REVIEW: Ninninger 20
Ah, the Battlizer episode. Battlizers (much like any specific power-up) are always kind of hit and miss for me, because they are so often hugely hyped in their debut episode, only for the user not to be nearly as adept at exploiting their capabilities later on. They even sometimes get jobbed out early into their lifespan. And then on the other side of things, an overly powerful one reduces the tension in any given fight scene when it's not used. So while the armor looked cool in the previews, I'm reminded of how many times I've been disappointed by poorly-used Battlizers. Let's see just how well Ninninger utilizes this plot element in the episode going forward.
The episode begins where last episode ended, as the ninja remember how Shishio turned them down flat. This scene mostly serves as a catch-up for people who may not have remembered what happened, because they basically just restate everything we knew at the end of last episode before deciding to win Shishio over...just like last episode. Still, it's probably helpful for kids to have these points repeated for them. Also, I don't usually recognize this, but I have to say that Takaharu's delivery of "I'm getting fired uuup!" seems to be missing something. I don't know, it just seems kind of hollow. I'll venture a guess that the actor is probably a lot more mellow than the character as portrayed.
After the opening sequence, the villains decide that they'll need to power Nue up in order to fight against Lion Ha-Oh effectively, since he was sent running at the end of the last episode. There's some mildly conversational troping where they discuss how expected it was for the Ninningers to be leveling up at this point, which I found funny. Also, the villain scenes are always super dark on this show. Like, wtf. Meanwhile, Shishio continues drinking and thinks about his last conversation with Gramps. I appreciate that we got this scene, because it gives a bit more context to his refusal; he believes that he'll be unable to fight effectively by the side of the Igasaki ninja because he's being shoehorned into a specific role of a tool rather than being allowed to go all out nuts on the opponent. He exchanges some words with Tetsunosuke before running off as they see the Ninningers approaching. I do like their dynamic with each other, but I'd be surprised if we see them again at all for the rest of the series.
Tetsunosuke explains that he's the son of the guy who made all the Ninja Allies. Also, Shishio is acting as a sort of protector until he becomes a full-fledged machine-smith. He then takes Takaharu's sword to prove a point to him, I think, which is kinda...eh. I've always thought that this style of teaching lessons is a bit played out on both sides of the pond. The last thing we need is another Dimitria. Tetsu goes on to cement himself in this position, because when Nue and the grunts find the temple again, he continues playing keep-away with Takaharu's sword while the rest of the team has to go and fight. There's kind of a funny moment where Takaharu seems proud of being an idiot; while it's funny, I hope that we get a more serious Red next year. The last two have been complete knuckleheads.
While Tetsu tries to get Takaharu to understand how to persuade Shishio, the others face off against Nue. They manage to make short work of the grunts, but Nue is giving them severe trouble with his...what the heck is this. It's like they stapled an exploding toolbox to his left hand, and then they called it a power-up. But as Takaharu watches, it's shown that he and Shishio have pretty much the same evaluation of his team's fighting abilities and weaknesses, and that his crazy, idiot-hero style of fighting is what enables his team to work well together. Thus, Takaharu decides to let Shishio run wild, as is his wont. It's an interesting awakening, and it works for the characters. My only complaint is that it's Tetsu who helps him come to this conclusion. I don't think it's an earned payoff, because we only met him last episode and he's already analyzing the team as if he's an old friend.
After Takaharu comes to this realization, Tetsu reveals the Battlizer he's been working on and links it to Shishio. I have to say, I really like the design of Transcendent Red. It's like what Ninjor would look like if he was cosplaying the Ape Shogunzord. Of course, it only takes two seconds for me to see problems here. Takaharu outclasses Nue in about as much time as it took me to type this sentence. At some point in the season, something will probably happen that defeats this Battlizer. And if it gives Takaharu the ability to teleport/flash-step, literally shrug off powerful attacks, and punch his opponent so hard that the shockwaves destroy a cliffside behind the opponent, there's really no way he can be believably beaten. It's a great fight, don't get me wrong, but it has the "practice mode" feeling of some of the worst Battlizers, where the opponent is reduced to a training dummy until plot happens.
On the other hand, at least the other ninja are useful in the fight, so it's automatically better than the Hyper Express debut from last year. After they chain Nue down, Takaharu delivers the finisher, causing the fight to go big. And while it's maybe not super constructive to make further comparisons, I almost wish they had held off on giving us the Lion Ha-Oh's warrior mode as well. In the past two episodes, we've gotten the appearance of a new Ally, the strength of that ally in the form of a Battlizer, and then a new mech formation. Oh well. In any case, the Lion Ha-Oh looks really good, and mech people will probably like it, but I have problems with the fact that Takaharu is right out in the open on the front of his chest. That seems like a Z-Putty level tactial error.
Luckily, Nue doesn't exploit this at all and is destroyed, and Gramps agrees to take Kinji as a student for the time being. It's briefly implied by Tetsu's aside conversation with Gramps that at least some of this was intended or helped along, which doesn't bother me since I felt Shishio's explanation was a bit contrived. I do appreciate Gramps' acting here, because you can see that even as the team celebrates their victory and bringing Kinji officially onto the team, he's still apprehensive about it and still thinking about Kyuuemon's betrayal.
I am cautiously optimistic about the show going forward. Transcendent Red was SUPER overpowered, and I doubt it's going to be as capable later on. I can see the finisher staying, but the flash-step is probably going to be a one-time thing. I'd be happy to be proven wrong. Tetsu's pep talk felt like a bit of a deus-ex-machina solution, but at least it makes sense that he would want to help the Ninningers and prove himself as a machine-smith. I did like Takaharu's bragging joke a lot; I felt like he played that just genuine enough to be perfectly hilarious, and for the most part has good reactions, which is why the one moment at the beginning was a bit jarring. All in all, an enjoyable enough episode, though probably not the best of its kind.
