Recap: Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, Episode 1 – Que Bon! Ryusoulger

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

Three young knights, Koh, Melt and Asuna are being entrusted with Ryusouls by their Masters to allow them to become Ryusoulgers.

Elsewhere, vlogger Tatsui Ui is recording in the “Amazon” which is actually the Aokigahara Forest in Japan. She says she is searching for a mythical village.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

Koh pops up behind her to ask what she’s doing. But Master Red quickly pulls him back to their world (?).

Master Red reminds Koh that they mustn’t talk to strangers and they must focus on their responsibility to defeat the Minosaurs. Just then, they hear a scream as Ui tries to run away from Drunn Soldiers and Druidon Kureon.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

Before Kureon can attack Ui, Master Red and Koh appear, already morphed as Ryusoulgers and they wipe out the Drunns.

Kureon meets with Tankjo who says Ryusoulgers appearing means the temple is nearby.

Ui’s father, Naohisa, calls her and asks when she’ll be home from the “Amazon.” She says she won’t be able to make it home in time to cook dinner.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

The Ryusoulgers meet with the Elder and the Masters who tell the young knights about the Druidon Tribe who wanted to conquer the world. When the meteors struck Earth 65 million years ago, the Druidons fled into space. They believe the Druidons are after the great power, the Kishiryu, that lies in the temple.

The Kishiryu were ultimate weapons created by the Ryusoul ancestors to fight against the Druidons. They were sealed in the temple when the Druidons fled.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

They are now the only ones left to protect the temple.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

That night, Koh, Melt and Asuna train as they stand watch by the temple. Asuna seems a little worried.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

But Koh says it should be fine between him, Melt’s swordsmanship and Asuna’s “freakish strength.”

Asuna doesn’t take too kindly to the description and she uses that freakish strength to send Koh flying towards the rock face.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

Koh brushes himself off when he sees someone crouched over in the weeds. It’s Ui and she gives Melt and Asuna some fruit before asking what this place is.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

The Elder warns her that outsiders are not welcome here and he orders Koh to return her at sunrise after erasing her memory.

Next morning, Koh apologizes for having to do what he’s about to do. Ui asks how he’s going to erase her memory. He takes out a sledgehammer.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

Meanwhile, the three Masters affirm their confidence in the young knights, even if they can be a handful sometimes.

Just then, a huge Minosaur appears and begins rampaging in the forest.

Koh hurries back to the village. He morphs and slices at the Minosaur’s feet. He meets with Melt and Asuna as their Masters arrive as well, all morphed. Master Red tells Koh they need to enter the temple to awaken the great power.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

Master Blue, Master Pink, Melt and Asuna try to subdue the Minosaur, but they suddenly demorph. Master Blue believes someone has breached the temple and without the power, they are unable to morph into Ryusoulgers.

The Minosaur breaks free of the ball and chain and sends a powerful wave at the four on the ground, sending them flying back.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

In the temple, Tankjo senses the great power. Koh and Master Red arrive and take him on as Kureon watches.

Tankjo is too powerful, however, and easily knocks Koh and Master Red around, laughing at them reaching their limits. They are bloody and bruised, but Koh says he will never give up. He believes limits are meant to be overcome.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

Tankjo doesn’t care for Koh’s resolve and readies to send them to hell. He sends a huge attack toward Koh, but Master Red quickly gets up and uses KataSoul to protect Koh as he absorbs the attack himself.

Koh catches Master Red in his arms.

Back outside the temple, the Minosaur continues to swat the others around. Master Pink and Master Blue realizes the Minosaur is about blow fire at Melt and Asuna. The Masters quickly get up to grab the young knights and push them out of the way.

That leaves Master Blue and Master Pink right in the path of the huge ball of fire.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1 Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

Melt and Asuna regain their composure and realize their Masters are gone. They scream in despair.

The Minosaur lets out huge explosions across the landscape.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

As he breathes his last breath, Master Red tells Koh that their souls will always be one.

Koh screams out for his Master as Tankjo approaches them to finish him off. But Koh’s necklace glows and Tankjo suddenly gets slammed against the wall.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

Master Red suddenly dissolves into a bright red flame that fills a Ryusoul.

Koh screams out and morphs using the infused Ryusoul. He takes on an overwhelmed Tankjo. Kureon is amazed by how strong Koh is.

The Minosaur’s explosions hit the temple. Tankjo vows the Druidons will take back what is rightfully theirs. He and Kureon decide to leave. Koh is left in the collapsing temple, but he suddenly finds himself inside a Kishiryu!

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

KishiRyuOh bursts out of the temple. Master Red calls out to Koh and they charge forward toward the Minosaur.

Koh is able to defeat the Minosaur with a Final Blade.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

The three Kishiryu separate and Koh joins Melt and Asuna on the ground.

The Elder appears and tells them that even without the temple, the power is still here, as are their Masters. With all this, they will protect the world.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

The Elder tells them there are two other Ryusoulgers who left the village long ago, but together, they will be an even stronger force.

Koh, Melt and Asuna morph.

Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger Episode 1

Episode Thoughts

Wow! That was a pretty great premiere. So exciting and lots of fun.

I must admit, I wasn’t really all that excited for Ryusoulger. LuPat was a disappointment for me. And not being a big fan of Kyoryuger, all the similarities Ryusoulger seemed to have (if not a direct carbon copy) with it wasn’t too appealing for me. Add to that Power Rangers Dino Charge and even (the awesome) Power Rangers Dino Force Brave isn’t all that long ago either, I’m felt pretty much dino-d out. The idea of dinosaurs again felt so boring and old.

The original rumor of a team of knights was awesome and I was definitely looking forward to that. But everything else revealed after that really lessened my interest. Especially with me hoping for an improvement over Lupinranger VS Patranger.

But oh boy. This premiere really was honestly the complete opposite of what I was expecting. Maybe setting a low expectation is why I’m so hyped after this premiere. But regardless, I saw a lot of great things in this premiere.

I definitely have a great first impression about Koh, Melt and Asuna. I didn’t really care about what Towa and Banba were doing during Saikyo Battle, but if their characterizations are anything like our first three knights, then I’m sure I’ll like them as well.

With Koh especially, since we saw the most of him of course. We saw him in some goofy moments early on, but we quickly saw his heroic side for the rest of the episode. That’s always a nice balance to have for a Red.

In the opening credits, we see all five Ryusoulgers crying out. It might be a morbid thing to say, but I like that right off the bat, we see the Ryusoulgers losing someone or something so dear to them. That they have already experienced loss and hardship helps you really understand their feelings and determination to fight for justice and against evil. That loss gives a certain bit of depth and gravitas that grabs you and gets you involved in the story.

I felt the same with the Kyurangers. The galaxy has already been taken over when we first meet them and they lost people around them and/or experienced pain and loss. That made their journey and their bond with each other that much more powerful.

I think there’s definitely potential to have that same kind of dynamic here on Ryusoulger. Already something different from Kyoryuger.

The episode was absolutely packed. They crammed a lot of stuff in this premiere, but I didn’t feel like it was rushed. It definitely kept everything that much more exciting.

It was certainly an explosion extravaganza though! Are we sure Koichi Sakamoto isn’t directing this season too? lol

But interestingly, I enjoyed all the big explosions and action sequences. I doubt it’ll be like that every episode. But having all of it in the premiere gets you excited for everything else and sets the mood.

I like fluid-moving mecha. Having them nimble and running around, not blocky is fun. Not that there’s anything wrong with the huge monoliths that the megazords can be like. But having one that can run around, do flips, etc can help add something different to the mecha battles. And allows them to do more action choreography as well instead of just simple shoot here and shoot there.

With the premise itself, it’s a pretty simple set-up. Like I said earlier, there’s a certain depth now engrained in the Ryusoulgers’ motivations. But I do hope there’s also a different season-long arc and endgame that everything is pointing toward.

This premiere was all very dramatic and serious, but you can see where they can be light and funny. I’m sure Ui will be the main source for lightening the mood. But I look forward to seeing her be more involved with things as well.

Now, the ending theme though has to be the most preschool-ish thing I’ve ever seen from a Sentai! It’s fine, but definitely a huge contrast to what was a pretty heavy and dramatic episode. And what has the potential to be a very dramatic season. Maybe not the song or dance itself. I guess the animation threw me off. But it’s certainly a minor quibble.

Overall, I must say, I think I really loved this premiere. It was very exciting, emotional, fun, explosive (literally!). I want to kind of temper my excitement and now surprisingly high expectations for the rest of the season. But for now, I very much enjoyed this and am definitely looking forward to the rest of the year.

6 thoughts on “Recap: Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, Episode 1 – Que Bon! Ryusoulger

  1. Yes, yes! It was definitely strong and great premiere! Characters are cool, especially Ui LOL
    I love henshin kose and I can’t wait to see the whole team transform <3
    It was really sad when Koh, Melt and Asuna lost their masters 🙁
    Ending dance is great and I have to learn it! 😀
    I've got a feeling this can be really good season of Super Sentai <3

  2. Wow! Been a long time since I’ve watched a sentai mecha fight scene that isn’t just a shoving match. I’m also liking how fluid the transition between the CGI and in-costume mecha scenes are. LuPat was really bad at this, where the CGI mecha moved fast, then awkwardly slows down for the suit fights. Man, if this is the level of mecha fight scenes they are going for the entire season, I might actually enjoy this for those alone.

    But since they are obviously ramping up the fight choreography, I hope they experiment in how the fights are incorporated into each episode as well. Kinda like what Go-Busters did, where the mecha fights are integral to the story and not just another sentai trope to fulfill.

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