Boomstick: Hell yeah! Especially the robot kind. Like the Dragonzord, piloted by the Green Power Ranger.
Wiz: And Kiryu, the dangerous and mysterious Mechagodzilla.
Though two of Japan's most iconic tokusatsu franchises have been welcomed into the series' storied halls in episodes past, the eleventh outing in season six sees them as rivals. This match, in particular, has these two series bring enormous mecha designed to fight behemoths of equal scale, and sees them draw their weapons upon one another. Two legendary robots, reptilian in design and massive in size, will see their punches, projectiles, and pilots compared, and in the end, only one can survive when the Dragonzord and Mechagodzilla come to blows in the only arena capable of providing such a showdown: a death battle.
The first combatant given the honor of analysis would be the Dragonzord and its pilot, Tommy Oliver; that said, their story begins not with them, but the ancient sorceress Rita Repulsa. Fueled by aspirations of galactic conquest, the trail of bloodshed and terror Rita left across the cosmos eventually led her to Earth. The ensuing war between the armies of Rita and Zordon, a mage of similar power tasked with protecting the planet, ended in their mutual defeat; Zordon was condemned to exist outside time, while Rita was trapped in an enchanted dumpster. Ten thousand years would pass before the opportunity for freedom arose for Rita, and with it the chance to exact revenge on Zordon and the world he cherished so. It came as a displeasing surprise to her, then, that Zordon established a link back to Earth, and crowned five brave youths to serve as the world's first line of defense against Rita's machinations. Again and again, these Mighty Morphin Power Rangers bested the numerous underlings of Rita, but she remained unabashed; if ordinary henchmen failed to vanquish Zordon's teenage champions, she had to fabricate a champion of her own. The sorceress abducted Tommy, a friend of the Rangers, and corrupted him into a Green Ranger, a warrior of might greater than his former colleagues. To ensure Tommy's victory, Rita bestowed upon him access to the Dragonzord, a reptilian engine of war made to combat the zords of the Rangers, and set her prized creation loose upon Zordon's heroes.
Tommy has demonstrated through numerous skirmishes with the Power Rangers that he has enough talent to make him their equal and at times greater still. The Green Ranger has shown outstanding competence with various martial arts and the usage of bladed weapons; this skill serves him well when using his signature dragon dagger, which doubles as a summoning device for the Dragonzord. A mechanical monstrosity measuring over 300 feet in height, the Dragonzord is equipped with an abundance of munitions to fight the Rangers and their zords. This theropod-modeled mecha possesses missiles stockpiled in its fingertips and its mere footfalls are powerful enough to create shockwaves of electric energy. Considering the Dragonzord also has a head fin for further options at long range, it comes across as a formidable opponent on these merits alone. However, close-quarters combat is another specialty of Tommy's zord. The Dragonzord has sturdy arms and claws perfectly suited for grappling, and its tail can also act as a high-power drill that penetrate substances even the combined strength of the Power Rangers' zords fail to so much as scratch. Despite such tremendous power Tommy has at his disposal, dire circumstances can force him to bring a final trump card to play; Rangers can call upon the zords of others to combine with their own, and the Green Ranger exploits this by using the Power Rangers' zords for such a purpose. With the usage of the Rangers' Dinozords, their power amplifies the Dragonzord and unleashes its fighting mode. In this state, the tail of the Dragonzord became a spear that vastly enhances its utility as a drill while its head fin can become a throwing weapon of pure energy.
It should go without saying that the Green Ranger's tenure as a villain has given him and his reptilian mount quite the impressive résumé, yet to leave it at that would be to undersell their capability. The Dragonzord regularly triumphs over the Rangers' zords combined into the Megazord and the various forms that stem from there; many of the Megazords' enhanced forms are stated to be superior to the Dragonzord, yet Tommy has soundly defeated them with minimal effort. As point of reference, the baseline Megazord utilizes attacks with a force of 50 thousand megavolts, an energy on a scale comparable to atomic weapons; the fact that the Dragonzord has withstood blows such as these is a testament to its durability. Likewise, Tommy and his zord have survived being thrown through mountains and emerging unscathed. Speed is another point of pride for the Dragonzord through accomplishments like reaching the moon by flying at speeds over thirty times that of sound. Thankfully, the Rangers eventually managed to break the sway Rita's magic held over Tommy and convinced him to work for the side of good. Freed from the sorceress and her influences, Tommy was able to prove his might was entirely unrelated to Rita's control, best demonstrated by the ease which he subsequently slew her minions; Rita's magic has enough force to destroy an entire island, so it is reasonable to assume her monsters can attain a similar level of power. As powerful as the Dragonzord and the man behind it have shown they can be with feats such as these, it can be easy to forget their own weaknesses. Both man and machine draw their power from a universal energy field known as the morphing grid, and sufficient force will sever their connection to the grid, weakening or outright killing them. It is also possible, albeit under certain circumstances, for Tommy to lose his Ranger powers entirely, thereby crippling his potential in a fight. These flaws failed to set him back on his path to herodom, eventually returning to and acting as a mentor to future generations of Rangers, continuing to gain experience from his trials and becoming a greater man throughout his hardships.
The episode moves on from the Dragonzord to Mechagodzilla; and like its soon-to-be combatant, its origins lie with the very thing it was first meant to face. In the wake left by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the nation of Japan was forever scarred by these weapons of unimaginable strength. However, these nuclear weapons, devastating as they were, unintentionally stirred awake a far more dangerous beast: the primordial horror known as Godzilla. The massive radioactive dinosaur forged a path of destruction in its wake, and it was only with the knowledge of the archaeologist Daisuke Serizawa that a weapon was made to destroy Godzilla. Out of fear that his work, the oxygen destroyer, would be exploited by the leading powers of the world, Serizawa killed himself when he deployed the oxygen destroyer, taking both Godzilla and the secrets of his weapon to the grave with him. Decades would pass after the demise of Godzilla and Serizawa, and creatures of similar size would terrorize Japan to such an extent that a second Godzilla would emerge. Inspired by the success Serizawa and the oxygen destroyer had in defeating the original Godzilla, the Japanese military assembled a team of the nation's leading engineers and biologists to construct another weapon to combat the mounting crisis. Their end result, a robot built upon the skeletal frame of the original Godzilla, christened Mechagodzilla; so effective was this machine that, despite being the third Mechagodzilla constructed, it earned the moniker Kiryu as a personal alias.
Kiryu has a hefty responsibility in facing behemoths from ages gone by, and as such, it is well equipped for the task. Being built around the remains of the original Godzilla, its mechanical successor has undergone numerous genetic and biological upgrades, giving it a basic intelligence that lets it function on its own; these upgrades also improve its agility and reflexes. Standing almost 200 feet tall, an assortment of firepower such as railguns, a number of missile launchers, microwave radiation-based maser cannons, and even a detachable jetpack comprise but a share of the mecha's armaments to complement the scientific augmentation Kiryu exists through. Claws that can compact into drill form, retractable blades, and grappling cables are some other secondary means of combat that the Mechagodzilla has at its disposal, but if one was to name its greatest weapon, no other option would be more fitting than the Absolute Zero Cannon. Stored in the machine's chest panel, the Absolute Zero Cannon fires a beam of energy that instantly drops its target's temperature to absolute zero, thereby crushing them under their own weight on an atomic level. To keep Kiryu in checked, the mecha is controlled by Akane Yashiro, lieutenant from a branch of the military specialized in fighting off the kaiju that terrorize Japan. Akane remotely controls Kiryu from the cockpit of an AC-3 White Heron fighter jet, which, being capable of flying roughly 580 mph and armed with dual maser cannons akin to Kiryu's, gives Akane an added level of protection. The deepest secret regarding Mechagodzilla, however, is not so much Akane herself, but more the nature of her mech's very being. Created from the remains of the original Godzilla, its spirit inhabits the mecha and can wrest control of Kiryu from Akane whenever it pleases.
Be it kaiju or kaiju hunter who controls the mecha, Kiryu has exceeded all expectations laid upon it. Kiryu has survived its own Absolute Zero Cannon and the atomic breath of Godzilla when not avoiding it at speeds of Mach 2. In terms of strength, the cyborg Godzilla has thrown its fully organic foe without any strain on its behalf, all the more impressive when considering said Godzilla weights 25 metric tons. Meanwhile, Akane is a sterling example of a pilot, and one well qualified to command Kiryu; while carrying the 60 thousand-ton kaiju Anguirus via the White Heron, she managed a flight from Alaska to Russia at Mach 46. It seems like Japan would have no kaiju to fear with Kiryu on call, but sadly, all this power and overwhelming weaponry surrounding it comes at a hefty price. The internal battery that powers Kiryu can only function for up to two hours at a time; using the higher-end features like flight and the Absolute Zero Cannon will drain the battery life further, with the latter consuming nearly half of the total battery through a single use. On the field, the White Heron can use its maser cannons to supply Kiryu with a quick boost of energy, but the mecha is otherwise forced to operate off of its own power. In addition, whenever the spirit of the original Godzilla takes control of Kiryu, Akane is unable to operate it, leaving her with only the fighter jet at her disposal. Thankfully, Akane and Kiryu itself seem to have developed a kinship, seeing each other as a tortured soul longing for a greater purpose. Through this bond, they continue to serve their nation proudly, even in the face of the mysterious monsters that continuously threaten its very existence.
These machines and the pilots behind them stand at the edge of a mythic arena; one a veteran seeking his second chance at glory, the other a newcomer to this ring of violence that awaits her. One advertisement for the Blue Apron cooking service later, and now, it's time for a death battle!
FIGHT!
Indeed, by the time the iron doors reopen, an abandoned nuclear power plant already bears host to the carnage unfolding within its boundaries, as the Dragonzord, Tommy Oliver's prized robot, begins an ominous march forward. A laser of radiated energy whose brightness rivals the setting sun behind it staggers the zord for a second; the source of such power, the mecha of kaiju origin known as Kiryu. A pair of nightmarish screeches echo through the empty scenery as Tommy repays Kiryu's advance with one of his own, a barrage of missiles hidden in the zord's fingertips. Both mecha recover from their respective hits and prepare to close the distance.
The mechanical frame that surrounds Godzilla lumbers forward and, in close combat, picks up the pace of the fight with a wide slash of its claws. A second volley of fingertip missiles forces Kiryu to stumble backwards, giving the Dragonzord time to recover. With a sweeping strike of its tail, the Dragonzord sends Kiryu rocketing into a stone building, crushing the masonry into rubble. From the safety of the White Heron, Akane Yashiro is aghast at the circumstances tilting so heavily against her; Tommy, meanwhile, cheers his zord on before pressing a hind leg against Kiryu's vulnerable frame. The Japanese mecha feigns vulnerability a second longer before firing twin maser cannons from its gaping maw. The force of the attack leads to the Dragonzord nearly losing balance, stopped only by steadying itself against a smokestack; said chimney is thrust into Kiryu's mouth immediately after. The resulting buildup of energy leads to a shockwave that shakes the battleground with its force. A railgun emerges from the right forearm of the Mechagodzilla before being plunged into the Dragonzord, arcs of blue lightning coursing brilliantly through the zord's frame. The saurian robot shrieks in agony before backing away. Seeing that Tommy's offensive has left Kiryu none the worse for wear, Akane turns the mecha's jetpack on, setting Kiryu upright. As the cyborg kaiju leaps away from a second tail swipe by the Dragonzord, the distance between the two robots grows to such a length that permits Kiryu to unleash a salvo of missiles directly at Rita Repulsa's traitorous warrior.
The fin resting atop the head of the Dragonzord lets loose a wave of energy that intercepts the rockets midflight, forcing Kiryu to activate its jetpack once more, this time launching it directly at the Green Ranger. The force behind the jetpack is such that Tommy and the zord topple over backwards upon impact, giving Akane the opportunity to close the fight early. Activating the chest panels on the cyborg, the Absolute Zero Cannon is primed. Tommy comes to his senses in time to see the cobalt orb that grows increasingly larger. The Ranger sees this for the finishing blow it is, and with a stomp from the Dragonzord, the kaiju's charging process is interrupted by an eruption from the ground beneath it. Akane watches the developments unfolding and rushes in to aid her mech, the White Heron soaring past a neighboring wood and opening fire on the Dragonzord after. The fighter jet deftly evades the attempts from the Ranger's mech to fight back, until a barrage of missiles slams directly into the jet's right wing. Akane's pleas for Kiryu to continue fighting are cut short as her uncontrolled descent leads to her crashing back into the turf below. The Japanese dragon's eyes grow dim as its head droops in inactivity. The Dragonzord, meanwhile, makes a charge towards its incapacitated victim, but its preemptive roaring is met with the mecha's eyes coming back to life with a murderous red tint; the spirit of the original Godzilla has come to the aid of its successor, taking control of its frame.
Energy claws surge out from the Mechagodzilla's limbs as it catches the Dragonzord off guard with a pair of slashes and another round of maser cannon fire keeping the zord in place. Just as the Dragonzord once marched forward, assured of its victory, so too does Mechagodzilla stomp directly towards its foe, culminating in a pair of upwards swipes and a close-range shot of maser cannon fire; the latter is just enough of a setback to blast the Dragonzord back slightly. The cyborg dinosaur leaps away from a series of missiles from both the Dragonzord's hands before catching it in close quarters and dragging the Dragonzord through the dirt, repeatedly slamming a retractable blade into its chest. The onslaught continues as Kiryu shoves the zord through a girder and, grabbing it by the tail, hurling the Dragonzord into a cooling tower. Tommy is quick to realize how outclassed he is in this current situation, and drawing the dragon dagger, plays a series of blaring notes that summon reinforcements. From seeming nothingness does a trio of zords arrive; their forms a saber-toothed tiger, triceratops, and mastodon. The Dragonzord readjusts itself to accommodate the presence of the following three zords combining themselves to its frame, presenting the Godzilla-possessed Kiryu with the Dragonzord's fighting mode. Enthusiasm courses through Tommy as the empowered Dragonzord draws its spear and points it at Kiryu as a challenge.
The robotic kaiju storms forward once more, sidestepping the ensuing plunge and slamming its tail into the combined zord's legs. Another blast from the maser cannons is met with a hook to the face knocking Kiryu's beam away, the robot soon prostrating before the zord. Ripping the spear out the ground, Tommy pushes the offensive further, parrying Kiryu's swipes and pummeling him with the polearm. A wild downwards swing, however, is an attack that the cyborg leaps over, but the setback gives Tommy the chance to channel immense amounts of energy through the spear. One final thrust, and the polearm is ran clean through Kiryu. Electricity flares wildly from the behemoth as it groans in agony. Even as Kiryu pulls the spear through itself, Tommy continues to push the attack until the Dragonzord finds itself face to face with Kiryu. Now in a much closer range, Kiryu flips open the chest panel and prepares the Absolute Zero Cannon one last time. Only now does Tommy realize Kiryu's gambit is one he fell for completely unawares and attempts to escape, but to no avail; the ensuing laser is forceful enough to freeze the Dragonzord solid and still phase through to hit the cooling tower behind it. Turned completely into ice, the Dragonzord is helpless before Kiryu, who, with a final roar, shatters Tommy and the zords into a fine powder that gently floats off into the evening skies. The monster pays only the slightest attention to the gaping hole in its chest before filling the air with a screech of victory that stretches out to the horizon.
K.O.!
Tommy has been deprived of victory once again, but as a consolation of sorts, the hosts acknowledge the match was not an easy one to reach a verdict on. The Green Ranger was much more experienced than the White Heron pilot, having several years' worth of wisdom gained from serving on various Ranger teams, and his own natural skill in martial arts exceeded Akane's, but Kiryu proved to be a more intimidating threat as far as physicality was concerned. The Megazord that Tommy triumphed over once lifted a 10 thousand ton monster, but this, the strongest feat the Dragonzord could measure up to, was over half the weight of the kaiju Kiryu could effortlessly swing around. Both mechas had phenomenally powerful and diverse arsenals, but Kiryu was better equipped for long-range confrontation, meaning it had more options for controlling the pace of the fight. The two combatants had attacks that could instantly end the other, but Kiryu's Absolute Zero Cannon could be used from a distance, while the Dragonzord's spear had to be used up close, putting the user in a risky situation. While the full potential of the Dragonzord's fighting mode is unclear, comparing it to Rita's magic provides a good estimate; the floating island she destroyed using her magic was subjected to a force equivalent to about two and a half gigatons of TNT. In comparison, the Absolute Zero Cannon could freeze multiple buildings solid while still penetrating through them; this energy output is equivalent to 128 teratons of TNT, over 49 thousand times more powerful than the highest practical estimate provided by the Dragonzord. As Kiryu survived being in the epicenter of such a blast, there is no feasible way the Dragonzord, even in its fighting mode, could put its foe down for good.
Wiz: The winner is Kiryu!
Boomstick: Mechagodzilla!
Dragonzord vs. Mechagodzilla contains examples of:
- Always Someone Better: The Dragonzord's Fighting Mode may have gone undefeated in its home series, but Kiryu was too powerful of an opponent for it, outclassing it in raw power and stats.
- Bait-and-Switch:
- Boomstick doesn't believe the comments Wiz feeds him about chickens hating music, not because it's obviously him making shit up off the cuff, but his own unfounded claims to the contrary.
- The Dragonzord's second-to-last attack appears to be the drill finisher as it charges up with electricity, only for Kiryu to jump over it with Overcrank effect. It's followed up by the real drill finisher.
- When the Dragonzord impales Kiryu on its spear, the drill head pushes further and further through, making it seem like the match will end in Tommy's favor, but then Kiryu grabs the spear...
- Battle Against the Sunset: The fight takes place in a power plant while the sun is beginning to set in the background.
- Bilingual Dialogue: All of Akane's lines are in Japanese with English subtitles.
- The Bus Came Back: All the way from his loss in season two, Tommy Oliver returns piloting a different mech. Too bad he doesn't fare much better this time.
- Call-Back:
- Boomstick's poultry science degree comes up yet again.
- After Wiz creates a two-headed cyborg goose, he and Boomstick get into an argument about whether to call it "goose" or "geese".
- Curb Stomp Cushion: Despite being heavily outclassed in the analysis, the Dragonzord especially in Fighting Mode manages to hold its own well against Kiryu, managing to shoot down its pilot Akane, and even impale it with its Finishing Move.
- Death or Glory Attack: Kiryu's Absolute Zero Cannon. It's easily the strongest weapon featured in the episode, leagues above anything the Dragonzord can perform, but it also consumes almost half of Kiryu's battery life, making it critical to land the hit.
- Magic Versus Science: Downplayed, but present. While both combatants are robots, the Dragonzord is powered by magical sources with no hard time limit, while Mechagodzilla is powered by pure technology and runs on a limited reserve of fuel. Science wins this round, as Mechagodzilla outclassed the Dragonzord in stats and weaponry despite having limited fuel and a less experienced pilot.
- Mythology Gag:
- Dragonzord cramming a smokestack down Kiryu’s mouth is a nod to its first rampage in which it broke off and ate an identical one.
- When Mechagodzilla jumps over the Dragonzord's second-to-last attack, the camera angle and its pose are more than a passing resemblance to the poster art of Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.
- Non-Lethal K.O.: According to the Q&A for this episode, both Tommy and Akane had survived the fight. Despite not showing in the animation, the script had called for shots of Tommy making a last-minute ejection and a close-up of Akane walking out of the crashed White Heron, but neither could make it in time for the final animation.
- Overcrank: The scene slows for a bit when Kiryu jumps over the Dragonzord Fighting Mode's second-to-last attack.
- Pyrrhic Victory: While Kiryu manages to defeat the Dragonzord, his pilot Akane was shot down and her fate was left uncertain.
- Running Gag: The Power Rangers character loses, but manages to take down a member of the opposing side yet again, with Noin in Tigerzord vs. Epyon, Lance in Power Rangers vs. Voltron, and Akane in this episode.
- Shout-Out
- Boomstick describes Mechagodzilla's Blades Below the Shoulders as "Assassin's Creed wrist-blades".
- He also compares Mechagodzilla itself to the Nintendo Switch: all its features are certainly impressive, but its battery life leaves something to be desired.
- Upgrade vs. Prototype Fight: A variation in that both combatants are noted to have fought supposedly superior opponents in the past only to match them and occasionally triumph.
- The Dragonzord vs. both its successor the White Tigerzord and the Thunder Megazord.
- Kiryu (the cyborg version of the original Godzilla) vs. the new incarnation of Godzilla.
