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01-13-2020, 08:15 PM | #8261 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,418
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01-14-2020, 02:31 PM | #8262 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,448
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Thanks. I'm almost at The mid point for Mega Ranger and on Disk 3 from Shout Factory.
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01-14-2020, 08:08 PM | #8263 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Kakuranger 20-21:
20 is the third time in half a dozen episodes the show has pumped the "Sasuke gets separated from the team" well for plot ideas, which, by all rights, should be getting old by now. Yet, this episode is good enough in its own right, and just barely different enough, that I can't be too upset. The unique twist this time is that Sasuke has to protect a little kid while on the run, who Junior's goon squad of kunoichi are also trying to kill specifically because they know having to worry about that on top of everything will throw Sasuke off his game. It's another really good showing for Sasuke, portraying him as a vulnerable human being, who pushes past his own physical limitations through sheer heroic determination, never giving up until the last possible second. He fights the good fight here, and you know it's the case because at the end Muteki Shogun tosses him the big flaming sword in approval, so he can turn the tables on his foes. Awesome. Hard to go wrong with this one. It's good drama with a tasteful dash of the usual wackiness where it counts. I mean, where else are you gonna see an evil mad scientist with radio equipment strapped to his head riding around on a bicycle? 21 is all about the Kakurangers hitting the streets to raise public awareness of how cool and interesting ninjas are. Come on guys, I'm sure the show's not doing that poorly, have some dignity! This ends up leading to a monkey with sweet shades learning to copy all their awesome ninja abilities to fight them with, and if that isn't enough to sell you on the episode, I don't know what is. Pretty fortunate, too, because this is another one that doesn't have much going on beyond a straightforward confrontation between the team and the Youkai of the week. No Muteki Shogun, even! Although, just to be honest for a second, it's hard not to acknowledge that scenes with the Jusho Fighters have more energy to them, and that's certainly appropriate for a lighthearted, goofy episode like this one. Back on the subject of minor changes to the show's formula for a second, it seems they're still having trouble deciding exactly what they want to do with those quizzes at the end. When they first started, the questions were about things in the episode, to see if you were paying attention, which makes sense. Then they were about trivia related to the episode, like whether or not spiders are insects, or the etymology of the word "kunoichi". You know, stuff that might actually be mildly interesting? But now here comes the end of episode 21 with a completely random riddle that's just a setup for a terrible pun. I can only imagine the disappointment of kids back in '94 who actually had to wait through an entire commercial break for that answer.
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01-15-2020, 09:14 PM | #8264 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Kakuranger 22-23:
22 is a perfectly okay episode about Seikai's latest (and surprisingly successful!) quest to win a random woman over. Nothing mind-blowing, but, you know, it hits all the basic points. It's playing to the unique aspect of the spotlight character, it's got some fun absurd bits like the monster being defeated by a vacuum cleaner. Still, with Junior nowhere to be seen, it's so disconnected from everything it could just as easily be one of the first dozen episodes, if not for the presence of the Jusho Fighters, of course. They're here to do a giant-sized Kakuranger Ball at the end, which I really want to be all over, but, uh, I'm kinda angry at these things all over again. Yeah, I know, but the second I started cutting them some slack, the very next episode just had to go and feature Muteki Shogun losing to some random monster of the week like it's nothing to "justify" the Fighters stepping in, even though the show has never been bothered about having a reason before. Did they seriously need to undercut one of the coolest Sentai robots ever in some random filler episode? What about the name?! The name is a lie now! The Youkai even points this out when he beats him! The show knew what it was doing was wrong and it did it anyway! I swear, if they don't do something to make up for this real quick... In 24, the show attempts to make it up to Muteki Shogun by giving him the bird. Not like Junior, I mean. He's busy holding a rock concert to summon forth the ultimate evil (this show, man). I'm talking about Tsubasamaru's debut, which means Super Muteki Shogun. I'm honestly not too sure how I feel about this one. It's definitely good, but it feels like it should be great, and would be if not for a few problems with context. First of all, it's very, very obvious Muteki Shogun losing a fight and needing an upgrade was supposed to be a big, shocking event, which makes it all the more baffling the previous episode featured him crying (yes, seriously) and losing to random smoke guy. That episode's script wasn't from main series writer Noboru Sugimura, so it's likely something simply got a little mismanaged there. What's less of an issue, but still much weirder, is the Kakurangers' sudden surprise at seeing Muteki Shogun showing up without them combining, even though there have been several prior instances of Muteki Shogun doing so, all of which were in episodes written by Sugimura, including the very recent 20. So to see Sasuke in particular get so confused about the notion of him being alive at this point is an oddity. It feels like I'm missing something. All that being said, this is still a pretty strong start to a massive turning point for the series. It has a sense of finality to it. Especially when it starts with Tsuruhime celebrating her birthday and remarking on how much closer the team has become. Which leads me to something I've been giving the show until this halfway point to talk about: the characterization. I don't doubt Tsuruhime's assertion the group has been getting along more over time, but Kakuranger has had a hard time establishing these characters, to say the least. I think part of the issue is that they avoided going for particularly generic archetypes. Nobody is "the smart one", or "the tough one". There's no brooding loner or cool guy. Where that went a bit wrong is that, for the first dozen episodes or so, everybody was basically one interchangeable idiot. If I have an issue with Kakuranger so far, it's definitely that. And yet, I feel the need to turn this back around into more praise, because, all things considered, it's only been a minor issue. Not something that ever truly bothered me. Especially since, after those initial episodes, the show has been steadily finding a groove for everyone. Tsuruhime is competent. Sasuke's dedicated. Saizou is frivolous. Seikai impulsive. Jiraiya sensitive. We're definitely getting somewhere with these guys, who even to begin with were still likable. I'm excited to see whatever new direction the show is going to move in from here, and how hopefully, it carries the progress it's already been making into something even better.
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01-16-2020, 12:53 PM | #8265 |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 462
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I've now finished Megaranger and have gone back a year to Carranger! I'm then planning on watching Liveman, then Maskman and then either Goranger or Battle Fever J but I think this time maybe when I'm more into Carranger I might start Liveman alongside it just for a bit of variety.
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01-16-2020, 09:16 PM | #8266 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Kakuranger 24-25:
Hoooooooo boy did I ever like episode 24. When the preview and the title both hype it up as the end of a chapter for the show, I kind of expect something that feels like an event, and this nailed it. You get an awesome fight between the Kakurangers and Junior's kunoichi where everyone gets to show off their skills, and, having delivered on the big action upfront, the rest of the episode is free to tell us how the series is changing gears for the time being. A lot of it is just exposition, but it's compelling exposition. It's like this was just the goofy ninja show, and now all of a sudden there's an epic quest, a more defined mythos, and a problem so huge the team has no choice but to leave it be for now, and each go their separate ways to gain the power to eventually confront it. It feels huge. There's a level of solemn sentimentality to the group, lit by a setting (rising?) sun, all vowing to one day meet again that feels totally earned. It really is kinda sad. Don't split them up! This is totally uncharted territory! How are we gonna have a Sentai show with no team?! Well, I guess it looks something like episode 25. Funny thing, I actually knew about this chunk of Kakuranger already, but I've been getting so into it, I completely forgot it seriously had the audacity to break up the protagonists in the middle of the show. That's pretty daring, and I can't help but like it. Naturally, things lead off with Sasuke, and given the track record of his focus episodes, it should go without saying this is a pretty solid one. He's playing to his strengths here, protecting the weak, occasionally doubting his ability to so, and then gritting his teeth and doing it anyway in the end. He also makes some time to take a brief vacation at Rindo Lake Family Farms, but come on, all the cool 90's Sentai were doing that. What's a little more noteworthy is Sasuke's new and improved monkey robot, which gets some time to shine in the climax, since we're currently a few pieces short of a combiner. Just one more way the decision to do this plotline is paying off big time. Since the Youkai in 25 provides his own exposition, I figure that's my cue to pay my respects to the narrator. I badmouthed the poor guy a lot at the start, but now that he's gone, I have to admit I wouldn't mind him still being around. His presence rapidly started getting downplayed after the first few episodes, which meant he didn't have time to make annoying jokes, and at that point, there's not much to be annoyed at him for. I said the pop-culture theming was flying over my head without context, and indeed, after learning what koudan is, I gained a certain level of respect for Kakuranger's creative decision to deliberately employ a form of traditional Japanese storytelling that was already considered outdated in the 90's in their hyper-modern action TV show aimed at youth. It's emblematic of the kind of "past and present in a blender set to puree" style that makes it unique. The good news is that it feels less like the show gave up on the narrator, and more that it's naturally grown into something that doesn't need him over time. Like it doesn't need gimmicks to stand on its own two feet now. Which is great... as long they keep the "SHU!SHU!SHU!" onomatopoeia whenever someone throws shuriken. I love that.
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01-16-2020, 10:01 PM | #8267 |
take me to space
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,406
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They say you don't realise how much you care for something before its gone, and so you took the narrator for granted...
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01-17-2020, 08:46 PM | #8268 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Kakuranger 26-27:
Episode 26 hits it out of the park. It's exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for from this stretch of the show, taking the opportunity provided by splitting everyone up to drill into what makes them tick as individuals. In this case, I feel like I knew Tsuruhime better after these 20 minutes than I did in 20 episodes. I don't mean that to sound like too much of a backhanded compliment, but going back to my gripes with Kakuranger's characterization, if I hadn't been told on a few occasions she was the leader of the team, I would've never guessed. While she's obviously supposed to be in that position, instances of her doing actual leader things, like motivating the team, or giving them orders, are few and far in-between, and usually end with her being ignored. This episode doesn't go as far as to like, directly say she's doing a bad job or anything, but it does roll with the central idea of this whole plotline, that the Kakurangers aren't totally done baking. We get a sense of Tsuruhime's backstory here, which is nice too, but it's the way it moves her forward that makes the episode so good. Just like Sasuke was given cause to think a little harder about what he's protecting and why, Tsuruhime is put into a scenario that results in her having a deeper understanding of what she contributes to the group by the end. I'm a sucker for character-driven, introspective stories, and this one puts a very Kakuranger spin on things by having the vehicle for that be Tsuruhime being given a team of wind-up copies of the other Kakurangers, animated by ninja magic (of course), to help her get her scroll. It's a cute workaround to get the others in the episode, and comes with the rather unique emotional dilemma of her being told it's totally cool to let these guys bite the dust for the sake of the mission, since they aren't alive to begin with. It's bizarre, it's absurd, and it comes with a dramatic payoff that's expected, yet still satisfying. What more can you ask for? I could ask for Muteki Shogun being treated with some respect, that's what. 27 is inexplicably called "The End of Muteki Shogun", despite this not being the end of Muteki Shogun, and the fact the plot isn't even remotely about the "end" that is there. He just gets wimpily defeated to once again make newer toys look cooler. The plot proper is about Seikai and Saizou. I actually don't mind the idea of pairing them up to get their scrolls. They're very similar characters in that they're both still basically the same carefree idiots they were at the start, so one plot could easily be made to service both of them. It's perhaps a missed opportunity to make them into more unique characters, but I like the basic plot here. Both of them start turning into monsters, suddenly finding themselves dealing with a situation that's a lot heavier than usual all on their own. There's great potential in that. It was cool seeing them get over their initial despair through the power of friendship. Something about the execution feels like a bit of a misstep for this arc though. Sasuke and Tsuruhime got excellent episodes that felt very uniquely like they had to be happening at this point, but this one lacks the same weight. The lesson Seikai and Saizou learn doesn't feel as particular to their characters. It's more or less a standard Sentai plot that, once again, could be slotted in wherever and make just as much sense. Super Muteki Shogun doesn't even show up, which makes it all the weirder. What the heck was Tsubasamaru off doing this episode? In what I'm sure is a complete coincidence, this episode is by Hirohisa Soda, the same guy who wrote 22, which had a similarly disappointing showing for Muteki Shogun. This leads me to something I've been wanting to mention for a while. Now, Soda is a massively prolific writer for Sentai, and having not seen any of the many, many series he was the head of, I don't want to make any hasty judgments about the quality of his work, but I've gotta speak my mind here. The episodes of Kakuranger written by him, and fellow old-school Sentai veteran (to a lesser extent) Susumu Takaku, have universally been the least entertaining of the series so far, even when I still liked them. Go look at an episode I said had a thin plot, or just plain wasn't great, and rest assured Sugimura probably wasn't the one behind it. While this is the first series helmed by him I've seen too, based on how excellent this show has been, and the reputation of shows like Dairanger, I can't help getting the impression Sugimura and Arakawa were this exciting new wave for Sentai, full of fresh ideas and innovative concepts, that the old guys were starting to struggle to keep up with. That makes sense for Arakawa, who legitimately was the next generation at the time. However, Sugimura had actually been writing toku about as long himself, so I guess the fact he was still new to Super Sentai in particular just made that much of a difference. It's less that the episodes by the other writers are bad on their own merits, which they aren't, and more that they feel stylistically disconnected from how Sugimura was approaching his scripts. Their priorities are similar, but differ in some very noticeable ways.
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01-18-2020, 08:07 PM | #8269 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Kakuranger 28-29:
Episode 28 is so mindblowingly amazing it really rubs in how much I wish Sugimura had taken it upon himself to write this entire arc himself. Actually, this episode even grants a little bit of my wish, with a flashback to the showdown from the end of last episode shown, re-edited to make it look like God Kumard and God Logan actually fought alongside Muteki Shogun, the way things happened in Sasuke and Tsuruhime's episodes, rather than Saizou and Seikai standing around doing nothing while that sequence played out. So, alright, already, we're off to a fantastic start, and I haven't even mentioned the good part yet. Guess who still hasn't gotten their scroll? That's right, my boy Jiraiya! Now we're talking! Much like the show figured out Sasuke is at his best when he's being determined, it very quickly realized Jiraiya is at his best whenever you can get him to start crying. He's a sensitive guy that way, you know? He wears his heart on his sleeve, and as a consequence, a great plot for Jiraiya specifically is having a bad guy who can step all over it. Which is what we get here, is the most dramatic possible fashion, as Jiraiya ends up tragically facing off with his own mentor. The man who made him who he is today. The one who knows all his skills because he taught them to Jiraiya in the first place. It's a classic martial arts story trope, and it's used to great effect here. We learn about Jiraiya's past, building the depth of the world, and in the present, we see him pushed to the limit, building the depth of his character. One thing in particular I found impressive was how effectively Sasuke was used. At first, you'd think it'd ruin the whole spotlight thing this arc was about, but he's essentially used as a prop, in a good way. He shows up early on to give Jiraiya someone to bounce off of and exposit about his past to, promptly leaves the story, and then only comes back at the end to escalate the conflict by being put in danger. It's very clearly all about Jiraiya, with Sasuke merely serving to move the plot along faster and more efficiently. It's so fast and efficient, you can only imagine my surprise when it turned out the plot wasn't actually over at the end! I guess God Gammer not being anywhere in the preview for this one should've been my first hint. Woah woah, hold up a second! I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to the credits in the last episode, but Jiraiya's mentor is totally played by his actor's actual father, who is also ninja B-movie legend (from what I understand) Sho Kosugi? Dude! As if these episodes weren't epic enough already! No wonder their entire showdown never involves Jiraiya transforming. Ah, man, I can barely keep calm enough to even talk about what a great conclusion episode 29 is. I guess I'll keep it simple and say pretty much everything that was great about the last one carries through here. A huge chunk of it is devoted just to Jiraiya's fight with his master, which is naturally super tense and exciting. The plotline has some good twists and turns to it, and wraps up in a way that's a little less obvious than I was expecting. It's a stellar pair of episodes even by that point, but there's still a third of an episode left, which is devoted to Jiraiya getting his turn with his awesome new mecha, and the reunion of the Kakurangers. God Gammer is awesome. Maybe my opinion is being colored by my love of Jiraiya and these episodes, but it came off way more impressive than everyone else's new toys. This thing is huge, it jumps for days, can summon an army of minituare versions of itself, and spits fire. What a versatile combat machine! There's no doubt about it. Frogs are clearly the superior choice for any ninja.
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01-19-2020, 03:40 PM | #8270 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Kakuranger 30-31:
Man, the Kakurangers sure are keeping busy lately. You'd think returning from their epic quests to finally defeat Junior, save a bunch of people who got turned into stone, and prevent an ancient evil from entering our world and laying waste to civilization as we know it would be enough to fill episode 30. But as it turns out, Tsuruhime's allegedly deceased father is now back, apparently working for the bad guys. I still remember when a Youkai wanting to be on TV, or turn everyone's clothes into rags were considered enough to constitute a conflict in this show. Now everything's gotta be all heavy. Not that I'm complaining. This is another great episode, with a lot of tension and intrigue, that also somehow manages to avoid feeling redundant in spite of having the same basic premise as the last two episodes with Jiraiya's master. Things come to a suitably epic conclusion in episode 31. Well, I say conclusion, but the team didn't quite manage the whole "prevent an ancient evil from entering our world" thing in the end. After all, there's still about 20 episodes left to go. I'm actually struggling a bit to say a lot about these ones, probably because they're just as much of a new beginning as they are an ending, but they really are great. This whole arc launched the show to new heights. Capping it off with the Kakurangers having to move on without their mentor was also a great way to symbolize the growth of the team, and another in an increasingly long line of surprisingly solemn moments from this series. It's not all bad news though! They did get a spiffy new robot out of the deal. Kakure Dai-Shogun's debut really feels like an event in a way that doesn't always happen in Sentai. Granted, the combination itself isn't treated with a whole lot of fanfare, but the context of this being the end of a huge story arc, and the fact that we saw this thing getting assembled bit by bit over the course of said arc, give it a huge impact anyway. It's also just a plain cool robot that seems to have an easier time moving around than Muteki Shogun, supporting a theory that's been rattling around in my brain ever since the Jusho Fighters showed up out of nowhere. I think the original Jusho and Muteki Shogun ended up being way too bulky as suits, and the show was kind of desperate to get rid of them. Obviously new mechs = new merch, too, but the Fighters were such a weirdly specific, redundant concept (robot guys but... still just robot guys!) it wouldn't surprise me if part of their creation was the staff on the show wanting something slimmer to work with. It would definitely explain why so many of Muteki Shogun's appearances were almost nothing but stock footage if they straight up didn't want to film new material for him whenever it could be avoided. Even Super Muteki Shogun is largely shown standing in place.
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