Yeah, I always associate that house with Garo. It doesn't turn up as often as the Tokyo Stadium exterior or that industrial zone, but you see it from time-to-time.

so finished Makai Senki yesterday night.

And damn wow.
Probably one of the best toku series I ever seen on many points.

The story :
I'm used to Kamen Rider level of writing (and nothing wrong with it), but here that's something else.
For once I was caught off-guard. At first i was :
"So Leo is the only new real cast member. Something bad will come with him involved for sure then"
Then some hints were dropped like the Gouryuu, the first time Leo is "forced" to fight, etc..., but it was not done the ugly obvious way, it was done quite smartly.

All along the series I was like "It's probably Leo." "Is it really Leo ?" "Oh yeah it's Leo"
I really didn't expect the twin brother plot twist. Until Leo arrives to save Kouga from Sigma, I accepted Leo as the vilain.
I was really pleased to be surprised for once. The show was written well enough to make me question for real and lead me on the wrong path in an intelligent way.
If done in a stupid way I would probably think "oh come on, the twin out of nowhere !?". But it's not the case. Well done.


The music :

I don't have much to say about it. But music is always one of the key factor for me loving a toku show (my favorite KR series coincide with the ones I like the soundtracks the most).
The main Garo theme is one of my favorite of all time (I plan to download every track variation of it). Some of the tracks reminds me a lot of Bayonetta's kind of soundtrack (not the ones from Rei Kondoh though, who is one of my favorite composer. but the others)
and the bayonetta parallel doesn't end here. Even the aesthetic and atmosphere sometimes screams Bayonetta.
The Madou Train could have been inside the game (that whole episode in the train is amazing).
The final bosses fights are totally Bayonetta-ish (Messiah, Karma, Ganon), especially Karma in Red Requiem.
I wouldn't be surprised if some artists (music or art designer or somebody else) worked on both franchises.


other things I liked :

Movie/specials characters returning. that's how you do it Kamen Rider/Super Sentai. Learn from it.

Always pleased to see actors seen also in Kamen Rider series. This time I've seen :
- Vilain of Episode 1 is a young Edith/Sage from Kamen Rider Ghost. I laughed when I recognized him xD (in that episode I also recognized Anri Okita but... nevermind... :p)

- Vilain of episode 4 is kamen rider Kaixa

- episode 5 depressed man is the funny cop in Kamen rider W

- Episode 6 dead son is Kamen Rider Raia

- Episode 9 actor is Kamen Rider Zangetsu (takatoraaaaaaaaaaaaaa)

- Raimei Kishi Baron is Kamen Rider Zanki/Jiro (I. LOVE. THAT. ACTOR.) Funny thing he is named Wataru here. The same as Kiva's MC where he plays Jiro.

and probably many more I recognized but forgot.



What i didn't like in the season :

- Rei focused episodes.
I'm not fond of Rei'scharacter but episodes involving him wouldn't annoy me if it brings something to his character. Instead, they serve as an excuse to develop one time characters (the middle-age samurai man, and that patissier school girl with her mother). But Rei... Not much about him.

- Kouga and Kaoru's development being non-existant.
It's just... happening. and nothing more.
I know it's difficult to include Kaoru who can't fight in all this. But I expected a bit more moments who make me realize Kouga's attitude is sweetening.
In general I feel we don't see enough of Kaoru.

That scene in Episode 22 when Kaoru saves Kouga from inside Ganon is probably one of my favorite from the whole series though. So touching.

- Sigma's redemption
It's really small but I don't like it at the end.



other thing I want to mention :

I went to bed after finishing the season, and woke up at night realizing something.
Kouga is dead, right ? I mean, of course he isn't really "dead" , we will see him again in the following movie. But all those symbolic scenes.
He leaves for the "promised land"
He disappears like an angel (wings, light, etc...) after they kiss
Kaoru and Gonza's reactions when she returns on ground
The "final" goodbye from the other knights/priests in the last episode.

That's really looking like him dying in a way, but he still promises to come back to fulfill his promise.
Impossible for me to sleep back after I realized it xD


can't wait to see the next movie.

Just finished Metalder and damn, I really wasn't prepared for the ending at all.
The show was pretty enjoyable nevertheless, even in spite of the crappy subs available.

Done watching Soukoku no Maryuu and Tougen no Fue

Soukoku no Maryuu :

What did I just watch ?
Was it really GARO ? Who thought that change of tone and aesthetic was good ? Is it related to entries result of the first theatrical movie, or did they want a more kid friendly GARO movie ?
I didn't dislike it at all, but I'm kinda sad to think the last time I see Kouga is this movie (not counting Makai Retsuden)


The weird fantasy aesthetic makes me think a lot of Baten Kaitos videos games craziest aesthetic (Mira continent for the crazy characters) and the shots when Kouga arrives in the Promised Land really looks like the continent shots in that game.

Soukoku shots :
https://i.imgur.com/FeSpFTN.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8wIC4Hu.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Z8FP1sl.jpg

Baten Kaitos shots :
http://i.testfreaks.com/images/produ...ean.325994.jpg
https://www.cdh.cz/galerie/25038-2.jpg
http://img.jeuxvideo.fr/028A016D1782...ten-kaitos.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/LfW463A.png



Tougen no Fue :

Was it really a theatrical movie ? Movie is just one hour long and looks more like a TV special.
Nothing to special to say about it. Still liked it. It felt like episodes focused on Jabi and Rekka. I'm glad a toku series can make spin-offs out of the women characters. That's refreshing (kudos for always keeping same actors even for minor characters. Like seeing Rin grown up was very nice)
But that aside, this movie has nothing too special for itself.
EDIT : they like a lot to involve Rekka's actress in some erotic or girl on girl shots though. I wonder if she was ok with that.


Time for some ZERO action now. (already seen Ep1, and that non-japanese guy from KR Ghost seem to be the main vilain. Oh boy)

Finally finished up with, *ahem*

https://i.imgur.com/JFfh04S.jpg

Yeah, that show. It was reliably awesome the whole way through. I don't think I actually have much to add to my post from when I was halfway done, though. Well, besides the part where I've forgotten twice now to mention that Gridman has basically the best theme song ever. Don't know how that slipped my mind. Actually, you know what, here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6nXAc4nw00

I feel that's the least I can do to make up for neglecting such an amazing intro all this time. The only thing about it that ISN'T awesome is that Gridman himself is only in it when he's getting beat up by the monster of the week. Poor guy.

Anyway, since I've clearly run out of meaningful things to say about the show proper, I'll instead opt to say that I really, REALLY hope that between the Blu-ray coming out and that whole SSSS. Gridman thing that's happening, somebody finally gives this show the justice it deserves and puts out subtitles for it. Gridman is by no means the greatest show of all time or anything, but it's a very fun series that warrants much more attention than it currently gets from the English-speaking side of the Toku fandom.

That is a pretty boss song, yeah. I mean, it's not Gavan's theme song, but it's still really good.

So I finished Zero spin-offs just now. And if Black Blood was nice but forgettable, Dragon Blood was amazing !!!

Black Blood :

I liked it. But it was a very short series who couldn't let time for characters and the story to develop. The global story was a bit too mystic for my taste, but i still liked it. I feel like that non-japanese actor contributes to that feeling too. I had the same feeling in Ghost.

Too bad the two side characters didn't have lot of screen time in 6 episodes. It was refreshing to see a woman fight like a knight and a Man Priest fight with an umbrella.

But in the end I think the thing I will remember the most from this series is the 2 times Fujita spoke French (as a French guy myself, it made me fangasm)


Dragon Blood :

Damn that was amazing !! It's probably my favorite GARO show after the original and Makai Senki so far.

I don't even know where to start.
Once again, the story writing got me. I didn't expect this development and ending at all. Edel coming back twice after being dead was already surprising, but Alice being an antagonist who thought her plan from the start was a huge "WTF?!".
I feel dumb for not noticing before, but it's true she is dressed in White for the first part of the show, and once she steals the egg and hatches it, she is wearing Black. My old western cinema option course teacher would be mad at me for not noticing that :p
To be honest I still found weird one of the first scene with Alice in the 1st episode. When she is facing the bunch of Rabbit masked horrors, and they tell her : "I will eat that part and me that part", Alice reaction saying "Uso desho ?" was said in a strange tone, as if she didn't care at all. At first I put that on the actress being very young and kind of bad.
But if that was done on purpose, then that was an amazing subtle hint.

In the end the story is very sad. Alice died and I blame Rei (and the Makai Knight usual attitude) for it, kinda.
She spent all her life being rejected by others and being alone. And even if her scheme already started before meeting Rei, it felt like she sent some "HELP" signals to him at many occasions so she can change mind.
But the common Makai Knights attitude, towards people they could love, Rei showed (that kouga showed in previous series too) went horribly wrong with Alice. It was done to protect her, but that was the wrong approach this time and she felt rejected again (that Rei/Rekka kiss scene O_O) and turned totally evil. I'm sure if he kept her near him and tried a different way she could have forgotten her plan a bit (but still not accept killing the egg though).


The other things that made me happy with the series is the appearance of 2 of my favorite Kamen Rider veteran actors : Tomohisa Yuge and Haga Yuria.

Tomohisa Yuge : my toku love kinda grew with him because the 3 first KR series I watched were the ones he appeared in (Gaim, Kabuto and Ryuuki) and I'm always happy to hear he is involved in recent toku (Dragon Blood here and Amazons S2).

Haga Yuria : I think she is my favorite Kamen Rider lead actress and I thought I would not see her in toku again since Kiva was almost 10 years ago.
fun fact (SPOILER for her 555 and Kiva roles, be careful) : Dragon Blood, 555, Kiva. All the characters she played in toku end up dying.
This time it happened real quick. a bit sad about it. I kinda thought Rekka+Kagome could be the new Jabi+Rekka.



Action scenes were top notch during that season. Lot of CGI, but good CGI and choreographies.
I was sure Rei would go over the 99.9sec at some point or else having the countdown in every episode would be pointless.
But yeah while the transformation in a Dragon-like creature looked nice, Fujita's appearance as a monster was eewwww...

Speaking about Fujita, while I didn't find him that older between 2006 Garo and 2013 Black Blood, when I first saw him in 2017 Dragon Blood I was like : ouch, I guess he hit that point men reach where they look older suddenly.
But got used to it along the series.

Rekka's actress, on the contrary, seem to not age at all (but Red Requiem/Makai Senki/Tougen no Fue/Dragon Blood has not the same time between the series).


I don't think I have much more to say about it except it was really great and enjoyed it a lot (while Rei is far from being a character I loved at first).

Oh yeah, maybe that I find lot of Horrors were women this time, but it's not like there were lot of horrors anyway.

EDIT : oh yeah and the end is very abrupt really.


Time for Makai no Hana and Raiga next.

I watched the first 2 episodes of Garo just a bit ago (Christmas present!). I’m not quite sure what to think yet, but it certainly has a distinctive flair to it. It reminds me a little of Faiz, but not in a bad way! If this show delivers on giving me the adventures of one woman repeatedly narrowly escaping horror movie scenarios though, I think I will like it a lot.

Finished GARO : Makai No Hana.

How do I put it. I don't dislike it, I can't judge it as "bad", I still enjoyed it.
But... meh...
If I had to choose a word for this season it's : blank. It's not to the level of the 2 other Saejima main series.

Everything is so empty. It felt more like an anniversary/tribute series to the original than its own series. I enjoyed the moments they nod to Makai Senki or the original series, like this episode at the "GARO tower" with Raiga fighting Zaji exactly like his father did.
but all these references... wasn't it too much ?
Raiga barely had an adventure on his own. it's only "chase the horror of the week".

Story :

If the story was the strong point of the previous series, it's its weak point now.
The "horror of the week" formula is ok, while it's included to the plot, not if IT'S the plot.

Only element that surprised me in a good way, was that Makai Priest played by the secondary good woman from KR Drive.
At first they present her and her interactions with Raiga as non important, kind of in a rush because the episode is here to make you fangasm about Rei presence.
But in fact she is the key part of the plot with the bell given by Raiga and the reason it happens. Caught me off-guard i admit.

I'm upset there is no iconic scene I will remember from the show. For me, every series gave me that
First Series : Entire Episode 16, with kouga playing Makai chess with the Old Priest. it's an entire episode dedicated to Kouga's motivations, and the particular moment the Priest make him realize Kaoru is the most important to him and his reason to fight will always be in my mind.
Makai Senki : Episode 22, when Kaoru saves kouga from inside Ganon.

I don't find any scenes in Makai no Hana that is up to these 2. Maybe the scene in the GARO tower with Raiga realizing his parents aren't dead is supposed to be that.
Maybe the Raiga VS Crow fight at the end is supposed to be that too.
But I didn't feel the same impact (funny trivia : these 2 scenes are almost the only ones with the old Kouga GARO theme playing in the back)

I'll go now by characters to explain more what i like/dislike about the series.


Characters :


Raiga :
How do I put it. I find he is not up to the task. It's kinda refreshing that he is the very first Makai Knight we see with a joyful and kind nature. But I feel like it's all he has for himself. He has no real development except that kindness and why, and while he is the Hero and should always win, he is too Gary Stu for my taste. His father always won too, but sometimes got injured and had difficulty. Raiga simply wins everything, sometimes with no real explanation.
Like the fight Raiga + Crow VS Eiji. The 2 protags struggle a lot and can't win. and when Crow leaves for Raiga + Eiji to go 1-on-1, Raiga is suddenly stronger than Eiji :/
His fighting style isn't to my taste too. It's similar to his father's but, with a more aerial and "nunchaku" styled way of fighting. There is a bit too much body spins and useless Sword spins (like in the OP) than before.


Mayuri :
I was thinking about my review around Episode 20 and was upset about her. Thanksfully they developed her good in the last 5 episodes.
But for the most part of the show she is blank too, for obvious plot reasons. But it doesn't help being attached to her much. Only at the end I felt bad for her and it was nice to see her with more human like emotions.


Crow :
Not enough developed too. I thought at first he would be an antagonist of some sort at some point. The way they made him look mysterious and all. They probably wanted to give him a "Is he really kind or is he pretending ?" feeling, but it didn't work with me. The only time near the end the watchdog spark that part of the show with a "Maybe Crow is a traitor" the next 5sec we see Crow confront Eiji as a hero so, yeah debunked directly.
I find his armor design very clever though. At first I was : eh... no Lion-wolf head ? and then was : aaaaaaaah I see what they did. Very nice.

I hope we can learn more about him and his people in Gekko no Tabibito, since I heard "Gekko" pronounced once in Makai no hana and it refered to the ritual the shadowpeople do to purify their swords.
Maybe this season will be more about him.


In the end it makes a very blank main Trio for the show. I'm more interested in :

Biku :
What a great character. Probably the strongest and most interesting female (protag) character of the entire franchise. There wasn't enough of her in Makai no Hana though, and I'm happy they decided to produce a spin-off movie about her.
Didn't watch her movie yet, but I really hope nothing happens to her so that we can see her in future installment of the series.


Eiji :
*sigh*
Why so late in the series ? That's the question I'm asking myself about him.
I love his GIRU armor though. I wish for his return too somehow.


And as usual, final naked woman boss. haha.


In the end I didn't dislike it, but it won't stay in my heart like the other series.
I wished Kouga and Kaoru return too somehow. Maybe in the next series we can save them.
I guess it depends if their actors are ready to come back or not :(


I'll watch Biku next, but already watched the first 2 eps of Yami o Terasu mono just out of curiosity.
And while I don't like the industrial feeling of the city (and less middle-age chivalry feeling), I'm thrilled about the show being cocky protag + GokaiSilver + KR Duke, under the supervision of the samurai from Makai Senki now playing a Makai Priest, and with the female cop leader being the cop from Decade's Kuuga/Agito world.
Excited me :D

Finished Juspion the other day. It had some pretty cool moments but at times also suffered from rather cheap effects, especially the green screen ones that remind me of Changeman (kinda makes sense as both aired in the same year).

Also watched the first episode of Spielban, since it's the only one subbed. I dunno, why no one picked it up yet, it was a really cool opener: it had the first metal heroine, tank battles and Machiko Soga as the main villain.

I have been meaning to watch space sheriff gavan, but I cannot find it on kissasian. Can anyone point me at it? I would just download it but I try to avoid doing that as I already have enough clutter on my computer already.

Back to UltraMan Tiga!

UltraMan Tiga Episode 14: This definitely reminds me of the Original series, though Daigo had a lot of heart this episode, and has my sympathy that he couldn't save Rusia. I hated that hunter going after both of them. I feel spoiled from the storytelling of the newer Ultra series, but still the team and the characters are solid so it makes up for being more episodic so far. The combat was good, and enjoyable. I can't wait to see more.

watched Gold Storm Sho episode 3 yesterday. Nice timing/coincidence.


Last week Build episode :

https://i.imgur.com/g2BWqhK.jpg



Goldstorm Sho Ep 3 :

https://i.imgur.com/RPzIzae.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/n7HV0sV.jpg


I'll call that place "Lead male and female characters serious talk spot".

Over the course of the last weeks I watched Strada 5 and Bycrosser.
Strada 5 felt more like a crime show than toku but that's not a bad thing. It's a pretty decent and short show (13 eps).

Bycrosser is also a peculiar yet interesting show. What it lacks in plot, it surely makes up in fights and weirdness (like the navel stealing episode). I do think that 34 episodes were just about right for a show with a rather small cast.

Next stop: Gingaman

After 2 weeks I finally saw... 10 episodes of Mebius

UltraMan Tiga Episode 15: Well Tiga's heartbreaking already. Just very emotional with Shinjoh's sister and her boyfriend dying and stuff. Though Shinjoh and Daigo were awesome in their determination and resiliency. It was nice to see monster return from a previous episode too. This definitely has an original UltraMan feel and I am glad that I am finally back to this series.

UltraMan Tiga Episode 16-18: It continues to be awesome action, and awesome rescues, and awesome character moments. I enjoy seeing the monsters returning too.

Exceedraft Episode 1: This was a completely exciting beginning episode, a thrilling chase, and great heroic moments and learning about the characters. I wasn't prepared for something like this, I hope the episodes continue like this for a Metal Heroes series.

UltraMan Tiga Episodes 19-20: Guts into Space! 2-Parter here. This was great showcasing the entire Guts team working together and Daigo learning that he's not alone in this fight. This robot security system was something else and trying to stop advancement of other civilizations isn't right to me. I wonder if we'll see who sent the security system, because it does seem like we will. It is getting more intriguing and I am more excited to see more.

UltraMan Tiga Episode 21: This was a heart warming episode, and full of action and emotion. I loved it. The guest characters and Deban, the helpful alien got the focus, but it was very enjoyable.

UltraMan Tiga Episode 22: Teamwork makes the dream work here, and it was great seeing Horii and Shinjoh help out Daigo to defeat this monster and get rid of the mist that was possessing people. I enjoy the chemistry of the GUTS team a lot.

UltraMan Tiga Episode 23: Intriguing episode, I enjoyed the lizard people. Daigo wanting to prove that humans are good and that the Naga were lying also was great to see too. The fight scenes were great too.

UltraMan Tiga Episodes 24-25:

Episode 24: These kids were super annoying, Daigo really shined by sticking up for them even though they were being dumb. It was a pain to get through, but Daigo and the Guts team always shine through, and the combat is great too.

Episode 25: This makes up for the last episode showing Daigo's heart and belief in Humans and knowing they aren't weak. Also, that all the people came to help Tiga was a great sight. The combat great as usual and it was great to see Tiga bounce back against these monsters.

UltraMan Tiga Episodes 26-27: I really liked both of these episodes because of how they dealt with both of the situations from the trapped monsters and the dark teleporter. Great action and story.


UltraMan Tiga Episode 28: This was one of my favorite episodes because of it dealing with why they are fighting the monsters and why does Tiga and Daigo have to fight them. Also, all the members talking about why they are doing this. It was just a really solid episode.

UltraMan Tiga Episode 29: This episode was some combination of somber and wonderful. The alien siblings were interesting and Daigo was just heroic and badass. All the stuff I like to see in an UltraMan episode here.

UltraMan Tiga Episode 30: This felt like a Cosmos episode with wanting to save the monster and wanting to co-exist with them; which is awesome because I feel that some of the monsters aren't evil or want to hurt people. It was great that Tiga could save it, and well there was a lot of fun moments with the cast and awesome Tiga moments too.

Taking a small break from GARO, I'm 5 episodes into Shogeki Gouraigan.

I can see why lot of people are hating it. And normally I would hate it too (FYI I'm not into the Inoue = sh!t debate. I dislike lot of stuff he is involved with, but I don't scream "sh!t" everytime I see his name somewhere). Also because I'm not into comedy toku much.

But I don't know why, I kinda like Gouraigan. Without being able to explain. I find it funny to watch even though there isn't much substance so far (Episode 5 and the Hikaribito team is just assembled).
Maybe because the suits and weapons are cool.
Maybe also because when they want to do something, they don't do it half only. They go the farthest they can without regret even if it can annoy people.
comedy parts ? => Exaggerate it the most you can. Facial expressions, big laugh and movements.
sexy/erotic part ? => don't do it half. put as much nudity/suggestiveness as you can.


EDIT : good point also because trying Gouraigan will make me go out from my Kamen Rider/GARO(/Sentai) comfort zone. I will probably be more willing to try less known tokus. Even some that are from other countries.

I generally liked Shougeki Gouraigan. It was really weird, but I found that the humor generally clicked with me. The show only lost me near the end, when it decided that it really wanted me to get invested in the Gou/Jin/Rin love triangle. A show as goofy as Shougeki Gouraigan really can't abruptly pivot to drama (the last major action scene is amazing, though).

I started watching Garo Gold Storm as my technical first Garo series. Real good idea there.

It alright. I don't like that all the monsters are just CGI instead of suits, but I guess that with how little they appear and how acrobatic the fights are, that would be difficult. Still sucks because they're all really good designs.

Try the OG Garo at some point, it still uses CGI but there are also practical suits.

I'm at episode 10 right now and will finish watching the show later today.
I see what you mean now.

But it's weird. It's like. I can't find anything overly positive to say about the show (being about fights, comedy, suggestiveness and now serious plot parts), but I still have a soft spot for it.

I would if there were any good complete subs for it.

It got licensed so all the fansubs were taken down. The blu-rays aren't too expensive.

When I started watching all the GARO series in November I found it easily.
Either on TV Nihon torrents, or Kissasian. did that change since then ?

I know some people don't like TVN, I don't really try to know why (I'm not picky with subs and don't really want my party to be pooped on), but you know, when you're in the desert, you take anything that is edible even if you would like caviar.



I'm done with Gouraigan.
As I said before, I understand why people hate it. If you look at it with tokusatsu/sentai in mind, that's trash. But that's not how it should be taken.
That's clearly a Sentai parody/mockery (without bad intentions) from Amemiya's part. It should not be taken seriously.
And for a parody, that's pretty good. Exaggeration in everything that makes Sentai a Sentai + parody element
- Exaggerated facial expressions and attitude from the protagonists
- fourth wall breaking all over the place
- cameos from past "seasons" (should be taken as "previous Amemiya's work") : Hijii Mika and that brush scene + Gan being played by KR Saga/Byakuya Kishi Dan
- Plot being literally episode 1 and then 9/10 to 13, mimicking how often past tokus were plot at the beginning, lot of filler in the middle, and then plot again around Episode 40
- The "vilain" being redeemed fairly easily for an absurd reason, helping the protags, while the "good" superior being turns out to be evil at the last minute. tropes
- Toku being overloaded with gravure idol turned here into a "porn actress parade" (or "actresses" known for their bodies more than carrier. Like Surfer Jane, Hitomi's friend or Jin pervert assistant)


In the end, it won't stay in my heart for years (except the opening/main theme. I love it) But I took Gouraigan for what it should be : an absurd Sentai parody. And I enjoyed it as such.

I've found that TV Nihon can very easily ruin enjoyment of a series via bad translations (EG. Episode 4 of Fourze). I can just hop over to Over-Time if I want to get any decent subs for this stuff, and the older stuff is getting official DVDs by actual professionals. Why would I go to the inferior copy when I can just get the actually good stuff like MFC or EXCITE?

I mean, I'm also not super willing to shell out cash for the first Garo series right now, but that could change later on. If I ever get through watching any of these series.

I'm done with GARO "yami o terasu mono" and "goldstorm"
Very interesting ones.

At first I didn't like the atmosphere of "yami". Compared to Saejimas, Makai knights looked too much like punks instead of chivalrous knights.

But as the episodes went on, they grew on me. To finally win my heart in the middle, during that scene in the factory when they all burst in tears when they realize what is happening in the city.

The real vilain reveal was unexpected (a bit too much ?). I didn't really expect anything to happen with Ryuga's mother too, but it did. And that was some kind of emotions rollercoaster (between the mother, Enhou character, etc...). very nice.
Ryuga really won his GARO title (and full armor) nicely in the show.


-----------------


Goldstorm was amazing too. I wasn't too sure about the limited cast at first (at least Ryuga + Rian returning only and rest of the cast from Yami not being present)
Aside from not!Decade overacting much (I enjoy Jinga and his way of talking though), rest of the cast was enjoyable. Especially Ryume. Her fighting style is interesting, you can really feel she is strong when she casts spells (a thing I don't feel when it's Rian doing it... which is a shame).
D.Ringo and his pervert cowgirl babe are a bit empty though (especially her...)
about the vilain couple, I liked the fact they didn't focus it much on "oh that's their tragic past, I understand/pity them blablabla". Lot of shows would have taken that route. I'm glad they didn't do here.

The idea of the season being to accept the darkness within you instead of succumb to it is interesting. The show teach Ryuga the darkness isn't necessarily evil if you accept it's existence and are aware of it.
The idea of giving Ryuga his "black armor" from Yami o terasu mono back, and make it an alternative version of GARO with different powers to use, instead of a downgrade, is really interesting lorewise. So far GARO was all about "shining" and being good and all, there was no place for darkness. GARO was the embodiment of pure light.
This different approach was kinda risky, but I find it awesome in the end. Seeing Ryuga switch between his darkness and light mode during fights.

And this final scene with the giant GARO made of people's lifeforce.
Wow.
I really loved it.
Now I'm almost done with GARO. I just need to find the Biku movie, watch makai retsuden, and then I'll give a chance to the animes (and hopefully by the end of the year Kami no Kiba will be subbed after it's DVD/Blu-Ray release)

UltraMan Tiga Episode 33: UltraMan vs Vampires was an awesome episode and I liked the interactions of the team throughout the episode. The Leader and the Commander's interactions at the end was fun too.

I'm done with GARO: Makai Retsuden.

Man the last episode.
Finally we could see Kouga again.

I want to hope his final words "Don't worry, it's not the end. I will be back" are not only Kouga's, but also a message from Konishi Ryosei to the GARO fanbase that he will return in a GARO franchise one day.

let's hope.

UltraMan Tiga Episodes 34-36: All solid episodes, love the team and the action in all of them. The Yazumi episode with the old woman was a bit trippy but really nice.

Exceedraft 4-5: Each episode is a definite thrill ride. Glad to see more character from Ken and Kosaku, one trying to take down criminals and one trying to put the fires of evil out, I love both of them a lot. I love all the team a lot right now. Them battling the Red Spade was great and intriguing here.

Exceedraft Episode 6: A fantastic episodes for Kosaku/Blues, absolutely loved his bravery and heroism this episode. It's such a great show and each episode is a thrilling mini-movie.

After Gouraigan and being done with GARO live series (tried animes and watched Hono no kokuin and didn't dislike it, but, meh... I expected an animated version of GARO, but it's more an anime with GARO skin) I decided to try some of non-japanese Toku.

My choice is on 3 show right now :

Armor Hero : Watched episode 1 only so far. Very slow pace for Ep1. No henshin or real fight. But I won't judge for now.


Legend Hero : Watched 1&2. Really like it even though there are some huge contrast between scenes. ground fight scenes are really cool, but mecha fight scenes are really cheap... The main character is kind of annoying but i'm sure I'll get used to it. It will probably be the one I watch first.


Garuda Knight BIMA : didn't watch yet. but aesthetic looks cool (but I kinda prepare myself to be disappointed. The thing I've seen of it are closer to american toku/power rangers than japanese toku. Am I wrong ?)


Actually there is a 4th show I want to try. but a japanese one : madan senki Ryukendo



What is the general opinion about these 4 shows ? which one you would recommend ?

I've watched all of Legend Hero. It is a very, VeRy, VERY good series. I loved it from start to finish.

Armor Hero is one that I enjoy a well. Yes the acing is a bit slow at times, but it's still generally good. My only nitpick/gripe was the horrible dubbing. LOL!!

Garuda, haven't seen yet.

And I've watched a few episodes of Ryukendo. What I saw was good.

Watch Ryukendo! Its a really silly show but its one with a lot of heart in it.

Like I said, it's the one I prefer so far yeah. ground costumes are cool. it's only the mecha part I'm not liking. But i'll get used to it.

Good thing I'm planning to watch it subbed only then.
Usually i don't like when paced too slow. but I looked at the costume designs overall (even for other armor series like Lava, captor etc...) and I love them, so i'll probably watch it with no problem


I hope not too silly. but again, the designs are cool.
And I saw it has some kind of crossover characters with Tomica Hero Rescue Force too. Which I might get into if Ryukendo is ok.
But I feel like the Tomy show are more kids oriented, right ?

I basically stopped writing thoughts on the some of the last episodes of Tiga, just because it's kind of gotten tedious for me.

Though the last few have been really really good. Like 37-42 were the ones I haven't mentioned.

Though episode 43 was really awesome and special because of introducing this Enemy of Daigo's that stole the Spark Lens. It seems to lead to more of the Tiga mythology and I am really excited for the next episode.

These last few episode of UltraMan Tiga have been awesome and just soooooo good. Episodes 44-49 are an awesome block of episodes.

Episodes 50-52: Were just an epic and amazing 3-part finale. Seriously, one of my favorite finale's of a series and it just fills me with light and hope. It series like this that make me love being an UltraMan fan and a Toku Fan.

Since I liked SSSS. Gridman so much I’ve decided to watch the original. Not expecting a masterpiece or anything, just because I wanted to see where my show of the year has its roots.

It’s a very simple yet fun show; I’m 5 episodes in and still feel like wanting more. The premise is interesting in that it is actually much more relevant and terrifying than it was 25 years ago; the characters and story are very simple and episodic yet enjoyable. The action is really cool, not the most impressive suit and effect work but very nice to look at, especially when they blow stuff up.

Realizing what they referenced in SSSS. Gridman is kinda fun too, of all the things that could’ve been inspired by the original show I honestly did not expect the "Special Dog" to be among them :lol

https://i.imgur.com/i7Jmv26.jpg