gashatfreak surveys Gogo Sentai Boukenger
 

Hello there. I'm gashatfreak and you're not.

Seeing how Zenkaiger's coming soon and how one of the team members is based on Boukenger's mecha, I believe it's a perfect time to watch a series I've always been meaning to look at: Gogo Sentai Boukenger. Power Ranger fans will recognise this series as "Operation Overdrive".

I've always been meaning to get into this series as I have a bit of wanderlust in my system, and adventuring is definitely something I can get behind!

I'll keep my standards low as Sentai tends to be formulaic (but then again most toku are) and apparently this isn't exactly the greatest season.

This will not be so much a 'review' of the series as more of a 'reaction' if that makes any sense. Also, like the other watch threads, no spoilers please!

With that being said, expect plenty of nitpicks, sarcasm and plenty of questioning and poking fun of the series.

Now let's do this! Moeru Adventure!!!

P.S. I chose 'surveys' instead of 'watches' like other watch threads because I feel like 'surveys' fit the archeology theme of the series. You know, like how archeologists and adventurers survey stuff? Get it? Eh? Eh? EEEEHHH???

Okay I'll stop.

https://i.imgur.com/erOZlQv.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHHJ3Qym0Bo
And so begins your journey.

It's only really certain users or certain websites that I've seen really hate Boukenger massively, and I'm sorry to say some of the reasons I've seen have seemed quite immature, though it's probably best not to go into too much detail and some of it was quite a long time ago now! :o For me Boukenger is that one show that just never gets old considering I was one of those people that got into Sentai around that sort of time whereas I'm guessing these days it might be more like Shinkenger or Gokaiger or something even newer! :lol

I think for me it must be the characters, I mean the only one of the team I found not quite so engaging was Masumi and Operation Overdrive's attempt at ''adapting'' the Dark Shadow villains seemed a bit pathetic considering I don't even know what their theme instead of ninjas was supposed to be, it's just that the main thing I hated in Overdrive was that they replaced anything interesting from Boukenger with...not much and even if you didn't like the initial character or thing they adapted, at least in Boukenger you knew what it was supposed to be!

Oh man, more people checking out stuff? Hope you have fun with it!

Don't you dare stop! That's a very characterful twist, and perfectly fitting for a franchise that loves to replace the word "episode" with just about anything else, as long as it's thematically appropriate. Boukenger itself even calls them Tasks, so I'd say what you're doing is right in the ballpark.

I won't really be able to follow along, having not seen much of Boukenger, but since I'm popping in here anyway just to say how much I like that title – good luck with this thread, and good luck with the show, too! If it's anything like most Sentai people insist are bad, it's probably a lot better than that reputation would suggest. :p

I haven't actually finished the show (have about 11 episodes to go), but I really like Boukenger. It's probably one of my favorite Sentais. I really like most of the characters* and it has some fantastic mech action. The multiple villain factions do a good job of shaking up the plots a bit, too.


*Natsuki is just completely awful, but generally not enough so to bring down the entire show.

My understanding is that the show is generally well liked among fans. At least it was a few years ago. Maybe recent buzz has not been favorable, but lots of folks, including myself do like it.

It does heavily mess with the normal Sentai formula, which may explain both the fans and the people who don't like it.

So fun to see everyone exploring toku this way! Getting to experience a show for the first time alongside other fans... man, such a gift to be able to do that, and such a gift to share it with others. Thanks so much for letting everyone experience this show through your eyes! Hope it's a blast!

Boukenger's first episode is one of the most unique Sentai premiere I've ever seen.

TASK 1: The Heart of the Demon God

Alright first episode! Just a heads-up, I'll be using spellings from RangerWiki instead of TV-Nihon's spellings.

I would've put this up sooner but I got caught up reading a light novel I downloaded onto my phone. I guess fiction addiction really does exist!

Also, please forgive if some of the images have blurs or pixels on them, I couldn't find a good quality stream.

Also also, this took WAY longer than I thought to write up. I give mad respects to Kamen Rider Die and everyone else doing these watch threads.

Introduction
In classic Sentai fashion the episode immediately starts off with a little introduction before the main meat of the show. Context given to us: Adventurers are people who travel around the world going on adventures (no kidding Sherlock), seeking new worlds and places. The SGS Foundation, a nongovernment organisation, goes around the world seeking treasures from lost civilisations, treasures left behind by people and treasures left by extinct animals (I have so many questions regarding the last one).

More sought after than your regular run-of-the-mill treasure are special treasures called 'Precious', which are these fancy weekly plot devices whose powers surpass current technology (well, 2006 technology at the very least anyways). That's where the Boukengers come in. Their job is to collect the Precious and safeguard them to protect them from the hands of evildoers who wish to use them for nefarious purposes.

The episode
https://i.imgur.com/cEpdRgj.png

The episode starts off with a shot of the Boukenger's submarine swimming through the ocean. Inside is Bouken Yellow/Natsuki Mamiya, the happy-go-lucky one, Bouken Pink/Sakura Nishihori, the serious-minded one, and Bouken Black/Masumi Inou, the casual hip guy.

https://i.imgur.com/61XZkVU.png

A few seconds into the episode and the submarine quickly finds a giant underwater ruin. This brings both a sense of wonder and a repressed hilariously tragic memory involving Minecraft's Guardians and a boat.

https://i.imgur.com/uzR15H8.png

As it turns out, this underwater ruin belongs to a long lost "Gordom Civilisation", a long lost civilisation which, according to Chief Satoru Akashi (aka Bouken Red), made a pact with the god of the sea that allowed them to control the waves by using a relic called the "Heart of Gordom", which is essentially a device that takes energy from sea water. Move over solar power, there's a new source of clean energy in town. Now if I was a sea god I wouldn't exactly give a relic like that into the hands of inferior creatures but what do I know? I'm not a sea god. Also, fantastic example of how many legends involve humans gaining powers or relics from higher overlords that give them some control over an aspect of nature.

They send out Natsuki and Masumi into the ruin to explore and receive the Precious. Sakura expresses some unease while Bouken Blue/Souta Mogami voices his concern that Natsuki and Masumi might not know the exact dangers of a Precious. Satoru state it's all good to send out two rookies into a potentially dangerous underwater ruin because "they understand the joy of an adventure". Thanks chief, I'll be sure to say that in their funerals in case they die of a potential collapse or something.

Natsuki and Masumi soon arrive in a pocket of air where they are almost immediately swarmed by bats (who have somehow survived and thrived inside an underwater ruin 20,000 leagues under the ocean), causing them to freak out and break through a wall, leading them to a mysterious chamber with a strange shrine in the middle.

https://i.imgur.com/O7q6zmL.png

Clearly Natsuki missed the important memo of not touching any strange switches, and immediately sets of the cliche fire trap, prompting Masumi to blast the top of the shrine which disables the fire trap...for some reason. Blasting off the top reveals a strange puzzle which Masumi immediately solves; rewarding them with the ruin rising up out of the ocean and the two being grabbed by two giant robotic arms.

https://i.imgur.com/CSqaylr.png

As Sakura starts to head back to the surface (basically leaving the two rookies to fend for themselves), the camera shifts to a shot of a coffin deep within the ruin. Said coffin opens up to reveal the Arch Priest Gajah, who revives after millennia of slumber. Don't you just hate it when you accidentally awaken an ancient threat when you poke around strange ruins?

https://i.imgur.com/PNdIi1E.png

Thankfully for Natsuki and Masumi, Satoru saves them by smashing into the ruins with his mecha/Zord, a giant red dump truck. On land, Satoru unceremoniously dumps them onto the surface. Souta makes fun of Masumi for springing a trap despite being a 'formal burglar', to which Masumi retorts that he's not a burglar, he's a 'Treasure Hunter' (there's really no difference between the two mate), and makes some bullcrap claim that he intentionally triggered the trap to raise the ruins because it'll be too hard to find the Precious when it's underwater. Satoru deduces that the Precious must be located within the ruins, causing Sakura to state that to go as far as hiding the Precious underwater would mean that it's extremely dangerous. She tells Natsuki and Masumi to stay back for their own safety, but as per rookie fashion they promptly ignore that and immediately rush headfirst into the ruin, prompting the other three to chase after them.

https://i.imgur.com/kK6jQnR.png

Unfortunately for all of them, their intrusion into the ruin is noticed by Arch Priest Gajah, who's, um, not too happy that people in the modern age want to steal a dangerous artefact from his temple.

Natsuki and Misamu soon find a hidden door, which Misamu promptly picks by using his weapon, the SurviBlade (awesome name for a weapon BTW!). They soon walk into a large magma chamber (how the heck did they put a magma chamber in a ruin?) with a large bridge in the middle, which starts collapsing once they step foot on it (how the heck did the bridge not collapse when the ruin started to rise out of the-you know what never mind). At this point, Satoru, Souta and Sakura arrive and, I kid you not, literally RUN ACROSS the bridge while it's collapsing in what has to be the biggest insult to physics ever.

https://i.imgur.com/DUXcsv3.png

Crossing the bridge, the team make it to a shrine of some sort which houses the Heart of Gordom. I didn't exactly know what I was supposed to be expecting, but the Heart of Gordom looks exactly what it says to be: a heart. And not like a Valentines Day lovey-dovey heart, like the organ heart, complete with pulmonary arteries or whatever else they're called (the only thing I remembered from biology class was that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell and how bacteria may or may not emit a high-pitched scream when poked with a tweezer).

Souta touches the heart, causing it to summon copies of itself around the chamber, forcing the Boukengers to determine which one's the real Heart. Souta attempts to touch one, but is saved by Natsuki, who 'predicts' the explosion through a vision. Bit of context here, I haven't really touched on this but throughout the episode Natsuki's 'instincts' is mentioned by the others, particularly Masumi, but here she is clearly shown having some sort of foresight power. The camera zooms on her helmet and cuts to a brief black-and-whited scene (I don't know the proper cinematic term for this) where the fake Heart blows up in Souta's face. That's kinda sus, lady.

https://i.imgur.com/7232GOH.png

Satoru, on the other hand, decides to take a more...direct approach and proceeds to PUNCH one of the Hearts into each other, causing a chain reaction of explosions, much to Masumi's shock. De-henshining, Satoru explains his reasoning: if the Heart was so dangerous that it was sealed under the sea floor, there was no actual way to destroy the thing, hence explosions won't harm it, clearly forgetting that just because an artefact is indestructible doesn't mean that the human punching it is. Now I don't know what they teach archeologists in archeology school or whatever, but I'm pretty sure it's like a taboo or something to punch an ancient artefact, indestructible or not. Indiana Jones must be having palpitations right now.

https://i.imgur.com/C99A4OE.png

As per Satoru's predictions, the Heart is left intact after the 'little explosions' fizzle out. What happens next was something that took me by surprise: Masumi, literally grabbing Natsuki under his shoulder, punches Souta and swings across the chamber while Natsuki grabs the Heart of Gordom. All of a sudden, while I'm passive-agressively freaking out over this twist, Masumi reveals his true colors to the group: he's the legendary Treasure Hunter "Immortal Fang" who has a reputation of seizing any prey (read: treasure) that he set his eyes on. He reveals that he's been using the Boukengers and returns the Accellular (something which I think would fetch a VERY high price on the black market) to Satoru. He states his intentions to sell the Precious and invites Natsuki to come with him. Natsuki reluctantly asks him if he plans on becoming a Treasure Hunter, much to Masumi's chagrin, asking her if she prefers the Boukengers over him.

https://i.imgur.com/aqg2oEk.png

Unfortunately for Mr. Immortal Fang and Ms. Indecisive Airhead, Arch-Priest Gajah immediately shows up with some Karths (or as I like to call them, Rock Putties) and demands the Heart. Masumi and Natsuki immediately get their butts handed to them, with Masumi being kicked into the magma. The Heart secured, Gajah and his henchman promptly take their leave.

The other three Boukengers swing across the chasm using grappling hooks. Satoru orders Souta, Sakura and Natsuki to go after Gajah while he rescues Masumi, who turns out to have fallen onto a rock precipice instead of into the magma. Satoru promptly leaps down onto the rock precipice, much to Masumi's chagrin, who believes Satoru is there to make fun of him.

https://i.imgur.com/GLpDWXX.png
https://i.imgur.com/kMd4QtI.png
https://i.imgur.com/fLlkcJx.png

Instead, Satoru promptly slaps him and gives him a choice: become a Boukenger or fry. Between his willingness to let rookies into dangerous ruins and his willingness to let someone turn into crisps, I'm starting to wonder if this guy has some screws loose. I mean, all Red Rangers have some level of weirdness in them but this is downright manipulation! I've never seen someone become a Ranger through an ultimatum before.

Satoru reveals that he already knew from the start that Masumi was going to betray them, and that he's happy Masumi was able to escape from them, citing that Masumi would have had no worth being a subordinate if he hadn't. Yep, I think Satoru has some screws loose.

https://i.imgur.com/puRKUMC.png

Meanwhile on the surface, Arch-Priest Gajah, along with a procession of Karths, activate an ancient mechanism that unearths a well. Placing the Heart of Gordom inside and chanting some mysterious gibberish which I can only describe as a strange mix of ASMR and LSD trip, Gajah (prematurely) celebrates the Gordom's revival. Unfortunately for the nearby Boukenger crew spying on Gajah, Natsuki trips on a rock, alerting the bad guys to their location. Gajah promptly sics the Karths on them, who promptly convert their torches into some kind of rock-scythe.

The Heart, now in its proper place, activates the ruins, causing the magma chamber where Satoru and Masumi is to shake. Masumi swears to Satoru that he shall surpass Satoru one day. Unfortunately, their conversation is interrupted by the shaking of the magma chamber, knocking Satoru into the magma, who promptly transforms to survive.

https://i.imgur.com/jIOtDT9.png

Meanwhile, the Boukengers are busy getting their butts kicked. And as Souta quickly finds out, the Karths are so hard that punching them won't do jackfruit. Thankfully for them, Satoru and Masumi arrive and demonstrate why you shouldn't bring rock-scythes to a gun fight, proceeding to blast the Rock Putties into little pebbles. Something which I thought was a nice little touch was that there was a little X-ray moment where the internal workings of the SurviBuster gun was shown as energy charges up. That's not something we usually see in Sentai, and I dig that! Really emphasises the machinery motif the Boukengers have.

https://i.imgur.com/9IF7vh0.png

However, it's too late as Gajah proceeds to assert dominance and reveal that the ruins IS the MOTW, and declares that despite humanity's fear of the Great God Gordom (which led to it's sealing in the first place), the Gordom Civilisation shall rule over humanity once more (makes me wonder how on earth humanity was able to seal a giant monster away in the first place if Great God Gordom allowed the Gordom Civilisation to rule over the planet).

https://i.imgur.com/YuSCSsq.png

Unfortunately for Gajah, the Boukengers pull an UNO Reverse Card and proceed to form the giant robot DaiBouken, complete with a giant shovel and pickaxe. And most unfortunately for the 'Great God' Gordom, DaiBouken promptly kicks its heiny with its arsenal, including, I kid you not, using its shovel to FLIP THE GROUND it was standing on. I find this extremely hilarious for some reason.

https://i.imgur.com/stP7e9U.png

https://i.imgur.com/PgX9gyA.png
https://i.imgur.com/IGG1rrP.png
https://i.imgur.com/IZStbiy.png

The team eventually finishes off Gordom by combining the pickaxe and shovel into a sword and promptly slices the ruin in half. Hooray for desecration of ancient temples and disregard for the preservation of archeological sites!

https://i.imgur.com/mIjnYZb.png

The Heart of Gordom, which somehow survived the destruction of Great God Gordom, is promptly found and sealed by the Boukengers. At which point, Gajah shows up and unleashes a lightning attack at them. Revealing that there is actually ANOTHER Gordom Precious out there, he swears that as long as he lives, the Great God Gordom will be revived again...

https://i.imgur.com/H60ZjcP.png

...at which point the episode ends with a giant sea monster rising out of the sea and swallows Gajah (offscreen) whole. That was...a bit weird but okay sure why not I guess.

The team
Bouken Red/Satoru Akashi - The leader. Also called 'chief' by the crew, Satoru quickly shows why he's the leader: his intelligence and experience allow him to determine solutions and quickly formulate strategies; all while staying as cool as a cucumber. On the other hand though this guy is willing to send out rookies to a dangerous ruin under the claim that they "enjoy adventure", lets a backstabbing traitor join them into said dangerous ruin knowing he'll backstab them, and is willing to let said backstabbing traitor drop into magma unless he joins the team for real. That's some lowkey sociopath stuff right there. His catchphrase consists of him snapping his fingers and saying "Attack!" when pressing forward or venturing into an unknown, something which, much as I hate to admit it, I find really really cool.

Bouken Blue/Souta Mogami - Not much to say about this guy right now. Like most Sentai Blues, he's composed and rational. He's not emotionally distant thankfully and exerts a calm friendly vibe. At least he cares about the mission and voices his concern about the two rookies who might underestimate the power of an ancient MacGuffin that surpasses current technology unlike a certain chief who lets people enter dangerous ruins because they "enjoy adventure". I like him. I don't drink alcohol but he totally feels like the uncle or coworker one shares a beer with over a hot afternoon (yeah yeah Aussie stereotype but that's how I feel).

Bouken Pink/Sakura Nishihori - The other composed and rational member of the team. She's very mission-oriented and sticks to the rules, even insisting on calling the other members by their colors as per proper protocol (something which I think is kind of stupid. Why the heck do you need to call each other by color?). Also not much to say about her right now.

Bouken Black/Masumi Inou - A self-proclaimed 'Treasure Hunter'. In DnD terms, he'd be the 'thief' of the group. Casually breaks protocol such as calling Bouken Pink "Sakura-neechan" and is happy to abandon his 'team' until he almost drops into magma. Unlike Red, this guy doesn't seem to care much about the lore behind the treasure and is more focused on the actual treasure itself. Wait a second. A treasure hunter, laid-back attitude, backstabby nature? Hmmm...that sounds kind of familiar...

Bouken Yellow/Natsuki Mamiya - The happy-go-lucky member of the team. She definitely gives off an aura of a new intern who's excited to work in their new job. She seems very attached to the team, even hesitating when Masumi is willing to abandon the rest of the Boukengers. Something interesting is that she has this sort of 'instinct', something which I would normally shrug off. However, we clearly see that her 'instinct' gives her some sort of vision or foresight that allows her to save Souta from blowing up into kingdom come. I'll be keeping an eye on her and this 'instinct' of hers closely as I continue watching.

Accellular
https://i.imgur.com/JoFBVzw.png

The Accellular has gotta be one of the more fun henshin devices I've seen in Sentai. The name is awesome, it's a phone changer (my second favorite type of henshin device next to the Kamen Rider belts and before the classic wrist changers) and you roll it across your sleeve or somethingto transform if the opening is any indication.

DaiBouken
https://i.imgur.com/TK4ANli.png

The DaiBouken is an absolute unit. I don't know why but the design just WORKS for me. The chonkiness is quite sexy. Also, using a shovel and a pickaxe, called the Go Scooper and Go Picker respectively, as weapons is a great nod to the archeology theme of the series, and having them combine into the Gogoken sword is a nice touch. Another neat touch is that the chest engines and arms visibly vibrate akin to a heavy duty engine during the finishing attack; something which adds more 'life' to the mechanical nature of DaiBouken.

I'm a bit disappointed that they didn't release the SRC DaiBouken that was shown a while back, but I suppose I can't gripe about unreleased Tamashii products forever.

http://www.tokunation.com/attachment...5&d=1349915683

MOTW: Giant God Gordom
https://i.imgur.com/x9zFSMH.jpg

The monster of the week is "Giant God Gordom", a giant hulking robot-looking thing that served as the ruins which the Boukengers were exploring in the start of the episode until Mr. Legendary Treasure Hunter 'intentionally' raised it up to the surface. Apparently this guy is based of the Variblune, the 'mecha' of the Gorengers. I can definitely see the inspiration there, with the twin rotors on the shoulders. Boukenger, being an anniversary series, deciding to base its MOTWs on past Sentai mecha is a GENIUS idea, and I'm starting to think this is the predecessor to the widely acclaimed "Another Riders" that showed up in Kamen Rider Zi-O.

https://i.imgur.com/SimYypN.jpg

Hmmm...I think what I'll do is that before I search up what mecha a MOTW is based on, I'll try a little game where I'll see if I can guess which mecha the MOTW is based off before I find out the correct answer on RangerWiki.

Arch-Priest Gajah
Arch-Priest Gajah. First impressions of him? He definitely reminds me of the classic cult-like leader typically seen in some old super robot shows. Not only does he have the cult-like swag, he has the deep voice, devotion to ruling humanity and a bunch of disposable minions to boot.

Design-wise, this guy is apparently based off the Variccune, the Gorenger's little hot-air balloon thing. I'm sorry but I don't see the resemblance. If anything this guy reminds me more of Alien Baltan...for some reason.

https://i.imgur.com/HvnBv7y.png
https://i.imgur.com/nTHDiCc.png
https://i.imgur.com/Wkkf025.png?1

Precious of the week: Heart of Gordom

https://i.imgur.com/U12bZLs.png

This epsiode's plot device, er, Precious, is called the "Heart of Gordom". It's literally shaped like a heart organ. According to Satoru, this thing gave the ancient Gordom Civilisation the power to control the sea and can take energy from sea water. A device that can extract energy from sea water? Well heck yeah where can I get one of those??? In seriousness though, this thing is definitely worthy of being a 'Precious'; in the wrong hands someone can definitely make weapons more powerful that an atomic bomb or something.

The picture I included shows one of the bombs, but the real Precious looks the same anyways so I'll just put this here.

Opening and Ending Songs
Let me just say that the opening, "Gogo Sentai Boukenger" is a real winner in my books. A cheerful jovial tune is used throughout the song, really adding to the whole 'adventure' vibe the episode gave off. The visuals in the opening included paintings of travellers/adventurers which are juxtaposed with the Boukengers, hammering home the idea that the Boukengers are exactly that, adventurers more than archeologists. The lyrics include nice references to exploration as well, such as how "there's a magnet in my heart" and all that stuff. The only drawback to this song is that it's now stuck in my head.

The ending song was more relaxed in tune. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I appreciate the clips of the Boukengers riding the real-life equivalent of ther mechs/Zords.

Seriously though, the OP is catchy as heck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UREDA-EtYQ

Final thoughts
Overall, great episode. Like I said, I have a bit of wanderlust in me and the idea that each episode will focus on a new treasure means new locations, something that always excites me. The preview introduces these guys called the "Jaryuu Clan" so possibly other civilisations? I'm totally down for that! Solid start, hopefully it'll keep the momentum throughout the series.

Let me know if there's anything I could improve on. Review too long? Too short? (I hope not!) Anything else you wish I touched on? Have a great day guys and gals.

Moeru Adventure!!!

I have always appreciated some funny sarcasm! It's interesting that you should mention liking mobile phone transformation devices, I remember reading in the 2000s people actually not liking that particular trend but I suppose the Accelular is not your typical one in all fairness. One 2000s trend I definitely don't miss is red warriors with really annoying voices like Ban and Yousuke, they were just a bit unlistenable to me. :(

Funnily enough I've never seen an Indiana Jones film, I know but I just haven't caught it on TV and not felt otherwise moved to check it out but I probably have heard the odd reference!

Personally out of all the sentai henshin devices that are cellphones, Accellular is probably the best one out there. Yeah you can stick a key in the mobirates and stuff, but the accellular hits that perfect spot of uncanny and believable. I just loved how they use their arms as a rail and let that wheel on the bottom roll to trigger the transformation, really gimmicky in a nice way. It feels rigid, tactile, all that jazz.
And yeah the show has its flaws but the first group transformation? PRICELESS

Are you Edison though?

It's a very subversive Sentai, similar to Jetman, where the magic of friendship and camaraderie is undermined by rivalry and distrust. Masumi/Natsuki is one of my favorite ships of the 00s!

Fun fact: The Mamiya in Mamiya Natsuki is spelled with the exact same kanji as in Mamiya Rena from the concurrently airing Kamen Rider Kabuto. These two people are not related. Did Toei run out of names in 2006?

There's also the fact that the whole core team is fully formed from the start, a rare feature that also applies to Gokaiger, Lupinranger and technically, Power Rangers Samurai (the first 2 episodes of Shinkenger were cut and pasted later as a prequel).

Yeah, the finger click is such a cool thing that Akashi does!

Not sure how familiar you are with Showa Sentai but they used to call each other by color when morphed. Since this is an anniversary season, Sakura doing it may be a reference to that for authenticity. It also shows that she's the most distant member of the team, acting like their relationship is just business rather than friends. She's especially cold to Masumi who she deems a liability, which isn't entirely unwarranted I guess.

The first 3 movies are good, but people, myself included, generally agree that the fourth is lame. If you're looking for a more recent adventure movie, I'd recommend Tomb Raider, an adaption of the 2013 video game of the same name from the action adventure game series starring Lara Croft. I think it's one of the few game-to-movie adaptions that improve on the source.

Huh? People hated mobile phone changers that much? Oh well, they do them and I'll do me. I don't know why but I think they're pretty neat!

No I'm not! But dang it, I wish!

Yeah Boukenger has been pretty subversive so far. Definitely noticed how the team seemed to function as an actual team instead of just friends or strangers who worked through the power o friendship or whatever stuff kids shows use. It makes for an interesting dynamic and something I definitely would like to see more. Anniversary Sentai are fun.

I've never seen Showa Sentai so if it really is a reference to it then that's pretty neat. A nice callback to the franchise's roots.

This is gonna be interesting to see a different, maybe positive, perspective on this show, especially since it's my least favorite Sentai I've seen until now.

Look forward to this.

WOW that is some impressive effort you put into that recap! Allow me to throw that mad respect right back your way; that was very fun to read.

Glad I watched the first few episodes of this show back when I was watching Kabuto so I don't feel like I'm spoiling myself here, too. I was trying to sort of recreate the full Super Hero Time experience, as I recall, but despite enjoying what I saw, I ended up dropping Boukenger to focus on Kabuto and never really getting back around to it. Just a personal anecdote that's not really important, buuuut, mentioning this show's sister series gives me a nice segue to share this screencap from one of the block's bumpers:

https://i.imgur.com/6kkWgAB.png

Consider it a gift, because judging by your outlook on Satoru, it kinda sounds like you could get some use out of it. :lol

A couple other quick thoughts I have to contribute:

- I remember thinking the whole backstabbing routine with Bouken Black was super fresh and very weird, but not necessarily in a bad way. It fits the genre they're aiming for, and it definitely stuck in my memory even years later, so on that level I think it was a successful move for the show to make.

- I agree about the OP being great, but would like to encourage you not to sleep on the ED, either. Psychic Lover and Sentai just go together, and it shares a lot of the same qualities with that awesome opening, down to the great use of thematically relevant imagery in the lyrics. I hope it grows on you with time, because I consider it one of Sentai's best.

- About the phone changers, I think the problem was that people felt they were being overused for a while, and wanted either some more variation or just a return to wrist changers. Which is an attitude I get as someone who loves wrist changers, but what I've come to realize with time is that the overabundance of both bracelets and phones results from the same thing – Sentai trying to capture children's imaginations by making the changers based on popular real-world gadgets. Back in the 80's, digital wristwatches were the kind of trendy thing a kid would want, but in the 2000's, that was cell phones. Even Kamen Rider got in on that action around the same time with Faiz, and you'll note the flip phone trend eventually started dying out not too long after smart phones had really taken off.

I'm temporarily putting my reviews on hold until I can find find a decent player to play the Boukenger stuff I torrented. Kissasian sucks, Tv-Nihon sucks, PLEASE GIVE ME BETTER SUBTITLES! I BEG YOU VLC MEDIA PLAYER PLEASE HELP MEEEE!!!

Good luck with that. I already checked, there isn’t one. Not complete, anyway.

Found a great source of Boukenger. I guess you could say I found a precious treasure! A niche Wordpress blog called Earthly Subs subbed the entire thing. Best part is that it's of good quality if the video below is of any indication. Unfortunately the file is .mkv which means the video below which has been uploaded to imgur doesn't have subtitles (the .mkv files themselves has subtitles).

Too bad there's no sound; just open the thing in a new tab if you want to hear audio.

https://i.imgur.com/YmxHdDm.mp4

EDIT: Hmmm, doesn't seem to work on mobile. I'll leave the link here for anyone who wants to see the vid: https://i.imgur.com/YmxHdDm.mp4

Be sure to post about that group in the Sentai Subs thread so that way more people will know it's a thing!

Still, really hoping SHOUT continues to provide official subs for Sentai. Even if Bokenger is pretty far off from where they're currently at.

Weren't SHOUT's subs for Sentai pretty sub-par?

I’d say it’s a “to each, their own” kind of thing. A lot of people praise Over-Time, while a few others criticise them for taking a lot of liberties and several seemingly pointless changes (ie. changing the scene where Yoko translates Beet J. Stag into Japanese so she instead translates it into Latin).

Plus, I’ll level with you the story behind my decision to do a Hurricaneger watch thread. I tried watching the show in earnest a while ago, but gave up after episode 7 due to a) the subs deteriorating in quality and b) the aforementioned episode 7 was way out of sync. But when I brought it up on somebody’s Facebook post, he said that if you know anything about Japanese as a language, then any sub becomes pretty terrible. So that was basically the kick in the pants I needed to watch the show in earnest. (Plus, I checked a later episode and that seemed pretty ok).

Depends on what other subs you're comparing them too. Granted, while I haven't watched all of their sub of Zyuranger, what bits of it I did check out were way better than the awful subs I used to watch the show years ago.

Task 2: The Dragon Thieves

Hello everyone! I’m back and finally free from the evil spell of procrastination…for now. It’s a bad habit I’m trying to break. Mad respects to the other watch threads for their dedication in updating their threads. Procrastination is scary. Although in my defense some unexpected real life stuff that I had to take care of happened so it’s not entirely procrastination... I’ll stop giving excuses now.

First episode was a blast! Except for the fact that TV-Nihon subs SUCK. I managed to find a new batch of subs to watch, but for some reason episode 2 seems to be broken. I checked all the other episodes and they don’t seem to have a problem so just for episode 2 I’ll be using TV-Nihon for my screenshots. Please forgive the blurs and pixelated images.

Also, I know last recap I said I would start a game where I’d see if I can identify what previous Sentai mecha the MOTW is based on, but after finding out that the MOTW, grunts and villains are not only based on the previous mechas but also auxiliary and movie-exclusive mechas, I promptly gave up on that idea.

I know it’s been some time since I did the last episode review/reaction, but I want quality in these posts (not to mention trying to create a distinct writing style) so please bear with me. I don’t want to force myself to write these things, I want these things to be a labor of love. Not to mention I was under the demon of procrastination. Again, feedback is appreciated.

Also, I’ve decided to integrate my thoughts about this episode through the reaction segment instead of splitting the two into separate segments in an attempt to create a distinct flow of a conversational thought process. Let me know if you guys want me to keep it like this or separate it into reaction and thought segments. Again, still experimenting.

The episode
https://i.imgur.com/drGXhWi.png

The episode begins immediately where the last one left off: Arch-Priest Gajah has been turned into dragon chow. Masumi freaks out as to what the heck just happened while Satoru recognises the dragon as part of the Negative Syndicate; a collective group of individuals who wish to misuse the great power of the Precious.

https://i.imgur.com/Fz4hF6m.png
https://i.imgur.com/gN9r5u5.png

Meanwhile, under the sea, the dragon is revealed to be some sort of robotic behemoth that is piloted by strange lizardmen, hence upgrading Gajah’s status from dragon food to prisoner. The leader of the lizardmen, Creator King Ryuuwon, reveals that he too is also after the Heart of Gordom, prompting Gajah to vent his frustrations towards the Boukengers, only for one of the lizardmen (called a “Jaryuu”) to point a blade at him. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, for Gajah, Ryuuwon overheard his earlier statement that there was more than one Gordom treasure, and promptly tells his grunts to put down their blades before demanding Gajah to lead him to the goods.

https://i.imgur.com/3LeRe71.png

Meanwhile, Satoru delivers the Heart of Gordom to Morio Makino, who stops watering plants and excitedly starts analysing the Heart. Satoru recalls how Gajah mentioned the existence of another Gordom relic, prompting Morio to recall how legend states that the Gordom Civilisation used TWO treasures to control the sea. The Heart of Gordom start to emit a strange pulse, something that does not go unnoticed by Morio and Satoru.

https://i.imgur.com/uPfEKWg.png
https://i.imgur.com/hfLQX7I.png

The scene cuts to the SGS Foundation’s museum, where Natsuki is busy looking at all the exhibits. Now, I don’t know about you but if I was a bad guy I’d immediately take all my armies and storm the place. I’m honestly shocked their headquarters is in a public place like a museum and not some kind of Area 51-like warehouse or something. I mean, hello, Precious are supposed to be these super-dangerous relics that should be hidden from dangerous people/organisations! But, then again, at the end of the day GoGo Sentai Boukenger is a kids show, and what do kids love? Museums! This is all too exhibited in the chlildlike Natsuki, who wanders from exhibit to exhibit in innocent glee before being pulled away by Sakura who reminds her that she’s not yet allowed to explore the museum/base on her own without supervision.

https://i.imgur.com/49LZRzh.png

Souta, holding a tablet containing information on various Negative Syndicates, soon identifies the party that took Gajah: the Jaryuu Tribe, a reptilian tribe of humanoids who believes they have the right to rule the world due to the fact that they carry dinosaur genes in them. However, as Souta notes, the Jaryuu Tribe don’t seem to be very smart. Unfortunately for the Boukengers, it would seem that one of them isn’t very smart either as Natsuki starts fiddling with some exposed machinery in a corner of the room and sets off a shower of electrical sparks, much to Sakura’s chagrin. And much to Masumi’s chagrin, Souta won’t let him even look at the tablet holding the information of the Negatives. At this point I could really sense some tension and distrust among the team members (Sakura continually observes Natsuki, Souta won’t let Masumi near information, etc.); an interesting dynamic that adds a nice twist to the usual ‘bonds and friendship’ stuff that most Super Sentai usually consist of.

https://i.imgur.com/ZzNj9j3.png

Satoru enters the room where he is immediately filled in on the Jaryuu Tribe’s involvement by Souta. The Boukengers are immediately greeted by Mr. Voice, a cone-shaped 3D avatar projected on a screen that is clearly meant to appeal to kids. I’m not exactly sure at this point if Mr. Voice is an artificial intelligence or not. Mr. Voice congratulates the Boukengers for retrieving the Heart, but affirms that there is still one more Gordom treasure out there, causing Masumi to realise that Gajah was captured by the Jaryuu Clan to lead them to the other treasure. Mr. Voice hypothesises that the pulse emitted by the Heart of Gordom could be its way of ‘connecting’ to the other Gordom relic and stresses that if the Negative Syndicates were to obtain the Precious it could lead to the end of the world {man the Boukengers must have really tough jobs if their success rate on the field should be 100% all the time. Hope they’re getting paid well).

https://i.imgur.com/f5QQ62m.png

Projecting a map on a table(!), Satoru traces the signal to a lake in North America. Satoru orders the Boukengers to mobilise, prompting Masumi and Natsuki to start heading towards the mecha hangar.

https://i.imgur.com/ECmVOYq.png
https://i.imgur.com/T6RgOHW.png

Sakura and Souta voice their doubts to Satoru, with Sakura citing Natsuki’s unknown origin and identity while Souta states that they’re still unsure whether to trust Masumi or no, to which Satoru replies that both of these uncertain factors makes things more interesting. I know I keep saying this, but scenes like this really hammers home how Boukenger is departing from the usual 'instant nakama' trope I see. They take off in their respective GoGo Vehicles soon after.

https://i.imgur.com/kwLoTG4.png
https://i.imgur.com/CltqkFb.png
https://i.imgur.com/pU2c5Vx.png

Cutting to North America, we cut to a shot of Gajah being prodded by Ryuuwon into leading them to the relic. Noticing the GoGo Gyro (Blue’s jet mecha) flying around, Ryuuwon decides to sic one of his giant monsters, the Great Jaryuu Dold, on the Boukengers, who promptly combine to form the mighty DaiBouken. I always like it when Sentai subverts the usual script and gives us these episodes when the mecha fight takes place in the beginning of an episode in order to feel less formulaic. The Boukengers spot a few Jaryuu soldiers piloting Dold from inside, confirming their suspicion behind the Jaryuu Clan’s involvement.

https://i.imgur.com/c9fH0uj.png
https://i.imgur.com/qbkhPCy.png
https://i.imgur.com/TtcQf6z.png

Seeing Dold losing against the Boukengers, Ryuuwon decides that if he can’t win then no one can and promptly activates a remote detonator in an attempt to blow up the Boukengers with the mech, leaving the poor grunts inside to roast. The bomb gives off an audible countdown noise, warning the Jaryuu soldiers inside Dold about the mech’s destruction. You could clearly see the poor grunts inside panicking; a nice detail detail that the grunts are not just mindless soldiers and are indeed alive. I can’t help but feel a bit sorry for them. Unfortunately for Ryuuwon, the bomb’s countdown was loud enough for the Boukengers to hear it as well, causing them to kick Dold away in response before it could explode in their faces. I do wonder why villains aren’t smart enough to switch to bombs with silent countdowns. Or better yet an instant explosion detonator.

https://i.imgur.com/4W5MBIl.png

Dold’s explosion causes a shockwave to spread throughout the sky, something noticed by Gajah and the Jaryuu. Ryuuwon, clearly understanding the ‘premature celebration’ trope, orders one of his Jaryuu to scout the battlefield to see if the Boukengers actually bit the dust.

https://i.imgur.com/g6szIlM.png

Meanwhile, at the site of the explosion, the Boukengers scavenge the remains and finds the corpses of the Jaryuu soldiers as well as the remains of the detonated bomb. Satoru orders the team to split up; Masumi will go with Satoru while Satou, Sakura and Natsuki go off on their own. Masumi complains about this ‘babysitting' while Natsuki suddenly disappears.

https://i.imgur.com/WK3mCr5.png

Meanwhile, the Jaryuu scout sent by Ryuuwon immediately produces poisonous lizards from his body to hunt and kill the Boukengers if they actually did survive. Now I haven't seen every Sentai ever produced, but I think this ability alone would make the Jaryuu one of the most deadliest grunts ever.

https://i.imgur.com/oBaekIG.png
https://i.imgur.com/B202UpA.png

Sakura and Souta, while searching for the Precious, ponder Natsuki's mysterious origins. We then cut to Satoru and Masumi, who tells Satoru how he found Natsuki in a ruin he was exploring. Natsuki woke up with no recollection of who she is (read: amnesia), something which Sakura questions, wondering if Natsuki's amnesia is a feint and she might actually be a Negative Syndicate spy (you can totally feel the trust here folks).

https://i.imgur.com/0CfDQ50.png

Much to Souta and Sakura’s shock, they see Natsuki down a waterfall base trying to communicate with the Jaryuu scout from earlier. The two provoke the Jaryuu into coming up to them above the waterfall. The scout escapes before anything could be done to him. Sakura sends out a flare to notify Satoru and Masumi that Natsuki has been found.

https://i.imgur.com/p0NqpKu.png
https://i.imgur.com/SyhIBn2.png

The Jaryuu scout returns, informing Ryuuwon of the Boukenger’s survival and approach. Deciding that ’the enemy of my enemy is my friend’, Gajah immediately summons some Karths from nearby rocks, intending to settle his score with the Boukengers.

https://i.imgur.com/mNXEi8s.png
https://i.imgur.com/s2bwITV.png

Satoru and Masumi see the signal flare, Masumi pulls out his Scope Shot and draws out a knife. He quickly thrusts his knife at Satoru's direction (making the audience believe that he's trying to kill Red), stabbing the poisonous lizard that was about to attack Satoru.

https://i.imgur.com/mhbavxc.png
https://i.imgur.com/0QkZ3Yt.png

Satoru repays the favor by quickly offing a poisonous lizard by Masumi's legs with a small disk thing. I take back my previous statement of how the Jaryuu are the most dangerous grunts if the lizards can be killed this easily (seriously that lizard died with one hit). However, I will put back my previous statement on the account that they seem to be going for a quantity over quality shtick here.

https://i.imgur.com/3NSz0sH.png

Pointing the now-deceased Jaryuu grunt’s sword at Natsuki, Sakura demands to know what Natsuki was talking to the Jaryuu about. Natsuki spills her secret and holds up her arm, revealing a mysterious bracelet.

https://i.imgur.com/wEBXHDV.png

She reveals that she doesn’t know who she is, and the only thing she had on her person when Masumi found her was the bracelet on her arm (thankfully she also had clothes on her person as well or that would’ve been super awkward for a kids show). She was hoping that she could find someone who could identify the bracelet and thus tell her who she is, hence her earlier conversation with the Jaryuu; she wanted to know if they could identify it in case she really WAS a Negative Syndicate spy who suffered amnesia. This made me see Natsuki in a vastly different light. I mean, of course she’s still an airhead but her drive to discover who she is gives her not only potential room for character development but a motive that can drive her along the series, essentially giving her character more depth and fleshing her outside of the 'ditzy girl' trope often used in Sentai. I’m quite impressed by this.

Also, THIS is how you resolve misunderstandings: clear communication. A certain swordsman guild from a currently airing series could learn something from this.

https://i.imgur.com/HE1N7jL.png
https://i.imgur.com/zOjhBVr.png

At this point Satoru arrives with Masumi. Natsuki, feeling unworthy to be in the team, tearfully hands over her Acellular to Satoru. Hwever, Satoru, in the ‘Red Ranger speech’ trope, proclaims that everyone holds something extremely precious to them; their own ’treasure’ that they hold over others. I like this speech as instead of the usual ‘you’re our friend so therefore you’re worthy’ thing I often hear in recent Sentai, the idea that there is something everyone holds dear above all else is quite true. To me that would be my religious beliefs, my family and friends, my prized Lego minifigure collection and my ability to make decisions with a clear mind (hence I don’t drink alcohol as I loath the idea of losing control of myself). Hmmm...I guess that would count as multiple treasures but frankly, I don’t care about the nitty gritty.

https://i.imgur.com/DRg39DF.png

Also, I really find it funny how Souta immediately says how cheesy the speech is after it's all said and done.

https://i.imgur.com/tVUy47X.png

Like any good heartwarming scene in Sentai, the team is soon confronted by a horde of (clearly CGI-rendered) poisonous lizards (that the Jaryuu scout sent out earlier) as well as a group of Jaryuu and Karths who are ready to send them to oblivion.

https://i.imgur.com/GSqWjLG.png
https://i.imgur.com/xZ4OtfS.png
https://i.imgur.com/Orfi5zy.png

Ryuuwon and Gajah soon arrive at the ancient Gordom shrine which contains this week’s plot device, the legendary Brain of Gordom. Gajah, like any good villain, immediately activates a trap and binds Ryuuwon in concrete (at least I THINK it’s concrete), asserting that Gordom relics belong to the Gordom Civilisation.

https://i.imgur.com/OdQxWNI.png
https://i.imgur.com/pyiovdz.png

The Boukengers initiate the first onscreen team henshin and rollcall sequence (which leads to the poisonous lizards being vaporised by the resulting shockwave of the transformation, taking care of THAT little problem), which involves an impressive shot of the team in a circular formation as the camera rolls over each one as they do their call.

https://i.imgur.com/dvMufLx.png
https://i.imgur.com/fNgHQvV.png
https://i.imgur.com/aUpqtWq.png

The Boukengers summon their respective weapons as they fight the horde of Jaryuu and Karths. Of course, this is a clear toy advertisement that serves no other purpose than to introduce the audience to the fancy toys the team members wield so that they can buy it in stores.

https://i.imgur.com/6vabmOp.png

Unfortunately for Gajah Ryuuwon breaks free out of the concrete trap and, despite Gajah summoning his ‘Gordom Sword’, slashes the Arch-Priest. Ryuuwon declares that he fears no puny Gordom Civilisation and proceeds to steal the Brain of Gordom, prompting Gajah to retreat (and leaving a really important piece of Gordom Civilisation in foreign hands).

https://i.imgur.com/khbgcj2.png

The Boukengers soon arrive, and Satoru immediately duels Ryuuwon. Satoru asks Ryuuwon how it feels to retrieve the Precious at the cost of so many followers, to which Ryuuwon boasts that he can create as many followers as he needs (prompting a barrage of disturbing questions from me as to whether or not Ryuuwon can reproduce asexually or not), prompting Satoru to start spouting the usual ‘my friends are my strength’ spiel, but thankfully in a more subdued and confident manner compared to some of the more overexcited way I sometimes see recent Sentai do it.

https://i.imgur.com/Ps1ftr5.png

However, thanks to Red Ranger PowerTM, Satoru soon gets the upper hand in the battle and, using his Bouken Bo and SurviBlade weapons, DOUBLE SLASHES Ryuuwon, causing him to lose footing and over-dramatically fall over the edge of the cliff (I’m sure he’ll be fine). His fall is witnessed by a nearby Gajah who swears that the Gordom Civilisation will never fall.

https://i.imgur.com/LPW0frI.png

With the whole ordeal finally over, the Boukengers retrieve the Brain of Gordom. The special honor of containing the Precious is given to Natsuki, showing the team’s newfound trust in her, prompting Masumi (who backstabbed them last episode) to complain about the team forgetting about him and hands over the Brain to Natsuki for containment.

https://i.imgur.com/mGG0pHh.png

The episode ends with Satoru proclaiming that even if all of them search for different treasures, they will all be Boukengers, before stating that a new adventure is just around the corner. The ending scene seems suspiciously like the final shot of the end credits...

https://i.imgur.com/ApLguOB.png

The Boukengers' Weapons
Here in this episode, the Boukenger’s individual specialised weapons are given a bit of a spotlight (which I am most definitely convinced is for toy advertising purposes).

Bouken Bo
https://i.imgur.com/LLr884g.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/xQsW7bC.png

A stick wielded by Bouken Red/Satoru. It has a claw on the end which can open up, allowing a blade to extend to turn it into the Bouken Javelin. I always appreciate spear weapons, this one being no exception. The claw looks practical, and I can totally see Satoru using it to grab small items out of ancient altars or pick garbage in the street or something.

Blow Knuckle
https://i.imgur.com/q2ACEYa.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/TRJnIdO.png

A gauntlet…thing that Bouken blue/Souta wields. It’s some kind of turbine/fan thing which blows out large amounts of air, allowing Souta to blow away enemies and/or propel himself upwards. Seriously he can actually hover with this thing. I bet if he had one more he can make a jetpack or something. I bet if I had one I could use it to beat the summer down here in Australia.

Bucket Scoopers
https://i.imgur.com/JV4CqjW.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/XWhtlgl.png

Wielded by Bouken Yellow/Natsuki, I can only describe these as the most unusual weapons in Sentai I have ever seen. They confused me when I first saw them in Gokaiger and they still confuse me now. Are these supposed to be used for digging or something? I know they’re blunt weapons but…what? I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one.

Radial Hammer
https://i.imgur.com/BdPum5w.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Ohyo8fk.png

A large hammer that Bouken Black/Masumi wields. It looks like a rear axle with tires on it. I’m not too impressed with its design but at least it gets its job done; getting hit with that thing looks like it’ll hurt, props to the suit actors for being willing to get pummelled by it (I mean yeah I know the prop won’t be intentionally damaging for safety reasons but still).

Hydro Shooter
https://i.imgur.com/mqErp5Q.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/wGJhMWN.png

A blaster wielded by Bouken Pink/Sakura. As the name implies, it shoots water. I’m guessing it shoots water REALLY hard because enemies are getting destroyed by the water blasts coming out of this sucker. I have enough experience with a pressure washer that my dad uses to clean his car to know that water can straight out kill you if it’s shot out hard enough.

SurviBuster
https://i.imgur.com/fwNyCSh.jpg

A standard sidearm which all the Boukengers possess. it's a basic rifle which can convert into a SurviBlade sword mode, which does exactly what you reckon a sword does. Interesting to note is that Masumi was seen last episode sing the SurviBlade to pick a lock in the Gordom ruins holding the Heart of Gordom (despite the fact that the SurviBlade has no visible teeth or mechanism which would allow such a smooth blade to mess with locking mechanisms); a neat little gimmick in my opinion.

Scope Shot
https://i.imgur.com/ugXTB54.png

Technically it's not a wespon but I'll put it in here anyways because I find this thing interesting. What is it exactly then? Well the best way I can describe this thing is a 'swiss army telescope'. It looks and acts like a telescope, but it also has a built-in retractable knife, a miniature parachute, a signal flare and who knows what else inside that thing. All I can say is, I want one.

Precious of the Week: Brain of Gordom
https://i.imgur.com/4L1ug5K.png

Hazard Level: 130
This week’s MacGuffin is the ‘Brain of Gordom’, which frankly looks nothing like a brain and more like a weird alien egg thing. I mean, i GUESS it looks like a brain? I’m not exactly sure what this thing is used for but Mirio stated earlier in the episode that this thing was used in conjunstion with the Heart of Gordom to control the seas so I guess it’s some kind of power source like the Heart. I’m not too sure, details weren’t really given.

Sure looks nifty though.

https://i.imgur.com/xgpU9Lb.png?2

Something I forgot to mention in the last episode review was the “Hazard Level”, a term used in the show to gauge how dangerous a Precious relic is (not to be confused with another certain type of Hazard Level). Last week’s Heart of Gordom was Hazard Level 80.

Monster of the Week: Great Jaryuu Dold
https://i.imgur.com/Ip1FAto.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/yyYYlKt.jpg

At first this thing might seem like a ripoff of Godzilla, but it’s a homage to Zyuranger’s King Brachion. Unlike King Brachion however, Dold has legs, is red and is prone to being blown up via remote detonator. The wiki calls it ‘Great Evil Dragon Dold’ but I prefer ‘Great Jaryuu Dold’ so that’s what I’ll be using.

Creator King Ryuuwon
https://i.imgur.com/sNulyKz.png
https://i.imgur.com/NqMTwGN.png?1

The ferocious leader of the Jaryuu Clan, the Creator King Ryuuwon is a tyrant in every sense of the word; cold-hearted, ruthless and cunning. He reminds me of a slightly angrier version of Megatron from Transformers Prime (the teeth certainly help with the impression!). Even without looking at the wiki, I could already tell that this guy was based off the iconic Megazor-I mean, Daizyujin from Zyuranger.

A nice touch I appreciated was the idea of turning the Daizyujin’s double back-mounted cannons into swords that are holstered in the back.

Also, he has one of the best voices I've ever heard since Char "The Red Comet" Aznable from Gundam. Seriously, this guy has an awesome voice actor. It's charismatic enough and yet you can still make out the arrogance this guy has.

https://i.imgur.com/EFaWn3g.png
https://i.imgur.com/hv6xAAl.gif

Also, I’ve noticed that Ryuuwon has a sort of crest on his head. TV-Nihon quality sucks so I’m using the much superior Earth Subs version I found and downloaded to give you guys a better look. The crest really reminds me of the Zyuranger logo. I mean, obviously it’s just to take place of that yellow dot on Daizyujin’s horn but I can’t help but be reminded.

Dragonoid Soldier Jaryuu
https://i.imgur.com/ATCEP9T.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VJIv5C5.png

The Jaryuu Clan consists of multiple soldiers, also called Jaryuu, that are based off Zyuranger's Dragon Ceasar. According to Ruuwon he can make more of these guys. How I have no idea. Eggs maybe? And now I have this terrible mental image of Ryuuwon laying eggs and these guys popping out. I’m gonna have to go watch some cat videos to cleanse my brain after this.

During this episode the Jaryuu have been shown capable of producing poisonous lizards and the ability to breath explosive fire out of their mouths. So why hasn't the Jaryuu mobilised to take over the Earth again? Then again I suppose Ryuuwon can only make so many of these guys (cat video! Need to watch a cat video!).

They possess the ability to talk and are shown to panic when Great Jaryuu Dold was about to blow up, giving them a sense of life. I do appreciate this little detail.

#gruntlivesmatter

Combatant Karths
https://i.imgur.com/ouZ64lt.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/ntfoZKD.png?1

I forgot to include this in last episode recap so I’ll do so here. The Karths are Gajah’s henchmen. Basically he does this chant and uses mystic sorcery or something to spawn these things out of rocks. Now according to the wiki they’re based off Tackle Boy from Ohranger, but they look nothing like Tackle Boy! I don’t even see the inspiration. I mean I guess the shoulders kind of look similar but even then I think that’s a long stretch. They wield torches that can turn into sickle weapons.

Final thoughts
Another fine episode. Of course we’re talking about a glorified toy commercial. Natsuki gets a layer of mystery added to her, something which I hope pays off well in the future. Additionally, the concept of multiple villain factions in a Sentai is interesting to me and this episode makes it clear that they are not above backstabbing each other for the purpose of their own goals. Considering how Gajah was willing to temporarily team up with Ryuuwon to deal with the Boukengers makes me wonder about if villain alliances will be created and broken back and forth as the series goes on.

I’ll be watching episode 3 soon, and this time from the Earth Subs group I torrented from so I hope the next review is uploaded faster in the future. The review itself was really fun to write but taking screenshots from a streaming service was a cancerous experience. Also, procrastination is really scary…

Well that’s it for me right now folks! Same uncertain time, same toku thread!

I’ll mention that Mr. Voice is voiced by Nobuo Tanaka, who was the original narrator for Gorenger (before he was replaced after the first few episodes with Tohru Ohira), before being the full narrator for Changeman, Turboranger and Ohranger, plus voice acting as Driving Instructor Ritchihiker in Carranger. After Boukenger, he appeared as himself in Akibaranger Season Tsuu, which was his last Sentai appearance before his death in 2018.

Wow, busy man! Been there since the very beginning huh? Kind of fitting for an anniversary season.

Also, RIP.

They are essentially claw/gauntlet weapons shaped like an excavator bucket.

Yep. Best example? The fire hose scene from UHF. :lolol

Hey all. Gashatfreak here.

I'm just revisiting this old thread to announce that I'm ending this. There will be no more episode 'reviews' from me. Not that it'll be a difference anyways considering how long ago the last post was.

To be frank, I've lost interest in writing these things (although I'm sure some of you have already figured that out). I gave it a shot and realised it's not something I find myself doing. Don't get me wrong I love writing, but episode recaps are clearly not something I enjoy doing over and over. And with my university studies and deciding to focus on other interests (such as drawing) this whole thing has become an unnecessary burden on the back of my mind.

So to those of you who have read this thread, thanks for reading. I really do appreciate it. To those who were looking forward, I'm sorry but here's no more. I don't want the recaps to feel forced so I'm stopping here. And for those who write these watch threads, you have my respect. Although I suppose my fault was trying to write every second of the episode into a post.

So thanks for your support during this short-lived thread everyone. On the bright side, I did find a new source of subs to replace TV-Nihon's crappy Boukenger subs.

But regarding Boukenger so far, I really do recommend it. It's a fun show in my opinion.

Anyways that's all from me. Thanks everyone and I'll see you around on the other threads.

Adventure for treasure Boukenger!

Yeah, it’s a thankless job. Plus I have to have the screen caps ready days in advance, which kind of ruins the element of surprise.

But on the plus side, I feel less sad about doing Boukenger vs Super Sentai over in my watch thread (since I’m planning to do EVERY official piece of post-Hurricaneger media in which one of the characters has a major role).

It's a shame, but it's understandable. Glad you at the very least gave this sort of thing a shot!

Hey, it happens! I tried it for a bit with my rewatches of OOO and Ghost and... yeah, I just couldn't find the energy for it despite how much I was loving both. It's really not for everyone! I think though it good that you gave something new a shot; that's always a good thing to add to your experience no matter the outcome :)