MegaRanger vs CarRanger The Movie: Also known as the 10 craziest rangers ever. Well 11 with MegaSilver. My only disappointment of the movie was the lack of SignalMan but besides that this movie is one of my top favorite of the Super Sentai Crossover movies along with GaoRanger vs Super Sentai, Hurricanger vs GaoRanger, Gokaiger vs Go-Busters, and Kyoryuger vs Go-Busters. The MegaRangers and the Carrangers have great chemistry together and even though the were at first at odds because the CarRangers stole the shell from them they had good reason too. Also when they both found out they were each a Sentai they instantly teamed up and understood each other. The only reason they fought was because of the MegaRanger villain possessed them. Though this seemed to have the heart of MegaRanger merged with the heart of CarRanger. The CarRangers were on fire in this movie fighting to want to see the smiles on the MegaRangers' faces and to help them get to their graduation photos. All of them believing in each other was brilliant. The MegaRangers were a lot of fun and I think it's the next series I want to watch because this movie got me really interested in them. Also Mega Silver seemed awesome in the beginning. The Giant Robo fight was great too. The villains were fun in this and well I loved the CarRangers dream of wanting a car to travel the universe in to see their friends they made. The Megatectors looked amazing, gold shields look amazing! I wish we would get a CarRanger reunion movie. Well I can't wait to watch MegaRanger and re-watch CarRanger.

If you are referring to Gai/GokaiSilver, he gets awesome as the show progresses.

My issue is that he reallllyyyy is too much of a Mary Sue. I mean, the guy gets his own robot, is a great fighter despite having no experience and even gets his own megapower because he's just sooooo great. I would prefer it if he was more like Doc, a comic relief character who gets his ass kicked a lot and sloooowlyyy grow to be a badass. Though I like that the show actually sort of addressed how ridiculously overpowered he is, with the episode about Doc feeling jealous of him.

But otherwise, the show is really entering a solid groove. The introduction of the smooth criminal Basco was great - finally a villain who is a real challenge! And I can't hate a show that has Doc. He's THE BEST. And Luka is making me feel funny things...

As opposed to every other sixth ranger ever?

Well, frankly this is my first Sentai, so it seems I'll need to learn to accept those conventions in order to enjoy the franchise, which seems to have a lot to offer despite those quirks :lol.

Yeah, I can imagine it seeming strange to a newcomer. Gokai is probably one of the more notable ones, given how the others are experienced fighters while Gai is... the opposite of that, but his circumstances are pretty typical. :lol

Yeah, when he first appeared, I thought that he was going to be the butt of every joke... How wrong I was :lol.

In the scene when the older Ranger asked Gai to give him the keys, I was like "GAI PLEASE DO THIS, for the sake of humanity and mine" :lol.

If you want a sixth ranger who's the butt of the joke, check out Zyuohger :lol

At least he isn't as bad as ShinkenGold. Good god is that dude THE worst sixth ranger ever.

Anyway, yeah Scorpius, that is how every sixth ranger is done when they are first introduced. The only difference is that back in the 90s it meant something when the sixth ranger appeared. Today, he's just another face in the crowd.

I haven't watched Shinkenger, but Misao's a cool guy, Pretty unique for a typical sixth

Misao is a lovable loser.
Genta is just plain annoying.

That is sensible. :lol The way I look at it, the Gokaigers are all so cool and on top of things, a sixth ranger is like a bonus, so it's okay that Gai isn't experienced.

But I also see him differently from you, it seems he is portrayed as being much less cool than the other Gokaigers, he is a goof who is often made fun of a bit. But he does have cool stuff.

Speaking of Gokaiger, I'm on episode 46 at the moment, and gonna watch that Vs Gavan movie for the first time too!

It may smooth out as the series goes on, but the thing is, but the way it is portrayed right now, the remaining Gokaigers had to do a lot of adventuring before they reached their current level of competence, while Gai becomes a good fighter right off the bat, so much that it seems a bit unfair (although I'll admit that based on his backstory, he really is probably the most heroic). Contrast that with Doc, who is shown to struggle a lot with the physical side of things, but makes it up with his ingenuity. So basically if there was an arc in which Gai has to struggle a lot to get the basic stuff right, I wouldn't have any issues with it.

Let me praise again the way the character of Doc is handled, because I think it's excellent. The guy is consistently shown as a slightly less competent as a fighter than other Gokaigers, but the script constantly finds ways to make him useful in other ways. That's good writing! Yes, Doc is my bae, why you're asking :lol.

I believe statistically speaking Luka is the one true bae, but you may be right.

Luka assures that adult people attracted to women have an... um, a different reaction to the show than the kids do :lol. I'll stop before I start sounding like a creep :lol.

And so, around half a year later, and with more Gekiranger than was initially expected, I've finally worked my way up to watching the show I've been meaning to get around to for over a half a decade at this point. I'm five episodes into Shinkenger and, in summary,

I think I'm in love.

THIS is the Kobayashi I know and adore. It's good to know how far she came in the decade since Gingaman. Not even a quarter of the way through the series and it has pretty much the best characterization I've seen for a Sentai team. How do you even do that?

It's really crazy how much is going on here with these guys already. They have a dynamic that's different from most shows, basically being a bunch of strangers whose teamwork is about what you'd realistically expect from five people who barely know each other and lead by a guy who actively keeps his distance emotionally. And as individuals, they're way more layered than I'm used to from this franchise. Takeru especially has got some serious depth going on compared to the usual Red standbys of "screaming idiot" and "inspiring leader". He's clearly trying to be the latter, but isn't very good at it due to his own flaws and insecurities. It's amazing. This is the least "team" Sentai team ever and I love it.

I could go on like this for a while but I need to save some praise for the rest of the show. It's amazingly fun. And while it's rather embarrassing that I got into this fandom when I did and yet have seen more of this show's insanely watered down American counterpart than Shinkenger itself, waiting this long got me spiffy Over-Time subs in HD and everything, so there. I'm basically on cloud nine right now. Absolutely pumped to watch more of this series.

Megaranger just got announced for a DVD releae in August, so just wait until then to watch it. I'd say watch Shinkenger sooner rather than later because if you wait until you have watched the superior shows, Shinkenger will suck.

He's already watched Mega :lol

But wait, I've already seen Gekiranger! Noooooooooooooo...

I guess all that raving I just did about how much I'm enjoying Shinkenger was just a fluke or something then. :p

Go-Busters 48

Did Escape just skin a pupper? That was quite rude of her.

Also, progression of events this arc has been fantastic. Stuff with the villains in particular has been phenomenal. Enter is finally at a point where I find myself agreeing with claims of him being one of the best villains in Sentai (not that that means anything coming from me since the only other one I've seen is Zyuohger and the bad guys in that one aren't exactly...competition). And stuff with Escape was suitably disturbing towards the end. Some pretty great stuff here.

Things are ramping up for a great conclusion. I'm really glad I decided to interrupt my Rider watching to finally give this one a watch after years of having it on my backlog. Saying it's my favorite sentai doesn't count for much, so instead I'll say it's become one of my favorite toku shows overall. Gonna be sad to run out of episodes.

:lol

How many of the shows have you watched though in total? I know you did Carranger and of course Gekiranger. Shinkenger's not a bad show, but it relies way too much on its gimmicks and mecha, which really sacrifices its quality. It also doesn't help that Dokoku does absolutely nothing for 45 episodes and I find Genta to be the most annoying sixth ranger ever. It really loses momentum in the teens and never really gained it back until the last few episodes. Juuzo is hands down the best character.

Geki 15 and 16.
15 was the Mama Ran episode. It was cute. Ran was sweet and impatient. Can't blame her when 2 of her colleagues were turned into kids and she had to deal with it. Kid Jan was fun, I especially love the kid Geki Red. It's an odd technique for someone like Rutsu (The monster) to learn.
"Why are you here, young one?"
"To learn Rin Ju Swan-Fist!"
"Very well. But first, you must learn this technique to de-age others."

Anyway, at the end of 15, Mele awakens the Sea Kenma, Rageku, who uses her jellyfish style to become immune to most attacks as well as stinging tentacles to poison others. Seeing potential in Mele, she poisons Rio, which intensifies the stronger the Rinki in the poisoned target is (Which basically paralyzes the dude). Pitting Mele against Xia Fu, it was a neat fight. Mele using a technique to burn the cells in her body to gain strength, actually beating Xia Fu. Rio manages to save Mele (And, by extension, Xia Fu, since the killing blow would kill both him and Mele), and Rageku reveals her lesson. Jealousy. Burning anger and envy inside you to gain strength, taking both Rio and Mele as her pupils. Kata was okay with it.

Finished Gokaiger, great show! Just a top notch series all around, one of the most immediately entertaining casts, thumbs up. I also really liked that Vs Gavan film! That guy is cool.

That's the first Super Sentai series I've finished by the way, I've dabbled in several but it's nice to finally see one to conclusion. Looking to get that number way up.

Just finished Go-Busters.

A damn fine ending to a damn fine series.

Honestly, feel like I've spoiled things for me somewhat. It's gonna be pretty hard to find another series with such a good cast and plot. Not to mention the unique approach to the mecha fights--I'm particularly going to be missing that.

But I do feel like I've caught the Sentai bug after watching this one, so I think I'm gonna be watching more Sentai regularly alongside my Rider watching from now on. Definitely not going to go completionist like I do with Rider, but there's still a bunch of them I'm interested in.

Probably going to watch Kakuranger once I finish watching the original Kamen Rider. Still some 27 episodes away from that, but sooner rather than later.

Go-Busters sounds terrific, I've gotta watch that sometime soon. I think I'll do one or two retro shows like Liveman, then jump back to Go-Busters, to mix it up.

Plus I'm curious to see those Super Hero Taisen (Wars) movies. I did enjoy the Super Sentai 199 Ranger and Kamen Rider OOO's big crazy Let's Go team up movie thingy.

I haven't seen Dairanger or Kakuranger yet if that's what you're asking. :p

But in total, I've seen everything from Gokaiger onwards, Go-Onger, Magiranger, Carranger, Gekiranger, Megaranger, and Gingaman.

We'll see about the momentum (I hear the middle slumps in a lot of Kobayashi's shows but I never feel they dip significantly), but otherwise I think I'll be fine. Shilling merch is something you learn to live with watching Sentai and Rider nowadays, if Onari in Ghost never annoyed me I'm sure Genta will at least be tolerable, and uninteresting villains aren't a big deal to me so long as the show isn't insisting I be interested in them.

Also I unironically liked Ninninger enough to watch it twice, so... you know. :lol

Yaaaay! Always happy to see someone else get into Go-Busters. Such good times with that show. At least when they aren't shilling Metal Heroes. :lol

I vividly remember being a little freaked out that that was the dreaded "retool" I'd been hearing so much about (I was watching the show just a little bit after it finished airing, for reference). It was a pleasant surprise finding out that the final act is actually really, really great.

Oh, and you may not be asking for recommendations, but I highly suggest putting Gekiranger on your shortlist of Sentai to watch if you haven't already. It's got its own flavor to be sure, but it reminded me a lot of Go-Busters in the best ways. Strong plot, extremely memorable main villains, likable protagonists people seem to think are boring for some reason. You know, the works. :p

Someone shilling Gekiranger for me?
Almost brings a tear to my eye :lol

Shilling Metal Heroes seems pretty great to me so far (in Gokaiger), if that's the downside to Go-Busters, must be a pretty solid series.

The good news is that Gekiranger actually is already on that shortlist! Between Matrixbeast and you giving it such high accolades, I've been curious about it for a while, and I really like the suits. Sounds like a fun time.

The only reason I'm going with Kaku first is that I've had it downloaded for like...ages, a year at least. Just been taking up space and gathering digital dust, so I figure I should give it a watch at some point. Geki is next after that, though.

I did use to read that some people consider (the) Go-Busters to be boring, which I honestly am just baffled by. The whole thing was a pretty fun ride for me, even the episodes in the teens folowing the introduction of the Beets which some people apparently found sub-par...and I'd attribute that fun in great part to liking the characters a lot, 'cause yeah, they were great.

The only stuff that wasn't so good was the Gavan stuff, and that's not nearly a big enough detractor in my book.

To be fair, nothing after Gokaiger is worth writing home about. Go-Onger aside, you've seen some pretty good series there. I see a serious lack of GoGoV and Jetman though. :lol

Oh, and you're missing a little trilogy from the great Sugimura (Zyu-Kaku). Funny enough, Sugimura also gave us Kamen Rider Black and the phenomenal Onimusha Trilogy for PS2.

That Sugimura guy seems pretty great. He also wrote Jiban, Winspector, Solbrain, the game Resident Evil 2, some Lupin and Sukeban Deka, solid credentials there.

I think it's because none of the main team have loud or instantly appealing personalities. There's a certain level of understatement to them that doesn't seem to exist in the majority of Sentai. I dunno, I just don't think there are many characters in the franchise who's most characterful moments have no dialogue or action...

The show made Jingle Bells a tearjerker. That isn't normal or right.

I forgot he did RE2.

I really need to check out those Metal Heroes series at some point since I seem to like a lot of what he did. A shame he died so soon.

Up to episode 14 of Shinkenger now. In a sentence:

http://i.imgur.com/tTtSgSG.jpg

In more sentences:

This show is the bomb, man. Not only is it Kobayashi firing on all cylinders, but apparently even when she isn't writing we end up with the best filler episode ever. After how low-key Gingaman was it's great to be feeling that same energy that made pounding out Geki and Megaranger so delightful.

There's just so much I'm loving about it already. From stuff like the amazing music (including the best roll call track ever), to the notably above average action, including in the mecha department, where the effects are generally quite nice, with great props for the Origami and sets that feel less cramped than usual. It's all great stuff. I'm even kind of liking the villains. I mean yeah, Doukoku doesn't do much, but he's a scary looking, binge-drinking demon guy with serious anger management issues, which I find makes him some fun. I at least feel like, if he ever DID get off his butt, he could do some damage, you know? The MotW come up with some surprisingly devious plans here and there too. They come off as an actual threat to the heroes, which is all I ask for at the end of the day.

Speaking of those heroes, have I mentioned how incredible this show's protagonists are yet? So far nothing has happened to make me question my early assessment that they're some of the sharpest written characters in Sentai. They're all extremely well-defined and watching the way their relationships with one another play out has been so much fun. There's been a lot of growth here for a mere quarter of the show.

In general the drama is just really grabbing me. Those first two music tracks I linked? Literally any time one of them plays I feel exactly the way they want me to. There's a ton of heart to Shinkenger and it's very quickly shaping up to become one of my favorites.

Wow, way to totally disown a bunch of shows I really like all at once. :lol

Honestly, I'd put something like Zyuohger or ToQger above Gingaman any day of the week.

Both of those shows are actually pretty high up on my priority list, if it makes you feel better. In GoGoV's case I even saw around 4 episodes a couple years ago and only really stopped because it wasn't fully subbed at the time. It was a pretty awesome set of episodes, as I remember.

I forgot Gekiranger's movie happens around episode 9-10, so let's go back and watch that :lol

Anyway, Gekiranger Nei Nei! Hou Hou! Hong Kong Deciding Battle
GekiRinTouja is neat, and you better remember Mechung Fu is a thing if you want to know who the hell the villain in the Go-On vs Geki film is.
Yep, mhmm, yeah. That's about it. Otherwise it's just a Sentai film. It's neat to see the movie exclusive finisher of all of them burning orange for a team attack. Honestly, I kind of prefer that attack to the Geki Cannon. Fits a lot more to their martial arts theme :lol
Oh well.

Anyway, the only memorable thing about the film is GekiRinTouja, and that's because, unlike other movie exclusive upgrades, this one is actually cool~

:lol See, I hate ToQGer so much I can't even bring myself to watch beyond episode 5. Zyuohger's not bad, but I felt like Genis through most of it as I was bored. THe villains were terrible. I need good villains in my Sentai shows or I have a hard time enjoying it. Actually Gokaiger is probably the only show in my top 10 list that had terrible villains (well Basco made up for it).

Aha! I had a feeling it was another Goseiger situation for you. I think it's worth forcing yourself through the whole thing at some point.

I don't know if you would still hate it anyway, but ToQger is a show that takes a bit to really get going. It's basically constantly improving and on top of ironing out its wrinkles and becoming totally adequate by the second quarter, the entire back half is pretty genuinely great. The heroes grow into more mature characters, the villains get really interesting, and the plot in general heats up a lot.

While I would love to have amazing villains in my shows, Gekiranger kind of ruined things because no one could measure up to Rio and Mele, so I had to lower my standards. Kakuranger almost measured up with Junior, but then Daimaou showed up and was pretty dull, to be honest.
I hear Go-Busters has pretty good villains, so I was thinking about checking that out, but I still need to finish Carranger (I intend on starting Carranger back up once I finish rewatching Geki).

SPEAKING OF
Geki 17 and 18
Jan starts getting jealous because Retsu and Ran have special teachers who taught them special weapon styles. So, with the awakening of the Sea Kenma, Rageku (Or just Miki throwing Jan a bone), they send the three off to find the 3rd Kensei (4th if you count Xia Fu), Sharkie Chan!
After Retsu and Ran basically let Jan solve all the problems they encounter in Sharkie's secret test, he chooses only Jan is allowed to be his student, and gives him the Geki Sabers.
...That was fast. Ran and Retsu both had to learn a lesson about the subtle differences in their style before they were accepted (Ran learning that having heart isn't the same as fighting with heart, and Retsu learning that technique is important, but overthinking things leads to problems). Jan though?
"Eh, he strong. I'll take it."
Well, I guess it's understandable when you learn that Sharkie has never had a student before, so he's eager and excited, too.

In the meantime, one of Rageku's followers shows up and, to fight for Rageku's love, attacks the Gekirangers. Having an ability to possess others, he first possesses Sharkie, then the rangers' newest mech, the Geki Shark.

The other masters intervene, Sharkie gets scolded and sulks off. After an interlude with the villain, we fight once more, Jan proving the strength of his body by managing to expel the villain after he's possessed. He grows, GekiSharkTouja Win, and Rio speaks of a White Tiger. Ooooh~

While Daimaou can't live up to Junior (there was no way he could since Junior is my favorite villain of the franchise), I think he brought his own presence especially with Hakumenrou.

While Hakumenrou was a pretty nice character and twist, I felt Daimaou himself was lackluster. No human form and his costume was too bulky to really give him life outside of his voice, his actions weren't really that interesting or ecstatic, and he didn't really do much.
Yeah, his appearance in the show caused a significant shift from the previously more comedic antics, but as a character, he just felt like your typical Sentai villain.