Mission 35
The group has reconvened at the EMC, all confused by the appearance of this mysterious Lion Zord. Jin however, notices that Kurorin looks like he knows something. Kurorin believes that this Lion was made by Hazuki Saburou, a researcher well-known for designing Buster Machines. Jin also knows him from his days at the EMC all those years ago. Suburou’s eccentric about his own work, but that’s all he’s interested in, and because of this he was treated as a heretic by the EMC.
Hiromu, Ryuuji and Yoko arrive at a mountain base where, according to Morishita, the Lion was last spotted. They soon come across a girl who is being chased by a group of Buglers and Enter; and Enter demands something from her. The Go-Busters interrupt though; beating the Buglers, scaring off Enter, and saving the girl! The girl isn’t too impressed that she saved though. She knows exactly who they are and she informs them at Hazuki Saburou is dead! She reveals herself as Hazuki Mika, the daughter of Saburou, and she knows they came for Buddyzord known as Tategami Lioh, the apparent name of the Lion Zord. The Go-Busters question the term ‘Buddyzord’, and Mika just laughs at the fact they don’t know. In response, Yoko just points at Mika, saying she doesn’t like her. For some reason, I found this hilarious. Hiromu gets straight to the point and asks for Mika’s assistance, but Mika straight up refuses because she apparently hates the Go-Busters. She continues, saying that since Lioh attacked them, that obviously means that her father created Lioh to defeat the Go-Busters. Hiromu makes the decision; they have to shut down Lioh. Ryuuji and Yoko (understandably) seem a little wary about doing that, but Hiromu just wants them to trust him.
Hiromu launches CB-01 and Mika summons Lioh from a mountain hangar. One thing I did notice, Lioh’s CGI. It’s not the best. Usually I just leave the questionable CGI alone, but Lioh’s just really stuck out to me for some reason. It won’t affect my overall enjoyment of the scenes though, it’s not that bad. CB-01 in cheetah mode (which I feel like we haven’t seen since the first episode. I can’t remember if it’s been used since then…) and Lioh face off, and soon, Go-Buster Ace is formed. Hiromu thinks it’s a good idea for Ace to try and ride Lioh – quite a risky move there. For a second, I thought that he’d succeed, but nope. Ace is simply thrown off and Lioh disappears. Meanwhile, Ryuuji asks Mika for the reason she hates them. Her reply? ‘Put simply, I don’t like you.’ Is that all? Oh wait, she also says ‘You guys aren’t even aware of the sacrifices people make around you’ (Or something to that effect). There’s obviously more. She’s just being cryptic for the sake of being cryptic.
Back at the EMC, Ryuuji reveals that he knew Hiromu fought Lioh to test his power. Yoko tries playing along, but Usada just ruins that. (I love their little relationship so much…and I love Usada. I want an Usada…and a Gorisaki). Ryuuji wonders what Mika meant by ‘sacifices’. In the mountain hangar, Mika congratulates Lioh on his fight…because Lioh can understand her it seems. There’s a few flashbacks where Mika is pretty much ignored by her father in favour of his work…but there’s nothing I can really say about that.
Ryuuji finds Jin in a library where Jin has found has blueprints for Lioh. From the incomplete blueprints, we learn that Lioh is a combination of a Buster Machine and a Buddyroid – a Buddyzord. So Lioh can act all by himself. Makes sense I suppose. Jin and Ryuuji begin to study these blueprints. Back at the mountain range, Ace and Lioh face off once again while Mika watches. The other Go-Busters confront Mika, seemingly knowing something. But wait, Enter and some Buglers appear! So Yoko and J take care of them while Ryuuji and Jin take Mika to safety.
Elsewhere; Jin, Ryuuji and Mika now watch the horrendous CGI Megazord battle. Jin mentions a link-up, much to Mika’s confusion. Ryuuji reveals that he made a discovery from the blueprints – Ace and Lioh are designed to link up. Hiromu then manages to successfully jump onto Lioh, allowing Ace to ride Lioh! And with this, Ace is now in control of Lioh. But then Lioh transforms into a Megazord Mode, which Jin reveals to be a activated by Ace’s link up; and apparently, Lioh was testing Hiromu the whole time. Lioh continues to fight Ace though, and the resulting fight is pretty cool looking. There’s a lot of talk about Mika and her father as this battle continues, and while watching, I realized that I didn’t care at all about the whole Mika/Saburou storyline, so I’m not even going to describe it. (You might read that in an aggressive tone. It’s not that.)
Yoko and J continue to fight Enter, but he soon disappears when he realizes at a disadvantage….and that’s all I can really say about that. The Lioh/Ace battle continues and Lioh finally gives in after being beaten. OH WAIT, an enemy Megazord has randomly appeared and Nick is out of Enetron! So, Hiromu boards Lioh and quickly destroys the Megazord! And with that, Mika entrusts Lioh to the Go-Busters.
I didn’t like this episode. I just didn’t care about Mika and her storyline, so it was hard to enjoy overall. Also, I’ve noticed that Megazords that appear this late in the series usually are ‘rogue Zords’ or whatever. I feel like it’s been done before. We had the three trains in Go-Onger, and now this. (I’m pretty sure there are more examples, but I can’t remember off the top of my head). The actual battles were cool though….and Lioh is pretty cool. I’ll give this a 2/5. It doesn’t qualify for a 1. 1 is an abomination – something like ‘Trickster Treat’ of Super Samurai.
Mission 36
The episode begins with Escape attacking civilians, seemingly to grab the Go-Busters attention…and it works! Escape then proceeds to tell the Busters that she wants to see something cool. The four fight for a bit before Escape gets impatient, demanding that she sees the new power she’s been hearing about. It seems the Busters can’t access this power at the moment, so Escape just leaves.
At the EMC, the three Buddyroids have been released from maintenance since Powered Custom has been taking a toll on their bodies. Usada comes up with a brilliant idea – they should all go to a hot spring! The robots…in a hot spring…sure. The Buddyroids go into the main Command Centre-type room to tell the Busters, who are currently talking about analysing the Lion Attaché. The Busters aren’t impressed with Usada’s idea though. They just want to get back to work.
In Lioh’s hangar, the Busters are truly amazed to the Lion Attaché’s abilities, much to the Buddyroids’ dismay as they’re promptly ignored. The Buddyroids retreat to a kitchen where they vent their frustration. Nick attempts to keep the peace, but Usada and Gorisaki are too angry. Well, maybe Gorisaki isn’t angry, just upset. Usada is definitely angry though…and it’s hilarious. They decide to hold the First Buddyroid Union Meeting…in a proper boardroom and everything! I couldn’t stop laughing at this point – especially when they showed the completely ordinary boardroom, but with three weird robots sat at the table. It just looked so incredibly strange! The meeting begins, and Usada demands better treatment while Gorisaki wants a better working environment. J ARRIVES, and Nick hopes that he’ll annoy Usada and Gorisaki so much, that they’ll run back to Yoko and Ryuuji. That doesn’t quite happen though… Also, I just want to say how much I love that Usada moving his chair without even touching the floor. It’s just amusing.
The Busters are handed a list of demands – They want to be taken to more amusement parks, they want high octane Enetron, and finally, they want to be recognized for their good work. Usada explains that these suggestions have come from the Buddyroid Union, but they’re just met with ‘What is this nonsense?’ The demands are ignored, and the Busters return to work. The Buddyroids return to the Buddy-Board Room where J suggests for them to go on strike. USADA AND GORISAKI LOVE IT. They set up their strike in the Command Center, wearing sashes and displaying banners saying ‘We’re not objects! We want better treatment!’ The staff are just as confused as Nick.
The Busters return to the Command Centre with the Lion Attaché. They’re impressed with it, and then they begin to demand thing from the Buddyroids – chocolate, ice packs and whatnot. After hearing a resounding ‘NO’, they turn around to see the strike. The Busters obviously aren’t impressed, but there’s no time to argue, a Metaroid has appeared – Bulldozerroid! Haven’t we already had a Bulldozerroid? Or was it another construction vehicle? The Go-Busters begin to deplo while claiming that they don’t actually need the Buddyroids. In a rage, Gorisaki runs up and takes the Lion Attaché before running away with Usada! The Go-Busters have no choice but to leave, and J follows them. HE CRAMS INTO YOKO’S TUBE AND IT’S AMAZINGLY HILARIOUS.
The Go-Busters attempt to fight Bulldozerroid but it’s pretty tough since he has a shield AND the Buddyroids aren’t allowing them to access Powered Custom. The Buddyroids sit in the Lioh hangar and Nick begins to emphasize with Lioh. His parent has died, and he has no partner – He’s lonely. Gorisaki and Usada see this too, and the Lion Attaché utters the words ‘Cool Down’ and ‘Energy Charge’. Now, I’m not quite sure how it can do this. It’s not connected to the Busters…or is it? I’m confused.
In the battlefield, Yoko and Ryuuji are about to succumb to their weaknesses and the other Busters are in a pinch. But, just in time, the Buddyroid arrive – Nick with his guns, Usada with some chocolate, and Gorisaki with an icepack. They all recover, and it’s time for Powered Custom! Cue ‘Busters Ready, Go!’ Hiromu and Yoko face Bulldozerroid while Ryuuji fights Escape. Escape soon finds out that Powered Custom is quite powerful (hence the name), and she is soon beaten. I actually thought that this could be the end of Escape, but no, she ‘lives’ to fight another day! Hiromu finds out that the Lion Attaché can also be used as a weapon – the Lioh Buster! And with this, Bulldozerroid is soon defeated!
There’s no time to celebrate – a Megazord has appeared! It’s time to form Go-Buster Lioh – a combination of Lioh, RH-03 and GT-02. I really like the look of Go-Buster Lioh and its final attack is definitely awesome. That’s all I really have to say about that. Back on the ground, everyone makes up and it’s all happy fun times again!
5/5. I loved this episode. I love the Buddyroids. It was hilarious. That is all.