This episode in a nutshell.
Because of one big misunderstanding, Luna thought that Super Sentai originally came from America and is under the name Powerful Rangers, causing her to accidentally alter the real world! Can the Akibarangers make the Powerful Rangers remember who they really are?
Because the real world is back to normal after the Dairanger episode, Luna's childhood about watching Akibaranger is suddenly wiped out in her head. In short, she never grew up watching any Super Sentai show. This made me conclude one thing, the Luna that we saw in the previous episode and in later episodes is the true Luna when it comes to personality. Speaking of which, I hate her. She is like the epitome of what hate about normal people, especially those who don't research the facts first and claim that x is right. After learning about Powerful Rangers, she just assumes that Sentai is just the same thing as Powerful Rangers even though it is completely different, which leads us to the plot of this episode.
Thanks to Luna, the Zyurangers are now the Powerful Rangers, their supposed American counterparts! What's interesting about the Powerful Rangers is how they were depicted; they were depicted as the standard American stereotype in foreign movies. Thinks that they are superior, they sound like jerks and to top it all off, their fight style is somewhat similar to American pro wrestling punch moves... and I like it. They played it for laughs and that's what is important, granted I kinda wished that they poke fun on Power Rangers a bit more, but I guess filling this episode with too many PR references might ruin it.
More on the Powerful Rangers, these guys team up with Malsheena because of her... fine ass and nice tits. Well that just made them sound like those stereotype American males, especially the African-American ones. After our heroes were beaten up by the Powerful Rangers and Malsheena team, they return to the real world where they learned that Gaoranger is the first Super Sentai and the company that is making Powerful Rangers is suing Toei! The best part about this scene is how Luna reacted, her face is basically the face of every non-otaku wondering why the otaku are flustered or pissed over something.
This then lead us to them discovering that it was Luna's fault in the first place and none of this will happen if she learned Super Sentai first before Powerful Ranger. What's sad is that their attempt to educate Luna about Sentai only end up to her dismissing that the American version is the superior version and not the Japanese version... even if it is quite the opposite at most times. But I guess what really struck me most in this episode is the scene wherein we see Nobuo and Yuko ask vendors about some old Sentai stuff while Luna here is wondering why they are so dedicated about it.
This scene reminded me of every single non-otaku wondering why an otaku is into "Japanese cartoons and comic books" as most people dismiss it as something that kids love. Even at the end of the episode, Luna's can't figure out what's with their dedication about Super Sentai even after they did some awesome speech how Super Sentai is a Japanese cultural treasure. It's kinda funny since in the last episode of the Dairanger arc, she claims that Akibaranger is a Japanese national treasure produced by Toei Company, Ltd.
Because Sentai is now Powerful Rangers, they also poked fun on one thing fans complain about Power Rangers, the not show accurate action figures and comics wherein our heroes are really muscular. I am not sure what's with America's love for extremely buff heroes, but the art used for Powerful Rangers is going a bit overboard and made them look like heroes using steroids. Anyway, this then lead us to the second battle in this episode as they introduced a new Trinoid, which is based on Smartphone Monger's body and like all Trinoids, he has other two random elements in it.
During this fight, Nobuo and Yuko try their best to make the Powerful Rangers return to their former selves, while as for Luna, she is just there observing what is happening. What I like about this scene is the dedication that we saw in Nobuo and Yuko, on how they talk about the best episodes of the series, even if they are being beaten up by the Powerful Rangers. And to be honest, I was a bit teary eyed when they are talking about it. If you haven't watched Zyuranger before watching this episode, you will not feel the emotional roller coaster ride Super Sentai fans went while they are watching Zyuranger, just listening to Nobuo and Yuko reminisce the events in the TV series is what makes this series extra special for Zyuranger fans.
At the end, their dedication and them doing some more Zyuranger references caused their minds to start remembering their true selves. To end this madness, Nobuo played the DX Zyusouken! For toy collectors, they will be pissed in this scene because the DX Zyusouken looks like no one touched the toy... and it's still in mint condition! Who in the right mind will open that box? Anyway, the Zyurangers are back to normal (less their voices) and Luna is amazed on who cool they are, obtaining the Zyuren Buckler, the Zyuranger's Penultimate Power.
This is the part of the episode that I am a bit disappointed, from all people, why give Luna the Penultimate Power? Why can't it be Nobuo or Yumeria? I know it is all her fault that they ended up in this situation, but it feels like she doesn't deserve it. Finally, they did the first proper team roll call, finish the MOTW with the new Penultimate Power and everything is back to normal. As for Luna, she decides to stay as an Akibaranger to improve her skills as an idol and of course, use it as her stepping stone in her career. Well that's not a surprise. Hopefully after this episode, she will give her some proper character development like what happened to Mitsuki in the first season.
