Recap and Hindsight Review: Shuriken Sentai Ninninger, Episode 47 – To the Future Without Hiding, Wasshoi!

Ninninger 47

Despite the Finishing Shuriken of the End starting to tear the world apart and their Ninpou on the fritz, the Ninningers continue to fight on.

Nagi and Fuuka continue to pilot ShurikenJin against the embiggened zombies. Kasumi, Kinji and Yakumo continue fighting the Jukkarage and Hyakkarage.

Takaharu takes on Kyuuemon 2.0. They battle, but Kyuuemon is able to overpower Takaharu who collapses to the ground.

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Takaharu tries to remind Kyuuemon that he was once Grandpa’s student too. But Kyuuemon says it was just so he can get the Finishing Shuriken of the End. Just like Grandpa used him as a stepping stone for Father.

Takaharu disputes that. Thinking about the cousins’ own experience, he’s sure Grandpa was hoping that through competition and supporting each other, Kyuuemon and Tsumuji would help each other grow and become comrades.

Kyuuemon doesn’t want to hear such nonsense. He is about to cut him right down the middle, but Kasumi and Kinji arrive just in time.

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Nagi, Fuuka and Yakumo quickly jump in. Kyuuemon thinks they can’t do anything to him without their powers. But Yakumo says they can as long as the six of them are together.

Together, the cousins dig deep to bring out the Nintality that’s still in their bodies. The overflowing Nintality allows them to henge.



The Ninningers charge toward Kyuuemon and the battle is on.

The cousins work together, perfectly in sync to absolutely overwhelm a dumbfounded Kyuuemon. These kids aren’t even Grandpa, so how can they be beating him like this? Yakumo says they’ve always worked to surpass their grandfather.

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They deliver a huge Chouzetsu Shocking Explosive Slash which easily counters Kyuuemon’s attack. Incredibly immense explosions as the Ninningers deliver the definitive slashes… that force Kyuuemon back to his base form.

Kyuuemon laments the fact that he was supposed to surpass Igasaki Yoshitaka.

The cousins watch as Kyuuemon stumbles on the ground.

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Takaharu dehenges and approaches Kyuuemon. He asks, “Could it be… that you admired Grandpa?”

Kyuuemon scoffs at the idea and tries to deny it. The cousins also come close.

“You also wanted to become the Last Ninja. If you wanted to surpass Grandpa, then you’re just like us.”

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Takaharu says his admiration for Grandpa is what drives him. Maybe it’s the same for Kyuuemon?

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Kinji says while it was Kyuuemon’s destiny to become a student of Yoshitaka, wasn’t Kyuuemon just trying to reclaim his family. They both were wandering alone, but Yoshitaka-sama took them in and gave them the home they were looking for.

Kyuuemon starts to realize what he has been repressing all this time, that he may have indeed admired Grandpa. He remembers the happy times he had with Tsumuji and Yoshitaka.

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Suddenly, a Sealing Shuriken twinkles from inside his sleeve. It’s the Sealing Shuriken Grandpa had which Kyuuemon took.

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It morphs into a Green Nin Shuriken! Could it be Grandpa saved this for Kyuuemon? Hoping Kyuuemon would return as his student? Kyuuemon cannot believe it.

Suddenly, Kibaoni roars in and says Kyuuemon cannot escape his fate. It’s time for Kibaoni to suck Kyuuemon in just like he did everyone else. That was his only purpose anyway, a mere tool for Kibaoni’s own ambitions.

Kyuuemon drops the Green Shuriken as Kibaoni absorbs him and embiggens.

The Ninningers cannot believe how disgusting Kibaoni has been, using his family as mere pawns. They hop into Gekiatsu Dai-Oh.

Ninninger 47

The cousins will not give up and have a firm resolve to put an end to Kibaoni Gengetsu once and for all. Kibaoni says he will make them regret being born Igasakis, but the cousins don’t budge. They will be ninjas to the end, no matter what. Takaharu adds that Kyuuemon is the same.

The sentiment reaches Kyuuemon inside Kibaoni’s body and he manages to eject himself, weakening his father.

This allows the Ninningers to deliver the final strike. Kibaoni Gengetsu just laughs and says even if he’s defeated, he will return one day to destroy the old world.

Kibaoni Gengetsu explodes and it reverberates over Tokyo.

Ninninger 47

A weak Kyuuemon is on the ground, holding the Finishing Shuriken of the End. He hates to do it, but admits that he lost to the Igasakis.

He looks up and suddenly sees Grandpa smiling as he reaches out a hand to him.

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Kyuuemon reaches toward Grandpa and shines away.

The cousins watch as ghastly moans fill the world still being eaten away even with Kibaoni gone.

Ninninger 47

The Finishing Shuriken of the End appears in front of them since they are all the Last Ninja. Kasumi suggests they spin it and wish for a peaceful world. But Takaharu says no. They should wish for a world without the Finishing Shuriken. That way, the world won’t be able to be destroyed by it.

And of course without the Finishing Shuriken of the End, there would be no need for the Last Ninja title. Takaharu knows that and it doesn’t matter, this is what they have to do.

The cousins each grab a piece of the Finishing Shuriken of the End and spin, wishing for a world without it.

Ninninger 47

The Shuriken shines bright over the world. The Kibaoni castle disappears and everything is back to normal.

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The Finishing Shuriken of the End disappears as well.

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Fuuka asks if Takaharu is okay with this. Of course, he’ll just become the New Last Ninja.

Kasumi agrees, she can just become the Last Tech Ninja. Fuuka wants to be the Last Idol Ninja. Kinji will be the Last Worldwide Ninja and Nagi will be the Last Helping Hand Ninja.

Ninninger 47

Fuuka says Yakkun can be the Last Magic Ninja.

Takharu holds the Green Shuriken and says to “Be a ninja even when you’re reborn.”

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Back at the dojomanse, Takaharu tries sneaking out with his backpack, but is stopped by Kinji who sees him. Kinji, however, was also planning to leave without anyone else knowing.

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Yakumo has his luggage and is surprised to see Takaharu and Kinji there too.

Nagi tosses shurikens at Kasumi who was hiding as the wall. She too is packed and wanting to return to her lab.

Father and Fuuka poof in.

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Takaharu says he has to train immediately since he is the New Last Ninja. He apologizes to his little sister. She turns to hide her sadness and says it’s alright. She’ll be happy he’s gone anyway.

Nagi says he thought they’d always be together. Yakumo says they won’t be apart for long. They are family, after all. Kasumi knows they will return to this dojo.

So let’s gather here in two years, Father says, to see who’s become the strongest. They all agree.

Ninninger 47

Fuuka suggests they do Rock paper scissors to see who leaves first.

We see the cousins in their post-Kibaoni life.

Ninninger 47

Yakumo is teaching magical Ninpou in England, but it’s definitely not easy.

Ninninger 47

Fuuka is auditioning for Police Reporter Pescatore 2 and uses Cloning Technique to try and impress the casting directors.

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Nagi is at school when his friends ask him to come play soccer with them.

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Kinji has an oden car in a foreign country.

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Kasumi is at the lab using her Nin Shuriken to conduct an experiment.

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Takaharu has four young pupils he is training with.

Ninninger 47

Episode Thoughts

“DAMN!”

That’s my immediate reaction to this episode.

So first of all, I love when I’m wrong about my expectations when it comes to stories. Especially when what actually happens absolutely exceeds my expectations in the best way possible.

That’s definitely what happened. I don’t think this finale could’ve been any more pitch perfect.

So, one quality I love about any story is one that gets me to feel emotions. Whether it’s happy or sad, if it can get me to really feel and make me feel the story I am reading or watching, then it’s a winner for me.

I cried my eyes out for half of ToQger last year (oh Queen Kobayashi!), most especially in the final episodes. But that was definitely not the case for Ninninger this year. I’ve enjoyed the story, most of all, the episodes that focused on their family and bond. But it wasn’t until this final episode that really got me to turn on the waterworks.

Opening scene, I was already tearing up.

I’ve pointed out in the last couple of weeks how much I wanted to see more flashbacks about Kyuuemon entering the dojo and all his interactions with Grandpa and Father. And when we got to the penultimate episode last week, I was definitely sad that the opportunity for all that passed. So how shocking was it for me to see that there was a perfectly good reason we didn’t see any more flashbacks.

I already knew something was up when we got the Kyuuemon battle at the start of the episode instead of as the decisive battle. You couldn’t help but feel sorry for Kyuuemon after the Ninningers knocked him down from his ultimate form.

I think why this part was effective, seeing the cousins stop and just watch him instead of finishing him off right there, was because Kyuuemon was never all that slimey and evil and disgusting (like his father and half-brother were). Sure he “finished off” Grandpa last week, though you can make the argument that he was already dead anyway. And Grandpa knew it. He’s been disappearing more and more every week and was eager to either get the grandkids ready or just go at it himself. But Kyuuemon’s acted mainly with the sole intention of doing everything to revive his father and bring their clan to power. That was his fate, his destiny.

But like the cousins did, maybe Kyuuemon could have changed his destiny as well.

Now, as soon as Takaharu walked toward Kyuuemon, my tears started freely flowing. We didn’t get to see any of Kyuuemon as a young boy because it would’ve spoiled the truth about him. And what a truth that was!

All those face offs with Grandpa, all his talk of wanting the Finishing Shuriken of the End. It was all because he wanted a family! Grandpa and Father welcomed him into their home. While there certainly could’ve been a little more to emphasize Kyuuemon’s feelings, I think we get the main point. Maybe he already found a family.

The green Shuriken just capped it all off. And Grandpa welcoming Kyuuemon to the great light? Come on now. I just lost it right there. Yeah, I was crying. MaGMCMs everywhere.

One of my biggest criticisms of the season was how Grandpa was being all too mysterious and how his competition and egging on his grandchildren felt forced and hollow. He came off as a douche. But as we saw, maybe it was just to push his grandchildren to better themselves and each other. It was the same for Tsumuji and Kyuuemon. We’ve seen Grandpa feel regret and guilt about Kyuuemon, even before he was revealed as his student.

But as Father realized last week, Grandpa had complete faith that his son and grandchildren would choose the right path. And not make the same mistakes he made in the past.

Not to mention the idea of working as a team instead of alone. They regularly touched on that with Kinji early on and of course in the Last Ninja competition. I always hoped the Last Ninja would end up having them all working together instead of just one person being the star. And that’s exactly what they happend. Thankfully.

That’s a pretty satisfying conclusion though, isn’t it? It brought the whole season full circle.

I didn’t mind the simple defeat of Kibaoni because he’s an asshole anyway and deserves to rot in Ganma hell. Sucking his own wife and children into himself. Ugh.

That did, however, make it such a sweet piece of justice when Kyuuemon bailed on his father which allowed the Ninningers to defeat him.

See! Family theme!

The epilogue was nice and I assume they setup the V-cinema and next year’s Vs. movie with the Green Shuriken and meeting up after two years.

For the other stuff in this episode…

That finale helmetless roll call/henge was awesome! That overflowing Nintality scene right before was amazing too. But while last year’s roll call with the ToQgers was epic, this came pretty close.

Then the HUGE explosions when they attack Kyuuemon was even more insane than last week’s battle between Grandpa and Kibaoni. The music was on point in the scene too.

And drones!

Plus fun fact! The movie Fuuka was auditioning for was the sequel to the movie the ToQgers stumbled onto and Kagura directed! Hehe.

Just an overall great finale. I loved it. It couldn’t have been any better.

 


Hindsight Review

Now for my Hindsight Review, I think I touched on a lot of what I liked about the season above already.

So I didn’t really follow the general sentiment of the fandom during the season. That’s why I was shocked there was debates over whether or not Ninninger should even be adapted to Power Rangers since some fans thought it was pure trash.

Like Go-Busters and ToQger before, I don’t really care what others think about a season and don’t allow those negative opinions to affect my own feelings. If I like or enjoy something, why would I let someone else discourage me from feeling that way? I’m not going to base my opinion of something just because someone has been proclaimed the all-knowing opinion-setter in the fandom or something like that. They can express and defend their opinion, as can I, no problem.

So I don’t really know what people’s problems with the season were.

For me, I didn’t really have many big problems. I’ve pointed out my annoyance with Grandpa’s shadiness all season. But these last few episodes certainly put things into a new perspective that actually fits and makes sense as opposed to feeling too late or forced. (HELLO DRIVE!)

I also felt like there wasn’t much direction with the villains early on. We didn’t know what the Finishing Shuriken of the End could do even though we knew the villains wanted to resurrect Kibaoni Gengetsu. But Kyuuemon was that one constant throughout the season. He (originally a She!) developed quite well I think. Though I definitely would’ve delved deeper into his time with the Igasakis.

The placement of that revelation in this finale was good as it delivered a final surprise. But I think there would’ve been a lot of great story there, even if they used these last couple of episodes to explore it. I think the Kyuuemon “redemption” played out well and I enjoyed it as it was. But there was definitely possibility for more if they wanted and deliver an even bigger emotional punch.

As it was though, the finale brought the season’s entire theme full circle.

I firmly believe this season was all about family. The Ninningers were family and they served as the contrast to what became of the Kibaonis. Like seriously, Gengetsu and Mangetsu are two of the most despicable villains I’ve ever seen on toku. You can’t even love to hate them. You just plain hate them.

When I had doubts about the direction of the main story or while Grandpa was being all sketchy, the familial bond between the cousins (Kinji included and sometimes Father when he was around) helped carry the show through. Many episodes either reinforced that familial bond or used the family ties to deliver some fun adventures.

One of my criticisms for Kamen Rider Drive was that they lacked the bond between the main group/team to really make an impact on the finale. And even if everything else was falling apart, as long as you got a great emotional bond with and between the main team, the show should be perfectly enjoyable.

Ninninger did that. There weren’t many conflicts between the cousins. Just like last year with the ToQgers too. They already have an established bond and connection. The ToQgers were childhood best friends. The Ninningers are blood related. No need to force them through various conflicts and tension to build up their teamwork. They were already close friends.

Any conflict between them was because of Grandpa’s Last Ninja competition. And one can argue, Grandpa did that to really train them and build them up to get them ready for the big final battles.

I felt that connection with the Ninningers. Family is definitely very important to me, so seeing family play out here on Super Sentai was great. I enjoyed it very much and would love to see Power Rangers Ninja Steel incorporate some family aspect as well.

So while Ninninger was certainly not perfect (Go-Busters and ToQger are safely tied as #1 for me), I fully enjoyed the season and liked how it developed. My Sentai list goes Go-Busters = ToQger > Shinkenger > Gokaiger > Goseiger. And I might very well insert Ninninger between Shinkenger and Gokaiger, I enjoyed it that much.

Definitely excited for the V-Cinema!

Wasshoi!

4 thoughts on “Recap and Hindsight Review: Shuriken Sentai Ninninger, Episode 47 – To the Future Without Hiding, Wasshoi!

  1. Would you recommend this series?

    Also, I’m kinda wondering about Zyuohger. I know you covered it, but I’m too lazy to post “Would you recommend this series?” over on that review. XD

    Overall, what did you think of Ninninger and Zyuohger?

    1. I recommend Ninninger. There’s a lot of great things about the season, but I think they could’ve tightened up the overall story. Especially since the finale was actually pretty good and would’ve been amazing if they had done a little more to develop the foundation for it. I felt very satisfied by the finale though still and enjoyed the season overall.

      With Zyuohger, here are a few positives and it had lots of potential, but also lots of missed opportunities and a few things I just outright hated. I’d give it a go, especially since you can binge on it now. It’s middle of the road.

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