[DreamSword]

Episode 1: KitaQman Gets Roasted

DS: Look at our boys! Dying for their craft!

En-chan: Truly a staple of the Tokusatsu genre!

DS: Hello everyone! I'm DreamSword!

En-chan: And I'm Enchilada645

DS: And this this is... DS and En-chan's' STAMP NAVIIII--I MEAN--WATCH DOGENGERS NICE BUDDY!!!

Yeah, so, I decided I wanted to do something a bit different this time around, and given that En-chan was the one who got me into Dogengers in the first place, I figured I should bring him on board for this watch/review of the second season.

En-chan: Considering what goes on in this season, it is very fitting that we're tackling it like this.

DS: I'll take your word for it. And man, speaking of what goes on, I was pleasantly surprised to see that this first episode is almost as bonkers as the premiere of the first season.

En-chan: Yeah, you definitely don't get caught as off guard because well, you should be kind of used to it.

But it definitely catches you off guard nonetheless!

DS: Yeah, for real. I was not expecting it to start off with the entire team putting together an apology video, haha

En-chan: Honestly, I entirely forgot it started off with a Marvel Studios logo bit.

But yes, you see, being local heroes is serious business.

DS: Especially when you don't eat your green peppers and you oversleep. Who would ever do such things? Not me!

That was tied to one aspect I really dug though: The little ways in which Ohgaman got fleshed out. Him having flaws such as oversleeping and being afraid of heights is both funny and really adorable to see after how invincible he was in the first season.

En-chan: Yeah, Ohgaman is a powerful and scary man... except when it comes to sleeping properly and also heights/roller coasters. It's nice to see that our big CEO guy is just as human as everyone else on the team though.

DS: For sure. And man, the episode as a whole is just fun, ya know? Like, a big part of the episode itself is literally just a stage show. Like, a real life one. Wires and small pyrotechnics and everything. And I won't lie, I was actually really getting into it, haha.

En-chan: Oh for sure.

Having seen a lot of stage shows of various productions in the Tokusatsu world, this one reall helped capture that feeling. The sparks exploding in time at different parts of the stage, characters exiting the stage to transform or to 'explode and die'. It really nailed all the little details.

DS: It also helps to highlight when things get for real at the episode's' climax too, what with the sudden splash of VFX with the arrival of "COOL NEW HERO" who fittingly enough is the mascot for a VFX company.

And man, his theme song is rather funny, given the W thread going on at the time of this writing, haha.

En-chan: Very true, but he's not just an ordinary letter like W, he is the Great Z!

DS: Which like, was he cribbing Mazinger Z? Is that just a me a feeling?

Either way, dude makes a heck of an entrance. Like blowing up KitaQman's' car. Which from what I understand was a stretch goal on Kickstarter, or something?

En-chan: I believe so, maybe? I know the sponsor bumper banners at the end for sure mentioned a lot of talking to studio execs about getting permission to do that. Which you know, despite how late or lazy he is, that is an expensive looking car that gets to be blown up via pyrotechnics.

DS: That's another thing too; how the sponsorships are integrated into this franchise. Like, I love the go-to visual gag of Yabai Kamen being stamped with their logos, but it's actually a nice visual touch that Great-Z is too. Shows that he's not as clean as he first appears.

En-chan: Oh for sure.

DS: Speaking of The Secret Society of Darkness, man, it is so surreal watching this now after having seen Jisariz, haha. Here's to hoping they cross over again in season 2 of that show.

Another random tidbit I wanna note: Yuki's' actress. I am like 90% sure she was a character in Tokusatsu GaGaGa too. ANDROZANI, TELL ME.

En-chan: ha ha, if anyone has that kind of knowledge then it's probably Androzani

But oh yeah for sure, seeing Yabai Kamen and the two wolf siblings (I forgot their names...) after having watched Jisariz (I still haven't seen Metropolis) was definitely some whiplash.

DS: But yeah, that's about all the big highlights I had in mind. Was there anything specific you wanted to point out or talk about?

En-chan: I will say that I do enjoy the big wrinkle starting from episode 1 being the new hero shows up and decides "Yabai Kamen's mine now". Definitely will make for an interesting season.

DS: Honestly I'd do the same. Who wouldn't want Yabai Kamen as their arch-nemesis, really?

En-chan: So true, dude's honestly the best.

DS: But yeah, overall this first episode does make for a great hook on shaking the team up in unexpected ways, ontop of bringing all of that high energy that I loved from the first season. No complaints from me!

En-chan: Oh for sure, definitely a solid start!

DS: And I think that'll bring us to a close. Hope you all enjoy this new format. I'll be playing around with it as we go, so we'll see how it all turns out in the end. But, until next time!

En-chan: See ya!

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So what do you all think of this idea/format? Feel free to make any comments on improvements, ideas, and whatnot if you have any!