[Enchilada645]

Alright so we've reached the end I did plan on covering my brief thoughts on the remaining episodes.

Episode 20: A really nice episode, I'm always a sucker for hero visits the sick kid in the hospital stories. And this one delivered a really nice story and lesson, with both the kid and Bima learning from each other and taking their own steps forward. God Helios is a pretty cool power-up, though I will admit I laughed at mysterious voice taking the form of a PNG of Bima God Helios. Overall, a really fun episode and I wasn't expecting it to be a one-off either, which was a pleasant surprise.

Episode 21-22: Admittedly I don't have much to talk about the main plot here, but it is cool to see a bit more fleshing out of Vudo as a civilization in how Rasputin seems to be the main guy dictating the whole invasion. Our third member of Shadow Crisis doesn't make too big of an impression in these episodes. The main attraction and thing even I didn't know about was Gackt appearing as Bima Legend. I was a bit confused at who I was staring at when the episode first started, as if I knew him from somewhere, then the credits drop and 'Special Guest: Gackt' assaulted my senses and I went crazy. Dude's an absolute treat to watch here, even if he is the personification of 'Bullies Bima, Refuses to Elaborate, Leaves'. It's a mostly solid two-parter though I had a lot of fun purely thanks to Gackt's presence.

Episode 23: The big final battle between Bima and Azazel, its brother vs. brother and it definitely resonates with me a lot more than their constant battles in Episode 17. It's an emotionally powerful episode, with both combatants giving it their all, getting so tired they basically just start slugging each other, with Vudo basically betraying Azazel in the end. The result is Ray protecting Reza as best he can, even at the cost of his own life. This was such an effectively powerful cliffhanger that I basically said screw it and watched the next episode immediately instead of waiting a day like I did prior.

Episode 24: This episode gave me big, SSSS.Gridman Episode 11 Vibes in terms of how the status quo is handled. Because for most of the run time, we've got Reza as Azazel contemplating what to do now that he remembers what happened and is free from Vudo's grip. We also get a major focus on Uncle as well, the two sharing a nice quiet scene together after Uncle hilariously distracts the last member of Shadow Crisis which gives Reza enough time to give them cover to escape. It all caps off with Ray returning as Bima just in time for the two brothers to team up and beat the last member of Shadow Crisis. It's overall a solid episode with both this and 23 taking its spot as my favorite episodes of the show. Also at this point I decided I'd watch the final two episodes since I already was this far in. So I finished up Bima quite a few days ago before the thread.

Episode 25: It's the penultimate episode, and man, this episode along with last made me realize something. We hadn't actually seen everyone ride bikes in a while. That note aside, we get a fun opening battle with Bima and Azazel fighting against a horde of Combatmen set to Seperti Bintang, Rasputin ends up showing up to face them down himself and manages to actually quickly defeat them, before activating Grand Gator. We're very much in the first half of a finale, as despite the destruction going on, Ray, Reza, Randy, and Rena all stand together as a family against Grand Gator. It also helps that God Helios shows up too in the nick of time to get them close to the giant mechanical beast.

Episode 26: What a great finale overall, it's a very action packed one as we see our heroes and their family work together to stop Grand Gator. It all culminates in what I always love, the faith of people powering up the heroes to help them break through and win the day. In which we get a very satisfying beatdown of Rasputin by Bima and Azazel, the two going all out in one of my favorite sequences in the show. The day is saved, the family is all together, and while there are a few lingering questions, it wrapped up fairly alright. Well aside from the cliffhanger which I felt was odd, but not unwelcome. It was mostly surprising in that I assumed they'd close things off as a single series, though I guess they had already gotten to go ahead for X or were just confident they'd get another series. I did not expect Iron Mask to return under the banner of a new evil leader so I'm curious to see how that?ll go over in Bima X.

With all that said, did I enjoy my time with Bima? Yes I'd say I did. It's not the most amazing Tokusatsu I've ever seen but it is very enjoyable to watch, with refreshing locales, really cool suits, and a lot of moments filled with heart. I'm definitely happy I checked Bima out in the end, and I look forward to watching Bima X whenever that eventually happens.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

I'm waiting for her to become the main writer of Rider.

Same here. Satria is very similar to Rider, so we can get a good idea of how that would be like from Bima-X.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

[CENTER]Episode 26

And what a final bout it is! This finale is packed full of fighting, fighting, and more fighting! Infiltrating and managing to take down Grand Gator from the inside and Bima and Azazel's' final fight with Rasputin take up the majority of the episode's' run time, and even features a surprise appearance from the biological parents of Ray and Reza.

I'm enjoying Rasputin's performance in last episode is why I personally got disappointed for the Bima finale regarding him. Like, it's not about Bima and Azazel's determination, but about dunno why Rasputin just seems to not fight back anymore against their barrages, not that he feels overwhelmed or something, or that he's too weakened to stand up or such, he just like stands there and watches.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

It's a very Ultraman-esque finale, with the people of Indonesia all offering their prayers to the Garuda Knights in their last stand. And of course, the world is saved from the Vudo Empire, with the Satria returning home to celebrate their victory. While many a plot thread is left hanging, this final episode leaves off in a very emotionally satisfying way, with every major character arc resolved in a bombastic final battle.

Though it's also nice touch that in these part, the prayers are done with various different religions people here have, Islam, Christian, Catholic, Buddha, and Hindu all being featured to give their prayers, likely at least to show tolerance for the varying religions Indonesia have. Otherwise, the Grand Gator's insides is also quite bizzare to have ceramics like rooms in building, though I also felt that they don't decide enough to turn Rena into a fighter or not with her taking out a Kombatan here, but for the following later afterwards...

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Turns out, Iron Mask is alive! And he serves a new leader now who goes by Black Priest. Iron Mask is the one to ultimately kill Rasputin and the metaphorical hand of Black Priest reaches out towards the Earth.

Black Priest revived Topeng Besi, and so yeah, your hope for getting to know more regarding Topeng Besi will be answered. Reino Barack actually stated that the sequel being made depends on the show's reception, and fortunately Bima is well-received enough there to have the sequel being made, though you don't like these kind of endings. And Bima-X is closer to full-sized toku that it has 50 episodes.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

With all that said, did I enjoy my time with Bima? Yes I'd say I did. It's not the most amazing Tokusatsu I've ever seen but it is very enjoyable to watch, with refreshing locales, really cool suits, and a lot of moments filled with heart. I'm definitely happy I checked Bima out in the end, and I look forward to watching Bima X whenever that eventually happens.

thanks for spoiling my final thoughts on the show jeez

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Though it's also nice touch that in these part, the prayers are done with various different religions people here have, Islam, Christian, Catholic, Buddha, and Hindu all being featured to give their prayers, likely at least to show tolerance for the varying religions Indonesia have.

That was really cool of the showrunners to do, yeah.

Quote:

Otherwise, the Grand Gator's insides is also quite bizzare to have ceramics like rooms in building

I got a giggle out of the very obviously dolled up hallway for sure.

[DreamSword]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON BIMA: THE GARUDA KNIGHT

BIMA isn't the great tokusatsu show ever made by any stretch.

The sound design is pretty bad, alot of the two-parters could've easily been one-off episodes, and there are a handful of arcs that just go nowhere.

But at the same time, it genuinely improves in every aspect as it goes on, the stuff it excels at remain highly enjoyable, and most importantly, it's got alot of heart to it that makes it hard to think everyone involved wasn't giving an honest effort.

As I continued to go through this relatively unknown toku show made in Indonesia, I more and more continued to think of it as a friend. Not just because the past month has been a bit rocky for me personally, but in the genuine warmth and growth I got to experience when watching it.

It's the sort of thing not many shows in general have to them. The sort of experience one has with a friend they know is by no means perfect, but continue to witness and cheer them as as they continue to move forwards in their life. And even if there are bumps in the road, at the end of the day, when you think of that person, you can't help but give atleast a little smile.

For me it's easy to say that BIMA's' biggest strength is its atmosphere, no matter which half of the show you're talking about. I've read people comparing the show to Kamen Rider Black, and while I can see some vague similarities, I'd be quicker to compare the show to Kuuga, which also has an atmosphere that I cite as its biggest strength. It takes the basics of the Showa Era and inserts the atmosphere and drama of early Heisei.

Is the overarching plot or the characters involved super deep and complex? No, but that's not at all required. While simple, the storytelling is handled with some surprisingly mature subject matter. And although none of the character go through any super big changes, they're all played by actors who insert some wonderful charisma into their performances, and do their best with what they're given. Big highlights in the show such a reuniting of the family would not work even half as well without everyone in the cast being so likable.

Even if it's not the best at any one particular aspect of itself, everything ends up coming together really well, and I'd highly recommend it to any Toku fan who thinks that any one of the Big Three are getting stale for them. Good action, good music, good character, and an especially good atmosphere make for an overall good time. I guess the short of it is that BIMA's' big heart is also its biggest asset, just like that one friend you know who isn't especially smart, or funny, or perhaps not even all that capable, but you know is always there to make you feel good, and really, what else could you ask for?

Overall, I rate BIMA: Satira Garuda a 4/6. Not the most incredible work ever by any stretch, but a very fun and fulfilling one.