Okay, to start off, this was my favorite episode so far! It had a strong plot, some great fight scenes, some great character development, and of course was one of the most accurate tributes. Liveman is one of my favorite sentai series, so I was smiling throughout the whole episode.
To start things out, Kazuhiko Nishimura has, like Toshihide Wakamatsu has aged nicely. He still looks really young. Not only has he aged well, but he is freaking hot! He was hot on Liveman, and he's still really hot!
When I saw the promos, I was kind of upset that Luka wasn't going to appear with Joe when they encountered Joh. Instead, Ahim was there. Joh is the first Yellow Ranger solely to appear by himself, and I thought it would be awesome to see two yellow rangers together, for at least a second. But it doesn't really matter, at least for this episode.
Okay, now the review.
This scene in the lab is probably one of the best scenes. Kazuhiko was one of the stronger actors on Liveman, and after the series, he continued to act in Dramas. So his acting is at the top of his game. He starts out very cheerful, but gradually gets serious, when he tells Joe about his friends.
For those of you who think Joe is a boring, stoic character, he can express emotions, and he's good at it!
I loved seeing the Denjiman again.
And, I loved the Liveman fight scene. The Henshin sequence, down to the attacks were spot on. Believe it or not Doc and Ahim make a great Sai and Bison. Why? Because Green Sai and Black Bison were two people new to the team, who banded together, and were really protective over each other, much like Doc and Ahim.
Oh, and Joe using Cid's finishing move was the icing on the cake.
I loved seeing Super Live Robo, albeit it was only for a few seconds.
At the end of the episode, Barizorg seems to have a different presence, will he revert back to Cid?
Also, the cyborg process look friggin painful.
And there were a few references. Joh's skateboard was draped with stickers that said "Colon" "Land Lion" (Yellow Lion's mecha) and "Skate Attack!" And the three students releasing two butterflies is a reference to the Liveman theme song.
Also, Joh has his own lab at Academia Island, which has now been rebuilt.
Jouji Nakata was pretty much bringing this episode back full circle. If you don't know, he is a voice actor, but also has done live-action work. He played Sir Cowler in Flashman and... Professor Bias, the main villain, in Liveman. And he voiced the monster of the week! He has one of the most frightening voices ever. Also, it kind of looks like the MOW has a brain in his helmet, or at least I think so. This could, but probably isn't, a reference to Bias's character's special relationship with brains. Okay, that sounded so creepy.
Although, Cid might not be able to come back, Joe now will fight for his soul, what he would want Joe to do, fight for the good, fight against the Zangyack.
I knew if they were going to do a Liveman tribute episode, they were going to involve Joe in some way, why? Because Joe's character arc has the same theme as Liveman: redemption, friendship, treachery. In Liveman, Yuusuke, Joh, and Megumi's former friends are now villains, and killed their two friends. They constantly grapple with the idea of their friends becoming good, especially Joh, and if they should fight them, much like Joe with Barizorg.
I was just so happy to see Joh, because he was my favorite Liveman! And he's still awesome as ever!
Was it just me, or did Joh mutter "shiiiiiiit...." under his breath when he saw the Zangyack attack an arena.
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