Ryusoulger Episodes 43-45 Review

This Super Sentai recap is brought to you by one of the core virtues of the franchise, dedication. That's because I'm trying to piece this together after countless pages of term papers on everything from neurological disorders to Matthew McConaughey movies... maybe those topics aren't all that different actually. So while I wait for school file uploading system to start working again we have an opportunity to catch up with the fabulous fighting force known as Ryusoulger.

Story:

This threesome of episodes serves as a sort of clumsy arc with our heroes learning about the past exploits of Master Black and the background on the Ryusoul Calibur while attempting to reach Master Eras and end this conflict. The team hits a bit of a roadblock however as Master Eras may not be so easy to destroy. In the past it was sealed away with the Calibur but overtime the monster began to feed off of the sword and has also intertwined its roots into the Earth itself. Quite the nasty little beast but let's not get too far ahead.

In an attempt to keep all this straight let's chat about episode 43. Pricious and Sedan have officially moved into the caverns under the floating temple where Master Eras sleeps. Not unlike how Kreon creates Minusaurs so does Eras give birth to Druidons. In fact she squirts out a new one named Gunjoji who soon takes his first tour of causing havoc on the human world.

Once our heroes hear the name Eras it sparks memories in Bamba of when his former master attacked their home village and swore to protect the mother of Druidons. The team must also deal with the cowardice of Oto and the teradon robot who each want to hide away from the battles to come. Fighting ensues, a second Gunjoji is born and the final confrontation looks to be taking place, or maybe not.

Suddenly we are treated to the speediest, most unnecessary bit of retroactive continuity I’ve seen in quite some time. Episode 43 ended with the whole crew walking into the caves all decked out in their shiny dino tights. Awaiting them inside are the Druidions who have just kidnapped Oto. When the next episode picks up the whole crew is outside, unmorphed, and is confronted by Sedan with the captured girl in tow. Not only do our heroes not enter the caves until roughly a third of the way into this installment but once they do it’s only four of them in their civilian garb. Oh and suddenly Gunjoji has made the leap from baby talk to full on sentences. Did the writers room suffer an attack by body snatchers?

Outside of the bizarre continuity issues, Episode 44 largely revolves around Oto and the Teradon overcoming their fears to join the fight with another new Druidon named Yabasword while Master Black arrives to defeat Gunjoji Jr.

Turns out Master Black wasn't actually protecting Eras but was trying to prevent his students from becoming Ryusoulgers so the Ryusoul Calibur that had sealed the beast wouldn't be removed. In order to watch over the situation, Master Black killed Sedan and has been wearing his skin for, I guess, a couple centuries by now... hmmmm icky and I just realized this is getting into the following episode's content.

Part 45 involves the team learning Master Black's history and attempting to formulate a plan to destroy Eras. So far the best option they have is Asuna's recommendation that they pull it out of the Earth, roots and all, like a weed. Before anything better comes to mind the team is sidetracked with a mission to recover Master Black's heart from Pricious.

During the big ending fight of the episode something strange happens. Eras seemingly commands the newborn Yabasword to turn on his comrades and rage against Ryusoul Tribe and Druidon alike. We're left hanging on that mystery for now so be thankful there's a full three episode left to get an answer.

Heroes:

Being this close to the end means the core crew are already well-developed so we really just get further proof of how much they've improved as a cohesive unit. I do feel it's important to note how much Koh has improved as a leader. Kid's actually making smart calls and placing himself in danger to protect those around him, such as taking Master Black's place inside the Sedan suit.

In the continuing drama of supporting female characters, Ui is still presumably out in Hollywood. Oto takes her place and actually helps out in battle by piloting a giant robot. I'm all for Oto pulling her weight in battle but once again it must be asked why wasn’t she just made a ryusoulger already? I mean if she’s gonna join the fight at least give a costume and some gadgets.

Meanwhile Towa is still just Towa. There’s a bit about how he was chosen to be the green ranger over Nada because he has a light in him. That better be some meaningful plot point cause I remember Nada and the dude had a lot more going on than this kid.

Villains:

Wyzul's absence is greatly felt during these episodes with the newbies severely lacking in personality. Pricious ain't much better though she does have some interesting banter with Asuna where their respective points mirror each-other only Asuna trusts her teammates whereas Pricious enforces loyalty. This has been a growing theme in this latter portion of the series and I hope something more can be done with it before the end.

You've likely noticed how little mention there is of Kreon. That's because he mostly sat these installments out after finding the card Pricious used to steal Wyzul's heart. Lil goopy guy is going on his own sort of Search for Spock mission and I'm all for it.

Overall:

Obviously I didn't have a ton to say about this batch of episodes but that's more to do with them being action heavy rather than any sort of quality issue. The show is simply trying to get all the pieces lined up for the big finale. Honestly I think I would have enjoyed more stand-alone fare as this series seems to work better in focused bursts.

One fun tidbit to mention is a shout-out to Mark Dacascos in episode 44. Alright, so it's just a funny bit from the writers but man would it ever be awesome to get him into this franchise. He could be a mentor, a villain, or even contained to a single arc like when Sho Kosugi appeared on Kakuranger. Somebody just get the word to him that Sentai loves him and would like to talk. Looks like someone shared it with his twitter now we just need a producer that likes to throw cash around.

Quality-wise the show is in holding position with the next few weeks proving once again to be the deciding factor of whether Ryusoulger will go down in history as great tokusatsu or just an entertaining diversion. As for yous truly I must get some sleep and prepare for another day of classes. Seeing as one of them is already done I should have time to get the updates flowing regularly again cause I've got a line of topics for you all including all manner of snacks, books, and god knows what else. Stay tuned and maybe I'll have something up for you this weekend.