Kagura has a dream remembering celebrating Mio’s birthday on September 28 when they were young. Well, it just so happens today is September 28 and Kagura wants to plan a surprise party for her good friend.

While Mio is out running, Kagura talks to everyone else about it. Mio doesn’t even know today is her birthday. Conductor, Ticket and Wagon leave to take care of their part while the others decide what they should do. Kagura decides she will be baking the cake.

But Kagura’s first test cake, while beautiful, tastes horrible. She realizes not everything can be solved by playing pretend, like her Sweets Girl Imagination.

Kagura decides she’ll head into town and learn from a professional patissier. She convinces a nice patissier, Airi, to teach her.

Kagura gets started mixing a bowl of ingredients which she must stir for 15 minutes. But the others call when a Shadow kaijin appears in the city.

The other ToQgers meet Wig Shadow and they henshin. But after they take care of the Kuros, Wig Shadow fires and attaches wigs onto each of their heads. But not just any ol’ wigs, wigs with a chick’s nest on top.

Wig Shadow says they better take good care of those chicks, because if the chicks die, they die too. Their lives are connected by the wigs. Good luck, Wig Shadow says before he leaves.

Kagura finally arrives and apologizes for being late. But Right says it’s okay since she would’ve gotten wigged too if she had been there.

While Akira grows a little more comfortable with the chick on his head, Mio is very upset. The others try to comfort her and say they’ll find a way. She then thinks maybe the reason they’re peeping so much is because they are hungry.

Over at the Castle, Madame Noire tells Zett that this is the perfect and easiest plan to take care of the ToQgers. Baron Nero agrees. But Marchioness Mork questions Noire’s dark resolve.

“The result will speak for itself,” Noire says.
Wig Shadow promises the ToQgers will die whether or not they take care of the chicks. He’ll make sure of it.

The ToQgers head back to the Resshas and Right and Akira take turns feeding each other’s chick with feed. Akira has already named his chick Ichinojou.

Tokacchi and Hikari are reading books about caring for chicks. But Hikari tells a worried Kagura to go back to her baking. They’ll be fine here.

Kagura returns to the bakery and starts baking with the guidance of her new Sensei.

As Kagura puts the icing on the finished cake, Airi-sensei asks what Kagura thinks is the most important part of baking one. Unsure, Kagura answers that the flavor is most important. Airi-sensei asks her to think it over. Why did Kagura want to bake a cake in the first place? For Airi-sensei, she thinks there’s something more important than flavor.

Finished with her cake, Kagura hurries back to the Ressha, but she runs into Wig Shadow. She tries to keep her cake safe by running, but Wig Shadow shoots at hear and the cake box goes flying. Kagura hurries over and finds the cake is ruined. She is pissed.

Kagura faces Wig Shadow and prepares to henshin when the others arrive, careful not to let their chicks fall out of their nests.

The ToQgers henshin.

But Wig Shadow reminds them moving too fast may be harmful to the chicks. He sees an opening and fires at Mio, sending her the ground. Tokacchi makes sure his chick, Piyorina II is okay as Akira feeds Ichinojou some grass. This is another opening for Wig Shadow to shoot at them two.

After Right and Hikari get hurled back, Kagura charges toward Wig Shadow and does all she can to fight him off. Kagura a couple of punches, but she stands her ground.

Kagura uses her Imagination, but Wig Shadow manages to tie her up in hair and send her flying back toward the others. Wig Shadow sends a huge fireball at them and he readies a Final Strike.

But suddenly, the chicks glow and grow up to become full chickens. They fly out of the nests and attack Wig Shadow. No one has ever raised the chicks before, Wig Shadow exclaims as the chickens run past the ToQgers.

The nest wigs finally disappear.

Wig Shadow turns to leave, but Kagura stops him. Right pulls out Hyper Ressha, but Kagura takes it and uses it for herself. Mio steps forward toward Kagura, but she also steps right in the path of Hyper Ressha which ends up attaching to both Mio and Kagura by connecting them.

Wig Shadow laughs at them looking ridiculous, but Kagura says outside appearance is not what’s important. It’s the feeling. Same goes for baking a cake. The desire to create something delicious for someone dear to you and thinking about those feelings while baking it is the most important thing.

Cake? Mio does not understand. The others shush Kagura, but she says she wants to save people in trouble, just like she wants to protect the people dear to her.

Mio has no idea what Kagura is talking about, but she agrees with the sentiment. She and Kagura decide to use Hyper Ressha together as Wig Shadow charges toward them.

Kagura and Mio do a double kick as the boys watch, amazed. They call the others so they can use the Daikaiten Canon and they fire a Hyper Renketsu Crash to finish Wig Shadow.

Wig Shadow embiggens and the ToQgers decide to go straight to Cho-Cho ToQ Dai-Oh. They beat him down a little before using an Imagination Express to finish him off for good.

Back on the Resshas, the boys call Kagura and tell her it’s okay to bring Mio inside.

SURPRISE! Mio is touched the others would do all this for her birthday, especially Kagura who remembered it. They go to the booth to see the cake Kagura made for Mio. It’s all smushed and Kagura apologizes, but Mio says it’s fine and she’s happy. Hikari reminds Kagura that it is not the appearance that’s important, right?

Mio thanks Kagura and they all dig in to the cake. Which is delicious!

Right spots something out the window and they all go to look.

It’s their chickens, running alongside the trains.

Conductor, Ticket and Wagon come in with their special present for Mio’s birthday. The guys hurry over to see what they have: Wagon’s special… roasted chicken.

The ToQgers are not really in the mood for chicken right now, even Right. Conductor, Ticket and Wagon are confused why they wouldn’t want any.

Episode Thoughts

It was another fun, yet touching episode. We tend to forget just what the ToQgers themselves have forgotten; their names, their families. They’ve also forgotten their birthdays.

So it was great to see them happily celebrate their best friend’s birthday. And it was great to see them showing how strong Mio and Kagura’s friendship is as well.

The chick nest wigs is so absurd that it ends up being so awesome. But that the ToQgers were the first ones to actually take care and raise the chicks, according to Wig Shadow, shows their pure and kind-hearted nature. The chickens growing up and attacking Wig Shadow was hilarious, but the last scene with the chickens running alongside the trains was actually very sweet and touching.

Though I will assume this will definitely not be Hiromu’s favorite ToQger episode. (lol)

Conductor, Ticket and Wagon being completely oblivious to what the ToQgers just went through and then serving them chicken is a simple, yet effective little closing gag.

Kagura’s lesson from her patissier-sensei is definitely nothing new, but it helped with the overall purpose of the episode of course.

Also, Kagura was so badass taking on Wig Shadow on her own. That was awesome, as was Kagura and Mio’s double kicks.

One interesting little detail though. In Kagura’s dream about Mio’s birthday, the date on the calendar was SATURDAY, September 28th. The year the 28th of September fell on Saturday was LAST YEAR!

Hmm… What could that mean?! ;)

Ticket announces that the next station is Uragoeshi, but because of a change in plans, they will instead be stopping at Hyper Ressha Terminal. Wagon is intensely surprised. They don’t usually stop there… that is, they can’t stop there.

The ToQgers ask why, but Conductor says they’ll find out once they get there.

All the Resshas and Support Ressha pull into Hyper Ressha Terminal which Conductor says is the biggest and most important station on the Rainbow Line. That’s why they don’t usually pull in here. Hikari asks if there’s a reason for that, but Conductor and Ticket can’t (or don’t) answer before an announcement is made.

Conductor is being called to the main office.

Right asks who that was and Conductor says it was the President of the Rainbow Line.

The President comes back on and asks all passengers to take shelter on the platforms while the Ressha are being cleaned. The ToQgers think “taking shelter” is a bit extreme just for a train wash, but Conductor says they are going to scrub off the darkness that has stuck onto the trains from all their encounters with the Shadow. Ticket says the trains will rust if they don’t undergo a deep clean.

Wagon guides the ToQgers through the HUGE terminal and points them to its restaurants, library, theater and gym. They can also leave the terminal as well.

Hikari asks if there’s another reason why they stopped here, but Wagon thinks it’s really just for a cleaning. The Terminal itself rarely stops. She encourages them to go have a look around.

She wishes them a good time as they leave to explore. But as she turns to go to the beauty salon for a polish of her own, she does a double take when she thinks she sees the ToQgers as children.

They are their normal grown up selves when she looks back. She reasons that she’s just worn out.

Meanwhile at the Castle, Marchioness Mork reports that Hyper Ressha Terminal has appeared. Nero wonders why the Rainbow equivalent of the Castle was found so easily, but Mork takes offense, saying she found its location because she’s always on the alert.

With Hyper Ressha Terminal being the Rainbow Line’s most vital point, they cannot let this opportunity to strike slip by. Mork tells Nero to lure the ToQgers away from the Terminal.

Nero leaves. But Zett is very interested in the possibility of an overabundance of shining sparkles at this Terminal. Mork stops Zett by mounting him and reminds him he needs to stop his obsession with shiny things.

Zett insists, so Mork says they should use his new custom, private train.

As they leave, Madame Noire reaffirms her determination to save her daughter once the Emperor leaves an opening.

As they all leave the Castle, Schwarz, who has been hiding underground, sees this as the best opening for him.

Back at Hyper Ressha Terminal, Conductor and Ticket meet with the President. “Long time no see,” Conductor says. The President says it will take some time to clean off all the darkness gunk from the Resshas.

Pan up to reveal the President’s face. Or head. A rabbit head. And it’s crooked, Ticket notes.

The President straightens his head out, “What do you mean?”
Conductor covers Ticket’s mouth and the President says the cleaning is not the only reason he summoned them here.

There is a major problem with the five ToQgers, he says. They have had too much contact with the darkness and it has had an impact on them. But even without that, the ToQgers are “starting to change on their own.”

Conductor and Ticket are shocked.

Downtown, a pair of Shadows are flipping tables and chairs, literally, forcing people who were in those chairs to emit darkness.

Conductor and Ticket are at a loss as to how to even respond to the President’s revelation, but an alarm sounds.

A robed Wagon hurries into the restaurant to tell the ToQgers of the next town being taken over by the Shadow Line. With the Resshas still being cleaned, Wagon says they have an alternate mode of transportation.

The ToQgers hop on a bus driven by Akira.

Baron Nero watches Chair Shadow and Table Shadow now wreaking havoc in a residential neighborhood, flipping tables and chairs (with people in them) up through the roofs.

Nero wonders why the ToQgers are arriving in a bus.

But the ToQgers disembark and face the two Shadows who introduce themselves as the Dining Set Brothers.

And to welcome them, Table Shadow shows them his secret technique. But instead of flipping a table, he flips the replacement bus.

They can’t believe he was able to flip it like a chabudai (卓袱台). Kagura has no idea what a chabudai even is!

The ToQgers get up and fight the Dining Set Brothers. Akira picks up the wheel of the bus and reflects on this being its place to die. Nero attacks him, wanting to personally take care of him.

With Nero successful in drawing the ToQgers away from the Terminal, Mork and Zett set a course for the Terminal. But suddenly, they see Schwarz speed toward them. The trains battle and crash through the roof of a tall office building.

Schwarz, Zett and Mork disembark. What the hell are you doing now traitor? Mork asks. None of your business, Schwarz replies as he charges toward them.

Mork blocks Schwarz’s attack and decides to deal with Schwarz herself.

Tokacchi sees the smoke in the city from the crashed Kuliners and Right decides to go see what’s going on.

Madame Noire arrives at the office building and needing Schwarz to stand down and not harm Zett (with Gritta inside) joins Mork in fighting him.

“Can one geriatric really protect the Emperor?”

“How can you protect the Emperor after what he’s done to Gritta?!” Schwarz asks.
“What I do is none of your business!” Noire answers.

But Mork does not want nor need Noire’s help. Noire shoots at both Mork and Schwarz, but Mork dodges out of the way and sends Schwarz flying to the lower floor of the office garden.

The three of them are now fighting each other. Zett is annoyed. He sends a brainwave of darkness down to them, but there’s a cowering little girl too.

Right quickly covers her and absorbs the darkness wave which causes him to dehenshin.

Zett comments on Right sparkling again today as the same glittery silver balloons from the day they first met go flying up to the ceiling.

Right says because of Zett’s interest in shining shimmering things, he’s been hesitating to really defeat him. But not anymore. Not when Zett wants to take it from people by hurting them without remorse.

Zett jumps down and Right henshins as he charges toward the Emperor. Zett too morphs and they battle.

Mork wants Zett to stop with these silly games with the shining. Schwarz will not let Right take his prey. Noire can’t let Schwarz defeat Zett.

It is now an absolute battle royale.

Meanwhile, the other ToQgers are forced to take seats by Chair Shadow, setting up his bro Table Shadow’s secret technique. He flips the chabudai and the four TOQgers go flying up in the air before getting slammed down on the ground.

Hikari has a plan. They run off and the Dining Set Bros follow.

Akira and Nero are still fighting while Right-tachi have taken their battle royal outside.

Zett again sends darkness brain waves toward Mork, Noire and Schwarz. He is about to send one to Right, but Right goes Hyper and blocks it.

They both punch and send the other flying. Schwarz sees this as his opening and charges toward Zett, but suddenly Gritta appears. Schwarz freezes.

Gritta stops Schwarz and both he and Zett go flying away from each other. Zett does not know what just happened. Mork comes running over and summons the Kuliner to whisk them away.

Noire approaches Schwarz. Now you know why you shouldn’t lay a finger on him, she says.

Noire and Schwarz leave.

Back with the Dining Set Bros, they’ve lost the ToQgers. But Table Shadow sees a very nice kotatsu which he really wants to flip.

Despite Chair Shadow warning there’s something fishy about it, Table Shadow flips the kotatsu anyway. And under it are the ToQgers who shoot.

But Table Shadow grabs Chair Shadow to use as a shield. Chair Shadow embiggens after losing his first life.

Conductor calls the ToQgers to say the Resshas are ready, so they hop into ToQ-Oh.

But Chair Shadow has a secret technique of his own. He becomes a chair and compels the ToQ-Oh to sit on him. Right can’t help it and as soon as ToQ-Oh sits on Chair Shadow, he zaps its butt and sends ToQ-Oh flying.

Chair Shadow uses his secret technique one more time, but this time Right decides they should go Cho ToQ-Oh and put all their weight onto Chair Shadow. Cho ToQ-Oh is definitely too heavy and they flatten Chair Shadow like a pancake before delivering a Full Blash Finish.

Seeing Chair Shadow has been defeated, Nero retreats and leaves Akira for now.

Still in the cockpit, Right tells the others they should keep doing their best to defeat the Shadow Line. Well that goes without saying, the others agree.

But back on the Resshas, Conductor and Ticket have some huge news for them. From this moment forward, the ToQgers are… disbanded.

Episode Thoughts

OMG! Damn! That was an amazing episode. Probably my favorite ToQger episode yet.

It had everything! It was insane!

There were so many hilarious little bits throughout the episode; Right confusing “President” with “side dishes,” Kagura being perplexed by a “chabudai,” Akira being sad about Bus’s place to die, Noire’s quips to Mork, Cho ToQ-Oh sitting on Chair Shadow.

Then there were the ZOMG moments; Wagon (maybe) seeing the ToQgers as kids, the mystery of Hyper Terminal, Schwarz realizing Gritta is still alive, President Rabbit finally appearing and what is wrong with the ToQgers that President must disband them?!

And finally, there were the AMAZING moments; that battle royale between Right, Zett, Noire, Mork and Schwarz was incredible. The choreography was absolutely on point. It was exciting and utter chaos, in a good way. So much going on, but every single thing that was going on, you wanted to watch and were totally interested in.

Add to that the awesome scenes of Hyper Terminal itself. I mean, these are model trains on a small little set. Yet those scenes of the trains pulling into and out of Hyper Terminal were just awesome. Dare I say, stunning?! The location they used for the battle royale, that office building garden/plaza thing, was also a great location. And they used the entire area excellently for that battle.

Amazing designs for both the Dining Set Bros, as usual.

The President appears to have disbanded the ToQgers, all because they are changing on their own? Could it be related to the overall feel exemplified by Right, the most immature of the group, actually taking a huge step toward maturity in this episode? Hmm…

But that scene of Wagon thinking she sees the kid ToQgers was so eerie.

So many things happened this episode, for our pure enjoyment as well as to move the story along. And judging from the preview, we’ve got some big things coming up. I can’t wait!

Conductor repeats that the ToQgers have been disbanded. The ToQgers are shocked. But Wagon suggests maybe they’re getting split up just so they can have a reunion and become ToQger 2!

Ticket reiterates than No, that’s not what it means. The ToQgers are no longer ToQgers. Conductor says he and Ticket were also taken aback by the news from the Rainbow Line President. Right decides to go talk to the side dish himself. The others follow.

They run through the huge Terminal only to stop when they see something utterly shocking.

The ToQgers stop when they see their reflections on a glass wall. Only… it is their younger selves that are staring back at them!

Akira sees them, but is also shocked to see their young reflections.

The ToQgers head back the Resshas and try to wrap their heads around what they just saw.

Ticket says that’s why they should have let them finish explaining. Conductor tells them to please listen before they get any more surprises. Conductor and Ticket confirm that they really are only children. When Suburaugahama was swallowed by the darkness, the five of them were spit out because of their powerful Imaginations.

The President borrowed from their powerful Imaginations to give them adult bodies to help fight the Shadow Line since adults are more immune to the Darkness. In short, they have the powerful Imaginations of children as well as the defenses of adults.

That’s why their only memories are from their childhood.

But why are they being disbanded now? Conductor and Ticket say it is for their own good.

Over at Castle Terminal, Nero is just learning of Schwarz’s reappearance. But Madame Noire says she will do everything to keep Schwarz from laying a finger on the Emperor. Is it really the Emperor you want to protect? Marchioness Mork quips.

Anyway, it’s too bad they weren’t able to attack Hyper Ressha Terminal. But Nero says it’s okay since the Dining Set Brothers have more brothers to do the job.

In fact, Mork is sitting on one right now.

The ToQgers are off the Resshas and sitting somewhere in the Terminal thinking about what Conductor and Ticket have just told them.

Conductor and Ticket tell Wagon that everything they said is true. The President says the ToQgers’ have been greatly affected by the Darkness, but not only that, they are changing on their own. They are growing, becoming more mature. And if they continue like this, they will no longer be able to return to being children. Which is why they must quit being ToQgers for their own sake.

Ticket says they’ll just have to go with ToQger 2 now.

The ToQgers try to accept that they’ll just have to let the new ToQgers defeat the Shadow and restore their town for them. So we are just going to stay here in the Terminal and wait, Tokacchi says.

Are you sure about that, Right asks.

Kagura knows what Right wants to do. “Are you really going to continue even if it means not going back?! If you stay an adult, your mama won’t recognize you!”

“Even if we restore our town, you might not be able to live with them anymore!”

But Right says they’ve already changed since their times at the secret base.

Suddenly, the alarm sounds. The President announces that the Shadow is approaching the Terminal.

Wagon says they haven’t established ToQger 2 yet! But Akira says he will fight the Shadow himself. He’ll protect the Line back to their town. He promised.

The ToQgers see the warning and Right starts to run. But the others stop him. This is one time he shouldn’t just run off.

Right stops and says he’s decided he can’t wait and watch someone else defeat the Shadow Line. He’d rather die than do that. Yes, he can’t return to normal and he’ll cry when his mother won’t be able to recognize him, but he’s still going anyway.

Right can see himself defeating the Shadow and restoring their town. If he doesn’t do it, he can’t see the Shouri no Imagination. That’s why he will continue to be a ToQger.

The Dining Set Brothers are wreaking havoc in town and Akira goes to face them.

Right runs, but gets stopped by a railroad crossing.

Suddenly!

Right sees his younger self on the other side of the tracks and then remembers.

Right flashes back to that night. He’s just given his mother the lantern he made. But now, he also remembers his name.

On a lantern with his wish to go to space is his name: Suzuki Raito.

Right runs toward youngRight and they give each a high five as he crosses the train tracks.

When he arrives, Right henshins and helps Akira take on a group of Kuros.

Back at the Terminal, the others are coming to terms with the truth. Maybe they knew all along, but just didn’t want to believe it.

They remember their beautiful town. The town where they would sit together, looking at the stars and sing “Twinkle twinkle little star.”

They decide they will do everything they can to restore it, even if they change. They look behind and see their younger selves smiling back at them. They wave and then run off to help Right and Akira.

The Dining Set Brothers have forced Right and Akira to de-henshin and are about to finish them off, but the others arrive just in time.

Right can’t believe they are here.

“The five of us will always stick together.”

Akira is touched by their bond and he joins them as they all henshin together.

They slash at the Dining Set Bros before Right goes Hyper. He summons the Daikaiten Canon and they send a Renketsu Crash with Akira’s extra boost.

The Dining Set Bros embiggen. Ticket announces the departure of all the Resshas from the Terminal to form Cho ToQ-Oh. Akira hops into Build Dai-Oh and they both use all the Ressha armaments.

The Dining Set Bros appear to be too much for them, especially with an extra large Chabudai.

But the President makes an announcement. The ToQgers’ decision to continue has won his admiration and they now have permission to use Hyper Ressha Terminal.

Ticket pops into the cockpit and tells the ToQgers.

Right inserts Hyper Ressha and the Terminal turns into a huge train which manages to take care of one of the Chair Shadows by itself.

Ticket tells Right to pilot it and Right initiates its transformation to Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh.

Now it’s three against three. Even Table Shadow is impressed.

The others send a Full Burst Finish and Akira sends a Bucket Break to take care of the other Chair Shadow. Right uses a Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh Giant Flash to finish off Table Shadow.

Conductor, Ticket and Wagon cheer. The President wipes the sweat off his face… under the rabbit head.

Hyper Ressha Terminal departs for its next location.

Conductor thinks the President sent Hyper Ressha Terminal because he wanted Right-tachi to continue. Indeed, Ticket says they’ve already drifted further and further from being children. How so? Wagon asks. Conductor says they know who they are now. They’ve taken a step forward and won’t be able to take it back.

The ToQgers are on a hill looking up at the stars. The others have also remembered their names.

“I want to go to space!” – Suzuki Raito

“I hope we can always stay together.” – Tokashiki Haru

“I hope Daddy doesn’t get hurt.” – Natsume Mio

“I want to be stronger.” – Nonomura Hikari

“I hope to be happy with Papa and Mama.” – Izumi Kagura

The ToQgers are happy now. They feel like they’ve remembered everything.

They happily start singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”

As does Zett.

Episode Thoughts

Beautiful episode. I knew Kobayashi was going to give us something big around Episode 31. And she delivered big time.

I think many fans have already accepted that the ToQgers are actually children, especially when they revealed that their town had been taken over by the Shadow Line when they were kids.

But what this confirmation does now is propel the ToQgers forward in a huge way. Like the Go-Busters did around this same point in their season, the ToQgers have now made a clear and tangible sacrifice. Any Sentai or Power Rangers team, sure they risk their lives to save the world.

But here, we see the ToQgers acknowledge what they may be losing and still move forward for the greater good of their town and the world. It gives them more weight as heroes to have them know their lives will be completely different even if they defeat the Shadow Line and restore their town.

With Go-Busters, they had to witness their families die just so they could defeat their enemy that was threatening the world.

It really gives their mission that much more important and weight. This is a superhero show after all, and now we see just how much the ToQgers fit that title.

I’ve always loved the scenes with the kids. I get all emotional and they’ve used the flashbacks and all those fade-ins and fade-outs to maximum effect. From the ToQgers seeing their reflections to them actually seeing their younger selves in front of them, they were some really effective and emotional scenes.

It again also helps to reinforce their bond. It is a different kind of bond from what you normally or even ever see on a show like this. Akira looking at them after the others’ “We’ll always stick together” was amazing and was pretty much the same exact reaction I had. Just awesome.

While it wasn’t as amazing as last week’s battle royale, I loved the fight they had with the Dining Set Bros. Just look at this:

And again, I love the shots of the terminal with the trains parked on the platforms and then them pulling out. You forget that it’s just a small model train set. Those scenes look so good. And the excitement really builds when those trains start moving.

And how about that final scene of the ToQgers singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?” Beautiful. Everything. All things. MaGMCMs everywhere.

Conductor thinks about the huge step the ToQgers have taken forward by now remembering their names. Wagon sees him and Ticket looking down from the Resshas at the ToQgers training.

They are reaffirming their three goals: 1. To continue preventing the Shadow Line from taking over stations. 2. Recover Drill Ressha from Schwarz. 3. Visit Shadow Towns and free them.

Akira says to leave Schwarz to him. That allows the others to concentrate on the other two goals. They start training.

Wagon points out how intensely serious they are now and Conductor says that with their memories back, it seems like they are becoming less childlike. Ticket says growing up is better than becoming an idiot. But Conductor is not so sure about that.

Akira notices Right and Hikari are doing something funny. Tokacchi explains that that they used to practice karate when they were kids. Right’s grandfather was their Sensei. Mio remembers they used to train, especially Hikari.

So who’s stronger, Akira asks. They’re not sure.

Hikari remembers when he and Right were preparing to face off against each other when they were kids and he asks Right if he wants to spar. Sure, Right says, but Conductor interrupts to tell them the next station has been taken over by the Shadow Line.

The ToQgers arrive at Chudoku (Poison Injection) Station. No one seems to be around until a group of people in karategis appear and attack. Each one of the karatekas take on one of the ToQgers who have no idea what is going on.

Maybe they’re hypnotized, Tokacchi says. Hikari does not hold back when fighting and Right says he should let up since these people might not be Shadow. Hikari says they can’t hold back now, Akira agrees.

Just as suddenly, a Sensei appears and attacks Right who is able to block it. Sensei sees that Right is well versed in karate and calls off the others who run off.

Sensei apologizes for the sudden attack, but there’s a good reason for it. To make up for the trouble, Sensei punches himself in the face.

They have Sensei take a seat and he explains the townspeople are in danger after a syringe monster attacked and attached syringe bracelets to their wrists yesterday. A poison will slowly be injected into the townspeople until they die at sunset today.

The only way of removing the bracelets is to break the syringe on the Shadow’s arm as he waits at the top of a building. The thriving martial arts community of the town tried storming the building, but there were too many of the monster’s minions and they failed.

The ToQgers head to the building, but Chushaki Shadow appears on a screen and says if they come any closer, he’ll inject the entire poison into the townspeople right now. He lets out another dose and the townspeople cry in pain.

The ToQgers de-henshin to avoid provoking Chushaki Shadow, but then they too get a syringe bracelet attached to their wrists in place of their ToQ Changers.

Chushaki Shadow disconnects and Sensei comes running out from around the corner, lamenting at the ToQgers getting syringed as well. He falls to the ground in despair, but Hikari walks over and grabs his hands. It’s not too late.

Hikari suggests they go back to the Resshas to think of a plan.

Over at the Castle, Mork and Nero are trying to throw Noire under the bus and ask why Zett doesn’t just off her now. He doesn’t want to hear any of that. But Mork is curious why. Zett looks in the mirror and again sees Gritta. Noire sees as well.

Back on the Resshas, Hikari suggests they just attack from the front. But if the Shadow is who he thinks he is, then his plan will work. Hikari asks Right to go with him.

Just them two? Hikari smiles.

At the entrance of the building, Chushaki Shadow again appears and tells Hikari and Right that he’ll be waiting.

Right wonders how many Kuros there will be. Hikari laughs and asks if he remembers their duel. Sure he does. Hikari tells the story.

Hikari actually asked Sensei to let them duel. He wanted to beat Right. Even though Right started karate long before him, Hikari was sure he’d win since he practiced more. But Hikari still lost.

He may have looked fine with the loss back then, but deep inside he was crying. Flashback to Hikari crying behind the dojo.

Sensei sees Hikari. Sensei knows it must be frustrating for a slacker like Right who always skips practice beat him. Maybe he was born with that strength.

Even if it must piss off Hikari, it does not mean Hikari’s hands that practiced so hard are weak. Just from touch, Sensei knows how much effort Hikari’s put into them. But he tried so hard that he was too forceful and serious. Sometimes having a little fun can help him move easier and fight better. Like Right does.

Sensei suggests Hikari play around a little next time and whip Right’s butt.

Right is devastated. His own grandpa wasn’t on his side?! Hikari smiles and asks if Right wants to play a game. Who can beat more Kuros?

Just like Sensei said, it’s important to be a bit more playful. Right likes that. And he thinks he will definitely win.

They fist bump when new Sensei arrives wanting to help. He’s not going to let them suffer alone.

Right and Hikari look at each other and smile.

The three of them charge into the building and face an army of Kuros. Right keeps score as the head up the stairs.

The other ToQgers are waiting in what looks to be their cars, worried that sunset is approaching.

Hikari, Right and Sensei arrive in Chushaki Shadow’s office. Chushaki Shadow welcomes them by attempting to shoot some poison from his syringe, but Hikari gives the others the go-signal and they storm into the office using the cars.

They jump onto Chushaki Shadow. Right and Hikari were just distracting Chushaki Shadow so he wouldn’t notice Car Carrier Ressha approaching.

But Chushaki Shadow’s got a secret plan of his own. He disappears from under the ToQgers and explains that it was a fake. He taunts them and says they and the townspeople are going to die.

Hikari is upset their plan failed. Right says this is Hikari’s fault. But Hikari says it is Right’s fault. They shove each other and are about to punch each other too.

But they actually turn to punch Sensei!

Sensei blocks their punch… with a syringe! Sensei is actually Chushaki Shadow!

How did they know? Hikari noticed the Sensei earlier had come from the same direction as the bracelets, not from the building. He didn’t want to believe it, but when he held his hands earlier, he knew they felt like hands of someone who’s never done karate before.

Hikari gives another kick and the syringe cracks to pieces. The bracelets are deactivated and fall off everyone’s wrist.

Akira finds the real Sensei and Chushaki Shadow reverts to his real Shadow form.

The ToQers henshin. Hikari lands a couple of hits onto Chushaki Shadow before he lets a Hyper Right finish him off as they go flying out the window of the high rise.

Chushaki Shadow embiggens and the ToQgers hop into Cho Cho ToQ Dai-Oh. But it is not enough. The Shadow drains Cho Cho Toq Dai-Oh’s imagination energy.

Ticket pops into the cockpit and tells them this is a good time to use Hyper Ressha. Right hops into Hyper Ressha to help initiate Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh.

Chushaki Shadow thinks Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh is so big. But Right uses a Giant Flash finisher to finish him off for good. The power is restored to the Resshas.

Back in the main car, Wagon sees a depressed Right and asks the others what’s wrong. They explain that he’s shocked his grandfather sided with Hikari. Hikari says Grandpa Sensei was just cheering him up.

Tokacchi asks who won the game earlier. Hikari says he doesn’t know, but Right does. He was counting the whole time. And Hikari won by one.

But Right also defeated the kaijin, so that should count for 5 Kuros.

Conductor and Ticket walk in. Conductor is happy and relieved the ToQgers still have some of their childlike childish qualities.

Hikari reminds Right that the game was most Kuros. So that means he wins. Right can’t believe it. He goes back to the booth to cry.

Episode Thoughts

Ahhh! Loved this episode. It was so good.

I’ve always enjoyed seeing the flashbacks to when the ToQgers were kids. (Which apparently was just a couple of months ago, hehe.) Again, we get to see just how close the ToQgers were… I mean, are as children. It was great to see a brand new dynamic between Right and Hikari. The flashbacks really serve as a perfect way to establish just how strong the ToQgers bond really is.

It’s just great seeing them continually reestablish and solidify that bond that transcends being a member of a Sentai team.

Not only was Hikari and Right’s karate emotionally touching, it was hilariously fun as well. It also continues one of Right’s character trait about always being right and the best, but in a playful way.

Conductor being worried about the ToQgers growing up and maturing was very interesting. Maybe he is worried they will become weaker if their Imagination power is less. But they’re definitely still kids at heart and he knows they’ll be just fine. I really love how much Conductor, Ticket, Wagon and even Akira are big parts of the ToQgers’ lives, even outside of battle.

The story of the episode itself was excellent. I honestly did not see Sensei being Chushaki Shadow. So that was an awesome surprise.

It’s about time they used Car Carrier Ressha! And zomg, that nighttime shot of the Resshas traveling through downtown was so good. More nighttime traveling please! (In addition to more countryside visits too!)

Right and Hikari storming the building and fighting off the Kuros was AMAZING. Hikari’s character song made that whole sequence even more awesome and badass. Love the song.

And Right finishing off Chushaki Shadow in mid-air was also amazing and awesome.

I definitely want a 6-gou watch!

And maybe the most fun part of this episode was that the karate people at the beginning of the episode were actually the ToQgers’ suit actors! So they were actually fighting themselves! They must have had a lot of fun doing that scene.

This was really just an amazing episode. Maybe one of my favorites.

But next week though! I’m really pleasantly surprised they (or Kobayashi) are really pushing through with developing Tokacchi’s crush on Mio. YES!!!!

And finally, congratulations to ToQger for winning a special award and recognition from the Japan Railway!

Mio joins Kagura who is reading a special romance issue of a women’s magazine. Tokatti listens as Kagura asks Mio what a “reliable man” is. Ewe! Mio doesn’t want to talk about such things.

But Wagon does! She thinks a man can be silent and let his back do the talking for him.

The Resshas suddenly screech to a halt and Conductor and Ticket come running in to tell them they are turning back as the last station has just been taken over by the Shadow Line.

Billiard Shadow is poking people in the butt and treating them like billiard balls by knocking them into random holes to create darkness of embarrassment. Billiard Shadow turns to a pink-suited man as his next target, but Mio arrives just in time to save him. She tells him to run and the others try to take care of the kaijin.

But Billiard Shadow has a pool table pop up and he breaks the rack to use the balls to attack the ToQgers.

Mio joins them again as the pink-suited man watches from behind the fence. Mio uses her Signal Hammer to block and send the pool ball back to Billiard Shadow who retreats.

The ToQgers de-henshin and the pink-suited man, who has fallen in love with Mio at first sight, approaches them. He introduces himself as Omotesandou Yoshio and complements Mio before he directly asks her to go out with him.

Mio…

He walks over to her and grabs her hands saying he is grateful she saved his life and must now repay her with his love. He tells her he loves her.

Mio yanks her hands away from his and Tokatti jumps in. Omotesandou insists Mio let him love her, but she runs away. He chases after her and Tokatti tells the others they must follow.

Mio runs right into Akira who comes strolling by. She gets an idea. She introduces Akira as her boyfriend.

Everyone is SHOCKED. Most especially Tokatti. And Kagura too.

Tokatti faints and Right, Kagura and Hikari try to help him.

Omotesandou is skeptical, but will regard Akira as his rival while Akira doesn’t really know what’s going on. Mio elbows his side twice and tells him to just play along.

While Hikari and Right carry Tokatti, Mio and Akira manage to sneak away while Omotesandou vows to win her.

The ToQgers are back on the Ressha. Mio begs Conductor and Ticket to get this train away from this station, FAST. Of course they can’t until Billiard Shadow is defeated.

Mio points to Omotesandou who is on the train platform and naturally cannot see the Resshas.

Tokatti wakes up and is relieved that Mio and Akira are not really dating. “Yeah,” Hikari says, “so don’t worry.”

Having been listening to them, curious Right wants to know what they’re talking about. But Tokatti says it’s nothing. Though he wonders why Mio had to choose Akira to be her pretend boyfie.

Mio doesn’t know what to do, but Wagon does. She’s got an intensely simple plan. All Mio and Akira have to do is go on a hot date.

Wagon and Kagura give Akira and Mio hot makeovers. Tokatti, Kagura, Right and Wagon are all dressed in suits. Wagon gives Akira and Mio listening devices so the ToQgers in Black can help give them instructions.

Right notices Hikari has not changed. Hikari says he’ll pass on this one, he doesn’t like to butt into other people’s love affairs. And Right shouldn’t go too. Hikari says they should leave this to Tokatti.

Before leaving the Ressha, Wagon gives Akira a ring box as a “last resort.”

Leaving the station, Wagon, Tokatti and Kagura are tailing Omotesandou who is trying to follow Mio and Akira.

The first stop on their hot date is a restaurant for some tea. Wagon tells them to relax as they look too stiff and suspicious. She suggests they chat or drink some tea.

Akira takes the cup of scalding tea and downs the whole thing. It burns.

Omotesandou liked that.

Now it’s time for a walk in the park. Wagon suggests Mio and Akira hold hands. Mio is not sure about that, but Akira takes her hand. He’s just doing as ordered.

Tokatti continues dying inside.

While Right and Hikari are facing off against Billiard Shadow, Mio and Akira have a seat on a park bench. Mio does not want to sit close to Akira. Everyone else is watching from behind trees.

Wagon suggests they flirt now. Akira doesn’t even know what “flirt” means. Wagon says they should embrace.

Akira moves closer to Mio, but Mio quickly stands. He says he’s just following orders and he tries to get her to sit back down. Omotesandou grows more suspicious.

Wagon tells Akira to intensely put his arm around Mio’s shoulder. He does and Mio’s instincts quickly tell her to grab his arm behind his back.

That’s it, Omotesandou says. Now he really knows they aren’t really dating.

Wagon tells Akira it’s time for the last resort. He takes the ring out and Wagon whispers the instructions for him to… PROPOSE! Marriage!

Everyone is surprised, especially Tokatti. Mio does not want that ring on her finger.

Quickly, Omotesandou and Tokatti come running out from behind their respective trees to stop the engagement. Mio is surprised Tokatti has come running out too.

Omotesandou tells Mio to stop lying. That’s absurd, Mio stutters. Omotesandou demands some proof then. They should kiss if everything is true.

Mio hesitates, but Akira says fine.

“Don’t worry. I know how to kiss.”

Akira stares at Mio and licks his lips. He takes his hands out, ready to grab. Tokatti can’t take it anymore, he starts running.

But Akira turns and grabs Omotesandou and puckers up! Tokatti trips and he pushes Omotesandou toward Akira and they kiss. Omotesandou tries holding Akira back at first, but he lets his body go to jelly as he enjoys the kiss.

No time to react to all of this as Right comes flying at them. Billiard Shadow wonders what’s going on here.

Akira tells Omotesandou (who appears to have a new love) to run. Wagon takes him to safety as the ToQgers intensely henshin.

Mio and Akira waste no time and they face Billiard Shadow head on. But Billiard Shadow knocks Tokatti, Akira and Mio down.

Right takes out Hyper Ressha, but Tokatti takes it instead. He’s definitely had enough of this. Tokatti charges at Billiard Shadow himself. Hikari knew this would happen.

Tokatti goes crazy on Billiard Shadow who has no idea why Tokatti would be so mad at him when he hasn’t even done anything to him yet.

Tokatti takes out the Daikaiten Cannon and sends a weeping Hyper Last Train Crash to finish off Billiard Shadow’s first life.

Billiard Shadow embiggens and Tokatti decides to hop into Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh himself. “What about us?” Right asks. Hikari says they should let Tokatti handle this himself.

None of Billiard Shadow’s techniques and attacks work on an impassioned Tokatti who first delivers a Tokatti Punch.

The others, minus Hikari, wonder what’s made Tokatti so upset. Tokatti finishes off Billiard Shadow with a Giant Flash.

Back at the station, Mio is relieved it is all over. Wagon tells them she’s got some yummy bento on the Resshas for them. Omotesandou is still following them, now in love with Akira.

Akira feels the eyes on him. By the time Omotesandou reaches the platform, he finds his “darling” has disappeared once again.

Episode Thoughts

What a great episode.
Everything about it was so much fun. From Tokatti’s jealousy to Mio being absolutely grossed out by lovey dovey things (she IS a kid after all) to Akira being Akira to Hikari being in on Tokatti’s secret and knowing that would help them defeat the monster this week to Right always being nosy and also getting upset whenever someone else steals his thunder to Wagon and Kagura’s intense antics… it was just all awesome.

What about seeing two men kissing… on a children’s show! I wonder if this episode will get adapted for Power Rangers. lol

Seeing Mio all awkward and flustered was great fun and interesting because we’ve seen her be the responsible “mother” of the group who goes out for runs every day. But when it comes to matters of the heart, watch out! Mio’s not having any of that!

Again, it is awesome that they are definitely not dropping Tokatti’s crush storyline. I just hope we get an awesome, or should I say intensely awesome pay off for their story. (They better get together!)

It was a great, fun episode after the big reveal and a nice breather before what looks to be another huge episode after next week’s break!

Zett is sitting is on his thrown, thinking about still not being able to absorb Gritta’s sparkle. He sees her reflection in the mirror.

Suddenly, a large amount of darkness emanates through the throne room, much to the shock of Madame Noire, Baron Nero and Marchioness Mork. Zett emerges from his throne in full Shadow form.

Mork remarks how rare it is for Zett to create such darkness since he hates it. She says they must take this opportunity to crush the ToQgers once and for all.

The alarm sounds at Hyper Ressha Terminal. The President orders the emergency departure of Hyper Ressha, but the approaching Kuliners speed onto Hyper Ressha Terminal’s tracks and prevent it from transforming and high tailing it outta there.

The President’s head falls off and he hastily puts it back on sideways before alerting the ToQgers.

The ToQgers meet Akira on the way to the Terminal. They charge toward the Terminal, but they cannot break through the Darkness. Akira tells the others to quickly back away from Darkness before it destroys their engines.

Marchioness Mork marvels at this beautiful darkness. Zett says he did not do this for her. But they can do whatever they want with it.

Baron Nero has six additional Kuliner robos guarding the Shadow-controlled Terminal. Marchioness Mork warns him not to mess this up. That ticks Nero off, he hates working for her.

Zett walks through the Terminal and stops in front of the magic mirror the ToQgers also stopped at. Gritta appears in the reflection. Zett warns that if he can’t obtain her sparkle, it’ll be erased. The “disgusting” amount of darkness in him would wipe her out instantly.

Meanwhile, Schwarz is by the river where Gritta “died.” He picks up a piece of her dress. “You saved my life… so of course, I must return the favor. I swear it.”

Back on the Resshas, the President makes a surprise appearance. Conductor stops Right from pointing out the President’s crooked head while the President corrects both Kagura and Conductor for saying he is a bunny and rabbit.

He’s just the President. He seemingly controls Conductor by shutting him up with an invisible string as he explains that they can take back the Terminal by using Hyper Ressha Terminal’s new power. But it only works with all 13 ToQ trains and Support Ressha.

Hikari speaks up. If they need 13 trains, they are missing one. Drill Ressha, Akira realizes. Conductor says Drill Ressha was originally a Shadow Train, but the President says it has great power. Plus he likes drills.

“Don’t make decisions based on your biases,” Ticket says.

Anyway, they need all 13. And now. Otherwise the Terminal will sink into a Shadow Town and the Rainbow Line’s loss will be assured.

Wagon asks how the President was able to escape. He explains that there are cracks between the Darkness covering the Terminal. They can pass through it as long as they’re not on a train. The ToQgers decide to go in using those cracks. But Akira says he will go look for Schwarz and retrieve Drill Ressha.

Zett and Marchioness Mork are in the President’s office. She feels something unpleasant here in the heart of the Rainbow Line. She asks Zett to use his power to eradicate it, as well as the unpleasant thing inside of him.

Suddenly, they see the ToQgers running toward the Terminal. Mork, Noire and Nero stop them before they can get close.

The ToQgers henshin.

Tokatti and Hikari take on Nero, Mio and Kagura take on Noire and Right faces Mork. Meanwhile, Akira meets with Schwarz and they immediately battle. Akira says he wants Drill Ressha.

The ToQgers are struggling. Zett appears and transforms into his Shadow form, sending blasts of darkness toward them.

Akira uses his shadow power to rain down on Schwarz to allow him to sneak around. But before Akira can take Schwarz by surprise, Conductor and Ticket calls to ask if he’s got Drill Ressha because the others need him right now.

Akira asks Schwarz to hold on a sec while he finishes this call.

Zett forces the ToQgers to dehenshin. Akira knows there is no time. Just as Schwarz is about to slash him across the head, Akira also dehenshns.

Schwarz pulls back. Akira has a request. He will accept any condition Schwarz sets, as long as he gets Drill Ressha back. Akira bows his head.

Zett takes Right by the collar. What would happen if Zett takes Right’s sparkle, he asks. “Would it accept me or disappear?”

Noire realizes all this darkness from Zett might be because something is happening with Gritta inside of him.

Right tells Zett that will never happen and instead, all he sees is that Zett is going down. Zett proposes they test that theory. Zett has his engulfing claws out, ready to absorb Right. But suddenly…

Gritta pops out of Zett’s chest and pushes Right away. Everyone is shocked.

Zett is back in his human form. “So that is your answer.”

Mork quickly summons a Kuliner to whisk Zett away.

Suddenly, the Resshas are arriving. Conductor and Ticket tell the ToQgers to hurry and board. Akira’s gotten Drill Ressha back!

Mork turns to see Drill Ressha is indeed riding on top of an arriving Build Ressha.

Akira sits quietly in his cockpit. He flashes back.

Schwarz is amazed to see Akira here before him, bowing his head.

“To have changed this much… is it because what you’re fighting for has changed?”
“For you to say that… means you’ve changed too. You’re talking about yourself as well, aren’t you.”

Akira asks Schwarz if he too has seen the sparkle. Schwarz presents his condition. Akira seems shocked, but he agrees.

Right thanks Akira, snapping him out of his flashback. Now that they have all 13 Resshas, it’s time. They charge toward the Terminal.

Mork, Noire and Nero watch. They order the Kuliner Robos to hold them off, but they are no match for the ToQgers. They are all destroyed with one shot.

Mork, Noire and Nero hop into the Kuliners that are pulled into the Terminal. They can’t give up the Terminal now. Accompanied by two other Kuro-piloted Kuliners, they transform into Robos and leave the Terminal.

The ToQgers take the opening and speed toward the Terminal’s platforms. Conductor, Ticket and Wagon are excited to see they’ve done it! President says they will now use Terminal’s special mode.

The Terminal stands and the transformation is complete. Mork, Noire and Nero are in awe and confused at the same time.

But the ToQgers have just formed ToQ Rainbow. President gives the ToQgers permission to drive.

But Mork, Noire and Nero also combine their Kuliners into one larger one.

But the ToQgers use their Rainbow Beam Cannon to take care of the two Kuro-piloted Kuliners. They then whip out a Rainbow Blade and then charge up a ToQ Rainbow Final Slash.

That finishes off the Kuliner robo and Mork, Noire and Nero eject.

The ToQgers are exhausted. Akira tries snapping them out of it.

Back at the Castle, Mork is scolding Zett for not getting rid of that horrible thing inside of him. They would’ve surely won if he did.

Zett just ponders to himself. Noire realizes she must hurry before Zett just eliminates her for good.

The ToQgers are back on the Resshas. They think about poor Gritta’s suffering. Right says it’s because of her sparkles. The Emperor wants it. Hiraki says Right better watch out then.

They hear Akira on the tracks playing his harmonica as the sun sets.

What was Schwarz’s condition?

Episode Thoughts

Yay! Great to have ToQger back. And WOW!!! What an episode that was, yes?

So much amazing stuff this episode, definitely one of my favorites.

First that opening scene of the Kuliners taking over the Terminal! Damn. The Kuliners physically stopping Hyper Ressha Terminal from folding up and hightailing it out of there AND President’s head popping off!

I loved seeing the ToQgers face off against Mork, Noire and Nero again. That whole sequence plus Akira and Schwarz’s fight was amazing. Even more excellent fight choreography that was just as epic as the battle royale between Right, Zett, Noire, Schwarz and Mork a few episodes ago.

I love how Gritta has actually become a huge part of the story. It goes all the way back to when the ToQgers first meet Gritta when she runs away. Seeing their “relationship” with her, especially Mio’s connection with her now leading to them really feeling for her is just great. Then we have Schwarz who has been greatly affected by her sacrifice. We don’t know if he loves her, but he definitely feels indebted to her and owes her his life.

Definitely can’t wait to see what Noire does next to save her daughter. But how Gritta is affecting Zett is very intriguing.

And how about that ToQ Rainbow. That initial toy catalog picture definitely made the thing look blockish as hell. But it looks so much better in motion on the show. You can’t help but just cheer when the Resshas dock at the platforms and Hyper Ressha Terminal literally stands up. The theme is amazing and it definitely helped set the mood. It was awesomely epic.

Then you have the Kuliner Robos actually looking up at the huge thing. It was fun and hilarious and badass at the same time.

Just another amazing episode of ToQger. Anxious to see what deal Akira and Schwarz made.

The ToQgers wonder what’s up with Akira lately. He’s been weird ever since he got Drill Ressha back. Ticket says he’s gone riding around on his own. The others think he’s off trying to find Subarugahama on his own.

The Resshas stop at the next station, Hakutendaigaku. Hikari remembers a visiting teacher-student who attended Hakutendaigaku. He rushes out and the others follow.

The ToQgers walk onto the university campus at this station.

Hikari explains that while Subarugahama may have been swallowed by the darkness, everyone who knows about the town may not have. He asks them if they remember a Sakura-sensei. They do. She was a teacher-in-training who visited their class for two weeks.

They hope they can learn more about their town if they can find Sakura-sensei.

The ToQgers split up to look for her. Tokatti and Kagura go together and they see something.

No, not pretty girls Tokatti.
A Shadow kaijin approaches the pretty girls and says he wants to grade them. He gives them a big 0 for their femininity. Their stylish looks are replaced by bad hair and plain tracksuits causing them to emit darkness.

The Station’s name changes to Rakudaigakumae.

The Shadow turns his attention to Tokatti and gives him a zero for the manliness of his glasses. Tokatti’s glasses break and that saddens him.

Right and Mio arrive and the four of them henshin.

But Tokatti is still sad. He takes the rails off his helmet, but Mio tells him to pull himself together.

They attack the Shadow, but the Shadow sprays black fountain pen ink all over them and leaves.

Over at the Castle, Madame Noire and Marchioness Mork are excited about Mannenhitsu/Fountain Pen Shadow gathering lots of nice darkness.

Hikari enters a classroom and sees a student who looks very much like Sakura-sensei. He approaches her and asks if she is Iwaga Sakura. Yes, she says. But she asks if they’ve met before.

Hikari introduces himself, but Sakura thinks he’s from a matchmaking party she recently attended. She apologizes for not remembering since she was drunk.

Hikari realizes she wouldn’t recognize him like this, so he asks if she remembers Subarugahama. Before she can answer, Fountain Pen Shadow enters the classroom to grade the students. He gives one guy a zero on his hair.

He then turns to Sakura and says she doesn’t have any hopes or dreams, so he wants to give her a zero on her future.

Hikari protects her and whisks her out of the classroom as the other ToQgers arrive. But Fountain Pen Shadow has run out of ink, so he cancels class for today and leaves.

The ToQgers reunite with Hikari. They see Sakura on her cell phone and wonder if she was always like this. They remember her as being more mature and kind.

Right also remembers Sakura-sensei giving him a perfect 100 on his presentation of his dream to go to space. Kagura also remembers when Sakura-sensei cheered her up and taught her that just having a dream, big or small, deserves a perfect score.

Hikari remembers Sakura-sensei approaching him to ask about his dream. But he asks her what her dream is first. She says she never had one until coming here to Subarugahama and meeting them.

Sakura speaks up and says while she doesn’t remember Subarugahama, she also finds it weird there’s nothing of it on the internet. The ToQgers realize that no one remembers cities that have been turned into Shadow towns.

Ticket calls and asks what in the world they’re doing! Conductor tells them to finish Fountain Pen Shadow and return to the Resshas.

Fountain Pen Shadow has just sucked up a Kuro for all his black darkness to turn into ink.

The ToQgers run off, but Mio sees Hikari deep in thought. She tells him that forcing Sakura-sensei to remember will only make her suffer. But that’s when Hikari’s got an idea.

The four find Fountain Pen Shadow who notices they are missing one. What a failure of a Sentai, he says. So he gives them each a zero.

Mio, Tokatti and Kagura all become sad for getting zeros and turning into ToQ 0-gou.

Mio says this is her first failing grade in her life.

Right tries to get them to snap out of it.

Meanwhile, Sakura asks Hikari why he keeps calling her “sensei.” She admits that while she’s an Education student, she only got in because she had the minimum requirements. She thought she had a dream or goal, but not anymore. That’s why the Fountain Pen monster was right.

Hikari says it doesn’t matter if she can’t remember Subarugahama. But she should not forget her dream.

Hikari flashes back. Sakura-sensei told him her dream was to become a teacher that would give them all A+s.

Hikari tells Sakura that a teacher once taught him having a dream is already worth 100 points. So she must find her dream again and he can give her a perfect 100.

Hikari turns to leave, but Sakura calls after him. She may have just had a memory flash herself.

Fountain Pen Shadow has just given Right a zero. But Right just laughs. This is definitely not the first time he’s gotten a zero. The others don’t really think that’s something to be proud of.

But Right, still full of energy, takes Hyper Ressha out to uphenshin to Hyper ToQ 0-gou. But Fountain Pen Shadow decides to give him a -100 instead.

Right turns into ToQ -100gou. And that is definitely something to be sad and embarrassed about.

But before Fountain Pen Shadow can finish them off, Hikari arrives. He apologizes to the others for being late before picking up Hyper Ressha and charging towards Fountain Pen Shadow.

Hikari is determined to stop the Shadow Line from taking people’s dreams away from them. Fountain Pen Shadow wants to give Hikari a zero for his bravado, but Hikari has already become Hyper ToQ 4-gou.

Hikari is able to knock Fountain Pen Shadow around. He summons the Daikaiten Cannon, but the others are still out of it. Hikari takes their Resshas and delivers the Hyper Five Renketsu Crash to finish off Fountain Pen Shadow’s first life.

The ToQgers are back to their regular numbers as Fountain Pen Shadow embiggens.

Akira quickly arrives in Build Ressha and asks the ToQgers to leave this to him. He initiates Build Dai-Oh Drill, but Fountain Pen Shadow decides to use the darkness he’s gathered to make himself embiggen some more.

The ToQgers decide to summon Hyper Ressha Terminal and they quickly form ToQ Rainbow.

With a ToQ Rainbow Final Slash, Fountain Pen Shadow gets a zero while he gives the ToQgers a perfect score and dies.

Sakura sees a rainbow in the sky and says she’s found it.

The two pretty girls from earlier see Sakura and wonder why she is dressed more conservatively today. She says she’s found it, or at least, remembered her dream. She wants to become a teacher that inspires dreams in children.

The ToQgers watch her excitedly going to class. Hikari gives her a 100. They hope Sakura-sensei will never forget her dream again. They are happy to have been able to help her. Akira has no idea what’s going on.

But Wagon makes an announcement. Ticket is very annoyed. They’ve wasted a lot of time already and it’s time to depart! The ToQgers hurry back to the Resshas, but Hikari takes one more look at a now happy Sakura-sensei.

Episode Thoughts

This was a nice, sweet little episode. I always enjoy the episodes where we flash back to the ToQgers as kids and fill in more of their memories, even if they don’t necessarily play a big part in the greater story.

Since these kinds of episodes give us more insight into the ToQgers, I always enjoy them. And this episode also reminded us that Akira is still sort of an outsider. Not that they don’t welcome him and he isn’t a part of the team. But that the ToQgers still have shared experiences and memories that he is not a part of. That is definitely a dynamic I’ve been interested to see since Akira arrived. So I was happy to see it here a little bit at the end when he didn’t know what was going on.

Akira’s deal with Schwarz though is very intriguing. Can’t wait to find out what it was.

Noire and Mork’s scene at the Castle was so odd though. I don’t even think we needed that scene.

It was fun seeing FOUR of the ToQgers all sad this time. The idea of ToQ 0-gou is very amusing, not to mention Right needing a -100 to get him down.

Tokatti’s glasses gag was taken to the next level this episode too with him actually removing the rails from his helmet. Very fun.

Fountain Pen Shadow had another amazing design. Love the designs this season. And it was awesome to see a fresh location too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that university campus before.

More fresh (and countryside!) locations please!

Overall a fun, sweet episode.

Wagon has prepared some intensely delicious bento for the ToQgers today. But Tokatti can’t decide which one he wants. Conductor and Ticket pop up and say if Tokatti can’t even decide on lunch, how is he going to be popular with the girls? Indeed, Mio says, Tokatti is too wishy-washy and indecisive.

Tokatti takes that criticism hard, but Akira calls and interrupts their lunch and sulking to say he’s found another Junction.

The ToQgers join Akira on the Drill Ressha as they enter the Shadow Line. Right notices Akira is accompanying them today when he normally doesn’t. Akira doesn’t explain as they arrive and disembark.

The ToQgers see this is unfortunately not Subarugahama. Akira says if not, then they should quickly go back. The others of course want to save this town first, but Akira says they can do that later. Subarugahama is most important. The ToQgers don’t understand.

“But there’s no time…” Before the ToQgers can question Akira’s odd behavior lately, the Overseer of the town arrives. He is Knight and is accompanied by his trusty horse Justaway.

Kagura thinks Justaway is cute. But Right quickly henshins. Hikari reminds Right about the time limit and asks the others for their Resshas. Mio and Kagura hand him theirs and he henshins to join Right in the fight.

Knight is very fast, too fast for Right and Hikari. Right de-henshins as his time expires and Hikari transfers to Pink to save him.

Tokatti is unsure whether to give his Ressha to Right or to henshin himself. His indecisiveness leaves him out in the open and Akira runs over to knock him out of the way of Knight’s attack.

Knight sends Tokatti and Akira flying off the cliff and hurls Right towards Kagura and Mio.

Hikari transfers to Yellow and uses the Signal Hammer to help them escape.

Over at the Castle, Nero thinks about Zett still not fully absorbing Gritta. Realizing Madame Noire must already know, he wonders what she is plotting. A Kuro comes to whisper that they’ve found Schwarz so Nero refocuses his attention to his original mission.

Right, Kagura, Hikari and Mio are hiding in a playground. Mio brings up how weird Akira has been acting. Hikari has noticed too.

They decide to go out and find Akira and Tokatti first.

Tokatti is by the river when he wakes up. Akira surprises him with his glasses.

Tokatti apologizes for being a bother and a loser for not being able to make quick decisions. Akira agrees that he is wishy washy. Tokatti is resigned to the fact that he is indecisive and can’t make decisions.

Decisions? Akira flashes back to his deal with Schwarz. The condition to retrieve Drill Ressha? Akira must join Schwarz’s army. When it is time, Akira must rush to his side and fight as his right hand man, like before. But if the ToQgers get in the way, there is no choice but to have them as enemies as well.

Akira struggles to agree with the conditions. Schwarz says he knows Zalam is a man who keeps his word.

Akira tells Tokatti they must leave here and find another Junction. But Tokatti says they cannot just leave this town’s people in trouble. Fine, Akira says. But in exchange, Tokatti must make a promise.

“One day, you guys will need to make a decision. No matter how hard the choice, when the time comes, you must make a decision. Promise me that.”

Tokatti doesn’t really understand, but if Akira insists, then sure. He holds out his pinky and teaches Akira how to pinky swear.

Meanwhile, back at the Junction, Schwarz is confronted by Nero. They battle.

Right, Mio, Hikari and Kagura are running on their way to find Tokatti and Akira when they find people who are frozen at a fork. They wonder why. That’s when they hear Knight’s voice.

If they choose the left fork, they’ll be bombarded with bombs. If they go right, they will be bombarded with bullets. Which one will they choose?

They can’t decide on either one and Knight says Time’s up. They get doused with water.

Hikari realizes the townspeople couldn’t decide, so they were trapped here resulting in the darkness.

Tokatti and Akira also come to a crossroads. If they go left, they’ll get eaten by a dinosaur. If they go right, they’ll get bitten by snakes.

Akira thinks, no matter how outrageous the choice is, you must still make a decision. Tokatti thinks about dying by dinosaur or by snake, but time’s up so they get doused with water.

It is important to make decisions, Akira says.

Knight arrives. Akira says he’ll handle this while Tokatti goes to look for Right-tachi. Tokatti wants to help Akira, but Akira tells Tokatti to go. Tokatti turns and runs, but he stops.

Schwarz and Nero are still fighting, but Schwarz says they will fight as much as Nero wants when the right time comes.

Knight is still too fast for Akira. His 30 seconds are up and he de-henshins but he transforms quickly to his Shadow form.

Tokatti is thinking. Making decisions. He turns and starts shooting at Knight who has got Akira on the ground. Tokatti faces off against Knight.

Knight says Tokatti can’t do anything when he can’t even hold a henshin for 30 seconds. That doesn’t matter, Tokatti says. He’s made the decision to stay and fight with Akira-kun.

That’s your decision? Akira asks.
“No,” Tokatti replies. “I just don’t want to sacrifice something for something else. My decision is not to make such a decision.”

Akira understands. Just then, the others come running to join them.

But how? Right says they forced their way through the explosions. They were very hot, Kagura adds.

But Knight scoffs, they still have a time limit. So what, Hikari says. That means they’ll just have to defeat him within 30 seconds.

The ToQgers henshin and attack Knight. But before Knight can speed off with Justaway, the ToQgers each block his path. He jumps down, but Tokatti is there to meet him with a Tokatti Slash.

Tokatti shoots at Knight and pushes him toward a waiting Akira who grabs at Justaway.

Akira yanks Justaway away from Knight and then sends him to the farm in the sky. Now Knight has lost his speed.

Right tosses Hyper Ressha to Tokatti and he becomes Hyper ToQ-2gou. The others de-henshn and toss Tokatti Diesel Ressha-tachi to use in the Daikaiten Cannon. Akira places Drill Ressha on and Tokatti delivers a Hyper Drill Ressha finisher towards Knight.

The town is freed from the Shadow Line and is restored. But Knight has embiggened.

The ToQgers hop into Cho-Cho ToQ Dai-Oh while Tokatti pilots Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh.

Despite Knight’s attepts to run, the ToQgers catch him and help set-up a Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh Giant Flash finisher.

The ToQgers walk back to the Resshas when Akira stops them. He bows and apologizes for not trying to save the town initially. Don’t worry about it, Right says. Mio and Kagura smile and are happy Akira seems like he’s back to normal.

Hikari asks Tokatti what he said to Akira to change his mind. “No, I didn’t really say anything,” Tokatti answers.

Akira says he’s off to find another Switch Point Junction. He stops next to Tokatti.

“It’s fine for now, but remember to keep your promise,” Akira says his in mind as we walks away.

Tokatti remembers their pinky swear as Akira walks away.

Meanwhile, Zett tells Gritta that he won’t erase her. Not yet.

Episode Thoughts

OMG. This episode. Will Akira’s place to die actually end up at the hands of the ToQgers!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! OMG. That is totally a Kobayashi thing to do. And I love it! And hate it! lol

I know it’ll be painful and sad and emotional, but damn if it won’t be epicly tragic and amazing.

I mean, I’ve seen OOO and Shinkenger and Go-Busters, so I have a rookie feeling at what Kobayashi might do here, based on this episode. And I will definitely look forward to it. ToQger‘s biggest appeal to me is the emotional connection these guys have with each other, which in turn gives me an emotional connection to them. Just the whole story of wanting to find home and their friendship is just awesome to me and very enjoyable for me to watch.

I see all these “ToQger meh” and “OMGEWEWEW TRAINS” comments about the season, but instead of trying to fiercely (over-)defend the season, I’ll sit here and enjoy what I’m sure will be an emotional train ride to the end. This is the kind of story I want and enjoy the most. It’s hilarious and fun, but there”s plenty of heart and exciting drama and action.

I don’t know if toku fans want just all-out ridiculousness or every year mindblowing Gaim-level torture or just a 1993 nostalgia orgy, but I think ToQger has hit the right targets when it comes to balancing all the elements I look for. And that’s what’s important to me, regardless. =)

How about Justaway?! Fun. And it was great to see them use Disel-tachi on the Daikaiten Cannon!

The ToQgers are discussing what types of movies they like. Wagon likes horror films where the couples are the first to get killed off. Right likes sci-fi, especially space movies. Hikari prefers mysteries. Tokatti likes love stories, but Mio prefers musicals. Ticket’s preference is for period dramas and Conductor enjoys action flicks.

What a coincidence when Conductor and Ticket announce that they will be stopping at Touto Film Studios at the next stop. The ToQgers decide to visit and maybe take a tour. But right at the gate, they see Film Shadow chasing after a man.

The ToQgers follow and henshin to fight the Shadow off. But Film Shadow has some tricky tricks up his sleeve. He wraps them up in film strips and sets them on fire. He then puts them in the middle of a big CGI-heavy action and explosion-filled extravaganza. (Sort of like a Kamen Rider Movie Wars. ;))

Right decides to take out Hyper Ressha, but Film Shadow says it’s too early for that. He should save it for the climax. Film Shadow escapes.

The ToQgers approach the man who introduces himself as producer Bubaigawara Waraziro. He says he’s filming a movie right now. Right, Tokatti, Mio and Kagura are very excited about it, but Hikari is a little more concerned about the Shadow.

Waraziro takes them on a tour of the studio and they end up on the set of his movie. But it’s empty. There’s no one there until his two actors arrive. They’re the stars of the movie and they say the crew has abandoned the production. The actors are threatening to leave as well, but Waraziro says he’ll quickly find a replacement crew.

Kagura volunteers them. Tokatti is the cameraman, Mio is the sound tech, Hikari takes care of lights, Right is the slate guy… and naturally, Kagura is the director. A role which she takes very seriously.

They begin the scene, but Kagura yells Cut! She wants to see them smile more, be more kawaii. Even though this is a gritty crime drama.

She decides to give them a new wardrobe. Now the tough cops are dressed in dresses and cat ears nyan.

Director Kagura loves it. Waraziro expresses his doubts, but Kagura insists this is good stuff for a movie. Right agrees. The others have no idea what’s happening.

Meanwhile over at the Castle, Zett is speaking to Madame Noire whom he says is up to her old tricks. No no, Noire says. Film Shadow will just be able to extract some high quality darkness which the Emperor will need a lot of soon.

Back at the Studio, Waraziro tells the ToQgers that the actors have now left as well. This is obviously Kagura’s fault.

While Kagura happily revises the script, Hikari notices some broken headbands and car keys nearby.

Kagura walks over to the others and says she’s got the perfect backup plan. She has replacements ready and on call.

Akira arrives and Kagura dresses him in a frilly number with lipstick and cat whiskers and a wig. He really does not understand what is happening.

Tokatti is the co-star. He’s in a dress, golden curls and big lacey ribbon on his head.

Tokatti says he and Akira are obviously different actors from the originals, but Kagura says they’ll just fix it with CG in post.

Meanwhile, Hikari is talking to the security guard at the gate.

Kagura calls Action as the movie restarts. Tokatti is Jacqueline and Akira is Catherine. Mio doesn’t know what she’s even watching, but she looks over and Kagura is welling up with emotion. She thinks this is beautiful!

Suddenly, taps. Out of the shadows and into the spotlight, the Kendama Detective appears!

Kagura likes it and tells Waraziro to keep filming. Hikari explains what he’s found. This movie isn’t cursed and the cast and crew didn’t abandon it. He relates the waiting room showing evidence of a struggle. And the security guard outside said none of the cast or crew ever left the studio. That means they must all be in the studio somewhere.

Hikari has Waraziro lead them to a screening room that has gone unused because of reports of it being haunted. And that’s where they find the missing cast and crew.

Film Shadow appears on the screen and explains that he is editing the nightmares of the movie staff together to create a dark film that will play around the world and engulf it in darkness.

Kagura takes great offense. Movies are for people to enjoy, to make people happy!

The ToQgers henshin and they fight Film Shadow. Waraziro asks What about the movie? Kagura says there’s no time for that now. But Waraziro decides to just film what’s going on.

They ToQgers take the fight with Film Shadow outside.

Hikari easily fights off Film Shadow’s Film Noire attack. And Kagura is fired up with a lot of passion and emotion. She chases after Film Shadow and shoots. They battle until they’ve got their weapons pointed right at each other’s faces.

But the others are also there and Film Shadow is now surrounded.

Waraziro and a still tied up in film Akira arrive. Instead of using Hyper Ressha, Right says all they need is Renketsu Bazooka.

Kagura takes over and decides to deliver a security guard Rainbow Rush to defeat Film Shadow’s unbiggened life.

Film Shadow embiggens and the ToQgers hop into ToQ Rainbow.

Film Shadow wraps them up in a movie screen and places the ToQgers in some kind of horror movie. But Hikari says it’s not scary at all. ToQ Rainbow’s lights come back on and they decide to deliver a Final Slash.

A little later on the Resshas, Conductor comes in with a film magazine with a review of Waraziro’s movie which was just completed.

And it’s actually got a great review! The others have no idea what’s happening. Kagura is very happy.

Episode Thoughts

Another crazy episode that was a lot of random fun.

I don’t know if it’s a Kobayashi thing, but both Go-Busters and ToQger do an amazing job of background humor and sight gags. It’s always little throw away lines or random happenings in the background that you notice and end up being so hilarious.

I loved that chase scene with Kagura and Film Shadow. Kagura was so badass there.

Great to see Kendama Detective pop up. And Catherine and Jacqueline has spin-off potential right there. lol

A fun episode that I think is needed since next episode looks to get back into the thick of things.

Wagon and the ToQgers are decorating the Resshas for Christmas. They’ve noticed the Shadow Line has been pretty quiet lately and they hope it’ll last until Christmas at least. Wagon says she can guarantee that. Conductor and Ticket come in and they and Wagon explain that this is the time of year the Shadow are least active because of the abundance of Imagination everywhere.

All the Christmas lights and decorations and warm and fuzzy feelings weaken the power of darkness, making the Shadow Line less active.

That is very exciting news for them. They are also excited about Akira’s reaction to the holiday since this will be his first Christmas. Tokatti calls Akira to see if he wants to come decorate with them, but Akira rejects the call.

Akira is at Build Ressha’s tunnel home when Schwarz appears saying it is time for Zaram to be by his side.

With darkness at its weakest, this is Schwarz’s best chance. Akira understands Schwarz was waiting for the Darkness Decline. Before he follows Schwarz, Akira turns to the Build Ressha and removes his hard hat.

“I guess this was not meant to be my place to die.”

Later, the ToQgers search on Build Ressha for a nowhere to be found Akira. Kagura finds Drill Ressha and a stack of papers on the console.

“Instructions for using Drill Ressha to find Shadow Towns”

But why would he leave such a note? To make sure everything will be okay even when he’s not around?! They hurry outside and call for Akira, but no answer. They see his hard hat.

Meanwhile at the Castle, Marchioness Mork and Baron Nero are feeling the effects of the disgusting annual Darkness Decline. They wonder how the Emperor is doing, but he just tells them to stay away. Nero notices the Emperor’s darkness is very weak. Mork says it’s because of that “thing” inside of him.

Down in the dungeons of the Castle, Madame Noire is enacting her plan to save Gritta.

Back at the throne, Gritta emerges.

On the Resshas the ToQgers tell Wagon, Conductor and Ticket what’s happened. Tokatti remembers his pinky swear with Akira in the last Shadow Town. Hikari thinks it might have something to do with how easy Akira was able to take back Drill Ressha.

Suddenly, the lights flicker. How can the Shadow be active at this time?!

The ToQgers hurry into town and they are shocked when they run into Bag Shadow all the way from Episode 1. The ToQgers quickly henshin.

On a nearby rooftop, another Shadow Creep is sucking up darkness and shaking. He opens his tombstone chest and the darkness appears in front of the ToQgers as Ring Shadow, the first Shadow Creep they fought with Akira.

Thinking about Akira again, the ToQgers are having trouble keeping up with the reincarnated Shadows.

Mork and Nero are watching as Boseki (Tombstone) Shadow is shaking up another round of darkness. Mork is surprised since he’s supposed to be locked up in the dungeon for using darkness too carelessly. That’s when Mork realizes who might be behind this.

They see Boseki Shadow is drawing darkness from the castle. Mork and Nero notice a white feather fly out from behind the throne curtain, but Zett tells them it’s nothing.

Mork tells Nero to keep any eye on the Emperor while she’ll go take care of Boseki Shadow.

The feathers continue falling off Zett’s outfit and Gritta realizes she is able to push back against him at this time of Darkness Decline. But he knew that. So why didn’t he erase her? He says he doesn’t know. But now that she does, what is she going to do about it?

Back to the walking dead, Bucket Shadow joins the fight. Hikari reminds the others that this isn’t their first time fighting these Shadow Creeps. They know they can defeat them.

Hikari, Mio, Tokatti and Kagura use Scope Ressha to finish off Ring and Bag Shadow while Right takes care of Bucket Shadow.

The Shadows don’t embiggen, so they are just ghosts. Boseki Shadow is satisfied with his little workout and decides to take a break for now.

The ToQgers are back to worrying about Akira. Kagura says this isn’t the first time Akira didn’t show up to fight with them since his first job is to protect the rails. He can’t always be with them. That’s true, Mio says, but there definitely seems to be a distance between them lately.

She’s noticed that Akira’s only ever referred to them as ToQgers. It never bothered her before, but she should’ve called him out on it. Tokatti wishes he could’ve talked it out with him too, but Hikari says that’s true for all of them. Right and Kagura feel bad because they didn’t even notice he was acting strangely.

That’s why they must find him and talk to him.

Boseki Shadow is done resting and he revs up again. Much to his surprise, Marchioness Mork appears. The real one. She knocks him on the head and asks why he would waste Darkness at a time like this.

Boseki Shadow spills the beans and says Madame Noire told him to do this so she would let him out.

Aha! Mork knew it was Noire. She tries knocking him off the roof, but he takes her with him. They both fall right next to the ToQgers.

But Boseki Shadow has already gathered enough Darkness for his next resurrection and this time it is Bakudan Shadow. Tokatti definitely remembers Bakudan Shadow.

The ToQgers henshin while Mork continues attacking Boseki Shadow.

Tokatti takes care of Bakudan Shadow, Hikari and Right face off against a sluggish Marchioness Mork and Mio and Kagura take on Boseki Shadow.

Right goes Hyper and the ToQgers prep the Daikaiten Cannon. Boseki Shadow says they should die in order of age, so he grabs Marchioness Mork and tries using her as a shield.

But she’s not going to die so easily. She breaks free of his grip as the shot hits him and sends Mork flying.

Boseki Shadow embiggens. Right suggests they hop into ToQ-Oh and Diesel-Oh.

Boseki Shadow resurrects embiggened monsters. And one of them is Jack-in-the-Box Shadow. They remember he is the one that made Akira laugh. While Akira may be weird at times, he was always with them. He fought with them and protected them.

The ToQgers leave themselves open and absorb a triple attack. Tokatti tells everyone they need to focus on this fight first. Right lends ToQ-Oh Car Carrier and Tank Ressha to form ToQ-Oh Car Carrier Tank. They use a Car Carrier Tank Shoot to take care of two of the embiggened Shadows. Right uses Diesel Ressha’s missiles to defeat Jack-in-the-Box Shadow.

Boseki Shadow gets ready to make some more zombified Shadows, but Hikari calls on Police Ressha. That allows them to form Cho ToQ-Oh Police and use a Cho ToQ-Oh Police Cannon Last Stop to finish off Boseki Shadow for good.

But Kagura notes this victory feels pretty hollow without Akira. The others sigh.

Wagon places Akira’s hard hat atop one of the Christmas trees. But the alarm sounds. Conductor and Ticket alert the ToQgers to the arrival of Schwarz’s Kuliner!

Over at the Castle, Nero is worried things are too quiet and Darkness is incredibly absent here. Noire peeks into the throne room and laughs that this is the weakest the Emperor will ever be. She swears to save her daughter so them two can take the Shadow Line once more.

Behind the curtain, feathers are now flying all over the place. Gritta can only think of her Schwarz-sama.

Schwarz-sama has a very strong resolve and is ready to make his dreams a reality. But the ToQgers arrive and Right tries asking Schwarz if they can talk. Schwarz will not, but the Kuliner and the Resshas hit each other causing Schwarz to derail.

The ToQgers hurry over to the Kuliner, but it surprisingly departs.

Even more surprisingly though, Akira appears.

Akira tells the ToQgers not to interfere. He explains that he is joining Schwarz once more and that he is leaving the Rainbow Line.

But why?! Akira does not answer. He says he will borrow the Applichanger for now as he needs it. He henshins.

Episode Thoughts

Ooooo! Very nice. This was an amazingly interesting episode. Not only was it basically prepping the final stretch of the season, it was also maybe the biggest toy commercial episode of the season.

How amazing for Kobayashi to write an episode that had a meaningful emotional punch to the characters and a big step forward for several of the season’s big stories, but also manage to include almost every toy introduced this season and present new combos as well.

All the Resshas being featured fit very well with the concept of the phantom Shadow Creeps. And it was awesome to see the ToQgers whip out Scope Resshas as well. (I love Scope Ressha… “PLEASE BE CAREFUL! PLEASE BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!”)

Plus, I think we got the first use of “Go! Go! ToQger!” in-show. I absolutely love that song.

I really thought the emotional kick was done very well in this episode. I’ve always noted the interesting contrast between the ToQgers’ bond, being childhood friends and Akira being an outsider in more ways than one. The ToQgers reflected on that pretty directly this episode, but affirming how Akira has become like a friend to them and how they’ve very much welcomed him to their little circle.

And of course, the Shadow Line has been amazing. Seeing the jostling of position and the behind the curtain (literally!) sneaking around and secrecy has been a lot of fun and so enjoyable to watch.

This episode’s title was “The Beginning of the End.” ACK! I don’t want it to end! It’s just been such a great season, I honestly am not looking forward to seeing it wrap up just yet.

Akira tells the ToQgers that he is leaving the Rainbow Line and joining Schwarz once more. And he will be borrowing the Applichanger as well.

Akira henshins and tells the ToQgers he does not have to fight them if they just leave now. The ToQgers refuse to leave without him, so that leaves Akira no choice. Akira sends a slash their way forcing them to quickly henshin.

The ToQgers battle Akira and try to ask him why he’s doing all of this. If it has something to do with Drill Ressha, then it is their responsibility to bear. Akira says he did what he wanted to do and that this is none of their business. Plus Schwarz is after Emperor Zett, so the ToQgers have nothing to lose.

Right says this isn’t about that. This is about Akira leaving the Rainbow Line. Didn’t he say he was going to protect the rainbow? Akira hesitates for a second before sending a blast their way. The ToQgers go flying and they dehenshin.

“Akira…” Right says. But Akira replies “It’s Zaram.”

Akira transforms into his Shadow form and Right asks if he is really truly serious about leaving the Rainbow Line. Schwarz arrives and tells the ToQgers enough of this chitchat. It’s time for him and Zaram to go.

“Why are you guys so upset? This is just me. It shouldn’t change things that much for you guys anyway.”

Akira reminds Tokatti about their pinky swear. Tokatti says he didn’t know what he was agreeing to. But Akira says a promise is a promise. Schwarz abruptly stops their chat and both are whisked away by his Kuliner.

Schwarz tells Akira that they will be invading Castle Terminal which is much more possible now during the Darkness Decline. Schwarz says he stored some Darkness in advance to help power their Kuliner during this time as well.

Akira says he’s only doing this to fulfill their deal, but he is still feeling very excited about doing this.

The ToQgers are back on the Resshas as they pursue Schwarz’s Kuliner. They sit, pondering Akira. Kagura says she misses Akira, but maybe he doesn’t feel the same way? They think about him saying nothing would change for them if he’s gone. Tokatti says Akira seemed genuinely surprised by them being upset. Maybe Akira-kun does miss them, but he doesn’t think they would miss him.

“No way! It’s only natural to miss a friend!” Kagura says.
“But it’s not natural for a former Shadow like Akira-kun,” Tokatti answers. He remembers when Akira told him he doesn’t know about this friend thing.

Akira may have a point about how they shouldn’t have a problem with going after Zett. But it is definitely still hard for them to express how they really feel about him. Right says no matter what, they will bring Akira back. That’s the best way to explain it to him.

The others agree.

Over at Castle Terminal, Nero is very worried about Zett. Again, he sees white feathers fall out from behind the curtain. Madame Noire is watching as well. But the Castle suddenly starts shaking. Nero can’t help himself. He hurries over to throw the throne curtain open. And behind it he sees…

Gritta! She is sitting on the throne. Alone.

Madame Noire cannot believe it. She hurries over and knocks Nero aside, happy to see Gritta was able to come to surface herself thanks to the weakened Emperor.

Noire prepares to save her daughter, but Gritta awakens and tells her mother that she cannot leave the Emperor. She knows Noire has been trying to save her, but she cannot. But why?!

Zett suddenly emerges from Gritta and grabs Noire’s wrist. He says Gritta isn’t remaining inside him for fun. Of course, Noire says, Gritta is a bright girl. Indeed, Zett says. Noire raised a very sparkly daughter.

Zett knocks her away and sends her flying out over the Castle balcony.

Just as suddenly, the alarm sounds as Schwarz’s Kuliner arrives at Castle Terminal.

Conductor and Ticket hurry into the main car to tell the others they’ve found the switch point Schwarz has just used to enter a Shadow Town. The ToQgers hurry into Drill Ressha.

Back at the Castle, Schwarz and Akira power their way through to the throne room. Akira and Nero face off while Schwarz goes straight for Zett. But Gritta emerges once again, though not fully. That stops Schwarz from attacking Zett only to allow Zett to attack Schwarz. Zett transforms to his Shadow form.

The four Shadows fight, but Schwarz distracts Nero to give Akira time to henshin into ToQ-6.

With the power of darkness weakened, Schwarz says, the Rainbow Line is stronger than Zett. That’s why he brought Akira. Clever thinking, Zett says as he and Akira fight.

This has only intrigued Zett even more. He knocks Akira away and then sends blasts around the throne room, even toward his favorite disco ball. He then takes Akira and jumps off the balcony and into his personal Kuliner as it speeds off.

Zett is upset Akira has forced him to use up some of his darkness, but now that he’s here, Zett will be using Akira’s power instead.

The ToQgers are arriving at the junction into the Shadow Town, but coming out from the other side of the tracks is Zett’s Kuliner. Drill Ressha crashes into the Kuliner as it speeds off.

But the ToQgers see a still-henshined Akira roll out of the Kuliner and down the side of the tracks. They hurry over to him.

Schwarz comes speeding by them and seeing Akira with the ToQgers, realizes Zett is still in his Kuliner. So Schwarz decides to pursue. He catches up and jumps into Zett’s Kuliner only to find…

The ToQgers help Akira back to the Resshas. But Akira shakes the ToQgers off of him and takes a seat. The ToQgers notice something is off with Akira.

That’s when ToQ-6 dehenshins and it isn’t Akira.

It is Zett!

Schwarz finds Akira in Zett’s Kuliner, now in his Shadow form, and realizes Zett must have taken the Applichanger.

The ToQgers are shocked. Wagon remembers though that even Ticket-kun was able to henshin into ToQ-6gou. The ToQgers demand to know where Akira is.

Zett admires a sparkly Christmas tree topper and says he wanted to get away from the annoying pains in the ass over on the Shadow Line during the state of weakened darkness. Plus, it’s more comfy here.

Ticket says it’s a big problem for him to take shelter here.

The ToQgers debate what to do now. Hikari says they need to find the Kuliner and save Akira. But what about Zett being on board the Resshas?

Zett suddenly glows and Gritta emerges to the surface once again. They see Zett’s reflection with Gritta in the window. She has a request for them.

The ToQgers need to stop Schwarz.

Meanwhile, Mork arrives at Castle Terminal, surprised to see it a mess. Nero tries to explain, but she has an idea what’s happened. The Castle begins shaking again and Mork seems to know exactly why. They are running out of time. She says they need to go to battle and orders Nero to bring Zett back immediately.

Gritta explains to the ToQgers that she will remain in Zett. As much as she wants to run to Schwarz-sama, so happy that he is doing this all for her, she cannot. It’s dangerous. If she left Zett, something terrible will happen. She’s sure of it. For both the Shadow and for the humans.

Schwarz and Akira are regrouping. Schwarz laments over being so close to saving Gritta, but failing. Akira comments on how this is the first time he’s seen Schwarz trying to help someone. Schwarz says previously, he saw no use in people helping each other. Especially since he and Akira were always fighting alone, even when side by side. But now, Schwarz realizes that being alone and having someone to protect are different things.

“So that’s your rainbow. You’ve changed,” Akira says.

A cat pops up and Akira immediately picks it up. He happily plays with it.

“You’ve also changed, yet your strange habits haven’t.”

Akira quickly puts the cat down when the ToQgers arrive. He quickly transforms into his Shadow form as well.

Schwarz asks where the Emperor is and Right says they have him, even if they don’t want him. Schwarz demands they hand him over. But wait! The ToQgers have a message for him, from Gritta.

Before they can relay Gritta’s message, a Kuliner passes by and on the other side of the tracks is Nero who is flanked by Kuros. The Kuliner, piloted by Mork, transforms into a Kuliner robo.

Mork and Nero demand they tell them where the Emperor is. Mork shoots at Akira, but the ToQgers henshin and Right hurries over to knock him out of the way.

Right tells them he’ll take care of the robo while they stay and fight off Nero and the Kuros.

Right goes Hyper ToQ-1gou and hops into Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh.

Nero fights Akira while the ToQgers try to fight off the army of Kuros. Mork demands Right tell her where Zett is. Now! Right asks why they are in such a hurry to find Zett.

Mork wants no small talk. She continues firing at Right and Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh.

Schwarz takes Akira away from the Nero and they run only to stop when they find a beaten down Madame Noire. Despite never intending to, she begs them for help to save her daughter.

Back on the Resshas, Zett and Gritta have a chat inside their body. Why will she not leave him even when Schwarz has come for her? She says it is so Schwarz-sama will not die. “Man, you really do sparkle,” Zett comments.

Something is happening at Castle Terminal. The shaking begins again and this time, it is felt on the surface. The fighting is halted. But Mork, knowing what is happening, yells for the ToQgers to get out of the way.

Right will not back down and he and Mork send blasts at each other. Mork loses and Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh’s Giant Flash finishes off Mork’s Kuliner robo. And Mork herself?

Right looks down below and sees a huge hole of darkness open up in the ground. A huge dark energy bursts through, hurling the ToQgers and Nero away.

Right jumps down to join the others. Nero looks up and exclaims, “Castle Terminal!”

The ToQgers watch the immense Castle rise up from the ground. But they are shocked to see also rising up from the ground… THEIR SECRET BASE!

The tree they remember from their childhood is suddenly right in front of them.

The ToQgers cannot believe it. This is… Subarughama?!?!?!

Episode Thoughts

I am bawling. Like ZOMG. Kobayashi did it again. And that was only the beginning!

That final scene was incredible. Seeing that Goseiger Tower of Heaven Secret Base tree rise up out of the Shadow right next to Castle Terminal was perfect. That Subarugahama and Castle Terminal or Zett and Subarugahama were related in some way is definitely not a surprise, but the way that final scene played out was just amazing.

This episode also continued to establish the amazing connections these characters have formed with each other throughout the season. This has been a very character driven season, I think. And Kobayashi does very well with character stories, from personal development to conflicts.

Of course there’s the ToQgers and Akira. But then we also saw how far Schwarz has come and got to see more of his dynamic with Akira as Zaram. We got to see more of Gritta’s originally unexpected connection with the ToQgers and we go to see Noire’s genuine sincerity and concern for her daughter.

With Zett, I have a feeling there’s definitely more to be revealed about him in the coming episodes. I’m expecting some big shocking thing. And I hope Mork isn’t dead yet. And I hope Noire doesn’t die yet either.

This was a very full and amazingly emotional episode. Probably my favorite part of a Kobayashi-written series. She knows how to pack the emotional punches in a true and effective way. She’s done it in all the series of hers that I’ve seen (Shinkenger then OOO then Go-Busters and now ToQger). And I can proudly say Yasuko Kobayashi is my favorite tokusatsu writer. Queen of Slaying, really. (And where the hell have I been not knowing she did the much-hyped Attack on Titan anime series adaptation. Wow! I need to get on that past the first episode.)

Definitely exciting things to come. I wonder what Gritta is thinking not wanting to leave Zett. What dangers lie there? What did Schwarz mean about Akira’s strange cat habit? Could all of the Shadow have been humans once?! Are all of these Shadow actually the ToQgers’ family members?! OMG. Who knows?! What I do know is Kobayashi knows how to write. And like I said, when she is on point, she is ON POINT. Damn. So good.

Merry Christmas!

—

The ToQgers are in shock, seeing their beloved secret base having just risen out of the darkness. Akira and Schwarz come running to see, but suddenly, a huge mass of darkness pulses out of the ground.

Conductor and Ticket quickly whisk the ToQgers onto the Resshas.

Watching the darkness, Akira realizes this is the ToQgers’ rainbow.

Meanwhile, Mork and Nero are picking themselves up. Mork says the Castle rising to the surface is because of Gritta being inside of the Emperor. She says he has plenty of darkness to control all this, but he can’t while Gritta is inside of him. She believes the Emperor is keeping Gritta inside of him because of his deep hatred for the darkness. But now is their chance to eliminate Gritta once and for all.

Back on the Resshas, the ToQgers tell Conductor and Ticket about finally finding Subarugahama. But they caution them to be careful and look into it first.

Gritta tells them the thing on top of their town is Castle Terminal, the Shadow Line’s main base. Mio asks why it is on their town. Gritta seems to know, but hesitates to explain.

Right basically interrupts and says now that they’ve found their town, they’re going in and saving it. That’s the point of this whole journey.

Conductor, Ticket and Wagon try to stop the ToQgers from rushing in when the lights flicker. Schwarz approaches the Resshas in his Kuliner and tries to stop them by ramming into their side.

The ToQgers say they can’t do anything about their town without settling this with Schwarz first. They stop their trains and get out to talk.

Mio tells Schwarz that Gritta is asking him to stop this because it will be too dangerous if she leaves the Emperor. Though she still wants to be with Schwarz-sama.

Schwarz says he will not back down and demands the ToQgers get out of his way.

The ToQgers henshin and they fight anew. They are still in the shadow of Castle Terminal nearby.

Tokatti and Hikari fight Akira, trying to get him to stop this as well. Akira reminds Tokatti about his promise. Right, Mio and Kagura are facing Schwarz.

Mork says this is their perfect chance to retrieve their Emperor. They turn and right in front of them is Gritta. Perfect timing!

Or not. Gritta speeds toward Mork and Nero and it is Zett that emerges.

“So you too plan to disobey me?”
“This is for your own good,” Mork says. “Today we will eliminate Gritta.”
“It’s for the good of the Shadow Line!”

Zett takes his sword and slashes at both Mork and Nero, sending them flying.

Akira sees Zett. He charges toward Zett and tackles him. Zett takes the Applichanger out and henshins.

Akira and Zett battle, but Zett easily has the upper hand. He is about to deliver a devastating blow to Akira, but Right is there to block it.

Right demands Zett stop using the Applichanger because Akira is ToQ-6gou. Zett uses the Yudou Breaker to shoot at Right, but Right quickly goes Hyper.
Now it is Right and Zett that battle.

They both attempt a punch, but end up sending each other flying and dehenshining. Zett is in his Shadow form and the Applichanger and Build Ressha are out of his hands.

Right quickly runs over to retrieve them.

Schwarz has forced the other ToQgers to dehenshin and now he can turn his attention to Zett. Schwarz charges toward Zett and sends him flying over the cliff. He is resolved to release Gritta from Zett’s body.

“You never learn! You can never beat me!”

Zett has his sword on Schwarz’s shoulder.

“I don’t need to beat you,” Schwarz says as he grabs hold of the sword. “NOW!” he yells.

Madame Noire appears and stabs a dagger right into Zett’s back.

“Your Majesty. I am taking back my daughter!”

“Damn you all,” Zett replies and a huge burst of darkness explodes out of him. Gritta emerges and calls to her mother. Noire pulls out the cloth she has prepared and tosses it over Gritta, grabbing her from Zett’s person and releasing her.

Noire is filled with joy that Gritta is finally free. Schwarz calls to her, but Zett takes his sword and proceeds to slash it across Schwarz’s chest.

Gritta runs over to her Schwarz-sama.

Zett walks over to Noire.

“Neat trick. I like it.”
“I’m glad. And I am grateful, you know. That you did not eliminate my daughter. Or perhaps, it’s not that you didn’t, but that you could not.”

Zett picks her up from the ground and proceeds to slash at her. Gritta calls to her mother.

“Your Majesty, you were too late in eliminating me as well,” Noire laughs.

Gritta calls to her mother once more. “Goodbye Gritta. You are free now.”

Noire collapses into a dark cloud of black feathers. She’s gone. Gritta picks one of the feathers up.

Suddenly, an intense of explosion of darkness bursts out of Zett. Everyone is shocked at what they see. Zett has a horrifying new form.

Mork and Nero emerge on the cliff. Mork happily says this is the embodiment of deep, beautiful darkness.

But Zett is not happy. “Why does only my darkness grow?” he asks himself, “I can’t even obtain a single sparkle.”

Zett approaches Gritta and reaches out to her. But Schwarz grabs his hand and slashes at his chest.

Schwarz takes Gritta’s hand and tells her he can finally repay her for saving his life. He summons his Kuliner and pushes her into the train as it quickly departs. Gritta calls out to her Schwarz-sama.

But just as the train is out of sight, Zett brutally slashes at Schwarz. Schwarz blocks a swipe and says while he wasn’t able to beat Zett, Zett was unable to beat him either.

Schwarz lets go of his sword.

“I’ve obtained my sparkle…”

Schwarz laughs and Zett gives one final slash that finishes Schwarz for good.

Mork and Nero approach Zett. Mork is especially excited about the incredibly beautiful darkness the Emperor has just exhibited. But Zett is not as enthused. In fact, he is fed up with everyone around him only trolling out darkness. He turns and slashes at both Marchioness Mork and Baron Nero.

Zett explodes in darkness once again. The huge amount of darkness feeds into Castle Terminal and that appears to help it sink back into the Darkness, taking the ToQgers’ secret base back with it.

The ToQgers’ rainbow! Akira remembers the moments and times he’s spent with the ToQgers, fighting alongside them. He jumps down from the cliff and tells the ToQgers to wait here as he jumps in to save their town.

The ToQgers tell him it’s too dangerous, but Akira jumps in anyway.

Another huge darkness explosion and the ToQgers are thrown backward as Castle Terminal, their secret base and their chance to save their town sink back into the Shadow Line.

The ToQgers struggle to get to their feet and walk over, worried Akira is dead from the explosion. But they see him, in his non-Shadow form laying in the grass down below.

Akira easily pops up and apologizes for allowing their town to sink. He climbs up the hill to join the others.

The ToQgers are on the verge of tears. Akira tells them not to cry.

But the ToQgers run over and hug Akira, happy and relieved that he is alive.

Akira is confused. Are they not sad about their town sinking again? Yes, but right now, they are just happy he is alive.

Akira tries to process. The ToQgers express how much they care about him and how much he means to them. Akira remembers that odd feeling he had when he and Schwarz were about to storm the Castle.

Suddenly, an army of Kuliners burst out of the ground. They are emerging from Castle Terminal just as Zett slowly walks toward it.

Right turns to Akira and asks him to fight alongside them once more. Akira says he’s not sure if he was lonely and missing the ToQgers, but right now, he’s extremely happy.

They all smile. The Kuliners turn into robos and the ToQgers henshin.

The ToQgers form ToQ-Oh (piloted by Tokatti and Hikari), Diesel-Oh (with Kagura and Mio), Build Dai-Oh (with Akira) and Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh (with Right).

They take care of the first round of Kuliners before Akira tells them to call on all the support Ressha. They form Build Dai-Oh Drill, Disel-Oh Fire and ToQ-Oh Police.

They then combine into Cho ToQ-Oh Police & Fire. Right takes care of more Kuliners with Hyper Ressha Tei-Oh before taking on two of the big Cho-Kuliner robos.

Akira initiates Cho Cho ToQ-Dai-Oh and they help Right before combining into ToQ Rainbow.

Another round of Kuliners arrive and the ToQgers use a ToQ Rainbow Final Slash to finish them all off for good.

The ToQgers happily celebrate their big win. ToQ Rainbow even welcomes Akira back.

Right declares that they will surely save their town. The others agree.

Akira stakes Schwarz’s sword at the place of his death and pays tribute to his fallen comrade. He heads back to the Resshas where the ToQgers have candles ready.

Tokatti hands Akira an orange candle for him and a dark violet for Schwarz. Mio puts a candle by the window for Gritta as well and Kagura hopes she can see it.

The ToQgers circle around the Christmas tree and sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”

Meanwhile, Gritta places a rose at Schwarz’s sword before walking away.

Outside Castle Terminal, Zett walks to and looks up at the ToQgers’ secret base tree.

“It’s pitch black…”

Back on the surface, the ToQgers excitedly look out the window to see it has started snowing.

Conductor, Ticket and Wagon then come in to surprise them with a Christmas party. Wagon’s baked a cake for them and the ToQgers decide to change into costumes.

They share a toast and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Episode Thoughts

OMG. Wrapping up Christmas Day with this episode of ToQger. Bad idea maybe?

If I was bawling last week, I was a huge mess this week. It was an absolutely insane episode. The shock and awe of the incredible battle then the huge emotional gut punch with those grown-up train children and their older brother rainbow protector then that mecha battle that was all awesomeness then the somber candles and wrapping it up with the entire family together to celebrate Christmas.

Like, seriously. WTF. Amazing episode.

Why must Kobayashi do this on Christmas!?!?! Christmas was definitely not an integral piece of the plot here like it was in Go-Busters, but this big climactic episode happening for Christmas week was pretty much perfect. It just fell right into place, having Christmas right after such huge emotional torture (for both us and them!).

I can’t even imagine how Kobayashi can top this episode because these last two weeks were definitely finale-worthy. I hope she has even bigger things planned for the real final episode.

I was expecting and dreading Noire getting killed off after seeing last week’s preview. But I definitely did not expect Zett to pretty much massacre all his underlings. Insanity! I definitely was screaming “NooooOOO!” when Zett took those swipes at Noire.

I mean, that entire sequence especially. Actually, I can’t single out just that sequence because the entire episode just was one continuous chain of gut punching events.

There was Noire’s demise after happily saving her daughter. Schwarz literally pushing Gritta onto his Kuliner. Then Schwarz telling Zett he’s still won since he was able to obtain a sparkle while Mr. Emperor still has not. Mork not stopping herself from talking too much resulting in getting her and Nero killed? Are they dead? What happened there?

Then there’s the whole happy reunion with a confused Akira. The ToQgers also getting a big burst of energy now that they know where Subarugahama is. And later Gritta laying a ROSE!!!! at Schwarz’s sword, which Akira stuck in the ground to honor him.

And of course the happy Christmas celebration at the end.

It was just all amazing.

Plus, the fight choreography has been amazing this season. Loved all the fights we’ve seen and it was no different here. Some amazing, thrilling stuff in that regard. Plus the huge mecha battle was so well done. It wasn’t the clusterfrak that other big mecha free-for-alls usually are. And definitely nowhere near the CGI-mess the Super Hero Taisen and Kamen Rider Movie Wars final battles are.

Totally put on Episode 41 today after the family opened presents and ate their 2nd round of dinner. Though my little nieces (who still love!! Samurai!) were the only ones actually watching with me. lol

They were definitely confused why I was pretty in tears most of the episode lol Because really, what a beautiful, amazing, insane half hour. Damn it Kobayashi! That’s 2 emotional Christmas climaxes from you. I can’t handle it!

So there’s a thread at Rangerboard asking people to list their top 5 seasons of Power Rangers and Super Sentai. Here’s my list which I’ll also post here/ =)

SUPER SENTAI

I only started watching Sentai with Shinkenger.

1. Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters – Amazing. It featured a strong, dramatic, emotional storyline, but didn’t forget to have a little fun to help put things into perspective. It had legitimate and truly surprising twists that kept things exciting. The tweaked formula helped the season feel fresh. It had a large group of likeable characters (human and not) and a deliciously crafty and slick villain. It had a great, talented cast. But maybe, most importantly, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters started a journey and satisfyingly concluded it. And that conclusion couldn’t have worked without having plenty of heart and emotional connection.

1. Ressha Sentai ToQger – ToQger has many similar qualities. Which is probably why it’s tied for my #1. I absolutely love the idea of childhood friends “growing up” to become superheroes. The ToQgers embarking on a journey to find their home gave the season a sort of nostalgic feel. And that helped me feel connected to the story faster than any other Sentai or PR season ever did. I was immediately invested in the ToQgers regaining their memories and finding their hometown. They are fun and likeable characters. And like other toku seasons, it is a big win if you can balance a generally darker story or undercurrent through the season while still being bright and fun. It has an incredibly charming ensemble cast. The villains have some of the best story and character development I’ve ever seen. And the amount of heart that helps make those emotional climaxes effective really resonates with me.

3. Samurai Sentai Gokaiger – My first full Sentai season. And I loved it. There are lots of twists and turns through the 49 episodes, like any genre show, with an intricately woven mythology. We see the relationships between the Shinkengers develop, relationships between the villains, and even get to see some very good backstory on both our heroes and the villains. Shinkenger has a great cast, very likable, and made their characters people you’d want to spend time with. It was very refreshing watching Shinkenger, almost like a reboot of Power Rangers itself for me personally. A little more exciting, a little deeper, a little more action than your typical Power Rangers. Like I credit Wild Force with bringing me back to Power Rangers after so many years, Shinkenger will now always hold a special place in my TV heart as the series that brought me into the world of Super Sentai.

4. Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger – Gokaiger is pure fun, but with just enough substance and more than a touch of sentimentality to appeal to anyone from longtime fans to the uninitiated new fan (like myself). Whether it’s the action, the characters, or the nostalgia, you’ll find at least one thing, if not all of ‘em, to keep you entertained for 25 minutes every week. Great cast.

5. Tensou Sentai Goseiger – It’s either Goseiger or Kyoryuger for this last spot, but I haven’t watched half of Kyoryuger yet. But even so, Goseiger easily gets my #5 slot. One of the biggest accomplishments of Tensou Sentai Goseiger is how it handled the balance of its outright slapstick goofiness and the heavier, legitimately more dramatic story turns. But while it isn’t a favorite amongst Sentai fans and it lacks some of what makes Shinkenger and Gokaiger such great seasons, Goseiger is a completely satisfying and fun experience. A great story, a likeable cast, fun characters, and epic villains.

POWER RANGERS

1. Power Rangers RPM – Just a completely unexpected season. It has everything I look for in a season of PR or Sentai. That is, great characters, great actors, great writing. It had a serious, dramatic story that was balanced with plenty of lighthearted, funny and fun moments. It was a creative and fresh season that showed PR has a lot of potential, especially in the hands of people who actually care about crafting a good story while still being able to sell toys. It is also a season that is emotionally satisfying.

2. Power Rangers DinoThunder – My favorite season until RPM. And it had many of the same qualities. Great characters, actors and writing. Maybe a more back to basics, simpler premise, yet still effective. Some missed opportunities, no doubt. But the dynamic between the core three was great fun and Mesogog is still one of the best PR villains. Plus, the fact that they were able to work around JDF’s absence without skipping a beat is a great accomplishment. DinoThunder is a great season in spite of JDF, not because of him.

3. Power Rangers Operation Overdrive – One of my absolutely favorite premises of any PR season. I love the idea of globetrotting, treasure hunting Rangers as well as the idea that the Rangers came from around the world as well. I especially liked the serialized nature of the season, which perfectly fit with the idea of a continuing, season-long hunt for jewels. The villain factions was also a great concept, but definitely could’ve been used a little better. So for me, the premise and the effort put into conceptualizing and executing the story (whether they succeeded or not) is more than can be said for many other seasons. iMack was an excellent twist and done very well. James MacLurcan and Rod Lousich gave some of the best performances on PR. But maybe the biggest reason OO easily tops many others: Spencer. One of the best PR characters ever and David Weatherley, likewise, also one of the best actors on PR ever.

4. Power Rangers Wild Force – WF will always hold a special place in my heart because it was the season that got me back into Power Rangers after I guess losing interest around season 3. Specifically, “The Master’s Last Stand” was the episode that wowed me and made me look up Power Rangers again. Okay cast, but a great story, especially the entire Viktor Adler/Master Org plotline. He murdered Cole’s parents out of jealously for goodness sakes!

5. Power Rangers Time Force – Of the pre-WF seasons that I only discovered after getting back into Power Rangers, Time Force was the one I enjoyed the most. A solid cast with a great story. But this spot could easily be shared by Lost Galaxy, Ninja Storm and Mystic Force as well.

All the Resshas are at Hyper Ressha Terminal. Conductor, Ticket and Wagon are cleaning off the darkness dust that’s accumulated all over the trains thanks to the Emperor sneaking onboard. Even Right’s jacket is full of darkness.

Ticket complains that they should be doing the end of the year cleaning together as a team. So why do the ToQgers get to go out and play? Conductor says he felt bad about the ToQgers having to go through finding their town only to watch it sink back.

Conductor’s face literally droops. Ticket snaps him out of it. Conductor continues and says he wanted the ToQgers to at least have one day to enjoy as children, so he set up a little end of the year party at a karaoke.

Conductor has gotten Akira to help cheer them up by dressing up and singing them a song.

But the ToQgers are more concerned about the junction to Castle Terminal. Akira says he’s found the switch point, but it will disappear soon. The ToQgers are anxious to go, but Akira says Castle Terminal is covered in impenetrable darkness that even Drill Ressha cannot get through. And it’s all because of Zett.

Akira switches on the karaoke to his song.

He also changes into an Elvis-y outfit, ready to sing. The ToQgers stop him.

Right stands and says even if it is impossible, they have to at least try and make their way through. He runs out of the karaoke and the others follow.

Akira stops the ToQgers before they leave Hyper Ressha Terminal. Right says they were able to break into the Terminal before through cracks, but Akira says this is different. They will instantly be obliterated if they go in unprotected.

The others insist they go, but Mio says maybe Akira is right. They’ve spent all this time searching for their town. Now that they’ve found it, they need to think carefully, otherwise they might make a mistake and their journey would have been nothing.

Right agrees. Akira suggests they go back to the karaoke and thanks Mio for helping.

Akira, Hikari and Right walk ahead. Kagura takes Mio’s hand, but Mio stops. Tokatti sees her sadly looking up at the exit and thinks while Mio watches over and helps everyone, maybe she is keeping what she’s truly feeling inside of her.

Wagon suddenly butt checks Tokatti and calls the ToQgers back to the Resshas. She hands them paper and pencils for them to intensely write their feelings down to send to their families in Subarugahama.

But how are they going to send the letters? With IMAGINATION!!!! of course.

Akira asks if he’ll be writing a letter too, but Wagon has something else for him to do.

After a while though, Conductor, Ticket and Wagon see the ToQgers are having trouble finding what to write. Each of them are remembering the moments they presented their lanterns to their family members.

Tokatti remembers his older brother saying they would buy something to bring home to their parents since they couldn’t go to the festival that evening.

Ticket tells Wagon her plan has failed. And Conductor’s face begins drooping again.

Wagon decides to give the ToQgers some bento to help encourage them.

Seeing the lunch box, Mio remembers bringing lunch to her father at work. Tokatti sees her deep in thought, but when Kagura starts crying, Mio again comforts her instead. Mio tells Kagura she doesn’t have to hold back her feelings.

Tokatti thinks Mio is holding back her own feelings. Remembering a lunch with Mio, Tokatti gets an idea and hurries out of the Resshas.

Right finally decides to write about becoming a ToQger and swearing to save their town. The others think that’s a good idea.

Right writes to his parents, his grandpa, Mai and Yuto. He begins by explaining they became ToQgers.

Mio writes about travelling on trains to fight the Shadow Line.

Hikari adds that they gained a new friend along the way.

Kagura says they fight so that her Papa, Mama, Daiki and their town can return to normal using the power of Imagination.

Over at Castle Terminal, Zett is sitting on the floor thinking about Schwarz saying he’d obtained his sparkle. He looks at himself in the mirror and it breaks.

Zett wonders why he can’t grab the sparkle even when he can clearly see it. He stands and walks toward the fallen disco ball, reaching out to it. Darkness emanates from his hand.

At the same time, darkness smokes out of Right’s back. He feels something weird, but shrugs it off.

Meanwhile, Mio is finishing up her letter and says to her father not to worry about her and she’s fine. Her ToQ Changer rings and it is Tokatti asking her to come out.

She meets Tokatti by the water. He hands her a bag with a pair of onigiri in it. He wanted Mio to remember their field trip lunch together; how she told him about her father making lunch for her and them sharing the onigiris.

But why? Tokatti explains that he knows Mio wrote in her letter that she’s fine. And how she always worries about other people’s feelings before her own. That is both admirable and not. Tokatti says Mio should put herself first sometimes.

Mio takes a seat and takes an onigiri. She unwraps it and takes a bite. Tokatti apologizes if he’s made Mio upset.

Mio sees the onigiri has a filling. She remembers how her dad would forget to put something inside the onigiri he made and how he’d get rice on his face.

The memories finally get Mio to let her true feelings out. She says she wants to break through the Shadow Line right now so she can see her father again. Mio starts to cry and Tokatti takes a seat next to her.

Tokatti tells Mio to write that in her letter.

The others are still writing their letters. Right talks about how the Resshas can turn into robots and he draws them too. He mentions his beloved grandpa Ressha.

Akira is at the switch point and calls Wagon to report that it is fading. Tokatti and Mio run back into the Ressha as Wagon tells them to wrap their letters up.

They head to the junction to meet Akira.

The ToQgers have the Renketsu Bazooka and Wagon hands them Post Ressha which they will place their letters in. Wagon is sure their feelings will be able to reach the town.

Just then, Diesel-tachi arrive. Conductor says he wanted a live band for their party, but it’s hard to get one this time of year. So instead, here are some of the Rainbow Line maintenance workers.

Ise Daiki and friends sing a nice little song for the ToQgers and it hypes them up. They quickly place Post Ressha into the Renketsu Bazooka and fire.

The ToQgers send all their intense feelings with Post Ressha as it travels through the junction and breaks through the thick darkness.

The ToQgers’ intense feelings spread out over the dark Subarugahama.

Zett watches the bright feelings spread out over the town.

The ToQgers are sure they will attain their Imagination of Victory.

They walk back to the Diesel-tachi and watch the performance. Akira joins in with his harmonica. Conductor and Ticket are dancing. The ToQgers remember all the wonderful times they’ve had so far. Wagon intensely dances too.

The ToQgers jump into Tank Ressha and happily sing along.

Later that night, the ToQgers are at the temple. While Hikari and Kagura are waiting for Right to finish ringing the bell, Tokatti and Mio are alone.

Mio apologizes for keeping Tokatti away from being able to write his letter. But Tokatti says it’s okay since it’s not the length of the letter that counts.

Anyway, he wonders how his parents and oniichan are doing. Mio laughs, maybe Tokatti is the one putting others feelings before his. Tokatti explains that when he thinks about his own feelings, he ends up caring about how others feel.

That makes Mio think about Gritta and her putting Schwarz-sama before her. She realizes that it’s not about putting someone else first, but maybe that person really is the most important person in their life.

Maybe that’s… love?

Tokatti is shocked. Mio is shocked.

Tokatti freaks. He didn’t mean he loves Mio. They run around, all embarrassed-like.

Then they come face to face. Very close face to face. They intensely turn red.

Right, Hikari and Kagura walk by and tell Tokatti and Mio to hurry and pay their respects so they can have some New Years ozoni.

Akira rings the bell and the whole family wishes everyone a Happy New Year.

Episode Thoughts

That was a great episode, even for a clip show.

I think ToQger has been great with character development and little character moments. For everyone too; the ToQgers, Conductor, Ticket and Wagon and of course the Shadow Line as well.

This was definitely a Tokatti and Mio focus episode even if it was a clip show.

They picked some of the best moments from the season and the clips were pretty short. Plus, they were presented in a natural way. The writing letters to their families again helped reinforce what the ToQgers are fighting for and what this whole journey was about. It reminds us that these are little kids who have been forced to mature and are eager to reunite with their loved ones whom they miss so much.

Those letters also helped add more to Zett’s character as well. He sees the shining feelings of the ToQgers as the feelings from the letters spread out over the darkness that is Subarugahama. Zett wants the light, but he’s just all darkness. It should be very interesting to see just what the reason finally is. It would be interesting if Zett was some kind of bully to the group of friends, or maybe even a friend of theirs before something happened. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be something big.

And back to Tokatti and Mio, I definitely like how their relationship (yes, I said ‘relationship’) has developed over the season. It was great to see Kobayashi actually push through with it and not just tease a romantic pairing for an episode and then drop the plot point altogether. Tokatti’s crush on Mio started out cute and sweet. But this episode really showed just how much they’ve grown and matured since the start of their journey.

It is entirely possible that the ToQgers will end up reverting back to their real ages when they restore Subarugahama. But with how much they’ve grown and matured, it’s almost like there’s no going back anymore. They’ve grown up. There’s no way they can go back to being kids again. The idea that their families will not recognize them is a very real possibility. And it’ll be a very interesting thing to see how that will all play out in the end. Very exciting!

Definitely great to see the Rainbow Rush back. And great to squeeze in Post Ressha as well.

Plus having Ise Daiki and friends pop up as “Rainbow Line track maintenance workers” was great. Not just because it was fun seeing Ise Daiki actually performing the theme song on the show with the ToQgers themselves, but because it was a reminder that there actually are people on the Rainbow Line other than the ToQgers, Conductor, Ticket, Wagon and the President.

Overall another great, fun episode. Sad we have to wait 2 weeks for the next episode. But I guess we can take this time to prepare ourselves for what should be a rollercoaster final 5 episodes! (Nooo!!!! I don’t want ToQger to go!!!)

Marchioness Mork and Baron Nero, still very much alive, are at Castle Terminal. They see that the Emperor’s deepening darkness has made it all beautifully dense all around them. Nero is concerned the Emperor will just attack them again if they go to see him now, but Mork says it’s just because the Emperor was unable to contain his new power. If he really wanted to kill tem, he would’ve done it already.

They head to the throne room and find Zett sitting on the floor, darkness continuing to emanate from him. Mork asks if he is still obsessed with the shining shimmering splendid. Zett admits he will never be able to grab it, but he still wants it.

Nero asks why the Emperor wants it so much. Mork has a theory, but she wants to confirm it first.

Meanwhile, Ticket announces the Resshas have arrived at Subarugahama! Kagura excitedly exits and is in the Subarugahama Shopping District.

She happily runs through the streets and toward what she says is her home. It is above a restaurant which her family seemingly owns. She runs upstairs and finds her father, mother and little brother Daiki on her back. She quickly hugs them.

But they have no idea who she is even when she tells them she is their daughter. They end up kicking her out since the restaurant is not open yet. She bangs on the door trying to get them to open up, but head back up to the 2nd floor.

That’s when Kagura wakes up. It was just a bad dream. Next to her at the table are sleeping Akira, Conductor and Ticket. Wagon comes in and tells her she’ll catch a cold if she sleeps here.

Hikari looks over, but the Resshas are suddenly under attack. They come to a screeching halt as a Shadow Creep calls them out.

Hikari calls Right, Tokatti and Mio who are out for a run.

Hikari, Kagura and Akira hurry out and henshin to face Dollhouse Shadow and some Kuros. Akira says to be careful as he’s never seen this Shadow before.

Dollhouse Shadow taps Kagura on the shoulder and she turns around to find he’s holding an actual dollhouse. The door on its balcony opens and Kagura begins to get sucked in. Hikari runs over and tries to grab Kagura, but they both get sucked into the dollhouse.

Right, Tokatti and Mio arrive and they quickly try to get to Hikari and Kagura. Akira runs over to help, but Dollhouse Shadow kicks him in the balls.

Dollhouse Shadow manages to escape.

Inside the dollhouse, Hikari and Kagura wake up. They run around the house to try and find a way out. But all the doors are sealed shut. They henshin to try and blast through the doors, but it doesn’t last more than a few seconds.

They head back to the door they came through and it opens, but Dollhouse Shadow is right there. He blows at them and then shakes the entire dollhouse, tossing Hikari and Kagura around the room.

Hikari’s kendama falls out of his pocket while Kagura loses a shoe through the door which returns to normal size as soon as it’s out of the dollhouse.

Dollhouse Shadow shuts the door again and tells the Kuros to hurry preparing a fire pit.

At the Castle, Nero asks Mork what the goal of this plan is. She turns to Zett and asks if he remembers swallowing up a town when the Castle was used. He doesn’t remember and Nero says that’s natural since Zett was still in the deep darkness at that time.

Mork says it was clearly Zett’s darkness that was used to swallow up the town. The town that coincidentally the ToQgers are from.

That makes Zett think. He remembers when he had Right prisoner and told him about seeing a shining sparkle similar to Right’s while he was trapped in the darkness.

Back on the Resshas, they wonder if Zett was behind this. But Right says it doesn’t seem like his style. Akira suggests Mork or Nero who he says wouldn’t die so easily, referring to Zett attacking them earlier.

Anyway, Right says they just have to save Hikari and Kagura no matter what.

“If anything happens to Hikari and Kagura… I’ll make them pay.”

Akira observes Right and is unsure what he’s seeing. But suddenly, Dollhouse Shadow broadcasts an announcement that he’ll be burning the dollhouse with Hikari and Kagura in it in 5 minutes. So they need to hurry over to the location.

Dollhouse Shadow turns an hourglass and a very determined Right storms out of the Resshas. The others follow. They henshin as they run through the forest fighting off Kuros.

The hourglass is still half full and Dollhouse Shadow takes the dollhouse over to the fire.

Hikari and Kagura wake up. Kagura picks up Hikari’s kendama and hands it to him. He walks over to open the doors and sees they’re already above the fire. Dollhouse Shadow shakes them again and this time, seals the doors with a piece of tape.

There’s still sand left in the hourglass, but Dollhouse Shadow puts it on the fire anyway.

Kagura feels the floor and it’s hotter now. Hikari tries pushing the doors open a little and he sees they’ve already been placed on the fire. There’s no way they can just jump out.

Hikari tries to think. He peeks outside again and sees Kagura’s shoe that flew out earlier. He’s got an idea.

Hikara asks Kagura to help him tie his replacement kendama strings together into one long string. They’ve got to try something, at least, so they can have a chance to go home, right?

Kagura stays silent. Hikari notices and asks what’s wrong. She’s been acting weird all day.

Kagura tells him about her dream and how scared she is her family won’t recognize her. She knew it was a possibility, but it wasn’t until she saw it with her own eyes in her dream that it really hit her.

Hikari says it’ll be okay, but he’s not really sure what to say.

Smoke starts entering the dollhouse as it begins to be engulfed in flames. Right and the others have finally arrived.

Hikari has finished tying the longer string onto his kendama. He turns to Kagura.

“Kagura, you once said that this kendama is probably from someone close to me. You’re right.”

Hikari says the kendama is from his grandmother. His mother would usually come home late. And before he joined their class, he didn’t have many friends.

He remembers the night his grandmother gave him the kendama and his mother coming home.

Since then, Hikari has wanted to protect his grandmother and mother. In fact, he wished to become stronger on the night of the festival. That’s why he doesn’t consider becoming an adult all that bad, even if it means they won’t recognize him. Because now, he’ll be able to protect them.

The room starts burning. Hikari tells Kagura to hold on to him tight. This is their only chance.

Hikari turns to Kagura. She says she too will protect her family.

Kagura runs over and puts her arms around Hikari’s waist.

Right and the others are finishing off the Kuros when the dollhouse and platform flares up one last time before everything is reduced to a pile of ashes.

The ToQgers can’t believe it. Dollhouse Shadow says he started early because he got bored.

Zett and Mork are watching from a nearby cliff.

Right’s is filled with anger. Suddenly, a small bit of darkness emanates from Right. Akira sees. As does Mork and Zett.

But the ToQgers are shocked when Hikari and Kagura pop in, perfectly fine. Kagura says it was Hikari’s kendama that saved them. Hikari had thrown his kendama’s ball out the door and the weight of the then-enlarged ball pulled them right out.

Dollhouse Shadow charges, but the ToQgers shoot. Kagura and Hikari are able to knock him around and tee him up for Right to deliver a Hyper Red Ressha Last Stop Crash.

As Dollhouse Shadow embiggens, the ToQgers hop into Cho Cho ToQ Dai-Oh. Dollhouse Shadow has another dollhouse and he uses it to suck Cho Cho ToQ Dai-Oh right into it.

But Hikari makes sure to drag Dollhouse Shadow right along with them.

They fight Dollhouse Shadow, but the knight armor comes to life to help. The ToQgers easily take care of the armor and turn their attention back to Dollhouse Shadow.

The ToQgers deliver an Imagination Express to finish off Dollhouse Shadow for good. They burst out of the dollhouse and are back to normal size.

Back on the ground, Mork says there’s no doubt about it anymore. The reason Zett is drawn to the shining shimmering splendid sparkles is because of… ToQ 1gou!

While the ToQgers celebrate, Akira thinks over what he saw from Right earlier.

Episode Thoughts

Great episode! Finally, we get to see Hikari and Kagura’s family/backstory. Kind of sad the 4th and 5th ranked members of the team had to share an episode. But it definitely worked in how it played out and of course, from a shipping perspective. (Hehe.)

The flashbacks will be one of my favorite parts of the season. They really helped fill out each character as well as reaffirm what they’re fighting for. Also clearly touching on the fact that they may not return to being kids at the end (though they probably will) is a great story point.

Having Kagura be the most afraid of not being recognized by her family was the perfect choice as she’s the youngest (acting) of the group. And Hikari’s backstory with his mother and grandmother and wanting to protect them fits perfectly with Hikari’s personality as well. Just great character stuff from both of them this week.

As for darkRight, it should be very interesting to finally see what his connection to Zett is and what Zett’s ultimate possible connection to the ToQgers and/or Subarugahama is.

Now I wasn’t sure about Nero and Mork as I thought they too died, but it wasn’t ever clear. I’m glad Kobayashi addressed that (deliberate) uncertainty this episode.

Dollhouse Shadow is another amazingly designed monster from this season. And ZOMG! That mecha battle INSIDE the dollhouse?! Can anyone tell me if this is the first time a mecha battle has taken place anywhere other than the mountains/forest or the city? That was very fun. Especially seeing the mecha suits in a normal-sized context. (And in Dr. Maki’s freaky house, no less. lol)

Gah. 4 episodes left! *sniff*

The ToQgers are enjoying lunch. Right is his usual hungry self, so Akira wants to believe nothing is wrong. Meanwhile, Wagon is cleaning off more tufts of darkness which are still on the Resshas even after their intense cleaning.

Suddenly, Conductor and Ticket come in to announce that the President has summoned them and they will be changing course to Hyper Ressha Terminal immediately. Hikari says he has a bad feeling since the President never summons them for good news.

Over at Castle Terminal, Mork and Nero are discussing their realization that ToQ-1gou is the reason Zett is obsessed with the shining. Mork flashes back to the times when Zett had every opportunity to wipe out both Gritta and Right, but chose not to.

Mork thought it was just one his whims and fancies, but she knows now it is something much more serious.

The Resshas have arrived at Hyper Ressha Terminal where they are greeted by the President holding a Rainbow Hyper Suction Darkness Cleaner. It’s a special fan. A very strong special fan.

The President turns it on and blows at the ToQgers. The strong wind blows darkness right out of Right.

Zett is again at the Secret Base tree thinking about the bright light he saw in the darkness, not remembering what it could be.

The President tells the ToQgers that this isn’t the first time darkness has come from Right. Akira tells them about seeing darkness from Right when they fought Dollhouse Shadow. And that darkness is Zett’s.

The President says Right has come into contact with Zett too many times, but there’s more to it than that. They must think to the first time they came in contact with the darkness.

Likewise, Mork and Nero think back to when Zett first came in contact with the shining shimmering splendid sparkles. Nero says Zett started acting weird when he first swallowed up Subarugahama. Mork says something must have happened then to both the Emperor and ToQ-1gou.

The ToQgers remember waking up on the Resshas. But Right woke up on a Kuliner. Why was he the only one? Kagura mentions how they believed it was because of his powerful Imagination. The President thought so too.

Conductor and Ticket call the ToQgers to say Gritta has called and wants to work with them.

Gritta pulls into Hyper Ressha Terminal in Schwarz-sama’s Kuliner. She meets the ToQgers inside.

She thanks them for what they’ve done for her and says she’s fine. But right now, she’s here to storm Castle Terminal with them.

The Wall of Darkness though? It’s okay since Schwarz-sama’s Kuliner can pass right through it.

This is their chance to save Subarugahama!

Akira asks Gritta if this is to avenge Schwarz-sama and her mother’s deaths. Gritta says she just does not want to see anyone else die, whether it’s the Rainbow Line or the Shadow Line. And she’s approached them because she’s got a plan that will end this with no more casualties.

She explains the plan and the ToQgers agree with it. But Hikari says Right must stay here. The President literally pops in to agree. Right must not come into contact with the Shadow Line until they know what is causing his darkness.

But Right insists on going. If there really is something between him and Zett, then they must meet to figure it out. Akira says it is too dangerous a situation for him right now.

Gritta says she’s also felt his darkness before and suggests he stay away from Zett. Especially after that time when Zett almost swallowed Right whole before Gritta popped out of him to push Right away.

Right still insists to come with. But the others are worried what might happen to him if he does.

“It isn’t normal for you to be emitting darkness.”
“Our journey was never normal to begin with! Right?”

Tokatti asks Right to listen to them once in a while. He and Hikari grab Right and Akira ties him up.

Hikari takes Right’s Ressha from his pocket and says they will come back to him when they’ve saved Subarugahama.

The President drags Right away. Hikari leads the others as they henshin in preparation for whatever may come when they break through the Wall of Darkness.

The ToQgers and Gritta hop into their respective Resshas and Kuliner as Conductor, Ticket and Wagon watch with the President on the panel in his main control room office.

Wagon tells them to stay intensely safe. Ticket says they all seem very excited.

“Their entire journey has led up to this moment. This is literally, their last stop,” Conductor says.

The ToQgers and Gritta pull out of Hyper Ressha Terminal. As they set off, Tokatti, Mio, Kagura and Hikari each think of their loved ones and are resolved to save them and return to them.

As the reach the junction into the Shadow Line, Gritta reminds the others to stay close behind her so they won’t get separated.

They proceed onto the Shadow Line and Gritta has the Kuliner link up with the Resshas by chomping down on Red Ressha. They push forward and finally make it through the Wall of Darkness.

Once they cross over, they look down and have their first look at Subarugahama.

Mork and Nero see the ToQgers and Gritta arriving and Mork orders the Castle Guard to stop them. Keeper Pawn comes flying toward them and Akira tells the others he’ll take care of him.

Akira goes Hyper and initiates Build Dai-Oh to fight Pawn.

Zett watches as Gritta and the ToQgers continue towards the Castle. But Zett sends a huge blast toward them and they crash before being able to reach it.

The ToQgers and Gritta are in some underground tunnels. Gritta points them in the direction of Castle Terminal, but a big group of Kuros are coming right at them.

Hikari says they’ll just have to fight their way through. Mio says they need to at least get Gritta to the Castle. Tokatti takes the lead and henshins, using Mio’s Ressha.

They all fight as best they can. Hikari tosses the Red Ressha for Tokatti to transfer to before his time runs out, but suddenly in jumps Right to intercept it,

They are all shocked Right is here.

Right explains how he managed to escape and sneak onto the Resshas by jumping through the window as they departed Hyper Ressha Terminal.

Right apologizes to them, but says he just needed to be here. They’ve been traveling together to reach this place, their hometown. But Right also wants to see Zett.

On the way down, he saw Zett at their Secret Base.

Right runs off in the direction of their Secret Base. Kagura is worried something is really wrong with him.

But they still need to push forward with their plan. Another round of Kuros is approaching. Hikari henshins directly to Pink and they fight to give Gritta an opening to run to the Castle.

Akira is still fighting off Pawn, but is having a little trouble. Akira does not want to disappoint his friends though and gives it everything he’s got.

Running toward the Secret Base, Right flashes back. The five of them had taken each other’s hands as the darkness began engulfing their town. But Right suddenly let go and yelled “Stop!” into the darkness.

Zett meets Right at the Secret Base. He too does not remember the details of that night as he asks Right what exactly was the shine he saw. Zett reaches out and Right remembers seeing a hand reach out that night as well.

Right immediately tries to henshin. Darkness begins emanating from his person and as soon as he lowers the lever on his ToQ Changer, he is engulfed in darkness.

Over at the Castle, Mork and Nero are waiting for the impending arrival of Gritta and the ToQgers. But the Castle suddenly begins to shake. It can’t be!

Gritta is in Castle Terminal’s control room and prepares to send the entire Castle back into the deep darkness.

The ToQgers have taken care of the Kuros and they run over to the tunnel opening to see the Castle has begun to move. Gritta has done it!

Akira sends a Hyper Flying Rolling Bucket Break toward Pawn to finish him off for good.

Zett watches Right and realizes he was the shining sparkle he saw that night. But why is he in engulfed in darkness now? The darkness subsides and Right has henshined into a shiny metallic black.

Episode Thoughts

OMG! This is really it.

I got chills watching that scene of Gritta (!) leading the Resshas into the Shadow Line. Gritta really is my favorite Shadow Line character. She is definitely a great and fully developed non-Ranger character.

I’ve always loved all the train scenes from the season and this one was no different. They got some fresh music too? Or at least, music they haven’t used as much. And then they had to go and superimpose their families on the tracks. AND they get their first look at their hometown. Damn it. Amazing scenes.

As was that last sequence. Akira fighting off that Pawn, Gritta sneaking into the Castle Terminal control room (of course it can move like Hyper Ressha Terminal), the others finishing off the Kuros, Right turning into Dark ToQ-1gou.

Of course Right would find a way to hop on with the others. And of course that would end up being a bad decision, judging from the last scene. But it was still effective and again, reaffirmed the bond these ToQgers have with each other. Like we saw them holding hands at the Secret Base as the darkness was about to engulf Subarugahama, they are not going to let go of each other so easily. The others were legitimately concerned about Right and Right was not about to let them go in alone.

But really, just what is the truth about Right and Zett and Subarugahama?!?! Gaah… this is really the end. *sniff* Should be an amazing final 3 episodes.

Don’t go ToQgers!

Right henshins, but is engulfed in darkness as Dark ToQ-1gou. Zett realizes the sparkle he saw that night really was Right. It’s almost as if they’re the same person. So why would Zett care about such darkness now.

Zett transforms and attacks Right. They fight.

Meanwhile, Gritta has finished flipping all the switches she needs and Castle Terminal begins moving. Mork and Nero can’t believe it. They try to go stop her, but Akira arrives to stop them.

Akira, Mork and Nero take their fight off the Castle as Tokatti, Mio, Hikari and Kagura realize Subarugahama is returning to the surface.

The darkness departs from Subarugahama and life in the town is unfrozen. It is still the night of the festival and Right’s mother wonders if Right is at his secret base… “Wait, who’s Right?”

The sun rises and Tokatti-tachi are walking through the forest, happy to be in Subarugahama. But their peaceful relief is pierced by Right and Zett blowing each up.

They are shocked to see Right has turned black.

Akira, Mork and Nero arrive as well just as Right and Akira send huge blasts at each other, resulting in a huge wave of darkness.

Mork and Nero shield Zett and whisk him away from Right’s attacks.

Once they leave, Right dehenshins and collapses to the ground. A cloud of darkness rises from him and Akira stops the others from getting close. That is Zett’s darkness, Akira says. He takes Right over his shoulder.

An unconscious Right is at the night of the festival. He and the others are signing “Twinkle Twinkle” at the Secret Base when the darkness suddenly arrives. They take each other’s hands.

But as the darkness spreads, Right runs into it, yelling for it to stop. The others call for him as the darkness engulfs them. Still holding hands, Hikari reaches out and is able to grab Right’s.

But a hand reaches out from the darkness and grabs Right’s hand.

The little ToQgers are flung from the darkness, but Right is sent in another direction.

Everyone is back on the Resshas. Wagon gives Right some water as the President goes over what Right has just remembered.

The President has a theory: Right is Zett. In other words, Zett is Right.

What?! The President says when they escaped Subarugahama, Right became an adult using Zett’s darkness. Which is why he was bounced off the Rainbow Line and woke up on the Shadow Line.

The darkness has since grown inside of Right and that likely has resonated with Zett’s darkness, resulting in Dark ToQ-1gou. On the other end, Zett became aware of Right’s powerful Imagination in the form of sparkles which then resonated with Right.

Both Right and Zett started carrying their very own antithesis inside of them. This might also be the cause of their unexpected growth. Likewise, the sparkles have probably had an effect on the Shadow Line as well.

President says he’ll see if there’s anything they can do as this is the first time this has ever happened.

Meanwhile, Zett, Nero and Mork have caught up with Castle Terminal. They enter and Nero vows to take care of Gritta, but Zett says he will.

Zett finds Gritta in the control room and asks what she thinks she’s doing here. Gritta explains she is trying to return him to the deep darkness. But she is not seeking revenge. She says she feels sorry for him.

Tokatti, Mio, Hikari and Kagura are looking out over the waters from the Subarugahama coast, taking in the feeling that their town really is back. Mio says the smell of salt in the air feels so nostalgic.

Mio can’t even believe it. She feels happy, but at the same time, she is worried about Right. Hikari adds that they still can’t return to their homes looking like this.

But even so, Kagura says, the town returning means everyone is safe.

Kagura takes Mio’s and Tokatti’s hands. Mio takes Hikari’s. They smile.

Right watches them from the Resshas. He asks President if the town really is saved. President explains that once a former Shadow Town has been saved, all the ill feelings will naturally go away, like a healing wound. But as long as the five of them are on the Rainbow Line, no one will remember them.

President excuses himself to return to Hyper Ressha Terminal to look more into their problem. But Right stops him to ask a question. Is there any way for them to return to being kids? Especially Tokatti-tachi who haven’t been as affected by the darkness.

Conductor, Ticket, Wagon and Akira are taken aback.

Back in Castle Terminal, Zett seems to take offense to Gritta feeling sorry for him. Gritta explains she believes sparkles are something you have to light within yourself. You cannot take it from others.

Zett says indeed. The fact that Gritta can never be his is probably why she shines so much. He takes out his sword.

Mork and Nero hear Gritta’s scream. Zett returns to the throne room and tells Nero to surface the Castle. They will now take over the world with darkness.

Nero and Mork are both happy he has gotten over his sparkle addiction. But Zett says he was nothing but darkness from the start.

Mork announces to the army of Kuros that they are going to take over the world. Nero orders Castle Terminal to rise.

Tokatti, Mio, Hikari and Kagura are enjoying the seaside when Right arrives.

He solemnly looks at the sea before changing his expression and brightly asks the others to take their passes out.

Right says President has found a good way to fight the Shadow. They take their passes out and Right takes them one by one.

Hikari is not as willing to hand his pass over and is about to ask before Akira comes running in to tell them Castle Terminal has surfaced.

That means something has happened and Gritta has failed. The ToQgers are shocked and saddened.

While the others process what has happened, Akira gives Right a slight nod and Right acknowledges. Right turns to each of his friends.

Ticket blows the Resshas’ whistle and announces they are about to depart.

Right starts to run toward the Resshas, but first turns back to them.

“You guys can become kids again! Isn’t that awesome?”

Right runs off and the others quickly follow.

But the doors close as soon as Right boards the Resshas. The others bang on the door, demanding to know what is going on.

Right hands the four passes to Wagon then waves at the others.

The four can’t believe Right has decided to do this on his own.

“I at least want you guys to return to normal. Back to the times at our Secret Base. Because I… I can’t go back.”

Ticket announces the Resshas are departing.

Kagura runs up to the control room window and begs Conductor to stop the trains.

Conductor and Ticket look straight ahead, holding back their emotions.

Wagon is at the potbelly stove. Holding the passes, she says that if the memories of them being ToQgers are gone, they’ll be able to return to being kids.

Wagon holds the passes close to her heart before putting them into the fire. The passes disappear.

Right looks out the window as Tokatti, Mio, Hikari and Kagura run after the Resshas, calling after him.

Suddenly, the four of them turn back into children as they continue running.

A crying Right tries to smile, but then remembers the first time they made their passes and came up with the rules.

The biggest rule being: “The five of us will always help each other!”

The Resshas pass the station platform and Akira runs after the kids.

Akira tries holding them back as they cry out for Right. But they suddenly snap out of it. They are not sure why they are even here, nor who Akira even is.

Right walks into the main car and is happy to see Tokatti, Mio, Hikari and Kagura waiting for him to come join them for lunch in the booth.

But the memory disappears and Right is all alone.

Akira brings the four back into town and they say bye to each other as they return to their respective homes for the day.

“This is for the best, isn’t it, Right?”

Kagura runs into her family’s restaurant and her parents are happy to see her.

Hikari arrives home just as his mother leaves for work that day. Mio meets her father at the police station as he gets off work. And Haru returns home to his brother who wondered where he’s been all day.

Conductor says Right should visit his family while they wait for Akira. Right does not respond.

Conductor and Ticket approach Right and Right jumps up to grab Ticket right off of Conductor’s hand. But Ticket continues speaking.

“What’s going on?!”
“You don’t need to know. More importantly, what are you going to do? You can still take a look at your family if you want.”

Right returns Ticket onto Conductor’s hand. He says thanks, but he’s fine.

Right heads to the cockpit of Red Ressha and thinks of his family at their seaside home. He apologizes since he had written in his letter that he would return, but…

The least he can do now is to prevent the darkness from ever reaching them again.

Right shifts the Resshas into high gear and speeds ahead. Conductor and Ticket call him since they were supposed to wait for Akira-kun. But Right maintains full speed ahead.

Nero and Mork see the Resshas approaching and they deploy from Castle Terminal with an army of Kuros.

Right disembarks in front of them.

The Kuros charge and Right runs right toward them.

Meanwhile, Akira is at the Secret Base and has a ladder setup when Conductor calls to tell him about Right going ahead on his own.

Akira is shocked. “So he lied to me too?!” He hurries.

Right is fighting off the Kuros on his own. He apologizes to Akira, but he vows not to lose to darkness or the Shadow.

“But why can’t I see the Imagination of my victory?”

Over at the Suzuki home, while watering the plants, Right’s mother sees a flower is broken. She tries standing it up, but then gets pricked on her finger.

Zett sits on his throne, vowing to crush Right and all the sparkles on Earth.

“The world might as well be pitch black.”

Right henshins into Dark ToQ-1gou. One blast and he vaporizes the entire mob of Kuros surrounding him.

Episode Thoughts

O. M. G. OMG. Like seriously, WTF.

Oh Kobayashi you amazing writer you. Episodes like this just prove you still got it. Just an absolutely amazing episode. I cried buckets most of this episode. MaGMCMs indeed. They were all over the place and every single one hit me right in the face. And the heart. And the feels. Yeah, I used the world “feels.”

How about Right’s mother and those omens. It was a double omen too. A flower snapped in half and then she gets pricked. They could’ve even knocked a glass over too.

All of the scenes from the season where they intercut between the big ToQgers and little ToQgers have always been effective in tugging at the heartstrings. And it was absolutely the same in this episode. From the flashback again to the night of the festival to the ToQgers returning to being children as they chased after the trains and cried for Right. Just amazing all around.

Amazing direction, amazing writing and of course, amazing performances from the cast. Both the big cast and the lil’ ones. Everything just came together perfectly. The entire season has developed and has led up to these incredible moments.

Kobayashi did this same thing (twice!) on Go-Busters. Developing a story and the characters so she can knock you out with an explosion of emotions at just the right time. You wouldn’t care if the Go-Busters’ parents died, twice in the Subdimension if there was no growth and development leading up to those moments. And that’s how it was here on ToQger. That moment Right said goodbye to his friends as they cried out to him would mean absolutely nothing if there were no foundation built over the previous 44 episodes.

I actually think I love the fact that what’s wrong with Right is actually something simple and not some soapy, twisty kind of shock. It’s not that Right bullied Zett or that Zett is his father or that Right and Zett are actually two halves of one person. Right now, it appears Right just simply has an incredibly huge Imagination that made him more susceptible to the corruption from darkness. And now in these final 2 episodes, we’ll see how Right will be able to overcome that and still win.

That’s how I see it. It’s a simple concept, yet as we saw in this episode, it can be something much more, more emotional and profound, as long as it is written well. And Kobayashi has written it very well.

Then we got the little moments. Right watching his friends. The ToQgers enjoying their hometown beach for the first time in a year. Conductor, Ticket and Wagon visibly fighting back their emotions. Just all beautiful.

Like Mio pointed out on the beach, there’s a sense of nostalgia being there. This entire season had a sense of nostalgia and that was used so well throughout.

Gritta is not dead. I definitely know that. Schwarz and Noire might have been knocked off easily, but Gritta is not about to get killed off-screen. She’s just too big a character and such a huge part of the story to get killed just like that. I look forward to seeing how she pops up in the future.

Castle Terminal just rolling along on the water was very Miyazaki-like. Reminded me of Chihiro and No Face’s little train ride to Yubaba’s sister. Just awesome.

This whole season has been awesome. I am dreading these last 2 episodes. I really do not want it to end. And I haven’t felt like that in a long time.

Right has finished off the army of Kuros and he turns his attention to Marchioness Mork and Baron Nero. Conductor, Ticket and Wagon are watching from the Resshas. Wagon can’t believe all the darkness that is coming out of Right-kun. Conductor says it’s almost like Right has fully become a Shadow.

Zett is also watching and sees there’s not a shred of sparkle left in Right.

Right charges toward Mork and Nero who are sure Right won’t be able to do anything even clad in deep darkness. But Right takes one slash and sends both of them flying.

Mork and Nero are shocked Right has obtained so much darkness in so little time, but being only human, he won’t be able to bear the stress of the darkness for long.

Right grows weak as Mork and Nero get their second wind.

Right will not give up. He turns toward the Castle and hurls his sword directly towards Zett on the throne. It just misses his head and Zett takes the sword to hurl right back at Right down below.

Just before Mork and Nero can deliver a final blow, Hyper Akira arrives to whisk Right back to the Resshas.

Wagon wraps Right in a blanket and tells him to lay down and rest. But Right is determined to stop Zett as soon as possible. Akira asks if he can even fight in his condition.

Right admits that he feels the darkness growing and spreading throughout his body. He feels heavy and dark. And now he’s afraid the darkness will engulf the town again. But this time, everyone will be frozen forever.

Akira understands. But for now, Right must rest up.

Conductor and Ticket say this is a bad situation. But turning Tokatti-tachi back to children was the best thing to do. They don’t deserve to face such darkness.

Right asks Akira about the others and Akira confirms they are kids and don’t remember a thing. Right is relieved.

Tokatti, Mio, Hikari and Kagura head to their Secret Base after school. They decide to spend the last night of the stargazing festival form the Secret Base. On the way, they start singing “Twinkle Twinkle.” They pass by Right’s mother and siblings who also sing the song.

Right’s mother asks the little boy if someone from home had sung that song before. But none of them can really place where they’ve heard it.

Akira plays the song on his harmonica. That makes Right think of his friends.

Akira takes a seat next to Right and reminds him that they are the only two who can fight the Darkness. That’s why Right better not leave him behind this time. I understand, Right says.

Akira holds up his pinky. He says this is the promise ritual Tokatti taught him. Right is amused and he officially pinky swears.

Over at the Castle, Mork and Nero are happily amazed by all the Darkness. But Zett says this is not enough. He tells them to wait for the real Darkness he’s about to unleash. Mork and Nero are excited.

Nero decides to take care of Right and Akira and he sets off on his Kuliner.

Back on the Resshas, Right finishes his lunch and tells Akira he’s ready. Conductor, Ticket and Wagon come in and say they will be coming along as well.

“Thanks to you,” Ticket says, “we’re no longer afraid of the darkness.”
“Don’t they say the journey is all about your companions?” Conductor adds.
Wagon wants them all to be intense companions.

They set off towards Castle Terminal.

Meanwhile, Tokatti-tachi take a break from playing at their Secret Base. Mio offers the others some choco, but she wonders why she has an extra 5th piece.

Over at the festival grounds, Right’s mother, grandfather and siblings have arrived for the festivities. A little boy runs past Right’s mother and she has faint memories of a red jacket-wearing little boy. She’s still unsure.

On the way to Castle Terminal, Nero tries to cut them off along with other Kuliners. But Zett tells Right he’ll take care of them.

Right gets off in front of Castle Terminal and Zett meets him.

Zett asks how it feels to be in deep darkness. Right says it’s not bad, especially since with it, he can fight Zett.

“Oh. But Gritta sparkled until the very end.”

Right demands to know what Zett did to Gritta. Zett looks at his sword and just smiles.

Right henshins and vows to end him. Zett also transforms.

They battle. Zett says he can see defeating Right. But Right thinks about him not being able to see his own victory. Does that mean every last bit of shining shimmering inside of him is gone?

Nero and his Chou Kuliner are giving Akira a hard time. Akira summons Police and Shield Ressha.

Zett manages to knock Right onto the ground, but suddenly, the Resshas arrive.

Conductor, Ticket and Wagon steer the Resshas directly at Zett and they ram into him.

But Zett sets his feet and holds them back before he flips the Resshas like a chabudai.

Conductor says maybe they do need Tokatti-tachi for help. Ticket says it’s too late now that they don’t remember anything. But Wagon says she asked Akira a favor.

She felt it would be too intensely sad for the others to forget everything so she gave Akira some photos to post at the Secret Base.

At the Secret Base, the kids are trying to figure out if maybe there was always someone else with them. Kagura looks up and sees the photos posted up on the tree. Mio catches one of the pictures that falls.

They wonder who these people are. Hikari says it kinda looks like them. But who’s the guy in red? Was there really one other friend?

Suddenly, a light appears. They remember!

Right! The passes!! Them being ToQgers!!!

How could they have forgotten? Kagura says it isn’t right that only they get to return to normal. They’ve got to get back to the Resshas. But Hilkari says they don’t have passes.

But Mio reminds them where those passes came from in the first place.

While Right and Akira are struggling, Tokatti, Mio, Hikari and Kagura take the other pictures and decide to make brand new commuter passes. This time, their destination is… RIGHT!

Zett delivers a big slash at Right, forcing him to dehenshin.

Tokatti, Mio, Hikari and Kagura finish their passes and believe in being able to reach Right. Just then, the Resshas arrive.

IMAGINAAAATION!!!

Conductor, Ticket and Wagon happily welcome them back as the ToQgers return to their big selves.

They swipe their passes and board the Resshas. They take the controls.

Zett grabs Right by the neck and says he wants to show him something before he dies.

A huge emission of darkness emerges from Castle Terminal. Mork has no idea what’s going on. A loud growl and Castle Terminal suddenly turns into a giant robo.

The Castle Terminal robo begins spitting out huge amounts of darkness across the land and Subarugahama is once again engulfed in darkness.

Right gets thrown.

The ToQgers see the Darkness. They all put their hands on the controls and push forward.

They manage to break through the Darkness which is still expanding.

With Nero distracted, marveling at the growing dome of darkness, Akira takes the opportunity to finish him right now. The huge explosion causes Akira to recoil.

At the festival, Right’s family is setting their lantern on the steps when the Darkness suddenly arrives, freezing everyone.

Build Dai-Oh is badly damaged, but Akira makes his way out. He walks onto the train tracks and listens. He feels a strange sensation. The Rainbow Line is gone?!

Right wakes up. It’s completely black. “That’s because it’s the darkness,” Zett says.

Right looks down and he sees the town being engulfed by the darkness.

Zett says sparkles are so fragile. They are impossible to obtain and they’re destroyed so easily. “How worthless.”

Zett walks away. Right is distraught.

Episode Thoughts

omg Penultimate episode. :'( I didn’t cry as much this week as I did last week, but this episode was still full of the “feels.”

The little ToQgers making commuter passes to Right though! That’s the scene that got me this episode. Them remembering Right was just another example of just how strong their friendship is. It is that belief in each other that has gotten them through so much and is likely what will ultimately help them save the world.

Just look at this season. Not only is it a great story for all ages, but it absolutely teaches the kiddies a HUGE and important lesson. Good action, excellent story, important teachings for kids. I am baffled at why Power Rangers really can’t learn from its source material.

This episode also used one of the saddest scenes from the entire season; that scene of the frozen brother and sister from the town where people would get lost. That was just so sad, the siblings drawing on the wall to keep themselves from being sad and scared about not being able to go home. Damn. Just one example of how this season has really been able to hit all the right emotional buttons.

And how about Right’s family? Isn’t it heartbreaking to see Right’s mother just feel like she’s missing something?

It was great to see Conductor, Ticket and Wagon get in on the action. I’ve wished for them to get out there and be involved more throughout the season though. And I’ve especially wished for all of them to become ToQgers too. Wagon as ToQ-7 Purple, amirite?

Them ramming into Zett was an amusingly awesome plan. It’s actually very RPM-ish. Similar to Gem and Gemma ending Venjix with the command tower. lol If only it worked as well.

Just like how Right said the Resshas felt so empty, Castle Terminal has really felt empty too. Now it’s just the three. For being so old, it’s actually great to see Mork fighting. And the Nero-Zaram “feud” has been good too.

I don’t know how I want to see Zett’s story end. Is he going to become a kid too? Maybe he really is a kid from their town. But again, I’m just happy Zett isn’t Right’s evil twin or something. Sometimes no twist is the best twist.

Gaaahh. I do not want ToQger to end. Can’t they go on more adventures together? Their IMAGINAAATIONs can take them anywhere. I hope the Resshas don’t disappear forever or something sad like that. I know Kobayashi likes bittersweet, hopeful endings. I’m so afraid at what kind of emotional gut punch she’ll have next week. Ahhh. Don’t go ToQgers!!!

This is it!

Right lies in the darkness, distraught, thinking about whether there is anything else he can do. Suddenly, he hears a train whistle. It’s the Resshas!

The others push the train doors open and hurry over to Right. “Why?!” Right asks. They help him inside the darkened trains.

Right asks why they are even here. Tokatti shows him their passes and says they somehow made it here despite being swallowed by the darkness.

Right asks again what they’re doing here when they finally already returned home. But does he even have to ask? They wouldn’t return to being normal at the cost of forgetting everything.

“How mean!”

“But there was no other w…” Tokatti covers Right’s mouth. “Yes there is!”

Tokatti kneels down and says he doesn’t want to forget. “Not our journey together, nor our time together as ToQgers.”

Hikari, Mio and Kagura also kneel closer to Right. “Not the fun times nor the painful times. None of them! They’re memories that I never want to lose.”

“I’d rather remain an adult than forget everything to be a child again. That’s our decision.”

They all take their passes out to show Right.

They remind Right of their most important rule. One that he came up with. “The five of us will always help each other out!”

Right looks at his friends, each of them tearily nodding assurance.

Right breaks down in tears. They hug him.

Listening to the tracks, Akira is sure there is still one connection to the Rainbow Line left somewhere. He seems to have found one, but Nero arrives, prepared to end both Zaram and the Rainbow Line.

“I won’t allow it!” Akira says, “This rail is…”
“Another one of your places to die?”
“No, the Rainbow Line… is… my place to live.”

Akira henshins.

Back on the Resshas, the ToQgers are trying to figure out a way to escape the darkness. But down below, they see a faint light. Looking more clearly, they see it is a lantern from the Festival.

Right sees the lone illuminated lantern is being set down by his own mother who is still frozen.

After having such strange feelings of missing someone, Right’s mother decided to draw a lantern with a star on it after the kids were singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” earlier.

The kids say they hope to meet this person. Right’s grandfather says they should make a wish.

Suddenly, light spreads from that one lantern to the others on either side of the steps. The light begins to extend straight into the sky.

Marchioness Mork sees the lights. Zett gets up to see. He says this is the shining he saw in the darkness.

The lights begin forming train tracks and connect directly to the Resshas before extending out in front of them. Power is restored to the trains.

Nero forces Akira to dehenshin, but the track Akira felt earlier lights up. The Resshas are coming!

As the Resshas exit the darkness, the darkness begins to recede from Subarugahama once again. The townspeople are unfrozen.

Akira excitedly looks up to see a rainbow as the Resshas turn back around and are now joined by Build Ressha and Diesel-tachi.

Mork tells Zett to destroy them all with his darkness as the trains all link up and speed directly toward Castle Terminal.

President says darkness is always vast, able to swallow up the light in an instant. But there is only one force that can counter that, only one that is needed. “Dreams, hopes, fantasy, prayers… the power connecting them all is…”

“IMAGINATION!!!!!”

The Resshas speed through Castle Terminal twice, completely obliterating it.

Nero joins Zett and Mork as the ToQgers disembark from the Resshas.

“Right! How dare you!” Zett smiles.
“Zett! I tried to defeat you using the power of darkness. But I was wrong. The power of darkness may be powerful, but we have our own power. We have to fight using the power of Imagination! Until the very end!”

Zett laughs. “You’re really sparkling!” Zett transforms.

The ToQgers henshin.

The ToQgers easily take care of the Kuros before taking on Zett, Mork and Nero head on.

Strongest Girl Kagura, Hikari, Tokatti and Mio take on Mork while Akira fights Nero. They all then join together to form the Renketsu Bazooka with a Yudou Rainbow Rush to force Zett out of his Shadow form.

Zett struggles to get up, but collapses. Mork and Nero catch him before he falls to the ground. They tell their Emperor to use their darkness to fill him up. They are willing to sacrifice themselves so Zett can be filled with darkness again.

“Stop it. Don’t you dare start shining on me now.”

Zett squeezes their hands and he sucks them up. The huge surge of darkness forces everyone but Right to dehenshin.

Right fights Zett, but gets thrown back to the ground.

Tokatti tells the others to help Right by giving him their power. They all toss their Resshas to him. IMAGINATION!

Right transfers to Blue, Yellow, Green, Pink and Orange. Then, after inserting Hyper Ressha, he connects to Rainbow.

Right charges toward Zett and absolutely owns him before pointing the Daikaiten Cannon right at him. The others put their hands on Right to add their power and Zett reverts back to his human form.

Right also dehenshins and falls unconscious as everyone gets thrown to the ground from the explosion.

Zett looks up into the sky. He sees the rainbow and tries to reach for it before he suddenly turns into a black cloud.

Hikari tells everyone they must protect Right from the new darkness. But just as suddenly, a Kuliner appears.

It is Gritta! She has taken Zett onboard.

“The sparkle that you wanted only shines because there is darkness.”

Gritta takes the Kuliner back into the darkness.

The ToQgers are relieved Gritta is alive.

They are also relieved to see Right is coming to. And he’s hungry.

The ToQgers head to the beach. Akira asks why aren’t they going home yet. They say they can’t become children again.

Right asks Akira if he will continue maintaining the Rainbow Line. Akira says yes.

“Then, let’s continue traveling together.”

The ToQgers head back to the Resshas, but are met by the President.

“I came to say goodbye,” President says.
Right asks him to take his head off just this once then.
“I can’t,” President replies. “Also, you shouldn’t always jump to conclusions. Try imagining.”

“That Imagination lets us exist. It’s what fuels us.”

“That’s right,” Conductor adds. “We’ll always be close by.”
“So intensely don’t forget us, okay?” Wagon adds.

The ToQgers are not sure what they mean.

Coming up the hill, however, are their families who excitedly hurry over to them.

Mom and Grandma wave to Hikari. Dad calls for Mio. Big brother calls for Haru. Mom and Dad wave at Kagura.

But how?! Ticket says their families also have strong Imaginations. Wagon says their families must have intensely received their letters.

The ToQgers happily reunite with their families who absolutely recognize them.

Akira asks Right about his family, but Right says it’s okay. “I’m a bit different.”

Not so. Right’s little brother and sister run over to him and hug him. His grandfather tells him how proud he is of him. And finally, Right’s mother welcomes him home.

As soon as Right hugs his mother, he returns to being a kid.

Conductor, Ticket and Wagon cannot hold back their tears. Akira tries.

The others revert back with a hug as well.

Akira heads back to the Resshas and the trains depart the station.

The kids run after the trains to wave goodbye.

Conductor waves out the window as Ticket yells “Thank you!” to them.

“Till we intensely meet again,” Wagon says as she and Akira wave as well.

The ToQgers say goodbye to their friends as the Resshas speed off into the sky under the rainbow.

“I can see it. Someday we will see that train again.”

Later, the ToQgers return to their normal lives. It is morning and the kids are getting ready for school.

Kagura leaves home first and meets with Mio before they pick-up Hikari.

They go over to pick-up Tokatti who is walking his brother. Mio grabs Haru’s hand, much to his surprise. Ryo and Hikari smile.

And finally, they go pick Right up and they all head over to their Secret Base.

Akira and their older selves appear for some fun.

The Resshas appear and the kids run towards them.

Episode Thoughts

This episode, I think this series was the very definition of MaGMCM. I mean, I was already crying within the first 2 minutes of the episode. And I am definitely not afraid or ashamed to admit that. A 20-something year old man crying over a kid’s show.

But hey, when it’s written and brought to life better than most “adult” dramas, then I have no problem admitting I got emotional. VERY emotional.

This was an absolutely beautiful finale. I am so happy Toei decided against chopping it up or doing something dumb like not airing the episodes. Because damn, this was just beautiful. So affecting and successful in wrapping up the season as well as tugging on the right strings to make you feel all the emotions intended in Yasuko Kobayashi’s writing. I will buy all the toys. And that’s because I loved the show. Thank you very much.

There were plenty of exciting moments of action. The destruction of Castle Terminal was thrilling. Seeing the trains appear and then link-up before delivering what are essentially the equivalents of a direct punch to the face and an overhand boxing punch was awesome. They could have easily had a full mecha battle with Castle Terminal moving around as a robo, but I thought this was excellent. And it allowed to use the time for other, more emotional moments.

The final roll call was AMAZING!!!! And the following fights were great. Then of course, Right transferring one last time before connecting! to Rainbow was awesome.

But the biggest parts of the episode were definitely the emotional moments. First, we had the others reminding Right that they’d always help each other. It was one of the rules Right himself made up. Seeing Right actually break down and cry was really powerful, even more when they all hugged him. Phenomenal way to start the episode. They even included Tokatti doing to Right what Right used to regularly do to Tokatti (covering his mouth).

Then we got Akira saying: “The Rainbow Line is… my place… to LIVE!”
That was the next moment that got me bawling. Who’d have thought his wanting to die all season would lead up to that amazing line? It was a perfect line to underscore just how strong and deep their bond has become.

That Right’s mother’s lantern is what gets the ToQgers out of the darkness, I’d like to think, represents a theme that’s been present the entire season. The ToQgers have been able to overcome any obstacle or problem with the help of their friends and their belief in each other. That also applies to their families. As soon as the ToQgers remembered they actually had families, their families and getting home to them became one of the prime motivators for pushing forward. It shows that with family and friends, anything is possible with Imagination. They can face anything.

The ToQgers coming to terms with staying adults was a very touching moment. Much kudos to Nagahama Shin for a great job expressing both happiness and sadness in that moment. Happy that he would be able to stay with his new friends, but also sad knowing what they are giving up.

But the moment their families start running toward them, recognizing them even as adults, that did it. That was the sucker punch I expected from Kobayashi. And the tears flowed accordingly. Such a perfectly laid out scene. The families excited to see their children again and proud of all they had accomplished. The kids, a happy kind of shock and relief that their families recognized them. Then Kobayashi had to go and throw in that special little moment for Right and his family, and most especially, his mother.

It was the perfect moment to get them turned back into kids.

The goodbyes the ToQgers shared with Conductor, Ticket, Wagon and Akira was just so heartbreaking, yet happy and hopeful too. I believe that is another Kobayashi staple as well; beautiful, bittersweet endings.

Seeing the kids picking each other up on the way to the Secret Base, including Mio grabbing Tokatti’s hand, was sweet.

And finally, the kids and the grown up ToQgers having fun together to cap it all off.

The episode even managed to slip in one more shot of the awesome white line, one final line transfer and even one more SUPER KAGURA.

As for Zett, I think it makes sense for him not to be destroyed. Gritta (who really has been such an awesome character) mentioned it; The shining shimmering splendid cannot exist without darkness. And if Zett was destroyed, then there would be no darkness left in the world.

Hmm! How philosophical!

President also mentioned how even with darkness being so vast, it can be combated with Imagination, and that encompasses a whole number of things including hopes, dreams and prayers.

Just wonderful.

This finale episode hit all the marks. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Well, I want more ToQgers other than a V Cinema and next year’s vs. movie. But this was an excellent episode that wrapped up an amazingly awesome season.
 

TYPE OF REVIEW : HINDSIGHT REVIEW
WARNING! FULL of spoilers!

I’ve only seen five and a half seasons of Super Sentai, but I definitely think Ressha Sentai ToQger is now officially my absolute favorite. And maybe even favorite toku season when including Kamen Rider and even Power Rangers.

I’ve posted about how Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters had everything I look for in a Sentai/Power Rangers season. I’ve written about what the big deal is with Power Rangers RPM. But ToQger managed to take all the things I love about these spandexed superheroes and add something fresh and new.

That’s all thanks to the writing of Yasuko Kobayashi, I believe. And after ToQger, I must say that she is now officially my favorite tokusatsu writer (English or Japanese). It’s no wonder though since of the 10 and a half Sentai and Kamen Rider seasons I’ve ever seen, she’s written 4 of them. And those 4 (Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, Kamen Rider OOO, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters and ToQger) are among my favorites. (And what a job she did adapting Attack on Titan!)

I’ve noticed in those Kobayashi seasons, she writes about relationships and bonds. The climax of her stories hinge on the idea that you have connected with and followed these characters and their relationships through the season. If you have, then the climaxes and ultimate conclusions should absolutely resonate with full effect.

That was the case with Eiji, Hina and Ankh in OOO. That was the case with Takeru and his retainers-turned-friends in Shinkenger. And that was definitely the case with the Go-Busters, the Buddyroids and the EMC crew.

They all go through very difficult times in the year we spend with them and that helps form a strong bond between the characters that will either help them overcome the ultimate evil in the final episodes and/or provide exceptional emotionally-charged character moments in the same final episodes.

ToQger was no different.

A couple of weeks ago, I realized an interesting comparison I actually really like. Ressha Sentai ToQger is like an onion.

ToQger, the Onion
At the start of the season, we got a nice, big fresh onion. And with every episode, we start peeling off each layer of the onion. With every layer peeled off, you start tearing up more and more.

With ToQger, as the weeks went by, we’d peel back more of the ToQgers’ past. It was the entire premise of the season. The ToQgers have lost all memories from before they arrived on the Rainbow Line. Conductor and Ticket tell them immediately that they are as good as dead and can’t go home. They don’t even remember where home is. And it isn’t until halfway through the season that they realize they’ve also forgotten their families even existed.

As we learned more about what their relationships were like in the “past” as kids (which of course turned out to be more recent than they and we originally thought) and as we met their families and learned about their hometown, things would get very emotional.

And even more so, very nostalgic. And that’s probably one of my most favorite aspects of this season.

A Sense of Nostalgia
Even before knowing the ToQgers were kids, their dilemma helped me connect with them faster than any group of Rangers I’ve ever watched. They just seemed so innocent. None of them were jerks or cocky. They were just a nice group of childhood friends who have just embarked on a journey to find their home. How can you possibly not root for them and wish for them to remember and eventually make it home?

That connection was supported by a great sense of nostalgia, by way of their slowly returning memories and their journey through different towns across the country. My favorite trips were them going to the countryside towns that looked nothing like the usual Tokyo Toei locations. (I only wish they had done more of those rural location shoots.)

All of the train scenes were amazing too. It’s an amazing feat to be able to make those train scenes of them arriving, linking up or departing from Hyper Ressha Terminal look so good. You almost forget it’s a just a mini model train set.

And the music used in the season was just spectacular. Such moving, stirring music all season long. And the theme song too. All evoking that sense of movement and riding on a train while being exciting, happy, hopeful and upbeat. The music is one of the most important aspects of this season. And it contributed a great deal.

I love nostalgia. (When used well and sincerely, not like the force fed nostalgia of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.) When done well, there is an inherent emotional connection to be made when using nostalgia and memories of the “good ol’ days” and the like.

And here on ToQger, I felt a great sincerity in the story. And that’s thanks in large part to the immediately likeable characters.

Adobrale, Charming, Likeable
I was immediately drawn to them in the first promos. Didn’t they look adorable?

But ultimately, it was their strong friendship and bond that hit home. It was great to see a team that was already friends. They may have had some disagreements here and there, but there was none of that “I work alone” stuff or “We need to learn to work together” or “We need to get to know each other” episodes that most other seasons would have for teams that had people thrown together. Clashing was at a minimum. And that was because the five of them were already good friends.

Even when Akira first joined the team, after the initial hesitation, they did everything they could to welcome him like he was one of their classmates from back home. And the emotional payoff of that bond came in the finale when Akira finally wanted to live instead of wanting to die.

The ToQgers, again, were immediately charming and likeable. Many kudos to both the young and younger cast members who portrayed the ToQgers for being able to effectively convey that childlike innocence throughout the season.

Their performances and the characters written by Kobayashi helped make the eventual climax of the season that much more meaningful and effective.

Most effective may be the use of flashbacks as well as intertwining several scenes of both young and old ToQgers

Each of the ToQgers were distinct, but at the same time helped contribute to each other’s characters as well. And that includes Akira, Conductor, Ticket and Wagon. They would each bring something out of each other’s characters that would help in their development and the fleshing out of their characters as the season unfolded.

Their friendship and bond was as strong as that of a family. And by the end of the season, they truly became one.

The success also includes the Shadow Line which may be the best written villain group I’ve seen ever. Getting to see the dynamics of the Shadow Line every week was exciting. We met each one of the main villains and we saw each of them had their own motivations. We eventually saw each of them would be able to go their own ways as well. More directly, being able to choose whether to embrace the light or stay in the darkness.

I think of the villains, Gritta is my favorite. Her unexpected development and growth as the little girl fawning over the hunky General Schwarz to becoming maybe the most major player and catalyst, even more than Emperor Zett, was just amazing to watch. Her interactions with the ToQgers too was a refreshing twist.

Best Twist is No Twist
Speaking of twists, I absolutely love the fact that we didn’t get a big final twist in the end. That is, we didn’t suddenly learn Right was born a Shadow or Zett is his father or Zett and Right are the same person or Zett was a kid in their class they bullied or something contrived like that.

It was all quite simple in fact. Right was just infected with more darkness than everyone else. Done. That again played into the central theme and the heart and soul of the season; it was about their strong bond and Imagination.

Sometimes the best stories are the simplest ones. Stories that unfold naturally and fluidly. Slowburns require investment and patience. But when you do have the patience and put in the time, you have the chance to be rewarded. And that’s ToQger.

But we still did get some twists earlier in the season. Maybe one of the most shocking and heartbreaking moments at the time had to be Zett exploding out of Gritta. OUT OF GRITTA.

That was one of the most shocking scenes I’ve ever seen on Sentai or Power Rangers.

But ToQger struck a good balance. They had legitimately heavy drama and action while still having plenty of lighthearted fun.

Childish?
A criticism of ToQger is that it was slow and had no story. (Those people must not have seen the most recent Power Rangers seasons.)

But you name me an episode and I will point out to you how it, even a filler, contributed something to the overall story and/or development of a character. Most often, the episodes would either fill in the blanks or reaffirm the ToQgers’ resolve to find home as well as reaffirm their deep bond and friendship.

That deep bond and friendship is what ultimately helped them reach the last stop and ultimately got them back home.

Other criticisms include ToQger being too goofy and its designs too simple and childish. (Apparently, according to Saban Brands or even Haim Saban himself. Who knows.)

Some Power Rangers fans are horrified at the idea of adapting such a wacky and childish ToQger and quickly agree with the assessment of whatever Saban Brands exec stating that opinion.

May I counter by saying I really don’t understand how ToQger is any more silly than any other previous Sentai or Power Rangers season? I mean, Kyoryuger had a farting zord and dancing morphing calls for goodness sakes. That’s not wacky enough for you? Every season has its crazy aspects. Even a season like Go-Busters where the core team watched their parents die, twice, had stuff like Hiromu freezing at the sight of chickens.

So I think the people saying any ToQger adaptation would have to be some wacky Akibaranger-type parody are just finding another way to put down the season they don’t particularly like or outright hate with a passion.

I mean, come on. This:

How is this goofy? This is totally badass.

The designs themselves, whether the suits or the trains, are perfectly fine as well. They may be simplistic, but they absolutely fit with the main train theme and work with the line changing gimmick that was definitely very fun. The trains, originally derided as boxy, proved everyone wrong by being mobile and very thrilling when in action.

They even poked fun at the idea in-show:

And the simplistic suits fit very well with them being kids.

Even then, what’s a simple suit when the action itself and all the toys are still fun and exciting?

Plus, how can you not love the steampunk designs of the Shadow Line?

ToQger isn’t any more childish than any other Sentai or Power Rangers. And in fact, ToQger may have been even more mature than many.

IMAGINAAATION!!!
The central, overarching narrative theme of the season was Imagination. And as President explained in the finale, Imagination includes everything from hopes, dreams, prayers and fantasies.

Anything is possible with Imagination. Even being able to fight the evil Shadow Line is possible.

We all know these are still children’s shows even if they can appeal to grownups like you and me.

And ToQger taught many great values that anyone would love their children to learn about. Learning the power of Imagination as a way to dream big. Being able to have hope and seeing something in front of them and finding a way to reach it or make it happen.

There’s also a belief in family and friends and remembering your roots. Being able to look back where you’ve come from to enable you to move forward.

The ToQgers also showed humility and selflessness, wanting to protect each other and their families while also be willing to sacrifice something most dear to them just so those same important people would not be hurt.

Those are the kinds of values you want to see in a children’s program. And when that same children’s program is able to include a fine story, great writing, witty dialogue and great performances, then you’ve got a winner.

My Favorite
Go-Busters was my favorite Sentai season of the few I’ve seen. Emotional and powerful while still being fun and funny.

ToQger just about edges Go-Busters as my new favorite if only because I absolutely love the friendship and bond that was the heart and soul of the season.

I’ve never cried as much during a Sentai or Kamen Rider or Power Rangers season as I did during ToQger. MaGMCMs all over the place. And I definitely am not ashamed or afraid to admit it.

ToQger has that perfect mix of legit drama and happy fun. It is a big win if you can balance a generally darker story or undercurrent through the season while still be bright and fun. It had awesome train scenes and probably the absolute best soundtrack I’ve heard yet. Like I said of Go-Busters, ToQger has an incredibly charming ensemble cast. The villains have some of the best story and character development I’ve ever seen. And the amount of heart that helps make those emotional climaxes effective really resonates with me.

“But maybe, most importantly, Ressha Sentai ToQger started a journey and satisfyingly concluded it. Both visually and emotionally, ToQger left a resonating mark for this Sentai and Power Rangers fan. And that’s all that’s important to me.”

Just like Ticket-kun said at the end of the episode, “Oretachi arigatou!!!”. Thank you everyone indeed. Thank you to Yasuko Kobayashi for an excellent story. Thank you to the entire cast and crew for bringing that story to life. An amazingly beautiful and exciting season.