Recap: Kyoryu Violet returns from the depths of SPAAAAAAACE to battle alongside the Kyoryuger team!

Zigg’s Thoughts: Last week I said that it felt like Kyoryuger had taken it’s foot off the pedal a little bit. This week just proved they were storing up all that crazy for an extra insane episode. Honestly, the more Kyoryuger resembles the bargain basement Saturday morning cartoons of my childhood, the more I like it.

This time around it’s Shigeru Chiba stealing the show with the performance of lifetime. It’s not so much chewing the scenery as cutting it down and feeding it into a chipper, but it honestly works amazingly and he so fully throws himself into the idiocy of the role that I couldn’t help but burst out into giggles every time he shows up on the screen.

It also helps that he’s surrounded by some admirably insane trappings. I trust the ludicrous awesomeness of SPACE DINOSAURS speaks for itself but then to reveal it’s a submarine as well, along with a secret underground base, glamorous mini skirted assistant and mad scientist is just too perfect. There’s a nice, knowingly retro vibe to this, recalling past Sentai glories of secret underground hangers and young ladies wearing impractical military uniforms, and I ate it all up.

Plot-wise this is clearly a run-up to something much bigger here. We get some resurrected monsters (aka ‘we need to stretch the budget’) and they have a dumb new football attack, but the team never really feels in danger and it’s mostly an excuse to introduce Violet. I will say that the Nossan ball attack might be the greatest single segment of Kyoryuger yet and a really good way to take an already funny joke (the baddies kickabout assault) and amp it up into a much much funnier bit.

This episode leaves it unclear as to whether the good Professor and his lovely assistant will stick around and become full time characters – I desperately hope so but I suspect not, as it would be such a huge shift to the status quo, and this is a genre which LOVES the status quo. I guess we’ll see next week, when it looks as if the actual baddie will be stepping into the ring.

Random Observations:

• That dance.
• I didn’t notice it until they mentioned it, but the Spirit Rangers do indeed have slightly different chest band colours.
• I am an avowed fan of rocket punches, yes sir.
• Dancing Heroes of the week – it’s gotta be the Armoured Performance Troupe right?