Yes, that too. Genta was such a nice addition to the show overall I think because he shook things up for the team such as the introduction of a new way of handling Mojikara, the tech that he came up with, etc.

It also meant that things were a bit more balanced between the "big" personalities (Ryu, Chiaki, Genta) and the more subdued ones (Takeru, Mako, Kotoha).

Honestly it was a very interesting experience overall considering I watched Shinkenger alongside/right after PGSM. You can see exactly what refinements Kobayashi's made to her formula and how she's mixed, matched, and reused certain traits.

I am now six episodes away from finishing up on my Dekaranger rewatch. Afterwards, I am planning either continue right where I left off on Flashman or start my rewatch of Abaranger via my copy of the series on DVD as released by Shout Factory.

Boonboom update! I fell behind due to watching other shows but now I'm caught up with the last 5 episodes. The second arc lost some momentum after the exciting Bun Violet introduction arc and the engine stalled a few times, but generally, it was good. The baseball episode was fun.

Of course, the most surprising part is the reveal about Genba and him going on a lonely quest for revenge against Disrace, which sets the scene for the third arc. His story continues to intrigue me. I must also mention Jyo for vowing to fight even harder in Genba's place. These two guys are carrying the show. While Sakito is still cool, I wish the show would focus on him more.

The ISA boss, Tokoyari, seems to be affiliated with the Hashiliens. Well, that can't be good. Anyway, he speculates that Taiya's weird deliveryman lifestyle will bring him problems in the future and honestly, I have to agree with this ominous dude. Taiya admitted he has no idea about his own motivation, so I hope the show leans in to why that's unhealthy. Looks like Chassirou and Naito also have business with ISA.

I didn't realize how much I missed Madwrecks until we started getting flashbacks about him. Cannonborg was a cowardly loser, while Madwrecks was actually a determined and inspirational leader, which I didn't appreciate until now. I'm glad Hashiliken survived. There's something wrong about this new revived Madwrecks Fury though, his strong personality is gone and I want the real one back.

I'm watching Turborangers. It's funny how this show has a lot more in common with PR than Zyuranger. Here the main characters are proper high school students, skilled in everything and excellent friends; and the combination of science and magic; and ridiculous monsters; and an incredibly cool transfer student who turns the show into his story. Basically, the tone is very light and humorous, but at the same time, as is typical for Japanese media, sometimes there are very cruel moments, such as the death of a child or a monster devouring his son. Overall, I would recommend Turborangers to fans of PR and especially MMPR who want to experience Sentai as something in between. As for me, it’s a pleasant viewing, although it still won’t make it into my top show.
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The OG teenagers with attitude, although, they weren't so rebellious but neither were the Power Rangers. :lolol

Personal favorite episodes are Yohei/Blue Turbo's episode involving the house that his childhood friend lived in, the Shunsuke/Yellow Turbo episode where he tries to help out the girl in his school who has a cursed flute (played by Sayuri Uchida aka Ako/Blue Swallow), and Daichi/Black Turbo's episode where he drives the Turbo Truck trying to buy time in the debut episode of Turbo Rugger.
Since Kaixa Day came and went I saw the debut episode of Zyuoh Bird because Murakami.

Those are among some of my favorite episodes of Turboranger too. :)

And the team with the best intro to their red ranger, him having his textbook up to cover the fact that he has his bento box cracked open so he can eat in secret during class. :lolol

Started Fiveman with one of my watch groups a while back and it's... pretty solid so far? I feel like it's had a middling reception, and I'm not blown away but it's not really had a weak moment so far, then again we're only up to about E7.

I think it has more to do with there wasn't a whole lot of new stuff to look forward to compared to Turboranger, which aired right before it, for people at the time who saw it on TV every week. Heck, the DX robot toys were pretty much same crap, different strokes; core robot, second robot that changes into a jet, base that transforms into a robot, etc. Plus, Winspector was one of its many competitors that year, which was doing well despite its small budget. But mostly it probably had to do with people were fatigued.

Especially Soda, for whom it was his ninth and last consecutive Sentai as head writer. I agree that Fiveman was pretty average, which doesn't get noticed when you compare it to Turboranger and Jetman. But at the same time, it doesn't have too many flaws either. I thought the introduction was interesting anyway, since they already knew Zone were coming and were prepared to fight them as soon as they arrived and Five Red introduces himself as the one who gave the scar. That was pretty bad*ss!

Nine?! Okay, that explains it right there. :lolol

I honestly think Fiveman is really fun in a junk food for the brain kind of way. What really did it for me was the fact the episodic plots were so bizarre and lacked much of a sense of consistency as the show went on. And then the Five-kun dolls happened and I would uncontrollably burst into laughter every time they showed up because they caught me off guard every damn time. Good times.

And the designs, as generic as they may seem, are real nice. Plus, I love how they each have a symbol of the subject they teach engraved on their foreheads. That said, while I assume the name Fiveman is meant to emphasize their relationship as siblings regardless of gender I would've persuaded whoever had final say to change their team name to Go-Teachers instead of using the name that they scrapped for Maskman if I was part of the writing staff, because personally the teachers fighting for justice angle seems more interesting than the fact that they're family. Especially since the previous year was about a team of students.

I just finished my rewatch of Kakuranger, including Act 3. I enjoyed it even more this time and have thus promoted it from third to second favorite Heisei Sentai!

Act 3 is a decent movie. It's cool just to see the team back together once more after 30 years. While the premise does basically rip off Abaranger 20th, I can forgive it since it's thematically appropriate for the hate-powered Yokais. A little concerning how Jiraiya's body is canonically healthier than Tsuruhime's. In terms of plot, it's okay. We get a kunoichi villain who shares an actress with Gotchard's Himeno Hijiri. If you love cool ninja action, then it's totally worth the watch.

So I'll be starting my final Heisei Sentai, Gingaman, this month for sure!

After experiencing some toku burnout last year, I finally got around to finishing King Ohger. Very fun series, probably just the worst moment to experience burnout. Probably not gonna watch Boonboom until the series is finished at this point, but it's nice to have finished KingOhger at least.
And now In Space has dropped, which is great timing.

I had some time to kill today and wasn't emotionally ready to finish the second act of Arcane season 2 so I threw on the Kakuranger reunion special that's been sitting on my laptop since August. It was pretty dang fun. I loved all of the nods to the original series and was really impressed with how many side characters showed up again, too (and then there were the cameos during the end credits, which were a pretty delightful surprise). I can relate to all of the talk about middle age being rough on the body better than I'd like. The movie was maybe a little short at just about half an hour, but I don't think it really needed much more.

I love the Kakuranger 30th. Just the opening alone using clips of the original series was enough to bring a smile to my face.
I just felt the yokai living like humans were underutilized.

Their first transformation scene in episode 1 is still one of my favorites.

Watched the first 5 episodes last weekend and yeah, it's a pretty cool and dramatic start! Definitely reminds me of Zyuohger with the heroes losing their home and the villains' internal rivalry, while the skeptical kid and his occult nerd father reminds me of Goseiger. Surprising how the Gingamen can use the "Earth" elemental powers even while unmorphed, which makes me wonder if it's inherent to their tribe or a skill that can be learned. I'll give more thoughts when I reach the halfway point.

Yeah, knowing what Ryoma went through moments before, the first transformation scene hits differently especially. It's like the sense of resolve feels so genuine for a lack of better words.

After many months of putting it off, I am finally back to watching Flashman and I am already up to episode 19.

Seijyu Sentai Gingaman Q1-2

3 years ago, I started a review for my last Heisei Rider, Blade, so I figured I would do one for my last Heisei Sentai as well. To give some backstory for this, I'd been waiting for Turboranger subs to finish, which happened a few years ago, the last ever Sentai to finally get subbed. After watching and enjoying that, I realized there were only 2 Heisei Sentai that I hadn't watched. Out of those 2, the only one I'm willing to watch is Gingaman! Showa Sentai, Riders and Metal Heroes caught my attention and brought delay, but now, finally, the stars of the sacred forest have called upon me to finish my galactic quest!

I'm currently 25 Chapters in, which happens to be a convenient checkpoint in the story. While I'm usually critical of Kobayashi, I do think she's written at least a few pretty awesome shows, like Gobusters and Ryuki. Occasionally convoluted shows with weird as hell pacing, but nevertheless, totally worth the watch. Gingaman is shaping up to be a clear Kobayashi show, mostly in a good way, but of course there are flaws. Why are there are so many random ways to revive Daitanix? Why does Zahab insist on appointing one active commander at a time, instead of rotating them? Why isn't Sambash as deep and intriguing as his PR counterpart Villamax? Yeah, the Balban hierarchy is a little weird and I don't even remember that spiky dude's name, since he hasn't even done anything yet.

Perhaps I'm underselling it though. Like, seriously, the characters are totally peak! Ryouma is already a strong hero from the start and my favorite member of the team. He's insecure about his position as the leader, trying to live up to the image of big bro Hyuuga and always worrying what his friends think about him. His arc seems to focus on gradually growing in to that role and learning to have confidence in his own actions and judgments. Like Alata, he also has a mentor role to the kid, Yuta, which probably helps him feel more validated to have someone who takes his wisdom to heart. Some of Ryouma's strongest moments so far are his interactions with the mysterious Black Knight antihero called Bull Black, where we can clearly see his unique sense of justice and determination.

Hayate is the second in command and also in the credits, but his color on the Ginga Brace is third for some reason, which makes a lot more sense in Lost Galaxy (even though that show credits Red third, which is the weirdest thing ever). Despite appearing the most serious on the surface, he has extreme reactions to certain foods, like a fear of honey rooted in childhood trauma and refusal to eat anything with tomatos, which probably gives the kids something to relate to and honestly, I have some similar habits as well, so I don't judge. He seems to have an ongoing rivalry with Shelinda, who's vexed that he outsmarted her once.

Gouki is taking a while to grow on me. He openly hates math and is prone to sulking when someone says something mean to him, even in jest. On the other hand, he cares for his friends and has a talent for cooking. I guess he's okay.

I was a little apprehensive about Hikaru after seeing how GuardianAngel87 ranked him as the worst Yellow of all time (especially considering my own poor experience with other male Hikarus in Magiranger and Revice) and while I can certainly see how Hikaru would earn that reputation, I personally find him endearing and entertaining, in a way that is also useful to teach morals about responsibility to the kids. He can also get serious when the stakes are high, calling out his friends for their mistakes and trying to keep them focused on a single clear objective. And he loves donuts! If there's an award for "Best Dude Named Hikaru in a Tokusatsu", I'm giving it to him.

Saya seems to be the cheerful heart of the team, who gives Ryouma the most emotional support and encouragement. Intriguing how the flashbacks reveal that she also has a strong connection to Hyuuga, apparently implying some romantic feelings between them. Looking back to Chapter 1, we can see their closeness from Saya's introduction by clinging to his back. In Chapter 22, she baked him a birthday cake, despite him not being around to eat it. In Chapter 25, she's the first to hug him after finally being reunited. I like how this shows Hyuuga's importance to the team, rather than only as Ryouma's big bro. With his return, I'm looking forward to seeing how the others interact with him.

The story got even more dramatic once Budo took over as commander and Bull Black made his debut, which plays similar to what happened in Lost Galaxy, except Bull Black was defeated by Sambash instead of Budo and the one he sought to avenge was his little bro Krantz, not his son. I do think it would've made more sense for Bull Black to lose against a fellow skilled swordsman like Budo rather than a rambunctious delinquent like Sambash, but oh well. Other than that, it's a strong arc for sure, ending in a satisfying redemption for Bull Black and a glorious death for both him and Budo. I'm enjoying Gingaman a lot so far and I hope the second half maintains this quality, or even continues to improve!

I remember Gingaman back in the days as the show that managed to make a gorilla cool. :rock:
Gouki/Ginga Blue to me always gives me the impression of what if the timid lion from the Wizard of OZ was a sentai hero. As for the show, Kobayashi really had me hooked with the premise. Strong first episode imo.

I'm not reading your assessments because of spoiler worries, but I remember enjoying Lost Galaxy back in the day and thinking that the Megazord was awesome. Is Gingaman good? I was a little worried it'd be generic. But I've also heard it's one of the series that is closest to the fantasy-influenced vibes of Zyuranger (which, despite its problems, is still one of my favorite seasons)

I'd argue that gorillas were already pretty bad*ss before 1998.

It's good! Similar to Lost Galaxy in a lot of ways that made that show cool, while the setting and some of the characters are pretty different. As a fantasy type season wedged between the more techie seasons Ohranger-Megaranger and GoGo V-Timeranger, I'd say Gingaman actually stands out a lot and the fantasy elements are strongly executed as well, with even more focus on character drama than Zyuranger. I'm certainly enjoying it better and more consistently than the currently airing Boonboomger.

I meant to say the show that made a gorilla cool on the first try, since we never had a proper gorilla motif ranger until Ginga Blue in Super Sentai. My bad.

I am finally back to watching Flashman and I already powered through episodes 23-30.

It?s a coincidence, but I?m also just watching Flashman and even at the same stage (I watched the 30th episode a couple of minutes ago). What can I say? I absolutely love the aesthetics of this season, with all the colorful splashes. The weapons, with their unusualness, really have a retro-alien vibe, I especially like the individual bladed weapons made of multi-colored glass.
I would say that the main advantage of the show is the attention and importance given to its main distinctive feature. Namely, the fact that the heroes are stolen children who grew up without their families. This is not just indicated at the beginning and then pops up later when the plot needs it. No, in the vast majority of episodes, the fact that our heroes are searching for family directly determines their actions. Because of this, even those episodes that could have happened in any other sentai acquire a specialness that is unique only to Flashman vibe.
At the same time, the show often repeats itself. In particular, the plot, when one hero takes the situation personally and goes to figure it out on his own, and the rest come to his aid at the most necessary moment, turned into a clich? by the tenth episode.
Also fights. They are very bright, dynamic, well staged and very inventive. But the special effects look bad even compared to their closest neighbors.
And I'm not sure that the comedic effect of speeding up fights was intended by the authors to be a laugh-out-loud laugh. But the stars when you hit your head are cool. The ambitions of those working on this show were clearly ahead of their time.
I like all the Flashmen as characters. I especially want to note the fact that the smartest girl on the team here is a girl. My least favorite is probably Jin, who strikes me as a rather unprepossessing leader who does what the plot requires.
But still, this is one of the first Sentai that moved away from the military origin, so the authors were just learning how to write a leader for such teams.
I also like Mag, which combines the characteristics of a mentor and a relief comedian. Plus, he's the obvious inspiration for Alpha 5.
Enemies... ok. There are too many of them, so that some even of the regular ones are perceived as troupers with individual appearance and fighting style.But, at the same time, in other shows there were villains that could not even boast of this.
Also, it seems to me that although at that time Battle Fever J was considered the first Super Sentai, Flashman pays tribute to the work of Ishinomori. The evil aliens must be fought by the children they kidnapped and raised on other planets. There is an entire episode dedicated to bikes.And in another episode, Lee Kefler uses music to force MOTW to transform and commit villainy, which is a clear reference to Kikaider. But at the same time, the aesthetics of Flashman, the prisms that blink when energy is lost, and even the appearance of flashians are reminiscent of Ultraman. So maybe the show was just inspired by earlier tokusatsu.
I?m not sure yet about the final assessment, but I think it will be quite positive.
Despite being repetitive, the show manages to maintain interest without becoming boring. And its unusual design immediately sets it apart from others.
P.S. The episode with Le Gourmess is incredibly funny.
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Episodes 26 and 27 in Flashman are my favorite filler eps from the show because:

1. Episode 26 has Sir Cowler dressed like a chef. That's prolific voice actor Joji freakin Nakata in his late 20s to early 30s at the time dressed like a chef while under all that Sir Cowler makeup and costume. :lolol
Joking aside, It's a great filler episode that reminds the viewers how the Flashman team were robbed of things we probably take for granted in life having been abducted by aliens as toddlers, in this case, a homemade meal.

2. Episode 27 introduces us to Mr. Ryosuke Kaizu (or as I like to call him, the Romeo of Super Sentai) as Dai's new boxing buddy who went on to become Takeru/Red Mask in Hikari Sentai Maskman the following year. By the way, Inoue fans should give it a watch if possible because he wrote this one. I feel like this episode could've been a two-parter had they felt like doing it, but it's fine as is too. Also, it's very unintentionally prophetic looking back now because Mr. Kaizu is into the ramen business these days as he has his own ramen restaurant.

Just finished watching episode 40 of Flashman. Only ten episodes to go.

It was super funny, but I find myself wondering if it took away all the cool and menace from Cowler's spectacular initial appearance by turning him into one of the failed generals.

2. Episode 27 introduces us to Mr. Ryosuke Kaizu (or as I like to call him, the Romeo of Super Sentai) as Dai's new boxing buddy who went on to become Takeru/Red Mask in Hikari Sentai Maskman the following year. [/QUOTE]

I think in our time, they would take someone from past years to play this role. And from Kamen Rider.

I am now up to episode 48 of Flashman and man, these last few episodes.....

Oh yeah, that said, Change Gryphon did appear in a Sara/Yellow Flash episode iirc, forgot which one.


Welcome to the club.

I just finished watching Flashman and it is indeed a very good show. Although, I am not entirely sure where I would rank this Sentai series in comparison to most of the seasons I have watched so far. It probably would take some time for me to think about. Leaning towards being among my honorable mentions for top favorite Sentai seasons of all time at most. I am planning to watch either Sun Vulcan or Changeman as my next Showa era Sentai series.

About 20 episodes into Fiveman and dear god this show is just There.

It's not bad, it's just like... plain oatmeal. Sure it's got most of what you need but it's not exactly something you're going to be talking about in a few weeks when everyone's discussing interesting things they've eaten lately.

This is the last time I use dice to decide what I'm putting in a weekly watch party.

I haven't watched Fiveman yet, but from a show with a most uninventive name (which, moreover, was inherited from earlier Sentai), this is what you expect.

Started on Sun Vulcan and I am already at its 10th episode.

I rank it as my favorite Showa Sentai so far. What did you think of Dai's subplot with the ghost girl?

This was interesting. I liked how succinctly and neatly this plot was presented. We first meet Sumire and are intrigued by her secret; Then a Bun-focused episode reveals that in the show's world, ghosts are real, and then the reveal happens. Now, I think, this has clearly been both extended and accelerated.