Kimagure Orange Road episode 40

The Year's First Dream! The Monster Jingoro's Counterattack

Original title:
Hatsuyume da yo! Daikaijuu Jingoro no gyakushuu
Aired:
Jan 11, 1988
Synopsis by:
George Robbert
Instead of the usual, the teaser for this episode is a commercial for the movie T.A.P. Gun, staring Kasuga Kyousuke and Ayukawa Madoka. ``Advance tickets on sale now.''

On September 23, 1964, the United Union Air Force established an elite team for [the] top one percent of its pilots. It's purpose was to execute the art of anti-`kaijyu' [monster] combat and to insure that the handful of graduates were the best fighter pilots in the world.

They succeeded.

Today, the Airforce call it Team of Anti-Perdition. The fighters call it: T.A.P. Gun Team of Anti-Perdition

The year is 196X. Four planes are catapulted off the T.A.P. Gun carrier. They are vectored out toward a target. Madoka is the flight leader. She reprimands Hatta who is getting out of formation; he has a camera and just wanted to get pictures of the new monster for a newspaper. Komatsu is also out of formation, he has a microphone and wants to interview the monster. Yuusaku, in the fourth plane, sees the monster in the sea below. The planes attack it with missiles, but these seem to have little effect. Suddenly, an unidentified bogey appears on radar, approaching rapidly. A flaming comet passes by, almost knocking Madoka out of the sky. It blasts the monster, giving us a glimpse of its cat's head.

The comet fades out revealing a black plane inside. Madoka recognizes it as American. Its pilot identifies himself as the ``Black Fighter.'' He hasn't been paid yet, so he couldn't kill the monster. He's asking 250 thousand bucks.

Back on the carrier Madoka comes storming over to the Black Fighter. She's mad and throws her helmet at him. He catches it, spins it, and throws it back to her saying, ``Can't you remember your first man even when you touch him, Madoka?'' Kyousuke takes off his helmet and she does. Of course, the media loves this and crowd around the two, who are still glaring at each other.

The TV news is covering this. A bunch of kids are fighting to see this on TV. They love the Black Fighter. They're interrupted by Hikaru, who says it's snack time. ``Today it is skimmed dehydrated milk,'' not exactly the kids favorite. They're in a small house, called ``Orange School,'' under the railroad tracks. Every time a train goes by (frequently) all sorts of stuff in the house falls down. Hikaru imagines a tender moment with Kyousuke, where they are in each other's arms and echo Ushiko and Umao's typical dialog.

Back on the carrier, the leader of T.A.P. Gun, Kyousuke's dad, is briefing Madoka and Kyousuke on the monster's attacks. He shows photos of a sinking tanker, a submarine with teeth-marks, a whale carcass stripped bare, and a huge cat footprint. Kyousuke tries putting his arm around Madoka, but is brushed off. Kyousuke gets down to the issue of money right away. Madoka's not impressed that he's in this for the money, but it satisfies him. ``Dad, I'll do it!'' he says, flubbing his line. ``You weren't supposed to say that, remember?''

At a restaurant, Kurumi and Manami are waitresses. Komatsu and Hatta are there, trying to pick them up as usual. Master is talking with Kyousuke, he says the place is filled now, thanks to the cute twins he found. Kyousuke comments, ``They aren't the only reason, right? There's the quiet princess sitting there.'' He points to Madoka sitting by herself. Master says there are still some guys after her, but most have given up, she always turns them down. There's a rumor that she's being faithful to some man from long ago.

It is night near the Izu point lighthouse. The monster surfaces and attacks. It looks like a giant cat! The next day Kyousuke is driving in a roadster, listening to the TV describing this attack. He's on his way to Hikaru's, loaded with toys and gifts. When he arrives, he's met by Kazuya who lands on him and pins him. Kyousuke tries to give up, but Kazuya is playing ``Black Fighter'' who will never accept surrender. Hikaru comes out, overjoyed to see him. He gives the kids the presents; they're not too thrilled, they wanted some real help, not these toys. He also has a present for Hikaru, some money he got from his dad. She's always grateful, but notices, ``I know you're hiding something. Every time you appear here you seem to be hurt deeper inside.'' He denies this, and further conversation is interrupted by a passing train. It's such a habit with her that she ducks even though they don't need to outside. He's then, unwillingly, given some of the snack for the kids. Madoka is looking on from the distance, and sees this whole event transpire. Disappointed, she rides off.

Inside the harbor, the monster surfaces. It comes over to land, and climbs out. It's a 40 meter Jingoro. Kyousuke's dad notices this and makes some bad puns about a cat from the sea. Jingoro goes over and attacks a fish cannery, eating the whole catch. After this raid, it heads downtown toward Tokyo Tower.

T.A.P. Gun and the Black Fighter are scrambled to deal with this. Hikaru wishes that Kyousuke comes back safely. The missiles that T.A.P. fires at the monster do little more than singe the fur on its back. Kyousuke taunts Madoka about this, but she tells him to get away and let them do their job. She has Yuusaku decoy the monster, and flies in really close to put a missile in its mouth. As she flies in, she says, ``Kyousuke, you were good at nothing, but you gave your best shot anyway, and that's what I loved about you... Now you have everything...'' She fires the missile which does hit the monster in the mouth. Unfortunately, it catches the missile and spits it back out at her. It hits and her plane explodes in midair.

Kurumi and Manami are sitting listening to the radio. It tells how Captain Ayukawa has just been shot down. ``Can this country survive against this feline monster?!!'' The two recognize what's going on, ``Jingoro-chan.'' ``Jingoro-chan, you want us back that badly.'' They hold hands and disappear, teleporting someplace.

Kyousuke isn't taking Madoka's being shot down well. He climbs up high, and puts his plane into a power dive. ``Ayukawa! I just wanted to be a man worthy of you. Ayukawa! I'll get even with him for you!'' He uses the Super-Dimension-Pegasus-Comet-Laser attack. This hits the monster with a terrible explosion. Hatta is overjoyed at the photo opportunity.

Komatsu and Hatta lament the loss of their best pilots, and in vain too. Yuusaku is happy, since now he can have Hikaru. The two ask, ``How are you supposed to know about Hikaru.'' ``Don't forget your role now.''

A strange singing for Jingoro is heard, confusing everyone. It is Kurumi and Manami dressed up as Island Princesses. Jingoro revives and they sail off with him. It turns out that Jingoro was an island's guardian spirit who came to bring back it's twin princesses. They had run away from home and come to this town. Kyousuke's dad adds, ``I don't think that was the last of Jingoro. --- I always wanted to say that.''

In the restaurant Kyousuke is talking to Master over his milk. He's going to quit T.A.P., move back home and become a farmer. ``I'll give it my best shot from now on, like I used to...'' Just then, Madoka appears in the doorway and says, ``I heard you quit, so I did, too...'' Kyousuke can't believe she's not a ghost. She bailed out just in time, and wasn't killed in her plane. They move to kiss.

The camera pans back from the restaurant. Suddenly, Hikaru appears in the picture, far too big. ``Wait! You can't end like this! If Darling and Madoka join up, what about me?! I'll look like a fool!!'' Hatta has been filming a model of the restaurant. Komatsu comes over and tries to move Hikaru, but Yuusaku intervenes. This has been another of Komatsu's odd movies.