[Switchblade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

So I just finished the Kiba Gaiden and....meh.

It was actually a great film, it added a lot of new and interesting stuff to the mix while also providing better context for Messiah and Kiba (although still nothing for Echo and his Momma) but knowing how little to no impact any of this new stuff has on the show itself, and how crap Barago's story ends, it was hard to care about any of this. Especially as so much of it was told as a cheap motion comic. I hope the other two films are better.

Honestly, the special was there mostly to just set up Ganon for Makai Senki and to show off some crazy visuals. It was actually filmed years after the original series and therefore really has very little to do with it.

[DrillBIT]

I think reading the book first before jumping into the visual will have much better results...

[Locke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

Honestly, the special was there mostly to just set up Ganon for Makai Senki and to show off some crazy visuals. It was actually filmed years after the original series and therefore really has very little to do with it.

Oh I'd completely forgotten about that Ganon carcass bit, where it was all narrated in English for some reason. And Barago was just....there, despite it apparently being really hard to get to.

So I just watched Smile and err...wot. I like how it was all just random nonsense and then out of nowhere it becomes this amazing character piece that really builds on Kaoru's character and really adds something extra to the series.

[Switchblade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

So I just watched Smile and err...wot. I like how it was all just random nonsense and then out of nowhere it becomes this amazing character piece that really builds on Kaoru's character and really adds something extra to the series.

I know, right?

I love that episode.

[Locke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Switchblade

I know, right?

I love that episode.

Yeah man, it turned out to be one of my favourite episodes in the end.

[Locke]

I finally had a day off so I had the time to check out Byakuya no Maju.

Speaking purely of it as a film, Byakuya no Maju is....pretty bad, truth be told. The villains are uninteresting, the plot lacks focus, and even when it is focused it barely makes any sense and despite not even being ten years old yet, it looks insanely dated. Although the practical action and wirework is as impressive as ever.

That said, as a sequel to GARO this is where the film shines. It may not have quite as much fun with the GARO world as the Kiba Gaiden did, but each new addition here is a crucial, worthwhile and lasting one which makes it a great sequel to the TV show, even if it isn't that great a film. And in turn then becomes a worthwhile watch, at least to a GARO fan.

[DrillBIT]

[Locke]

So I thought I finally got a chance to sit down and watch Red Requiem, when I was pulled into work... But here are my thoughts so far, I have roughly forty minutes of the movie left, for any one who is interested.

From most of the toku I have watched, they want to present the heroes as unwaveringly good, choosing to simply ignore how similar the heroes and villains often are, and the generally huge piles of moral grey that come with the toku superheroes. I appreciate that GARO doesn't bother with any pretense, it is true that GARO's mythology is garbled and barely comprehensible but we know enough that although our protagonist, is our hero, he works for a faction that the show and movies pull no punches for, when it comes to highlighting how corrupt, broken and archaic they are. And the fact that Kouga shares their views, not out of nastiness, but simply because of what he holds as truths as they are all he knows, makes him feel more layered and human, as he does have failings and flaws.

All in all, Red Requiem is just more thought provoking in general, featuring aspects of betrayal, tragedy and the overlying question that has always surrounded GARO, what separates man from the monsters in the first place? It's just a shame that a slightly more thought out narrative seems to come at the expense of the action sequences.

It's funny as well, because despite placing our hero into this fucked up faction, GARO features some of the most badass female characters in all of toku, who don't just feel like a cheap novelty while they are at it. I may have missed Jabi, but the Mary Elizabeth Winstead lookalike Rekka proved that there is room for one more badass female Makai Priest.

Red Requiem features perhaps the worst action GARO has ever created. Maybe it's because it was intended to be shown in 3D, and I'm watching the 2D conversion, or something but I dunno, just something doesn't feel right. It feels sluggish, it lacks impact and just generally feels cheap and unpolished as they balance limp wristed fist fights, and awful wirework, with gratuitous effects shots that both largely look terrible and rarely serve any purpose, I guess other than blowing wads of cash. Of course I want my movie spin off to feel bigger than what I got in the show, but I don't want it at the expense of purpose.

About the only saving grace, as always with GARO, is it's full of imagery that is so imaginative, it surpasses the modest budgets and sticks in your head for long after viewing.

So I just watched the first episode of Makai Senki. I wasn't even sure I was watching GARO. I mean there were visual trademarks in there, but I dunno, something about the tone and execution felt different.

And you know what? I LOVED it, the action felt extremely polished and was just awesome. And I remember very few of the Horrors from the first season, so it was nice that they seem to have really put a lot of effort into making Cigarein cool as hell. Shame he only lasted a single episode.

Who are these seven Apostle Horrors Kouga was meant to have defeated?

[ZeoRangerV]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

So I just watched the first episode of Makai Senki. I wasn't even sure I was watching GARO. I mean there were visual trademarks in there, but I dunno, something about the tone and execution felt different.

I've always thought there was a stark difference in tone between the two seasons. The first is more of a dingy macabre horror affair while the second plays up the fantasy elements a lot more.

[Locke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeoRangerV

I've always thought there was a stark difference in tone between the two seasons. The first is more of a dingy macabre horror affair while the second plays up the fantasy elements a lot more.

Actually yeah, that actually makes it pretty clear. Although there were still horror aspects, it played out more like something like...Hellboy, as opposed to the first season which centred around much more hardcore horror and put less emphasis on the action.

Makai Senki 2. I'm bloody enjoying this show!

Since when could Kouga piece together crime scenes like some kind of supernatural CSI? Hell, I don't remember him ever even having to investigate before, he'd just sort of arrived where the Horror was somehow and kill it. I'm not opposed to this though, I actually kinda like this new direction.

Still, the best progression here is the action. This came out like what, six years after the original show? It's so nice to see a tokusatsu series evolve. Rider's progression was noticeable when you started to move into shows like Den-O, but it's really slowed down by this point and sentai has basically ground to a halt, so it's just so enjoyable to see how far GARO's action sequences have come - the stylised flashiness of the action doesn't seem nearly as limited by primitive CGI this time around, and they seem to be using a lot more practical shots of the GARO suit - when they have six more years of technological advancement to play with.

Probably the weakest progression for me, is the horror. Rather than more classic, atmospheric horror, we've moved to more modern grime, torture and gore horror. The show is still as twisted as ever, but I personally preferred the first seasons take on horror than the second, I liked the slow burn of setting a twisted scene, and that it didn't always have to end in some huge fight sequence. The Hell Mermaid episode proved just how fantastic GARO could be as a genuine horror show. This season seems to be playing more for shallow shocks, than true terror like in the first season.

Also, that Leo guy is totally guilty.

Makai Senki 3.

So nice to see Kouga drive and not just keep trying to run everywhere. Still, it was probably the weakest episode so far, feeling noticeably like filler, even the stunts weren't that enjoyable as they just blacked out the clear front helmet for every stunt just to advertise to the world it's a double. Why use a helmet like that in the first place if you plan to use a double? Although it is so nice just how much the CGI has improved.

It was fun seeing more of the Makai Priest magic though, after Red Requiem and now this, I think the Priests are way more interesting and I'm grateful they've become a much bigger and more integral aspect to the show. Just a shame this show totally just makes it up as it goes.

Oh well, Zero's appearance at the end seems to have put us back on track.

Makai Senki 4.

Dunno how to feel about this episode. On the one hand, I love the episodes of this show that really change the pace, and play around with a concept but man, when the whole mystery card game business came together, it ended up just being kinda stupid. Dramatic slow motion poker, with a ridiculously convoluted reason for being in the show!

Still, the low point of the episode was the Kaoru part. Firstly, why would Kouga put her directly in harms way so unnecessarily? I understand the whole gambling bent, but I thought Kouga's overconfident days are over, this just seemed out of character to me. Especially as now, a whole bunch of Horrors know what to target, to get to him, if they didn't know already. Spider-Man right now would be:

The Horrors main form was hella goofy as well - although it was a really high quality suit, luckily the final battle was still awesome.

Makai Senki 5.

Not a lot to say on this episode, it wasn't that it was bad, it was actually very enjoyable but it was just doing more of what I enjoyed so much in the first two episodes, again and I don't want to be a broken record.

It really does just feel like they've improved every problem I had with the original, like a true sequel should. It even brought back the superior horror from the first season, for this episode was well, if I didn't have enough praise already.

Is that the girl who played Shion playing our Horror of the week?