Review by Corey

April 1, 2005

Galeon crashes through EI-01, causing it to enter the atmosphere and burn up. The remains crashes in Tokyo, and begins to absorb vehicles from above ground to regenerate itself. Knowing of the threat, the Japanese government creates a secret organization to prepare for extraterrestrial attacks, and call it the Gutsy Geoid Guard. As the GGG grows and built its forces, so does EI-01. Back in present time, Mamoru heals this Zonder just as he did the last, leaving the wrestler crying in happiness and thanking him. Leo points out that EI-03 was also human, and Taiga tells Entouji to ensure Mamoru doesn't escape. Guy tries to reach out to Mamoru with GaoGaiGar, but Mamoru silently flies off. GaoGaiGar doesn't have the energy to go after Mamoru, and Mikoto thinks Guy has died as GaoGaiGar falls on its face. Leo brushes the comment off, saying Guy is very stubborn. In that time, Entouji is able to trace the energy Mamoru emits. Mamoru lands in a field a short distance from his house, thinking of a news report he saw on GaoGaiGar after the first incident. He snaps out of it to find himself surrounded by police cars and helicopters. Mamoru runs, only to be cut off by Hyuuma's helicopter and being trapped by the soldiers, all with weapons pointed at him. He screams in desperation, which wakes up Galeon. The lion takes off, finding Mamoru just as he's being dragged away. Galeon opens its mouth for Mamoru, and flies off once more after he steps in. Hyuuma and Leo watch the scanning of Bomber Death, and comment that he seems to be a normal human being. Kazuo comes on a monitor, telling them that Galeon has arrived with the boy. Taiga and Swan are waiting for Mamoru, and Taiga steps forward and explains to Mamoru where he is. Swan soon says her piece, telling Mamoru that they want to know about his power (with some scattered English in her speech). Galeon lowers its head for Mamoru, and he steps out to a smiling crew. Meanwhile, Pasdar chastises Penchinon for wasting his Zonder Metal, and Penchinon says he has no excuse, and comments on the appearance of the black robot. Polonaise suggests that they should create a Zonder in a very populated area, to make it difficult for the robot to battle.

In an empty train depot, a man sitting on a panda makes train noises and wishes he was strong like the locomotives around him. Polonaise appears before him, bringing one train to life and greeting the man. Mikoto sits by an unconscious Guy, who's back in the medical room being monitored. Leo again says that Guy is fine, which causes Mikoto to yell at him for not caring. Leo says that every father cares about their child's well-being, but since Guy was supposed to die two years ago, he lets him do what he wishes, and is just there to support what he does. Hana and her cousin are shown on TV, swamped by reporters asking what they saw. Mamoru's dad watches the report, while his mother tells Entouji on the phone to send Mamoru her regards. The rest of the team watches as Mamoru is scanned, and realize that he's human. Taiga asks Mamoru if he can do one more thing for them, and says he should tell his parents that he's an eyewitness in the robot investigation. Back in the train depot, multiple locomotives interconnect, and Entouji tracks where they're heading on the railroads. Taiga wants to send out Guy, but Leo says it takes at least 12 hours for Guy's body to accept replacement parts. Mamoru reacts to the Zonder movement, just before a sobbing Mikoto bumps into him. Seeing Guy on the operating table, Mamoru walks up to him and touches the G-Stone on his wrist, awakening Guy. Swan announces that his vital signs have returned to normal, as Leo says that it must be advanced technology to accomplish such a feat. Guy sits up, telling Mamoru to stop calling him Mister once again. The LinerGao pursues the Zonder, slowing it to a stop. Mamoru charges into the Main Order Room, requesting he be taken out to the fight. Just as Taiga tells him he can't do that, the trains meld and transform, becoming a massive red mech. Guy uses the GaoBrace to call Galeon, quickly transforming into GaiGar. Taiga wastes no time, having Mikoto signal Final Fusion. EI-04 tries to break GaoGaiGar's barrier, only to fall on its rear. GaoGaiGar uses Protect Shade to defend itself from the flaming coal that EI-04 fires, but they bounce erratically off the shielding, torching the neighborhood around him. Refusing to harm innocents, GaoGaiGar starts taking punishment from the cannons. Taiga realizes there's no way they can fight in this position, and has the Dividing Driver launch. The team says it could destroy the city, and Taiga says that Guy will succeed as he has before, because he's a hero. The Dividing Driver, a massive arm-mounted screwdriver, launches, and GaoGaiGar takes to the sky to connect it to his left arm. Using it, he opens a dimensional rift in the ground, creating a massive arena below the surface without harming the buildings around it. GaoGaiGar drops the Dividing Driver, and EI-04 begins to again fire out a torrent of flaming rocks. They land all around GaoGaiGar, creating a massive cloud of smoke. Out of the smoke comes the Broken Magnum, which takes off EI-04's head. Out of the sky comes GaoGaiGar, doing a heel drop to EI-04's still broken face before reattaching the Magnum arm. Too busy to regenerate, EI-04 tries to overpower GaoGaiGar with its massive arm. GaoGaiGar reactivates the Broken Magnum without detaching it, knocking away the arm and allowing him to begin punching around the train mecha. With a powerful haymaker, GaoGaiGar makes EI-04 stagger back and crash into the wall, giving him time to take the Core with Hell and Heaven. Mamoru calls out to Guy not to break the core, and tells the team that it won't work without him there. The core turns back into a Zonder monster, and Guy wonders what's happening.

Let this be said right now; this is the episode that got me hooked on GaoGaiGar. Usually in mecha series, there's very little actual fighting. Most of the time the star uses its trademarks (be they weapons or special attacks) to handle the enemy in different ways, and even dueling is more of a dramatic clash. On that note, I had never before GaoGaiGar seen a robot feint with its special attack to use a flying heel drop on its opponent, and I probably never will again. The battle is exciting, the theme music pumping as GaoGaiGar just pounds on the Zonder for a straight minute. All action aside, the episode brings up what will be a continuing theme from here on: putting innocents before yourself. I think this is great, because it means that the Machine Kings will be trying to figure out new ways to put civilians in the path of their conquests to hinder the GGG team. The Dividing Driver is one odd contraption, although the premise is definitely interesting. A lot of random weird things show up as well, such as Primarda dancing around Polonaise while he's trying to talk, Swan's constant use of English in strange places, and the train enthusiast's to-scale panda. A few questions are again left lingering here. The most important one being, what happens when Mamoru isn't there to heal a Zonder? We'll definitely see, but in the introduction, you catch a glimpse of black and white mechs in the background being worked on before it cuts to the title song. It seems like GaoGaiGar won't be working alone soon enough.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars



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