That was an enjoyable conclusion to this mini-series. I do agree with Takenoko that it's not quite as strong as the first two episodes since the build-up and mystery are over, but it's a very fitting ending none the less. I'm really enjoying what Toei is doing with these TTFC series, and if they can keep up this kind of quality, there's some real room to improve/expand upon some of the recent Sentais. Had this come out during Ryusoulger's run, it would have easily added another half a point, as far as I'm concerned.
So as expected, this episode is focused on Master Red, Nire, and Hana. The previous episode pretty much slapped us in the face with the idea that someone close to Hiragi killed him, and sure enough we find out that both Master Red and Nire were close. I don't remember any of the previous episodes mentioning that Hiragi was
the previous Master Red, so that was a small surprise and kept things interesting.
This episode ultimately went the direction it had to go. Master Red is not a killer, so it had to be the new guy. But it's also a situation that no one took enjoyment in; we basically get to see what would happen if Bamba had his way and they just killed off the host instead. Hana almost takes all of this a little too well, but her father at least died for a noble reason, rather than being jumped for his job.
I feel like an idiot for not picking up on this earlier, but all of the episode titles have 0 in them: 0-1, 0-2, and 0-3. This mini-series of course takes place before Ryusoulger proper, but it wasn't until the end that I realized that this takes place
immediately before the first episode of the series. So this really was episode 0 of Ryusoulger. The writers did have to take a couple of liberties here (mostly with the form of the regular-sized monster), but I really appreciate how that ties into the first episode and explains where the giant Minusaur comes from.
Overall this was a really neat way to add to the Ryusoulger story without either artificially extending it, or creating a storyline that is awkwardly never referenced again (since it was written after the series proper). In terms of placement and writing a coherent/self-contained story, the writers did a really good job here. They were able to tell us something about the Masters and the then-upcomming Ryusoulgers in such a way that it fits in perfectly with the rest of the series. In some respects I wish that this episode had been released before the rest of the series, as a true episode 0, but being pragmatic, this episode would have never worked if it needed to explain all of the basic lore of the series. So it does need to be watched last, even if it chronologically comes first.
Also, Bamba once again proves why he's the best Ryusoulger, and a total scene-stealer. In 15 seconds he cooly figures out everything - that Mayu isn't the minusaur's host and that she had been dumped.
On which note, I hope we see Mayu's actress again in another Toei production. She has potential.
Edit: This mini-series also makes me realize something else that, in retrospect, is kind of obvious. Minusaurs only naturally exist among the Ryusoul tribe members. For whatever reason, the tribe members have the ability/consequence of manifesting monsters based on their emotional state. Thus making the tribe responsible for them in the first place. They aren't a "natural" feature of the human race, and humans can only spawn them under the influence of the Druidons, who in turn have learned how to artificially create and weaponize them. And thus why the Ryusoulgers are still active even though the Druidons had been gone for millions of years - because the tribe still needed a fighting force to handle the minusaurs that they inadvertently create.
takenoko wrote: ↑Thu Jan 13, 2022 11:06 pm
I forget, why did Hana's Minusaur know that attack that only that one girl and the blue girl knew?
Well it was Nire's Minusaur, and he apparently knew the attack (he was the one to give Isuka advice, after all.
Is this the first time we see someone fully succumbed to a Minusaur?
I believe so. The series proper always made it a point to save the host, no matter how challenging it may be.
You stupid masters, if you had just defeated it the first time, you wouldn't have died and the village wouldn't have been destroyed which probably killed Hana and Blue's pupil thus explaining their lack of presence in the main story
Yeah, that does create a bit of a what-if situation. But then again, Nire never recovered from the negative emotions that created the monster in the first place. That doesn't usually happen; normally the Rusoulgers help fix that part, too. I don't think any did (or could have) realized just what was going on, judging from Nire's final monologue.
Do we ever see the episode 1 monster do Nire's special attack?
The episode 1 monster is only ever giant, so we never see any dexterous attacks like that.