[Sh Ranger]

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS VS KAIZOKU SENTAI GOKAIGER: THE MOVIE

(Kyoryuger! No thanks!)

Don't blame ya. When Red introduces himself as a Sentai, that turns out to be surprisingly accurate. However, while I started out being optimistic about their show, I ended up disliking it a lot, so my opinion is basically the opposite of Fish's.

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

Beyond the Gokaiger of it all, and the Special Preview Sentai, there?s a million GokaiChanges and Megazord GokaiChanges, referencing an additional 34 series of Sentai. It?s all celebratory and nostalgic for most fans, I?m sure, but it was all just noise to me. Didn?t care, beyond the most surface-level bright colors and explosions stuff. It was like watching a trailer for a film I had no interest in. (I swear, if I?ve got to watch that goddamn Wicked trailer in front of one more movie?!) I liked it fine as a rousing conclusion to a big crossover movie, but I didn?t really care which robot was blowing up which other robot.

I didn't like the execution of the Gokai Change gimmick, but I love the Megazord Change gimmick for 3 reasons. Firstly, the Legendary Megazord Keys are created from the Phantom Ranger Keys, so the powers aren't being stolen, only duplicated. Secondly, no need to re-gender assign the suits to the match the suit actors. Thirdly, the fight was awesome! I guess since you admittedly don't care too much for mecha fights, you wouldn't appreciate it, but it totally worked for me!

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

(I will confess to really loving the use of Shinkenger to ferry a message across several centuries. That was super clever, and had me rooting for this film for about eight minutes.)

I presume this is your first time seeing Shiba Kaoru, since she hadn't been introduced yet during the time of the Decade crossover. She's a cool character. Honestly, I was more excited about her return than the Gokaigers!

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

And then there?s the Gokaiger of it all? I don?t like Marvelous? I am unbelievably tired of films having a Marvelous plot that?s all about pretending to be a bad guy so he can defeat different bad guys! (I know this one came first, but I still really hate it as a plot.) It?s a needlessly confusing start to this story, where the entire Gokaiger team gets their Pirates Of The Caribbean makeover before trying to murder the Go-Busters, all for a scheme that? gives the villains exactly what they wanted in the first place, plus murdering Nick, Gorisaki, and Usada for good measure. Your returning Sentai heroes, everybody! It?s aggravating as a premise, and it innately makes me resent the Gokaigers showing up. (Gai continues to be a dog-brained nuisance, but he?s not exactly a focal point of this film.) I don?t know their villains, and I don?t like their main guy, and I don?t get most of their references, and I can?t invest in their half of the narrative.

Yeah, my love for this VS movie doesn't really have anything to do with the VS part at all. I'm not particularly fond of most of the Gokaigers either, especially since Bandai refuse to let their damn merchandise die, but I doubt even their average fans would deny that they're pretty antiheroic. They are pirates after all, whether we like it or not. Anyway, at least these guys have the courtesy to share the focus with their fellow VS Sentai, unlike a certain successor.... (good luck)

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

But the Go-Busters stuff is still pretty good, if massively telegraphed. (Like, I?m surprised Nick didn?t just say What Would You Do If We Died Twenty-Five And A Half Minutes From Now during the first Go-Busters scene of the film.) I am a sucker for any story that centers the Buster/Buddyroid relationship, and this one was a pretty fun version of it. It?s as much about the emotional impact that the Buddyroids have on the Busters, as it about the lessons the Busters have learned from the Buddyroids that made them the heroes they are. Convoluted sentence ? apropos for this dumb film ? so lemme take another run at it: I liked that the loss of the Buddyroids wasn?t just about losing friends and/or partners, it was about honoring the people who taught the Busters how to be heroes. They keep fighting to honor the sacrifice of the Buddyroids, and Hiromu?s ability to get on-side with Marvelous is completely down to Nick?s worldview. The idea of earning trust by trusting others? pretty great message for a crossover film between a government Sentai group and a bunch of space pirates who got three of your friends killed for no good reason!

These dramatic heartwrenching Buddyroid scenes though, this is what got me the most invested in the movie! Like I said, nothing to do with VS, it's pure honest Gobusters drama that still punches me in the feelings even on what's probably the fourth time I've watched this now. I mentioned from the start of the show that the Buddyroids are a major part of what makes Gobusters so meaningful, so a movie that sacrifices them in the same way that the heroes' families were sacrificed and seeing them suffer that loss all over again and yet they're determined to keep fighting, to make their partners proud of them.... It's the worst tragedy yet. But what's special about this is how, while they lost their families, they actually manage to get their true happy ending here, using the power of their emotions to will the Buddyroids back to life! Do we even need to talk about the Gokaigers, like, who cares about that when we've got a peak Gobusters story right here!

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Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

IT?S TIME FOR the Toei Edo set!

Man, if there?s a way for a movie to toss in a brief trip back to Japan in the 18th Century, you can bet Toei?s gonna grab it. You could probably do an entire fanfic series of every Rider or Sentai who spent twenty or so minutes in one square block of Japan in 1770-whatever teaming up, but only if you?re okay with a cast in the hundreds. This is the nostalgia I care about, not the Magiranger Zord or whatever. (Cute Beet Buster gag, though.)

And it puts Yoko and J together once more, which is always an enjoyable pair to watch.

In case it wasn't clear enough how much I loved this VS, here's my current Top 10 Heisei VS Ranking:

1) Gobusters VS Gokaiger
2) Dekaranger VS Abaranger
3) Gekiranger VS Boukenger
4) Ryusoulger VS Lupinranger VS Patranger
5) Shinkenger VS Go-Onger
6) Gavan VS Dekaranger
7) Hurricanger VS Gaoranger
8) Gaoranger VS Super Sentai
9) Ohranger VS Kakuranger
10) Kyuranger VS Space Squad