Tear Jerker / Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger

Moment subpages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned.

Little did he know it was all in his head...

While Denser and Wackier than previous seasons, Zenkaiger is not without its somber moments.

Series

No. 5-kai! The Grip-and-Grasp Sushi Tournament-kai!

• Upon hearing that Vroon might know something about Isao and Mitsuko, Kaito and Yatsude desperately press him for more details, only for him to say that he didn't actually see them — he merely heard rumors about them being at the Tojitendo base. Their expressions at having their hopes dashed can tug at the heartstrings.
  • Then there's the conversation Yatsude and Kaito have later that night, as the both of them express their doubts that Isao and Mitsuko are actually alive and well. Then there's Juran listening in to the whole thing, probably wondering about his lost family back in Kikaitopia.
    Yatsude: Funny how knowing more... just makes your worries worse.
• Despite his lighthearted nature, Kaito actually pretty broken up about his parents' disappearance, wanting nothing more than to just see them again. This leads him to act more recklessly throughout the episode, which leads to him and Juran getting stuck in seaweed. Wacky as the set-up may be, Kaito admitting to Juran that he messed up because he wasn't focusing on the task at hand is a somber sight.

No. 7-kai! The Demon Prince has a Short Fuse-kai!

• Kaito's talk with Gaon is a mix of this and Heartwarming. Despite Gaon's good intentions, he fully understands that what he did was wrong when he protected Stacy and his fake Sentai. He admits to Kaito that he just doesn't know what to do, as he didn't really think about fighting humans before.

No. 8-kai! The Other Worlds, From Door to Door-kai?!

• Whatever happened to Stacy's mother must have been horrible, as he sounds genuinely enraged and in pain when Kaito mentions Barashitara must be a really caring father.
  Stacy: You don't know a damn thing! What my mother went through... because of him...
  • There are heavy implications that his mother is dead and was left forgotten by Barashitara, when he implies the same could have happened to Kaito's parents. And he mentions too the possibility that they just forgot Kaito, like Barashitara did to him.
    Stacy: They're probably lying dead in a ditch somewhere. Just like my mother! No... the opposite possibility does exist. Maybe they weren't kidnapped, but they abandoned you! Like Barashitara did to me.

No. 10-kai! The Skies are Blue, Be It Day or Night-kai!

• Flint reveals to Kaito that Cutanner and Ricky were cursed by SDTopia, which is what led to their current SD forms. This is what then led to the Goldtsuikers trying to fight the Tojitendo on their own in order to get the Tojiru Gear that houses SDTopia, all in the hopes of turning their brothers back into humans. Even if their methods are unscrupulous as they get, Kaito understands why they're so desperate, even going as far as to relate his own struggles with theirs during a conversation with the team.

No. 11-kai! The Encroaching World Is One of Tag-kai!

• As Kaito and Flint talk, Flint reveals that she feels guilty for what happened to her brothers back on SDTopia, since she didn't stop their quarrel that led to the accident. This guilt comes up again as once more she did nothing while her brothers got cursed again as a result of another quarrel between them (this time by Onigokko Wald).

No. 15-kai! The Tubular and Sudden Retro Rewind-kai!

• Ryo's loneliness stemmed from his recent move to the city is palpable throughout the episode, often curling up to himself while muttering that he wants to go back. Magine points out that he probably never wanted to move in the first place, understanding that the lack of familiarity can really take a toll on a person, especially an impressionable child like himself.
• Stacy's first meeting with Yatsude hits him right in the feels, because her upbeat, kind nature reminds him of his mother. It shakes up him so badly he has to extricate himself from the situation before he loses his composure completely, looking on the verge of tears already.

No. 16! The Magnetic Magnetism Has Hit Its Limit-kai!

• Stacy is genuinely heartbroken after getting hit with the threat of Zocks breaking his budding relationship with Yatsude if he doesn't help with defeating Magnet World. It's either getting into trouble with his Totzitend superiors or losing what little happiness he happened to stumble into. He chooses the former and is later accosted by Gege about his "secret" in the earshot of Ijirude and Barashitara, making it a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't sort of doublesided blackmail.

No. 18-kai! The Times in Life are Short, so Fall in Love-Zenkai!

• As much as Vroon's feelings are Played for Laughs within the episode, it's still pretty sad to see him consumed with jealousy and heartbreak over a misunderstanding of Karen's feelings.

No. 22-kai! The Snickeringly Spicy Bullfighting Party-kai!

• Juran yells at Gaon for being a Boomerang Bigot, asking that if a human kid did the same thing the Zenkaiju Gear did, would he shoo them away. He could only express regret at the question.
• Yatsude brings up Isao and Mitsuko to Stacy, mentioning that they've disappeared for a decade now, but she still hasn't given up on their return. Stacy looks to have some sort of guilt while Kaito listens on, filled with hesitation.
• The utter reluctance in Stacy's voice when he tells Yatsude that he may no longer come by Colorful again.

No. 26-kai! The Remodeled Prince and the Demon Surgeon-kai!

• Kaito finds himself at odds with the team's goals of defeating Stacy with his own personal desire to see Stacy come to their side. He understands that Stacy may never come to their side, but he's still adamant that he'll be able to turn him to his side one day. This eventually gets turned into an Awesome moment when Kaito finally steels himself against the Demon Prince later in the episode.
• Kaito, the purehearted dumbass he is, just can't bring himself to fight Stacy at full strength, which Stacy takes advantage of.
• Stacy finds out that Kaito was right to believe his parents didn't abandon him, as they were actually kidnapped by Totzitend.
• Kaito mopes over whether he should tell Yatsude that about Stacy and Satoshi being the same person and if so, then how should he explain it.
• Zocks tries to convince Kaito to give up on trying to save Stacy, because that sort of disadvantage will probably kill him and he can't do that to Yatsude.
• The psychological torture that Kaito inflicts on Stacy by asking him to come back to Colorful some day, because it would made Yatsude happy.
• Kaito helplessly crying out for his mother at the end of the episode, only to find nothing at the day ends.

No. 31-kai! The Full Combination! It's a New Release-kai!

• Secchan being whited by Milk Wald’s powers is not played for laughs, with Kaito and Yatsude’s despair at him losing his memories being utterly gut wrenching.

No. 32-kai! The Topsy-Turvy Tantrum! Are You a Monkey-kai?

• The small, brief smile Stacy!Kaito gives when he is in Colorful, as he experiences the same warm environment Kaito usually lives in, surrounded by people who care about him and admire him... who are unaware that he's just Stacy in the body of Kaito. At one point, he even contemplates letting Sakasama Wald win just so that he doesn't have to go back to the same lonely life he lives at the Tozitend palace.
  • He chides himself for ever thinking that would be possible later on and even works alongside Kaito to finish Sakasama Wald and cut himself off from that option.
• As Kaito finds out, Stacy's life with the Tozitend isn't all sugar and rainbows. Despite technically being a superior officer as an enforcer, he still gets treated like crap by a Kudaiter due to his half-human nature.
• After everything is resolved and everyone returns to their original bodies, Kaito can't help but think how lonely Stacy is over at the Tozitend base. Meanwhile Stacy is atop the palace, observing the world the empire has ruined and clenching his fist.

No. 34-kai! The Pumpkin Trick-or-Treat Competition-kai!

• Stacey brushes off Hakaiser's praise, but it clearly struck a cord. Despite all efforts, he just can't hide how much he craves affection.
• The Kikanoid Zenkaigers' uncertainty at having just discovered that Hakaizer is Kaito's father Isao. They know they have to tell Kaito sooner or later.

No. 35-kai! The Brightness of ◇ a Diamond-kai?!

• What should be a happy moment of Kaito finally reuniting with his father gets quickly dashed when Stacaesar, in a moment of supposed irrational behavior, quickly takes him back to the Tozitend palace. The cries of Kaito trying to get to him before the portal closes is nothing short of heartbreaking.
• When Yatsude finds out about Hakaizer, the Kikanoid Zenkaigers immediately apologize with their whole heart for hiding the secret, unable to tell them due to the shock. The moment quickly loops to being Heartwarming when Kaito and Yatsude immediately forgive them, with Kaito resolving that they'll get his father back no matter the costs.

No. 38-kai! The Ancestors are Here! Behold the Spirit World-kai!

• Stacy finally got to see his mother again, only for her to be brainwashed into attempting to kill him by Bon Wald under Barashitara's orders. His last sight of her before she disappears is her struggling to break free from Hakaizer's grasp.

No. 40-kai! The One-shot Off-chance Dad Rescue-kai!

• Everyone was extremely frustrated that they couldn't stop Hakaizer Kai and the damage he caused, Zocks specially.
• Stacy questions Hakaizer Kai if he is truly okay with what has been done to him, only for the fully-brainwashed Hakaizer to coldly disregard his concern and refer to him as an inferior. That upsets Stacy greatly.
• Kaito and the others were ready to make their next fight with HaKaijuOh be the last, even if it meant towing him to the edge of the space or between worlds.

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