[TokuKnight89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I'm guessing I'm not the only one whose favorite Kiramager is Tametomo?

I mean, ever since pretty much right at the start, he's been such a fun character, with probably the most rounded personality of the group, and episodes about him tend to be among the show's most entertaining. Given all that, then, maybe it's not so surprising that even Riku Sanjou was enamored enough with him to write an episode where the series' resident Red barely does more than say a few lines, something he (allegedly) has trouble with.

Well, I say that, but of course, we are still very much knee-deep in this ongoing string of "Takamichi+____" plots, a level of focus I think is normal for Sentai when it introduces the big new Ranger, but something about this formula has felt extremely pronounced with Kiramager for whatever reason. Fortunately, that hasn't been to the show's detriment. All the development Takamichi is receiving is doing a great job at endearing me to his character, and crucially, these episodes have been good about leveraging his time in the spotlight to give the existing characters time to shine as well.

For Tametomo here, the bulk of his cool factor in this episode hardly required Kiramai Silver to be in the show, admittedly. An episode about him using his epic gamer skills to clear some kind of monster mansion is a fundamentally strong concept for any point in the series. Seeing him formulate plans on the fly, prepare in advance where he can, and apply his finely honed reflexes to save the day, it's all stuff we've seen before, but it's just as great as ever here, and I enjoy Shovellow getting to come along for the ride so directly.

The unique part is the added layer that Tametomo is doing all this specifically because he wants Takamichi to truly feel like part of the team, and realizes supporting him in his goals is likely to get Takamichi to be more open around them in return. The episode doesn't call too much attention to it, but this is another time you can really tell he's still a leader for the Kiramagers, even if he left that title in Juuru's hands. Bringing the aloof sixth Ranger into the fold is a task that generally falls upon the Red of the show, which is exactly why it was so perfect to see Tametomo putting in just as much work on that front as Juuru.

Takamichi himself is still very much in the middle of an arc, so instead of actually talking about him, I'll just mention I loved the mecha action in this one. It's got just about everything. The individual Machines are still getting in on it, Gigant Driller's chunky proportions are awesome, and the gimmick of how it's "piloted" is a fun break from the usual. And of course, Kiramager's energetic style just makes everything so darn fun. It's normal for the old toys to sit around in the background while the new one shows its stuff in a debut episode, but it's taking it to a whole new level to have Kiramaizin literally sit with its legs crossed to watch the fight, which is itself accomplished using a simple little perspective trick where the "boots" of the suit are actually just sitting detached in front of the suit actor, since that kind of flexibility just ain't happening with them on. It's a simple solution to shoot a fairly quick gag, but this kind of thing is what makes tokusatsu what it is.

Up next is yet another episode about Takamichi, but hopefully it won't be too long before Tametomo gets another turn in the spotlight, because, come on, that's what we're really all here for, right?

Deep dive analysis! Love it.

I'd say the one who hasn't had as much chance to get focus is Pink. That's not say that she hasn't had any focus, but it feels as though she gets less than the rest of them.

I don't want to be too critical, but Juuru's "Inspiration-Means-New-Vehicle-Or-Weapon-I-Will-Draw" is starting to wear thin.

It'd be nice if the rest of the team had some kind of weapon made using their respective partners. I get that this was a special case, and that it was a specific weapon for a specific mission, but still.

Battle with Takamichi and Garza is some really strong choreography and camera work.

I know that Jamen's voice from somewhere, but I can't place it. I want to say ToQger.

Really didn't expect that would be the solution and the transformation regarding Gigant Driller! I'm not that thrilled with the shape of the "head", but it's passable given how it all works and what they were going for.