Turboranger Episode 47

A great episode with a quick pace, high stakes, great action, and Shiron gets a big moment to shine.

Both the Turboranger and the Nagare Bouma are recuperating from the previous episode; Shiron's sorrowful and feeling like she should have done more, while the wounded Nagare Bouma have been found and taken to shelter by an old man, Kashim, who knows an awful lot about them -- he claims to be a fellow Nagare Bouma. (Kashim is played by Ulf Ohtsuki, who's appeared in a bunch of toku, but is probably best known to Sentai fans as Dairanger's High Priest Saw and as Santa Claus in Kakuranger. Dude even recently popped up in Kamen Rider Drive, as a scientist working for Bandai.) Meanwhile, the Dragras flies to Neo-Ragon in the Bouma Castle, where Ragon unseals the Bouma-Beast within the creature, the vampire Dragura Bouma...

The sullen and worried Turboranger are in a park, taking in their situation when they're spotted by Yamaguchi-sensei, who's genuinely concerned with their demeanor, telling them that she wishes they'd open up to her. They're interrupted by Dragura Bouma's attack, the creature gruesomely attacking Yamaguchi and turning her into a vampire. Powerless and not wanting to hurt Yamaguchi, the Turboranger flee, only to be confronted by Nagareboshi and Sayoko. Riki tries to convince them to cease any attacks, since none of 'em are in the shape to battle. The old man, Kashim arrives at the scene, echoing Riki's request to not fight. They're all swept up in an attack by Dragura Bouma and Bouma troops.

Worried for the powerless Turboranger and the danger they and their teacher are in, Shiron departs, turning into a beam of light and striking Dragura Bouma, knocking all of its teeth out. (Which seems to free Yamaguchi of being a vampire.) This gets the bad guys to retreat while giving the heroes the chance to pull themselves together, as Shiron then uses her magic to switch places with Yamaguchi; Shiron gives her fairy abilities to Yamaguchi, while she becomes human. The show doesn't hold your hand and spell it all out for you, so my take is this...

While mostly an excuse to finally give Shiron actress Mayumi Ohmura a chance to interact with the rest of the cast, I think she makes this desperate gamble to make herself visible to the five and motivate them. She needed to get through to them and does so, once they see her and once they realize how much she put herself at risk to save them, it fires them up. And I like to think she wants to keep Yamaguchi safe from falling under Dragura Bouma's control again, to prevent her from ending up with blood on her hands. She arrived and saved Yamaguchi just in time and kept this kind woman -- this mentor and leader of our heroes, who cares for her students so deeply -- pure. She saved her before she was lost and brought harm to anyone. (And if she did harm anyone, it was going to be the students she cares so much for.)

After expending so much energy and becoming human, Dazai informs them that it's dangerous for Shiron to remain this way, and that it also risks Yamaguchi's safety, giving further motivation to our heroes. Unfortunately, the villains return to attack. Dazai ushers Yamaguchi-yousei to safety, while Riki carries the weakened Shiron, and they all dodge attacks from the villains. (Ohmura has a lot of guts to be playing unconscious while being carried through big time toku explosions by Kenta Sato. And Sato, as well. I'd be looking out for myself to avoid them fireballs, I wouldn't want to be carrying anyone!)

They're pretty much pinned by the Bouma forces, who fire on all of them. The five Turboranger disregard their own safety, jumping their way to Shiron in order to shield her and take the blast for her. (It reminds me of that moment in Maskman episode 3, when they're all dodging an attack from Igam and jump towards one another, hands out to begin meditation.) In an explosion that would do Junji Yamaoka proud, Zuruten is pretty sure his opponents are finished. Only, when the fire dies down and the smoke clears, it's the Turboranger standing, with Red Turbo holding Shiron. In past moments of crisis, when Riki and the gang have lost their powers, they were rewarded in various ways as they proved themselves, their devotion to each other, to protecting the world, to protecting each other.

Their commitment to saving the Earth, so much so that they shed blood, led to them discovering a hidden location of fairy lights in episode 16. They found power within themselves when they were all willing to protect each other from harm in episode 28. In episode 30, the emotions between Dazai and the Turboranger led to the merging of Turbo Robo and Turbo Rugger. Echoing those episodes, here the Turboranger find renewed power in the absolute faith and love they have for Shiron, and that Shiron has for them. I imagine some would criticize the show for being repetitive, but to me there's a nice progression and an order; for the final time in the series that they need to rebuild their power, for it to happen through their care for Shiron is the highest the writers could go, and it also holds the most meaning and symbolism. That their power is re-earned through their faith and willingness to sacrifice themselves for the personification of that power -- Shiron, the last fairy, the representation of goodness and purity and sacred light -- is the ultimate development.

The Turboranger are victorious, while the Nagare Bouma witness their reclamation of power and plan their next move. They're watched by the mysterious Kashim, who we'll learn more about in the next episode.

This episode's not all awesome action, though. They work in a couple of moments of comedy, like Shiron's mischievous grin when she decides to reswap places with Yamaguchi, in which the fairy-sized Yamaguchi returns to normal while Dazai holds her. It's a scene that brings back memories of Dazai and Yamaguchi's comedic encounters from earlier in the show, and it's also pretty much the last bit of humor in these final episodes.