I’m glad we’ve finally got another episode about Barizorg. The Barizorg/Sid plot has really been ignored and was last seen in the Shinkenger 2-parter. I don’t think we’ve even got a reference about Barizorg’s past from any of the characters since. I think it’s very fitting that the Barizorg storyline returns on a Liveman focus episode since the plot of Liveman involves ‘friends’ of the Livemen becoming the main villains.
The returning star this week is Jou Ohara, Yellow Lion from Liveman. Once again, I’m glad to see a non-Red Ranger return. Before it was announced that Jou was returning, I was expecting Red Falcon to return since we last saw him in Gaoranger vs Super Sentai. We are introduced to Jou when he saves a baby from falling down some stairs. Conveniently, Joe and Ahim saw this while trying to find him. I thought it was maybe a little too convenient that Jou happened to be there. But it’s not really a big deal since there’s a limited amount of time.
The scene in the lab between Joe and Jou was great, in terms of acting and emotion. I think this is the first time we’ve seen Joe this emotional, so it really shows how much Sid meant to him.
Being a Liveman fan, I really enjoyed the reference to the Liveman opening scene (above). It was definitely one of those ‘fanboy’ moments for me. It’s strange how one shot did that.
As usual, the Liveman tribute battle was awesome. I loved the updated henshin sequence accompanied by the instrumental version of the Liveman theme song. It seems these battles are lasting longer than they were in the earlier episodes, which is great. It was also nice to see the return of Barizorg/Sid’s signature move at the end of the battle.
Liveman’s Grand Power is the return of Super Live Robo. It was so awesome seeing Super Live Robo just slide along past the explosions and lasers. I was definitely not expecting it to deliver its original finisher attack. I just loved this whole battle, which is strange since I’m not usually bothered by Mecha battles.
The ending was nice with Barizorg looking down onto Earth since Joe had previously said in the battle “Please watch, Sid-sempai”.
GRADE
I give this episode a 5/5 because it was a good advancement on the Barizorg story and a fitting return for Liveman.
This episode would probably have to be cut in Power Rangers due to the heavy Liveman focus. The Barizorg storyline (if they kept it) could easily be moved to another episode.