The Bioman Gear Power Up Arc

I'd like to review the Bioman power up arc. There may have been some foreshadowing that Dr. Man would upgrade his troops sooner or later. If Mika's death could somehow foreshadow Silver's arrival. Episode 18 has the first Mecha Giant made of super metal with an exposed weak spot.  The Metalmegas was also like that. Dr. Man was already figuring out how to find stronger alloys and power sources to power up his troops. Sadly, Farrah Cat was never upgraded for a reason.

Typically, a show would shake things a bit. Bioman belonged to the older era where upgrades were rather minimal -- presumably due to budget. However, a big upgrade was done in Bioman. Both Gear and the Biomen were powering up! It's a four-part arc where Doctor Man decides to do what I'd call BADLY NEEDED SIGNIFICANT UPGRADES!

Episode 30 has Doctor Man run out of his supply of the Mecha Gigans. Doctor Man finally succeeds in creating the New Mecha Gigan. Doctor Man probably studied his previous failure in episode 18 and after countless failures -- found a better way to do significant upgrades. I still can't help but agree with UkiyaSeed that the Beastnoids are getting repetitive. Two out of the five Beastnoids are destroyed. It's said that Aquagaiger and Messerjuu were written off because they were too organic-looking. The other three that survived weren't. 

Typically, Super Sentai villains focus on Bond Villain-type plans. However, there seems to be that mandatory time when these villains get more serious than usual. Doctor Man learns that the passing by comet would intervene with the Biomen's spandex ahem NOT spandex suits. Doctor Man launches an all-out attack with the five Beastnoids. It turns out Doctor Man was carrying out something from episode 19, "A robot can always be replaced." It was time to weed out the weaker Beastnoids from the stronger ones. 

Is it me or do villains tend to have bad aiming? The Metal Megas could've just destroyed the Biomen directly. Instead, Doctor Man displays what might be badly-needed supervillain logic. The Biomen somehow survived the Metal Megas attack BUT NOT MESSERJUU AND AQUAGAIGER? Seeing them dismantled completely is there. Juuoh is seen with Psygorn and Mettlzer -- all badly damaged! The remaining Beastnoids try to destroy Shiro but fail. Juuoh breaks apart but his parts were most likely still usable. It's possible Messerjuu and Aquagaiger were complete scrap at that point!

Episode 32 features Mason and Psygorn getting updated. I feel Psygorn's initially working with Farrah was because Hirohisa Soda didn't have an idea what he wanted. Psygorn became Mason's closest partner though he'd still work with Farrah (again) but not as often. Mason and Psygorn receive really scary upgrades! Mason has a gatling gun and some powerful rockets. Psygorn's overall polish makes him look scary! Psygorn can now fire deadly death rays and control vehicles. The car driving without a driver is one scary episode. Jun Yabuki does a lot of Over The Top stunts here c/o Sumiko Tanaka. Psygorn later gets defeated when the car hits him. 

However, the Biomen need to develop new power-ups than rely on sheer luck. It's also in this episode when the Biomen develop the Bio Particle Cut attack. It's because the Super Maser broke in episode 31 against the Metal Metas. Metal Megas was only defeated because of a weak spot that got exposed. That was just random luck. 

Episode 33 reveals Farrah and Mettlzer getting upgrades. Why didn't Doctor Man give Farrah Cat some upgrades?! The production crew may not even want to tell why. Farrah probably only got redesigned from within and that's it. I find Farrah's new design silly. What in the world was Doctor Man thinking giving her siren breasts? Farrah spits out a dangerous fire beam that causes mass destruction. Mettlzer's new upgrade has him looking scary instead of dopey. Mettlzer could fire a more dangerous version of his eye beam and stretch his right arm. Okay, why didn't Doctor Man let the claw arm stretch too? Budget anyone? 

The Biomen must develop a new technique to defeat Gear. They barely claimed victory in episodes 31-32. They can't always wait for some car to arrive and let Jun do such a dangerous stunt ALL OVER AGAIN. They go under intense training. Shingo Takasugi's past as a baseball player in his younger years is revealed. Shingo tries to overcome a past trauma so they can develop the Super Electron attack. 

Episode 34 wraps things up. Monster devotes himself to finding Juuoh's parts. Doctor Man actually gave that exemption presumably because he created Monster for power. Doctor Man mentioned to Prince, "Take no account for his stupidity. I created him for power." Juuoh is reinvented with chest rockets. Monster was most likely meant to be an industrial robot at some point. Monster has a claw upgrade, a blade upgrade, and a spiked mace upgrade. 

The episode has Peebo losing his memory. Peebo lost his memories after the base explosion. Peebo was planning on creating the new Bio Suits. The Biomen are unable to use them immediately. This episode has one of the most Up to Eleven unmorphed fight. The Biomen are taking the risk of fighting the TWO NEWLY UPGRADED DUMB AND DUMBER combo UNMORPHED. It was also what triggered the Bio Particles from within -- allowing them to use the new Super Electron attack. 

Updated: November 15, 2024