Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z - 47

Well, I know you guys have been waiting weeks for continuing coverage of the show. Since pKjd has been rather busy lately and is also tired from his trip to Anime Expo 2007, he has asked me (Umandsf) to fill in the rest of this. I hope I don’t disappoint him. And now, without further ado, let us proceed.

「旅は道ずれ、モジョとキーン！」
Companions on the Road, Mojo and Keane

We begin this adventure with a distraught and recently dumped Ms. Keane, a down-in-the-dumps Mojo, and a now-able-to-change-eye-color-on-a-whim Miyako. Smells like a winner to me. The distraught Mojo decides to take his lovely Mojo Robo in order to steal a banana. When the girls appear and complain about his disregard for the cleanliness of the city, Mojo’s gives up the entire time. The poor monkey attempts to commit suicide, or as close to that as the show will allow, but is saved in time by Blossom. He begs them to punish him, since he considers himself an absolute failure. The ever positive Bubbles tries to cheer him up with a very wise thought: “To despise oneself and give up is like losing to oneself.” Buttercup reminds her of Mojo’s intentions, thus changing her advice to: “There are some things in life you just have to let go!” Maybe Ms. Keane could benefit from this. However, the still pleading monkey is left literally hanging. As he makes his way down the streets, and the worried Puffs trailing him, he comes across a magazine advertising a hot spring. Ms. Keane shows up at this point and reveals her problems with Ueno. Mojo is ecstatic at this news, causing Keane to enter super freaky mode, as she sees her unhappiness pleasing to him. After that little moment, she says she wants to go to a hot spring to heal her broken heart, and Mojo asks if he may come along. Buttercup can’t believe it, but the other two think this is some rather juicy stuff. They take a train to Nikkou, but Mojo’s consumption of fried shrimp brings back painful memories of Ueno. Mojo calms down Ms. Keane and the two enjoy their meal, while the girls ride along outside. Poor Buttercup has to wait as Blossom and Bubbles watch the events before them unfold. When they arrive at Nikkou, Mojo tries to cheer up Ms. Keane, but this only causes her to remember Ueno again. Afterwards, they go into the city, where monkeys have begun harassing the tourists there. As Mojo prepares to defend his lady, the simians tell Mojo that they were inspired by his attempts at conquering the world and also congratulate on his acquisation of a “fine lady.” The girls watch all this but fly off after a group of monkeys steal their food. With the girls out of the way, the monkeys lead the couple to a secret entrance of a hotel. Once there, Mojo builds up the courage of asking Ms. Keane if she would like to live with him there. I mean, if she has no problems with mole people, I don’t see how a monkey could be a problem. Unsurprisingly, she agreed, thus killing a part inside me. Mojo decides to show Ms. Keane his true form, whatever that means, but before he could, a drillmobile pops up and Ueno is kicked out, landing into the arms of the now elated Ms. Keane. They depart and leave Mojo in absolute shambles, and he decides to go on all-out destruction modes. The worried monkeys contact the girls, but they are furious that the same monkeys who lured them away are now asking for their help. They quickly get rid of each non-human primate in the area, and Mojo goes back to his rightful place in his lair.

In the end, the episode was a rather strange one. This pretty much confirms that Ms. Keane is, by far, the most ridiculous character in this whole show. Many people may have hated Mojo because he wasn’t serious about his efforts, but his efforts are genius compared to what Ms. Keane is. Mojo’s acceptance of his failure was actually very pleasing to watch, as the egotistical monster has realized that he can’t have everything. If anything, Mojo of PPGZ has more average human qualities and the Mojo of old. Whether you see that as a good or bad thing may vary. Obviously, the animation error early on was one of the most significant in the series. At least it was fixed before she turned her head. Ridiculous story with a few bits of good here and there (i.e. the amazingly angered Powerpuff Girls Z) make for a very odd combination indeed. It time to resurrect the golden shuriken of reviews, with this part receiving…

「いきなり登場！ パワパフキッズ！」

Sudden Appearance! Powerpuff Kids

Now that Mojo has his world conquering desires replenished, he sets forth with his plan…by stealing candy. After his success, Mojo wonders aloud how the girls would be easy to defeat if they were kids. The ever vigilant Him picks up on this, and the girls arrive to blast Mojo away and return the pilfered sweet. However, the girls stare in wonder at the delicious lollipop and decide to get their own. Can’t blame them, either. I want my own childhood back. Anyway, at the lab, Ken tries to tell them that they are immature, but they don’t care. Defeated, he has no choice but to eagerly ask some for him, his father, and Peach. In the candy store, Him begins his plan and infect some lollipops, which happen to be the same that Blossom chose. They sit down to eat and the effects of the candy begin. At the lab, the Professor decides to check up on the girls, but they are greeted by the girls…but much younger. Blossom doesn’t recognize the caller and hangs up. The girls seem to also have lost their memories, since no one knows the others, but their personalities still shine through. As they make their way back, they come across Mojo, who becomes absolutely elated that the girls have become what he wanted. His celebration scared Blossom and Bubbles, but Buttercup lands a blow on Mojo, starting one of my favorite scenes in the series. The girls each inadvertently send Mojo flying into and through stuff, all while thinking it’s fun. I actually feel sorry for Mojo, because from the looks of it, he got pretty banged up. Once he makes his landing, the girls want more, but he says this kind of activity is only for amusement parks. The girls then ask to be taken to one, but Mojo refuses. Oh, Mojo. You know never to deny such a request to kids. The girls begin kicking Mojo until he finally surrenders. Him watches the scene and becomes bored. Mojo then realizes that at the amusement park, he can have the girls drop their guard and attack them then. The first ride is the spinning teacups, where Blossom spins it much too fast, causing the cup to loosen and crash. While the girls laugh at the fun ride, Mojo ends up with his head in the wall. Bubbles them points out to a pedal-powered swan boat, giving Mojo the idea to dump them in the water when they least expect it. Unfortunately, Buttercup grabs control of it and pedals really fast, causing Mojo to be dragged along the water. Mojo goes on from one right to the next but ends up getting hurt every time. He decides to have them ride a roller coaster, since they won’t be able to move around. Just as he is about to strike, the coaster flies off the rails, (someone should be fired for this) but the girls magical powers cause it to fly around instead of crashing. They then come to a parade and want to go see it. They ask Mojo to carry them, but Mojo just tells them to fly instead. They climb up Mojo anyway, and Mojo reluctantly lets them watch. Tired from the day’s fun, the girls fall asleep instead, and Mojo sneaks them into his house. At least he remembered to remove their shoes first. He tucks them into bed before realizing this is his chance to strike. He tries to, but the girls’ cuteness prevents him from landing a blow. I mean, what kind of cruel, cold-hearted person would want to hurt these kiddies? Him is disappointed at Mojo’s inability, but it just happens to be time for his show. At this point, the girls wake up and fly off to cause more problems for Mojo. They come across the ice cream in the refrigerator and ask to eat. Mojo lets them, knowing that the upcoming brain freeze will incapacitate them. Just as Mojo is about to strike, however, Him’s spores leave the girls, and they return to normal. They’re not sure what happens, but decide to attack Mojo, at the same time, showing us where exactly their weapons come from. The spores return to Him, who is doing his exercises (familiar, anyone?), and send a chill down his spine. At the lab, the Professor believes the ice cream must have made the spores leave and decide to use that in his research of Him’s weakness…but not before they all have their lollipops and ensuing transformations. (Aww…tiny Peach!)

Fun, fun episode, but it should have been a two-part story. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it as much as everyone else did. Was it just me, or were the girls’ heads a tad too large?

*to be continued

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