REVIEW: Zyuohger 6
Episode 5 concluded with some loose ends and a promise for some character development for Yamato. Episode 6 ties up those ends and does indeed deliver some character growth. The first loose end tackled is Larry’s whereabouts. The crew runs to his home, but it looks like he has skipped town.
Meanwhile, Azald is back! As it turns out, his cubes can be put back together, even after a jungle-style thrashing by Zyuoh Gorilla. This actually surprised me, but now I know why Naria really didn’t give him a Continue – Master Ginis figured he’d be fine again soon enough.
Do you remember the last Monster of the Week, Gaburio? The player who the Zyuohgers left buried upside-down in the woods? Well he’s not dead, nor is he buried anymore. In fact, he and his big mouth are causing terrible levels of destruction by eating skyscrapers. I’m not sure which surprised me more, that he is that powerful or that there was no one inside of the skyscraper in the middle of the day. Maybe it’s a holiday, who knows? My suspension of disbelief is pretty high, but even in a show about furry superheroes who fight in a giant Minecraft robot there must be a couple things explained somewhere.
Gaburio is causing mayhem and the Zyuohgers are a little embarrassed that they totally forgot about him. Their embarrassment turns to shock when Azald reappears. He says that while he’d love to fight them again, his only purpose on Earth was to save his player. Gaburio returns to eating buildings and Azald returns to space, where he has a drink and gloats in his own return. His rival Kubar is definitely not excited by this. While I was surprised by Azald’s resurrection, I hope that it leads to him dying by Kubar’s hand. The Dethgaliens could use some more dirty drama, and I’ve been enjoying the tension between the team leaders.
The Zyuohgers rush into action when Sela hears a child crying in Gaburio's rubble (Wait, the only human in the whole building was a small child? That’s some bad parenting!) They discover that a familiar (gorilla) face has already saved the girl. Yamato calls out Larry, Larry claims that he is not the anthropomorphic gorilla that they are looking for, and then Yamato calls him out again for his terrible lying skills. This scene offers a touching moment for Larry: after he was treated so poorly by humans in the past, Larry is hugged by this innocent child hugs who thanks “Gorilla-san” for saving her. However, it now looks like Larry has some gray hairs to worry about.
The crew take Larry to Atelier Mori, where Yamato’s uncle asks too many questions and Tusk explains to Yamato that a Zyuman’s power is their life-force, and that Larry gave up years of his life (and his nice fur) in order to save him. Character development time!
Yamato is overwhelmed with guilt. He tries to return Larry’s life-force with no success. Furthermore, this revelation leads to another one: the bird Zyuman that Yamato met as a child also gave him some of his power, which means that Yamato also shortened his lifespan. Feeling like a serial-murderer-by-proxy, Yamato runs off into the woods.
The Zyuohgers explain Yamato’s background to Larry and ask him if he knows the bird Zyuman. Larry shrugs, saying that Zyuland is a big place. The separate existences of both Larry and the bird furry on Earth suggests a high likelihood of more Zyumans nearby (*coughs* maybe the Sixth Ranger *coughs*) But all I know is that the mysteries of the bird man and his Champion’s Symbol are not solved in this episode.
While Yamato is brooding, the Zyuohgers sense Gaburio’s return to the city. Amu stops Sela from calling Yamato to join them, and Larry takes this time to track Yamato down and give him a good ol’ Yamato-style inspirational talk. Larry explains to him that while he gave up some of his life, Yamato also helped give Larry his life back by helping him get over his fear of humans. Yamato is beginning to learn that as a leader, others will sacrifice for him and that this is okay.
Meanwhile, the others confront Gaburio. He is an obnoxious player who is way too powerful (either that, or the Zyuohgers sans Yamato are way too weak at the moment.) His phrases (including, “My teeth!!!”) are repeated multiple times like a bad video game character. He eats the Zyuohgers' swords and beats them into submission during a disappointing fight scene.
Yamato appears just in time (a habit that I am growing tired of) to save the day. The best part of this fight is definitely him swinging around from the EagRiser like a jungle vine before punching Gaburio in the face. Have I mentioned before that I love the EagRiser?
The gang finish Gaburio off with a new formation and a devastating move that consists of pounding the Dethgalien really hard with a big fist. Naria gives Gaburio a Continue, which in turn gives us the chance to meet Cube Gorilla. Cube Gorilla, much like Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger, is ridiculous. His first move is to fling cubes like they are poop at Gaburio. His next move is to create a swing in mid-air, and then kick Gaburio in the teeth a few times.
Larry commands Amu and Tusk to combine with Yamato, much to Tusk’s confusion. They do indeed combine, and into a new formation: ZyuohWild, which looks a million times cooler than ZyuohKing. The design of its head and the Wild Cannon are both excellent. Hell, I wish I could be as cool as ZyuohWild. Just look at that confidence, that power, and those biceps. Its finishing move, Wild Rocket Knuckle, is a powerful 1-2-3 punch in the face to the Dethgalien. ZyuohWild even pounds his chest after winning! Bless you, Zyuohger.
The end of the episode has the gang giving Larry a bittersweet farewell as he leaves to explore the world. I was afraid that Larry was going to die in this episode, but I gladly expect us to see more of him later in the season. The next episode is going to be a big one: it is Kamen Rider crossover time! Not only that, but one of the good guys have gone bad! I need to finish this review before I start using too many exclamation points!
