[Kamen Rider Lucha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeoRangerV

Problem is I still don't feel like the whole story is actually building up to anything, and that's ultimately what's affecting my enjoyment of the series. It's far too easy forget that the Kibaoni corps even have an endgoal.

Zeo, first off, I'm a big fan of your reviews -- they're some of the most cogent Sentai analyses on the internet. Even when we don't see eye-to-eye, I know your opinions will be well-reasoned.

So I'm not surprised that you've foregrounded this point. I've been struggling to identify exactly where larger fandom and I diverge in our assessment of Ninninger, and I keep coming back to the same thing. Namely, Ninninger's lackadaisical approach to its overarching plot, best represented by its villains' half-cooked schemes and seemingly boring motivations. I may not mind as much as most that the villains' plan is very generic because I'm enjoying the character development of the heroes so much (I would never have thought that Takaharu and Kinji, characters I loathed when they were initially introduced, would develop into two of my favorites on the show). This would be far from the first Sentai with half-baked villains, but I do agree that this element is tangibly holding the show back.

(That said, I think Kyuuemon is shaping up to be an interesting antagonist, with more complex motives than the show originally let on. I'm half expecting the show to pull a Snape on us and reveal that he's been pretending to be part of the Kibaoni clan this whole time to undermine them from within, sacrificing his own happiness along the way. But obviously that's just idle speculation at this point.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeoRangerV

Honestly Ninninger has been one of the weaker shows I've watched (it has its certainly positives, but the bad has ultimately overshadowed the good and I don't think there's enough to the show left to sway me - it's welcome to try though!) but it isn't completely without redemption. No Sentai is - even ones I REALLY dislike like Sun Vulcan and Boukenger I've managed to find something to enjoy about. I guess it just depends what people are looking for *shrug*

See, that's the kind of measured reply I'd expect from you. I'm not saying there's nothing to dislike about the show. Rather, it's the fervent vitriol I encounter for it on a daily basis -- so far out of proportion to the show's offences -- that chaps my hide.

At the end of the day, it's unlikely Ninninger will rank among my top 5 favorite Sentai shows, but I can already safely say it's far from the weakest I've seen. It's impossible for me to rank it below Maskman (with it's complete lack of anything innovative, distinct, or remotely fun), Ohranger (with its horrifically ill-conceived comedy, completely one-dimensional characters, and artless toy-shilling that sinks the show despite a handful of tremendous episodes), Goseiger (which has exactly 10 watchable episodes in its run, most of which happen at the very end of the show), or Go-Busters (which is not objectively terrible but is so often tonally inconsistent and directionless that it's more frustrating to watch than anything). Compared to those shows, Ninninger at least has a spirit, a pulse... a reckless, punkish liveliness that makes it feel vital in a way that some series just don't.