REVIEW: Zyuohger 30
So I have to admit, I haven’t been watching this show as closely as Dino (Super) Charge, but I’ve found it enjoyable. I’ve been liking the high intensity of the current plot and assumed the zenith was last week with the great team-up. After the milestone event of those fantastic Gokaiger episodes, I expected a softening or cooling down of story stuff, maybe with a random side-quest, but this episode was anything but filler.
All three of the main groups are pursuing the goal of attempting to claim the Cube Whale this episode. Unlike the other Cube Animals, it’s not willing to come when Yamato calls despite his possession of the special Whale Change Gun. Well, it is an auxiliary zord thing, and that’s kind of a tradition at this point, isn’t it? Off the top of my head, I think this was happening in Power Rangers as early as Lost Galaxy--Turbo if you count the sentient cars in that season (which I don’t, but they fill the same narrative role). I think this serves a good purpose as a way to increase the tension; there would not be much here if Bunglay had zero opportunity to snatch the Cube Whale away from the Zyuohgers. As it is, it allows for a good driving force, and allows the story to be streamlined in a way that works really well.
Misao’s role this episode is a bit odd. I’m assuming that we’ll learn why he was acting the way he was in the next episode, but it seems kind of out of nowhere that he just suddenly gets such a huge hankering to be the big hero instead of his usual PTSD/comedic depression. I’m not opposed to slapstick on principle, and it’s adequately funny when his antics cause the Zyuohgers to look foolish. I especially found Sela flopping about like a fish on a hook to be humorous, since that’s kind of what she is. The problem is the amount of times that it occurs. I would say three is the magic number before a gag gets too obtrusive.
I absolutely loved the villain interactions this episode. Azald is still just the big dumb brute, no surprise there. But the nuance in Naria and Kubar is pretty well done. One thing I’ve been pretty excited about is the way that Bunglay mixed things up regarding the game, and how Kubar has some sort of secret past that he’s not sharing with anyone. If anyone out there read my ToQger reviews, they’ll see that one of my favorite aspects of it was the villain infighting. Whatever Kubar is hiding is rather intriguing; I feel like the implication here is that Kubar is actually working for Genis in the hopes that he can fight him…? (If I misunderstood that, please forgive me, but that’s the impression I get from his conversation with Bunglay.) I’m always up for more Naria, since she at times seems like an Insarn/Levira copy who almost never gets involved. I’m also a fan of the glimpse of another GIFT we get; the GIFT episodes were my favorites from early Zyuohger. But Kubar’s willingness to work with Bunglay--even temporarily--was something I didn’t see coming, and perhaps should have due to the gaming aspect of the series.
Episode 30 leaves us in an uncertain place with regard to the Cube Whale, and I like how none of the players are sure of their positions. Someone was probably really proud of the great shot of the Cube Whale passing over Yamato at the end without a shred of regard for him, and it’s well-deserved pride. I hope to see something really cool involving the resolution of the plot next episode. Due to the nature of the show and the previews, it’s pretty likely that the Zyuohgers end up with the Cube Whale on their team pretty soon, but it’ll be interesting to see how they get there.
