HUBB
ARDIAN
CASE FILE 05 :
THE THIRD FORMATION
Episode 5, which focuses on Yuuri's character, sets the tone with the moody atmosphere of the Londerz Prison.
Poker-faced Yuuri always gets things done while maintaining a cool demeanor, but in fact, it turns out she carries a traumatic past with her. Her whole family was killed, with her as the only survivor,
and we learn in this episode how this past, which seems far too heavy for kids to be watching at 7:30 in the morning,
has affected her identity. Like I mentioned in the commentary for Chapter 2, around the year 2000 was a dark time,
and this dripped down to kids as well. The year before Timeranger aired, I was made to believe Nostradamus's prophecies,
and feared that the year 2000 wouldn't come, and seriously thought that I would die before I became an adult.
Once we got through that, next I was afraid of the Y2K bug.
This wasn't some kind of occult rumor, but a technical disaster that could possibly occur, and although the efforts of engineers were able divert any damage,
I couldn't understand it as a child and thought this also meant the end of the world.
1999 had already been a year of troubles leading up to this moment, so it was a big relief to welcome 2000 without any problems after watching Dango 3 kyodai in Kohaku Uta Gassen and eating New Year's soba.
That reminds me that in 1999, I only collected "wierd" CDs like Dango 3 Kyodai and Bakuchuu Mondai.
At that time Japanese CD cases were long and rectangular like in the images to the left.
In case anyone doesn't know Bakuchuu Mondai, it was a regular feature in the show Ponki Kids, which was a favorite of mine,
in which the comedy duo Bakushou Mondai wore full body mouse suits and did rather philosophical skits.
The absurd setting and strangely high tech graphics were something new to my child mind.
Recalling always watching it while half asleep on Saturday morning fills me with nostalgia.
Another Saturday morning staple from that time is the Kirby anime. Full of metafictional elements that adults can enjoy,
I recently rewatched it. Was it really 2001 that it first aired... 22 years ago?! No way! I can't believe that much time has passed.
Until now Yuuri has always been stoic with the other 4, but in actuality, she's restrained her emotions for so long that she doesn't know how to show them,
and because she's lived alone without any help from others, she doesn't realize how having others understand one's feelings can lead to them helping, so she doesn't see any point in doing so.
That she didn't report the request to clean this huge building (which is actually TV Asahi) and planned to clean the whole thing by herself shows how thin her consciousness of others is.
Even if it's just the lobby, it would definitely take way to much time to clean it alone, but she's so caught up in doing things herself, which is common sense to her, that she can't think of the more efficient option of working together.
Even though Yuuri takes the role of the serious leader, I think it's safe to say that trying to finish a job of this size all on one's own is actually less practical than the 4's unhelpful hijinks when they do end up coming.
Regardless of the fact that she's an undercover agent, one can see why the TTPB thought she'd be a good fit.
The other 4 claim that they came to help, but are only getting in the way, and Sion falls down and knocks a bucket over,
spilling water everywhere. It's a silly situation all around, but I can't help but wonder if the Timerangers are really serious about their work when they bring a tiny bucket and some storebought Mr. Clean spray for such a massive product as this.
The episode's repeated scenes depicting the lack of understanding between Yuuri and the other 4 are uncomfortably realistic,
which gives me a bad feeling personally. In this case we end with a scene showing how they've all grown closer so all is well,
but unlike Yuuri, in my case there's always no such happy ending and people just drift away with a cold expression... HAHAHA!
These guys do want to understand her to get along better, but they don't know how, and she isn't trying to be understood in the first place.
I feel like it's a sad fact that there aren't many people that would try to get closer to someone like her if they weren't in a forced relationship like the Timerangers are.
I think there must be a lot of people who are emotionally distanced from society in this way.
Even if they don't have as tragic a past as Yuuri, everyone lives with a barrier between themselves and others, and must live with disappointment and compromise.
Yuuri is a productive and independent adult with good judgement, but she actually isn't good at communicating or compromising with others, and carries her own flaws.
I think we're seeing the deep human side here that tends to be overlooked, but shouldn't be, when people are viewed as just one cog in society's machine. No one's perfect, and it's strange to expect it of people.
The criminal who is thought to have killed her family, Mad Blast, looks a little like a certain person who caused a stir on the Japanese internet recently,
but I think it's best not to dig too deep into this topic. If you know, you know.
While Lila's living it up with some early 2000s-style hunks near the TV Asahi building,
Mad Blast, who Gien independently defrosted, starts firing indiscriminately not only at the general populace, but also at Lila and her boys, and of course immediatley opens fire on the Timerangers once they make their appearance.
Although Dolnero, Lila, and Gien all illegally time travelled together as a family, their different motivations are already starting to stand out in Chapter 5.
They shared the same goal of escaping to the 20th century, but what they actually want to do once they got here isn't necessarily the same.
Hopefully they won't break up like a band whose members go in too many different directions.
Also, it seems like a coincidence that an enemy with a connection to Yuuri's past shows up precisely in a situation that highlights her complex personality, but that's just how things seem to go, isn't it.
When Yuuri faces Mad Blast, she loses self-control as terrible memories from the past are revived, and if it weren't for the other 4 holding her back, she may have killed Mad Blast in a fury,
even though she was able to remain calm when Ryuya was revealed to be Lila, when TTPB abandoned them in the past, and when Sion was kidnapped,
which reveals how this emotion she had continually suppressed was strong enough to explode with the right provocation.
The other 4 are confused by this side of her they've never seen before, but Tac explains her personal background to them.
Tac giving out personal information that's been programmed into him seems a little sketcy, and it's also unclear why he would know this about Yuuri, considering he belongs to the TTPB,
who shouldn't have known that Yuuri was an undercover agent, but we'll chalk it up to them knowing each other better now.
Yuuri took after her father in becoming a mafia detective, and she should have received the bracelet from him that Mad Blast stole.
The wooden performance from the actor playing Yuuri's father is the sole flaw in this otherwise touching scene.
If only he could have acted a little more naturally...
In the night, Yuuri is overcome with strong emotions, but thinking through the night, realized that the best thing she can do is find the truth behind the unresolved case of her family's murder.
Legally, Mad Blast was just arrested for a violent crime unrelated to her, and it has yet to be proved that he's the one who killed her family.
The next day, Yuuri goes to meet him to find that proof, and does find irrefutable evidence that he's the one who carried out the killing ordered by Dolnero.
Dolnero, it was you who thrust Yuuri into a life of solitude.
Maybe because they maxed out the budget with his appearance as a hologram, this is the only time Dolnero appears in this episode.
Yuuri chose the correct path and carried it out by herself, and didn't lose to her emotions.
Meeting Mad Blast for the first time stirred a strong impulse to kill from her unconscious, but the rationality that brought her through years of suffering led her to make the right choice.
The influence left by her lonely and repressed lifestyle wasn't all negative, which is thanks to Yuuri not giving in and looking the problem straight in the face.
The Time Jets arrive once the Emergency System is activated, and combine into Beta formation.
Based on its track record, Beta's signature pose with the Flyer Magnum in hand already seems pathetic.
One hopes that today Beta wil finally redeem itself, but instead is met with a rapidfire onslaught,
arms and legs flailing about in panic... seriously? Again!!
As if disappointed, Tac immediately dismantles Beta and orders a change into Gamma mode.
Considering Beta's useless it can't be helped, but the way it's so simply tossed aside
recalls the quick elimination of a contestant on a scripted reality game show.
Looking at it from another angle, that it's programming still hasn't been improved is proof of TTPB's incompetence and lack of support.
Unrelated, but there's a mysterious hole in the crotch of Mad Blast's pants.
As the episode's title, "The Third Formation," alludes, this is Gamma's first appearance,
and while specializing in close range attacks, it can also perform aerial attacks, meaning Beta has finally become completely useless.
Tac seems like an obedient dog of the TTPB confidently introducing Gamma.
The Gamma Tornado attack already applied a lot of damage, so Tatsuya quickly switches to Alpha mode.
Timeranger's battle scenes really do end in an instant. Tatsuya gives the Jikuuken to Yuuri this time and lets her Press Blizzard.
Mad Blast turned out to be a rather underwhelming enemy whose only skill is randomly firing on civilians.
He hardly even put up a fight. In the end, Yuuri experienced and grew a lot as a person in this episode,
bringing resolution to her past and having others hold interest in and accepting her for the first time.
Seeing her expression of relief and of having grown closer to the other 4 Timerangers, the viewer who may have felt saddened with pity for her is cheered up
and ready to watch Kamen Rider Kuuga, which comes on next.
SCORE:
This is a difficult episode to rate. Yuuri's memories of the past, the psychological aspect of her having to face them anew when confronted with a reminder of her parents, and the distance between her and the other Timerangers are all very sad to watch. It ends on a positive note, but even after the ending one is left feeling pity for her. For three weeks in a row we've had spotlight episodes on Ayase, Sion, and Yuuri introducing their backgrounds, which I enjoy watching, but I do think these kinds of episodes could be spaced out a little more. However, the 3 stars is given for Yuuri not giving in and growing as a person, the moody visuals of the Londerz prison in the forest at the beginning of the episode, and the Lo-fi visuals depicting the 30th century. Sion does stand out a little bit, but there wasn't much to write about him in particular, other than that his hair has turned a deeper shade of blue. How many years will it take to reach Chapter 51 if I keep writing reviews at this pace...