Go! Go! Loser Ranger! Season 2

Episodes 17-18

As one battle comes to a close for our intrepid Fighter D, another one begins, and these trials will force him to reckon with his greatest challenges yet. What is more dangerous for our would-be anti-hero? Is it battling with an infamous boss monster like Magatia, taking out the Green Keeper himself, or - perhaps most nefarious of all - going on a date with a certified maniac like Yumeko? Granted, it could be argued that none of these obstacles stand up to the monumental task of beating Hisui at a round of “cram as much yakiniku into your face as humanly possible.”

So far as the climactic showdown with Magatia in “The Arrival of Green” is concerned, the episode is more or less just a perfunctory wrap-up of the arc we've been following for several weeks now, but that isn't to say that the result isn't entertaining. Yes, the “reveal” of Chidori as the Green Keeper is the least surprising twist in the history of this show, since the number one rule of any Sentai series is that the guy wearing clothes with conspicuous coloring is going be a Power Ranger, no matter what. Still, that doesn't make it any less fun to see Chidori power up with his massive hammer and bring the smackdown to the big snake so everyone can finally escape this time-loop nightmare. Our boy Fighter D even gets to contribute by being the one who outs Yuu as Magatia in disguise, which sees the show playing around with the silly time shenanigans one last time before moving on to the next order of business.

Just about the only major complaint I can level at this conclusion to the School of Illusions story is the same one I've had to bring up every week, so far: The animation still sucks. It's not the falling-apart-at-the-seams production that actively ruins the source material, but the stiff artwork and weak storyboarding do nothing to elevate what already worked just fine in manga form, either. Ideally, a good adaptation will leverage the unique strengths of the medium to create an experience that stands apart from any other version of the story. We're not in “glorified motion comic” territory yet, thank God, but I can't imagine that the show is bringing that much to the table to set it apart, either.

Thankfully, “Lost in Confusion…Seriously” has more focus on character interactions and internal conflict that allows it to sidestep the problems brought about by Loser Ranger's lackluster aesthetics. For one, we're finally bringing Fighter D's growing attachment to his human friends to the forefront, a development that is perfectly timed with Yumeko's reappearance in his life, what with her gleefully setting about on a mission to kill Chidori in cold blood and steal his Dragon Artifact. We still don't know much about what is motivating this girl and her brazen attempts at usurping the Dragon Keeper's authority. Still, I missed her wild-card energy and the fun chemistry she has with Fighter D. Urabe and Yukino's return also livens up the drama with the big battle everyone gets into later on (though the show is still struggling to give every member of its unreasonably large cast something to do).

Outside of the admittedly distracting dips in animation quality, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is continuing to deliver on the promise so disappointingly squandered last season. We've got Boss Monster battles, Dragon Keeper brawls, and plenty of intrigue and subterfuge. What more could you ask for? Other than a show that looks halfway decent most of the time, of course. I don't think there's any hope of that wish being granted anytime soon.

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Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+ on Sundays.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on BlueSky, his blog, and his podcast.