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10-01-2016, 02:09 PM | #7211 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
Posts: 25,326
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Gingaman 16 and 17.
So a cranky old man returns to the stables and throws a bitchfit to piss everyone off, all while threatening to fire them (Since he was pretending to be the owner's father), so they have to deal with it. Turns out he just wanted his home to be like how he remembered it. It was nice, but he was kind of a horrible person. So...No. Episode 17, though. Budo's next plan was to go full on terrorist mode and use a bunch of people disguised as bombs to walk into large buildings and detonate. Like, holy shit. I'm not really gonna bring up political commentary because I don't feel like getting an infraction. Anyway, Ryouma and Yuuta are out camping or something for a project and Yuuta wants to be useful to the team. Yuuta sucks at fighting and they share a bit of a heart to heart before things go downhill and Ryouma ends up falling off a cliff due to an explosion. Things happen, Yuuta finds the villain's lair where he's making the robots, more things happen, Yuuta destroys the control panel and Ryouma gets caught up in an explosion made by a dogpile of the remaining robots. Afterwards, when the other Gingamen have arrived, a mysterious warrior emerges carrying an unconscious Ryouma. It was a really fun episode. I enjoyed seeing the Starbeasts taking out a monster in their kaiju forms, which was cool. The villain's plan was actually both effective (Well, in small scale execution, it was. In theory, it's terrible) and scary, and we get the tease of Bull Black, so it's pretty good~
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10-03-2016, 10:39 PM | #7212 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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So after some recent discussion I rewatched the first episode on Ninninger and maaaaaaaaaaaybe I'll go through the whole show again. If it plays out that way. Certainly a couple more episodes. Big maybe though.
It hasn't actually been that long since it aired but I'm curious if I'll hit the same rut I did weekly going at my own pace. And also I wanted something to actually post about in the Sentai threads since I have little to say about episodes of Zyuohger every week beyond "it was good yeah!". I figure my perspective on Ninninger is rare enough to be mildly interesting, so without further ado: Ninninger 1. Seeing the premiere again reminded me exactly why Ninninger got me hooked so early on. This is a really strong first episode that gives you a great feel for the show. I love how the literal first thing that happens is Takaharu getting into a fight as Akaninger. It's a great way to send a message about the show's style. Big action! Lots of it! And it's always such nice action. I remember one of the interviews before the series aired said they were trying to focus on more unassisted acrobatics than wire-work and the like and it really shows throughout a lot of the show. There's the usual CGI-heavy special attacks but in general the Ninningers are always flipping around in a way that's a lot more energetic than your usual Sentai. The show has a lot of flash in a good way. Their role call is also a personal favorite of mine. And those mecha scenes! One of my personal pet peeves in Sentai I've had ever since watching Power Rangers as a kid is when teams never use the mecha individually and because they built beautiful practical props for all of them I guess they felt more inclined to show them all off. Obviously Shinobimaru (and later Rodeomaru) have the advantage of being dudes in suits but you get to see a lot of action from the rest of them too. Even the dump truck is made to feel like a cool and important part of the arsenal. Love the touch of having the Rangers ride on top of them too. The scattered motifs of Shurikenjin presented a great opportunity for varied action and it didn't go to waste. Unfortunately when Gekiatsu Dai-Oh shows up its parts are both crappy CG and only exist to combine. This was genuinely a huge reason I lost interest in the show because the mecha went a long way towards making me love it so much in the first place. One of the big reasons I want to rewatch the whole series is to see if I'll come off more positive on that part of the show going in not expecting anything else. ...well that'll do for now. I could talk about characters and plot and stuff but I'll let that come as it does. I want to try and keep these as brief as I can (by my standards I mean).
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 10-03-2016 at 11:30 PM.. |
10-04-2016, 07:20 PM | #7213 |
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! 2 + 3
Let me just start off by saying I love Ninninger's opening. The narration is pretty hype and the song itself is, much like a lot of Ninninger, retro in a very cool way, being a bragging theme song all about how the Ninningers are gonna totally kick the s*** out of any bad guys they see. I also love the touch of the main villains that haven't shown up yet being in silhouette. A lot of what makes Ninninger great lies in the details and little touches like that add up quickly. Episode 2 is essentially a classic "energetic Red guy doesn't get along with level-headed Blue dude" plot (mixed in with some more stage-setting) which in context of the franchise was something we hadn't seen in a while. The previous few Blues were all cheery team players so Yakumo's more distant demeanor was sort of refreshing, despite being an old concept. I think Ninninger might have better character development than I remember too because he seems like way more of a jerk here than by the end. The payoff is, of course, that we get to see Shurikenjin Drago for the first time, and the way it plays out is really clever. A lesser show would've simply had them go straight from one form to another, but Ninninger takes advantage of Shurikenjin's unique design by having Shinobimaru jump out of the "throne" to chase after a flying monster. Naturally, he can't get high enough so Dragomaru detaches to bail him out, and then when they reform Shurikenjin Yakumo decides to steal the spotlight. Again, a little moment, but the attention to detail in Ninninger is what makes it awesome. Episode 3 is a simple focus episode about Nagi that's elevated by some more great action. The climax involves an eeeevil truck that Nagi gets chained to, which might not sound exciting, but the fact that the majority of it involves an actual stunt-actor actually strapped to an ACTUAL moving truck makes it downright compelling. You get so used to everything in Toei shows looking fake it's crazy they decided this was worth the budget. Also some more great mecha stuff to top it off because why not? Dumpmaru even gets to throw some rocks at the monster all by itself! Dawww... it's like it's almost cool...
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 10-04-2016 at 07:23 PM.. |
10-04-2016, 07:46 PM | #7214 |
Stronger Than You
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: nyet
Posts: 25,326
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Continuing on Gingaman (I try to update in pairs, but I only watched one these past two days), 18 featured more Bull Black (Shocking, I know). In the tact you'd expect from someone 3000 years old, he just tries to steal an ancient artifact called the Demon Stone while in an armored truck. Then, in a perfectly logical move, he doesn't talk to the Gingamen at all to lead to them being suspicious of him being evil.
I know he states that he isn't with the Gingaman and doing his own thing, but still, come on. This is tier 1 levels of generic. It makes him confrontative for no reason beyond "Oooh, friend or foe, you'll never know!" Despite my bitching, it was nice. I liked that they quashed the idea of Ryouma thinking he's his brother quickly, just by watching his swordplay. Black Knight was still really cool, and it's pretty interesting to learn he was the one to bring the lights to Earth.
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10-05-2016, 07:43 PM | #7215 |
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! 4 + 5
In episode 4, Akaninger learns a valuable lesson about working as a team. Let me repeat, he learns this 4 episodes in. Naturally, Ninninger makes this extra fun by giving us oden-based character development. Seriously. Takaharu just wants to eat the eggs, since they're his favorite part, but when he eats everything together he finds it tastes even better. This is completely genius in my book. In the climax he proceeds to make it a point to actively stop himself from rushing in headfirst and tells Yakumo to call the shots. I really like this episode and I really like Takaharu. Complaints of him being the center of attention are largely unfounded. Spotlight hogging is his character flaw, and he grows out of it by around halfway through. Rewatching the show I'm still not sure why people say Shunsuke Nishikawa's acting was bad early on either. I mean, the line delivery can be pretty goofy, but Takaharu is a pretty goofy character so it matches perfectly. Not to mention he gets more subtle as the character does, making Takaharu's growth come across very clearly. Takaharu is not at all the center of attention in Episode 5! I just wanted to mention that so you don't get the idea last episode's lesson didn't stick past that week. This time it's all about Kasumi (and Yakumo). I love how the episode essentially mocks itself (and formulaic Sentai plots in general) by having the resolution to Kasumi's dilemma be that she didn't actually have a dilemma, Yakumo just misunderstood. Again, pretty genius as far as I'm concerned. The talk of everybody's various dreams is important though. The fact that the Ninningers all have their own goals outside of being ninja is very important to the show and this is the first time they really dig into it. The episode also ends with a fight on the Moon. You just can't go wrong with that. You also get to see Ninninger's remarkably thorough world-building come into play as, apparently, UFOmaru is actually an alien that Yoshitaka met and based the other Otomo-nin on. Yes, Ninninger is kind of a kitchen sink of fantasy ideas.
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 10-05-2016 at 07:46 PM.. |
10-06-2016, 07:28 AM | #7216 |
Super Sentai Eien ni
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 2,862
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Quote:
And to be fair, Nishikawa is not the best actor overall, but he quickly improved during Ninnin. |
10-06-2016, 10:01 AM | #7217 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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Quote:
His acting was a bit stiff and awkward at the beginning, but that goes for most toku actors in first episodes because most of them are beginners. We did have Toqger before there, which had a cast of mostly more experienced actors, so that might be a factor why the Ninninger group felt so off to many people.
And to be fair, Nishikawa is not the best actor overall, but he quickly improved during Ninnin. Anyway, he definitely is pretty awkward early on but it really didn't seem bad enough to be notable. I think he had the right sort of energy from the get-go too, unenthusiastic moetekita~'s not withstanding.
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10-06-2016, 11:28 PM | #7218 |
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! Ninninger VS Drive (hey, why not?)
This was actually a lot better than I remember. It's just a tiny bit bogged down by the obligatory movie tie-in stuff (Hi Rider 3! Bye Rider 3!), but it otherwise hits pretty much every beat a good crossover should. The big thing going for it is the chemistry between Akaninger and Drive, who give the whole special a solid backbone by having Shinnosuke's arc of initially be frustrated with Takaharu's antics only to realize they have a lot in common. There're also a lot of fun scenes throughout. We're given the obligatory *misunderstanding* at the start with Drive mistaking the Ninningers for particularly odd Roidmudes, but the ensuing fight is made interesting by actually showing how they counter each other's wildly different abilities. Seeing Shinnosuke and Belt-san completely baffled by giant Roidmudes and giant robots is also a really great bit of perspective. As the audience, you just sort of accept these things as making sense. This special with written by Drive's writer, Riku Sanjo, but it actually works remarkably well as an episode of Ninninger. Everybody is very in-character and this is kind of the first time we really get to see Takaharu be the unexpected voice of reason, which will become more of a thing with him later on. He's the one who stops the fight with Drive to actually ask some questions. He figures out the monster's plan before Shinnosuke, a detective, can. And he gives a spot-on summation of their respective personalities toward the end ("If I'm a hotheaded idiot who rushes in without thinking, you're a hotheaded idiot who overthinks everything"). All around pretty good stuff. I mean, remember when the best you could hope for with a Sentai/Rider crossover was Super Hero Wars? We should really count our blessings here. Oh, and seeing Shunsuke Nishikawa acting opposite Ryoma Takeuchi (Shinnosuke) for 48 minutes really puts into perspective why people thought his acting was crap.
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10-07-2016, 09:17 AM | #7219 |
Super Sentai Eien ni
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Germany
Posts: 2,862
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The guys all had been in the business for a while, with Tokacchi, Right and the singer of the opening all being Tenimyu Alumni. Tokacchi also worke´d on music videos for Karaoke bars xD (it was hilarious to see him in one that was basically him standing around looking hot). Hikari had drama roles before, if I remember correctly (He was also in Fourze as Ryusei's best friend). I think Mio also did some stuff before (she had a role in an episode of Goseiger too). And Zet was actually near the end of his acting career, as he retired this year (He was Nobunaga in Movie Taisen Core). For Akira, I think he was mostly a stage actor since that what he mostly does now as well. Kagura was the only real newcomer, as far as I remember.
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10-07-2016, 10:25 AM | #7220 |
Banned
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Englewood CO
Posts: 10,893
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Yeah, add me to the list of people who can't believe those rangers were acting previously. They didn't seem like they knew how to act at all.
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