Triple Decker Sushi Pack

Since I've been a bit remiss in blogging the second season of Sushi Pack (not that I ever promised to blog every episode, unlike AiCaL), here are three recent Unagi-centric episodes (one is actually from season one, but it fits the theme):

The Thing that Wasn't There - "Not bad.  But that isn't my plan.  I don't have a plan.  I wish I had a plan!"

This one starts with the Pack playing one of those special editions of Clue with Ben, and Maguro happens to win for the third time in a row.  The others accuse her of using her psychic powers to win, but she insists she's not that kind of girl, although she undermines her argument by reading Tako's mind immediately afterwards.  Ben, however, insists that Maguro has never given them a reason not to trust her, despite her flaunting her powers all the time.  Ikura dares her to read Wasabi's mind, and she distracts them all with a trip to the ice cream parlor.

Meanwhile, two scientists somewhere else in Wharf City crow about their completed Electroscope, which they don't plan on actually using until the next day.  As they leave, a jolt of electricity surrounds the scope, and something invisible leaves visible footprints as it also leaves the building.  At the ice cream parlor, Maguro offers Tako a lick of her ice cream, but because it looks like pistachio ice cream, his absolute least favorite, he declines.  While Maguro is rebutting that it isn't pistachio at all, her ice cream (not to mention the others') is suddenly sucked away.  Turns out all the vacuums are on at the department store across the street, and the Pack tries to keep from getting sucked in, but to no avail.  Tako's able to keep them from getting completely sucked in, and Maguro uses her powers to see a ghostly shape that she can only describe as a "thing."  Unfortunately for her, no one else can see it, and when Ikura and Wasabi lose their grip, she takes it on herself to stop the Thing.  This stops the vacuums, but Tako now thinks she's crazy, and has Kani give her a "medical scan."  But Maguro insists she's fine: just because she saw something that no one else could see doesn't mean she's sick.

But Tako's not buying it.  As Maguro tries to make her case, they walk past a bunch of cars that suddenly start blaring music from their radios.  Maguro takes a psychic look at the nearest radio tower, and sure enough, the Thing is there.  Maguro insists they have to stop it, and only Ikura questions how they'll stop it if they can't see it.  Everyone else just thinks Maguro is crazy, but they go along anyway.  Once Maguro starts giving Tako orders, he too questions how to stop it if he can't even see it, so Maguro goes after it herself again.  This time she asks it what it wants, looking to the others like she's just talking to herself, but the Thing zaps her without a second thought.  She starts to fall, but Tako catches her and parachutes her to safety. 

Later, back at headquarters, the Pack tries to figure out what's going on and who's behind it, be it Sir Darkly or the Legion of Low Tide.  With Maguro back in action, they take to the Sushi Craft and go on the lookout for a villain.  Ikura tries to figure out whether "the thing that wasn't there" is actually there now, but just confuses himself and Wasabi.  Meanwhile, the Pack spots Unagi, out for an evening stroll, and figure that since both of the previous attacks were electrical in nature, he must be the one behind them, being an electric eel and all.  They chase him, while he wonders what he did to deserve this, and eventually they corner him.  He denies having any plan, and just as he does, the streetlights around them flicker.  Maguro recognizes this as a power surge, and since Unagi eats electricity, it couldn't have been him.  She calls for them to head for the Wharf City Dam, and Unagi tries to get away, but Tako grabs him, although not for the reason Maguro thinks.

As the dam overloads, lights all over Wharf City flicker on and off.  Maguro uses her powers to see the Thing, and tries to get the others to trust her that it is in fact there.  Tako's still not buying it, since it sounds to him like she wants to let Unagi do as he pleases.  But Maguro insists that she would never let that happen, just as she would never make Tako eat pistachio ice cream (why she brings that up now, I'm not really sure).  But as Kani points out, somebody has to do something before the dam is done for.  Tako goes into the many-headed thinking routine to puzzle out whether he should trust Maguro or not, and while it goes against his better judgement, he gives her the okay.  So Maguro enlists Unagi to help them out.  

While the Pack watches, Unagi sucks up the electrical power of the Thing and grows, not only in size, but in ego.  However, as the Thing fades, Unagi gets overloaded and starts, um, upchucking the electrical power quite violently, as in, it sends him flying.  Power returns to Wharf City, and the Pack celebrates.  Tako thanks Unagi for saving the day, but Unagi is too wiped out to appreciate it.

Now, I'm just wondering, what flavor ice cream did Maguro have, anyway?  I mean, the only other flavor I can think of that looks like pistachio is mint chocolate chip, but the chips would be obvious, if not to us, then to Tako.

Pants on Fire -"Oooh, the power to be annoying!"

As the Pack watches a thunderstorm, Ben warns them Wharf City is under attack, and they leap into action.  They prowl the streets, dodging green lightning bolts that can crack pavement, courtesy of Unagi.  He zaps various parts of the road, and suddenly they morph into some kind of anthropomorphic creatures that go after the Pack, but run into each other instead.  As Unagi powers up, he ponders what new name he should give himself, and settles on Unagi the Magnificient as he zaps the Sushi Pack (minus Ikura, who tripped).  However, this zap, rather than decimating the Pack, instead gives them new powers.  Kani's pincers now cause ear- and glass-shattering snaps, Maguro can turn invisible, Tako's tentacles form a drill, and Wasabi can make himself float around in a bubble.  To keep from feeling left out, Ikura pretends to have a power too awesome to show.

Since Unagi is still on the loose, the Pack once again leaps into action and show off their new powers while Unagi rides a tree.  Since they're in a playground, he morphs the slide into an elephant that grabs the Pack.  Maguro calls for Ikura to use his new powers, but he bluffs that it might not be safe, so Tako drills a hole that the others can crawl out of.  As the Pack retreats, Unagi goes into quick mode, zapping everything in sight.

Back at HQ, the Pack tries to figure out a way to stop Unagi.  Maguro's still getting a handle on her powers, and Ikura claims that he is, too.  Wasabi comes up with a plan to track Unagi based on the lightning he absorbs, so it's off to the Sushi Craft!  They're able to track him even after the storm ends (guess he absorbed a lot of lightning).  This also means Unagi's lightning power is still going strong, and he turns a bus against the Pack.  While he monologues about his charge, Maguro goes invisible and sneaks up on him, sending him into a nearby fountain.

While Unagi dries off in a bagel shop across the street, the Pack muses on what to do back at the Green Donut.  Maguro figures that Ikura hasn't used his power yet, so they still have a chance against Unagi.  So Tako devises a plan to lure Unagi into Ben's newly-empty store room, and have Ikura corner him.  Ikura doesn't like the sound of it, but doesn't admit to not having a power just yet.  So the Pack goes to confront Unagi, who is enjoying a bagel, but doesn't balk at turning one into a monster to take on his enemies.  The Pack successfully lures Unagi into the Green Donut, but this only gives him the opportunity to make a mutant jelly donut, which is more dangerous than a mutant bagel.  The Pack use reverse psychology to get Unagi (who amends his new title to "Unagi the Terribly Magnificent") into the store room, and then gloat that there's nothing for him to mutate.  But Unagi finds a loophole and morphs the door.  Ha ha!

Cornered by the door, Ikura finally confesses that he has no new power, and Wasabi gets them out of the shop just in time.  Ben informs them that Unagi flew away on a morphed eagle statue, and they take off--all except Ikura, who feels too guilty.   But the others come back for him, since he's still a part of the team (and he can do penance for his lying after they save the day).  As they go after Unagi in the Sushi Craft, a stray comment from Maguro gives Ikura an idea!

Using one of the Sushi Craft's mirrors, the Pack aims Unagi's lightning right back at him.  He starts to fall, but Maguro catches him, and flings him toward the Sushi Craft, where the others stick him in a box.  After depositing him somewhere else, Tako reveals that zapping him with his own lightning reverse all the mutations, meaning everything is back to normal, including the Sushi Pack.  So no new powers for them anymore, sad to say.

Bonus screenshot:  Kani eggs on Ikura

Lights On, Lights Off - "I've been blinded by the Donut Beam!"

This episode opens with the Mayor holding a press conference to announce a special celebration of Wharf City winning the prestigious "City With the Most Photogenic Fire Hydrants" Award.  To honor this, the Mayor calls for the entire world to come to Wharf City and celebrate.  To show his commitment to partying down, he rips off his suit coat to reveal a Hawaiian shirt underneath (I wonder how long he's wanted to do that).  As part of the celebration, there will be water slides and extra special fountains, along with a snack bar and some performance art by Tako.  To start the event off right, the Mayor plans to turn on every single light in Wharf City at Midnight, creating a Night of a Million Lights, and a light so bright you can see it from space!  Maguro questions the Mayor on all that wasted water and electricity, but he brushes off her question and gets the heck out of there.

Back at the Green Donut, Ben agrees with Maguro that conservation is important, but points out that a celebration would be good for town spirit (not to mention Tako's ego).  Wasabi calls Ben out on letting the water run while he does the dishes (Kani translates), a rare stumble on Ben's part.

Cut to a different, leaky, sink full of dirty dishes in the kitchen of Titanium Chef's sushi restaurant.  Unagi idly wonders how much water that leak wastes, which confounds the Chef, since Unagi never cared about conservation before.  Unagi tries to play like he did, but Titanium Chef just gives him a big "U Phail!" and moves on to the real reason he came in the room.  According to the Book of Chum Chop, to know success is to know failure.  He asks the Legionnaires to elaborate on this point, but when Fugu's answer is pathetic, he assumes Unagi's response will be just as bad and automatically fails him.  But hearing it again, he admits that Unagi got it right, and even compliments him on the wording.  This somehow leads into Titanium Chef's plan to help Wharf City celebrate by putting up as many lights as possible.

All over the city, preparations for the Night of a Million Lights is underway.  Lights are replaced, water flows freely, and the Wharf City Power Station is getting close to its limit.  Figuring that celebrations are a great opportunity for more business, Ben starts cooking up a special layered donut, and shows Kani and Maguro the lights the town set up on his shop.  Kani is blinded, but Maguro is too intent on deriding the Mayor's plans for the celebration to notice.  Ben feels helpless to go against the Mayor, since all he wants is for everyone to have a good time.

Meanwhile, Tako enlists Ikura and Wasabi to help him set up his performance art: a few dozen dozen fans on town hall to scatter his ink on a nearby canvas.  Ikura and Wasabi are concerned about the electricity used, but Tako isn't worried, since the town is paying.  As the day winds down, Sophia Tucker reports on all the preparation, unaware that each one is slowly adding to the toll on the dam, inching ever closer to the limit.  Which couldn't make Titanium Chef happier, as he and the Legion wait for the inevitable power failure.  With no water and electricity, Titanium Chef crows, "chaos and mayhem will rule!"  Only Unagi points out that they need those things, too, but he is ignored.

As midnight grows closer, the Mayor is ready to set the Night of a Million Lights in motion.  After the big countdown, everything gets started, finally breaking the dam and causing a blackout all over the world! (Wait, how'd that part happen?)  Tako takes the blame for wasting energy, and Maguro uses Wasabi to spout the aesop one more time (though not the last time) before the Pack heads for the Power Station.  Titanium Chef is ready to lead the Legion to certain victory, but Unagi is nowhere to be found.  Turns out he's at the Power Station, where he goes head to head with Ikura.  Maguro interrupts their almost fight, stating that they'll need to work together to save their resources, regardless of whether that's what Unagi was there to do.  Fortunately for them, that is why he's there, so they form an uneasy team.  

Kani analyzes the situation and calls for a surge of power.  Unagi leaps to the call, and Ikura helps him out by letting him stand on his shoulders.  While he blasts the main power, Wasabi chucks a fireball at it, and their combined forces jumpstart the carbine and power returns to the world.  With the power back on, the Mayor claims to have learned a lesson from the whole thing, but the scene changes before he can espouse it, so we don't really know whether he learned the right lesson or not.  Probably he didn't, which is why the Sushi Pack takes it on themselves to address the audience (not directly, but you know that's who they're talking to) and make sure they learn the proper lesson.  Unagi even gets a piece of it.  With the lesson over, Unagi confirms that they have to be enemies again, despite Ikura's reluctance (Oho!).  Maguro congratulates him all the same, although she praises the entire Pack at the same time.  Instead of the usual end call of "Sushi Pack!" the six of them leap in the air and cry out "Go Planet Earth!"

Can I just say, green aesops really annoy me.  Maybe it's the condescention, or maybe it's the fact that one town wasting electricity took out all the power grids in the entire world.  If it weren't for Titanium Chef being awesome as usual and Unagi being uncharacteristically conscientious, I might have let this one go unblogged.