Sena is giving everyone some New Year’s towels she got as gifts from the company. While Muryou is abroad for work, Takamichi is off searching for the last Kanaema Stone under a crescent stone. With all the four Kanaema Stones, they will be able to restore Crystalia.
But first, they must deal with the horrifying Emperor. Oradin calls and reminds them that the Emperor is waiting for the Earth to rot. So it will be a while before he comes back.
Juuru asks Oradin about the final Kanaema Stone. Oradin explains that it is Kanaema Stone Illusia which bewitches people.
Just then, the alarm sounds and the Kiramagers hop on Zabyun to hurry over to where Cavity Jamen is rampaging by giving people cavities. Juuru says they will hold off on calling Takamichi for now.
Takamichi, meanwhile, meets his Uncle who proposes they engage in a Graduel once again. Takamichi obliges.
The Kiramagers take on Bechats. Zabyun scans the Jamen and says they need to drill into the tooth and destroy it from within. Juuru calls Takamichi so they can use Shiny Breaker, but he says he is busy right now.
Tametomo, Sena and Sayo try to attack the tooth themselves. But the Jamen instead shoots their teeth with painful cavities. Cavity Jamen has to go recharge, so he leaves. Zabyun whisks them back to the coconut tree.
Over in the darkness, Carantula addresses Yodonna as the Emperor. But she insists that she is only Yodonna. Just then, the Emperor calls Yodonna. And Carantula remarks that is very weird to see Yodonna talking to herself.
Back at the coconut tree, Tametomo, Sayo and Sena struggle to deal with the pain. Takamichi walks in to retrieve the items he needs for the El’Dunnarde before his Graduel with Uncle Garuza.
Fire explains that a Graduel is a Crystalian duel to determine who is a true swordsman and the El’Dunnarde is the meal that’s held before it.
Takamichi says their last duel was interrupted by Oradin. Mabushina says she heard about that. The others asks if Takamichi is sure that Garuza isn’t just setting up a trap. But Takamichi doesn’t listen.
Juuru and Shiguru follow him to the site of the duel. They watch from around the corner and see Takamichi preparing the meal while talking to a strange crescent-shaped stone.
Mabushina calls Juuru and Shiguru to tell them that Cavity Jamen has reappeared downtown. Tametomo, Sena and Sayo have to go face it on their own while still dealing with their teeth pain. They try brushing the tooth, but that obviously won’t help against existing cavities. They uphenshin to Go Go, but that doesn’t help much, especially when Garuza appears.
Juuru and Shiguru are confused when Takamichi begins eating dirt. Shiguru sees the crescent shaped stone and realizes the Kanaema Stone must be nearby and that is what might be affecting Takamichi, causing him to see illusions.
Indeed, Takamichi believes he is speaking with Uncle Garuza in Crystalia’s throne room. Takamichi is saying how he regretted how their duel ended last time. He had hoped the duel would help Garuza acknowledge him.
Takamichi was able to win two rounds, with one more point needed to win. But Oradin had appeared to stop the duel.
Oradin forbids the two of them to duel ever again and drags Takamichi away. Takamichi says it always bothered him how it played out.
Listening to Takamichi tell the story, Shiguru reasons that the Kanaema Stone is feeding off of Takamichi’s regrets to create the illusion. Tametomo calls to tell them about the real Garuza popping up.
Juuru and Shiguru try to get Takamichi to snap out of it, but Takamichi sees them as Bechats and fights them. Juuru calls Zabyun who gets shot with cavities before grabbing Garuza in his mouth and speeding off to the crescent dunes where he drops him off.
Takamichi is confused at seeing two Uncles. Juuru hopes this will get Takamichi to snap out of his illusion. But Takamichi believes the illusionGaruza is the real one since he remembers the duel.
Garuza actually does remember the duel, but not the way Takamichi does. At the same time Oradin is telling Mabushina the story as well. Garuza was actually about to kill Takamichi, but Oradin had stepped in just in time.
Garuza had wanted to deal with Takamichi before he became a nuisance to him. Garuza sends a slash at them. Juuru and Shiguru leap to get him out of the way as the attack slices the crescent stone in half, revealing the Kanaema Stone. Juuru grabs it.
Takamichi finally snaps out of his illusion. Garuza proposes they have their Graduel rematch right now. Juuru and Shiguru says they need to go help the others. But Takamichi says he must face his Uncle. He gives Shiguru Shiny Breaker in exchange for a sword.
Shiguru hurries over with Shiny Breaker as Takamichi and Garuza prepare to duel.
Garuza again tries to cheat, but Takamichi is ready this time. Uncle Garuza is shocked by Takamichi’s skills, but Takamichi says it’s because his Kiramental is so strong now. Takamichi is able to win when he grabs Garuza’s sword.
Juuru celebrates the win and the Kanaema Stone. But Yodonna arrives and whips it out of his hand. Takamichi tries to get it back, but Yodonna whips him away. Emperor Yodon again calls and tells Yodonna and Garuza to fall back as Smog Jouki whisks them away.
Episode Thoughts
This is definitely a quintessential Kiramager episode. A goofy MOTW premise on the surface, but with a deeper, more dramatic story lurking underneath. It was a wonderful episode for Takamichi and definitely showed us a lot more about the Crystalia Family dynamics.
Though I was kinda hoping for a bigger episode at first after the Episode 37 bombshell. But I remembered that Sentai usually likes to take a breather after a big episode like that.
The Cavity Jamen story was funny and it worked very well with the Takamichi aspect of the episode. They needed his drill, but they couldn’t get it. And in the end he swapped his drill for Shiguru’s sword. So that’s a great, creative way to mesh the two sides of the episode together.
Takamichi and Uncle Garuza’s story though is very fascinating. I really like the way it played out. It definitely adds more to that dynamic. We know Uncle Garuza has manipulated Takamichi. But we see that it goes a lot deeper than that. Some hatred and resentment toward him. Or even toward Oradin, but deciding to take it out on his nephew. That’s very heavy stuff.
But the fact that King Oradin was well aware of Garuza’s evil is such a contrast to the relative brightness of Crystalia. There’s this lurking darkness in the shiny kirakira kingdom, but they didn’t do much about it. Very interesting. And I hope they play around with that in these final episodes. I’d love to see a Garuza-Oradin final battle somewhere. Give Oradin his old body, even if temporarily. And see the brothers face off. It would be amazing. Especially with Kiramager‘s amazing fight choreography and direction.
It was great insight into Takamichi as well. They were able to use the Kanaema Stone’s ability to give us that peek into Takamichi’s mind. That he’s been holding the emotions about that duel inside of him while also having to deal with the fact that he was manipulated by Garuza, that’s a lot. And if it were any character to have that level of depth, Takamichi is the perfect one.
I liked how Carantula pointed out the oddness of Yodonna talking to herself. Looks like they’ll be touching upon it more next episode, that is, the Emperor’s other form or whatever. So exploring how that whole set-up works will be good.
Overall, another great episode. Great character moments for Takamichi. A fun, silly MOTW. Very enjoyable.
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2 thoughts on “Recap: Mashin Sentai Kiramager, Episode 38 – Watching My Uncle’s Moon”
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Kiramager does such a good job with it’s character eps. Plus, as you said in your review, there was clearly a darkness lurking underneath Crystallia for awhile.
Yes! I believe having strong characters can help elevate a season. And good character eps does that. Coupled with a solid overall story, it helps make Kiramager that much stronger.