Racules has ordered Gira to be captured and executed. But Yanma Gust, the king… err, president of N’Kosopa appears to whisk Gira away from certain death. Gira marvels at the flying machine dragonfly as they zoom to the technologically advanced country of N’Kosopa.
They head to the castle where a frantic Shiokara, Yanma’s personal assistant, greets them and asks what his king has been up to this time. Yanma tells Shiokara to just shut up and listen to him and calls him a tanuki.
Yanma slides his hand between his thumb and index finger to start music playing as he and Gira make their way through the building on a floating platform.
Yanma asks Gira how he was able to move KingOhger when he is the only one who has an understanding of the ShuGod system and knows it is impossible. Gira is excited to hear he is the only one able to do use it. Shiokara does not understand why Yanma allowed a fugitive here. But since Yanma is annoyed by Racules, he will not give him the satisfaction of capturing Gira.
Gira demands they return to Shugoddam or else he’ll use KingOhger to destroy this castle. “Try me,” Yanma says, adding that he knows Gira is not actually evil even though Gira half-heartedly insists.
The alarms suddenly sound as Bugnarak begin rampaging in the city. They head out to the scene. Yanma thanks his forces, but he will take it from here.
Both Gira and Yanma henshin to Kuwagata Ohger and Tombo Ohger, respectively. They easily take care of the Sanagims. But Bugnarak’s Emperor Desnarak VIII and Prime Minister Kamejim appear and declare they will annihilate humanity.
Before they do that though, they would like the humans to hand over the treasures of Chikyuu… the ShuGods. They give them until this evening to comply, otherwise the current destruction of parts of the city pales in comparison to what will happen.
The people of N’Kosopa try to clean up the debris from the attacks, fully expecting that their ally countries will come help them. But Racules broadcasts a message saying they will not align with N’Kosopa and aid in their defense because Yanma has been harboring a fugitive who is a threat to Shugoddam.
Just then, Gira’s friends pop into camera shot to say that none of this is Gira’s fault. Shugoddam forces grab the children to take them away. An enraged Gira watches as Racules demands Yanma get down on his knees and sincerely make amends for the people who have died.
The people of N’Kosopa seem to be turning on Yanma and one of them challenges him to a duel. Shiokara hands him his computer and they battle.
A little boy explains to Gira that the people of N’Kosopa duel through hacking. And Yanma is able to beat every single challenger.
Back at the castle, Gira demands Yanma quickly apologize and return him to Shugoddam. Yanma reiterates that Gira would have his head chopped off. But Gira does not understand Yanma preferring to be overthrown all because of his foolish pride.
Yanma explains that he has always resented N’Kosopa doing all the work for Shugoddam. That’s why he worked his way up form the slums to the throne all by just using a computer.
Gira asks how many people Yanma is willing to sacrifice. Yanma gets in Gira’s face and says all he wanted was to be was on top. The people just willingly followed him. Gira thinks it is funny how Yanma and Racules appear to be oppressive to their peoples in the same way.
Yanma takes offense to Gira’s obstinate behavior. But Gira snaps back that he became evil in order to fight Racules’ sense of justice. He says Racules’ goal is to unite Chikyuu and that people are merely tools for that goal. Yanma says that does sound like Racules.
Gira says a king is supposed to protect their people. If not, then there is only fighting.
Yanma understands Gira really is just faking it in order to get close enough to Racules to defeat him.
Yanma takes a big chug from his bottle.
That evening, Yanma takes a tied-up Gira and meets with Racules’ right-hand men on a bridge. The surrendering of the fugitive is being broadcast live to both countries. Gira is glad they have come to pick him up and demands to be brought back to Shugoddam immediately. The generals say he’s going straight to the gallows and they tell Yanma to hand Gira over and apologizes to the king.
Yanma steps forward and begins to bend down. But he stops short of touching the ground and says he is not sorry at all. He says he will beat down anyone who stands against him using his stubbornness and fists.
Yanma turns to his peoples and says he will handle this situation for them because he will not lose to anyone. The people of N’Kosopa begin to cry and Gira believes this proves Yanma is exactly like Racules.
But the people of N’Kosopa are actually crying tears of joy and pride in their brave president-king. They like their leader being on top and not bowing down to anyone. The people of N’Kosopa cheer their wonderful king. Gira understands now.
Suddenly, Desnarak and Kamejim appear and claim it is time for them to pay up. They summon an embiggened Bodarujim to destroy the country.
Gira and Yanma henshin. Gira summons KingOhger and Yanma joins him. KingOhger is now able to fly by using the power of God Tombo. The people of N’Kosopa help in their own way with hacking, providing the information Gira and Yanma can use to fight the Kaijim. Shiokara brings the pill bug over to help as a weapon and all together, they destroy the Kaijim for good. The people of N’Kosopa cheer the big win.
Gira commends Yanma for not segregating classes and charging in with no hesitation. That is what makes him and N’Kosopa strong, Gira believes. Yanma says he and his people are partners and comrades.
Gira says that is what he needs and asks Yanma to join him in fighting Racules. Yanma is not too keen. But a praying mantis mecha comes out of the sky to scoop them both up and take them away.
Episode Thoughts
A very good episode. I guess we will be meeting each king through Gira’s travels to each country. And that’s fine. I still hope there is tension between the leaders, even if they work together to fight the Bugnarak. And later on Racules.
This episode was definitely a Yanma-focus as well as a bit of insight into how each country kingdom operates within the Chikyuu world. And it was a great way to fully introduce Yanma.
Yanma gave off a cool vibe. Despite Gira being skeptical of Yanma and his ideals, it definitely wasn’t a surprise to have him stick by his principles at the end. And it wasn’t a surprise to see the peoples of N’Kosopa cheering on their defiant king hacker.
Conversely, Yanma accurately reading Gira was good too. And perhaps the two of them relate to each other well even if they might go about things differently.
It would be nice to see more of Yanma’s journey from the slums to the throne as well. That’s very interesting. And would also help with some nice world building.
I also like the dynamic of Racules still being in power despite some public and not-so-public revelations about his true nature. It scarily mirrors some actual world leaders today of course lol. So there’s that bit of awkwardly uncomfortable relatability. The people of Shugoddam might not really care for him, but he’s the leader they got. So they adjust accordingly. How interesting would it be to see an uprising by the people in the end to overthrow Racules. Led by Gira and the King-Ohgers, I suppose.
But with this idea of kingdoms and countries and such, I would think it would be better to have the people involved in a greater way rather than just seeing the kings conquering lands or whatever in the traditional sense amongst themselves. Through the season, I’d love to see the “cases of the week” involve the “commoners” and how an invading force like the Bugnarak can affect such peoples. (Again, another interestingly uncomfortable parallel to real world events.) Or even have the different leaders’ actions negatively affect their peoples so they might change. Character development!
Elsewhere, like Donbrothers, it’ll take a little bit to adjust to the new CGI-heavy environments for me. Especially when there are times that the greenscreen seems a bit more obvious than other times. But like I got over the CGI Donbros after a few episodes, it’ll be the same here as well. It does open up fun and creative possibilities to freshen up the usual and familiar Toei locations too. So that alone will help to offer fresh visuals and experiences to hopefully pair with new ideas on paper.
Overall, a very strong 2nd episode. I of course enjoyed this one a lot more than the premiere only because the first episode is always just foundation-building set-up episodes for the season. Even if there is a lot of fun action and shiny new toys, I watch toku for the fun characters and interesting stories. So as we get to know the characters more and get into the story more, the more I can try and become invested in the season.
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6 thoughts on “Recap: Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger, Episode 2 – A King for Whose Sake”
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I like the dynamic between Gira and Yanma this episode. Good way to introduce him.
Brewing bromance? 😅
I definitely enjoyed the tension and rivalry between Gira and Yanma.
PLus I thought the hacking battle was pretty cool too.
The hacking battle was a good way to introduce the country.
Kinda meh so far. But it’s only just started.
I give it a couple of weeks