|
Community Links |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
01-05-2012, 03:07 PM | #1 |
I have a problematic type
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,433
|
So a couple weeks ago I got a new tokusatsu obsession, the 1987 entry into the Metal Heroes franchise: Choujinki Metalder.
Some of you may recognize Metalder as being one of the main sources for footage used in Saban's VR Troopers (although a lot of stuff from Spielban was cut and pasted into it, as was Shaider when the Metalder footage ran out). Now as someone whose seen maybe five minutes of VR Troopers I can't really say how good or bad that was (although knowing Saban's non-PR output from the mid-90s I'm guessing "good" is not an adjective that would likely go with it all that well), but Metalder is pretty damn awesome. The basic premise is that there's a guy named God Neros who is attempting to takeover the world through a combination of stock market manipulation and his personal army. Standing in his way is Metalder, a robot built but left unactivated during World War II. Metalder's creator found out about God Neros and activated Metalder just before Neros' assassins caught up to him. Lacking a clear understanding of who or what he really is, Metalder is nonetheless forced into conflict with Neros and his forces, his raw power barely making up for his initial lack of fighting skill. The show is really a lot of fun and I was pretty surprised by how quickly it drew me in (the only other Metal Heroes shows I've seen much of are the three Space Sheriff shows - Gavan, Sharivan, and Shaider - which are all kinda boring). The action and average episode plots are pretty typical for a late 80s tokusatsu and, honestly, Metalder himself is not a terribly dynamic protagonist. What really brings makes this show so great for me are the villains. Metalder doesn't have standard Monsters of the Week - at least 75% of the monsters show up in the first episode as part of God Neros' standing army and they fight Metalder throughout the show, some of them multiple times - it's actually somewhat rare that Metalder actually destroys an enemy. There are four kinds of monsters on the show, each of which is a different branch of the Neros military (like how the US has the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines). These are the Armored Army (normal humans in armored suits), the Beast Army (monstrous mutated organic creatures), the Robot Army (do I need to explain this one?), and the Armament Army (also robots, but these guys more resemble walking or flying artillery). Each army also has ranks and one of the individual monsters' main goals is to get promoted. There's also a lot of squabbling, bickering, and in-fighting between the various armies - a lot of the different monsters have noticeable and consistent personalities that help make them all seem like real characters and not just generic enemies. Some of them even get ongoing plot arcs and narratives. My favorite character is easily Top Gunder, a sniper in the Robot Army with a personal code of honor that eventually leads him to betray God Neros and become a recurring ally of Metalder (I think he was the hero's dad or something in VR Troopers). He's a cool character and it's always cool when he shows up. As a fun bit of trivia, it's worth pointing out that Metalder's design was heavily based on that of Kikaider, an Ishinomori tokusatsu from the 70s (later redone as an anime). Top Gunder's design, likewise, is based on Kikaider's evil counterpart (and star of a badass Keita Amemiya film), Hakkaider. Metalder wasn't actually much of a hit when it aired, as it was considered too dark and depressing for little kids, although older fans really enjoyed it. But since older fans aren't a tokusatsu's target demographic (usually), this led to Metalder being cut down to only 39 episodes (the fact that the show went really over-budget didn't help, either). About 2/3rds of Metalder is fansubbed by the now-defunct deadfishfansubs. Episodes 21-30 aren't available currently, but I'm told someone else will be picking the show up, although it isn't currently known if they'll be starting from scratch or just filling in the gaps. Last edited by Switchblade; 01-05-2012 at 03:48 PM.. |
|
TokuNation News & Rumors |
Ultraman X Avengers |
Memorial Edition GoPhone Announced |
Kakuranger: 30 Years After |
ToyRise RyuKenDo |
Alternative Cut of "Day Of The Dumpster" Released |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:53 PM.
|