That whole Shinken/Gosei battle part in that episode is actualy an explanation of the Gokaiger's cameo in the Gosei/Shinken movie. There they showed up and used DekaRanger to Go-Onger's Red keys. I think the time travel was a neat way to take a cameo that previously made no sense (seeing as the movie has to be before the Legend War, therefore the Ranger keys shoudn't exist yet) and make it work. It's also explains why a certain prominent extra hero never got a Ranger Key. It' pretty much an episode dedicated to a couple of continuity fixes.

It's weird that a show so disregarding of continuity dedicates a whole episode to fixing continuity errors.

Why? So them not doing the standard "we'll fix him with love" that Sentai does for nearly every other good-guy turned bad from Dragon Ranger to Gosei Knight makes it a let-down? I was impressed that they actually kept Sid and Barizorg from beginning to end because it was something not usually done in Sentai, it felt far more like a classic Sentai plot point then a modern one which made the fact it was revealed in the Liveman tribute even better.

Agreed. Besides, Barizorg was a cyborg that had to be built to keep Sid alive. As the Liveman tribute episode said, they said outright that if they tried to turn him back to human it may not work and kill Sid. It could have worked, but the odds were 50 50 in every sense of the definition. Keeping him evil and a cyborg was a great call, as it IMO made their relationship more dramatic and fun to watch.

No, because it means there is no purpose to Joe's story beyond forcing him to have a tenuous connection to the war.
I know you think the Zangyack are some of the best villains, and that's fine. But Barizorg was a waste. They could've had Sid turn on his own accord. They could've had anything else, really.
It made Joe's story superfluous because they outright told the audience "Sid is never coming back," making any time spent to be a waste.

I don't care how they handled it. All I merely said was the story was going to be a disappointment, and it was. Don't shove words in my mouth to attempt to form a case.

I wasn't shoving words in your mouth. I was just asking why you thought that immediately made it a disappointment.

But no, I don't think not saving him and establishing they can't save him early made it a waste. Just because they can't save him doesn't mean it doesn't matter. That doesn't change what's happened to Sid and Joe and if anything, makes the whole thing worse for all characters and paints the Zangyack empire as far more evil. I wish more Sentai would keep brainwashed/turncoat characters evil, because it does make the show far less predictable.

I said the story was a disappointment after the line.
You stated a scenario that had nothing to do with my declarations. I didn't mention anything about redeeming him, bringing him over to the hero's side, or any of that sort beyond "It was going to be disappointing."
You were shoving words in my mouth since I never mentioned how I thought the story should play out once in my post, nor any issue with how they handled the common story in any other series.

I was saying it was immediately a disappointment because by changing a character to the point of completely reprogramming their mind, it makes them pointless. Joe's connection to Sid was gone because Sid didn't exist anymore. The was no purpose in following it since there was nowhere else it could go. It wasn't a Basco scenario of the character turning because they desired to. Sid was captured, tortured, and became a nobody beyond a generic general character.

You seem to approach it in a one sided manner.
Why can't a character be evil because they felt it was the right path? Why can't a character turn for their own goals?

Barizorg didn't have to turn good. Why couldn't it play as a counterpart to Basco's story arc? Not being reprogrammed to be evil, but simply choosing to be evil.
It would provide Joe with a greater depth in his decision to kill him, but by making him irreversibly brainwashed, there was nothing to it. Sid was gone. Joe knew Sid was gone. Some of Barizorg's taunts towards Joe was that Sid was gone. It honestly felt like this story just ended, rather than being resolved properly because everyone knew Barizorg wasn't going to change back.

But that is a completely different plot to what they were going for. They were painting the Zangyack as irredeemably evil and something you wanted to hate. Joe's quest to save Barizorg turned into wanting to avenge Sid's "death" and get vengeance against the Zangyack, which is something all the characters, except maybe Don because the destruction of his planet isn't touched upon, have on their side. I can understand a character being revealed to have chosen evil if that's what they left open from the start, but the very first episode of the arc had Barizorg have no idea who Sid was and for Warz Gill to explain he was transformed against his will. I can understand complaining that a story went in one direction rather then the other if there was ever a "story crossroads" where it could've gone one way or the other, but there wasn't.

And yeah, a counterpart to Basco for Joe would've been cool but also sort of redundant. Why re-step the exact same story?

Agreed.

Finished Gekiranger. It was a pretty fun time. It's almost surprising that they put the finishing between Jan and Suguu/Dan in the beginning of the episode, but that didn't do anything to deter the effect of it all. This whole fight almost would've broken Jan probably, and it did until he finally put an end to Dan's misery.

Rio's grown too strong for his old rival Gou, though I wonder what would've happened if Gou hadn't shown him his new technique beforehand by killing pig guy. At any rate it's up to Jan to defeat Rio once and for all. IT's surprisingly not too long of a fight imo, but both fighters get the shit kicked out of them with Rio ultimately losing....until Rio turns into an uncontrollable GekiJyuken beast.

Which turned out to be Long's plan. Have Rio be defeated and turn giant just like any regular old monster, except Rio'll be mindless and tear apart the world. Might've succeeded if not for Mele calming Rio down. Speaking of Long, we get his big schemes revealed....and they go way back. Everything in Rio's life is one big scheme puppeteered by Long and so was the destruction of Jan's village. All because Long was some dragon god bored because of his immortality. This may just be the Tv-Nihon translation, but I agree with Jan'sassessment of, "That's bullshit!"

Long ends up capturing Mele once he recognizes that she is what ties Rio to his human side. It was awesome seeing the Gekirangers and Rin Jyuken users finally working together while actually on the same side for once.It was proceeded by an even better scene of the RinJtuken users rejecting Gen Jyuken, thus ruining Long's plan.

That said....I do dislike how the last three episodes played out in regards to Long. Long's defeated! Yeah, let's celebr-What? Oh...no, Long's back. Let's fight him again...The whole immortality thing is a problem. I dunnohow I would've handled these episodes...but wish they woulda handled theLong aspect of the last three differently.

The second to last episode was pretty good with the Rin Jyuken users turning fully good. There were some funny moments in the beginning with Rio and MEle interacting with everyone in SCRTC. If they had stuck around longer, they probably would've fit the Gekirangers like a glove, but....Retsu and Ran DO have a point. Because of their actions a lot of people have died. Longs' manipulation only went so far.

So Rio and Mele's decision to be judged...fatally for their actions sort of came as a surprise to me. They decided to go out together. Dunno if Retsu or Ran would've went through it, if Long hadn't shown up again. Both of the Rin Jyuken users sacrifice was kind of awesome though. Mele's death scene was especially sad. I liked the quiet scene of ghost Rio appearing in his rainy,somber flashback until Mele shows up and walks him towards the light...too bad the sacrifice didn't amount to much because of Long's immortality.

The final episode was okay. I really liked the ending. The way Long was defeated was fine. It was the only thing they could do. Kinda dislike how only Jan, Ran, and Retsu could do it, bu whatever. The ending is what I'd expect of them to go on doing after the series ended, though I guess Ken is forced to pay off his douching around previously by working under Elehung, haha.

I like how they treat the sphere Long's sealed in like utter shit though. I can honestly say he deserves no less. The series as a whole was pretty cool tough. It hits several chords, I wouldn't think a Sentai series would hit previously. Also, I always liked things with a Chinese martial arts theme, and this was a whole series of it! In terms of story flow, it was way different than what I expected Sentai to take half the time, which was a good surprise.

I think I'll be taking a break form Sentai for abit (though probably not) to watch Hibiki and Kamen Rider Black, but when I return, I'll check out Carranger (So fat) and Kakuranger which I'm watching solely because that theme is 80's/90's as hell. I fully expect the closing credits to include the the rangers breakdancing to Fresh Prince and DJ Jazz Jeff on the Tokyo City Streets.

Gokaiger 41.

I found this episode distracting, obviously it was really touching - although lol unlucky Doc I guess your backstory got skipped - a majority of it was told through closeups and in the closeups I couldn't help but notice the puffy, red eyes of the actors (I mean before the crying, and with those who weren't crying) which suggests poor health, tiredness or drug abuse.

I know that sounds weirdly bitchy, and oddly nitpicky, but I notice this a LOT on Japanese actors in tokusatsu shows which suggests to me the working conditions on these shows is really poor and that takes away the magic a bit for me. I can't help but imagine these actors, between takes, slumping in a chair and hating life.

Either way though, I will say Ahim is probably THE most gorgeous tokusatsu girl I have ever come across. She is so beautiful it blows my mind a little, especially when she had her hair curled and down. GOD FUCKING DAMN AM I DEAD.

In terms of more specifically the episode content, it was a HUGE disappointment. We meet the big bad's guardsmen, who should be THE strongest of all of the non General characters and yet he went down like any other of the week character. Pathetic. Zangyack are garbage, he wasn't even well designed like the others.

Checked out Abaranger 1 and 2 today. Pretty good stuff. Definitely had a different opening feel than other Super Sentai shows I've watched(especially it taking place during the night time for the most part). I love how animalistic their fighting styles get when they go Dino Guts. Also I find Imagination Station's style of subbing unique. Can't wait to check out more and I'm really excited that Abaranger is getting its time in the sun after all these years.

Happy you're enjoying Abaranger! Just out of curiosity though, can you clarify what you mean when you say unique? I really don't know how to register that. XD

I don't think I've ever seen subs using a colloquialism like "Awesomesauce" and then use japanese verbal tics in the same episode :lol.

People place far more into "awesomesauce" than needs to be... The only reason I wanted to use that is she's using a word for "amazing" or whatever that someone like Asuka wouldn't know.
Keep in mind, people who start our subs, it's a one-off thing. It's not like we make it her catchphrase or something. o.x

... I know that's not what you personally were getting at, mind. It's just... tiring hearing that used as a complaint over and over as if we have her saying it every five minutes. This is just me grouching.

That said, glad you're enjoying our subs!

I don't think they were complaining, they were just saying.

I'll have you know that I am 100% okay with "Awesomesauce".

I also wouldn't be opposed to "Amazeballs". :lol

But yeah, keep up the great work guys! :D

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to unload on you. It's not fair, I was just complaining for the sake of it. XD Pent up annoyance and all that. Glad there's someone out there who actually liked it, haha

Ah, don't sweat it. :)

How do you guys over analyze and tear apart episodes with thought out commentary regarding little, itty bitty things?! I'm not poking fun at all by the way, more or less wish I could somewhat do that. I don't think I've ever nitpicked at anything, so it's fun at times to read some of it. Every time I watch an episode of anything, towards the end if I enjoyed it, I stick to a simple "Did that entertain me?" conclusion and that's about it. Haha, and I come in here and see an episode review that's novel sized and I'm just like: "Did I see the same ep?"

It's really weird cuz when it comes to movies, I can break them apart bit by bit at points I enjoyed and parts I hated. I think maybe I generalize most Toku shows as something aimed to make kids happy that sometimes adults who grew up with this stuff can also enjoy and I'm just so grateful these shows exist.

Sorry to hear that people are griping over that. I thought it was a unique touch and I like unique touches.

Who is this in reference to? Because if it was me, I'd say it depends on the series. Kamen Rider Dragon Knight has a lot of plot, and a lot of characters, so it always gives me something to talk about for example but likewise Gokaiger is often action heavy story light and so it gives me a lot less. I couldn't write a long critique on every episode of any series, but some shows give me a lot more to talk about than others.

I find it fun. I'm not trying to nitpick, but tearing through the episode makes me think about it more than the obvious plot bits inserted around and the tidbits of action. By analyzing it, it lets me see snippets of character that may not always be on the forefront. It lets me see how a story may affect a character not completely integral to that particular plot, but still important in a less direct way. By digging into a series on an episode by episode basis, I think about it more often, and I can see how some plots tie together (Or fail to do so, in some cases), and how the characters subtly grow and change beyond their focus episodes.

I simply just review the episode and talk about stuff I find interesting or lacking within the episode and save the critical analysis for the end. Basically I take the entertaining yet critical route in terms of reviewing.

No matter how bad an episode or series is though, there's always entertainment in it. If they weren't entertaining, we wouldn't watch them all the way to the end.

I quite honestly won't review Sentai mostly because it's hard to get in depth about some as episodic and formulaic as Sentai. I just prefer watching Sentai for fun. I'll criticize stuff in it, but I try to watch them in a more fun point of view instead of the fun and full on reviewing state I do with Kamen Rider, Garo, and Zubat.

No one in particular. It's fun at times to read em when I have the time cuz sometimes you guys offer insights on a show that I'm not all that into and somewhat make it interesting. For example, I watched Gosieger in it's entirety and while I enjoyed it, in my book it was just 'meh' at best, however some of the posts I've read on here (I forgot from who) made certain episodes that I found myself almost asleep seem interesting. I wish I could do that, instead of looking at an episode in a very black and white sort of way.

<Walks into room and hears something about awesomesauce and arguing>

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UUBBVvfBUc...n-bush-gif.gif

I saw the first episode of After-V (not entirely sure if Sentai parody shows belong here proper, but I guess someone can correct me).

It's certainly no Akibaranger (which was shamelessly nerd humor to the extreme). This is more subdued humor that takes a stab at sentai tropes in a slightly different way than Nobuo's fanboying, since the characters aren't aware they're tropes and just comment on them in their own universe. That said, it's pretty funny and I feel for Red. He's on the wrong team for this.

After-V?

It's a sentai parody type show. Kanpai Senshi After V.

But the discussion of it does need to go in Other Toku since it isn't an actual sentai. There's a discussion thread already in progress down there.

I've tried to analyze toku on an episode-by-episode basis a number of times, but I always run into the same wall. There's just not enough content, so most in-depth analyses force you to nitpick, otherwise you wouldn't have anything to talk about. So now I only discuss a show when I consider an episode exceptional (good or bad) or when I finish the whole thing.

But even then, I find myself being (mostly) lenient. I watch these shows to give my hyperactive inner critic a break. For some reason, when I watch Super Sentai and Kamen Rider, that overclocked inner critic shuts up, and I consume the story with a sense of childlike wonder. (Maybe it's because the shows' flaws are so overt that criticizing them makes one look like an idiot, cause duh, everyone noticed that they were just in a factory, then a rock quarry, then on a beach in 3 consecutive shots, get the fuck over it.) When I scrutinize the shows, it robs me of that feeling of wonder. I'm trying not to do that anymore.

I don't think it's really nitpicking. I like to watch a show, then sit down and think about what I watched. It's not because I can't turn my brain off and enjoy flashy fights, but it's because I enjoy thinking and discussing what I just saw. It's fun to me.

I don't feel as if I'm losing a sense of wonder. I know these people are being hoisted by wires, when miniatures are being used, and when CG is thrown in, but I'm still enjoying the fights like I'm a kid with my face glued to the TV because they're still fun.

I'm not overtly critical because I feel some inner need to ruin everyone's fun (Unless it's Decade), but choosing not to voice a criticism or pointing out a failed effect or scene because I can't "Get the fuck over it" seems nihilistic and childish.

Shit editing is shit editing, I don't see why Sentai or Rider gets a free pass because it...ruins the sense of wonder....eh? I also don't see how genuine issues with the production are...nitpicks...eh?

You don't have to understand why I give it a "free pass." You kinda just have to accept that--barring something egregiously awful--I do.

You're free to engage with the show however you want. Shit editing is shit editing, and it would be nice if it went away. So on that level, I'm glad someone's out there calling it out. I just find that currently I don't have any interest in engaging with this particular material in a highly critical way. By holding it to a lower standard, shit editing, for example, doesn't frustrate me like it would usually. That avoidance of frustration preserves the wonder for me.

At the end of the day, my approach allows me to enjoy these shows more than I would if I were in constant pursuit of flaws. I'm certainly not prescribing this approach for anyone else. This is simply my philosophy.

You do you, brother.

Jetman 13 and 14, what a pair of episodes...

So, Raita reveals to Ako his crush on Kaori, making this a love diamond, however, it's nowhere near as prevalent as the classic love triangle between Ryu, Gai, and Kaori. I must say, while it's nothing new or original (X likes Y, Z likes X, and Y doesn't know what to do), I do enjoy that Kaori isn't pulling a Bella. She's not goading on Gai as if she's romantically interested in him, making his affections more one sided. She's not making the relationship more complicated than it needs to be, so watching it doesn't feel like a high school drama where the internal conflict comes from a "Who will she choose!?" style of scenario. It keeps it tense as the characters are vying for one another, but the central character isn't looking to one character saying "I love you!" then turning to another and saying "But I also love you!"

And while this episode also expanded on the relationship of the Jetmen, it also made the Vyram marginally more interesting. It gave Grey something more to do, and now he's willing to risk his life to protect (What's her name) because he enjoys her piano playing. It's endearing, considering Vyram's entire game is to one up each other to determine who'll rule, but he's doing what he can to help another. I must say, Grey is easily my favorite Vyram so far. He's mysterious, but there is something to him. He's defined by his mystery, but that's not all there is to him as it stands, making him interesting. I'm curious about him, which is more than what I can say about Power Glove or the Smurf.

The ending was also rather strong, too. I enjoyed it, seeing Gai ride away in a storm of emotions before crashing.

Gokaiger 42.

I don't want to take Damaras' being a badass away from him, as it was VERY enjoyable but did we really have to wait forty two episodes for this? He's literally done nothing for forty one episodes and I get that slow build reaps greater payoff but this is taking the piss a little. Especially as the introduction to his badassery was to undermine Basco who's been the only good villain in the show up to this point.

At least it looks like the show is finally picking up a bit, I did initially like how the Gokaiger were badass and not just a bunch of hapless rookies but when you mirror that against such a pathetic, ineffective and useless villain group it got pretty dull pretty fast. We know the villains aren't ever going to win, but it'd be nice if they at least put up a fight. But minus Basco, I think they put up a fight maybe three times before Damaras came in like a steam train?

This has been a hard show to pin down, as it's a pretty damn great series and it has no truly gamebreaking flaws but when I try and think over what I love about the series I find it hard to get excited for as there are just so many little annoying niggles.

I need to input Jetman into my life. I've seen abit here and there, and it seems badass. Not sure about Gai's death though. I felt like it should've been manlier but it seemed real, ya know?

I really, really liked the way they did it. I felt it showed that even a hero's life is fragile and can be taken away by a common tragedy.

From what I watched a long time ago before I was really into Sentai shows, I don't remember if the members of Jetman had, I guess, superhuman qualities? Like, I remember the members of Dekaranger we're basically human, except Jasmine was an esper, so I've always wondered if Gai was just a regular guy or if he has something special that would've made his assault meaningless I guess. I know at times shows utilize plot intended stupidity or PIS to get things going a certain way, but I was never sure and it's bugged me.

I'm still not all that crazy about it, honestly. I feel it detracts from the show as it just feels off.

Hmmmmmm, let me go to a wedding and die there, putting a horrible memory into my friends' greatest day as opposed to just going to the hospital for treatment.