Movie REVIEW: No.1 Sentai Gozyuger vs Boonboomger
The Boonboomgers’ dream of completing the Big Bang Grand Prix is interrupted by the arrival of a new Kurumaju monster! As Bun Red battles the Galaxy Circuit Grumer on an alien planet, Gozyu Wolf suddenly appears before him. Parallel universes are beginning to merge thanks to Universe No.1, a monster too ruthless even for the Bridan.
One week later, much to the shock of his friends a very different Hoeru returns to Earth. Taking the form of Saint Gozyu Wolf, “Hoeru of Light” vows to end all fighting – turning on his teammates as he scatters both them and the Boonboomgers across the world. Guided by veteran Super Sentai Reds, the two teams must learn to work together to find out what’s happened to Hoeru and save the universe from collapsing.
Due to its placement at the very end of Boonboomger's story and towards the end of Gozyuger's (fitting comfortably after the team have gathered all of the Sentai Rings), No.1 Sentai Gozyuger vs Boonboomger is a film that's able to keep things relatively straightforward story-wise. The main villains have been defeated in both series (and in Gozyuger's case, the final boss is yet to to show up) so there's little here to tie things back to either plot. The story doesn't centre around any significant outstanding/high-ranking members of the Hashiriyan or Bridan like these films often do, instead just essentially featuring two particularly powerful monsters of the week that work well together. Unfortunately Boonboomger fans are once again robbed of the opportunity to see the team finally take part in the Big Bang Grand Prix (at this point it's fair to say that we'll probably never see it), but having one of said monsters be based on the event isn't a bad compromise. The film also makes quick work of establishing the Gozyugers' place among the real Super Sentai team, the Battle for the Rings being over at this point meaning that the Universe Warrior aspect of the series doesn't even come into play here. The tail end of Gozyuger made it abundantly clear just how the Gozyugers' universe fit into the wider Super Sentai tapestry, but just in case anyone watching this was still confused it's all laid out here quickly and clearly. It's a simple story of their two worlds coming together, and the teams having to learn to work together to overcome a common enemy.
When summarised like that the story sounds like the kind of high stakes setting perfect for a 50th anniversary production, but much like the rest of Gozyuger it remains fairly low key as far as the wider Super Sentai universe is concerned. At its very core Gozyuger was more about presenting a team of misfits that did things their own way but ultimately weren't all that different from their predecessors, and that's a theme that very much continues into their meeting with the Boonboomgers. Similar to their previous encounter with the King-Ohgers the Boonboomgers are almost the ideal match-up for the Gozyugers in that they're a far more traditional Super Sentai team in terms of set-up, ideal for highlighting those differences all the more. Though the teams butt heads in the way they go about things, with both Jou and Mira particularly dumbfounded by the Gozyugers' lack of teamwork, it doesn't take long for them to overcome these differences - the Boonboomgers essentially becoming cheerleaders for the Gozyugers once understanding that deep down they share the same Super Sentai spirit.
So Gozyuger vs Boonboomger is instead a far more character-driven story despite the universe-ending threat at hand, with Hoeru at the centre of it all. The idea of "Hoeru of Light" being sanctimonious to the point that he's prepared to help end the universe just end fighting and fulfil the ideal of "uniting the world" is a fun twist on the typical "hero turned evil" storyline, and actor Mio Fuyuno does a great job of portraying a very different version of the character to the one seen over the course of the series. The film itself does a good job of teasing out the mystery of just what happened to Hoeru for him to become like this, with the reveal proving to another interesting dive into the character. Whereas Hoeru of Light is a perversion of his more assertive qualities, the remaining "shadow" is a manifestation of all his insecurities. It gives a good picture of why Hoeru was such an interesting character and how much he grew over the course of the series, making for an interesting comparison with the more archetypal Super Sentai Red in Taiya. Though the resolution to this element of the story may feel somewhat anticlimactic, it nevertheless feels authentic to the character.
There's much less of a deeper dive into the rest of the characters comparatively, but the film makes up for it by splitting them into smaller groups and have them play off each other whilst undertaking challenges from veteran Reds. Kumade learns the importance of teamwork from Jou and Ishiro as they battle Captain Marvelous (Gokai Red), Kinjiro discovers he still has plenty to learn in his old age as he, Ryugi and Genba go on one of Satoru Akashi (Bouken Red)'s adventures, while Mira learns not everyone deals with a crisis in the same way as she, Rikuo and Sumino help Yamato Kazakiri (Zyuoh Eagle) find a lost dog. It's a good opportunity to see how these very different characters fit together, with Mira and Rikuo having some particularly good scenes together as the former fails to understand Rikuo's goal of being everyone's idol. While the rest of the groups' interactions feel a lot more truncated, both the group choices and the challenges themselves are still fun. That said even this crossover isn't exempt from Gozyuger's troubles surrounding Sumino, with Kohaku Shida being green-screened into several scenes just as she was towards the end of the series.
But while the film may focus more on the individual teams, that isn't to say it doesn't have any anniversary elements. At a stretch you could argue that certain aspects of the film riff on similar set-ups from previous Vs Series movies (the way the groups are guided by veteran Reds feels very similar to the plot of 25th anniversary movie Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger vs Super Sentai), but undoubtedly the most significant aspect is the return of Mitsoumi Takahashi, Ryota Ozawa and and Masaki Nakao as Satoru, Marvelous and Yamato respectively. The choice of these three reds is certainly no coincidence, with them representing the 30th, 35th and 40th anniversary series in the franchises. It's a shame Noboru Kaneko (Kakeru Shishi/Gao Red) and Kiita Komagine (Kaito Goshikida/Zenkaizer) didn't return to represent the 25th and 45th anniversaries as well, but three out of five of the franchise's most significant anniversary celebrations isn't bad. All three actors slip back into their characters like they haven't been gone at all, and seeing them each guide their juniors in their own unique ways is wonderful. For Marvelous it feels particularly evocative, with him lending his powers to another team just as he once had them lent to him. Their presence may play a big part in the story, but the film is also careful to not let these returning favourites overshadow the stars. Even their involvement in the climax, in which they battle revived villains from their own series, is kept to one side.
Gozyuger vs Boonboomger makes somewhat good use of the two series' array of side characters, keeping them in largely limited roles but pairing them up in ways that make sense and/or work well. Little scenes like seeing Shirabe and Bouquet realising they share similar levels of obsessiveness don't add much to the movie, but the joy they bring make them some of its most memorable moments. Likewise the unlikely friendship between the (newly bearded) Sakito and Fire Candle - both key characters in their respective series but feeling somewhat side-lined from the main action here. Sadly the film also criminally underuses the Sanseater trio, who appear early on only to be barely seen again afterwards. Focusing on specific characters isn't necessarily a bad thing (especially when said characters are the titular ones), but when the supporting characters are just as much an integral part of the shows it can feel slightly lacking when they aren't as prominently featured.
Then of course there begs the question of whether a more lowkey crossover was the right way to celebrate Super Sentai's 50th anniversary - and in another respect mark its end as well. True that the approach feels far more true to Gozyuger's overall design in celebrating the spirit of Super Sentai in a more unique way, but with both the series and Summer movie taking that approach the crossover movie was essentially the last hope of something bigger. Even the appearance of the veteran Reds, wonderful as they are, doesn't feel that out of the ordinary, with Boonboomger itself already having featured returning characters in a similar capacity. The climax of the movie, in which Boonboomger Champion Robo and RyoTega Sword hold back a planet made up of past enemy bases with an attack featuring clips of previous Super Sentai robo finishers, is a lovely moment of reverence to the five decades that precede it but also a bittersweet reminder that this may be the last we see of the franchise for a good while. Just when production on the movie started isn't clear (other than being before the Maya Imamori scandal), but it would have been known that the franchise wasn't continuing after the end of Gozyuger. As such what is largely a relatively straightforward crossover film, even with its wider franchise elements, feels like a somewhat unceremonious end to 50 years of adventures. Even the return of the "Vs Super Sentai" tagline (or even playing around with it the same way Zyuohger and Zenkaiger did) might have made it feel that little bit more remarkable. Whilst there's certainly an argument to be made that Gozyuger vs Boonboomger shouldn't have to service the wider franchise in any big way in order to be a success, it also isn't hard to look at the 50th anniversary in a very different way with the knowledge that it's also the end of Super Sentai for the time being.
No.1 Sentai Gozyuger vs Boonboomger doesn’t end necessarily Super Sentai with a bang, but instead follows the path previously forged by Gozyuger by celebrating the franchise’s 50th anniversary by its own rules. It carries the spirit of Super Sentai through a more character-driven story, emphasising how two seemingly different teams really aren’t that different after all. Meanwhile the anniversary elements, while certainly present, are more subtle and serve to enhance the story rather than dominate it. The indefinite hiatus of the franchise makes the film all the more bittersweet – and because of that it should be perhaps feel bigger than it is, but ultimately Gozyuger vs Boonboomger isn’t a bad note to go out on.
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