Recap / Mashin Sentai Kiramager Ep 12 Wonder Drill Boy

Wonder Drill Boy

Original Airdate: June 28, 2020
Written by: Naruhisa Arakawa
Directed by: Katsuya Watanabe

Summary:

After a string of bad luck attempting to rescue some stranded hikers on a mountain, Sayo meets a treasure-hunting guy that turns out to not only be a sixth Kiramager, but also related to someone they know.

Tropes specific to this episode:

• After Action Patch Up: In a way; Takamichi bandages up Sayo's foot after she falls off a small cliff (only seen in flashback).
• The Berserker: What the Monstone is. Being a sentient pure stone, it only acts on instinct, often moving in an erratic fashion until it combines with a lifeform; in this case being the MOTW.
• Big "WHAT?!": Essentially the remaining Kiramagers' reaction to the cheek kisses between Takamichi and Sayo. What makes this even more hilarious is that they pull this off twice in short order.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Meteorite Jamen barely gets a hand on Takamichi before the latter utterly destroys him.
• Defeat Equals Explosion: Meteorite Jamen gets this spectacularly thanks to Takamichi. What makes this notable is that he goes up in a fiery, gigantic explosion - even more so than the usual Sentai explosion - probably as a reference to his meteorite-based powers.
• Idiot Ball: Sayo does this at the beginning, leaving her Changer for maintenance to head to a mountain rescue and then promptly forgetting she did so when passing up the offer of the medical staff to transport her back intending to just call Helico which she can't do without her Changer. She even lampshades it wondering how she could have possibly made two stupid moves like that in a row.
• Luke, You Are My Father: Mabushina reveals at the end that Takamichi is her brother.
• Foreshadowing: There are a few notable instances that foreshadow to Takamichi's true nature:
  • When attempting to leave Sayo again for the second time, he references the Crystallian myth of the slender-legged maiden; the same exact myth Mabushina referenced in the beginning of the episode.
  • Takamichi instantly recognizes the Monstone when it first appears, unlike Sayo obviously has no idea what it is.
  • Muryo and Fire seem to know who he is from the get-go, with the former not looking particularly pleased.
  • He calls the other Kiramagers "kouhai-shokun" ^note  roughly meaning "juniors" , implying his Experienced Protagonist status.
• Mood Whiplash: You'd think after Takamichi and Sayo kissed each other on the cheek it'd end on a happy, yet funny note. Then Mabushina approaches Takamichi and slaps him in the face, demanding to know why he wasn't there when Yodonheim invaded Crystalia.
• Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The episode title is a reference to the 1961 film Man with the Funky Hat ^note  Fankī Hatto no Kaidanji . ^note  The Japanese title of the episode is "Wandā Doriru no Kaidanji".
• Ship Tease: A mild version with Sayo and Takamichi. Cheek kisses aside, it seems that Sayo has taken a shine to Takamichi after she saw him in combat, along with Takamichi healing her foot. Takamichi seems to like Sayo as well, calling her "Sayo-chan" and carrying her through the forest when she was injured (although she did have to do some hard convincing first). ^note  This may be a reference to the fact that Mio Kudo (Sayo's actress) helped out Kohei Shoji (Takamichi's actor) with his lines as they are close in age (in fact, their birthdays are 20 days apart), along with Takamichi being Shoji's first role ever. It also helps that literally two seconds into his first appearance, his first words to Sayo were to call her 'wonderfully cute'.
• Shout-Out: Takamichi's battle with Meteorite Jamen shout-outs this meme amongst others.
• Skewed Priorities: Takamichi is willing to leave Sayo alone on the mountain in order to pursue whatever he's looking for. It takes some convincing from her end to make him not go through with that.
• Sixth Ranger: This episode marks the debut of KiramaiSilver, Takamichi Crystalia.
• Wham Line: When Mabushina approaches Takamichi and calls him "oniisama" (older brother).