Recap: Nossan is set up for a marriage meeting, but finds out he’s dating Haruka Tomatsu! Hell yeah! Oh wait, it’s Candelia.

Zigg‘s Thoughts: After last week’s slightly flabby episode, Kyoryuger is back to what it does best, namely taking an utterly dumb premise and running with it, turning into a joke filled extravaganza that’s light on plot but heavy on laughs. We’ve got multiple, simply irresistible premises here. First up, Yuko’s pushy attempts to matchmake Nossan would be comedy gold in its own right. But when you throw Candelia into the mix as well, we just reach a whole new level of awkwardly awesome. I think what struck me most about the scenes they share together is that Haruka Tomatsu is really rather good in the role – she nails the sort of happy-go-lucky nuttiness that monster Candelia embodies, while at the same time having enough range to sell being genuinely shocked and emotional at the important points. Combined with her always great vocal performance this was a really standout episode for the character, and makes me hope that a) We see more of her in human form and b) That both she and Luckiero survive being exploded at the end of the show.

Of course, all of this ‘story’ and ’emotion’ is mostly just an excuse to generate some fantastically awesome take-offs of dumb old Japanese genre flicks. These are nothing short of incredible, with the detective segment probably being the highlight – I could wax for hours about shotgun Utchy or King’s incredible flat-cap. Using some excuse to dress the cast up in alternate outfits is a longstanding tradition, but it’s rarely been does as well as it has here – both detectives and banchous (school thugs) are incredible visual gags that the actors sell with all their heart. The ending monster movie segment is almost a sly bit of self-referentialism, given how totally sentai steals the old kaiju movie formula, and the frenzied screams of Shigeru Chiba never fail to raise a grin.

My only disappointment in this episode is that we don’t really get anything out of the Yuko/Ramirez interaction, a setup rife with comic potential. Indeed, it seems a little weird that it’s here at all, as Ramirez doesn’t really do anything that contributes to the plot. There’s a few good sight gags, particularly Ramirez showing up in an apron, but given ‘ancient white dude has to live in with Japanese family’ is a joke strong enough to carry an entire episode, I guess I was just a little underwhelmed by it. Everything else about this episode excelled though, so it’s easy to forgive. It looks like our days of fun filler might be over however, as next week promises a rather action-packed Christmas.

Random Observations

• This episode is another great example of how the show excels at putting jokes in the details – check out things like the aspect ration shift in the ‘movie’ scenes, the catchphrases written on Debo Direktorr’s body or the Paramonsters dressed in school uniforms.
• Robert Baldwin’s body double continues to look absolutely nothing like him.
• Torin’s amusing fascination with things Amy leaves lying around the base continues.
• Daigo’s slicked hair/short jacket looks as a banchou is a classic stereotype, but also probably a nod to the hero of a previous Sakamoto directed show, Gentaro Kisaragi from Kamen Rider Fourze.
• How adorable is Souji unbuttoning his jacket in an attempt to look dangerous?

Bonus! Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger: The Gaburincho of Music

Calling this a ‘movie’ is sort of a misnomer – it’s barely longer than a standard episode and these early series cinematic outings are mostly just to pad out the showing of the far long Kamen Rider movies they’re paired with. Since nothing in it can affect the show, this is honestly sort of a snooze.  Meeko is a non-character who does nothing except get kidnapped, the plot is hot garbage and somehow everything seems a little bit more po-faced and less gleefully self aware than usual.

There are a few reasons to watch it though. The action is as great as ever, and being on the big screen gives Sakamoto a chance to cut loose a bit. The bigger special effects budget also guarantees continuous, massive explosions and it looks about as nice as you’d expect. Oh, and there’s the mind-blowingly brilliant music video that occurs about a quarter of the way through, featuring Aigaron doing the Gangnam Style dance. No really.

This movie is pretty inessential then, but it’s short and has some stuff worth seeing, so it’s probably worth a punt. I will say it’s considerably weaker than an average episode of the show, but as always with Kyoryuger you’ll find a little something to put a smile on your face.