My Top Ten Favorite GoGoFive Episodes

Well, it's GoGoFive's 20th year for the past few months now, isn't it? So I thought I might do a bit of picking my top ten episodes for this series. It's been 20 years and I thought GoGoFive still deserves its tribute as "Doing Fiveman right." with the Tatsumi family. Now, I'd like to pick my top ten favorite episodes. The show's so badass so it's hard to rank them so be patient with all the hasty choices, okay?

10. Rescue Activity Suspended (Mission 8)

This episode features about learning from one's mistakes. Lightspeed Rescue did add a bonus by trying to replace the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers with robots. Kenji Inui (who I wish was acted by Hiroshi Miyauchi) appears as the rival of Dr. Mondo Tatsumi. Hmmm, can you imagine if Winspector's captain met face-to-face with a Super Sentai team? I just love how this episode shows that rivals too can be best friends. I also wish Mami Yamasaki from Winspector were the secretary alongside Inui himself.

9. The Mold Comes (Mission 6) 

Is it nightmare fuel and is a reference to some Rescue Police episode? I remembered the Winspector episode when mutant alien blobs infested a town. It gets frightening when a deadly virus starts to gain sentience and is in danger of destroying the world. Shou thinks of leaving the team to pursue his dream until he realizes his family needs him. The nightmare fuel is really that great. Hmmm... I just wish Masaharu Yamashita guest-starred in this episode!

8. Younger Siblings' Rebellion (Mission 13)

The bond of a family is important, isn't it? Unfortunately, Matoi is no Gaku in terms of handling family matters. I may always say GoGoFive is better than Fiveman but I can't say that about Matoi and Gaku! The siblings do their revolt and they get caught in a disaster. The value of the family is shown when Matoi realizes that he shouldn't be too bossy. Hmmm, if you ask me this show also further cements my opinion about Carter having the better characterization as a calm-headed leader too! But Matoi's being weaker than Gaku and Carter in that department somehow made the episode a little more satisfying to watch as not all great leaders start out great either.

7. Yellow Leaves the Front (Mission 27) 

You really had to be that careless? This features Daimon getting careless and having injured the child in the middle of a battle. It's also about taking responsibility. For some reason, I just can't take the judo episode that seriously regardless of how badass it is. Maybe, I prefer Chad's karate over Daimon's judo huh? The child gets hospitalized and it teaches a lesson in not leaping before you look. I love how Daimon still manages to get a hold on himself even after a major mistake that could've gotten anyone fired from the military.

6. GoGoFive's premiere episodes (Missions 1 - 2)

GoGoFive is probably one of those classics with a totally well-thought-of premiere episode. I did like Fiveman's premiere episode but this is cooler. The GoGoFive team as siblings come to face their father who was forced to abandon them. The reason behind it couldn't be revealed so shades of Voltes V, anyone? The two-parter features how the siblings had to quit their jobs as assigned by their father to become the GoGoFive team. Hmmm... I wonder why didn't they have an Arthur G-6 humanoid android than just the non-humanoid Mint? These episodes were but a foreshadow of how good a Super Sentai series it will be.

5. The Grandeo asteroid/Victory Mars arc (Missions 29 - 30)

Desperate times call for desperate measures, don't they? The first part consists of my favorite member Nagare's love life with a former classmate. It wouldn't make sense for Nagare to be romancing a mermaid here unlike Chad in GoGoFive and Yousuke in Dynaman (which only lasted one episode and was easily dropped), right? The arc has Grandienne wishing to use an asteroid to drop into Earth so she can feed on death. I wonder why didn't the members of Silver Imperial Army Zone think of that to allow their final goal to be achieved? The second part has the release of a new robot called Victory Mars. The GoGoFive siblings must test the new robot to destroy the giant asteroid before it causes massive damage on Earth. They risk themselves fighting in outer space and the possibility of getting crushed by an asteroid. Perhaps my only complaint is that the villains could've thought of this earlier. Lightspeed Rescue's counterpart was quickly followed after Bansheera returned quite incomplete. On the other hand, I wish Lightspeed Rescue made it into a two-parter. But these are just very minor complaints from me!

4. The Grandienne descent arc (Missions 24-26)

I love to say that Grandienne is Meadow from Fiveman done right. Meadow was just later written off as an illusion projected by Vulgyre which IMHO was a disappointment. Fortunately, Toei would later do justice to the concept in Grandienne. The two episodes focus on Grandienne's descent into her bodily form. I wonder are Grandienne's incomplete form and her complete bodily form unused concepts for Meadow in Fiveman? The episode also features how Matsuri develops and gets out of her older brothers' shadows. Lots of nightmare fuel here especially when Grandienne shows what Fiveman could've done with Meadow. It also introduces us to Drop evolving into Salamandes -- showing a much more dreadful premiere than Chevalier did in his first appearance in Fiveman. Salamandes may have no experience prior to battle but he shows he can just be as cold, depraved, and extremely dangerous!

3. The Dark King Salamandes Christmas battle (Missions 42-43)

Should I even call Salamandes as Chevalier from Fiveman done right? Chevalier appeared in Fiveman as a genuine threat but later decayed into a goofy villain. Heck, it made his death as the "most powerful death" quite laughable. Salamandes is given his ultimatum by his mother -- destroy the GoGoFive or never return! Christmas Eve was also the anniversary of the disappearance of the Tatsumi family's matriarch and she's been a coma for that long. Salamandes shows he's not be joked around especially with how he nearly ended the GoGoFive. Grandienne not too pleased with her favorite son's failure also banishes him too.

2. The Dark King Zylpheeza arc (Missions 19 - 22) 

This arc has been what I'd call "Handling Garoa right." and the Super Five Robo arc in Fiveman in a better way. That is making Zylpheeza still a genuine threat instead of decaying him like Garoa would later be in Fiveman. The arc follows the very angry Grand Bitch Grandienne still in spirit form against her eldest son. The possibility of a new Dark King in the form of their youngest brother Drop is here. What I love about the series is that Zylpheeza decides to unleash the Psyma Hell Siblings to prove he isn't kidding. Garoa may have unleashed some desperate moves here and there but Zylpheeza is surely more serious and deadly. Also, there's none of that Zylpheeza getting into the janitorial post as he launches an attack that kills him for the first time.

1. GoGoFive's finale arc (Missions 47-50)

If Junki Takegami has any real strength -- it's that he writes really good finales. I even find Go-Onger's finale better written than what Power Rangers RPM and Go-Busters offered. I still feel Judd Lynn and Yasuko Kobayashi share Toshiki Inoue's problem of weaker finales. The whole finale arc cements my whole opinion that Grandienne is Meadow done right. Grandienne shows how cruel she can get by ordering Zylpheeza to shoot Kobolda -- what kind of mother ever does that? There's a bit of Exceedraft reference (if ever) where Go Red punches Grandienne -- something that Draft Redder did to Iwao Daimon (who is Satan in a business suit) in Exceedraft. Grandienne's body gets destroyed but she cheats death again. It's pure nightmare fuel as Grandienne's dark spirit envelops the whole Earth and leaves an atmosphere of despair. Grandienne goes as far as to turn both Zylpheeza and Salamandes into her mindless minions as she ravages the Earth into eternal destruction. This is what I'd call the finale both Fiveman and Lightspeed Rescue sadly never had.