Akibaranger Episode 5 Review: A Mother's Love

The episode starts off with Nobuo entering the cafe as he orders some curry and we can see that Magiranger episode 24 of Magiranger (my fave episode!). When he gets his order of safari curry, Nobuo notices Moegi in her new cosplay outfit. Today she is an alien and in the background is playing a very familiar tune. When Nobuo says she was getting signals from space (he's just playing along) Moegi responds saying her mother is coming today. Now Nobuo thinks about Sentai once more as he remembers about the "parental visit" episodes and now he demands to go to where Moegi lives. They get to her room as Mitsuki is seeing an otaku's room for the first time and Nobuo is happy to be in a girl's room...(creepy). The first thing Nobuo does is trying to hide all the otaku items. When Mitsuki asks why Nobuo starts to talk about the "parental visit" episodes as he worries that Moegi's mother could hate the idea of her daughter fighting. He wants to make a good impression so that Moegi can keep fighting along with the team. Moegi says that he shouldn't be doing this, but Nobuo insists that he does. Mitsuki thinks that since it's just delusions things should be fine, but after thinking a little more it's dangerous in a different way. Nobuo rants on about how parents can be agaisnt the otaku pride as he says his mother throws out a lot of his figurines and then yesterday she was going to throw away a pillow of Aoi. The two females now just learn that Nobuo is still living at home and look at him differently. He quickly gets back to work as he tries to put somethings in a closet. Inside of that closet though was Moegi's fantasies and Nobuo is completely horrified of them (it also doesn't help that we hear noises... I don't want to describe them). After that disturbing moment, Mitsuki kicks Nobuo out calling him a pervert and saying that her and Moegi will do the cleaning.

Nobuo is confused on why he was called a pervert and when he sees a normal couple he starts to think of something. Inside of the room Mitsuki notices that Moegi makes her own cosplay outfits from scratch and wonders if Moegi makes normal clothing. The two start to look around the clothing and Nobuo pops in asking if Moegi has a boyfriend. He comes in at the wrong time since the Moegi has panties and a bra out. We cut out of the scene and when the screen comes back we see that Nobuo got a hard smack to the face as the mark is still there. There he asks the same question and Mitsuki thinks Nobuo is trying to make a move. Nobuo says no and says he is being serious and Moegi responds with a no and that her type of males aren't in this dimension. Noe Nobuo is afraid of the other common Sentai trope in the visiting episodes. This is the trope when a parent forces the heroine to find someone for marriage, but it's just a way so that their daughter can be off the team. Moegi tries to say no to that, but Nobuo brings up Chisato (Mega Yellow) and how her grandmother tried to force her out of the team by that method. Now Moegi agrees and sees that Nobuo should act as her boyfriend. He is shocked by this and enters a delusion where he sits next to Moegi on a park bench. He thinks of the two about to kiss, but Sayaka in a wedding gown appears? She is sadden to see Nobuo around Moegi and runs off as Nobuo starts to yell out her name and soon Mitsuki hits him with a toy hammer. The two could easily imagine what Nobuo was thinking and like before they show disgust on their faces. Back to the plan now as Mitsuki recommends to get Moegi into some normal clothes. The doorbell rings and Moegi tries to answer it, but Nobuo stops her. She thinks it just a package, but it is her mother as she appears wearing some classy clothing. Under it though is a similar alien outfit and everyone is in shock to see her. The two introduce themselves to her and Moegi's mother is happy to finally meet the two Yuko talks about. There the two realize that Yoko is Moegi's real name and she says her name was Miyabi when she was famous. Moegi is now happy and Nobuo is relieved that there is nothing to worry about.

Now the whole group go on a walk around Akiba. During the walk Nobuo calls Hiroyo about joining in on the fun, but she rejects the offer. The group enter a store where there is Aoi Doujins and Miyabi remembers this artists and Moegi is collecting Aoi Doujin's from the same artist. Mitsuki sees them as well and thinks it's an Aoi manga, but Nobuo quickly tells her to not read them. Next Moegi and Miyabi gets the attention of some local men as they take pictures of the two and also get interested with Mitsuki mistaking her for a cosplayer. Now they enter into a wig store as Moegi finds a pink one and Miyabi gives it to her for her birthday present. The team asks if it is really her birthday and it is as Moegi is now 24. Mitsuki wishes she would have a present and Nobuo finds one at the stores as it is some sexy laundry (hopefully he was joking or he gets more creepy points). Meanwhile Hiroyo is looking up about Moegi's mother and in fact she was very famous back in the days. Finally the group stop near a resturant as Moegi and her mother go in since they ate their when Moegi had her first birthday in Akiba. The two enter as Nobuo and Mitsuki let them be. The two continue to walk around ans Nobuo notices that a cafe that opened recently has already been closed. Near the cafe was a poster for the opening of a host club and Nobuo is angered by this. They soon realize that there are even more host clubs around and one of them has replaced a Super Sentai store where Nobuo was planning to buy the Bioman Super-Electric deluxe set (those fiends!). With Nobuo enraged they enter the host club and see the men hitting on the women. They are creep-ed out by the place and notice a familiar face. One of the host is Kabukicho from episode 3 (let this by less creepy, please!). Kabuki then notices the two and transforms into his monster form and the old lady around him was Malshina. Kabuki was revived by Malshina and the other host turn into the grunts. Kabuki then tells the two about his new plan to make Akiba into Kabukicho. Nobuo says that this city is for the people who are bad around the opposite sex (I found my new home!) and there the transformation starts!

Before the fight even starts, Nobuo is confident in himself since revived monsters are always weaker than the original and they probably don't need Moegi's help. Back to Moegi as she is getting her cake and Hiroyo calls her about the fight. She decides to go and leaves her mother at the table saying she will be back in a minute. Yellow appears after the drones are already defeated and when she sees Kabuki her heart soars. The two get her out of her love delusion (thank goodness I don't want to see "that" again) as the team start their role calls. Red mentions that his favorite parental episode was with Vul Panther and Yellow does her usual rambling, but what is different is that their explosion goes off at the wrong time. They try to get a do-over, but the fight has to begin and Kabuki isn't that weak this is because the last time they fought him was when Red and Yellow were drunk and that is when they are stronger in the delusion world. Kabuki gets a hold of Yellow and tries to make a regular at the club. She rejects the offer saying she doesn't love him like that and Kabuki punches her so hard that the transformation cancels out! Kabuki then stomps on Moegi's stomach and tries to stomp on her head, but she holds onto his foot. She shoves him away, but he quickly kicks her in the face. Soon her Z-cune Aoi device is knocked out and her mother appears to save her! The team wonder how she gets her. She sees that Kabuki is the type of character that Moegi will go moe for, but she would rather want Kabuki to torture another man than her own daughter (so that is where Moegi got that from). She then picks up the device and transforms into Akiba Yellow! She goes into role call calling her self the seductive cosplaying MILF, Akiba Yellow! She actually performs a role call unlike the original Yellow.

Now the new Yellow enters the fight and does a cut move on Kabuki. She then performs a usual thing Miss America does in Battle Fever if I am correct and we learn that Miyabi cosplayed as Miss America once. Now Nobuo sees that this is the type of episode when the parent is actually very happy with her child being a hero. Malshina then attacks, but Yellow gets the first attack and gropes her and Malshina does the same to Yellow. Malshina then gets out of the fight and tells Kabuki to defeat her and if he does she will order another bottle. The two hold onto each other as Yellow takes him and herself higher up onto a cliff where she starts to throw him around like a rag doll. She gets Kabuki on the ground and uses her seduction moves on him. Yellow promises that she will make Kabuki the number one host, but it was all a distraction as Red and Blue open fire on him. Malshina is very disappointed in Kabuki saying he is the type who just flutter to other woman and she stomps away as Kabuki tries to get her back. Miyabi goes back to normal and gives Moegi her device as she transforms back into Yellow. With her back in action she flies and kicks Kabuki and Red and Blue take out their weapons from the official teams. Kabuki is soon caught by the Deka Cuffs and the team perform a new finisher. It reminds me of GoGoV a little, but it's more like a parody of the cannons in Super Sentai as it is the Mega Moe Fire version of the Moe Magnum finisher! Kabuki is killed and Miyabi comes to congratulate her daughter. She sees that Moegi is having a lot of fun without her around and it's all thanks to the otaku education she gave to Moegi. Yellow then tells her mother that she is happy to be her daughter and the team head on back. They appear in Moegi's apartment for some reason and she doesn't have her pink wig on. Miyabi is also not around and that is because she died five years ago. We then hear the backstory of this as Miyabi died in a car crash a month later when she visited Moegi in Tokyo. Moegi usually spent her birthdays with her mother in her mind, but today she finally got to say more to her mother thanks to the power of delusions. Also the reason Miyabi appeared is because of Nobuo's sentai delusion about the parental visit episodes. We end the episode with a real birthday part for Moegi, but the cake soon starts to fly for her face...whoops!

Episode 5 was very interesting. First I liked how they played with this type of episode and the ending is actually very touching. I wasn't really expecting her to be dead, but it does make sense since only the three heroes can enter that world. There are laughs in the episode and it thanks to Nobuo again with how he acted with the situation. The fights were good with Miyabi's fight being great and funny. Going to that character, Rica Matsumoto was a blast to have in this episode. She acted very well with the otaku mother and the character herself is very excitable like Moegi, but what she had was more of an attitude. The villains were a little better than usual with how Malshina and Kabuki were acting like a couple. Overall it plays with the Sentai theme well and keeps the Akibaranger comedy along with a touching little story about a mother's love. I give it an A-

Next Time: Darn if only Gai was around he would be ecstatic over this.