Back to episode list

Episode 25 -	New Technology
	NT (NYŪ TEKUNOROJĪ)
	[NT (New Technology)]
First aired -	21st March 1997

Sammy has landed on the planet of Juraihelm, now transformed into a wasteland by Romio's magic-sucking NT device. She turns to ask Ryo-Ohki about their next course of action, and is shocked to discover that her magical aide has undergone a startling change as well - he is now humanoid! Ryo-Ohki explains that this is his true form. He had to take the form of a cat (or at least a close approximation of one) so that Sasami's family would take him in. As he puts it, what would the neighbours have said if a strange boy just moved in? Putting aside the issue of his identity for the moment, Ryo-Ohki suggests they proceed to the royal palace, where Romio should be waiting.

Romio is indeed waiting for them, and dispatches an army of robotic squid to tackle them. She then turns her attention to Pixy Misa, who is rapidly approaching on a hijacked space shuttle. Firing up her magical cannon once again, Romio blasts the shuttle and sends it into an unstoppable death-dive.

Meanwhile, Sammy and Ryo-Ohki have managed to infiltrate the royal palace. The whole building is dilapidated, a result of the magic used to preserve its structure being sucked out by Romio's NT system. Sammy is having trouble adjusting to Ryo-Ohki being humanoid, and insists on calling him "Ryo-kun" instead of "Ryo-chan".*

Elsewhere on Juraihelm, Washu and Ginji have also survived the crash relatively unscathed. Washu measures the magic levels on Juraihelm and realise that almost all the magic has been sucked out of the planet. This could pose a problem for Sammy, but luckily Washu has brought an invention of hers to help. However, time is running out for the populace of Earth as temperatures soar to unbearable levels.

In the royal chamber, Sammy and Ryo-Ohki find Tsunami and Oryo slumped on the floor. Tsunami is, as usual, pretty clueless, but Oryo fills them both in on Romio's fiendish plot. She urges them, as the last two magical people on the planet, to hurry and destroy Romio's NT system before she can use it again. Unfortunately, they are too late - Romio has discovered them! Her robot squid army arrive on the scene and attack, but Sammy makes short work of them with the Pretty Coquettish Bomber attack. Romio is not beaten yet, and she activates her NT system again, draining Sammy and Ryo-Ohki's magic. Ryo-Ohki collapses and Sammy returns to being Sasami. It seems the heroes are doomed as a second wave of robot squid attack!

Back at the crash site, Washu and Ginji are surprised to see Pixy Misa riding in on the doomed space shuttle. The shuttle crashes nearby and they pull its hapless magical girl pilot from the wreckage. Washu quickly realise that Misa is the only one who can safely deliver her invention, a key component of her own NT system, to Pretty Sammy.

As Sasami flees from the attacking robot squid, Ryo-Ohki uses the last of his magic to hold them off. However, they are both heavily outnumbered. Just as it seems they are about to meet their doom, Pixy Misa enters the fray and blasts the squid to pieces. She hands Sasami the component of Washu's NT system, an attachment for Sammy's magical baton that will trigger the magic absorption device Washu built on Earth. Sasami activates the device and on Earth, Washu's NT system, commanded by a crew of mechanical Washu dolls, powers up. It fires a beam of pure magical energy across space, which surrounds Sasami with a field of magic, enough to wipe out Romio. Sasami transforms back into Pretty Sammy. Using their combined magical attacks, Misa and Sammy quickly wipe out the remaining squid robots.

Romio, watching the scene from her control room, is surprised to discover that someone else has developed a rival NT system. However, she still has the upper hand - she needs only to reactivate her own system to absorb all the magic that Washu's device is channelling. Fortunately, Washu has covered that eventuality, and Misa tells Sammy to press the hidden switch on her baton's NT receiver. This activates a shield, protecting them from Romio's magic-sucking NT system. Misa, Sammy, Rumiya and Ryo-Ohki head towards the Autumn Hall for their final confrontation with Romio, but Romio has one last ace up her sleeve. She launches her huge magical battleship, carrying her and her NT system to safety. Sammy and Misa give chase, and together cast the Pretty Teleport spell to carry everyone up to the ship. Romio, cackling evilly, welcomes them aboard, and shocks everyone with a startling revelation - Sasami, she tells them, is really her little sister!

<< Episode 24 - The Moon Must Be Hell!

Episode 26 - Magical Victory >>

* -chan and -kun are two name honorifics used in Japanese. The former is usually applied to young girls, especially close friends, and often to cute animal mascot-type characters in anime. The latter is usually applied to boys, especially young boys. By changing the way she addresses him, Sammy expresses a change in attitude to Ryo-Ohki now that she has suddenly discovered he is actually humanoid in appearance. See the culture guide for more information on name honorifics.

When Pixy Misa flies to Juraihelm aboard the hijacked space shuttle, she does so in her usual charismatic manner by dressing up as Captain Harlock from the 1970's manga "Uchū Kaizoku Captain Harlock" (Space Pirate Captain Harlock), which later spawned a TV series, movie and OVA series. Misa's rendition of Harlock includes his trademark scar and skull-and-crossbones motifs, and she even has a ship's wheel atop the shuttle, just like the helm of Harlock's ship, the Arcadia.

 

Back to episode list