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What are you watching (Sentai edition)
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12-09-2021, 05:55 PM
#
9024
Fish Sandwich
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
~Fish's Zenkai Tour!~
Station 38 – Ressha Sentai ToQger
Despite watching Super Sentai for years by that point, ToQger was actually the first series I made a conscious effort to properly follow from start to finish, right from the initial rumors and trademarks and catalogues and all that. I had learned my lesson about ignoring this franchise, and Toei was even kind enough to make ToQger a gift-wrapped present for me in celebration of that fact. I mean, it's being written by Yasuko Kobayashi! I'm instantly in love with the captivatingly simple and fun designs! A huge number of fans violently despise these designs and are already decrying the show they haven't seen as a failure! When I get to enjoy something by Kobayashi
and
be a huge contrarian at the same time, you know it's gonna be a good year.
I wasn't actually in love with the show for a little while, to tell the truth. The initial stretch of episodes didn't totally connect with me for whatever reasons, and that's why I'm very, very lucky this also happened to be the first year I was determined to stick it out anyway. As ToQger moved along, it started really picking up steam, and I can still vividly remember a couple particular episodes that cemented massive shifts in my attitude towards the series. By the introduction of the team's obligatory sixth member in episode 17, I was seriously enjoying each and every week. After a particularly major turning point for the plot in episode 32, I was outright head over heels, eagerly anticipating whatever adventures awaited the heroes at their next stop. And given that the premise
does
revolve around the protagonists traveling on a train from place to place each week in search of their ultimate destination, it really was the perfect series to finally commit myself to for a whole year. I was onboard for this crazy journey with everyone else, and along the way, as the characters grew and evolved, so too did my understanding and appreciation for everything ToQger was doing as a series.
The thing is, ToQger is
childish.
Aggressively so. It's arguably more childish than maybe any other Sentai, and considering the franchise is aimed at children by nature, that's really saying something. But I think it's fair to say ToQger can lay special claim to that word, not merely because it's unabashedly silly (which was my mistaken first impression), but because childhood is legitimately baked into the thematic core of the narrative. It's a show about five childhood friends who don't remember anything
except
their childhood friendship, and the quest they go on together to find their way home, all the while using the power of their Imagination to shine a light on the darkness that seeks to crush all the world's joy. The ToQgers ride the Rainbow Line, relying on their youthful exuberance and flexible thinking to carry them to victory, while the villains of the Shadow Line are a bunch of aristocrats stuck in their stubborn squabbles and chained by their designated roles in society. In other words, they're largely
adults
, and particularly stuffy ones at that.
It's honestly sort of brilliant? The trick ToQger pulls is that both groups get quite a bit of focus, meaning there's twice as much here to get hooked on. You can watch the show for the appealing simplicity of the heroes, both in their bright, colorful aesthetics and their amiable personalities, and follow them along as the strength of their friendship overcomes any obstacle.
Or!
If that's just not doing it for you, you *could* find yourself absorbed in the fascinating complexity of the main villains, both in their elaborate gothic designs and their surprisingly layered personalities, and witness the constantly unfolding soap opera of their often uneasy alliances punctuated by shocking betrayals and gambits. The writing of the show is capable of getting way more sophisticated than you might expect at first glance, and the contrast between heroes and villains ends up highlighting the strengths of both sides' respective style of drama. It's two great flavors that go great together, and ToQger's plotting is full of some fantastic twists and turns thanks to both the mystery surrounding the protagonists, and the intrigue that defines the antagonists.
Although I'm not sure how those simple colorful designs could ever not do it for someone. Well, okay, of course I get it, but like, I don't want to? The ToQger aesthetic is so nicely considered, you know? The suits have the absolute minimum of detail because the scarcity of complex patterns and accent colors brings out the vibrant rainbow that is a Sentai team standing together as much as possible, and it's the same story for ToQ-Oh, a robot made entirely from five vertical lines of color, because it's literally just five trains side-by-side that stand up. Which is awesome! It's not
cool
, yeah, but it's awesome, so who cares? I guess I'd describe the visuals of ToQger as
pleasant
, to narrow it down to a word? It all ends up looking very nice on the screen, and the minimalistic approach matches the themes and tone of the series just about perfectly. I seriously wouldn't have it any other way. It's like the ultimate visual distillation of Super Sentai as a concept. I'm sure this has become a way less controversial opinion over the years, so I probably don't even need to give this whole spiel, but darn it, I'm just that passionate about this! ToQger's designs are really bold and smart and I love them to bits!
Do I love ToQger's first episode that much, though? Well, I certainly love it a lot more than I did back when it aired.
I mean, I've rewatched other early episodes of ToQger before this, so I kinda already knew the problem back then was more with me than the show. It took me a while to get a handle on why the show told its stories the way it did, but now I
do
understand that, so revisiting the place it all started after all these years is only going to be a good time for me. To be fair to my past self, however, it's not like this one episode actually
has
every single thing that makes ToQger what it is packed in there somewhere. In a lot of ways, the plot here is extremely thin, even, but again, it's all in context now. Gradual reveals are a fundamental part of ToQger's narrative structure, so it makes sense to give only the absolute basics right away, and hey, they even end this one on a pretty legendarily sudden cliffhanger reveal, as if to prove how intentional this all is.
That might make it sound like sort of a poor debut showing, if I'm saying it only comes together in retrospect, but that's not what I'm trying to get at. At the time, I was in some rush to immediately see that nuanced characterization and storytelling I expect from Kobayashi, and in doing so, I missed a lot of the other qualities ToQger is bringing to the table. First of all, quite a few seemingly incidental details end up holding much greater significance in light of later developments, starting with the very first scene, so the nuance IS there – it's just
hiding
, which arguably makes it even more clever. Second, that's maybe not the point of any of this.
This show is
fun
before it's anything else, and that means the show's first episode is almost all fun, all the time. Like, again, the plot isn't much. Our usual excitable Re... er, #1 for the series, Right, wakes up on one of the bad guys' trains while the monster of the week is in the middle of kidnapping a bunch of crying children, so you instantly know they're
bad
guys, meaning the other four ToQgers show up to save the day, so Right gets involved, remembers they're all friends, becomes ToQ #1, and the five of them blow up the monster together. Weaved throughout the process is some discussion on the nature of imagination. But boiling a summary down to the mere events ignores how rich the flavor is.
That opening scene, for example. You have a monster gleefully going around
stealing kids
, which is pretty messed up, but then the first thing Right does in the entire series is immediately undercut that menace – entirely unintentionally – by obnoxiously snoring, completely oblivious to the situation he's in, right up until he tries to take a bite out of the monster's arm in his sleep. What an introduction for our big hero! And then once the ToQgers make their heroic entrance,
that
gets immediately botched by ToQ #2 tripping on his way out the door, and the awkward energy only continues throughout the initial fight scene. Later, when Right rushes off ahead of everyone to stop the monster after becoming a ToQger, he looks straight into the camera to sheepishly ask how you actually
become
a ToQger, because nobody had the chance to give him his ToQ Changer before he ran out of the room to go play hero. When I originally watched this episode back in 2014, I think there was a huge part of me that felt the comedy was too broad or something, but now? It all just feels like a natural – even essential – part of establishing an overall vibe for this team. They are emphatically *not* traditional heroes. They're only kind of qualified for this job at the moment, and that's very directly reflected in how
weird
everyone is about it.
The one thing the team does have going for them, and what Right in particular has going for himself, despite all the flubs, is that aforementioned Imagination. It lets Right get his big legit hero moment for the episode when, before even transforming for the first time, he actually does manage to land a good hit on the monster by mapping out his approach in his head. Like with most things, I think it's the way the series expands on that core concept of Imagination after this which really makes it special, but looking back, the premiere does establish a solid foundation. Right's actual plan to dodge a punch before punching back isn't especially impressive, but what matters is showing how his ability to face problems by proactively thinking of solutions gives him the self-confidence to make those ideas into reality. And that all
completely
tracks with what that central theme is about.
All of what I've been talking about those past few paragraphs all comes crashing together when the ToQgers start swapping colors around during the climax, one of the show's trademark gimmicks. (It's also why they're distinguished by numbers instead.) Much like the designs themselves, you'll never convince me this is anything besides completely genius. The thing is, there's almost no point to them having this ability whatsoever. They switch around their personal weapons, yeah, but it's like,
you could just hand the other person your weapon.
So why bother with this concept at all then? Because it so perfectly reflects everything this team is about! Of course Right would be the guy who would just suggest this bonkers idea out of nowhere, because he's way too creative to be bound by the rigid traditions of the genre. He's not an adult who understands or cares about the reasons those rules exist, he's the kid roleplaying with his friends, getting bored of being Red and deciding Blue or Pink would be more fun. And it is fun! It's a chaotic energy you just can't get from any other Sentai! Which is normally for the best, but for ToQger,
this
is the best. Even the idea that the colors are fluid ends up speaking to the flexibility of the team's dynamic, something the show makes a point of later by having it be explicitly stated that
everyone
on this team is the leader. And if you can tell who the leader in a Sentai is because they're wearing Red...
So yeah, this is a good premiere, for sure. I always kind of thought of it as overstuffed due to how much time is devoted to establishing just about
everything
the ToQgers can do in a fight, from the color changing to their bazooka to the giant robot, all given plenty of time to shine while the story takes a backseat, but once again, it just sorta feels right now.
Not a very objective analysis, I know! What can you do, though? I love Kobayashi, and I love ToQger. She apparently wrote this show feeling it might be her final Sentai (which it currently is), and it was a strong note to leave on if you ask me. ToQger has a wacky comedic slant that distinguishes it from the other Sentai she was in charge of, keeping things fresh, while still retaining all the usual humanity and warmth that makes her work so excellent. No matter how insane the antics get, it's that bond between the heroes, written the way only she can write it, that keeps things grounded. ToQger is always amusing, and quite often sincerely touching. It was great getting to make a quick stop on the tour to see it again.
(Kobayashi could
totally
still write yet another amazing Sentai if she wanted to, by the way.)
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