Ep. 2: Lame Spirits Return! Call Forth a Crimson Full Blast of Delusion!

Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger, Episode 2

## Episode Guide

**Lame Spirits Return! Call Forth a Crimson Full Blast of Delusion!** (再起する痛魂が喚ぶ赤き妄想のフルブラスト, *Saiki suru Itakon ga Yobu Akaki Mōsō no Furu Burasuto*) is the second episode of *Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger*. It serves as the introduction of Machine Itashar, the mecha of the Akibarangers. It also sets up the world of "Akibaranger" (that it occurs in a "prime" world where Super Sentai is merely a TV show). It brings in DekaRed's show persona Banban Akaza and actor Ryuuji Sainei.

## Plot

The second episodes picks up where the first one ends. The Akibarangers are shocked when Hiroyo show them street cam footage of their previous "battle" which involved mainly the Akibarangers fighting nothing, with the police coming in to save the vampire cafe. Nobuo is disheartened that their fight is plain delusion and runs off. Later he sees Banban Akaza in a parking lot, and yells after him. Banban recognizes him as Akiba Red and calls him "partner"... that is until the daydream wears off and it turns out it was Banban's actor Ryuuji Sainei that he had called. Ryuji says he's merely dressed in his Dekarangers costume for a Power Rangers S.P.D. event, but thanks him for his patronage. Nobuo is further disheartened.

Mizuki and Yumeria see a street vendor selling pirated dvds with a magic adhesive that covers the anime covergirl's swimsuit making her appear nude. She promises that once the adhesive is peeled off, the clothes come off as well. However, once it is done, it is the customer's clothes that are removed, replaced with a life-size replica of the adhesive. Miyuki and Yumeria walk away nonchalantly but are called back by the seller, who it turns out is ©Na. Shibuyakozorinahigenagaaburamushi appears and the girls transform, only to be defeated (and harassed) soundly.

As Nobuo ponders his life, DekaRed appears and gives him a stern encouragement, mostly involving charades and no words. The pep "talk" ends with DekaRed dropkicking Nobuo. Realizing he can make good with his delusions he runs off to help the others. "DekaRed" goes to the Sentai Cafe. It turns out he is a paid actor that Hiroyo hired to encourage Nobuo.

Nobuo and the others go out to find ©Na and Shibuyakozorinahigenagaaburamushi on Machine Itashar. While they manage to get it to transform into a robo, it wigs out and runs off because the Akibarangers do not yet have enough delusional power to control it. However, an imaginary version of DekaRed appears and helps the team battle Shibuyakozorinahigenagaaburamushi as ©Na walks off in dismay. DekaRed transforms into the Deka Wappa which Nobuo uses to defeat Shibuyakozorinahigenagaaburamushi (hopefully) once and for all. Listening in on the battle, Hiroyo wonders how on Earth DekaRed appeared in the Akibarangers shared delusion.

## Cast

* Nobuo Akagi: Masato Wada (和田 正人, *Wada Masato*)
* Mizuki Aoyagi: Kyoko Hinami (日南 響子, *Hinami Kyōko*)
* Yumeria Moegi: Karin Ogino (荻野 可鈴, *Ogino Karin*)
* Hiroyo Hakase: Maaya Uchida (内田 真礼, *Uchida Maaya*)
* Kozkoz Mita: Kozue Aikawa (愛川 こずえ, *Aikawa Kozue*)
* ©Na: Honoka (穂花, *Honoka*)
* Sayaka Honiden: Miiko Morita (森田 美位子, *Morita Miiko*)
* Shibuyakouzorinahigenagaaburamushi (Voice): Kenji Hamada (浜田 賢二, *Hamada Kenji*)
* Himself, Deka Red (Banban "Ban" Akaza): Ryuji Sainei (載寧 龍二, *Sainei Ryūji*)

### Suit actors

* Akiba Red: Sanshiro Wada (和田 三四郎, *Wada Sanshirō*)
* Akiba Blue: Haruka Oshima (大島 遥, *Ōshima Haruka*)
* Akiba Yellow: Fusayo Fujita (藤田 房代, *Fujita Fusayo*)
* Chief Clerk: Tomohiko Akiyama (秋山 智彦, *Akiyama Tomohiko*)
* Past Sentai Warrior: Hiroshi Maeda (前田 浩, *Maeda Hiroshi*)

## Tropes and References

* The *Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger* theme plays at least twice; once when Akagi sees Ban's actor in a car going over a script. It plays again when Akagi is encouraged by DekaRed.
* The *Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger* theme can be heard in the background in the store.
* Kozkoz is dressed as Ran/Purple Orchid of the Flowery Kunoichi Team, a villain Sentai team from *Ninja Sentai Kakuranger*.
	+ Another waitress is dressed as Ran Uzaki/GekiYellow from *Juken Sentai Gekiranger*. Both her and Kozkoz's characters in this episode share the same name.
* Akiba Red's rollcall involved movements directly from *Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger*.
* The "Full Blast" in the title of this episode is a reference to the Dekaranger movie: *Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger the Movie: Full Blast Action*.
* Customers at the Sentai cafe can be seen playing with DX Boukenger mecha toys.
* Understanding that yellows are known for their love for curry, Yumeria orders four bowls, the exchange between her and Kozkoz is similar to that between Daita Ooiwa/Kirenger in the first episode of *Gorenger*. Hiroyo tells her to remember that only two (Daita and Asao Hyou/VulPanther) out of all 36 did it, not to mention force it upon herself.
	+ However, while the 36th Sentai series aired that year, there were not 36 Yellow Rangers at that point, but 35 (counting Daigoro Kumano, who briefly replaced Ooiwa, and the two Yellow Fours, Mika Koizumi and her replacement Jun Yabuki) - unless Hiroyo intended to add Yumeria to that count.
* Hiroyo informs Mizuki and Yumeria that they didn't notice when the enemy triggered his flag for defeat, explaining that whenever an enemy says something like "Before you die, I'll tell you this," they're done for.
* The fake DekaRed that Hiroyo hires snaps Nobuo out of it by using, as Nobuo notes, the same drop kick Ban used to snap Hoji out of it in *Dekaranger*.
* When they first drive Machine Itashar, Nobuo says that they're going to the scene at Mach Speed - this is a catchphrase of Sosuke Esumi.
* The "team transformation" for Machine Itashtar is stated by Nobuo to be a Sentai standard since *Dynaman*, who were the first team to have a full team simultaneous summoning of a mecha transformation. (*Battle Fever J* and *Denziman* generally just had the team embark into the mecha, while *Sun Vulcan* and *Goggle V* had transformation movements but done individually by each member of the team piloting one after another)

## Songs

* *Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger* (opening)
* *Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger*
* *Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger*
* *Heroic Lily*
* *Ashita wa Akiba no Kaze ga Fuku* (ending, Aoyagi variant)

## Notes

* This is the first time a Power Rangers show is mentioned in a Super Sentai show. Then again, this is the first Super Sentai show that also refers to other Sentai series as TV shows.
	+ However Dekaranger has made nods to Power Rangers SPD in their past major appearances in crossovers.
	+ Additionally Power Rangers Dino Thunder has made a reference to Abaranger, however it was referred to as a Japanese tv show based on the Dino Thunder Rangers instead of Abaranger.
* The DekaRed that appears to Nobuo and "snaps him out of it" after he left the team is actually an actor hired by Hiroyo, while the DekaRed that assists AkibaRed in battle is unexplained and comes as a surprise to Hiroyo, as the actor she hired was in the Sentai cafe at the time.
* This episode has the second longest English title of all currently existing Sentai series episode, with 84 characters (including spaces).
* Nobuo's encounter with Ryuji Sainei/DekaRed would be echoed by Ban in *Uchuu Keiji Gavan vs. Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger* (2017); Secretary SophieFile:Icon-crosswiki.png mistakenly refers to Ban's old team, the Dekarangers, as the Akibarangers. Though Ban corrected her, he spontaneously proclaimed "Pain is Power!" to his confusion.

## DVD/Blu-ray releases

*Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger* Volume 1 features episodes 1-3: *Ep. 1: Lameness is Power*, *Ep. 2: Lame Spirits Return! Call Forth a Crimson Full Blast of Delusion!*, and *Ep. 3: Lame! Drunken Hero Adventure!*.

Akibaranger DVD Vol 1.jpg*Akibaranger* Volume 1, DVD coverAkibaranger Blu-ray Vol 1.jpg*Akibaranger* Volume 1, Blu-ray cover