[DreamSword]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON BIMA-X: SATRIA GARUDA

A little over half a year ago, I reviewed GARO: Makai Senki. And during that review, I asked the following question: "When you prime yourself for a sequel, what are you looking for?"

And rather than ask the same thing again, let's get a little more specific with it: "When you prime yourself for a direct sequel, what are you looking for?"

Because that's what BIMA-X is, and it's because of that that I end up at a loss.

On the one hand, BIMA-X picks up many of the threads left by the original BIMA, and even takes alot of aspects in some very surprising if not interesting directions. And when it comes to sheer technicals, this show has a much bigger budget and is alot more competently put together.

Though on the other hand, BIMA-X also resorts to retconning a handful of things from the first show(most egregiously outright replacing one of the Power Stones), has a number of its own aspects that lead to nowhere(such as Draconer's' distrust of Black Lord), and most disappointingly for me, taking the style and tone in a much different direction.

When it came to the original BIMA, one of the things I loved about it was its more somber, soap opera styled tone. It was an aspect that made it very unique when compared to many other tokusatsu that I've seen. And while that atmosphere isn't entirely gone come the sequel, it's definitely alot more downplayed in favor of a more "traditional" style of toku flair. And indeed, many of the episodes that called back to the franchise's' roots were my favorites.

To be fair, what BIMA-X does well, it does very well. The episodes that are focused on comedy are hilarious. The CGI and stunt work is just a step below something out of the GARO franchise. The musical score is wonderful to listen to ontop of fitting most scenes perfectly. And the main family remains a huge highlight even if they're a bit more downplayed when compared to the first season. BIMA-X is by no means a bad show, but its very design means that it doesn't exist in a vacuum.

Call me crazy, but the more I think about it, if I were to put the two seasons up against eachother? I think I might actually prefer the first one. Sure, on every technical, "objective" level, BIMA-X is the superior product, but the kinds of highs I found in BIMA were much more the kind of thing that my tastes tend to gravitate towards, and the experience of getting to see a brand new toku being created "from the ground floor" so to speak, was so unique that it's something that's almost guaranteed to remain stuck in my memory. Even Power Rangers had itself more together at the start than what BIMA did.

I likened the original BIMA to that of a friend. And if I am to continue that analogy, BIMA-X is that same friend after they've started to grow into someone different from the person you first met and bonded with. When friends begin to grow and find different paths in life, they often drift apart, as eventually their interests and differences grow too big to keep familiarity. However, it doesn't have to always be that way. Friendships can last, even if the people involved change. All it takes is a continued effort to meet in the middle and to understand one another. And in that sense, while I might not entirely agree with the overall direction that BIMA-X went, I will be happy with it for what it managed to achieve regardless.

As such, for the first time ever I'm going to offer two different ratings for the final stamp on a show I've watched. As a direct sequel, specifically, I'm giving Satria Garuda: BIMA-X a 4/6. Its resorting to retcons and its very different style and tone make me see it as rather good, but not perfect. But on the other hand, both as a show of its own merits, as well an overall combined experience with the original BIMA? Despite a few fumbles, BIMA-X manages to nail practically everything it sets out to do, and these two shows together managed to give me one of the most fun experiences I've ever had with a tokusatsu, and there's no way I can hold a grudge over that.

With that, the rating for the BIMA franchise as a whole is a very strong 5/6. I hope to see these wonderful characters again someday, but until then, should BIMA-S ever get English subtitles, I'll be there to check it out.