Flashman Episode 27

Inoue returns. This episode is pretty much known as "the one Red Mask was in." I miss when a guest star from the previous show would end up playing a lead in the next. And in a curious way of life imitating art, the character Ryousuke Kaizu plays is a cook with a ramen cart, with Kaizu going on to run his own successful ramen shop. And I like that it ties directly to the previous episode, with the Flashman again bummed out to be eating only the Space Pill, which is how the guys find Takeru's -- I mean, Ryuu's! He's named Ryuu here -- ramen cart. Dai strikes up a friendship with him, once they realize they also share a love for boxing.

This episode is somewhat unusual for Inoue in that it somehow avoids having a tragic ending. We know how this sort of scenario goes in a toku; a hero's pal or love interest is turned into a monster, chances are that person gets killed by the episode's end and the episode ends with our heroes standing over a pathetic makeshift grave somewhere. And that's certainly the Inoue way of doing things, but, surprisingly, not here. He was either feeling generous the day he wrote this script, or was reallllllllllly trying to play it safe since this was only his second toku script. (And he probably was scared straight by Michiru Shimada's episode 21.)

Kaizu's character, Ryu, while a modest proprietor of a ramen cart, has aspirations to become a boxer. Dai agrees to help him train. And this is where it really sinks in that the show has abandoned the Flashman's own abilities. Dai has super strength! He was shown in earlier episodes busting through walls like the Kool-Aid guy or punching heads off of things like he's in Mortal Kombat! But here, regular citizen Ryuu continuously bests him in boxing. There is no way he should be able to punch out Dai, unless Dai was holding back. (I guess Kaizu was already developing the Godhand. Speaking of which, Kaizu tells a story saying that Kihachiro Uemura knew that he'd end up playing the next Red and would tell that to the Flashman crew.)

What's interesting about this episode is the idea that Keflen targets Ryuu because of his athletic ability, and it's supposed to be unsettling and terrifying that we get to see, for the first time as viewers, his experimenting on a human being. And the human part wins out, as Dai is able to successfully reach through to the monster and calm him with music, forcing Keflen to actually separate the two. Triumph of the human spirit.

It's a familiar toku scenario, but done well, with a great guest star and some damn cool action scenes. (The way they film the attack and kidnapping of Ryuu on the beach looks amazing; the overcast weather gives it a real ominous touch.) And, while he sat the last episode out, Wanda returns in a big way here, and is just so cruel and menacing that I think this episode is what made Hirose stick out to Inoue, leading him to write so many parts for him in his subsequent shows.

And I like Green Flash's fight with the monster, once Ryuu has separated. This being a boxing-themed episode, there's these nice boxer moves from Kouji Matoba in-suit, with this great shot of him posing after delivering the final blow, his fist quivering, conveying just how pissed off he is that this monster made use of his buddy. "Think of these fists as Ryuu's fists," he warns the monster.

As I noted before, this episode was the highest rated episode of the series, with a 16.3% number. (The finale comes close, with a 16.2%.) I don't really understand why. I don't put much stock in television ratings, but this is a real mystery for me.