Recap: Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger, Episode 29 – Do You Know The Prince’s Goal?

Grandma Yacchan treats Magine to a limited time pastry and says not to tell the boys about it. Nearby, Stacey appears and wants to battle Kaito. But Kaito’s got a delivery to make and asks Stacey to wait at the shop where Grandma Yacchan would be thrilled to see him.

Stacey tells him to shut it. If that’s the case, Kaito says, he’ll just have to defeat Stacey and bring him to the shop himself.

Secchan tells the others what’s happening. The boys hurry over while Magine excuses herself from Grandma Yacchan. Yacchan wonders when the others will ever get a chance to just relax.

Just then, Tennis World arrives and begins turning people into tennis balls. Grandma Yacchan ushers everyone to safety and stands up to the Tojitendo. But she realizes she doesn’t have a Geartlinger. Hearing the commotion, Magine returns just as Grandma Yacchan gets turned into a ball.

Zox arrives and takes on Tennis World. The Tojitendo says he can only be defeated by tennis itself and declares Zox is no match for him.

Magine hurries over to the where the guys are fighting Stacey. They all gather around the Yacchan-ball. Stacey seems concerned as well, but leaves back to the palace.

Barashitara assures Bokkowaus that Tennis World will succeed. Bokkowaus and Gege use Barashitara as a tennis ball and Stacey is annoyed that his father’s plan ruined his own.

Back at the shop, Magine feels guilty and apologizes to Grandma Yacchan who says it is not her fault. Anyway, Zox tells the Zenkaigers that they will need to learn how to play tennis in order to defeat the Tojitendo.

They head to the tennis court. Zox believes he’s got the hang of tennis after having read The Pirates of Tennis, so he decides to coach the others. But when Zyuran, Vroom, Gaon and Magine give it try, they are horrible. An annoyed Zox tells Kaito to play him and they do a bit better.

Zox says they must treat tennis like a martial art and Kaito understands that you can use tennis to deliver a knockout punch. That is what they will train the others on today.

Stacey watches as the Zenkaigers go through intense, albeit random, training. He is unsure if any of this will help save Grandma Yacchan.

Stacey flashes back to his childhood when his mother taught him how to play tennis. “Am I going to let Barashitara take someone from me… again?!”

Tennis World once again appears downtown and tries to make more balls. But the Zenkaigers arrive, armed with their rackets. Tennis World teleports them all to a special tennis court.

Tennis World and Zyuran are first to face off. And with the help of a biased chair umpire and exploding balls, Tennis World is able to easily beat Zyuran, Gaon, Magine and Vroom.

Zox realizes this is just like how it played out in the manga. Kaito steps up for the next match, but Tennis World suggests they play 2 against 1. In reality, Tennis World splits into two for an explosive doubles match.

Kaito and Zox both henshin and Zox goes Super. That allows them to finally return some of Tennis World’s serves. But Tennis World is still too powerful and forces them to dehenshin.

Neither Kaito nor Zox are ready to give up though. But just then, Stacey Satoshi jumps in and tells them to step aside to let the pro handle this. The others comment on how great he looks in this style, almost like a prince (…of tennis).

Satoshi has a much easier time going up against Tennis World. Zox says Stacey has mastered the fundamentals of tennis. Stacey says he just loves the sport, but hates Tennis World.

Stacey hits an ace right at Tennis World’s face, breaking his mask which gave him immortal tennis skills. Stacey leaves the rest to the Zenkaigers who henshin and finish Tennis World off.

All the ball people return to their normal forms. Kaito thanks Satoshi who knows he did it for Grandma Yacchan. Stacey tells Kaito to be ready for their next battle.

Before Stacey leaves, Zox says he can be pretty fun sometimes. Stacey tells him to shut up and leaves.

A Kudaitest arrives and steps on the Gear to turn into Dai Tennis World. Kaito and Zox transform into Zenkaiju-Oh, but are immediately forced to separate. Vroom and Magine step in and combine. With Kaito in the cockpit, they are able to serve up an ace to defeat Dai Tennis World for good.

Back at the shop, Grandma Yacchan thanks them for saving her and gives them all fresh towels.

Grandma Yacchan is excited when she hears Zox say Satoshi’s tennis was really good. Kaito tells her that he believes Satoshi will be able to visit the shop one day soon.

Pacing around Ijirude’s lab, Stacey questions what’s wrong with him that he did what he did. Suddenly, a strange newcomer pops out of the floor and Ijirude introduces him as an experimental soldier.

Episode Thoughts

Very happy to see an episode with a bit more character and plot development for a change. Though we definitely didn’t get any more clues about Stacey’s connection with the Goshikidas, we did get a peek at his childhood. It’s funny, up to this point, I never really imagined Stacey as a child. And the fact that he actually was a young child at one point. He’s talked about how his father Barashitara was a jerk while he was growing up. But I never really thought about his childhood and how it would relate to the mystery.

Especially after Ijirude rebuilt him, essentially, a few weeks ago, it was very interesting to see Stacey as a kid since it’s like he was just built in a lab or something. But that insight into Stacey’s past as well as showing his confusion, or at least his questioning of what he really feels, is great.

On a nitpicking point, I kinda wish Kaito was more curious about Stacey and Grandma Yacchan’s connection. The show seems to have just continued to play on Kaito being a nice, happy guy who sees the good in Stacey and his bond with Yacchan. But it would be nice to see Kaito do some thinking with his head a bit more rather than just his emotions. By now, he’d have to wonder why Stacey has a soft spot for his grandmother.

Anyway, it was great to see Grandma Yacchan be part of the plot of the episode as well. The tennis theme was a nice, creative story. And it was fun to see the Easter egg references to Atsuki Mashiko having been in the Prince of Tennis musicals.

Overall, another fun and enjoyable episode with some nice character moments to help fill out the foundation for future story.