[GoldenXtreme]

I've been sort of fascinated by the Toei Fushigi Comedy series ever since I first heard of it and I just wrapped up watching my first show from it, Batten Robomaru!

I think the show serves as a good reminder of the fact that "tokusatsu" can really be anything, not just monsters and superheroes. Robomaru certainly has some action and effectwork, but is more of a deranged sitcom than anything. The head writer for this show (and many other Fushigi Comedy shows) is Urasawa, who pretty much any Sentai fan will know as the Carranger guy. Robomaru is even more of a purely comedic and parodic series than Carranger. When this works in the show's favor it really does deliver on some good surreal humor where Robomaru's attempts at heroism cause more problems than they solve, the genre shifts at random, and everyone in Karinto New Town is ready to throw hands at the drop of a hat. But sometimes I felt like it veered too close to generic sitcom fare and I also just found myself wishing for a bit more *substance* to the show. Pure comedy usually starts to lose its impact after a while, much like how an utterly joyless drama stops being compelling. I enjoyed it, but I think it needed a bit more variety, so Carranger is the better show to me. Also, kind of a nitpick, but I felt like its sense of humor did not always age gracefully, whether it was one too many pervy jokes or parodies of other media that was popular in the 80s.

Still, it was something different from your average tokusatsu fare! I'm glad that a few of the shows have finally been subbed in recent years and look forward to checking out more later.