[Dr Kain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

Gingaman is pretty solid, though the middle of each general's arcs tend to stagnate (Including apparent fan favorite Budo's).

Yeah, I've watched the show several times before as I own the Region 2 DVDs, I've just never seen it subbed. As for the arcs being stagnate in the middle, that's just the nature of this show having to be 50 episodes. Except for a few selected shows this is just the norm. It's one of the reasons why I don't really think any show of this nature needs to be this long, but if they weren't, they wouldn't be able to fully utilize their toy sales.

Back to Gingaman, I wish they hadn't changed the theme music to Battobas when he finally showed up though. In the second episode he had this kick ass industrial sounding theme and then when it is finally his turn his music is rock music.

[Matrixbeast]

I didn't even know his music changed. Huh.
Anyway, I figured you've seen it unsubbed, but I couldn't be certain.

As for the show being 50 episodes, I'm not sure how to feel about it. While the episodes do kind of become a bore when one of the 4 generals enter their "Today, I'll do X to awaken the Daitanic" mode, if their individual arcs were shorter, they'd also feel a lot more expendable rather than an important foe.
I think the general villains should have participated in their own plans more often, because otherwise, they've only really been interesting during their final moments. At least with Budo, we got to see the scheming against him and his downfall.

Anyway, Gingaman 47 and 48.

47 sees Businera putting his own plan into motion (Well, he doesn't get much say in it. Zahab basically twisted his arm into it). It goes remarkably smooth, featuring a nice bluff involving 2 remotes, one of which attracts the Earth Monster, the other calls in a drilling bomb. Guess which one the Gingamen get. Hikaru escapes, chasing down the captured, then freed, Businera, while the others take the remote to a quarry to lure out the Earth monster and destroy him.
Destroy him with what? With their newly upgraded cannons, of course! Courtesy of Mokk! However, much like last time, it basically causes him to pass out, leaving them unable to communicate.
The Gingamen get blown up, Hikaru gets captured and hung over a vat of the growth extract, and everything looks like it's going downhill, but then the Gingamen reveal that they survived the explosion (How? Literally never explained). Businera gets tossed into the vat and mutated into a monster, and after getting hit by the upgraded cannons, Batbass shoots him with Barba Extract because pirates need to betray each other or some shit.

In a moment that I like, Giga Bitus comes down and attacks Businera! Like, he doesn't sit in the desert waiting to be called on, he swoops in and attacks...For all of one scene. Then Giga Rhinos and Phoenix (Who also have a grudge against him) jump in and the shark carrier is just gone (Goddammit). Still, it was fun to see those 3 jump into action without provocation~

48 starts with Mokk still recovering from the last episode. However, things go south quite quickly as the Earth Monster is poisoning the planet so badly that Earth Power is becoming toxic to it's users (Which also prevents transformation). In the meantime, Barban finds Bookrates and Hyuuga, so they set a bomb outside the cave they've been training in, causing a cave in that traps Bookrates inside, and blows Hyuuga in a lake (Which allows Mokk to find him). Ryouma says don't ask for help, but Mokk does anyway (Which Hyuuga turns down because of course).
Out of options, Mokk does what he can and absorbs the poison into himself, which cleanses the Earth and allows the Gingamen to transform and use their powers again.
All the while, Batbass gets into a fight with Hyuuga, which ends with Hyuuga basically running to save Bookrates (Stating he needed to ask him something important)

Once the Gingamen beat the monster (Using the Ginga Great Cross Slash, a finisher they haven't used since the Sanbash arc), they rush back to find that Mokk, who was already weakened from enhancing their cannons last episode, has died and is now a single seed.
It's not the only death today, either, as Bookrates manages to dig himself out of the cave in, wanting to find the Black Knight, only to encounter Shellinda, who swiftly impales him.

While I'm glad these two episodes did feature some pretty damn big events, I'm also a little disappointed that the main plot of the episodes was still "Monster go down and inject syrup to grow other monster." I'm not really complaining too much, though, since shit did go down this time.

[Matrixbeast]

Gingaman 49 and 50, the last 2 episodes (Sans Megaranger vs Gingaman, which I'll get to later).

So, before a final summary, let's recap, because I know everyone loves me spoiling 15 year old shows!
49: Bookrates is revealed to have survived, though not by much. Gripping onto life, he reveals how to beat Zahab, by destroying the life of his planet (Which he has implanted into himself, by Bookrates 3000 years ago). He doesn't give Hyuuga much time to dwell on it, though, giving him GouTaurus and revealing he has a bomb for when they're found (And, to make sure Hyuuga doesn't stall or anything, it's already lit).
In the meantime, the GingaRed decide to head to Howling Mountain (The place where their braces came from), because apparently there's a secret mechanism that can attract the Earth Monster (Which was last used to attract the Daitanic) while the others move to intercept Batbass, who is out of troops beyond Yatotos and is just kind of destroying the ground.

Things finally start coming to a close from this point on. The monster is attracted to the sound, so Batbass and the other Gingamen dash to that point. Ryouma (Who is on the verge of falling off a mountain due to the sound being so great it's blowing him away) is saved by Hyuuga, who is finally able to properly discuss things and join his friends once more.
Also, on the Gingamen's way to the mountain, GingaGreen encounters Shellinda for one final fight. It's a bit of a let down, to be honest. While it was only built up over the course of about 8 episodes, just the fact that it lasted all of a minute thirty seconds, with about 5 sword swings between the two of them, only for Shellinda to land one final blow on Hayate before falling and dying, I can't say I was particularly impressed (Yes, I know in real life sword fights would generally be resolved in about 3 or 4 blows, but this isn't real life).
The Earth Beast emerges from the ground, and in a surprising turn, eats Batbass (While holding the growth extract). Before letting the extract gain effect, the Gingamen channel their Earth Power together and allows Ryouma to use a super powered fire attack to burn the creature to ash (As destroying it would simply have it imitate the Daitanic, causing it's remains to infect the Earth and create a new monster).
Well, turns out it sucks for them, as the Monster grows giant, and Zahab sets off on his castle (Which can fly, apparently), to merge with it.

Pretty solid set up to the final episode, if I say so myself. The villain's two final generals are dead, leaving the big bad alone, but his main goal has finally been accomplished, so victory is still in his grasp.

50 starts off with a mech fight against the Earth Monster, and everyone getting their asses kicked. Strangely, the Daitanic actually did more damage to the Star Beasts than this thing did, but it's still certainly a force. Guess it's because it's still a baby. Anyway, Zahab's castle merges with it so he gains control and starts wrecking the Star Beasts. However, the Gingamen gain a quick advantage when BullKnight aims for the castle, knocking Zahab out of it (Though BullKnight quickly gets his ass blasted apart for his troubles), and using this advantage, the other Gingamen once again channel their Earth Power into Ryouma, to channel his fire Earth Power into GingaiOh, which is further amplified by Giga Phoenix and Rhinos, using it to finally burn the Earth Monster into ash, killing it.
(Also, as a brief aside, they finally use the Galcon Bowgun while in the Radiant Armored GingaiOh. It didn't work, but still...)

Back on the ground, the Gingamen start their fight against Zahab, but he's basically unstoppable, plowing through them, even destroying the Knight Axe, though not before finding the location of Zahab's planet's life force (As Hyuuga realized that Zahab had moved his planet's life force from his right side to his torso's center). After getting badly injured, Ryouma takes Hyuuga away to help him recover, and after a long talk, Ryouma tells Hyuuga that he still has Earth Power, since he fights to protect the planet. The brothers return (Right in the nick of time, as Zahab was about to kill Yuuta, his father, and Bokk), and they both use the Mane of Fire, confirming that Hyuuga really does still have his Earth Power. They regroup with the others, morph, and finally take out Zahab, ending Barban once and for all.

In the distance, they can see a light coming from where the Galactic Forest would be, to find that it truly has returned. The credits play as they meet up with the elder, Hayate's wife, and all the villagers. They plant Mokk's seed and sprinkle fairy dust on it to bring him back to life, Gouki has a stroll through the forest with Suzuku, Yuuta's father has all the Star Beasts pose for an image (Hey, Giga Bitus...I'm pretty damn sure you would've helped out an hour ago...), and Yuuta starts worrying he won't see Ryouma again (Who quells his fears by telling him he'll always be around).

Was a fun finale, though I can't help but be a little underwhelmed by the climax. The Earth Monster was built up as being stronger than the Daitanic (Who had over 40 fucking episodes worth of build up), but in the end, he did no more damage (The Daitanic ripping pieces off of the Star Beasts as well as blowing GingaiOh apart really outweighed the Earth Beast just kind of chomping on Giga Rhinos's head, shooting BullTaurus apart, then kind of dying). While during the Zahab fight, you could really tell the suit was too intrusive to do anything really dynamic. He just kind of thew insults at the rangers while sometimes swinging his sword or firing his cannon. I'm not lying when I say that 4 of his 5 generals (Sans Shellinda) had a lot more interesting ends than him. I also would've liked to see his torso blown open to reveal the life of his planet when they finally destroyed it, but we couldn't even get that. He really felt too much like a statue for his final showdown...

I'll probably post my thoughts on Gingaman as a whole in a different post (Because this is getting pretty damn long as is, especially for a post no one will read) so this one can be reserved for just the finale.
(And, like I said, I'll get to Megaranger vs Gingaman soon. Won't be too long, as I watched Megaranger last year (Or in 2014) anyway)

[Dr Kain]

I watched episodes 10-13 of Dynaman today and this is where the show just decides to cut its running time down to 18 minutes. Not sure why it did it, but it has definitely helped the pacing of the episodes. However, you can clearly tell episodes 10-12 were intended to be 24 minutes long as there are scenes where everything is sped up and a few scene changes that seem abrupt. The Hypnotoad episode was pretty awesome though. Hopefully the show will maintain the momentum of that episode.

[Matrixbeast]

GINGAMAN COMPLETE
I don't even know what to say about it, really. It kind of falls into the realm of ultimately average. It's not bad, but it doesn't commit to the really great things. Kind of a shame.

Let's start with the plot, which is probably the worst thing about the show.
Barban is awakened and their seals released. However, they encounter a hitch because their vessel and big gun, the Daitanic Monster, is still sealed and dormant. This awakening is also met with another hitch, the newly appointed Gingamen, a group of 5 warriors who defend the Earth. After losing their home, the Galactic Forest, and the intended Ginga Red, Hyuuga, the Gingamen are forced to take shelter with a father and his son, who let them live at a stable that they...Work at (I kind of forget the father's relationship to the stables, since I know he doesn't own them). There, they plant a sacred tree that grows into Mokk, which is both their mentor and their base of operations.
From there on, Barban dispatches monsters to find methods of reviving the Daitanic.
Plot over.
There really isn't much to the series in this regard, which is it's biggest problem. While the individual episodes were alright on their own, the lack of a solid plot to tie everything together really brought things down, especially during the middle of each villain's arcs. Things were really just going through the motions there.

The characters are some pretty nice high points, though.
Ryouma is a great Red. He's energetic, but he's not an idiot. He has a lot of heart, but he's a warrior first, so he's not fighting for the rush of it like some other fireballs (Ironic, given that he's one of the few characters with actual pyromancy). Only chosen as Ginga Red because Hyuuga gave him the Star Beast Sword after falling into a chasm, I like that he doesn't let it get him too down. Fighting to not disappoint his brother's final wish, for the planet, for his fallen home, and for his friends, he's a pretty strong character. Charismatic and likable, he's kind of what Daigo/KyoryuRed should've been. No visible or easily exploited faults, but he still feels down to Earth. Able to push forward when everyone else is beaten, but still clearly needs the support of his team to keep going. I like him~
Hayate is a pretty solid character all around, though certainly the most bland of the bunch. I guess it's kind of inevitable when you're the straight man. Often a foil to Gouki's more dim moments, Hayate's childish nature, or Ryouma when he elects to join in slacking off, he's kind of a conglomerate of most traits appointed to the straight man. Quiet and brooding, check, silly fears/weaknesses, check, unable to connect with others on an emotional basis, check. Still though, he's a pretty nice character. He never exudes an air of superiority, and it never really feels like "Why is this character not the leader?" which keeps him in a nice balance. He's a team player that bounces off the others well, both in comedic timing as well as on the battlefield. He's just a little bland.
Gouki, the muscle and nice guy...Yup. All around handyman, strongest member of the team, and sometimes a little dim (Especially around his love interest), it's easy to like him. Unfortunately, he's kind of just a fly on the wall unless Suzuko is involved, being the most quiet (Even more so than Hayate), most reserved, and just relaxed otherwise. There's nothing wrong with that, it's actually kind of cute that his crush changes him, but not in a drastic way. I like it. He has a big heart, is always the optimist and idealist, which probably helps the team a lot more than he gives himself credit for.
Saya, the only woman, is around, too. Unfortunately, she's kind of burdened with all female Sentai stereotypes. She's cute and calm, and always doing her best to help others smile, but she's also a tomboy who isn't afraid to get rough or fight, but she's also bubbly and energetic, wanting to enjoy life. She also plays the big sister role to Hayate.
"Matrix, you know that most people can be like that, right? She's actually more realistic because she's not defined by one or two traits."
Yes, I know, but with only 50 episodes, and only about 8 of which are specifically dedicated to her, she can sometimes come across as being spread too thin. However, ultimately, she's a nice character. I also like the ambiguous crush on Hyuuga.
Hikaru is basically the kid. Brash, loud, annoying, and quick to a fight. Probably the most stereotypically Sentai character on the team. He's angry and willing to break away from the team to prove himself, but he clearly cares for his comrades and will do anything to save them. He isn't really anything special. He often butts heads with everyone, sans Ryouma, surprisingly. Guess Ryouma is too chill to get angry at him. Dunno. He's a good kid, but his character just isn't anything new and, unfortunately, they didn't do anything special with him to change things up.
Hyuuga, their "Extra Hero," the original GingaRed, and eventual Black Knight, and Ryouma's older brother is kind of your stereotypical 6th, but in a weird way. Being introduced after the first Black Knight, they clearly didn't want to market his toys anymore. So shortly after his introduction, he's swept under the rug. Participating in fewer fights, finding reasons to not grow giant, and generally staying out of focus when he is around (Unless it's one of his episodes, of course). However, I did enjoy that they gave him a semi-legit arc for why he had to basically be cut from the show for about 10 episodes around the end.
He's a fine character, though. Going to extremes to defeat Barban, but never going too far over the edge like his predecessor. He's dedicated to protecting the Earth, not to kill his enemies.
Bull Black, the first Black Knight. Original keeper of the Galactic Lights, he was badly wounded (Presumed dead) by Barban after tricking them about their whereabouts. He only returns after Hyuuga falls into the crevice. Saving his life, he then uses Hyuuga basically as a host body to return to full strength. Pissed off, filled with vengeance, and not afraid of any casualties that may occur as long as Barban is destroyed. Losing his planet and younger brother to Zahab himself, he vows an ageless grudge. Being their 6th replacement, he often showcased power above the Gingamen, able to take down foes the other 5 had trouble with. However, he makes it painfully clear he is not a Gingaman, and that their goals only barely overlap, going so far as to, at one point, try to destroy the Earth to kill Barban. In the end, though, he makes the ultimate sacrifice when the spirit of his younger brother, Krantz, finally talks sense into him.

Other characters include Yuuta, the young boy who befriends the Gingamen. He wants to be like them, even going so far as to start sword training, but at the end of the day, he's still just a kid in grade school. He has a big heart and a shocking amount of courage.
Yuuta's father, Haruhiko, who is a bumbling artist and writer who is a good man, offering the Gingamen a place to live in exchange for their work. Kindhearted, he eventually writes the Gingamen's story into a children's picture book, which is pretty nice.
Ms. Suzuko, one of Yuuta's teachers whom Gouki gets an insane crush on. She seems obvious to Gouki's feelings at some times, and blissfully unaware at others (Though, those moments might just be her teasing him for not being able to just spill it), she's pretty good. I like that she chose Gouki, though I wish their relationship had more resolution. Oh well.
Mokk, their mentor and base of operations at the same time, a mystic tree that is connected to all other trees on the planet, thus being able to locate most anything as long as it's nearby plant life. He's pretty standard as far as mentor characters go. However, he's able to forge connections with his team rather easily despite being a talking tree.
Bokk, a wood sprite that kind of hangs out with the Gingamen and Mokk who uses his name as a pun a lot. Not much to say...He was a character...At least he wasn't too annoying?

Onto the bad guys, Space Pirates Barban (Which, by the by, it's super crazy to hear "Uchuu Kaizoku" and have it refer to the villains...Damn you, Gokaiger )
First we have Captain Zahab, big bad of the series. Also, kind of uninteresting. Only leaving the ship, what, 4 times in the whole series, his lack of interaction with the heroes means that their final encounter doesn't hold as much weight as it should. Personally responsible for starting Bull Black's grudge and otherwise...Just kind of around, really. As a pirate, he isn't against backstabbing his own crew. Also, due to his suit's design, he's very inhibited, so his fighting is also leaves a lot to be desired. Not a fan.
Next, Shellinda, a scantily clad swordswoman who steers the ship. She doesn't do much of anything, either, to be honest. She bitches at the generals not accomplishing their goals and just stands around looking angry. She holds a grudge against Ginga Green, however, she's not on his level, losing most of the time, and sometimes being disregarded as he has other matters to attend.
On to Bookrates (Which the wiki spells as "Bucrates" which makes more sense considering his design is a barrel crate. However, considering his name is pronounced "Boo-kura-tes," the pun is still lost). Uncle to one of the generals, Iries, and the smart guy in the villain lair (Until his job is taken by Businera), he just kind of waddles about insulting everyone with Shellinda. He wasn't anything special, and only really grew to be interesting after his betrayal and him vowing revenge against Zahab (And forcing Hyuuga to help).

On to the generals. Each general got about 10 episodes to them, give or take.
Sanbash, voiced by everyone's famous shouter, Nobuyuki Hiyama, was the first General to get a shot. His main mission was to find any kind of fuel source to awaken the Daitanic (Along with general plans to randomly wake him up, like noise pollution). Brash and loud, he was a perfect start. The one to do the deed initially to Black Knight Bull Black, he ultimately died due to general incompetence, but he certainly went out with a bang.
Next is Budo, the samurai. Very respectful, he kind of nails the samurai vibe perfectly, right down to his theme (Though, considering it's an effing Japanese show, I shouldn't be surprised). His mission was the find the Galactic Lights specifically to awaken the Daitanic Monster. Ultimately, he's betrayed by one of his fellow generals, forcing him to turn traitor to Barban to clean his name. I really like the dude, a villain who honors his fallen soldiers, speaks calmly and respectfully, and just generally a very classy dude, even when he loses his temper.
After is the one to betray Budo, Iries. Themed around mysticism, she specifically wants a reward for her work. Quite a bit of a schemer, she most certainly has bigger goals in life, but for now, she's content swimming in a pile of gold. Unfortunately, she fails just as often as her allies, even more so, actually, as she doesn't even have a main trend. She's just going after possible ways to revive the Daitanic (Though her plans tended to involve attacking people).
And finally, Batbass and his right hand man, Businera. Their plans initially involved finding ways to help awaken the Daitanic after it's heart starts beating once more, and once they do, to enlarge the Earth Monster after the Daitanic's should be obvious fate. He was kind of uninteresting, to be entirely honest. While his army had a lot of charisma, he himself wasn't anything special. I do like that he was more proactive, willing to aid his soldiers, but he didn't do it nearly as often as I would've liked. Businera, after introducing the Giga beasts, just basically became another smart dude until forced out in the field for no real reason.
It was around the Iries and Batbass arcs where the show really started to weaken, but that doesn't save Budo or Sanbash, either. The middle of their respective arcs were complete borefests as well. Not even Bull Black's assholishness could save Budo from stagnating. However, the changing generals did help the show from stagnating too much. As after about 4 episodes of tedium, the handoff will occur, often with a really cool climax following into a pretty strong introduction for another.

Moving from the villains and onto the designs, I...Kinda like 'em. I'm not a fan of the Charlie Brown stripe against the Gingamen's suit. It just seems splashed on to break up the white with no rhyme or reason. I get that it's supposed to be teeth, but it just doesn't come across very well. Otherwise, the suits are fine. I love the Black Knight design. It really stands out and is quite striking. The cape looks great and the bulky look really screams "Knight" to me.
Concerning the mecha, they were all really hit or miss. GingaiOh is pretty decent, but it's overly boxy torso and Gingorilla's face just pointing forward, while creative, just don't do anything for me. It's just alright with me. BullKnight is also just decent, too. While not as boxy, it just seems too...Puffy. It's torso juts out too much and is far too rounded and it's head seems too small for it's own body. If it's proportions were fixed, I think it'd be pretty solid. I do love Giga Rhinos and Giga Phoenix, though. Being artificially morphed into machines, they work pretty well. While I'm not a big fan of the individual vehicles not having an animal aesthetic, and only their helmet conveying the animal in combined mode, that doesn't change that their combined mode is pretty damn good. Really love them. Giga Bitus...Not too in love with it, but it's the burden carriers must shoulder.
That said, I love the kaiju forms for the Star Beasts. They looks great, though they do have their annoying flaws (Gingat not having a functioning jaw, Gingaverick's movements being pretty poorly done (Since it has to be "Fast"), etc), but I still enjoy them nonetheless. Gingalcon is probably my favorite~

On the villain side of things, each General had a specific monster aesthetic. First is Sanbash's Gang, which is a biker-insect themed group. I dig 'em. They carried the look solidly and none of them really disappointed me (Well, sometimes...But never too much). Budo's Mob were samurai and ancient Japan themed. And I love it. It was really done nicely. Guess I'm just a sucker for a samurai aesthetic. Iries's Tribe were mysticism themed, meaning voodoo and undead. It was kind of eclectic, but in a good way. She did have a few that missed the mark (especially the ones that don't really have anything to do with anything, or the ones where you really have to connect the dots, like the Valkyrie), but in general, her's I also enjoyed. Finally, we have Batbass's Corps. I'mma be straight: I didn't really like it. That's not to say there weren't some really good ones, such as the missile themed monster, but military and weapon themed monsters really don't do anything for me. While Iries's are also kind of generic Sentai, the designs still popped for me.
The Yatotos, the henchmen, were effing weird, man. They fit the pirate theme, at the very least, but dude...I don't know.

Anyway, Gingaman. I don't really know how to rate it. It was a pretty enjoyable series that kept things shaken up with the villains power shifting. However, the constant "REVIVE DA DAITANIC" really made the plot a bit of a bore and forced me to rely on the individual episodes' merits to enjoy things. And it worked...Some of the time. When an episode didn't work, it just felt like a chore to get through, and made me want to watch the next episode even less, which made marathoning this show difficult (I often found myself only watching one a day). Each general had a point where their arc stagnated, which made things all the worse as they reached a routine. They enjoyed this routine so much that they were still doing their routine even by episode 48, 2 episodes from the finale. The Daitanic's awakening and destruction felt more like the end to the series, despite it happening about 8 episodes before the actual ending.
It was just kind of an okay, middle of the road kind of series that's still enjoyable, but I don't really feel like it's a show I should herald over it's quality.

Eh, 7/10. It's worth watching, but I don't think it's worth pushing to the top of the lists to watch. That's fair, right?

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

GINGAMAN COMPLETE

Wow, I'm impressed to see someone else write that much about a show for once.

Never thought it'd be possible to make Ninninger's overarching plot seem positively engaging though...

[Dr Kain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

Eh, 7/10. It's worth watching, but I don't think it's worth pushing to the top of the lists to watch. That's fair, right?

That's really why it would make my honorable mention list, but wouldn't make my top 10. There are a lot of excellent things in the show, but the few negatives do hurt the overall product (oh the tomatoes). Without subs, if I were ranking the Sentai series I would probably put it at like 12 or 13 as I'll take it over every show that came after Abaranger minus Geki and Gokai. We'll see what happens when I watch it subbed though.

BTW, I've never seen Bucrates and Biznella spelled the way you just did in your post. Is that really how the subs spelled them?

[Matrixbeast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Wow, I'm impressed to see someone else write that much about a show for once.

Never thought it'd be possible to make Ninninger's overarching plot seem positively engaging though...

My recent recaps have been hella long

And yeah. When you get right down to it, Gingaman's plot is really kind of one note stretched out way too long.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Kain

That's really why it would make my honorable mention list, but wouldn't make my top 10. There are a lot of excellent things in the show, but the few negatives do hurt the overall product (oh the tomatoes). Without subs, if I were ranking the Sentai series I would probably put it at like 12 or 13 as I'll take it over every show that came after Abaranger minus Geki and Gokai. We'll see what happens when I watch it subbed though.

BTW, I've never seen Bucrates and Biznella spelled the way you just did in your post. Is that really how the subs spelled them?

Yeah. Gingaman just doesn't have enough going for it to be top 10 material, personally. That said, it does certainly have enough to be considered passable and definitely watchable. While asshole 6th rangers aren't anything new, Bull Black really feels like he's skirting the line on being a villain, and feels like a true anti-hero, rather than just an abrasive good guy. Most every villain's introduction and climax are really, really good (I particularly loved Budo and Iries's final fights), and when the Daitanic awakens, it's crazy good.

It's just a shame about all the tedium and filler.

And yeah, the subs spell them "Bookrates" and "Businera."

[Kamen Rider Lucha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

When an episode didn't work, it just felt like a chore to get through, and made me want to watch the next episode even less, which made marathoning this show difficult (I often found myself only watching one a day).

I totally agree. Gingaman has been a slog for me to get through. I've been chipping away at the show for the last 5-6 months, and I only just watched episode 20 last night.

For perspective, I watched all of Maskman and Jetman-through-Megaranger in a little less than a year. That's eight whole series. But when I got to Gingaman, all of my momentum stopped. It was like I drove head-first into a Star Beast-shaped wall.

It's not like I dislike the show. In fact, I actually prefer it overall to Megaranger and Maskman, both of which I cruised through without any problem.

It's possible that Sentai-fatigue was responsible for my initial lack of interest, but after 6 months of intermittent watching, I'm really hankering for a good sentai show. The introduction of Bull Black has provided a bit more excitement, but I still have a distinct lack of enthusiasm to move forward.

It's also possible that the show's change in length, mid-Megaranger -- from 17 to 22min -- is partly to blame. Those shorter episodes made it really, really easy to binge a whole series. But on the other hand, I haven't had any trouble watching more modern series (Shinkenger-through-Zyuohger), which are all the same length.

Honestly, it just feels like there's a certain gonzo spark missing from Gingaman. I kinda felt the same way about Megaranger too. That sense of "oh, shit, what did I just watch???" that was so prevalent in the early-to-mid 90s series just isn't there anymore.

Part of me fears that this will be the case for all Sentai going forward. Like, I'm super worried that the series between Carranger and Shinkenger will all be duds. (Some reassurance that isn't the case would be awesome! )

So I guess I'm at something of a crossroads. Do I keep trudging through Gingaman? Do I go back in time and watch something like Bioman in hopes that I can rediscover the weirdo energy of the 90s shows I love so much? Or do I hop around and watch something I think I'll probably like, like Gekiranger or Hurricanger?

All of your feedback would be highly appreciated!

[Matrixbeast]

Don't worry. Gekiranger is filled with energy and just greatness~
I also hear Abaranger can get pretty off the walls, too, but I haven't gotten to it, yet.

As for Gingaman, I would say that you're not losing much if you decide to save it for later. There are some moments where it just feels like you hit a brick wall with the show. While it is worth the watch, perhaps going back a little bit might be what helps reinvigorate that spark to watch it.