Recap / Mashin Sentai Kiramager Ep 41 I Want To Be As I Am

I Want to Be As I Am

Original Airdate: January 31, 2021
Written by: Michiko Yokote
Directed by: Koichiro Hayama

Summary:

Carantula's suffering from artist's block, having no idea what to create. Yodonna forces him to create a Jamenshi, leading to him creating his best Jamenshi yet: a Maneki-Neko Jamen. Turning Juru, Sena, and Sayo into cats, the others have to figure out to get the cat Kiramagers to cooperate with them. Unfortunately Juru runs off into places unknown, leaving him to face the dispassionate Carantula alone!

Tropes:

• A Day in the Limelight: This episode surprisingly puts Carantula in focus here, giving him some surprising Character Development that leads to his Heel–Face Turn.
• Befriending the Enemy: Cat-Juru and Carantula bond over their shared interest of creating art, having fun making a giant painting together. The awakened Juru later on barely recalls this moment, but still wishes they could do more together in the future.
• Call-Back: Galza suspects Carantula's Writer's Block and eventual Heel–Face Turn was due to a split aspect of him having been destroyed back in episode 36/37.
• Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Galza is revealed to have saved Carantula at the last second, having a special request for the latter.
• Cats Hate Water: The main reason that the Kiramagers were able to defeat Cat Food Ligany and Maneki-Neko Jamen so easily is because they both hate water, stemmed from the fact that cats also hate water.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Maneki-Neko Jamen, even with his power-up, easily gets defeated by the Kiramagers as soon as he gets exposed to water.
• Heel–Face Turn: Carantula pulls one against Yodonna/Emperor Yodon for restricting and damaging his pride in his creative freedom, which was more important to him than the invasion. Emperor Yodon decides to have him killed off.
• "No More Holding Back" Speech: Carantula angrily berates Yodonna for always putting him down and hurting his pride as an artist-creator, running out on her now that he's got no more reason to obey her.
• Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: To the 2015 documentary film Ari no Mama de Itai (アリのままでいたい, "I Want to Stay as an Ant").
• Shout-Out: During his introduction to the Kiramagers, Maneki-neko Jamen utters "Wagahai wa (neko) de aru."
• Writer's Block: Carantula suffering from one is the Central Theme of the episode.
• You Have Failed Me: Angered by Carantula's sudden friendship with Juru and Heel–Face Turn, Yodon decides to execute him for his trouble.