Power Rangers Reimagined: Neo-saban era

Episode 5: Pushed to the limit

Our episode opens up with sensei Nobu lecturing to the five rangers about the three secret discs that belonged to the Shiba clan that were lost during the days of the fateful war against the Akuma. he then explains to the five that he is in possession of one of these discs: the beetle disc, of which he get from a pawn shop of which the owner was a close friend of his. he then tells Nigel, Oscar, Ava, and Sadie that he's giving the four of them a day off while Kenji will stay behind to train with him. Kenji is shocked by this, as he would rather hang out with his friends (especially Sadie) than train. sensei then places his hand on Kenji's shoulder and reminds him that as the last surviving heir to the Shiba clan his first priority is to focus on his samurai training as well as upholding the family name and that hanging out with friends can wait. after that, we cut to a montage of the other four rangers having fun at the carnival (especially Oscar, who constantly pranks Nigel every chance he gets) all the while Sadie misses Kenji as she secretly has feelings for him. after that, we cut back to Kenji training in the dojo practicing with his spiral sword until he starts losing control and drops his blade. sensei then rushes to Kenji's aid and asks if he is okay and Kenji tells his uncle that he's fine. sensei then tells him that his symbol power isn't strong enough and suggests they stop and wait till he has fully mastered his symbol power but Kenji refuses, saying that if this disc will give them the upper hand in the war against lord Ashura it's a risk he's willing to take. sensei then tells Kenji that his determination is admirable as it reminds him of himself when he was his age. Kenji is confused and we cut to a flashback where sensei explains that when he was young and spry he was extremely cocky and overconfident and we see a young sensei Nobu training while being watched by a young grandpa Mako and while young Nobu desperately tries to impress Mako he refuses to show him affection which is why he left japan and headed for America feeling neglected by his big brother. Kenji then feels bad about his uncle, having no idea of his not-so-pretty history with grandpa Mako. sensei Nobu then places his hand on Kenji's shoulder and assures him that while they didn't see eye-to-eye back then his teachings still shaped what he is now and allowed him to pass the samurai teachings down to Kenji and the others and that he still misses him regardless of any past feelings. after that, we cut to a monster named longshot shooting up stone canyon until the blue, green, yellow, and pink rangers arrive and try to slash the monster with their spiral swords only to find out that swords have no effect on him and longshot proceeds to shoot down the rangers. however before he can finish them off Kenji shows up to save them and the five perform an elemental slash which manages to land a hit on the monster. he then tries to shoot the rangers but Kenji blocks the shot with his fire smasher while looking at his beetle disc in contemplation. after that, longshot retreats and returns to the netherworld. after that, we cut to the dojo where the rangers are frustrated with the fact that neither swords nor symbol power have any effect on him and are willing to give up, however sensei Nobu tells our heroes that quitting is not the samurai way and that true samurai fight with honor and that surrendering to the enemy is most definitely dishonorable. Kenji then looks at the beetle disc before handing it to sensei and telling him that symbol power in fact DID have an effect on him as they landed a hit on him with their elemental slash. Kenji then says that in order to destroy that monster they're going to need a lot more symbol power which is why Kenji volunteers to train some more with the beetle disc until he can finally master it. sensei Nobu then tells Kenji absolutely not as he's not ready before Kenji reminds sensei Nobu that if grandpa's lack of affection didn't make him back down from being the best sensei he's ever had the beetle disc won't make him back down either which ends up touching sensei right in the feels. after that, we cut to Akuma palace where lord Ashura scolds longshot for not finishing off the rangers when he had the chance. longshot promises lord Ashura that next time will be different but Nocturna makes the snarky remark "that's what they all say." longshot then points his blaster at Nocturna's head and tells her that he'll make her eat those words faster than how lord Ashura turned her daddy dearest to stone. Nocturna then tells him to NEVER speak of her father again or he'll have his head before lord Ashura tells them both to silence. the following night, we cut to Sadie sleeping in her room snuggling one of her anime plushies until she hears something outside. she then rushes outside in her PJs to see Kenji training with the beetle disc attached to the fire smasher. she tries to stop him but sensei Nobu tells her to sit back and watch admiring his overconfidence, all the while Sadie is worried by how Kenji is pushing himself to the limit. Kenji then collapses followed by sensei Nobu and Sadie getting him back on his feet while Kenji mutters "I did it, I've finally mastered the beetle disc.." the next day, we cut to longshot shooting up the city again which triggers a gap sensor in the dojo before the rangers show up to confront the monster and then morph before we cut to sensei Nobu in the dojo making modifications to Kenji's fire smasher while eating ramen. he then tells Kenji that he modified his fire smasher so that it can transform into a cannon mode powered by the beetle disc. the fire smasher then turns back into a spiral sword which sensei hands back to his nephew and tells Kenji that he's proud of him before Kenji rushes in to join the others and morphs (cue shinkenger episode 5 fight). Kenji hesitates to use the beetle disc but then decides to use it which activates the fire smasher's cannon mode. he then tells the other rangers to lend him their strength and the other rangers put their power discs into the cannon to fire a blast attack that destroys the monster. Nocturna then arrives as usual to play her shamisen to make the monster grow. the rangers then summon their zords to fight longshot (cue shinkenger episode 5 megazord fight). after realizing even the megazord's sword has no effect on him, Kenji uses the beetle disc to summon the beetlezord which combines with their megazord to form the samurai beetle megazord and destroy longshot once and for all. after that, we cut to the dojo where the rangers offer Kenji to come with them to the carnival to redo the day off since it was interrupted by the monster attack. sensei then tells Kenji he's free to go this time and our episode ends with the five heading out to the amusement park.