[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

Makes me wonder if he has a bit of disdain for Satria Motors then, haha.

If he had more free time, he'd totally start his own Anti-Satria Motors for no other reason than to put them out of business.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

[CENTER]Episode 14

Oh, yeah, I should probably explain what exactly it is that's happening with this one, huh? It's a beach episode, with Ray, Belinda, Rena, and Rena's' friends all staying together at a resort. The result is some actually quite pretty scenery being used throughout the episode!

That's something I enjoy about Satria Series in general, getting to see some new settings outside of the ones in Japan that Toei reuse over and over again. Lots of cool vistas in Indonesia and it's refreshing to see something unique for Tokusatsu like the tropical atmosphere of the resort in these two episodes. Makes a nice backdrop for all the drama between Ray, Rena and Belinda as well, since vacation plots are usually an excuse for that kind of thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

[CENTER]Episode 15

And he's sort of the main star of this episode, isn't he? Like, I'm sure the writers more intended for the growing bond between Ray and Rena to be the major selling point, given that it makes for the climax of the episode and all, but Azazel is just so cool there's just no way to upstage that!

Azazel is cool for sure! So cool that even as a villain, he can still give good moral advice to the kids!

However, I do need to talk about the Ray and Rena plot as well, since that's a pretty big deal for the new status quo. I think this conclusion actually pushes back on the weird romance thing, as the whole "Mochi" flashback is something from their childhood, likely before Rena developed any of those additional feelings for Ray. I like how Ray used that memory to subtly lead Rena to figure out his identity. It was a cute scene, with Ray showing that even with his responsibility as Bima, he will always be around to protect his little sister!

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

my joke about Inoue last episode ended up being quite prophetic given that this episode features them clashing in the water.

Misunderstanding, check. Love triangle, check. Bodies of water, check. It's very Inoue.

Speaking of writers, now would be an appropriate time to talk about the impending staff change. Like Blade and Hibiki, Bima was also affected by this phenomenon. Due to the lack of discussion about Bima, I'm not sure what's the consensus for whether this is good or bad and I'm not sure about the reason either. The head writer for Episode 1-15 was Hayase Masato, but Nakazawa Takeshi takes over for 16-26.

If you want my general opinion though, I think both writers have their merits and some of my favorite episodes are in the second half. The main downside is that we're never seeing Belinda ever again, sadly. That's all I can say for now without spoiling anything.