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TokuNation
(https://www.tokunation.com/forums/index.php)
- Tokusatsu Show Discussion
(https://www.tokunation.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=20)
- - What are you watching (Sentai edition)
(https://www.tokunation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119)
I love how bursting with energy you always are when you talk about stuff you like like this; and Gekiranger really seems to have brought it out in full force! Absolutely glowing recommendation; and an exciting one for a season I just keep putting off yet am ever excited for
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The day I saw the suits for the first time I fell in love right away. I couldn't BELIEVE that they would do such a straight-up tribute to Bruce Lee's yellow tracksuit like that. The suit design is just great.
But what really sells Gekiranger for me is that the whole show is such a nice ode to kung fu movies. If the Wu Tang Clan were Gen-Z rappers I bet they would sample this show for years. :lolol The kung fu tribute is even more intense from a Japanese standpoint especially when it comes to the voice actors of the 7 masters of Gekijyuken. Because each of them in Japan are the go-to people when Japan dubs kung fu movies of the kung fu actors they are parodying. For instance, the three voice actors who voice Elehan Kimpo, Sharky Chen, and Pyon Pyou, are the people they hire mostly to dub Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, and Yuen Biao. These three are Yuu Mizushima who played Aigaron in Kyoryuger, Hiroya Ishimaru who played Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime for the Japanese dub of G1 transformers, and Takeshi Kusao who we mostly know as Trunks from Dragon Ball and Smoky from Magiranger. So imagine the glee that Japanese kung fu fans and otakus would have. BTW Shuichi Ikeda who was Sandaru in Hurricanger and Char in Gundam is the go-to person for Jet Li and that is why he is voicing Bat Li. :lolol I especially love the Five Venoms tribute that they did. The fact that they paid tribute to that movie already gives them kung fu street cred. This show is also memorable for giving us our first violet ranger in the form of Gou Fukami/Geki Violet. And I love how he was the muay thai guy. His debut fight was really fun complete with his personal theme song. One missed opportunity for him is that I think GekiWolfTouja should have just been a purple variant of GekiTouja but tht's just me. Ken Hisatsu/Geki Chopper was also fun for me in that he was this goofball with skills and I loved his tracksuit. I also love how they mixed a rhinoceros and karate together and gave us this crisp white suit with black and orange details. Really nice suit as well. Although Saidaioh is just hilariously bad as a toy. :lolol Now Black Lion Lio and Mele. The man is awesome. I love his whole journey and his suit is just gorgeous. If I had to choose between Lio and Kuuga Ultimate for best black and gold suit Lio wins. Mele's undying adoration for Mele and Bae annoying her(voiced by Akira freakin Ishida of Kiva, Gintama, Gundam SEED, and Evangelion fame) is just simply put cute. :lolol Yuka Hirata as Mele and Hirofumi Araki as Lio was perfect. Last but certainly not least, the triangle, the trifecta, the core three. I love Jan for his wild nature complete with his onomatopoeias and how he is basically sentai's answer to Kamen Rider Amazon only difference being that he is in a red tiger tracksuit and fights with nunchucks. :lolol I love Retsu in that he is an artist first and kung fu master second, and that fight with Moriya of the five venoms is my favorite. Ran is definitely the heart of the team and also the non-red leader they need. Most memorable episode for me involving Ran is the skateboard episode. All in all, if you have not seen Gekiranger, please watch it. Kiramager fans especially since we all know who is sponsoring Sena/Kiramai Green. It will be nice supplementary material for y'all. Oh, and the great Kenji Ohba of Gavan, Battle Fever J, and Denziman fame makes an appearance somewhere along the way. Not gonna say what but keep your eyes open. And for Decade fans, kid Wataru is the child actor who plays Jan during flashbacks and the one episode where Jan/Geki Red becomes a kid. |
Gekiranger is yet another Sentai season I ultimately come to love and has since been among my top favorites. I honestly thought Jan is fine for the most part even at the very start of the series and has indeed become very endearing to me both as a character and the red ranger of this series and is even among my top five favorite red rangers of the franchise. I also loved Ran and Retsu who are among my favorite yellow and blue rangers of the franchise and Rio is easily one of the best villains of Super Sentai full stop and is my second favorite overall with the first being Enter from Go-Busters.
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Interesting how Jungle Fury took a show about self-improvement and made it about insecurities specifically. Pretty smart choice, I think.
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Gekiranger was always one of the series I wish got a Super Robot Chogokin for the mecha. The dynamic posability would've been such a great fit.
Also Super Gekired was one of my first sentai vinyl figures ever so I have fond memories of Gekiranger. |
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Aba (Episode 22)
Bouken (Episode 32) Aba is Post Shout Factory. Finishing Bouken. Growl Ranger and Hurri are now the only 2 Jetix shows I need to finish. |
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I have to stop before I go on forever again, but it's crazy to think how many details in this show have slipped my mind over the years. I feel like if I went back to rewatch it, and actually gave myself room to digest each episode, I'd somehow like it even more than I already do, and I don't even know how that would be possible. (Also thank you.) :) Quote:
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I saw a lot of the Jetix era of the series. Jungle Fury and RPM are my faves honestly. Geki was one of the first series I streamed actually. I was watching Go On because at the time Jungle Fury was rumored to be the last one.
After Aba and Bouken are finished I can catch up the newer series. |
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(It's also all free to watch on YouTube now so ya know) |
What happened for me was Shout had released up to Hurri and I got Aba - Kira Mage VIA Malaysian sets so I could stay current with the show. The sets are so I can catch up without wi fi. Zen Kai will be April 2022 for me.
Bouken and Geki are Brazil sets BTW. |
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Bouken 32
The Rangers are starting to hunt down the Lumi relics and are going at it with the Questers. |
Androzani's Tsukai Detour
Will be continued right now with Samurai Sentai Shinkenger vs Go-Onger: GinmakuBANG https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVTKJX...jpg&name=small “Five samurai revived in the modern age. Masters of various martial arts, they use the hereditary power of words to fight. The samurai heroes authorised by Providence are here. Knock down the evil Gedoushuu! The five samurai destined to protect the word. Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, going forth!” Shinkenger: Takeru Shiba/Shinken Red: A young man descended from feudal lords, referred to by his vassals and servants as Lord. He was raised since childhood by Hikoma Kusakabe to act the role of the 18th head of the Shiba line after his father gave him the Shishi Origami. His upbringing made him create a facade to look very arrogant and proud to others, claiming none can match his strength and greatness while keeping his cool in any situation. Though he was reluctant to have the vassals fight by his side, as he wanted no one else to bear the burden, he allowed their involvement after giving them the choice to turn back or become Shinkengers out of want rather than need, as long they are willing to finish their mission to the last detail. While at times it may not seem like it, Takeru cares a lot about his vassals and when Genta arrives, he becomes more open with them. However, in a fight against Juzo, it is revealed that Takeru started to value his life more which, in Juzo's words, makes him weaker and makes Takeru doubt himself. Ryuonsuke Ikenami/Shinken Blue: A very devoted young man who dreamed of becoming a kabuki actor instead of a vassal for the Shiba House like his ancestors before him. Since childhood, Ryunosuke was raised by his father to be a vassal to the Shiba clan. Though a loner, he is completely dedicated to his role as Takeru's vassal even scheduling out his day with intense training. Should he make a mistake in front of his lord, Ryunosuke will discipline himself severely; he once stood under a public fountain for doubting Takeru. Proving he had great knowledge of the Origami even before learning how to properly use them (including creating a combination prior to learning the proper formation of Shinken-Oh from Takeru), Ryunosuke became the engineer behind many of the Samurai Combinations, figuring out how to combine the Origami into Tenkuu Shinken-Oh and later into Samurai-Haoh. Out of all of the vassals, he is most at odds with Genta, who he once called a "wannabe" samurai. Out of all the vassals, Ryunosuke is probably the closest in terms of skill to Takeru, arguably equal to him sometimes. As such, Ryunosuke is typically the one to lead the other vassals in Takeru's absence. Mako Shiraishi/Shinken Pink: As a child, Mako was seemingly abandoned by her mother and father, shortly after the battle against. She was left in the care of her grandmother where she remained and trained to become a Samurai. When Dokoku and the Ayakashi emerged from the Sanzu River with the intention to flood the earth, Mako and the other four Shinkengers are called to the side of the eighteenth head of the Shiba House, Takeru. Unlike Ryunosuke and Kotoha, both she and Chiaki were light on their Samurai training, but Mako proved to be slightly more diligent in her studies as opposed to Chiaki, the weakest of the five. While she did not share Ryunosuke's passion to serve Takeru without question, she did not outright dismiss him and kept her opinion of Takeru neutral. Mako is a sweet and kindhearted young woman who fights for her ideals. She loves children and works at a kindergarten, perhaps to spare them of the stigma of loneliness created by the momentary absence of their parents. When faced with "broken" or "sad" individuals, she wishes immediately to help them through their pain; as an example, she dislikes vulnerable men as she unable to resist the desire to "fix" them. However, once their problems are solved, she looks down on their sentimental behavior as annoying. For all of Mako's skills, she is a terrible cook; one of her dishes rendered Takeru unconscious and, save for Kotoha, who looks up to her, the entire Shiba household becomes panicked whenever she decides to do the cooking. Once she discovers their opinion of her cooking, Mako takes it upon herself sample her own cooking and admits she has room for improvement. When Kotoha injured by Dayuu, Mako decided to give up on cooking, believing it made her careless of their situation with the Gedoshu. Jii, however, refused to allow her give up, stating that she would become "inflexible" without it to differentiate herself. Chiaki Tani/Shinken Green: Unlike Ryunosuke, Chiaki initially has no interest in being Takeru’s vassal. He is weaker than the others and seen as immature and a rebel because he abandoned his training early and would rather hang out at the local game center than restart his training. He is a big Tekken fan as he often plays Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion. Regardless of his short temper, he is cheerful and honest. In battle, Chiaki often uses tricks to gain the upper hand against Gedoshu. As Chiaki and Kotoha are the youngest members of the Shinkengers, they share a strong bond; several episodes focus on their friendship. Kotoha Hanaori/Shinken Yellow: A pure-hearted girl who worked in a bamboo shop. Her sister, Mitsuba Hanaori, was originally intended to become Shinken Yellow, but when she became ill, Kotoha had to replace her. Kotoha, obedient and skilled at martial arts, commands the element of earth as Shinken Yellow. Yet, for all her skill, Kotoha is extremely hard on herself, primarily because she believes that she is stupid and an unfit replacement for Mitsuba. The other Shinkengers try to dissuade her from believing so, though she refuses to believe it. Her acknowledgement of her faults were strong enough that she was immune to the power of an Ayakashi who used the internal negative feelings against themselves, with Kotoha's will so strong due to her self-loathing that she was unaffected by its power. Kotoha has great respect for all the members of the group, especially Mako and Takeru. Kotoha admires Mako as a female, stating that she is pretty, intelligent and can cook (apparently oblivious to the fact that Mako is a terrible cook). Kotoha looks up to Takeru and always shows respect to him. Genta Umemori/Shinken Gold: A childhood friend of Takeru, who came and went from the Shiba Residence when they were younger. Using the Ika Origami Disc he was given by Takeru during that time, Genta created his own equipment to become a Shinkenger like Takeru. Genta has a rather unusual personality. He is always happy no matter what, he constantly interrupts the other Shinkengers with his non-stop talking, and he makes up strange after-battle rituals. Allies: Hikoma Kusakabe: One of Takeru's retainers and his guardian after his father's death. He also serves as the Shinkengers' mentor; it is he who gathered the four vassals when the Gedoshu revived. The Shinkengers affectionately call him "Jii" (ジイ, translated as "old man"). Every year, he gets one day off, which he uses to visit his wife's grave and visit his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. His relationship with Takeru and his vassals runs deep; he takes great care to ensure that they are safe and that they are ready to fight, and he supplies them with information and weaponry. Though Genta frequently annoys him, Hikoma acknowledges the younger man's skill with Mojikara and eventually does accept and connect with him. DaiGoyo: A lantern brought to life through Genta?s mojikara, during a period where he became afraid of sushi (which is a problem, since his Sushi Changer is? well, it should be obvious), but still wanted to fight. He functions as his creator?s assistant and secondary mecha. Kuroko: The Shiba clan's servants who, like their namesakes in Japanese theatre, "set up" the scenery during the Shinkengers' transformation. At the Shiba Mansion, they clean, cook (or help Mako with her 'cooking') and hold up the map showing the location of a Gedoshu attack. The reason why they contribute to the Shinkengers' fights is because this is the only way they can contribute due to their inability to produce mojikara. Hey also do odd jobs around the city. Gedoushuu (外道衆 Gedōshū, literally "Heretical Path Masses" or more simply known as "Heretic Party"): A legion of monsters that have been opposed for centuries by the Shinkenger. The Gedoushuu are malevolent spirits who arise as the result of sin-tainted souls that enter into the Sanzu River within the land of the dead, dependent on its waters for survival, as well as cursed to be in a state between life and death until they are able to let go of the attachment that damned them in the first place. They are only able to stay in the human world for a few minutes because they then begin to dry up, being forced to return to the River to replenish their water. Able to enter the living world through cracks and narrow gaps, the Gedoushuu, particularly those serving Doukuku set up a plan to terrorize humans in any way possible so that the river overflows to point of flooding into the mortal realm in order for them to invade in full fury. Doukuku Chimatsuri (血祭 ドウコク lit. ?Bloodbath Lamentation?): The Gedoushuu?s leader who possesses the power to seal them away. His other powers include mutation, levitation, hypnotism of Nanashi, tentacle summoning, high speeds, a power roar, a wind attack, energy blasts from his hands, lightning attacks, and a powerful barrage of devastating purple fire blasts. He is easily angered and his comrades often suffer because of its intensity. The only things that can calm his volcanic temper are sake (rice wine) and whenever Dayu plays her shamisen. During the battle with the previous Shinkenger, Doukuku was hit with a sealing character by the previous Shinken Red, tearing his body apart at the cost of said Red?s life. In the present, though his body has reassembled itself, he is unwilling to directly attack the human world, instead choosing to wait for the Sanzu River to overflow. Hone no Shitari (骨のしたり, ?Triumph of Bones?): the Gedoushuu’s strategist who assists Doukuku with his plan. He is also carrying out experiments on humans, in particular to find out the sealing character so he can counter it. Dayuu Usukawa (薄皮 太夫 lit. "Thin-skinned Courtesan"): Doukuku?s right hand and the one person he gives a crap about, provided she remains obedient. In life, she was Usuyuki (薄雪, Usuyuki lit. Light Snowfall), a woman who obsessed over Shinza, a man who never loved her. However, when scorned that he loved another woman instead of her, Usuyuki incinerated him and those at an engagement party in a suicidal crime of passion. But once witnessing that Shinza would still love another, Usuyuki's emotions corrupted her soul and turned her into Dayuu, bonding Shinza's soul into a shamisen that she carries with her, creating eerie and unsettling songs that become a means to soothe Dokoku's rage. However, she has trouble getting along with the Ayakashi because of her life as a human, which she makes attempts to reclaim. Following Doukuku destroying her shamisen in a fit of rage, Dayuu has broken away from him, teaming up with the enigmatic Akumaro in exchange for its repair. Juzo Fuwa (腑破十臓 lit ?disembowelling ten organs?): An Ayakashi-human hybrid, a Gedonin, who was once a swordsman, that broke his oath and begun killing needlessly. He became a Gedonin to survive his fatal illness and to continue killing, as his human half removes the risk of drying out prematurely that the Ayakashi suffer from. However, unlike other Gedonin who die out in a few years, Juzo endured over the centuries and thus is condemned with an insatiable urge to find an ideal opponent, a fellow samurai who strays from the teachings of bushidō, to clash blades with. He found his seemingly-ultimate opponent in Takeru, after witnessing his sword fighting as Shinken Red. This obsession with fighting Takeru, combined with his belief that the best strategy is to directly attack rather than patiently wait, led Dokoku to seal Juzo's Gedoushuu powers, leaving him for dead in the Sanzu River. Although he barely survived with Dayu's aid, he continued to defy Dokoku by making sure that Takeru is at his strongest for their next fight, even curing him of Shitari's poisoning. After a long battle in which he managed to severely wound Shinken Red, Juzo was defeated and falls off the cliff into the ocean below. However, Juzo survived, with his sword Uramasa's (裏正 "Injustice") blade shattered. He is now also working for Akumaro in order to see it repaired, making do with the Bantō Dokuhōmatsu (蛮刀毒泡沫 Barbarian Sword Poisonous Bubbles) as his temporary weapon. Akumaro Sujigarano (筋殻 アクマロ "sinewy husked evil one"): A powerful Gedoushuu who was awakened during Doukuku?s power increase during the summer months. He is able to create monsters called Kirigami by performing actual kirigami, as well as having a specific army of Ayakashi loyal only to him. Although claiming to assist Dokoku's on his own means of conquest, Akumaro secretly held his own dark desires he kept hidden from the general. In the midst of the battles with the Shinkenger, he specifically started to target several specific "points" in Japan where his Ayakashi would not merely create fear but collect it at that particular location where it would collect in the ground. On occasion, he personally enacts his own methods, sending a Kirigami when foiled. At the same time, he began to collect notable artifacts, including Dayu Usukawa's shamisen and Juzo Fuwa's sword Uramasa, claiming to Dokoku that he would repair them due to their damage but ultimately holding on to them for his own plans. This would force both of them to join forces with him in order to get what they want back. What do I think of Shinkenger? I?ll be frank. The show is alright at best, but what really lets it down is the rather dull surprise performances from both the main cast (Ryuonosuke and Genta notwithstanding) and the voice actors (Doukuku notwithstanding) and the episodes where Akumaro is part of the show, as they add nothing to the plot or lore, don?t develop any of the characters, have a very uninteresting arc villain and serve no purpose other than to shoehorn in more toys, which could have been done far more organically than? what we got. All of these problems bring me onto the start of the credits for this, with the one at the heart of them: producer Takaki Utsunomiya. He?d later go on to produce Gokaiger, KR Wizard, ToQger, Zyuohger and Lupinranger vs Patranger and all of them suffer from the same problems: not giving the heroes any real challenge, failing to properly build the world his shows take place in, introducing new villains who did NOT need to be introduced (Akumaro, Basco, Marchioness Morc and Bangray stick out), focusing on filler and spectacle to a much greater degree than other producers, not establishing proper conflicts between the heroes and villains and giving anticlimactic and unsatisfactory ends to villain?s plots (Barizorg, Medusa and Naria stick out here). Now that I?ve done bitching about how much I don?t like this guy, I?ll just say that our writer this time is Kobayashi, our director is Shojiro Nakazawa and get on with the review. We open with a recap of Go-Onger?s ending, wherein they stopped Gaiark’s invasion of Human World by defeating their Prime Minister Yogosmacritein. Now, we cut to the present, where they face Gaiark?s chief of pollution, Bacchiido, in Gunman World (another of the 11 Braneworlds). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVP2eX...jpg&name=small The 7 have challenged Bacchiido to a western showdown with Engine-Oh G9 to stop him from reaching Human World. After taking a few paces, the robot turns around and shoots its enemy? only for the pilots to be shocked when Bacchiido doesn’t fall, buts shoots them with guns built into his chest. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVP2cX...jpg&name=small Bacchiido then reveals that he had a giant sized 100 yen coin (where the heck did he get that) placed at the point where the bullet would hit him (man, he took a big risk there. What if they?d aimed for the head?) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVP20W...jpg&name=small He then proceeds to banish the Engines and Go-Ongers to different worlds, so that they won?t interfere with his plans. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVTJmW...jpg&name=small Back in Human World, the Shinkengers arrive on the scene of an attack? only to find that their opponents aren?t Gedoushuu? probably because they're using lasers. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVTLBW...jpg&name=small After transforming and finding themselves struggling, a certain stranger shows up to help out. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVTeiX...jpg&name=small He tells the Shinkengers matter-of-factly that their swords are ineffective against the Ugutz, by proceeding to single-handedly defeat the entire group of them using his Mantan Gun with the Kishamoth Soul (that?s why he?s a badass). With the battle over, Takeru asks the newcomer who he is. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVWiZX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVWiVX...jpg&name=small As tensions between the two seem thick, Sosuke gets annoyed at Takeru?s aloofness, before BOMPER charges onto the scene to knock him down. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVWi6X...jpg&name=small As the two are escorted back to the Shiba Castle, and we get a long lingering shot of the moon, cut to Doukuku?s boat, where Bacchiido shows up (how did he find a way there? Damn if I know). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVWjUX...jpg&name=small As Doukuku grants him an audience, he states his name (which Shitari mishears as Batch) and states his plan to unite all worlds under Gaiark World. Back at the mansion, Ryuonosuke explains the same thing to Jii. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVYD3X...jpg&name=small After Chiaki corrects the above error, Sosuke asks why Takeru has a higher chair than the others? an answer he quickly gets on his own. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVYD5X...jpg&name=small As Sosuke geeks out over them being real samurai, with Ryu trying to stop him from touching the antiques, Chiaki and Mako discuss Takeru?s expression (which is about the same as normal. But then again, if the producer was only paying me enough money to buy two bottles of water a day, I wouldn?t give it my all either). Then BOMPER enters to explain the situation. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVYEXW...jpg&name=small We now go live to our chief of pollution in the Sanzu River for more details. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVYE6X...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVZvAX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVZwXX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVZwXX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVZw1W...jpg&name=small BOMPER then explains that the other Go-Onger are trapped in the different dimensions, with Speedor currently searching for them. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVbE2W...jpg&name=small Despite all of this, Takeru refuses to help the Go-Ongers find and destroy the Bacchirium Plant, since he considers them amateurs (dude, he?s been at this longer than you have). Sosuke then gives his own retort (which is semi-correct) and leaves with BOMPER. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVbE1X...jpg&name=large Other than Ryu, the other Shinkengers take umbrage at Takeru’s attitude. Conversely, Doukuku approves Bachiido?s idea and gives him a servant in the form of Homurakogi (Who I will call ?Hom-dawg? from here on out). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVbGgW...jpg&name=small Bacchiido appreciates this, but he has a request for three more members. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhVbHBX...jpg&name=small As Akumaro (F*cking Akumaro) realises who he?s talking about, the ghosts of the Three Gaiark Ministers (you can tell they?re ghosts because they have white triangles on their heads) approach Genta?s sushi stand. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhv5QOX...jpg&name=small As the three decide they like the Sanzu River?s dirty environment too much to help Bacchiido now, BOMPER detects Bacchiido arriving from afar. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhv5QeW...jpg&name=small As Bacchiido demands the three of them work, they tell him, in complete and utter politeness, to bugger off. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhv5QOW...jpg&name=small As Genta rushes in and transforms to save his customers, the three make a run for it with the table and a bottle of beer. Sosuke then shows up to help fight off the Ugutz with his Road Saber. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhv-BkW...jpg&name=small As Genta and DaiGoyo realise this probably isn?t Takeru with a new helmet, the other Shinkengers show up too late to do anything about the Ugutz. But Bacchiido is still there to fight with a variety of different tools. Including a screwdriver, bolts and gears. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhv-DFW...jpg&name=small He then proceeds to try and banish the 7 to the different Braneworlds, Takeru and Sosuke are shielded by the others, who get sucked in. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwCGxW...jpg&name=small After blowing the two reds into the river, Bacchiido then gives Hom-dawg something to do. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwCJQX...jpg&name=small As BOMPER and Jii have the kuroko stage a rescue mission, the Nananshi Renjuu (ナナシ連中 Nameless Company) ambush the servants, while Hom-dawg kidnaps the masters. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwCJSX...jpg&name=small Elsewhere, having climbed out of the river, Takeru and Sosuke have come to an understanding of one another (I?m glad they resolved this before it could turn to violence). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwGIOW...jpg&name=small Back at the river, Bacchiido has the Ugutz scoop the water into a portal directed to the Bacchirium Plant. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwGILX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwGJIX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwGJMW...jpg&name=small Elsewhere, Speedor?s search takes him to Grass World, where he communicates with the other Engines, who are having less luck than him (why is this scene here? Seems pointless) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwJ8OW...jpg&name=small We then cut to Christmas World (hinted at in episodes 43-44 of Go-Onger), where Mako and Genta have ended up, to the latter?s confusion. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwJ8uW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwJ9KX...jpg&name=small But it turns out that they?re not the only ones there, as Miu and Hiroto discover them easily. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwJ9rX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwN8vX...jpg&name=small After that fight ends when the two Shinkengers reveal they?ve met Sosuke, we cut to Samurai World (last seen in Go-Onger?s movie, and last alluded to in episode 40 of the series), where Gunpei and Renn are on the run from the law. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwN81W...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwN-eX...jpg&name=small As Renn explains that Gunpei entered the womens? baths, they end up exposing themselves, but are quickly saved by Chiaki and Kotoha. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwN-gX...jpg&name=small But it?s unfortunately short lived, as DaiGoyo, making another joke on the different meanings of ?Goyo? (in this case, being what?s written on the lanterns the police in Samurai times carried), rats them out. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwQ9rX...jpg&name=small Meanwhile, Ryuonosuke has ended up in Junk World (last seen in Go-Onger episode 9)? and he?s all alone (the one thing an actor dreads. Not having an audience). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwQ-KX...jpg&name=small Back in Human World, Takeru and Sosuke return to the castle to find a message from Hom-dawg, challenging them to come to Mt. Aguruma, or they?ll kill the hostages. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwQ-zW...jpg&name=small Back in Christmas World, the Sutos reveal a way out. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwUQDW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwUQDX...jpg&name=small Unfortunately, it turns out you need a Santa ID in addition to saying ?Merry Christmas? as a greeting and the Santa Cops (no really, that?s a thing and it is the greatest concept ever) come running. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwUSKW...jpg&name=small In Samurai World, DaiGoyo apologises for being caught in the moment earlier and helps the party escape the jail. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwX7ZW...jpg&name=small And on Junk World, Ryuonosuke gets saved from the isolation by the arrival of Hant and Saki (It?s convenient that Bacchiido?s portal thing sent it?s victims to the same three dimensions both times). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwX7bW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwX_BX...jpg&name=small As the Sun rises on Human World, Sosuke does a coin toss to see if they?re lucky. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwX_CW...jpg&name=small They travel to the mountain, where Bacchiido demands their immediate surrender in exchange for releasing the hostages. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwbsmX...jpg&name=small Takeru then proceeds to fight anyway, with Sosuke moving in to stop him and the two fight each other (Guys, should you really be doing this? Wouldn?t fighting them together be more effective?) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwbulW...jpg&name=small The two then fight for a few minutes, before they both kill each other. (Though it should be noted that neither throwing your sword or holding your gun sideways when you fire are advisable ways to kill anyone). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwbuCW...jpg&name=small As the villains celebrate their easy victory, Jii and BOMPER take this opportunity to escape. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwg-XW...jpg&name=small And then it turns out that neither Sosuke nor Takeru died, since they gave something to each other to shield them(kind of like Bacchiido?s fake out trick earlier). Apparently, that was their plan, so that the bad guys would lower their guard. (Sure, but surely you still could?ve overpowered the Nanashi and Ugutz to free the hostages before dealing with the other two somehow) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwg_OW...jpg&name=small It?s at this point that the Engines appear to join the party. (And all of them have a weird echo effect in this movie only. I don?t know why) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwlqbW...jpg&name=small And they brought back everyone else, having successfully located them. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwlqcX...jpg&name=small As the Kuroko change everyone?s clothes (where did they get the Go-Onger outfits?), they transform. Shinkengers: Ippitsu Soujou! (With these strokes, we report to the Emperor) Genta: Ikkan Kenjou! (Presenting 1000 coins) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwlrJW...jpg&name=small Go-Onger/Go-On Wings: Change Soul, set! Let?s Go-On! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwlrDX...jpg&name=small Sosuke: Mach Full Force (zenkai), Go-On Red! Renn: Just Correct (seikai), Go-On Blue! Saki: Smile Blooming (mankai), Go-On Yellow! Hant: DokiDoki Delight (yukai), Go-On Green! Gunpei: Dash Dynamic (gokai), Go-On Black! Hiroto: Break the Limit (genkai), Go-On Gold! Miu: Sparkling World (sekai), Go-On Silver! Takeru: ShinkenRed, Shiba Takeru! Ryuonosuke: The same! Blue, Ikenami Ryuonosuke! Mako: The same! Pink, Shiraishi Mako! Chiaki: The same! Green, Tani Chiaki! Kotoha: The same! Yellow, Hanaori Kotoha! Genta: The same! Gold! Umemori Genta! Sosuke: Pressing down the road of justice! Takeru: The Samurai Sentai authorised by Providence! Shinkengers: Shinkenger! Go-Ongers: Engine Sentai Go-Onger! Go-On Wings: Go-On Wings! All: Going forth! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwnGXW...jpg&name=small A fight then begins against the two armies, set to Shinkenger?s theme. https://youtube.com/watch?v=LQjX2xa2...dlciBvcGVuaW5n Chan-Chan-Bara Chanbara!) (Chan-Bara-Bara Chanbara!) Samurai Squadron Shinkenger! Splendid! Time keeps on flowing The past becomes now The spirits of Japan start awakening Exhibiting seriousness It is dangerous if you downplay it If you show an opening, there will be no tomorrow One Stroke, Imperial Report, authorized by Divine Providence! In a storm of applause, the main stars appear! Cherry blossoms fall in a flash Now it's time to go, Samurai In order to protect those lives Cut, cut, dance, dance In the end, say "Banzai!" The power of the words will explode Let's bushido (let's bushido) Let's take this challenge (let's take this challenge) Samurai Squadron Shinkenger! Splendid! After we see the three parties that were focused on earlier fight off the grunts in a variety of improbably close locations, we cut back to the battle with the two Reds fighting Hom-dawg (which is the best part of this fight, if you ask me), with the Ugutz all turning into motorcycles for the Nanashi. Well, almost all of them. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwnIEX...jpg&name=small Takeru counters by giving Sosuke a car for the battle. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwnJMX...jpg&name=small But then the fight gets put on hold to cut to DaiGoyo noticing Akumaro?s party plotting something. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwo53X...jpg&name=small But before they can do anything, they get interrupted by a group of newcomers. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwo52W...jpg&name=small As Akumaro asks who they are, the pink politely and courteously (like Kamen Rider?s pre show cameos, they?re working from the draft scripts. She is nothing like that in the show proper) introduces them as Gosei Angels, before the red leads them in a longer intro. (Which is not as long as their actual roll call in the show) ?Gosei Red!? ?Gosei Pink!? ?Gosei Black!? ?Gosei Yellow!? ?Gosei Blue!? Red: Angels have a mission to protect this planet! All: Tensou (Invocation) Sentai Goseiger! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwo6eW...jpg&name=small A fight ensues, with Blue managing to shoot Akumaro with his bow gun, Black and Yellow double teaming Dayuu with an axe and a claw and Red and Pink combine a sword and a gun to defeat Juzo (its the latter that got him confused, I’ll reckon). They then pull up the face-like devices on their belts and insert a ?Headder Card? into them to invoke the powers of said cards. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwt9UW...jpg&name=small Device: Gotcha! Summon: Dragon Headder! Phoenix Headder! Snake Headder! Tiger Headder! Shark Header! The Goseigers receive bullets shaped like the heads of the animals that were announced. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwt9VX...jpg&name=small They then plug said bullets into their guns and drive the villains off with a shot. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwuA8X...jpg&name=small As the 5 decide to leave the rest to the Shinkengers and Go-Ongers (why? You are not busy doing something that means you can?t help), DaiGoyo gets noticed by Yellow and waved off with a request to keep their existence a secret. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwuA7X...jpg&name=small Back with the main fight, as the others finish up with the mooks, Sosuke loans his Mantan Gun to Takeru so the latter can knock Hom-dawg down a peg. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwxp5X...jpg&name=small With the vehicle battle over, Bacchiido joins the battle. Thus, Takeru assumes his Super Shinkenger form, while give the Hyper Shinkenger form to Sosuke (with the Hiden Disc turning into an Engine Soul) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhwx-qX...jpg&name=small After the two give Bacchiido a beat down, the heroes all combine their powers to defeat Hom-dawg (I?m only showing the end here for space reasons). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhw1BFW...jpg&name=small But this triggers his second life, with Bacchiido, admiring his dedication, growing to join him. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhw1BKX...jpg&name=small Kotoha: He entered his second life even though we haven?t defeated him yet! Gunpei: They can grow big of their own free will. As the two fly off to the Bacchirium Plant, Genta flashes back to the Kegalesia screen cap from earlier, realising that she was pointing at the moon. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhw1BpW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhw4RgW...jpg&name=small In space, Bacchiido and Hom-dawg find themselves pursued by the Engines and Origami (folding gods). https://youtube.com/watch?v=NVQu_80YWJ0 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhw4RhX...jpg&name=small After Bacchiido sacrifices Hom-dawg to save himself from the Mojikara Cannonball, the 23 mecha combine into their respective strongest formations: Engine-Oh G12 and Samurai Ha-Oh (supreme king). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhw4UQX...jpg&name=small But Bacchiido has an ultimate combination of his own, fusing with the Bacchirium Plant to become Bacchirium System: Final Form. (I?ll refer to him as BSFF from here on out) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhw8LPX...jpg&name=small As BSFF overpowers both of them, Ryuonosuke, Hant and Saki have the idea to split into 5 mecha formations (ShinkenOh, DaiKaiOh Higashi, Mogyuu Dai-Oh, Engine-Oh G9 and Kyoretsu-Oh) and pool their powers into the IkaTenkuu Buster to become Samurai Formation 23. So they do that. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhw8NnX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FBhw8g7X...jpg&name=small Channelling their power into the Samurai Engine Super DaiKai Hou, BSFF and his ambitions are vanquished, with Genta roping everyone into one of his ?claps of victory?. Takeru and Sosuke: That brings this chapter to a close. Sosuke: Da ze! We then end with the Shinkengers seeing the Go-Ongers off on their mission to vanquish more Gaiark remnants throughout the dimensions, while DaiGoyo is disappointed he didn?t get to talk more with the Engines. We then end on a Hybrid ED: Engine Rap Samurai Formation (such a hybrid that it has two lyricists: Shoko Fujibayashi (Shinkenger?s main lyricist) and Mike Sugiyama (Go-Onger?s main lyricist). https://youtube.com/watch?v=uHImAqwxUas Final thoughts: While I do think that Power Rangers did this plot slightly better, I won?t say this movie is without its own charms and similar to the Carranger vs Ohranger movie, I like how much of the previous season is prominent here, as opposed to simply being window dressing. |
Having finished Go Busters once I clear Ryu for the 2nd half that will possibly finish the Hasbro era.
To Q Zyu Oh Kyu Lupin Patrol will be the skipped series I have yet to finish. Also need to finish Kyo Nin To close out Saban Era II. |
After staying current with the shows for the last 10 years I decided I needed to start from the beginning. Trying to watch all series and movies.
Shows finished: Granger JAKQ Currently watching: Battle Fever J |
Watching the rest of Bouken.
I'm watching Ryu due to Dino Fury airing on Netflix. I'll finish Kyo soon as well as To Q. Bouken (Episode 33) Kyo (Episode 20) To Q (Episode 18) Nin (Episode 24) Zyu Oh (Episode 15) Kyu (Episode 13) Lu Pat (Episode 09) Ryu (Episode 28) Kira (Episode 09) |
Ah, Boukenger Tasks 33 and 4, one of the more important episodes of one of my first shows!
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~Fish's Zenkai Tour!~
GP-32 – Engine Sentai Go-Onger https://i.imgur.com/paRL9xD.png (There are kinda some people missing again, and kinda not. It's a little complicated, unlike most things in this show.) Dude, Go-Onger is just like, my happy place. This show and me go way back. Although that connection, as always, started mostly as a result of random chance. I think my very first experience watching the show was actually seeing the premiere on YouTube just for kicks, back in that window of time where it was pretty easy to just stumble upon full episodes of subbed toku shows on that site. I don't remember exactly when this would've been, or how much of an impact it really left on me, but I definitely must've liked it, because later, when I originally went to watch the Kamen Rider show that aired the same year, Kiva, I totally chickened out and abruptly decided "You know what? Yeah, I'm feeling it; Let's Go-On!" (This would've been around when Gaim was airing, for reference.) ...I'm really not kidding when I say I make these decisions on a whim, if you can't tell. For basically no reason at all, Go-Onger became one of the first Sentai I ever watched, and the very first that wasn't the newest show at the time. For those reasons alone, it would probably hold a special place in my heart, but it goes so far beyond that. This show played a huge part in making me truly love Super Sentai as a whole, and to this day, I think it defines a ton of what I associate with it as a franchise. That might seem strange to people familiar with the series, given what an oddball it is, but personally, I see Go-Onger as almost this sort of pure essence of hero tokusatsu. There's not an ounce of pretension to Go-Onger. If you asked me what the central message of the show is, I'd probably tell you it's simply that you're supposed to watch it with a smile. It's a show about cool and colorful allies of justice endlessly triumphing over evil with their sheer heroic determination and friendship, and it's about you as a viewer having your day brightened by seeing that. The raw upbeat energy of Go-Onger is truly something to behold. Here's just one example – the Super Sentai Series logo at the start of the opening. It's a small thing, but naturally you'll be seeing it a lot if you watch the show. Plenty of series put their own spin on it, and Go-Onger's idea was to have the characters suddenly climb up over the logo from behind, and leap off to enter their Engines so they can hurry up and press forward on the road of justice, all as that legendary theme tune starts kicking in. Oh man, and the theme song! This one is definitely getting its own paragraph! Apparently the single for this thing sold extraordinarily well, and seriously, it's not hard to see why. It's a total masterpiece, any way you slice it. The perfect mission statement for the show, and a darn catchy song in its own right. The infectiously cheerful tone of the instruments is matched only by the lyrics of one Mike Sugiyama, a man whose talent for wordplay can only rightly be described as divine. It takes but the first couple of lines to tell you exactly what you're in for with Go-Onger, as it blows through just about every possible "Go"-related pun back-to-back, even counting up to five in Japanese ("ichi ni san shi Go-Onger!") before immediately counting down in English ("three two one Let's Go! Onger~!"). It's silly, it's fun, it's direct, and, most importantly, it's way more precise in its construction than it has any right to be. No wait, it's definitely most important that it's fun, isn't it? That's certainly the point I want to stress with this one – the immense joy I feel whenever I'm watching Go-Onger, or even when I'm just listening to those sick tracks, or really anything that reminds me of all the stuff I utterly adore about this show. Like, even the commercial bumpers in this show are so delightful! You've got those ~adorable~ little SD animated versions of all the Engines racing, and a different one wins each episode and— Wait! I should probably explain what an Engine is already! Basically, Go-Onger's whole central conceit is the partnership between the human members of the team and their respective Engines, my absolute gold standard for sentient mecha in Sentai. This is definitely the show that solidified for me why I love this concept so much. What I think makes the Engines unique is the sheer emphasis the show puts on making them endearing above all else. They aren't cool sacred guardians or anything; they're pretty much cartoon characters, with quirky vocal tics and intentionally goofy designs that emphasize their extremely prominent faces, complete with big googly eyes. Plus, as I mentioned, they're also literally cartoons sometimes. The Engines were precisely calculated to be as cute as humanly possible, so the audience would get attached to them, and I'm telling you right now – it works! These guys are the best. I adore those strange designs; I adore how lively they all are; I adore how they truly feel like equals and friends to the Go-Ongers proper; and I adore what a perfect fantasy concept this whole thing is. Be honest, who wouldn't want to become best friends with a giant robot car/animal thing from a parallel world and then go fight supervillains trying to pollute the planet together? There's a reason the merch sold well this year! Oh yeah, and the Engines are also from a parallel world, by the way. Machine World, to be exact, which is where the premiere opens things up, as the Engines chase down those aforementioned polluting supervillains in an action-packed first minute, only for the bad guys to escape, and wind up in Human World. ...We just call it Earth, but I adore how Go-Onger's tone stays so consistent even with these super direct names. Go-Onger places value on keeping the pace as active as possible (the team does have a racing motif, after all), so a smart thing the first episode does to that end is skip over a lot of exposition. Not only does it start with action right out of the gate, it cuts to half a year later right after that initial scene, placing the focus not on how the Go-Ongers came to be, but simply who they are on a day-to-day basis. They're basically idiots! There's only so much space between all the action to give you an idea of the personalities for the team, but with guys this deliberately simple, there's only so much time you need to get a handle on them. All five of them are great here. There's always been something weirdly wholesome to me about this group. They just travel around in their motorhome all day, and they bicker a ton like any family, but you always know their hearts are in the right place. Sousuke's always being equal parts passionate and stupid, because as a Red, it's his job to represent the overall themes. Ren's cooking everyone's meals. Saki's staying positive. Hanto and Gunpei aren't even part of the team yet, but that doesn't stop the former from being adorable, and the latter from being so aggressively self-serious that it's also adorable. In Gunpei's case, I think it maybe runs the risk of a viewer who doesn't totally clue in to the vibe of the show not understanding that his gruff criticism of the team isn't meant to be taken any more seriously than anything else (Gunpei is also basically an idiot), but I am very fond of how the show uses Gunpei and Hanto becoming involved with the Go-Ongers to drive the story in the initial episodes. It's something different than the norm, and like with everyone else, I found myself really endeared to this unlikely duo and all the antics they get up to. Although, for how much the show actively plays up the silliness of the team, it places just as much emphasis on how legitimately cool the Go-Ongers are. This is the trick that I think makes me love this show as much as I do. (Or well, one of them, anyway.) The exaggerated tone of Go-Onger gives it this excuse to simultaneously portray its heroes with this downright old-school sense of grandeur, and that's the thing the show undercuts with comedy the least. For how quirky Sousuke, Ren, and Saki can all be, at the end of the day, they really are allies of justice, and that means they're also awesome. There are few shows out there that wholeheartedly embrace all the stereotypical trappings of toku heroes the way Go-Onger does, and you can see so much of that in the premiere alone. From the constant verbal announcements accompanying their actions, to the stock footage shot against a nondescript void, to the quasi-expository narration that accompanies the transformation during the climax, or even just to the excessive amount of explosions happening. Or heck, how about when the villains express confusion about the existence of the giant robot, making it clear that Engine-Oh is, exactly like its accompanying narration says, a power the Engines only gained by uniting their hearts with their human partners, which happens to be in the form of a giant robot, because in a show like this, that's the only form the ultimate symbol of teamwork could be. There's also this one little moment, at the end of the first fight scene in the episode, where after blasting the monster, everyone stylishly twirls their guns around before slamming them back in their holsters while extremely uplifting music plays to celebrate their victory. There's literally nothing comedic about it, and I feel that maybe makes it the best example of what I'm trying to get about Go-Onger's tone. I wouldn't call it a parody or anything, even though it has elements of that. It's much more like a tokusatsu show made directly from the perspective of the target audience. It's funny primarily because kids like to have fun. That's also the same reason the conflicts are so straightforward, and the reason why despite filling those conflicts with so many jokes, the storytelling still delivers on loads of genuinely exciting struggles and daring turnarounds while it's at it. I don't know. I feel like this post ended up being a huge mess for some reason (I should maybe mention explicitly that I think the premiere is of above average quality!), but that can happen when I try to talk about shows I like this much. Because it really is every little thing, you know? I can go on for a surprisingly long time just about how cool I think it is how this show handles the helmets. How the whole "'Met On!" callout during the transformation sequence is the perfect Go-Onger blend of stupid and cool; how it fits the racing theme nicely; how it puts me in this sort of Power Rangers comfort zone seeing the characters hanging around in-suit with their helmets off, which doesn't happen in Sentai nearly as often. Or, hey, on that note! Between that, the animal/vehicle hybrid mecha, the guy singing the theme song, and the composer of the background music, I could talk about how I almost see Go-Onger as this sort of sister series to a certain other "Go" I'm extremely fond of, even though they're polar opposites in so many ways. Although weirdly enough, their eventual PR counterparts ended up being tied together quite thoroughly, but that's yet another anecdote entirely, and I'd rather prioritize the BGM! Megumi Oohashi's score for Go-Onger helps immensely in setting the tone for the series, mixing lots of bouncy and fun tracks with many that are these sweeping, epic pieces (and frequently still bouncy), beautifully capturing the duality going on here. Utterly fantastic stuff. I guess this is about where I wrap things up for talking about Go-Onger, but man, I'm seriously not sure I'm even remotely getting across how formative this series ended up being for me. This is a show that really reminded me on the most fundamental level why I watch these kinds of shows to begin with, and that feeling has stuck with me ever since. I find Go-Onger to be endlessly charming, and revisiting it for the tour put the same smile on my face that it always does. |
Man, your passion about this stuff really is unmatched.
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I'm always glad to see someone talking about how much fun they're having with Sentai!
Go-Onger is one I haven't really touched yet, so I don't have much to comment on it (With all I've seen aside from random clips being the Gekiranger crossover). |
Go-Onger is definitely one of my all time greats as well.
And clearly it’s one among the fandom, as during the year Kiramager (a show that also had the talking mecha angle) was airing, when someone ran a poll to see which Red/Mecha partnership people thought was handled best, Sosuke/Speedor beat out the other three candidates (Ryouga/Tyranno, Koh/Tyramigo and Juru/Fire) by a landslide. |
Personally I don't see how people could prefer Go-Onger to RPM, although yes it could be worse and it did admittedly have some positives it did kind of strike me as a discount version of Carranger!
Plus if someone genuinely prefered Go-Onger to Kamen Rider Kiva or Power Rangers Jungle Fury I would find that difficult to stay calm! The only things I probably like less from that year are Tomica Hero Rescue Force (because it doesn't seem as good as the great Ryukendo) and possibly Keitai Sousakan 7 although I might actually finish that one day being as admittedly it might be alright, plus I stumbled across a Korean toku called something like Environmental Garrison Wildforce from 2008 that looks interesting lol. |
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Being my first Sentai, which I watched as it was airing, Go-Onger naturally has a lot of sentimental value for me. It's the last season that Takegami wrote and they really need to bring him back at some point. I feel like his work is underrated. This season was full of sincere heart and comedy and despite occasionally tackling some dark themes, it never felt heavy due to the upbeat attitude of the characters who would always bounce back from any despair with their determination and charisma. Anyway, I'm just here to report on another "Machine Power" Sentai that I just finished: Turboranger. Awesome start to the Heisei Era! It was a very dramatic show focused on youth, friendship and love with a lot of passionate characters on both the heroes' and villains' sides. I'll be starting Gingaman in a few months to finish the Heisei Era (except for that one), right after I deal with 2 other shows on my watch list. |
What people mistake as the weak point for Go-onger is actually what I think was the driving force(PUN INTENDED) behind its success. It wasn't childish, it was just full of energy. The characters all had distinct personalities, the suits were dope, the soundtrack was on point, everything was full of energy, it was the lighthearted and childish antics that helped differentiate from its sister show Kiva, and it was the one show that did cluster combination well with the G12 formation.
I loved the nod to liveman being the second Olympics palette team since Liveman as the Beijing Olympics were going on that year(Liveman aired the year the Seoul Olympics happened). The show was a perfect blend of Pixar's Cars, Abaranger, Carranger, Liveman, and Kakuranger for me and I think it is one of those shows that captures the essence of the franchise very well. AND YAGURUMA IS BACK AS A HERO FIGHTING EVIL IN A GOLDEN CHICKEN SUIT WHO PILOTS A SENTIENT GOLDEN CHICKEN APACHE CHOPPER.:lolol |
With Dino Fury Part 2 (21 - 40) running in the spring on Netflix I'm finishing the rest of Ryu.
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Does anyone remember Go-Onger being even that loved by the English-speaking internet actually in 2008? It's just I swear calling it a 'fan favourite' is a bit much when yeah the more serious shows did badly in toy sales but at least the fanbase of those shows are going to be a bit more dedicated! I understand why it had a lighter tone after Gekiranger, but I'm just not a fan of that cynical sort of manipulation (Carranger was actually good so it's a different story) and it wasn't that funny anyway! I wasn't the biggest fan of Go-Busters either, but I at least prefered it to Kyoryuger.
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Cynical Manipulation…? What…?
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I get that kids and toy sales will always be the most important audience factors to a degree, but it is still pretty cynical that, with Kyoryuger especially, Toei just went for a show that was light-hearted, but with little actual substance and just hoped that people would spend money anyway, which obviously still worked on a lot of people but again I remember when it was new there were still some people that saw through it!
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Update
Ryu (Episode 36) The Rangers have formed King Rex Knight mode. (Episode 35) 10 episodes left and the finale. Resuming Kira soon. |
Here we are, at the advent of another edition of…
Androzani’s Tsukai Detour And today, we’ll be covering the first VS movie I saw?€? Tensou Sentai Goseiger vs Shinkenger: Epic on Ginmaku In a dimension that is invisible to human eyes, called Gosei World, there are beings called Gosei Angels. They have super powers that humans do not have, called Gosei Power. Unknown to humans, they use their powers to protect the Earth and mankind from dangerous elements. To defend the Earth from the invading enemies, the Gosei Angels use a passage called the Tower of Heaven in order to travel between the surface and Gosei World. However, a group of enemy invaders, called Warstar invades the Earth and destroys the Tower of Heaven. With the Tower destroyed, the Gosei Angels are unable to reach the surface. With no Gosei Angels, the Earth will be destroyed by these invaders. However, 5 young and immature Gosei Angels, while in disguise, were visiting the human world before the invasion and rise up against the demons to protect the Earth. They are the heroes, the Goseigers! Goseigers: Alata/Gosei Red: The more mature of the two Skick Tribesmen on Earth. Alata has an innate ability to see through to the true essence of things. Unlike his Skick Tribe partner Eri, Alata is ten times more sensitive to the wind and he can easily pick up and track evil around the area. Similar to Eri, he also has a bubbly and positive personality. Whenever things get get rough, he never gives up and fights his way through. Alata truly believes in his moral of protecting the earth and everyone. He quickly befriended Nozomu Amachi and truly trusts him, rejecting Hyde's attempt to erase his memories of the Goseigers. However, despite being a strong leader for the group, Alata is usually an airhead and often does things before thinking about them. Eri/Gosei Pink: The other Skick tribesman on Earth. She is a very optimistic person and is always positive about life. She is the maternal figure of the group. Eri's personality resembles that of a cheerful and bubbly girl, as she is always thinking positively and never gives up. She also lacks common sense, as shown when collaborating with Moune. Her capricious and airheaded personality also causes Eri to clash with Moune and her other teammates. Agri/Gosei Black: the elder of the two Landick tribesmen on Earth. He is a hot-blooded warrior and Moune’s younger brother. He prides himself as being the strongest fighter among the Goseigers. Moune/Gosei Yellow: The youngest of the Goseigers, the second Landick representative on Earth and Agri’s younger sister. Moune is a perfectionist and*has a very strict nature. This often causes the mistakes Eri makes to get on her nerves. Despite this, she can be loving, although she rarely ever shows it. In addition to this, she always sticks to the battle plan. Although Moune is young and is the youngest member among the Goseigers, she wants to be treated as a grown up. However, Hyde tells her off for her mistakes and usual childish nature frequently. This really irritates her and she calls him an old man in response. Hyde/Gosei Blue: The sole Seack tribesman on Earth following the death of his partner Magis a year ago. As a Seaick, Hyde is calm and rarely if ever loses his temper. He is the logical and insightful one of the Goseigers. He is also the serious voice of reason. Hyde has an inflexible and stubborn side as well. Despite these traits, he is the oldest in his team causing him to sometimes act like an old man in front of his teammates. His sense of humor in particular is like an old man, as seen in episode 26 when he was laughing at old man jokes and puns. Hyde initially felt a sense of loneliness; unlike his teammates who had one more close tribesman with them, since Alata and Eri are Skicks and childhood friends while Agri and Moune are siblings and of the Landick tribe. He is the only Seaick due to Magis' death before the Goseigers' formation. Hyde also has the ability to accurately sense the quality of water through touch. Allies: Gosei Knight: Originally the Groundion Headder used by the Legendary Gosei Angel who sealed the Yuma Beasts, he was injured in battle with Wa-hoz the Nessie and buried under ice until the present, wherein he made a pact to protect the planet which granted him a human form and the ability to use a unique form of Gosei Power known as Knightick Power, which can use all three types of Tensou techniques. His motivations however have put him at odds with the current Goseigers, as he doesn't care for the people who inhabit the Earth, seeing them as seperate from the planet. Datas: A robot sent to Earth from the Gosei World to focus as an emergency communication system for the Goseigers on Earth. In addition to being able to sense enemy activity, he can also equip the Hyper Headder to become Datas Hyper. Kaoru Shiba/Princess Shinken Red: The true 18th head of the Shiba Clan, who was hidden at birth so that she could perfect the sealing character, with Takeru being chosen as a body double. But, when she revealed herself, a mix of having no chemistry with the vassals and the sealing character being rendered useless led to her naming Takeru as her son so she could give him the position back. She is currently enjoying life as a normal rich girl, though she is trying to escape the thrall of her servants. Enemies: Bladerun: A mysterious figure opposing the Goseigers. He initially appeared as Bladerun of the Comet, assisting the Warstar in their conquest of Earth. But upon Warstar’s demise, he reappeared serving the Yuma Beasts as Blade-Run the Chupacabra. But this was merely a ploy to receive access to the EllRai Box to seal both sides away forever. But he was tricked, and forced to be destroyed by the Goseigers. He has access to mysterious knowledge of the Gosei Angels, including crystals that allow one to use Tensou techniques and BB bugs and soldiers he acquired from aliens Warstar previously defeated. What do I think of Goseiger? I think it?’s actually a pretty good show. The cast are easy to like (which is not something I can say about the next two series), the three different villain factions keep things suitably fresh and the episodic plots are a good mix of drama and comedy. Now as for the specific credits, the producer this time around is Takahito Ohmori, who took over Goseiger halfway through after the previous guy quit (there isn’t a notable difference though), and later went on to do Kyoryuger, before being the main creative mind behind Kamen Riders Drive, Ex-Aid, Build and 01. Our writer this time around is Kento Shimoyama, detailed information about whom can be found here. Our director this time around is Noboru Takemoto. With all of that said, on with the review. We open with a scene of the Goseigers defeating a group of BBS at the Toei beach (the one from their logo), while Shitari looks on, lamenting about how bad today’s bad guys are (damn kids), before noticing that only Doukuku should’ve been able to lift him to the surface (after he sank to the bottom in the finale of Shinkenger)… at which point a figure rises from the Sanzu River. After an intro, Alata has his trip to the grocery store turned into an errand run for he others. While on his way back, he encounters a group he recognises as neither Yuma Beast, nor Warstar. While battling them, a monster shows up, refusing to introduce himself (I’ll call him “Three-face”) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGRN-W...jpg&name=small In battle, Alata finds that none of his Tensou techniques are effective, as Three-face can absorb and return them at twice the power. Alata ends up saved by a mix of Takeru appearing and Three-face having to return to the Sanzu River due to drying out. As Takeru ponders the implications of an Ayakashi showing up (namely, that Doukuku might be back), he is observed by the mysterious figure that revived Shitari and gave relevant info to Three-face. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFH8fyX...jpg&name=small Back in the world of the living, Alata takes Takeru to the Amachi Observatory, where the Kuroko have set up shop (due to the Shiba Castle set being demolished), and Ryuonosuke has returned from his kabuki career. After looking up information on Samurai via Datas, and everyone gets caught up on each other, the Goseigers show off what they understand a Samurai to be… it’s interesting. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGROKX...jpg&name=small The Gedoushuu get picked up at a stadium, where the 7 heroes, soon joined by Chiaki, go to face them. They soon find that Three-face has also developed counters for the other Goseigers’ Tensou techniques and that they have access to BBs. Their leader then reveals that he is no Doukuku, but he is an old acquaintance of the Goseigers… https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGROcX...jpg&name=small Bladerun announces that he has been revived as Doukuku’s successor, Chimatsuri Bladerun. As Takeru tries to face him as a Super Shinkenger, Bladerun defeats and captures the Lord of the Shiba clan, before making his getaway. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGaSgW...jpg&name=small As Chiaki and Ryunosuke blame the Goseigers for Takeru being kidnapped (yes, it’s their fault that Takeru decided to be a self-sacrificing maverick), they refuse to work with the Angels further. Their solution? Gather the other three Shinkengers and win them over. So, Agri and Eri intercept Mako as she returns from Hawaii to carry her off in a box… but problems crop up. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGaFMX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGaSoW...jpg&name=small Agri asserts that he can do all the heavy lifting… which Eri takes as a cue to climb inside the box and make his job harder. At a train station, Kotoha gets off a plane from Kyoto to see Ryunosuke… who turns out to be Hyde using his Camomirage. Moune then explains that the two of them are angels, leading to one of my all time funny moments in Sentai. Kotoha: Angels have come for me? Am I dead? Moune: Oh no, we’re not that kind of angels. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGaStX...jpg&name=small As Alata tries to reason with the other two, they still refuse. As the other Goseigers return with their kidnap victims - er, I mean, guests, Kotoha gives everyone souvenirs from Kyoto (even Hyde). At this point, Takeru appears, surrounded by fire. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGlP7X...jpg&name=small And if that wasn’t enough of a tip-off, look what he transforms into. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGlQJX...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGlQLX...jpg&name=small Takeru then attacks everyone on his team and the other, before Bladerun and Three-face show up. The former explains that he has turned Takeru into Gedou Shinken Red. As Alata takes what would be a fatal blow for the Shinkengers, Gosei Knight arrives with Genta (who was held up getting DaiGoyo through customs at the Charles de Gaulle Airport), with the two extra heroes managing to briefly overpower the enemy with a combination attack, before getting everyone out of there. Back at the observatory, Gosei Knight explains that the only way to win this time is to combine Mojikara with Tensou techniques. While Alata spends the night recovering from his injuries, while trying Mako’s cooking (and in a subversion of the running gag from Shinkenger proper, he actually thinks it’s good), the others spend the time practising their combo attacks, which takes the same amount of time (and conversely, the Shinkengers try Eri’s somehow worse than the already low standard Mako set cooking and like it). Elsewhere, Bladerun reveals his plan: by combining Takeru’s flame Mojikara with Three-face’s airbending powers creating a water lens, he can create an artificial solar flare to open the portal to Gosei World where the Tower of Heaven once stood (if you’re wondering why he doesn’t simply wait for a solar flare, the kind he requires only occurs every two hundred years. And that window closed in episode 2 of Goseiger). He will then send the Sanzu water through the portal to kill everyone there. He shoos Shitari away when he objects and prepares to continue. Back at the Observatory, A teenage girl shows up to meet with Alata, who Genta introduces as Kaoru, the previous head of the Shiba Clan. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGlQXW...jpg&name=small https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGwGQW...jpg&name=small (To clarify, Takeru’s actor was 22 at the time this was made, while Kaoru’s was 15. No wonder Alata’s confused) The other heroes head off to stop Bladerun’s plan, they run foul of Gedou Shinken Red. As he proceeds to defeat all of them effortlessly, Alata shows up, and after fighting Takeru to a standstill (and only surviving because the other Shinkengers use their Mojikara to shield him), reveals why Kaoru wanted to meet with him: so she could give him her flame Mojikara (which is a lot stronger than Takeru’s on account of being inherited rather than learned). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGwIaX...jpg&name=small Merging this with his Skick power has birthed a new Tensou technique, Kaentornado, which Alata uses the Gosei Card for to purify Takeru of his darkness (and apparently destroy the Inromaru, since it’s never seen again either in this movie, or any later media). Tensouder: Explosion! Mojikara Skick Power! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGwJIX...jpg&name=small With one problem solved, everyone moves on to solve the bigger of the two problems… Bladerun’s plan. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFGwJ4X...jpg&name=small As Bladerun summons an army of Nanashi and BBs, everyone transforms and does their role call Alata: Tensouder! Tensouders: Gotcha! Takeru: Shodophone! Genta: Sushi Changer! Shinkengers: Ippitsu Soujou! Genta: Ikkan Kenjou! Goseigers: Change Card, Tensou! (Invoke) Tensouders: Change: Goseiger! Takeru: Shinken Red, Shiba Takeru! Ryunosuke: The same in Blue, Ikenami Ryunosuke! Mako: The same in Pink, Shiraishi Mako! Chiaki: The same in Green, Tani Chiaki! Kotoha: The same in Yellow, Hanaori Kotoha! Genta: The same in Gold, Umemori Genta! Alata: The storming Skick power! Gosei Red! Eri: The breathing Skick power! Gosei Pink! Agri: The towering Landick power! Gosei Black! Moune: The budding Landick power! Gosei Yellow! Hyde: The surging Seack power! Gosei Blue! Gosei Knight: The crusader for the planet’s purity, Gosei Knight! Takeru: The Samurai Sentai authorised by providence… Shinkengers: Shinkenger, going forth! Goseigers: Angels have a duty to protect the planet, Tensou Sentai Goseiger! Alata: Advent! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFG4UkW...jpg&name=small The fight then begins, with the 6 pairs all taking down groups of BBs and Nanashi, with Mako and Eri devising the Pink Double Attack (retroactively Part 1) on the fly. The two reds then go on to face Bladerun. Elsewhere, Shitari and an army of empowered Nanashi prepare to continue Doukuku’s will themselves as DaiGoyo watches on. But luckily, they get distracted by the arrival of newcomers. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFG4RuX...jpg&name=small “Gokai Red!” “Gokai Blue!” “Gokai Yellow!” Gokai Green!” (Who has a very suggestive those in which he rubs his own crotch, which in no way reflects the kind of guy he is) Gokai Pink!” Red: Kaizoku (Pirates) Sentai… All: Gokaiger! Shitari then attacks. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFG4TSX...jpg&name=small Red: It’s the movie, so let’s make this flashy. (A bit of medium awareness that never shows up in his series proper) After a short scuffle, The new kids pull out their gimmick. Gokaigers: Ranger Key! Gokai Change! (An announcement they never make in the show proper) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFIDtlW...jpg&name=small They insert the keys into their phones, which make announcements. “Go-Onger! Gekiranger! Boukenger! Magiranger! Dekaranger!” https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFHEY6X...jpg&name=small Shitari: Are those… the legendary Super Sentai? Yellow: Nope, just pirated copies (which is totally not what they are in the show) The secondary 4 destroy the minions by combining DekaRed’s Hybrid Magnum, MagiRed’s Red Fire, BoukenRed’s Dual Crusher (used without the Acceltecter, though that’s the least of the issues I’ll be going into next time) and GekiRed’s Geki Waza: Hou Hou Dan, before Gokai Red uses Go-On Red’s Road Saber and Kankan Mantan Gun to kill Shitari. The 5 then revert to normal and leave after Pink asks DaiGoyo to keep their secret. DaiGoyo: Once again, the lantern saw! Back with the main battle, the Goseigers and Shinkengers combine their powers to overwhelm Three-face, since they’re too powerful for him to return. Back with Takeru and Alata’s battle with Bladerun, he summons his “allies”… Bladerun of the Comet and Blade-Run the Chupacabra (Don’t ask how he does this, since no plausible explanation exists) https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFHEY9X...jpg&name=small As the three Bladeruns seem to have the advantage, Alata and Takeru survive by going into their Super and Hyper modes respectively, as Goseiger’s theme kicks in. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFHEZUW...jpg&name=small https://youtube.com/watch?v=rUQ78XB66nY We were born to protect the world we love. For no-one must stop it’s people from dreaming. We spread our wings in preparation. To come together as one… And set course for a future of peace on Earth (Tensou!) Our hope will sustain us (Tensou!) As long as we live, (Tensou!) Because the future lies with you! (Tensou!) Tomorrow will shine (Tensou!) Ever brighter than today, (Tensou!) If you shape it with boundless imagination! Now, spread your courageous wings, Tensou Sentai Goseiger! As the two destroy the copies effortlessly, Alata sends Chimatsuri Bladerun flying with the Super Sky Dynamic, before Takeru blows him down with the Kyoryumaru: Denchi Issen. With the two bad guys cornered, the Goseigers whip out 5 Shinkenger Gosei Cards,, activating them. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFHVsNX...jpg&name=small These cards grant each of the Shinkengers the ability to access their Super modes simultaneously (even Genta, who normally can’t use it). https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFHVudX...jpg&name=small As the two Sentai destroy the bad guys with their finishers, Bladerun wills the Sanzu water to float into the portal. But the Shinkengers use the sealing character to stop the waters, while the Goseigers mix Defenstorm, Defenstone and Defenstream to prevent it from doing any damage by closing the portal. But before they can celebrate, the two Ayakashi enter their second lives, which prompts Gosei Knight to do his transformation. Leon Cellular: Gotcha! Gosei Knight: Change Card, Tensou! Leon Cellular: Change, Groundion! The others summon their mecha, forming DaiKai ShinkenOh and Ground Gosei Great. https://youtube.com/watch?v=muDXCzIOi-k https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFHeh3X...jpg&name=small As Three-face summons the Nanashi, Datas Hyper and DaiGoyo appear to deal with them. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFHeivW...jpg&name=small As the two combined mecha destroy Three-face, Bladerun hits all the good guys with the Gedou Chimatsuri Dan, destroying the Origami and blowing the Goseigers down to Gosei Great. However, the resolve of the two Sentai to never give up, allows them to unlock a new combo with Gosei Great, Datas Hyper, Groundion, the Seack, Landick, Skick and Knight Brothers. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCFHejiX...jpg&name=small Everyone combines their powers into the Mojikara Victory Charge card, destroying Bladerun again with the Mojikara Headder Strike (and yet, that doesn’t kill him for good. He comes back in Goseiger episode 39). After seeing the Shinkengers off, the Goseigers briefly consider reorganising themselves to be like the Shinkengers… an idea they promptly reject as the movie ends. https://youtube.com/watch?v=EDgA_qlH2jE Final thoughts: I think this might be one of the best yet. We got a good deal of interaction between the characters and integration of elements from the two series. And it has the unique twist of our big bad being an established character in a new form from the outset. I’d definitely recommend this beyond being “the first one I saw”. The challenge: What was the first crossover you watched? Of anything. |
The first one I saw might have been To the Tenth Power on the Ultimate Rangers DVD in 2003 being as I didn't have multi-channel TV or anything :lolol
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Goseiger vs. Shinkenger is my sixth favorite Sentai crossover movie. Admittedly, I actually enjoyed this one more than I ever did with most of the latter Sentai series. The English subtitles for it really helps. Same goes with Goseiger which is the series I find to be rather underrated. That series features not only my second (initially fourth before thinking about it for quite awhile) favorite sixth ranger of the franchise through Gosei Knight but also my third favorite villain of it as well via Bladerun/Brajil. Oh yeah, and if I must pick a favorite ranger among the main five in Goseiger, it’s easily Hyde to the point where he is among my honorable mentions for my top favorite Blue Rangers of Super Sentai.
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~Fish's Zenkai Tour!~
Act Thirty-Three – Samurai Sentai Shinkenger https://i.imgur.com/FKAekeU.png I don't know how true this still is today, but back when I was really getting into tokusatsu around 2011, it seemed to me that Shinkenger was everybody's jam. An all around excellent series well-liked by people already into Super Sentai, that also acted as a gateway into the franchise for a huge number of Power Rangers fans who were looking to fill the void during that scary year after RPM where there wasn't a new show on the air. Shinkenger would've been next in line for an adaptation (and it was!), and it attracted a ton of new fans with how insanely cool and exotic it was, while still being familiar. It was one of those shows you just *had* to watch. So of course, I just kinda, didn't, for like half a decade? Sure, I wasn't actively interested enough in Power Rangers in 2010 to jump on that whole boat with everyone else, but that can only excuse so much. We're talking about one of the most beloved shows written by Yasuko Kobayashi, my favorite toku writer, who is deeply tied into my love of this stuff to begin with! Which I guess is the thing here – Shinkenger felt like part of that anyway? I saw some of their appearances in other stuff, and I saw so much passion for the show constantly, absorbing quite a bit of knowledge about it, that I think I inadvertently ended up staying away from it for so long because it simply never occurred to me that's what I was doing. Again, Shinkenger was this massive pillar of toku fandom when I got truly invested in it. The stuff I'm about to say regarding the overall show is backed by my own firsthand experience now, having seen it in all its glory, but even back in the day, I probably could've parroted something along these lines just fine, even never having seen an episode, because that's how ubiquitous the notion that "Shinkenger = awesome" felt to me. If I had to sum up the story of Shinkenger in a sentence, I'd say it's about five people brought together by obligation, who become friends by choice. The core appeal of the series, as always with Kobayashi, is in the humanity she imbues the characters with, and Shinkenger's strongest drama is all internal. By the end, the heroes have developed a bond as deep as any team out there, but what I think distinguishes Shinkenger a lot is how that bond is built entirely from scratch. There's a conflict not simply between the heroes and villains, but between the demands of the heroes' samurai lineage and their own desires as individuals. Between traditional values and modern-day people. Thanks to the incisive writing and some commendably nuanced performances from the cast, the end result is a richly layered show that drills deep into the various wants and worries of its protagonists, and how their relationships with one another grow over time. There's a specific kind of tender love and care applied to Shinkenger's storytelling that's downright astonishing to me. I'm probably hyping it up way too much for somebody right now, but speaking for myself, I went into this series with years of expectations built up, and seeing it all play out with my own eyes still managed to give me a whole new level of appreciation for everything it did. The other core appeal of the series, though, is something I genuinely could see without properly watching it, and that's the style. Being deeply rooted in Japanese tradition may be both a blessing and a curse for the characters, but for the audience, Shinkenger being so aggressively wafuu only makes it that much cooler. If I tried to sit here and explain every little considered detail, it'd just make two things readily apparent – one is that Shinkenger's whole world is ridiculously cohesive in its themes; and two is that I barely have any idea what I'm talking about. You could use this show as a study guide, I swear. Look, I'll even prove it without having to go any deeper than the title of the show. The word shinken literally means "true sword", pointing to the series' focus on stylish action heavily influenced by old samurai movies, but the word has a much more commonly used idiomatic meaning, "serious", in the sense of being earnest or dedicated, which reflects the characterization of the heroes as disciplined warriors driven by a sense of duty. (The non-literal meaning is of course derived from how a fight with real blades instead of wooden practice swords requires the will to risk far more deadly injuries.) See? We're learning with Shinkenger, which is probably the coolest way to learn! And it's pretty much like that for every last aspect of the series, big or small. This means a ton of cultural grounding for motifs and the like that has/does/will continue to fly over my uneducated head, but none of that extra context is needed to enjoy the show, and there are some things I've always been able to grasp that I find super neat. The team's suits are as stylish as can be. Cleanly and striking at the same time, and you'd better believe those kanji on their faces were the first I learned to recognize! Whoever had that idea for the visors is some kind of genius, and possibly the exact same genius who had the idea to have the mecha be called Origami. (Which is actually a bit of wordplay involving homophones and the concept of shikigami, but again, I have neither the time or the intelligence to be getting into all that.) Paper folding is a hobby of mine specifically because it has the same appeal that draws me to transforming robots (you take a shape and make it a different shape), so Shinken-Oh especially has always been a huge favorite of mine for being the Sentai robo that just totally leans into that similarity. Plus, the Origami are also treated sort of like pets by the heroes, so they even kinda check the whole "sentient mecha" box I'm always looking for while they're at it! As much fun as it would be to ramble on and on about the designs in Shinkenger, though, it's around time for me to start talking about the premiere. Shinkenger comes out of the gate strong with a rather impeccable debut. One of the most impressive things about it is how clearly it conveys so much of how the character dynamics are going to work right away. The plot is all about modern-day feudal lord Takeru finally having to assemble the four vassals sworn to help him defend the world from monsters as the Shinkengers, and immediately, you can tell how awkward this is for basically everyone involved. Four of these people basically have to drop their entire lives to go help out Takeru, which isn't ideal for them, and for a bunch of reasons, Takeru doesn't want to drag four people into his life-and-death struggles, so this isn't ideal for him, either. And also none of them even know each other. The scene where they first meet up hammers this fact home by having a ton of embarrassing confusion about which one of them is even the lord, until Takeru arrives dead last to finally put a stop to that. Literally the only thing these people have binding them together is an oath other people made for them, that they all have mixed feelings about, and it's that slight air of reluctance that gives the show so much of its flavor, especially early on. Again, this is a team that has to build all their relationships from the ground up. They've trained their whole lives to one day fight together; everything besides that is something they have to learn. On top of how well the team's (lack of) chemistry comes across, the episode finds time to demonstrate things about the individual characters rather well, too. Particularly smooth is how much Ryuunosuke's background as a kabuki actor informs you about his values and motivations. Even just from what you see of him here, it's readily apparent that he's devoted his life to wholeheartedly following an old tradition, which explains why he clearly takes being a samurai the most seriously... even though that's probably not the tradition he'd prefer to be following, deep down. Just the tip of the iceberg for great characterization in this show, naturally. One of the other most impressive things about Shinkenger's premiere is that style, though. This is a show explicitly themed in part about the very concept of theatricality (hence "Acts", for example), and that syncs up perfectly with what shows like Super Sentai are about in the first place. This applies to every facet of the series, and it's part of why the narrative comes across as strong as it does, but I'll be focusing here on how grand the action in particular feels. Shinken Red is cool. That's probably going to be your takeaway from the premiere, when the very first scene in the show is him slicing up mooks while one of the coolest Sentai theme songs ever plays in the background. Like, they straight up didn't bother having the normal opening sequence, just so you could watch Takeru do his thing. The action in Shinkenger is consistently impressive, and you can tell how much effort and practice probably went into the fancy choreography in any given fight scene. I also have to give major props to Shinken Red's suit actor, Hirofumi Fukuzawa, who I'm gaining a new level of respect for bouncing so quickly between all the shows he played a Red in. Not only does he nail that fancy action, but his body language as Shinken Red is instantly distinctive and cool. It's so characterful that if he were standing that way as Gao Red or Go-On Red, you'd just be like "why is Takeru wearing the wrong outfit?" I always thought this was a role he was great in, but after seeing how much variation he's actually capable of, it's all the more impressive. And they also made him swing around the most stupidly oversized sword prop imaginable! When Shinken Red busts out the Rekka Daizantou later in the episode, he somehow gets even more awesome, and I also start really appreciating the work that went into filming this stuff. This is a blade big enough to have an elaborate design of Mount Fuji erupting sculpted throughout its length (and width!), and yet surprisingly few shots avoid using the prop in favor of CG. There's such a palpable weight to this thing as a result, and it's maybe one of the coolest, most iconic weapons in toku history because of it? Is that even an opinion, or is it just a fact? I genuinely feel like the Rekka Daizantou is emblematic of the whole magic of the genre. It's something completely unrealistic and impractical, and they do it for real anyway, somehow make it look good in the process, and create a way more dynamic visual that captures the viewer's imagination. I know I just gave an entire paragraph to a sword, but I'm telling you guys, this is one heck of a sword! ...Did I mention it's also the team's bazooka later on? Anyway, what else is there to cover? I mean, there's the debut fight scene for the Origami at the end of the episode, which is also super cool, and involves a lot of great practical effects work. Oh, and speaking of, I didn't even mention that I like the Shinkenger emblem because it's literally a stylized origami samurai helmet, and that's really cute! There's also— No wait, this is where I start doing that thing again where I can't stop myself. But once again, it's hard to help it! Shinkenger is some truly superb Super Sentai. It's yet another show I'd love to talk about even longer than I just did, but since I need to bring this post to a close eventually, I guess there's only one thing I should be saying next. The true depths of one's passions can be difficult to convey fully. Although further words of praise may be left unspoken to the samurai, the journey onwards continues all the same. Fish's Zenkai Tour, Act Thirty-Three, shall end here. |
Ah, yes, Shinkenger. A Sentai series I would forever have very mixed feelings about (this also extends to the show's red ranger) to the point where I became very wary of Yasuko Kobayashi’s writings and where I have to keep my expectations in check whenever she serves as a head writer which I’m more likely to do the same with the Kamen Rider shows she worked on. I'm cautiously optimistic on those said shows but it's better to be safe than sorry. There is even a time where I feared that Timeranger is a total fluke and thankfully it’s not the case at all thanks to Go-Busters and ToQger and I honestly found them to be better written with the latter in particular to be on the underrated side of things.
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aint kobayashi the one who wrote power rangers samurai
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I thought it'd feel weird to hit this point, and yeah, it really does -- this is the point at which I've watched every Sentai onwards aside from Goseiger, so this is absolutely what I associate the most with the franchise. I've loved Dynaman and Timeranger this year, but like, this year; so it's strange for me to see you suddenly start talking about shows I actually friggin' know!
Shinkenger is a show that took me a while to come around on, but in typical Kobayashi fashion; of course I ended up falling in love. It's impossible to do so without spoilers because in a way that's so very Blade of it it's one that's all tied into the ending and how perfectly it wraps all of the character drama together, and it's a hell of an ending that's always on my mind. It actually made it a little hard for me to get into Timeranger as a whole because I feel Shinkenger is a greater execution of what Kobayashi was trying to do almost 10 years prior! It's just such a strong show, with sharp intent and effort crafted into everything it does. I'm not a fan of everything the show does and I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for not being able to like it, but it's one that was just so rewarding by the end |
Yeah, I was also someone who came into Shinkenger late (it was the 7th to last show I watched) though by the time I was in the fandom, it seemed like most of them had forgotten about it (only two people ever talked about on Twitter, one of who considers it ‘the best Sentai’, the other of whom considers it ‘the last good series Kobayashi wrote’, though he still has some criticism of it’s third quarter, mostly because it abandons the ongoing plot in favour of selling toys and focusing on a villain who’s plot line was ultimately filler.). I myself was pretty ambivalent, I thought much of the acting wasn’t up to scratch, but the plot was mostly easy to follow.
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