[Aoi Kurenai]

I thought this episode was actually really good, probably one of the better Sentai episodes I've seen since ToQger. (granted, I couldn't bring myself to care about Zyuohger to watch more than 24 episodes)

While I disliked the first episode because it felt so rushed and Lucky was overbearing as a character, this one balanced things in a way that I enjoyed. Yeah, the other characters didn't get a ton of focus, but their in battle dialogue and actions felt like it gave them some much needed character. I especially loved seeing Sparda jump to protect Hammy - it's not a huge thing in the grand scheme but little moments like that are always very important to me. I'm cool with things if this is the format the show wants to take - split the group up a bit and have one off being the main focus of the episode while the other is fighting but still getting those little moments.

Lucky was also so much more bearable in this episode. I don't know what happened to him but it feels like they toned him down enough that I don't mind him too much now. If you're gonna have a character whose schtick is "everything goes good for him and he's the best ever" I'd much rather see the execution of the character the second episode gave us as opposed to the first.

My expectations for Naga were already pretty low so when he turned out to not only be decent but actually a pretty fun character, I was totally excited. His actor so far seems to nail the character with very few moments of awkwardness in there. I can't wait to see more of the relationship between him and Balance, they make such a good team.


Also, little things this episode did made me love it more than the first. The fact that it's not set on Earth wasn't too big in the first episode but the setting in this one was pretty great. Yeah, you're still basically in a factory with CGI and overlaid graphics, but it still feels different enough from a regular earth setting that I totally felt these guys were on a different planet. My only worry is that this might go away sooner rather than later. Juspion did this as well but it only lasted for about four episodes in that show. Here's to hoping Kyuranger can keep the characters away from Earth for a nice long while.

(also, really cool to see the monsters have Inro, it's such an interesting way of bringing history and pop culture into the show)