This comment fermented like hot milk, huh. :lol

Ultimate Dark Mode's finisher reminds me of Squall's Blasting Zone!

Written by the man who started it all, Hayase Masato!

I'll have a lot to say about this one, since I can refer to my review of it here from 4 years ago.

listen

Shining Finger Sword for me.

Okay that's actually pretty cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW4QlT6OfXw

Did you know that this movie was actually available to English speakers via Netflix up until very recently?

And on one hand, while it is cool that something BIMA related was brought overseas, man, I can only imagine how confused anyone who consumed this as their first bit of BIMA content must've been.

Because this movie very much assumes that the viewer has at the bare minimum seen all of BIMA-X, as it casually flashes back to a bunch of big, spoiler-ific moments from the show. And not only that, but what is probably the biggest emotional crux of the movie won't hit nearly as hard without prior context.

The biggest sin of the movie though, I feel, is that it is very much meant to be a bridge between BIMA-X and a third BIMA show that never came to be, and at this point sadly likely never will. The after credits scene all but confirms it too, what with the appearance of an all new Satria like how new Riders used to premiere for awhile during the Neo-Heisei Era of Kamen Rider.

The pacing and flow of the film is weird too. It's essentially three episodes of BIMA-X glued together into a feature length film. To the point that all three acts of the movie have different title cards(with "Revenge of Darkness" being the final one). And let's just say that the transition between story beats and moods of the three acts isn't exactly the smoothest; with the very somber and melancholy atmosphere of the second act being the biggest standout.

But, despite all of that, I did enjoy this film for what it was.

Despite me not having a big gap between this and BIMA-X like how I did between, well, BIMA-X and BIMA, it was nice to see a reunion of the cast. The visual effects were even better than what was in BIMA-X, and the final act did feel appropriately epic for a final battle, especially given who's involved. And speaking of that, the big star of this movie is very much Iron Mask, or as he's know here, Osiris. Or, if you want to go by his name back when he was human, Wira.

I was really into that middle act, which is all about Iron Mask reminiscing about the events that lead to him becoming a Satria filled with hatred. Long story short, it's the tale of a boy getting in way over his head, and never getting the chance to learn how to process his emotions and move on from his pain; Only ever running from it via pointing the finger at others. What happened was a freak accident, but Wira was never able to let that pain go. He somewhat mirrors Reza in that regard, but Reza eventually allowed his family to help him, while Wira never did. And it eventually lead to Iron Mask being the very evil he felt he was fighting.

Seeing everyone else in the movie is great too, of course(even if Reza's' appearance is never properly explained), but man, Iron Mask really did just steal the show here.

In the end, it's not a perfect movie. Heck, it's not even a perfect three episodes of BIMA-X, let alone a finale. But as an extra piece of content from a tokusatsu that I've grown to love over time?

Yeah, I'm more than satisfied with it.

Yeah, I'd say the highs of this movie didn't quite reach some of Bima-X's best moments, but there's still a lot of fun stuff here. The Iron Mask backstory was surprising but welcome to witness. And there's just some fun stuff all around.

Pacing issues and minor random bits I'm not sure why they threw in aside, this was a pretty fun time. It's basically Bima-X but in more high quality and that's nice. Also it's a dang shame the live action stuff just never did continue cause the new suit they made looks so sick.

The origin of the Iron Mask was beautifully shot. But I also enjoyed Dimas' adventures in Japan. And in general, purely visually and in terms of action, the film is a real feast. By the way, about the new Satria: he really doesn’t have a show, but the first episode was still filmed. Are there any plans for a review of it?

True, but the biggest factor is still your current peak in your capability, not going beyond it.

What are they expecting as Super Kranions are created from humans, or if it signifies them canceling Super Kranion project. Seems they also got another martial artists like Nico to make more Super Kranions. Topeng Besi is being a Starscream to want to backstab Black Lord.

Wait, you mean they took it down? That sucks. Netflix was a great opportunity to introduce Satria to the west, so now I'm concerned about it fading in to obscurity once more.

A third Satria show, but not Bima-focused. Satria Naga Kai, who as Mesnick mentioned above got exactly one episode. Then the staff basically decided, "screw this Tokusatsu, we'll make a Bima animated series and call it Bima-S instead". Maybe DreadBringer can explain a little more about this when he catches up with the thread.

The Movie War format is actually one of the things I thought was pretty cool and unique about this movie! I suppose the tonal clash is kind of hard to get around when you have to switch from Dimas' comedic Japan adventure to Wira's tragic road to evil, but I could argue that it keeps the movie fresh and interesting, which is the appeal of conventional Movie Wars like Ultimatum and Megamax for me. The transition between thirds also led to that cute humorous moment of Ricca angrily stabbing the Torga-shaped icing due to Dimas leaving her behind in Jakarta. :lol Imagine how mad she'd be if she knew about Saeko crushing on him!

It was awesome to see Ray's return by throwing his cloak! Uh, what did you think of that weird Ray/Rena scene though? Feels like Hayase had some unfinished business there.

The entire climactic fight sequence of Bima-X, Azazel and Torga VS Osiris was amazing from start to finish. We get the return of Ultimate Dark Mode, a bullet energy finisher, Satria Naga Kai showing up to buff the heroes while promoting his non-existent upcoming show, Osiris trying to drop the Revenge of Darkness in the cauldron, a new griffon mount made from the combined spirit weapons and the triple Satria finisher in the apocalyptic sky above Jakarta!

I certainly wasn't expecting to get a whole episode-length story about Topeng Besi's tragic backstory, but after all, he is the franchise's most iconic villain and I have to appreciate how this movie is as much an encore for him as the main characters. As exciting as that Torga VS Evil Torga fight was, this movie really brings to the foreground his rivalries with the 3 heroic Satrias and that just feels right, especially after seeing the aforementioned tragic backstory that spawned his undying hatred for them.

The plot of Wira training to surpass Torga Legend so he can get revenge on the monsters who orphaned him and Arsya reminds me of the Oni from Hibiki, with the message about using your powers for good and not becoming consumed by hatred, which escalated during the events of this part after Wira recklessly borrowed Torga Legend's Power Stone (which is ridiculously still called Oranye, even though this is in the ancient past!) to become Torga himself, causing the death of Arsya. His hatred was then misdirected to the Satrias when Noir refused to let him bring back Arsya from the dead.

In his defense though, Torga Legend was kind of unsympathetic for coldly demanding Wira to give him the Power Stone and Arsya, while he was grieving for the only loved one he had left. Noir deciding to lock him up outside of time for millennia was maybe also detrimental to his mental health, but I can understand why Noir did that after years of fighting him, since he was clearly a severe danger that needed to be taken care of quickly. I liked the cool detail of how their fight resulted in Evil Torga having the cracked visor.

According to the wiki, Reza was revived as a darkness construct by Power Stone Hitam after Black Lord destroyed his body, so it seems that he can no longer hang around for too long or he will die again. Honestly, I'm surprised by such a bittersweet ending, but I guess, other than calling Master Green's miracle delivery service, it makes sense that Reza can't just be brought back fully after what happened to him. Seems like both he and Ray have come to terms with it though, which is a small consolation.

Dimas got to fight ninjas, so that was cool!

It was subbed by FlameSubs and I did watch it a few years ago. Definitely feels like the Kamen Rider ZX of Satria.

Absolutely. Would love to see the timeline where Satria Heroes becomes a big name franchise.

For sure, the cinematography was on point.

I feel it's moreso signifying how it's a bad idea now, yeah. I don't see them making any more Super Mooks in the future.

Perhaps one day we can see a company like Discotek bring the franchise over to the west. Would love that.

You know? Thinking of the movie as a Movie War film isn't a bad idea. I might adopt that viewpoint.

I'd like to pretend that scene didn't happen, thanks.

Oh yeah. While the consequences of Wira's actions were understandable, they definitely didn't do much in inspiring him to turn his thinking around, that's for sure.

Interesting. My interpretation was that Reza's' soul had become one with the Black Power Stone, and as such he could only manifest for brief periods of time. Seems I wasn't too far off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu46afed5Ao

This is a pilot episode for a Satria show that never was.

And it really disappoints me that, atleast from what little I've looked up, that the show got stuck in development hell before getting canned.

Because really? I had alot of fun with this pilot. The Naga Kai suit is really cool, and I love the card gimmick. And from what little we see of him, Furio seems like a likable lead hero.

A big shout out to the opening sequence though. The song itself is catchy, yeah. But man, I really dug the visuals. That shot of Furio walking towards a Jakarta under siege, all while meteorites rain down from the sky? Man, I absolutely adored it.

Such a shame that this is how the Satria Heroes saga ends, but I suppose if there's any sort of silver lining, it's that it leaves alot of room for fanfics, assuming you're into those.

That was a pretty neat pilot episode, shame we never ended up getting the series.

It's rather tragic that Bima Legend is worfed here, for all his powers on the OG Bima, he's really hopeless fighting Evil Torga here and he ended up being killed. Now he speaks in Indonesian rather than using either English or Japanese here.

Bima Legend still seems to allow the earlier Helios to come to Bima and create this sequence.

I still kind of hope that will be this timeline! If Rider can reinvent itself for a new generation, then Satria can do the same.

It clicked for me that it was doing this pretty much as soon as it went from Arsya to Revenge of Darkness.

As would Helios.

I guess it's in-character for Noir though, considering his nonchalant method of mentoring rubbing against Wira's extremely emotional disposition. I can't imagine him actually trying to be sensitive, haha.

Yep, that's pretty much the general idea.

Yeah, the basics are all there for a decent first episode and I would've been interested to see where it could've gone. Sucks to see potential go to waste.

And all the collectible cards that'd've inevitably come with it!

I assume it's due to not being able to get Gackt back to keep playing the role.

True. Maybe one day we'll see the Satria return in a new form.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON BIMA-X: SATRIA GARUDA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMWDPAfIJ_o

A little over half a year ago, I reviewed GARO: Makai Senki. And during that review, I asked the following question: "When you prime yourself for a sequel, what are you looking for?"

And rather than ask the same thing again, let's get a little more specific with it: "When you prime yourself for a direct sequel, what are you looking for?"

Because that's what BIMA-X is, and it's because of that that I end up at a loss.

On the one hand, BIMA-X picks up many of the threads left by the original BIMA, and even takes alot of aspects in some very surprising if not interesting directions. And when it comes to sheer technicals, this show has a much bigger budget and is alot more competently put together.

Though on the other hand, BIMA-X also resorts to retconning a handful of things from the first show(most egregiously outright replacing one of the Power Stones), has a number of its own aspects that lead to nowhere(such as Draconer's' distrust of Black Lord), and most disappointingly for me, taking the style and tone in a much different direction.

When it came to the original BIMA, one of the things I loved about it was its more somber, soap opera styled tone. It was an aspect that made it very unique when compared to many other tokusatsu that I've seen. And while that atmosphere isn't entirely gone come the sequel, it's definitely alot more downplayed in favor of a more "traditional" style of toku flair. And indeed, many of the episodes that called back to the franchise's' roots were my favorites.

To be fair, what BIMA-X does well, it does very well. The episodes that are focused on comedy are hilarious. The CGI and stunt work is just a step below something out of the GARO franchise. The musical score is wonderful to listen to ontop of fitting most scenes perfectly. And the main family remains a huge highlight even if they're a bit more downplayed when compared to the first season. BIMA-X is by no means a bad show, but its very design means that it doesn't exist in a vacuum.

Call me crazy, but the more I think about it, if I were to put the two seasons up against eachother? I think I might actually prefer the first one. Sure, on every technical, "objective" level, BIMA-X is the superior product, but the kinds of highs I found in BIMA were much more the kind of thing that my tastes tend to gravitate towards, and the experience of getting to see a brand new toku being created "from the ground floor" so to speak, was so unique that it's something that's almost guaranteed to remain stuck in my memory. Even Power Rangers had itself more together at the start than what BIMA did.

I likened the original BIMA to that of a friend. And if I am to continue that analogy, BIMA-X is that same friend after they've started to grow into someone different from the person you first met and bonded with. When friends begin to grow and find different paths in life, they often drift apart, as eventually their interests and differences grow too big to keep familiarity. However, it doesn't have to always be that way. Friendships can last, even if the people involved change. All it takes is a continued effort to meet in the middle and to understand one another. And in that sense, while I might not entirely agree with the overall direction that BIMA-X went, I will be happy with it for what it managed to achieve regardless.

As such, for the first time ever I'm going to offer two different ratings for the final stamp on a show I've watched. As a direct sequel, specifically, I'm giving Satria Garuda: BIMA-X a 4/6. Its resorting to retcons and its very different style and tone make me see it as rather good, but not perfect. But on the other hand, both as a show of its own merits, as well an overall combined experience with the original BIMA? Despite a few fumbles, BIMA-X manages to nail practically everything it sets out to do, and these two shows together managed to give me one of the most fun experiences I've ever had with a tokusatsu, and there's no way I can hold a grudge over that.

With that, the rating for the BIMA franchise as a whole is a very strong 5/6. I hope to see these wonderful characters again someday, but until then, should BIMA-S ever get English subtitles, I'll be there to check it out.

Bima-X was nice, though there's definitely an inconsistency between episodes due to all the writers this series had. And that's not getting into it needing to retcon stuff from Bima for it to work.

That said... and more humorously my main complaint is... there's not enough Reza/Azazel. Because you see the statements "I think there wasn't a lot for Reza in this series" and "Reza had a lot of good focus and moments" are two statements that can co-exist and that's where I'm at. While I appreciate what he got, they could've given him way, way more than what he did get.

But to end more positively, Bima-X was fairly refreshing as far as Toku goes. Mainly because as we're dealing with Indonesia, we get a different locale to all the familiar costumed fights we're all accustomed to. Speaking of, the suit design in terms of heroes and monsters is pretty standout. Even if I still consider the original Bima superior to Bima-X Fire Mode, it's still a solid design alongside the many forms it has. And Torga's a welcome addition to the roster of Bima-X and Azazel.

That said, overall, great time!

Lady Mossa trampling a Kranion is one of the few scenes likes that shown fully in the Indonesian TV, with the actress actually pinning the victim under the footwear rather than not touching them.

It's not only Azazel that is about using dark for good, it applies on Ray and Dimas as well to have said action make the dark power accepting them. Reza's capabilities as Mikhail shouldn't be left out even if he changed sides.

I have to commend DreamSword for making this thread and bringing more awareness of the underrated Satria series to the Tokusatsu community. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

I agree, actually. It's the sort of thing where it makes me wonder if the actor wasn't as available as he was for the first show. And it certainly doesn't help that the initial reason Reza departs ends up feeling like a bit of waste given that he himself never finds a single Power Stone.

Interesting. Are such things usually censored on Indonesian TV? I'm of course unfamiliar.

Aw shucks. I dunno if the thread really had that much of an impact, but I am glad I got to enjoy this series eventually, and hey, I know of atleast two people who ended up checking BIMA out due to my own piqued curiosity. So that's definitely a win my book.

Thanks for following along all this time!

For my experience iirc, as I said above, not direct sensoring, but they didn't go at it fully like not having their footwear actually make contact with the victim (I think this is also like when fighting scenes are done without the actors making contact) or not having the camera fully showing them trampling.

So Randy and Rena are also adopted, just like Ray, by Uncle Iwan, none of them live with their actual parents.

I wonder if they don't reveal the villains' human disguises from the start, if it'd be more impactful to the audience (though you did think that Chris Ruslan was suspicious), as obviously Indonesian folks know the villains' human disguises before the show starts due to said previews.

It's certainly possible. Although just speaking for myself I did que in on Rexor's' disguise basically immediately.

There's less suit aspect of Satria Naga than I expect, for this episode one, he mostly fought using his sword.

Naga is the Indonesian word of dragon, so this should be expected, otherwise what is the "naga" part of someone named Satria Naga?

I did not know that. Neat detail!

Not sure whether discussed before, but I should make big note
"Satria naga kai"should be the next series the costume and the Pilot episodealso already shown around , but the closing of the indonesia branch basically ended partnership hence cancel the live action series .... The next satria series Bima S ended as animation

Yeah, that was noted. It's a shame that the live-action stuff had to go out like that, but it was fun while it lasted.

Yes as indonesian it's also very fun while it lasted, even today the most viewed post on my blog internationally are the bima figures from convenience store lol

It's ironic that Dimas is the one who understands common people the least, as well as not being the actual member of the Iskandar family, by blood or adopted (living with them since childhood). And here there's Rena fighting again, but as brainwashed one, but she can easily knock Randy off his feet by this.

Ironic too that you're into the soap opera aspect in this, coming from a country which is infamous about how low-quality and cringe-inducing their soap opera products are. Though I guess implementing soap opera aspects in a non-soap opera based media here isn't a red flag as it can be done as a parodic way.

Bima-X starts to have large texts as the episodes title or when there's a commercial break, just like Kamen Rider, but dunno why I usually find those kinda corny, like how I think this episode's title is just so uninspired, VUDO's Deadly Assault... like it's all Bima is about.

I'm someone who's normally bored off when watching mook fights, where for this series, even in human forms, the Satrias can beat them up no problem, so it'd be good indeed that the mooks are used on the public where the civilians aren't safe, even if the heroes can beat them up no problem, rather than using the mooks only to show off the heroes' abilities.

Rena seems to be was also rather a lead in the Scarlet Bintang/Rafflesia 2-parter. As usual, I don't really agree on telling one to not cry (like Kouta at Gaim's first episode). There's a merchandise about Bima in-universe too, which I wonder who'd be the maker and publisher there. Cinta is the Indonesian word of "love".

I mean, all I'm doing is evaluating the show based on its own internal merits. If it works for me, it works.

True, but I'm also not sure what else you'd title this episode other than just literally calling it "Elevator."

Makes sense.

My thoughts would be probably something like "Bima's Kid Fan" or "Rena's Standoff".

Though this obviously isn't direct, I rather felt that it's strictly based on Lady Mossa being female.

As shown by one of the recap episodes, Topeng Besi feels he's the one in charge of VUDO even surpassing Black Lord and he had the Death Phantoms under his command.

Would have their world gain all the Earth's resources.

I dunno about all, given that smashing two worlds together would result in a pretty big kaboom.

Can be like Build's ending of the world joining together. May still have VUDO act as bad guys by starting wars with humans for the grip of said resources.

As Sh Ranger said, yeah, becoming an armor would've been better and making better use of its potential, particularly if God Helios gives him a capability of flight, something done by riding on it as a vehicle too. Ryuki's Contract Monsters may be similar to that though, like Raia's Final Vent of just riding on Evildiver.

Dunno if this can fool you based on how Bima did kill off characters before, like the reporter George.

The form that the show's preview didn't show at all, likely for obvious reasons. For someone who has red/blue/green/purple color of multiform balances, Bima-X also has black for his final form. Black Lord's demise is done in a more spectacular way than Rasputin (despite his great early showings), to feature a final form, and use an attack that has a beam soaring up to the space.

For sure. It could all be coincidence, but yeah, I can definitely see all of Bima-X's' colors being inspired by Kuuga.