Recap: Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger, Episode 15 – Lock and Key

The General3 look at a billboard advertising an upcoming dinosaur exhibit at the museum. They think dinosaurs are pretty cool would make great Kurumajus. So they head inside the museum to steal the Shimiasaurus fossil to do just that.

Jou is walking nearby and hears the commotion. He hurries over, but hesitates a bit before he henshins. Taiya, Shashiro and Mira arrive and they henshin together.

Kaseki Guruma seems to charge at them, but it actually runs out into the street. The museum curator says it seems like a real Shimiasauraus which was a dinosaur who had very strong legs. The Boonbooms suspect the Kurumaju has adapted those traits.

The Boonbooms assure the curator that they will deliver the fossil back to the museum. They head out into the city to look for any signs of the kyoryu before it can hurt anyone. BunBun says it’s weird that a Kurumaju ran off. But Taiya says maybe it was a timid, but strong dino.

Jou finds the dinosaur rummaging in the bushes. He tries to get close to it. But it seems to be scared of people. BunBun calling everyone startles it. But the Guruma seems to be hungry and Jou decides to help it. He whisks the dino away when some civilians are scared by it.

Hiding in a parking garage, Jou is conflicted about returning the Kurumaju back into a fossil. But he understands that he has to keep people safe.

Genba finds them and hands Jou a warehouse key where they can hide out for now. Genba is amused by the idea of a lonely dinosaur.

Jou buys Kaseki Guruma some food. Chicken if it’s a carnivore and veggies if he’s a herbivore. But the dinosaur wants the cream puff the most.

Later, Taiya calls Jou and says Genba has filled him in on the situation. Taiya asks what Jou wants to do with the dino. Jou says he doesn’t believe the dino would hurt anyway and asks to spend the night with him to prove that. Taiya agrees to that plan.

Turning back to the dino, Jou is surprised he ate everything. But Kaseki Guruma is grateful for the food. Jou later falls asleep and wakes up to find the Guruma playing with a ball. After another nap, Jou wakes up to the Guruma sleeping on his lap.

They wake up together the next morning and Jou believes him being fine means the dino is good. Jou gives him the name “Keytarou” and heads out to buy some breakfast.

But as Jou opens the garage door, the General3 are waiting outside. They are here to push the Kurumaju to produce gassholin. Jou henshins and fights off Nejirettas. That allows the General3 to momentarily grab Keytarou. But Jou manages to free him from their grasp and urges him to get to safety.

Ittasha and Dekotorade toss a net over Jou and Keytarou. But the others arrive just in time. Taiya sees that Jou found his proof. Shashiro tells Jou to protect Keytarou while they face off against the Nejiretta.

Suddenly, Cannonborg arrives and behind Jou’s back, infuses Keytarou with some modifications, causing him to turn evil.

Keytarou begins rampaging. Cannonborg says he only tuned up the fighting instincts inside the dino.

Keytarou attacks Jou and forces him to dehenshin. He calls to Keytarou and something happens to him causing him to embiggen. They are all shocked that it was able to do so without traveling the highway.

Cannonborg wonders if this is a side effect of his tune up and disappointed they couldn’t collect ghassolin.

Keytarou rampages around the city, causing massive destruction. The Boonbooms hurry to save people from the rubble.

Jou cannot believe this is happening. He pleads with Keytarou to come to his senses. Jou falls to his knees and cries out, pounding the ground.

Jou reminds himself that a policeman’s duty is to protect the people. So he tells Taiya that he will be the one that defeats Keytarou.

Jou hops into BunBun and takes control of Boonboomger Robo Monster with the others supporting. They battle Keytarou, marveling at his immense power.

At sunset, the fighting pauses. Jou remembers all the happy memories he shared with Keytarou and apologizes. As Keytarou charges toward them, Jou pulls the trigger on a finisher.

Keytarou explodes and returns to being a fossil.

Jou personally delivers the fossil back to the museum. The curator is grateful that the exhibit can open as scheduled.

Outside, Jou watches a family excited about the dino exhibit. The others come to comfort a sad Jou as they walk home.

Episode Thoughts

Not Boonboomger making me tear up two weeks in a row!

But really though, what was the point of this episode? Was it just to make us sad and depressed? Because it worked! huhu

It was so unnecessarily sad and emotional and dramatic.

And somehow I loved it! lol

Seriously! Honestly, I really don’t get what the point of the episode was other than to show Jou is really a great guy. And also to show the harsh reality that even if the Hashiryans can be goofy and clumsy, they’re also pretty much heartless. Cannonborg, obviously is. But the General3 were just more sad they didn’t have a new monster car to play with.

I think that can be a great thing and certainly continues to build them up as legitimately dangerous and frightening threats. Don’t let the goofy exteriors fool you, I guess. And considering the season’s lighter tone overall, it also tracks with the idea that the season as a whole is lulling us into a false sense of security leading up to the darker moments later on.

I think this episode felt so heavy because it really was the first time we got something much more dramatic and emotional versus the sillier and more heartwarming moments of the past 14 episodes. Especially last week which was, next to this one, probably the most dramatic so far. Yet still had a lot of lighthearted fun.

This episode was just pure heartbreak. From the big moments to the little moments.

An example of the little moments is the one where Taiya calls Jou who asks to give him the night to show Keytarou is not bad. With Genba mentioning it earlier when giving Jou the keys to the warehouse and him telling Taiya all about the situation; what I got from the moment was Taiya understanding loneliness. Which is what Genba gathered Keytarou was feeling.

So I liked my interpretation of that little moment. Taiya understanding Jou’s determination to provide comfort for someone (or some dinosaur lol) who might be lonely.

For Jou, this episode definitely furthered his character. We’ve seen that he is a dedicated and upstanding police officer who takes his job seriously and sincerely as well. And Officer Jou’s sincerity shined in this episode. We watched his inner conflict in a nice way. But more importantly, we see more of Jou’s sincere kindness. For both people and dinosaur fossils! Hehe.

As someone who does not follow toy and magazine scan spoilers, I honestly thought Keytarou would end up becoming some kind of ally for the Boonbooms. Him turning into a Car or something. I dunno. That’s of course usually the case when we get “nice” MOTWs. They usually survive the final battles and become friends or allies with the Sentai team.

That expectation definitely fueled my shock and confusion in the end. Which on one hand, kudos to Boonboomger for not falling back on a familiar scenario. But on the other hand, BOOO Boonboomger for killing off a nice dinosaur friend! huhu

I think all these conflicting emotions also helped to fuel what I think was one of the most exciting mecha battles in a while! The way they directed and choreographed that mecha battle was so dramatic and emotional. Reminds me of some of Kiramager‘s refreshing mecha battles. But here, I think the show did an excellent job capturing the emotions of the moment in this mecha battle. Even as I was still holding out hope for some big twist at the end of it.

Sometimes, we do need these kinds of episodes. Not every episode will have a happy ending. Even with a season like Boonboomger. So it’s good prep for what could possibly be ahead. And it adds some nice layers and dynamics to this already strong season.

The final shot of the Boonbooms coming to be with Jou, no words even said, was so good though. Like, it was the perfect ending to the episode. And also shows our five Boonbooms really have grown closer since they first came together.

Overall, a very sad, but still great episode. Much kudos to Ryu Saito for a great performance in this one. Really pulled you in and made you believe and root for this fossil monster lol