[Mesnick]

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Originally Posted by GoldenXtreme

I went to a used bookstore a while back and did the natural thing: got a bunch of cheap DVDs for tokusatsu-adjacent monster movies.

King Kong (2005): This one surprised me because I feel like I should have been the exact right age when this film came out to be keenly aware of its existence, but had no idea it was a thing until I saw like 10 or so copies on the shelf.

It's surprising that this movies has been forgotten (I don't know if it's in the US or you personally), considering that it was quite a hit. Directed by Peter Jackson almost immediately after the triumph of The Lord of the Rings, it certainly attracted attention. I even remember that when the first trailers for Skull Island came out, there were comments that King Kong was too big and much harder to believe than Kong from 2005.

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and an ending where it turns out Godzilla will just fix all of humanity's issues if they let him.

I'm actually amazed at how much Monsterverse uses Heisei Gamera elements in relation to Godzilla and Kong. And also that it goes unnoticed by both viewers and companies. That is, Warner bought the kaiju from Toho, not Kadokawa, so it looks unfair at the very least.

[Sh Ranger]

I just finished Solbrain. Even though I already thought it was pretty good on its own merits, it got even better with the Winspector crossover, the surprise new member joining midway and the introduction of a recurring villain who directly challenges the main theme. Minor observation that some episodes establish the setting in the 20th Century, which seems like a continuity error, but oh well. Overall, I enjoyed it!

Metal Hero Ranking:

1) Jiban
2) Janperson
3) Spielvan
4) Sekai Ninja Sen
5) Solbrain
6) Winspector
7) Battle Cop

Next up, I'll actually progress in sequential order and watch the last of the Rescue Heroes, Exceedraft.

[Sunred]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Exceedraft

EEEEEXCEEEEEDRAAAAAFT
I'm sorry, I had to.
Theme song is stilm great and protagonist in red is played by Shigeki Kagemaru, who was most notably Shinjo in Tiga and Squid Orphnoch in Faiz.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunred

EEEEEXCEEEEEDRAAAAAFT
I'm sorry, I had to.
Theme song is stilm great and protagonist in red is played by Shigeki Kagemaru, who was most notably Shinjo in Tiga and Squid Orphnoch in Faiz.

Interesting. Without the Squid, we wouldn't have the Snake, so this MOTW leaves a big impact. I'll try and look out for him next time I rewatch Faiz once more.

[Sunred]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Interesting. Without the Squid, we wouldn't have the Snake, so this MOTW leaves a big impact. I'll try and look out for him next time I rewatch Faiz once more.

What's interesting is the man had a lot of Ultraman appearances post-Exceedraft as supporting characters or guest roles according to what I googled. He also was in OOO as a guest role in episode 35.

[GoldenXtreme]

I am well aware that the incoming rant I am about to unleash will make it sound like I have snapped, but I am going to type it out anyways! I finished watching Super Rescue Solbrain!

When I started with Solbrain, my reaction to it basically amounted to "Sweet, more Winspector!", not realizing that it was really "Winspector but more!". A show even more bizarre and singular than the already very unique first entry in the Rescue Police Trilogy, I would even go as far as to call this show the Ultraman Leo or Kamen Rider Black Sun of the 90s. Winspector is more of a rescue drama, while Solbrain leans very hard into the police drama angle, and at it's absolute best delivers on some astounding sci-fi crime stories. The show, while at times having lighter episodes, often instead goes for some honestly very heavy ones with bittersweet endings at best and being blatantly depressing at worst. Odds are in a given episode someone sympathetic will commit a crime due to their circumstances. Or there will be suicide. My god this show had so much suicide in it, almost like Solbrain saw me comment on the depressing episode of Kamen Rider X about it a while back and was like "That's nothing, check THIS out". The show was also surprisingly politically charged, with a lot of critical references to real life organizations and events by name, from NATO to Japan's ties to Nazis in WWII. Even the less direct references often clearly invoke elements from recent events like the Tsutomu Miyazaki serial killings or Happy Science's crackpot beliefs and exploitation of believers. All of this combined makes for an honestly fascinating (though exhausting) show that seemed to have some recognition of tragedy that often lurks in the shadows of society, shadows that can often lead good people to tragedies that the heroes can only partially save them from. The show does have a lot of rough points though, don't get me wrong. Like many Metal Hero shows, the editing of the video and music can be jarring, but it was actually so bad in Solbrain sometimes that it completely took me out of the moment. Some episodes ended up feeling repetitive when they would touch on similar concepts too. The main cast is also largely lacking in any in-depth characterization, which prevents it from reaching the highs of something like Janperson. But in the end I was impressed by the show and consider it a must-see for anyone who is intrigued by more unusual tokusatsu shows.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenXtreme

The main cast is also largely lacking in any in-depth characterization, which prevents it from reaching the highs of something like Janperson.

Personally, I think the ending to the Winspector crossover does a pretty good job highlighting something important Daiki brings as captain to Solbrain, fulfilling the purpose of saving hearts while Ryouma prioritizes saving lives. Perhaps Jun could've used a little more focus though.

I especially miss these characters after starting Exceedraft, like, man, I know Masaki got promoted and all, but the new chief taking his place isn't even close.

[GoldenXtreme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Personally, I think the ending to the Winspector crossover does a pretty good job highlighting something important Daiki brings as captain to Solbrain, fulfilling the purpose of saving hearts while Ryouma prioritizes saving lives. Perhaps Jun could've used a little more focus though.

I especially miss these characters after starting Exceedraft, like, man, I know Masaki got promoted and all, but the new chief taking his place isn't even close.

I did really like the contrast of the leads of the two shows in that crossover, but still, I just wish the show was more character oriented overall. We don't learn very much personal about any of them unless it is to set up that someone from their backstory is going to be involved in the crime of the week (for maximum tragedy). I found them all charming, but very surface-level, characters. Daiki is solid though, and did grow on me quite a bit as the show went along. When I started I was like "There is no way he will be as good as Ryoma!", but his persistence in saving the hearts of people in the face of such unrelenting challenges slowly won me over.

I haven't jumped right into Exceedraft yet, but honestly anyone would have a hard time following up Hiroshi Miyauchi.
I have a feeling Exceedraft just isn't going to be as fascinating as Winspector and Solbrain in general though. It's honestly shocking we got both of those shows, no way it could happen three times in a row, right? (Please happen three times in a row, it would be so funny.)