A rather odd perk to running a blog is
the spread sheet of your own behavioral patterns. For instance,
during the years I've been writing here November has always been a
bit sluggish and half-baked. No clue why that is. I'm plenty cheery,
the weather's been decent, but that was last week. Just now I',
having to redo a decent bit of this article to make up for the time
loss from a few days of neck pain, followed by a weekend of binge
viewing Jessica Jones. Talk about great timing for a series by the
way. I mean it pops up along with the first solid snowfall of the
year which made for an awesome excuse to sit around watching the boob
tube. Currently I'm facing something I truly despise, a 9 AM job
interview. So with the threat of employment baring down, let's talk
about he pleasantries of Japanese television.
Episode 28
Big shift in tone and focus here as
we get a very kid friendly, I.E. crazy episode. There's a new kid
living near the dojo who thinks ninja are lame. Well not really, he's
just caving to peer pressure at the pre-school level no less. When
our heroes decide to help the kids mom out by delivering lunch they
find his preschool to be a force field surrounded terror fortress run
by Yokai. Oh and from now on I'm sticking with that spelling. I have
no clue why this fansub group adds a U when nobody else does. Rant
over, let's get back on track. The place is secured by an Izayoi
ninja. Yea, you read that right, Kyuuemon has his own school of
ninjitsu which means we have new kinds of monsters and basic goons to
boot.
Adults can't enter the pre-school
grounds so the team uses magic to transform into toys and brave the
dangers of giant children. While inside they slowly revert to their
original forms and start fighting while Fuuka and Nagi guide all the
kids onto a bus with a happy dance and chicken hats. Somehow that
plays into the monsters plan as the bus is rigged to never stop, an
affliction which is later bestowed onto Takaharu.
All in all it's a rather bonkers tale
and fairly funny despite the handicap of annoying children. Most of
it works as a stand-alone story except for kickstarting this new
story arc and a surprisingly serious ending. Gramps has a reflective
moment where he regrets how his failings as a teacher lead to
Kyuuemon being such a kooky bastard. He also let's slip how Kyu got
all his groovy powers by stealing them from Fuuka and Taka's dad.
Episode 29
Here we have an excellent example of
a series utilizing previously underdeveloped plot points to deliver a
top tier installment. We pick up right where the last ep left off
with grampa continuing the tale of how his son, Tsumuji trained
alongside Kyuuemon who stole his nintality and erased his memories of
the incident. Remember back in...was it episode 16? Where Tsumuji's
lost powers seemed like just a simple way of putting together a
sentimental story? Well now we're treated to the real deal as his
memories are turned into a twisted board game to crush childrens
spirits.
Naturally the team finds themselves
playing the same game. Upon realizing it's made from their
dads/uncles memories they face the dilemma of whether to enlist his
help in beating this challenge. Yakumo makes the choice to bring
Tsumuji in and we get to see the full tale of his promise as a ninja,
his continued training alongside Kyuuemon, and the eventual betrayal
where he lost his powers. Poor guy overcomes any emotional blows and
helps the team rescue all the lost kids with a good old fashioned
speech so they can beat down the baddie of the day.
Everything culminates in a great scene
between father and son. Grampa is saddened by his failings as a
father/teacher but Tsumuji doesn't need any of that. Even though he
didn't achieve his dream of becoming a great ninja, his new dream is
to help these kids accomplish their goals. Then they share a quick
hug and damn if it isn't effective as all hell. Mark this one as a
high point in the series.
Episode 30
Switching gears from deep emotional
stuff we get a rather straightforward episode mainly notable for
adding another cute ninja girl to the mix. She's actually an old
friend of Takaharu's who wants to show off her new teaching position
at a new ninja school. Little does she know her boss is possessed by
an evil ant ninja who wishes to turn the kids into soulless soldiers.
There's nothing really wrong here,
just a basic story that sets up a potentially recurring love interest
for Taka. Not trying to sell it short but considering it's placed
between better, more important entries makes it seem a tad
lackluster.
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| I'm positive there's a website for this sort of thing. |
Episode 31
So the newest evil ninja on the block
is a badger (who everyone mistakes him for a raccoon) who steals
special traits from people. He first uses this ability on Kasumi who
frankly deserved it for delivering a terrible pep talk minutes before
when she points out that staying in the race sometimes requires being
a step ahead. Oh so that's what I've been missing. I just have to be
ahead of everyone to register as a competitor. Bunch of damn
nonsense.
The badger's big on gaming so the kids
bet their talents in a game where they must recover the ball he keeps
his stolen goodies in. What follows is a mix of body doubles and
personality swapping. Oh, and let's not forget swan boat possession
which turns out to be an oddly important development later on.
If the write up seems short for what
I'm claiming to be an important installment, it's because all this
badger based tomfoolery ends a few minutes earlier than most tales to
make way for a bigger plot point. Each ninja monster defeated so far
has turned into a mystical gear. Mr. Badger marks the final gear
necessary for Kyuuemon to power his own giant robot with which to
kick ass. And kick ass he most surely does as he destroys most of the
teams robots and leaves us with a sudden cliffhanger.
Episode 32
With the ninja allies destroyed
except for rodeomaru, and with Lion Ha-oh broken, Kyuuemon brings the
fight back down to human size and blasts the hell out of our crew.
Grampa swings in for a rather showy fight though even he finds
himself slightly unprepared for the situation. Before things can get
too horrible, he unleashes a strange light from his chest which
Kyuuemon feels certain is the end shuriken.
From there, the episode mainly
revolves around the team trying to get the robot situation under
control. At first they decide to just have their monk friend build
new ones. Everyone comes up with a design for their new oversized
whip only to blow it at the soul-infusion stage of the process.
Takaharu actually begins to have an Epiphany that doing things just
like gramps isn't the right path for them to take. Of course he
bungles his speech, leaving no one quite sure of what he means before
it's time to charge into battle. Against who you ask? Well that
badger is back somehow thanks to the contrivance of ninja skills.
It's all for the best though since we're treated to some of the best
action this series has to offer.
Problems arise once the monsters turn
giant sized. That's when the kids finally figure out a way past their
robot problem. They decide to use the possession technique Nagi
utilized on the swan boat last ep in order to actually become the new
ninja allies themselves. The day is win, everyone's happy, and this
story arc draws to a close.
Sorry that took so long, folks.
November's been a strange month so far and it's certain to get a lil
weirder with this interview and Thanksgiving in the mix. Speaking of
which; we've got a special Thanksgiving post that I'll aim to have up
around Wednesday. See you then.
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