Bueaty, Love and Sea Monsters (Kamen Rider OOO 23-24)

In this mini-arc, we are privileged to encounter another pure form, all-blue Shauta Combo or "Marine Combo" as some have come to know it. We also inch closer and closer to a rider change and upgrade in the Birth camp.

Yes, but not in the way you would expect. . .

But first off, episode 23 starts with Kazari and Maki crafting plans, Ankh fretting over the lack of medal combos he and Eiji have managed to procure, and Kazari sets up a marine-type Yummy to ensnare a researcher, Yumi Sakura, who's sister, Rei, runs the beauty company where they both work, hoping to capitalize on her jealously of her sister's beauty. This last bit seems not to work out so well at first, as Uva is quick to point out to his ex-partner, but Kazari assures him it will all work out with time.

Yumi, who loves her role in the company and puts up with the abuse, runs into Date at the ol' oden cart, whom she use to travel with and seems to have a crush on.

Date and Yumi literally run into each other at the oden cart.

Date has to run off to face off against a Greeed, so he promises to meet her later on that night at the oden shack.

Kamen Rider Birth's Drill Arm (Made in China) is shattered by Kazari. Don't worry kids, it gets fixed in 24.

The chance encounter seems to re-spark her flames of passion, which the Yummy seizes upon, feeding to desire to it's full potential. Taking the egg with her, Yumi proceeds to go back to the lab, entrancing everyone she crosses with he newly obtained beauty.

She even manages to ensnare Eiji, who is left dumb(er)struck by her presence. Date is unfazed.

This is what happens when a Kamen Rider falls in love. It's stupid, has no finisher and it's surrounded by hearts. At least it has knee-caps, since falling in love in hard on the knees.

The plot thickens in 24, as it's not up to Date to save the day (or at least for the time being it is, since Eiji is completely useless at this point). Yumi manages to escape, assaulting the Date and Ankh with a swarm of Ei Yummy spawns. The next day, Rei starts freaking out since her sister is no where to be found, and she needs her report in order to make it seem as if she in control of everything (see kids, even exploitation has it's downsides). Yumi enters, bent on controlling the company from hence forth, captures Rei, and proceeds to handle the press conference on her own.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. And underwater.

While everyone else is entranced by her face, Date is still unaffected and rushes to the lab to talk some sense into Yumi. Just as he confesses that he was more impressed by the true Yumi, the Ei-Sai Yummy attacks. Shintaro shows up as back-up as Date transforms into Birth, now with an upgraded CLAWS Drill Arm, to protect the Sakura sisters. Yumi in injured in the attack badly, yet Date manages to remove enough Cell Medals to remove the "Sai" element of the Yummy, morphing it into a large Itomakiei Yummy which bursts out the building.

FIND A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS!

Meanwhile outside, Eiji as OOO and Kazari are going at it, as Ankh has sensed the presence of a Yummy near the lab, hoping that the transformation would snap Eiji from his daze. The plan works, and Eiji uses the Take head to steal Mezool's Shachi Medal from Kazari, allowing him to go Shauta Combo. Kazari flees as Eiji uses his new found water powers to dominate the Yummy on land and sea, finally dispacting it with a Scanning Charge: Octo Banish attack. As things start to cool down, Yumi thanks Date, who decides to pass on her for now, and says he has some work to complete first.

This arc was pretty sweet, mainly due to the insight into Date's past and the reveal of Shauta Combo. As a whole, 8/10.

The Justice Mini-Arc Complete (Kamen Rider OOO 21-22)

JUSTICE!!! This is a fantastic arc, filled with heroes, pseudo-heroes and punks. Lots and lots of punks. This one a double-dose of OOO, so time to dig in!

The mini-arc deals with justice, in all of it's dimensions. Shintaro, Eiji and the crew are out buying supplies for the Valentines Day festivities at the Cous Coussier when they notice a grown man picking on a little kid. Shintaro rushes out to scold the man, with Eiji following close behind. The boy's father shows up soon after, and Chiyoko recognizes him as her old classmate Susumu Kanbayash. His son, Takashi, just like his old man, has a strong sense of justice and punishment for the wicked. Susumu wants to become a lawyer, and in a flashback we discover that he's run away from his wife and kid until he manages to pass the exam.

Susumu takes Takashi away and warns him to watch himself, which leads to Takashi cursing his ol' man and running off. Failing to give chase, Susumu is approached by Uva, who spawns a Yummy from his desire for justice. Meanwhile, Eiji presses Ankh for information on why he cannot obtain his true form, even after collecting more of his cores. Before he can reply in full, he sense a Yummy. They race to the scene to find Susumu, bruised and unconscious, and a Hopper Yummy . . . beating up a purse-snatcher??? What's going on? Eiji transforms, defeats several Trash Yummies, but lets the Yummy escape after he witnesses it give the purse back to a terrified woman.

Confused, they head back to the Cous Coussier, where Chiyuku patches up Susumu before he runs off to his part-time job. Later that night, Susumu confronts some loud youths, blaring music in the park. The Yummy appears again, as if summoned by his will, and proceeds to f*^k their sh!t when OOO and Birth drop in on the scene. Uva shows his face to tip the odds back in his favor, forcing Eiji to use the new ability Giga Scan by means of the Kujaku Core. Right as he is about to unleash his fury, Susumu gets in the way, he wants to use this power to punish the wicked. Inspired by this father, Takashi also shields the Hopper from an attack.

Takashi and Susumu leave to go off and punish the wicked. Elsewhere, Shintaro is still trying to master the Birth Buster, improving ever so slightly with every passing day. While Maki is completely opposed to the idea of Shintaro training to take over for Date, Date forces the scientist to understand. As Date and Shingo wrap up a training session, the Yummy makes his move. OOO shows up first, goes GataToraBa to clear out some Trash Yummy, then questions Susumu's sense of justice as he allows his Yummy to attack a defenseless coward. Date and Shintaro show up, Date goes Birth and helps combat the Yummy and meddlesome Uva while Shintaro tries to get Takashi to safety. Birth and OOO team up to weaken Uva enough for him to abscond, and OOO delivers a Giga Scan straight to to face of the Hopper. Now that is what I like to call . . . JUSTICE!!!

Everyone heads to C.C. for a good time, and everyone lives happily ever after. For now. These episodes are gonna have kinda a weird scoring. 21 is a 5.5/10, 22 a 6/10, however together they make a 7/10 arc because there is enough good stuff in both to out-weigh all the crap.

The Red Combo Cometh . . . Later(Kamen Rider OOO 19)

I was hoping this episode would mark the glorious new age of the Red Combo, but my hopes and dreams were crushed last week when OOO 19 ended with a preview of how awesome full Red will be. Don't get me wrong, this week's episode was still exciting, as it marked some new developments in Yummy creation/attributes, along with some alright series plot progression.

The episode opens in the Cous Coussier. As Eiji running into work late, he notices a familiar face mopping the floors: OMG, it Gotou!!! He seems to have left his old life behind in order to figure out exactly who he is inside. Satonaka enters shortly after and is shocked a bit as well to see Gotou doing manual labor in this fine establishment, but then she informs Eiji that he is wanted at the Kougami Foundation.

It seems as if Kougami got everyone a present from his trip to Europe, and for Eiji, he has another one for Ankh's cores. After careful rash consideration, Eiji decides to give the medal back to Kougami, so that Ankh is not tempted to leave the body of Shingo to die. Kazari, elsewhere, is up to his old tricks again.

After breaking the ruthless criminal Toichi Yamagane by infusing him with a Yummy, Kazari meets up with Maki, who explains that he can;t come by the lab for a while, since Date has now taken up residence there. Yamagane, fueled by revenge for his partner who sold him out and the detective who locked him up, starts to hunt down his marks, and guess who the detective responsible for his arrest was? That's right, it was Shingo!

Heading back to the Cous Coussier, Eiji runs into the other mark, a hapless criminal/pinhead named Yasuji "Yasu" Okumura, who wants to protect the man who saved his life. Comic-style flashback ensues; Ankh decides to use him as bait. I love how he has selective memory when it comes to Shingo's past. He boasts earlier in the series that he knows everything Shingo knows, and yet he doesn't remember this dude at all. WTF!?!

Anyway, Yamagane attacks again and transforms into a new, odd-looking Yummy: it's a hybrid Lion-Kurage Yummy. Ankh is immediately worried, as this means that Kazari has incorporated Mezool's Cores into his body. The Yummy can also spawn jellyfish with multiply when slashed, and it's resistant to a blast from the LaKiriEtar, due to it's dual nature. Date arrives soon after this, becomes Birth and begins his assault before Kazari jumps into the fray. Kazari manages to knock Birth off the side of the building that they are fighting on, while the Yummy proceeds to rape OOO. During the fight, Yasu steals Ankh's medal case, and gives it to Kazari. ZOMFG, IT'S A TRAP!!!

Forced out of his henshin, Eiji lies helpless as Kazari reclaims all but one of his cost cores, and transforms into an incredibly powerful form. What will happen next?

9/10! The suspense is killing me!

The Episode That Proves That Eiji is an Idoit (KR OOO 18)

Barnaby here with another exciting episode recap and review of Kamen Rider OOO 18! In this week's episode we see some new equipment for both OOO and Birth, plus we get some insight into how Birth's abilities work. But enough talk, lets get into it!

As you saw in last week, we had a first for OOO universe, a two-stage Yummy. By that, I mean a Yummy who was able to represent two-step desire spawned from Rie, a young kendo student who wants to become stronger for some unknown reason. The original Yummy, a kabuto-type, was destroyed by Birth and OOO at the end of 17, but before that, a second Yummy, a kuwagata-type, budded off of it vowing to destroy everything.

So we open to see Eiji and Ankh coming back to the Cous Cossier after an unfruitful search for the kuwagata. Eiji theorizes about the new development that not even Ankh had seen before, while meanwhile across town, Gotou is silently stalking our new buddy Date.

Honestly I really like Date and his personality. He's kinda goofy yet determined, but no where near as bad as Eiji. Too bad he's not going to be permanent. Oops. Um, well . . . spoiler alert. X-/

Anywho, Gotou decides to try and kill himself by running out in the rain all night. Eventually he stumbles into the Cous Cossier, thinking that he's passed into the afterlife. Not a bad way to be greeted though, if you think about it. I surely hope that when I die, Hina and Chiyoko are there to soothe my sorry soul.

Eiji and Ankh make they way over to Rie's dojo to find out what her true heart's desire was when Date interrupts, boasting that he already knows. She's in love with her instructor, who as it turns out is engaged and is going to be married on the next day. OH NO!!!!

Here's the kicker: before the entire plot is spilled, both Ankh and Date nod in agreement of what's really going on, but Eiji is still completely lost. Turns out that he just doesn't get relationships, at all (which kinda explains the whole "not-hitting-on-Hina" thing; he's just an idiot), so he never considered that to be an option until it was the only thing left.

Oh Eiji, will you ever get a clue?

While he goes off to hid in the corner, Date readies himself to give Rie a pep talk when Trash Yummy burst into the dojo. Date still delivers his words of wisdom while kicking a$, which inspires Rie to run off and stop the kuwagata. It's a bad idea, yes, but she's do damn cute that it doesn't matter.

Date saves Rie from this blunder right in the nick of time, transforms into Birth, and begins to take on the Yummy when Eiji shows up. Turns out that he slipped a Tako Candroid into his bag while he was asking for love advice. Transforming into OOO, Eiji and Date team up on the Yummy when Uva butts in.

Now it's time for some new equipment kids! Birth deploys his Drill Arm and the new Caterpillar Legs, which operate like tank tracks and are also magnetized, and starts to beat Uva senseless. I image he could also scale metal walls with this new attachment, but that has yet to be seen.

"Oh, what nice legs you have." "All the better to take your medals with."

Meanwhile, OOO uses the long over-due Unagi Medal and Cheetah Medal to keep the kuwagata at bay. The Unagi Core Medal deploys two electric whips, which seem to work very well against his foe.

Whip it like you know you should.

Back at the Kougami Bio Labs, Maki gets a visit from the head honcho himself, back from his vacation. As they watch the battle unfold on a monitor, Kougami boosts about having two perfect means of collecting medals: Birth for Cells, OOO for Cores.

On the battlefield, Birth ask for OOO to keep both Uva and the kuwagata at bay while he charges his Breast Cannon to max capacity, which is done by continually loading in cell medals. I hope this works with other attachments, but, once again, only time will tell if this is true. Birth blasts the sh!t out of the kuwagata as Uva escapes just in time, then he proceeds to collect all of the medals with his Crane Arm attachment. You know, Date would be able to meet his goal a whole lot faster if he didn't just waste Cell medals left and right. I mean the overcharge was cool, but was it really necessary?

'Nuff said b!tches.

After the battle, Eiji offers a partnership, which Date outright refuses, as he see Eiji as a weak person. Nevertheless, Eiji is impressed with the type of person he sees in Date, and it seems as if he looking forward to working with him regardless of what Date thinks.

So ends 18. 7/10, mostly for the new equipment. The next episode looks exciting; Kazari gets back into the mix, and it seems as if Kougami has a present for Eiji in the form of a new Core. Can't wait! ( ^.^ )-b

The Bloated Blockhead Bastard Strikes! (KR OOO 16)

Hey all! Hehe, so after that boasting about having more free time ahead, I immediately got sick and have been out of commission until now. Also, I've added an0ther reason to why I should never EVER go back home again: you catch the flu within 16 goddamn hours. Speaking of sedecim, OOO 16 has been out now for a bit, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten about you. In fact, I have your medicine right here!

Maki and Kazari are wrapping up their container experiment with Gamel, as he has now ingested 14 Core Medals. The power of having multiple Cores is apparently a bit much for Gamel to control, even after his body morphs to adapt to his new found power. Such a fool, he thinks he's following Mezool's wishes , when really he's it' s just a tool. Maki pushes his luck with Kazari, who dispatches of him easily and leaves with his "fee": Ankh's Core!

Meanwhile Hina is trying to patch up Eiji back at the Cous Coussier, although she might be doing more harm than good. Ankh is no where to been seen, which we find out to be because he is off visiting the Kougami Foundation to eat their brains and gain their knowledge . . . I mean just to gain knowledge. Kougami seems unphased by the idea of Maki plotting against him, since Maki moving toward his general goal of greed changing/save the world. He begs for Eiji (oh yeah he barges in and starts throwing he's "weight" around) and Ankh to hold back and wait for Maki's experiment, whatever it might be, to unfold.

Ankh leaves in a huff, but Eiji hangs around to get some more information about the Core Medals and the Greeed. Now we finally get a true explanation of the birth of the Greeed and the purpose of the Core Medals. But first, let's check in on our betrayed Greeed, Uva and Mezool. It appears that Mezool managed to retain one Core, which Uva now wants, but Mezool manages to escape with. Uva sends some trash Yummy after her, while we start to hear an explanation for the Greeed. FINALLY!

So 800 years ago, scientists of the time tried to make an artificial life form. Wait. This sounds kinda familiar. That didn't well either. Oh scientists, when will you ever learn? Anyway, they compressed some creatures into coins, then ordered them in groups of nine which eventually began to gain consciousness. That consciousness started to develop a greed complex, and now here we are, in the future, with crazy a bugmen trying to murder a landshark lady.

Land Shark | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

So OOO was made to control/suppress the powers of Greeed/greed. Now Eiji is even more unsure of his or Ankh role in all of this. After defeating the trash, Eiji of course unknowingly protecting Mezool in the process, we flash over to Maki in the lab talking about destroying the world.

Gotou steps in and tries to arrest him for his role in last week's episode, but stops when he realizes that Birth is complete and he could wield it if he stays on his good graces.

Meanwhile, Gamel starts wondering around town looking fro Mezool, and eventually drifts into the Cous Coussier's Christmas fair. Eiji unwittingly serves him while struggling to figure out why he looks do damn familiar. Gamel mistakes Hina for Mezool, then goes crazy when he realizes it's not her and releases so much energy that he breaks everything in the shop and runs out.

Eiji gives chase, then tries to stop Gamel from rampaging. Mezool shows up and fuses with Gamel, who is all too willing to give her all of himself. Maki shows up to help complete the experiement with Mezool now, and he throws in thousands of more Cell Medals plus two of Uva's Core Medals. This causes Mezool to complete change forms into a giant Cthulhu-esk landshark thing, and she immediately loses control and begins to rampage. It kinda looks like a more retarded Castle Doran.



Eiji goes OOO TaToBa, but lacks the power to do anything. Right as things look extremely bleak, Birth shows up and uses his capsule machine inspired powers to damage PsychoMezool, sending two of Uva's Core's flying. Seizing the opportunity, OOO goes GataKiriBa and finishes her off. Cores go flying, and Ankh, Kazari and Uva all fight for their share with Ankh only grabbing two.

On the way back home, Birth come back. Dropping his henshin, we see not Gotou, but an unfamiliar face. Who is this man? (spoiler alert - his name is Date Akira)

Lost and Found (KR OOO 15)

Happy Holidays everyone! I hope you enjoyed them. Mine were great: went to see Tron Legacy (freaking awesome BTW, if not just because of Daft Punk), MST-3000-ed Interstella 5555, worked a ton. O.K. maybe that last part was not so great, but whatever. Let's keep the good cheer going! I give to you KR OOO 15.

Do you like it? It just came out last week, so I watched it for you and wrapped it up with a nice little bow. Let's take a closer looksie.

Maki and Kazari are hatching more plans for world domination, hoping to see what happens when all (or at least a large proportion) of the medals are contained in a single vessel. What new powers will be unleashed? Furthermore, Maki hints that the Birth belt (no use hiding it now XD) is virtually complete and needs only minor testing. Sounds like next episode we might see a new Kamen Rider in town.



While their diabolical plot is being fine-tuned, Eiji helps out Chiyoko set up the Christmas decorations at the Cous Coussier. Hina apparently has gone out and is out of touch (not like her, but let's roll with that for now), so Eiji has been forced to pick up the slack. And the tab for Ankh's ice pops. MERRY CHRISTMAS EIJI!!!

Meanwhile in the backroom, Ankh is spying on the Kougami Foundation building and gleams the whereabouts of his missing Kujaku Core Medal. It seems as if it will be transported with 5000 other Cell Medals to Maki's research lab for an experiment he is planning. Sounds like a trap to me, but what do I know. Shintaro, of course, will be overseeing the operation, and as he heads out to prep the cargo, Ankh kidnaps Eiji and tells him about the plot, imploring him to use OOO's power to re-obtain his Core. Eiji is reluctant to become a criminal and threatens to hold out when Kazari appears, telling the pair that Hina has been captured and is aboard the truck as well.

Now they they are both invested in stopping the caravan, the dysfunctional duo make their way over the Kougami Building to head off Gotou. After checking the truck, Shintaro dismisses the plot, but Eiji tails him anyway, just to be sure. On the way to the drop, the caravan is stopped buy Uva and Mezool. Gotou and his forces are useless against the Greeed, so Eiji transforms into OOO TaToBa. While everyone else is occupied, Ankh attempts to break into the truck, but both Gamel and Shintaro halt his efforts. During the struggle, Hina awakens and, using her crazy She-Hulk powers, attempts to break free from her cage. Eiji, blinded by his love for Hina, lets the situation get out of control and loses the Kawagata, Tora and Batta Core Medals as Mezool knocks him off of the bridge. Kazari intervenes as well and takes four other Cores from Ankh, two of Mezool's and two of Uva's. But where did the other three go? Hmmmm . . .

Uva and Gamel escape with the truck, and Gotou gives chase unsuccessfully (I mean who sets themselves up for a PIT maneuver?). Mezool and Kazari stay behind to finish off Ankh, who dives off the bridge to safety. Mezool confronts Kazari about his behavior and motives, but is slow on the draw and has all of her Core Medals stolen by her former partner, who says he is seeking evolution. Uva and Gamel, after shaking Gotou, arrive at the rendezvous point with Hina knocked out (again) in the back of the truck.

Elsewhere, Eiji and Ankh are waking from their base jumping experiment, and get pissed off at each other for not having the some goals but having to depend on other another. Right as it about to come to blows, Eiji says that he will go along with this mission IF Ankh pays for a year of ice. Nice plan Eiji! You're not a complete idiot!

Kazari joins back up the remainder of the gang, saying that OOO came back and took out Mezool. Gamel runs off to save his princess, and Kazari attempts a sneak attack on Uva, which fails. Uva, now aware of the depths of Kazari's betrayal, escapes just Hina comes round again. Ankh and Eiji show up just in time, and goes SaGouZo to take out Kazari. Gamel shows back up, and Kazari tricks him into creating a Yummy to combat OOO. In this three-on-one, OOO can't hold his own and requests more medals. While switching out coins, Kazari forces his to drop the Sai and Gorilla Cores, but OOO manages to shift into LioToraZo to counter Kazari's finisher. The counter dislodges a Cheetah Core, which brings back one of my favorite forms: LaToraAtch. The release of his henshin blinds Gamel, however Kazari is able to escape with him and all the his newly procured Cores. OOO is able to defeat the Yummy using the Tora Can, Gotou's sly thievery and a triple scanning slash.

Back at the lab, Kazari gets Gamel to ingest all of Mezool's Cores to push his and Maki's plot forward.

And that is it folks. Birth is definitely showing up next round, and it looks like Gamel might be getting a new . . .um . . . form. This episode was a wild ride, and it marks the beginning of an exciting arc. 10/10. Keep it up!!!

. . . And That is Why Cats Can't be Surgeons. (KR OOO 14)

I'm sure by now I'm sure all of the faithful have already watched and rewatched episode 14 of OOO by now, but it's been a long week so cut me some slack. I actually completed my rewatch like 3 or 4 days ago, but I'm just now getting around to typing things up. Having a job with responsibilities is stupid . . . I mean rewarding!

Anyway, onwards to KR OOO 14!

Image by Blakehunter on deviantart.com

If you recall the ending of 13, Shingo is in bad shape. Ankh pretty much has left him to die because he's a moody bitch. Doctors struggle to keep Shingo going through life support, but hope is fading fast. Eiji returns, looking for Ankh (who of course is hanging out on some bench, being harassed by some dog), but decides to chase after with Candroids instead. Right as he's running out to the vending machine, the director is being rushed into surgery for a heart condition. He recognizes Eiji from earlier, stops him and begs him to explain what's going on. After finding out the cause of Tamura's greed, he feels responsible and his condition worsens. If only there were some miracle surgeon who could perform him delicate operation!

Once at the vending machine, Eiji wastes ALL of the Cell Medals in his possession on Candroids to find Tamura and Ankh. That's right, all of them. He even buys some unagi, which can't help him track shit! He manages to find Ankh right as Yummimura is about to flay him open. Ankh coughs up 4 Core Medals for Eiji then flies back to the hospital to reunite with Shingo.

Elsewhere, Eiji transforms into OOO and starts to kick the Siamese Yummy's ass again. He goes TakaTorarTar and pulls Tamura out from the Yummy, similar to how her dealt with Kazari's last Yummy.

Damn you Kazari! Image from anime4touch.blogspot.com.

Right as the tide begins the turn and Tamura makes her way to the hospital, Kazari shows up with a score to settle. He beats the crap out of Eiji and steals the Cheetah and Tora Medals, leaving Eiji powerless. Oh crap, now we can't see LaTorarTar Combo!!! Ankh shows up just in the nick of time and give Eiji another Tora Medal, allowing him to go TaToBa.



Using the Medajalibur, OOO quickly cuts down the Yummy while Kazari manages to escape with his recovered medals. Back at the hospital, Tamura performs the surgery and saves the day. Heartfelt moments ensue. Awww.

Meanwhile Mezool's plan comes to fruition as she has used a con-man to raise several Piranha Yummy undetected. As the rest of the gang feasts and plans out how they are going to defeat OOO, Maki is back at the lab developing the new belt system. We get a full mock-up of the suit and right before the episode ends, we get a glempse of one of Ankh's Kujaku Core Medals! Oh, no what is he planning!?!

This episode was pretty solid, a good 8/10. We also get a good shot of Birth, and Ankh is back in his rightful place. Hopefully 15 will be just as good, because it seems that Birth is showing up in 16! Yay!

General OOO-pital: Siamese Cat, Stress, Genius Surgeon (KR OOO 13)

OOO is picking up some steam (they even threw in some movie scenes into this week's opening credits), with Eiji now holds the powerful SaGohZo Combo and the entrance of the alternate rider drawing ever closer.

Movie poster, FTW!

This week, the story arc centers around Kazari's newest Yummy, which possess a young surgeon obsessed with being the best so that she can satisfy her patients. The scene opens at the Cous Cousier, which happens to be cowboy themed this week. Ankh feels like he's being mocked by Chiyoko since he never dresses up, and she's totally fallen for Eiji fabricated tale of Ankh's homeland. Seems as if he's a bit testy about not knowing the whereabouts of his other core medals (my money is on the Kougami Foundation, but that's just a hunch), and he feels the need to bitch about that.

On the other side of town, Shintaro is doing some target practice when Satonaka appears, dressed to (casually) impress. She's going on vacation (They get vacation day? I wanna work for the Kougami Foundation now!), so Shintaro has been assigned to bodyguard duty. Shintaro gets pissed, 'cause that's the only emotion he ever feels, and has no choice but to agree.

Meanwhile at a local hospital, the resident surgeon Kei Tamura feels as if she's being sidelined because she's young, even though her patients are flocking to the hospital specifically to be treated by her. Sensing her frustration, Kazari capitalizes on her weakness to create his Yummy. With her new found confidence/arrogance, Tamura begins to perform solo, unsupervised and unauthorized operations. And not the fun kind either.

Ankh sniffs out the Yummy's activities, which lead Eiji and him to the hospital, now packed with potential patients who all want to be healed by this miracle doctor. Officals are only allowing returning patients to enter, however, but doesn't seem to be a big hurdle: Ankh accesses Shingo's memories and realizes that he's been checked into this hospital before. Score! After some costuming, Eiji, Ankh and Hina are able to get inside.

Maki and Kazari, best "friends"

Once again, we get a scene of Kazari and Kiyoto Maki plotting about a Medal vessel. Maki opens a case, and we finally get a glimpse of the new Rider's belt! It looks kinda odd, but so does the new rider . . .

Anyway back at the hospital, Eiji runs off to find the Yummy, when Hina and Ankh run into none other than Shintaro. Seems as if he assigned some nameless subordinate to guard duty, so that he could hunt the Yummy (he's probation period apparently wasn't serious either). A cripple fight ensues.

Cripple Fight
Tags: SOUTH
PARKmore...

Hina tries to stop the two, but only manages to separate Ankh form Shingo, allowing Ankh to knock Shintaro out cold and run off. Ankh catches up with Eiji, who's already tangled up with Kazari's matured Yummy, a Siamese cat-like creature. Eiji transforms into OOO and uses the SaGohZo Combi, nearly defeating the Yummy before it refuses with Tamura's body and escapes. Eiji, drained from using the combo, is unable to give chase, which pisses Ankh off even more, and he runs off. But wait, if he's gone, then what will happen to Shingo? Oh, no!



I guess we'll find out in OOO 14, coming out this week. This was a great way to start off this mini-arc, and the action was top-notch. 8.5/10. Not perfect, no, but it was entertaining. I expect the arc itself to be a solid 9 but right now I can't give it that high of a rating.

It Double Time! (But We're Still Talkin' Bout OOO) [OOO Episode 11 &12]

Sorry about the delay on 11, but it's finally here! And it's a double feature! OOO 11 and 12 coming at you, right now!

OOO 11: Oh no, Mothmonster-man! But wait, before we got to him, it looks like Eiji has a friend in town. Keisuke Tsukuba is a long time friend of Eiji and a fellow world traveler, who blogs about his random adventures around the globe. Seems as if he going to try and get a book deal about his travels. Good luck with that dude!

Spoke too soon. Kaisuke gets bitchslaped by the publishers in favor of pretty boy Kotaro Sawada. What's so special about him anyway. Oh, what's that? All the girlies think that he's haut? And he's on TV and radio? And he's go a super popular blog? Oh . . . well when you say it all together like that, it sounds very impressive.

Tsukuba goes off to sulk when Uva spots him. Sensing his greed, the green-meanie spawns a Yummy from him. The Yummy attacks Sawada, in order to gain his knowledge, and transfers it to Kaisuke. Now filled with some medals, the Yummy transforms into a mothmonster-man (and we've come full circle).



Ankh, sensing a disturbance in the force, sends Eiji out to investigate. Clearly at a disadvantage against a flying opponent (especially since he always seems to ignore his 'hopper roots), OOO fails to stop the Ageha Yummy. Shintaro shows up just in time to watch it run off (he's been sent on another errand-boy mission to give OOO a newly developed Candriod), and scoff at Eiji for being soft ('cause Shintaro's done SOOO much so far).

Off in the distance, Ageha Yummy/mothmonster-man attacks a comedy duo to make Kaisuke more popular. Eiji and Ankh arrive just in time to be pummeled by Gamel, who ends up taking back two of Mezool's medal! Oh, no!

Forgetting about the Core Medals, Eiji runs off to save the comedy duo, transforms into Takakirietar and attempts to take out the Yummy. Right as he's about to strike, Shintaro decides to stick his dick into the fight in the form of a rocket aimed a both the Yummy and OOO.

Meanwhile, Keisuke becomes more assertive with his newly obtained power. He tries to hijack the comedy duo's gig, and invites Hina to come watch. When she arrives, she sees and recognizes Uva in his human form. Once noticed, Uva is left with no choice but to silence the witness, which brings us to . . .

OOO 12: Long story short, Shintaro is a dick. Because of him, the Yummy escapes, but who does he blame? Eiji, of course! Stupid OOO, being made out of solid matter! Stop sulking, you'll be the foil rider soon, so STFU.

Hina manages to escape from Uva's grasp, and runs to warn Eiji of his plot. Uva heads back to the Greeed homebase, where Gamel presents Mezool with her Core Medals. Telling her to stay and rest, the two head off to collect more medals and defeat OOO (orlynow?).

At the Cous Coussier, Ankh hatches up a plan got gain Gamel's Core Medals. And by "hatch up a plan" I mean "sit in bed, whine about it, and let Eiji figure it out somehow." Gotta love management. Keisuke stops by as asks Eiji for some of his stories, so he can plagiarize them. The greed is strong in this one (wow two SW references in one blog!). Ankh busts up the party, saying that the Yummy is out and about again. Eiji races off to encounter it, and Hina forces Keisuke to follow so that he can see what he's done. Meanwhile Shintaro is put on house arrest (like that will stop him) for his actions, and on his way out, Maki teases him with the prospect of becoming Bir. . . I mean, a Rider.

Eiji arrives just in time (so does Shintaro) to save some more celebrities, because celebrities are our future. he says some inspiring shit that gets everyone to believe in him, then begins his assault. The new Candroid is revealed finally (it's an unagi [eel] that can bind enemies) things are going great, until Uva and Gamel show up (Shintaro actually isn't a prick and hits the right target for once). Right was Gamel is about to strike the finishing blow, OOO counters and steals three Core Medals. What luck, he has a set from Gamel! He transforms into SaGohZo Combo and proceeds to kick some ass.



In the battle, Uva also loses a Core Medal, which forces Uva and Gamel to retreat. Eiji and Shintaro finally become "friends," Keisuke goes back to normal and all is peaceful. Someone was spying on the whole battle, however: it was Maki and Kazari! What are they doing together? Is this the beginning of an evil partnership . . . of evil? Only time will tell.

Good episodes, both of them. I'd give 11 a 9/10 and 12 a perfect 10/10 (a first for the blog!). I'm super excited to catch 13. It looks like we might see the new Rider Belt, plus we'll get to see SaGohZo in action again. Chou Den-o Blue is up btw, and I should have a review of that coming out soon. It's soooooo much better than Red, and I kinda like Chou Den-O now; only a little bit though.

Family, Code Geass, and Other Things I've Put Off For Far Too Long

Back in K-town and it feels . . . the same. Oh well, at least there is free food this time, and now I have time to catch up on everything. Gonna be watching the end of Code Geass R2 tonight, so I might be ranting on that in the morning, but more importantly, the first part of the Chou Den-o movie trilogy is out. :-/ . . . At least it's something to watch.



Also just finished Kirby Squeak Squad, which was kinda fun. What you'd expect from a Kirby game. Should have a review of that and Fallout:NV by Sunday at the latest. If I can get and watch OOO 11, I should have a review of that by Thursday.

And I'm sure many of you have noticed the lack of Super Sentai coverage. There is a reason for that: Goseiger sucks. I'm gonna finish it on principle, but if you haven;t started it, don't. Just re-watch Shinkenger or Go-onger, which are infinitely better.

Why is it so bad? Alata, for starters. He's one of the most worthless red rangers ever, plus he's absolutely hopeless. For those who don't know, the Goseigers are part of a league of angels who protect the Earth. This team, composed mainly of rookies, becomes trapped on Earth when . . . snore. . .
Ah, even explaining it is freaking boring. Later in the series, the pick up a kid, force him to give them a place to stay after they save his life or whatever, and things get stupider with each episode. The powers a terrible, the equipment is not cool in the least, and the mecha is almost as complex as Go-Onger, only not in a funny, quirky way. The entire series is forgettable

Now the next Super Sentai series sounds amazing. Entitled Kaizoku Sentai Goukaiger (which translates to Pirate Squadron Goukaiger), the series will feature a five-man team of time/space/dimension traveling pirates who meet previous rangers and collect their powers. A tie-in to the Super Sentai anniversary, this series sounds like it's going to be like Kamen Rider Decade on speed.
The Goukaiger team will be fighting Ghost Pirates (not Pirate Ghost, since they are ghost that made a decision to become pirates), and instead of having forms of their own, the rangers will take on the forms of past rangers.

Korn's Groovy Pirate Ghost Mystery
Tags: SOUTH
PARKmore...

Sounds awesome right? Inoright! They do have their own mecha, and each ranger will also be equipped with a pirate sword. Not much else is know about the series at this time, but keep an eye out for it in 2011.

Soaked, The Past, Scorching Hot Combo (OOO 9) [Some Spoilers]

Sorry about the late post all. I was fencing and such. Anywho, I hope you all boned up on your OOO watching, cause I charging full speed ahead with episode 9 tonight! So let's start!

Want to watch episode 9? Check it our here at TV-Nihon!

It's Halloween and the Cous Coussier is celebrating in style. Eiji, who just recently got a job at the theme restaurant, tells owner Chiyoko Shiraishi that Ankh had a terrible childhood and is now homeless, just like him, so now she's allowing him to stay that the shop as well. This situation also works out for Hina, who want's to keep an eye on her brother's body (yeah, if you haven't caught up in the series, sorry for the spoilers. I told you to catch up!). Erika Satonaka, Kougami's assistant, shows up to collect on Eiji's loan from a while back. She's even dressed a gothic kitty cat! How cute!

Paying back the debt weakens Ankh, as he was on the brink of death when he received the loan. Everyone else seems to be having a good time until something outside explodes! Eiji, out hero, races out the door to investigate, and stumbles across the crime scene. As the crowd gathers, Eiji notices another car is rigged to go, and rushed to get everyone away just in time. The explosion, however, just destroys the car and covers everyone in water. Eiji notices a weird man with a doll on his shoulder casing out the scene. Very suspicious! Ankh informs him of a nearby, and Eiji runs off before he can question the shady figure.

The Yummy, a water type, is really fucking fast. I mean we're talking Super Sonic speed. Or the speed teen girls hit when they hear that Justin Bieber is anywhere within a twenty mile radius. The Yummy gets away, despite Eiji's best efforts. Too bad he did have cheetah legs. Or crystal meth.

Meanwhile, at the legion of doom . . . I mean Greeed headquarters, everyone is festing on Cell Medals, but it seems as if Kazari is missing. It seems as if he's figured out that someone other that the Greeed and OOO are after the O Medals, and they might have a valuable stash hidden away somewhere. . .

More explosions occur, and Eiji figures that it's the work of the Greeed. We get a curious flashback into Eiji's mysterious past, before that guy shows up yet again. Who they hell is that man? Following the only lead he has, he tries to track down the culprit, and starts to take him out using the TaToBa combo. He sees about the same results as with his last fight, but right before the Yummy gets away, Ankh shows up and tosses OOO the Cheetah medal, which helps level the playing field. That is until Gamel and Mezool show up, and start wrecking his shit. Desperate, Eiji resorts to using Lion on top of Tora and Cheetah, creating RaToraaTah.

His new found power is astounding, as he injures Mezool so badly that she drops four (count 'em) Core Medals. Gamel helps Mezool retreat, and OOO turns his new powers towards Mezool's Yummy, who is pretty much instantly evaporated by his Scanning Charge attack. After the battle, guess who shows up with some "encouraging" word. It's our friend, the doll dude! WTF!


Thanks for the image Miralupa!

There's a bit more to the episode, but why ruin anything else for you? Needless to say, next week's episode will be pretty sweet, as the bomber is still on the loose and there are still nests to be to find. Lots of new developments and possibly some new equipment, so there should be plenty of excitement to go around. (>.<)b

As for this episode, I give it a 7.75/10. They are really starting to develop Eiji, and we are starting to get a better picture of what made him the man he is today. Ankh is still an ass, but I don't expect him to start turning around till around episode 30 or so. Not the best episode, but it's still very impressive.

New chapter & episode reviews, but so little time. :-/

Yo!

So Bleach 426 and Kamen Rider OOO 9 release on the 10th, & a review coming for Kamen Rider OOO 9 is coming; this week is going to suck soooooo badly. I've got a ton of projects coming up soon for school, and we just entered the Christmas at work. (ugh . . . it's not even Thanksgiving yet and I'm already burnt out on Christmas tunes)

I apologize in advance if some of these reviews come out late, but hang around a bit cause some good stuff is coming soon. I also have reviews incoming for Fallout: New Vegas, Sengoku Basara and The Walking Dead. On top of all of that, I'm working on catching up on Naruto (took a 4 year hiatus on that series), Code Geass, Gundam OO and Sengoku Basara Season 2. Busy, busy, busy!

@_@

So sit tight, but until then, check this out!



Awesome, right? If you want to catch up on the action of KR OOO, check out the site TV-Nihon for all the of the episodes up to 9. 10 releases on Wednesday, Nov. 10, along side Bleach 246.