6/20/2004 :: Today's episode of Axess #37 was entitled, "Mysterious Masked Navi!" Beware, spoilers below. New Soul Unison clip in the media section. W00t. For the first time in what seems like ages, the episode does not begin with a flashback. Yay! Instead we hear sirens going off at a building, and Netto and Enzan are running through a hallway. As they reach the main computer area, Netto wastes no time in plugging in Rockman. Inside the server, the Net Saviors meet up with the Darkloid Swordman. It should be noted that Swordman's head is completely different than what was seen in his previous appearances. His voice has also changed. This shall be explained later. Rockman orders Swordman to halt whatever he's up to. Refusing to back down, Swordman charges full speed, only to be knocked back by a few well placed shots of the Rock Buster. With Swordman splattered on the wall, Netto slots in the Bubble Shot chip, and pelts the Darkloid again for good measure. Refusing to back down still, Dimensional Converters begin to pop up around the building, allowing Swordman to appear in the real world. Netto retaliates by performing Cross Fusion. R Rockman attempts to tag down Swordman with his Rock Buster, but the Darkloid keeps avoiding every shot. Swordman finally catches R Rockman off gaurd, and prepares to sword swipe him from above. Enzan quickly comes to his aid by activating the Battle Chip Gate, allowing R Rockman to catch Swordman at his own game, parrying his sword attack with another sword. Using his own strength, R Rockman flings back Swordman once again, sending him crashing into the wall. R Rockman lands safely on the ground, and kindly thanks Enzan for his help. Enzan tells him to pay attention, just as R Rockman rudely orders him to hurry and send another chip. Enzan complies and slots in the M-Cannon, in which R Rockman blasts Swordman head on, forcing the Darkloid to log out, shrieking, "I'll remember this!" The Dimensional Area fades away, and Netto "crosses out" of his transformation. As Enzan begins to go over the situation, Netto begins to exclaim how great his new PET is. Enzan notes that the Battle Chip Gate had a little something to do with Netto's recent victory. Sadly this only fuels Netto ego, as the boy agrees with him and gives Enzan a good ole pat on the back. At the Net Police Headquarters, Netto and Enzan give their report to Commissioner Kifune and his assistant Manabe. Netto once again kicks up his beaming rant about his new PET and Enzan's aid with the Battle Chip Gate, which annoys the other boy to no end. Kifune mentions that Netto puts a lot of heart into his Net Police work. ^_^; When Netto once again claps Enzan on the back, he finally gets frustrated enough to leave in silence. Standing alone in the hallway, Enzan pulls out his PET from his pocket. Somewhere else very far away, Raoul is meditating at a very peaceful temple. At least, it was peaceful until his PET begins to beep. Thunderman notifies Raoul that it's the Net Police. Just as Raoul opens his eyes, he's attacked from behind in surprise by a monk armed with a very dangerous tessan. XD Raoul is surprised to see Enzan on the PET's screen. Since Raoul is still in Japan, Enzan inquires that he needs his aid. Enzan then fills Raoul in on Netto's latest idiotic behavior, and asks if he is familiar with "tengu". When Raoul appears confused, he explains the basic concept and how it is related to Netto. "Tengu" are mythological beings related to the Buddhist and Shinto beliefs. A description I scouranged on the net has been stated below: The patron of martial arts, the bird-like Tengu is a skilled warrior and mischief maker, especially prone to playing tricks on arrogant and vainglorious Buddhist priests, and to punishing those who willfully misuse knowledge and authority to gain fame or position. In bygone days, they also inflicted their punishments on vain and arrogant samurai warriors. They dislike braggarts, and those who corrupt the Dharma (law). So in other words, Enzan wants to knock some sense into his now very arrogant friend, using Raoul's help. Raoul accepts the task with a rather amusing amount of interest, stating "Me, as an actor?". Thunderman's reaction is just rather confused. ^_^; Raoul begins to prepare for his mission, by trying on various disguises. His first is the head-cap of a samurai, in which he checks out his reflection and gives a flashy grin (hilarious ^_^; seeing Raoul being non-serious is almost scary). Next up is a funky eighties styled pink wig, which is obviously not the best choice. Raoul goes back to the samurai-cap, and smirks again. Then he tries on a goofy duck hat, which is so very wrong. XD Yet again Raoul goes back to the beloved samurai-cap. All the meanwhile, Enzan watches in a stupor. Raoul mentions that Enzan has to get into the act too, which stuns the poor boy. Raoul then finally decides on his final disguise, and flashes a funky pair of star-shaped sunglasses. Meanwhile, Netto and Meiru are walking down the street. Netto is STILL raging about his new PET and Rockman's ability to beat any Darkloid. Meiru just kind of laughs and smiles as she goes along with it. As Netto flashes off his PET, it suddenly begins to beep. Netto realizes that he has mail, and discovers that it's an urgent message from Enzan. As Netto heads off, Meiru tells him to be careful. Netto tells her not to worry, cause he has his new PET with him. ^_^;; Netto arrives at the deserted location, only to find Enzan nowhere in sight. As Netto begins to wither on if there really is a Darkloid attack, a bright light appears from overhead. Suddenly, a row of robotic arms begin to go out of control! Rockman orders Netto to plug him into the control system immediatly. Inside the computer, Rockman meets up with a navi he has never seen before. The intruder announces himself as the Darkloid navi "Masked Thunder"! Likewise in the real world, two figures appear on the balcony railing above, decked out in disco style outfits, complete with afros and sunglasses. ^_^; The taller of the two (Raoul) introduces himself as the operator of the Darkloid. Netto doesn't quite understand what is going on, as the outfits are a bit too ridiculus to believe. So the disguised Enzan spices things up a bit by insulting Netto, and giving Raoul a shine of glory. ^_^; (Enzan changes his speech by attempting to alter his dialect. ^_^; It's very...interesting, to say the least.) Enzan and Raoul also hilariously call each other "Brother" ^_^;; (in english) Netto starts things off with a Cannon chip, but Masked Thunder easily dodges all of Rockman's shots. Raoul and Enzan begin to celebrate from their position to the point of being obnoxious. ^_^; Masked Thunder retaliates with a few shots of electricity, which Rockman also manages to dodge. Raoul continues to use Elec chips, until he finally manages to strike Rockman and electricute him. Just as he's about to slot in another one, Enzan stops him, and warns that his identity may be revealed if he keeps using electrical attacks. And so, Enzan takes over and slots in the Kanketsusan chip just as Rockman fires off a M-Cannon Program Advance. The giant torrent of water easily blocks Rockman's blast. Keeping control of Masked Thunder, Enzan then slots in the Long Sword chip, and strikes Rockman down. Rockman comments that their opponent is strong, and Netto becomes frustrated that they can't easily win the battle. From up above, Enzan begins to laugh, and the two prepare to leave, believing their mission to be accomplished. Unfortunately for them, Netto's stubborness kicks in, and he refuses to let the battle end as he slots in the Guts Soul chip. Rockman slams his fist into the ground ("Guts Punch!"), creating a huge cloud of dust. With Masked Thunder blind to any attack, Rockman bursts through the cloud and drives his fist straight into the other navi's stomach, knocking him back considerably. To counter-attack, Enzan slots in the Vulcan chip, and pelts Rockman with the rapid fire shots repeatadly. Once again, the two think that they have won, as Enzan states "How about that?" As they begin to leave, Netto yells out, "Wait!", then slots in the Roll Soul chip. ^_^; (Netto is obviously not the quitting type) The now very pink Rockman steps up to Masked Thunder once again, breathing rather heavily. (Special note! Rockman is wearing his protective face mask. o_o Looks kinda odd with Roll Soul. ^_^;) Masked Thunder fires off his Vulcun cannon again in Rockman's direction, who begins to dodge all of the shots. The battle is paused as Rockman leaps up into the air above Masked Thunder. Eyecatch! Guts Soul and Roll Soul this time around. We're suddenly taken to the Darkloid's headquarters in the net, where Swordman is having a nice chat with all 3 of his interchangable heads. O_o It seems that whichever sword is inserted in the top of his body, that is the one who is in control. Funnily enough, each sword has a different personality, and a different voice altogether (they even have 3 seperate voice actors playing the roles ^_^;). Swordman eventually agrees with himself to finish Rockman once and for all. Meanwhile, normal style Rockman is flung onto his back as he takes yet another direct hit. Both navis are now visably very exhausted. Once AGAIN Enzan and Raoul begin to walk off, only to fall flat on their faces as Netto slots in ANOTHER Soul Unison chip, this time being Metal Soul. ^_^; Enzan reinforces their defenses with a Stone Cube chip, just as Rockman punches through with his "Metal Fist!" attack. Unfortunately for Rockman, Masked Thunder uses his natural electricity to fry Rockman to a crisp. Enzan demands that Netto give up, and the two begin to walk off again, only to be interrupted AGAIN. Netto slots yet ANOTHER Soul Unison chip, this one being Fire Soul. Enzan begins to get angry that Netto keeps using the Soul Unison chips. Even though he keeps trying so hard, Netto is finally realizing that he may not be as great as he once thought. But even so, he refuses to lose against a Darkloid. Rockman uses a fire attack to try and burn Masked Thunder, but the disguised navi easily dodges and attempts to slice his opponent with a Long Blade. When Rockman leaps back to get away, he's struck down yet again by a lightning bolt. Netto prepares to start another round of battle, when his PET suddenly begins to beep. Meijin comes up on the PET screen, and informs both Netto and Enzan that Swordman is attacking again. Netto refuses to leave until Masked Thunder is defeated, that is until Rockman tells him that the Darkloid has already run away. ^_^; Netto notices this to be true, when he sees that the two mysterious men are gone as well. Raoul and Enzan are already on their way to Swordman's location. Raoul realizes that their situation is a bad one, because Rockman is already tired from their previous battle. They both agree that Thunderman will join Rockman as support against Swordman. Netto arrives at the same building that he and Enzan had investigated earlier in the episode. When Rockman is plugged into the system, he sees Swordman already fighting against Masked Thunder! Rockman becomes absolutely bewildered that the Darkloids are fighting against each other. Likewise, Netto spots their operators standing nearby. Inside the net, Masked Thunder fires off his "Thunder Bolt!" attack. Swordman plants one of his swords into the ground, which sucks in the electricity as a conductor, leaving the real Darkloid unharmed. Swordman personality "yellow" uses his "Great Sword!" attack to strike Masked Thunder, then follows up with a "Sword Press!" by personality "blue", flinging Masked Thunder onto his back. Deciding to finish the round, Swordman personality "red" strikes the ground and flings off a "Sonic Blade!" shockwave, hitting Masked Thunder yet again. As Swordman raises his weapon to finish him off, shots from the Rock Buster hault his attack. Stating that Rockman can't compare to his Dark Chip power, Swordman diverts his attentions to Rockman instead, who also activates the sword on his arm. Rockman eventually suffers the same attacks that befell Masked Thunder, and is flung back as well. As personality "red" fires off his "Sonic Blade!" attack, Masked Thunder jumps out in front of Rockman and takes the hit for him full force. When Masked Thunder collapses beside Rockman, his mask has been shredded away, revealing his real identity: Thunderman. Rockman is surprised to see it his friend, and Thunderman apologizes for his previous actions. As he holds out his hand in forgiveness, Rockman gently takes it in his own. Suddenly, a bright light between the two is activated: a new Soul Unison is born! Sporting a nifty transformation sequence, Rockman is bestowed with the new power of Thunder Soul. Netto becomes shocked that he received a Soul Unison from a Darkloid. ^_^;; Rockman starts the battle annew by using Thunderman's "Thunder Bolt!" attack. Swordman uses the same tactic as before, by planting his sword into the ground to absorb the electricity. However, when the attack finishes, Rockman is nowhere to be seen! Swordman eventually spots him running at him from the side, and is unable to stop the smaller navi as he jumps up on top of his head. Rockman then uses the Thunder Bolt attack again, this time striking himself as he remains attached to Swordman, finally electricuting the Darkloid. ^_^; Rockman, being in the Thunder Soul unison, is left unharmed. After Rockman leaps off and lands back on the ground, Swordman swears revenge then logs out. With the battle over, Netto receives the Thunder Soul Unison Chip. However, Netto doesn't want to have anything to do with a Soul Unison chip that came from a Darkloid. ^_^; Rockman then instructs his operator to take a closer look at the symbol on the chip, and Netto becomes ultimately surprised. "Why is Thunderman's symbol on this chip?!" Rockman then flat out tells Netto that Masked Thunder was actually Thunderman in disguise. However, Netto STILL doesn't believe him! As the boy looks at Masked Thunder's operators, Enzan and Raoul are sweatdropping as they become embarrassed in their disguises. Rockman then chimes in, "His operator...is surely Raoul-san." Yet again, Netto refuses to believe that this is true (gawd that boy is dense. o_o;). Seeing no other choice, Raoul finally removes his afro wig and starry sunglasses, revealing to Netto that Rockman was right. Netto becomes ultimately surprised, then turns his attention to Raoul's partner in crime. Enzan embarrasingly removes his afro and sunglasses as well. Netto demands to know why they did what they did, so Raoul confides that Enzan was worried about Netto's recent behavior. When Enzan begins to try to explain, Netto stops him, and finally gives in that he may have gone a little over the top as of late. Netto then promises that he'll just do his best from now on. Enzan smiles in relief. Netto then kindly thanks Raoul for his Thunder Soul Unison. Some time later, Raoul leaves on an airplane as he heads back to his home in Ameroupe. As he sits in his plane seat, Raoul suddenly remembers a present that he received before his departure from Netto and Enzan. When he opens the bag, he finds the samurai-head inside! Raoul gleefully places it on his head. ^_^; Netto waves as Raoul's plane leaves, and Enzan turns to leave. Before he gets very far, a familiar black and fluffy wig is placed onto his head. ^_^; Enzan gets all in a huff that Netto is making fun of him, and the episode ends with the afro'ed boy chasing after an amused Netto. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is one of these episodes that I like to call "on crack". XD You just can't take something like this seriously, but then again fillers hardly ever are serious to begin with. ^_^; This was a great episode for Raoul, we finally got to see him crack open a different side of his personality. The only bad spot I could really see was that Enzan acted a bit too far out of character, but then again the friendship between he and Netto has drastically changed over the course of the series. It's nice to see characters grow like this. Next week, Windman and a very rabid Needleman! Don't miss it! Rockman.exe Online has been created to help other fans have a decent source of information and media on this great anime series. If you find any errors in this site, or would like add anything, please don't hesitate to e-mail me! Thank you all, and enjoy your stay.