Go-buster is this kind of weird potential turning point, in the way that Kamen Rider W set the stage for a lot of what would come soon afterwards, Go-busters was meant to be a jumping point for the remainder of sentai's future for the foreseeable future. Their was just only one thing that would change the way, Go-busters being successful. Unfortunately we are in the world where it wasn't successful, sales for the season, though not the worst, were well below standards, only supported by the fact another sentai was released that year in Akibarangers and the ratings, after slowing decaying, had finally reached the lowest they had been since Ohranger. So Toei did a mulligan and went back to basics the following year with Kyoryuger. Though it would find some life later on as people came to enjoy the unique things it did and how unafraid it was to do some things, its only in hindsight that we miss such things. But that wasn't the case at the time a good chunk of people thought the season was too different for the norm so when the time came for the return movie, I guess someone was like, alright, you want go-buster to be a more standard affair, fine here you go.
As the Go-busters prepare for the new year, they find that a mysterious new threat is attacking, one not picked up by their sensors and lacking Enertron, the group rushes out to face it, only for the monster to cripple the zords. Introducing himself as the Great Demon Lord Azazel, he proceeds to walk through the rangers, even the powered custom rangers... and kills them. Yeah, the go-busters are killed right then and their... well that was a short movie. Okay not really, Nick wakes up in heaven and learns from god (who despite looking like Enter is not Enter) that he is the millionth death of the year just beating out Beet J. Stag and earns a wish of his choice (except killing Azazel because... obviously) so Nick wishes the event that changed everyone's lives 13 years ago didn't happen, that Messiah didn't existed. God obliges and Nick wakes up back in the first episode in a different continuity where everyone leads different lives. Hiromu is a teacher in training at the EMC College Agricultural High school, Ryuji is the PE teacher, Yoko a student, Jin is the groundskeeper assisted by J, while the EMC crew are the principal and his respective assistant. But all is not peaceful as a new threat attacks intending to convert all living matter into which sees Kuroki and Jin recruiting the group to become Dōbutsu sentai Go-busters.
Tokumei vs Dobutsu
And after that the story is... pretty much not existant, rather the film is made up of a couple of vignette's of a season that could've been, after the set up of what is a first episode we skip ahead to episode 5 which abridges it ranging from Hiromu and Yoko getting chemistry and denying it while Ryuji and Hiromu have a good old fist fight in order to settle differences and now that they are friends. Go-buster Returns take the many of the cliches that existed in the Showa and early Heisei and pushes them to the most ridiculous edges, though while some jokes may fly over the head and just be stupid (If you are not familiar with early sentai finishers, the use of a ball is going to fly right over your head.) and again, comedy is sort of a subjective thing, what I find funny may not be funny to other people. And in the case of this, it is very funny.
Tragically saying goodbye to the greatest green ranger this franchise has ever created which is saying a lot.
While some knowledge of the past may help you, return still has plenty of other jokes that may help them, everyone here from the main cast plays an opposite version of who they were, so for example Ryuji played the cool older brother type in the main show, here plays a the hot blooded- big guy. Know some are a bit more harder since Yoko feels pretty and J is basically the same character to the point that while everyone else has different visor his is the same much to Nick's confusion. But yeah let's talk about the star stealer here. J was always an enjoyable part of Go-buster but this film just let's loose to allow him to do whatever he wants, whether it is he is the focus or in the background he is always doing something that puts a smile or get's a chuckle out of me. Though that's not to say the way that certain scenes played as straight as they are do the same, Green Hippopotamus' death should be a tear jerker but it is so over the top and hammy that you can't just laugh or that in this universe pink cat is Hiromu's sister, just something brought up out of the blue.
Turns out there parents are also using Enter and Escapes battle forms
Of course this could easily come off as malicious, like the creators wanted to make this out of spite rather than a place of joy. But despite that it never feels like this comes from a place, this could have been an easy place of just going down a list of tropes to parody, like stoic heroes, womanizer, dumb guy who eats a lot. But the Dobutsu version are never treated as inferior, they get the same power up's as their main counterparts, and even get new members who when one dies show complete sadness (in an over the top way). If their was malice then the cast could have been written as just shallow but it feels like we are just getting a peek into a whole different world throughout.
Though despite that, the same care is not given to our main villain, though I would barely call him that, more just a thing that the hero have to deal with (Because it never crosses Nick's mind that just because their was no messiah doesn't mean Azazel would show up about the exact same time.) Azazel is just generic doomsday, he shows up at the beginning and after that shows up at the end to have the two teams up to fight him and end the cycle. And arguably this best shows the lack of malicious, the dobutsu team could've been written as just jokes but it is shown that they can stand on their own two feet.
I just kind of exist,
CONCLUSION
Go-busters return is a lot of things, it's the last send off for Go-busters (unless you count the vs for kyoryuger which I don't.), it's vignette of a series that could've been, it's funny, it's endearing it's probably the best return movie I have seen thus far (though that is not a high bar to clear all things considered.) Yeah it may not have much in terms of a story or a good villain but it makes up a lot of that with so much heart and a clear love for the era of sentai it is parodying. Not a bad ending for a season with as much trouble as this one.
FINAL GRADE: A+
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