[Mesnick]

Great episode)

[DreamSword]

Episode 11: Touch

DS: So uh, Jisariz canonically takes place after Nice Buddy, huh?

En-chan: Either that or High School since that did also air before Jisariz.

DS: Ah.

Yeah, that transformation took me a bit by surprise. Not just in context of the episode itself, but also because I saw Jisariz before this and I just figured Yabai's' suit there was original to Jisariz. Turns out it was not.

Anyway, this episode was pretty straight-forward all things considered. Basically just the prelude to the final battle, with some solid comedic beats and a couple character bits for Riku sewn in. I liked it.

En-chan: Very much our setup before the big final battle.

Which is rather relaxed all things considered, but I can't help but admire that. The main conflict of the show has basically been resolved, so now it's time to get back to what these guys do best.

DS: It's been interesting really, seeing how the relationship between the Dogengers and the SSoD has evolved. Heroics here are treated as equal parts, well, heroism, and equal parts business. Which makes sense, given the whole Local Heroes deal and all. It's just fascinating how this show plays this trope for straight-forward fun rather than any sort of deconstruction or critique like, say, Tiger & Bunny. There are heroes, there are villains, and like it or not they both need eachother and sponsors in order to survive.

En-chan: It's a very down to earth interpretation which is fitting.

DS: Which is even funnier given all of wacky hijinks that go on in this franchise. Heck, even in this very episode. That Scooby-Doo style chase towards the end of the episode had me rolling!

En-chan: There's something hilarious about hiding by laying down on steps actually working in a real life environment.

Also everyone patiently waiting on the escalators like normal people and not climbing up and down to move faster.

DS: It was also really hype to see that it wasn't just Maid Butler and Yabai Kamen who got upgrades, but everyone. Shuraomaru even turns out to be alive! And a vampire! But my absolute favorite is the bunny, whose suit actor just gets swapped out for one with more muscle. I couldn't help but smile at that.

En-chan: It's simple yet effective, which works well for those two.

But yeah, it was nice to see the SSoD all get their own new looks.

DS: But we can't get too distracted by how awesome they are. How'd you like the stuff going on with Riku in this episode?

En-chan: I rather enjoyed him finally stepping in to take action alongside his discussion with his father.

It's nice to see it's not an immediate change either, but he's definitely getting started on his own path to being a hero.

DS: I felt the same. Him taking on the mantle is a nice moment, and I also did like how even he wasn't exactly sure what the "proper" things to say or do were, but he knows what he wants and he's determined to take charge of it. Which even Yabai Kamen respects despite clowning on him.

Riku's' also down to his last drone, which makes me wonder how exactly it'll be utilized in the upcoming fight. Though it really does throw off the look of his suit some.

En-chan: Yeah, it's definitely going to be interesting to see Riku fighting as Great-Z since his father's been doing all the fighting up to this point, and those drones have been doing a lot of heavy lifting.

DS: But yeah that's about all I got. Like I said, I found this one to be rather simple and to the point. Which isn't a bad thing, mind you. I still enjoyed it a bunch.

En-chan: Of course.

Got to have a bit of some winding down after last episode's big emotional climax.

DS: Was there anything else you wanted to note? How comfy Jiro's' pajamas look, perhaps?

En-chan: Just that the biggest twist when I first watched this is that Riku's dad was Seiji Takaiwa. Definitely wasn't expecting him to show up here.

DS: Oh right, yeah. I mean, I 1000% remember every single name in Toku, but for the uh, less informed folks at home, why not tell them who that is? You know, for their sake. Not mine.

En-chan: Of course, I'd be glad to.

Though if you've watched most Kamen Riders you'll know him for sure as he is Mr. Kamen Rider. He was the main suit actor for most of the Primary Heisei Riders (sans Kuuga and Hibiki I believe) with his last suit acting role in Rider being that of Horobi from Kamen Rider Zero-One.

DS: I was wondering when we were gonna get our obligatory Rider cameo this season. Glad it was him.

En-chan: It's also very fitting and symbolic to see him give the Great-Z suit to Riku, sort of a passing on the suit to the next generation as this did air after Zero-One ended.

DS: Very true. And I gotta say, the stunt folks in toku have continued to do a wonderful job.

Well, with that, tune in next time for the final battle. Will Riku become a true hero? Will Jiro ever be the main character again? Will En-chan ever finish Futari was Pretty Cure? Find out on the next episode of DOGENGERS NICE BUDDY!!!

En-chan: The answer to that third question is maybe one daayyy!

[DreamSword]

Episode 12: Nice Buddy

DS: You have no idea how many times this fight had me going "Bruh." Just like the first season's' final battle.

En-chan: Well of course.

It's Dogengers after all, expecting a straightforward final battle would be silly.

DS: There was alot of fun stuff going on in this one. And not just in terms of comedy either. It's the sort of thing though where like, I wouldn't really even know how to go about talking about it without doing a play-by-play, ya know?

En-chan: Yeah, it'd get a bit repetitive given every character gets their own little moments and gags. Whether its by themselves or as a team with their buddy.

DS: Speaking of the buddy system, I did really love how Riku's' buddy ended up being his dad. So cool how they utilized Great-Z's' final drone!

En-chan: Yep, Great-Z ends up upgrading into the much sleeker Great-2.

I found it cute how they utilized A to Z to form a 2 during the process.

DS: Makes me wonder what successors will be like in-universe. Will the next guy be Great-3 and so on?

Regardless, Great-2 is not only a cool moment in and of itself, but I did like how his suit was a sort of inbetween of both the regular Great-Z suit and the stage show one. Very nice.

En-chan: It really shows the bond between father and son in full force.

I also like how his finisher turned from Kamen Rider-like in which he's fidgeting with gadgets, and instead more like an Ultraman finisher where he does similar motions instead.

DS: And in the end, he gets to be partners with that one hero who cameo'd in like episode 4 or whatever. I have no idea who that is, but that was a nice little callback.

En-chan: Luckily I am on the case for that, since I do find it a bit of a shame we didn't really get a name drop even if he was a cameo.

His name's Koujin Ex.

DS: Not the name I was expecting, but okay!

What were some other stand out highlights for you during the skirmish?

En-chan: On the cool side, that gun duel between Rookie and Yabai Kamen was some sick stuff.

On the more comedic end, the last ditch Ohga Rock-Paper-Scissors Ohgaman had to pull out after he realized his weapon was still destroyed.

DS: Haha, yeah, that was great. For me on both of those points, I love me a good Sentai roll call. El Brave accidentally elbowing KitaQman in the gut got me good, hahaha!

En-chan: On that note, I find it amusing how KitaQMan has branded smoke grenades.

DS: A very Hercule move of him. Speaking of, I did also like how it was all the villains who got new forms this time, with the heroes sticking to their guns. The only exception being Great-2. Made for a nice inverse of the final battle of the first season.

En-chan: For sure.

Helped make things a bit more unique this time around, plus helped the heroes lean into the team aspect a lot more when it came to their fights instead of relying on fancy new forms.

DS: And on the note of subversions, I did like the callback they did to the wonderful Dogengers Logo Explosion from the first season. Ohgaman has certainly become quite the troll in Nice Buddy.

En-chan: Oh absolutely.

He does spend out of pocket after all, so he's gotta have a bit of fun from time to time.

DS: Last thing I can think to note is that Yabai Kamen never disappoints. My man not only had that cool shoot out with Rookie, but he managed to lift that giant blade one-handed this time around! Was surprised to see that the new suit didn't fade after the fight was over, either.

En-chan: Yep.

I'm assuming on a more meta level, the more permanent upgrades we end up seeing are also irl updates and they're just getting special treatment to show off how cool they are to the kids watching at home.

DS: I can see that. Which reminds me, with how integral Pizza Cooc is to Riku in general, I wonder if Great-Z/2 is co-owned by Hanagata SFX and Pizza Cooc, or something. Like, Great-2's' catchphrase during the roll call is very much a food service line.

En-chan: I'd say probably yeah.

DS: Well either way, the story of Great-Z was a fun one to experience, and while I wouldn't call the ending perfect, given that the show just kinda... stops, I did overall enjoy the episode as a whole. Was there anything else you wanted to note about it?

En-chan: I think the funniest bit to come out of this is that...

The Dogengers literally know none of what actually happened with Great-Z. Like they just still assume Riku's been Great-Z the entire time. So it ends up making their scene at the end with his dad very nice to witness since they have no idea he was the actual guy they were beefing with for the entire season.

DS: Huh, yeah that's a good point actually. Makes KitaQman demanding an apology about his car even better, really.

(EDITOR'S' NOTE: This is up for debate, since it depends on whether the viewer interprets the Dogengers believing their entire bout with Great-Z during the night to actually be a dream or not. Something fun to think about!)

Well with that, stayed tuned for our final thoughts tomorrow. And if you're good, I might include a special surprise!

En-chan: Ooh, I love surprises!

[Mesnick]

Yes, the final battle was awesome. And Yabai Kamen managed to return to the status of the main villain of the show, despite the beginning.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mesnick

Yes, the final battle was awesome. And Yabai Kamen managed to return to the status of the main villain of the show, despite the beginning.

For sure! He still wasn't quite the threat level that he was in season 1, but I enjoyed his comeback all the same.

[Mesnick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

For sure! He still wasn't quite the threat level that he was in season 1, but I enjoyed his comeback all the same.

Well, he still has two seasons to surpass himself)

[DreamSword]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON NICE BUDDY

DS: So here we are, at the end of Nice Buddy.

En-chan: Indeed.

DS: For this part, we both felt it'd be best to type up our own separate final thoughts, and then present them in their purest form. With maybe some small talk inbetween and after. So expect a giant wall of text!

Would you like to go first, En-chan?

En-chan: Sure, this is my first time doing something like this, plus this is a rewatch so this might be a bit odd when compared to others on this site who do this sort of thing more regularly.

DS: No worries, I'm sure you'll do fine. And if not, I still have the KitaQman brand smoke bombs.

En-chan: Perfect

ZeroEnchiladas' Final Thoughts:

It?s honestly incredible to think that Dogengers ended up getting a second season (and even more after this) since it seemed like one of those rare one-off cases at the time. And even going into the second season originally, I wasn?t sure what to expect. The increase in budget was definitely a surprise and while not a huge leap? it?s still big enough to show. Yet despite that, the show still stuck to its guns and retained what made me like the first season to begin with.

There?s a natural sincerity to how Dogengers tackles the subjects it deals with. That?s not to mention the love for the Henshin Hero genre that allows them to tackle a wide array of subjects and moods with ease. It keeps it up in Nice Buddy as while we get some great comedic bits with how our suited characters act from time to time, that doesn?t stop from being some heartfelt and frankly emotional moments placed all throughout the season.

Of course though there are some differences between the Seasons. Due to the introduction of Riku and his dad as the main focus, the main Dogengers from S1 while getting focus episodes and still being the protagonists, don?t exactly go through full arcs this time. More reminders of who they are and adding additional quirks to them. However, this of course allows us to also get more character bits and interactions with characters that we didn?t see consistently last season. Ohgaman, Maid Butler, and KitaQMan Metal to name a few prominent faces, all benefit from the additional screen time and adding of depth to their characters. It?s something I do appreciate since it just helps add more to this crazy but down to earth world as a result.

A couple of years back I was pleasantly surprised to see that Nice Buddy ended up being a story about what heroes are, what they mean to us, and to never let go of those feelings. And I still feel like that holds up on this (re)watch-a-long I ended up going on.

DS: Yeah, I agree! I didn't include it in my final thoughts since I felt it'd be redundant after everything I said during my watch of season 1, but the utter heart and sincerity this show continues to have really is something that western superhero media should, ya know, find again.

Well, I guess it's my turn then!

DreamSword's' Final Thoughts:

The more I think about it, the more I find that Dogengers Nice Buddy is kind of a weird beat to tackle.

Because it has alot to juggle, and while I think it does it decently enough, it also sort of makes me wish this season were twice as long, so as to give certain aspects of its characters and story a bit more time to shine.

What I think it ultimately comes down to is that the show really wanted you to be all in on the story of Great-Z, both of them. And while I won't say they're exactly wrong for making them the main characters, it does mean that alot of the other players in this story take a bit of a backseat.

Sure, the other Dogengers get their times to shine, but it's nowhere near as much or as strong as it was in the first season, and it's all mostly in service of Great-Z's' story. The one getting the real short end of the stick being Jiro, who's reduced to a supporting member after being the lead of the first season. Sure, what they do with that angle is clever, but it doesn't change that any sort of hook the show might've had with him early on doesn't really go anywhere.

And speaking of reduction of character, much as I love him, I did find it such a shame that Yabai Kamen, and by extension, the Secret Society of Darkness as a whole were nowhere near the threat level that they were in season 1. Sure, the Golden Seal isn't around anymore, but even so, Yabai Kamen's' ultimate scheme is very last minute and really doesn't amount to too much; Really only existing to give us a final fight. And even then, none of the new forms the SSoD get show any sort of serious threat in the end.

The tone of the season overall is also alot denser and wackier than the first. And I get it, that's the aspect that made the show capture alot of its audience. But season 1, for as silly and rapid-pace as it was, still had alot more balance between comedy, action, and drama that really engrossed me to it.Not to say that NB has none of those aspects at all, but the scale was certainly leaned alot more towards the silly than the serious this time around. Though, I suppose you could argue that that's what helped make the strong dramatic moments such as episode 10 stand out all the better.

And on that note, for all the complaining I just did, I still really liked this.

Do I still like the first season better? Yes, but Nice Buddy had alot of good stuff going for it that I can't really be mad at it. The tone is zanier, sure, but almost every joke lands. Great-Z takes up 80% of the screen time, but his story is one I found myself really invested in. And again, the bigger comedic focus helped to make its big dramatic swings stand out all the more when they happened. Plus, I really did dig the discussion about how no one is perfect, and that even if someone isn't the squeaky clean picture of heroism many of us have as kids, that doesn't mean something still can't do good things. That's a lesson alot of adults still need to learn, frankly.

In the end, while I didn't like it as much as the first season, the second season of Dogengers is still alot of fun and very much worth watching, and I still highly recommend it, just as I did the first. 4/6

En-chan: Oh your concerns on the characters is very understandable.

I feel like there was this weird compromise going on. Where they wanted to show off a new hero, but also wanted to keep the main cast around as main characters instead of pushing them to a more supporting role.

DS: Yeah I can see that, especially with how much the whole Buddy aspect was pushed. And it's not like it was a total waste. We got some good stuff out of it, like with Team Good Boys, afterall!

En-chan: Exactly.

Plus like I mentioned, we did get a few other characters getting fleshed out. Ohgaman getting more time to be on screen certainly was a treat to see.

Though I will agree that the SSoD definitely weren't on this A-Game this time. While I love Episode 10 to bits, it definitely felt like we wrapped up Great-Z's story pretty quickly in the following episode and the final battle was more a formality.

DS: Seeing some more human aspects to Ohgaman was definitely a big highlight after how absent he was in season 1. Loved his trolling, loved his fear of heights, he's just an all around fun dude.

And so with that, we're at the end, and so, I just wanna say thanks to anyone who's been reading, and a big thanks to En-chan here for joining me and just being a really cool dude. And no, I'm not just complimenting me because he's currently holding me hostage as his arch-nemesis in regards to Dynazenon! Whatever would give you that idea!

En-chan: Ha ha, exactly, I'm not that petty.

DS: But before we go, I did promise to have a surprise at end.

So, En-chan.

I must inform you, that despite all appearances, we are not Nice Buddies.

No.

No.

Rather.

We are...

RICE BUDDIES

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

En-chan: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

DS: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA