[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

I welcome isopod representation in Tokusatsu. Seems that Indonesia has more respect than Japan for this underrated species, as it took another 8 years to see one in King-Ohger.

World's' biggest isopod fan: Sh Ranger!

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Well, the last reporter George got brutally murdered by Valcus in Bima Episode 11, so Chris should be careful not to suffer the same occupational hazard of journalism. He's pretty good at showing up whenever the action starts though. Hmm....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

That said, yeah while Ricca is intriguing you do bring up a good point about Chris Ruslan. While I wouldn't say he's entirely suspicious it is odd that a reoccurring character like him is actually alright, especially when his crew is also falling asleep on the job.

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Originally Posted by DreadBringer

So you combined the thread for Bima-X too.

It's more convenient that way, yeah.

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The writer for this show is the current Kamen Rider, Gavv's writer, Junko Komura.

Given her work on this and Wizard, I'm sure I'll like Gavv well enough whenever I managed to watch it.

[DreamSword]

Episode 11: Star Scarlet's Mission

Episode 12: Trimming the Intruding Flower

Lady Mossa's' plan here really was pretty smart when you get down to it.

Which makes it kinda ironic that the very thing she exploited(human greed and vanity), is what ultimately did her plan in, in the end.

But really, despite being the primary plot device of these two episodes, the Scarlet Bintang(nice callback there, guys), was maybe the most minor of things that stood out to me during this chunk?

No, what stood out to me most was just how much character development we got out of Ricca. Even moreso than the two-parter that was advertised as being all about her! Her family having died during the Grand Gator attack made for a really great follow up to the previous show, to say the least.

There's also her bonding with Rena and, by extension, the rest of the family. The scenes between the two girls were rather nice, especially since they helped to showcase that despite some Akiko-isms early on(thanks, Riku Sanjo), Rena is still the same girl we've continued to know. Oh and uh, Ricca might have the White Power Stone, but don't worry about that part.

The last thing I can think to note is that I could very easily see this monster of week getting on people's' nerves, what with its constant vocal tick as if it's meant to be a parody of Pokemon or something. But ignoring that aspect, it did have a pretty neat gimmick and the way that the family ultimately bands together to take it down was fun to see play out.

Oh, and Azazel's' new Dark Meteor attack is frikken sweet. That certainly helps!

[Enchilada645]

This was a nice two episodes.

We get a fairly competent villain plot, and a pretty cool and fun solution to it as well. Not to mention it's nice to get to know more about Ricca after we've started putting more focus on her. Plus Reza comes back for some Azazel action which is always appreciated.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

This was a nice two episodes.

We get a fairly competent villain plot, and a pretty cool and fun solution to it as well. Not to mention it's nice to get to know more about Ricca after we've started putting more focus on her. Plus Reza comes back for some Azazel action which is always appreciated.

Given Ricca also has an R name, I wonder if she'll be a long lost cousin or something.

[DreamSword]

Episode 13: Television Star's Secret

Episode 14: Echo! Earth Power Stone

Episode 13 was really weird. Especially in terms of pacing.

It's an episode where the story is told mostly via offhand remarks to past events and flashbacks, and it honestly made me think I'd skipped an episode.

But jarring narrative aside, there was still solid stuff in it. Ati was a likable character who wasn't just the standard Idol Bait you see in alot of other shows, and I was so, so close when it came to Chris' real identity.

Episode 14, however, was alot more my speed. Ati and Rena's' friendship gets showcased alot more, and it really worked for me. The stunt work is as good as always, even in terms of the unmorphed fights. And of course, there's the grand debut of Bima-X Earth. Or as I like to call it, Christmas Bima-X.

Throughout these latest string of episodes, I also noticed a bit of an oddity when it comes to the writing of BIMA-X in general. Namely in that whether or not characters care about secret identities largely depends on the writer. One blatant example in these episodes being how Ricca here very casually mentions that she has the White Power Stone after having kept it secret in the last two-parter.

Still, minor gripes aside, I did overall like these two episodes. The ways things continued to escalate felt like an action movie, and Earth Mode's' debut IS really cool, featuring highlights like the ground quaking with each step Bima-X makes, Helios transforming into an axe, Bima-X straight up punching a hole through the Armadillo Monster... it was just so cool, all around. Black Lord not punishing Draconer for failure was a shock, too.

Also, you know I'm way too used to modern Kamen Rider when I'm mentally noting just how much space was between the acquiring of the Blue and Green Power Stones. It's very refreshing to see by comparison. A shame Reza didn't show up though, given that the Power Stone Hunt was his assigned mission. But eh, whatever.

Anyway, yeah, fun time, these two.

[Enchilada645]

I think what makes Bima-X Earth work for me more than Storm did is that all the Earth additions are Green and very prominent/consistent.

Meanwhile with Storm I get what they were going for but it feels like there's too much silver and the wind blade motif isn't hitting as fully as it could for the limbs that aren't the right arm.

Anyway this was a pretty neat two-parter though I do have to agree that the 13s pacing felt odd in that it felt like I was missing an episode or something when it came to how the dialogue and interactions were handled.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

I think what makes Bima-X Earth work for me more than Storm did is that all the Earth additions are Green and very prominent/consistent.

Meanwhile with Storm I get what they were going for but it feels like there's too much silver and the wind blade motif isn't hitting as fully as it could for the limbs that aren't the right arm.

I agree with this notion. The shade of green they chose for Earth also clashes with the red alot less than the shade of blue they went with for Storm.

Like, do I still wish the undersuit got changed to match? Yeah, but for the general design philosophy that the show is going with, I think that Earth Mode pulls it off pretty well.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

[CENTER][B][I][U], and I was so, so close when it came to Chris' real identity.

In this you are more insightful than me. When I watched Bima-X, I also noted the frequent appearance of Chris Ruslan, but considered him a constant background character, like teachers or the same journalists in MMPR.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

In this you are more insightful than me. When I watched Bima-X, I also noted the frequent appearance of Chris Ruslan, but considered him a constant background character, like teachers or the same journalists in MMPR.

Hey, that's a valid take, because really, Chris hadn't actually done anything up to this point, you know? I just found him being unaffected by the monster stuff to be a bit suspicious. Which, really, could've easily just been a minor thing the audience wasn't meant to think about.

[DreamSword]

Episode 15: Saving the Green Earth

Episode 16: Power Stones' Counterattack

Look at how good that color scheme is!

The climax of the two-parter involved a farmland that's poisoned and on fire, and the filter they use to signify that results in Bima-X Earth looking even better.

Speaking of which, I was impressed at how the writers immediately addressed something some audience members might be thinking after Earth Mode's' debut: With how powerful the form is, why use the other two at all?

Both episodes almost go out of their way to show the inherent advantages and disadvantages of each form, and having Ray switch between all three when appropriate made for a very fun final fight. And I really hope this sort of thing is kept in mind as we get more Stones going forward.

And speaking of that, sad to say that the ending of this kinda annoyed me. Ricca gives Bima-X the White Power Stone, and yet, for whatever reason, he can't transform with it, and he gives it back after the fight with Rexor is over. I get that we don't want too many forms too fast, but given that half the objective of the adventure is to gather all the Stones, it made me groan.

But the episodes are more than just a showcase of the Stones. The emotional core of the episode is about Ray helping out a local farmland, and through both them and who I'm assuming is Bima Legend from the first show, learning how to adapt and the reasons why people might hold certain places precious. I wonder if the line about "Let those who you save help you" will come into play later, since it didn't seem like it directly connected to the farm lady.

Oh, also, it was no surprise at all that the Minister was Rexor, given that the voice filter does very little in actually disguising his voice. The villains in general were cool during these episodes though. Not just in terms of the Komodo Monster from The Beginning coming back, or even Draconer and Iron Mask's' continued fight, but I really dug how Draconer doesn't trust Black Lord worth anything, given how the Lord already betrayed Iron Mask. It made for a very quick but very cool character moment.

So yeah, flubbed ending aside, I liked these ones. And the orchestral mix of "Let Tomorrow Be" was nice to listen to too.