[TokuKnight89]

I've had a DVD copy of Inazuman from Generation Kikaida for awhile now, but I never got around to watching it in any significant capacity until recently.

It comes across as your standard '70s tokusatsu because it feels like it's just ripping off the basic formula of Kamen Rider '71. The Youth League outfits are more akin to an Ultraman defense team and the aesthetic of Inazuman himself is more akin to Marvel's Electro than a psychic superhero. It's not until the Rose Bambara episode that everything starts to shift around. In fact, the episode immediately after that one with Devil Bambara is one of the most inconsistent episodes of a tokusatsu I think I've seen. It has Goro on a mad dash for vengeance and a nun who preaches pacifism despite being subjected with a bunch of guys into forced labor. Spoiler Alert, she sacrifices herself without being reunited with her mother and all the other workmen die despite her wish that they be saved and Goro only learns how to not be as selfish. Following this is a bit of a shakeup in which Goro is increasingly at odds with the rest of the Youth League. I've only gotten up to Ep. 15, so this could still surprise me further.

Was Raijingo the inspiration for Tridoron in Kamen Rider Drive? There are vague similarities between the two.

[Sh Ranger]

I just finished Exceedraft and the final arc gave me a headache. Other than that, the show has many good episodes that fit the recurring themes of the rescue police genre, the heroes have strong emotional moments and fairly balanced development and I must praise the actors for the effort they put in their performances. If the show had played a little safer and stuck to those strengths until the end, I would've called it a great show.

Metal Hero Ranking:

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

[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.