Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger Episode 1 "The World Of Kikai Is Mysterious!" Discussion
 

The Earth has become linked with a parallel world inhabited by sentient robots. But a new appearance surprises the citizens of both worlds...

A new chapter in Super Sentai history begins!

Oh shit, is that on this week?

Yes, the trailer’s been out for 6 days https://youtube.com/watch?v=i2g57SmE_Aw

Wow. Just... WOW.
BABABABABAN!

Use VPN to see upload on japan toku channel. Excess dance intro..

Just watched the opening and I have to say this looks pretty fun. Looking forward to the subs.

It's like a combination between Zyuohger and Zero One except the humans are surprisingly pretty welcoming towards the Kikainoids as the new co-dominant species. No unethical AIMS laws and no martial arts competition to make one superior over the other. They just get along easy after a month and that's nice to see.

Juran referencing Takaharu's catchphrase when using the Ninninjer Gear was pretty humorous. Maybe it's also a reference to Rocky, the last dinosaur motif red ranger to use ninja powers.

Zenkaizer using the Zyuohger Gear might be favoritism from Komura but I don't mind cause that's my favorite Sentai of the last decade.

Intriguing to see how Zenkaizer and Juran work as the starting team, with the simultaneous action of Zenkaizer dealing with the normal size threat and Juran using his tyrannosaurus mode to deal with the giant monster.

Since there are two Zenkai Ohs, you could have Zenkaizer and two Kikainoids deal with a giant monster while the remaining two fight in normal size.

I'm getting a Shattered Grid and Decade feeling from Tojitendo splitting up the Sentai in to their own separate worlds, while the human and Kikanoid worlds get merged together.

I mostly see that as a reference to the last anniversary season.

Can't say much about the episode until the subs come out, but something that's noticable to me from watching the raw is how the team is coming together, in that all of them are complete strangers to each other and are using these powers for the first time.
For the longest time, every previous Sentai were either:
-all or some of them were already acquainted with each other
-all or some of them already have the powers
The only post 2000s Sentai I could think of that doesn't fall into either of these two is maybe Abaranger.

The series that ended literally last week had a cast of characters who had no powers and didn't know each other before hand.

Only when you count episode 0, otherwise episode 1 started with 4 members of the team already assembled and using their powers

Why would you not count episode 0? That's an arbitrary distinction.

Because episode 0 premiered in a movie and was not the first episode that aired on TV. You could argue that episode 0 is the true start of the show and should be watched first since it contains a lot of the backstory and context for Kiramager that episode 1 sort of rushes through, it's something that I would certainly agree with. However if we're going purely by the first episode that aired on tv, then episode 0 doesn't count.

I guess I see where you're coming from...if somebody started watching on television with episode 1, then they're getting 4 people who already know each other and have their powers. But the first episode to come out was episode 0, and that's the one I started with, so in my mind, that's the start.

Over-Time just released subs for episode 1
https://over-ti.me/releases/zenkaiger-01/

Yeah, I also think that if you're going to watch Kiramager, you should start with episode 0, since it fleshes out a lot of the background elements that episode 1 kinda glosses over a bit

I think Toho is gonna sue someone
https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/14/51/mpcGbTdV_t.jpg

Pretty much this. No robots trapped in the human world and no forced human disguises. Humans and robots are living together, end of story. I like the change of formula with the rangers. One main human who is not even Red and slowly meet the rest in the following episodes.

I guess the reason for that is because if I recall correctly they addressed in passing through the news that it is just like what Kaito's parents were theorizing prior to their abscense of a possible realm/world other than their own, so maybe that helped ease the sudden drastic change that was brought to them until the Tojitendo goons showed up?

Guys, I hate to say it, but I was thoroughly underwhelmed by this premiere.

Maybe it's because I've been so tuned in to the pre-release rumors and whatnot, which means literally nothing was a surprise, but I don't really think that's all of it. I just can't help but compare it to the premiere of Gokaiger, which thoroughly blew me away. This, by comparison, felt small. The action felt weak. The budget seems crazy low for a huge anniversary show. The fears I had about the bulkiness of the mech-ranger suits were fully realized. And I get MAJOR Deathgalian/Gangler vibes from the villains (which is to say, they are generic af).

I truly, truly hate being a bummer about the start of any Sentai show. I just... ugh... I was so pumped for this, and what we got was weaker than either of Komura's previous premiere episodes for Zyuohger and Lupato. Obviously this is just episode one, and I'm not going to judge a 48 episode series based solely on its premiere. But nevertheless, I have a bad feeling about Zenkaiger that I just can't shake.

Well, that was an episode. I did like that humanity and the kikainoids did live together quite well until that one group decided to be assholes.

Nothing too special. I do like the Kakuranger approach of introducing team members separately. Gives time for them to have their own moments.

Nothing too special, but I'll do what I always do and give it until the 15th episode mark to see if it's worth investing any more time into.

In Zenkaiger's defense, it seems like it could be a good starter Sentai so far. Like, I think a lot of people will agree that Gokaiger, regardless of your opinion on its quality, isn't a good way to start, nor Zi-O for KR, due to how much they rely on tributes that can only be appreciated by people who have watched other Sentai.

But Zenkaiger focuses more on the powers and style of other Sentai. It's a cool way to compile them in to a big exhibition so that people can go "hey, those animal guys look cool, I'll check them out!". Furthermore, unlike the Gokaigers, the Zenkaigers are heroic from the start and I think it's important to remind the audience about the true meaning of justice and heroism. Gokaiger takes a long time to teach that lesson but Zenkaiger is making that the center of its story. I think this is the Sentai that people need to see.

Wow, 15?! You sure are generous. I only gave ToQGer 9 episodes before quitting on that.

Fun fact: Over-Time rebranded as Kiramager-Time after Zero One due to their fears of KR getting official subs. On the day of Zenkaiger's premiere, they briefly rebranded as Zenkaiger-Time, before rebranding back to Over-Time. The Toei Tokusatsu Channel has given those guys a serious identity crisis!

I disagree with literally every word of this! :lol

But I respect your opinion.

Honest opinion, I feel the complete opposite. Gokaiger is still mostly fresh in my mind and it certainly didn't leave as much as a mark on me like this. Sure, it was flashier, but beyond that, eh?

It feels more focused, it really showcases the personalities of our heroes and is just really, really funny.

On the villains, they're both meh in the first episode, but at least I got the feeling they aren't just jokes in suits like the Zangiak were.

I'm actually really exited for this.

We all have different reasons for liking Sentai. I, personally, am drawn to Sentai's blend of over the top absurdity, its crazy aesthetics/designs, the way it balances comedy and drama in really unusual ways, and its interesting martial arts action.

I'm not going to deny that Zenkaiger has the OTT absurdity down pat. It's... everything else I have a problem with (so far).

Aesthetics/Designs:
It turns out, after seeing them in motion, I'm not a fan of these mech-ranger suit aesthetics, at all. I was excited by the idea of mech-ranger suits that upended the tradition of all-spandex rangers, and if they looked like, I dunno, Ryuuseioh from Dairanger or KishiRyuOh or Kiramazin or the Jusho Fighters from Kakuranger, I would have been SOOO on board. But these designs are unreasonably bulky and juvenile -- they literally look like those cartoony Playskool Megazords that get released every so often. And don't get me wrong, I don't hate it when Sentai leans into the juvenile side of things (like, I love ToQger). These designs are just not doing it for me, and I really wish they didn't transform at all, because I like their streamlined civilian designs far, far better. (I do unreservedly love Zenakaiser's design, though.)

Comedy/Drama Balance:
I know it's just the first episode, but this premiere leans heavily on the humor and does not balance it with anything remotely dramatic. It relied so heavily on comedy that it reminded me of Carranger... a series I dislike for similar comedy/drama imbalances. Let me specify that I loves me some Sentai comedy. It just can't be the only thing. And so far, Zenkaiger appears primarily interested in laughs, and that's a shame.

Action:
The martial arts action in Sentai has taken a steady downward turn since Hirofumi Fukuzawa took over the action directing in Go-Busters, and this is yet another uninspired outing from him, made worse by the cumbersome nature of the Zenkaiger suits. Gone are the days of complex single-take action sequences, dynamic camera moves, dramatic cutting between super-wide shots and close ups, intricate fight choreo, and interesting filming locations. These days, the action is so focused on featuring the toys, and the budget is so low, that it fails to do a lot of the cool things it used to be so good at. Lately, the action is comprised almost entirely of static medium shots (with the occasional, jarring drone cam footage), and it all takes place in either nondescript city courtyards or the infamous rock quarry. Like, if the action filmmaking can't be as cinematic and experimental as it used to be, why can't these people take a cue from Kamen Rider and at least shoot said uninspired action in cool locations?

Overall, I feel like Zenkaiger is not giving me what I love about Sentai. But again, this is only the first episode, and my mind is still very open. I'm just no longer on board the Zenkai train. Which is CRAZY because just a week ago I was so hyped for it.

It feels so strange being in this position, as I'm usually the one defending a Sentai premiere from its critics. Alas, here we are... :lol

Well, that was definitely the first episode of a Super Sentai series. I didn't hate it, but it definitely reminded me of several of the reasons why I don't watch Sentai anymore. I'll probably try to give it a few more episodes, but this just isn't my franchise anymore.

Funny enough, I prefer my Sentai more on the comedic side, which is kinda obvious given my favorite is Go-Onger. Primary, as paradoxically as that might sound, comedic Sentai often are just better at drama. It's way easier and more natural to ramp up the drama instead of slow down into silly filler. The contrast also helps a lot with making the drama hit better.

Honestly, most Sentai that try to go for something more dramatic, like Shinkenger and Go-Buster often fall flat because their story and characters have to do most of the heavy lifting than individual episode plots.

Honestly, even though I prefer the more dramatic Sentai like Shinkenger, you’re not wrong about the dramatic beats sometimes hitting harder in comedic series. That’s the balance I’m talking about. Zenkaiger could absolutely be one of these series in the long run.

And TBH, the comedy thing wouldn’t be bothering me if either the designs or the action had been more impressive to me. I need two of those three elements in order to fully enjoy a show. So far, I’m getting zero out of three, and one of those — the design — is pretty much set in stone, so the action and comedy/drama balance are going to need to step up to the plate to make me like this show.

I'm also fully aware, after having watched 25 Sentai shows, that it often takes 15-20 episodes for a Sentai to get good. Some of my favorite Sentai were mediocre-to-bad in their first half, so I'm definitely sticking around at least until ep 20, good or bad. I'm just not usually so turned off by the designs and action as I am here, so in those cases, I at least had something to sustain my interest until the shows found their footing.

I just watched it, and this was probably among my least favorite first episodes? Like, ever? I didn't enjoy anything going on here. It was super cramped full of... well nothing really. There was nothing for me to like here.

Also the OP song is weak as hell.

This had such a wonderful energy to it; just enthused with so much joy and wonder. Looking forward to this season a LOT more already, and I was already hyped!

This is definitely the problem I encounter nowadays. The last Sentai that really captured me was Zyuohger 5 years ago, and before that it was Gokaiger.
While I have watched multiple Sentai in their entirety between them (Kyoryu, LuPat, etc), those two have been the most recent where I was genuinely excited to see the next episode.

I can't really put my finger on it, but it seems so many Sentai land on that special level of blandness where it's so uninteresting that I drop it not because it's bad, but because I just can't be assed to even bother remembering to watch it.

I do so want this series to be good.

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

Man, I really love Junko Koumura's writing. I mean, don't get me wrong, she's got her quirks, for sure – I fully expect to forget about at least a half dozen seemingly innocuous lines of dialogue early on that turn out to be important foreshadowing for future reveals, for one thing. But that's all part of the fun, you know? And this show is looking like it will be plenty of fun for me.

This certainly isn't a premiere that wastes any time, and yet it also does a remarkable job trying not to overstuff itself, I thought. A pretty succinct introduction of the bad guys' scheme quickly gives way to a strong focus on introducing the absolute bare essentials of what can technically constitute a Sentai. All five of them are here (blink and you'll miss Gaon though), but the show takes the pretty extreme measure of only giving two of the team any real time in the spotlight to keep the story as light on its feet as possible. It's not totally unprecedented to leave some members out at first, but the lengths Zenkaiger went to here were still rather bold, and I feel like this episode is better off for that.

Kaito is obviously the glue holding everything together, and I came out fairly endeared to the guy when all was said and done. He brings to mind a ton of other kid surrogate sorts of protagonists, to be sure. In particular, I thought his whole thing of wanting to be the first at something cool that pays off with him becoming Zenkaiser reminded me of Kouta's thing about "transforming" in Kamen Rider Gaim's first episode, and that thought was actually key to why I started liking him so fast. Just like in Gaim, it was a solid little backbone for the story to give itself a nice self-contained arc just in the one episode while presumably setting up a larger theme. I guess in Zenkaiger's case, that theme is just being awesome and doing exciting things? We'll see if the show manages to pull some deep messages out of that later, but as a motivation for the hero of an action-adventure series, you can't exactly go wrong with that, can you? I trust a guy introduced trying to jump off a tower for kicks to, at the very least, never be dull.

I also trust him to be heroic on top of that, thanks to the way the script chose to contextualize him bringing the team together. Some of the exposition with his parents is maybe a little on-the-nose if I'm pretending to be objective for a second, but it gets the job done. Actions speak louder than words, though, and I am in love with the idea of Kaito recruiting the first random robot he happened to find on the street simply because he saw him helping a kid out. If I had to sum up Kaito's personality based on this episode, I think I'd go with "irresponsibly earnest"? Everything he does is crazy, but there's a genuine place that's coming from which won me over. Dude is just so excited to be alive, and wants everyone else in on the party. And speaking of parties, I dug Zyuran's personality despite it getting a lot less attention. Being a guy whose shtick is thinking he's young and hip, he has a slightly more mellow energy that helps balance out the insanity of everything going on around him.

So yeah, it was neat seeing these two strike up a friendship on short notice, and the subsequent fight scene had a meta tone to it that I once again ended up being extremely won over by. Stuff like having Zyuran break toku etiquette by just shooting a grunt immediately, and needing every single aspect of how his new toy works explained to him while the bad guys watch in confusion at these two weirdoes confronting them was all delightful. Like, this isn't a show that's taking any of this stuff for granted, and it makes these things I've seen a million times still feel sorta novel, and keeps it grounded in interactions between the characters, something Koumura excels at.

With Shoujirou Nakazawa directing, it's just as fun visually too. Super cleanly and easy to follow, with the requisite Nakazawa killer use of slow-motion in that awesome shot of Zenkaiser and Zyuran both in the air, about to finish off their respective foes. It's honestly hard to even talk about other shots in the episode when that one was so good for how it blends together the two separate threads going on, emphasizes the duo as a single unit, and just looks awesome with the shifting focus and— Look, I swear the rest of the episode has pretty cinematography too, okay? One thing that stood out to was the use of the composite backgrounds for both the heroes' and the villains' respective bases. Kamen Rider Saber has been obsessed with that trick too, and it can be hit-or-miss there, but there's a seemingly deliberate sense of unreality to the locations here that made it surprisingly not jarring. The aesthetics in general seem pretty considered? It'll take a bit for me to decide how much I really like them, but there's a vibe to the whole show that's even more lively than usual for Sentai nowadays. Again, it's very cleanly, with stuff like the opening and transformations sharing Zenkaiser's color scheme of blinding white with rainbow flourishes. It's so darn happy and in your face I definitely don't hate it. Even the text in the logo doesn't have a gradient, so there's no shadows or anything getting in the way of those bright red letters. (It's also maybe to make it look more old-school? I just really like the logo okay)

But uh, if I'm getting to the point where I'm digging into the show's graphic design choices, I should probably wrap this up, huh? I thought this post would be pretty short, but evidently I'm more into this show than even I thought I'd be! Probably not the greatest premiere ever or anything, but it clearly did the trick for me. It's weird and fun and full of heart, as any good Sentai ought to be. Very much looking forward to a whole year of this.

If I may add my two cents, for me it is the pageantry in general. Seeing them churn out iteration after iteration with the same formula is just fascinating.

Gotta be honest, I went in expecting to hate this. The whole "using the powers of past heroes" schtick just seems like lazy nostalgia bait to me, and clunky mech suits leading to slow and boring fights have severely dampened my interest in Sentai lately. Really I was only watching it because I love the Kikainoids' designs and whole concept, and I guess so I could say I gave it a fair chance.

But I actually really liked it? I'm not sure whether that means the show is really good since it won me over, or just okay since my expectations were so low. But I'll try to explain some stuff I liked.

For one thing, the previous Sentai aren't "past heroes," in fact Zenkaiger is set in a world that has never had Sentai before! It's hard to explain quite why but that detail makes a "world" of difference to me (Aruto ja naito!), it makes it feel like something new instead of coasting on nostalgia. And the way the Sentai Gears were used for their powers was fine, though it'll get annoying if they lean on that too much. I'm not sure what else the writers have planned for the anniversary aspect, only time will tell if I like it or not, but for now I'm cautiously optimistic.

And the fight scenes were actually pretty exciting! Zenkaiger was obviously the most flashy, but Juran didn't seem too slow either, I can't tell for sure and I assume they cheated a bit with CGI but it seems like those bulky suits are more mobile than they look.

Huge kudos to Juran's suit actor, both for fighting and dancing in his big ranger form, and for being remarkably expressive in his civilian form. I genuinely felt sorry for him seeing how the humans were afraid of him. I wonder if this show will keep exploring the theme of humans being afraid of Kikainoids in the wake of Tojitendo's attack?

Speaking of Tojitendo, I think they showed an impressive amount of personality for a first episode. They still seem like fairly standard Sentai villains, but little details like the boss doting on his pet bird, the tank guy saying only the ruling class matters, and the elite mook calling Juran a commoner help define them a little more.

Meanwhile, Kaito is kinda the weakest part of this episode IMO. He's likeable enough, his enthusiasm sure makes everything he does seem like a lot of fun, and it's also good to see that he does take protecting people and saving the world seriously and isn't just doing it for kicks. But compared to Juran, Kaito just seems so standard and typical as a red ranger (despite not technically being red), even more so than Tojitendo are as villains. I hope he gets fleshed out more as the series goes on, or at least makes a good foil to the Kikainoids.

I wasn't planning to watch Zenkaiger, but if the next couple episodes are at least this fun, I guess I'll be watching Zenkaiger!

This was a fun debut episode, I loved how they set up the Sentai Multiverse and established that right out of the gate. I'm almost glad they only teased Kaito's grandma for a Zenkaiger lol. Very classic Sentai that they inserted the "not all of the opposition is bad" trope with Zyuran's introduction. Also looking forward to more of the comedy as the season progresses.

But something I couldn't help to think about as I was watching was, I thought this really could have benefitted from having an Episode Zero to setup the team first, I feel this multi-episode arc to do that will slow down the season somewhat.

But I thought I was a good debut overall. It did quite a lot out of the gate.

So, I just rewatched it, and y’know what? I liked it a lot better than I did the first time. My earlier criticisms still stand, but they’re not as big an issue as I was making them.

I think my excitement for the series was so sky high that nothing would’ve held up under the weight of my unrealistic expectations. Is it the best premiere I’ve seen? No. Is it still fun? Yeah, sure, okay. :o

Ultimately, the thing that caught my interest this time around is how the show is low key about the proletariat Kikaitopians rising up against the Tojitendo bourgeoisie. And I am sorta here for that?

Another thing that’s kind of cool is how Juran is portrayed as a middle-aged guy. I don’t think that’s a character they could have gotten away with if the Zenkaigers were played by human-faced actors, who are always, almost exclusively, in their late teens/early twenties. So that is one advantage of the show being about robots — they have a wider selection of character types to choose from while still appealing to kids (i.e. not reminding them of their parents). And come to think of it, that’s one of the things I liked about Kyuranger, the last Sentai show Shirakura had direct input on as a consulting producer. Ryu Commander, Balance, Champ, and Houou Soldier were all distinctly adults, not pretty young actors who are often, literally, teenagers. That same energy is, so far, working well in Zenkaiger.

One thing that hasn’t changed: I still think the mech-ranger suit designs are terrible. :lol

Okay, I’ll admit: I got a better first impression from this than I did from Kiramager episode Zero. Having our MC spend his first appearance trying to be a hero and assemble a team on his own I itative is a much stronger debut than having him sit around, draw an unflattering picture of the one person interested in him and then describe her in terms that cannot be not insulting, while the team forms without him (I don’t care what the last episode says, that’s how it happened).

I also think the show has a better theme song than Kiramager had, so it’s got that going for it.

I'll be very happy if they continue with the subtle animations to the Kikanoid eyes. Suit-characters can tend to look very stiff, especially ones that aren't animating a mouth. The eye wink they did with Juran went a long way to making him feel that much more alive.

How do you think they'll make the animation work for Magine though? Her civilian form doesn't even have a mouth and I'm concerned about how that could limit her expressions compared to the others. It seems impractical as well, since Juran was shown drinking coffee in Colorful so I wonder how Magine actually consumes anything.

This was a really fun and charming debut. It's been literally years since I've enjoyed a sentai series this much out of the gates. I'm interested to see what all they do with it over the next year.

Saw the episode, was one of those that was leaving Sentai because for years nothing really grabbed me, not even Zyuohger which is apparently suprisingly popular, until Kiramager brought me back in force and this is...ok.

I like that the two races are suprisingly okay with each other, and i like that it's seemingly setting up a racism theme with the party scene where everyone turned on Zyuran and Kaito pratically having to tell the kid that Zyuran saved him, but then the scene at the end shows people just being confused alongside Kikanoids like nothing...so maybe i was just reading too much into it?

Whatever, it's just a very intro scene, nothing really grabbed me too much but this happens often with first episodes, at least it's not one of those series where the big bad villain doesn't show his face until the last few episodes, and it seems like it's his pet almost ruling things seeing as the invasion only happens because of it...is the parrot secretly the actual villain?

As for the Rangers...Kaito is easily the worst, Zyuran seems fun, i like how he danced when using Ninninger's power and how he interrupts a speech, how he's embracing life, but Kaito just feels like generic happy main Ranger who takes things in too easily and has big goals and skills already.

Osmosis is a thing. Either that or maybe her face guard opens up to reveal her dragon face and sips it that way. :lolol