[Locke]

So I just watched the opening episode of Maskman.

It's a weird blend of being extremely dated and yet still oddly ahead of its time. Things like the way they used the individual mecha for example, balanced on the back of those greenscreens. Or how the suits are insanely aesthetically pleasing, yet I couldn't really tell you why as they're so basic.

I guess if I can see past the dated production, I may end falling for the concepts.

[Locke]

Kyoryuger 47. The final battle begins and I'm ONE HUNDRED PERCENT SOLD.

I dunno, I just felt everything climaxed together so successfully. Nossan accepting he might die, but only worrying about his family, how much Souji seems like Torin and how overjoyed Ian and Souji are that they get the chance to die at one another's side, Dogold and Utchy fighting side by side before having their final showdown.

I'm just sad because I know with the toku way, this'll all be undone the next episode making it all meaningless. Maybe I just wont watch episode forty eight, and remain to myself that this was always the final episode.

[Locke]

Kyoryuger 48 - Plus final series thoughts.

I know everyone thinks I'm this bitter old bastard who hates everything, and this post isn't going to help my case, but I fucking hate happy endings. Okay, no I don't hate them that's wrong it's just... When everyone lives, everyone is happy, what is the point of it all?

Death is a cheap device to make things seem more immediate than perhaps they are, and after about a century of cheapening death in every single medium ever it seems largely like we've forgotten the importance of death as a narrative device when implemented correctly.

With that in mind, if every hero died and they completely lost the battle and all the rest - sure it would be completely anti climactic but I find it similarly anti climatic if everyone lives. How can I appreciate it was a big epic battle for the entire planet, how can I appreciate all the character moments leading up to this, if all the heroes do is walk away with a bloody nose? And I mean ALL of them, Utchy died in 47 just to wake up in this episode with absolutely no fanfare at all.

In the end, because of how it ended, it never ended up feeling like a big deal at all. There is two ways to ask 'what was the point of all this' at the end of a series, one is because they show left you so emotionally devastated you'll be crying about it for weeks and remember it for months or the other is because a show is so terrified of altering status quo or alienating a single person in an audience of millions that they play the ending as safe as physically possible. And safe is exactly how this ending was played.

Overall that was Kyoryuger's ultimate sin. That it was happy to play it safe, to get by on doing the bare minimum, never trying to attempt anything daring or progressive. No matter what purists say, all sentai exists to do is entertain toddlers and sell toys. In that regard Kyoryuger may very well be the best sentai ever made, it's huge, loud, colourful and has solid effects that make for consistently epic battles throughout the series. But the frustrating thing was, through all the fun, I could never help wriggle free from the feeling that Kyoryuger could and SHOULD have been so much more than it was. I don't even mean in some fanficcy way, if anything these last five or so episodes highlighted the sheer quantity of wasted ideas.

Every character was fascinating, every character had a unique dynamic but minus Daigo - and to some extent Ian and Utchy - evey character was ALSO entirely underdeveloped.

Personally by the end Nossan was the character who infuriated me the most, in how much he was wasted. He may have been another hero with a sister, but it was much more of a family dynamic than a sibling dynamic, thanks to Rika.

I can't think of another sentai hero who has a family, or at least a LIVING family that they actually fight for. It's always their 'nakama'. But of course they used this like what.....twice in the entire run of the whole show? Fucks sake man.

The utterly wasted potential doesn't just hurt Kyoryuger for me, it breaks it. It isn't a bad show, it's an entertaining show but I think if the show had ever attempted to break free of its self imposed shackles it could have been my very favourite show. And so that makes me sad.

[MidoGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

Kyoryuger 48 - Plus final series thoughts.

I know everyone thinks I'm this bitter old bastard who hates everything, and this post isn't going to help my case, but I fucking hate happy endings. Okay, no I don't hate them that's wrong it's just... When everyone lives, everyone is happy, what is the point of it all?

Death is a cheap device to make things seem more immediate than perhaps they are, and after about a century of cheapening death in every single medium ever it seems largely like we've forgotten the importance of death as a narrative device when implemented correctly.

With that in mind, if every hero died and they completely lost the battle and all the rest - sure it would be completely anti climactic but I find it similarly anti climatic if everyone lives. How can I appreciate it was a big epic battle for the entire planet, how can I appreciate all the character moments leading up to this, if all the heroes do is walk away with a bloody nose? And I mean ALL of them, Utchy died in 47 just to wake up in this episode with absolutely no fanfare at all.

In the end, because of how it ended, it never ended up feeling like a big deal at all. There is two ways to ask 'what was the point of all this' at the end of a series, one is because they show left you so emotionally devastated you'll be crying about it for weeks and remember it for months or the other is because a show is so terrified of altering status quo or alienating a single person in an audience of millions that they play the ending as safe as physically possible. And safe is exactly how this ending was played.

Overall that was Kyoryuger's ultimate sin. That it was happy to play it safe, to get by on doing the bare minimum, never trying to attempt anything daring or progressive. No matter what purists say, all sentai exists to do is entertain toddlers and sell toys. In that regard Kyoryuger may very well be the best sentai ever made, it's huge, loud, colourful and has solid effects that make for consistently epic battles throughout the series. But the frustrating thing was, through all the fun, I could never help wriggle free from the feeling that Kyoryuger could and SHOULD have been so much more than it was. I don't even mean in some fanficcy way, if anything these last five or so episodes highlighted the sheer quantity of wasted ideas.

Every character was fascinating, every character had a unique dynamic but minus Daigo - and to some extent Ian and Utchy - evey character was ALSO entirely underdeveloped.

Personally by the end Nossan was the character who infuriated me the most, in how much he was wasted. He may have been another hero with a sister, but it was much more of a family dynamic than a sibling dynamic, thanks to Rika.

I can't think of another sentai hero who has a family, or at least a LIVING family that they actually fight for. It's always their 'nakama'. But of course they used this like what.....twice in the entire run of the whole show? Fucks sake man.

The utterly wasted potential doesn't just hurt Kyoryuger for me, it breaks it. It isn't a bad show, it's an entertaining show but I think if the show had ever attempted to break free of its self imposed shackles it could have been my very favourite show. And so that makes me sad.

I think that was my ultimate frustration with Kyoryuger. It was good, but it had the potential to be so much better. Toei was just too gunshy after their experiment to break the Super Sentai mold with Go-Busters failed.

[Starscream Gaga]

To be fair, Torin did actually stay dead, even if the Spirit Ranger thing softens the blow. I agree however that Utchi's death being undone was random and a little unnecessary. A happy ending is all the better when its earned- when it costs something. I think Utchi's death was beautifully done, you really felt the devastation of the others and it would have made the feeling of accomplishment of stopping DeBoss if it had come at some cost. Plus, Spirit Rangers are a plot point of the show, even if Utchi had died we'd still have been able to be given a "he's still happy" moment for the kiddos to not feel like their hopes and dreams are crushed, it wouldn't be the "OMG tears" ending that Jetman had.

To have everyone die though, not just Utchi, I think that'd crush the ending a bit too much, especially for the genre as you're watching the show for a good ending where the heroes triumph. I'm happy with the way it turned out minus the random resurrection of Utchi.

[Locke]

Utchy should have died - as for the rest, living is fine if living feels like an achievement.

Ian and Souji seemed almost overjoyed that if they die...they get to die side by side, but within moments the enemy is defeated, the battle is over and there is just...nothing, there is no climax to this realisation. They were never happy that they ended up LIVING together, so why let them live at all?

When Nossan blocks the enemies on the bridge, his only comment is not about himself - but his family - and when he ends up living, does he go rushing to scoop Rika in his arms, overjoyed with the notion that he didn't die for his family? LOL NO he looks at his beast battery and cries about King.

This is where the ending failed for me. Why establish their deaths, allow them all to live, but then never make living feel like something earned? Something achieved? A goal satisfied. It felt like a cop out, not a victory.

[Dr Kain]

Utchy should have become a new generation of Spirit Rangers since Torin and gang moved on to the after life.

[Matrixbeast]

Left, up, down, right
Voyager Spartan!

Megaranger!

Kenta finally uses Mode 2 for a second time on his Battle Riser, and just in time for it to do fuck all. Well, he also uses Mode 3 now, too, and it just charges his weapon. Ehh...I think I like the armor In Space used for Mode 3. Sure, the pecs his suit randomly grew didn't make much sense, but it made sense why it was never used up until that point. But apparently INET is just kind of "He'll only ever press one for 20 episodes straight. We'll install Mode 3 when we get around to it..."

Oh well. The crush subplot is cute, and even though it's based entirely around miscommunication, it's not done for lame pseudo-drama BS like other shows. It's played for laughs and it stems not from either party being unwilling to voice their side, but from Kenta just being unable to shut the hell up for 2 minutes so she can speak. Additionally, it's only for one episode, so I can rest well.
Mega Silver makes his first appearance in 4 episodes, which is kind of ironic because, while he appeared out of suit in a major appearance last episode, here he never de-transforms.

[Kamen Rider Lucha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

The utterly wasted potential doesn't just hurt Kyoryuger for me, it breaks it. It isn't a bad show, it's an entertaining show but I think if the show had ever attempted to break free of its self imposed shackles it could have been my very favourite show. And so that makes me sad.

This is similar to how I feel. Had it been a bit more ballsy it could have been my favorite Sentai. It had all the right elements and a lot of badass moments. It just... fumbled them throughout.

I do see the reasons why the show plays it so safe so often. It came on the heels of the lowest rated Sentai show in history. Rocking the boat may have seemed like a bad idea to Toei and Bandai. I don't like that mentality, but I at least understand it.

I agree that Utchy should have died. However, I don't think the writers were interested in presenting death as "The End" in any way. Instead, they approached the concept in the bright and optimistic way they approached everything else. The first time we see a Spirit Ranger, we know that even when you stop breathing, life goes on. Maybe the show would have felt more substantial had the creative team approached death more finality -- but I think there was a conscious choice made to make the grave seem less scary, for better or worse. It's certainly an interesting response to Go-Busters' fixation with the permanence of death.

[Locke]

You see that is another thing, I really liked Go-Busters, so Kyoryuger's goal of being the 'anti-Go Busters' was probably always gonna rub me wrong.