Everyone’s back at the command center. Kuroki suggests the only one who could’ve created something like that Lion is Dr. Hazuki Saburou, a researcher who is well known for designing Buster Machines. Jin says he was an eccentric man who was only interested his research and remembers interning for him. He was given bad marks on his record and was treated as a heretic because of his eccentric behavior.
Hiromu, Ryuji and Yoko decide to go to the base of a mountain where the lion was last seen. They encounter Enter chasing after a woman with some Buglars. They henshin to fight them off.
The woman turns out to be Hazuki Mika, Dr. Hazuki’s daughter. She says she knew they were coming, but it’s no use since her father is dead. She also doesn’t need their help. And they are certainly not going to get Tategami Lioh, the lion mecha they’ve been looking for. She doesn’t like them.
She describes it as a Buddyzord who decided to attack the Go-Busters on its own, meaning her father must have created it that way. Hiromu says they’ll have to shut it down then and summons CB-01.
Mika summons Lioh and they fight, but it is too powerful for Hiromu Ryuji asks Mika why she hates them and she says, “Put simply, I don’t like you. You guys aren’t even aware of the sacrifices around you.”
Back at command center, Hiromu says he was testing Lioh’s power by fighting with it and says it is much stronger than Buster Ace. Ryuji wonders what she meant by what she said earlier.
In a hangar, Mika talks to Lioh complementing it on its first fight. She flashes back to learning about her father possibly being dismissed from the Energy Management Center for being too eccentric. She vows never to let something her father put his all into get into the hands of those who “sacrificed” him.
Ryuji finds Jin in the library and shows him blueprints for a Buddyzord, a combined Megazord and Buddyroid which Hazuki was researching on his own. The lion must be the result of that research, but these blueprints are incomplete. Ryuji suggests they look over the blueprints together to try and find what the doctor was after.
“You’re sounding more confident.”
An alarm sounds at Lioh’s hangar and Hiromu is back with Ace and they fight again.
“It was my Dad’s will for you to defeat them,” Mika says to herself.
You sure about that, Ryuji asks. She points out the pain he must have felt after being sacrificed by the organization. Suddenly, Enter arrives with some Buglars.
Yoko says she’ll take care of it.
“Don’t cover me too!” she says as J offers to help. Ryuji doesn’t think she and J can handle Enter on their own, but…
“Stop always treating me like a child!”
Yoko uses Powered Custom and she and J charge as Ryuji and Jin take Mika away. Ryuji tells her Lioh was designed to link up with Go-buster Ace. It was created to match Ace’s structure. Hiromu and Ace hop onto Lioh and fits perfectly onto its back.
Suddenly, Lioh transforms into its true robot form. When it links up with Ace, its transformation program activates and it was just testing Ace’s skills before allowing it to happen.
“On one hand, your dad was probably sacrificed. But, on the other hand, you can say that he protected the spirit of his research.”
Jin says he left the organization on his own so his research would “retain its spirit.” She asks if he knew him.
Jin flashes back to presenting Hazuki with his own research and tells Mika that he was “just a brat who repeatedly challenged an eccentric.”
Meanwhile, Yoko and J work together against Enter. Yoko unleashes a Rabbit Kick, but Enter decides to retreat.
“I’m at a slight disadvantage, apparently.”
“He got away!”
“It’s not my fault!”
Hiromu and Lioh are still fighting until they punch each other’s face. Lioh collapses and reverts back to its lion form. Nick tells Hiromu that Lioh wants them to hop on. It fully accepts them, Mika says.
Suddenly, Enter pops in with Epsilon. Lioh charges ahead and converts into an ATV. Nick, translating for Lioh, says it wants Hiromu to board it.
“Here we go!”
Lioh transforms back into its true robot form.
“System all green! Mission start, Go!”
They spar with Enter until Hiromu unleashes the Lion Impact final strike to destroy Epsilon.
Hiromu brings out Lioh’s computer (?) and shows it to Mika, revealing a hologram of her father. He thanks her for protecting his research and that it’s okay for her to entrust it all to the Go-Busters… “with a ZUPAAN!”
“Dad… before you left, you should have learned to speak more normally.”
Hiromu wants to hand her the computer, but she says they can take it with them. She says seeing them fight with Lioh, she realized she might actually like them.
“This time, we’ll all carry out your father’s will.”
Later, they all walk home.
Jin complements Ryuji as being on the same level as him now, but Ryuji says he’s got a long way to go and he’s not going to become an eccentric like him and Hazuki.
Episode Thoughts
A nice little episode. They get all emotional again with Hazuki and his daughter’s story. What I wished they did though, and actually expected them to the way it was unfolding, was for Ryuji to tell Mika about the sacrifices they’ve had to make.
I think that would’ve made that whole “I don’t like you, but now I do” change from Mika a little more meaningful. It also continues showing the Go-Busters are dealing with their loss and moving on.
That’s probably the only thing I’d change about the episode.
A lot of nice little things too; J’s continued oddball behavior and Yoko wanting to prove herself. Enter’s fight with Yoko and J was great, though too short. I like that Enter is becoming more badass every episode.
Overall, a nice episode and Tategami Lioh is awesome.