Recap: Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger, Episode 15 – Gachon! A Sudden Retro Turn!

The Candy Café gang welcome a little boy who says he just moved to the neighborhood the other day. But he’s a little shy and runs off instead of coming in to the shop. Magine says he reminds her of herself from when she was a little girl.

Suddenly, the sound of cranking reverberates through the city and everyone and everything is thrust back into the past thanks to Retro World.

Retro World marvels at the wonderfully retro sights and sounds he’s brought about. But his enjoyment is interrupted by Zox. The Zenkaigers arrive to join in the battle, but Retro World sends a retro wave to turn the Zenkaigers themselves retro.

The Zenkaigers are surprised by their new outfits. But Zox says his new old look is perfectly fine.

Zox tries to henshin. But as the others try to point out, Retro World has turned his Geardalinger into a retro, wooden toy and thus cannot henshin. They look up at the sky to see the ship has also turned into an old retro ship and it comes crashing down. Zox runs over to check on his siblings.

While distracted, the Zenkaigers lose Retro World who manages to run away.

Over at the palace, Bokkowaus scolds both Ijirude and Barashitara for failing against the Zenkaigers and pirate all this time. So he asks if Retro World is going do any better. Neither of them know what he’s talking about because as it turns out, it was Gege who deployed the World, wanting to test out the power of the Tojiru Gears and the Zenkaigers.

Meanwhile, the citizens of Tokyo are actually enjoying the trip back in time. Grandma Yacchan sees the little boy from earlier and asks if he’s lost his way home, which is understandable considering he’s already new to the area. What more when everything changes in this way.

The Zenkaigers find Grandma Yacchan who loves their new looks, even though everything’s a mix of different eras.

The little boy, however, begins to cry, saying that he wishes he could just go home. To his old home that is. Magine understands that the little boy must not have wanted to move in the first place and is feeling lonely here since he doesn’t know anyone.

The Zenkaigers and Grandma Yacchan try to cheer him up. They ask his name and he gets as far as saying it is “Ryo.” Grandma Yacchan asks Ryo-chan if he would like to go exploring the neighborhood with her. She says what better way to spend your time than with a smile.

Watching the new friends head off for their exploration, the Kikainoids say it’s quite evident how Yacchan is definitely Kaito’s grandmother. He explains that after his parents disappeared, Grandma Yacchan was there to raise him and comfort him through that difficult time. And she always instilled hope and a smile in him growing up.

While the Zenkaigers split up to look for Retro World, Grandma Yacchan brings Ryo-chan to experience all the awesome retro things such as old TVs and a tram ride.

Nearby, Stacey regrets taking Ijirude up on his offer and decides to find a way to do things himself. He walks along and stumbles upon a curious dance group. He wonders what it is and Grandma Yacchan pops up with Ryo-chan to explain that it is a takenoko-zoku group from the 70s and 80s.

When Stacey turns to see Grandma Yacchan, a strange, bright feeling washes over him.

Grandma Yacchan says Stacey should give takenoko-zoku a try to cheer him up. Stacey says no, so Grandma Yacchan convinces Ryo-chan to join in the dance with her.

Stacey longingly looks at Grandma Yacchan and remembers his own mother. He has some kind of thought, but he shakes his head and reminds himself that his mother is already gone.

He takes one more glance before walking away.

The five Zenkaigers come back together with no luck in finding Retro World. But are at least happy to see Ryo-chan enjoying himself with Grandma Yacchan.

Retro World is excited to see everyone enjoying the retro vibes so he decides to turn it up a notch. Another retro wave sweeps over the city causing people to become lethargic and very nostalgic for the good ol’ days.

Gege explains to Bokkowaus that as people continue to be nostalgic, they will lose their ability to think straight and end up dying.

The Zenkaigers begin remembering their own good ol’ days which actually were kind of sad days that included loneliness, abuse and bullying. They snap out of it and say their lives today are much better and that they would never want to go back to their past.

Suddenly the pink phone rings and Vroom decides to answer it. Turns out it is Secchan who gives them Retro World’s location. The four Kikainoid Zenkaigers, not affected by the latest retro wave, hurry over to find him.

The Zenkaigers henshin and first take on Kudakks through the old town. They turn their attention to Retro World and are able to knock him down. But he rewinds time to before their attack and he is as good as new.

Zyuran locks in a Timeranger Gear that he borrowed from Kaito and is able revert the time back to before Retro World turned back time. The Zenkaigers then deliver a finishing blow and everything and everyone are back to their normal, present selves.

A Kudaitest arrives and steps on the Retro World Gear to become Dai Retro World who immediately turns Tokyo back into a blend of different eras from past Japan.

Zox flies in and forms Tsukai-Oh Cutanner. Kaito hops into Zenkai-Oh ZyuraGaon. But Dai Retro World is able to make them talk only with retro words. Secchan says even if they talk like that, they can still attack. When the Zenkaigers realize that, they finally get their act together and take care of Dai Retro World with a pair of finishers.

Later, Kaito, Zyuran and Gaon are heading home from grocery shopping and are happy to see Ryo-chan having fun with his new neighborhood friends. Back at the shop, Magine, Vroom and especially Grandma Yacchan are happy to welcome the excited kids in as well.

Episode Thoughts

Well then. That might have been my favorite episode of Zenkaiger so far. It was certainly the most excited I’ve been for the season so far, especially for a certain reason I will discuss in a few.

But I really love the “retro” and nostalgic vibes of the episode. It was a fun story to enable them to use that wonderful Toei studio lot again. (I hope they do more flashbacks to the Kikainoids’ youth and even Grandma Yacchan’s youth as well *wink*) And mixing different eras too was a fun little detail.

I’ve honestly been hoping for some kind of retro, time traveling (not like Zi-O lol) or set-in-the-past season of either Sentai or Kamen Rider. That’s one reason why I wish we got more of Kamen Rider Kikai (coincidence!) during or after Zi-O. Especially with the awesome Jingi Irie in the title role.

Maybe something like a steampunk-themed season. Or modern technology in a past setting. Any kind of humble, nostalgia-inducing theme is fine by me. (And by nostalgia, I don’t mean doing tributes or cameos of past seasons or continually milking Mighty Morphin for toy sales.)

So, the biggest development to come out of this episode was obviously that little moment with Stacey.

This Stacey-Grandma Yacchan connection is the most intriguing potential story so far this season. I got chills, to be honest, during that scene. It’s the kind of interesting mystery that can really get you excited. And it definitely helps that Grandma Yacchan is awesome and that I’ve been eager to get more Stacey-focus too. I really hope that goes somewhere.

Is Grandma Yacchan Stacey’s long-lost mother? Does that make Stacey Kaito’s father. Or maybe an uncle? Brother? Or perhaps it’s something completely different. Does Grandma Yacchan have a secret? It could have something to do with time travel or slowly aging or aging backwards or something crazy. Who knows.

What I do know is this is the most excited I’ve been during these first 15 episodes of Zenkaiger.

They’re clearly established that family drama is a big part of Stacey’s character and backstory. So I hope this season delivers on that potential. I’m ready for some very soapy plot twists when it comes to Stacey and the Goshikidas. Bring it on!

Also, any lipreaders who understand Japanese know what Stacey says here?

Kind of a spoiler for Zenkaiger Episode 15, if you haven't seen it yet. But does anyone, perhaps a lipreader who understands Japanese, know what Stacey says here when they do the dramatic mute? 😊 #ゼンカイジャー pic.twitter.com/JFSAvadFqi

— DryedMangoez (@dryedmangoez) June 14, 2021

I also enjoyed seeing only the four Kikainoid Zenkaigers fighting. They deserve a focus on their own without either Kaito or Zox hogging the spotlight. And they definitely got that chance here. (And see how nice Gaon is when he’s not obsessing?)

Also, how sad was it when the four Kikainoids remembered their pasts and realized that their pasts actually were horrible and they would rather live in the present on Earth. Actually, I think all Kikainoids were able to snap out of it because their lives were horrible under Tojitendo rule. So now that they are free, they definitely wouldn’t want to go back in time.

I think we’ve all reminisced about the “good ol’ days,” especially in today’s social media-heavy world. So that was a very relatable theme in this episode. But certainly kind of sad and an insightful look at the four Kikainoids and their characters. Which is very much appreciated at this point.

I kinda wish they did more with little Ryo-chan. But I suppose his main purpose was to facilitate the Grandma Yacchan-Stacey scene. It would be nice if he became a recurring character though.

Overall, I loved this episode. And I definitely haven’t said that this season yet. If all the episodes can be as enjoyable and creative as this, then WOOHOO. I know that’s not going to happen. But this episode shows that they can certainly do something great when everything comes together.

And oh yeah, spot that “45” on the street car too: