7 Thoughts on Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger Episode 21: "Goodbye Scorpio! The Return of the Argo!"

That wait was legen-wait for it...

1.)  I think the only person who got more emotional than Stinger about this might've been me.  After the team throws down with Scorpio and finally get the upper hand, Scorpio digs down deep and starts chucking spamming special moves like he's just been waiting to empty his Super meter, taking the whole team down.  He's about to wipe them out for good, when everyone's favorite justice-loving robot, Champ, appears.

This was done really well--Champ was gone long enough that you could miss him, but not so long that it felt like the writers just forgot about him.  You even buy Stinger's emotional reaction to his return--after weeks of treating him like a nuisance, it's Champ who saves his life during Stinger and Scorpio's first showdown, and it's Champ who saves him again here.  He's proven to be a better big brother than Stinger's real brother, and it's nice that the team's emo kid gets to have a bit of a redemption arc.

2.) This is probably the key thing I dislike about Japanese storytelling.  When it comes to family, people are rarely ever "evil", just misunderstood.  They can be (and in this case, absolutely are) responsible for the deaths of thousands, but inevitably at the end of a family member's storyline they'll see the light.   I hate it, because it just trivializes all the choices made up to that point.  Scorpio seemed like an unrepentant bastard from the moment he got to meet up with Stinger again--why go back on it just because you're killing him off?

3.) With Scorpio dead, Don Armage decides to drain Earth of its Planetium through the massive amount of Consumarz that have finally arrived above the planet.  The team initially plan to take them all down via their mecha, but the Orion is (smartly) shut down by a Jark Matter attack, leaving them forced to come up with a new method of attack.  The idea we get is sound enough, but I can't help finding it weird that we're only 21 episodes in and the fact that Lucky's a "red" ranger has already superseded Xiao's status as the guy who's actually "commander" of the team.   The sad part is, Lucky's plan of splitting the team up to both defend their ship and find the Argo is a smart one.   Lucky's growing into a competent leader...while Xiao's still making puns.

4.) Kyu Globe Update: The Argo Kyu Globe, a Kyu Globe that emerges when the Velis, Carina, and Puppis Kyu Globes are activated at once.  It summons the Argo, which hides the legendary warrior, the Phoenix Soldier!

It was a little coincidental that the Argo ship was on Earth, but at the same time most of the powers of the Kyuranger haven't had anything to do with the Earth at all, so it makes sense that there's something important there, after all the work Jark Matter's had to do to oppress it.

5.) After a hilarious misunderstanding, our new hero--Ohtori Tsurugi--steps out of the Argo and pronounces he'll start his war with Jark Matter anew.  After burning away all the hair that had grown on his body during his three-hundred year cold sleep just by pulling his sword out of its sheath, what follows is probably the most impressive "extra ranger intro" I've seen since DekaMaster took out 100 grunts in thirteen seconds in 2004.

Tsurugi/Phoenix Soldier, attacks and destroys an entire space armada without anything else other than his sword and shield.  At first we see him hit weak spots, but eventually he just starts brute forcing it--taking single sword swipes and splitting massive ships completely in half.  He's monstrously powerful, and honestly Jark Matter's going to have to step it up very soon if we're going to take them seriously as a villainous threat now.

He also puts down Madaako once and for all, but then again I thought that when she was blown to bits in an entirely different universe too, and look where that got me.

6.) What I might love the most about Kyuranger is that so far we've revealed every character we've focused on has more to them than just their surface characteristics.  Lucky revealed he needed to see himself as "lucky" after watching his planet get incinerated.  Balance showed a blinding intelligence underneath his carefree attitude.   And with this arc, Stinger just revealed himself to be a big ol' softie, having sewn a bunch of adorable Kyuranger dolls for Champ while he was being rebuilt, and apologizing to Garu and Raptor for poisoning them before running out of the main hall in embarrassment.

It's the kind of character work that makes me think the writers care about this series, and I love it.

7.) Next week:  We learn just how much of a weirdo Ohtori Tsurugi is.  Of course, this episode's been out a while, so you already know the answer to that.

.....DARY.   And even that wait was pretty legendary~