ToQGer Episode 7: "Inconsolable, Unmotivatable" Discussion!
 

All aboard!

And I'm drifting back into disliking Kagura territory. That didn't take long. It sure seemed like Hikari was being made out to be the bad guy in the situation, when she was the one who took something of his without permission and broke it. Maybe it'll play out differently when I see the subs, but it sure looked that way to me. The MOTW was interesting, in concept, a clever take on an anthropomorphized wax seal and stamp. The suit was a bit lacking, though. The first few monsters had some pretty impressive detailing, but the last couple seemed like they just weren't trying as hard. Right getting taken out of the picture early was nice. (Was that butt scratching I saw?) I was hoping the team members other than reds would get to do something. Given the conflict between Kagura and Hikari this episode, I suppose it was inevitable it would end up with them being the only ones unaffected and then having to work together. Oh, Robot Naomi, you still manage to be creepy.

I think the main cast managed to do an entertaining job conveying their lethargy and their facial expressions were good for a laugh or two, particularly Mio. The Green/Pink attack (including the color swap) was done well, I thought. The new attack being related to the lesson learned in the episode reminded me a bit of Magiranger or Hurricaneger. The giant suit fights continue to underwhelm. I think those may remain the weakest spot of the show.

All in all, it had its moments, I suppose. But it came very close to being plain old boring. Next week looks like it may be a little more exciting, though.

Great episode.More character building which is always good.Also great to see that next week is Diesel ressha and possibly Diesel-Oh

Oh,also #FastballSpecial #Shuricars

Another great episode, from what I've seen so far. Too bad the stream had to be refreshed when the memory scene started, so I completely missed it. After this whole thing, I love Kagura even more than before. And so far, Hikari is doing a much better job at being a cool character than Souji (sorry, KyoryuGreen...).

What combination was used this ep? I hope Shield wasn't ditched as soon as it popped up.

Also hoping for Scope soon, since it's sized for the morpher.

Car carrier. I've only seen shield the one time.

I'm starting to think that Kagura might be my new favorite sentai pink, even though I still love Amy a lot. But regardless, Hikari showed a lot of character in himself this time instead of being mostly quiet.

Huzzah! Thanks for the clarification!

For me, Eri used to be in the number one spot, but I guess the crown will be passed to Kagura sooner or later during the run of Toq ;)

Yep, Hikari is surprisingly likeable. I was really sceptical at first, but it seems Kobayashi is doing a good job, as usual with Sentai.

Subs are out.

I absolutely loved this Episode.

I could really relate to kagura this week since I completely understand how she felt after she broke Hikaris kendama. Having older siblings and playing with their stuff and sometimes breaking it can be really scary for someone especially if they get mad at you. At the same time I completely understand how Hikari felt the moment all of this went down. Also having a little brother who played with my stuff when we were kids and breaking it, I know how angry you can get at someone even though you dont really blame him/her for what has happened.
I really liked that Hikari was the one apologizing to Kagura and that the whole drama this episode was just due to both not knowing how to respond after what has happened. Makes both characters feel much more human and realistic.

The Shadow for this week looked incredible. Some designs in this show were better than others but this one has to be my favorite together with Chain Shadow. The whole Plot of making everyone lazy was typical Sentai fare but it was enjoyable enough so no real complaints there. Seeing the rest of the Team being so lazy especially on the battlefield cracked me the hell up though :lol

And now to one of my favorite parts of this Episode and the show in General. I absolutely love Ticket :lol When I first saw that Conductor would have alittle Puppet companion I growned a little since I thought he would be cutesy and over the top comedic. The thing I would have never expected to come out of this is Ticket being the biggest asshole tokusatsu had in a long long time :lol
I just love how rude this little guy can be at times especially in regards to Wagon :lol

My absolute favorite part this Episode was the last fight between Hikari,Kagura and the Shadow. Making a giant Kendama out of the Tunnel Axe and Kagura was super creative and I loved how they used the Norikae Henshin to outsmart their opponent. Thats really something you can only get out of a Super Sentai fight scene and I love it for that.

The ToQ Oh fight was really boring though. The finisher looked pretty cool and was hilarious but beyond that there was nothing to write home about.

I really enjoyed this week's episode, it was a big step up from the previous one.

I'm really enjoying the character focus of ToQger so far, the characters are all really unique and have legitimate chemistry. I'm hoping this is something they keep up for the entirety of the show's run.

I'm gonna say it. I wasn't as big of a fan of this episode.

I'm beginning to think the series should be called "Because.....Kagura". She chews scenery in a way that I don't think makes the weekly challenge any challenge at all. Instead, her character is more of a moral pet than anything. It's annoying, and her actress comes off as really trying too hard to fit the part. It's not that I don't completely dislike her, I just don't think they should make her any more or less part of any story.

Also this.

mmmmmmmm......
http://www.tokunation.com/attachment...1&d=1396977680

No.
http://www.tokunation.com/attachment...1&d=1396977680

I just...I cant. There's about five things I could say about the standards of Japan. This is as honest though as you're gonna get, and a harsh reality I realized when I was a younger otaku. As I've been binge watching Akibaranger, I will just say my Juu Mosou is broken. Again, not bad, just reality. And because.....Kagura.

So overall, less Kagura, more Hikari would have been good. And the MOTW felt like the writers probably did for the episode, uninspired and unmotivated.

Are you saying her teeth aren't white enough?

No, I'm saying when you know your actress is going to be your typical Japanese woman or man, don't do closeups. Unless your series is called "Dentaru Sentai Shigasher". Also, let me clarify a little more, I'm not saying every actor has to be perfection, particularly in any cultural way shape or form. Far from it. But that's not a flattering establishing shot. It's why most women will want you to take a shot of them from above, it's a perception thing (I'm married, so this is experience talking). I think the actress that plays Kagura is nice to look at, but the director could have given her a better shot.

Also, one more slightly off topic thing that most dont realize, many actors and actresses spend a LOT of money to get work done. And by work I mean beauty is pain type of work. Hundreds of yen type work. It's insane the competition that goes into this. So when you see what you think is your ideal perfection, it's not natural 100% of the time.

Now back to getting this train on track.

Another thing I want to add is that I liked the small glimpses of infighting between the Villains we got this Episode.

Noa Fujin seems to have some plans in mind to get rid of Nero Danshakku. Seems to me the only one of them with a certain code of honor is Schwarz Shogun. Acting kind and with respect towards his allies even though he is brutal and without mercy on the battlefield.

Gotcha, and I wasn't criticizing. I noticed this a lot myself in Kyoryuger as well. Not sure it would fly in America, but it sort of endeared me a bit.

Also, there's something about Kagura's quirky looks (weirdly flat teeth and all) that is appealing.

Oh Wagon :lol

Another fantastic episode. As much as I love the trains its the characters week after week that are really selling me on this show.

Looks like Wagon took notes from the Buddyroid school of striking.

It's almost impressive that ToQ's approach to a game changer like Gaim is to simply drown a show in formulaic plotting and sentai clichés. Usually it isn't a problem as this show is very visually impressive, and lots of fun, so it provides the more shallow things that I find Gaim often lacks. But this episode didn't even have that, the villain was LAME.

I mean it wasn't as soul crushingly dull as Gaim was this week thank God, but it just felt utterly phoned in and we're SEVEN episodes in. If it's gonna be this episodic, generic and formulaic through the run of the series, I can't see myself even making it to the twenties.

It was so good that she actually got a raise :lol

Loved this episode, as usual. The kendama thing with Kagura is the most ingenious use of the color switching gimmick yet, and was a ton of fun to watch.

This episode really made me like Hikari. He appreciates his friends and doesnt mind their quirks but also isn't afraid to tell them if they're stupid. That's a great balance. :)

I really hope we get more color switching that are in the same vein as this scene. It was ingenius how they changed sides to outmanoeuvre the Shadow.

Wagon stole the episode as soon as she went on strike. I couldn't stop laughing.

I also like how the motive for the Stamper Shadow was way darker than proposed. Figured he was gathering darkness from everyone's lethargy only, but then you learn he was going to gather way more once everyone grew lethargic to the point of being bored of living and essentially just killing themselves.

This was a pretty fun episode. Kagura started off as my least favrioute Tokkyuger but even she's starting to grow on me a little at this point.

And the colour swapping gimmick actually served a purpose here, I quite liked how they used the swapping to evade the monster's attack like that. If only they'd make more strategic uses like that instead of just colour swapping because they'd want too.

And I also like the bit of in fighting we got to see too, I can already predict Madam Noir getting killed off early, and Greta dying to protect Schwartz.

Another great one. And the MotW's keep getting better. Especially "Lay there until breathing becomes to hard, then die!" Between him and Coffin-man? These have been my favorite MotW's so far in a series.

And I adore Kagura, she's definately the little sister of the series. Much more than Buster Yellow or Yayoi were.

But the most entertaining part of this whole episode? Wagon :lol I'm in love.

Really busy week, just got around to this now. Loved it. Kagura is still my favorite character by a healthy margin and she rocked this week. I liked her and Hikari's attack - this is the first time we've really seen the color swapping thing serve a legitimate purpose and it was really used effectively. I really, really need to see the Rainbow Line crew interacting with the Denliner's now, though - Wagon and Naomi would be hilarious together.