Juspion episodes 6-10 review.

It's that time again.

Episode 6.

Juspion learns from Anri about a remote village in the mountains where the local children are taking care of a baby Megabeast. Wasting no time, Juspion heads out to the village where he discovers that the infant, Gelgon, is being taken away (possibly to be euthanized) much to the dismay of the children. Juspion vows to get the creature back, but little does he know this is part of Mad Gallant's plan.
After rescuing the creature, Juspion and the children are attacked by Mad Gallant and the children taken hostage. Juspion at an impasse. But he and the children are saved by a new mysterious man, named Boomerang.
During the incursion, one of the parents of Gelgon shows up simply wanting it's child back, but is sent into a fit of rage by Satan Gorth.

Thoughts.

Once again we have another cute episode with Juspion helping the kids get back their monster. You might wonder why Juspion would interfere, at least to the degree that he does. But remember, Juspion grew up with Megabeasts and he clearly has a soft spot for them and probably empathizes with the kids, much like he did in Episode 3 with Koko.
This also makes Mad Gallant's plan make more sense. Unlike with Satomi, Gallant actually has a better reason to have the kids involved with his plan; it draws Juspion out and allows him to take advantage of that very soft spot. It's not brilliant levels of mind fuckery, but this is the right intent.
I also really like the tidbits between Jusion and Gallant. It's not major, but it's good hero/villain stuff.

This was all around a simple and good story. Plus we finally learn a little bit about Mad Gallant, specifically that he's Gorth's Son. Yeah, I wasn't taken by surprise, I fully expected it. This isn't a complaint mind you, just pointing out the predictability. If anything I'm more surprised they brought it up this early.

We also have yet another character introduced which...I dunno he didn't really hurt the episode but I'd rather learn more about the others. But we'll see how it unfolds. This episode sort of sets him up as a rival to Juspion. Boomerang for whatever reason has a vendetta towards the Empire. He doesn't really do a whole lot here(okay he saves Juspion and the kids) but he doesn't have much screen presence or make much of an impact on the viewer.

I really only have two complaints about this episode, one in this category. The first is that some of the acting from the kids is pretty bad. None of it is annoying (thank god), but they sound bored. Seriously the kids are getting their lives threatened and they sound so freaking wooden.
I guess if I was to make another complaint it would be that Juspion punches out two guys guarding Gelgon. Sure, those guys were bad and it was set up, but he didn't know that. As far as he knew, he was just knocking out two innocent guys doing their job so he could steal a monster for a group of kids.
But that's relatively minor.

Regardless, I still think this was enjoyable and a nice way to start off this new batch of episodes.
Part of me thinks this episode was invoking a throwback to older tokus in which kids are shown as more competent and open than most adults, or at the very least a dichotomy between the youthful and the old authority figures. But perhaps I reading too deep into that.

Visuals/SFX.

Well the most obvious thing to talk about is Gelgon itself. It is adorable and doofy looking.

Sort of like a pug in a weird way.

There are some mass shifting scale issues with Gelgon, but I've seen worse and it's overall pretty forgivable.

I really dig Gelgone's parent being a big volcano rock monster. It sort of reminds me of something you'd see from Inhumanoids, which I guess is fitting since Toei did the cartoon show a year later.

Also gotta point out the goons. They've appeared in other episodes, but this is the best presentation of them thus far. Nothing is particularly outstanding about them, but they are varied in their masks, which is what makes them unique if not memorable. I'm so used to shows having pawns be uniform in their appearance, and it's nice to see a variety of alien masks. It's also a good re-use of props already used in previous episodes, and while that is good budget wise, it also gives the impression that these are members of races seen previously.

Their outfits are more alike in appearance. I think the colors are pretty drab and that makes sense given that we can assume they are more or less the military of the MegaBeast Empire, they're not notable. I will give credit to their armor, however. All of their armor is fairly similar with slight variations, and it's very easy to miss that detail. I still like to speculate that it's an indication of different ranks or roles.

The fight scenes were also really good. I've not really talked the on foot battles too much since honestly they all tend to blend together, but they are really awesome here. Juspion is almost overwhelmed with enemies and gets messed up quite a bit. Every punch feels extra crunchy, and the typical sparkling silver suit gets dirty and grimy.

Likewise the fight with the monster was quite enjoyable if a little clumsy. My favorite part is the monster flying through the air as it's erupting.

That's just gold.

The fight is also notable for having another scenario of Juspion not wanting to kill the monster, but considering the great resiliency he doesn't have much to worry much. It's also not quite as interesting as before, though I do like the addition of Juspion having to use Daileon to protect Gelgon.

Eventually Daileon electro shocks the behemoth, and since rock is resistant to electric it merely stuns the creature back to it's senses.


Finally, I have to address the other problem I have with this episode and it's a visual one. The chase scene between Juspion and Gallant is the same chase footage from episode 4. I don't just mean one or two scenes, I'm talking about 3/5ths of the sequence. Reusing footage is fine for a robot or vehicles being called/landing. Reusing that much footage just two episodes after it's initial usage is obnoxious as hell.

And since I'm already complaining, might as well point out the worst effect in the episode: the super imposed giant hands. It looks like a cardboard cutout waving in front of a photo. I'll give kudos for at least trying something new, it's better than reusing footage, anyway.

Music/Audio.

Mabushii Aitsu makes it's debute in this episode, a very fitting track. It's extremely Showa and corny as all hell. Think along the lines of Bokura No Amazon Rider.  I gotta say I enjoy it, it's rather charming in a silly way. Also greatly appreciate the subbers for fully subbing this track even when there is dialogue being spoken over it. Some people won't do that. I guess the idea is having two sets of subs might be distracting, but honestly I'd rather have the option than not at all.

Final Thoughts.

Despite some minor issues, this was for the most part a really strong episode with a charming story and really fun fight scenes. A good way to kick things off again.

Episode 7.

Dragging Juspion away from an arcade, Anri informs him on several disappearances occurring in a mountainous region. The area isn't known for natural disasters or any other dangers. Though there is an attraction called whispering rock, where several people have went missing. Upon arrival, Juspion and Anri discover two children crying at the disappearance of their father, who they claim was sucked into a nearby rock formation.
Juspion heads to the site and is quickly attacked by vines. After escaping their noodley grasp he calls in the Garbin and heads underground, drilling himself into the mountain and discovering the rocks pulsating, almost as if they're breathing.

Elsewhere, Anri and the two kids are attacked by more vines and dragged away while Juspion continues his trek through the cave, until breaking through a wall where he finds a fighting ring.

Or possibly a congressional debate in 2017.

Juspion jumps in the ring, saving the father of the two children. He defeats the opposition, only to be presented with a new more imposing combatant. After knocking off the mask of the assailant, it's revealed to be Boomerang who under some sort of mind control. Everyone, including the supposed dad of the children, reveal themselves to be aliens part of the MegaBeast Empire. Juspion manages to break Boomerang free causing everyone to flee including Mad Gallant.

Juspion jumps into the Garbin Jet to pursue Gallant, until he is briefly confronted by Satan Gorth, allowing Gallant to escape. Juspion then lands and discovers Anri and the kids are missing. Hearing calls for help, Juspion enters a cave only to be sucked deep into the caverns where he finds all the missing people, including Anri, the children and their real father, and even Boomerang. He frees everyone but is attacked once more by vines before he and everyone else are ejected from the caves. The mountains split as Rock Gorilla rises to fight Juspion.

Thoughts.

This was weird. It's not the weirdest thing I've seen, certainly not when compared to something like the Space Sheriffs or Showa Gamera, or Jiraya. But a fight club inside of a giant rock monster sure is something.

Plot wise I don't really have a lot to elaborate upon, this was mostly filler but enjoyable. It's a fairly quick and simple story of Juspion rescuing people, that's about it. Entertaining enough but not really anything important to the narrative. As for what is there, I thought was kinda eh.
Boomerang was probably not the best of ideas to use in this episode as he feels very awkwardly placed. His introductory episode barley had him in it and his place was already awkward there, but that episode at least had him save Juspion and it also gave the impression they wanted him to become something of a rival  in taking down Satan Gorth. But rather than following it up with either back story or showing him to be a dexterous and malignant force- we instead have him as a dork that was kidnapped and brainwashed. Granted It's not like I expect much, dude has two sticks, he ain't doing jack to a 50m monster. But you could still make him into a Riderman or Joe the Haze type character. Maybe they will, but so far he's not done much. Although in complete fairness they do have him state he was looking for the Empire's secret base, which may be an indication he knows more than Juspion about their operations. They also tease his reason for his hatred of Gorth but don't explain it because that's clearly something for a bigger episode.
Also I'm not sure what's up with him suddenly being in the stomach with everyone else. I guess we can assume he got taken by the vines after Juspion left him...and that he changed clothes. Or the writers just fucked up, that works too.

Moving on, we get Gallant expositing that if humans were left to their own devices they would destroy the world, and that's why the MegaBeast Empire needs to take over.

And you know, he's not entirely wrong, but he's using that as justification to destroy everything, which seems counter productive. I guess this makes the villains environmentalist to the crazy degree.

Well no, they would, or at least a lot would. But whatever, they're not going to have a complicated talk about this sort of thing in two minutes.

Visuals/SFX.

They did a fantastic job with this MOTW in terms of appearance.

I love how they made suit and rock formations blend in with each other.
Now I will admit I do think the mountain motif is a little too soon, given that the last episode gave us a volcano monster. Just sort of too similar, ya know? But still, it looks good. Not so great was the battle, the suit is simply too restrictive and the fight is pretty slow, being even more clumsy than the previous episode.
The only two things I really liked about the fight was seeing people run in terror and Daileon lifting the freaking monster over his head.

JESUS!

Although where the monster shines most- oddly enough, isn't the suit itself, but rather the cave in which they shot.
They get pretty clever with some of the effects in this episode, shooting in a cave with a few inflated props, flesh like drop cloths, and calling it the stomach of a Megabeast is fairly creative, to me at least. Some aspects are a little weird, like what appears to be toilet paper, but most everything else is pretty decent.

The vines are pretty fun too. The effect is well done and it gives Juspion something to slice up.

Nice touch with the blood.

I also like how Anri is shown in a more locked up state than usual. Juspion tries turning her head side to side (which is what's been done up until now) but it doesn't work. So he moves to her shoe and pulls on the sole revealing a circuit board.

Small touches that I think really enhance the visuals.

Speaking of small touches, Juspion's suit actor is also becoming more natural in the performance. Certain mannerisms and the overall body language performed in the suit closer reflect the Juspion we see out of the Metal Tech Suit.

The voice is also having more variety while in suit. He has a more joking tone of voice when he's trying to reboot Anri.

While he isn't in the episode much, Mad Gallant is presented really well. This is one of those episodes that gets the lighting and fog just right.

There is some stock footage used in this episode for a quick battle/chase, but it's edited in much better along with some different and new footage. Unlike last time, this is a decent way to reuse it if need be.



But I think the most important thing of all is Juspion changing shirts.

That's right, he has a Blue leopard print shirt now.

Oh and Juspion plays Pole Position.

I can't tell if they were too cheap to put quarters into it or if the G.O. screen is burned

 in.

Music/Audio.

Watch this episode with headphones if you have the option. The sound design in some of the scenes, particularly in the caves, is pretty damn good. Much like in episode 2, the lack of music in favor of reverberating sounds creates an eerie feeling.
Be warned however, Juspion is intense in a few scenes. I don't know what it is, but he just screams at certain points and it's kinda surprising.

Musically they use the latter half of Keesen again, which is always welcome. But the real stand out portion is "Nefuu Yarou" during the chase with Gallant. It's very catchy with the repeating chorus "Neppu, neppu, neppu yarou Juspion" The song is used very briefly though, so the chorus is only heard once. It has a great sax intro too.

Final Thoughts.

I don't have mush else to add. This was a fine episode if little happens. The brief and somewhat strange environmental confrontation will prove to be something built upon in the coming episodes.

Episode 8

Boomerang asks Juspion for assistance in helping two defectors of the MegaBeast Empire escape. Juspion is at first hesitant, but sees the determination in Boomerang and agrees to help. The two take the stage at a dance club to keep an eye on the the two defectors, Rotto and Sachi, both of whom are currently working there. Gallant's men attack, Sachi getting cut in the process. Boomerang leads to two out as Juspion holds off Gallant and his squadron. Shortly thereafter, Juspion reunites with the other three, the two thanking Juspion for helping. As Boomerang tends to Sachi's minor wound, Rotto elaborates to Juspion how he got wrapped up in the Empire. He was a farmer on a peaceful planet, but was seduced by promises of riches. His and Sachi's roles on earth were mainly in spying, getting the latest details on new weapons, listening in on powerful businesses to gauge where the world was going.

The relative peace is interrupted by more foot soldiers, who are slowly closing in on their location. Juspion once again confronts the malevolent forces as the three escape to a more secure location. They stay there overnight, Boomerang keeping a watchful eye. But the morning sun does not vanquish the horrible night, their location is once again compromised. Rotto and Sachi take off on their own as Boomerang keeps the troops busy, being injured in the process. While and Juspion is able to hold them off, Rotto ends up captured by a Megabeast under Gallant's control.

Should've made a left.

Aboard the Daileon ship, Anri tends to Boomerang's cut. Juspion is tired of the evasiveness from Boomerang and wants to know just what it going on with him, leading to Boomerang revealing that his brother was killed by the Empire. Additionally, he has a request for Juspion to take Rotto and Sashi home their native planet. Juspion agrees, but only after his work on Earth in finished. Juspion takes off in the Garbin Jet, rescuing Rotto from being fused with Oni Deviler and finishes off the monster with Daileon. Rotto and Sachi going into hiding with Boomerang's assistance until Juspion can return them home.

Thoughts.

I had some issues with the episode, such as the beginning which has the Narrator's awkwardly explaining Juspion and Boomerang's current feelings, which is a carry over from the 70s that really should have died by that point in time. Not to mention an ill-defined subplot involving Rotto being merged with a Megabeast for no real reason. But for the most part I thought this was a very good episode.
Jupion on stage singing in a dance club is worth it alone. I don't think it's supposed to be funny, but it's such an off the wall cut and...well, see for yourself.

But on a more serious note I really do like the plot in this episode. Focusing on defectors of the MegaBeast empire was a good decision in general. It allowed a glimpse into their operations, mainly on the espionage side, as well as indication they can easily buy off a lot of people. Which isn't surprising, they probably have entire planets for mining. For one off characters, Rotto and Sachi are handled quite well.

Boomerang is pretty good in this episode and it's one that he's needed. He's sadly still not doing much in terms of combat. Though he has a good presence about him. He's less of a joker than Juspion, and is so serious and mysterious that it makes Juspion stern around him. He's also more contrasting to Juspion in his treatment of Anri. While Juspion doesn't dislike Anri, he usually refers to her as a pain, she's sort of like a slightly annoying sister. Boomerang on the other hand compliments her and even flirts, much to Anri's pleasure.

And yet despite his stoic nature, Boomerang is also desperate. He may want to take Satan Gorth down himself, but Juspion is also simply better equipped and he knows this.
Plus we finally get some backstory. Boomerang's older brother worked for Interpol and was asked to Join Mad Gallant's army, he accepted, thinking it would be a good opportunity to destroy them from the inside out. He's actually the one responsible for convincing Rotto and Sachi to leave and informed them of Boomerang. But he was found out and more than likely sent to death. There's a lot to take in from that information.

I once again reiterate this was a much needed episode for Boomerang, and a pretty decent one at that. Hopefully this sort of thing can be kept up.

Unfortunately I do have to criticize the ending which seemed to be pulled out of their ass. Rotto and Sachi go to reside upon a remote farm that I guess Boomerang owns. Yes. Because the defector that was a farmer from a known farming planet hiding out on a farm isn't at all a stupid idea. Granted Mad Gallant asked an Interpol agent to join their ranks, so they're not that smart when it comes to background checks. At the very least this makes more sense than the other option of taking them home, as it seems pointless given that the Empire would just track them down and murder them, even with the supposed bulk of their forces on earth. But wouldn't it make more since if they stayed on the Daileon? Or maybe an underground resistance to the Empire? I guess that's out of budget and they didn't want the characters to have reoccurring roles.

Visuals.

The first fight scene seems like such a shame. It's in a night club and it's just so perfect for a good action scene, just look at it:

It's like Santa threw up a rave.

 Maybe they were afraid of damaging the floors so they went a bit more tame. Guess dance floors weren't as strong in the mid 80s as they were in the early 90s.

Another thing worth mentioning is the MegaBeast is called Oni Deviler. I guess he's the Manos of the monsters. But it sure is a fittingly doofy name for such a goofy as hell looking monster.

Look at that smile, he's no threat at all.

Aside from those, things are done fairly well. One of my favorite scenes, despite how short it is, was when Rotto was being fused with Oni Deviler. It's a little bit disturbing. The actor really sounds like he's screaming in terror, and when Satan Gorth's eyes light up the bright red- you just know some bad shit is about to happen.

Seeing more people on the bridge of the Daileon was sort of interesting. I'm so used to Juspion and Anri being the only ones there, so getting different angles was a nice change.

New building models are used in this episode, they look good but the scale is really wonky.

Considering that we've see houses bigger than Daileon's foot, this looks weird. I think the idea is the building are closer to the camera and Juspion and the monster are further back, but the illusion doesn't work.
Thankfully the fight makes up for it. It's pretty awkward at first, they seem to keep making these suits too restrictive. But it gets better when they have the monster charge Juspion with the horns, which is all you need really. But then it gets awesome when Juspion grabs the freaking horns and slings Oni Deviler around.

We didn't need that hospital anyway.

One more thing, Miya still looks like ass.

Why is she in this show again?

Music/Audio.

We got another new song. we're certainly on a roll here. Ginga No Tarzan. The song seems to be about Juspion growing up without parents, being too young to even remember them when they passed, but still optimistic and cheerful that he has friends. I really dig the song, it's pretty memorable.

Daileon's theme is also used here. They seem to be consistently using it for the fights, but I bring it up here because it's really growing on me. It works surprisingly well for the battles.

Episode 9

Okay this episode starts off weird, so just go with it.

Juspion and the others meet a cedar tree that talks to them. The tree laments that it's life my soon be near, as an apartment complex is set to be built on it's location. The other trees have all been cut down, with only the one remaining. Juspion promises to protect the tree, and will return the next day.
The night, Mad Gallant and his father visit the tree to conduct an experiment with Satan Gorth's powers to see if they can extended beyond not only incurring the wrath of a Megabeast, but also other living beings.

This proves successful and the Tree grows to an enormous size, rampaging through the city. Juspion, recognizing the tree attempts to reason with him to no avail, forcing Daileon to toss the tree aside. The creature isn't very powerful and is instantly KO'd. He picks the tree up and flies out of the city, chaining the tree up in a quarry until he can return him to normal.

Anri doesn't have a clue on how to reverse the effects on the tree, as they have no information on anything like it. But she theorizes the effects may be temporary. Time is however not on their side, as Satan Gorth and Gallant arrive to strengthen the beast, causing it to break free and to shoot pollen across the entire city, making everyone become so sick with hay fever that most means of transportation are shut down.

While Juspion is investigating the location of the tree(which has buried into the ground, only coming up to spray pollen) he comes across a boy being bullied by a group of children who are angry at him and the boy's father for planting cedar trees, blaming them for the recent allergy issues.
 Juspion reassures the boy, informing him about the giant monster behind it all. Later, reassure of himself and his dad, the boy follows a trail of pollen to a gym where the tree is hiding underground, only to be attacked by vines. Juspion and Boomerang, who were nearby rescuing some other kids from vines, find the young lad, Boomerang getting himself caught as Juspion deals with Mad Gallant before rescuing the two and fighting the Tree monster.

Thoughts.

This episode is rushed and confused. The plot takes itself seriously, but the villain's plans are simply too goofy for the viewer to do the same. I think the writers wanted to do an environmental message, sort of build upon the exchange in episode 7. But somewhere along the way got confused and just ended up making an episode more about how sinus problems suck. The talking tree I don't have much issue with it itself, but it is horribly presented into the story.
The "subplot" with the kid and his dad also seems forced just so we can have a kid in the story. It's weird when everyone is apparently so badly sick that society almost comes to a complete halt, and yet a group of kids are able to breathe well enough to chase down someone and beat him up. That's dumb, there's no way around that, it's stupid. It's also resolved almost as quickly as it's introduced because it really has no bloody point. In fact, I don't even think the kid is named which is why I kept calling him boy. Maybe I missed it, but I rewatched the episode and I don't recall anyone saying his name, he's just that unimportant to the plot.

Boomerang is also a disappointment here. He shows up to save some kids but ends up getting caught in a vine and is mostly useless. I'm really getting tired of him being a butt monkey.

Alright, things that I do like shown here is actually what the villains do for the most part. Not so much the stuff with the pollen, that's just too much. But the stuff with the tree spirit shows some nice ideas. Considering that Satan Gorth has already been shown to mess around with souls like infusing one into Sakura, it makes sense he could also toy around with one in an already living organic being.
I also really liked the ending, because Juspion kills the tree. That right, he can't save it and he blows it right the hell up, it's legitimately surprising. Anri commenting earlier in the episode that the effects from Satan Gorth might just be temporary was a good diversion. Sure things are still optimistic with a branch of the tree being planted, but it's at a hell of a price.

Visuals/SFX.

First thing I want to address isn't with the show itself, but the subtitles. They're changed to closer reflect the coloration of the opening title.

Emphasis is also put on certain words in the opening and ending, mainly 'Juspion' being presented much larger than other subs.

The episode title card also features the original air date and the original title.

Okay lets talk about the episode itself.... What the fuck is this thing?

This is horrifying, and this is just waaaaay too batshit crazy way too soon. What was I saying about Juspion not being as weird as some other shows? Yeah this is up there with them. This looks bad. Super imposed mouth and eyes? GAH! Thankfully it's not in the show long but I don't see why they couldn't make a mask and have the eyes light up when it speaks. Don't even worry about a moving mouth. Or you know, use the monster suit which already had light up eyes and a moving mouth.

Speaking of, the suit it's very different from anything else thusfar since it's so vertical. I like the face as well, it has a slight Tiki look to it.
I feel like a broken record by this point, but the suit is once again restrictive, making for some awkward battles. Though the seem to have caught on that the best thing to do is just throw the costume during battles and have Juspion slap it around.

They have some pretty good usage of fog in the episode, it's only in a couple of scenes but it does look quite good. Wouldn't be surprised if Daileon ended up used again as stock footage.

There is however some crap, like drawing cracks with a sharpie over a still frame.

Would you believe they'd use the same effect as late as OhRanger?

But they almost make up for it with a fantastic explosion at the end.

A clever thing they do is replace the suit with a much more basic stand in(Notice the feet) It saves the suit but also allows something tangible to blow up.

One last thing of note, the two silos the tree lands between:

Make what you will of the long wood being placed between two spherical objects. But between the vagina masks, Juspion singing about pushing it soft and then hard, this might be the direst Toku I've seen that isn't Akibaranger or a JAV.


Forget that last part.

Final Thoughts.

I gotta be honest everyone, this is not a good episode. It's not horrible, it's not god awful, but it is bad. Boomerang remains damn near useless and the plot with the kid was just a waste of time with no bearing on anything.
I can't say the episode is entirely pointless because of events in the following episode. But this is the worst episode of Juspion I've seen so far. There is far more wrong than good here with too many questions. Like why is the one  kid and Boomerang immune to the pollen?  Why does no one freaking remember that Monsters exist in this world, especially the Giant tree that literally had people running? Why did Juspion just leave the tree chained and not think about someone maybe coming to free/harm it? BLAH!

Episode 10.

Anri flips through some magazines, pondering if she should go to a beauty salon. She asks Juspion to come with, but he's far too enamored with Megabeasts to really listen, in particular news of a recent discovery by a boy who found a tooth belonging to a distant ancestor of the Amazonian piranha, Pirazar.
Juspion is not alone in his interest, as Mad Gallant is already plotting to have the tooth stolen by two newly revived Amazon women, with the intent of having a kidnapped professor revive the beast in a machine- the same way the two Amazons were made.
Meanwhile, the child who discovered the fossil, Hiroshi, plans on showing his friends the piece which is currently being kept in a nearby school. But when they arrive they find the teacher bleeding on the ground as the two Amazonians escaping. The three head after the two Amazons, following them to a sports center before losing sight of them.

This is what you get for having quizzes on Friday.

Incidentally, Anri makes her way to the same sports center just as Mad Gallant and his crew are finishing up the recreation of the Pirazar. Gallant uses this opportunity to send his two Amazonesses up and trick Anri into a getting a free spa treatment with the intent to brainwash her.

Nothing sexier than M&M earrings.

The procedure doesn't work however, Gallant learning that she is an Android and so a different more mechanical and surgical approach must be taken.
Elsewhere, a girl (one of Hiroshi's friends) is nearly hit by a truck but is saved by Juspion, who was in the area looking for Anri. The kids reunite with their rescued friend and ask Juspion to help recover the stolen tooth. Boomerang is also in the area, as he is tracking down the missing professor. He and Juspion head off, putting two and two together and figuring Mad Gallant must have the professor and be using the Sport Center as a cover. They infiltrate the building, but find no sign of Anri. However, Juspion detects a distress signal being emitted by her and discovers she's deep underground. Crashing through the floor, Juspion and Boomerang fend off Gallant and the goons as they free Anri.

Thoughts.

As much as I did not enjoy the last episode, it did lead into this one and this is a good one.
I have some issues with it, but mostly minor.

The episode builds upon previously established information. Gallant took the latest failure as a learning experience, not as an indication to not try a similar approach. After all, the problem last time was mainly in regards to sending a tree to fight a metal robot, it just wasn't going to win. But reviving a monster fish? That's much better. Episode 2 even mentioned that Satan Gorth has brought back dead Megabeasts, so this isn't too far off.

He's also pretty malicious. My favorite scene with him is when the professor creates the two Amazon women and he thinks his work is done. But Gallant simply responds with a question and a picture of the professor's family.

Yes, I am starting to dig him as a villain.

Hell even Anri has some decent character moments. Having a sudden interest with fashion and appearance isn't exactly unprecedented. Chances are it stems from the flattery she received from Boomerang in episode 8.

While the kids aren't that important, they do sort of help tie everything together. The kids are near the sports center because they're looking for the women who stole the fossil, Juspion is looking for Anri, and Boomerang was looking for the professor. It's plot convenience, sure, but at least there is cause and effect here, at least two parties have reason to be in the vicinity, with Juspion just being a coincidence.

I also greatly appreciate that it's explained why Anri can't be brain washed. The machine is for organic beings. Anri, being an Android, would have to undergo a different procedure. Speaking of, that very operation involves cutting into her leg rather than her head, again this makes sense.

 Keep in mind that previous episodes have shown her memory to reside in her head, but that's just the hard drive. Chances are her main control systems are in her legs, if not just her right one. If you recall in ep. 7, Juspion removes the sole on her shoe to perform a reboot. I know I'm probably the only one that cares about stuff like that, but still.

Another great tidbit is Juspion rescuing Anri. She yells that he's late, while he responds with his typical demeanor. Yet there's a hint of relief in his voice, a thankfulness for Anri being unharmed.




Problems I do have the the episode are two Amazon women...which have nothing to do with the Amazon, and considering Winpector pulled the same, I'm going to assume no one at Toei has a clue what Amazons are aside from female. (Or wild men that want to be friends.)

Another issue I have was the kids straight up leaving their bleeding teacher because the selfish shit Hiroshi was pissed off the item he found was stolen. I know we're not supposed to think too much about certain aspects in these shows, like why characters do role calls, or the it's okay for a building to be destroyed by the heroes. But I can't ignore dude bleeding on the ground and being left. Something like that cannot be when you deliberately have it presented right in front of you.

Also our title character does some running away of his own. He and Gallant are fighting, then Juspion is saving the kids from the giant fish. Did he just leave?

Visuals.

There is some good stuff here, not the least of which is Anri is some sweet 80s clothing.

The props used to restore/clone organic being has an oddly cheap but charming look. Like something from an 80s music video.

I have the urge to sing Automatic man.

And as I mentioned earlier, Juspion punches through the floor and the roof. It's clearly Styrofoam but I don't care, it looks awesome to me, especially the latter which is some comic book level insanity. If I ever get the figuart, I'm recreating the roof punch scene.

More effects for the Blazer sword which is probably the most advanced SFX seen so far:

Some damn good stunt work too, in particular this scene where Boomerang throws a guy off a roof.

He survives btw, only to be punched in the face by Juspion.

But the fights are pretty dang good is some instances as well. When Juspion is rescuing Anri he goes right at Gallant and starts hacking like a maniac. It's so...angry, Gallant just managing to dodge. For the record, Gallant is in human form so he's probably vulnerable, maybe not enough to kill since he is the son of a space demon. But none the less I get the feeling Juspion was really wanting to butcher him.

Great monster design for this episode, I love the giant teeth and the two heads. But the fight is the real treat. I almost feel bad for the poor Megabeast because it mostly just slaps Juspion with it's tail. But Juspion? He beats the fuck out of the monster and it is awesome.

Goddamn. I guess he still had some anger from Gallant and just let loose.

Look, the poor bastard is covering his eyes. He knows he's screwed.

Final Thoughts.

This was a very fun episode. Sure there's some thing like the kids serving jack all purpose when they could have easily been replaced, or Juspion apparently leaving in the middle of  fight. But the majority of this was well done.

Overall.

One thing I did ask myself starting with 6 was if it was truly necessary for Jupsion to kill Megabeasts. After all they're showing that Juspion is capable of taking down the monsters alive if not with great ease. But honestly it does make a degree of sense given the contexts. Juspion is usually fighting a monster in a city and has to end it quickly as possible, which means not fucking about and killing. The two instances shown so far of Juspion saving a monster are away from the city, or at least far away enough, and the monsters are completely docile before Satan Gorth's interference. So Juspion tries to avoid it when it's applicable.

Storywise there's no real arc, but there are a couple of episodes with good information, most notably 8, 9 and 10. Granted, 9 is terrible, but it did introduce the concept of moving outside the realm of natural megabeasts. 8 also gave insight to the Empire's other operations.

Though I can't help but feel there should be more. I still feel the are villains are weak and not that interesting, even with Mad Gallant showing some forward thinking. But I suppose story content will be more for next time, when they finally get back to the Galactic Bible.

For the time being I think Juspion is okay. It's undoubtedly flawed and certainly could use some more tweaks, but it does feel like they're working on some of the kinks and I still maintain an interest as the characters are enjoyable. I think that the series is easy to watch in batches, which helps a lot with some of the issues appearing more minuscule. I do wonder if I would feel differently if forced to watch this on a weekly schedule.

 Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my review and I apologize for taking so long. Between having a cold and the chaos of the holidays, (not to mention just general burnout)  this took much longer than I wanted. When the next one will be out I can't say since I have yet to watch past episode 11, plus I have two other show reviews (Both full series) and two other posts I want to work on. *shrug* So we'll see.

Also as I mentioned in my previous review if you click this link  and make a purchase off Amazon, it would help me out. Or if you wanna sign up for a free trial of Audible, that would help a lot too.


Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks

Huh. Well, yeah, that looks awesome.