Sorezore no Tatakai! (それぞれの闘い！) is the 16th episode of Crush Gear Turbo. It was originally aired in Japan on January 20, 2002.
Synopsis
According to the synopsis from the DVD release of the English dub:
Kyousuke is betrayed to Takeshi and Kouya must battle a super computer to save the secrets of Garuda Eagle, Kuroudo continues his battle to learn that the passion to win comes from knowing true loss. And back in Nagasaki, Jirou's shoulder operation has been a success, but what is the secret that the doctor tells Lilika?
Plot
The episode starts with Kyousuke examining the Garuda Eagle data and comments on its design until he discovers its weakness at the shield. Unknown to him, Takeshi and the laboratory chief are looking at the Gear's data that they obtained in the previous episode. Takeshi grins over the information after the chief informs him about the completed analysis. Later, the chief goes to Kyousuke's room and tells him that he wants to use the computer system there. The Gear Master does not care about what the chief says after that and leaves.
Kyousuke is shocked when meeting Kaoru
Kouya and Kaoru are waiting near the fence outside the Manganji Laboratory. Kaoru is curious on Kyousuke's activities in the laboratory and expresses her doubt when Kouya states that Kyousuke will not betray them. As the Gear Master walks past the gate, he receives a nasty surprise when he meets Kaoru and calls her a girl ghost (a devil in the English dub). Kouya humourously laughs at them before he is hit by a thrown kettle. Then, Kyousuke (who inquires Kaoru about her and Kouya being in Hokkaido) is asked the reason he is at the Manganji Laboratory. He replies that he wants to build a perfect Crush Gear and will do everything for it, and that the laboratory's equipment is more advanced than his. Kouya interrupts and asks the Gear Master whether he had found the secret of Garuda Eagle. Upon Kouya mentions about the Gear's power, Kyousuke remembers the time when both of them discussed about it at his workshop. Kouya thanks Kyousuke and convinces Kaoru that the Gear Master will not betray the Tobita Club. As Kouya and Kaoru are about to leave, the former informs Kyousuke about their stay at her uncle's house and invites him there.
Meanwhile, Kuroudo is playing with a kendama (a cup-and-ball toy) near a barn with the other kendo students watching him. He puts his focus on ball tossing until it manages to land onto the spike, which impresses them. Kuroudo returns the kendama to Yuki, one of the kendo students and thanks him for the inspiration.
Being chased out from the laboratory room
Kyousuke returns to his laboratory room when he finds out that Takeshi and chief are using the Garuda Eagle data in the system, and he accuses them for stealing his personal data. The laboratory chief tells him that the Gear Master used the available technology in exchange for information. He also ridicules Kyousuke's talents and reveals that they invited him just to get the Garuda Eagle data. Takeshi adds that they tried hard to deal with Kyousuke's temper, and to his shock, Takeshi tells him to leave. Remembering Kouya's words when he was outside the laboratory, the Gear Master demands them to give the data back and starts charging towards them. Unfortunately, he stumbles over a cable and the chief eventually pushes him out from the room.
At Kaoru's uncle's house, Kouya is excited to eat crabs and even sings about it. He is stopped by Kaoru who asks about Kuroudo's whereabouts, with Kouya replying that Kuroudo will meet them at the airport. Kaoru later comments on how happy Kouya is regarding their vacation. He makes remarks on his teammates and Takeshi before he realizes that he forgot to buy Hokkaido's special red bean buns for Jirou, much to Kaoru's disbelief. Later, Kyousuke is searching for the said house until he hears an enthusiastic Kouya at the front of the door. Inside, Kaoru is shocked after hearing Kyousuke saying that the Manganji Laboratory stole the Garuda Eagle data. He states that he had finished analyzing Garuda Eagle as well as obtaining data for Gaiki. Although it is mentioned that Kyousuke went to the laboratory for his benefit, Kaoru suspects that he is being betrayed by them and is told to leave after they hacked the data. Kouya does not mind about this and assures his friends that Garuda Eagle is invincible. However, Kaoru and Kyousuke agree that the Manganji Laboratory will find a potential weak point in Kouya's Gear. Kyousuke adds that the laboratory will exploit Garuda Eagle's weakness to their own advantage if it is found; furthermore, the Gear data is kept in a master computer so it is hard for them to sneak up on it. Kaoru gradually becomes so furious that the two boys retreat to the wall.
At the hospital in Nagasaki, Jirou's shoulder operation is a success and the doctor advices Jirou not to take too much pressure on the shoulder. Lilika thanks the doctor for the successful operation. The doctor tells Jirou that it takes a long time for the latter's shoulder to recover completely and that Jirou should be careful with it if he wants it to heal. Jirou happily leaves the doctor's office before the doctor is going to tell something to Lilika.
That night at the Manganji Laboratory, Kyousuke tells one of the guards that he had left some things inside. The guard lets the Gear Master enter for a short time, and unknown to the former, Kaoru and Kouya are seen crawling past the gate. The three then sneak throughout the facility (Kouya gets tripped on their way) until they reach Kyousuke's laboratory room. Kyousuke hopes that his access card is not cancelled; luckily, the door's access lock is opened for them. The scene shifts to Kuroudo meditating inside a barn while mentally analyzing Break Nine.
Kouya is forced to have a virtual battle
Back at the virtual training room, Kyousuke tells his friends on how the system works and that they have to fight the Garuda Eagle simulation in order to delete the Gear data permanently. He insists Kouya to prepare for the virtual Gear Fight, but Kouya is reluctant to do so. Kyousuke says that he is the only one who can control the system console before telling Kaoru to check on Garuda Eagle's parameters. Kouya is then forced by Kaoru to prepare for the battle. The first Crush Gear chosen for the computer's use during the virtual battle is Dino Spartan, and Kyousuke changes Garuda Eagle's wheels and motor to dash mode. Just as Dino Spartan hits a spin block, it transforms into Shooting Mirage and Kyousuke changes Garuda Eagle's wheels and motor into spin and hi-dash type respectively. Kyousuke says that the computer's transformation to Garuda Eagle is unpredictable, and Shooting Mirage morphs into Raging Bull, Gougetsu and Dino Spartan during the clash before it changes to Kuroudo's Gear again. On another occasion, Kuroudo meets Takekura at a grassy field where they prepare for a duel. The kendo master tells Kuroudo to make his decision before the cloud covers the full moon.
The virtual duel continues as Gougetsu eventually transforms into Garuda Eagle. The two Gears collide with each other until the virtual copy flies and spins like a boomerang. Since defeating the virtual copy requires increasing Kouya's Garuda Eagle's motor power by ten times, Kyousuke suggests him to do a re-release in order for the changes to take effect. Later, the laboratory chief wakes up from his sleep and notices that Kyousuke's room is active.
The kendo duel
Takekura looks at the airplane during the episode's final scene
Back at the two swordsmen, Takekura dodges Kuroudo's strike. Thinking that a single attack is not enough, the boy plans a mid-air back attack and Takekura dodges again. Just as the two lands on the ground, it turns out that Kuroudo is succeeded in hitting Takekura since the kendo master's foot is slightly out from the circular mark. The man tells Kuroudo to practice until the next morning. At the same time, Kouya releases Garuda Eagle in a different manner while the laboratory chief is heading for Kyousuke's room. During the virtual battle, Kouya's Garuda Eagle attacks its virtual copy and effectively defeats it. The attack is so powerful that the system could not process it, resulting in the deletion of the Garuda Eagle data. Kyousuke, Kouya and Kaoru escape in time just before the chief reaches the room and finds out that the data has been erased.
The next day at the airport, Kaoru, Kouya and Kyousuke are waiting for their flight to their hometown. Kuroudo arrives late before he is asked about the condition of his face, in which he replies that it was the result of his hard work. When Kuroudo sees Kyousuke with them, Kaoru states that they will talk about it later on. She also tells the boys that Jirou and Lilika went home ahead. Kouya, who is disappointed from missing the chance to eat crab, is given a box of crab sticks by a shy Kyousuke. He happily appreciates the Gear Master's gift and professes his love for Hokkaido food. Meanwhile at the Manganji Laboratory, Takeshi fires the chief after he could not accept the chief's explanation regarding the loss of Garuda Eagle data. The episode ends with Takekura going outside the barn and sees the airplane flying in the sky.
Trivia
- The English dub title for this episode is simply "Struggle" based on the voiceover on the episode title sequence. In the DVD release for the dub, however, the episode title is changed to "Struggle of Everybody".
- When Kyousuke calls Kaoru a devil in the English dub, and a ghost in the Japanese dub, both of the instances are the reference to the meaning of the Japanese word oni.
- Animation error: The shots where Kyousuke enters the virtual battle room and where Takeshi takes off the headset has the latter wearing the virtual gloves. However, when the shot where the laboratory chief notices Kyousuke is shown, the gloves are not seen on Takeshi's hands.
- The episode does not explicitly reveal the secret told by the doctor to Lilika.
- The secret told by the doctor is that Jirou's shoulder will never heal completely. This is revealed in a flashback in the next episode.
- The Gears that chronologically appear during the virtual Gear Fight in this episode are:
- Gougetsu
- Dino Spartan
- Shooting Mirage
- Raging Bull
- Gougetsu, Dino Spartan and Shooting Mirage (reprise during the second clash)
- Garuda Eagle (virtual copy)
- The virtual copy of Garuda Eagle slightly resembles that of the actual Black Garuda Eagle. This is in order to avoid confusion between two identical Crush Gears.
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| Episode 15 (Kita no Kuni no Kendo Takekura!) | Episode 17 (Kyōfu no Illusion Cup!) |