[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

I... do not! I mostly expect the operatives to scramble into action! And then countdown to action!

But that's the cool thing about lyrics, they can have different meanings depending on the perspective!

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

For me at the time, at least, Morphin'! Movin'! Bustersship! was maybe a little too energetic and fun for its own good? I've long since learned to understand the appeal of it as a song -- and even as an opening for Go-Busters -- but even now, I don't think it really digs down into the soul of the show on quite the same level.

I don't mind it as an insert, but even then, it has to compare with the excellent Perfect Mission. It seems like a loss no matter which category I use to judge it, but at least, I like it enough on its own merit.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Honestly, to this day, especially never having seen any primary source outright confirm anything, I'm still not sure what retooling exactly happened, versus how much of it is simply the usual twists and turns of development on these shows being perceived that way? It's not like a Hibiki situation where there were obvious major staff shakeups, at the very least.

Yeah, the main difference that I notice between this and Rider's infamous staff changes is that the producer and writer haven't changed at all. I recall it was similar for Ohranger as well. We were still watching Takebe's and Kobayashi's story and other than the OP, it feels exactly the same to me.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 30 - ?MESSIAH: SHUTDOWN?

IT?S TIME FOR Clues!

The idea that Escape and Enter are gestalt entities made up of all the scientists? it?s fine, but it?s not like this show did a ton of work setting up that concept to have any narrative weight, beyond the previous reveal of Hiromu?s mom?s dog statues. This was a reveal that I don?t remember anyone asking about before, and it only really serves to foreshadow the reveal about everyone being consumed by Messiah 13 years ago, and that scene is the next one. It?s very Hey We Never Got Around To This But Here?s The Deal With Enter And Escape, and I don?t know that I found the new information particularly illuminating. Maybe you did, though!

Well, it does explain why Enter and Escape are such weirdos. Jin is an Avatar composed of one person's data, so he looks and acts like the real Jin from 13 years ago (maybe a bad example since that guy also happens to be a weirdo but it's the only comparison I have), while our monochromatic villains are composites of a whole bunch of people. It's a dark twist that the scientists who saved the world are now being used against their will to endanger it, including their own kids.

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Originally Posted by Androzani84

The parents being dead all along? The episode frames the fact the heroes learn this as an idealistic moment of closure, but given the whole point Hiromu and Yoko became Go-Busters was to save their parents, it essentially renders their life?s purpose all for nothing and feels like one of the most cynical conclusions to a plot-line I?ve ever seen. If they?d still been alive, but only so long as Messiah existed, I might?ve been a bit more forgiving, but it feels like they got us invested purely for the purpose of pulling the rug.

That's why I think this works best as something of a mid-season finale. The first 30 episodes were grounded in the past and we saw the oppressive toll that had taken on the Gobusters' personal lives. Even though the ending of that arc was bittersweet, or even cynical at worst, it leaves the last 20 (this show has 50 episodes after all) for them to seriously think about their future and dreams after the remnants of Vaglass are finished. I'd call that hope. The fact that you consider the second chapter as an improvement suggests to me that you can see that as well, even if you disagree with the execution.

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The beat in this episode that's always killed me the most, right back to the first time I watched it, is when Hiromu specifically turns to Yoko and apologizes for deciding to break that promise. I love that Hiromu, in the middle of thinking about all the heavy emotions of their parents, processing his own feelings, and making that whole speech, still doesn't forget for a second about how hard this has to be for her too, and I love that the show was written with the level of care to remember to get that in there.

For sure, I love that emotional moment before their climactic final battle with Messiah's humanoid form, reminding of how Hiromu has always honored the promise and how it pains him to now have to abandon it. But it's okay, since they're all choosing to break it mutually, knowing that there's something more important that they need to protect. It's a cool leader moment for Hiromu, encouraging Ryuji and Yoko to confront their despair and bring justice to everybody who sacrificed themselves in the past.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

I still remember being incredibly confused when the end of Lupinranger involved the red version of the center mech showed up out of nowhere without having ever been seen or mentioned on the show itself. Not that it wouldn't have been a complete ass-pull even if I had seen the movie.

Ouch, just referring to the show as Lupinranger, huh. I guess I can't blame you for that.