Turboranger Episode 51

Picking up where we left off, earthquakes are shaking Turbo Builder around, with energies being emitted from beneath it. Dazai realizes that, when he was scouting locations for Turbo Builder, he was using an ancient fairy map, so the location has significance. More than just a super mecha and a new base, the Turbo Builder has now ended up playing an important role acting as a blockade to the Big Seal.

Bouma forces intend to strike the Turbo Builder, Zuruten amongst pilots of a squad of Gaizoku ships. Intent on protecting the Turbo Builder, the five launch missiles at the Bouma ships, Zuruten's ship going down in a fiery explosion. (Umezu lets out a scream of "Neo-Ragon!" before Zuruten crashes, which sounds pretty pathetic. Oh, well, Zuruten did say he wanted to die in battle.) The five transform and decide to take the fight right to Neo-Ragon in the Bouma Castle. They basically kind of teleport, MMPR-style -- they just become streaks of light, corresponding to their colors, traveling from Turbo Builder to the Bouma Castle. I'm just going to flat out say MMPR ripped off of it, man.

I love the way Neo-Ragon's not really caring about their presence. They just stroll into that main throne room and he's not worried or surprised by any of it. "How foolish of you! I'll commend you for showing your faces here, but you think too highly of yourselves if you think you can beat me." It's close quarters, but a fast-paced fight scene, with Kusaka doing great work making Neo-Ragon seem swift, imposing and confident. And, once again, Watabe's doing great voice work, laughing off half of their attacks. And then when an attack sends rubble falling down onto the Turboranger, he just laughs his ass off, saying something like "my throneroom is much too good of a burial ground than the likes of you deserve."

Just then, Yamimaru arrives, still using that ninja-like trick of the Dark Hiding, rendering him untouchable. He manages to get in a couple of good attacks on Neo-Ragon. Poor Kirika's not given a hell of a lot to do this episode; she's at the rocky terrain, getting visions in Kashim's locket of Yamimaru, wincing in pain, reaching out to her. She panics, knowing that if he uses the Dark Hiding technique for too long, he'll die.

Meanwhile, the Turboranger are all still unconscious under a pile of rubble at the Bouma Castle. Back at base, Dazai calls for them, hoping for a reply. Just then, an alarm blares -- the intruder alarm. Dazai and Shiron are both startled and worried. Who could this be? And then the doors to the command center open and there stands...Yamaguchi-sensei!

Back at the Bouma Castle, Yamimaru thinks he has a chance over Neo-Ragon, but Neo-Ragon has a trick of his own, which cancels out Yamimaru's Dark Hiding. Riki and the others are finally coming to, only to find Yamimaru taking a beating. I love the way Watabe says "You're still alive?!" to Riki and the others as they get to their feet. Too many voice actors make it sound like surprise and worry; Watabe makes Neo-Ragon sound kind of casual, like the Turboranger are just too stupid to know better. Suddenly, a surprising voice cuts through on their Turbo Brace. "Do your best, everyone," Yamaguchi encourages. They're all shocked to hear her, of course, the one person they've tried so hard to hide their Turboranger activities from. But it's a voice they NEED to hear, the right one to cheer them on. It's such a nice touch and sentiment and it's probably my favorite part of the episode. "Tomorrow you graduate! I've been searching all over for you to make sure you come! Let's all be there!" I like that they revealed Yamaguchi breaking into the Turbo Builder, but not anything else. They leave if off-screen how she's found out about the situation her students are currently in. Did Dazai fill her in? Did she always just know? (I think she knew.) And she's not chewing them out or complaining; she's encouraging them. She's telling them to not die.

This motivates them. They also remember back to what Dazai said in episode 3, Riki quoting him, about age eighteen being the most beautiful time in life, that holds power. This gets everyone to transform and get back into battle, and while Neo-Ragon still manages to put up a good fight, Red gets in some good licks and hits him with a GT Crash. "If I die, we can all just fall down to Hell," Neo-Ragon says, before knocking out the bottom of the Bouma Castle, sending the Turboranger falling into the air. They're lucky to be caught by Turbo Rugger. In other great news for the Turboranger, Neo-Ragon makes himself giant, charging towards the Turbo Builder so he can access the Big Seal. The Turboranger quickly build the Super Turbo Robo and...manage to defeat Neo-Ragon with the Super Mirage Beam. It's a bit of a letdown, man. Remember when the Super Mirage Beam did NOTHING to Ragon when he became a giant in episode 39? And yet his powered-up form is taken down by it? I get that the episode's running short on time, but...geez. Neo-Ragon calls for the Bouma Castle as he falls, exploding, momentarily leaving the image of a fiery dragon. (Was Ragon dragon-based? Like dRAGON?)

The Bouma Castle, apparently, is set to collide with the Turbo Builder. I guess Neo-Ragon figured that, even if he died, the army of 108 Bouma Beasts would still be a victory. It's kinda weird that his dying plan was to basically repeat Yamimaru and Kirika's "crash the Bouma Castle into the Turbo Builder" plan from 39, isn't it? The Turboranger prepare to combine into the Super Turbo Builder to destroy the castle, but MORE great news. Kirika senses that Yamimaru is still alive, begging them to not destroy the castle just yet. There's a time crunch, as the castle is REALLY close to the Turbo Builder, so the Turboranger risk having the Big Seal undone if they choose to wait for Yamimaru. They all call for Yamimaru, telling him to get the hell outta the Bouma Castle. Yamaguchi, listening in along with Dazai and Shiron back at base, figures out that Yamimaru is Nagareboshi, and calls for him, as well. (Shiron even calls for him.)

Yamimaru regains consciousness, hearing everyone call for him. He thinks of everything they've been through together. "Don't worry, everyone. I'm a man with nothing left to live for. Don't worry, I'll destroy the Bouma Castle." It's looking like he's having one of those "bad guy goes nuts and destroys everything around him" moments, blasting the hell out of the Bouma Castle with his Ryusei Gun. It's obvious he's ready to just die. But what gets him to come to his senses? Red yelling out "Do you really want to leave Tsukikage alone?!" He has tears streaming down his face, thinking of her, and as he calls out her name, the red thread of fate once again shows up and connects the two, pulling Yamimaru from the castle. The two reunite on the ground, turning from Yamimaru and Kirika to Hikaru Nagareboshi and Sayoko Tsukikage. The Turboranger fire the Super Turbo Builder Beam, destroying the castle and subduing the Big Seal. Tanaka's performance here is great, and this piece alone should silence the naysayers who mock his performance. That he actually has a tear run down Yamimaru's face...I can't picture any of the tough guy performers I suggested for the role willing to do that, and it adds so much to the character and scene.

The battle won, we then see the five in their school uniforms, with flowers and diplomas. In the distance is Hikaru and Sayoko, dressed casually. This scene's a little strange, and something that I think is up to interpretation. The two obviously watched the graduation and are on their way, quietly, going unnoticed. But they're seen, and the reformed duo exchange a look and (maybe?) some final words with the heroes. I say "maybe," because the two are either just thinking their dialogue, what they'd like to be saying to the Turboranger, or are communicating to them telepathically. Nagareboshi congratulates them, telling them that he wasn't just saved by the red thread of fate by Sayoko, but by threads they were all connected to. Sayoko tells them that their bonds will never sever and thanks them.

I have to wonder if the Turbo staff were unsure where the Nagare Bouma would stand, so we get this silent/telepathic exchange as the writers debated what would be said. Whatever the reasoning, it's a fascinating choice that I like and think works -- it represents the lonesomeness of the two. There's some distance, and it plays into what outsiders they are, and the general uneasiness that comes from having once been opponents. They're keeping their cool and not overdoing it. They might be buds now, but they ain't going to be dancing in the end credits with the five of 'em, either. I think it would have been hokey and weird for the two to have attended the graduation ceremony and been all smiles and chummy and up close with our heroes. I mean, just imagine a scene like that.

Sayoko bids them farewell. It's also important to note here that Sayoko's not graduating. I guess she did miss a lot of school on account of her evildoing, but... I've always been curious what these two got up to in their post-Turboranger life. There's some spin-off novel adventures there. I picture just a quiet, sad life for those two. I doubt anyone expected Yamimaru to end the show mellowed out, though. Like I said, Sayoko, she was depicted in a way that you were meant to feel sympathetic for her. Yamimaru's always been rough. But these two characters were extremely popular. Yamimaru actor Yoshinori Tanaka has said that Yamimaru wasn't meant to last as long as he did; he was told when he joined the show that the character wasn't going to make it to the end. But he was popular with viewers, so they kept him. And Kirika was also meant to be a short-term character, but the staff liked the way Masako Morishita played her, so they decided to keep her around. For changes made on a whim, I think the show does a good job in making it all work. It doesn't feel forced or unnatural to the story, and it certainly wasn't predictable like it would be nowadays. It flowed and worked well with the themes of the show, of youth and magic and heart.

And the narrator informs us of another farewell: Shiron. She informs everyone that she's joining Rakia in the stars, and will always watch over them all and the planet. They say farewell, with a saddened Haruna saying she'll never forget her. Just then Dazai and Yamaguchi arrive, Dazai bidding farewell, with Yamaguchi wanting a glimpse of Shiron, tugging on his sleeve for him to hand over the Fairy Glasses. Yamaguchi is giddy to see her. Shiron laughs, saying a final farewell, and we see her fly into the sky, joining the constellation that Rakia became way back in episode 3. That's kinda sad, man. Seems like a weird, sad fate for those two, but especially Shiron. Why couldn't she just go off to look for the real Fairy Gate or something? Why couldn't she move in with Haruna, go on a road trip, go to college with her? (That could have been a Fushigi Comedy spin-off!)

Because time is running out, the five decide to just start playing around as the end credits roll. This is only the third time a Sentai show has opted to do a new end credits scene in the finale, rather than just playing the regular one. Turboranger unfortunately decides to use the insert song "Dance Tokimeku Kokoro" to accompany this last credits sequence, which is probably my least favorite song on the soundtrack. Kenta Sato requested for it to be used in the finale and won, and I get why they'd want something a little more wistful for the final episode, but the composition of the song is just goofy to me. The vocals aren't the problem, the music is -- the music sounds to me like some 13 year old in 1984 trying to start up their own Human League cover band using MIDI files they made or something.

I would have liked the classic old "clips from key episodes spliced into the final ending credits sequence" that became the norm, but that's a nitpick. I'm sure people poke fun at the visuals we got, which is the heroes just goofing around, playing leapfrog and chasing each other and stuff. It's meant to be a spontaneous outburst of joy -- joy of victory, joy of graduating. I also mostly look at it as a shorthand for them just having the fun that's had by youngsters, that it's meant to represent the last time they'll all have that kind of innocent fun together, which makes it even more bittersweet. They're happy and victorious and young. Still, I would have liked to have spent just a little more with the hero characters before the wrap-up; we get them saying farewell to Sayoko, Hikaru and Shiron, and it just jumps into the credits...

It's like this episode needed just the 5 extra minutes that mostly all toku shows today take for granted and squander. (Sometimes I feel like a toku should do "super-sized" episodes when needed, running just a few minutes longer than the norm.) They're trying to cover a lot of ground and keep up a tense pace in terms of the action, but we needed much more of a coming-down after all of that than just the very last scene. They try to wrap up the entire show in the same space where an ordinary episode wraps up its plot after the mecha fight, and it goes by just too damn fast. Heck, the credits even seem to cut off before they're finished, like it's racing the clock to the millisecond. Guys, you don't want to get to Fiveman that fast, trust me.

I do like that the episode TRIES to make the final battles seem so big and urgent, but I think another problem is that Turboranger has done so many "big" episodes, with big "final" battles that...look, there's just no way their final battle with Neo-Ragon was going to compare to the Riki VS Ragon showdown of episode 39. That scenario had an entire episode devoted to it, while they have to juggle several other balls than simply a final battle with Neo-Ragon in this episode. So they don't really try to top it, they focus more on the time limit and tension and emotion going into this final battle. And then they devote a lot of time to wrapping up the Nagare Bouma; they're prioritizing these two popular characters and shortchanging our heroes a little in this final adventure.

So...it's a lot they're trying to do here. I still like the episode and find it enjoyable, but I would have liked for them to spend a little more time on those farewells and involve Daichi, Youhei, Shunsuke and Haruna more. We aren't seeing these characters again, so make it count. Make us sorry to see the episode end, to see these characters go. Make us wonder what they're going to do, where they'll be headed. Give us a high-school reunion special! In a perfect world, they'd make a Zigzag Turboranger 30 Year High School Reunion special.
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So, that's Turboranger! I think it's a fun damn show, bringing a lot of new ideas and style to the franchise, filled with one classic Red, likable heroes, and truly memorable, freaky villains. I think it's low reputation is a sad mistake and oversight by viewers, and the show is never given a fair shake. The show has its flaws, but people who criticize it never are willing to give it enough of a chance to judge it for what it does; the criticism against it will always be very superficial. "Fairies are lame! Fairies have nothing to do with cars! The show looks generic, but I haven't even watched it to know if that's the case or not!"

I love the show, and it's in my top 10 of favorite Sentai. I tried to be fair with these reviews, highlighting what I thought made Turboranger cool or interesting or unique, and why it's a worthy installment that everybody ought to check out, while also not shying away from areas where I felt the show was weak. I feel like a lot of Turboranger's weaknesses were borne out of production issues beyond its control. Film and television production is tricky, there are so many variables involved. The writer could have everything they want to do planned out, written ahead of time, everything that they want to do with the show figured out -- but if you're not given the budget, or if there's a problem with a performer, or staff members are coming in and out, or the censors are on your ass, well...those are just a few examples of how something can get away from a writer, how quickly and easily something can change.

I've gone into detail about this across these various posts, but here's my viewpoint in one chunk:

Turboranger didn't look like it had a great budget; tokus are low-budget, and this was low-budget for an already low-budget production. And then take into account how there seemed to be a push to lighten toku shows in the late '80s. Throw in casting that maybe didn't best live up to the idea the writer had. (Ganaha as Daichi, for example.) Add to that a performer who's uncomfortable with their outfit and maybe wants to leave the show. (Masashi Ishibashi.) You don't even need to have production issues to change writing -- a writer has the choice to change their mind about something. (As in: Yamimaru and Kirika weren't meant to be permanent additions, but their popularity changed initial plans, and it's something that worked out to the show's advantage.)

There are so many things going into making a show or movie. So many things that can change it or derail it. Sometimes, you gotta sit back and marvel that there are ANY good shows or movies out there. Some shows can't recover from any of the problems thrown their way. Some shows barely scrape by, and some shows use their imagination to have things work to their advantage.

I don't think any of the production issues that came up on Turboranger derailed the show or made it unsalvageable. Turboranger doesn't get the credit it deserves for introducing new things to the franchise, things that would greatly benefit it and its survival into the 1990s. I brought up instances of the show introducing an idea and not dwelling on it or quickly brushing it aside -- for example, the idea of the humans gaining a power similar to fairy magic or the way that magic was returning to the world -- they were interesting ideas that would have helped make the show's world bigger if developed further, but...was it absolutely necessary for the show to delve deeply into it? At what point would it begin to get too far away from the show's main goal? Isn't the introduction of those ideas good enough?

Sometimes, I like a show or movie to provide little details like that, mention of unexplored corners of the show's world, enough to get your imagination working and creating those details yourself. And I find that's what Turboranger does. It will present to you enough of an idea to let your imagination take over. Does it make it weak? Not in my opinion. There's the possibility that what you picture is better than what would have ended up had the show gone down those roads. I like for a show to be as complete and planned out and meticulous as it can be, but I also like when there's room for things left to your imagination or layers or various ways of interpreting it. I think there's still value in those kinds of stories, something to still be had and enjoyed even if every "i" isn't perfectly dotted.