Let's Watch Wednesdays Week 1 Mahou Sentai Magiranger 1-3 Discussion
 

The Infershia have returned under the leadership of Branken & Vancuria!

Miyuki reveals the secrets of magic to her children and Mahou Sentai Magiranger is born!

Wolzard can wield powerful dark magics, but that should be impossible for an Infershia. Shouldn't it?

This early in and the Ozu family will experience a terrible loss...

The 1st 3 episodes was great.

Ah Magiranger won. I totally forgot to vote!

Well time to pull up my episodes, although I remember the first three pretty okay.

I'll have to find a good subs place for these,but I'm excited to start a series I've never seen before.Gratz to the winners of the Blade contest as well!

I only found 4 subbed episodes on Youtube :(

As far as I know, only TV Nihon has subbed these.

Where can I get these for DDL?

Sent you a link to episodes. Hope it helps.

The opening bits of the first episode are really great and they set a tone that unfortunately the rest of the episode does not seem to be able to follow. Wolzard's centaur mech form is pretty awesome though and I liked that their mother was a ranger. Nai and Mare have some amazing costumes on as I love the gothic lolita look. Other things I like is how much N Ma is pretty just Cthulhu (his eye is clearly from a cover of THe Call of Cthulhu) and the monster themes going on with Infershia (Branken being Frankenstein, Vancuria being a vampire). Unfortunately, the ranger cast is annoying as Green does not act like he is the oldest while red is a little too young to be a red ranger. I know they did not want to repeat what they did with GoGoV, but I really feel the characters should act more mature between green and red. I also find Houka annoying as hell.

Oh yeah, and there is too much CGI and not enough choreography during the battles.

The opening is really great.
I gotta say, I love Kai. He's got a lot of personality and he's young, very excitable. There really isn't anything I dislike about this show so far.

I really wish I had the weapons for my Titan Megazord, I really want to go mess with it now >:D

Episode 1
Episode one is pretty good. I really liked how they set up the family dynamic right away. Kai's the over zealous and adventurous youngster, Houka is the typical young woman whose fairly lazy, Tsubasa is a bit of a cynic who comes off as slightly jerky/stuck up, Urara is the caring one, Makito the older caring son, and Miyuki the doting mother. They set that all up in good fashion for the first episode IMO.

I really got a kick of Kai throwing the soccer ball at the troll. Just the thought of somebody doing that is pretty funny.

I thought the way they were given their powers was kinda sudden. Like "Oh yeah I'm magic here's some new clothes and a phone. Go fight kids and be back by dinner!" I don't know, seemed a little to quick for me. I do agree with her thought process with Kai though. After all, he is in high school and does come off as being quite reckless, so obviously it makes sense for her not to be ready to let him fight, let alone give him magical powers.

Also, I'm not the biggest fan of the henshin call. I actually think Mystic Force's was better. And while I'm on the subject of calls, how did they know their elements right away and come up with their roll call? Or for that matter, know how to use magic? Seriously, how the hell did they know all of that right out of the gate?

Those gripes aside, I liked the first fight. Well done. Only other thing I have to say on that is, Wolzord is a bad ass.

All in all, it was a really good episode. Definitely has me wanting to watch the next one.

OK I want to keep this simple because I'm afraid I'm going to compare it to much to Power Rangers Mystic Force.

Pros (what I like)
The Family Dynamic
The huge sense of responsibly and justice from there mothers Death
The Mech design (all of them)
Jin Aka Hiroya Matsumoto did not know this was his 1st sentai

Cons
Mandora Boy
No MagiKing Yet

Man it is great to get back to watching this show again, I love the characters. Kai may be a little brash but he's fun, always good to see Tsubasa as well. Miyuki is a pretty badass ranger & mom as well.

I don't always like it when a show throws the entire plot plus the kitchen sink at you. But these kids seemed to handle it pretty well, so no complaints here. Wolzard is of course one of the great villainous ranger designs out there so more of him is always good. An excellent start to another fun show.

Hate to quote myself but it's sorted now.

Woo! My first LWW! So relieved we ended up with Magiranger!

Thoughts on Episode 1:

- That is one sick villain lair. Love the Frankenstein/Vampire/Werewolf based villains.
- Decent opening theme song and OP.
- Wait a second, these guys are gonna ride hover bikes shaped like broomsticks? Incredible.
- The first gattai robo has a wizard's hat!? This pleases me greatly.
- Hey look, Tsubasa (MagiYellow) is Jin from Go-Busters. He was easily the best part of that show, glad to see him show up here.
- I'm just gonna say it: MagiGreen is pretty hot.
- Geez, there are so many Caucasian extras in this show.
- Super into these henshins and role calls. Didn't think I'd like the uniforms, but seeing them in action I'm pleasantly surprised.
- I really hope the individual robots end up looking like these Heavenly Saints because they are sweet.
- Is Wolzard wearing pointy witch boots? Yes, yes he is.
- I was skeptical of the sibling angle at first (cause I likes me some intra-team romance), but I'm really liking the chemistry it brings. Especially between the girls.
- Wolzard is my favorite sentai archetype. The lone-wolf, bad-but-probably-kinda-good guy--oh my god he turns into a giant robot centaur, too. Wolzard, I like your style.


Overall, I'm way more into this show than I expected I'd be. I like the tone. I think the magic brings an interesting dynamic into the fight scenes. I love the design work -- especially how it incorporates witchy magic stuff into the sentai framework. I like Kai -- he's young, but at least he doesn't scream every one of his lines. And he clearly has a lot of room for growth, which is good for a Red, since he'll receive the most screen time.

More than anything, first episodes of a sentai series are good at demonstrating the series' vibe, and I like the vibe a lot. So far, it feels like Super Sentai via Harry Potter (i.e., lighthearted with hints of darkness creeping around the edges), and I like that combo. Obviously it's way too early to judge anything about the story, but I like where things are going.

Now for episodes 2 and 3. Bring 'em on!

This was definitely not my first choice for LWW - or second - or any position that wasn't last of the available options, really - but I'm in. I watched two episodes a year or so back and then dropped it, but I'm willing to try it again. I can't promise I'll make it all the way to the end, though, as I have a pretty low threshold for annoyance in Sentai, but I'mma give it a shot.

Or at least I will once this torrent of the first 19 episodes finishes.

The same way every other Sentai does. They just know. :lol

I always like to think the knowledge is downloaded into their head by the powers. Or something. Actually, the lack of explanation is one of my favorite toku tropes.

The cast/characters, more than anything, are what make a sentai. And I totally agree, this is a charming group. Spending 49 episodes with these guys sounds like fun.

Centaur-Wolzard is one of the baddest-ass things I've ever seen.

im glad that im finally getting to start this series, and it so much fun already. i mean come on, the fan in ep. 1, that was just hilarious. i wasn't sure how i felt about the family thing before now, but im totally into it.

You made it through Goseiger, and kind of liked it right? Surely you can do this.

I dropped Goseiger after the cake episode and I still think it's the stupidest tokusatsu I've ever seen.

Well now, the first sentai i bought a toy for... granted i watched it 2 years ago almost and i marathoned it.

Well to start things off, I love how each of the magirangers has a role to play. Kai is the weak kind of kid (at least for now) , Tsubasa is the Hot head, Makito is the ideal big bro, Houka is aloof, and Urara is Eye Candy.

Mandora boy is still a low point for me but he becomes far more tolerable at the end of the show.

I love wolzard (hence my username XD) but we get A LOT of information here, and also opens up mysteries (unless you have seen mystic force).

Also, i wanna talk about the villians. I love Vancuria and how she can split into Nai and Mea, and i love how Branken is over the top. I love his costume the most.

all in all, i love this series and i hope you guys like it too... That being said if anyone wants the music for this show (the character songs in particular are good) Pm Me, ill show you where i downloaded my stuff from.

See you guys next week

I think you should run before Sentai sees this. >_>

We should buy him a plane ticket.

Nah, it's no use. That'll just delay the inevitable.

True. He needs a bomb shelter, fast.

Oh come on, it was one silly episode in an otherwise fun and playfully enjoyable show. In all honesty this show has the same feel to it. So if you didn't care for Goseiger then I doubt you'll enjoy Magiranger at all.

He knows. We've had this conversation before.

The cake episode was the straw that broke the camel's back. I'd been on the fence about the show for awhile before that point.

I'm willing to give Magiranger a shot, though. I may end up dropping it like I did Goseiger and Kyoryuger or it might surprise me like Gaim and actually be really good (and be the final piece in my "2005 was the best year of tokusatsu ever" puzzle). I'll give it a couple weeks and see how it goes.

Honestly, at this point the only Sentai I would flat out refuse to even try is Go-Onger, which I know I would hate.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I think you just hate joy and fun in tokusatsu :lol

Go-Onger, Goseiger, Magiranger. Shows like that epitomize it. It may just be something that's not for you. Whereas I on the other hand can't always take the "dis is serious stuff" atmospheres some shows try and in my opinion fail to create (Blade, Shinkgner, Faiz). I've finished them, but have no desire to ever watch them again.

I don't know, I liked Zyuranger a lot. I also loved Den-O and while Fourze's pacing issues turned me off, I did enjoy that show a lot and will happily revisit it sometime in the future. And I love, love, love Ultraman Max, which has some of the silliest episodes of tokusatsu I've ever seen.

Honestly, I think it's just Sentai that I have such a low tolerance for, at least more modern Sentai. I'm not really sure why that is. Maybe it's because the target audience has been skewing younger and younger since Dekaranger and I'm less easily amused by bright colors and loud noises. Maybe it's because the franchise has kind of stagnated and we keep getting the same episodes over and over every year (let's disguise pink and/or yellow as a bride!). Maybe it's that one scene they keep doing where one character says something and then we have to see close-ups of every other team member reacting (man, I've grown to hate that). Whatever; I don't know.

Either way, I've decided that I'm going to do my best to watch the hell out of Magiranger. I'll consider it a personal challenge to myself.

Just don't be surprised if you hear me complain a lot about how we could've gotten a season 2 of Dekaranger instead (seriously - it actually was considered at one point). :p

I still think Deka Season 2 would have been amazing. That show (much like Den-O) struck the perfect balance of comedy and drama.

I've seen the first three episodes before, but about all I remember is I didn't like them, haha. But as I've been out for the last one and a half LWW I'm willing to at least give these first three a chance. I never know, I may love them this time.

Firsly TVNs encodes are terrible. What aspect ratio is this in? I tried my best to tweak with the picture but it was a choice between squashed or stretched with no in between.

Anyway, Stage 1 - That was fucking terrible, I miss Mystic Force.

This is so awkwardly paced, it's like it was written by a small child. The villains seem cool, but the copious amounts of Engrish and terribly greenscreened slapstick don't do a whole lot for me.

I also really don't like the core Ranger concept at all. I hate how regularly Sentai uses mobile phones for Rangers, it's always in the worst possible context. Ancient samurai, evolved heavenly machinery etc and now a bunch of magicians. Also their catchphrase is awful.

The suits themselves however, are really cool. I love the way they transform in the energy of a great creature, before a magic symbol floats behind them. And I just love how original the suits feel, with the solid colour, and heavy trim - and of course the capes. The only real complaint from me is the lack of patterns or decals, I think a symbol on the chest goes a long way to break up the suit and really makes it a lot more visually appealing.

Actionwise, there was some good stuff and some bad stuff. MagiGreen is pretty cool, and I've always been a huge fan of Lightning powers. But MagiBlue's introductory fight was pathetic, but not quite as abysmal as pinks. I guess they ran out of money. Kai is cool while fighting, but annoying in all other contexts.

That moment when you realize Magiranger had the stage before Gaim :lol

Magiranger X Gaim: Magical Dance Off of Fate!

Locke, MagiRanger is 4x3, so there should be NO widescreen.

I've got it on 5:4 right now. Everyone is a little lanky, but the default aspect ratio of the episodes makes everyone look stumpy and fat. It certainly looks a lot better this way. What is it with TVNs old encodes? The Blade Rips are completely fucked up as well.

Stage 02.

Okay, this episode was a lot, lot better. Obviously I'm not glad their Mum died, but I hated the goofy shit in the last episode, so hopefully this means a more serious turn for the series. Or not, fucking Magic Room. Those brooms are pretty sweet though.

I will always love action in urban locations, with extras, because it feels tangible. I find it hard to care about battles when they are done in studio backlots, quarries or abandoned warehouses. So seeing Vancuria go on a genuine rampage through the city was awesome. The villains are so cool in this show. Although wow at Vancuria's costume, I never really noticed it in Mystic Force, but how did they get away with that design?!

I absolutely adore the concept of them all turning into Giant Monsters. I always hated how sentai always gave heroes machines, even if there was no context for it, so to have the actual MagiRangers become the Giants is really fitting and really awesome. This show has some of the best Giant designs in the whole franchise. The one time they aren't actually in giant robots, is the one time they look the most like them.

If you're digging the baddies now, you're in for a treat because Magiranger has some really good villians.

I have to say for the first 3 episodes,they really put you in the story quick.I love that they turn into giant titans instead of getting in machines.I think the differences between the Magic Room and Treeroot form Mystic for are good ones.

Mystic Force focused on it being about the nature aspect of magic when Magiranger seems to focus more on the magic aspect of...well,magic.I also like that their mom explained that courage will unlock more spells.Mystic Force went with the "meh,just try harder" explanation,and I never liked it.

Oh and the biggest plus for me,the soundtrack.The theme is great,but I mean during the episode.They keep a lot of the modern instruments out,which makes it feel perfect.Every situation they've been in so far has had a perfect soundtrack to it.

Actually, they didn't. I do believe I've read somewhere that Necrolai's costume was altered or censored to fit in Mystic Force.

Indeed it was. They intentionally spliced footage out of various scenes whenever possible without ruining them to avoid the sexyness. When they couldn't edit the "problem" away they used a full body suit replacement.