Uchu Sentai Kyuranger: Episode 30 Review

Episode 30 of Uchu Sentai Kyuranger marks the end of the Time Travel Arc we’ve been following since episode 24 and it does so spectacularly, if a little unexpectedly. Previously, Don Armage had revealed his uncloaked form and dealt a lethal blow to Lucky, after the group had unleashed a devastating final attack on him. This left us with perhaps the show’s greatest cliffhanger to date and promised an interesting resolution.

Episode 30 itself picks up immediately where 29 left off and shows Orion buying the team enough time with his shield to organise a retreat. Unfortunately, his shield wasn’t powerful enough to protect him completely as we see him stabbed by the tip of Don Armage’s scythe.

Back on the Orion, Tsurugi believes he can find a way to save Lucky, even as their enemies make their advance on their crippled ship. A plan is formed and set into motion that will, if successful, revive Lucky. However, they still have an injured Orion (the warrior) and a downed Orion (the ship); how will the rangers get themselves out of this jam? You’ll have to see for yourselves.

Without delving too far into spoiler territory, at least what isn’t already spoiled by scans of magazines, this episodes is a lot of fun to watch, I’ve been following the time travel arc without quite being sure of where they were going with it and found myself rather surprised by the conclusion they chose. However if you’re a fan of realistic time travel as I am this episode may irk you in parts.

Kyuranger has a very pick-and-choose attitude with regards paradoxes. They mention the possibility of some but completely ignore others, but since this is a show with Pegasus armour that makes you dance, perhaps this isn’t surprising.

All in all, this episode is an excellent conclusion to the arc. It gives a very satisfying conclusion to an interesting premise while, at the same time, setting up several new plot threads that can be followed up in subsequent episodes.

In this regard, I think this episode demonstrates best what Kyuranger is trying to do. It’s a much faster paced show than some previous Sentai with a heavy focus on the Rangers being proactive, rather than reactive. It gives us short arcs that are not self contained and elements and consequences from one effect subsequent arcs.

Given the plot heavy nature of this episode and it’s quality in general this is an absolute must see episode. Without it, you’d have no idea what’s going on in the next episode and you’d be missing out on some really great moments.

What did you think of this episode? Did you like it as much as I did? Let us know what you thought in the comments.