 This article is about an episode in Choujin Sentai Jetman.
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Hellbound Bus (地獄行バス Jigokuyuki Basu) is the twelfth episode of Choujin Sentai Jetman. Uniquely, this episode exclusively focused on two Jetmen, Kaori and Raita. Ryu, Gai, and Ako only appeared towards the end, while Commander Aya Odagiri was completely absent.
Synopsis
A bus taking Kaori and Raita to the countryside becomes the scene of bizarre murders set up by Tran's Dimension Beast, forcing the passengers to figure who is the culprit.
Plot
In a rural area with spooky surroundings, a bus drives through on it's way to a destination. On this bus, both Kaori and Raita are riding, partaking in a meal made by Yellow Owl for the trip made of homemade vegetables. Also on the bus are several others, including an old man, a man in a cap, a woman in glasses with disheveled long hair, a man in sunglasses and a man in a business suit. The destination is Raita's hometown, where he wishes to show Kaori the fields of flowers and their beauty. While listening to Raita's conversation, Kaori imagines going to this field with Ryu, giving him flowers and rice balls and partaking in his company; but Raita explains that with this Golden Week, everyone else probably had plans that couldn't allow them to attend the trip. The bus passes through a tunnel, leading to the lights to suspiciously flicker on and off making everyone notice. As the lights turn off, someone yells out to leave them alone until the bus leaves the tunnel; as it does, the woman in glasses screams as the man in the cap is gone; his body dissolved into foam with only his clothes remaining. As they realize his disappearance, the bus suddenly stops as they try to make out what had happened to him. The passengers remembered him yelling out "please stop", thus making everyone realize that the man was murdered by someone on the bus. Kaori states this murder isn't ordinary due to the foam and Raita realizes that Vyram is the only ones that could be behind it; and thus someone on the bus must be part of the group. The man in the suit denies association while the woman in glasses ignores them as does the covered mouth bus driver. On the Vylock, Tran reveals that he is behind the murderer currently on the bus and wonders if White Swan and Yellow Owl can figure who the murderer is; with Radiguet finding the plan interesting.
The man in sunglasses is immediately suspect but he claims it is the other man in the suit; but Raita yells at him for making false accusations. As the sunglasses man tries to leave, the old man stops him but prevents him due to the idea that everyone on the bus is a suspect in the mysterious murder. The old man reveals himself as a police officer and they will come to the station for questioning. At his order, the officer orders the bus to start moving again and everyone to stay still and not move lest they get arrested. Both Kaori and Raita become suspicious in wondering if he really is an officer due to the Vyram and how they could be manipulating the event. The other passengers show their nerves in different ways as they try to not draw suspicion, yet with Raita claiming everyone on the bus as a suspect.
The bus continues on and the officer notices the driver has a mask on like he has a cold. He asks how long he's been at the job and the driver responds for six years; while the officer claims he's been at his job for over 30 years and that he will retire tomorrow; he was on the bus for one final job but didn't expect a murder to occur while riding it. Suddenly, the glasses woman is taken hostage by the man in sunglasses, using her to try and get off the bus. Kaori throws her pack at him to knock him away and the knife out of his hand while Raita knocks him out by punching him. The man in the suit accuses the sunglasses man of being the murderer as the bus enters into another tunnel; the lights flicker and another scream occurs; and when the lights come on, the impatient black-suited man is also turned to foam. The woman accuses the suited man of being the murderer, which he denies and claims she's trying to frame him for her murders. Kaori tries to calm the bus from making false accusations while Raita tries to figure how to handle this; he thinks they need to contact Ryu, but Kaori realizes calling the rest of the team would be pointless and it's easier to figure out how Vyram is involved first. Raita shows doubt particularly with the three remaining passengers all appearing suspicious towards each other and them towards the two Jetmen; all while Tran mocks them from afar that they can't figure it out.
As the bus keeps traveling, Raita becomes scared that they may be next, which Kaori also confirms of wanting to get off. The officer, suited man and glasses woman try to cope their own ways as the bus makes it's way towards a bridge. Raita tries to blame Kaori for making him take her on the trip but Kaori tries to tell him that complaining at this point won't help solve anything; yet despite being warriors, the idea that the enemy is unknown and lurking on the bus keeps the cowardice with him. The glasses woman calls Kaori and Raita lovers which Kaori denies, making her go into her love life, always getting dumped. At a bump, something falls out of her purse Raita tries to return but she claims she doesn't need it anymore. The woman mentions that they're near a suicide spot where women take sleeping pills and throw themselves into the lake, making Raita realize what the bottle he tried to return was. The woman was going to get off at this point due to being tired of living, but doesn't need to worry about suicide anymore due to her potential of being murdered on the bus, leading to her laughing until she starts crying. However, the suited man continues to accuse the glasses woman of being the murderer, leading to her to throw something towards him in anger.
The bus suddenly stops and the bus driver gets off, with everyone thinking he was the murderer and the officer in pursuit. The driver decides to commit suicide in the lake, but the officer recognizes him as Ken'ichi Ota, the murderer he was pursuing for his final case; having committed robbery and murder at a bank six years prior and with the officer seeing a tip identifying the bus driver as him. The suited man believes that Ota somehow joined up with the Vyram and thus became both a murderer and a monster but the bus driver denies he's associated with the dimensional beings; the suited man attacks him but the officer tries to protect him for the sake of justice. The officer handcuffs Ota to the steering wheel and tells him to drive to the station ten minutes away to complete the case; however the woman identifies a nearby tunnel, thus knowing that once they drive through it, someone new will be murdered and hoping she will be the one to die. The suited man is scared he'd be the dead one as Kaori tries to tell everyone to hold hands; if they all hold on, then no one will be murdered. The bus begins to move again and drives through the tunnel as the woman starts laughing manically. They continue to hold their hands as the woman prays for her death until they complete their journey; with everyone surviving...except the bus driver/criminal Ota, who likewise has been turned to foam!
Kaori seems confused as to how there was another murder as Raita feels helpless in what's going on anymore. However, they realize that the bus is suddenly driving itself without a need for a driver! Trying to figure out how a bus can drive itself as if it has a mind of it's own, a car comes into the bus' way. The car avoids the bus as the larger vehicle hits rocks within a nearby quarry forcing it to stop. As it does, strange tendrils and organs emerge within the vehicle, revealing the bus as the Vyram servant and the murderer! The trapped passengers panic as Kaori and Raita try to protect them from the strange things emerging within the bus, as the driver of the other vehicle yells at them before becoming captured by the bus creature while the passengers all run for their lives. The man from the car struggles until it is absorbed by the bus, turning into foam like the other victims. With the "culprit" revealed, Tran reveals the bus as Bus Dimension and orders it to begin a more direct, earnest attack.
Back inside the bus, Raita tries to remove the tendrils strangling him as Kaori rushes to his aid but is forced away, leading to her transforming into White Swan. Using the Bringer Sword, she slices at Bus Dimension's tendrils to free Raita as they run away and the Dimensional Beast turns into a giant. Yelling for the others, Ryu, Gai and Ako immediately board their Jet Machines to reach them as Bus Dimension fires on the people formerly riding it. A rockslide occurs near the suicidal woman as White Swan protects her as she yells she no longer wants to die. Raita protects the officer and the suited man as Kaori uses the Bird Blaster to hold it back long enough for the woman to get away with the others. White Swan forces Bus Dimension to follow her as it picks her up and she instructs Yellow Owl and the others to escape. The Dimensional Beast tries to throw Kaori to the ground, but she opens her wings as she descends and lands safely. But as she tries to avoid another attack, Ryu and Gai arrive in the nick of time using a Double Jet Beam to hit it. Kaori and Raita join with their teammates and fuse into Jet Icarus. As Bus Dimension approaches, Kaori proclaims revenge for the torment they were placed through as the mech pummels it until it strikes back and captures them with a tendril. Red Hawk summons a Jet Dagger to weaken and throw off Bus Dimension with it's tendrils before they destroy it with the Birdonic Saber.
Later, the passengers from the bus meet up with Kaori and Raita as another bus arrives at the lake to continue their journey without the two Jetmen. The officer thanks them for saving their lives while the woman thanks Kaori in helping her want to try again with life, with Kaori stating that life is about getting back up again. As the bus leaves, Raita apologizes to Kaori for not being as brave as her; but Kaori states anyone would have been like Raita in that situation. Ryu comes up with the idea that if everyone's there, they should all go to Raita's hometown, which Ako agrees with. Raita decides to treat them to a vegetable feast when the get there.
Cast
- Ryu Tendo (天堂 竜 Tendō Ryū): Kotaro Tanaka (田中 弘太郎 Tanaka Kotarō)
- Gai Yuki (結城 凱 Yūki Gai): Toshihide Wakamatsu (若松 俊秀 Wakamatsu Toshihide)
- Raita Ooishi (大石 雷太 Ōishi Raita): Ikko Tadano (ただの いっこ Tadano Ikko)
- Kaori Rokumeikan (鹿鳴館 香 Rokumeikan Kaori): Rika Kishida (岸田 里佳 Kishida Rika)
- Ako Hayasaka (早坂 アコ Hayasaka Ako): Sayuri Uchida (内田 さゆり Uchida Sayuri)
- Back Dimensional Count Radiguet (裏次元伯爵ラディゲ Urajigen Hakushaku Radige): Masaki Tachi (舘 正貴 Tachi Masaki)
- Maria (マリア Maria): Maho Maruyama (丸山 真歩 Maruyama Maho)
- Tran (トラン Toran): Miku Kuga (久我未来 Kuga Miku)
- Grey (グレイ Gurei, Voice): Hideaki Kusaka (日下秀昭 Kusaka Hideaki)
Guest Cast
- Passengers: Yuzo Mikawa (三川 雄三 Mikawa Yuzō), Mayumi Yoshida (吉田 真弓 Yoshida Mayumi), Mizuki Nakamura (中村瑞希 Nakamura Mizuki), Tetsu Masuda (益田てつ Masuda Tetsu), Minoru Nakajima (中島 実 Nakajima Minoru)
- Driver: Tooru Ranko (蘭紅 徹 Tōru Rankō), Masaaki Kurita (栗田聖佐晃 Kurita Masaaki)
Songs
Notes
- Viewership: 4.3%
- The bus transformed by Vyram is a Hino.
- One of the passengers on the bus is played by Mayumi Yoshida, who portrayed Lou in Choushinsei Flashman.
- Ironically, Masumi Yoshida's Flashman castmate Yasuhiro Ishiwata would later guest star in episodes 23 and 24, playing the role of Ray.
DVD Releases
Jetman Volume 2, DVD cover
- Choujin Sentai Jetman Volume 2 features episodes 11-20.[1]
Jetman: The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
- The complete Jetman series was released in North America by Shout! Factory on September 25th, 2018.