[DreamSword]

Episode 22: Torga's Identity!

Episode 23: The Protector and the Protected

I'll be upfront: I really was not into this one.

It's the sort of thing where I can see what was being aimed for, I just feel that the episodes overall missed the mark.

Let's start with the plot: When Dimas Akhsara AKA Torga officially introduces himself to the group, the most recent attack from Vudo sees his assistant Sugi possessed by the spirits of the Crab and Bee monsters.

And right off the bat, this presents a really interesting angle: Back in the original BIMA, whenever the monsters would take on human hosts, Bima had his Blue Storm attack, which would separate the monster from their host. Bima-X, however, doesn't have anything like that. So how does this get handled now?

Well apparently the answer is simply "Just take the monster out like you normally do" because Torga just rushes in without a care in the world and it purges the Crab monster no problem. And at first, I felt this would get a proper follow-up, as Ray does go to call Dimas out for his recklessness, but it all gets quickly swept to the side. And then part 2 doubles back on the solution anyway.

Which brings us to the character angle in all of this. I get the general idea: Randy and Dimas come from totally different worlds, so of course their relationship is gonna be rocky at first. It's totally ruined though by the two never really coming to a proper understanding. In fact, the crucial advice that Randy imparts onto Dimas is never actually shown on screen, simply recalled in hindsight mid-fight by Torga. Which robs it of any sort of emotional sway it might've had.

Add onto that how the Orange Power Stone is also now the Thunder Stone rather than Metal like how the Yellow one was in BIMA and I felt very detached from this episode as a whole. But yet, in the small glimpse of a Power Stones lies the one thing that I was very intrigued by when it came to these two episodes, and that was Iron Mask.

For those that don't remember, Iron Mask was the one who originally commanded the Blue Power Stone, so seeing him have a vision of being chosen by a Power Stone very much piqued my curiosity here, and got me thinking: Maybe, just maybe, my initial hunch of BIMA-X adding an eighth Power Stone to the mix might be correct? If instead the Yellow one wasn't retconned, and Iron Mask gets the power of Metal to help justify his new body? I'd be all for that.

But that's one scene out of two whole episodes. So sadly, I can't call these an overall success.

Also I dunno if it was the rip that Bereke Scrubs used or what, but the audio quality for episode 23 was especially bad, and basically ruined what would've been an otherwise great track being played during the episode's' climax. So that certainly didn't help things.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Episode 19: Seeking the Power Stones, Ghost Monsters Appear!

The "premise" is that Draconer gets the idea to release the souls of the monsters defeated so far in an attempt to ambush Bima-X and steal his Power Stones, only he didn't quite account for the fact that ghosts can't interact much with the living world, if at all. And hilarity ensues because of it. Although weirdly the Ice Stone is able to make them all physical? I don't get it.

Ice has the power to decrease local entropy, so ghosts can use that to project a hard aether-like construct around them to interface with the material realm as a substitute for physical biomass. Hope this helps.

Anyway, is this the episode with the Power Stone Cake? Or is that a lie?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Episode 20: The Terrifying Phantom Weapon

Episode 21: The New Satria Named Torga!

But before we get to that, is it fair to say that this two-parter is the mid-season finale? Because it has all the makings of one.

You've got one of the Death Phantoms gaining final boss status, a repeat move of the finale of BIMA with the townsfolk giving the Satrias their energy, the stakes being higher than ever, and one of the best theme tune powerups!

To say I was very happy with "Seperti Bintang" returning during the final bout with Draconer would be an understatement. But really, I was just overall really impressed with how this two-parter flowed in general. It did alot of very fun and cool things that I didn't expect.

I guess it's better to put a recap episode before a climactic moment than after, since it keeps the momentum going. Yeah, Draconer is totally the disc 1 boss. Between his defeat and the brief look at our new orange-eyed but otherwise yellow Satria, this makes an intriguing hook for the next arc to see how the status quo will change once more.

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

Adding to that, despite what the title of the second part might suggest, Torga isn't actually the big hero in all of this. Oh sure, he shows up, and he's super cool, but he's there as support to our heroes, not to overshadow them. He gets his own time to shine via styling on some mooks and offering a piece of his power to Bima-X and Azazel. The only complaint I have in his arrival is how his suit is primarily Yellow, which calls into question why exactly his main Power Stone was made Orange.

I think the yellow suits him, but of course it does make the Stone's color change even stupider, since not only does it make no sense, it actually makes less sense. Nevertheless, Satria Harimau Torga is pretty impressive and also courteous in how he doesn't steal thunder (haha, get it?) from Bima-X's and Azazel's climactic fight. I like how his suit is more top-heavy to emphasize the raw strength of the tiger. Overall, it's a totally appealing design!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Not to mention Iron Mask who while getting some great payback on Draconer at the end... intrigues me to no end. It's mostly his scene with Ray during the first part of these episodes. I get that he probably has eyes on the situation, but he felt suspicious as all hell when he started talking about the Phantom Weapon and how they have to join forces. Something's up with him, and that's not counting that sudden burst of strength from a few episodes back.

For sure, Topeng Besi is one of those scheming guys who you should always keep a close eye on. He's in this for his own personal vendetta, so when Black Lord makes plans or orders that get in the way of what he wants, he becomes even more dangerous and unpredictable.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Ice has the power to decrease local entropy, so ghosts can use that to project a hard aether-like construct around them to interface with the material realm as a substitute for physical biomass. Hope this helps.

Huh, guess that explains why people get chills whenever ghosts are around.

Quote:

Anyway, is this the episode with the Power Stone Cake? Or is that a lie?

Yes, yes it is. Haha.

Quote:

I think the yellow suits him, but of course it does make the Stone's color change even stupider, since not only does it make no sense, it actually makes less sense. Nevertheless, Satria Harimau Torga is pretty impressive and also courteous in how he doesn't steal thunder (haha, get it?) from Bima-X's and Azazel's climactic fight. I like how his suit is more top-heavy to emphasize the raw strength of the tiger. Overall, it's a totally appealing design!

Oh yeah, the suit itself is pretty good. I definitely like it better than the Bima-X suit for sure.

[DreamSword]

Episode 24: Finding the Last Power Stone

Episode 25: The Unseen Power... Purple Bima-X!

Black Lord was really out of character during these two episodes.

But that's not the important part. The important part is that we not only acquire the Purple Power Stone, but learn what its element is: Magnets.

And yeah, thinking about it, I don't recall it ever being stated what element Purple actually was in the original BIMA. And I suppose magnetic powers would aid in making illusions seem all the more real.

That being said, the Stone isn't the only cool thing going on in these episodes. There are two very big hooks in terms of BIMA-X's' plot here. First, that there's a new lead on the parents of our heroes, and second, that Rexor has been collecting the remains of the Grand Gator.

And while I won't spell my instant thought process outright, I will say that, hmm, I do wonder what all of that scrap metal could be used for, if it hasn't already?

The Rhino Monster also makes his debut here, and he's pretty fun. I not only thought the suit was nice, but I liked how a sledge hammer was his weapon of choice, and Mossa and Rexor having a backup plan with him planting sonars all around Indonesia incase the Stone acquisition went south was a very nice detail that leads us into our next arc.

The last thing I can think to note is how not only is Dimas now a part of both the opening and ending sequences, but the opening now plays the next section of "Kembali Bertahan." And like, the song is nice and all, but that specific section really does not work as a TV opening, if you ask me.

So yeah, a couple small bumps, but overall a cool set of episodes that got me excited for future developments.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Episode 9: The Sleepless Hero

Episode 10: Uncovering Ricca's Mystery!

In the first, Zacros is at work giving everyone nightmares, and it's a fun episode that has a nice bit of callbacks to the stuff he did in the first show. I did so enjoy the newspaper coming back. They knew how iconic that was.

Yeah, the return of the one of the more unique MOTW in the tokus I've watched. Zacros goes toe-to-toe with Bima-X now, despite that he was one of the earlier Shadow Crisis member, with the strongest being Velifer who takes base Bima and Azazel to beat.

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

And for the second, Ricca's' actions in the first episode result in Iron Mask wanting to uncover just who the heck Ricca is and who she's working for, given that's helped Bima-X out twice now while clearly knowing alot more than any normal person would.

Ricca's mystery unravels.

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

Who the heck is Chris Ruslan? For those who don't know who I'm talking about, he's the news reporter who's shown up in almost every episode so far, and notably, he's one of the few people unaffected by Zacros' sleep spell this time around. I'm starting to think that the dude is secretly Rexor in disguise or something, what with his constantly wearing sunglasses and all.

Well, though you're actually thinking that Chris Ruslan might be a twist, due to only getting through Bima now, the show actually doesn't bother to hide his identity during its previews, all of the trio baddies' human disguises are officially revealed before the show even started.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Episode 22: Torga's Identity!

Episode 23: The Protector and the Protected

Which brings us to the character angle in all of this. I get the general idea: Randy and Dimas come from totally different worlds, so of course their relationship is gonna be rocky at first. It's totally ruined though by the two never really coming to a proper understanding. In fact, the crucial advice that Randy imparts onto Dimas is never actually shown on screen, simply recalled in hindsight mid-fight by Torga. Which robs it of any sort of emotional sway it might've had.

I think it's intriguing how Dimas uses his position as president of his family company Akhsara Corp to support his mission as a Satria. He's also a goofy guy despite the cool feeling of his training scenes from before, as we see how his rich upbringing makes him totally confused that a common remote control television won't accept his voice input, kind of like Neon asking Sara where furniture comes from. While Dimas clashes with Randy here over his reckless methods as Torga, he does take the advice seriously and shows his strong sense of responsibility to live up to the Satria spirit. His relationship with Ricca is cute and humorous to watch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

For those that don't remember, Iron Mask was the one who originally commanded the Blue Power Stone, so seeing him have a vision of being chosen by a Power Stone very much piqued my curiosity here, and got me thinking: Maybe, just maybe, my initial hunch of BIMA-X adding an eighth Power Stone to the mix might be correct? If instead the Yellow one wasn't retconned, and Iron Mask gets the power of Metal to help justify his new body? I'd be all for that.

The vision is certainly mysterious. Sure, we've seen monsters using Power Stones before with Topeng Besi and Shadow Crisis, but actually synchronizing with them and drawing out their full power is something that can only be done by a handful of people who can "become one with the Stones". The idea of somebody like Topeng Besi being chosen by one is ominous.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Episode 24: Finding the Last Power Stone

Episode 25: The Unseen Power... Purple Bima-X!

But that's not the important part. The important part is that we not only acquire the Purple Power Stone, but learn what its element is: Magnets.

And yeah, thinking about it, I don't recall it ever being stated what element Purple actually was in the original BIMA. And I suppose magnetic powers would aid in making illusions seem all the more real.

The Rhino Monster also makes his debut here, and he's pretty fun. I not only thought the suit was nice, but I liked how a sledge hammer was his weapon of choice, and Mossa and Rexor having a backup plan with him planting sonars all around Indonesia incase the Stone acquisition went south was a very nice detail that leads us into our next arc.

Don't forget about Power Stone Ungu's other power: Catchy theme songs!

Magnetic Mode is a cool design, as the high tech aesthetic with rods and coils makes it stand out from the natural look of the others. Debuting it now after Torga is a good choice, as it lets Bima-X stay fresh and hip. I enjoyed how it managed to turn Magna's advantage in raw power against him, as expected from a wildcard type form like this. Once more, the jingle that introduces it is awesome, giving him this electronic techno feeling.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Yeah, the return of the one of the more unique MOTW in the tokus I've watched. Zacros goes toe-to-toe with Bima-X now, despite that he was one of the earlier Shadow Crisis member, with the strongest being Velifer who takes base Bima and Azazel to beat.

Oh yeah. Zacros and Karax certainly leveled up, just like their new boss has.

Quote:

Well, though you're actually thinking that Chris Ruslan might be a twist, due to only getting through Bima now, the show actually doesn't bother to hide his identity during its previews, all of the trio baddies' human disguises are officially revealed before the show even started.

Makes me glad that I very rarely ever watch previews.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Don't forget about Power Stone Ungu's other power: Catchy theme songs!

Truly, it is the greatest power to bestow. And it even applies to the transformation jingle!

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Magnetic Mode is a cool design, as the high tech aesthetic with rods and coils makes it stand out from the natural look of the others. Debuting it now after Torga is a good choice, as it lets Bima-X stay fresh and hip. I enjoyed how it managed to turn Magna's advantage in raw power against him, as expected from a wildcard type form like this. Once more, the jingle that introduces it is awesome, giving him this electronic techno feeling.

Absolutely agree. I dunno if I'd call it my favorite form, but Bima-X Magnetic has a solid debut all around.

[DreamSword]

Episode 26: A Trap for Torga!

Episode 27: The White Power Stone's Will

I was pretty half and half on these episodes.

The short of it is that most of the stuff with Dimas I didn't care for, but all the stuff having to do with Reza, I was in on.

Because those two really are the stars when it comes to this two-parter. And on paper that sounds great, but in execution, not so much. I think the main problem is that these two episodes try to juggle a bit too much at once.

First off, the Dimas stuff. While it is good to keep getting establishment on how he tries to be a part of the community, the main bit of his arc here has to do with overconfidence. The idea being that his not taking his duty as a Satria seriously ends up causing him to make a huge mistake.

On paper it's a good idea, but not only did Dimas already have an arc that hit some of the same beats in episodes 22 and 23, but these ones arguably do it worse? Dimas also didn't cause the Power Spot to activate due to his own hubris, he was literally blinded by an illusion cast by the Lion Monster. There was basically nothing else he could've done in the moment.

And just like that previously mentioned two-parter though, the solution kinda just comes fast and easy. It's noted that he can't use the White Power Stone due to not being in tune with it, but then come the very next scene, Torga is able to use it with no real issue. At the very least it does result in a very cool looking suit that ices the monster of the fortnight in a satisfying way. Heck, I think I like the White Tiger more than the Yellow one, actually.

There's also this weirdly jovial tone that blankets the first half of the first episode? While I do somewhat get it for the opening with Dimas playing with the kids, everyone else it just feels oddly out of place, especially given the serious content of the rest of the story. It's to the point that I'd almost say that the two Death Phantoms are out of character for the sake of comedic relief. And it's something that I hope the writers can find a better balance for in future episodes. Or at the very least have the comedic moments be alot funnier to compensate.

But now we get to the good stuff, and that's Reza. His guidance of Dimas felt like Mikhail days, and I loved how it was made clear in these episodes that Reza is now fully in with every member of the family. His resolve to volunteer on being the one to enter the Parallel World makes sense too since, as he himself explains, he spent years there already, and thus has the best chance of survival. Am I sad that this means that Reza is likely gone for the foreseeable future? Yeah, but not only did we get that great scene with his and Ray's' parents out of it, but it's the sort of decision that feels very in character for Reza regardless.

Oh but we're not done quite yet, as once again we get two stingers with Iron Mask, and man is BIMA-X doing a great job at slowly unraveling pieces of his backstory. The vision he gets while fighting Torga is a big source of intrigue, and the end of the episode points out something that I myself did when watching BIMA; That we actually never got a fully fleshed out backstory for a character who was so important to the story as a whole. I have a few theories in my head floating about around him, but we'll see if any land properly in the coming episodes.

So yeah, alot of stuff that didn't quite land for me, but there was just as much that did. So I'm overall alright with these ones.

[DreamSword]

Episode 28: Reza in Grave Danger!! Rasputin's Revenge

Another recap episode.

What? You expect more out of me? Well you're right to, because just like the last one, this is written and directed by Hideki Oka and it goes places.

But whereas the last recap was mostly done in jest, this episode that focuses on Reza's' past is played entirely straight, with a style and tone that matches the second half of BIMA very well.

And it's something that I feel has been really missing from BIMA-X if I'm being honest. The soap opera tone of the original show was something that made BIMA stand out from many other tokusatsu that I'd seen both at the time and even now, a year and a half later. And its return was much appreciated.

So what's the setup? Turns out that there's a space between spaces when it comes to our realm and the Parallel World, this space called the Portral Realm/World. And Rasputin, the big bad of the first show, ended up trapped here after being killed off by Iron Mask. Or at the very least, his soul did. And the ties to Iron Mask are certainly highlighted in a couple key scenes...

I really did find it interesting how this recap episode wasn't about recapping the last dozen episodes, but rather recapping a chunk of BIMA; Probably for the people who decided to tune into BIMA-X without having seen the original. Now granted, I would not recommend anyone watch these two shows out of order, but it is nice that the possibility crossed the minds of the writing staff. And making this episode actually plot important was cool to see too.

In the end though, it's all about how Reza isn't fully over his actions during the original show, and he very well might never be able to fully forgive himself. But at the end of the day, he has a family now, and he knows full well that every one of them loves and cherishes him just as much as he does them. That shot of Azazel surrounded by his family was great, and really did bring everything together.

The two recap episodes together really do show Ika's' range as a writer and a director, and it's almost a shame that it seems like he was in charge of recaps and not much else, because he seems to really understand these characters. But hey, it all works out in the end, I suppose.

A fun time, this one.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Makes me glad that I very rarely ever watch previews.

Guess dunno what to refer about this, but it wasn't something to watch, but rather something like this:

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Originally Posted by DreamSword

Episode 11: Star Scarlet's Mission

Episode 12: Trimming the Intruding Flower

Lady Mossa's' plan here really was pretty smart when you get down to it.

Which makes it kinda ironic that the very thing she exploited(human greed and vanity), is what ultimately did her plan in, in the end.

Lady Mossa is indeed someone who's easily tempted by shiny things like crystals, diamonds, and even Power Stones. Though Power Stones would be crucial for VUDO's plan as shown in Rasputin wanting them for Grand Gator.

But really, despite being the primary plot device of these two episodes, the Scarlet Bintang(nice callback there, guys), was maybe the most minor of things that stood out to me during this chunk?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

There's also her bonding with Rena and, by extension, the rest of the family. The scenes between the two girls were rather nice, especially since they helped to showcase that despite some Akiko-isms early on(thanks, Riku Sanjo), Rena is still the same girl we've continued to know. Oh and uh, Ricca might have the White Power Stone, but don't worry about that part.

This seems to be indeed something that only girls would understand, about how they really like their accessories, so the way to get rid of Scarlet Bintang from them is to try giving them an equivalent, which they should know better on what would appeal girls. In Indonesia, there's a memetic stereotype on how understanding girls is almost impossible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

The last thing I can think to note is that I could very easily see this monster of week getting on people's' nerves, what with its constant vocal tick as if it's meant to be a parody of Pokemon or something. But ignoring that aspect, it did have a pretty neat gimmick and the way that the family ultimately bands together to take it down was fun to see play out.

Yeah, I find Rafflesian's kiai grating. Guess it's what Rafflesian got too in-universe in her hearing being attacked by a microphone.