[DreamSword]

Episode 11: From Beyond

Boy, if you thought episode 7 was insane, it has nothing on this episode.

No, really, things have escalated again, and in a much bigger and more crazy way than the climax of episode 7 did. The entire episode is like that!

Like... how do I even go about this? All I can really think to do is just give a recap, but like just with the climax of episode seven, this really is something you just kinda have to see in order to fully get, you know?

So uh, turns out that King Torture was actually secretly funded by a bunch of evil space aliens known as From Beyond, and all this time, Kaname, who is not just an actor but actually is Red Axe, has all this time been working to bring an elite group together to combat the alien threat.

This team is known as the Samurai Squad Flamengers, and he wants Masayoshi to be the leader and Red Ranger. Unfortunately for them though, the other four Rangers have already been killed off by a monster known as Ugly Toxic Poison, who causes people's' brains to explode via kisses. But fear not! Kaname calls in four back-up Rangers who were also chosen as Red to fill in the gaps!

They fight over who should be what color, with Masayoshi ultimately being Flamen Red. Turns out that the team is actually law themed too; Doing things such as using law books as a shield. Once Toxic Poison is defeated he goes big, so the Flamengers call on their animal-themed Zords to all combine into Flamen Robo, a parody of Combattler V. The city is totally wrecked in the process, but the Megazord quickly takes care of Poison and blows him up.

And worse than all of that, Masayoshi's' secret identity is out, which means Ishihara is PISSED!

Everything ends on a really funny bit was Mari, who correctly points out that because the Flamengers are a government organization, that means that their funding results in a big increase in taxes for the citizens.

I just... I really can't properly convey how this entire episode feels like it goes by at mach 1 and out of a near total blindspot.

And you now what, that in and of itself is brilliant, because that's how alot of Power Rangers seasons start.

[GoldenXtreme]

Maybe "edgy" isn't so much the right word as much as it felt like the show was constantly needling me with stuff that felt like it was only there for the shock value and/or tonal whiplash. Again though, I haven't seen it in ages and don't remember it too well. Definitely a show that struck me as needing fewer episodes, not more.

[Name]

Flamenger Arc let's go.

The sequence following their proper suit up is probably one of my favorite things in the entire show. It's goofy, energetic, and oddly cool. Hell, Pink makes knitting look badass. Having the crew sing their own hero song is just bonus points on an already great sequence.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenXtreme

Maybe "edgy" isn't so much the right word as much as it felt like the show was constantly needling me with stuff that felt like it was only there for the shock value and/or tonal whiplash.

Firm disagree. Whenever Flamenco does something outlandish and out of the blue like Furious George the show shifts around it. It's not just tossed out the window like it never happened and the "genre" it's shifted to remains the focus until the next story arc hits. The show is all about exploring the different hero genres, associated tropes, and playing with how characters would adapt to the absolute lunacy that goes on therein.

[Rabbitman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Name

Flamenger Arc let's go.

Yo, that flamengers theme is great. When I listened to it, that part at 13 seconds in reminded me of something. I had to rack my brain for a bit, bit it?s just like the Gavan theme at about 14 seconds in.

Sorry if this has already been said before. I get excited when I hear similarities in songs. Also, if Gavan was itself referencing something there, I apologize for not catching that.

I just clicked into this thread to see what was going on. Flamenco has kind of been on my radar for a long time. I might try to check it out.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rabbitman

I just clicked into this thread to see what was going on. Flamenco has kind of been on my radar for a long time. I might try to check it out.

I definitely recommend it! Though I do suggest going into it knowing as little about it as possible.

[DreamSword]

Episode 12: Documentary! We are the Flamengers!

It's good to see that despite all the crazy toku shenanigans going on, at the end of the day, the very human element of Samurai Flamenco remains.

The latter half of this episode is more Super Sentai hijinks that one would expect from that show, even parodying Dancougar at one point, but just as much time is dedicated towards the more slice of life and deconstructive aspects that Flamenco rooted itself in in its early episodes.

And really, that's where the best parts of this episode end up for me, even as an unapologetic Power Rangers fan. The main point the episode makes it that, while sure, Masayoshi is out living his best life being part of a superhero team(heck, even Ishihara had a turnaround about his lifestyle), life itself isn't exactly just sitting around and waiting for him to swoop in. Adding onto that, work life and personal life very much separate things.

While Masayoshi is every bit of the passionate hero as he's always been, the rest of the Flamengers treat their service under the government as, well, a job, and while Masa would love for it to be otherwise, the team consists of coworkers, not friends. Just because you see and work with someone often, that's not the same as genuine companionship.

Things have changed since he's been gone, too. MMM is under threat of breaking up due to Mari disappearing after the King Torture fiasco, Harazuka has had his stationary research confiscated by the government, and Goto has gone back to being a patrol cop with the disbanding of the specialized unit that he'd helped form. With so much going on in the world, not everyone can keep up.

And can I just say that these scenes between Masayoshi and Goto, where they just chill at one of their apartments, hangout, and just kinda talk about stuff are probably my favorite scenes in the entire show? The two's' growing bond over the course of the anime has been completely genuine, and these scenes always do well to showcase that. They're so simple, but they do a ton for a characters, and it's the sort of thing I wish some other shows I've seen had.

With all that out of the way, the only thing left to note is that starting with this episode, Samurai Flamenco switches over to its second opening.

It's a good song for sure, but the opening sequence itself is a glorified slideshow. A very stylistic one, but a slideshow all the same. You can tell this show is low budget, but man have they been using that budget effectively so far.

[Name]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

It's a good song for sure, but the opening sequence itself is a glorified slideshow. A very stylistic one, but a slideshow all the same. You can tell this show is low budget, but man have they been using that budget effectively so far.

This being said, I really doubt they'd top the first opening even if they had a budget.


More hijinks with the Flamenger squad. As on the nose as it is, I still like seeing their comraderie grow between fights.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Name

This being said, I really doubt they'd top the first opening even if they had a budget.

SPYAIR does good work, that's for sure.

[DreamSword]

Episode 13: Night Before the Decisive Battle!

This episode tackles alot of common questions that people who only casually know shows like Power Rangers tend to ask.

Questions such as "Why do the enemy forces only ever attack one city/country?" "Why doesn't the big bad just send all of their monsters at once?" "Where the heck is the government in all of this?' and so forth.

And while basically every Toku shows I can think of has some sort of in-universe explanation/justification for all of these, Samurai Flamenco instead decides to meet the people who ask those types of questions on their own level. As it turns out, the people in-universe have asked these questions too, and the answers are ones that are not at all pretty.

The episode itself is 99% just talking, making me draw mental comparisons to .hack//SIGN(which, by the way, is one of my favorite anime ever), and it worked just as well here and it did there. Masayoshi's' genuine nature really begins to feel the strain when real world politics intervene in superheroics.

So what exactly is the catalyst for all of this? Well, as it turns out, From Beyond as an organization is much, much bigger than anyone could have ever imagined. It has over 65,000 members for goodness' sake! And adding onto that, the Flamengers learn that the alien invaders plan to initiate and all-out attack on Japan in the coming days. Those initial attacks simply being testing grounds to judge the strength of Japan's' defense force.

This is of course a state of emergency for the nation as a whole, because there's no way that the Flamengers can take on that big of a force all at once. Even worse, due to wanting to look good in both the eyes of the public and the political world, the Prime Minister declares that announcing a state of emergency is to be held off until Japan's' leaders and their families can be evacuated into shelters. It's a selfish move that no one on the team is happy with, but despite their protests, all the team gets out of it is that each member can choose up to five people to tell the truth to and evacuate.

This results in a sequence I really dug, wherein we get small glimpses into the personal lives of each member of the team, and the star of our show, Masayoshi, practically crumbles under the weight of such a big decision. He can barely keep the entire situation a secret, let alone narrow things down to just five people to save! The ensuing conversations he has with Goto and Kaname are really engrossing stuff too; Talking about both personal responsibilities as well as ones placed onto those who decide to become heroes.

And man, the ending cuts at the exact perfect time, too. After the nightmares and the heavy burden that's been placed on his shoulders, he says screw what the government says, and lets the world know the truth.

Really excited to see where this all goes next episode, that's for sure.

[Name]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Even worse, due to wanting to look good in both the eyes of the public and the political world, the Prime Minister declares that announcing a state of emergency is to be held off until Japan's' leaders and their families can be evacuated into shelters. It's a selfish move that no one on the team is happy with