[Androzani84]

Well, next episode is where we have a bit of a shake-up. Not a retool, Takara’s Toku shows tend to shake things up in the second half.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Well, next episode is where we have a bit of a shake-up. Not a retool, Takara?s Toku shows tend to shake things up in the second half.

Interesting. Let's see where this goes.

[DreamSword]

Episode 30: Tunnel of Indecision

Turns out that shakeup was a brand new OP and ED. Both music and visuals.

The new OP, I mean, it's okay? I definitely prefer the first one on both levels. And if you thought the first song felt more like an insert than an OP, then boy are you gonna for sure feel the exact same way with the new one.

As for the ED, they're fun. This time we've got a red light green light game being played instead of soccer. I think I slightly prefer the soccer, but as for the music, I think I like this song better overall. So overall this new package is a bit of a mixed bag, but nothing bad.

In terms of today's' episode in and of itself... I mean, it's alright I guess. Pretty standard Ryukendo all things considered.

The demon drags indecisive people into a tunnel to feed off their fears, and the Cop Besties are caught in the thick of it. The dilemma being whether or not one of them should head off to SWAT or not. In the end they choose they'd rather stick together, which is certainly a valid choice even if I myself don't agree. There's some solid comedy and action along the way.

Just, yeah, it's all very simple all things considered. Not that that's a bad thing, mind you, but it does leave me with little else to make a big note of than the new OP and ED. Oh, and that there's been very little Koichi in the past string of episodes which, I mean, I'm not exactly complaining about. Though I assume he'll be at the forefront soon once Takara is done showing off God Ryukendo. Maybe Koichi's' upgrade will be Devil Ryujinoh, or something.

Anyway, yeah, decent episode.

[DreamSword]

Episode 31: Akebono's Biggest Incident!

Setoyama finally gets his own episode!

And it's actually a really cool one all around: Not only is it a focus episode on someone who never got one, but the premise itself is a very cool one.

The plot: Setoyama needs to deliver a briefcase full of Caster Keys that he hasn't been able to decipher to National Defense. Meanwhile, an armored bank car attempts to deliver a case of 10 million yen to the Akebono Bank.

Of course the cases get switched when both parties end up under attack; And what results is a scenario in which, at least initially, SHOT has to deal with something the police should be handling while the Akebono PD gets in over their heads chasing after the Jamanga.

While said premise isn't utilized to its fullest extent, the rest of the episode has so much good going for it that I don't really mind. The action is alot of fun, and features a really awesome looking group Henshin between God Ryukendo and Magna Ryugunoh. And connected to that, the episode features the best use of the commercial inserts I've seen from any show in a long while.

But really, the star of the show is Setoyama, who shows that even if he is a bit of a scaredy-cat, he's able to step up when needed, and while his magic might not be the best, he can for sure still wield it effectively. His actor brought alot of charisma to the role and pulled off the Harry Potter look flawlessly.

This was just a really fun ride all the way through. Great stuff.

[DreamSword]

Episode 32: Shiranami's Big Smile

I just don't think that Koichi makes for a good lead character.

I mean, the episode in and of itself was fine, but most of what I liked about it was despite Koichi, not due to him. Not even bolstered by him.

The premise being that Dr. Worm creates a demon that has the power to fill people with a singular intense emotion. And while you might think that could make for some fun character humor, Koichi still manages to make it boring.

He's filled with happiness, but he doesn't really act any different. He just smiles alot. Meanwhile we have Fudo, who gets filled with immense sadness, and it's played for all the comedic value that it's worth. It almost made me wish that Fudo were the lead on this one instead.

Still, I guess in terms of an episode wherein the primary goal is to have Koichi lighten up a bit, it does the job. I just didn't find it very engaging.

[DreamSword]

Episode 33: Trinity! Ryujinoh's True Power!

It's funny how much better of a character Koichi's' transformation device is than him.

When a demon that can travel through mirrors starts locking people's' faces behind cages, Zanryujin's' crush, Kaori, is the first to be affected.

Zanryujin's' crush on Kaori comes out of nowhere, sure, but it does lead to alot of interesting characterization for him, as well as some rather nice moments between him and Koichi, really selling the idea of the two being friends.

Which again brings me back to how much better Koichi is as a side character than a main one. Him supporting his friend made him actually rather likable throughout the episode, and the genuinely awesome finishing move that Ryujinoh gets at the end of the episode sure helps.

I also gotta say what a shame it is that Ryukendo has so few monster suits, because many of their designs are rather creative despite their initial simplicity. But I suppose their relative scarcity is a part of what makes them so special, right? Plus, I will never fault this show for all of the villains having very different ways of executing their plans.

Add in that Setoyama gets to continue being useful with his magic and this made for an all around enjoyable episode. Maybe Ryujinoh is finally coming into his own in terms of my personal tastes.

[DreamSword]

Episode 34: The World's Biggest Umbrella

Ryukendo really is peak whenever it embraces craziness.

Because really, the idea of a giant umbrella being the main opponent just sounds stupid on paper, but is made incredibly fun here.

Kobashiri the cop is the main character of this one, with his jealousy of God Ryukendo being the main catalyst for creating the dreaded Demon Umbrella, which in turn has the power to infect others with extreme jealousy.

And yeah, Kobashiri himself is a rather likable character! Kenji says it best himself, that Kobashiri's' determination is admirable. Combine that with an intro straight out of something from GARO(in that it imitates old movies), and the new Burning Ryukendo form, which has one of the coolest finishers in the show?

Yeah, I had alot of fun with this episode. From the public domain music to the various character interactions throughout the episode, this was just a great ride from start to finish, and is a great example as to why I love tokusatsu as a medium. I'm excited to see what other upgrades Ryukendo, both the show and the superhero, have in store.

[DreamSword]

Episode 35: Akebono Stage is Targeted

The mayor's' son, Hiroshi, is back, and here to help the police put on a show!

So of course some love triangle elements show up, but they're actually surprisingly downplayed.

The episode is moreso about Hiroshi and Kenji learning to see eye to eye, all while the Jamanga raid the center that the stage show is taking place in. All while Kenji is unable to transform due to his hilariously weaksauce weakness.

It makes for a surprising amount of fun, actually, as it leads to a bunch of shots and sequences that one doesn't typically see in Toku, and proves that Memory of Heroez was onto something by having half its stages be set inside of office buildings. They can be surprisingly fun!

But of course, that's not all that the episode has to offer, as it right away teases us with the latest scheme from Baron Bloody: Reanimating the corpse of Jack Moon and turning it into Mechni-Moon. His time in the episode is short, and very smartly saved for the climax, but it does make quite the impression, as I legit got upset that Jack Moon had been treated this way. And that's a good thing!

That said, the episode ends on the note that Rin will need to choose between Hiroshi and Kenji eventually, and uh, maybe I'm dense, but was she shipping the two at the end there? Cause I honestly have no idea what else she could mean given her gesture. Maybe seeing both of them as friends...?

Anyway, it's another fun episode with a pinch of darkness thrown in. A darkness that I imagine will fully come to fruition in the next episode.

[Enchilada645]

So I've been absent for a bit, mostly because I couldn't keep up for various reasons, mostly real life related, though partially the show kind of just, repelling me. I'll be frank? Episodes 11 and 12 are probably the worst power-up/form debut debuts I've seen in a while. That said, I'm back and doing it in binges as a result. I'm currently up to 26 as of binging so hopefully I'll be catching up soon but I do want to get my thoughts out.

General thoughts though is that I'm finally jiving with the OP because they just added more stuff to it. Also the second ED has popped up for me and while I enjoy it, I'm not sure it fits well with the ED visuals they already have. If it's used to accent extra scenes they filmed it works fine enough though.

Note that these were written after I watched each episode, as I wanted to give an accurate watch of everything.

Ryukendo Catchup Corner Part 1:

Episode 13: This was... alright? It was kind of just there as a recap episode if I'm being honest (and apparently there's more, oh no). I've seen shows handle this better and while the character work is fine, getting back into the show with this episode after taking a break just didn't really do anything for me.

Episode 14: Also alright tbh. We've got an interesting plot this time which makes me think more and more about how Akebono's community is just bipolar (affectionate). And we've got some new characters coming into play on both the hero and villain sides. Also is like... is Jack Moon dead? He's in the redux of the OP we get with the other Generals but like he's kind of just not around anymore and if so um, what a terrible anticlimactic way to go out and it only sours my opinion on Episodes 11 and 12 even further.

Episode 15: Okay this was a pretty cool episode since I'm always a fan of infection plotlines and of course this is very much our new hero intro via Ryujinoh this episode. Pretty standard but I'm interested to see how the Koichi stuff goes given he's well versed in everything going, even more so than our heroes.

Episode 16: For a new toy debut this works surprisingly well. It really speaks to how far we've come in this short amount of episodes that we have Fudo actively risking his already injured life for the sake of getting Kenji a new weapon. The camaraderie on display is honestly great to see, as was Ryugunoh?s trek through the Power Spot. Oh and also Rock Crimson is a cool villain suit.

Episode 17: I think the one thing I appreciate is the fact that Akebono Tower is just, still damaged from Rock Crimson's debut. It gets into how I just love the world-building in this show, though the side cast this time didn't have like the most interesting usage even with wacky dream shenanigans in place. But hey we get to learn a bit more about Koich's deal is and I instantly don't believe the Commander going "I killed them" and confirming Koichi's words. I've seen way too much media where "I killed them" means something entirely, especially in regards to guilt.

Episode 18: Trauma is a hell of a thing to weaponize, but hey, if it works it works and it nearly worked here! Also I called it, the whole "what I did was the same as killing them" remark of guilt. Figured there was a different angle here. Though admittedly the way this whole bit was resolved felt a bit haphazard, but given how Ryukendo is I can't really be surprised. I still find it silly that we're treating an elemental armament as a legitimate upgrade after Fire and Aqua, but hey we finally get Thunder Ryukendo again after a good chunk of not using it and we finally get its Beast King.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Episode 13: This was... alright? It was kind of just there as a recap episode if I'm being honest (and apparently there's more, oh no). I've seen shows handle this better and while the character work is fine, getting back into the show with this episode after taking a break just didn't really do anything for me.

I mean, it might've been a good thing that this was the episode that you came back too, given that as a recap episode, it does bring one back up to speed on everything that's happened so far.

Quote:

Episode 14: Also alright tbh. We've got an interesting plot this time which makes me think more and more about how Akebono's community is just bipolar (affectionate).

Yeah, Akebono is very easily lead. For both better and worse.

Quote:

Episode 15: Okay this was a pretty cool episode since I'm always a fan of infection plotlines and of course this is very much our new hero intro via Ryujinoh this episode. Pretty standard but I'm interested to see how the Koichi stuff goes given he's well versed in everything going, even more so than our heroes.

You must really love the Sonic comics then.

Quote:

Episode 16: For a new toy debut this works surprisingly well. It really speaks to how far we've come in this short amount of episodes that we have Fudo actively risking his already injured life for the sake of getting Kenji a new weapon. The camaraderie on display is honestly great to see, as was Ryugunoh?s trek through the Power Spot. Oh and also Rock Crimson is a cool villain suit.

Fudo continues to impress as the show goes on. Of the three heroes, he's definitely been my favorite.

Quote:

Episode 17: I think the one thing I appreciate is the fact that Akebono Tower is just, still damaged from Rock Crimson's debut. It gets into how I just love the world-building in this show, though the side cast this time didn't have like the most interesting usage even with wacky dream shenanigans in place. But hey we get to learn a bit more about Koich's deal is and I instantly don't believe the Commander going "I killed them" and confirming Koichi's words. I've seen way too much media where "I killed them" means something entirely, especially in regards to guilt.

Yeah it's a pretty standard setup in terms of the Commander, but thanks for pointing out that attention to detail about Akebono Tower! I totally forgot to in my post, haha.

Quote:

Episode 18: Trauma is a hell of a thing to weaponize, but hey, if it works it works and it nearly worked here! Also I called it, the whole "what I did was the same as killing them" remark of guilt. Figured there was a different angle here. Though admittedly the way this whole bit was resolved felt a bit haphazard, but given how Ryukendo is I can't really be surprised. I still find it silly that we're treating an elemental armament as a legitimate upgrade after Fire and Aqua, but hey we finally get Thunder Ryukendo again after a good chunk of not using it and we finally get its Beast King.

Thunder Eagle is pretty dope. I can see why the OP hid it until now.