tenkuujin replaces it via a Tenkuu Busou, forming TenkuuSenpuujin.



As Oboro wonders how Shurikenger can pull off these combos (he works for Bandai, obviously), TenkuuSenpuujin destroys Vamp-Iyan for good, causing his summoned monsters to fade away (apparently, Flora, Orlin and Yumebakushi were just dancing on the spot instead of causing destruction). Ayaya on the other hand, has a more slow and dramatic fade out, giving her time to tell Kouta how proud of him she is and that she’ll be watching over him (presumably from now on, since her previous intel seemed very lacking), in addition to having had the ultimate date (I’ll admit, it’s hard to top sitting in on a giant robot battle). The episode ends there (fairly downbeat for this show). Next time: Isshu falls in love with Nanami (he has taste, I’ll give him that). Also there’s a cow. All this and more on Scroll 26: Bow and Arrow and the Beach.

BUT FIRST: Jakanja calls in some help to defeat the Hurricanegers and Gouraigers. Who is it? Find out in Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger vs Gaoranger.

Final thoughts: This… could’ve been a good episode. Unfortunately, the things that help the show shine like the Kasumi Bros and Shurikenger were absent from most of it, beside a few mandatory appearances. And in their place are elements that weren’t much on their own (besides the gag of the tiny Vamp-Iyan bursting into sparks instead of exploding). I’m not even sure how much I’m supposed to feel for the grandma, since she just comes off as incestuous and entitled.

[Androzani84]

Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger vs Gaoranger

Welcome to part 2 of Tenkuu Gattai week. Today, we’re doing the team up with the previous Squadron, Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger (or in layman's terms, the team-up Power Rangers fans were disappointed never happened back in 2003). As with most Sentai crossovers, this is written by the most senior writer who’s written for both shows, but (normally) isn’t the head writer. In this case, that’s Naoyuki Sakai. With that, on with the review.

(Please note that I will be using different subs, provided by Gao Soul Forever, for the screenshots, which may result in different romanisations and translations. I will be using my regular subs to write the review, for consistency.)

We open with the Hurricanegers defeating a whole army of Magerappas, through the use of stock footage (which is fairly obvious, as they go from a forest, to a lake, to a quarry and finally to the coast). As they call out for the Jakanja to send them someone good, they get blown back (be careful what you wish for) by these guys.





As the Hurricanegers are shocked, GaoRed says this. (Followed by “Hurricanegers, prepare yourself”)



Cue titles, which come with a one off modification with the Gaorangers added to the opening shots.







A fight breaks out, with the Hurricanegers being beaten down, with GaoWhite pushing Nanami into the water where GaoBlue has the advantage, GaoYellow avoids Kouta’s Earth-based techniques with his wings and Yosuke’s techniques and weapons are outmatched by GaoRed and GaoBlack.



Oboro bids the three retreat, which they do just as they get his with a blast from the Gaorangers’ JuuOhKen (Don’t ask how a sword can fire a laser). At Ninja Base, Oboro and Hamster Headmaster explain that the 5 Gaorangers - Kakeru Shishi, Gaku Washio, Kai Samezu, Sotaro Ushigome and Sae Taiga - defended Earth from Org while the three were training at the Ninpuukan (Nice to see them explain why the current heroes haven’t heard of the last ones, rather than just have that be a thing that happens).



As the heroes wonder why heroes of justice would turn evil, we cut to the Centipede, where the Seven Spears (still two short) celebrate having overpowered the Hurricanegers, with Manmarva giving praise to the Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger’s power. This victory turns out to have been brought on a new member, Chubozoo (No title, he’s just Chubozoo).



As Satarakura praises “Chubo” (coming from him, that’s not nothing), Sargain suggests a different reason for his success.



As we see that all of the regulars now have a glowing pendant around their necks, Chubozoo asks to inherit his brother Chuzoobo’s place as the Second Dark Spear, to which Tau Zant agrees, provided the plan succeeds. Elsewhere, the Gaorangers have begun to attack the Gouraigers, with the Hurricanegers catching word and running in to help them. They stop Ikkou from shooting the Gaorangers with the Double Gadget, before asking the Gaorangers why they’ve joined the Jakanja, to which the 5 detransform, revealing that at least, they look like the real thing.



The Gaorangers then explain themselves while passive-aggressively insulting the Hurricanegers. It then turns out the whole thing was just an excuse to make colour puns (hmm, who else likes making bad jokes?). Yosuke of course, isn’t amused.



GaoRed then explains that they’re evil for a very good reason: They sold their souls to the devil (Finally, a simple explanation for villainy). They then transform back and restate their desire to destroy the Hurricanegers, calling the Gao Jewels to return to them.



The Gaorangers then use the Gao Jewels to summon the Power Animals, forming GaoKing. The Hurricanegers and Gouraigers summon their Shinobi Machines to form Senpuujin and Gouraijin.



The Gaorangers then escalate by summoning GaoGiraffe, combining with it to form GaoKing Spear, which defeats Gouraijin with its Neck Thrust attack.



This causes Yosuke to get dangerous and transform Senpuujin into Senpuujin Hurrier to fight in earnest. We then see the male Gaorangers and the Gao Miko Tetom tied up in a cave, watching the scene helplessly.





But where is their sole female member, Sae? She escaped and runs towards the battlefield, where GaoKing defeats Senpuujin with the Super Animal Heart.



Sae yelling causes GaoTiger to block GaoShark from destroying Senpuujin. When Sae explains the ruse, the Power Animals disengage the combination and eject the fake Gaorangers, who dodge an attack with a ninja dash (curiouser and curiouser). At Ninja Base, Sae explains that they were captured by a Jakanja monster (Chubozoo) who stole their G-Phones and attached talismans to them that limit their movement.





After a closer examination, Oboro and Hamster Headmaster have determined that the talismans are transmitting a copy of their victim’s biological data somewhere (which they surmise to be the fake Gaorangers), but Ikkou wonders how the Jakanja found out about the Gaoranger. The answer reveals itself when the captive Gaorangers ask the same question: the Duke Orgs Yabaiba and Tsuetsue, who survived being crushed to death in the destruction of the Org Temple. They then proceed to torture the Gaorangers in revenge for their defeat.



The heroes and Sae make their way to the cave where Chubozoo is keeping the Gaorangers (One wonders why he doesn’t just imprison them on the Centipede). Then the fake Gaorangers appear, no longer acting as the Gaorangers and displaying familiar behaviours.











Sure enough, the fakes turn out to be the Jakanja’s Seven Dark Spears (still two short), who have the G-Phones.



They then proceed to transform into the Gaorangers, complete with transformation sequence, before they do a corrupted version of the Gaorangers’ roll call.

















Shurikenger then shows up, having been informed of the situation, to help the Gouraigers face the Jakanja-as-Gaorangers while the others go on, where they end up facing Magerappas untransformed (and Yosuke’s actor Shun Shioya breaks his arm. That’ll be important later) and Chubozoo. Unfortunately for the former three, it turns out that the Jakanja-with-Gaoranger-powers are still Jakanja, abilities and all.





And to make matters worse, the talismans kick in, draining Sae of her energy mid-fight. Elsewhere, a mysterious figure feels the wind calling.



Then Kouta notes that they’re controlled by the device on Chubozoo’s chest.



A series of flashy combos later, the device gets hit and the talismans are destroyed (or more accurately, the Hurricanegers hit Chubozoo in a random area and the device stops working). Seeing that their easy prey can fight back, Yabaiba and Tsuetsue summon the Magerappas (apparently, none of the Orgettes survived the destruction of the Org Temple) and flee. The heroes all reunite, but the Gaorangers still don’t have their powers back, which the Jakanja take advantage of, with Tsuetsue and Yabaiba saying some variant of “this is for Masters Shuten, Ura and Rasetsu” (but not Senki). It’s then that the man in the shroud appears and reveals himself: he’s the last member of the Gaorangers, Tsukumaro Oogami.



Tetom gives Tsukumaro his G-Brace Phone, which he uses to communicate with the Power Animals to strip the powers of the Gaorangers from the fakes.



As the fakes are weakened, the Hurricanegers perform a Kage no Mai to detransform them, allowing the G-Phones to return to their rightful owners.



Tetom then restores the jackets to the Gaorangers, causing them to start referring to each other by colour, like the good old days. (For reference, Kakeru is Red, Gaku is Yellow, Kai is Blue, Sotaro is Black, Sae is White and Tsukumaro is Silver).



We then get an extended transformation sequence and roll call for everyone (Shurikenger goes into Fire Mode), ending in a group shot (not this one, a different one).



The villains then charge into battle… except for Satarakura, who has to be dragged in.



And so a fight breaks out. Yosuke and Red take on Chubozoo, breaking his inherited Kyodai Ni no Yari, Ikkou and Silver have a bike duel with Manmarva, Kouta and Yellow beat up Yabaiba, Blue helps Isshu take down Sargain and in a battle with all the girls, White gives Wendinu what Nanami considers a flattering new look.



After Shurikenger and Black beat up Satarakura, the former teams up with Silver to defeat all 5 Jakanja regulars with the Shuriken Zubat and the HajaSeijuu Cue.





The two then launch their attacks in tandem, with Silver delivering his iconic “Evil, die gloriously!”, blowing up the Jakanja (but this being a V-Cinema released near the end of the season where 3 of them were still alive and 2 had had death episodes, they survive).



The main teams then confront Chubozoo and the two Duke Orgs with the Victory Gadget and the Haja HyakujuuKen.



The two attacks hit the three targets with both teams giving their post-victory lines (“Say bye bye” for the Hurricanegers and Gouraigers, “Evil, disperse” for the Gaorangers). As the Duke Orgs state they’ll be together in death, Chubozoo uses the Yami Majin Damashii Shokan no Jutsu to revive himself.



He then uses Uchuu Ninpo: Fukatsu Chunin no Jutsu to revive Papa G, Kangaroulette and Jin-Giron. The heroes respond by forming GaoHunter, GaoKing Sword and Shield, Tenkuujin, Gouraijin and Senpuujin to begin an even more epic battle.





In the ensuing fight, Tenkuujin re-enacts its last showdown with Jin-Giron and GaoHunter hits Papa G with the Revolver Phantom, before combining its Beast Hurricane with GaoKing Sword and Shield’s Evil Crusher to destroy Kangaroulette (so much for fair play). As Gouraijin hits Chubozoo with the Daikaiten Todoroke Giri, he uses Uchuu Ninpo: Aniki Damashii Shokan no Jutsu, which, as the name implies, summons Chuzoobo to attack Senpuujin and Gouraijin.



Yosuke and Ikkou summon Furaimaru, who combines the two into GouraiSenpuujin, who finishes off Chuzoobo with one punch (apparently, not even death prevents villain decay). Chubozoo then combines his power with his remaining two monsters, releasing an energy wave that knocks GouraiSenpuujin’s arm off and knocks the others out of the fight. And for added symbolism, Yosuke’s broken his arm (a script change resulting from the injury I noted earlier).





GaoRed then suggests going into GaoMuscle Striker so they can rejoin the fight, but GaoLion has other ideas. GaoRed then appears in Yosuke’s cockpit (Don’t ask how), with the idea GaoLion gave him.



Yosuke accepts the idea, with the other half of Gourai Stag detaching so that GaoShark and GaoTiger can take their place, before GaoElephant joins in, forming GouraiSenpuujin Sword and Shield.





Hamster Headmaster is surprised, but Oboro isn’t. (Because she knows Hurricane Dolphin, Hurricane Leon, Gourai Stag and Tenkuujin were designed to be backwards compatible with the Power Animals due to how well they sold).



After destroying the two monsters with Hissatsu Ougi: Furai Hyakujuu Giri, all that’s left is Chubozoo. Luckily, Shurikenger and GaoSilver are on hand with another idea.



And this is born the second feature of this week: TenkuuGouraiSenpuujin. And they then channel the power of the Power Animals into their ultimate attack.





The full power of this attack destroys Chubozoo. As GaoRed formally passes on the Earth’s safety to Yosuke, every duo celebrates… except one (Its not Kouta and GaoYellow. They were celebrating, but I didn’t have a picture of them).









Tsukumaro returns his jacket and Brace to Tetom before mounting his bike. He tells Shurikenger that it would be harder if he said goodbye to everyone’s faces, and refuses to answer where he’s going clearly. Shurikenger calls him a snob for his non-answer (this coming from a guy who never reveals his face?).

As the credits role, Tetom screws up Oboro’s computer, Ikkou and Sotaro wrestle (This is exactly how JUNretsu got started), Nanami and Sae go shopping, Kouta spars with Gaku, Kai draws in a crowd of women - to Isshu and Yosuke takes Hamster Headmaster to Kakeru for examination. Turns out being a vet doesn’t include courses on turning hamsters back into humans.

After the credits, we get one last scene with the Gaorangers signing off to the Hurricanegers and Gouraigers, with the sub that gave me these screenshots giving us an etymology page (which is slightly inaccurate).





Final thoughts: A fairly good crossover with a very unique application of the “vs” part of “vs movie”. I also lie, that they explained how the current Sentai was unaware of the older one, unlike how some crossovers just gloss all of that over (Goseiger vs Shinkenger is another favourite for similar reasons).

[Androzani84]

Scroll 26: Bow and Arrow and Sea-Bathing

Here we are, at the episode that got me back into the series. It?s written by Atsushi Maekawa and it came out in the same week as Kamen Rider Ryuki episode 29, which has a similar plot (and, if I remember correctly, our own Kamen Rider Die declared it his favourite episode of the series, much to Fish Sandwich?s disbelief). With that said, on with the review.

The episode begins with the Hurricanegers checking up with Isshu on how Ikkou is doing (recall that he has a scorpion egg in his heart that will kill him when it hatches). This tender scene is interrupted by Nanami stating that Hase (her boss, if you?ve forgotten, since he hasn?t appeared for a while. Speaking of absent bosses, Yosuke?s boss?s actress appears in the aforementioned Ryuki episode as the female victim) has offered to introduce her to Kazuya Misaki (Ah yes, Kazuya Misaki. The big star created specifically for this episode) and she asks if the others are interested (Nanami, honey. Do you really think Isshu would be into that sort of thing?). Isshu, predictably, gets annoyed and leaves. Elsewhere, a woman gets shot by an arrow fired by a mysterious figure.



The figure then reveals himself to be Love-Sickness Ninja Chupid, whose attacks on other people quickly catch Isshu?s attention (way to blow your own scheme, you moron).



Elsewhere, Kazuya Misaki, played by Masaya Matsukaze, better known as Shun Namiki/Mega Blue (and he also unsuccessfully auditioned for the lead role in Kamen Rider Kuuga. Imagine how differently things would've gone if he got the role), prepares to disembark his bus.



He is almost immediately hit by Chupid (talk about bad luck) and knocked out, forcing Nanami and Hase to go looking for him. Isshu is soon after hit by another arrow, causing him to fall back into Nanami?s arms. He takes one look and becomes smitten, before she sends him off. Kazuya Misaki then comes to and also becomes smitten with Nanami when he sees her (It?s easy to see where they?re both coming from, but?). Chupid?s other victims begin to fall in love with the first thing they see, a plan that doesn?t inspire much confidence from the non-Sargain Dark Spears.





Isshu then goes to his brother to ask for romantic advice? which causes Ikkou to spit his drink out (I know right? Guy like him in love with someone?). Kazuya Misaki (look, if the episode is going to use the full name every time, then so am I) shows up to Nanami?s dressing room with flowers and asks her to the beach. Isshu then disrupts the actual concert (Guy has no tact) to hand Nanami a love note… written on a calligraphy scroll, complete with flowery language. Nanami later announces to her friends that Kazuya Misaki is taking her to the beach (which makes Oboro dejected). Yosuke and Kouta thus decide to give Isshu some much needed advice (apparently, a jerk is a better match than a total stranger in their eyes). Ikkou listens in, saying that he?ll support his brother no matter what he decides.



Elsewhere, the things people are falling in love with after being hit with the love arrows? becomes stranger.



Isshu then goes to Nanami as she?s waiting for Kazuya Misaki to pick her up with the cute animal he found for her? a cow.



Predictably, she ends up leaving with the rich guy with some sense of taste, who gives his rival some much needed words of advice. (?Cowboy, go home.?)

Elsewhere, as a political meeting with a foreign senator goes awry since the Prime Minister is enamoured with a dog doing a tinkle on a tree, Sargain explains his plan. (It?s amazing nobody thought to follow up on Isshu chasing after him when Chupid first appeared)











The other Spears begin applauding him all of a sudden and Tau Zant gives permission for the plan to begin (Um, it?s been in operation for a while? Is this a flashback?). At the beach, Kazuya Misaki and Nanami are playing volleyball (and the ball is green), before Isshu turns up to fight for the maiden?s hand. Then Chupid shows up to attack, causing KuwagaRaiger to change tact and battle him for Nanami?s affection. Kazuya Misaki then stops him and pulls out the Shuriken Ball (and in case you?re not convinced he?s Mega Blue, he does the Megaranger/In Space pose, though I captured it at a different point to Taro doing it a few episodes ago).



Nanami is frustrated that he?s not the real Kazuya Misaki and even more frustrated when Isshu starts fighting Shurikenger when he calls Nanami ?My honey?. And when she tries to face Chupid by herself, she gets blown up for her troubles. This does have the effect of getting the boys to stop fighting and help her? only for them to get blown up too while Wendinu and Furabijo watch from the side in bikinis. But luckily for them, Isshu is able to stand up to way more explosions than the others.



The two Spears are confused, since his love for Nanami should be weakening him. Yosuke, Kouta and Ikkou (all of whom have arrived late) explain that love doesn?t weaken you, it makes you stronger when the one you love is threatened. Isshu then continues to tank all of Chupid?s shots until Shurikenger throws him his Stag Breaker (which he dropped earlier), which he combines with the Ikazuchimaru to create the Ikazuchi Breaker.



This new weapon combo defeats Chupid, breaking his love spell. Wendinu revives him with a Copy Giant, with the Gouraigers and Shurikenger responding by calling their Mecha. During the fight, Tenkuujin detaches its armour to use it as a Shuriken.



Shurikenger then suggests they do a threesome? by which I mean they combine their robots into TenkuuGouraijin (Incidentally, part 3 of our feature)



Hamster Headmaster is shocked, while Oboro is just about ready to give up with all these new combos. After Chupid is defeated again and the Jakanja withdraw, Shurikenger explains that he knocked out and imitated the real Kazuya Misaki to investigate Chupid, but didn?t think he?d get hit with one of the arrows. Nanami dismisses it, since she knew the real deal would never fall for her (unless he got hit with one of those arrows). As everyone leaves, Isshu notes that the feeling he had for Nanami under the spell hasn?t faded. (Make of that what you will) Next time: Yosuke apprentices under a middle aged Sky Ninja. This and more on Scroll 27: Yakiniku and Gravity.

BUT FIRST: The Hurricanegers must travel to an abandoned island to rescue a princess from space chimps (not to be confused with the movie Space Chimps). Will they succeed? Find out in Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger: Shushutto the Movie.

Final thoughts: Much like Die?s review of the Ryuki episode, I think this might be my favourite out of the series. The love triangle involving Shurikenger is just hilarious, as is Isshu?s ideas of cute. It?s just the right level of goofy and sentimental for this show (especially compared to the last episode).

[Androzani84]

Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger: Shushutto the Movie

Sentai movies are criminally underrated.

Seriously, everyone knocks them for the short runtime and prefers to talk about Rider movies. Well the truth is, Sentai movies are an unskippable part of the main viewing experience (which makes watching the series as its airing rather, for lack of a better term, missing something), whereas with four exceptions (Den-O, W, Gaim and Ghost), Rider movies can be skipped with nothing of value lost (They’ve tried to rectify that in later years by adding in retcons to the plot of the show, but many of them have no bearing on either the plot of the show or the movie). This movie is no exception to that creed as, despite being incredibly important to the events of the series (it comes up again in episodes 37 and 39), it’s only mention on TV Tropes is a brief bullet point on the page for Non-Serial Movie (which this film most definitely is not). Indeed the movie exclusive item here is not an exclusive, more a sneak peek at what’s to come. And now, we conclude Tenkuu Gattai week in style with the one combination that video DIDN’T show you.

We open with Tenkuujin (and by extension, Shurikenger) under attack by a mysterious spaceship for reason he in his infinite resources cannot fathom (they’re aliens, do they need a reason?)



In this ship are our two movie-only antagonists, Hisaru (hi = fire, saru = monkey) and Blizaru, who are carrying an important package… which has legs. (Apparently, they’d felt the need to goof off during a job. Some professionals they are).





Oboro alerts the Hurricanegers of Shurikenger’s peril and they transform and race to the scene… using horses (because the producers actually have a budget to work with and they’re gonna use it).



Elsewhere, Tenkuujin seems to blow the enemy ship to pieces… but it reassembles (rather like a toy, I might add) and launches its own attack, causing a crash.



The two space chimps (not to be confused with the movie Space Chimps) celebrate their minor victory and prepare to make their delivery… but their hostage breaks free with a knife (why didn’t she use that before?) and causes THEM to crash (karma right there, folks), which the Hurricanegers investigate.



Before our heroes arrive on the scene, the Princess uses an amulet to make the ship disappear (by which I mean, it’s no longer there, not that it’s invisible). Upon observing them, she decides that Yosuke will be the one she wants to bang - er, protect her. But then Hisaru and Blizaru show up and beat back the Hurricanegers, taking the girl’s amulet with them as they leave, observed by the Kasumi Bros.



At Ninja Base, the girl seems to have gotten over the trauma of being kidnapped remarkably quickly and has made herself at home.



While Yosuke refuses to acknowledge this b*tch, Oboro tries asking her her name and where she comes from (slow down, that’s second date knowledge). The girl doesn’t answer, instead noticing Hamster Headmaster (somehow, for the first time) and kisses him. She then gives an introduction when trying to get Yosuke to do her bidding.



Hamster Headmaster wonders where Astram could be… but Nanami, Kouta and Oboro are too busy noticing something different about him to think about that.



Yosuke couldn’t care less about Mugensai being back to normal, instead reiterating to the Princess that he won’t be her servant. Annoyed, Laina storms off, dropping another of her jewels… which turns out to be a mini robot named Knuckle (voiced by Yuko Miyamura, whose other major Sentai role was as Kyoko in GoGoV). They narrowly stop him from escaping so they can wring some answers out of him.



Knuckle narrates that Laina is known for being the most stubborn princess in the universe (that’s not a surprise), and that she was kidnapped by those two monkeys three days ago for the Jakanja (why they’d want her, I don’t know. It certainly isn’t for a ransom demand). As Ikkou and Isshu watch, Laina turns seaweed into a flower as Knuckle gets to the dark part of the story.



At the Centipede, Hisaru and Blizaru get a frosty reception since they didn’t bring back Princess Laina for the “Soul-Eating Ceremony” (evidently, the Tricondor isn’t as necessary as it was made out to be).



The two then admit that they think Satarakura is the greatest master of puns in the universe. Satarakura falls for it and shows them where the Soul-Eating Ceremony will take place, despite Tau Zant using his requisite line (seriously, he seems to only say one thing a day at this point) to warn him against it. Sure enough, Hisaru was expecting for the flattery to result in that.



He then has Blizaru freeze the Jakanja in place before they can do anything, before leaving. (I’ll admit. It’s unique to see the bounty hunter betray the big bad. Normally, it’s the other way around)





The Kasumi Bros meet with Laina, suggesting that she go back to her home planet for her own protection (to be fair, they didn’t know her that well), to which Laina, true to her title as the most stubborn princess in the universe, says no. The two monkeys then appear, beat up the Kasumi Bros and abduct the princess before the Hurricanegers arrive, having learned of the Soul-Eating Ceremony from Knuckle. The Kasumi Bros insist on joining in, to get back at the monkeys for beating the Gouraigers, as Oboro and Mugensai locate the best place for the Soul-Eating Ceremony.





The heroes then depart for the island, as Knuckle explains the Soul-Eating Ceremony to the viewers.















On the island, the Hurricanegers put on their ninja masks while the Gouraigers adjust their Gourai Changers… but their arrival hasn’t gone unnoticed.





Hisaru has Blizaru use his Uchuu Ninpo: Sama Saru to summon the Magerappas. When that doesn’t work (why would he think it would?), he summons a bigger fish.



The Kasumi Bros bid the Hurricanegers go on, before transforming to hold off Manmarva and the Space Kunoichi.



Manmarva discards his cloak and summons his bike, the Honoo Kiba (Fire Fang), which Ikkou counters with his BariThunder.





After a brief joust, Ikkou ends the fight by shooting Manmarva off his bike (if Manmarva was in control, he would’ve uttered a chant to make the scorpion egg inside Ikkou affect him). Meanwhile Isshu faces Wendinu and Furabijo, who even on a fantastic movie budget which can afford to have the human actors fight still relies on special effects (admittedly, beefed up ones, but still).





Isshu manages to win by beating them at their own game: using his own special effects based attack.



As the first barrel of gunpowder used for the Ceremony explodes, the Hurricanegers run into their second obstacles.



But before anything serious can happen, Shurikenger appears to clear this, allowing our heroes to continue (even on a fantastic movie budget, he’s stuck using stock footage).



Satarakura uses his Uchuu Ninpo: Yomi no Houou to revive Higenamezukin, Orlin, Kekkaibo, Copy Ninja and Two-Pig, all wearing masks (a lot of revived monsters lately).



Shurikenger defeats the monsters and the two Spears using his Fire Mode attacks. In spite of being thrown off by Hisaru’s Uchuu Ninpo: Carcer, the Hurricanegers aren’t licked yet, transforming and rescuing Laina before the last barrel of gunpowder can explode. They take her to safety and discuss how she and Yosuke aren’t so different after all (one’s a fabulously wealthy princess with no friends, ones a relatively poor ninja with two friends and three acquaintances. Yep, lot of similarities there). They then go to face the two monkeys (and my terrible camerawork reaches its apex, as I crop Nanami out of the shot)



After a fight where Yosuke and Nanami overpower Hisaru and Kouta uses his Mai Jishi to outnumber Blizaru, the two space chimps combine their powers for an attack… which causes the theme song to kick in, allowing a Kage no Mai to be used to kick their asses. The Hurricanegers then form the Victory Gadget and blast the monkeys (in real time), defeating them.





The Tricondor then flies back to Laina’s hand, to her relief.



However, Hisaru and Blizaru have survived, now fusing into the gargantuan Combined Nin-key Ashurasaru.



The heroes gather and summon their Shinobi Machines, combining into their three robots and summoning their weapons, to Laina’s surprise (with some foreshadowing to boot).







When none of their attacks can phase Ashurasaru, Laina uses her Tricondor to create three blank Karakuri Balls.



The balls knock Ashurasaru down, before opening and combining into the ship from earlier. Laina explains that Tricondor has the power to combine their three Karakuri Giants (I’d say this is convenient, but it was implied they have similar giants on Astram, so).





And so Senpuujin, Gouraijin and Tenkuujin use the Tricondor to do a Ginga Choetsu Sanjin Gattai (Galaxy Transcendent Three-god combination), forming TenraiSenpuujin.

The heroes are all teleported into one cockpit.



Oboro and Mugensai wonder how another planet can have compatibility with the Karakuri system (maybe because they’re much more advanced). Ashurasaru summons a naginata to do battle, which TenraiSenpuujin blacks using the Tenkuu Shuriken as a sword.



When Ashurasaru tries hitting them directly, they block him with the Cross Formation.



They then destroy the enemy once and for all with the Zettai Kyukyoku Ougi: Ultima Storm.



With all said and done, Laina and Knuckle return to Astram, having taken Yosuke’s words to heart. But with her gone, Mugensai turns back into Hamster Headmaster. We then get something special for the credits.

Final thoughts: A pretty alright movie, all things considered. Laina did come off as slightly annoying, but given her one-off status, she avoids becoming unbearable. And as stated, I like the Space Monkeys turning on the Jakanja.

Normal updates will resume beginning this Sunday (and there may be some issues later this month, as I am moving house and will probably have to, at best, post a picture-less review using my mobile data.

[Androzani84]

Scroll 27: Skewers and Zero Gravity

Not much to say here. After 2 episodes and two movies with new Tenkuujin combos, we’re back to business as usual with a Naoyuki Sakai episode.

Our episode begins with Yosuke being sent by his job to work in a Yakiniku shop. To his surprise, the manager turns out to be Ichiro Taisho, a former classmate from the SoraNin class, who was kicked out in the first month (not to body shame, but it may be because the dude lacks the figure to be a ninja). Taisho recognises Yosuke because he beat up the Kuroko that came to mind wipe him (that poor robot) and assumes Yosuke was another case of this. As if on cue, the Hurricane Gyro rings and Yosuke leaves in a hurry, with Taisho following him. This week’s monster is a foot-themed monster from Satarakura’s group, Gravity Ninja Omo-Karo (and to avoid the spell checker getting on my ass, I’ll call him “Foot-face”, since that’s what he looks like). Foot-face is going around putting seals on people, when Yosuke arrives with Nanami and Kouta. Taisho gets shocked when the three “losers” turn into the legendary Hurricanegers. But Foot-face proves too much for them and they have to be bailed out by Shurikenger, who assumes his Fire Mode when Foot-face insults him (not the best idea, dude). After the monster withdraws, Taisho reveals himself.

Back at the restaurant, while Shurikenger eats his fill of yakitori (how does he eat? Or pay, for that matter?), Taisho suggests that Yosuke should quit being a Hurricaneger, since he’s clearly not good enough (might be a good time to tell him just HOW long they’ve been Hurricanegers) and work full-time at the shop (given how horrible Yosuke’s current boss is, that seems like a good offer, even if he doesn’t quit being a hero). We then get a flashback where Yosuke and Taisho both failed to performed the Sora Ninpo: Hibarijaku to escape from a pitfall. Taisho attributes this to his quitting the Hayate Style… that, and he managed to marry a hot woman named Megu and got her pregnant (I assume it wasn’t necessarily in that order). Back at Ninja Base, Oboro notes that the robot should’ve erased his memories (nobody brought up that he overpowered it) and Yosuke seriously considers becoming a Yakiniku chef. Conversely, Taisho tries to become a ninja by using skewers as shurikens. Key word “tries”.

At the Centipede, everyone but Tau Zant and Manmarva criticises Satarakura’s plan (what else is new?), to which the latter prepares phase 2. Foot-face uses his Uchuu Ninpo: Jūryoku Muchitsujo Jī to send everyone he placed a seal on to begin floating in the air, bringing him to the Hurricanegers’ attention. As they begin to lose (seriously, what’s with them this episode?), Ikkou and Isshu show up to deliver a beatdown to Foot-face along with Shurikenger… which turns out to be what Foot-face was banking on. He placed seals on all 6 of our heroes and uses his Uchuu Ninpo: Jūryoku Jizai to make them bounce all over the place, before bringing them down, with Yosuke getting stuck in the ground (hmm, this seems familiar).

Taisho works up the courage to try his improvised Ninpo: Kushiyaki Shuriken, which actually works. Yosuke then uses some words of encouragement from Taisho to use the Hibarijaku (turns out he mastered it ages ago and didn’t mention it) to escape his imprisonment and defeat Foot-face, negating his spell. The Hurricanegers and Gouraigers then kill him with the Victory Gadget, he gets revived by a Dekkamen and the two groups summon their Karakuri Giants to fight him. After some initial difficulty, the two summon Furaimaru and combine into GouraiSenpuujin. Foot-face lifts them into the air, but they use the angle to hit him with the Rolling Thunder Hurricane, killing him.

Everyone goes to the yakitori shop to celebrate (including a terrified Kuroko-bot), Taisho reiterates that he dropped out to protect his family because he wasn’t brave enough, to which Yosuke says that doing that requires real bravery (I’ve gotta give it to him on this one). Everyone then sings the Ninpuukan school song as the episode ends

Next time: Sargain debuts a new Megatagame (because that worked out so well the last time), with a few new tricks. This and more on “Scroll 28: Hurrier and Counterattack”.

Final thoughts: There’s not a lot special to this episode. But I will say that I got behind Taisho’s reason to not want Yosuke to fight more than I got behind Ayaya not wanting Kouta to fight two episodes ago (probably because it came off to me as less selfish). Also, there wasn’t enough Shurikenger.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger vs Gaoranger

I know I'm super late on commenting on this one but it didn't notify me when you'd originally posted it for some reason, so I only got around to reading ti just now.

This seems like a really cool crossover! It makes me really curious how exactly PR would've changed things, given how it seems like Wild Force was more more down to Earth than Gaoranger is here. Their antics wouldn't exactly be out of place in Ninja Storm, though.