Lupinranger vs Patranger Episodes 22-25

Summer is beginning to slow down and I find myself in an odd position. The last four months of the year are always the busiest and best part of the year. This time around however I'm facing down more responsibilities than usual with school, writing projects, and game designs. This leaves the month of August as a staging ground where I have to prepare as much as possible for the upcoming barrage of activity while finding just enough time to squeeze in some good old-fashion loafing.

When it comes to lazy time we know how I enjoy some Sentai. I also enjoy the opportunity to tie-in the life aspect of my updates with episode recaps and this one's easy as can be. Just as I'm in a warm-up for a surge of activity, Lupinranger vs Patranger takes a little time to forge relationships before giving the audience a big moment to mark the halfway-point of the series. Told ya I could tie it all together.

Episode 22 gives Noel a chance to start bonding with his fellow monster fighters beginning with playing matchmaker for Sakuya and Umika. It's fairly stereotypical as his time in Paris has left him obsessed with matters of love. His initial plan to bring these kids together involves stealing Sakuya's phone at lunch and sending Umika to return it.

The two meet up in the park where our green cop attempts to ask her out on a date, any date, just a walk around the park would be nice. Poor guy has it bad. Shame he's so rudely interrupted by the newest baddie. This particular critter temporally turns people into goldfish before trapping them in a pot. In the confusion of his first attack he kidnaps Umika. This shall not stand!

Feeling guilty for how his actions placed the yellow thief in harms way, Noel teams with Sakuya to save her. Let's cut off your totally woke question of why she can't rescue herself, she considers that option except her next door neighbor is a fellow captive. Transforming into Lupin Yellow means giving up the whole secret identity angle. Not to mention the cops would know it was someone in that pot and she's still a suspect from before. Given the situation she decides to hold out a little longer as Kairi and Touma are sure to attempt a rescue.

While not a very important installment it is fun to see Noel and Sakuya bond as one looks up to the other as his love guru while the other finds his green partner to be a very nice and loyal man who happens to have piss poor luck with the ladies. On the other side we see some hinting that Umika actually likes her admire but won't go down that path as she's busy enough with a life as a vigallante/thief/high-school dropout. She seemed genuinely surprised to see Patran 2 and X coming to her rescue rather than her usual partners but she still doesn't give Sakuya that date.

For episode 23 Noel pairs with yet another underdog of the series, Touma as they attempt to lure out a Gangler with an obsession for kidnapping chiefs. Little do they realize that there's a new trio of baddies called the Lymon gang looking to make their mark. Two members of this new force don't offer up much of a threat but their leader is something special.

In the short time Noel has been around he has yet to encounter major villains like Destra or Zamigo. If he had then he would point out they are the same as Lymon in being classified as Status Gold. This means their safe cores are made of gold and can damage Lupinranger tech that tries to open it.

The first fight with Lymon leaves Touma unable to transform until Noel can repair his device. This serves as the catalyst for improving their relationship. For as serious as one is about cooking the other is equally passionate about protecting the Lupin collection. While he works to repair the broken device, Touma faces off against a monster in a biblical cooking battle and naturally wins the day. Overall this was better than most Touma adventures and managed to deepen the story ever so slightly. Still not what you'd call essential viewing but not a total throwaway either.

Of all the potential pairings on this show, I'd put the least amount of thought into kairi and Tsukasa yet that's what episode 24 gives us, and it proves to be a damn smart move.

There's been a recent trend of good luck charms appearing around town that actually work, bestowing people with lotto winnings, good dates, everything. This seems just a bit too good to be true so Kairi hunts them down to a nightclub where he hopes to get his own in order to learn if this is the work of Ganglers or something else.

During his visit the club is raided by the Patrangers who've figured out the owner is in fact a Gangler. Tsukasa takes Kairi out of the scuffle and proceeds to take away his charm and fret over his welfare. She wants to look out for him, explaining that she learned of his brothers fate when they observed the bistro crew as potential criminals. After apologizing for those actions she reveals a bit of her own past as someone who lost her parents at a young age only to be brought up by her overprotective grandparents. This explains her role as a protective big-sister to everyone around her while she also reveals her promise to her grandfather to stay safe. She intends to return to a quiet life in the country once she's insured peace through her current work.

Later in the episode it's revealed that the charms turn on their wearers after using up all their luck by covering them in life-draining plants. When everyone is battling the Gangler it's revealed he can't be hit by anything thanks to his collection piece providing freakish powers of evasion. Tsukasa wonders of the charm could be used to overcome his ability but hesitates at the threat to her own safety. Lupin Red snatches the charm away and slows the villains down enough for his team to steal the collection piece. Tsukasa seems both ashamed of her own inability to put herself in harms way and in awe of the thieves willingness to do whatever is necessary. She has little time to think on the matter as things immediately move into the giant-robot phase of battle and once they beat this guy, Lymon shows up to reveal he can grow massive whenever he wants and beats down the police.

Episode 25 picks up right where the previous entry left off with the cops recuperating from their beating, most of all Noel who's bedridden with the Lupin crew watching over him. During his recovery he learns Kairi still doesn't trust him and offers little to change that outlook.

Meanwhile Lymon hopes to rebuild his crew by recruiting Zamigo, only the two of them don't get-along so well and a fight breaks out, alarming both teams of the monster wherabouts. Patrangers show up first only to get their butts sorely beaten when they realize Lymon's collection piece allows him to regenerate his body no matter the damage. Noel arrives with a little gadget and an obsession with finding how to open a Status Gold safe. He figures out that gold safes have six-digit security codes which requires two devices to unlock instead of the usual one. He pays for this information with a sound beating. Once the Lupinrangers arrive he finally admits to being in the same boat as them, he too wants to bring someone back and needs the collection to make it happen.

As team Lupinranger unsuccesfully combats Lymon, Tsukasa informs her crew that it's time to lend a hand. For the first time, both teams goals are perfectly matched giving us the opportunity to finally see all these heroes work together. It's a wonderful moment that was totally worth waiting for. It only gets better when Good-Striker announces his plan for all the machines to come together in the biggest robot formation yet. This thing is so large it has multiple pilot chambers and Goody can switch out who goes where, which comes in handy as he separates the two red rangers from each-other.

As things stand, the two groups still aren't on perfect terms, nor have they shared their identities, but they've made a huge step towards peaceful co-existance. Furthermore Noel has revealed a key element of his role in all of this though he assuredly knows more about the larger game being played. Lastly the big boss Dogranio thinks it may be time to consider these kids a serious threat now that they've taken down someone as nasty as Lymon. Truly an outstanding way to mark the half of this show.

You're all accustomed to me gushing about this series by now but if there's one thing I'd like to see improve in upcoming installments it's the villains. There's been a lot of hints about their motives such as human experimentation or how Kogure may be in on it. Something needs to come to a head soon before they loose all credibility as a viable threat. Other than that I'm down for the ride and am still eager to see the point when identities and agendas are revealed.

Alright kids, story time's over. I've got about eight things to do today and knowing my luck I'll accomplish three of them. During my free time, a.k.a. Bathroom breaks, I've been planing topics for this years Halloween coverage. If you have any requests for certain subjects, now's the time to make it known. Ta ta for now.

Star Wars Book Club: Battlefront II: Inferno Squad Review

Frequent visitors have undoubtedly noticed that the Star Wars book reviews have been in a rough patch for quite some time. The last truly excellent novel we covered was over a year ago with everything since being at best a passable way to waste time. This has slowed my progress considerably but like a good trooper I've continued to march forward, however slowly, from one title to the next. Finally it seems as though our luck is about to change as I just finished a book that, while not great, marks a substantial step away from the lackluster stories we've been covering. If you would be so kind, sit down and let's talk about Battlefront II: Inferno Squad.

A prequel and tie-in to the second Battlefront game, Inferno Squad focuses on the formation of the titular group of crack imperial soldiers. Note that I have not played the game so I can say nothing of how consistent characterization is between the two mediums or whether there's anything in these pages that lends any real weight to the games events. We're just gonna tackle this as it's own beast for now and maybe look into a deeper connection should I be lucky enough to find the game on some super-discount rack.

I should point out that the cover is a total crock of shit. This is not an intense combat focused war novel. This is somber espionage thriller featuring very little action. Admittedly it is a very nice image, if rather blatant false-advertising.

Our Story begins as the end of A New Hope with the rebels waging a last stand against the Death Star. We all know how this battle pans out but talented tie fighter pilot and imperial darling Iden Versio is shocked to find her side suffering defeat. Having survived with a deepened hatred towards rebels Iden is soon drafted by her father into a new task force meant for more secretive operations. Early on this is fun adventures like crashing weddings to steal information but it soon escalates as the group is sent to infiltrate The Dreamers, one of the last surviving branches of Saw Gerrera's partisans.

The core team is made up of Iden, who's a total stick in the mud. Second-in-command is her childhood friend, Gideon Hask. He's more cocky and lively though as we find later, he's more vicious than he lets on. On the tech side we've got Del Meeko, a gentle soul who in another life could easily have been a rebel or basic civilian. Finally the information wiz and linguist Seyn, a tiny and youthful agent with little understanding of people. Together these personalities brunch off each-other in entertaining fashion which means it's a shame that they spend a decent amount of the book separated or locked in sub-stories with other characters. That's the nature of this story though, taking these overconfident believers in their cause and forcing them to deal with a more complex worldview.

Once the team is finally part of the Dreamers, each gets mixed up with different members in unexpected ways. Del spends time with a sickly, aging alien engineering as the two investigate ancient machinery together. Gideon worms his way up the chain of command. Iden learns the art of being a terrorist mouthpiece from a mysterious mentor, and Seyn is romanced by a young man. Discovering your enemies are actual people can be difficult enough on its own, but the team must also undergo missions against both Imperial soldiers and innocent civilians for the sake of maintaining their cover.

If anything, this is one of the most emotionally complex books we've covered, but not so much fun. That's both a strength and weakness. We've talked about worse books that have actually been a little more entertaining, just that this one has enough depth to make up for it. Even so, it can get a bit tiring to read chapter after chapter of emotional turmoil in a poorly lit cavern. The whole thing would likely fall apart with weaker prose or a bad ending. Author, Christie Golden has enough sense to keep things on track, introduce a few interesting twists, and leave the characters in a place where we can see them growing, even if the change hasn't taken place just yet.

As far as it's importance to the greater universe, that's a little hard to peg. Obviously some of these characters move on to the game and it's clear how this adventure could influence their future growth. As for this particular outing, it's a bit removed. The Partisans are nearly extinct by this point in cannon so wiping out a few stragglers doesn't alter a whole lot. Inferno Squad doesn't meet too many well-known characters beyond The Mentor. His identity is kept secret until the climax and while it may seem obvious to someone who lives and breaths this franchise, it took a more casual fan like myself a little extra time. When the big reveal happened, the name was familiar but I wasn't placing it. A trip to the internet gave me the refresher I needed which resulted in an “oh neat”moment. Likewise this character gives us the only incomplete narrative thread. That's a topic for another day when and if it should ever be touched on again.

You might be able to see why Inferno Squad is a little tough to recommend despite it's overall quality. I doesn't have the massive scope of something like Lost Stars, nor does it have the playful tone of Guardians of the Whills, or the importance of Bloodline. It's a bleak, draining tome of emotional distress. Yet it's so well done that It'd be foolish to cast it aside.

Time to place this on the boards and honestly I'm not 100% certain on which spot it deserves so much as what bracket it belongs too. It's definitely not top tier material, just a little too slow and maudlin for that. However there is a quality and depth here that's lacking in so many of the other novels. Furthermore there's decent pacing and better than average prose. Overall a very solid book that sits just outside of the pack leaders. I'm thinking it beats Thrawn, but does it outdo Tarkin? Time to find out.

1. Lost Stars by Claudia Gray

2. New Dawn by John Jackson Miller

3. Bloodline by Claudia Gray

4. Guardians of the Whills by Greg Rucka

5. Ashoka by E.K. Johnston

6. Battlefront II: Inferno Squad by Christie Golden

7. Tarkin by James Luceno

8. Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

9. Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed

10. Moving Target by Cecil Castelluci and Jason Fry

11. Before the Awakening by Greg Rucka

12. The Legends of Luke Skywalker by Ken Liu

13. Catalyst by James Luceno

14. Aftermath: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig

15. Smuggler's Run by Greg Rucka

16. Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne

17. Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp

18. Cobalt Squadron by Elizabeth Wein

19. Aftermath by Chuck Wendig

20. The Weapon of a Jedi by Jason Fry

This feature has been on shaky ground for a while. I'd honestly considered dumping it altogether during that stretch of poor offerings. Inferno Squad has perked me up at least enough to get working on the other books I've got sitting around. So prepare yourselves to see a few more of these and once I finish my current crop, we'll make a decision as to whether or not to continue. See you next time with most likely Sentai recaps, but maybe something else. Allergies are kicking in a few weeks early so there's always a chance of writing something completely delirious.

An Assortment of Random Cards.

You ever have one of those moments where you're looking through your stuff and begin to wonder, where did all this come from? Perhaps you're confused as to how you ended up with a set of hobo clown paintings, or those Star Trek III Taco Bell glasses. Recently for me it's been cards, just tons of cards. Partly this is due to subscription boxes like last months Dino Drac Fun Pack, other times it's just leftovers from childhood, The largest offender is my recent obsession for dead collectible card games. While these old playthings used to command heavy price tags, they can currently be gotten for a song. Not one to let this influx of forgotten excess go to waste, I figured we'd make a post of it. So fix a drink, lean back, and let's look at vastly outdated paper products from the collectors bubble era.

As far as comic imprints go I've had very little exposure to Valiant outside of my brothers sighed copy of Turok #1 which is still floating around here somewhere. That lack of familiarity helps to create an odd mix of fun and bewilderment when looking at these cards. I mean it's one thing to have heard of X-O Manowar, but to learn he teamed up with a time-displaced Native American dinosaur hunter to take on spider aliens simply boggles the mind. This knowledge is delivered via cardbacks featuring quick recaps of individual issues of the different comics. This could have been a cool feature back in the day for fans to quickly relive fond memories but as it stands now it's simply a barrage of unsolicited spoilers. I'm currently equipped with knowledge of characters I've never heard of, dying in issues of comics I'll never read. It's like having a stranger walk up and tell you key events from season 4 of Falcon Crest.

If you prefer your camp art to be a bit more childish, maybe the Adventures of Ronald MacDonald is more up your alley. If you're able to collect the full series then you're treated to a stories of Ronald's Adventures with just flat-out odd art. Most interesting of all are the jokes. Awful, terrible, piss-poor dad style jokes printed on each card like “What kind of Dog Loves air-conditioning?” “A Hot Dog!” Give that on a try the next time you want out of a social function.

Linking the themes of primeval beasts and children entertainment we have this card series based on the obscure Disney flick, Dinosaur. You won't find many folks talking up this film but by god did Disney ever push for it to be a massive hit. These cards are pure excess. We're talking postcard size with an envelope for packaging. Sadly most of them are composed of out-of-focus film stills though there are a few more colorful entries to perk things up.

Oh Saved by the Bell, that timid sitcom for normal kids who failed to understand that Saturdays were meant for Tales from the Darkside and American Gladiators. In this case we've got card for the short lived prime-time spin-off the college years. If you ever craved a collectible card set that will give your your own Kelly Kapowski only to guilt-trip you for it, here's your chance.

Actually the guilt is delivered via a Leslie card. She was a new character who served as another potential love interest for resident sociopath Zack Morris. The card in question features a quote where she chastises Zack for treating woman like trading cards. No shit, this may be the first self-aware card I've ever come across. Hope it doesn't mind being stashed under my bed.

The Weird-Ohs franchise is one of those topic you find to be much larger than you ever imagined. Starting as a line of model car kits with a decidedly cartoon bent that also spawned different card sets based on various sports like Surfing and in this case baseball. This is actually from a reprint set which thankfully didn't trim out any of the more violent subject matter.

One of the earliest collectible card games coming hot on the heels of Magic: The Gathering, Wyvern focused on real mythology utilizing beings like Tiamat and Beowulf or my personal favorite the Lambton Worm. Why that one me hardies? Because of the song my friends, ohhh the song. If you've never had the opportunity, I suggest spending some time on Youtube and getting that little diddy wedged into you gray matter. Personal recommendation for the renamed D'ampton Worm version from Lair of the White Worm.

Yet another early CCG this time based on a pen and paper RPG with a decidedly 90s attitude. On The Edge is a painfully dated creation that reminds us of the era of Johnny Mnemonic and chumbawomba. I have yet to spend much time with these after my sister got me the burger box packed full of a metric fuckton of cards. At a cursory glance I gotta go with patrol ape as it's the closet thing I have to a playable version of killer baboon flick, Shakma.

Lastly we have Kaijudo. A remake of the earlier Duel Masters game which essentially boils down to Magic: The Gathering sans all the bullshit. This is a much more streamlined and quick playing title aimed at kids. Sadly it went belly up after a couple of years supposedly due to some later developments that completely screwed the game balance. Haven't gone through many of these cards yet but I enjoy the lack of subtlety on display. There's little confusion as to what a guy named Soul Crusher is all about.

Thus ends our adventure through stack of old junk. For those of you impatiently waiting for one of our regular recurring features, there should be a new Star Wars book review within the week likely followed by a new Sentai recap. Thanks for the indulging in these weird off-shoots.

CosmicSparky's Birthday Haul 2018

I often wonder if a persons birthday has any baring on their taste in seasons. Is it simple coincidence that makes myself and my related summer-borns hate the sun and heat while those born in winter seem to cherish it? Is it some sort of cosmic joke that you naturally dislike a point in the year when you're supposed to be happy? Whatever the answer, the 4^th of July came & went altering a digit on all my paperwork.

Let's set the scene for this year. Like a good amount of the U.S. My area was experiencing a nasty heat wave, ensuring that outdoor activities be kept to a minimum. No hanging out by the barbecue & lining up drinks this year, no sir. Other than some brief excursions into the searing heat it was hanging out indoors with a full house as even the cats didn't want to step foot outside. Naturally this curbed most firework activities as well though there were a few people with some nice ones that I was able to watch from the back yard before an armada of mosquito threatened to suck me dry.

Overall it was one of the least active birthdays and independence days I've ever had, to the extent that it didn't even feel quite much like a holiday, instead it was just a very odd Wednesday. Even so, as a very possession obsessed person, most people actually know what to gifts to get me which helps offset the usual dull-drums that come with aging. This was somewhat surprising this year as I figured the multitude of vet and hospital bills from all the springtime insanity would have left people high and dry. Granted you may not wish to read about my birthday haul but bear in mind us old folks like to ramble. Plus none of my other blog topics are anywhere near done. Turns out us old folks are lazy too.

My niece got a classic horror 4-pack though it’s title is a little misleading as only 3 of the films fit into a proper horror classification. Terror of the Tongs (sadly not a killer salad flick) is one of those racist adventure/crime flicks where somebody has to fend off an evil Chinese gang made up almost exclusively of British actors in horrible make-up. These kind of movies frequently sneak into budget horror collections because of studio or actor cred. In this case it’s a Hammer production staring Christopher Lee, pretty much catnip for terror lovers. Granted I’ll most likely enjoy watching Lee do his most dignified racial stereotype but the other movies are the real reason to be excited. Just look at The Mad Magician. I mean it’s Vincent Price as a illusionist on a revenge killing spree.

I received even more classic horror flicks from my parents in the form of a classic sci-fi collection (primarily made-up of monster flicks) and a blu-ray copy of Them! Hadn't seen this bit of giant-ant mayhem since the 90s and it still provides some decent entertainment, even if the ending is a little lacking.

What could pair better with fine horror cinema than some top quality hooch? Despite my enjoyment of spirits I'm not usually much of a tequila fan,. Kirklands Anjeo from Costco on the other hand is some really delicious stuff for a pretty damn good price. Not much to elaborate on with this one. If you've got a Costco membership you should probably buy a few bottles for yourself. It may be the only tequila I've found that's good straight, and it pairs excellently with a viewing of Monster on the Campus.

Yet another Star Wars novel was added to the Summer reading pile, this time in the form of a Solo tie-in titled Most Wanted. I'm well aware that I've fallen behind on book reviews lately but there will be some extra free hours over the next several weeks which should give me a chance at catching up. I've been considering how to approach further entries in the series after the past few have left me underwhelmed. Maybe finishing this current stack of four books will help me decide how best to continue.

Recently my tabletop gaming hobby has been undergoing some change with my primary focus being game design. Part of that has involved an obsession with studying old and oftentimes forgotten collectible card games like On the Edge. My sister was nice enough to grab me the burger box display, seemingly a last ditch effort to get the game in more stores as it offered a little bit of everything with minimal overhead. Clearly this product push didn't pan out as it was the last item released for the game. There’s a fascinating aspect to opening these mid-nineties relics. I think it's because there's still so much potential in these. If you buy an old stand-alone game it's just that, it will never be anything more or less. With a collectible game there's the entire lifespan of the game available in sealed packages that might contain the best or worst of what the system had to offer yet it's often available for dirt cheap. It's like a physical manifestation of untapped potential. This isn't the only beastie I've claimed as I also nabbed a sealed booster box of Wyvern and am watching far too many others for it to be healthy. There's just so many unique concepts in these old games and at such low prices, I intend to plunder them for ideas and a little fun on the side.

Beyond that there are a couple of Funko items, and a nice little two-player card game called Fox in the Forest. Furthermore I got to actually go out and do something a couple days later which made it feel as if I'd had a birthday instead of a weekday with gifts. You'd better believe getting twenty miles away from town to see a Marvel movie and pick up some picture frames makes a world of difference. Now I can bask in the glory of this Bloodsport print by Jeff Delgado. Least you think I was completely selfish on my day out, I also did some shopping for other family birthdays since they're all crammed together like sardines.

And that's the aimless story of my birthday. Hopefully it will usher in a successful year as I go back to college, expand my writing, and attempt to pitch a game design to some willing publisher. Worry not, friends. I'll not let these activities keep me from sharing all sorts of nonsense with you.

Lupinranger vs Patranger Episodes 18-21

Being that it's the eve of Independence Day, my birthday, whichever you prefer to celebrate, nothing seems quite as American as gabbing about another countries pop-culture. Actually that's just a cute excuse for being so late on recaps, as most long-time readers can attest that Summer leaves me feeling as energetic as a sloth. Right this moment I'm pratcially falling asleep in front my laptop but if I ever intend to throw some new weird articles your way then I'd best catch up on Patranger vs Lupinranger first. Should also get one of those damn Star Wars books reviewed too. Can you guess I'm not one fore Summer reading?

Episode eighteen revolves around, of all things, Good Striker. Ya know the goofy puppet thing that allows both teams to utilize their giant robots and super abilities? Well it was his time for him to receive a little emotional depth. By all rights this story simply shouldn't work but if any show can make a talking toy seem sympathetic, it's this one.

Back in episode sixteen there was a seemingly throwaway bit about how Gangler safes essentially act as their cores. The exact core they were studying which had been stored at Police HQ is restored and its Gangler back from the dead though a little different. This tips off the cops that they've got a mole in their organization. No resolution to that point just yet.

The resurrected monster is the handy-work of Destra who's working on an experiment of his own after getting some info from Zamigo. The big grenade/pineapple man (seriously, what is he exactly?) drops some knowledge on us that Kogure later repeats to the Lupinrangers. The items from the Lupin collection were originally from the villains dimension, and have been altered for usage by humans. This work was originally started by Arsene Lupin who made Good Striker to enhance and protect the collection. His focus on this creation eventually gave it a will of its own.

Good Stiker becomes the focus here as both team require his services to deal with the monster yet neither consider his feelings towards the matter. In his case he wants to defeat Ganglers to protect the collection but that means he can't let Patrangers destroy the baddies before the thieves reclaim their items. His impulsive nature means he still wants to work with both teams but thus far only Lupinranger has made an effort to understand that he has a will of his own.

While most of the action was of the giant variety, there was one scene that worked as almost proof of concept for a series like this. Since the monster was giant sized, the thieves need Good Striker in order to steel the collection piece. Patranger steals him away, acting almost like villains as they force a sentient being to do their bidding, but Kairi slips his machine into the mix. The result was a spectacular mix-up where he fights two of the cops inside the cockpit while keeping the robot fighting against the gangler.

I've noticed a trend with this series that whenever I point out something that could become a problem, the writers address it within a few weeks. It's as if they're keeping a running Talley of their weakness in order counteract them later. In episode nineteen we finally get to see Touma start to give a crap about the folks on the other side. It's not much mind you, in fact he's still probably the least developed character, but it's progress and that counts for something.

The main thrist of this little adventure revolves around Sakuya becoming the target of a Gangler who can turn invisible. The little bugger uses that ability to get the guy suspended from the police force by making him lash out against his team and a higher-up in the force. Lucky for him Good Striker and Touma are on the case and find the real culprit. Lupin Blue even encourages Striker to help the cops get some revenge. Guy has a heart after all.

We also get some additional depth to Commander Hilltop as we see himput his own job on the line to help Sakuya get back in the game. So far, Hilltop has become one of my favorite mentors as he does more to help his team than dispense nuggets of wisdom or personal challenges. It may not have been an outstanding episode but it made nice steps towards improving these three chracters.

Throughout the series there have been small mentions of the Paris branch of the world police. While a couple of them have seemed important, most slip under the radar as a bit of additional color or world-building. In fact these small asides have been hints about the new ranger and his importance to the overall narrative. All of which becomes more complicated with the arrival of Takeo Noel AKA Lupin/Patren X. We're going to talk about episodes 20 and 21 together as they are tightly linked and have so much to cover that something might even get lost in the shuffle.

I think it's safe to assume that most viewers figured the new guy would play each team off of the other. Keeping a dual-identity and hiding secrets from both sides seemed guaranteed to be the order of the day. Instead we get a far more refreshing approach in that he announces himself to be both a thief and cop, doesn't hide this fact at all. That being said he intends to protect the other thieves from the cops and protect the lupin collection all while doing his duty as an officer of the law. Though in truth he serves the Lupin family just like Kogure, answers to a different chain of command within the police force, and he's the engineer who modified the collection pieces to be usable by humans. He says that some of these accidentally ended up with the police which is why he joined their ranks but it's obvious that along with Kogure he is hiding a deeper truth.

Personality wise, Noel is a bit much. He's one of those over the top, just a bit effeminate, blowhards. At this point he could easily become an annoying presence if not for the obvious fact that there's more going on. Once we get past his flashy facade and see him build relationships with the other heroes, I can imagine him becoming much more bearable.

Throughout these two installments, Noel showcases the full potential of his duality shifting from one form to another mid-battle, aiding a team one day and fighting them the next. As you can imagine this hardly sits well with either group. In the end they come to their own conclusions about him. The Patrangers decided to believe his claim that he wants the Lupin collection to be used for the betterment of mankind though this is hardly a unanimous decision. Out of the three, Tsukasa is not that thrilled with the situation. In the case of the Lupinrangers they've decided to manipulate him to their advantage since they've got an inkling that some larger game is being played.

And with that, we're all caught up. It looks like the next few weeks will be spent pairing Noel up with different characters and finding his niche with the story. I'd imagine we'll get to another big plot development soon afterward.

I plan on being back here before the week is out, a little older but likely no wiser. Everybody enjoy the holiday and don't blow off your hands with fireworks.