REVIEW: Kyuranger 20
It’s hard to believe that we’re almost halfway through the series, but this episode served as an excellent turning point for the Kyurangers and their current big enemy, Scorpio. The Argo (or failure!) and Scorpio’s defeat (or escape!) are right around the corner and like Stinger at any social gathering, I'm getting impatient.
It is quite possible that Scorpio’s end will not be as soon as expected. But if he ends up coming back from the dead (or from injury, or whatever) like Madako has it will be a disgrace. Scorpio has been a nasty and challenging villain, but most significantly he has a personal connection to the heroes. Stinger’s tragic relationship with his brother echoes the better villains of Jetman and Liveman, which included ex-lovers and friends. Scorpio deserves a good death, Stinger deserves a good bittersweet victory, and it should all surround that which the gang has been working so hard to get during this entire arc: the Argo.
Another reason why Scorpio is such a great villain is that he brought out the serious, intense Lucky that I never thought existed under his goofy façade. He was enraged but understood the angry Earthlings and showed an impressive level of maturity. I was also pleasantly surprised by how badass Kotaro was in this episode. His relationship with Stinger continues to be one of the strong points of the series, but he also seemed much more impressive and mature in his fighting.
Beyond wishful thinking and Scorpio/Stinger talk, this episode had some great moments. I LOVE when the characters can utilize their species/clan-specific powers and Naga had the chance to utilize his temporary paralysis on Scorpio – which allows Lucky to (hilariously) slide in and save one of the KyuTama! Also, the Earthlings weak mob attack of the Kyurangers was sad, moving, and overall a great scene.
The final thing I really enjoyed about this week’s episode was the alternation between the mecha and hand-to-hand battles. This is one of the great advantages of a large cast: a third of the cast was sick and immobilized, but another third were fighting against the Consumarz in the Ryutei-Oh while the final third were fighting against Scorpio on the ground. The ground battle was much more interesting than the silly, pun-filled mech battle but the balance was easy to admire.
This indeed marks a turning point, and the upcoming episodes include new…well, everything (bring on Houou Soldier!) but I will miss this arc when it is over.
