[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

Anyway, I mostly remember this one for the ?anti-magnetic armour? they create to counter the Metaloid.

It absolutely looks like they're about to go play paintball.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Yeah, this plot device was pretty stupid. Serious decline from the typical high standard of comedy I expect from this show.

To be fair, the middle version of the gag -- when the four of them are back at base -- was sort of funny. All four Busters trying to cram themselves into the launch tubes is a good gag, especially after the previous beat of them resolving to help Yoko no matter what. It's a standard heroic moment, instantly undercut by them bumbling around the control room. That one was okay!

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 23 - “INHERITORS OF THE WILL”

The two things that stick in my brain with this one are that it was a nice episode for developing Yoko, and also--

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

It absolutely looks like they're about to go play paintball.

-- yeah that

It is a really solid bit of character development though! One of those plots that can only happen so smoothly thanks to Jin being here, too, further proving what a team player he is on a meta level. There's all different ways the big extra hero(es) in a Sentai show can be handled, and looking back, I definitely get the feeling Kobayashi was always consciously trying to make sure Beet Buster is here more to prop up the existing trio than he is to shine on his own. Which is appreciated, since, again, I was irrationally worried about him potentially hogging the limelight when he first showed up. Besides, him and J are the kinda dudes who can steal the show without having to actually steal the show anyway, so it all works out!

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

One of those plots that can only happen so smoothly thanks to Jin being here, too, further proving what a team player he is on a meta level. There's all different ways the big extra hero(es) in a Sentai show can be handled, and looking back, I definitely get the feeling Kobayashi was always consciously trying to make sure Beet Buster is here more to prop up the existing trio than he is to shine on his own.

Yeah, it's nice that this story is about The Idea Of Yoko's Mom, approached from two different angles. Jin is mourning a woman he knew and cared about, while Yoko is finally learning more about a mother she never really knew. Between the two of them, they're still just telling one story about Yoko, though -- how this all affects her outlook and solidifies her character is the entire point of this Jin/Yoko story.

[Kamen Rider Die]

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS THE MOVIE: PROTECT TOKYO ENETOWER!



I don’t really know what I was expecting for a Sentai movie. Rider movies are pretty standard by this point – the Winter Crossover film, that pays homage to the last series while teasing future developments for the current one; and the Summer Spotlight film, that hits the highlights of the year, while adding wrinkles or an alternate ending to the overall plot via a slightly-AU take on things. I knew the crossover movie for Go-Busters wouldn’t be until the next series for some reason, so I sort of figured this one would be more of an exploration of the backstory of the characters, something that filled in some of the blanks of the main plot while seeding ideas for upcoming stories.

Ha ha, nope! Just a great big Go-Busters episode. But in a good way!

There’re a few new things here, but really nothing I’d even call a “concept”: Frog, a new Buster Machine that’s useful in an action sequence and a new Go-Buster Oh configuration; Enetan, the Buddyroid pilot of Frog; and a new Epsilon-type Megazord that Enter can pilot. That’s it, beyond the requisite new Metaroid. (Who is great!) And the Frog/Enetan combo… there’s really not much there? They’re introduced as a prototype Buster Machine from way back, later confirmed to be designed by Jin, and that’s really all we get. They might has well have dropped out of hyperspace, for all the relevance they might have to expanding the narrative of the main series. Enetan’s a sharp-tongued Buddyroid, but she’s just here for a couple scenes. She’s not really a character, in terms of progressing the story?

But, y’know, who really cares? This isn’t story about about expanding the world of the Go-Busters – it’s a story about explaining the world of the Go-Busters. This is an open house, built to take skeptical viewers and give them the most high-octane, cinematic version of the Go-Busters experience. This movie is like a checklist of everything you know and love about Go-Busters, presented with a precision and energy that never makes it feel rote or generic. It’s as concise and thrilling a version of the Go-Busters episodic template as you could ever want. We get not only the highs of constant action (An army of Bugglars! FIVE Megazords!), but we get the lows of everyone’s weak points going off at once. We get a multi-stage plan that goes off the rails immediately. We get the Buddyroids choking down the danger to be there for their partners when they’re needed. We get to see the Go-Busters as an organization square off against the Vagras as an organization, which is maybe as crucial to me as a fan than all of the previous stuff. We get everything you’d want from the Go-Busters, plussed up to Motion Picture levels.

It’s not a story I think was especially heartfelt or moving, but again – not what this one was trying to do! This was a movie that’s precision-tooled to get you to do the YES! jump-out-of-your-seat move that Commander does at the end, and it’s a roaring success at that. Terrific film, and a great example of a full steam ahead (sorry) superhero special.



IT’S TIME FOR Foam Buster!

The Hiromu foam dummy makes a reappearance here, which is such an important thing to include if you want to convert casual viewers into deep fans. Yoko’s weak point always feels a little random, and Ryuji’s weak point is a little terrifying, but Hiromu getting stunned rigid and turned into a weapon for Yoko by an inconvenient movie poster for a rooster-themed superhero is exactly the kind of absurdity that helps make Go-Busters so memorable and adorable.

[Androzani84]

So basically, the reason Sentai summer movies are half an hour, while Rider’s are an hour are so Toei can market them as a 90 minute feature. And yeah, Sentai’s are basically just a slightly more epic in scope episode, with a more elaborate monster suit, a celebrity VA playing the villain, and a retooled mecha toy.

As for what I remember… I have to wonder who in their right mind would convert Tokyo’s most recognisable landmark into essentially an electric pylon. Even if there wasn’t a bad guy trying to steal that type of electricity every week, it’s like turning the Statue of Liberty into a memorial for Captain America. It seems culturally disrespectful.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Androzani84

So basically, the reason Sentai summer movies are half an hour, while Rider?s are an hour are so Toei can market them as a 90 minute feature. And yeah, Sentai?s are basically just a slightly more epic in scope episode, with a more elaborate monster suit, a celebrity VA playing the villain, and a retooled mecha toy.

Interesting! Thanks for the clarification!

[Kamen Rider Die]

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 24 - “A TRES BIEN SUMMER FESTIVAL”



The main thing I liked about this episode is the reveal that the Hiromu we’ve been dealing with over the previous 23 episodes – the tactless, boastful, occasionally thoughtless show-off – is the improved version of Hiromu, after a kind middle schooler teacher helped an even-worse version of our favorite Red Buster learn… well, maybe not the value of teamwork and friendship yet, but definitely the concepts of teamwork and friendship. Yes, this is a story about Ryuji and Yoko learning that they could’ve had it so much worse with Hiromu, the end.

No, not really, although I gotta be honest and say that was about all I got out of this one. While the idea of Hiromu trying to repay a formative kindness by exhibiting his understanding of the lessons he was taught is interesting, I just don’t feel like this one delivered on that, in a number of ways.

For one thing, the teamwork aspect of this one – beyond the basic aesthetic and creative framework of, y’know, Sentai – is basically that Ryuji and Yoko are willing to take on a little extra work so Hiromu can be there for his favorite teacher. That… seems like it’s Ryuji and Yoko’s teamwork, not really Hiromu’s. (You can argue that Ryuji and Yoko are willing to sacrifice a bit for Hiromu because he’s been such a great friend and teammate, but it really says more about the generosity of the other two Busters.) It’s not really an episode where Hiromu exhibits his belief in teamwork or friendship in a way any different than any previous episode, except now this one lady is here for it.

And that lady… I mean, it’s a little weird that there’s so much chemistry between them? I’m not imagining that, right? There is a difference between I Want To Honor A Mentor That Helped Me As A Kid and I Want To Honor A Lady I Had A Crush On Since Middle School, and I feel like the casting here sort of tipped this one a little too far into the latter bucket. It’s all weird romantic tension, in every time period, and it made it hard for me to see the more platonic story of Hiromu learning to take part in a team. (Also… what is this group? Street performance? That seems less like a team and more a bunch of solo acts performing in sequence. That feels counter to the overall moral!) If there’d been more of an age gap, or if the two actors came at it in less of a yearning way, I think I could get on this thing’s wavelength. As it is, I feel like there’re some boundaries being crossed somewhere, and it weirded me out some.



IT’S TIME FOR Boundaries!

Speaking of! I sort of can’t believe this story kicked off with Hiromu and Nick taking a day off, and then Ryuji and Yoko showing up to the summer festival unannounced and in uniform, just randomly intruding on whatever Hiromu happened to be doing. It’s completely rude to do all that, and it’s like it never occurred to either one of them. I mean, I know they have other clothes! They just wore them at the end of the movie! And, man, why in the world would they just crash Hiromu’s day off to begin with? That’s psychotic! Leave him alone! You’re both being very weird, right at the start of what would be a very weird episode!

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS THE MOVIE: PROTECT TOKYO ENETOWER!

The huge fun crazy action beat I always remember the most from this is Ryuuji deliberately overheating to take on a big army of mooks, and it's been long enough since I've seen the movie that I'm not even sure that's any more of a highlight than some of the other bombastic stuff in it. Like you say, it's pretty darn successful as big theatrically-scaled version of the show, that'll wow casual viewers who showed up for Fourze, but at the same time, admittedly, it's never really been one of my favorite Go-Busters things precisely because I usually am coming to this series for stories that are more heartfelt and tender.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamen Rider Die

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 24 - “A TRES BIEN SUMMER FESTIVAL”

...Which is why it's hopefully not too surprising for me to come in and say this random episode that didn't gel with you is actually another one that sticks with me fairly well. For one, I always got the feeling like this whole plot literally just started from Mouri picking up the idea of "Hiromu dressed like a clown" from back when he wrote 12 and for some reason deciding to make a whole story out of that, which is a thought that's always amused me. Regardless of how the brainstorming session for this one went, though, I thought the end result did a real solid job fleshing out Hiromu by showing a different side to him, with an emotional investment outside of his family, and a goal beyond Bustering, as he strives to protect a special day and all that.

The episode itself, I remember clicking for me fine too, of course, but I think the larger reason it stays with me is that all the stuff you learn about Hiromu here is stuff that actually informed my overall view of his character to a surprisingly significant extent, which I think is another sign how good Mouri is this sub-writer stuff? The whole point of the story -- revealing something out of left field about Hiromu -- is also the big risk of it too, where it could just feel like it doesn't fit, but it totally does fit, because he grounds it all in the stuff we already know about Hiromu's personality.

[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

The whole point of the story -- revealing something out of left field about Hiromu -- is also the big risk of it too, where it could just feel like it doesn't fit, but it totally does fit, because he grounds it all in the stuff we already know about Hiromu's personality.

Yeah, the detail that Hiromu used to be even more standoffish and insanely focused on being a Buster is one that I think helps temper the modern-day version of Hiromu quite a bit. When you see what we could've had without a certain middle school teacher's intervention, it makes you appreciate the charmingly grumpy, accidentally rude version that we get nowadays.

[Kamen Rider Die]

TOKUMEI SENTAI GO-BUSTERS MISSION 25 - “UNRAVEL THE AVATARS’ SECRETS!”



I’ve never been crazy about Asking Questions stories, and this show’s decision to tell one that could be easily solved by one of the cast members doesn’t make it any better for me.

It’s a long way to go in this one to land on Maybe Something Happened To The People In Hyperspace, mostly/entirely due to Jin deflecting every single time the question gets close to being raised anywhere in his vicinity. While there’s some dramatic potential in how strongly he doesn’t want to divulge details – specifically when put up against the inquisitive and empathetic nature of his student Ryuji – it mostly just means that we are circling theories without ever resolving them. There was a frustration to this episode, for me, that a quick and effective superhero story couldn’t really counteract.

The threat of hyperspace is a good and spooky one, appropriately for this episode – the disappeared people are like ghosts, haunting the characters, and a source of constant pain in their lives for their absence. A lack of details plays into the fear and tension of that concept, so I was previously okay with the show eliding any explanations for the time being. But to then base an episode on those questions, without really bothering to confirm what’s going when Jin ABSOLUTELY could at least give the team a heads-up… not fun! Not a fun idea for a story!

Even the Ryuji story didn’t quite work for me. The crux of his moral is that asking questions may not be the most effective way to fight, but it’s his way to fight, and it’s worth doing. The problem, for me, is that the thing Ryuji’s pushing against in his heroic declaration is Jin refusing to tell him what’s going on. Ryuji isn’t hopelessly distracted by an inquisitive mind; Jin is just avoiding telling him the truth. It’s a weird false equivalency that show kind of doesn’t do anything with, and it’s yet another thing that could’ve easily been avoided by coming at this concept in a different way, or not at all.

Beyond that, I thought the action was strong (that Blue Buster/Escape fight!!!) and the little bits of spookiness were fine. I was probably never going to like an episode where Jin flippantly stonewalls the plot for Reasons, and I guess some solid superhero action couldn’t overcome that personal resistance. Sorry!



IT’S TIME FOR Ghost Stories!

If you have to kick off a story that’s all about Jin distracting people from getting at the truth, why not do it with him terrifying Yoko, Nakamura, and three Buddyroids with a ghost story? It’s cute!