Back again with episode 42. The last episode was all build up for what they promise will be an exciting episode of fights. Will it live up? Click "read more" and we will find out.
Analysis
The episode wastes no time getting into the action with Destra appearing before Noël Takao and Kairi whom he has learned is Lupin Red. That was a quick and nothing way to get the secret identity out.
The two Lupinrangers morph up and go on the attack only for Gauche to join in the battle as well. Looks like all the boss' retainers are present. Cut to intro! So far so good.
One theme song later, Kairi and Noël Takao are struggling in the fight against Destra and Gauche. In the middle of attacks, Gauche uses a scanning collection piece called "Guéris le monde" and apparently learns a secret about Noël Takao. That sounds interesting. Making matters worse, both rangers get beat and have the Siren Striker and Victory Striker collection pieces stolen by Destra who uses them in his 2 safes.
Now, with Victory Striker's future vision, and Siren Striker's control of gravity, Destra is extra powerful and completely overwhelms Kairi and Noël Takao. The Patrangers show up now, just in time to watch Destra smash his hammer down and send the whole section of the city into a sea of explosions.
Wow!
Beaten and hurt, the two Ranger teams are treating their wounds and trying to think of a plan of action. Kairi comments on Noël Takao getting jumpy after Gauche scanned him to which Kogure has a big reaction too and goes to find Noël Takao on his own. He knows something.
Running out of options, both teams red rangers, Keiichiro and Kairi, decide to swallow their pride and admit that they need each others help in order to defeat Destra. The police will keep him busy while the thieves steal back the collection pieces. It's a simple plan, but it took both of them to go back on their stances and morals to suggest it. However, they both think they are using the other team.
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| For context, they both said "we will" before this. |
This isn't the first time the two teams willingly cooperated, but so far, it's the most believable.
Elsewhere, Kogure has found Noël Takao and is confronting him about the scan. Nothing is revealed directly, but they both talk about avoiding any more disasters and Kogure tells Noël Takao to stop going into battle. I've got a thousand ideas but I'm not sure what this secret is. Well done writers.
The time has come for the confrontation with Destra as both teams suit up in a dramatic fashion. Destra appears at the Global Police HQ where the Patrangers are waiting for him. They attack Destra while the Lupinrangers watch from a distance. Both teams have the same plan, but sadly, it fails as the Lupinrangers get caught in a gravity attack while trying to steal the collection pieces back so now everyone is in trouble. Noël Takao is watching the fight from a distance as both teams fight desperately but are simply over-powered by Destra who has now taken 2 more of the Lupinrangers Collection pieces.
I'm predicting Noël Takao will defy Kogure and join in, but I'm not seeing how he can make much of a difference.
The rangers are down, beaten, and knocked out of their ranger forms when Kairi and Keiichiro stare at each other and get motivated thinking about how the other one would not give up and trying to think what each other would do. They're both inspired by each other. That's a true rival.
Kairi stands up and henshins once again with a new plan. He fires his lupin magnum (his crazy strong gun) away from Destra to propel himself towards him and fight against the gravity field. If they magnum had that much recoil, how come he never moved when firing it before? This plan works as Kairi is able to break through the gravity barrier and end up in a clash of blasts with Destra.
I'm thinking more recoil.
This blast would kill Kairi due to the deflection, however, Keiichiro acts now. He shoots the 2 stolen collection pieces out of Destra's hand and uses them to unlock one of his safes which removes Destra's gravity powers. I forget the Patrangers have that ability too.
Destra takes the blast and the two collection pieces fly in the sky only for Noël Takao to grab them and use them to open Destra's other safe.
He did this in his gold Patran X form. This is interesting because he originally told the police he had a Lupin X form in order to steal collection pieces. Which, actually raises more questions.
The rangers pat each other on the back for a job well done and point out that their plans got switched as the Phantom Thieves acted as bait while the Police opened the safe. However, Destra still isn't beaten, so the battle continues. However, this time, the rangers are at their best.
That's a pretty impressive line up. It looks cool, shows how strong they've gotten ,and how much more the writers liked the Lupinrangers. The Patrangers fusion is the same form they've had since the beginning while the Lupinrangers constantly improve.
They all use their super CG finishing blasts at the same time and Destra explodes with the most colorful explosion to date. But, he is still not defeated. For a grenade monster, he sure can resist going boom.
Destra is still determined to prove his worth to boss, so, he calls Gauche to make him grow. If he was going to grow anyway then why keep him alive? Probably to make him look tough. Now it is giant battle time and it is pretty obvious that they will use the fusion of everyone for this fight.
They've had this combination for awhile but this is only the 3rd time they've used it. The separate teams is actually a good way to keep them from just instant winning every giant fight with it. I guess.
A little humor is thrown in this time as the two teams have to sit next to each other instead of separately because for some reason that will make them stronger. The two reds say no fighting and just go with it.
That's probably the best looking use of CG I've seen in this season so far. That's weird.
There isn't a lot of time left in the episode so the fight isn't much of a struggle, but Destra at least tries to fight back. They use different mechs for different forms and even have a cockpit view for part of the fight which was actually a nice touch.
They finish the job with one giant blast from an enlarged Lupin Magnum. (See the title picture.) Giving Destra even more credit, he breaks the tradition of just standing their and taking the final blow by launching his own attack to try and counter.
Have they finally learned? Make the monster put up a struggle so the fight is more interesting. It is as simple as that.
The two beams collide but the rangers is clearly more powerful. Destra apologizes to Dogranio before he dies and the rangers claim victory.
The episode ends with Dogranio mourning the loss of his right-hand man by having a drink in honor of him and the rangers having a victory party at the Bistro. The End!
Final Thoughts
I concede, they did it, this episode lived up to the build up. Destra was a main character from the start and this episode let him go out with respect. He put up a great effort and came the closes to victory that any Gangler has so far. On top of that, there was also some good suspense added with Noël Takao and Kogure, a mystery still to come. The death of one of the main villains marks the beginning of the end and with only 9 episodes left, let's see if this season can go out on top. 5/5
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