Flashman Episode 20

Fujii returns with a unique storyline that, when he picks it up in about 17 episodes, obviously changes the direction of his original intent, making for a pretty damn weird adventure for Dai and the show.

Similar to episode 6, this episode is about soundwaves interfering with a plan. Only this time, it's not the Flash Hawk engines interfering with Mess' nefarious plan, it's a soundwave caused by the latest Beast Soldier interfering with the repair of Flash King! And that's not even the main point of this episode. The monster isn't created for that purpose, it's just an additional perk -- it's a vampiric monster, and this pesky sound occurs as the creature inhales the contents of its victim.

The more important point of the episode, though, is the introduction of Sumire, a high-schooler who is cornered by the monster and whose cries for help telepathically reach Dai. (Why Dai? That's the mystery.) I like that this unusual circumstance is what alerts the Flashman to Mess' location of attack; it's not the usual chancing upon their latest scheme by patrolling or hearing the news. They still happen to be nearby, but Mess amasses quite a body count before the Flashman make it to the scene!

Dai protects the mysterious girl and they end up discovering that, if they join hands, they can unleash a certain power. Their minds join, they find themselves in a trippy realm, while their bodies give off a light. This light ends up causing harm to the monster, and is eventually what destroys the sound it emits.

Sumire reminds me a little of Changeman's Nana in that she's a mystery, her powers are a mystery, and her appearance draws the attention of the bad guys, causing her to always be on the move. She's always gone by the time Dai finishes fighting off villains and returns to where she was! Unfortunately, Sumire doesn't quite get as much development and she's also not made to be as important as Nana. She's only in two episodes, and I always got the impression that more was meant for her and Dai, but Fujii was told to change direction.

Why can Sumire telepathically communicate with Dai? Why do they have this funky extrasensory power? Jin rules out it being anything special from Flash since the other four can't hear her. Dai takes this to mean that Sumire must be his little sister. (I think it would have been pretty interesting if they cast Sumire a little older and had Sumire be Dai's TWIN sister, which would explain their super connection. How tragic would it be for there to be a set of twins, with the one being kidnapped and taken away from the other for 20 years?)

So, I always assumed that maybe Fujii was going in that direction, that he was going to reveal that Sumire WAS a blood relative, but Soda and/or Suzuki decided against it. The thinking probably was that it was too early to have a team member find their family, and that it would have taken away from the Tokimura storyline since, at this point, only the three guys were in the running. And then, by the time Sumire returns, I think the mean bastards in charge knew they only wanted ONE member to find their family, and that it was going to have to be a Tokimura (since they clocked in so much time in the series, no pun intended) so...everyone else got screwed!

I'll just say...if you know the revelation about Sumire, you can watch this episode and realize "Hey, if this monster sucks people's life-force, why's it ready to attack Sumire?" There's the proof that Fujii changed the story, IMO.

Sumire is played by Akane Kudo, who I remember would pop up frequently in Machineman. I don't think she has many acting credits to her name and she's now an opera singer. Kudo's another person who I expected would do more acting, or at least go on to get a bigger role in toku. She has a real gloomy demeanor and is easily sympathetic, and I think she has a distinct look to her that sets her apart.

Anyway, I have to say that I think the monster in this one is cool. Not only does he have this stinger that extends from his snout that sucks blood and the lifeforce of his victims, but he can fire detachable stingers at the Flashman (and later Titan Boy) and suck their energy from afar. The design is this cool, insect-like creature, and not the cliched bat design you'd expect.

Flash King is repaired and back to kick some ass in this episode as Titan Boy's drained of energy. And since this episode is about siblings (maybe, at one point), Jin points out that Flash King is like Titan Boy's aniki. Aw...

Neferu Disguise Watch: As she tracks Sumire, Neferu is disguised in some crazy outfit that would only work as a stealthy disguise in the '80s.

Since this is the episode that sees the Flashman deciding to wear ordinary clothing, I'd like to take this time to highlight their Made in Planet Flash clothing. As I've said, I think they're the best of the weird/alien clothing seen in Sentai. Designed by Yutaka Izubuchi, the outfits have an alien look to them, but they're also just simple and cool looking -- he didn't go overboard in trying to make them weird. And I feel like, especially with Jin's outfit, there's some Star Wars influence, which is funny since Star Wars looked to Japan for its fashion inspiration. (And that wasn't all it looked to Japan for.) Below is Izubuchi's design sketches for each outfit. Take note of how Dai is drawn; as I've said, he's given the demeanor of the tough rebel type of guy, which is how I think the character was intended before they altered it for the actor.