[Kamen Rider Lucha]

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Originally Posted by Thessair

That does sort of imply that people who don't enjoy the same things as you are lesser for missing that experience.

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Originally Posted by Kiwami

Problem is that enjoying something or not enjoying it is not a decision you can make most of the time.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Well, naturally I always prefer to see the best in things, but I definitely can't blame anyone for not liking something.

Looks like you caught me! I'm that internet douche who doesn't understand the concept of subjectivity.

I'm enjoying Kyuranger a lot. I wish you all could join me in my enthusiasm. That's literally all I meant. Sheesh!

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Lucky throws a dart and happens to find a planet on a map that happens to be nearby that happens to have two guys who become Kyurangers on it. This seems to be a surprisingly big point of contention for some people...
**SNIP**
It cuts the fat from the story and allows them to use that precious time to actually flesh out the characters.

Lucky's super-luck is the divisive issue here, I guess?

I can't fault people for wanting more connective tissue, but that kind of procedural logic bores the hell out of me. My philosophy is to put the characters where the story needs them as fast as possible. I don't care how they get there, just get them to the highest point of drama, in the most effective way you can. (Within reason, obviously -- John Wick can't just show up on the moon without sufficient explanation.)

That's why Lucky's luck works super well for me: it's a shortcut that sidesteps the parts of a story I usually find boring. I am always willing to sacrifice strict adherence to logic for narrative/emotional expediency.

Others may not be so lenient -- we just have different priorities.

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On that note, I'm also really surprised to hear people finding the characters total blank slates.

I sorta get this? But frankly, I think it's absurd to expect any show to present nine fully-developed characters in the span of two 22min episodes -- episodes that have to introduce toyetic stuff like henshins, mechas, fighting styles, alien worlds, and bad guys in addition to the characters. That gives us, what? 15min for story & character development per episode?

Taking the above into account, in appx 30min of story we've been presented four fleshed-out characters (Naga, Balance, Garu, and -- love him or hate him -- Lucky) and four characters that are less developed, but still distinct archetypes (with the hint that one of these characters, Taurus Black, will be developed more in the next episode). That's actually very impressive, IMO, and it's something many, many Sentai shows just straight-up don't do over their entire 50 episode runs! (Ohranger, I'm looking at you!)

In light of the criticism that the show is moving too quickly, I find some dissonance in the complaints that all of the characters lack development by the end of episode freaking two. There's a desire among some for Kyuranger to slow down, but when the creators give us a slow burn on a handful of the characters, those same people are all like, "too slow! This is a dealbreaker!"

Seems to me like Kyuranger is in a Kobayashi Maru-type situation with these folks. But like -- we all knew there were gonna be nine characters, and we all presumably understand the constraints of the medium. Due to Kyuranger's concept, obviously some characters were always gonna take longer to develop than others. The "errmuhgawd shallow characters" complaint seems... fishy, I guess? But hey, that's just me.

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I'd also like to point out that Lucky's plot powers aren't used as any sort of deus ex machina here.

Yeah, there was no major Deus Ex Machina in the climax of Ep 2 (though, admittedly, there's plenty of it in Ep 1). Lucky's powers actually get him and the other Kyurangers into trouble in Ep 2 -- it's Balance's change of heart that gets them out of it.

Another way to phrase Lucky's super-luck would be to call it super-coincidence. As long as his powers get the characters into trouble, instead of providing an easy escape hatch from their dilemmas, it's not technically bad writing. (Pixar agrees with me, and we all like Pixar, right? (see rule #20)).

When Lucky's powers are used to get the characters out of trouble, it will be cheating -- and when that happens, as it did in episode one when Lucky was drifting through space, I'll be happy to call it out as bad writing.

But like, I'm also not here to subject Sentai's writing to the same critical scrutiny I would like, an Edward Albee play. All I want is a fresh, fun take on the Sentai tropes I love. And so far, Kyuranger is knocking it out of the park.