Ep. 45: The Confused Ninja

The Confused Ninja is the forty-fifth episode of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. It is also the first part of a two-part tribute to Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, which concludes with Hero Eligibility, as well as a clip show of all of the previous events of the series.

Sypnosis
With the Gokaigers holding 29 of the 35 greater powers, and Basco with 5, the Gokai Galleon crew discovers that the only one left is that of the Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. Remembering Negakure Temple, the crew finds a strange pot containing the Kakurangers' ally Ninjaman who tests them to see if they are worthy of the Kakurangers' greater power.

Plot
The Gokaigers recap all of the Greater Powers they and Basco ta Jolokia have gathered, leaving only the Kakurangers'. Navi's prophecy implies that ninjas that can't be found won't be found. They recall the shrine that Domon had told them to protect, Megakure Shrine, and Joe deduces that it could be where the Kakuranger powers are. Once there, they discover that Ninjaman had been stuck for ten years in a jar, having been put there by his masters as a punishment for his overzealousness of defending a little girl (taking out an entire city block in the process). Gai informs him that his curse wasn't broken as the Kaurangers lost their powers in the Great Legend War.

While Captain Marvelous is ready to interrogate him about the powers, Ahim, Gai and Don insist they go about it without rubbing him the wrong way, by winning his approval first. Thus, the Gokaigers attempt to treat Ninjaman to snacks and a show (which ends horribly when Marvelous and Navi's act propells the robotic parrot into the food the crew prepared for Ninjaman, much to Joe's dismay), and later start telling him about the Ranger Keys, their Gokai Changes, their quest for the Greater Powers, and the battle against Zangyack, as well as the danger that Basco poses, having the ability to simply steal the powers.

Ninjaman, while empathetic to their plight, declines to simply hand over the Kakuranger's Greater Power; because his easygoing demeanor has put him in trouble more than once in the past, he has decided not to trust people so easily, so he decides he will live aboard the Gokai Galleon to observe if they are ready to have it. While Gai is ecstatic at the thought of being taken under the wing of a legend, the rest of the Gokaigers feel impatient.

Somewhere else in the city, Tsuruhime watches the Gokai Galleon sail across the air. She is impressed at how they found the hidden Ninjaman. She decides that she no longer needs to leave the Gokaiger to defeat the Zangyack on their own, and that it is up to Ninjaman whether they'll receive the Kakuranger powers, and swooshes away.

Cast

 * Ryota Ozawa as Captain Marvelous (Gokai Red)
 * Yuuki Yamada as Joe Gibken (Gokai Blue)
 * Mao Ichimichi as Luka Millfy (Gokai Yellow)
 * Kazuki Shimizu as Don Dogoier (Gokai Green)
 * Yui Koike as Ahim de Famille (Gokai Pink)
 * Jun Ikeda as Gai Ikari (Gokai Silver)
 * Yukari Tamura as Navi (voice)
 * Satomi Hirose as Tsuruhime (NinjaWhite†)
 * Kazuki Yao as Ninjaman (voice)

Gokai Changes

 * Gokai Changes in The Confused Ninja:
 * Gokai Red - TyrannoRanger (deleted scene), Gosei Blue, GaoRed
 * Gokai Blue - TriceraRanger (deleted scene), Shinken Blue, Go-On Blue
 * Gokai Yellow - TigerRanger (deleted scene), Blue Dolphin, Yellow Lion
 * Gokai Green - MammothRanger (deleted scene), TimeBlue, ShishiRanger
 * Gokai Pink - PteraRanger (deleted scene), MagiBlue, GingaRed
 * Gokai Silver - DragonRanger (deleted scene), AoRanger, Gosei Knight
 * In the all-Lion Gokai Change, Ahim is the only one who does not transform into a Ranger of her own color. This is due to the fact that none of the previous Pink Rangers have a lion motif.
 * Like the all-Yellow Gokai Change from the previous episode, when the Gokaigers all transform into Blue Rangers, they change into ones that are the same gender as themselves (Luka and Ahim change into Blue Rangers that were originally female, while Marvelous, Joe, Don, and Gai change into Blue Rangers that were originally male).
 * Luka is the only Gokaiger to have all of her (non-deleted) transformations come from the same series. In this case, Choujuu Sentai Liveman.
 * The Gokai Changes during the montage, outside the Kakuranger one, were all in series order from most recent (Goseiger) to oldest (Goranger). Also notable is that every Gokai Change from a team with a tribute episode up to that point were in the montage.
 * Only Hurricaneger was not in the set due to the unique situation of the tribute two-parter. Their Gokai Change was from The Worth of This Planet.

Elements/Homages to Kakuranger

 * The title of this episode is similar to the Kakuranger episode 36, "The Hooligan Ninja!!", the original episode that introduced Ninjaman; the title in Japanese was Abarenbou Ninja!! (暴れん坊忍者!!). The title also echos another Kakuranger title: that of episode 45, "The Confused Santa" (慌てん坊サンタ, Awatenbou Santa), while ironically this episode is likewise released around the major holiday period in Japan around Christmas and New Year's.
 * When freeing Ninjaman, it is Ahim who breaks him free from the pot, reminiscent of how Tsuruhime, her equivalent in Kakuranger, freed him originally in the series.
 * After Ninjaman is freed, he explained the backstory of his imprisonment in the same way the Narrator talks to the audience during the earlier half of the season.
 * When Tsuruhime appears at the end of the episode they play the opening theme for Kakuranger. Back in Kakuranger, they sometimes played the ending theme in lieu of background music.

Deleted Scenes

 * During the recap, a Legend Shift is seen during the footage of Satoru Akashi (BoukenRed) despite the fact that the shift didn't occur in The Adventurer Heart.
 * The Gokaiger change into Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger as seen in the TV Asahi website. The Zyuranger (the five core members; with Dairanger's KibaRanger in DragonRanger's place) and Ninjaman suits were all part of the Kakuranger adaptation for season 3 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Whether or not it is an intentional reference remains to be seen.

Trivia

 * A trailer for the next Sentai, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, is shown at the end of this episode.
 * During the recap explanation of all of their encountered legends, Shirou Akebono is mentioned; however in the previous episode, the Gokaiger never knew they actually encountered him and that he was the source of the Battle Fever J Greater Power, thinking it was only a present from "Santa Claus". While it can be argued that Shirou only appeared to the audience, references are made to what's seen at several points by the Gokaigers and Ninjaman like they're watching the clips themselves.
 * When Joe remarks that Ninjaman was a Kakuranger as well, neither Ninjaman nor Gai corrects him. This lends credence to theories that Ninjaman may be a mecha and extra hero turned sixth ranger, like GoseiKnight was.
 * In Gai's case, he was too awestruck at the sight of Ninjaman.
 * With this episode, it is confirmed that the Three God Generals are among the casulties of the Legend War with the Zangyack.