Go! Go! Loser Ranger!

Episode 11

I'm not sure whether or not it's just the ol' Stockholm Syndrome setting in, but this was the first episode of Go, Go, Loser Ranger! where I felt at least a little bit of genuine attachment to Fighter D's plucky crew of cadets. For one, the game of hot potato that the gang had to play with Peltrola and the gadgets was just a fun conceit for a close-quarters action scene, and it kept the stakes of fighting Peltrola running high. Also, Ishikawa got straight-up murdered! I'm not going to pretend that I particularly cared about this dude in particular, but watching him get turned into that Stomach Plug Guy from Kung Pow! Enter the First is one of those dramatic beats that I was hoping to get more of with such a destructive invasion. Initially, I thought that the reason that the show was introducing so many damned characters was so a whole bunch of them could get killed off to demonstrate how threatening these Boss Monsters really are. We'll take what we can get, at least.

Strangely, the second half of this episode pivots into a flashback to the origin of Blue Keeper, aka Shougo Aoshima, though the episode does a poor job of communicating the change in timeline and perspective. Once it becomes clear that we've suddenly decided to indulge in an extended flashback for a character that hasn't even made an appearance in this episode, the story that we get is pretty all right. It's one of those backstories that is more interesting in concept, than execution.

I like the idea that Shougo is this hardened street punk who is willing to do crimes to support the former Blue Keeper's orphanage operation, and it's cool how the crime boss who screwed him over before getting recruited out of prison by Keeper Red was one of those Boss Monsters in hiding. That said, the sequence doesn't really make Blue Keeper much more compelling, since we've barely seen him interact with anyone or do anything outside of this one fight. There have been some very messy and awkward transitions in this arc, and I'm not sure what the deal is, there. Maybe it's a consequence of shuffling around/omitting material from the manga?

Ultimately, I see how this arc was meant to form F.D.'s makeshift Ranger Team and demonstrate how and why he will end up being more of an antihero than a straight-up villain. From a functional standpoint, I think the show has done the job well enough to move forward into the next big storyline, but I still wish that it had made me feel this growing connection between F.D. and his friends before this late in the game. The same goes for Shougo's rough and somewhat conflicted nature that we see in that flashback. I will say this, though: This week, we got to see Yumeko go “Beep, boop!” when she used a magic remote to help fight (and free) Peltrola. For that one “Beep, boop!” alone, I will go ahead and toss in an extra half-star.

Rating:

Go, Go, Loser Ranger! is currently streaming on Hulu in the United States and Disney+ in other regions.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.