[wentwood]

Update

Kyu (Episode 14)

Purple and Orange Ranger are hunting Orange Ranger's brother.

Lu Pat (Episode 10)

Episode 09

The Pats accidentally destroyed a Lupin Collection item due to Red Ranger.

Kira (Episode 10)

Episode 09 -

Sena played a card game with a rival of hers from her younger days and used this in the Rangers' next fight. Also having used quick reflexes to beat their opponent at said game. Then like Red Ranger used the enemy's zord to combine a mega zord.

[Fish Sandwich]

Jetman 38-39:

Takahiko Masuda adds one last new writer to the show, providing the script for 38, and absolutely nothing else for Super Sentai at all from what I can tell. (Plenty of other toku credits on stuff like Ultraman and Metal Heroes though.) I don't know if it's a masterpiece of Sentai storytelling so good there was no point trying to top it, but it's certainly not so bad you'd never want the guy back at all, either. It's maybe a bit of a basic story, if I wanted to put it critically. Just something that's hitting the important notes without too much flair, but you know, it's hitting them well. You've got a central guest character in the form of a scientist who's an old friend of Ryuu's, envious of how much cooler a life his buddy leads than his boring research job, and he grapples with selfish temptation before ultimately realizing his own value and growing as a person and all that. So there's a clear arc to the plot, and clearly defined stakes with the heroes attempting to analyze a piece of Vyram technology to reveal some kind of weakness, and the Vyram themselves attempting to put the brakes on that plan before their secrets can be exposed. You know what everyone in this narrative wants, and that's a point of praise for it, but it just lacks a little *something*, I guess. Even an invisible chameleon monster whacking people with a big hammer doesn't quite elevate it enough, awesome as that monster is. This is a very serviceable episode that I can't help but feel isn't quite as lively as I'd like.

39 is an extremely lively episode, and Naruhisa Arakawa's very last go at writing Jetman. He went out with a bang, as far as I'm concerned. Gai and Grey head to the casino to face off in a game of chance, with the lives of the other Jetmen as the prize. There. All it takes is one sentence plainly describing the broad premise, and you can probably already tell how awesome this one is. So right from the very concept, it's already a winner of an episode, and the execution does its best to live up to that. Which isn't hard, because just like Grey revealing his two-headed coin at the start, it quickly becomes apparent how much Arakawa has set things up so he can't possibly lose. That fundamental clash of personalities at the center here is already inspired, for one thing. Grey's most interesting gimmick is that, despite being a robot, he's always been the most humanized of the Vyram generals in a way, being shown throughout the series to enjoy the finer things in life, and that makes a gambling showdown with Gai a natural fit for both characters. It's awesome watching them both in action, each trying to bust out their own unique tricks to gain the upper hand. (I adored Grey mathematically calculating the outcome of a roulette spin using his supercomputer of a robot brain, for an easy example.) I guess there's not much more I even need to say that I haven't already. This one is just great. Arakawa came up with a stellar concept, wrote a script that was filled with fun and interesting plot beats (Tetra Boy plays an amazing role here), and the results speak for themselves. Again, I think even back this early in his career, you can tell Arakawa has a serious talent for writing Super Sentai. His handful of episodes for Jetman were consistently some of the most vibrant and fun of the entire series.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

More Fun Fact: Tranza isn't Hirose Yutaka's first time as a Sentai villain, nor his last. He was also Ley Wanda of Flashman and Doctor Kemp of Liveman and he later portrayed Ryo's rival Jin in an extra violent Inoue-written arc of Dairanger.

More neat!

[GoldenXtreme]

Watched 2 more episodes of Gaoranger today!


EP 7: This episode really solidified for me that the big appeal of the show so far is the cast. From the amusing little scene at the beginning of everyone hanging out as the base (loved Yellow and his ukulele especially!) to Blue's incredible charm and nice interactions with the kid of the week. They're all just very charismatic! The plot was kind of baffling, as is proving to be par for the course in this show. Still trying to wrap my head around the logistics of how a super-powered ancient divine animal ended up trapped in the form of a random construction crane!


EP 8: This episode, the show tries to convince me that Red is a real, actual veterinarian and not just some strange guy the Gaorangers kidnapped off the streets. It was nice to get a little more background on him, and I was just waiting for the twist that the real reason he kept that photo in his wallet was the dog from the beginning. I think White was the real highlight of this one though, I liked her concern over potentially keeping Red away from his girlfriend and a community that needs him. She comes across as a really gentle and kindly person, but she also has the drive to back it up. I rather like her so far!


So, uh, yeah! This show really feels like some sort of spiritual successor to Zyuranger to me, which isn't a bad thing! Maybe not the most *exciting* thing either, but hey, as long as get some enjoyment out of it I won't mind too much.

[wentwood]

Mid point on Kyo.

Now I start next what would be US year 2. (Nick split)

Kyu is getting interesting. Also Lu Pat which I like.

It would be cool if Hasbro adapts Kira. It has way too much potential as a Power Rangers series.

However one rumor said they may make their own from the ground up next year with no adaption or footage.

So we'll see next spring. All I got was live action series.

Not sure what that means. If that does happen I will be totally Toei. Depends on next year.

[AkibaSilver]

Kiramager Episode 25



Boy, what a perfectly nice guest character! No way they could unleash Sakamoto-levels of horny upon us.

[dreamcastegirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AkibaSilver

Boy, what a perfectly nice guest character! No way they could unleash Sakamoto-levels of horny upon us.

stares into the middle distance and sighs wistfully.

[wentwood]

I'm working my way through Saban Era I yet.

Time Ranger is the last series from this group.

The next 2 are Jetix / Disney.

[Fish Sandwich]

Jetman 40-41:

Kenichi Araki comes up with just about the simplest possible concept for a monster so cool, it can drive an entire two-parter. How can you can go wrong with a space monster that directly neutralizes the Birdonic Waves which power the team? That's what Radiguet is thinking as 40 starts, and right away, this plot is my jam because of that. This is a fantastic episode for the guy, because it so thoroughly demonstrates how much you can't ever count him out. He goes to launch this big plan to show Tranza how it's done, and it's shocking how well it goes over out of the gate. He easily convinces Grey and Maria to follow his leadership, and help drag a fancy rock down from space, and just like the that, the heroes would be toast, several times over even, if not for but a few unforeseen complications. And be fair to Radiguet; why would he ever suspect a team of Neo Jetmen to pop up with the inconvenient possible timing for his plan? Their immunity to the monster's powers throws a huge wrench in Radiguet's scheme... and everything else about them throws off the actual title characters of the show. By design, it's extremely hard to root for these random nobodies in their B movie sci-fi outfits, and even harder to see the side of their stern commander, who not only hates our heroes for being mere civilians, but cares about his own people so little that he'll remind them over the radio how expendable they are as a motivational tactic when they're about to get torn apart along with Jet Icarus. Gai naturally seems ready to give this guy a piece of his mind, but it's actually Ryuu who ends up punching the dude in the face by the end. The team defies orders to head out and rescue the newbies, but the monster's powers result in them losing their ability to transform entirely, ending things in a rather dramatic spot.

Radiguet probably would've won once and for all right then and there, but at the start of 41, Tranza steals the monster's core, leaving its body to be destroyed, all as part of his plan, which is to have the monster sneak aboard Jet Icarus and reconstitute itself inside the team's base and... just generally smash the place up, I guess? Really, it's less about the practicality and 100% about ego. Radiguet was about to prove how cool he is by defeating their greatest foes, so Tranza has to hijack that plan to do a different plan so he can both take credit for the victory while also mocking Radiguet for the failure that Tranza caused. And yeah, for all his confidence, just like Radiguet's frustrated observation at the end of the episode, it really is entirely down to that decision from Tranza that this scheme ends up having the time to fail. It seems promising at first, especially with new commander guy kicking out the powerless old team and clearly cracking under the pressure of the sudden home invasion, but when you make the mistake of giving the protagonists the chance to make a comeback, they're going to use it, you know? So naturally, the new Jetmen come to respect the heroism of the true Jetmen, giving up their own powers to put them back in the fight, resulting in them doing what they do best. The day ends up being saved, and the status quo is restored, with their arrogant new leader being removed from his position because of, you know, his everything. Unfortunately for Radiguet though, the status quo right now means the arrogant new leader of the Vyram is still right where he was at the start. I think I like Radiguet enough to call this a bittersweet ending?

Obviously it's at least a happy ending for the heroes, though. This two-parter was a great time. It's not telling a story with a ton of depth to it, of course. The Neo Jetmen are blank slates not even afforded the luxury of names, for example, but on the other hand, jerky commander guy is at least fleshed out enough to have it explicitly established that his primary motivation is petty jealousy. It's not a plot that desperately needs that sort of substance, though. Like most of Araki's work on this show, these episodes thrive on the sense of tension and excitement created by the villains, and it's easy to want to see the team pull through to beat this seemingly unbeatable monster and prove their worth to stubborn higher-ups and cocky replacements. (It's also easy to root for Radiguet, but again, he's not as lucky by the end.)

[AkibaSilver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamcastegirl

stares into the middle distance and sighs wistfully.

*Bonk*, go to Horny Yodenheim.

Anyway, Kiramager continues to be pretty good, going as far as excellent as we reach the mid 20's.

EP 23 - The Gang Entertain Mabusheen's Mum
Nice to see a healthy family relatonship for once in Sentai, and honestly nice to have 'a' family relationship visited at all. It would have been easy to keep her the typical dead idealised mum, but to center what seems like a comedy episode around her, only to end with her being there for her daughter after a song-and-dance number, surprisingly heartwarming. A good one!

EP 24 - The Gang Start a Band
I'm a sucker for stories about the power of music. How it brings us together, how we express ourselves with it, or in this case, how we can use it to get through a bad time. This one hits the mark perfectly for me. 10/10

Ep 25/26 - The Gang hit their mid-season power-up
What can I say about this one that others haven't said better? Obviously, the big Yodonna twist doesn't really work after she became the breakout star of the show, and when a suspicious alien shows up it's kinda obvious what's happening, but it's still good, even if I hope they build on Tametomo and her's bond that gets set here - it's an odd thing to picture her initial episode through to just drop. Episode 26, which basically looks at the perennial Sentai trope of 'Just break your limits! Go all out! Be stronger!" and decides that the message needs a little bit of nuance, is great. The stakes are high, the bow metaphor with King Josph DiamondStar is such an easy way to express the premise so a child can understand it, and the Go Kiramagers are a nice upgrade, always a fan of when it's a team power-up.

Ep 27 - The Gang star in a Gekiranger tribute
So I enjoyed this one. While putting a solid minute of Geki footage may have been on the nose, the plot about Yodonna wanting to test each of the Kiramagers to their limit works well, solid stuff about relying on friends, which is obviously paralleled by SCRTCH's support of the Gekis back in the day. Not having any of the main Gekis show up is a good choice, since otherwise they might easily overshadow the plot as written, and the focus here isn't on the legacy of the past or anything, it's about being able to push yourself because you'll always have your team to fall back on. I do have to ask - why Geki though? Is it the same writer? Same director? The actors were free and they thought 'why not'?

[Androzani84]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Jetman 40-41:

Ah yes, the one with the ass who exists purely to show that Radiguet’s “humans are horrible people who should all die” does have some ground. He’s showed up in a few fanfiction crossovers where Jetman is prominent, which probably says something about his appeal.

And just like the blue birdman named Dan reappeared in Zyuranger as the blue hero Dan, the leader of the Jetman team’s replacements later appeared in that show as Geki… the leader of the Jetman team’s replacements.