Something worth living for: OOO 45 – 48
Sep. 19th, 2015 09:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameSurprise Attack, Proto-Birth, Desire for Love (Kobayashi/Morota): We're in the home stretch now, folks! The Greeed are chilling at the mansion again, where Gamel gives Mezool a lollipop. Maki then gives Ankh all of the Medals Kazari had, explaining that the Core that had contained his personality was destroyed. And here's a part where I think Kobayashi got derailed. See, they did all this talk about "sealing" the Greeed, and Eiji hasn't sealed shit. To be fair, this is more pragmatic—why risk Rita Repulsa being released from a lunar dumpster in 10,000 years when you can just destroy her when you have the chance? But the shift toward destruction has created a plot hole—the Greeed don't have a centralized consciousness. They are spread out among their nine Cores, Ankh being the unusual one because he centralized his mind into a single Core. Uva doing the same makes sense, since he was so desperate to survive. Kazari doing the same maybe makes sense, if we run with him trying to evolve, so he might take a page from Ankh's book. But with Mezool and Gamel, it doesn't make sense. We have to assume they did the same in order for them to be destroyed. So I feel like Kobayashi had always intended for everyone to get sealed, but somebody above her said no, let's just pimp the shit out of the purple Medals. And all of this suspicion is leading into something I'll discuss later and in Go-Busters when I get to that review.
Ankh expresses some surprise at the thought of Kazari being "dead," but Maki points out how human that makes him sound. Greeed are artificial lifeforms created from Medals. They're not living, breathing creatures. Thus, Kazari cannot have died, not in the literal sense. Ankh has to agree, but he walks away and watches the others, facing the fact that they are no more than animated masses of Medals. Maki rubs salt into the wound by adding that they can't enjoy the warmth of the sun or the beauty of flowers or the taste of fruit. They are things, not people. But they are evolving, and that's why Maki needs Ankh to take Eiji's Medals. So Ankh resigns himself to taking the Medals Kazari left behind.
Outside, Eiji, Goto, and Satonaka plan an attack. With Eiji losing more Medals, Birth in for repairs, and both Riders injured, he suggested that they had nothing left to lose and should make the first move this time, instead of scrambling to react. When Hina asked where they should attack, Goto explained that he and Date knew the Greeed were holed up at Maki's place, but they couldn't afford the risk on attacking a whole nest of Greeed. But as Eiji pointed out, this is what they'd be facing anyway, so Goto realized that this would put the Greeed at a slight disadvantage, having to be on the defensive this time. Satonaka provided Goto with the Prototype Birth Driver, which has reduced power and is limited to Crane Arm and Breast Cannon, but it at least works. Eiji promised Hina he'd bring back Shingo, but she told him to take care of himself too, and he could barely make the promise. But now, it's time to go—Satonaka sets the traps while Goto sneaks inside and Eiji charges.
Ankh continues to mope about the nature of the Greeed when Mezool notes how different he seems, possibly because of his human body. She asks about tasting and how it felt when he tried eating, but he says it's something the Greeed would never understand. She picks up on his word choice, how he's disassociating himself from his Greeed nature, and he reaffirms that he hates humans, but he hates the Greeed more. She notes how unsatisfied he is and suggests maybe he didn't indulge enough while using Shingo's body. Meanwhile, Uva smashes a vase with a golf club, sensing something, but it still doesn't save him from Goto tossing in a flash and smoke grenade through the window. Maki removes the Medals from the vault, ready to run. Ankh walks out to see the commotion, but Eiji gets in and jumps him, grabbing two Medals. When Ankh tells him to give them back, he argues that he doesn't have enough. Ankh points out how much of a Greed he sounds now, and Eiji doesn't deny it.
Satonaka, in camo with oranges on her head for some reason—I don't know, I guess she's getting a head start on Gaim?—traps Gamel with tripwire and explosive candy, then leads Uva into a pit and tosses in a grenade. How did she get the grenade? I don't know. Satonaka. Goto, as Proto-Birth, stops Mezool from attacking her and throws her into a net, shooting her. Eiji now has the Lion Core again and asks one last time for Ankh to return Shingo to Hina. As his answer, he absorbs two Medals into his left, human, arm. There's a jolt from the power, and his eyes turn yellow for a moment as he struggles to control it. Above Eiji's protests, he explains that he's using Shingo as the Medal vessel to make up for his broken Medals and to become a new being more powerful than the Greeed. The remaining Greeed try to regroup, but Team Birth is ready with Breast Cannon and the Birth Buster. Eiji struggles to keep up with Ankh, but he loses the Medal case to Maki, who tells Ankh to let him take care of retrieving the purple Medals. Eiji fights the pain and tries to unleash his power, but Maki transforms and obliterates the battlefield with a rush of power.
Satonaka debriefs Kougami via webcam, revealing that they lost almost all of the Medals and Maki's a Greeed now, so that sucks. Plus, a couple of the Greeed can fully revive now. Kougami points out this is a serious problem, and she even offers to put in overtime if he has a plan. However, all he's got are OOO and Proto-Birth, so she starts to hang up. But he manages to stop her, admitting he has one more trick up his sleeve that might be able to help.
At the lab, Eiji and Goto reel from the defeat, although Goto does reveal he managed to steal back the Cheetah Medal, so Eiji has a combo. But he worries that Shingo is being assimilated into Ankh now and becoming a Greeed himself. Eiji promises to save him, but Goto asks why he's not as passionate about saving himself. He's worse off than Shingo, and Goto agrees with Hina that he needs to start protecting himself. Eiji points out that he doesn't want to become a Greeed, but that's the whole problem—Goto argues he has to figure out what he does want. Eiji's too flustered to think under pressure and apologizes, but Goto admits he's the one who should be sorry, for adding to the pressure on him.
Maki gives Ankh the stored Medals and Eiji's case. He now has half of them in total, but it's not going to be enough to evolve the way he wants or to lose control like Maki wants. Mezool, Uva, and Gamel aren't happy that their Medals are being handed over. Mezool takes hers from the case and demands the rest back from Ankh, then tries to flirt with Maki to get him to make Ankh give them up. But Maki tells her to stop pretending she can love when she can only experience it by devouring humans. And something seems to break in Mezool. She turns hard and angry, but she insists on getting her Medals, along with the others, all preparing to attack. Ankh laughs bitterly, finding their single-minded obsession with the Medals pathetic, but Uva says that Ankh's the same way. Struck by the comment, Ankh admits that he hates that feeling and hates all of them. He throws their Medals at them and tells them to go away. Maki tells him his hatred is fine, but he can't be reckless and impulsive like this. Although he admits it will stop Eiji, Ankh will have to take the Medals back. Mezool and Gamel have nine Medals now, and Uva has eight, the last still in Eiji's possession. Ankh finds himself again alone and walks past the Medal case, his last connection to anyone who might have cared about him.
Though both Mezool and Gamel have revived completely, Mezool abandons Gamel, telling him she's done playing as his mother. He's not enough for her, and she needs to feel love for real, so she abducts mothers and their children from the park. Eiji and Goto track her down to a water treatment plant, where all of the victims are trapped within Yummy eggs, the emotion transmitted to her. They find the eggs, but Goto warns Eiji not to touch for fear of hurting the people inside. When Mezool shows herself, Eiji realizes that this is what Maki meant when he said the fully revived Greeed would devour humans. Worse, she's not just draining the emotion of love—the people inside will die if trapped too long. They move the battle outside, where it's safer. Mezool turns into water to move quickly, becoming solid again to strike. LaToraTah can't even boil her off. She starts to short out Proto-Birth when Eiji finds a Ride Vendor and attaches the Tora can. Toride Vendor keeps up with her while the axe freezes her in place so Eiji can cut through, cracking three Medals. She starts to fall apart as the exhausted Eiji and Goto watch, but she still isn't satisfied. So, uh, did anyone save those people? Anyone? 'Cause we're in for a double heartbreak in a minute if not.
Maki prepares the Ptera candroid to retrieve her Medals, but Gamel arrives and takes her in his arms. The moment is so emotional that even the friggin' doll is crying. Mezool again tells Gamel that it wasn't enough. When he asks why, knowing part of "it" is him, she says it's because she's a Greeed. Then she falls apart, three of her Cores breaking. Gamel has one left and lets out a heartbroken scream as he revives, unleashing shockwaves that throw Eiji and Goto into the water while he screams Mezool's name...
Eiji Greeed, W Births, Ankh's Desire (Kobayashi/Morota): While Eiji floats unconscious downstream, Maki collects the remaining Cores and asks Gamel for the one he has. He refuses, determined to revive Mezool. Maki encourages him to let her have a beautiful ending rather than risk the pain on her return, but Gamel's had enough of him and charges. Maki assumes full Greeed form and lands a solid hit, but he loses his doll and thus, interest in the battle. Gamel leaves to revive Mezool while Goto pulls himself out of the water, calling for Eiji.
Eiji, however, has been washed out to the beach and wakes up as the waves sweep underneath him. He starts to get up, but the Medals inside him flare up again, and his left arm becomes fully Greeed, identical to Maki's. He thrashes and shouts in panic, trying to change back, but his vision is also starting to distort, and energy shoots through his head. He brings his right hand up to his head in pain, then panics again, thinking both of his arms have changed. It takes him a moment to realize that his other hand is normal, but shaking, and he finally admits to himself that he's afraid of becoming a Greeed.
Maki delivers Mezool's Cores to Ankh, who can only say that she's "gone," knowing there's no life to lose. He reflects on her observations about his dissatisfaction and walks to take the Medal case. He returns home and takes an ice pop from the freezer, slowly starting to admit to himself that while what he'd had there wasn't enough before, now, he wants it all back. He walks through his memories of Cous Coussier and his friends, the family he hadn't wanted but had gained, and he looks at the Medal case and at his reflection, again saying "you Greeed" would never understand. Hina walks in and stops when she sees him. She asks if he's coming home, but he holds up the ice pop and says he came for that. He tries to insist there are other things he wants too, though he can't quite express them, and he asks her to let him keep Shingo's body. She has to say no, the both of them tearing up. Chiyoko comes in, thrilled to see him, and asks if this means he and Eiji are coming back. But he says that only one of them might, then leaves. As soon as he's gone, Hina collapses into tears and Chiyoko rushes to her.
Eiji looks at his arm and tries to figure out how to change back, remembering Kougami and Date both urging him to remember his desire. But the only clue he has is Ankh throwing him the Medals. Still, he's back to normal and has the four Medals he'd saved. But the Driver fell off of him and washed up somewhere else on the beach. Gamel's still on the loose, and he worries about the damage he'll cause. The Medals flare up again, and he remembers Goto's and Hina's warnings, but he feels he can't worry about himself yet because he still needs the Medals' power to stop the Greeed.
Gamel's powers reduce anything he touches to Cell Medals, including humans. He spreads Mezool's tapestry and places her Medal down, but nothing happens. So he attacks more people, trying to get more Cells, but as Uva points out, it'll never work because her consciousness is gone. Uva himself leaves, vowing to be the last survivor. Satonaka notifies Goto of the attack. She's on a delivery run, so she makes a trade for the repaired Birth Driver, and he tells her to find Eiji. Turns out that's exactly who she was looking for, since Kougami has a present for him. Transforming, Goto rams the Ride Vendor into Gamel, but he changes it into Medals and sends Goto flying. Goto recovers quickly, though, and opens fire, reloading quickly with the Cells all around him, but Gamel gets mad the more he does. Satonaka hurries to find Eiji, but she slams on her brakes as someone jumps in front of her car. She looks at him in shock, then to the Proto-Birth Driver.
Eiji senses Gamel too and finally spots the Driver, but Ankh gets there first. He tells Ankh to give it back, but Ankh says they have unfinished business. With Gamel on the loose, Eiji's not in the mood to listen and charges. Ankh blasts him with fire, but Eiji lets his arm transform and deflects. Their arms cross, and Ankh is horrified at the change in Eiji, asking if he still believes in his reasons to fight. Eiji admits that although his body has changed, his reasons haven't, and Ankh has taught him a lot about the Greeed. They wrestle over the Driver and lose it on the gravel, but the fight becomes about everything but it. Eiji affirms that he'll destroy the Cores and prevent anyone else from reviving or losing control, and he refuses to let Ankh use Shingo as the vessel. Ankh says that that answer's just what he expected from Eiji, so he's decided that if he's going to get what he wants, he has to crush Eiji first. The fight ends up in the water, where they proceed to...uh....fuck each other to death. So that's a thing.
Eiji asks if Ankh's desire is to be human, and Ankh explains that he wants life, one where he can properly taste and experience the world around him. He kicks Eiji away and explains his fear that the Greeed aren't alive, and that's the real reason they desire so much—because they can't ever fulfill their wishes to taste, see, and feel. Eiji admits that he understands, but he still has to give up his humanity and become a Greeed regardless. Ankh says Eiji doesn't understand, since no Greeed would go around without a desire, the way he does. He asks if Eiji has a desire, and Eiji shouts back the same question, arguing that if Ankh wants life, then he should cherish life. But Ankh argues that Eiji won't understand until he truly wants something. He jumps on Eiji, asking him if he does want anything. And Eiji finally breaks. Crying, he admits that he did, but because of his trauma, he gave up on it and focused only on his immediate present. He finally admits what he wants—the power to reach out his hand to help others, no matter the distance, no matter the obstacle. And Ankh gave it to him by giving him the Driver. He finally thanks Ankh, leaving him completely stunned.
Goto takes a serious beating and decides that his only chance is a full power Breast Cannon at extremely close range, which will most certainly kill him if he fails. But before he can try, a Birth Buster fires on Gamel, and Date finally appears, fresh from recovery. He tells Goto that he never taught him stupid, suicidal attacks, then henshins into Proto-Birth. Gamel's confused, but the double Births charge into battle. Still, they have trouble, and Date has to admit that maybe Goto was onto something and agrees to the stupidly reckless attack. Goto warns him this might just land him back in the hospital, but they charge up their Breast Cannons and fire as Gamel charges. The explosion blasts them back, and for a moment, Gamel still stands. But Maki's attack earlier damaged two of his Cores, and he collapses, reverting to human form, still holding Mezool's Medal. He holds out a lollipop toward it, dreaming of her taking it and thanking him, and with a smile, he breaks apart, his Cores shattering. Goto and Date start to calm down, but Ptera retrieves the Medals.
Maki watches Ankh and Eiji's heart-to-heart, the doll making what I can only describe as an "Oh MY~!" expression. And yes, the George Takei impression is mandatory. Maki decides that that's enough of that and releases a Medal, throwing it into Eiji. Eiji thrashes around, the power quickly overwhelming him, and loses control. He strikes Ankh's arm, removing a Taka Core, his expression twisted as he stands, his eyes still glowing. Ankh asks Maki what the hell's going on as Eiji runs for the Driver and henshins into TaToBa. But there's a problem—his eyes are purple, and he still has no control over himself. As Eiji attacks Ankh, Maki throws yet another Medal. This one evaporates the transformation and painfully forces Eiji into full Greeed form—nearly identical to Maki, but with a smaller build and a white, skeletal head with a pink eye. Ankh goes for broke and forces Shingo's body to transform, assuming his true form. It's the first time we get to see it, in place of Lost Ankh, and while most of it is the same, the right side of his head has swept-back golden feathers, similar to his hair. Eiji moves almost cautiously at the new threat, but they unleash their powers of purple void and red fire, and clash...
Red Cracks, Fulfilled, Eiji the Vessel (Kobayashi/Tasaki): Two notes: First, I'm working off of the Director's Cut version of the finale, so there are additional scenes, and it took me a bit to remember where to cut off at. Second, while TV-Nihon translates the first part of the title 赤いヒビ ("akai hibi") as "Red Days," Google Translate gave me "Red Cracks," which is what Over-Time went with and quite honestly seems to be more correct. However, O-T's title doesn't seem to be completely accurate either, since it had the last part as "Eiji's Potential" where Google's also giving me "Eiji the Vessel," so...Google it is.
Eiji and Ankh continue to battle, and throughout the fight, we see flashes of their human forms, emphasizing that this isn't a battle between two monsters; it's between humans, friends. For all Eiji has changed and for all Ankh is a Greeed, they are both still human, deep down, and this is what makes the conflict so tragic. Ankh tries to get through to Eiji, who beats him up with wild attacks. He asks Maki why he gave Eiji those Medals if the whole point was to take his, but Maki explains that an out-of-control Eiji won't be able to resist his attempts to take them. Yeah, just one flaw in your logic: YOU JUST MADE EIJI STRONGER. Remember that whole thing with Lost Ankh? He had more Medals than Ankh, which meant that he was able to absorb Ankh by taking away all of his. Your entire plan hinges on Eiji not thinking to take all of YOUR Medals instead, which I'm pretty sure would end you, given you seem to be all Greeed now. Now, I don't want to step on your toes as the main villain here, but if it were me, I'd just kill Eiji while he was vulnerable, preferably in a shitload of pain from the Medals' Harry/Voldemort connection that keeps him from doing thing against you. Then pry the Medals from his corpse. I'm pretty sure that would get the same results in half the time. You're a fucking dumbass, Maki.
Someone in Toei's directorial staff apparently loved Power Rangers RPM, since we have one of those in-helmet shots that have become more popular since then—in this case, a shot of Eiji within his out-of-control Greeed form, wide-eyed and barely responsive. He remembers Kougami's words and his trauma, trying to focus on his desire for the power to help everyone. But in his state of mind, all he can latch onto is the idea of "power." He loses it again and transforms to PuToTyra, with Ankh desperately trying to fend him off. Maki urges him to defeat Eiji now, which is basically what Ankh is trying to do, damn backseat driver. Ankh tries to focus on his own desire, to live, and as Eiji charges, he prepares to launch fire. But Eiji's thank you echoes in his mind, and at the last second, he misses, to even Eiji's surprise.
Ankh can't understand why Eiji thanked him, and thus, he starts hitting him over and over, giving him barely any room to defend. He reflects that it was a mistake to give Eiji OOO's power, even as he thinks back on what Eiji did for him when they first met, and every time he helped Eiji and continued to give him that power since, and how Eiji stood up for him even when Lost Ankh tried to erase him. He tells Eiji that if he wants power, then he can't lose control this easily. Eiji charges, and Ankh punches him with fire hard enough that the purple energy dissipates and he returns to normal, losing all of his transformation Medals. Barely conscious, Eiji looks over and calls to him, as Ankh clutches his last Medal (which I think is a plot hole, but I'll get to it in a bit). Maki walks over to Eiji, calling to his Medals. Even exhausted and in pain, Eiji still resists, insisting he needs them. But Maki decides enough is enough and tells Ankh to kill him. Ankh walks over, but Eiji's delirious now, unable to remember what happened or why Ankh's there. He assumes it's for his daily ice pop money, so he tries to hand it over to him, leaving Ankh too shocked to do anything. Maki transforms his arm to do it himself, but Ankh stops him, not understanding why himself, and sets the doll on fire. The reminder of his own trauma and sin stops Maki, and he instinctively throws it into the water before realizing he has to rescue it. Though he still doesn't seem to understand, Eiji watches everything until he starts to lose consciousness, and Ankh turns and walks away. Satonaka pulls up and sees everything. For a moment, she looks back at the present, but ultimately, she decides that saving Eiji is more important. She brings him back to the Foundation, where he lies unconscious in Kougami's office while she apologizes for failing to deliver the present. Kougami decides to hold onto it, as staff hauls Eiji onto a gurney and wheel him out. She asks where he's going, but all Kougami will tell her is that it's a more appropriate place.
Satonaka does tell Goto that she rescued Eiji, however, and he passes along the message to Date. Date admits his surprise at how bad everything got after he left, and Goto apologizes for keeping quiet about it, since he'd wanted Date to focus on recovery. But Date thanks him, refocusing on trying to find Maki. Goto warns that Maki is likely to target Eiji now, and he updates Date on Maki's plan. The last Medals left are Eiji's, so he insists they head to the Foundation to protect him, and Date couldn't be prouder of how he's grown up. But unknown to them, Uva watches everything, still searching for his last Medal.
Hina explains everything to Chiyoko about Eiji, Ankh, her brother, and the Medals—the entire series, all laid bare. And Chiyoko accepts it, although she admits that there's one thing she can't make herself believe, and that's Hina's reasoning. She urges her not to accept a choice between Ankh and her brother or between Ankh and Eiji. Hina confesses her fear that her desires will only hurt Eiji, since he's the one who has to fight to fulfill them, so Chiyoko tells her to simply want all of them, and to try to make it happen. It's Hina's desire, and only she can want it, no matter what Eiji, Ankh, and Shingo want or need. Remembering Ankh's request to let her keep Shingo's body, she finally makes her decision.
Ankh comes to the forest, wondering just what he's doing, since he didn't even bother to take his Medal back from Eiji...which might be a translation error, to be honest, but whatever. You have that Medal, and this still isn't the plot hole I mentioned. But Maki comes up to him, warning that he's become too human, so he's no longer suitable as the Medal vessel. Ankh hurries to defend himself, switching to Greeed form, but Maki's too fast. He runs Ankh through, cracking the Core with his consciousness, taking most of the other Medals. Ankh tries to blast fire at him again, but Maki escapes, noting his disappointment that Ankh really was no better than the rest of the Greeed. Bleeding Cell Medals, Ankh realizes that Maki's right, and he's finally able to admit what's been bothering him all this time. Smiling, he confesses that he's felt fulfilled for quite a while. Hina uses the Taka candroid to find him, explaining that she learned how to use it by watching Eiji. When he asks why she came, she says she still wanted to talk. But she sees the Medals and realizes he's badly hurt. He insists her brother's body is fine, but she emphasizes that it's him, not Shingo, she's worried about. He staggers to his feet and says she'll have her brother back soon, insisting he no longer needs his body. But he nearly falls when he tries to walk away, worrying her more, and she asks what's wrong with him. He explains that his Core is breaking, and she asks if this means he's dying. He's surprised to hear it, her affirmation that he has a life to lose, and smiles before deciding it's time to go back and haul Eiji's butt out of trouble again. She follows.
Satonaka tells Date and Goto that Eiji was taken to the vault, but she doesn't know why, and the guys can't get in without a keycard. Since it's got nothing to do with her, she's going home for the night. Date complains about her cool exterior, but apparently hearing, she stops and says that she forgot to give Goto her master key so he can do his job as her assistant. They realize what she's really doing for them, and Date's impressed. They enter the OOO shrine, where Kougami has Eiji sitting in a throne in front of the TaToBa emblem, as if to crown him as the new King. Kougami explains that Eiji's finally unleashing his desire. Eiji apologizes to Date and says he's remembered now—his desire is power, to reach out and help others. But his eyes are still glowing purple, and neither Birth is willing to trust his judgment. To complicate matters, Kougami still has every intention of using him as the Medal vessel, filled with a massive stash of Cells—ever wonder why Date had to collect them? That's why. Kougami wants Eiji to go through the evolution his predecessor failed to achieve, to become a true OOO, a god of desire itself. I.E., everything the Izumi siblings don't want him to become. But because of the purple Medals, Eiji's far more likely to become a true Greeed instead. Kougami wants Date to talk Eiji into giving them up, but he and Goto decide that they're both nuts and try to keep Eiji from having anything to do with it. Because he needs some fucking help, people. Eiji's sure he can handle it, pleading with Goto not to let him fail to save anyone again. As long as the power to prevent that is guaranteed, he can accept the risk of becoming a Greeed.
Fortunately, Maki attacks, so Eiji bolts out to face him. PuToTyra takes on Maki-Greeed, each determined to take the others' Medals. Because giving Eiji seven and pushing him just over the edge of control so he's more Greeed-like and thinking, "I should really take the other three" was such a good idea, Maki. Team Birth henshins to try to take over the fight, but Eiji keeps pushing them away. Date and Maki manage to have a strange heart-to-heart, with Maki surprised that he's still alive and Date pointing out that it's thanks to him. Date sadly notes how much his friend has changed, and Maki says it's thanks to him. Great, guys. As if "For Good" wasn't depressing enough to begin with, you've just managed to make your own terrible version. A burst of Maki's power throws them all away and forces a reaction from Eiji's Medals, but he refuses to give them up and transforms into his Greeed form. Maki notes that it won't be long before Eiji completely loses control, so Team Birth once again tries to talk him into giving up his Medals. But Eiji's so focused on saving everyone that Date has to yell at him to look at his hands, the hands of a Greeed, the hands of a destroyer. He can't save anyone with those hands, with that power at all. Goto adds that Eiji needs to stop trying to do everything on his own. But Eiji doesn't listen, still losing control and humanity, and they have to hold him still.
Fortunately, now Uva's hanging around, watching from the shadows, and Maki tells him to finally do something, giving him his ninth Medal. Uva blasts everything with lightning, and Eiji shifts back to PuToTyra and attacks. But Uva feels nothing and completely kicks his ass. Team Birth runs in, taking heavy damage, and Eiji realizes he needs more power and runs back to the vault. He's so close to slipping that he even threatens Kougami if he tries to stop him. But Kougami is pleased, since it's the first time he's seen Eiji want something this badly, and the change is hard to believe. So he grants Eiji all of the Cell Medals in the Foundation's possession...
Tomorrow's Medals, Underwear, A Grasping Hand (Kobayashi/Tasaki): While Goto and Date prepare an attack on Uva, Date warns that he saw Eiji return to the vault. Both are aggravated and worried that he's being reckless and doing everything on his own. Uva overhears them and prevents the counterattack, even breaking all of their attachments and knocking them out of henshin. But an explosive sound comes from the Foundation. Eiji steps out, crushing the ground wherever he steps, his body heavy with Cell Medals, unusually calm. So...how did he take in all of those Cells, anyway? I mean, easiest answer is he used the O-Scanner, but they're inside his body. Was he able to absorb them? Did he eat them?
Maki watches, confronted by Kougami, who introduces Eiji as the true OOO. He reminds Maki that the Core Medals were created in sets of ten. The King never destroyed the tenth Medals; he used them. The King's TaToBa Medals have been waiting for 800 years, their powers stored. And now, Eiji uses them, warning Goto and Date to stay back. There's a nice change to the henshin design, where the emblems don't line up like usual. In hand-to-hand alone, Eiji hits Uva hard, with barely any effort. Then he dual-wields the axe and sword, giving Uva no room to counter.
And now we come to the part of the series that has bothered me forever—this one discussion. And I'm going to bring it up again with Go-Busters, just because I feel like it explains the way that series ended and the way things changed into ToQger. Kougami insists that the Cores must bring new life to the world, not an end. Maki argues that the world must end while there's still something beautiful left, rather than take the risk of it becoming ugly. And this sudden confrontation, almost stopping the action of the battle, which should be epic, given this is Eiji in a far stronger version of his default form, as the Cell Medal vessel...it leads me to this one thought. It sounds like Yasuko Kobayashi was considering her retirement. At the time of OOO, she had several huge hits with Toei. Ryuki and Den-O were very popular predecessors to OOO, and for Sentai, she'd done Gingaman, Timeranger, and the extremely successful Shinkenger. And as I said, there seem to have been some changes ordered by the executives for OOO, and the same was true for Ryuki. Not to mention that Den-O had a few major changes, most notably when Hana's actress unexpectedly left the show, replaced by a child actress. So this debate between potentially ugly continuations versus ending things while they're good...it sounds like a debate going on within Kobayashi's own mind. Like she got frustrated or was at least thinking, "Maybe this is all I've got left. Maybe I should leave while I've got a good legacy."
Ultimately, the discussion ends with Kougami insisting that the risk is worth it, with desire driving us to new destinations and creations and civilizations. And because of desire, OOO can save the world. But Maki still disagrees, finally setting aside his doll to talk to Kougami face-to-face. He insists that the end, with nothing left, is the ultimate accomplishment of humanity. Eiji defeats Uva with his Rider Kick, but Maki tosses him enough Medals to save him, thus meaning that TaToBa has the worst fucking track record with Rider Kicks. I mean, sure, Momotaros and others didn't favor them, but they at least got more kills than misses with theirs! Maki keeps adding more Medals, above Uva's protests that he doesn't want to lose control. Eiji runs in to attack Maki while Uva struggles to maintain control over himself. But Maki realizes that Eiji took in all of the Cells and knocks him aside, deciding he's too dangerous to be allowed to live. Well, now you're getting it. He throws energy at Eiji, but Ankh blocks with fire, flying in to protect him. Uva decides this is a good time to run, so Maki goes after him. Uva tries to take refuge in the abandoned motorcycle lot...and warehouse, naturally. But the goddamn doll shows up ahead of Maki again, who catches up and adds more Medals into Uva, noting that he should have used him from the start, since as a vessel, he's easy to overwhelm and has less resistance.
Eiji asks Ankh why he helped, and Ankh being Ankh, he asks for the ice pops he was promised. Eiji starts to laugh, but the King TaToBa Medals and the dinosaur Medals have a negative reaction, forcing him into PuToTyra as default as the powerful TaToBa Medals break. As Eiji collapses in pain, Ankh warns that he was reckless with his power again, and this time, Eiji doesn't deny it.
Goto and Date patch up at the lab, asking Kougami via computer if they can somehow remove the Medals from Eiji. Kougami says there's no way, and furthermore, Eiji won't let them go, implying that they probably would come out on their own, now that he has his desire back, but he's consciously keeping them inside him. Worse, there's a very strong possibility that the next time he uses his Greeed powers, he will lose his humanity altogether and permanently become a Greeed. But Kougami wishes them luck and tells them to keep helping the kid out. Date groans about how laidback he is, and Goto admits that in that way, Kougami's not all that different from Eiji, who he fears may be off on his own again.
Actually, Eiji's at the riverside park where it all began, buying ice pops for himself, Ankh, and Hina. Ankh makes Hina promise not to tell Eiji about his cracked Medal, afraid that the knowledge will make Eiji hold back in battle. Eiji does ask what made Ankh come back, and while Hina stays uneasily quiet, Ankh explains that Maki doesn't want him as a vessel anymore. And to Eiji's surprise, he adds that he no longer needs Shingo's body, Hina carefully adding that Ankh will give Shingo back "soon." Eiji's too relieved to read much into it, admitting it was the last thing he was worried about—to Hina's horror, since she realizes he's still not trying to save himself. He says he's glad that he and Ankh don't have to fight after all, but Ankh snarks that it's a shame they didn't get to settle things. Eiji says there's nothing to settle between them, but his eyes flash as he looks out on the water, and his vision goes fuzzy for a moment. It passes, and he sadly smiles as he admits there's nothing else. The distant tone of his voice scares Hina, and she fears she's losing him too, and she finds herself asking her brother what to do. At this point, a ballad version of "Anything Goes!" starts playing, and it sets the mood beautifully. There's also a music video to it that I'll review one of these days, and since I already analyzed the lyrics, there's not much to cover here beyond "Welcome to the two years where Kamen Rider remixed their themes specifically to make you cry." We'll discuss the other one when I review Fourze. Nothing Hina can do will help her keep Shingo, Eiji, and Ankh. All she can do is take their hands and hold them together, for now.
Goto works on the Births' maintenance while Date's frustrated that he can't think of anything he can do. Nothing beyond trying to ease Eiji's burden as much as they can, and trying to stop Maki. Goto reflects that he was naive for talking big about saving the world, when he can barely save a single person like Eiji. Date, who knows that burden well, tells him that learning that is what makes you grow.
Finally, we come to the all-important Kobayashi Summation. This is the scene at the end of a Kobayashi series where one character beautifully wraps up the entire series. In Ryuki, it was Editor-in-Chief Daisuke Okubo. In Den-O, it was Owner. For OOO, it's Kougami:
Desire is the engine for creation, and the future will be born in it. So he raises a toast and wishes happy birthday to a new day.
As the sun rises, Chiyoko sets up shop alone. But she finds the doll, dressed as Maki and holding three white flowers. She realizes he left it for her and looks toward the door he left open.
Uva finally loses control, and his body breaks down, all of the Cores circling and creating an octahedron with the Medals' transmutation circles floating around it, breaking everything in the lot down into Cell Medals. Uva is no more; all that's there is the Medal vessel.
It drops Trash Yummies by the hundreds, and Eiji, Hina, and Ankh run in, Eiji horrified to see what an out-of-control vessel can become. He and Ankh transform and attack all of the Trash Yummies. Meanwhile, Kougami ignores his own office being destroyed all around him, singing along to "Happy Birthday" as he finishes his cake. Team Birth takes over the rush of Trash Yummies so Eiji and Ankh can destroy the vessel, Goto making Eiji promise to come back. Fortunately, the Birth Trio is complete with Satonaka, arriving with a red jumpsuit and next season's pompadour, providing assist fire to the boys' delight.
Eiji and Ankh fly up, Hina watching the whole time, but Maki's in the way, and they all crash to the ground. Maki attacks Ankh hard enough to force him back into human form, then catches Eiji's axe in his bare hands to do what he should have done in the first place—stick his hand in Eiji's chest and try to take the damn Medals! But Eiji holds him tight and freezes them in place, saying he's got the power to defeat him. As he pulls Maki's hand away, he bleeds Cell Medals in a massive spray—every single one of them, all gulped down into the axe. Ankh realizes that this was Eiji's plan from the start as Eiji super charges his dino axe and blows up Maki.
Unfortunately, the vessel heals Maki as Eiji collapses in exhaustion, reverting to human form. Maki comes for him again, but Eiji taps deeper into the Medals, ready to transform completely into a Greeed and sacrifice his humanity in the process. However, Ankh decides this is a sacrifice he can't let Eiji make, and he stops him with a grazing fireball. And now we come to the plot hole I mentioned. Maki took the Medals from Ankh's body. But he apparently left two more beyond his personal Core, or he never took the red Medals and Ankh just chooses not to use the Taka Core he claimed in the beginning of 47. Fuck it, I'm going with "Maki is terrible at villainy."
Ankh tosses over his last two Medals, then his personal Core. Eiji watches Shingo fall, freed, and realizes what Ankh's done. He looks at the Taka Core, his vision fading, so it's wonderfully ambiguous if he sees the crack or not. Either way, he knows Ankh wants to fight this last battle as part of Eiji, and he accepts his decision. Ankh's voice replaces the Driver's as Eiji becomes TaJaDor, angelic wings briefly appearing behind him. He has visions of Ankh appearing alongside him, backing up every attack, and Maki reacts as if hit twice every time Eiji strikes him. Ankh gathers his power into the TaJa Spinner, giving Eiji the force to blast Maki back. Maki takes flight, into the vessel, and Eiji finally ejects all seven of the purple Medals and inserts them into the Spinner, powering up Giga Scan as he flies after him. Maki blasts purple energy, but Ankh appears again, shielding Eiji with his wings. Both Eiji and Ankh gather their power and unleash their best attacks, and Ankh's fire merges with Eiji's Giga Scan, striking true.
The Birth Trio finishes off a pile of Trash Yummies, only to watch the vessel collapse. A black hole opens within Maki, taking in all of the Medals as he breaks apart, finally feeling satisfied and complete.
Ankh disappears, and the purple Medals all shatter. The TaJaDor Medals are sucked toward the void too, and Eiji desperately reaches for Ankh's Core, calling for him as it breaks in half, red feathers in its wake.
The vessel explodes, and Hina watches in horror, racing to find her friends. Eiji free-falls, unconscious from the blast, but Ankh's arm grabs his face and hits him, urging him to wake up before he dies. But Eiji's accepted it, knowing there's no way to save himself, and he asks about Ankh. Ankh says he got his wish to be alive, and when Eiji points out that he died, Ankh says that the fact that they think a mass of Medals like him can die is pretty damn satisfying. He finally tells Eiji that he made the right choice, giving him OOO's power, and he starts to leave. Eiji reaches out for him, but Ankh says that his isn't the hand he should be reaching for anymore. Eiji tries to grab him, but he disappears, leaving behind half a Core as Eiji screams for him in horror and grief. Hina reaches the site of the last battle and sees human-form Ankh waiting for her with a tearful smile before disappearing into the other half of the Medal, landing before her in a mirror of the opening. She takes it, crying, and thanks him.
Eiji hears Goto calling out for him, flying up as Birth to save him before he hits the ground. He insists that Eiji has to stop trying to do everything alone and tells him to take their hands. Below, Chiyoko, Date, Satonaka, and Hina have gathered, reaching for him. He realizes that he had it all wrong. If he really wanted the power to reach out to everyone, first he had to reach out and accept their help. He takes Goto's hand and softly lands among his friends, all of them holding him. But for all he realizes this now, it doesn't mean he regrets reaching out and taking Ankh's hand either, as he and Hina hold the halves of his Medal and stare off to the sky in his memory.
Kougami puts the finishing touches on his cake, amid the destruction of his office. Then he wishes Eiji a happy birthday and everything his heart desires, as the energy of life.
The epilogue takes place sometime later, and we see photos of Eiji traveling again, once more happy and dorky. Shingo takes Hina to school, reminding her to call Chiyoko later, as Kengo Utahoshi and Yuuki Joujima pass by on their way to Amanogawa High School. Goto returns to the police, and Date is once again doing medical work, this time in the jungle. Satonaka's back to work too, giving Kougami the birthday list so he can continue baking cakes. And Shingo, Hina, Goto, Date, and Satonaka gather with Chiyoko at Cous Coussier's Arabian Fair for a party. Date's a little shocked to formally meet Shingo, and Satonaka gives everyone a cake Kougami had baked for them. Chiyoko surprises them with a video call from Eiji, somewhere in a desert, doing much better. They all miss him, but they're glad to see the change in him. After finishing the call, Eiji takes up his underwear and looks at Ankh's broken Medal, also referencing the opening (note that he's even wearing the same outfit). He promises Ankh to see him again someday, unaware that Ankh is always with him, his hand following where Eiji can't see.
And if you're watching the director's cut, as I was, you see a final title card, reminding us that life goes on, anything goes, and so does the journey.
Ankh expresses some surprise at the thought of Kazari being "dead," but Maki points out how human that makes him sound. Greeed are artificial lifeforms created from Medals. They're not living, breathing creatures. Thus, Kazari cannot have died, not in the literal sense. Ankh has to agree, but he walks away and watches the others, facing the fact that they are no more than animated masses of Medals. Maki rubs salt into the wound by adding that they can't enjoy the warmth of the sun or the beauty of flowers or the taste of fruit. They are things, not people. But they are evolving, and that's why Maki needs Ankh to take Eiji's Medals. So Ankh resigns himself to taking the Medals Kazari left behind.
Outside, Eiji, Goto, and Satonaka plan an attack. With Eiji losing more Medals, Birth in for repairs, and both Riders injured, he suggested that they had nothing left to lose and should make the first move this time, instead of scrambling to react. When Hina asked where they should attack, Goto explained that he and Date knew the Greeed were holed up at Maki's place, but they couldn't afford the risk on attacking a whole nest of Greeed. But as Eiji pointed out, this is what they'd be facing anyway, so Goto realized that this would put the Greeed at a slight disadvantage, having to be on the defensive this time. Satonaka provided Goto with the Prototype Birth Driver, which has reduced power and is limited to Crane Arm and Breast Cannon, but it at least works. Eiji promised Hina he'd bring back Shingo, but she told him to take care of himself too, and he could barely make the promise. But now, it's time to go—Satonaka sets the traps while Goto sneaks inside and Eiji charges.
Ankh continues to mope about the nature of the Greeed when Mezool notes how different he seems, possibly because of his human body. She asks about tasting and how it felt when he tried eating, but he says it's something the Greeed would never understand. She picks up on his word choice, how he's disassociating himself from his Greeed nature, and he reaffirms that he hates humans, but he hates the Greeed more. She notes how unsatisfied he is and suggests maybe he didn't indulge enough while using Shingo's body. Meanwhile, Uva smashes a vase with a golf club, sensing something, but it still doesn't save him from Goto tossing in a flash and smoke grenade through the window. Maki removes the Medals from the vault, ready to run. Ankh walks out to see the commotion, but Eiji gets in and jumps him, grabbing two Medals. When Ankh tells him to give them back, he argues that he doesn't have enough. Ankh points out how much of a Greed he sounds now, and Eiji doesn't deny it.
Satonaka, in camo with oranges on her head for some reason—I don't know, I guess she's getting a head start on Gaim?—traps Gamel with tripwire and explosive candy, then leads Uva into a pit and tosses in a grenade. How did she get the grenade? I don't know. Satonaka. Goto, as Proto-Birth, stops Mezool from attacking her and throws her into a net, shooting her. Eiji now has the Lion Core again and asks one last time for Ankh to return Shingo to Hina. As his answer, he absorbs two Medals into his left, human, arm. There's a jolt from the power, and his eyes turn yellow for a moment as he struggles to control it. Above Eiji's protests, he explains that he's using Shingo as the Medal vessel to make up for his broken Medals and to become a new being more powerful than the Greeed. The remaining Greeed try to regroup, but Team Birth is ready with Breast Cannon and the Birth Buster. Eiji struggles to keep up with Ankh, but he loses the Medal case to Maki, who tells Ankh to let him take care of retrieving the purple Medals. Eiji fights the pain and tries to unleash his power, but Maki transforms and obliterates the battlefield with a rush of power.
Satonaka debriefs Kougami via webcam, revealing that they lost almost all of the Medals and Maki's a Greeed now, so that sucks. Plus, a couple of the Greeed can fully revive now. Kougami points out this is a serious problem, and she even offers to put in overtime if he has a plan. However, all he's got are OOO and Proto-Birth, so she starts to hang up. But he manages to stop her, admitting he has one more trick up his sleeve that might be able to help.
At the lab, Eiji and Goto reel from the defeat, although Goto does reveal he managed to steal back the Cheetah Medal, so Eiji has a combo. But he worries that Shingo is being assimilated into Ankh now and becoming a Greeed himself. Eiji promises to save him, but Goto asks why he's not as passionate about saving himself. He's worse off than Shingo, and Goto agrees with Hina that he needs to start protecting himself. Eiji points out that he doesn't want to become a Greeed, but that's the whole problem—Goto argues he has to figure out what he does want. Eiji's too flustered to think under pressure and apologizes, but Goto admits he's the one who should be sorry, for adding to the pressure on him.
Maki gives Ankh the stored Medals and Eiji's case. He now has half of them in total, but it's not going to be enough to evolve the way he wants or to lose control like Maki wants. Mezool, Uva, and Gamel aren't happy that their Medals are being handed over. Mezool takes hers from the case and demands the rest back from Ankh, then tries to flirt with Maki to get him to make Ankh give them up. But Maki tells her to stop pretending she can love when she can only experience it by devouring humans. And something seems to break in Mezool. She turns hard and angry, but she insists on getting her Medals, along with the others, all preparing to attack. Ankh laughs bitterly, finding their single-minded obsession with the Medals pathetic, but Uva says that Ankh's the same way. Struck by the comment, Ankh admits that he hates that feeling and hates all of them. He throws their Medals at them and tells them to go away. Maki tells him his hatred is fine, but he can't be reckless and impulsive like this. Although he admits it will stop Eiji, Ankh will have to take the Medals back. Mezool and Gamel have nine Medals now, and Uva has eight, the last still in Eiji's possession. Ankh finds himself again alone and walks past the Medal case, his last connection to anyone who might have cared about him.
Though both Mezool and Gamel have revived completely, Mezool abandons Gamel, telling him she's done playing as his mother. He's not enough for her, and she needs to feel love for real, so she abducts mothers and their children from the park. Eiji and Goto track her down to a water treatment plant, where all of the victims are trapped within Yummy eggs, the emotion transmitted to her. They find the eggs, but Goto warns Eiji not to touch for fear of hurting the people inside. When Mezool shows herself, Eiji realizes that this is what Maki meant when he said the fully revived Greeed would devour humans. Worse, she's not just draining the emotion of love—the people inside will die if trapped too long. They move the battle outside, where it's safer. Mezool turns into water to move quickly, becoming solid again to strike. LaToraTah can't even boil her off. She starts to short out Proto-Birth when Eiji finds a Ride Vendor and attaches the Tora can. Toride Vendor keeps up with her while the axe freezes her in place so Eiji can cut through, cracking three Medals. She starts to fall apart as the exhausted Eiji and Goto watch, but she still isn't satisfied. So, uh, did anyone save those people? Anyone? 'Cause we're in for a double heartbreak in a minute if not.
Maki prepares the Ptera candroid to retrieve her Medals, but Gamel arrives and takes her in his arms. The moment is so emotional that even the friggin' doll is crying. Mezool again tells Gamel that it wasn't enough. When he asks why, knowing part of "it" is him, she says it's because she's a Greeed. Then she falls apart, three of her Cores breaking. Gamel has one left and lets out a heartbroken scream as he revives, unleashing shockwaves that throw Eiji and Goto into the water while he screams Mezool's name...
Eiji Greeed, W Births, Ankh's Desire (Kobayashi/Morota): While Eiji floats unconscious downstream, Maki collects the remaining Cores and asks Gamel for the one he has. He refuses, determined to revive Mezool. Maki encourages him to let her have a beautiful ending rather than risk the pain on her return, but Gamel's had enough of him and charges. Maki assumes full Greeed form and lands a solid hit, but he loses his doll and thus, interest in the battle. Gamel leaves to revive Mezool while Goto pulls himself out of the water, calling for Eiji.
Eiji, however, has been washed out to the beach and wakes up as the waves sweep underneath him. He starts to get up, but the Medals inside him flare up again, and his left arm becomes fully Greeed, identical to Maki's. He thrashes and shouts in panic, trying to change back, but his vision is also starting to distort, and energy shoots through his head. He brings his right hand up to his head in pain, then panics again, thinking both of his arms have changed. It takes him a moment to realize that his other hand is normal, but shaking, and he finally admits to himself that he's afraid of becoming a Greeed.
Maki delivers Mezool's Cores to Ankh, who can only say that she's "gone," knowing there's no life to lose. He reflects on her observations about his dissatisfaction and walks to take the Medal case. He returns home and takes an ice pop from the freezer, slowly starting to admit to himself that while what he'd had there wasn't enough before, now, he wants it all back. He walks through his memories of Cous Coussier and his friends, the family he hadn't wanted but had gained, and he looks at the Medal case and at his reflection, again saying "you Greeed" would never understand. Hina walks in and stops when she sees him. She asks if he's coming home, but he holds up the ice pop and says he came for that. He tries to insist there are other things he wants too, though he can't quite express them, and he asks her to let him keep Shingo's body. She has to say no, the both of them tearing up. Chiyoko comes in, thrilled to see him, and asks if this means he and Eiji are coming back. But he says that only one of them might, then leaves. As soon as he's gone, Hina collapses into tears and Chiyoko rushes to her.
Eiji looks at his arm and tries to figure out how to change back, remembering Kougami and Date both urging him to remember his desire. But the only clue he has is Ankh throwing him the Medals. Still, he's back to normal and has the four Medals he'd saved. But the Driver fell off of him and washed up somewhere else on the beach. Gamel's still on the loose, and he worries about the damage he'll cause. The Medals flare up again, and he remembers Goto's and Hina's warnings, but he feels he can't worry about himself yet because he still needs the Medals' power to stop the Greeed.
Gamel's powers reduce anything he touches to Cell Medals, including humans. He spreads Mezool's tapestry and places her Medal down, but nothing happens. So he attacks more people, trying to get more Cells, but as Uva points out, it'll never work because her consciousness is gone. Uva himself leaves, vowing to be the last survivor. Satonaka notifies Goto of the attack. She's on a delivery run, so she makes a trade for the repaired Birth Driver, and he tells her to find Eiji. Turns out that's exactly who she was looking for, since Kougami has a present for him. Transforming, Goto rams the Ride Vendor into Gamel, but he changes it into Medals and sends Goto flying. Goto recovers quickly, though, and opens fire, reloading quickly with the Cells all around him, but Gamel gets mad the more he does. Satonaka hurries to find Eiji, but she slams on her brakes as someone jumps in front of her car. She looks at him in shock, then to the Proto-Birth Driver.
Eiji senses Gamel too and finally spots the Driver, but Ankh gets there first. He tells Ankh to give it back, but Ankh says they have unfinished business. With Gamel on the loose, Eiji's not in the mood to listen and charges. Ankh blasts him with fire, but Eiji lets his arm transform and deflects. Their arms cross, and Ankh is horrified at the change in Eiji, asking if he still believes in his reasons to fight. Eiji admits that although his body has changed, his reasons haven't, and Ankh has taught him a lot about the Greeed. They wrestle over the Driver and lose it on the gravel, but the fight becomes about everything but it. Eiji affirms that he'll destroy the Cores and prevent anyone else from reviving or losing control, and he refuses to let Ankh use Shingo as the vessel. Ankh says that that answer's just what he expected from Eiji, so he's decided that if he's going to get what he wants, he has to crush Eiji first. The fight ends up in the water, where they proceed to...uh....fuck each other to death. So that's a thing.
Eiji asks if Ankh's desire is to be human, and Ankh explains that he wants life, one where he can properly taste and experience the world around him. He kicks Eiji away and explains his fear that the Greeed aren't alive, and that's the real reason they desire so much—because they can't ever fulfill their wishes to taste, see, and feel. Eiji admits that he understands, but he still has to give up his humanity and become a Greeed regardless. Ankh says Eiji doesn't understand, since no Greeed would go around without a desire, the way he does. He asks if Eiji has a desire, and Eiji shouts back the same question, arguing that if Ankh wants life, then he should cherish life. But Ankh argues that Eiji won't understand until he truly wants something. He jumps on Eiji, asking him if he does want anything. And Eiji finally breaks. Crying, he admits that he did, but because of his trauma, he gave up on it and focused only on his immediate present. He finally admits what he wants—the power to reach out his hand to help others, no matter the distance, no matter the obstacle. And Ankh gave it to him by giving him the Driver. He finally thanks Ankh, leaving him completely stunned.
Goto takes a serious beating and decides that his only chance is a full power Breast Cannon at extremely close range, which will most certainly kill him if he fails. But before he can try, a Birth Buster fires on Gamel, and Date finally appears, fresh from recovery. He tells Goto that he never taught him stupid, suicidal attacks, then henshins into Proto-Birth. Gamel's confused, but the double Births charge into battle. Still, they have trouble, and Date has to admit that maybe Goto was onto something and agrees to the stupidly reckless attack. Goto warns him this might just land him back in the hospital, but they charge up their Breast Cannons and fire as Gamel charges. The explosion blasts them back, and for a moment, Gamel still stands. But Maki's attack earlier damaged two of his Cores, and he collapses, reverting to human form, still holding Mezool's Medal. He holds out a lollipop toward it, dreaming of her taking it and thanking him, and with a smile, he breaks apart, his Cores shattering. Goto and Date start to calm down, but Ptera retrieves the Medals.
Maki watches Ankh and Eiji's heart-to-heart, the doll making what I can only describe as an "Oh MY~!" expression. And yes, the George Takei impression is mandatory. Maki decides that that's enough of that and releases a Medal, throwing it into Eiji. Eiji thrashes around, the power quickly overwhelming him, and loses control. He strikes Ankh's arm, removing a Taka Core, his expression twisted as he stands, his eyes still glowing. Ankh asks Maki what the hell's going on as Eiji runs for the Driver and henshins into TaToBa. But there's a problem—his eyes are purple, and he still has no control over himself. As Eiji attacks Ankh, Maki throws yet another Medal. This one evaporates the transformation and painfully forces Eiji into full Greeed form—nearly identical to Maki, but with a smaller build and a white, skeletal head with a pink eye. Ankh goes for broke and forces Shingo's body to transform, assuming his true form. It's the first time we get to see it, in place of Lost Ankh, and while most of it is the same, the right side of his head has swept-back golden feathers, similar to his hair. Eiji moves almost cautiously at the new threat, but they unleash their powers of purple void and red fire, and clash...
Red Cracks, Fulfilled, Eiji the Vessel (Kobayashi/Tasaki): Two notes: First, I'm working off of the Director's Cut version of the finale, so there are additional scenes, and it took me a bit to remember where to cut off at. Second, while TV-Nihon translates the first part of the title 赤いヒビ ("akai hibi") as "Red Days," Google Translate gave me "Red Cracks," which is what Over-Time went with and quite honestly seems to be more correct. However, O-T's title doesn't seem to be completely accurate either, since it had the last part as "Eiji's Potential" where Google's also giving me "Eiji the Vessel," so...Google it is.
Eiji and Ankh continue to battle, and throughout the fight, we see flashes of their human forms, emphasizing that this isn't a battle between two monsters; it's between humans, friends. For all Eiji has changed and for all Ankh is a Greeed, they are both still human, deep down, and this is what makes the conflict so tragic. Ankh tries to get through to Eiji, who beats him up with wild attacks. He asks Maki why he gave Eiji those Medals if the whole point was to take his, but Maki explains that an out-of-control Eiji won't be able to resist his attempts to take them. Yeah, just one flaw in your logic: YOU JUST MADE EIJI STRONGER. Remember that whole thing with Lost Ankh? He had more Medals than Ankh, which meant that he was able to absorb Ankh by taking away all of his. Your entire plan hinges on Eiji not thinking to take all of YOUR Medals instead, which I'm pretty sure would end you, given you seem to be all Greeed now. Now, I don't want to step on your toes as the main villain here, but if it were me, I'd just kill Eiji while he was vulnerable, preferably in a shitload of pain from the Medals' Harry/Voldemort connection that keeps him from doing thing against you. Then pry the Medals from his corpse. I'm pretty sure that would get the same results in half the time. You're a fucking dumbass, Maki.
Someone in Toei's directorial staff apparently loved Power Rangers RPM, since we have one of those in-helmet shots that have become more popular since then—in this case, a shot of Eiji within his out-of-control Greeed form, wide-eyed and barely responsive. He remembers Kougami's words and his trauma, trying to focus on his desire for the power to help everyone. But in his state of mind, all he can latch onto is the idea of "power." He loses it again and transforms to PuToTyra, with Ankh desperately trying to fend him off. Maki urges him to defeat Eiji now, which is basically what Ankh is trying to do, damn backseat driver. Ankh tries to focus on his own desire, to live, and as Eiji charges, he prepares to launch fire. But Eiji's thank you echoes in his mind, and at the last second, he misses, to even Eiji's surprise.
Ankh can't understand why Eiji thanked him, and thus, he starts hitting him over and over, giving him barely any room to defend. He reflects that it was a mistake to give Eiji OOO's power, even as he thinks back on what Eiji did for him when they first met, and every time he helped Eiji and continued to give him that power since, and how Eiji stood up for him even when Lost Ankh tried to erase him. He tells Eiji that if he wants power, then he can't lose control this easily. Eiji charges, and Ankh punches him with fire hard enough that the purple energy dissipates and he returns to normal, losing all of his transformation Medals. Barely conscious, Eiji looks over and calls to him, as Ankh clutches his last Medal (which I think is a plot hole, but I'll get to it in a bit). Maki walks over to Eiji, calling to his Medals. Even exhausted and in pain, Eiji still resists, insisting he needs them. But Maki decides enough is enough and tells Ankh to kill him. Ankh walks over, but Eiji's delirious now, unable to remember what happened or why Ankh's there. He assumes it's for his daily ice pop money, so he tries to hand it over to him, leaving Ankh too shocked to do anything. Maki transforms his arm to do it himself, but Ankh stops him, not understanding why himself, and sets the doll on fire. The reminder of his own trauma and sin stops Maki, and he instinctively throws it into the water before realizing he has to rescue it. Though he still doesn't seem to understand, Eiji watches everything until he starts to lose consciousness, and Ankh turns and walks away. Satonaka pulls up and sees everything. For a moment, she looks back at the present, but ultimately, she decides that saving Eiji is more important. She brings him back to the Foundation, where he lies unconscious in Kougami's office while she apologizes for failing to deliver the present. Kougami decides to hold onto it, as staff hauls Eiji onto a gurney and wheel him out. She asks where he's going, but all Kougami will tell her is that it's a more appropriate place.
Satonaka does tell Goto that she rescued Eiji, however, and he passes along the message to Date. Date admits his surprise at how bad everything got after he left, and Goto apologizes for keeping quiet about it, since he'd wanted Date to focus on recovery. But Date thanks him, refocusing on trying to find Maki. Goto warns that Maki is likely to target Eiji now, and he updates Date on Maki's plan. The last Medals left are Eiji's, so he insists they head to the Foundation to protect him, and Date couldn't be prouder of how he's grown up. But unknown to them, Uva watches everything, still searching for his last Medal.
Hina explains everything to Chiyoko about Eiji, Ankh, her brother, and the Medals—the entire series, all laid bare. And Chiyoko accepts it, although she admits that there's one thing she can't make herself believe, and that's Hina's reasoning. She urges her not to accept a choice between Ankh and her brother or between Ankh and Eiji. Hina confesses her fear that her desires will only hurt Eiji, since he's the one who has to fight to fulfill them, so Chiyoko tells her to simply want all of them, and to try to make it happen. It's Hina's desire, and only she can want it, no matter what Eiji, Ankh, and Shingo want or need. Remembering Ankh's request to let her keep Shingo's body, she finally makes her decision.
Ankh comes to the forest, wondering just what he's doing, since he didn't even bother to take his Medal back from Eiji...which might be a translation error, to be honest, but whatever. You have that Medal, and this still isn't the plot hole I mentioned. But Maki comes up to him, warning that he's become too human, so he's no longer suitable as the Medal vessel. Ankh hurries to defend himself, switching to Greeed form, but Maki's too fast. He runs Ankh through, cracking the Core with his consciousness, taking most of the other Medals. Ankh tries to blast fire at him again, but Maki escapes, noting his disappointment that Ankh really was no better than the rest of the Greeed. Bleeding Cell Medals, Ankh realizes that Maki's right, and he's finally able to admit what's been bothering him all this time. Smiling, he confesses that he's felt fulfilled for quite a while. Hina uses the Taka candroid to find him, explaining that she learned how to use it by watching Eiji. When he asks why she came, she says she still wanted to talk. But she sees the Medals and realizes he's badly hurt. He insists her brother's body is fine, but she emphasizes that it's him, not Shingo, she's worried about. He staggers to his feet and says she'll have her brother back soon, insisting he no longer needs his body. But he nearly falls when he tries to walk away, worrying her more, and she asks what's wrong with him. He explains that his Core is breaking, and she asks if this means he's dying. He's surprised to hear it, her affirmation that he has a life to lose, and smiles before deciding it's time to go back and haul Eiji's butt out of trouble again. She follows.
Satonaka tells Date and Goto that Eiji was taken to the vault, but she doesn't know why, and the guys can't get in without a keycard. Since it's got nothing to do with her, she's going home for the night. Date complains about her cool exterior, but apparently hearing, she stops and says that she forgot to give Goto her master key so he can do his job as her assistant. They realize what she's really doing for them, and Date's impressed. They enter the OOO shrine, where Kougami has Eiji sitting in a throne in front of the TaToBa emblem, as if to crown him as the new King. Kougami explains that Eiji's finally unleashing his desire. Eiji apologizes to Date and says he's remembered now—his desire is power, to reach out and help others. But his eyes are still glowing purple, and neither Birth is willing to trust his judgment. To complicate matters, Kougami still has every intention of using him as the Medal vessel, filled with a massive stash of Cells—ever wonder why Date had to collect them? That's why. Kougami wants Eiji to go through the evolution his predecessor failed to achieve, to become a true OOO, a god of desire itself. I.E., everything the Izumi siblings don't want him to become. But because of the purple Medals, Eiji's far more likely to become a true Greeed instead. Kougami wants Date to talk Eiji into giving them up, but he and Goto decide that they're both nuts and try to keep Eiji from having anything to do with it. Because he needs some fucking help, people. Eiji's sure he can handle it, pleading with Goto not to let him fail to save anyone again. As long as the power to prevent that is guaranteed, he can accept the risk of becoming a Greeed.
Fortunately, Maki attacks, so Eiji bolts out to face him. PuToTyra takes on Maki-Greeed, each determined to take the others' Medals. Because giving Eiji seven and pushing him just over the edge of control so he's more Greeed-like and thinking, "I should really take the other three" was such a good idea, Maki. Team Birth henshins to try to take over the fight, but Eiji keeps pushing them away. Date and Maki manage to have a strange heart-to-heart, with Maki surprised that he's still alive and Date pointing out that it's thanks to him. Date sadly notes how much his friend has changed, and Maki says it's thanks to him. Great, guys. As if "For Good" wasn't depressing enough to begin with, you've just managed to make your own terrible version. A burst of Maki's power throws them all away and forces a reaction from Eiji's Medals, but he refuses to give them up and transforms into his Greeed form. Maki notes that it won't be long before Eiji completely loses control, so Team Birth once again tries to talk him into giving up his Medals. But Eiji's so focused on saving everyone that Date has to yell at him to look at his hands, the hands of a Greeed, the hands of a destroyer. He can't save anyone with those hands, with that power at all. Goto adds that Eiji needs to stop trying to do everything on his own. But Eiji doesn't listen, still losing control and humanity, and they have to hold him still.
Fortunately, now Uva's hanging around, watching from the shadows, and Maki tells him to finally do something, giving him his ninth Medal. Uva blasts everything with lightning, and Eiji shifts back to PuToTyra and attacks. But Uva feels nothing and completely kicks his ass. Team Birth runs in, taking heavy damage, and Eiji realizes he needs more power and runs back to the vault. He's so close to slipping that he even threatens Kougami if he tries to stop him. But Kougami is pleased, since it's the first time he's seen Eiji want something this badly, and the change is hard to believe. So he grants Eiji all of the Cell Medals in the Foundation's possession...
Tomorrow's Medals, Underwear, A Grasping Hand (Kobayashi/Tasaki): While Goto and Date prepare an attack on Uva, Date warns that he saw Eiji return to the vault. Both are aggravated and worried that he's being reckless and doing everything on his own. Uva overhears them and prevents the counterattack, even breaking all of their attachments and knocking them out of henshin. But an explosive sound comes from the Foundation. Eiji steps out, crushing the ground wherever he steps, his body heavy with Cell Medals, unusually calm. So...how did he take in all of those Cells, anyway? I mean, easiest answer is he used the O-Scanner, but they're inside his body. Was he able to absorb them? Did he eat them?
Maki watches, confronted by Kougami, who introduces Eiji as the true OOO. He reminds Maki that the Core Medals were created in sets of ten. The King never destroyed the tenth Medals; he used them. The King's TaToBa Medals have been waiting for 800 years, their powers stored. And now, Eiji uses them, warning Goto and Date to stay back. There's a nice change to the henshin design, where the emblems don't line up like usual. In hand-to-hand alone, Eiji hits Uva hard, with barely any effort. Then he dual-wields the axe and sword, giving Uva no room to counter.
And now we come to the part of the series that has bothered me forever—this one discussion. And I'm going to bring it up again with Go-Busters, just because I feel like it explains the way that series ended and the way things changed into ToQger. Kougami insists that the Cores must bring new life to the world, not an end. Maki argues that the world must end while there's still something beautiful left, rather than take the risk of it becoming ugly. And this sudden confrontation, almost stopping the action of the battle, which should be epic, given this is Eiji in a far stronger version of his default form, as the Cell Medal vessel...it leads me to this one thought. It sounds like Yasuko Kobayashi was considering her retirement. At the time of OOO, she had several huge hits with Toei. Ryuki and Den-O were very popular predecessors to OOO, and for Sentai, she'd done Gingaman, Timeranger, and the extremely successful Shinkenger. And as I said, there seem to have been some changes ordered by the executives for OOO, and the same was true for Ryuki. Not to mention that Den-O had a few major changes, most notably when Hana's actress unexpectedly left the show, replaced by a child actress. So this debate between potentially ugly continuations versus ending things while they're good...it sounds like a debate going on within Kobayashi's own mind. Like she got frustrated or was at least thinking, "Maybe this is all I've got left. Maybe I should leave while I've got a good legacy."
Ultimately, the discussion ends with Kougami insisting that the risk is worth it, with desire driving us to new destinations and creations and civilizations. And because of desire, OOO can save the world. But Maki still disagrees, finally setting aside his doll to talk to Kougami face-to-face. He insists that the end, with nothing left, is the ultimate accomplishment of humanity. Eiji defeats Uva with his Rider Kick, but Maki tosses him enough Medals to save him, thus meaning that TaToBa has the worst fucking track record with Rider Kicks. I mean, sure, Momotaros and others didn't favor them, but they at least got more kills than misses with theirs! Maki keeps adding more Medals, above Uva's protests that he doesn't want to lose control. Eiji runs in to attack Maki while Uva struggles to maintain control over himself. But Maki realizes that Eiji took in all of the Cells and knocks him aside, deciding he's too dangerous to be allowed to live. Well, now you're getting it. He throws energy at Eiji, but Ankh blocks with fire, flying in to protect him. Uva decides this is a good time to run, so Maki goes after him. Uva tries to take refuge in the abandoned motorcycle lot...and warehouse, naturally. But the goddamn doll shows up ahead of Maki again, who catches up and adds more Medals into Uva, noting that he should have used him from the start, since as a vessel, he's easy to overwhelm and has less resistance.
Eiji asks Ankh why he helped, and Ankh being Ankh, he asks for the ice pops he was promised. Eiji starts to laugh, but the King TaToBa Medals and the dinosaur Medals have a negative reaction, forcing him into PuToTyra as default as the powerful TaToBa Medals break. As Eiji collapses in pain, Ankh warns that he was reckless with his power again, and this time, Eiji doesn't deny it.
Goto and Date patch up at the lab, asking Kougami via computer if they can somehow remove the Medals from Eiji. Kougami says there's no way, and furthermore, Eiji won't let them go, implying that they probably would come out on their own, now that he has his desire back, but he's consciously keeping them inside him. Worse, there's a very strong possibility that the next time he uses his Greeed powers, he will lose his humanity altogether and permanently become a Greeed. But Kougami wishes them luck and tells them to keep helping the kid out. Date groans about how laidback he is, and Goto admits that in that way, Kougami's not all that different from Eiji, who he fears may be off on his own again.
Actually, Eiji's at the riverside park where it all began, buying ice pops for himself, Ankh, and Hina. Ankh makes Hina promise not to tell Eiji about his cracked Medal, afraid that the knowledge will make Eiji hold back in battle. Eiji does ask what made Ankh come back, and while Hina stays uneasily quiet, Ankh explains that Maki doesn't want him as a vessel anymore. And to Eiji's surprise, he adds that he no longer needs Shingo's body, Hina carefully adding that Ankh will give Shingo back "soon." Eiji's too relieved to read much into it, admitting it was the last thing he was worried about—to Hina's horror, since she realizes he's still not trying to save himself. He says he's glad that he and Ankh don't have to fight after all, but Ankh snarks that it's a shame they didn't get to settle things. Eiji says there's nothing to settle between them, but his eyes flash as he looks out on the water, and his vision goes fuzzy for a moment. It passes, and he sadly smiles as he admits there's nothing else. The distant tone of his voice scares Hina, and she fears she's losing him too, and she finds herself asking her brother what to do. At this point, a ballad version of "Anything Goes!" starts playing, and it sets the mood beautifully. There's also a music video to it that I'll review one of these days, and since I already analyzed the lyrics, there's not much to cover here beyond "Welcome to the two years where Kamen Rider remixed their themes specifically to make you cry." We'll discuss the other one when I review Fourze. Nothing Hina can do will help her keep Shingo, Eiji, and Ankh. All she can do is take their hands and hold them together, for now.
Goto works on the Births' maintenance while Date's frustrated that he can't think of anything he can do. Nothing beyond trying to ease Eiji's burden as much as they can, and trying to stop Maki. Goto reflects that he was naive for talking big about saving the world, when he can barely save a single person like Eiji. Date, who knows that burden well, tells him that learning that is what makes you grow.
Finally, we come to the all-important Kobayashi Summation. This is the scene at the end of a Kobayashi series where one character beautifully wraps up the entire series. In Ryuki, it was Editor-in-Chief Daisuke Okubo. In Den-O, it was Owner. For OOO, it's Kougami:
"As long as desire exists, something will change and be born. Even today changing into tomorrow is because of desire."
Desire is the engine for creation, and the future will be born in it. So he raises a toast and wishes happy birthday to a new day.
As the sun rises, Chiyoko sets up shop alone. But she finds the doll, dressed as Maki and holding three white flowers. She realizes he left it for her and looks toward the door he left open.
Uva finally loses control, and his body breaks down, all of the Cores circling and creating an octahedron with the Medals' transmutation circles floating around it, breaking everything in the lot down into Cell Medals. Uva is no more; all that's there is the Medal vessel.
It drops Trash Yummies by the hundreds, and Eiji, Hina, and Ankh run in, Eiji horrified to see what an out-of-control vessel can become. He and Ankh transform and attack all of the Trash Yummies. Meanwhile, Kougami ignores his own office being destroyed all around him, singing along to "Happy Birthday" as he finishes his cake. Team Birth takes over the rush of Trash Yummies so Eiji and Ankh can destroy the vessel, Goto making Eiji promise to come back. Fortunately, the Birth Trio is complete with Satonaka, arriving with a red jumpsuit and next season's pompadour, providing assist fire to the boys' delight.
Eiji and Ankh fly up, Hina watching the whole time, but Maki's in the way, and they all crash to the ground. Maki attacks Ankh hard enough to force him back into human form, then catches Eiji's axe in his bare hands to do what he should have done in the first place—stick his hand in Eiji's chest and try to take the damn Medals! But Eiji holds him tight and freezes them in place, saying he's got the power to defeat him. As he pulls Maki's hand away, he bleeds Cell Medals in a massive spray—every single one of them, all gulped down into the axe. Ankh realizes that this was Eiji's plan from the start as Eiji super charges his dino axe and blows up Maki.
Unfortunately, the vessel heals Maki as Eiji collapses in exhaustion, reverting to human form. Maki comes for him again, but Eiji taps deeper into the Medals, ready to transform completely into a Greeed and sacrifice his humanity in the process. However, Ankh decides this is a sacrifice he can't let Eiji make, and he stops him with a grazing fireball. And now we come to the plot hole I mentioned. Maki took the Medals from Ankh's body. But he apparently left two more beyond his personal Core, or he never took the red Medals and Ankh just chooses not to use the Taka Core he claimed in the beginning of 47. Fuck it, I'm going with "Maki is terrible at villainy."
Ankh tosses over his last two Medals, then his personal Core. Eiji watches Shingo fall, freed, and realizes what Ankh's done. He looks at the Taka Core, his vision fading, so it's wonderfully ambiguous if he sees the crack or not. Either way, he knows Ankh wants to fight this last battle as part of Eiji, and he accepts his decision. Ankh's voice replaces the Driver's as Eiji becomes TaJaDor, angelic wings briefly appearing behind him. He has visions of Ankh appearing alongside him, backing up every attack, and Maki reacts as if hit twice every time Eiji strikes him. Ankh gathers his power into the TaJa Spinner, giving Eiji the force to blast Maki back. Maki takes flight, into the vessel, and Eiji finally ejects all seven of the purple Medals and inserts them into the Spinner, powering up Giga Scan as he flies after him. Maki blasts purple energy, but Ankh appears again, shielding Eiji with his wings. Both Eiji and Ankh gather their power and unleash their best attacks, and Ankh's fire merges with Eiji's Giga Scan, striking true.
The Birth Trio finishes off a pile of Trash Yummies, only to watch the vessel collapse. A black hole opens within Maki, taking in all of the Medals as he breaks apart, finally feeling satisfied and complete.
Ankh disappears, and the purple Medals all shatter. The TaJaDor Medals are sucked toward the void too, and Eiji desperately reaches for Ankh's Core, calling for him as it breaks in half, red feathers in its wake.
The vessel explodes, and Hina watches in horror, racing to find her friends. Eiji free-falls, unconscious from the blast, but Ankh's arm grabs his face and hits him, urging him to wake up before he dies. But Eiji's accepted it, knowing there's no way to save himself, and he asks about Ankh. Ankh says he got his wish to be alive, and when Eiji points out that he died, Ankh says that the fact that they think a mass of Medals like him can die is pretty damn satisfying. He finally tells Eiji that he made the right choice, giving him OOO's power, and he starts to leave. Eiji reaches out for him, but Ankh says that his isn't the hand he should be reaching for anymore. Eiji tries to grab him, but he disappears, leaving behind half a Core as Eiji screams for him in horror and grief. Hina reaches the site of the last battle and sees human-form Ankh waiting for her with a tearful smile before disappearing into the other half of the Medal, landing before her in a mirror of the opening. She takes it, crying, and thanks him.
Eiji hears Goto calling out for him, flying up as Birth to save him before he hits the ground. He insists that Eiji has to stop trying to do everything alone and tells him to take their hands. Below, Chiyoko, Date, Satonaka, and Hina have gathered, reaching for him. He realizes that he had it all wrong. If he really wanted the power to reach out to everyone, first he had to reach out and accept their help. He takes Goto's hand and softly lands among his friends, all of them holding him. But for all he realizes this now, it doesn't mean he regrets reaching out and taking Ankh's hand either, as he and Hina hold the halves of his Medal and stare off to the sky in his memory.
Kougami puts the finishing touches on his cake, amid the destruction of his office. Then he wishes Eiji a happy birthday and everything his heart desires, as the energy of life.
The epilogue takes place sometime later, and we see photos of Eiji traveling again, once more happy and dorky. Shingo takes Hina to school, reminding her to call Chiyoko later, as Kengo Utahoshi and Yuuki Joujima pass by on their way to Amanogawa High School. Goto returns to the police, and Date is once again doing medical work, this time in the jungle. Satonaka's back to work too, giving Kougami the birthday list so he can continue baking cakes. And Shingo, Hina, Goto, Date, and Satonaka gather with Chiyoko at Cous Coussier's Arabian Fair for a party. Date's a little shocked to formally meet Shingo, and Satonaka gives everyone a cake Kougami had baked for them. Chiyoko surprises them with a video call from Eiji, somewhere in a desert, doing much better. They all miss him, but they're glad to see the change in him. After finishing the call, Eiji takes up his underwear and looks at Ankh's broken Medal, also referencing the opening (note that he's even wearing the same outfit). He promises Ankh to see him again someday, unaware that Ankh is always with him, his hand following where Eiji can't see.
And if you're watching the director's cut, as I was, you see a final title card, reminding us that life goes on, anything goes, and so does the journey.