Hello everyone! Please enjoy this episode.
(This is recap from the last episode)
Exceed Charge!
The Photon Blood created a giant red blade, resulting in Michael flying and slashing at Takahisa, which had the Faiz symbol appear on his back as he crumbled into ash. A train car was caught in the slash, which caused it to be cut in half and explode.
(time jump for recap)
Michael fires a energy blast and the Scarab, executing the Photon Buster attack. The Scarab then had the Faiz symbol appear from his chest, and exploded in giant blue flames.
(time jump for recap)
Ryusei School Laboratory
Hanagata, transformed as the Goat Orphnoch, looked at three newly-made belts. The middle one was red, the one on the left was blue, and the one on the right was green.
"These belts… They're ready," Hanagata said.
(cue Justiφs's by ISSA; same as the original except a switch in places: Michael in Takumi's place, Yuka in Mari's place, Kiba in Keitaro's place, Sawada in Kiba's place, Saeko in Yuka's place, and Takuma in Kaido's place. Kaido, Mari, Keitaro, Murakami, Kaixa, Faiz's Axel Form, and Delta will also be included. Kitazaki and Faiz's Blaster Form are now added.)
(Created by Shotaro Ishinomori)
Hirogaru uchuu no naka Can you feel?
Chiisa na hoshi no hanashi wo shiyou
Tell me the truth shinjite 'ta mirai ga
Kuzure sarou to shite'ru
Kanashimi wo kurikaeshi (Written by Jun'ichi Miyashita; Music by Kazunori Miyake)
Boku-ra wa doko e yuku no darou?
Ima hitori-hitori no mune no naka (Character Designer by Tamotsu Shinohara)
Me wo samase The time to go
Tsuyoku aru tame ni (Produced by Jun Hikasa, Naomi Takebe and Takaai Ustunomiya)
Mata mamoru koto to tatakau koto
Dilemma wa owaranai... hashiri-tsuzukete mo (Directed by Takao Nagaishi)
(The) end justiφ's the mean
Episode 36: The Wandering Spirit
Kikuchi Cleaners
It's been five days since Yuka and Takumi had disappeared. Keitaro was by himself ironing clothes. Keitaro sort of felt…lonely without Yuka and Takumi. Sure, Takumi wasn't around much, but it felt like someone important was missing. Keitaro really missed Yuka, because of her kindness and him wanting to tell her it's okay.
"I'm back," A familiar voice said.
"Takkun. What have you been?" Keitaro asked, but there was no one there.
Shin-Arakawa Ohashi
Takumi was sitting alone, from the distance under the bridge at Shin-Arakawa Ohashi. Takumi thought about his decision, and started to have regrets of exposing the truth. If he had kept his Orphnoch identity hidden from everyone, he would be able to create bonds. Takumi can just visualize what it would be like to hang out with Michael and Yuka.
From the other side of Shin-Arakawa Ohashi, Mari was thinking about her reaction to Takumi being an Orphnoch. She felt like she was the cause of Takumi leaving. Mari starts to smile when she sees a cat licking her red shoes, feeling nostalgic, since Takumi and Saya were both nekojita.
"How are you feeling?" A voice asked, and Mari turned to see Michael.
"Michael," Mari said, as Michael sat down on the bench, next to her.
"This still is probably a shock for you. To be honest… I knew about the experiment that the Ryusei School students were in… But I had no idea it would succeed," Michael said.
"I'm still trying to adjust to me being an Orphnoch. But, I still want to be myself," Mari said.
"I understand that. But… I have the feeling… that all of this is my fault," Michael admitted.
"Don't say that! None of this is your fault," Mari reassured Michael.
"But it is. Me being the blueprint of artificial Orphnoch…to Keitaro being sad that Yuka is gone. Everything I have changed from the future always remained the same," Michael fired back. "The only exception is Saya…"
"Saya what?" Mari asked.
"I don't want to say. It's for you own good," Michael said, before seeing Yuka.
"Good morning, Michael," Yuka greeted before vanishing, revealing that it was Michael's imagination.
Kitashirakawa Batting Center
Kiba was hitting baseballs, that were thrown to him by a machine, with a baseball bat, to help him relive stress. Kiba then turns to see Takumi, next to him.
"You…" Kiba said, which made Takumi turned to him.
"You. What are you doing here?" Takumi asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Kiba said, before focusing on hitting the baseballs, with Takumi doing the same. "I assume the first time you became an Orphnoch…was a pretty long time ago, huh?"
"Yeah," Takumi confirmed, after he and Kiba hit a baseball, simultaneously. "I was critically injured in an accident as a kid. That was the start."
"But what will you do now, now that everyone knows you're an Orphnoch?" Kiba asked, before the two hit another baseball. "I think Smart Brain will try to contact you."
After they finished batting, they sat down on an inside bench to talk.
"Hey. What do you think about being an Orphnoch? Have you ever been scared of yourself?" Takumi asked Kiba.
"Yes, I have. There was a time when I though I would be swallowed by the power of the Orphnoch. Me killing my cousin and ex-girlfriend… It almost consumed me into darkness. The Orphnoch voice that I assume all Orphnochs have command us…and we lose to darkness," Kiba responded. "But in the end, it's all about the strength of will. If your desire to remain human is strong, there's nothing to worry about."
"You're pretty strong," Takumi complimented on Kiba's will.
"No, not really," Kiba said. "Sorry, I guess I sounded pretty full of myself there."
"No… I just don't have that much self-confidence. Once before I transformed into an Orphnoch of my own free will… The last time I did that… people died because of another Orphnoch. I couldn't save one person. I couldn't save Mari or Saya. Since then, I haven't transformed into an Orphnoch. Maybe it's because I've been trying to deny I was an Orphnoch… that I fought as Delta," Takumi admitted. "You understand, right? It's not to protect humans, but to negate our true forms that we fight. As such a person… I'm not worthy to be Delta. I'm vulnerable at this point… Delta and Orphnoch could corrupt me… into an abomination."
"Don't worry. That won't happen," Kiba reassured Takumi.
"But… I don't have any confidence. When will I lose my humanity? When will I attack people?" Takumi asked.
Sawada's Mansion
Sawada and Michiko were fighting in their respective Orphnoch forms, the Spider and Crow Orphnochs. Michiko wasn't as strong as Sawada, but still looked strong than most Orphnochs. After a slash from Sawada's Happo Shuriken, Michiko reverted back to her human state.
"How did I do, senpai?" Michiko asked, as Sawada revered to his human form.
"You're improving," Sawada commented. "But… You are only relying on the blade."
"The blade?" Michiko asked.
"Orphnochs have other abilities besides their weapons. One Orphnoch was able to die twice and revive in a new form. Another Orphnoch does the same thing but the revival is limitless," Sawada explained, referring to Mr. J, the Crocodile Orphnoch, and Saya, his former classmate and the Phoenix Orphnoch.
"How can I get those abilities?" Michiko asked.
"Those are only restricted for those two Orphnochs," Sawada responded. However… There are three things that will never change for Orphnochs. One, there are classified into two types. Original and Sired."
"What are those types mean?" Michiko asked. "Sorry. All of this is still new to me."
"It's understandable. I was as confused as you and any other Orphnoch were. The type of Orphnoch that you step-sister…is an Original. While you are a Sired Orphnoch," Sawada continued.
"Original?" Michiko questioned.
"Someone who dies without the help of an Orphnoch. If it's a car or bus crash, a building fire, suicide, murder, falling down on iced stairs… Those are possibilities to be revived into an Orphnoch," Sawada explained.
"What about the Sired Orphnochs? Because I died during my coma…caused by Yuka," Michiko said.
"The Sired ones are humans who are killed by Orphnochs and turned into Orphnochs through Apostle Rebirth," Sawada explained. "Not all humans are adaptable though. A majority of them just revive for a brief amount of time then die. However… You got lucky."
"Okay… What's the other two?" Michiko asked.
"Two… Smart Brain foresees all the Orphnoch activities. The one who found Smart Brain was my foster father. He's an Orphnoch as well," Sawada responded. "Smart Brain's' current president is an Orphnoch as well."
"This is sort of making sense to me now. What's number 3?" Michiko asked.
"Three... All of those who became Orphnochs...lose themselves to the darkness," Sawada said. "They forget themselves and enjoy their Orphnoch power. Even kill the people they love."
"The people...they love?!" Michiko asked.
"Yes. There have been a few examples. Those who Smart Brain elected as traitors. Those who refuse to attack humans are killed by Smart Brain's cream of the crop...the Lucky Clover," Sawada continued.
Clover Bar
"Is that so?" Saeko asked. "You attacked Kitazaki for, and I quote, revenge for yourself?"
"Yes. I needed to my hatred out on your Orphnoch comrade. Please don't tell Murakami about this," Kusaka said. "I don't want him to fire me after my first day."
"You really are a hypocrite…boy," Saeko said.
"Now… Let's get down to business," Kusaka said to the group.
"Just a moment," Takuma said. "Just who put you in charge?"
"Murakami didn't make me acting leader as the Lucky Clover…but we need to annihilate the traitorous Orphnoch," Kusaka responded. "I don't care who makes you leader…bookworm."
"What was that?!" Takuma asked, before getting up.
"Takuma-kun… He's just stating a fact. Not that I'm standing up for him," Kitazaki said.
"I don't need your assistance," Kusaka argued.
"Enough, boys," Saeko said, stopping the confrontation. "Now… The traitorous Orphnoch. Who would the four of us want to have? I'm staying with Osada Yuka."
"I'm dealing with Kiba Yuji," Kitazaki said, turning to Takuma. "Sorry, Takuma-kun… It looks like you'll be taking on Kaido Naoya."
"I guess I'll be taking Inui Takumi," Kusaka assumed, before smirking. "Perfect."
Wakakusa Child Welfare Center
"I'm telling you! Suzuki Teruo, Suzuki Teruo!" Kaido said to the staff woman. Kaido went there because he forced himself to go to see Teruo. "I'm askin' how that cheeky brat's doin'."
"Ah, Teruo-kun. He was transferred to an orphanage in Chofu this morning," The staff woman explained. "There was no relative who would accept him…"
"An orphanage in Chofu?" Kaido asked, which made the staff woman smile. "D-Don't get the wrong idea! It's not like I'm worried about that brat or anything. I'm just killing time. Killing time. You got it? I'm killing time."
"Huh?" The staff woman asked in confusion, due to Kaido looking like a crazy person.
Tokyo City
Takumi wander in the middle of the road of Tokyo, where he encountered Kusaka.
"You," Takumi said.
"You're finished," Kusaka said. "Even though I am an Orphnoch…I can't trust another Orphnoch besides myself."
"Man… You're such a hypocrite. You hate Orphnochs when, ironically, you're an Orphnoch yourself," Takumi pointed out.
"I'm in control of my Orphnoch power. You think Orphnoch only attack people because Smart Brain tells them to?" Kusaka asked, walking towards Takumi. "You're wrong. People who become Orphnoch are rotten to the core. Just like Sawada…"
"Rotten to core… I assume you're talking about yourself. You've become rotten because of your obsession with Mari," Takumi said.
"I'm not rotten. I'm just protecting Mari from monsters like you," Kusaka said, before shoving Takumi with his shoulder. "The sad thing is that Mari still believes in you and your Orphnoch friends. That's one of Mari's hood points…and one of her bad points. I just came to say that. Now that I'm in the Lucky Clover I won't be dealing with you alone."
"Inui-san!" A familiar voice exclaimed, and the two turned to see Saya.
"Saya?" Takumi said in confusion.
"Kusaka is wrong. You're not rotten to the core. If you were…I wouldn't have given the Delta belt to you," Saya defended.
"But Kyosuke has the Delta belt now. This make things more intresting," Kusaka said, as he turned and walked away.
"Please, Inui-san! Don't run away anymore! Come home," Saya begged.
"Saya… Don't talk to me again. I am no longer myself," Takumi said, as he walked away from Saya.
"Inui-san…" Saya sighed.
Sousai School
9-year old Suzuki Teruo was pushed into the sandbox by a punch of kids, who had mud that were shaped like balls in their hands.
"Come on, eat it!" The kids exclaimed. "We made these especially for you! Eat them already! Here!
"S-Stop it!" Teruo begged, standing up.
"Come on eat them! Eat them! Hurry up and eat them! Eat them already. We made them for you. Eat them! Hurry up already! Eat them!" The kids taunted.
"Stop it, all of you!" Kaido said, who wandered around the scene. The boys turned to see Kaido did a pose that looked like from a manga (Kamen Rider Ichigo's pose). "I won't allow you to prey upon the weak! Oniisan is disappointed in all of you!"
"Run! This guy is weird!" The boy in red told his friends, and the group ran away.
"You okay, Teruo-kun?" Kaido asked, taking out his hand so he can help Teruo get up.
"Shut up! This has nothing to do with you! Don't butt in!" Teruo snapped, before throwing a ball of dirt towards Kaido's face twice.
"He-" Kaido tried to say, before another ball of dirt hit him in the forehead. "H-H-Hey. Just listen to me. Why the hell are you doing that?!"
"Shut up, idiot!" Teruo screamed, before throwing more balls of dirt to chase Kaido out.
"Huh? Stop that! Stop!" Kaido exclaimed. "Why?!
"Idiot! Don't come here again! Idiot!" Teruo screamed.
"Kouhai was never like this. Then again… He wasn't a bratty nine year old kid!" Kaido said to himself, running from Teruo.
Kikuchi Cleaners
"You want to search for Takumi?" Mari asked.
"Yes. Even though he's an Orphnoch… He still is resistant to the effects of Delta. I've been fighting its effects… But Kyosuke, Arai-kun, and Kawachi are lost due to Delta," Saya said. "He says that he doesn't want to talk to him ever again. But I just can't allow it. Sure, I should give someone some space, but Inui-san looks like he's feeling regret…for not saving us."
"He did what he could," Michael said. "I will help you find Takumi."
"Really?" Saya asked with a smile.
"Of course. Takumi is important to this battle," Michael said. "Also, do you have the files of the Ryusei School students."
"Eh? Why do you need to know?" Saya asked.
"All of the students had their parents died in mysterious accidents. I was wondering if Smart Brain could have any involvement," Michael said. "It happened with a little girl and she and her mother survived. The two didn't become Orphnoch. That's why I wanted to see a connection to the incidents."
"Are you saying that Father killed my parents?!" Mari asked, which had Michael and Saya turned to Mari's face, which had an expression of denial.
"I didn't say that," Michael said.
"Then again…" Mari said, grabbing her head. "I don't understand! It's because of the belts that Father sent us that so many of my friends have turned into Orphnoch and died. I don't understand Father's intentions!"
"I have the same confusion as you. Osada-san and I have actually been to the Ryusei School through Smart Brain, when you guys were rescuing me," Michael explained. "Your Father experimented two miners with a belt he called a failed project. But he was also the one who got us back the Faiz and Kaixa belts from the Lucky Clover at that time. I don't know what your foster Father is planning to do."
Forest
As the sun was setting, Takumi was lying next to a tree with his face buried in his legs. Takumi couldn't be with anyone anymore, since everyone found out the truth and his low self-confidence. Then his phone rang, and Takumi picked it up.
"Inui-san?" Yuka said on the phone.
"What do you want?" Takumi asked.
"I just wanted to know if we can talk. I want to see you," Yuka said through the phone.
"Hey… What should I do?" Takumi asked. "From here on…"
"Inui-san… Don't go anywhere. I'll be right there," Yuka said, before she hanged up.
"I've been looking for you. Inui-kun," A feminine voice said, and Takumi turned to see Saeko, and stood up to prepare for fighting her. "I understand. You're confused, right? Right now you are neither human nor Orphnoch. Only half a life… The same thing happened to me. I was as confused as you…and in pain. I had just taken by own life… and I suddenly revived into an Orphnoch and killed all of my classmates. After this, the former president of Smart Brain took me in as his pupil. He told me he can ease that pain quickly. Throw away your past as a human… and live as you are now."
Takumi nodded his head no, not wanting to kill anyone. Saeko walked towards Takumi and gave him a hug.
"What a stubborn child. I normally don't tell anyone my past. But since you are in the same position I was in, you're an exception. It's alright. You can cry. I will take your sadness… and stop it for you," Saeko cooed, before Takumi pushed her to break from the hug. Then, a small explosion happened, and Saeko turned to see Takuma along with a young subordinate wearing a light green shirt and a brown jacket.
"Don't bother, Saeko-san. We've got no choice but to eliminate that man," Takuma said, before turning to his subordinate. "Do it."
Takuma's subordinated nodded, as his face faded dark gray, and charged at Takumi, transforming into the Pigeon Orphnoch, before Takumi transformed into the Wolf Orphnoch. The two Orphnochs clashed, while Takumi was easily overpowering the Pigeon, due to Takumi's agile movements that overpowers the Pigeon's powers. Takuma decided to help his subordinate by transforming into the Centipede Orphnoch. Even with two against one, Takumi still manage to overpower them.
"I won't let you defeat me!" Takumi said, as his human form appeared in his shadow. Saeko smiled as she was watching the fight. Takumi jumped to a tree and jumped to his fight, reverting to his human form and speeding away on his motorcycle.
"Get him!" Takuma said to the Pigeon, who flew after Takumi, leaving feathers behind.
Later
Michael and Saya were in the laundry van looking for Takumi.
"Hey. Do you think your foster father planned all of this?" Michael asked Saya.
"Don't know. He didn't come to the reunion. I've trying to contact him, but no answer," Saya responded.
"Same. All I heard is an ear-piercing sound," Michael agreed.
"Father… I don't understand why he won't answer our questions. Even Takahisa-san is now dead," Saya said. "He was killed by you transforming into Blaster Form."
Michael though about the last time he transformed into Blaster Form, and realized that Takahisa was the Okra Orphnoch.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Michael apologized.
"I don't hate you. Some of the Ryusei School students had their minds manipulated," Saya explained, before stopping the laundry van.
"What?" Michael asked, and he saw Takumi riding on his motorcycle. "Takumi?"
Michael and Saya quickly got out, but Michael turns to see the Pigeon Orphnoch, in his Flying Form.
"Orphnoch?" Michael said, before putting on the Faiz gear and flipping out the Faiz phone.
555
Standing By!
Henshin!
Complete!
Michael transformed into Faiz and jumped towards the Pigeon, grabbed him, and forced him to the ground, which had feathers fall. Saya thought about transforming into the Phoenix Orphnoch, but was too worried about Takumi. She wasn't in love with him, but was worried for her friend.
(Insert EGO ~ eyes glazing over by ICHIDAI; 0:12-0:29, 2:36-3:05, 4:04-4:14)
Omori Hill
The fight against the Pigeon Orphnoch was taken to Omori Hill. The Pigeon was a decent fighter and was matching Faiz's strength. The Pigeon slashes Michael with his claws, causing Michael to fall. As Michael got up, the Pigeon throw feather-like shurikens at Michael's Fullmetal Lung chest armor. The Pigeon threw his feather-like shurikens again, but this time, Michael dodged them, jumped and punched the Pigeon. Michael was getting the upper hand as he was punching the Pigeon, but kicking him, sending him flying to the pavement, with feathers flying. Michael then took out the Faiz Pointer and inserted the mission memory into it,
Ready!
Michael put the Faiz Pointer on his Power Ankle, as the Pigeon got up and charged at Michael, who opened the Faiz Phone, pressed the enter button, and closed it.
Exceed Charge!
Michael extended his right leg, which caused an energy drill to appear on the Pigeon's chest, having feathers to emerge from the chest. Michael jumped, did a flying sidekick, and enter the drill through the Pigeon's chest, executing the Crimson Smash kick. Michael came back from the kick as a red figure, for a couple of seconds, and the Pigeon Orphnoch had the Faiz symbol appear on his chest before crumbling into ash.
(End Insert Song)
Saya watched the battle and sighed.
"This battle… What is the point in this? What are you planning to do…Father?" Saya asked, before she and Michael turned to see Takumi. "Inui-san?"
Takumi's face then faded light gray and transformed into the Wolf Orphnoch, before using his speed to run and punched Michael.
"Inui-san! Inui-san!" Saya cried.
To Be Continued
Another one is done. But, don't worry, I'm not making Saya the helpless love interest archetype. Okay, I got some good news, and some bad news. The bad news is that Avataro Sentai Donbrothers, the 46th sentai series is revealed. How is that bad news? Toshiki Inoue is the head writer. My reaction this was, Holy crap Inoue's back! I'm not a fan of his writing style. I like Jetman and Faiz, but he has a repeative writing style. Sure, writers like Yasuko Kobayashi, Naruhisa Arakawa, and Riku Sanjo add similar tropes they added to their shows they used in the past, but they all have a different version of the trope.
For example, in every sentai work of Yasuko Kobayashi, there will be two reds. Gingaman had Hyuuga, someone who was chosen to be GingaRed, but was forced to give to his younger brother Ryouma, because of Hyuuga was meeting his demise. Timeranger had TimeFire, the sixth ranger who has a darker shade of red. Shinkenger had two ShinkenReds, ShinkenRed and Princess ShinkenRed. Go-Busters has Enter transforming into Dark Buster. And ToQger had ToQ 1gou of Darkness. This proves that even though those writers put in similar tropes they had in their style, they don't them in the same way. Toshiki Inoue, though. He's kept using the same tropes, since Jetman, and does them the exact same way. It's like Saban trying to copy MMPR during the Neo-Saban Era.
Also, I'm not a fan of the suits. Maybe if I can get an image of the team and not from the poster, I think I can see the suits better. It says that Kiji Brother and Inu Brother, the pink and black rangers, respectively, will be computer-generated. I'm not trying to judge a book by it's cover (I learned my lesson with Zenkaiger), but I feel like Toei is going a bit crazy with Sentai. But that's just my opinion.
The good news is that the poll on what Tokusatsu I should fix has closed. It was a tied between Samurai and Megaforce. I'm honestly going to go with Megaforce, because I already have the story and characters planned in my head. This will be my third rewrite of the series. The last two did not go well. I was starting to get burnt out during those two rewrites, but I'm hoping that I can make this Megaforce rewrite something that the audience can enjoy. I honestly like Megaforce (no hate or pitchforks please), but there has to be explanation to some things. Emma and Noah are my favorite characters of the show, because of their relatability and personalities. Orion had a good backstory, and I want to expand on that. I will be doing changes to Troy, Gia, and Jake. I'm going to be honest, Gia had zero solo focus episodes. I will fix that. Along with Jake being characterized as a creep, which is the opposite of what I am comfortable with in a tokusatsu show. Sure, Gai Yuki, Black Condor from Jetman, can be a womanizer, but at least he grows throughout the series. Troy will have emotions, in acting. I really like the Megaforce cast because of their dynamic, off-screen. I feel bad for them and the writers, because they wanted to have good stories. But Jonathan Tzachor, the main producer of Megaforce, was like "Who cares? It's for five-year olds." Come on, you made one of the darkest seasons of Power Rangers. How can you just forget your audience? My version of Megaforce, would mostly like be out by the end of January 2022. I'll see you then, Power Ranger fans.
Thank you for reading, everyone. If you want, you can leave a review to share your thoughts. I will see all of you guys, girls, and all in between, next time. Happy holidays! Bye.