REVIEW: Zyouhger 3
On this episode of Zyuohger: one character assumes that another does not care about finding the missing Champion’s Symbol. This assumption is wrong, and this character is simply thinking in a more logical manner than the rest of the cast. Also, a giraffe appears.
The episode opens with the gang separated and searching for the Champion’s Symbol. Their searching is done with no direction or reasoning, and of course the end result is fruitless. Yamato, Sela, Tusk, and Leo are frustrated as they blindly wander around town. Leo says that they have been doing this for days on end now.
Amu, on the other hand, is having a pretty good time. While Yamato is handing out flyers, she is window shopping. Cats of any sort tend to do whatever they want, right? Maybe she’s just distracted. Under the guise of leading Yamato to something that “kind of” looks like a cube, she ends up trying on (and having Yamato buy) an cute new outfit. She then shows him cube-shaped nail polish (that he also buys) and a cube-shaped, delicious cake (that he probably also buys.)
At this point, Yamato is done. He accuses her of goofing off and of not wanting to go back home. Amu's response to this is simple and stated in a logical, clear manner, but somehow Yamato still doesn’t get it. She explains that she finds their directionless daily searches to be dumb, and that without some sort of clues, they will never find the Champion's Symbol.
Yamato feels devastated and betrayed that she has been hiding such thoughts behind her usual smile. I found him to be very obnoxious in this scene, but I think in some ways this dialogue represents the difficulties in male-to-female communication. Amu is presented as docile and cheery. In reality, her demeanor is still quite sweet, but she is much more than that, and she can have negative thoughts. She chooses to internalize these thoughts, possibly because she does not want to worry her friends. Yamato gets all melodramatic about this, and Amu finds it silly.
Suddenly, there is plot movement: You know how the Zyumans each have one heightened sense? Yamato learns that he is now blessed with super sight, and can see what he believes to be the Champion’s Symbol on the other side of town. He is excited by this new development, while Amu is flustered that she has to give up on her delicious cake to chase after him as he runs for the Symbol.
While Amu is chasing Yamato, our Monster of the Week, Bowguns, is blowing up cars using laser arrows and quickly hopping around the streets like a psychotic clown out of my worst nightmares. Their animal senses tingling, Sela, Leo, and Tusk go after the Dethgalien. But without the rest of the Zyuohgers, they are defeated. This fight scene is pretty well done and shows that the three are capable fighters who are simply unable to keep up with Bowguns’ speed. This scene also ends with an interaction between Leo and Sela that may or may not foreshadow Episode 4, an interaction that has resulted in my now deep dilemma over who is my favorite character.
While the trio are feeling their loss on Earth, the Dethgaliens are dealing with some drama in space. As it turns out, Bowguns is one of Azald’s players, and it wasn’t Azald’s turn to cause mass destruction today. But Master Ginis doesn’t care about all that: he just wants to have something fun to watch while he sips a glass of wine. I relate to Master Ginis more than I should. This scene suggests that upcoming episodes may include more strategic, complicated villainy than the current “Look, I’m here! Look, now I’m blowing up stuff!” tactic the past few players have used. I think this change is necessary, although I’ve enjoyed the reckless, unapologetic attacks used so far.
Back on Earth, Yamato and Amu track down the current carrier of what they think to be the Champion’s Symbol, who has accidently left it on a city bus. The two chase down the bus and find the cube, and Yamato is glad to prove Amu wrong. Their clueless and dumb searching was totally the right thing to do! But then Amu points out that this newfound cube looks nothing like their Champion’s Symbols.
Amu is finally able to get Yamato to understand that she does not feel hopeless; she’s just being realistically optimistic. While she wants to go home, she may as well enjoy all of the delicious cakes and cute clothes that Earth has to offer in the meantime.
The theme of this episode is miscommunication. I don’t think that the story was great, but it did show the better sides of most of the characters, especially Amu. It also provided a little more background into the Dethgalien’s intentions. And, most importantly, it debuts this weird-looking thing:
The cube that Yamato spotted with his hawk-eyed vision? It is Cube Giraffe (a.k.a. Cube Kirin.)
Bowguns attacks the bus that Yamato and Amu are on, and they are quickly reunited with the other Zyuohgers. Leo is upset that the two were not in contact, until he learns that his handy dandy Champion’s Symbol also doubles (triples?) as a phone to contact anyone on the team. Apparently this is an ability that only Amu knew about but never told the others. More miscommunication!
With the Zyuohgers together again, they are able to match Bowguns’ speed and defeat him. But once he gets his Continue Coin and grows bigger, they struggle again, even after switching between the two ZyuohKing forms. Thankfully, they now have Cube Giraffe, which has awakened just in time to kick some ass.
Cube Giraffe looks ridiculous, like three tall, slender, misshapened Lego bricks with a gun for a mouth. But it is fast, and its slender design makes it incredibly agile. It can fight on its own fairly well, but finishes the job by transforming into the Giraffe Bazooka, which ZyuohKing wields to deadly effect.
The episode ends with the Zyumans realizing that, because of the existence of Zyuoh Cubes in Japan, that Earth and Zyuland must be even more connected than they had previously imagined. It also ends with Mori teaching Amu how to vacuum, which Amu finds so exciting that I don’t know if it can be considered sexist or hilariously cute. I’m going with cute.
I may be overthinking things, but this episode, especially the final scene following the battle, suggests a potential relationship between Yamato and Amu. It’s certainly not the first time that this has happened in a Super Sentai series, and Yamato’s attempts to understand her perspective (plus the way he looks at her in a few of the scenes) show that he does care for her.
Speaking of potential couples, the preview for the next episode has me incredibly excited: it features Leo versus Sela, battling in the ring! Her coldness towards him and his protectiveness towards her should serve as an interesting contrast to Yamato and Amu’s interactions in this episode.
