CONTENT WARNING: MARTIAL ARTS VIOLENCE AND SOME LANGUAGE. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
When last we left Ryan Lee in his fight against Rhythm, alias Kendra Cocolova…
Rhythm walked over to her cyborg friend and grabbed a laser gun. She said, "I disapprove of the man who used this sort of weapon, the same basket case I hear you burned alive at the mortuary, but because the man was bad doesn't make this weapon bad!"
A laser shot out aimed at Ryan's foot, forcing him to pirouette in order to dodge it.
"RYAN MUST'VE BEEN AROUND LASERS BEFORE, BECAUSE SHE DODGED THAT ONE ALL TOO QUICKLY! LASERS, AFTER ALL, ARE HOT STUFF, AND I MEAN LITERALLY! YOU GET A LASER TO THE FOOT, AND YOU'RE OUT OF THE PICTURE FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AT THE VERY LEAST! IT'S JUST THAT PIERCING!"
Rhythm said, "You sure know how to dodge lasers. Dodge THIS!"
Rhythm shot a laser directly at the chest. It struck Ryan, and he collapsed.
"RYAN LEE HAS BEEN SHOT! SHE TOOK A DIRECT HIT TO THE CHEST! IS IT ALL OVER FOR HER? HERE NOW IS THE REFEREE FOR THE COUNT!"
The referee stepped up to the combatants. "One… two… three… four… five…"
Rica was visibly worried. "Please get up, Ryan…"
"Six… seven… eight… nine…"
OP: "Danzen! Futari wa Pretty Cure Dragon"
"Vittoria - Victory"
As the countdown approached 10, Ryan struggled to get up. His determination to win paid off, as he got up with a backflip just in the nick of time.
Susan got onto the ring as it happened. Facing Rhythm, she said, "Ten."
Rhythm said, "You sure are persistent."
Ryan ran toward Rhythm with the clubs and threw them at her. She countered them with her hoop, but Ryan managed to retrieve them and sweep her off her feet with them.
"WHAT AN AMAZING COMEBACK! RYAN LEE TOOK A LASER BEAM TO THE CHEST, AND NOT EVEN THAT'S STOPPING HER FROM FIGHTING! THIS TENACITY IS QUITE ADMIRABLE ON HER PART! KENDRA ISN'T ABOUT TO GIVE UP THE SHIP, THOUGH, AND COME HER FIRST OPPORTUNITY, SHE SWITCHES TO DEFENSE TO COUNTER RYAN'S OFFENSIVE!"
Taking his ribbon, Ryan flung it toward the stereo and sent it toward Rhythm, who simply grabbed it and put it back where it was.
"KENDRA'S GOTTEN SMART TO RYAN'S ACT--NOW SHE'S GRABBING WHATEVER OBJECTS ARE THROWN HER DIRECTION WITH THE RIBBON! RYAN'S GOING TO HAVE TO IMPROVISE BIG TIME IF SHE WANTS TO OUTSMART HER NEMESIS AT THIS GAME!
"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT--SHE JUST GRABBED A WATER GUN LONG ENOUGH TO SHOOT WATER FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE MINUTES! WHAT'S SHE GOING TO DO NEXT, PERFORM A TIRO FINALE ON KENDRA?"
On his toes, Ryan aimed the water gun at Rhythm. He shot numerous high-pressure bursts of water her direction.
"LOOK AT HER--SHE'S TRYING TO FORCE KENDRA OUT OF THE RING WITH ONE HELL OF AN AQUATIC ASSAULT! EVEN HER GRACE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE AFFECTED BY THE RECOIL--WHAT DID SHE STUDY, AIKIDO?"
Indeed, Ryan retained a graceful posture even when trying to keep his toes on the ground despite the recoil from the water gun.
As an aside to Susan and Kelly, Rica said, "When he was younger, he studied aikido. He also took cha-cha lessons, just like Bruce Lee."
Suddenly, a miniature mechanical shark appeared through the water, bearing heavily on Ryan. Susan spotted the shark and gasped, "Speaking of Bruce…"
You could imagine the Jaws theme playing as the mechanical shark, programmed to move through such water gun currents as what Ryan was sending toward Kendra, who had been backed into one of the four posts, sailed toward him in an intense manner.
"RYAN DECIDED THAT THE BEST WAY FOR THE WATER TO GO NOW IS UP! SHE'S SENDING BRUCE JR. FLYING TOWARD THE ROOF, WHERE KENDRA LEFT A SURPRISE FOR HER IN THE EVENT THAT SHE THREW HER THAT HIGH!"
Almost immediately, burners fired up in a semicylindrical cavity inside a cubic mechanical fixture.
"THAT'S RIGHT… A DO-IT-YOURSELF RETORT WHERE THINGS CAN GET REALLY HEATED REALLY FAST UNLESS DIHYDROGEN MONOXIDE HAS ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!"
Indeed, as the burners gradually moved toward the mechanical shark, dihydrogen monoxide doused them. Ryan let up on the water gun and took a hoop. He and Rhythm started to clash using the hoops.
"BATTLE OF THE HOOPS! KENDRA'S HOOP MAY BE EMBEDDED WITH RAZOR-SHARP DIAMONDS, BUT RYAN'S WIELDING AN ADAMANTIUM HOOP! AND AS WE ALL KNOW, ADAMANTIUM IS IMMUNE TO EVEN THE SHARPEST SETS OF GLASS-CUTTERS!"
The stalemate continued until Rhythm got smart and kicked Ryan's hoop out of his hands, throwing her own hoop his direction. Ryan bent backwards to dodge just as the end-of-round bell rang.
Afterwards, Ryan returned to where Susan, Rica, and Kelly were gathered. Rica said, "Remarkable recovery!"
Ryan noted, "Indeed, it was; I'm not Rasputin, after all."
Rica said, "I never said you were Rasputin, of course."
Ryan said, "Just saying."
Susan said, "We're at round three. Try to land a TKO on her before we reach round four, OK?"
Ryan said, "I'll do my best."
Kelly said, "Just pretend that you're Bruce Lee and she's Chuck Norris, OK? That way, your mental strength will be on par with your physical strength. Remember what Kendo Masaoka said about strength of the mind, now, won't you?"
Ryan said, "Sure."
The bell rang to signal the start of the third round. Ryan reentered the ring as Rica said, "I've said it before, and I'll say it once more: go get 'er, tiger!"
Ryan stared Rhythm down as they readied their clubs. Moments later, they charged at each other.
"THUS BEGINS THE THIRD ROUND AS RYAN LEE AND KENDRA COCOLOVA GO AT EACH OTHER WITH THEIR CLUBS! THEY THRUST THEM AT EACH OTHER, RYAN NARROWLY MISSES GETTING ANOTHER SCRATCH ON HER FACE, AND IT'S ALL FREAKING AGGRESSION!
"THE MATCH IS SLOWLY BECOMING TONS MORE INTENSE AS THE THIRD ROUND DRAGS ON, WITH EACH COMPETITOR HOPING TO INFLICT A TKO ON THE OTHER BEFORE THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN THE FOURTH ROUND, WHICH HAS THE DISTINCTION OF BEING UNIVERSALLY CONSIDERED BY RHYTHMIC GYMNASTS TO BE THE MOST DANGEROUS ROUND IN A MARTIAL RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS MATCH!
"ROUND FOUR, AFTER ALL, IS WHERE COMPETITORS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO BE CRIPPLED AND LUCKY IF THEY MAKE IT TO THEIR NEXT MARTIAL RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS MATCH, LET ALONE THE FIFTH ROUND OF THE CURRENT ONE! I'M NOT SAYING ANYBODY HAS DIED IN A MARTIAL RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS MATCH, AS THAT WOULD BE TOO DAMN SENSATIONAL. IN FACT, THERE ARE NO KNOWN FATALITIES IN RELATION TO THESE FIGHTS!
"THE ONLY NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF A FOURTH ROUND THAT HAVE EVER OCCURRED UP TO THIS POINT ARE COMPETITORS BEING INJURED, THOUGH THANKFULLY IT'S RARE FOR A RHYTHMIC GYMNAST TO BE PERMANENTLY INCAPACITATED DUE TO INJURIES SUSTAINED DURING ROUND FOUR! I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG THE SPORT CAN MAINTAIN ITS REPUTATION AS DANGEROUS YET NOT LETHAL, THOUGH…"
Ryan did a quick handstand to dodge yet another switchblade club thrust, proceeding to grab Rhythm by the club and throw her up as his skirt briefly flipped before he landed on his feet. Suddenly, Rhythm pushed a button hidden beneath the sleeve of her leotard…
"OUT OF THE RING AND ABOUT TO LOSE, KENDRA HAS YET ANOTHER TRICK UP HER SLEEVE--A COLLAPSIBLE CANVAS! THE CANVAS IS SLOWLY DRAWN AND QUARTERED, WITH THE FOUR QUARTERS BEING DRAWN INTO HIDDEN COMPARTMENTS WITHIN EACH OF THE POSTS! NOW RYAN AND KENDRA EACH HAVE ONLY THE ROPES AND THE POSTS TO STAND UPON! THE FIRST TO FALL LOSES!"
Rica yelled, "UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE! THE BLACK BLUR JUST USED A UNIVERSAL REMOTE ON THE PLAYING FIELD!"
Kelly said, "I just hope this isn't the end of the match…"
EYECATCH
Ryan and Rhythm stood on opposite sides of the ring, each atop a post. They could not touch the floor, or else their fight would be forfeit. They could tread the ropes, but they couldn't move anywhere off the edge of the ring.
"THIS IS TRULY A DECISIVE PART OF THE MATCH, DESTINED TO KEEP YOU ON THE EDGE OF THE SEAT FOR ITS BRIEF REMAINDER AS IT'S NOW DOWN TO WHO'LL BE THE FIRST TO BE THROWN OFF THE EDGE!
"BOTH FIGHTERS ARE EXTREMELY CUNNING, THEY'LL TRY ANYTHING TO STAY IN THE RING AT THIS POINT--EXCEPT, OF COURSE, FOR BARE-HANDED BLOWS, WHICH, OF COURSE, ARE ILLEGAL!
"TRYING TO STAY IN THE GAME AT THIS RATE IS VERY TRICKY--WILL THEY STAY ON THE EDGE, OR WILL THEY CRASH HEADFIRST INTO DEFEAT? STAY TUNED AS THEY TRY VERY HARD TO AVOID ELIMINATION!"
Both Ryan and Rhythm circled the ropes parallel to each other three times in a very suspenseful manner before Rhythm threw her hoop toward the rope on which Ryan was standing. He quickly scrambled for a post.
"KENDRA JUST THREW A HOOP AT RYAN WITH FULL INTENT TO ELIMINATE HER! SHE DODGES AND MAKES FOR THE NEAREST POST BEFORE THE ROPE FALLS AND SHE WITH IT! SHE CERTAINLY IS TENACIOUS!"
Ryan advanced toward Rhythm by walking on the intact rope. Rhythm said, "Yes, come on now, get over here so I can kick your butt!"
Ryan ignored the voice as he continued walking as if he was on a tightrope. It took a while, but he finally made it to the next post.
"AND THEY'RE BACKING EACH OTHER ALONG THE ROPES INTO THEIR NEWLY-CREATED ENDS OF THE THREE-ROPED ARENA, TRYING TO ELIMINAE THE OTHER AND TO NOT GET ELIMINATED THEMSELVES!"
Kelly threw a club Ryan's direction. He caught it and cautiously moved toward Rhythm, who was swinging her ribbon in a defensive manner. Still Ryan stayed on the rope.
Then all of a sudden…
"RYAN LEE HAS BEEN SNAGGED! SHE'S BEING THROWN OUT OF THE ARENA AS THE DO-IT-YOURSELF RETORT IS FIRING UP! LUCKY FOR HER, SHE MISSES BECOMING A HUMAN FIREBALL BY JUST A FEW FEET AND WINDS UP PLUMMETING TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE RING! WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW?"
Not one to lose, Ryan caught a ribbon that Kelly threw at him with full force and caught an empty post, pulling himself to the rope in the nick of time.
He then bounced off it and apparently headed toward Rhythm with one foot aimed to kick her off the post. Rhythm made note of that: "Where the devil is your weapon?"
Ryan concentrated on one thing, and one thing only: the post on which Rhythm was standing. With a single kick, he sent her plummeting a few feet to the ground, careful not to touch the ground himself.
"UNKNOWN TO KENDRA, THE WEAPON HAPPENED TO BE RIGHT UNDER HER FEET! WITH A SINGLE KICK, RYAN USES IT NOT TO VIOLATE THE RULES, BUT TO IMPROVISE YET AGAIN--BY KNOCKING KENDRA DOWN WITHOUT TOUCHING HER! GAME, SET AND MATCH, RYAN LEE!"
With these words, the referee approached Ryan and lifted his arm, saying, "Using her amazing strength and wits, Ryan Lee has won the match!"
Everyone applauded. Ryan, of course, had the compassion to help Rhythm back up and bring her to his friends.
Rica said, "You might be a dirty player, Kendra, but I've gotta admire how determined you were."
Rhythm said, "Congratulations on your victory."
As a blushing Ryan curtsied in gratitude, Susan said, "We don't really care about your dirty fighting style as long as you're willing to be our friend! Right, Kelly?"
Kelly said, "I guess."
Rhythm said, "I guess you have a point in calling my tactics dirty. Indeed, I was too short-sighted to realize I was setting myself up for a fall with my dirty tricks."
Ryan proceeded to talk with his hands.
"DON'T MENTION IT, PAL."
Rica said, "Now then, limey, let's go; no prize to give out here, considering it's an exhibition match and there was no time to decide on official prizes."
Rhythm said, "Now that you mention it, why don't we go bowling tonight?"
Rica said, "Nah, maybe another night. It's getting late, we need to get back to our dormitory."
Rhythm said, "Oh! Thanks for reminding me! I just realized I've got something important to do! See you tomorrow!"
And with that, Rhythm dashed out of the arena.
"Did you hear, you guys?"
Eileen's voice sounded as Ryan, Susan, Rica, and Kelly were about to reenter their dormitory. "Another transfer student's coming in tomorrow. I really don't know who she is, but I'm pretty sure she knows you, Miss Lee."
Rica said, "You really don't have to play the part of school crier all of a sudden, Fields. It's not like it's a very important event."
"Oh, but it is. Like I said, expect her tomorrow!"
With that, Eileen departed. Rica said, "Let's return to our dormitory now, nothing to see here."
The quartet entered the dormitory.
ED: "YMCA"
Next episode: "Ritorno misterioso - Mysterious Return"
Voice actors[]
Japanese[]
- Yuki Tokiwa as Hiroshi Lee/Cure Dragon
- Nana Mizuki as Ran Chan/Cure Fortune
- Mariko Kouda as Kaori Chiba
- Ayana Taketatsu as Hyoushi/Kendra Cocolova
- Miyuki Sawashiro as Rica Watanabe
- Rica Fukami as Ai Fukuda
- Additional voices:
- Yoko Hikasa
- Aya Hirano
English[]
- Rupert Grint as Ryan Lee/Cure Dragon
- Britt McKillip as Susan Chan/Cure Fortune
- Cyndy Preston as Kelly Chiba
- Colleen O'Shaugnessey as Rhythm/Kendra Cocolova
- Chloe Grace Moretz as Rica Watson
- Hilary Haag as Eileen Fields
- Additional voices:
- Morgan Garrett
- Cherami Leigh