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Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger Episode 31- "Full Combination! New Release!" Discussion
To stop the monsters' rampage, the Zenkaigers must unlock the full power of their new weapon.
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another good episode.
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Episode 32
I really love Zenryoku ZenkaiOh. The CGI movement looks good, and the action overall looks fun. But the Zenryoku ZenkaiOh special attacks in this episode is quite boring and sometime inconsistent because when Vroon using machine powers, he summoned Gokai Galleon, Red Ressha, Red Dial Fighter, Engine Speedor, and Mashin Fire. But in Zenkai Cannon classification, Gokai Galleon and Red Dial Fighter actually are from Secret Justice Sentai team power while Red Ressha are from Miracle Sentai team power. Sure, Gokai Galleon, Red Ressha, and Red Dial Fighter are machines, but It's still weird to me when they are summoned under Machine Sentai team power category. The Zenryoku ZenkaiOh's strongest attack concept also is quite boring. I think Gokai Silver Gold Mode have better finishing attack. I personally really want the giant Geartlinger and CrocoDaiOh in Cannon mode are used by Zeenryoku ZenkaiOh in the future. If Zenkai Red have his own version of Zenryoku Eagle, maybe Toei can make a Red Zenryoku Eagle for Zenkai Red. About Hakaiser, I think his true identity is Kaito's father. |
This is a weird episode. It's the first time I can recall feeling off about any episode since Staceasar's debut (that one I didn't get into much since it was 60% just showing off random past suits).
It's like, there's this really, genuinely heartstring-pulling moment when Secchan deactivates and it distresses Kaito more than anything ever has, which makes sense and I do like Secchan a lot so I was also pretty sad! But... it came about because of the cow-themed monster-of-the-week's milk spraying. It's so unwarranted and also it's not like the episode, outside of that scene in the beggining, was even really about Secchan and Kaito's bond to begin with. Speaking of the Dairy World, I was wondering if whether it was going to somehow pull out a power to be deserving of the new mech's debut, or if it was just going to be an unlucky victim to be met with the full glory of the Zenkaiger's combined powers for the first time. Turns out.... neither? Just out of nowhere, there are these two new, CG Kudaitests. That was exceptionally unnatural, like the show didn't even try to play off this incredible timing as an intentional joke. I guess I can't help but compare Zenryoku Zenkai-Oh unfavourably with the debut of Good Cool Kaiser VSX from Lupin vs Pat. The latter was a truly momentous occasion for a variety of reasons, and was against a big threat that was built up through the episode, and I even think the CG fight might have been better there?! (I mean, if the purpose of CG is to fill in for where physical effects can't be used, then VSX definitely had more instances of appearing seamless or 'real'.) Also them going out of their way to establish Hakasier is still so tough tells me he's probably not gonna get the cannon back. Shame, if you ask me! |
Gotta say, I wasn't really feeling this episode. Shame, too, because I really wanted to.
Everything was there. An emotional core, Kaito with an emotional drive, the super combination, an appearance by Stacey, and a weird but oddly effective MOTW. And yet...This episode just didn't do it for me. So, let's just lay out why. A big issue was that the episode began by implying that anything Dairy World splashed with milk would turn white, but Secchan was in the basement researching the cannon and still got affected, and the episode just basically said by the end that despite his random splashing (Something which Milk World himself said), everything would turn white? Uh...Okay? This show has done pretty well establishing limits on the MOTW's powers, often to humorous effect, so this bugged me a lot. Another was the implementation of the new Zenkai Oh, who had it's big debut against...Two random "Special" Kudaitests. In a poorly done CG fest that only had me thinking of Food Fight. I don't mind CG, but Zenkaiger's has been rather lacking compared to other seasons, and for a big debut, it was incredibly disappointing. At the very least, since they did opt for a CG mech, it means it will be used sparingly. Stacey didn't get to do much since the new hotness, Hakaizer, was the one who got to do anything, and add everything up together and I was just left completely underwhelmed. |
At least the mecha fight is better than the Megazord fight in MMPR The Movie.
No doubt about it, Hakaiser is definitely Kaito's dad. If you watch clips of Kaito's dad, he sounds pretty much like him |
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Anyways Haikaiser is still stealing the show anytime he's on screen. |
https://i.imgur.com/uZGsHJ3.png
By Zenkaiger's standards, this was actually a really somber episode. Sure, there's a goofy cow monster at the root of everyone's problems, but those problems in of themselves are less goofy than usual. Like, one of the first demonstrations we get of why this dude needs to be stopped is how him spraying milk over everything leads to a traffic accident. That's not funny! That's just dangerous! That's not to say it's *that* big of a difference, when all the usual humor is still there too, but it definitely came off to me like the script here was pulling back a bit from trying to take whatever random monster concept to the most wacky extremes possible, in favor of something, I guess more "normal", you could say; where it's all about supporting a straightforward and emotional story about Kaito's desire to protect his parents' legacy. It's fairly solid stuff. You've got the big emphasis on Secchan right away (making time for narration even while preoccupied, like a champ), and other things like Kaito during his fight with Hakaiser, where he once again complains about someone doing bad guy stuff with an invention his mom and dad made for the good of the world. It fits an episode that's in large part about showing off more features of the big cannon they designed, and it's all material that's on-point for Kaito's character, and the overall story the show is telling with him. I'm admittedly not quite sure it's enough to justify the huge new robot, though? I don't know; I also might just be too hard to please on this? In an ideal world, I feel like we'd have a proper suit for that thing so it can show up a bunch, and have it debut in an episode more specifically about the bond the Zenkaigers have, because it's a five-piece combination, an ordinarily mundane occurrence in Sentai, made into this huge event because of how unique this show is... but it's sort of like, I'm not sure what I'm even asking for at that point? That's not really a better version of this episode as much as it is something entirely different, which is why it feels unfair to hold that over the episode too much. For what it was, there's a lot about the approach here that definitely feels true to Zenkaiger's style. Having a random, unintimidating monster of the week be the main source of the drama is an odd choice that's responsible for hampering some of the dramatic weight, and yet, I also feel like that fits this show's whole storytelling engine way better than some actual climactic showdown? It's tricky to describe, especially when I'm of two minds on this to begin with, but if there was ever a Sentai that could get away with this, it's definitely Zenkaiger. Koumura already wrote a really dramatic series where an all-CG robot had a grand debut, and she's clearly not shooting for the same exact thing here. There's a looseness to this episode that doesn't feel like an accident to me, and even if I'm not sure it struck the perfect balance, I do really respect that. But man, look at me, trying to dissect an episode of Zenkaiger as though I'm not missing my own point. Whatever failings this episode may or may not have had dramatically, it's still every bit as entertaining as always. And like I've said before, I don't ever want to take that for granted. This is an episode where Hakaiser just kinda forgets to show up to do his job, you know? I just can't hate gags that funny! |
You know what this reminds me of? Secchan's last episode, the recap one. It feels made in a similar way, in which there's something the episode had to be built around- the recap footage, and the CGI mech debut (which they were probably working on for longer then everything else to animate it,) and then had the rest of a plot backfilled around it, complete with a new use for an old monster suit.
Which... it's a shame the big debut episode kinda feels like backfill? You'd kinda want it to have more pop. That said, there is a lot of good material filled around it, I'm especially a big fan of everything still going on with Hakaiser, and his interactions with Stacey and Zox this ep. And, you know, we did get a very nice big debut episode for Hakaiser himself last episode, so we didn't miss out on that entirely. So non-peak Zenkai is still a very enjoyable show, and I cant wait to see how they dig into the bodyswapping plot next ep. |
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