This in my opinion is where the Yamanouchi story arc hit the fan. Going into this episode my expectations for this episode were a tad bit higher than most KP episodes. Mostly because in all of KP's rogue's gallery, I find Monkey Fist to be the best. The only thing I knew going into this episode was that this episode was going to end the MMP story arc, so I wanted to see Lord Monkey Fist done justice here. After the episode ended I felt underwhelmed.
This episode in my opinion suffers because it feels like the writers intended for this episode to make Hana (a 2-shot character) look good (above all others) coming out of this episode. Monkey Fist & Yono's part in the story needed much more screen time than what they got. Yono really should've been introduced at the end of the 1st act not the 2nd.
I did enjoy bits and pieces of this episode though:
+ The parts with Ron and Hana bonding had an instant cutesy appeal to them. Hana at times was adorable, and had really cute voice.
+ I can see what they were trying to do with "The Flippies" gag by using it in an otherwise dark story but the episode suffers in areas other than this.
+ The ending credits, a true
Payback Is A B&%^$ moment if I've ever seen one.
+ The visuals with Hana were well done, whether it be her running around on the ceiling, or her bonding with Ron, it really felt like this child was special.
+ Ron crying over what might happen to Hana was sad, but in a good way.
+ Yay for Clancy Brown voicing Yono!
+ Monkey Fist being turned to stone was shocking.
Now onto the negatives:
- This episode suffers mostly from pacing problems, scenes like Kim and Ron at school and the pet shop scene weren't really necessary to the main story.
-Hana got way too much screen time, where as Monkey Fist and Yono were heavily short changed in the screen time department, their part in the story was rushed, I never felt that Yono had established a powerful presence despite the writers efforts.
-The visuals with Monkey Fist and Yono just weren't there, I felt their take over of the ninja school was way too easy. Hell in retrospect, Yono swatting an army of the school's ninjas (as they make a last stand) away could've been cool as hell. (Think
Amazo in
The Return from JLU) I know it sounds nit picky but that's only because of my high expectations for this episode.
- One of the things I liked about the ninja school was the fact that it felt like a ninja school. In the last two Yamanouchi episodes it felt more like a place where Sensei and Yori hang out at.
-If Sensei sent the ninjas away why was Yori still there, what sets her out from the rest of the ninjas? An explanation would've been nice.
-Why send away your ninjas, what's the point of training them to become ninjas if you just send them away? Shouldn't they be trained to be ready for grave situations like this?
-Yori, to me was no longer that interesting. Once her chance with Ron was gone so was my interest in her(since she was introduced as a romantic foil for Ron).
-Monkey Fist suddenly realizing Hana was the mystic weapon in the middle of the action was a real
moment, there's a time and place for a villain to look dumb and an episode that's supposed to be Monkey Fist's best appearance wasn't it. The minute a child threw him in the air it should've been bloody obvious to him that Hana was the weapon. Let me put it this way, did Drakken ever look that dumb in
So The Drama (his best episode), why make MF look like this in his last episode.
-Ron getting taken down so easily, while Hana looked good was embarassing to watch. Ron should've had a bigger role in the outcome of a battle involving his arch foe, but no. It was wasted for the sake of making Hana look all high and mighty.
- I have issues with Hana (a 2-shot minor character) being the one to defeat Monkey Fist (the show's most interesting villain) AGAIN. I could handle her beating him once. But her being the reason he was defeated for good was too much for me to swallow. For a villain as great as Monkey Fist is ending sure did suck. I don't care if Hana has some great special powers to me she wasn't that interesting. If it was merely her beating Yono, and Yono taking Monkey Fist with him while he was fighting Ron. It would've been more tolerable.
-Yono admitting defeat the way he did was way too anti-climatic.
-If there are any issues I have with this story it's Hana. Too me it never felt like she was truly an adopted sister for Ron. Too me, Hana screamed idea to keep the Monkey Fist arc going but give it a twist. I felt like Hana was Mary Sue-ish because every time she was on screen it felt like she was the most important thing in the story. Maybe if Hana had been in a non-MF episode or had made a few cameos in other episodes I might think of her differently. But as it is, I just don't feel Hana's development (or lack there of) was worthy of being the means to defeat not only Monkey Fist but also Yono all by herself, I'm not saying she shouldn't have been a part of this battle, she should have. But IMO this battle was just as important for Ron as it was for her, which is where the writers IMO dropped the ball. Making Ron to look like a joke was just to make Hana look better was a huge mistake. Ron should've been a part of that final battle.
-Another thing that bugged me was Ron and his MMP, if seeing the most important person in his life (Kim) turned to stone doesn't trigger his powers what does? They've been dragging this question about his powers on for a long time, and if it doesn't perhaps pay off later in the finale I'm gonna be heavily disappointed.
-The kiss between Kim and Ron would've meant more if Ron came out looking better, Hana was the only one that was made to look good through out all of this. Even Ron getting knocked down repeatedly by MF but getting back up until Hana beat Yono would've made Ron look good in my opinion.
Anyways there you have it, given how long this review is I know it looks like I'm whining, and I'm sorry. But I just felt this episode was wasted potential. Which is a shame as I've been a big fan of
Brian Swenlin's work on this show, whether it be
The Fearless Ferret, Steal Wheels, or Emotion Sickness the man's work is brilliant. Heck I've even defended
Mathter and Fervant on other boards where other people have bashed it. But I can't say I was really blown away at all by this episode, to me there's too much that works against this episode. Maybe I'll like this episode more in retrospect once KP is finished, but right now, I believe this episode was just too rushed for me to feel any of its impact. Oh No! Yono! was disappointing.
**(out of 5)