[Kamen Rider Lucha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shin Henshin

...Also, if their grandfather was alive 400+ years ago, how does that explain Tsumuji's age?...Or Takaharu and Fuuka's?...Or ANYONE'S for that matter?

This brings up a great point. What purpose did them being a family serve?

I fully expected to see Kasumi and Nagi's parents at some point. After all, they're all cousins, and one imagines that Tsumuji's brothers and/or sisters would have had some degree of involvement in the Last Ninja shenanigans as well.

I expected some interesting, compelling, dramatic, secret family relationships along the lines of Jiraiya in Kakuranger (I mean, so much of Ninninger is a dumb attempt at replicating Kaku for a modern audience that I don't think this expectation was unreasonable). I thought that we'd see how Tsumuji's generation tore each other apart in pursuit of the Last Ninja. Or something, anything that would have made these characters feel more like they were part of a larger world and history.

But no. Instead of interesting backstory, we got 10 episodes that were variations on "Ninningers are part of a game," a long, pointless arc with Mangetsu that literally repeats plots of episodes from the middle of the show, a resurrected villain general brought back for the sole purpose of being unceremoniously killed again, and some utterly pointless cameos from past sentai members. Hell, we didn't even go back to the idea of there being other ninja schools in this world! The potential for this show was so high! The designs are great, the mechs are interesting, the special effects are top notch, and (unlike others) I think the cast got pretty engaging over the series.

I feel like for 3/4 of the show I was Ninninger's biggest defender! But the fact that it didn't live up to any of that potential makes me actually, viscerally dislike it. Possibly more than if I'd disliked it all the way through.

In summary? Ninninger burned me bad, and I'm super resentful.