[DreamSword]

Episode 5

I too keep my Morpher on my nightstand.

This is the conclusion to the Hypno Toad two-parter, and while alot of it goes as you might expect, there's a decent does of family drama to shake things up.

Turns out Ray's' family situation is actually more cursed than initially thought: Not only did his biological family get murdered, but his adoptive parents also mysteriously disappeared after leaving him and his siblings with their uncle.

It's not something that's delved too deeply into, as it's just another step in the ongoing mystery that is Ray's' past, but it also adds to the family dynamic that's being built throughout these early episodes, which is something I rather enjoy. Stuff like Rena being a student that relies on her brothers to help her out, or establishing that Uncle, not not exactly poor, isn't super well off either.

But outside of that, yeah, it's more investigation into finding the source of the suicides(which funnily enough Bima himself is only half right on), and destroying Hypno Toad once and for all. Which also means the premiere of the Helios Blaster! Odd name for a Bow, but whatever!

That all being said, I do think that the biggest strength of the two-parter as a whole was the atmosphere being presented. What the overall plot and the mystery behind it simple? Yeah, but it was presented in such a way that it kept me hooked, and made me very interested in what aspects of it they were willing to show. From the gross out of the seeing the hypnotized exec eating a fly to people leaping to their doom, my eyes were glued to the screen full on.

It kinda reminded me of Kuuga in that aspect, really. And hey, if that's the route that this show wants to go, then I'm all for it.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

[CENTER]Episode 5

Turns out Ray's' family situation is actually more cursed than initially thought: Not only did his biological family get murdered, but his adoptive parents also mysteriously disappeared after leaving him and his siblings with their uncle.

It's not something that's delved too deeply into, as it's just another step in the ongoing mystery that is Ray's' past, but it also adds to the family dynamic that's being built throughout these early episodes, which is something I rather enjoy. Stuff like Rena being a student that relies on her brothers to help her out, or establishing that Uncle, not not exactly poor, isn't super well off either.

Oh right, so this was the episode that hinted about the Iskandar parents' absence, meaning Rena and Randy are technically adopted as well. I think this shows another reason why Ray is so worried about anything happening to his siblings and uncle, since he's already lost so much of the Bramasakti-Iskandar family and he wants to protect those who are still left. His suspicions about VUDO's and Mikhail's involvement also give him a long-term motivation to find out the truth, as it's kind of ambiguous what happened to either set of parents. Yeah, Ray's been through a lot in his childhood.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

Oh right, so this was the episode that hinted about the Iskandar parents' absence, meaning Rena and Randy are technically adopted as well. I think this shows another reason why Ray is so worried about anything happening to his siblings and uncle, since he's already lost so much of the Bramasakti-Iskandar family and he wants to protect those who are still left. His suspicions about VUDO's and Mikhail's involvement also give him a long-term motivation to find out the truth, as it's kind of ambiguous what happened to either set of parents. Yeah, Ray's been through a lot in his childhood.

And what definitely doesn't help is Uncle being all "Let's just not talk about it." Ray's' definitely got alot going on!

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

And what definitely doesn't help is Uncle being all "Let's just not talk about it." Ray's' definitely got alot going on!

As it happens, I've reached the part of my Ryuki rewatch where the grandmother is evading Yui the same way.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sh Ranger

As it happens, I've reached the part of my Ryuki rewatch where the grandmother is evading Yui the same way.

BIMA really is a Kamen Rider show!

[DreamSword]

Episode 6

Ya know, for a show explicitly aimed at children, BIMA is surprisingly adult.

I'm not trying to say it's full of swears, or super gory, or anything like that. I more mean in terms of general specifics of its tone and plot.

Like, we had the mass suicides of the previous two episodes, and now with the start of this next one, we have a plot from the Spider-Manster that's all about sending the nation into an economic crisis.

It's not the sort of thing you ever see kid's' shows, much less Toku in general, ever bring up. And it's surprisingly practical too, which seems to be the MO of this monster, given how it's also the first one to directly devise a plan about discovering Bima's' identity and where he likes to hang out.

This monster also makes things personal when it possesses the body of Randy, which in turn is also used to showcase why Bima doesn't just spam Blue Storm at a monster on sight: It needs to be weakened first, otherwise it can still keep a strong hold on the spirit of the person who it's taken over. Which unfortunately means bad news for Randy and Ray.

Speaking of character drama, we're introduced to a new guy who apparently deals in credit card fraud. I really gotta wonder if kids in Indonesia were totally down for this kind of plot or if this sort of things is strictly for the parents watching along. Like, I found it cool watching it now as an adult, but as I kids I could easily see myself being all "Yeah whatever just get to the monster fights already!" (Feel free to judge me as you wish.)

Oh, and before I forget, that photographer from the Hypno Toad episodes? Turns out his name is George, and he's actually a reporter. Taking a page from Peter Parker's' book, he's desperately trying to sell pictures of Bima to the news outlet he works for, with no luck so far.

But yeah, I feel like we now have a very firm setup for BIMA's' formula, and given how well the atmosphere has been handled so far, I think I'm in for an overall good times. This show passes me personal "six episode" test.

[DreadBringer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

[CENTER]Episode 5

It's not something that's delved too deeply into, as it's just another step in the ongoing mystery that is Ray's' past, but it also adds to the family dynamic that's being built throughout these early episodes, which is something I rather enjoy. Stuff like Rena being a student that relies on her brothers to help her out, or establishing that Uncle, not not exactly poor, isn't super well off either.

But outside of that, yeah, it's more investigation into finding the source of the suicides(which funnily enough Bima himself is only half right on), and destroying Hypno Toad once and for all. Which also means the premiere of the Helios Blaster! Odd name for a Bow, but whatever!

Yeah, iirc Rena being described as a student that relies on her brothers was something described about her in the show's preview too. Weird? Isn't that just a simple (weapon name) (type of attack)? The weapon's name is Helios, and Bima attacks by shooting, thus blasting. And you already gotten signs of it with this reminding you of Kuuga

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

[CENTER]Episode 6

This monster also makes things personal when it possesses the body of Randy, which in turn is also used to showcase why Bima doesn't just spam Blue Storm at a monster on sight: It needs to be weakened first, otherwise it can still keep a strong hold on the spirit of the person who it's taken over. Which unfortunately means bad news for Randy and Ray.

Especially notable for a country that is rife with corruption in the politics. It needs to be weakened too for entertainment value too of giving more fights, ofc, but this gives a reasonable explanation to not drag out fights.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Speaking of character drama, we're introduced to a new guy who apparently deals in credit card fraud. I really gotta wonder if kids in Indonesia were totally down for this kind of plot or if this sort of things is strictly for the parents watching along. Like, I found it cool watching it now as an adult, but as I kids I could easily see myself being all "Yeah whatever just get to the monster fights already!" (Feel free to judge me as you wish.)

Oh, and before I forget, that photographer from the Hypno Toad episodes? Turns out his name is George, and he's actually a reporter. Taking a page from Peter Parker's' book, he's desperately trying to sell pictures of Bima to the news outlet he works for, with no luck so far.

George? Peter Parker('s book)? Unexpected Revice relation. Especially in an Indonesian show where the names are more simplistic 4-words with many ending with "i" rather than y (and for this show, many starts with "R"). And true, as a kid I was more concerned with actions only, but now I'd see deeper stuff, though I enjoy good action scenes but I have high standards (not many in toku are good in my eyes...).

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Weird? Isn't that just a simple (weapon name) (type of attack)?

Basically, when I hear the term "blaster" I think of something akin to a lazer gun. Granted, Helios shoots energy arrows, but it's not a term often associated with a longbow.

Quote:

George? Peter Parker('s book)? Unexpected Revice relation.

Ha. I didn't even do that one on purpose. Good catch.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Ya know, for a show explicitly aimed at children, BIMA is surprisingly adult.

I'm not trying to say it's full of swears, or super gory, or anything like that. I more mean in terms of general specifics of its tone and plot.

Like, we had the mass suicides of the previous two episodes, and now with the start of this next one, we have a plot from the Spider-Manster that's all about sending the nation into an economic crisis.

It's not the sort of thing you ever see kid's' shows, much less Toku in general, ever bring up.

In fact, during the Showa era, many shows touched on such topics, albeit with the naivety characteristic of the era. The poisoned fish on the shelves in Battle Fever immediately comes to mind, but if you dig around, there are a lot of examples.

[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

[CENTER]Episode 6

Speaking of character drama, we're introduced to a new guy who apparently deals in credit card fraud. I really gotta wonder if kids in Indonesia were totally down for this kind of plot or if this sort of things is strictly for the parents watching along. Like, I found it cool watching it now as an adult, but as I kids I could easily see myself being all "Yeah whatever just get to the monster fights already!" (Feel free to judge me as you wish.)

Yeah, I don't really care about money either. I care about the stuff I can buy with money. However, I also care about heroes stopping bank heists, which requires villains to be motivated by money, so I'm fine with it. I'm kind of curious how Parallel World's economy even works though, since Rasputin called money primitive. Like, what's the alternative, how are VUDO actually resourcing their operations?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

In fact, during the Showa era, many shows touched on such topics, albeit with the naivety characteristic of the era. The poisoned fish on the shelves in Battle Fever immediately comes to mind, but if you dig around, there are a lot of examples.

I think such mature topics were especially prominent in Metal Heroes.