Changeman Episode 46

 

12/14, Episode 46 -- "Beautiful Shiima!"

The cracks begin to show within Gozma...

I really like the first scene in this episode, Shiima springing an attack on Super Giluke at night. Yamamoto has this cocky, cool, dark Count Dracula kind of vibe going for him here. This is one of the first changes you can spot in his performance from early Giluke to Super Giluke, in the way he carries himself -- he's just really confident as Super Giluke, whereas before he would sometimes come across as kind of like a stressed out salaryman, eager to please the boss man and keep his co-workers in line. (I'm reminded of what the Joker says to Grissom in Tim Burton's Batman: that he's been dead once, already, and it was very liberating.) 

It's also made more apparent in this scene that Super Giluke is on the perimeter of Gozma; he's still loyal to Bazuu, and Bazuu's taken a liking to him, but he's not joined with them, not amongst the Gozmard crew, no -- Ahames is still in charge, and there's a bit of a distrust of Super Giluke. (For good reason, we'll see in a couple of episodes.) Ahames gets the blame for Shiima's surprise attack, and while we don't find out if that's true or if it's Shiima's plan, Super Giluke hits Shiima with something that literally knocks her out of town -- and out of a memory.

So, Shiima has amnesia and is wandering around Japan, performing kind acts, looking lost and appearing terrified when approached by Buuba and Hidoras. This catches the attention of Changeman, leading to a bit of argument amongst them whether it's something to be believed or if it's a Gozma trap. I used to think this episode should have been a Hayate episode, since Hayate and Shiima had those moments early on, specifically episode 10, when she disguised herself as that florist and he fell for her. But it's kind of interesting, and makes a lot of sense, that Hayate is the most suspicious one of the team -- and Tsurugi is the one who's a little too trusting too fast. Hayate's the one who first spots Shiima and recognizes her, he's the one that really disagrees with Tsurugi about the situation (even getting a nasty knuckle-onigiri from Tsurugi that manages to take down Yuuma, too). Maybe Hayate's even remembering how Zoorii betrayed his trust in episode 27, and that's furthering his caution. But Tsurugi's proven right -- that this amnesiac form of Shiima could represent the Shiima before Gozma came into her life, that Shiima has been and is capable of good, that she came from happiness. Tsurugi once again is open minded and takes a chance on trusting an alien and, even if it doesn't all go smoothly, he was right to do so.

One thing I really like is the Gozma stepping in and having Space Beast Soldier Garuga hypnotize Shiima into attacking Tsurugi, making it look like Hayate WAS right and that it was all just a set-up. It's a pretty nasty tactic on Ahames' part. Our heroes are smarter than that, though, and quickly realize the monster's behind it. And for all of the kindness Tsurugi has shown her -- opening her memory to joyful experiences and fun and games -- she repays by taking a hit to shield Tsurugi, which unfortunately regains her complete memory. But she ends the episode in doubt, remembering the happiness she felt on Earth, so...this episode is a nice, sweet kick-off to where Shiima's headed in the series.

But I do have a bit of a problem with this episode. While she has amnesia, Shiima keeps thinking back to moments of her childhood with Uuba, where she seems happy and is playing games with Uuba. While I think it's pretty cool of the show to remember Uuba and haul her out after 30-some episodes, it's a bit of an inconsistency. In episode 4, we found out Shiima was raised on Uuba's milk, the consumption of which we were shown causes violent attackers. (The Changeman had even wondered if Shiima might not have had a human form, that she had a true, alien or monstrous form, but was mutated by Uuba's milk into her human guise as the pets were.) In episode 12, we're shown Shiima attacking mothers out of hatred for having her own mother taken away from her and being raised by Uuba. So, now...Shiima's fondly remembering playing games with a laughing Uuba? 

I guess you could argue that since she had amnesia, maybe she had some fuzzy memories, or memories were blending, or maybe there was a brief time where Uuba WAS kind to her and then she turned cruel as she implemented Gozma's plan. It just always seemed a little murky to me, and I assume it was because this episode was written by secondary writer Kunio Fujii while the previous ones were main writer Hirohisa Soda. It's kind of odd for a secondary writer to get what is a pretty crucial episode to the endgame like this, and I would have liked for it to have been a little clearer.

But I still like the episode and think it's good for all that it sets up -- Shiima's eventual turn wouldn't work as well as it does without this episode, and seeing the way Shiima interacts with Tsurugi and other people when she's stripped of the memory of her terrible life with Gozma. And I also really like the episode's cool final shot, where Tsurugi and the others are standing on a platform at night, staring at the stars, and they each leave the frame one by one.