REVIEW: Zyuohger 16
I am a simple girl, and I don’t ask for much from my Super Sentai. All I need is a little character and overarching plot development scattered throughout the series to make me happy. This episode of Zyuohger delivers both, giving Yamato just the slightest bit of a backstory and introducing an exciting new development: the creation of a Dark Ranger. And really, this is just a much-needed good episode after the last few lackluster ones.
This is also a good episode for Uncle Mori, who is revealed to be much more than a goofball. He has true passion for art and for animals, which the Zyumans appreciate. While they also find him goofy, this episode shows that they also have a huge respect for his love of nature and welcoming personality, admitting at one point that a normal person wouldn’t let a bunch of weirdos like them crash at their house.
Yamato’s bond with his uncle is tightened, and we finally learn a little about his past: for instance, at least during the time of the flashbacks, his parents were alive and he had issues with his dad. Both Yamato and Mori’s love for animals come into play this episode, and the Zyuohgers once again remind us that Yamato is supposed to be a real scientist…
…who has apparently given up his career to spend his days handing out those damn “Have You Seen This Bird?” flyers. It is while he is doing this that he witnesses Naria in action, kidnapping anything that looks vaguely like a Zyuman – including mascots, furries, and a certain uncle who likes to dress up as a cow in public.
Speaking of Naria, my weeks-long wish was fulfilled in this episode. Instead of a Kubar or Azald-style game, Naria is on a mission with bull-monster minion Mantor to capture Zyumans living on Earth. Mantor's space-warping abilities make for some excellent fighting moments, but the best fight is between Yamato (and his awesome Eagriser) versus Naria (and her almost-as-awesome nunchaku-guns).
Although Mantor is defeated, Naria succeeds in their mission, capturing three Zyumans we have never seen before. Master Ginis then kills/puts the life forces of the Zyumans into a human, in what is the darkest scene in the show so far. It is also the most exciting, because this means that this season’s Sixth Ranger is a Dark Ranger; even better, this is a Sixth Ranger created by the villains. This new player in the Blood Game will start menacing the Zyuohgers next week, a welcome development.
Once again, I am not asking for or expecting much from Zyuohger. I am willing to take the mediocre episodes when there are consistently great episodes in between. So many developments in these first sixteen episodes have me feeling very optimistic about the show’s quality as we draw closer to the halfway point of the series.
