Awesome / Hikari Sentai Maskman

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• As a racecar driver, Takeru or Red Mask was granted personal use of the Spin Cruiser buggy, which was the only vehicle capable of foiling a monster's plan. After two episodes, he becomes proficient in the God Hand maneuver. A little while later, he is not only Igam and Kiros's rival but also Jet Cannon's regular pilot.
• In episode 20, one of Emperor Zeba's most dependable henchmen—Earth Curiosities Beast Anagmas—steps in to deal with the Maskmen after Baraba and Igam's countless failures. As the archivist and mystic of Underground Empire Tube, Anagmas comes up with a successful plan to weaken Momoko, thus crippling Great Five and allowing Tube to seize the mecha.
  • Anagmas is also able to approach and destroy the crystal ball that holds Zeba's secrets before the Maskmen and Ial discover it. He then stays behind to confront the Maskmen in order to buy Zeba some extra time to finish his grand scheme.
• Episodes 20-22 provide a back-to-back-to-back swathe of Awesome Moments. To wit:
  • 20 features both Tube outgambitting the Maskmen to place Great Five under Tube control AND Momoko beating the piss out of a Doggler without transforming, even at the cost of fainting after the team use the Shot Bomber.
  • 21 reveals the Galaxy Robo, a second mecha designed by a contemporary of Commander Sugata that failed to win the honor of primary combat mecha. It then went on a rampage and hid in the mountains, with Red Mask tracking it down and using it to drive back the Dogglers despite the rampaging AI.
  • 22 sees the team finally figure out why the AI rampaged AND CLAIMED GALAXY ROBO VIA MEDITATING WITH IT BEHIND A MOUNTAIN. Afterwards, they finally reclaim Great Five from Tube.
• The Maskmen rescuing the stolen and "brainwashed" Great Five by commandeering the "rogue" mech Galaxy Robo. By the end of it, they've somehow gained two Humongous Mecha instead of just one, making them an even more formidable force to reckon with against the Underground Empire Tube.
• In episode 27, it's the arrival of Thief Knight Kiros as the Knight of Cerebus of the season for the Maskmen.
  • He made a real splash when first confronting the Maskmen by using his Finishing Move, the Crescent Screw and the power of the latest Doggler Beast to destroy the Shot Bomber, which forced the team to find a suitable upgrade.
  • He brings in a certain flair to his villainy with his chain weapon, his flamboyant attire, and his own hidden agenda to claim Princess Iyal as his own, which is reminiscent of Prince Sincline's obsession with Princess Fala in GoLion.
  • He'd pass on such traits to characters like him in future series installments like Chevalier in Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman and Emperor Tranza in Choujin Sentai Jetman.
• The Maskmen managing to defeat a Monster of the Week without the use of the Shot Bomber, but at the cost of Commander Sugata's lifeforce. To be fair, the Shot Bomber was destroyed in the same episode by Kiros.
• In episode 30, the special appearance of Earth Imperial Commander Baraba's mother, Laraba (played by Machiko Soga, who'd later play Bandora of Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger fame) to get the Imperial Underground Sword from Devil Doggler is as awesome as it is heartbreaking.
  • By the end of the episode, she showed her true colors as a woman who was more obsessed with her family’s standing as proud warriors than that of Baraba’s well-being. However, her death in the hands of Devil Doggler actually spurred her "weakling son" to defeat the monster and retrieve the sword.
• In episode 38, Igam tried to pull a Back to the Future or The Terminator style Temporal Paradox by traveling back in time and attempting to kill Takeru when he was a child. She fails and Hilarity Ensues with Takeru's child self ending up meeting the Maskmen, but you can't fault her for lack of creativity or tenacity.
• Let's talk about the villainous shenanigans of Earth Emperor Zeba, the despotic ruler of Tube. He usurped the Igam Family and turned Underground Empire Tube from a pacifist kingdom into a militaristic dictatorship intent on annexing the surface world.
  • Zeba, who was secretly Lethal Doggler's child, cannibalized his own parent as soon as he was born in order to inherit its abilities. Once in power, the disguised Zeba used the human population of the subterranean empire as slaves and regularly hurled lightning to punish his own henchmen for their shortcomings.
  • In the last episode, Emperor Zeba offers his remaining subjects as sacrifices to bring the Underground Castle to the surface. From there, he can detonate the castle and unleash the evil particles within, transforming Earth into a desolate and hostile place that can only inhabited by himself.
  • Although his death was anticlimactic, Zeba did end up reaping what he had sown by being such an irredeemable villain who'd use his own henchmen as shields to save himself.
• In the Grand Finale, Iyal and Igam finally finally decide to join forces and use the Igam Family pendant to amplify the massive aura burst of the Maskmen, destroying the evil particles and finally completely changing Zeba back into Lethal Doggler II in order to be destroyed by the Maskmen.
  • Before the battle with the Galaxy Robo, most of the Maskmen's standard attacks weren't working against Lethal Doggler II until they started using special moves that purely use Aura Power, like their Meditation abilities and using the Jet Cannon at FULL POWER. However, the cunning Zeba merely absorbed the energy to grow in size without the help of Okelampa. The Galaxy Robo then makes short work of him afterwards.
  • Even though The Usurper Emperor Zeba is defeated and Takeru and Iyal end up together at last, their reunion is fleeting. She must end her relationship with him because she has taken over as Tube's new ruler. Igam herself decided to go on an endless pilgrimage as a priestess to atone for her sins.
  • On the bright side, Takeru still has his friends waiting for him, and now that Iyal is Queen, Tube is no longer a threat, is likely to revert to its previous peaceful state, and may even be accessible to Earthling visitors. In other words, Takeru and his friends are free to visit Iyal whenever they please.