To be honest though, I think that was the point. Junior was the go out there and do it yourself type while Daimaou was the sit back and let everyone else do the footwork villain.

Yeah, but that's the problem. Those types of villains bore me to death.

6 more episodes of Shinkenger down. I'm still digging it.

Genta's a pretty alright dude in my book. Say what you will about his... outgoing personality (I'll just say his actor is clearly a master of mugging for the camera), but the guy's got a good heart and he put in the work. He's a self-taught samurai with a homemade Changer. I like that character concept a lot, and while Shinken Gold isn't an instant favorite for me as extra Rangers go, I feel he's adding more to the show than he's taking away.

The rest of the cast continues to be great, of course. I especially like how much more notably open Takeru has become with the team, and how he regresses for a bit when Genta first shows up. Good stuff.

The problem I have with Genta is the dude needs to take some medication. Everything I hate about him is the same reason why I hate Ban.

Just watched Jetman episode 42. Man what a tear jerker.

Just finished watching the Go-Busters Returns movie.

Definitely an absurd little movie, but a very fun and funny one as well. It was a good watch, though I think it may have been better to watch it before finishing the show--it's no epilogue, doesn't give anything away, and the tone is...I dunno how to describe it, but after a very satisfying ending going back to the setting for Jokes! is, while fun...I dunno, feels a little off?

Don't even know what I mean.

But anyway, this movie had a lot of J, which is a very satisfying amount of J to have. I'm seriously going to miss the guy. Every moment he got in this one was pure gold, I don't even know where to start. Just everything was perfect, from how frequent and on-point the gags were to how very in-character it all was.

I haven't seen Go-Busters or it's movie, but the vibe I got from clips and snippets was always "YOU WANT YOUR TRADITIONAL SENTAI? FINE, HERE! TAKE IT!"

That's definitely the feeling it gives, and I think it worked pretty well. The hilarious overacting from some of the more serious members of the cast (especially the red ranger) really seals the deal.

Geki 19 and 20.
Or, the Gekirangers lose so badly it looks like you're watching a fighting game combo video.
I love it. Rio forcing the fights to be one on one through the help of two beetle warrior armor things also helps. It really cements in the fact that Geki works best as a triangle. As strong as our heroes get, they need each other to support one another.
Anyway, they all lose, but Jan shows some potential the achieve Kageki, the one thing Rio never could, so Xia Fu is taken prisoner and they're given 3 days to do it.

In comes 3 more Kensei, Gorri, Michelle, and Pyon Pyon. They train the Gekirangers in their weakest areas (Jan has Heart, Ran has Technique, and Retsu has Body), in a 3 part tournament. Jan's impatience causes him to lose to Gorri, but Ran's dedication and support helps her tie with Michelle, while Retsu's dedication allows him to beat Pyon.
(By the by, if this was any other show, Retsu's showdown with Pyon would've been given to the red ranger)
This allows them to grow in their weakest area to further their ability to becoming a perfect triangle (Even Jan, who lost, managed to keep a cool head and learn from his mistake, helping him grow his heart)

I like this. You can see aspects of this in their special weapons (Ran's Geki Hammer is easily Body, Retsu having to clear his mind in order to use the Fan is basically him fighting with his Heart, and while Jan's Geki Sabers are dubiously Technique, for how they're designed (Flimsy and thin), it's more than just hitting really hard when it comes to handling them, so there is some technique to it), so for them to further train in another aspect is great.

Love it~

I really want to watch Geki again, but I really want to watch it with video quality that doesn't look like ass. Why has no one scrubbed this show with DVD rips?

Because Japanese DVDs are expensive and god hates us.

I normally post in pairs, but Geki 21 is kind of an event itself.
(I think 22 is either when Gou appears, or when Rio awakens Maku, can't remember, but it's also a pretty important episode by itself)

Anyway, 21!
The Gekirangers have literally 0 time to train to actually learn Kageki before they have to confront Rio again.
Shock of all shocks, they still lose, getting completely curb stomped once again.
Man, I love it.
In the meantime, Rio and Jan had both been asked "Why they fought" prior, and they now both have their resolve. Rio to burn away this feeling of weakness, and Jan to protect the weak.
With this new resolution, Jan gains Kageki and becomes Super Geki Red.
Retsu and Ran also do the same. Because they felt like it.

They destroy both the bug bots and completely obliterate Rio. Lying on the ground, bloody and dumbfounded.
They also debut their new Geki Beasts, Gorilla, Penguin, and Gazelle, against the now giant bugs, and in a pretty cool scene, we get a moment where all 9 current Geki Beasts attack. Loved it.
Now then...Their new mech. Geki Fire...Hm...Let's just say I'm glad Gou's mech is just Geki Touja with a purple leg.

Solid fun, loved it!
Only in Japan does something like "I refuse to acknowledge you" qualify as an insult...

But every other series has been scrubbed or given the HD treatment. Geki seems to be the only one that hasn't.

Like I said. God hates us :lol
One day...And with Shout's 2 series a year release schedule, it won't be until 2022 for a US release...

Anyway, Geki 22.
Eh. Not much happened. This episode is always kind of weird. It's hella important, but not exactly much happens.
Rio chooses to awaken the Land Kenma, Maku, but first needs a special jewel that was removed from him when he was killed. This jewel is under the ownership of some rich bitch. Unsubtly going after the gem, the rangers 1 by 1 get rejected by her until she's kidnapped by the MOTW, with Mele running off with the gem.
Jan chooses to rescue her, though. Learning that his Kageki responds to his desire to help people, Jan transforms into Super Geki Red and saves the girl, who learns what something precious truly is.
In the meantime, Mele gets the stone to Rio, who uses the last Madoku to revive Maku, and he's pissed.
Miki senses that they'll need to modify the triangle, and says they'll be adding a new ranger!
At that moment, we see a mystery man awaken in a cave. Ooooh, I wonder who it is!!!

Decent episode, but nothing too special. Rio throwing a tantrum was cute enough to awaken Maku, and seeing the other Kenma afraid of him was neat.

More Geki!
23 and 24
So, another solid pair of episodes! Because Gekiranger is the best and I love it!
With Maku back, Rio is basically smacked out of the captain's chair like a bitch. In the meantime, Ran is made the captain of the team. Then she becomes a punk due to acupuncture.
And Miki used to be a punk.
...This was weird.

Anyway, it ends with the rangers running into a wolfman who transforms into, dun dun dun, Retsu's brother!

Gou is revealed to have tried to use the transformation technique the Kensei used, but it backfired and he kind of goes in and out of the state, leaving his mind blank of the past few years.
We learn of a promise made between Retsu and Gou that was soon broken once Gou disappeared.
All the while, we get our first look at Long, who is starting his scheming by having Mele observe Maku's special Rinshi~

Is all good. Is all good.

They make fans buy their expensive bluray DVDs because it usually comes with some exclusive toys/souvenirs along with some bts and new interviews. Also, sometimes the bluray version for anime have better animations and uncensored cuts.

That and apparently Japan doesn't have as much of a "private DVD ownership" culture as the West so rental stores are still quite popular.

Part of that is because they don't have the space. I probably wouldn't be a collector if my home was the size of a garage either.

One more episode of Shinkenger down... and two of Kamen Rider Decade.

So the actual Shinkenger episode takes place in-between the Decade ones, but it's largely its own thing about Chiaki, and where he's at in his character arc. It's pretty great. As usual, this show handles the characters spectacularly. Just a darn good story all around.

The Decade two-parter is what it is. It's written by Kobayashi herself so the Shinkenger flavor here is entirely authentic, so to speak, which is very nice. The focus is pretty distinctly on the Decade crew though. It's kind of crazy looking back to think the idea of Sentai and Rider crossing over used to be a novel, fresh concept. Remember when people were genuinely hyped for the first SHT movie?

Especially given that this was the first time they tried something like this, I think this two-parter is actually pretty dang good. The whole concept of Decade made the premise very natural, with him simply traveling to the Shinkengers' world instead of some vague, nonsensical notion that they just already exist in the same universe. The story is also actually a story, which is more than you can say for a lot of the things that have come since. It's something of a microcosm of Decade as a whole, focusing very specifically on how he's out of place no matter where he goes.

It's nothing particularly special (at least not anymore), but everyone interacts nicely and frequently, with both sets of characters feeling important, and there are some genuinely great moments here and there. To this day I still love the conversation between Tsukasa and Takeru during the climax, and the whole theme of family and Tsukasa learning that he sort of does have a home gives the story some much appreciated cohesion, not to mention a nice heartwarming scene at the end.

Of course, this was Decade, so I'm sure the entire revelation was promptly forgotten next week. :p

Gekiranger is my favorite sentai for a reason, 25 and 26
Despite wanting him to join the team, Gou reveals that his Shigeki, which is similar to Rinki, makes him unable to use Geki changers. He sulks off and tries to brood, but Miki's kid and Mele interrupts that. After finding out that he ultimately still has a good heart, he receives the Gong Changer from Miki, something she had been developing when he first received his Shigeki all those years ago.

With the changer, he can become Geki Violet, with one of the best damn designs I've ever seen. Like holy shit!
He can also summon his own Geki Beast, the Geki Wolf! And in good time, as Ran had been exclusive targeted, and GekiTouja was unable to remain steady
(Oh yeah, the Gekirangers couldn't go Super because it'd been too soon since the last time they did it, and they can't spam it. I love it~)
With Geki Touja Wolf, they overcome the enemy (The baboon from last episode) and win! Gou is officially a Gekiranger!

...Until he tries to leave again. 26 has him seeing himself as interfering with a good thing. He's afraid he'll break up the perfect triangle of Jan, Ran, and Retsu, so he tries to go lone wolf again, deciding that he'll be around when they need help, but he won't be part of their team.
Meanwhile, Jan has the greatest crisis ever.
He doesn't know in what order the team should stand in! I love it~
He finds the perfect line of Ran, Gou, Jan, then Retsu, so it's all good! Thank goodness there isn't another Gekiranger on the horizon!

Gou also reveals that he can summon his own personal GekiToujaWolf, so the best mech doesn't have to get shafted on screen time. Thank god~

In the meanwhile, Rio goes seeking answers from Gorrie and Michelle, wanting to know if his DoRinki is stronger than Maku's.
It is not.

Finally got to Kakuranger episode 24. I'm glad the tone is shifting, it was starting to get borderline insufferable with all the annoying kids they had to save episode after episode. I still can't tell apart Saizou and Seikai though.

Watched the first 5 episodes of Abaranger. So for Ranru's the best character and I do like the fact the mechs themselves have personality. Though the first 5 episodes weren't necessarily bad, just not good either. At least it gets better solely because of Abarekiller

Saving kids is just part of Sentai in general though. It is a kids show after all.

yeah thats true enough, it just feels like it happened more often than the other 2 seasons i've seen. Maybe its just me nitpicking though because I'm not really enjoying it so far. Didn't mean to sound condescending to the fact that it is a show for kids!

Nah, Zyuranger had way more kids in danger plots than Kakuranger. Dairanger did less though.

Haven't really watched anything except for catching up on Kyuranger, which has been meh. I'm mostly just waiting for my Carranger DVD set to arrive on Tuesday.

Haha, got trouble with it myself. Just finished Ep 18 of Kaku.
Started to get into Sentai with Jetman and Dairanger first, after going through four seasons of PR.

Geki 27 and 28.
Bae, the fly commentator for the mech fights, becomes relevant. I like it. Apparently, Geki Ju Fly Ken transfers Geki through speaking. It kind of subtly implies that by commentating on the mech fights, he's actually aiding the Gekirangers.
Basically, he becomes the ultimate bard. I like it.
Meanwhile, Long messes with Gou, and has him transform into a wolf again.
Bae, using his ability, helps Gou conquer this (Because his transformation was incomplete, he can revert it) and become human again. Bae's ability also allowed everyone to watch Gou's inner struggle. It was cool, and it also gives reason for why anyone in their right mind would intentionally study Fly Fist.

We also get justification for why Bae sticks with Mele, and why Mele doesn't kill Bae. Turns out, because Mele killed Bae, then was subsequently killed herself before he was properly digested, so he was revived in her, so now he needs her Rinki, and Mele keeps him around because Rio revived her while he was still inside her, so she sees him as a gift from Rio.
How adorbs~

28 introduces the 5th Gekiranger, who was actually supposed to be the 4th, but he got lazy and took his sweet time to arrive. Ken.
Ken is an asshole, he's lazy, and he's selfish. But he has a neat power, so that makes it all okay.
Nah, Ken is likable despite his negative traits. I think what helps him remain likable is that everyone was against him, and even after Jan accepted him, the other 3 still don't like him. He has to work to endear himself to the others, rather than everyone just opening their arms to him because he has a new toy to shill. It works~
Also, no mech fight this episode. Always nice~
Shame he lost the super important Shojuto...

I love Gekiranger so much, man.

Watched the first disc to Carranger today. OH man it's great. Shout!'s subs are top notch on this one.

Watched up to episode 15 of Aba!
So far, it's a show that's kinda mediocre, though I expect Killer to change that. Luckily there's nothing that outright makes me frustrated like Ghost or Jetman

Aba's first quarter is something you appreciate more the second time than the first.

Anyway, another disc of Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaranger.

I am on the second disk of CarRanger these are fun. =) I'm glad to watch it again.

Sooner ended up being sooner than I was actually expecting. Watched the first episode of Kaku just a bit ago.

Really enjoyed it actually.

So first things first, the opening is awesome. Soundtrack as a whole seems really good. And the ending put a huge fucking grin on my face. Real fun stuff.

Episode was cool too. Not a massive amount of characterisation or anything, but the characters seem fine. Fashion sense is a bit suspect but I guess that's just the 90's.

Lore seems good. Suits are great. Action was neat, though I dunno about the comic book sound effects.

Some pretty uncharted territory for me here. Only my fourth Sentai, first before the 2010's. Actually my first toku from the nineties now that I think about it. So I expect to run into plenty of new things, Sentai-wise and probably as a whole. I know several Sentai do this, but a sentient robot is already pretty fresh for me (cubes aren't quite the same).

I look forward to watching more.

Kakuranger is a fun and creative series. I'm glad you're getting into it.

Since I didn't have time to watch another Carranger disc I watched the first 3 episodes to Changeman. They're all right. Nothing to write home about right now, the mecha seems to be just a repainted DynaRobo and about as exciting to watch as that one (aka not at all).

Abaranger 18
First of all, I finally realized how much I enjoy Ryoga, he's great and unique for a character in these kinds of shows.
But holy fuck Abarekiller made this a LOT more interesting

Finished discs 3 and 4 of Carranger.

So today I watched Disc 5 of Carranger and I have no idea what happened, but the timing of the subs were pretty hit or miss. In fact, they were down right awful on episode 26 as they appeared usually a second or two before the dialog even started. The rest of the disc had a couple of mistimed subs, but nothing that was as bad as this episode. They weren't horrid to the point where you didn't know which sub went with what sentence, but it did kind of kill the jokes Signalman and Minoru were making in the second half of the episode.

Also, while nothing horrible, I was disappointed in that they didn't bother to sub the Zoku Ranger song lyrics during the battle. That is half of what makes that battle so great. :-(

Those two things aside, another batch of outstanding episodes. We got a really cheesy one with episode 27 and then some really serious stuff with 28-30.

In addition, I watched episodes 4-8 of Changeman. They were enjoyable, but so far the only character that has had any sort of development is Giluke. Everyone else is pretty much one dimensional at this point. Yeah, there are still 47 episodes to go, which means a lot of growth is bound to happen, but it would have been nice to have at least one ranger with some sort of backstory or something by now. Also, I can't for the life of me take Bazoo seriously. It's like they put a head on a spaceship or something it just looks so damn ridiculous. Is he seriously the all powerful ruler these goons are afraid of? The Bowzock from Carranger are more threatening than him.

I wonder why they recast white racer. I prefer the first actress. Also, after watching carranger, you won't see power ranger turbo the same way you used to again.

GEKI 29 and 30!
Ken gets the Soujuto back.
Ken loses the Soujuto.

Mele reveals that she prefers fair fights, and prides herself in it. I actually really like this. She's still a martial artist at heart, so cheating is the equivalent of admitting you're not strong enough to win. When she had to do so to get the Soujuto, it put her in such a state of weakness that she exploded with Dorinki. Kata's lesson of hatred can be internalized, too, it seems~

:lol Since they made a joke about it, I think it was to make fun of characters that show up later with a different actor (like Daimugen's actor in Dairanger).

I've always thought PR Turbo sucked though. Easily the worst of the Zordon era and one of the worst PR series ever.