#like some long awaited conflict that is finally solved if they can just refer to each other as dad and son

[talxns]

Co-creator of Batman Bill Finger did an interview in 1972 in which he responded to the question of whether Batman and Robin were “homosexual fantasies”.

His answer was that he “didn’t think of Batman and Robin in those terms.” But the next thing he says piqued my interest in regards to their intended relationship dynamic.

“I thought of [their relationship] in terms of … Frank Merriwell and Dick Merriwell, his half-brother, who was the kid he was taking care of.”

Brothers! Very interesting.

[ukaiknowsbest]

breaking down Ace of Diamond - the "Hero's Journey."

Using the model/guide presented by Overly Sarcastic Productions in their youtube video Trope Talk: The Hero's Journey, I will attempt to discuss how Sawamura Eijun's story in DnA is his Hero's Journey to becoming an ace pitcher in the Japanese HIgh School Baseball environment.

Blue from OSP put forward the 12 basic parts of the Hero's Journey Cycle. The illustration below will be our reference. I simplified a graph made by Signy Wilson in order to match OSP's less rigid guide.

disclaimer: I am by no means any kind of expert. I was just fascinated when I learned about the Hero's Journey as a general trope/framework when it came to writing stories. I want to apply what I learned by breaking down the story created by Terajima Yuuji in Ace of Diamond.

A. ORDINARY WORLD

STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Hero: Sawamura Eijun. Captain and Ace Pitcher of middle school baseball team. He has no formal training in baseball whatsoever but was the one who gathered and convinced his friends to start a baseball club. He's the best player in their small team. Good at sports but bad at academics .

He is generally a baseball idiot and quite a naive/simple guy with a strong heart. He does not have any idea what competitive and pro baseball looks like because not only does he not have experience but also he does not watch the broadcasts on tv/radio at all.

Ordinary World of the Hero: rural town in Nagano Prefecture, where Sawamura formed a small baseball team with his childhood friends. Acording to him, as long as they all stay together they can always play baseball anywhere.

STAGE 2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

2.1 Problem/why hero's ordinary world is going to crumble: - He lessened his chances of being scouted/accepted in a good baseball school after he btchslapped an entire opponent team and the umpires in their first and only match as middle school team in Saitama Stadium.

He also has low chance of being accepted into the high school in their area (where his friends are all going to) because he struggles with his academics a lot.

Unless he does something he won't be able to be together with his friends and/or play baseball at all.

2.2 Caller of the adventure - Takashima Rei pursues Sawamura into Nagano Prefecture in order to scout him as a sports scholar for Seido High School, a baseball powerhouse school located in the West Division of Tokyo Prefecture.

2.3 medicine/ solution to hero's crumbling world: being a sports scholar for Seido. This would solve almost all of Sawamura's highschool enrollment problem and also give him the chance to play as much baseball as he wants.

STAGE 3. REFUSAL TO THE CALL

3.1 reluctance to go: Sawamura refuses to leave Nagano despite Rei's "sales pitch" to him and his family. He doesn't want to leave his friends just to play baseball in a stronger school far away because he had promised his friends that they would always stick together.

3.2 hero punished for this - his grandpa literally smacks/slaps him in being stupid and doubting his friends.!!! / technically circumstances are already punishing him for being a hotblooded baseball idiot in the first place.

3.3 do you think you have a choice - this is probably the only chance he'll get to play baseball with all his strength AND finish highschool.

B. EXTRAORDINARY / UNKNOWN WORLD

Venturing out into more competitive/pro baseball is a world beyond him. It's scary and unknown and he'd rather defeat bigger teams than leave his friends.

STAGE 4. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

4.1 crossing physical threshold - Rei persuades him to at least check the school out with his own eyes. They leave Tokyo together for one visit.

4.2. crossing a metaphorical threshold - in that visit, sawamura, picks a fight with a senior who's bound for baseball drafts, works together with a nationally acclaimed catcher in defeating the senior player, thus changing his worldview because he had so much fun.

4.2. conscious and irreversible decision - Because of the experience he goes home conflicted. His family encourages him in their own way to follow his guts and heart and go to Tokyo.

STAGE 5. REALM OF ADVENTURE

5.1 hero learns to navigate the unknown world - Sawamura learns the harsh realities of being in a baseball school once he actually starts to live there. Our boy also gets educated in Baseball and Pitching 101. He also finds out the true personality of the catcher he played with before.

5.2 meeting allies/rivals/mentors - he learns about the team better when he meets a whole bunch of people: batchmates, coaches and senpais. He builds interesting dynamics with all of them.

5.3 trials and initial failures - Sawamura undergoes difficult initial training and is barely allowed to play in matches.

5.4 meeting enemies - Sawamura being allowed to play as relief pitcher in the games and face talented pitchers and scary batters mostly in tense situations.

5.5 growth, new skills - Sawamura grows with each match, thus bolstering his confidence. Sometimes he falters but he learns from his mistakes.

5.6 first major success - striking out scary batters with each new thing he learns.

5.7 major challenge that leads to downfall - seido vs inashiro finals match where he goes in full of confidence and courage but then he and his team gets defeated in a devastating way.

STAGE 6. BELLY OF THE WHALE

6.1 lowest point of hero where hero physically or metaphorically goes down - one month after their major defeat, a lot of intense practice matches and change in team dynamics, the team find out that Sawamura has the YIPS. This condition took away Sawamura's ability to pitch in his trademark style/ the only thing he was good at.

6.2 hero's darkest hour - without the ability to pitch, Sawamura questions his reality and why he is still on the team.

6.3 Face and overcome inner demons - with a lot of help from allies and mentors, Sawamura finds a way to bring back a bit of his ability.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS

7.1 Discarding old self - In the duration of his downfall and eventual healing, Sawamura turns to books, meditation and becomes even more careful in maintaining his form and body.

7.2 Accepting the new role - instead of fixating on the ace position like before, Sawamura is just glad that he is still allowed to pitch as relief.

7.3 Finding path out of the belly of the whale/The road back - After figuring out a solution to fix his pitching, he focuses on it and regains some of his ability. Sawamura is then allowed to play in matches. Just like before, he improves little by little as he recovers from each failure. He gains fresher mindset and new weapons, thus becoming an even stronger pitcher than he ever was before.

7.4 more trials - they face new opponent schools and old but improved opponents which test the best of Sawamura and the team's ability

STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

every major match in ace of diamond has this part of the story but usually the most critical breather episode is the one before the final match.

8.1 show humanity of other characters - Somethng bad happens to the other mc without Sawamura knowing. This could absolutely wreck their chances of winning the final match. This shows that the other guys are not 100% invincible after all.

8.2 last chance to relax. - calm before the storm. It is also the time where they finalize sawamura's weapons.

8.3 quiet moment to reminisce - usually happens before each match. However the night before the finals was the major one because their old senpais went to visit their practice and encourage them.

STAGE 9. CLIMAX / STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE

9.1 Final Showdown - Sawamura helps in the team defense with the best of his ability and weapons and he succeeds. Their team eventually wins Fall Tournament even with a few setbacks.

9.2 Apotheosis - Sawamura's worldview changed once he realises that even with his improvement and skill, his goal of being the ace is still out of reach for him.

9.3 Ultimate Boon - Sawamura gets to be a pivotal member of their baseball team and can play baseball as much as he wants with his team.

STAGE 7. ROAD OF TRIALS start again after the Fall Tournament Act 1 because Sawamura faces new challenges in Ace of Diamond Act 2.

Meiji Jingu Tournament - Play in matches without Miyuki

WInter camp and break - Intense Physical Training and development and improvement of his weapons which he will use and improve on throughout the rest of Act 2.

Spring Koshien where he realises that he has to do more in order to surpass the current ace which was Furuya.

Start of New Term/ Practice Matches - Sawamura and co. meets their new kouhai and team dynamics shift once again.

Spring Tournament / Summer Tournament - Sawamura meets old foes and new enemies. He also becomes the Ace Pitcher of the team, which adds more pressure on his part.

ACT 2 STAGE 8. PRE SHOWDOWN BREATHER

This is the big and long one before Summer Tournament Finals match where injuries and problems were discussed and feelings were explored.

ACT 2 STAGE 9. CLIMAX

Final (Or most hyped and awaited rematch) Seido vs Inashiro in order to qualify for Summer Koshien Nationals.

**everything after this point will be prediction and just my opinion

STAGES 7-9 start again

Koshien Nationals Arc.

STAGE 10. CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD

Miyuki/3rd years retirement/graduation. Sawamura and his batch will have to lead the team.

STAGE 11. THE REWARD

Sawamura gets to play with his team as ace pitcher.

STAGE 12 / STAGE 1. THE HERO IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

Sawamura may become both ace and captain, same as his role back in his middle school team, albeit in a stronger school. Even if he won't be the next captain, as ace he will still be in a strong leadership position.

CONCLUSION

That's how Ace of Diamond is written in the style of A HERO'S JOURNEY.

Act 1 writing especially followed the trope quite rigidly.

Notes:

I still don't want Sawamura to be the next captain. I hope that does not happen. However if it does, it means the story will have gone back full circle. That would be quite poetic ngl.

Gotta applaud Terajima's pacing. Can you believe that the story only reached its lowest and most pivotal point at around episode 70 of the anime???? thank godt that after ep 63 I read spoilers about yips arc in tv tropes or else i would have dropped the series completely.

I had difficulty in classifying the events after the climax stage into hero's journey stages because technically sawamura has not gone "home" yet. Moreover the challenges and trials just kept on piling up after Fall Tournament.

In this whole story, Sawamura has experienced only one true "Belly of the Whale stage" during his YIPS arc. I don't think he really came to a low point in Act 2 other than his first official match as Ace Pitcher. I treated that in the same vein as the effects of Raichi's first homerun off Sawamura back in Act 1.

I realized that having stages 7-9 recur starting from Meiji Jingu to the current summer tournament is what made reading Act 2 quite frustrating for me. That's at least 5-6 arcs of endless roller coaster ride loops.

I consider Miyuki's departure to be the "CROSSING THE RETURN THRESHOLD" moment because playing with him was the major reason for Sawamura's decision to study and play in Tokyo. Something will change Sawamura when this eventually happens.

As Blue from OSP said, the Hero's Journey is just a general guide/framework to writing stories. It is flexible, writers don't even have to use it or all of its parts to make a good story. Terajima just seemed to have adopted A LOT of the hero's journey trope in his baseball series.

I wanted to add more pictures tbh but tumblr is a killjoy :(

This was a fun thought exercise. There were probably even some parts which I have used the tropes wrongly. Please feel free to dispute me.

I talked about Sawamura's mentors here (x).

[seasaltmemories]

For Bad Habits

Despite their young age and inexperience, Celica and Alm quickly win over the Zofia public, not just because Celica has a legitimate claim to the throne or Alm’s related to a famous war veteran, but because they actually care about running Zofia (unlike Celica’s predecessors) and they do it well.

The Zofians love to gossip about Celica and Alm’s relationship even though the most suggestive thing they’ve ever done is disappear for an hour. It’s a pleasant distraction from the nation’s current ecological disaster.

Celica and Alm want to maintain their image as a couple who are always on the same page. So they’re way more open about public displays of affection than they are about airing out their disagreements.

Which is why, after Celica signs the treaty with Rigel, Alm spends the entire day pretending nothing’s wrong while Celica anxiously awaits the inevitable confrontation.

I love how you describe her tension as like, “watching the hands of a clock slowly pass by, waiting until they finally struck midnight,” because that’s a very relatable feeling.

It’s so torturous, Celica briefly ponders if keeping her in suspense is supposed to be Alm’s payback.

It isn’t until the day’s nearly over that Alm comes knocking at her door.

Celica’s immediately on the defense, slipping on her queenly mask.

The first thing that strikes Celica is that Alm’s not in his armor. It’s a bit off-putting since a) Alm doesn’t ordinarily change into a different outfit before coming to see her and b) it gives the meeting an informal air. It reminds Celica uncomfortably what her father used this study for.

Celica turns away from Alm (either so she won’t start thinking about sex and Alm together or not to see him upset with her).

Alm doesn’t outright accuse Celica of not trusting him but that seems to be the implicit meaning behind his words all the same. Celica braces herself for the ensuing fight (it’s gonna be a draining one).

Body still turned away, Celica asks what lies she’s told him (I’d say an omission of truth is basically a lie).

Alm clarifies that he doesn’t like that she signed the treaty with Rigel. There’s nothing else he could be referring to (besides the mysterious reason she won’t make him her general).

When Celica doesn’t respond, Alm continues his complaint. Saying he’s all that’s needed to deal with the pirates (cocky).

Celica snaps that she’s already considered that course of action. She didn’t mean to be so curt but it works well for her queenly persona.

There was no clear-cut solution. If she sent Alm away, then the capital would be vulnerable to another Rigelian invasion (and she’d be left all alone).

But Alm thinks this problem has a simple answer. Send him to deal with Rigel permanently (wow, if he sounded cocky before…).

Celica nearly loses her composure as she shuts that suggestion down. Hard.

The voice inside her head tempts Celica to take Alm as her consort. Then they wouldn’t be having this discussion.

Unlike Celica, Alm wears his heart on his sleeve. He demands to know why she can’t rely on him or even look him in the eye right now (as he forces her to do just that).

Celica thought she was ready for Alm’s ire, she had certainly been expecting (dreading) it. But she is not met with that frightening anger she’s observed during his fights or as he listens to her stories about the previous king’s reign. Instead, all she sees is pain, pain she feels responsible for. It leaves her momentarily speechless.

When she does speak, it’s to point out he isn’t her general. Which she immediately regrets.

Alm apologizes for making assumptions and releases her shoulder. Celica is torn over whether she misses the contact or is relieved it’s gone.

Most people mistakenly assume Alm’s already Celica’s general since he’s both her knight and closest confidant. The only reason Celica hasn’t offered him the position is because she’s scared of losing him.

She considers it supremely selfish of her to keep Alm around simply because he’s one of the few people that can make her happy. She still can’t bring herself to let him go though.

Alm, standing very close to Celica, tells her it’d be a waste not to put his skills to use. That he wants to do something meaningful to help her.

That treacherous voice inside Celica’s head again suggests that she give into her desires and make Alm her consort. That way, she’ll never have to send him away. It’s an idea she can’t entirely shake.

She grabs a book, so as to put some distance between them and cool her head. Unfortunately, it’s a book about the human body (I wonder if it’s a holdover from when this was her father’s study).

Celica explains she’s worried he’ll get himself killed and then they’d have to do without one of their greatest soldiers (she naturally withholds her more personal reasons from him).

Alm swears he won’t die (peak arrogance) and Celica correctly points out that he can’t promise her that. Alm just reiterates he won’t die, not until she gives her say-so (which, while still not feasible, is a stunning declaration of fealty).

Alm wants to make a difference in the world and he wholeheartedly believes that involves assisting Celica any way he can.

Alm’s naked adoration for her makes Celica giddy. If she could, she’d find a way to preserve his devotion so she could taste it every night. She then promptly beats herself up for this “weakness.”

Celica decided to avoid romance because she’s afraid she’s susceptible to the same vices as her father. Too bad Alm makes that hard when he’s so cute and sincere.

Celica berates herself viciously for her selfishness. She shouldn’t keep such a valuable asset to herself simply because of her personal feelings.

A part of Celica though demands to know what’s so wrong with wanting Alm for her own. With wanting him to live?

But Celica can’t do that to Alm. She remembers all too well how badly one of her father’s former consorts (a soldier) fared when forced to live in peaceful seclusion. How she longed to be a part of the outside world again.

Celica questions her father’s motives. Did he not care what he did to her or had he truly believe he was doing her a favor? Because if he did then it backfired spectacularly since she perished in that fire.    

Alm interrupts her train of thought, holding her hands in his. This jolts Celica because it feels so, so nice and, conversely, makes her feel absolutely horrible. Here she is, mulling over Alm’s fate while he’s standing right there.

Though the fact she’s so self-conscious about how she treats Alm proves she isn’t “just as bad” as her father.

Celica can’t hold her emotions in any longer. She asks Alm to accompany her to the Temple of Mila.

Alm asks if this is a promotion. Celica, however, still isn’t sure what to do about Alm. She simply needs Alm by her side for this important pilgrimage. The temple is her mother’s former home, a place she’s avoided per her own mother’s orders.

Celica worries that Alm will refuse and leave her for good. Instead, Alm kisses her hand and affirms he will go. It reminds her of the time in the garden, the first time it happened. It was the moment she started to fall for him. And it’s too late to fight it now.

  I adore how you write Celica. How much thought you put into how her background informs her personal issues. In that, she’s so scared of ending up just like her father, that loving Alm results in a myriad of conflicting reactions from happiness and desire to indecision and shame. And I do like how, while not everything is neatly solved at the end (it wouldn’t be realistic for it to be), it feels like she’s taking a small step forward in reconciling her past by planning a visit to Milla’s temple.

I’m a sucker for Echoes AU’s bc I think while it does a stereotypical chosen one narrative, it complicates the premise by making it so that very few ppl know they are chosen ones, the characters themselves never operate under that knowledge and a very specific history led them to where they are in canon, so twisting events can produce interesting games of “how to get them back on track”

So rather that go into the hard work of figuring all the details out, this fic was just the focus on making this situation as frustrating and horny as possible lmao, as they navigate duties and desires

There’s a lot of details that I chose bc of fun unspoken changes but to stay brief, in canon Celica hides her royal status from the public of Zofia until the end of the game, and so when the rebellion group Alm comes to leads drive out the Rigelians, there is the question of if he will become King, Alm never really comments as he has no ambition for it, so in a world where Celica never had to hide her identity, I can see him wanting to be her right hand man very easily, the irony comes is that he is unknowingly the lost Rigelian prince, and so that loyalty would be compromised sooner or later

I drew a lot from PLBT!Celica in that the history of her father hangs heavy on her, since she never got to escape and have a normal childhood, but in contrast, Alm’s insertion into her life has been a blessing, and so their conversation here mirrors another argument about war they had in-canon, only with a much more formal relationship in place, it was a fun exploration so I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[furederiko]

The era has changed, so the ways of the past can no longer be applied to solve the same problem! That's the essence of Kyuranger episode 23. The 'Rivalry of the Reds'...

- LOL at that opening intro speech. Spada's blatantly saying that Tsurugi is "so arrogant"! So what's going on with our bossy 'Sleeping Beast'? He is hungry. But instead of stopping down for some chow down, he takes his 'team' (Chef and assistant? Duh!) to... a TV Station. Wait, HUH? Is this a company visit to... TV Asahi? Nope, he's taking over Jark Matter News, and broadcasts a news about his heroic triumphant over Don Armage in the past to the... whole universe. Yes, using his Phoenix Station as the satellite. CONVENIENT! - Lucky is still mulling over Tsurugi's words that they should stop fighting. Of course, the livefeed announcement about Don Armage's secret surprises everyone in the Orion. Fortunately, Balance and Champ have discovered Eris, so hopefully that means they can clarify Tsurugi's bold statement. As soon as they can get her to talk, that is. LOL. Worried that Tsurugi's action might endanger the crew at the TV Station, Commander Xiao immediately dispatches an away team to the Station. - Clearly, Tsurugi's action is pissing off many people. Including Don Armage himself! The Shogun immediately commands his Vice-Shoguns to eliminate him, and the long-necked Tecchu is the first to head out. But publicity-hunter Malistrate Mediatsuyo-Indaver steps in to steal his spotlight before hand, attacking Tsurugi's team, as well as putting the civillians in danger. Precisely like what Xiao has feared. Trivia: Tecchu might be the only one speaking for now, but these three can be considered as 'Special' antagonists. How so? They are voiced by former Sentai heroes! Tecchu is voiced by Hiroshi Tsuchida, a now-regular VA for the franchise who debuted as Saizou/ Ninja Blue in the 1994 "Ninja Sentai Kakuranger". The female one, Akyanba (direct katakana romanization for now, not Over-Time's version), is voiced by Arisa Komiya. Fans would easily recognize her as Youko Usami/ Yellow Buster in the 2012 "Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters". And last but not least, Kukuruga (also, direct katakana romanization) is voiced by Naoya Uchida, the most 'veteran' of the three. He was Tatsuya Midorikawa/ Denzi Green in the 1980 "Denshi Sentai Denziman". Now a prolific stage actor, with "Les Miserables" and "Sakura Taisen V" as some of his most memorable performances. "It's SHOWTIME!!!" XD... - Tecchu's arrival changes thing. The fact that a Vice-Shogun, a higher rank than Menaster is joining the battlefield, means Don Armage is getting serious. But instead of focusing on rescuing the civillians, Phoenix Soldier gets all riled up to fight him. He's hinting that he and Tecchu have a history. They have battled before! But oddly, the latter doesn't seem to have ANY recollections of that. First Don Armage, now Tecchu? What's really happening here. - Tsurugi's action is placing everyone in jeopardy, and Aquila Pink ends up getting injured for shielding a crew member. Obviously, Lucky can't accept his reckless behavior, putting innocent lives in danger. Yet the older Red insists that "You won't be able to save the universe without some sacrifice". OUCH! Basically, it's the 'trolley problem' of saving the greater number of lives. Intriguingly, Tsurugi then tells the story of his old allies, who once acted as 'shield' for him before. One ended up never able to fight again, and another died. Now I don't know about you, but I'm more than certain that one of these two people he's referring about, has since become the new face behind 'Don Armage'. It's almost always, those closest to the hero, right? - Avoiding confrontation (Lucky almost punches him), the gang decides to walk away and return to the Orion. Thankfully they arrive just in time. After going through a bit of... 'situation', Balance and Champ are finally able to convince Eris, and ask her to extract some information to the team. At the same time, Tsurugi opens up about what happened in his past to Raptor and Spada (Yes, Xiao DID send them to do this after all). And well... - Tsurugi is telling the truth. It is confirmed that after gaining immortality from the Phoenix Kyu Globe, he indeed united the universe. He then led 88 Warriors (from each Constellation system) aboard the Argo, to defeat Don Armage whose Jark Matter began disrupting the peace. A battle hard fought that took the lives of almost everyone, Tsurugi ended up sacrificing his immortality by turning it into power to kill Don Armage. Eris then added, that Sir Olion was a surviving member of Tsurugi's force. This is likely the information she wanted to share before, but then the team got distracted by Scorpio. Judging from the silhouette, I think Olion is the one standing on Phoenix Soldier's right. Can we assume that he's the one who could never fight again then? Hmmm... intriguing. Eris assumes that Olion realized Don Armage's revival, and thus entrusted the Carina Kyu Globe in her safekeeping. He was also the one who put the badly injured Tsurugi to cold sleep prior to that. NOTE: Over-Time is still using the romanization 'Sir Orion', but I've decided to use the name 'Sir Olion' anyway, even if to set him apart from the Rebellion's ship. - This is where things get a little... melancholic. Turns out, Tsurugi is telling the Kyurangers to stop fighting, so that they won't suffer the same fate to his 88 Warriors. That's why he wants to handle things on his own. In a way, Tsurugi's harsh attitude is basically meant to protect the Kyurangers! Hold on, is this some kind of... a lone survivor's syndrome then? Aaaawww. But Lucky has a different ideal. He says it out loud to Tsurugi, that the Kyurangers are fighting together, simply because neither one of them can do it alone. An acknowledgement to why all these time, the entire team is needed to take down one Menaster. One is stronger with friends, he means. The power of UNITY!!! Of course... he somehow missed the point that it's exactly what Tsurugi did before with the 88 Warriors. And that it... didn't work. But let's save that discussion for another time... - Interestingly, Lucky's point is then put into solid proof almost immediately. Metal Death Worm that Tecchu sends out, is defeated through a rough co-op of him and Phoenix Soldier. While the other Kyurangers take down Mediatsuyo-Indaver in a very impressive (and neatly choreographed) group effort. Even the giant battle, requires all mechas because a Consumarz is added into the fray. In the end, it's about teamwork all along! WITH Phoenix Soldier among them. LOL. - Just like Ryutei Kyuren-Oh with 3 members absent, this time we're not seeing a complete set of Kyurangers at the battlefield either. Balance and Champ are still in Planet Keel, and Stinger stays behind on the Orion. So Ryutei-Oh heads out with Ophiucus as Scorpius replacement, while Kyuren-Oh with Aquila as Taurus' substitue. And speaking of Aquilla, the long awaited has come. The pink Voyager detaches as arm, and forms... a WING! Giving Kyuren-Oh aerial ability to chase the flying Consumarz. This gimmick was possible from the start, but was never used in the show until now. NOTE: By the way, Ryutei-Oh's combination in this episode with its LightBlue-Purple-Gray color scheme, could be a strong nod to those Extra Heroes on "Kyoryuger". As for Gigant Phoenix... I got very excited about the "Thunderbirds" nod, and the BGM song last week (which is NOT used in this episode... bummer), that I forgot to point out something. Its design is very similar to the style of a Machine Robo Rescue. And if you're looking for a more global comparison, it looks a lot like Transformers, instead of a Super Sentai robo! - Post battle, the friction isn't getting a solution just yet. Tsurugi still goes on his separate way (along with Spada and Raptor, of course). The Rivalry of the Reds is pretty much ongoing, due to their different point of views. However, it seems Lucky begins to warm up to needing the Phoenix, while Tsurugi himself is slowly warming up to having other people around. In fact, the latter's having a sweet 'Legendary Curry' moment with his team! Knowing this, I doubt it'll take long for them to work out their differences...

Overall: Tsurugi's presence continued to disrupt the balance of the show! Not only he's bringing a heft of altered history to the fray, he's also attracting scarier and more powerful enemies. As the kids nowadays are saying, "Things just got REAL". Despite the occasional attempts at humor, this episode felt tense and serious in general. The friction between Tsurugi and the Kyuranger felt loud and clear. But that's exactly why I think it's a great episode! As I've always said, conflict makes people grow, and in this case, it helped the Kyurangers to realize that they are nothing without each other. Next week: Rumble of the Reds. The 12 Stars are alligned... PS: A new trailer for the Summer Movie is shown after the episode. The opening sequence has already included scenes from it too. Not a surprise, because the movie is set to premiere this weekend, on August 5th, 2017. I think this movie looks fun and epic, so if you happen to be in Japan, don't miss it out, okay!

Episode 23 Score: 8,2 out of 10

Visit THIS LINK to view a continuously updated listing of the Kyutama / Kyu Globes. Last Updated: July 29th, 2017 - Version 2.09. (WARNING: It might contain spoilers for future episodes)

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.