DreamSword Watches Unfamiliar Toku: Part 3 - BIMA: The Garuda Warrior
 

Well, I left it up to my friends in the Toku Chat that I'm a part of to decide on which Non-Big Three Toku I should cover next, and it was unanimous that the next show I check out be BIMA: Satria Garuda, which is 26 episodes long.

So, what is BIMA?

BIMA is the first ever Indonesian Tokusatsu Production done as a collab between Indonesia MNC and Inshinomori Productions in 2013.

I couldn't find much information on the show's' content itself, but from what little I could gleam it's apparently what you might expect right off the bat: An Indonesian version of Kamen Rider(Black, more specifically). I'm not really sure what to expect out of this one, so it should make for an interesting time!

Episode 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_nsmQJoJIU

You can very much tell that this is a first for everyone involved.

Don't get me wrong, I liked what I saw, but yeah, this is the first Indonesian Toku and it shows, with pretty much every aspect being very amateurish.

From the acting, to the fight scenes, to the special effects, and most notably the sound design, which is by far the weakest aspect of this episode. For real, was the sound effects guy half asleep during this whole thing?

But that's enough of me sounding like a snob, because man, I still had fun! As far as starting episodes go, this one is pretty basic, but there's nothing wrong with that in my eyes given that it still gets the general idea across. And that OP is actually rather good!

Oh, right, I should probably mention what is actually established here, right? The story follows Ray, whose father was a brilliant scientist that managed to create a portal to a parallel dimension. Unfortunately for the people of Earth, the planet sitting on the other side, Vudo, is lead by a vicious dictator known as Rasputin, who then proceeds to, you guessed it, try and take over Earth.

This all leads into an accident which ends up killing all of Ray's' family(including his kid brother!), leaving Ray alone and to be adopted by a new family, who are only minorly established in the first episode. 21 years later, Ray now works as a mechanic at Satria Motors, and it's while taking some time off to spend the day with his adoptive sister Rena that the Vudo Empire returns, ready to enslave all of mankind.

After saving a mysterious man from Vudo(and linking blood with him), Ray is granted the Red Power Stone, an artifact which allows Ray to transform into Bima, the Garuda Knight. It's now up to Ray, as Bima, to fight against the Vudo Empire and save not just the family he loves, but the entire Earth as well. It's a pretty standard start all around, sure, and while the acting certainly isn't the best, I still think that there was enough present to make me care about what was going on as well as the people involved.

I also really love the Bima suit! The color balance between the red, white, gold, and silver, with the little details to sell him as being Garuda(Great Hawk) themed are pulled together really well into a very sleek yet empowering design. Like, if there was ever an SHF of Bima, I'd be totally down to grab it especially if I end up liking the show by the end.

Overall, yeah, it's a very basic first episode, but it's still fun in its own right and I'm looking forward to seeing what Indonesian Kamen Rider has in store for me.

The acting here uses actually more formal language rather than the everyday language, perhaps (and it's something appreciated here). Indonesia has never gotten good special effects especially in other shows (which is heavily mocked in meme), to the point that seemingly the people who are good here can only show their talents in foreign country (ex: those working in Avengers special effects). And iirc they aren't allowed to use actual explosive effect, hence those sparks effects here. I do have to say that watching this feels different from watching like, soap operas in this country (which infested the TV, despite being universally hated), like, there's no focus on face close-ups or haunting sound effects.

Regarding Ray having an adopted family, this is such a contrast compared to most of Indonesian TV shows, which typically has the step-parents being utterly evil bastard who abuse their kids to no end (like Faiz's Yuka family), but here, the adopted family live in harmony. Actually the preview told that Rasputin wants to take the Earth's natural resources to make Parallel World (VUDO's the organization) worth living, but actually it just plays as Rasputin being evil overlord. Rena being played by Stella Cornelia of JKT48 (Indonesian idol group, but an official extension of AKB48) was some of the only reason people watched this show, sometimes just outright mocking any other aspects (because they just hate and nitpick anything made in the country, inlander mentality to think anything foreign is better).

I watched Satria Garuda Bima and Bima-X weekly as they aired and I even reviewed Revenge of Darkness on this forum 2 years ago. Bima-X was actually my favorite Tokusatsu of 2014, or rather, the only one airing that year besides Drive and SMF that I didn't dislike. It's cool to see you giving the Satria franchise the recognition it deserves!

While the show does take a few episodes to refine the formula, which I think is fair, the first episode does a good job to introduce the setting and characters and create intrigue for the story. Ray and the Iskandars are likable and have a strong family dynamic. For VUDO, Rasputin is certainly a generic evil dude, but honestly, the villain to keep your eyes on is Topeng Besi, who has Power Stone Biru in his gauntlet. Seperti Bintang is an awesome OP for sure!

Heard about this show but haven't watched it yet. Well, I'll try to evaluate.

Familiar, my compatriots also suffer from this. It was especially funny when one film was criticized by all local film reviewers, calling it a complete failure, and then the United States bought the rights to a remake.

That certainly explains the writing style of the subs I'm using for the show(Bereke Scrubs).

Yeah, their idea of an explosion is just copypasting fire effects everywhere, but ya know, the reliance on sparks instead is something I actually really dig, as it gives off the same vibe as classic Power Rangers.

That's actually a really cool detail. There's still a stigma against adoption even today, so having a show that portrays it in a positive light is really nice to see.

That's unfortunately a mindset that I've noticed is fairly common in the Toku fandom at large. There's alot of double standards people hold between American Toku and Toku from Japan, for example. And it's incredibly easy to come across no matter what you're comparing, it seems, though obviously PR vs Sentai is the most immediate point of comparison.

Yeah, I think I recall you talking about the franchise at one point or another, alongside another user(who I can't remember at the moment, sorry!). Nice to know you really dug it, and I hope to get a similar experience.

Feel free to watch along!

This episode is very much the action climax to the first one.

The mission this time is for Ray to save his brother, who at the end of last episode was taken hostage.

And despite the sound design still being very lackluster, the action sequences themselves are still fun to watch, and every now and then were interlaced with some decent character moments to keep me hooked.

Things such as establishing the rivalry between Bima and Iron Mask, the reveal that there are seven Power Stones out there(do they get to make a wish if they gather all of them?), and Mikhail(the mysterious man from last episode)'s' role as a sort of spiritual advisor.

It's funny that I'm currently watching Kamen Rider Revice at the same time that I'm deciding to do coverage of BIMA, as this episode ends with a hook that the opening arc of Revice also took on: That being of the main character's' resolve and how that ties in to their personal brand of heroics, if at all. The needs of the many vs the needs of the few, sort of.

I do like that both shows go about it at different angles, and don't me wrong, I've been liking Revice just fine so far, but BIMA's' take interests me alot more immediately. Basically, rather than pressuring Ray into being a savior of the world just because he can transform like how Mama Igarashi did to Ikki, Mikhail instead poses a rather important question to Ray: If it's not Bima's' responsibility to protect the world, then whose is it?

It really stood out to me because Mikhail isn't calling Ray wrong for wanting to prioritize the lives of the new family he found, but rather pointing out that both go hand in hand. But, if Ray really wants nothing to do with it, well, then who else can they really rely on to be able to use the Red Power Stone in order to fight back against the Vudo Empire? It makes for a really nice hook for the episode to end on, and going by Rider standards makes these opening episodes a sort of three-parter, which I dig.

Looking forward to seeing how all of this is sorted out come next episode!

The Power Stones are, fittingly, a source of elemental power, which would definitely help expedite Rasputin's natural resource extraction plan if he collected them all. This gives VUDO a pragmatic reason to terrorize humanity, since drawing out Bima means they can try and take Power Stone Merah from him. Topeng Besi is eager about the "fighting Bima" part though and will gladly leverage Ray's loved ones to make it personal between them.

Haha, yeah, this is a humorous comparison and I can see the superficial similarities. While Revice easily wins in action scenes and special effects, I think Bima depicts a more wholesome healthy functional family, especially with the constructive depiction of adoption that DreadBringer mentioned. Ray's backstory of having two sets of missing/dead parents also gives more potential for drama than Ikki's neglected soccer aspirations. The Mikhail and Yukimi comparison seems more circumstantial though, as the former is speaking as a mentor and logical perspective, while the latter is speaking as a mother and emotional perspective, so it makes sense that their moral guidance would be delivered differently.

I wonder how Revice Garuda Genome would've looked like.

I've read that time that Topeng Besi was billed as Rasputin's second-in command, but I personally felt he's not really intimidating, at least in this point - and it does not go unnoticed by Rasputin. Like, going down in just one slash from Helios.

From what I recall, Ray's issue according to him is that, he's only a normal human, thus he can't be the one to protect the world, which ofc, Mikhail offers him the power to achieve it in the Power Stone. He was iirc described as someone with straightforward-strong sense of justice in the previews, which was shown in him not letting go of Mikhail even with the Kombatants (the name of VUDO's mooks) attacking him - w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶f̶u̶n̶n̶i̶l̶y̶ ̶G̶e̶a̶t̶s̶ ̶e̶p̶.̶ ̶3̶1̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶S̶a̶r̶a̶ ̶h̶o̶l̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶h̶o̶o̶l̶g̶i̶r̶l̶'̶s̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶r̶e̶m̶i̶n̶d̶s̶ ̶m̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶.̶

Something like this maybe?

https://i.imgur.com/a99qHzP.png

(i put way too much effort into this dumb joke)

It's both. Ray sees himself as nothing too special, but he also just wants to prioritize those close to him, as just about anyone would.

It's not often you get to see three transformations in one episode.

Anyway, this episode, while certainly action heavy, is all about Ray coming into his own as a hero.

Despite his protests last episode, it quickly becomes clear that he doesn't have it in him to just stand back and watch as innocent people get hurt. And I really liked the touches of realism that came with that.

Things such as him having cuts and bruises from the fights he gets in. And while none of the content is especially graphic, the implications brought on by the various scenes of the Kombatmen attacking(they totally beheaded a few people in that crowd) really help sell the threat of the Vudo Empire.

We get our first monster of the week here too, known as the Lizarion Monster. This thing was just plain gross in terms of design(like the way it slurped up the basketball player), but I felt that the fights it had with Bima were really well choreographed. And of course the sass that it gave Iron Mask made for a really fun character moment.

Oh, and since we got to see more of it in action here, Bima has a sword+bow combo weapon known as Helios. And I kinda don't get why one of its wings is blue? Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for the Kikaider aesthetic, but wouldn't like, gold and silver, or black and white make alot more sense in terms of color coordinating with Bima's' palette? Well whatever, it's not that big of a deal. I do like how each blade has a very different purpose atleast.

Overall, this episode was pretty nice. It established more of the sort of relationship that Ray has with Randy, Rena, and Bima as an identity, and the fights were fun. Can't really complain.

I like how the chest stamp conveniently aligns with Bima's emblem.

Yeah, like the Showa and early Heisei Rider Eras this franchise takes inspiration from, VUDO don't hold back on killing civilians and some of the MOTWs have particularly nasty and cruel ways of doing it as well. Their memorable personalities also remind me of the Phantoms from Wizard, the concurrently airing Rider show.

Otherwise the finisher name, "Blue Storm!", wouldn't make any sense, haha. Symbolically, I think the blue is a softer color to represent what that side of Helios is used for, to separate human hosts, while the red side aggressively explodes MOTWs. Ironically, Build RabbitTank would later use this symbolism, but with the colors reversed.

Yeah, that makes sense. Still, I just find it kinda weird given the rest of Bima's' getup. Then again it's no weirder than a fire element warrior having an air element attack, I guess.

I just had to say this but Bima is one of the greatest non-Japanese toku achievements to exist alongside Legend Heroes. :rock:

ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNO TOAD!

This episode was quite the surprise in alot of ways, as it manages to do some twists on the Toku formula that I didn't expect.

Most prominently, a good majority of the episode is actually from the point of view of a photographer, who actually isn't the victim of the week(though he does get his wallet stolen).

The sound design was greatly improved in this one too, which really helped sell the overall atmosphere of the episode, which is definitely needed given the master plan involves the Hypno Toad hypnotizing people into jumping off of buildings and walking infront of oncoming trains! Good lord!

Other highlights include Ray asking Mikhail if Mikhail is at all connected to the Vudo Empire's' initial attack 21 years ago, with Mikhail dodging the question entirely(meaning he's totally connected somehow), and social media going crazy over Bima, which might make this the first Toku to ever have that sort of element as a part of its story?

Oh, and this is also the first episode of the show's' first two-parter, so I guess this really is a Kamen Rider show!

If it keeps going the way it has been, I could see it! I absolutely loved Legend Heroes!

Yeah, personally never got the feeling that Ray prioritized loved ones or such in that time (only that he was a normal human). Due to this, though ofc it's not an either/or situation regarding caring about innocents or closed ones.

I guess regarding of the coloring, you'd understand better later. Bima's selection of forms will really remind you of certain influental Kamen Rider series; not Build with RabbitTank. There's also some stakes here in regards of the human being held hostage by the MOTW (though for here, it's a basketball player with a bad attitude), though ofc he has Blue Storm to separate them.

Forgot to mention that the TV channel usually shown here is the one who originally aired Bima Satria Garuda; RCTI, which'd make it kinda hilarious when watching the show at that time to have both RCTI on the TV at the same time.

I was totally shocked to see a bunch of people under a spell committing suicide on PG-rated Indonesian TV. That's pretty dark, even by the standards of Japanese Tokusatsu! It makes Hypno Toad an especially despicable villain for how he's such a coward that he doesn't even kill with his own hands.

Mikhail would've been very young at the time, so it's curious what kind of role he could've played in that. But yeah, his lack of denial or explanation makes him even more mysterious and that secrecy also adds to the friction between him and Ray, who's starting to get frustrated that Mikhail isn't being totally honest about the situation.

Regarding social media, I recall there was a little of that in Double and Fourze, which is where they got their Kamen Rider title from.

That's actually a neat detail. Though it does make the whole bit about who I'm assuming is the upper manager being all "Just put the song on if it'll make him that happy" kinda darkly funny.

For sure. It's also really cool in regards to seeing Ray actually being proactive given the situation he's in. He wants answers, and he's gonna do all he can to get them regardless of his being Bima or not.

Ahhh, right, right. I totally forgot about those details! My bad.

I too keep my Morpher on my nightstand.

This is the conclusion to the Hypno Toad two-parter, and while alot of it goes as you might expect, there's a decent does of family drama to shake things up.

Turns out Ray's' family situation is actually more cursed than initially thought: Not only did his biological family get murdered, but his adoptive parents also mysteriously disappeared after leaving him and his siblings with their uncle.

It's not something that's delved too deeply into, as it's just another step in the ongoing mystery that is Ray's' past, but it also adds to the family dynamic that's being built throughout these early episodes, which is something I rather enjoy. Stuff like Rena being a student that relies on her brothers to help her out, or establishing that Uncle, not not exactly poor, isn't super well off either.

But outside of that, yeah, it's more investigation into finding the source of the suicides(which funnily enough Bima himself is only half right on), and destroying Hypno Toad once and for all. Which also means the premiere of the Helios Blaster! Odd name for a Bow, but whatever!

That all being said, I do think that the biggest strength of the two-parter as a whole was the atmosphere being presented. What the overall plot and the mystery behind it simple? Yeah, but it was presented in such a way that it kept me hooked, and made me very interested in what aspects of it they were willing to show. From the gross out of the seeing the hypnotized exec eating a fly to people leaping to their doom, my eyes were glued to the screen full on.

It kinda reminded me of Kuuga in that aspect, really. And hey, if that's the route that this show wants to go, then I'm all for it.

Oh right, so this was the episode that hinted about the Iskandar parents' absence, meaning Rena and Randy are technically adopted as well. I think this shows another reason why Ray is so worried about anything happening to his siblings and uncle, since he's already lost so much of the Bramasakti-Iskandar family and he wants to protect those who are still left. His suspicions about VUDO's and Mikhail's involvement also give him a long-term motivation to find out the truth, as it's kind of ambiguous what happened to either set of parents. Yeah, Ray's been through a lot in his childhood.

And what definitely doesn't help is Uncle being all "Let's just not talk about it." Ray's' definitely got alot going on!

As it happens, I've reached the part of my Ryuki rewatch where the grandmother is evading Yui the same way.

BIMA really is a Kamen Rider show!

Ya know, for a show explicitly aimed at children, BIMA is surprisingly adult.

I'm not trying to say it's full of swears, or super gory, or anything like that. I more mean in terms of general specifics of its tone and plot.

Like, we had the mass suicides of the previous two episodes, and now with the start of this next one, we have a plot from the Spider-Manster that's all about sending the nation into an economic crisis.

It's not the sort of thing you ever see kid's' shows, much less Toku in general, ever bring up. And it's surprisingly practical too, which seems to be the MO of this monster, given how it's also the first one to directly devise a plan about discovering Bima's' identity and where he likes to hang out.

This monster also makes things personal when it possesses the body of Randy, which in turn is also used to showcase why Bima doesn't just spam Blue Storm at a monster on sight: It needs to be weakened first, otherwise it can still keep a strong hold on the spirit of the person who it's taken over. Which unfortunately means bad news for Randy and Ray.

Speaking of character drama, we're introduced to a new guy who apparently deals in credit card fraud. I really gotta wonder if kids in Indonesia were totally down for this kind of plot or if this sort of things is strictly for the parents watching along. Like, I found it cool watching it now as an adult, but as I kids I could easily see myself being all "Yeah whatever just get to the monster fights already!" (Feel free to judge me as you wish.)

Oh, and before I forget, that photographer from the Hypno Toad episodes? Turns out his name is George, and he's actually a reporter. Taking a page from Peter Parker's' book, he's desperately trying to sell pictures of Bima to the news outlet he works for, with no luck so far.

But yeah, I feel like we now have a very firm setup for BIMA's' formula, and given how well the atmosphere has been handled so far, I think I'm in for an overall good times. This show passes me personal "six episode" test.

Yeah, iirc Rena being described as a student that relies on her brothers was something described about her in the show's preview too. Weird? Isn't that just a simple (weapon name) (type of attack)? The weapon's name is Helios, and Bima attacks by shooting, thus blasting. And you already gotten signs of it with this reminding you of Kuuga :lol

Especially notable for a country that is rife with corruption in the politics. It needs to be weakened too for entertainment value too of giving more fights, ofc, but this gives a reasonable explanation to not drag out fights.

George? Peter Parker('s book)? Unexpected Revice relation. Especially in an Indonesian show where the names are more simplistic 4-words with many ending with "i" rather than y (and for this show, many starts with "R"). And true, as a kid I was more concerned with actions only, but now I'd see deeper stuff, though I enjoy good action scenes but I have high standards (not many in toku are good in my eyes...).

Basically, when I hear the term "blaster" I think of something akin to a lazer gun. Granted, Helios shoots energy arrows, but it's not a term often associated with a longbow.

Ha. I didn't even do that one on purpose. Good catch.

In fact, during the Showa era, many shows touched on such topics, albeit with the naivety characteristic of the era. The poisoned fish on the shelves in Battle Fever immediately comes to mind, but if you dig around, there are a lot of examples.

Yeah, I don't really care about money either. I care about the stuff I can buy with money. However, I also care about heroes stopping bank heists, which requires villains to be motivated by money, so I'm fine with it. I'm kind of curious how Parallel World's economy even works though, since Rasputin called money primitive. Like, what's the alternative, how are VUDO actually resourcing their operations?

I think such mature topics were especially prominent in Metal Heroes.

I can't speak for anything Showa other than the handful of Showa Kamen Rider shows I've seen, but I don't recall any plot like this in those. Still, if it was a common thing of the era, well, hey, that's actually rather interesting especially in comparison to media here in the US from the time.

Clearly it's all powered by SSOUULLLS!!! :lolol

If only they'd invested in eco-technology. Then maybe this whole disaster could've been averted

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp6W-H0xOg4

This episode was really stupid, but in like the best way.

Turns out the boss of the national bank wants everything back online despite Spider-Manster threatening and making good on killing them if they interfere, but it's ultimately a moot point because Freddy(the fraudster from last episode) can't combat the advanced viruses that the monster put in the system. As such, he needs Bima to cut off one of Spider-Manster's' fingers so he can analyze it, because after all, the monster used his finger the infect the system in the first place. Also gold makes Rasputin stronger somehow. Don't question it.

It's the type of nonsense that I just absolutely love in the Tokusatsu medium, especially when some genuine heart comes out of it via the characters involved.

While simple, Freddy's' arc of wanting to do right by his dad, which is what ends up working towards redemption and becoming a hero was something I actually found myself enjoying. Yeah, him and his dad could've made off with the bank's' money and no one would've been any wiser, but his father's' strong integrity meant not taking from others, even if they themselves would have to suffer for it. And it's the dad's' belief in his son that ultimately saves the economy.

Integrity seemed to be the sort of central theme of this two-parter, actually. Especially given how this episode starts off with Ray telling Mikhail that, a trap by Rasputin or not, he's not about to do anything that he feels would risk Randy's' life. I guess there was no risk in chopping off the spider's' hand...? Whatever, it's the sentiment that counts.

So, yeah, the plot is kinda dumb in terms of pure logistics, but the emotional core of it all left me overall very satisfied with how it played out. And the super over the top action scenes certainly didn't hurt anything either.

This show uh... it took a turn.

Like, look, I get that the whole "not blood siblings!" justification is a thing in fiction, and if it's your thing, fine, but like, I'd rather just Not, ya know?

Does this new detail, of Rena having a crush on Ray, her adopted brother, ruin the show for me? No. One of my favorite anime of all time as a similar detail in it, after all, but it is something I sure could've went without.

With that out of the way, this episode was very focused on furthering character arcs, to the point that the new monster, of whom I'll call Octopardo, is almost like a background detail in comparison, with having basically no major factor into the plot other than it leading the recent attacks on import/export ships.

George is getting closer to figuring out who Bima is and getting his story, Randy is moving to find out the truth behind the family's' past(and even brings up Ray's' brother, Reza), and Ray himself is still trying to get answers out of Mikhail with little avail, all while his self-esteem is really starting to feel the pressure when it comes to heroism.

I found that last aspect to be rather compelling, actually. Ray feels as if he's ultimately not doing much good, given that, sure, he can blow up the Kombatmen and the monsters every week, but that doesn't just undo all of the damage that they've done. Indonesia is still suffering regardless, with the latest plot being a massive food shortage. Mikhail of course does he best to reassure Ray, but that only goes so far.

It's an episode where not alot happens per say, but I was still overall invested due to the personal stakes at play from all sides. As well, assuming Reza wasn't killed, I have my own personal theory as to what might've happened with him, but I'll save that for a future episode.

But yeah, this was very much a setup episode. If not for the overarching plot then most certainly the episode immediately following. See you then.

I think it's a little disappointing how Belinda is introduced as a potential love interest for Ray, only so the show can bring Rena's vague romantic feelings to the surface. Belinda is generally a cool new character, but sadly she doesn't seem to have much purpose beyond that love triangle.

This is probably the writer Hayase Masato's bias, but since I lack knowledge about Indonesian cultural taboos, maybe I'm not exactly in a position to judge (although Hayase is Japanese). Either way, I agree with you, Rena's subplot here is something I'm not particularly invested in, but it doesn't ruin the show for me or anything like that. I much prefer the sibling dynamic she has with Ray and Randy, without complicating it.

Hmm, I'm curious to eventually find out your theory about Reza.

"Tokusatsu medium" so even outside of Japan, there are those acknowledged as a toku, of which some call Bima Satria Garuda a "soap opera" like many of Indonesian TV shows... Previously too, Mikhail was someone who has powers even in human form to deflect the Spider-Manster's energy ball and save Bima. Chopping off the spider's hand seems to be just a stage to defeating it, given that he'd destroy it at the end.

Oh actually yeah, Rena having a crush on Ray was.... something that was described about her in the show's preview.

And Indonesia remains a developing country, not developed... He may not be able to do perfect good, there're still the damages as Bima isn't all-powerful. Doesn't mean that aside from the self-loathing, they deserve contempt for those failures, or have the damages being twisted as them ignoring it.

Oh, is that the biker lady's' name? Yeah she just kinda like showed up for one scene and then vanished. Obvious setup sure, but kinda weird in terms of the narrative flow of the episode.

In due time...

Hmm, combining a soap opera and superheroics? That's a rather interesting concept that I think the US just might be able to pull off. Obviously they shouldn't have it be another bird themed superhero though. Maybe spider themed? That could work.

Yeah, but he only blows up the monster after separating it from its host, with the implication that not doing it would kill said host. So chopping off the hand without a second thought seems kinda reckless.

This is an episode that was very close to being perfect for me.

Like last episode, this one furthers the personal arcs of nearly every major character, with some left hanging in a way that almost suggests a 3-parter.

The plots are starting to converge too, with George now tailing Randy as a lead on Bima, and Randy in turn dragging Uncle into an investigation on what exactly went on with the missing parents.

As well, Ray's' hardships as a hero continue to worsen as, in a bout of desperation, many civilians are now beginning to actually work for Octopardo, as the monster essentially makes a monopoly on food. It's to the point that they can be easily convinced to attack Bima on sight.

And this raises an interesting moral dilemma: Is it okay for Bima to fight back against these regular people? Do the ends of defending Indonesia from Vudo justify the means of going through the very people Bima has sworn to protect? Unfortunately, this quandary is never actually addressed as outside of the initial beating from the townsfolk, such a scenario never happens again.

Instead the climax more just plays like the typical climax of your stand episode of BIMA, which, while in and of itself is not exactly bad, it does leave alot to be desired in terms of character development. It's an overall happy ending due to Bima saving the lives of the people who attacked him prior, thus winning their trust again, albeit one that sort of dodges the initial question, ya know? Such a great hook, but one that's a bit wasted.

So... yeah. I did enjoy it due to all the personal stakes at play, and it's not a bad episode by any means; I just wish they'd gone a bit further with it.

You ever see someone get beaten to death with a traffic cone?

The Valcus Monster is the main threat this time around, and I think it's got my favorite design of the monster so far; Looking like a monstrous Sasword.

Vudo's' main method of attack this time is one that actually ties into what is probably their primary objective of stealing Earth's' natural resources, with Valcus draining the planet of its electricity.

Speaking of Vudo though, one thing I consistently forget to mention, despite how I appreciate it, is how often BIMA mixes up the opening message of each episode. This one actually featured Rasputin himself talking to the audience, and in past episodes we've had stuff from Bima, Ray, and even Rena.

With that out of the way, this episode was rather straightforward, with it being almost entirely about the monster plot. If nothing else, the power plant made for a cool set to film at, although I dunno if it was the camera they used, or some odd greenscreening or what, but a good handful of the footage appeared to have this sort of out of place comic book-y filter over it.

But yeah. While I'm totally fine with this being a straightforward monster plot, it does leave me with a bit less to talk about. Maybe the second part will give me a bit more than just George and Randy briefly talking like how this one did.

That's her. Brief scene, but a memorable one for sure.

Good to see Uncle actually helping with the investigation now. I like how Randy takes initiative on this, since Ray has to put his responsibility as Bima first and Rena's still out of the loop. Randy also knew his parents the longest compared to his little sister and adoptive brother, so it makes sense that he would have a strong motivation to solve the mystery.

I think it's okay for Bima to defend himself from the manipulated civilians, as long as he doesn't use severe force against them. It's an escalation of Ray's feeling of inadequacy, as now he has to worry about saving people who are actively preventing him from saving them, out of fear that resistance will only make their situation worse. Fortunately, despite not really addressing the problem, the outcome is sufficient enough to restore some of Ray's confidence in his heroism. Especially since one of the people he helped last episode is Belinda, as those two are starting to get close.

It also shows that Randy is doing what he can to help, but knows his limitations. There's no way he can fight the Vudo Empire directly, but he can help work to give Ray some peace of him.

Yeah, I guess the end result is that Ray staying true to himself pays off with the best outcome. It's not a direct answer to the question, but atleast it works out in the end.