Not unlike the migratory patterns of
birds, there are constants within the Sentai franchise. For instance
we're currently at the point where a new character is introduced to
the group and has a series of adventures establishing his
interactions with the rest of the team. Last year this happened a
little earlier and the general effect was a show doubling down on
what it already had by adding another obnoxious personality. This
year the writers took a little more time and have introduced a
character far different from most sixth rangers I'm accustomed too.
We are getting a little ahead of ourselves though. Before we talk
about the new guy's personality, first we've gotta talk about how he
ends up joining the team.
As you may recall, Zyuoh The World
first appeared in episode 17 and made quick work of beating the team
like they owe him money. This continued into the next episode when he
introduced them to his own set of giant robots and provided such a
sound thrashing it left everyone more than a little gun shy about
facing him again.
The villains plan for The World were
to unleashed him every time a new player (AKA monster of the week)
begin to have trouble with the Zyuohgers. Naturally these means he's
back in action by the end of the episode, That's when Yamato
institutes a plan to fly the new guy away for a one on one fight so
the others could take care of the regular monster. This is where I
noted an improvement in the fight choreography. This battle was fast
and mean, and the series since has featured better action than
earlier in the season.
During the big fight, The World powers
down, allowing Yamato to see that he's actually some poor tortured
soul rather than a blood-thirsty killing machine. The following tale
was all about him convincing the others to try and rescue this guy
from the aliens. Obviously the others are hesitant to try such a
ridiculous plan but since they've also benefited from Yamoto's
empathy for all living things, why not give it a shot. Long story
short, success!
All the conflict out of the way we
finally get to meet the man under the tights. This is where things
take a turn for the odd. For his experiment in creating a new life
form, Master Genis combined his own cells along with the life force
of three zyumen into a human. This required a host with very little
will power of his own and thus he picked Misao Mondo, the most
pathetic man in all of Japan. OK, I'm exaggerating, but this guy is
something wholly different from the vast swath of Sentai heroes. He's
just a bundle of social anxiety, self-loathing, and overdramatics.
It's actually neat to see someone like this as heroic figure for kids
as there are plenty of people with these same issues. I can even see
a little of my younger self in the poor guy. He basically grew up
without any friends, so he goes overboard when it comes to dealing
with people only to retreat when things get awkward. If all that
weren't enough he also talks to the three dead zyuman who serve as
his unconscious mind. Guy's a nut.
Over the following episodes we get to
watch Misao integrate himself into the group. At first he has to
decide if he even wants to fight since he thinks so lowly of himself.
Once most of the team is captured and put in yet another bondage
situation he finally decides to help out.
 |
| It must be Tuesday. |
After that we set up his relationships
with the other team members. Him and Yamato bond by both being gentle
individuals as well as being the only humans capable of using zyuman
powers.
Misao really attaches himself to Tusk
with the notion of powerful friendship between awkward guys.
We haven't gotten a direct team-up of
Misao and Leo yet but there is definitely conflict there as Leo can't
stand what a ninny the new guy turned out to be.
As for the girls, Amu has figured out
she can keep Misao on task with a little feminine encouragement. Lord
knows if they'll keep that up long enough to maybe deal with him
having a crush on her. Sela so far has had the least interaction with
him so there's still a blank slate for how they can bounce off each
other.
Overall the introduction of Zyuoh The
World has helped to straighten the show out after some stumbles
during the last batch of episodes. There have been some difficulties
in introducing such a meek hero but I think his presence helps since
he plays of the other characters quite well. The writers still need
to pair him up with other characters to fully develop his place in
the team. Beyond that they have to avoid the pitfall of his story not
going anywhere like Kinji last year. Fingers crossed there.
It appears that a new story arc is
about to begin with a new kind of villain and the return of the bird
man who's been M.I.A. for sometime now. Plus it looks like Yamato's
going to get another fresh set of powers. That's a post for another
day though. Right now I've got my own set of animals aggressively
reminding me it's dinner time.
No comments:
Post a Comment