THOUGHTS
Before this episode I wasn’t really sure if I liked Joe, mainly because we hadn’t seen much from him. This episode really gave a lot of character to Joe, showing that he’s dedicated and focused to his swordsmanship compared to the other four. We still don’t know why Joe is so committed to his swordsmanship and I really like that there’s some element of mystery about that. I’m sure this’ll be revisited in a future episode and Joe’s character will continue to develop.
It was also great to see more of Ahim in this episode. She has been one of my favourite characters since the first episode when she called civilians ‘commoners’ and I’m looking forward to seeing some of her back story.
I enjoyed the villains a little more in this episode because they had more than one short scene. However, I still can’t remember all their names. I know Waruzu Giru and Barizorg but I can’t remember the other two. I’m sure this’ll change over the course of the series as we see more of their characters and individuality.
GokaiBlue’s ‘Blue Splash’ attack was one of the best finishing moves I’ve seen and was an interesting twist on the usual Final Wave. I wonder if they’ll do similar versions for other Rangers. It would be easy for a red version since most element-powered Red Rangers have the power of flames. It might be a little more difficult with others where elements can vary.
I also need to mention the phenomenal soundtrack for this series. My favourite so far is from the scene where Joe trained in the forest at night. I’ve heard this track played in previous episodes and it has a real ‘pirate-y’ feel to it. Another one of my favourites is played during the first fight between GokaiBlue and Zodomas, which is a slower instrumental version of the opening theme. This track was also played in Episode 1 during the Gokaiger’s first Final Wave. I can’t wait for the OST to come out in the coming months to hear these epic tracks in full.
GRADE
This episode was an excellent focus for Joe and got me to like him. While this episode wasn’t as good as the last, I give this episode a 4/5
This episode wouldn’t be hard to adapt since the episode is mainly focused on Blue rather than a previous Sentai team. The Gokaigers transform into Gekiranger and Dekaranger which were both covered by Power Rangers so again, it wouldn’t be hard.
