That was a gripe I had with the Zetsumates. Negareboshi was actually rather decent at fighting, but Hyogakki and Viruson were garbage. These guys should have been like threshold guardians where the Kyoryugers could really prove their mettle. Instead we have one dead in the first episode and another one whose downfall was caused by the gag batteries. Thankfully, there are later episodes that show you just how dangerous they can be.

Still enjoying Shinkenger.. But. Yea. When they combined the three Aux Origami for the first time? That does not look like a Phoenix :lol

Kyoryuger 18.

From a storytelling perspective, I found this pretty awful. Daigo is finally put in his place, given some kinda conflict and challenge and then it just kinda...fizzles out. I dunno why they bothered to build this up and do it over a two parter, if they always planned it all to end so anti-climactically.

Luckily the henshin hero action was amazing. Tessai - holy shit is that the Trigger Dopant? - and Utchy are both so epic. I wish they were our protagonists.

Kyoryuzin is a mech I actually pretty appreciate, gone are the days it seems of those rubbery cardboard mechs and their flappy everything. But Kyoryuzin is way too bulky to be doing the kinds of things Kung Fu was doing, it looked ridiculous and not in a good way. I woulda preferred it to get like a Lightning Mode, so it could have been more streamlined for this form.

That I'll give you. Proper human feet would've given it a better look, on screen and toy form.

Not just the huge feet, but what was with the close ups of the gloved hands? Or that huge yellow piece that is basically just a huge rectangle stuck on Kyoryuzin's back? And the Spirit Hammer really should be able to retract or whatever, because when it's permanently stuck like a spear with a mallet head it looks dumb. All of it looked really terrible when it was like flipping around and doing Bruce Lee moves.

Yeah. He's also BoukenSilver.

Add that as a fresh reason to watch Boukenger.

I know. But I promise when Pleazon comes, he makes up for it. So does Pteragordon.

Yeah, after Daigo got put in his place for him to bounce back so effortlessly felt like a waste. And yes, Tessai is played by the same guy who did Trigger Dopant and Bouken Silver.

I've liked pretty much all of the other forms so far. The dinos all transform into formidable looking attachments. I'm not a big fan of Ian, but the way his Beast turns into that huge black cannon, it's just really epic. And I dunno what material they make Kyoryuzin out, but it's great. Very plasticy, but it gives a sense of solidity and depth to the suit that basically...no other robo suit has. I wish it had a more interesting cockpit, I really hope they redo that for Dino Charge, but no other complaints from me.

But I dunno, this Kung Fu one was the first one that really bothered me. It was just too silly for me to see that giant, bulky mass with arms as long as its body doing Bruce Lee moves. Just too much.

Especially considering it was a great story, otherwise. The idea of a leader so fearless that he forgets he has weaknesses all around him, is a tired, but nonetheless tried and tested epic arc for a hero to realise and go through. But this episode just shrugged it off.

"My friends!" King goofily grins, "I just forget about them when I fight."

What, that is it? What a pile of horseshit!

Wow, over all those Akiba-Posts, it seemed as if you've just dropped it. Which episode are you at?

Megaranger had a cake episode, too?
It wasn't completely stupid? Great :lol

Time to skip two episodes and Brave In to episode 21.

Kyoryuger has too many Rangers, and it's just sorta boring. I'm a pretty diehard Rider fan, and when a new Rider is introduced, they have a completely original design from the ground up and that is AWESOME. But with all of the Kyoryuger's, they are just pallet swaps.

These suits especially are just really wrong for the concept. I get that they are probably simple for this concepts sake, but having them just one solid piece of colour, broken up by just little trinkets makes it all the more boring. Literally every Ranger looks exactly the same, other than add a bit of moulding to the helmet. And before someone tells me 'that is sentai'...eh...not really. The Goseiger's all had unique symbols, unique visor shapes and helmet designs, unique weapons and most importantly they weren't just one colour from their head to their feet.

I'm not saying they can't be awesome characters, Tessai was cool, but I just feel so overwhelmed by this sea of interchangeable suits. The only one out of all of them that has had any details changed or added is Utchy for reasons I don't even know.

I guess it didn't help that the actual episode wasn't even particularly good in the first place. It tried to make sense of, and streamline, a lot of the weirder aspects of the series but it somehow just made it all the more noticeable how dumb it all is. If nothing else this shows timeline is a downright fucking mess and I hope Dino Charge avoids the time and space shit all together.

When it wasn't tripping over itself in an attempt to explain its convoluted mythology it was just being stupid on purpose. Episodes with tones like this one, were exactly the reason why I dropped this show in the first place. The gags aren't funny, and using gags in the place of moments of genuine drama makes the episode a waste.

Go-busters 16-19
I can never watch more then 3 or 4 episodes of these at once because they leave me feeling so content and I don't want to watch more. Seriously, each episode of go-busters wraps everything up so well.

More explanation on Jin and J along with development for Nick. Not much, but still good episodes. Still good to see enter change up his tactics but I still need a plot though. Also, did Jin really say "oh shit" in that one episode? Because wow, I'm surprised.

Toqqger 1
Is this how Sentai is normally supposed to be in term of tone? Because i'm not a fan. Granted, its not a knock against Toqquger (especially since its the first episode) or people who like this style of show but its not my thing. The episode starts off really really dark though, with monsters abuducting children and making them cry. Not to mention the potential subtext of what Ticket said at the end with the "You're about as good as dead," statement.

There really is no "normal" for Sentai because of the constant changes in staff. Thanks to that, Go-Onger, Shinkenger, and Goseiger all happened in three years.

Tokkyuger doesn't seem especially light though, it's somewhat comedic. It's still got all of the little set ups for potential plot advancements - them being dead, why they don't have memories, the marriage plot with the villains. Kobayashi (the writer, same lady who wrote Go-Busters) tends to pack her shows with plot. That said, her shows will sometimes hit brick walls where nothing much happens for long spans of episodes. I think Go-Busters avoided that just thanks to the pure spectacle of all the behind the scenes problems that show was having.

I don't know much about sentai production, you got any links so I can read about what was going on behind the scenes with Go-Bus?

A lot of it is in Japanese, but here's a rundown of what happened. It's very spoilery so I'll hide it.

There are some great statements on it from Lynxara in the Low Visibility Podcast episode she did on Go-Busters and she elaborates on this much more eloquently than I ever could.

Go-Busters was supposed to be a sort of Sentai "reboot" after Gokaiger was the big party series to celebrate all things Sentai. Go-Busters would try to take things in a brand new direction that Sentai had never seen before. One of the ways Toei tried to do this was by hiring Naomi Takebe as the producer. Takebe had only ever worked on Sentai in very minor positions early on in her career, the late 90s. She's mostly known for doing a lot of work on Kamen Rider. Even though she only came into her own as head producer with Kiva, she had worked on every Heisei Rider show in some capacity before then. She was the producer on Kiva and OOO.

Basically, Rider has more of a mass appeal in Japan. Think of it as Avatar or Young Justice to America, a kids show that adults aren't too embarrassed to admit liking. That's what Toei wanted Sentai to become, they wanted to elevate it to something different. This is one of the reason the Go-Busters were the first Sentai since Goggle V to wear outfits that aren't spandex, to give them a higher quality and more "realistic" look. Same for the real time transformations.

On top of trying to make the show a little more mainstream, it was also what's called an "answer show", a show that takes a recent event or topic in the public mindset and tries to address it. In this case, Go-Busters was supposed to help kids through loss after the events of the tsunami. Kamen Rider Fourze was the same sort of answer show, only its approach was completely different.

From Goseiger to Gokaiger there was a drop in ratings, so I would imagine Toei wanted Go-Busters to do better. Unfortunately, it premieres to the lowest numbers Sentai has ever seen. By the end of its run, Go-Busters becomes the lowest rated Sentai ever, a title Kyoryuger now holds. Early on it's pretty evident that things are changing, one of the sub producers is let go and around that time, the show basically abandons the plot line revolving around Enter's quest to make an ultimate Megazord. In the series it's written off as a simple battle with the new mecha at the time, which is okay as that might have shown how strong that new mecha is...but that's not what happened. We we ended up getting is a battle with so little fanfare around it that the new robot doesn't seem like it's taking on anything except another typical monster of the week.

There's also this absurd change in Hiromu's character. If you compare Hiromu from episode 22 to the Hiromu in the first few episodes, it just doesn't seem like the same guy, and it's not a character development thing. This is one of those things people thought of as a direct response to the low ratings. It was thought that Escape's introduction was the same thing, but she doesn't do much for the ratings either.

The big signal that something is going wrong with the show comes with episodes 29 and 30. Now, many people will probably claim that it's normal for a Sentai to have a big battle in the middle of the series, and that's true, but this isn't just a big battle. This is removing a huge part of the show, essentially wiping its catalyst from existence. The Rangers no longer have any hope of finding their parents since we know they're dead for sure by the end of 30 and the Enetron plot is all but dropped after this point. New enemies attack without any sort of regard for their energy supply, I think there was maybe one or two after this point that actually deal with this as an issue. Then you have things like the protector gear training just not being cohesive with what the Powered storyline ended up leading to.

But yeah, after 30 you are essentially watching a different show. That new opening is even supposed to highlight that with a completely different tone to itself than the first. Sentai, and most tokusatsu in general, are not like anime shows that change openings so often. The theme song is supposed to be the representative identity of the show over the year and Go-Busters marks the first and so far only Sentai since the year-long formula became the norm to have more than a single opening that isn't just a different mix or verse of the original. It's also no coincidence that this happens on the very same day that Kamen Rider Wizard began its run.

As it turns out, Go-Busters was bombing not just in the ratings but in toy sales. It had some pretty bad numbers and the combination of that and the low ratings have some obvious effects on the show. Say what you will about this being a toy commercial, but Toei does want their shows to do well, production members are positively gleaming in magazines when they talk about specific shows that did well in the ratings - Decade and Double for example.

On the day the Kyoryuger pictures were first leaked at the Bandai retailer conference, the president of Bandai himself says that Go-Busters was a disappointment - which is the same reason it's being skipped for Power Rangers. This leads a lot of people to believe that Toei and Bandai are completely out of touch with kids. There have been numerous examples of military and armed organization themed kids shows in recent years that just bombed and Sentai suffered for them not realizing this sooner. A lot of the Japanese fans absolutely hate Go-Busters because it's thought of as this show that betrays what Sentai should be in their eyes, so it's never been warmly accepted by the mass Japanese fanbase of adults. (or kids apparently as it has some of the lowest ratings in the kids demographic that Sentai has ever seen) One of the major criticisms of Bandai as a company right now is that they aren't taking any chances or being innovative. After the failure of a show and toy line, they go back to dinosaurs, a super safe bet as no dinosaur Sentai has ever done less than spectacular, and now they're moving on to trains, another incredibly safe bet for Japan.

I'm kinda intrigued in watching the show now to see how noticeable all of this feels. I got to the point where Gold and Silver were introduced, so not far from when everything changes it seems.

Yeah if you really pay attention to how characters act and examine the story from this point on, it's incredibly in your face.

It's a shame too as I really liked the characters. Now you say everything though, I do get the whole Kamen Rider vibe. The way the story was structured, the quantity of action in relation to drama, it really doesn't feel like any other sentai. Which is probably why I liked it.

Speaking of action, there was a reason for that as well. The guy who had been the suit actor for red for most of the last decade became the new action director starting with Go-Busters, so he's definitely bringing a fresher perspective.

I guess that explains why the mech stuff was so great.

And while we're on a general topic of sentai, I've burnt out most Rider stuff I had left to watch, so time for more sentai.

Should I finish Go-Busters, or start a whole new show? I'm interested in either Zyuranger or Boukenger. I wanna watch Gokaiger at some point as well, but feel I should have a better grasp on the franchise first.

I say finish Go-Busters.

That's a very nice read. Good job finding it and sharing it mate.

Well, in terms of a normal for sentai, Super Sentai has been following a five year formula:

The big anniversary season, goes big, and does something others Sentais might not really do, due to budget. (Gaoranger,Boukenger,Gokaiger)

The year after tries something new and starts with a three man ranger team in the blue, yellow, and red color schemes.(Hurricanger,Gekiranger,Go-Busters)

The third year is usually a more light hearted season/comedic/energetic/a little crazy.(Abaranger,Go-Onger,Kyoryuger)

The fourth year is "darker" in tone(Dekaranger,Shinkenger,ToQger might break the rule)

The fifth year is magical.(Magiranger,Goseiger)

I got this info, from one of the Onyx Tavern's podcasts last year, before the original channel was deleted.

I second that.

Was this an observation or did that person have inside production info? Cause it seems like a stretch to me that things would be so rigidly codified.

I wholy agree. I rather enjoyed form 30 on and the first few eps were great too.

Go-busters was MY first Super sentai. I loved it to death and I will allways love that lovable group of guys.....

J stay forever strong man.

RIP
You know who.

Kyoryu22.

Deboss revived...and he looks totally stupid?!
Time for a giant battle...on a soundstage that looks nothing like the place the fight is supposed to be taking place?!
Let's all give up on life because the mech we gained last episode isn't coming!

Wow I really didn't think this show could go any more off the rails. So the Deboss aren't just people who have been fighting on Earth for thousands of years and getting repeatedly defeated, but also aliens who have committed planet wide genocide on an intelligent alien race of insects? And they found this out by turning one of the Great Lizards into a spaceship? And I don't even want to try and fathom the continuity and timelines of how Ulshade works and fits in. Not to mention Torin walking around the hospital! I have no fucking idea what is even going on any more. And why is everyone taking this so casually?

Feminism has taken a firm backhand in this show. New girl introduced? Immediately falls head over halls obsessed with Daigo without context? Duh. Japan! Only two hundred years behind the rest of the planet.

I guess because I've skipped like twenty episodes it doesn't feel quite as bad as some have said, but Daigo certainly feels like a sort of Bella Swan of the sentai world. Where the author to wears him and play out their fantasies. And why the fuck is Amy jealous? Since when did she fancy King? Does she just fancy Daigo on the principle of being Daigo?

Oooh, I forgot about Amy spontaneously being into Daigo simply because there's competition for him now :lol
It's so sporadic that, if you watched the show at the pace we did, you would forget about it the moment Yayoi leaves the screen :lol

It's so distracting as well, because it's so out of character for Amy. I know she basically has no characterisation, but I still know her well enough to know she wouldn't stop fighting mid battle to check King out.

Don't worry about it. She never shows interest in Daigo unless Yayoi is involved in the episode's plot. If you were watching this show one episode a week for 50 weeks straight, you'd forget about it until they shoehorn it into an episode out of nowhere.

It's like with each episode this show gets a little shittier. Admittedly I made it further than I did last time, but I'm not sure it even counts as I skipped so many episodes.

Eh, I wouldn't panic about it. You seem to like it as it is, so it should keep your attention. This show is so terrified of status quo changing that every addition or change is menial or reversed until the finale.

Raptor or the barkeep said they saw a post r RangerBoard I believe? I mean it's a pretty darn good theory.

Amy didn't really strike me as jealous or interested in Daigo during these episodes. Perhaps just "curious" about things she never thought about until Yayoi brought them up.

Lol! Well that is good at least.

Curious = getting so mad you start making a sound like a boiling kettle like it's a cartoon?

As said in the episode, Yayoi and Dr. Ulshade have watched the Kyoryuger's battles until now (after all, they are those who supply them with new Jyudenchi) and Yayoi has developed a crash at Daigo over that. Nothing more, nothing less. She's a teenager, what do you expect?

AHAHAHAHAHA. AHAHA! Wait till you see what comes up...

I still think it's a pretty poor way to introduce a character, I don't wanna get into the whole feminism debate because it never ends well but just yeah, I don't like her.

It doesn't justify her being a weak and one note character, and that's the problem with Yayoi. She is identified through her crush on Daigo. She grows no stronger, she develops no further. She exists solely to build up Daigo, giving him new power ups before leaving for another 10 episodes.

That's not Sanjo's fault though. Sakamoto thought it would be good to have her become the new KyoryuViolet, so she had to be written into the series as just that. Also, apparently Marie Iitoyo, her actress, is a rather busy person, so she rarely appeared in the show.
Besides, even though she has not much screentime, Yayoi becomes a really good character. She's supporting the others, she's smart and she even has some really heroic moments. It just takes some more time, as she doesn't have that much screen time.