I've been watching Carranger, and I'm actually enjoying the silly aspects of it.

I've finally gotten around to giving Madan Senki Ryukendo a chance after a few people around here recommended it what feels like an eternity ago at this point.

This show seriously deserves more attention than I've been giving it.

I'm 12 episodes in and I have absolutely nothing negative to say. This show is amazing. Not only has it filled the Carranger-shaped hole in my heart, but I'm pretty sure I like it even more than that show, which is nuts, because I loved that show so much it... well, so much it left a hole in my heart when I realized I'd finished watching it. For one thing, watching the first few episodes, it dawned on me I'm apparently very nostalgic for the aesthetics of early-to-mid 00's tokusatsu, which wasn't something I'd ever consciously thought about before. It probably helped that Ryukendo is a show made in 2006 that looks like it was made several years earlier.

More important than that is the simple fact that the show is absolutely brilliant. It defies the laws of nature and manages to both have, and eat its cake at the same time. A show that embodies all the most generic toku hero tropes there are, while also constantly undermining and ridiculing them, while ALSO managing to keep a sense of drama in spite of all this.

This is the part where I wish I was posting about this show on an episode to episode basis, because I'm not sure I can do the writing justice without directly summarizing entire scenes. Ryukendo is essentially a loving sendup of its genre, but the way it pokes fun at all the usual conventions is generally more subdued than a straightforward parody would be. There are many subtly subversive moments that aren't even strictly played as jokes, but are absolutely hilarious if you know how things are "supposed" to go. Heck, they even manage to do it dramatically in some instances, such as when the only serious bad guy in the show proves how tough he is by throwing etiquette to the wind and hitting Ryukendo while he's about to change forms.

The entire world of the show is just "off" in some way. The way everything from the heroes, the villains, the cops, the small town under attack, and the "new products" are treated passes for normal at a glance, but look even a little bit closer and you'll see how twisted it all is.

Where this became really impressive to me is that, underneath all that (or maybe above, I'm kind of losing track of all the layers here), the episodic plots, character building, and comedy that isn't satirical in nature, are all totally up to snuff, and are probably better than a lot of other shows. There's all the heroic action, devious bad guys, wacky antics, and dramatic turnarounds you could want, and Ryukendo is careful never to do anything that truly compromises that. This takes a show that could've merely been an amusing distraction and elevates it into something a lot more memorable.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to watching the rest of it.

Now that I'm halfway through Ryukendo, it seems like a good time to talk about how awesome it is again. I sort of instinctively compared it to Carranger in my last post, but, especially seeing how it's been evolving in the extra dozen or so episodes I've now seen, I think that probably gives the wrong impression.

It's really hard to put Ryukendo in any one kind of box, because in a lot of ways it's totally unique. To the point that even that last statement is contradicted by how gleefully the show uses so many stock concepts. Hopefully by the time I finish it I'll actually be able to praise it in a way that isn't rambling and incoherent, but right now my main takeaway is that I haven't seen a show as happy to exist as Ryukendo is in a long time. It has so much fun just being itself that I can't help but respect it. It's a show so enjoyable even the clip show is legitimately entertaining, and if that ain't high praise, I don't know what is.

It makes me really happy to see you say such nice things about Ryukendo. I love this show a lot, so much so that I might actually consider it to be my favorite tokusatsu, and it always makes me happy when somebody not only watches none Toei tokusatsu but also enjoys them. Its shame this show never got a proper sequel, despite the fact that this actually did quite well toy sells wise, but it did lay the groundwork for Tomica Hero Rescue Force so I ultimately have a hard time feeling bad about the situation. I wonder how well the Girls x Heroine series follows in the footsteps of Ryukendo and the Tomica Hero series though...

Welcome to the club. :rock:
What I loved about it when I got around watching it was how local Ryukendo and his pals were being restricted to Akebono.

I've been on a Gamera kick lately. (Showa era)

Alright, it's almost painful to write this, but...

I've finished Madan Senki Ryukendo.

You need to understand here: this show has been a part of my life for half a year at this point. Everybody just binge-watches things now, right? Even me, if I've got a show I'm explicitly planning to watch from start to finish, and it's 50 episodes or under, I'll usually devour it within a single month. But for Ryukendo, I immediately knew I wanted to savor it. I never watched more than two episodes in a day, and took massive breaks after each quarter of the show, and let me tell you, I got very attached to the idea that "new" episodes were still waiting for me. It got to the point where I shoved around 200 episodes(!) of Kamen Rider I've already seen in the way specifically to avoid having to say goodbye that much longer. Yeah, that's right. That rewatch of Blade? That wasn't me getting bored and deciding to go back to the brand-name toku show about a blue sword guy. I was merely using it as filler. My epic quest to go back through all three of Yasuko Kobayashi's Rider shows? Granted, pretty cool in its own right, but one of the many different motivations that had to add up to convince me to even try that was that I wanted to build back up some confidence when it comes to writing huge posts, so that I could do Ryukendo some justice when I inevitably, finally, at last, came to its end.

And here I am. So let's start off with a question, now that I've seen the whole show. Do I think Ryukendo is the best toku show ever? No. There's simply too much going against it for it to compete in that kind of race. The writing for some of the overarching plot points doesn't always come together 110% perfectly. The fight choreography is often only slightly above a typical stage show. There are objective issues like that to be found in quite a few places.

The thing is, if that fabled perfect series ever came along, meticulously crafted in fine detail, with a thought-provoking story, adrenaline-fueled action, and top-notch production values, I'd still love it less than Ryukendo.

There was a central theme to Go-Busters that's always really resonated with me, and I think the impact it had on the way I look at things goes a long way towards explaining why it's my favorite toku show ever. The story in that series always came back to one idea I'd sum up thusly: perfection is f***ing boring. Flaws and quirks are what make things human, and that gets to the heart of why Ryukendo is so special to me. It feels so much more alive than so many far better shows. It's this scrappy underdog punching well above its weight to create something that, while not the best toku hero show ever, may very well be the most definitive one.

It's glaringly obvious everyone involved with making it knew this would likely be their one shot at making this kind of show, so they basically went for broke. Every single trope and concept that's associated with the genre is in here somehow, even the ones that all logic would dictate are mutually exclusive. You've got the hot-blooded young hero with the strong sense of justice and not much else. You've got the cool, more calculating older hero who backs him up. You've got talking weapons, form changes, super upgrades, and even transforming mecha. You've got the usual range of supporting characters, many of whom are part of a secretive organization that fights the bad guys, including two contrasting love interests, the dorky tech/magic guy, and the guy who sits around giving everyone orders. You've got a cast of villains featuring a pale old guy who enjoys making DRAMATIC PROCLAMATIONS at all times, and his significantly more competent (and quiet) muscle who acts as a rival to the hero. Not to mention the mooks. Those poor, poor, mooks, who exist only to be underappreciated by their bosses and then die.

I could just go on listing crap like that for ages, but I need to actually get around to explaining why this all works. Ryukendo is one of the most derivative works I've ever seen, but rather than coming off as unoriginal, it strikes me as the most loving tribute to the genre imaginable. The tone wavers between straightforward homage and outright parody a fair bit, with most of the heavy satirical stuff coming early on. The introduction of Ryujino after the first quarter seems to be the biggest turning point. His character, which checks a million more of those boxes I don't have time to get into (extra hero, angsty bad-boy, friend-or-foe mystery man...), is played close to completely straight, and after that point the show also seems to go back on a few things it previously went out of its way to subvert. But that's part of what I think is so amazing about it. It's like the show started off as a joke, but partway through they realized they were genuinely into all this dumb kids show stuff and just decided to roll with it. While still keeping things hilarious.

That's the appeal. Ryukendo is absolutely owning how unoriginal it is. It embraces cliches left and right, and in the process reminds me why I love them so much to begin with. But I also have to be absolutely clear the show is far more than a mere lazy ripoff. It's actually bursting with creativity, from the specific nuances of the extremely likable cast, to the often very unique setups for the episodic plots. The characters, especially, are insanely likable. The local flavor of the show means Akebono has this fairly expansive cast of everyday citizens who are consistently present, who all have their own shticks, and are all universally remarkably stubborn about letting the demons running around disrupt their daily routines. Watching them is a delight, and the way behave and react to all the strange things happening constantly is something I've definitely never seen anywhere else. The immediate main cast is much more familiar, but no less entertaining. One aspect I especially loved was the dynamic between the three heroes and their weapons. They're all truly made for each other. Gekiryuken is the reliable, stalwart warrior who has to put up with Kenji's frequent bouts of stupidity, always looking out for him even though they argue. Gouryugun's calm, analytical mind makes him a perfect partner to would-be super-cop Fudou, as well as providing a ton of opportunity for some dry humor, and finally Zanryujin is a huge extroverted jerk to contrast with Kouichi's introverted jerkiness. I really bought the bond each of them had, and since I'm such a sucker for this kind of thing, it was probably my favorite overall element of the series.

Not that there isn't a lot of competition. For one thing, I'm extremely fond of all the designs. They get too busy for their own good, but they're all really cool. I love Ryukendo's different forms. It's like the distilled essence of how that gimmick is supposed to work. The element theme means all of them have clearly defined and situational abilities, so he relies on his base form, occasionally busting out one of the three specialized ones when the situation calls for it. I know that sounds simple, but Kamen Rider has been suffocating itself with these things lately, so I don't know, it just struck a chord with me. It also did something I've been wanting to see for a while now in having Ryukendo's main upgrade be a permanent replacement for his main form, and in this case it came with powered up versions of the other three. Ryuguno gets the same treatment, and it was neat to see that in action. Especially since it means Kenji asks everyone to start calling him God Ryukendo for the back half of the series, and friend and foe alike all go along with it. It's so unintentionally arrogant I can't help but love it.

One other fun thing was that the general ignorance I had about this show meant I was constantly getting surprised by every twist and turn. I didn't actually know God Ryukendo was a thing going in, for example, nor did I suspect that wasn't even his last upgrade. The way the story played out genuinely kept me guessing, and one thing I find fascinating was how the final stretch consists of like half a dozen episodes that all feel like they're going to be the finale. It's nuts. A show this silly also inexplicably has the structure of an epic novel or something, with a prolonged epilogue that includes an episode that would likely be my favorite even if it wasn't set at Christmas. The way everything comes together in the end is not at all what I expected, but was extremely satisfying (and pretty freakin' emotional) all the same.

The production values honestly are a lot better than I had them pegged for too. The CG looks obvious and fake, yeah, but it's very kinetic and often used to create battles that have a lot of imagination and a surprisingly epic sense of scale. For f***'s sake, Ryukendo goes into space at one point, who cares how fake it looks? It's that attitude of "screw it, let's just go for it" that's so great about the show. Besides, it kills it in the audio department to compensate. The sound editing is crazy intense to match how over the top the show is. There's some premium whooshy sounds for everyone swinging their weapons around, and when people get thrown into things, it sounds like the apocalypse is happening. At one point a character is dragged along some metal bars, and they specifically put in the creaking sound of the bars bending under the force, even though they're clearly not moving. That might seem like a bad thing to you, but my point is the sound does a lot to make up for any deficiencies in the actual choreography. All the stock footage is similarly super crunchy.

The soundtrack is also amazing. Both openings are great, although I massively prefer the first one. The second took forever to start growing on me. At any rate, the real stars of the show are the ending themes. First of all, the visuals are amazing. The whole point of a good ED is to really embody the spirit of the show they're representing, and if Ryukendo and Ryuguno lining up for a free shot in soccer against a bunch of helpless mooks (who are covering their groins, naturally) isn't the ultimate distilation of all superhero tokusatsu, I don't know what is. Except I do, because the second sequence, with the heroes rescuing some kids from the villains by playing a game of Red Light, Green Light, is at least tied for first place. It's slightly less straightforward, but I think the metaphor is actually a bit deeper. Anyways, the songs themselves are some of the best ending themes I've ever heard, especially the first two. You've got the first (with the same singer as Blade's first OP, no less!), about not letting how hard life is stop you from dreaming, which would be the ideal anthem for this weird, possibly underbudgeted show that had aspirations of hanging with the big boys at Toei... if not for the second ending theme, about loving someone not just in spite of, but specifically because of their flaws. The other two are just as excellent for other reasons, but that first pair left a huge impression on me that's hard to compete with.

To sum up, Ryukendo is the s***, and if it ever gets subs that aren't terrible, you'd better believe I'm going to be recommending it to everybody at every possible opportunity. You simply won't find a show with a bigger heart. It more than deserves whatever cult classic status it has, and it's a cult I couldn't be happier to be a part of.

https://i.imgur.com/Qm7hh0K.jpg

I think the thing I love about your posts is that they are very analytical and discerning and informed... while still absolutely goddamn bursting with love and adoration for whatever you're watching. Like it just comes across so clearly how you're taking seriously what the series has to say while just having an absolute blast with it, and it makes reading your posts so great :D

Started up my Blu ray player and decided to watch Megabeast Investigator Juspion. First Metal Heroes series I’m seeing.

Seen episodes 1-4 I’m getting Sentai vibes from this( Mecha fights at the end of episodes.)with how everything is and a little Star Wars(Satan Gorth and the guys in the bar in episode 1.)

Really like Juspion ,particularly in episode 3 where he saves a boy’s Megabeast(While also relating to him) by standing up to the city
.Pretty heart warming episode and Namagerath is pretty cute. Probably my favourite episode out of the 4 I’ve seen so far.

Like the fight scenes thought they were good and the music is great. The humour is also pretty good between Juspion and Anri. Pretty love the opening with how goofy it is too. Juspion’s suit is very cool and liking the Megabeasts designs.

That is a cool show to be watching! Metal Hero episodes I've seen are the first few of Shaider and Metalder plus about three of B-Fighter.

I really loved Ryukendo and it took me a long time to finish as well but although I may be the only one and I hate to be negative, but the Tomica Heroes were like the polar opposite for me and I just couldn't make it past a few episodes. I wish they could have gone more down the ''Madan Senki'' route and made a franchise out of that.

I actually took a break from Power Rangers right as Dino Charge started because a friend of mine wanted to go through the entire series with me. It's been a couple years, and now we're both about to start watching Ninja Steel. It'll be the first PR show I've gone into totally blind for awhile, so it'll be interesting.

That's cool. I have actually managed to finish most series of Power Rangers apart from Megaforce+Super Megaforce which I couldn't finish and maybe I might have forgot to watch one or two of those recent Halloween or Christmas specials, not sure.

Just finished season 1 of Ninja Steel, and I gotta say, I'm liking it alot more than Dino Charge. Never saw the magic that people got out of DC, personally. Meanwhile with NS while I've had a couple small gripes, I've been having a good time watching it for the most part.

I like Dino Charge,Ninja Steel and Beast Morphers. They're nothing mindblowing but they're at least tolerable after the stupid nonsense we had in the first half of the decade.

I'm one of the few who liked Samurai(mostly), and I even thought Mega Force was alright. Super Mega Force, however, was a mess. And I even saw it before I saw Goseiger and Gokaiger so it's not like I had previous bias.

Dino Charge, however, like, I'm not knocking those who praise it, but just, for me personally, while I don't think the season is bad or anything, I can't say I feel the same for those who say it's the best of the Neo-Saban Era(or even one of the best seasons in general). Prince Philip was great though, liked him alot.

Just finished "Super" Ninja Steel, and while it is definitely a step down from season 1, I still liked it overall.

For me personally, I'd say Ninja Steel in general is the best of the Neo-Saban Era(unless you count Hyper Force, wherein I like that best).

Highlights include the return of the rock-based soundtrack(although them using the Dino Charge theme outside of the crossover episodes a couple times was really weird), Victor & Monty, and the reveal with Levi. While it was obvious, it was also done really well in terms of how it was revealed.

Is Neo-Saban the weakest era of Rangers overall? Definitely, but I still felt there was alot of good in it that people tend not to give it credit for. Once season 2 of Beast Morphers is done airing I'll binge the whole show to see how Hasbro measures up.

Anime

Pocket Monsters (Us Dub) On DVD
Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (90s Series)

I just started watching Indigo League as Boomarang had
Skipped it when they started to air it. They had started late
Orange Island and ran Jhoto. Just ordered up Advance
recently.

Shoutarou Ishinomori was a pretty cool guy. I don't know how much elaboration anyone needs on that. He's probably one of the single most creative people... ever? Most people would consider themselves lucky to create a single big hit like Kamen Rider or Super Sentai, but all throughout his career, Ishinomori was absolutely pumping out memorable and unique show and comic concepts left and right. The dude still holds a Guiness World Record for most comics published by one author. And ever since I found out about him through getting into Kamen Rider, I've always been a huge admirer of his work. Not that I've actually read or watched that much of it. Still, even just seeing these characters from a distance, they leave an immediate and huge impression. There's always been one show from him in particular that really caught my eye. It's right up there with Gridman in terms of shows I would've watched way sooner if they had subs available. And that show is none other than...

https://i.imgur.com/Olb0Qkg.jpg

Akumaizer 3! Aw yeah, now we're talking! Strap yourselves in, I've got a lot to say about this one. The personal hype I had for this show is unreal. You see, one of the things that most resonates with me about Ishinomori's heroes is how much he loves to play with themes of the duality of man, free will, or even what it means to be human to begin with. It's a common thread between a ton of his characters, and the thing that sold me on Kamen Rider, more than any cool designs or what have you, was hearing that original, perfect origin story of a man turned into a monster, who chooses to fight for justice. There's something so striking about that concept to me that I don't think I can adequately describe. But I always love seeing things like that. If you want to know why I like shows like Kamen Rider Faiz or Ultraman Geed so much, I can't tell you much more. It's inspiring.

Why this is so relevant to Akumaizer 3, and why it's always secretly been my favorite series idea from Ishinomori (yes, even above Kamen Rider), is that it always sounded like the most direct, "no bulls***" version of that. The titular trio are monsters who become heroes, but unlike Takeshi Hongou, they can't just transform back to regular humans and go about their day when they please. In fact, they never were regular humans. So right out of the gate, it's that equality between the heroes and the villains that got my attention. That the only thing that differentiates them truly is the choices they make.

But, you know, it's also just a show from 1975, so it not like it explores any of this stuff in-depth, right? Well, yes and no. Like a lot of toku shows in the freewheeling, pioneer days of the 70's, Akumaizer 3 isn't afraid to constantly retool itself bit by bit as it goes along, chasing whatever popular trends it wants, or dealing with unexpected production issues that don't change the fact they need that next episode ready to air now. It's doesn't only have one identity.

At the outset, Akumaizer 3 is a fairly serious show, that surprised me with how character-driven it was. Despite my hype, I was more than prepared to cut it some slack when it comes to character development on account of being an older series, but it digs fairly deep into the cast right away. The first episode alone, I'd call a masterpiece, even. It packs into a tight 24 minutes the basics of the setting, the personalities of the characters, and the story of how the team is formed in the first place. It also has some great atmosphere in places, such as Zabitan's initial nighttime entrance. Oh, and I'll say right now: forgive me if I use any romanizations or translations for names and terminology that differ from somewhere else. Obscure show with no subs = not a lot of consensus, unfortunately.

The initial batch of episodes after the premiere is great in its own right. Again, a lot of hero shows from this era would be perfectly happy to immediately settle into a routine of the protagonists stopping whatever terrorist plot du jour the bad guys cooked up that week, with nothing beyond that central thread, and maybe a kid being picked on by bullies somewhere, if you're lucky, to create tension. Akumaizer 3 knows how to mix things up, though. Actually, I think they only pump the bullied kid well like two times in the entire 38 episodes. The rest of the time, you get a diverse array of plots with much more interesting hooks. What was Zabitan's mom like? Why is Gabura going soft on the monster? How much do the others trust Ibiru? Will a confrontation between one of the heroes and a monster they once called a friend end in tragedy, or redemption? Those are some great driving questions for an episode, and that last one in particular, one of the Akumaizers encountering someone they knew back from before the betrayed the Akuma Clan, is the kind of meaty drama you can only get precisely because of the series' great premise. They use it more than a few times, and it never gets old, because there are so many different kinds of characters that can be slotted into that role. Not every one of those plots turns out the same way, and as such, you can genuinely be on the edge of your seat wondering where things will end up.

https://i.imgur.com/uffhF91.jpg

The other thing majorly in Akumaizer 3's favor is right there in the title. The three main heroes have fantastic chemistry. They have exceedingly well-defined roles and personalities, and any scene with any combination of them is a joy because of that. It's three times the heroes, yet like thirty times the fun. How about we run through them real quick, huh?

Zabitan is the ultimate hero. A chivalrous knight whose unwavering dedication to justice is so great, he'd stop at nothing to protect the innocent, no matter the cost to himself. He oozes charisma, and as such it's no wonder he pulls the group together as its leader. Zabtian has impeccable manners, irreproachable courage, always sticks by his friends, and has great posture. That last one might seem like a minor point, but trust me, the guy's body language alone tells you everything you need to know.

Ibiru is a stern and principled warrior who hates nothing more than compromising his values. While he can be a bit of a buzzkill at times, he's also got an adventurous spirit and a soft spot for kids. He's also the only one of the three packing heat, and boy does he know how to use that machine gun. He doesn't scream heroism the way Zabitan does, but when push comes to shove, there's nobody you'd rather have watching your back.

Gabura is a both a self-admitted dolt, and a self-proclaimed friend to all children. He's the most good-natured of the trio, and easy to get along with, but he can be slow on the uptake. Beware of getting him angry though. His brutish raw power is a force to be reckoned with, so don't go messing with the people he cares about, which, as you can guess from the whole "friend to all children" thing, is a lot of people, unfortunately for the bad guys.

They're a lovable bunch, and the show works wonders at humanizing them, both through strong vocal performances, and the very neat application of comic-like visual cues. Ibiru and Zabitan both have faces that "emote", usually to communicate aggression in the fight scenes. This is straightforward enough for Ibiru, but it's quite impressive that something as abstract as the "eyebrows" on Zabitan's visor gets across what they're going for so clearly. All three heroes are also shown shedding tears at various points, further selling them as believable "people". This is the kind of stuff I watch tokusatsu for.

https://i.imgur.com/Xq80RMN.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZtTCid9.jpg

Of course, no great hero is complete without a great sidekick... but Akumaizer 3 has to settle for Ippei Shima. A reporter for the Touto Times who strikes up a friendship with Zabitan, Ippei wants to fancy himself as an ace journalist and stalwart companion, but he also knows he can't compete with guys as cool as Zabitan. He's a subpar sidekick, and a delightful character. Ippei is the show's main human character, and the way it derives humor from him not quite having that leading man potential makes for a great contrast to the real heroes. Instead of being an obnoxious bumbler, he has just barely enough courage and skill to occasionally hold his own against squads of mooks for a little bit, fumbling all the while. It's not that he has nothing to contribute, it's that what he can contribute is so minor, nobody would ever take notice. Rounding out the main recurring humans are Ippei's little kid brother Mitsuhiko, who has his own adorable shtick of constantly asking "Why?" in an endless loop the way actual inquisitive children do. This is a huge source of annoyance for the Touto Times' editor-in-chief, the stereotypical high-strung boss who is also willfully ignorant of the existence of the Akuma Clan. The obvious irony of him then running a newspaper naturally makes for good comedy.

There's also one more character, introduced around the second third of the series, who tends to hang around the Touto Times. He's symbolic of a shift in style the series starts to undergo. Let's talk about Kenji Nagumo. Kenji is the new reporter on the block. He's everything Ippei isn't. He's stylish. He's handsome. He's intelligent. He's popular with the ladies. He always keeps his cool.

Kenji is also Zabitan.

Yes, in spite of the central premise of the show, Zabitan has magic powers that, among other things, allow him to take on a human disguise for any reason at all, or even no reason. As soon as he's introduced, Kenji becomes a staple of the show for the remainder of its run, and I'm surprised how okay I ended up being with that. It feels blatantly like a cynical move made largely because every toku hero had to be doing some transforming if they wanted to fit in. The thing is, from Kenji's introduction on, the show also gets way more fun. Zabitan's magic powers introduce a fun trickster element to his character. He'll make his entrance into episodes trolling the villains while being invisible. He'll drive Ippei a little crazy with how him and Kenji never seem to be in the same place at the same time. It's a change that, while it perhaps waters down what makes Akumaizer 3 a unique series, nonetheless opens up a lot of windows for things that can happen in a given episode. Kenji's primary purpose is allow Zabitan to be at the Touto Times, giving him new material to work with, and keeping him in the loop about the latest monster attacks, giving episodes another option to create plot momentum beyond simply having the Akumaizers stumble across something while patrolling on their bikes.

As such, while the episodes following this change start to back away from the well done, character-focused drama, all these new elements combine with the lighter tone to create a show that's a lot less formulaic. Plot beats that used to be once an episode occurrences are no longer relied upon. An easy example of this is the Go-Busters style weak points each of the Akumaizers possess. Gabura needs lots of water to function, and starts leaking if you poke a hole in his body, Ibiru freezes whenever he sees his own reflection, and Zabitan, in another really cool effect, is caused great physical pain whenever a bad guy shows him the crest of the Akuma Clan. This is because he's been programmed with Akuma circuits that are meant to prevent him from even thinking about doing something good. Since Zabitan is unquestionably a good guy, this means whenever the villain of the week pulls this trick, he starts having spasms while his skull cracks open.

https://i.imgur.com/6LtGPEj.jpg

Now, thematically, the idea that the villains try to punish the hero for thoughtcrime, and violently coerce him into being "normal", that's wonderful. Perfectly fitting for the show its in. However, there's no denying how repetitive the implementation is. A monster pulls out a crest just before the heroes would gain the upper hand, and then somebody smashes it so Zabitan can go back to gaining the upper hand. It's a routine, and so is a lot of what happens in the early episodes. Someone who especially benefits from the less strict routine is Darunia, another member of the Akuma Clan, nominally associated with the bad guys at first, who has a huge crush on Zabitan (who's way too stoic and chaste to reciprocate, naturally), and as such regularly pops in to be used as a deus ex machina, using the Darunia Beam she can fire from her eyes to get one or more of the Akumaizers out of some hairy spot or another. Again, it's a routine, but right around the time Kenji shows up, she officially joins the Akumaizers, and mostly loses the ability to even use her beams at all. It gives her a lot more to do in a given episode, and forces the writers to stop using her as a plot device.

The show doesn't get worse, it gets weird. By the last third or so, the Akumaizers still spend plenty of time looking like this, heroic and awesome as ever:

https://i.imgur.com/r0MqgwF.jpg

It's just that instead of spending their time getting shot at by cops and crying about their inability to fit in, they just start totally owning how weird they are, messing about with their magical powers, winning the hearts of children, and generally spending a lot of time looking more like this:

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

Oh, yeah, and Gabura starts turning into an ostrich. It's a whole thing.

Another way Akumaizer 3 always keep things fresh is with the monsters of the week. The Akuma Clan have a very loose command structure. The usual commander guy for the show, Mezalord, is only occasionally directly dictating the actions of whatever weirdo is taking the spotlight that episode. Further fitting the show's themes, there's a strong sense of independence to the monsters. They're all technically working towards the usual goal of conquering Earth, but everyone has their own motivation, and some of them don't care about the big picture in the slightest. They might even simply be a misguided troublemaker, or a perfectly decent person roped into doing evil things against their will. Let's take a quick look at three of my favorites to get an idea of how great these guys are.

First up is my boy Hangyoler, who honestly isn't particularly remarkable. Think of him as the control sample, I guess. Just a no-nonsense evil fish guy with a cool design, a harpoon gun, and a plan to replace everyone's tap water with poison gas. This might all sound pretty scary, but you'll have a hard time thinking of him as threatening after seeing how he fares in combat. Fleeing at the drop of a hat, and resorting to the shameful "pretend to surrender" ploy aren't moves that win you many cool points.

https://i.imgur.com/WlVsp51.jpg

Next is Kingler, a monster who possesses, and I quote the episode preview here, "the brains of 99 scientists, and the muscles of 99 athletes". That's so amazing I don't know why I'm bothering trying to sell you on this show in such detail when I could've cut to the chase and told you this guy was in it. Now, you'd think a monster with a premise like that is overarching villain material easy, right? The thing is, Kingler was actually supposed to have the brains and muscles of 100 people each, but because he's, by his own admission, impatient, he runs out to beat the Akumaziers early and gets his crap kicked in by the end of the episode. A darn shame, that. I guess none of those 99 brains knew much about self-control.

https://i.imgur.com/vs3n2Bo.jpg

Rounding out the trio is the monster quite possibly tied for most amazing concept in the show, Dracuda. You can probably guess from the name that his shtick is being a classic vampire. He's a gentleman at heart, who despises violence and murder, and would be quite pleased if you'd kindly leave him in peace, so he can drink the blood of children, like a civilized person.

https://i.imgur.com/0y2r0js.jpg

Don't worry! Right after this screenshot, he remembers it's rude not to use a straw instead!

Alright, I think I've rambled enough for a while. I don't have much a grand concluding statement for this one. Akumaizer 3 is just an all around cool show that deserves way more attention than it gets, and I hope I've done my part to rectify that. It was an extremely fun experience, and while, to my knowledge, it still isn't subtitled in full, I believe KIT Subs did do the first ten or so episodes at some point. You won't get to see Kingler, but if I've made you the least bit curious, I don't think you'll regret giving at least that first episode a shot.

Tomica Hero: Rescue Force

Rewatching this and haven't seen it in... almost ten years or so? Man, it took me two tries to watch this show cause the first time I saw it, I thought it was just the worst; childish, corny, dumb and so ORANGE. But the second time through, I got to the point where they introduced the mech and liked it after that.
Now? It's childish, corny, dumb and wonderfully ORANGE. And I love it all. It's so good! I love their suits, they're so different from what I'm used to from Super Sentai and they feel actually justified with the theme. And the orange is gorgeous, tokusatsu needs to work more with orange as a color. And the Final Rescue sequences are awesome and the CGI is surprisingly good considering it's from 2009(?) and some tokusatsu series still can't get decent CGI.

It's funny how everything that made me hate this show is now a massive plus in my book.

Finally began watching Daimajin Kanon.

I love that show, it’s basically the spiritual sequel to Kamen Rider Hibiki.

Please inform me immediately if this show ever gets fully subbed. It sounds awesome!

Been watching the movie Rise! Dharuriser!

It's fun. Kind of reminds me of KR Amazons in the scenery and filmography, but a lot more heartfelt and wholesome.

Okay, what exactly am I looking at here? I could tell his buddy is a dog, but what exactly is this supposed to be?
https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/91/f3/8aqewm4g_t.jpg

If I remember correctly he’s a crayfish. There’s an episode that covers the origin stories of all the major onbake later on in the series.

Going back to this reply, it does feel like I'm watching a Rider series. Taihei himself looks like a Rider. I was expecting something like Ultraman with Daimajin fighting giant monsters in each episode, but so far 9 episodes in and Daimajin hasn't awakened yet.

Oh s***, that's right, Daimajin Kanon exists! 26 episodes? Between Die starting a Hibiki thread sometime in the near future and my newfound appreciation for Shigenori Takatera after rewatching Kuuga, it might actually be time for me to get around to it!

Man, I don't really keep up with that sort of thing, but yeah, I'd totally be right there to tell everyone the good news if the fabled day ever comes along where we can all enjoy how amazingly terrible Kingler is together. :lol

It’s a really good show and a surprisingly on-point allegory for what happened to Hibiki and its creators.

I forgot about Daimajin Kanon, I kind of gave up after the first episode at the time though, I mean some of those non-henshin hero toku I don't mind, like I quite liked Gouraigan, the Yoshihiko shows are funny what I've seen of them and Keitai Sousakan 7 looked interesting but others just don't seem to click with me for some reason. I might give D.K. another try one day though now that I think about it! Was it really 10 years ago now though?!

Okay, Daimajin Kanon. Went in expecting Daimajin, ended more like a Rider series if the main character was not a Rider.

It's a slow burner, plot threads went nowhere, Daimajin was barely a thing, the ending was not satisfactory, and please God, stop the singing!

Now someone sees why I appreciate Hibiki’s second half.

Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon

Anime episodes first before the live episodes as there are 239.

I actually prefer the toku version, like with Spiderman! I did get quite far with the original Sailor Moon anime though, plus I love some of the soundtrack for the first year and I knew straight away it was a case of preferring the sub to the dub but I'm still stuck somewhere in ''Stars'' and the Crystal anime I haven't even seen an episode of!

Uh, okay, so I'm literally not past the opening of the first episode of Daimajin Kanon yet, because I saw in the credits the music is by Toshihiko Sahashi and the theme song even had its lyrics written by Shouko Fujibayashi. Was Takatera just, like, an extremely pleasant person to work with or something? Because these people have been following him around since at least Gingaman in 1998, and here they are working with him again on this show made over a decade after that isn't even a Toei production. It's nuts to me he inspired this level of loyalty in his crews. Like he seriously just made a few phone calls and rounded up the usual suspects to go make this show, didn't he? Probably wasn't even a hassle for him.

I think so, yeah. He got a lot of past collaborators on the show, including a surprise guest star in the final episode.

Also, I am so happy that more people are watching this now.

It's a good show so far! I'm only a few episodes in right now, but it's really obvious this was a story somebody wanted to tell. It was clearly made with a ton of passion behind it.

Finished pounding my way through Daimajin Kanon. I'm glad I finally gave this show a chance after knowing about it for so long, and I'm also glad I took so long to give it that chance. It's a series I honestly don't think I would've really appreciated even a few years ago. Which feels strange to think about, because I also don't look at myself a lot and consciously think that I've changed all that much. But I guess we all do, right? It's a part of life, and it's what Daimajin Kanon is about above all else.

Of course, it's about a great many things. It's a series about having a piece of art that means a lot to you stolen away and bastardized into something you don't recognize – and it's produced by someone who maybe knows that feeling particularly well – but it's far from just being the Hibiki retool pity party. That's just the launching pad for a story that explores the struggle of a young woman trying to reconcile her own kind nature with the cruel indifference displayed by the world around her. It's an emotionally intimate tale that touches on that clash between doubt and faith largely by just showing us people, and all their facets. The plots of the episodes themselves can revolve around any number of things – Naruhisa Arakawa even found some room in there to further explore his vendetta against the education system at one point – but it always comes back to watching those connections play out, and how they affect Kanon's (quite radical) growth over the course of the series.

What it seems to revolve a lot less around, at a glance, is the supernatural struggle of the Onbake and their goofy hats against the wraiths known as the Ipadada. If you're familiar with the two Rider shows Shigenori Takatera was producer on, that shouldn't be too shocking. Daimajin Kanon is much more interested in its grounded drama than dazzling you with amazing action every episode. Make no mistake though, when the fights are there, they can be really well done, and all the weirdness is a crucial part of the story. It's not that the show doesn't value its fantasy elements — it just wants to leverage them to make a point.

I've written all these words about what Daimajin Kanon "is", but I don't think I can put it any more succinctly than the show's own opening narration does. It's a 21st century fable. A story that uses its extraordinary events and characters to parallel reality in an effort to impart something to whoever it's being told to. While the connection between the two sides of the show seems rather tenuous at first, it becomes obvious after a point how Kanon's own life relates thematically to the battles of spirits born from acts of compassion and kindness seeking to awaken their greatest warrior, who fell into a long slumber after having his faith in humanity shattered.

I don't think Daimajin Kanon is necessarily a show for everyone, but it's a work that feels utterly sincere in the things it's saying, made with care and precision to get those points across as best as possible. I'm not sure if it's the kind of story that's going to really stick with me on a personal level, but I absolutely saw something of myself in there, and I'd imagine most people would too. It was an extremely interesting, very human show I'm happy to say I gave the time of day to. It absolutely comes recommended to anyone who thinks it sounds interesting.

Oh, and Kanon's big brother certainly turned out to be a pretty cool guy, huh? ;)

...Now I just gotta finally give Ultraman Max the time of day too, and Switchblade can be really happy

Yeah, I can agree with that. It can be a really rough show since there's such a heavy air of depression in the early episodes. It's also definitely not the kaiju slugfest that one might guess based on the property. It's weird, but it has a lot of heart once you get past the weirdness.

;)

Don't watch it to make me happy, watch it because it's great.

It definitely does sound like an interesting show, especially since I had never heard about it until recently. I'll be sure to check it out after a rewatch of Hibiki(whenever that is).

Found complete Zone Fighter fansubs. That's what I'm going to watch this week.