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11-10-2016, 09:10 PM | #7331 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Ninnin Rewatch Final! 47 + Overall Thoughts
I love this finale a lot. I guess that should be obvious at this point but I just feel like I should say it. If you wanna reach for criticisms I guess you could say the actual final battle is relatively underwhelming, but it's still totally serviceable and there's SO much more going on here than just that. Pretty much everything wraps up perfectly, and the show leaves on such a good note. All the epilogue stuff is great and, without spoiling anything, the whole Last Ninja plot wraps up exactly how it should've, and seeing where all the characters end up is similarly great. I honestly can't even talk about this episode without excessive gushing so I'm just going to stop here. There's a million great moments I could mention and this post is going to be long enough as it is. -- So that's Ninninger, a show I watched, and then watched again not even a full year later. To be honest, at first I thought devoting 47 episodes worth of time to a show I'd already seen recently would be kind of a waste of time I could spend watching shows I hadn't seen in a while, or even once, but here at the end of it all I'm REALLY glad I gave Ninninger a second chance to impress me all over again. I said the show started boring me around the middle and frankly I barely even remember what I meant by that. Not a single episode of this show failed to entertain me this time around, and it never once felt like I was forcing myself to pound through it. I don't know if you guys enjoyed reading this but it was a darn fun experience writing it. There's a lot going for Ninninger, but I think its single biggest strength is the characterization of its main cast. They were the focus of a lot of what I wrote and that's because there's ALWAYS something to talk about with them. Every member of the team has a fleshed out personality, a solid arc, and plays nicely off the others. Takaharu starts as an endearing goofball, gets a haircut, and becomes a way more mature endearing goofball. Yakumo is seemingly distant and cool, but can be almost childish at times, and gets notably less abrasive as time goes on. Nagi is an excitable kid who's always doing his best to help out, and becomes more confident in himself in the process. Fuuka's a klutzy but clever type who gets some idea what she wants to do with her life through her experiences as a ninja. Kasumi is so intelligent she's not used to having things go wrong for her at first. And Kinji is a gentleman cowboy who finds a family for himself with the team. They're all great. Better than those stupid one sentence summaries even let on. Clearly the writers thought they were all awesome too, because Ninninger's balance when it comes to character focus is impeccable. I feel like normally in Sentai there's always one character that draws the short straw or one who eats up screen time but that simply isn't the case here. Nobody ever feels out of focus and even episodes nominally about a single character tend to let others play important roles, as exemplified by Takaharu, who gets an episode that is distinctly, solely about him once in the entire series. On the other side of the moral spectrum we have the villains, and it's amazing the difference a little perspective makes. Coming off of ToQger's incredibly strong group of bad guys I found myself underwhelmed, but coming off of Zyuohger's group of slackers I feel I wasn't appreciating them nearly enough. Kyuuemon especially is a really solid main villain with a fleshed out backstory and arc, whose actions throughout the series are always interesting to watch, whether's he's trying to play the other villains to his own ends, or interacting with the Ninningers directly. In general I'm convinced at this point Ninninger was a really solid show all around. Solid pacing. Solid action. Solid comedy. Solid drama. Solid villains. Solid protagonists. I just spent over a month raving about it and yet, paragraph upon paragraph later, I feel like I could easily keep going. But, at least for the time being, I'll simply give my one sentence review of the show: If this is what a BAD Super Sentai looks like, the good ones must be some transcendent s***.
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11-10-2016, 10:06 PM | #7332 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
Posts: 25,333
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Quote:
*Looks at Kakuranger* Yes, yes they are. Also, holy shit, Gingaman 41. I only came to this thread because I thought I hadn't recapped 40 (Despite doing that...This morning...). I really want to just gush over this episode, but there's so much more, and it was a cliffhanger! Here I come, 42! >EDIT< Alrighty, Gingaman 41 and 42 proper! So shit goes down right away as the Daitanic finally awakens! It doesn't waste any time as it starts on the attack! So, naturally, they call everyone in. Except Giga Bitus. Because giant shark mech carrier with missile launchers for hands? Who needs him? So the 3 mechs fight the Daitanic, but they get their asses royally stomped. Like, it's not even fair. So Bookrates decides that they'll have to destroy the Daitanic (Since it'd just destroy the Earth and move on if they don't, so he won't have his revenge), so he allows Goutaurus to be free to join the fight. ...Not that it actually happens. Zahab shows up himself to stop them, managing to defeat Hyuuga. Ryouma sees and joins in, and he ends up stabbed (He ending up drastically weakened due to touching the golden axe that, for some reason, harms those with Earth Powers...I still don't see why it's so special...) So, shit, that was one hell of an episode. I LOVED the climatic feeling of this episode. Despite there being 9 more episodes, they really made this feel like the final battle. Thank god I'm not watching this on a weekly basis, because that cliffhanger. While I know Ryouma wouldn't have died, I'd still be on the edge of my seat. Anyway, 42. Zahab is about to strike the final blow, but Hyuuga swoops in with the last minute save. He's ready to fight to save Ryouma, but Bookrates teleports himself, Ryouma, and Hyuuga away because Zahab shrugged off every blow. At the same time, the Daitanic is overheating for some reason, so they have to leave the Gingamen and Star Beasts alive to cool down before everyone inside the castle overheated. Well, lucky them. So shit has gone south quite quickly. Hyuuga is forced to leave a still injured Ryouma because Bookrates is still a bad guy, but he leaves a hint for Mokk to find him. Yuuta goes out to help him while Mokk delivers medicine to the others (Quick! Get Hayate a tomato!) In the meantime, the castle is separated from the Daitanic and it goes on a rampage, only for the 5 main Star beasts to stop it (Since they can't transform into their Silver Star Beast modes if all 5 aren't there...Didn't know that). Too bad they don't have a giant shark carrier that is completely uninjured who could've also helped...Can't really complain too much, since we get to see some more of their nice kaiju forms in action, so I'm down. Anyway, they get their asses kicked as GouTaurus is released (On a timer) and BullTaurus makes his appearance again, helping the fight. Ryouma, healed through Yuuta's help and force of will, also shows up and they form GingaiOh. Also, Giga Rhinos and Phoenix show up again, too. The 4 fight and end up killing the Daitanic monster. ...Huh. That ended up being remarkably easy. Oh, and GouTaurus's timer ends and he's teleported back to Bookrates, so Black Knight is still on his leash. However, it ends with Zahab and crew laughing at the Daitanic being destroyed, so I'm super curious for what's to come~ These 2 episodes were really great. Zahab once again tries to kill the Black Knight's younger brother, which kind of brings the parallel full circle (Though Black Knight is actually able to stop him this time). The sense of power the Daitanic initially displays is awe inspiring, and Bookrates putting aside his goals (Killing Zahab and taking Barban for himself) just to stop the Daitanic was a pretty strong decision (Since, ultimately, Zahab, the Daitanic, and Barban would've all been destroyed). They were really good episodes, though! =EDIT 2= Perfect placement for a clip show... 43 is a bit of a disappointment. Well, it did technically further the plot. I totally forgot Yuuta's dad was making that picture book. Phew, I'm so glad they resolved that plot thread. Though, did Yuuta's dad ever see any of the generals or Zahab? Well, if anything, the English opening is pretty interesting (If it does hit me out of left field...I'm legit curious over how many of the episodes used the English theme that I happened to skip over...Shit )
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Last edited by Matrixbeast; 11-11-2016 at 12:02 AM.. |
11-11-2016, 12:07 AM | #7333 |
Banned
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Englewood CO
Posts: 10,893
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I watched Oh vs Kaku today. This was my first time ever seeing it subbed, but I do need to say that the subs were pretty crappy. Whoever subbed it (I think it was Gaosoul) not only got the names of the characters spelled wrong, but they forgot to sub quite a bit of the dialog from the youkai.
The movie itself is entertaining even if it has some poorly placed transitions in it. I mean, the rangers are fighting in a gravel pit but then are suddenly in a forest with a waterfall. Then they are fighting the youkai in their mechs, but then are suddenly back in their base and just transfer to a wild west area. WTF? Oh, and the movie thrives on fanservice and "I need an adult" levels of creepiness. Despite the negatives, it is an entertaining adventure although they really missed their mark by not having Jaraiya as being part of the wild west scene. It's still one of my favorite VS movies even though it is no longer at the top of the list. |
11-11-2016, 12:09 AM | #7334 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
Posts: 25,333
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There's a wild west scene involving Kakuranger and they didn't involve Jiraiya, who literally debuted in a cowboy outfit?
Damn, that's actually pretty disappointing
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11-11-2016, 12:12 AM | #7335 |
Banned
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Englewood CO
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11-11-2016, 11:33 AM | #7336 |
Oldtaku
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Atlanta, Ga / Portland, Me
Posts: 855
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TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS EP01 The 36th entry into the Super Sentai series, Tokumei Senti Go-Busters goes old school while tossing a lot of other Sentai conventions out the window. The show is weird in that it seems so different from regular Sentai, compounded by using such American Power-isms as "It's Morphin' Time", "Morphers" and "Megazords", but is more of a throwback to Showa style - faux serious, team starts as a trio and a family dynamic. The debut episode begins with an impressive disaster scene as a gaggle of "Varglass Megazords" appear and wreak havoc in Tokyo, converging on some strange super structure which then blows the whole place up via a spectacular, orange Ever-Expanding Akira Bubble™*. This then jump cuts to a motorcycle trying to rouse Go-Busters' Red Buster, Hiromu in NEO AD 2012 - I dunno what that means. You think that maybe he was having a bad dream but... he's just stunned into an impossible state by a the image of a chicken in the morning paper (morning paper... how old is this show, again)? Not really sure. Anyway, he's gonna be late for work as a Go-Buster! The motorcycle morphs into a Winspector type robot and bitches and whines as Hiromu gets his shit together. After a few establishing shots of cranes on a skyscraper, we meet up with the other two Go-Busters, Yellow Buster (the "tall for her age" eight year old candy muncher, Yoko) and Blue Buster (Ryuuji), as they're on the job and we are introduced to G-Buster's central gimmick: espionage. The duo spy away while perched on the crane's hook, as we're informed they're on a special mission to investigate an "Enetron" leak by the Energy Management Center, the Go-Buster's governing body. Some goons are in an office building accessing this stuff illegally! NO! Clearly, the Go-Busters need to go bust them - and quick because there's been almost an entire minute with no action. The pair literally swing into action (via that patently cheesy Toei CGI), smash through the window and, while the goons start shooting, the pair whip off their sunglasses (1) and slo-mo into action while their "Morphers" bust to life, announcing "It's Morphin' Time!" and "Let's Morphin'!" and outfitting our heroes into stylish leather get-ups - not very Sentai; these non-spandex costumes won't ever tear during strenuous stuntwork, really cutting down on any slash-fic that one may want to write. After trading a few blows with the goons, there's crap-a-doo edit and our goons reveal themselves to actually be friggin' MOOKS! Meanwhile, Red accepts being a Go-Buster (???) and he and his robo-cycle finally leave his amazing house (Go-Busters pays pretty well, it seems) which prompts an informal opening credit sequence where we learn that Enetron is a source of cheap-o, presumably renewable, energy and the Varglass want it - simple! Yellow and Blue hop around beating the mooks using their lame-ass-therefore-cool camera guns (spy-stoof!), EMC prepare the team's mechs and Red rides his Buddyloid, popping a wheelie to let you know shit's urgent. Heeeey, maybe the slash-fic'ers do have something to work with here... Say Cheese! The Bustahs corner the lead baddie, "Enter" on the roof (he's got the cool anime hair and circuit sunglasses - clearly the lead badster), where he lays a lite whup-ass on our heroes while spittin' Française and makes his escape - magnifiqué! The brass at EMC headquarters kvetch over Enter's threat of a big show while Himomu continues to ride his Buddyloid. Enter, meanwhile, reports back via VR with some digital Anti-Zordon who thinks he's the Messiah. This scene is total Cyberflop 90's Hackers / Lawnmower Man crap - love it. Given his orders, Enter goes to a scrapyard and gives a steamshovel a case of the rubber suits, setting up a fight between it and the Busterz! At some interdimensional robot factory, the mooks launch a Megazord - whose arrival time is kept via a suspenseful timer at the bottom right corner of the screen. Of course, this is a bit of irony as Sentai usually has some giant attack at the end of the show. It does add some urgency to the pre-hoedown, so that's cool. It is now that we finally learn that these Busters have special powers and weaknesses and that's why they're fighting Vaglass. Each also has an animal themed Buddyloid robot - Ryuji has Gorisaki Banana, a whiny gorilla with a steering wheel for a face, Yoko has Usada Lettuce, a rabbit with a bad attitude and Hiromu has Cheeda Nick, a great cat (a cheetah, those it has no cheetah pattern) who basically keeps him on track. Yellow and Blue engage the Shovelroid, whipping off their sunglasses (2) before morphin' into action. Red has finally reached his destination - a hospital - where he lets his injured sister know he's decided to join the Go-Busters. She's not so keen on this but, we know how it's gonna turn out so, moving on - TIME IS RUNNING OUT! The Megazord land in the heart of the city and starts smashin' the joint up, bent on getting the Enetron and allowing Messiah into our dimension! Luckily, Red Buster is going to save the day - he shows up, blasting away at the Shovelroid as he flies by on Cheeda Nick, blowing half it's face off - and he hasn't even Morphin' Time'd yet! After this impressive display, he tells the weaker Busters that, obviously, he'll take on the Megazord - they can clean up the, now crippled and probably EZ-2-Kill, Shovelroid. Wotta guy! And now my favorite element: the absurdly gigantic sports car / Cat Megazord, the CB-01 picks up Red Buster who then morphs the car into it's mech form and lays a beatdown on the Varglasshole Megazord! In the midst of the battle an occupied building is blown in half (I can only assume plenty of civvies met their crispy end here), necessitating Hiromu stop it from collapsing! Of course, after righting the building (watlolsrly), he charges the Varg Vikerzord, whose missles blow up countless other buildings, but they're small so... maybe they're not sponsors? Anyway, inspired by Red Buster's Mega-Pluck™, Blue and Yellow finally simultaneously end the Shovelroid with the camera-blasters - YAY! Hiromu gets serious on the notion of fighting and winning and then everybody dances! Pretty good, as much as it's different (no roll call for one, at least in this EP), it still retains Sentai's inherent silliness, though maybe not as "in your face" as other series. The effects are generally well executed, used to great effect where they count, while discounted elsewhere (like the window assault). I like the Buddyloid concept, though they didn't really do anything, apart from Cheeda Nick. The Busters themselves are fairly grounded compared to other series, while their human supporting cast just kinda... sat around. Too much of that. As you can see, a lot happened though it didn't much feel like it. The slightly more grounded feel sacrifices much of Sentai's lunacy, which I'm not sure works. Overall, a good, but not great, debut. *(for the millionth time - what does watching {and occasionally living through} endless city flattening events do to Tokyo kiddies perceptions of mortality, I wonder?)
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11-11-2016, 12:31 PM | #7337 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 1,533
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Quote:
TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS EP01 The 36th entry into the Super Sentai series, Tokumei Senti Go-Busters goes old school while tossing a lot of other Sentai conventions out the window. The show is weird in that it seems so different from regular Sentai, compounded by using such American Power-isms as "It's Morphin' Time", "Morphers" and "Megazords", but is more of a throwback to Showa style - faux serious, team starts as a trio and a family dynamic. *SNIP* The slightly more grounded feel sacrifices much of Sentai's lunacy, which I'm not sure works. Overall, a good, but not great, debut. Some of it works, and some of it doesn't. There are a few excellent moments and episodes, but overall the show never rises above "good, but not great." Which is not to say I don't like it. I do. It's just super inconsistent. Ultimately, the show's biggest failing is that liked Hiromu, Yoko, and Ryuji are duds. There are other characters that make up for their lack of charisma -- Jin, Beet J Stag, Enter, and Kuroki -- but it always sucks when the heroes are a show's weak link. Last edited by Kamen Rider Lucha; 11-11-2016 at 12:35 PM.. |
11-11-2016, 02:37 PM | #7338 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Quote:
Oh right Quote:
Hiromu, Ryuji, and Yoko are all refreshingly down to earth characters who feel like real people because they have their flaws and stupid quirks. They're a lot more nuanced than your usual Sentai team and have slightly more subtle character growth as a result, but that's just another thing that makes them cool. The other big thing making them work is their relationships with the Buddyroids and how they sort of reflect one another. Especially Hiromu, whose initial abrasive attitude contrasts really nicely with Nick's considerate personality. Honestly, the Buddyroids in general are basically the show's secret weapon. They took what could've been lame gimmicky sidekicks and made them main characters in their own right.
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11-11-2016, 03:18 PM | #7339 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
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Off the bat, I just didn't like Go-Busters. Long before it become the ultimate divisive series, I just didn't end up enjoying what I saw as it aired. I stopped long before Jin came in.
Anyway, Ginga 44. They're celebrating the start of the new year, and Gouki is feeling a little down because his optimism and idealism might be weighing him down as a warrior. Before it can be addressed, Yuuta's dad shows up with Ms. Suzuko to join in celebrating. Before Gouki can go ultra awkward, we have the rival teacher who also has a crush on Suzuko show up (With Gouki acting adorably defensive to keep him from interacting with Suzuko). He and Gouki walk Suzuko to a bus and after she leaves, he decides to become Gouki's apprentice (With the idea that it's an apprentice's duty to surpass the master), trying to spark a rivalry. I'd say hijinks ensue, but it's really just one scenario. In the meantime, we learn why Barban was unfazed by the Daitanic's death. Turns out the ash left behind sank into the Earth and it created a new, stronger monster, and their plan is to extract it and make it grow (Since it's still just a baby). Yadda yadda, Gouki gets trapped beneath a huge chunk of concrete since not only was he trying to save everyone else, but also a teddy bear. He does, rival teacher learns why Suzuko chose him, and Gouki leaves to save the other Gingamen. His shoulder is fucked up because of all the effort he put into saving a bear, so rival teacher helps shoulder the burden of the beast cannon and they end up saving the day. Was good.
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11-11-2016, 03:32 PM | #7340 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Quote:
I should probably mention I deemed Go-Busters unexciting enough to stop watching after 2 or 3 episodes back when it aired. I liked it, but after Gokaiger I was starting to think Sentai maybe just wasn't my thing. I very specifically remember going to grab a new episode of Kamen Rider Wizard from Over-Time and seeing the picture on the post for one of the very last episodes showing Enter's pseudo Red Buster getup, which got me curious enough to give it a bigger chance. I'm SO glad I did, though I understand why it isn't everyone's cup of tea.
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