Recap / Mashin Sentai Kiramager Ep 14 The Lonely Ace

The Lonely Ace

Original Airdate: July 12, 2020
Written by: Naruhisa Arakawa
Directed by: Hiroyuki Kato

Summary:

Juru goes on a treasure hunt with Takamichi despite the latter not really wanting his company. Nonetheless, they discover a Kiramai Stone that Juru immediately takes with him, but Takamichi laughs it off. When the two are at a bathhouse, it gets destroyed and Takamichi loses his Shiny Kiramai Changer in the rubble. After remembering what Galza told him in Crystalia; that he shined the most when he worked alone, he begins to actually regret being so aloof, and decides to fight with the Kiramagers.

Tropes specific to this episode:

• Disney Death: A very brief version of this trope: When the bathhouse Juru and Takamichi were just in is literally brought to the ground, Takamichi was still inside. Sayo gets worried and runs over, but Takamichi emerges from the rubble in nothing but a towel...having lost his Shiny Kiramai Changer (and possibly his clothes) in the process.
• Evolving Credits: Takamichi finally appears in the show's opening and ending sequences (he had a brief text credit in Episode 13, but that was it). As for the ending, he feels shoehorned into the ending dance, with either his own seperate scenes with Muryou and Mabushina, or just superimposed with the main five, but that is understandable because "Kiraful Miracle Kiramager" doesn't mention Mashin Drijan...at least YET, anyway.
• Geometric Magic: Steam Locomotive Jamen is sent to blot the air with his smoke emission, forming a magic circle to spread darkness within the city.
• Heroic BSoD: After trying to find his changer in the rubble of the bathhouse, he begins to come close to one of these, lamenting his lone-wolf ways while being literally close to tears. This leads him to want to fight with the Kiramagers later on.
• Mood Whiplash: Takamichi is close to tears after standing amidst the bathhouse rubble and beginning to regret his lone-wolf attitude, when Juru comes in and begins to have a 'Hirameiking' moment (although without shouting 'Hirameiking'), sketching out Machine Duston. Takamichi gets concerned that he's just drawing his humiliation for posterity until Duston swoops in.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Steam Locomotive Jamen often says "all aboard!" ^note  aka "shupatsu shinkou!" when he's about to make his departure. He also says "please remain behind the white line" at one point.
  • Takamichi says "limits are meant to be broken" before diving back into the hot tub.
  • The Kiramagers (sans Takamichi) pull off their own form of the "Goranger Storm" with the rubble Duston collected.
• Pop-Culture Pun Episode Title: The episode title is a reference to the 2010 film The Lone Scalpel ^note  Kokō no Mesu .
• Shirtless Scene: Takamichi gets one for half of the episode due to the bathhouse being destroyed, being left in nothing but a towel covering his private parts.
• Unexplained Recovery: At least Takamichi's clothes; he's last seen in his silver/orange CARAT uniform before the bathhouse which got leveled by Steam Locomotive Jamen. In the end-credits scene with him having cleaned up the Mashin before Juru could help him, he's wearing the uniform again. However considering the fact the uniforms are made or ordered by CARAT, it isn't farfetched for them to have multiple copies for when they need to be cleaned, repaired or in Takamichi's case replaced.