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12-16-2020, 04:26 AM | #8351 |
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Posts: 462
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Even though I do narrowly prefer In Space in general though I love both, I actually preferred Yuusaku to Zhane, I thought Yuusaku was a lot better IMO and maybe a controversial opinion but I've never been that huge on Andros other than towards the end of the show! Dr.Hinelar was a bit of a strange villain though and unfortunately sometimes I did struggle to find him a particularly large threat compared to the interesting and detailed backstory of Astronema! My favourite episode was probably the original version of ''Five of a Kind'' if I had to pick, the Nejiranger stuff in that was fun to watch! I'm currently watching Gingaman and some things are pretty cool though I'm sorry to say I am struggling a lot more with Captain Zahab, I mean I think pirates as villains was probably fine once but I can see why it didn't become much of a thing, it is a bit ''who cares''!
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12-16-2020, 06:05 PM | #8352 |
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Megaranger is still one of my favorite Sentai out there. It's a show that pulls off all the essentials super well, and knows to hit you an episode every now and then that's just blow-your-socks-off memorable and awesome. Not to mention Kubota being the best Sentai mentor ever.
I mean, I have a lot of favorite Sentai, but not for nothing was my signature image an out-of-context Megaranger quote for... was it just one year or two? A really long time, is the point!
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12-18-2020, 07:35 AM | #8353 |
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I wasn't terribly fond of Megaranger, but I think I'm biased against it. I watched it right off of the heels of Zyuranger, which was my first Sentai and a huge blast of Power Rangers nostalgia. Megaranger didn't have the same effect, so I thought it was kind of boring. I wonder if I'd like it more now?
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12-29-2020, 08:39 AM | #8354 |
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Well, I’m at the end of the tribute episodes for Gokaiger, which is quite a significant reason people like the show, if that thread I started a while ago is any indication. I thought I, as someone who actually watched most of the series being homages before watching Gokaiger, would give my two cents.
The Good: Episode 14(Carranger): Just all around a hilarious romp, with little to find any fault with. The fact that a Greater Power is actually useless is a neat idea to explain why they never use it again and there’s even an explanation for a plot hole for last episode (the bad guy took so long to catch up with them because he broke the traffic laws). Episode 21(Boukenger): This episode perfectly captures Boukenger’s (and Akashi’s) spirit of adventure. And it takes too of my biggest issues with the show (reusing old monster suits as new monsters and the fact that most of the time, the finisher for the past team is wasted on a bunch of Mooks) and defies them (the monster this week has a new costume, but is a character from a past series and hey do use the Boukengers’ Dual Crusher on him, it just doesn’t work). And it also brings back DaiBouken (still one of the best designed Sentai Mecha, fight me), so that makes it an instant win in my book. Episode 28 (Jetman): AKA the one that basically resulted in one fanfiction author doing a complete rewrite of Gokaiger’s plot… for a fanfiction supposedly focused on multiple teams from Super Sentai and Power Rangers, but in practice, put most of the focus on Maskman, Jetman, Dekaranger, Boukenger and Shinkenger. But I digress, it’s a pretty good episode that handles the idea of sacrificing your happiness for the greater good incredibly well. And it’s pretty good to see Gai hand the more asshole-ish Gokaigers their asses untransformed, before getting to transform and have a solo fight scene. The monster’s personality also wouldn’t be out of place in Jetman proper, so it’s got that going for it. Episode 31 (Ohranger): Like episode 21, it captures the spirit of its season very well, and also takes another two of my big problems with the series (that most of the pre-Hurricane veterans get a kind of reverse flanderization wherein their most prominent traits are non-existent and that Basco as a character is neither threatening nor necessary) and resolves them (Both Goro and Momo have their personalities on point and Basco takes a level in badass by turning into a monster that none of the Gokaigers can match and that even Damaras seems terrified of). Episodes 35 and 36 (Go-Onger): Junko Komura’s magnum opus for this season. Sosuke is, as usual, a joy to watch and the usual “reusing an old costume as a new character” thing gets offset by the fact that there is a new (albeit modified from existing parts) monster altogether in this same two parter. And I would totally watch a whole show with GokaiFire. The Average. Episode 3 (Magiranger): The first one they did. It is a fairly good start for the tribute episodes (with the fact they get back both the CGI fire monster from MagiRed’s transformation, plus the fact they actually got Tessho Genda to voiceover a new spell for the MagiPhone), it gets weighed down by its lack of any real focus or memorable monster and is ultimately rather forgettable. Episode 7 (Gekiranger): I wasn’t a big fan of Gekiranger when watching it, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But aside from starting a trend I’ve previously stated I wasn’t fond of, plus being the one tribute episode without a special transformation sequence (one thing I think the show has going for it), it was serviceable. Episodes 11-12 (Shinkenger): I hadn’t quite made my way through Shinkenger when I watched this two-parter. It introduces my second least favourite plot line, namely the Joe-Barizorg relationship (namely for how ultimately pointless and all over the place it is) and has another big problem I have with the series (pre-Jetman series only have one attack from their arsenal used at all, sometimes not even that, as seen here with the Dynaman being used solely for the Super Dynamite). But it still delivered on pretty much everything else and has a cool monster suit to make up for the bad stuff. Episode 18 (Sixth Rangers) It’s the second part of the debut for Gai Yuki, who is one of the only two characters in this show I find likeable (the other being Ahim). And after a cameo from Mikoto and two suit actors in the DragonRanger and TimeFire suits, it turns into a reparation of Shinkenger’s 18th episode, only without any of the sense that plot had (there is literally no reason for the Gokaigers to take the Go,ai Cellular, other than to be a dick). But I loved the slight clever thing they did with Gai turning into KingRanger matching the Gokaigers turning into the Gorengers for their first onscreen legend change. Episode 20 (Gingaman): Gia’s first time in a tribute episode. Unfortunately, it has the bad luck to be a) a prexHurricane team’s time in the limelight and b) has Basco as the main villain. Aside from that, the episode is alright, especially with Gai going through the same dilemma Ryoma had back in Gingaman (that Hyuuga is better than him in every way) and the appearance of Haruhiko’s book on the Gingaman, combined with the “space pirate” jokes narrowly save this episode. Episodes 25-26 (Hurricaneger): The good: We get to see the veterans transform, the plot features some appropriate choices for a Gokai Changes and the overall story feels like a mini VS movie. The bad: The nicer Gokaigers go out of character by refusing to give the Hurricanegers their powers back, it once again reuses old suits as new characters, the lack of any reference to the Gouraigers and Shurikenger and why the heck did they remove Furaimaru’s vocal processing effects? Episode 29 (Abaranger): The plot with Ahim getting to do a Seven-Change is a good one, complete with a unique gimmick for a one off bad guy and the AbarePink reappearance is on point, as is the commercial break cliffhanger. But Yukito is wasted on a handful of scenes that don’t really add much, the idea of GoZyuGokaiOh is woefully underused in the rest of the season and they gave Gai a transformation sequence into AbareKiller (as one guy who watched Abaranger when it was premiering put it, part of the appeal of AbareKiller was that he didn’t have a transformation sequence, even in the crossovers) Episode 30 (Liveman): Liveman is a show high on my list, so I naturally had some expectations for this episode. While I like the touch that the bad guy of the week is played by Joji Nakata and the reappearance of Super Live Robo, I don’t lie the shoehorning of Joe’s friend having been brainwashed being somehow comparable to the Liveman’s friends’ genuine betrayal. It just feels like the writer read a reference guide to Liveman rather than actually watching it. Episode 33 (Dairanger): Whiel I like the touch of Ryo using Daigo and Shojis’ abilities, plus the whole untransformed battle, I felt the episode shot itself in the foot with the “you don’t need powers to win a battle” aesop by having the Gokaigers (especially Gai, who was supposed to be learning the lesson) win the battle using their powers. Whoops. Episode 39 (Megaranger): A pretty fun episode with the return of the school from Megaranger, plus reminding us that Kenta was just a slacker, not an idiot, by having him become a teacher. Plus they have a creative use of the Timerangers’ Freeze Compression power. Unfortunately, the presence of Basco rather than a villain more appropriate to Megaranger brings it down a lot, as does the lack of a clear focus on anyone. Episodes 45-46 (Kakuranger): The second part was definitely stronger than the first, mostly due to the fact it didn’t waste Satomi Hirose (Kakuranger’s secondary lead) in a throwaway cameo that could’ve been cut. But said second part loses some points for having a monster whose gimmick is anger, and a guest appearance by Ninjaman, yet no references to or appearances by Samuraiman. Also, why are the Kakuranger powers meant to help Ninjaman grow? He can do that on his own. The Bad: Episode 5 (Dekaranger): It’s clear Naruhisa Arakawa has a massive nostalgia boner for Dekaranger (just look at how many guest actors they bring back compared to any other Sentai with returning actors). This episode is where it’s at its worst, with three returning actors from the show, two of whom have no reason to be there and the main bad guy being an Alienizer instead of being one a Zangyack Action Commander. I like Dekaranger as much as the next man, but he’s written better shows. Plus the episode cemented Marvelous and Luka as being unlikeable. (Marvelous ended up redeeming himself, Luka didn’t). Episode 9 (Gaoranger): The first episode with another major issue I have with the show, the reverse flanderization. GaoRed is virtually unrecognisable beyond being a vet and being played by the same actor. Plus the thing that gets him to come around to the Gokaigers isn’t anything they do, it’s a sappy speech from Don and Ahim, which kind of kills any moral the episode was going for. Episode 23 (GoGoV): I have nothing nice to say about this episode. The forced nice side to Luka they instituted in this episode made me hate her further, Basco further proved how undeserving of the threat applied to him is by simply making empty threats to blow up an ambulance instead of actually doing it and some random little girl knowing Matsuri’s secret identity just pissed me off to no end. Episode 40 (Timeranger): I’ve already made my opinions on that one quite clear in an earlier post on this thread. Last edited by Androzani84; 12-29-2020 at 09:24 AM.. |
12-29-2020, 04:57 PM | #8355 |
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Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 462
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Maybe controversial, but I was actually never that big a fan of Luka either! I could tolerate her at times, but I preferred Mao Ichimichi in Kyuranger and I found Aim a bit more relatable, though whether that's from a British perspective or not I don't know!
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01-09-2021, 02:08 PM | #8356 |
New Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 19
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Changeman 1:
The commander feels like a cult prophet who was running a scam, but happened to be right about the thing he was BSing about. Pointing guns at people is so dumb and irresponsible. I hate him currently, but he's at least interesting (I just hope the future episodes continue his irresponsibility rather than just treating it as one-off weirdness). Characterization is light so far, I think Black's the playboy, and Red has a sense of justice... other than that, flat. They agreed to be Changeman far too quick, considering they were all leaving beforehand. On the upside, the mooks are awesome. The special effects are great (eggs!), really a joy to watch. I'm curious about the big boss Bazoo, and the the monster suits in general are cool and represent my favourite design era. I like that another monster is responsible for the growth method. I wonder if the Changeman will try targeting it in the future to reduce the enemies' options, but I'm guessing not. ChangeRobo is a bit blocky, though no surprise given 80s designs. The sword being in the shield is a nice touch though. Flashman 1: The villains have a goal in creating the ultimate lifeform, and are going to use Earth's creatures to do it. Not a unique goal, but a clear and understandable one. I'm noticing there's a similar hierarchy to Changeman here, with a subset of villains with a leader, who answers to a boss in the shadows. I wonder if that'll be a recurring Sentai trope. In a change of pace, the heroes are veteran space-dwellers already aware of the villains (though the villains aren't aware of them). When they see Mes headed for Earth, they decide to go protect their original home, the place they were born (against the wishes of actual aliens on the planet; makes you wonder if the rangers were abducted?). They apprehend a ship and take down a security robot (rather hilariously, by first trying to explain the morality behind what their doing TO A ROBOT, and then ejecting a CD rom from its stomach, calling it a "floppy disc". Love it, 80s cheese all over). Again with the mooks have cool special effects. This time it's their insectoid mandibles clenching and unclenching, and shooting silly string from their maws. The Flashman arrive on Earth, using their ships (which will inevitably combine into FlashRobo, but not in this episode!) to take down enemy ships in aerial and land combat. Lots of cool model effects! The kind you see in the first episode of a series and never again. The rangers display a variety of civilian powers, from floating, to throwing explosive beads. While it's light on the actual fighting, it's cool to get an untransformed fight. And even cooler when they transform! Pink, who was shown floating earlier, has crystalline boots, letting her stomp on enemies. Green has crystalline gloves, and Blue fires himself off as a projectile. Red and Yellow get the raw end of the stick with pretty basic weapons, but 3/5 unique ones ain't bad! Starting the story in medias res was a great idea. Not having to show the heroes getting their powers gave more time to the other parts of the plot. While all the Flashman currently have the same characterization "wanted to go to Earth" with only Red being a bit more proactive and rebellious than them, it at least gave them a clear motivation, and ditto for the villains. The special effects work isn't as visceral as Changeman, and I'd give overall points to Changeman's aesthetic, but in terms of an enjoyable watch, episode 1 of Flashman is a more engaging hook. Maskman 1: Maskman 1 Yup, the enemy organization structure is a recurring trend. *yawn* This one's a bit different though. While the others were almost business-like in nature, this one gives the vibe of a cult. The hero's opening scene was interesting here. Takeru's a race car driver, his pit stop crew (the other rangers) all like him. There's a fun gag between one of the female rangers stepping on a male ranger's foot. (Although I doubt pit stop workers wear high heels...) We're back to METAL special effects. The MOTD are beasts that have spent thousands of years in dark caves. They awaken in the dark, dripping in water. Red's girlfriend has some previous association with the enemy, and warns Red, her boyfriend. They try to run, but his girlfriend is captured by a monster (by its tongue, lovely), handing him something as he tries to save her. Enemy sends aerial/land troops, and then the Maskman come out of nowhere to take them out using their vehicles. The female Maskman have earrings on their helmets whic his... kinda neat. It's a unique gimmick that makes them stand out. As it turns out, we've started In Medias Res again, like Flashman, and the Maskman already have their powers. Their origin story is glossed over, but that's fine, more ammunition for later episodes. The tongue monster returns, and we get a cool sequence of Red Mask being dragged along the ground. Then when the monster's beaten, its severed hand lays on the ground. Awesome! In the final scene, their mentor states they need to gain more power, setting a hook for next episode. This is the best opening episode by far. Not only does it set up macro-mysteries (who exactly is red's girlfriend? What's going to happen with her? Who is the Maskman's mentor exactly?), but keeping the rangers in the background worked to their advantage. When the Maskman came along, I actually thought the pit stop crew might've been decoy leads. And yet, the Maskman actually feel like characters! While there hasn't been a wealth of characterization yet, there was some, and their scenes felt more natural. So far: Maskman has the best plotting/characterization by far, and gives me the most drive to watch more. Changeman has the worst, but also the best SFX. Flashman is more average all around, but has the most unique premise. I'm seeing writing improvement in every pilot, so I have to assume this is just a result of Soda improving! I've heard good things about Liveman's opening, so I guess we'll see. (And then Turboranger/Fiveman are in his "burn-out phase" and will be awful...? I guess we'll see that too.) Last edited by C3Gaming; 01-11-2021 at 05:58 AM.. |
01-30-2021, 02:19 PM | #8357 |
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Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,551
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Someone associated with Super Sentai Spirits up.oared two highlight videos from 2020’s show.
Yeah, this is probably pushing the meaning of this thread’s name, but I have been watching it lately and I’d like to see what others think of it. |
02-02-2021, 04:39 PM | #8358 |
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Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: USA
Posts: 43
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I also really enjoyed those first Maskman eps, I should get back to that show sometime. The Tube underground evil empire thingy is such a classic cool fun sentai enemy.
I watched Super Hero Wars (Taisen) yesterday, the first movie. That was a lot of fun! It's been on my watch list since 2013, and Gokaiger is one of my fav shows, OOO too. I had lowered my expectations a bit since I've had people say to skip that movie on other forums etc. But I really enjoyed it for what it was, just a crazy nutty spectacle, almost a "what if". I try to take these things with a grain of salt, like Captain Marvelous's strat here etc, I was entertained. And the finale with the most toku actors ever it seems was just must see. Anybody have opinions on Super Hero Taisen Z: Kamen Rider vs. Super Sentai vs. Space Sheriff? That one worth a watch? Last edited by PsychoJustifaizger; 02-02-2021 at 04:46 PM.. |
02-06-2021, 03:15 AM | #8359 |
Most-hated user. Kill him
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Imaginationland
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I started watching OhRanger and now on episode 9, the first episode after the series was retooled due to the events in Japan that happened. The change to the lighter tone can be jarring, but if you're used to older Sentai episodes nothing really changed other than it really showed how serious the first 8 OhRanger episodes were.
One thing that I noticed is that OhRanger used their bikes quite often, even compared to other Sentais, which is great because I really love the designs of the bikes. And that makes me sad considering that even current Kamen Rider struggles with bike usages due to law.
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02-10-2021, 09:30 AM | #8360 |
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Posts: 19
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I've been plowing on with Changeman. Episode 2 didn't expand on anything more than Episode 1 really, aside from emphasizing the point that these guys are newbies, though it highlighted the man-voice female general. Episode 3 had a way-cool monster/gimmick and had some characterization (more of a side character than one of the rangers themselves, but I'll take it).
Episode 4 is wild and part of the reason I watch Sentai. A little girl's kiss Brings all the cats to the yard Kingdom Death Monster |
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