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07-06-2021, 11:09 PM | #111 |
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Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: World of Ataru
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Episode 37 "The Little Warlord (1)& Episode 39 The Little Warlord (2)
Now despite Tokusatsu’s primary audience is children I can help but feel as if there is disdain for kids being in toku so how does this two-parter fair in that regard? It’s … alright not my favorite but it is serviceable while also still moving the Zhang Jue plot along with experimenting with a powerful modified Hero piece that gives our new trio immense difficulty. Zhang Jue targeting kids for his testing when he’s bored feels very in character for him too. It helps that the kid Yan Baihu is a brat and the show does not condone his actions nor his parent’s neglect. I was pleasantly surprised it was Cao Cao who reached out and got the parents to open their eyes and see their wrongdoings. Overall a nice mostly low-stakes two-parter as the show is starting its final 10 episodes and judging by the episode titles things are only going to escalate from here on out. So hopefully with future hindsight much like episodes 7-8, their place in the story feels more natural.
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07-07-2021, 07:53 PM | #112 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,388
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This kid is a better done version of Kiriya from Hibiki.
With that out of the way, this two-parter was... okay, I guess? It certainly had a decent message to it and all, but not only was it very blatantly a pair of budget episodes(I got a good giggle out of the PS2 controller being a stand-in for an RC car remote), but it really felt like this story could've easily just been one episode.
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07-07-2021, 11:25 PM | #113 |
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Location: World of Ataru
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Episode 39 "The End Of Dream Battle"
The beginning fight between our three protagonists is my favorite part of the episode because largely the buildup of these 3 fighting each other seriously was something the show always teased. Adding the fate of the world on top of a time limit for their wishes makes it raise the stakes as well as ground the situation onto the characters. Zhang Jue after 30+ episodes makes his move combining elements we’ve established his obsession with Hero Pisces, modifying and revving petrified Pisces and the Dark Pentagram all come back to a cohesive narrative strung together frequently throughout the show. Episode 40 "Unstoppable Bond" Episode 40's emotional crux is through the fake Xu Shu and how both Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang’s connection to her both weakens and ultimately makes their bond stronger. Liu Bei is pushed into the corner mentally and what ultimately saves him is his trust in his Guan Yu which will factor in more with the next episode but he finally manages to come up with a plan that Zhuge Liang was surprised by and thus their dynamic has been pushed forward beyond. Episode 41 "The Ultimate Dark Warlord" This show does such a good job of continuity and Lu Bu’s story ends peacefully protecting Diaochan from himself. Zhang Jue believes himself to be the Hero Pieces and Angels savior but as the battle rages his true colors are revealed simply waiting to fight and cause chaos. Now let’s talk about the big one folks Legend Hero Imperial Liu Bei’s Final Form. In tokusatsu, Final Forms are a big deal. So I ask you this: what do you think of Imperial? How does it stack up in comparison to other Final Forms? And what even makes a good final form? Personally speaking, I love this form of a nice upgrade of Guan Yu and then added gold trimmings and bulkiness combined with that lovely cape. As we move to our finale the real villain reveals himself, Sima Yu
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Last edited by GrandComplete; 07-07-2021 at 11:27 PM.. |
07-08-2021, 10:18 AM | #114 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,388
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I absolutely loved that 39 started with Cao Cao having the same dream that Liu Bei had at the start of the show.
Also really loved the speech Zhuge Liang gave to Liu Bei in 40, further emphasizing just how important friendships and bonds can be, and how you should value someone for their true selves, rather than the superficial. Kinda the moral of this entire three parter. As for 41, well, remember how I said you can see certain things coming if you're familiar with other Three Kingdoms stories? Yeah, needless to say, it's due to that that I saw the twist with Sima Yi coming. Still, the absolute brutality of which he gets rid of Dr. Insano was really good. Overall, this was a great three-parter to lead us into the show's' endgame. When it comes to Imperial Form, man, I think it's totally perfect, actually. The way inwhich it comes about is a slight Deus Ex Machina, but the form itself? From its aesthetic, to its powers, to just how friggen cool it is, I totally love it. I really dig when Final Forms manage to be a fully realized version of everything the fighter in question has gained so far, and Imperial Form is just that.
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07-08-2021, 11:55 PM | #115 |
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Location: World of Ataru
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Episode 42 "The Owner of the Golden Piece"
Liu Bei has been swayed by Imperial power and the results are terrifying. Cao Cao is now being manipulated by Sima Yu and what this means for the future now that he’s going to take Liu Bei as a serious threat. Hua Tuo is indeed Master Lu Zhi. I did not expect the previous Dream Battles to come into play in the story. The deep regrets of his past and how much like the legend of the Three Kingdoms is being repeated also went through something similar to Liu Bei. It’s been a couple of episodes but man where are the Flyquitos?
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07-09-2021, 07:43 AM | #116 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,388
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Very OOO this episode!
I rather liked this one. From having Liu Bei dress in black instead of his usual green, to the cool idea of having him fight all of his other forms, there were some good visuals! They managed to get me with the twist about Lu Zhi, too, although they didn't actually explain how he could use Angel Magic. Maybe the winners of the Dream Battle get access to that?
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07-09-2021, 06:06 PM | #117 |
Bat Hero
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 296
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Quote:
I love his cool sword. I like the suit. A final form, to me, has to meet 3 criteria: 1) The toy, and henceforth method of activating the form, is cool. You give me a cool toy that meshes with the device in some awesome way, AND a cool transformation, and I'm sold. Imperial does this. You put the Guan Yu piece in the belt and it pushes out the gold piece, Gun-Shin-Il-Che, and bam. Complete with a dragon and column of light. 2) The suit looks cool. Even more so if it gets a weapon unique to it. Like Imperial. A cool suit with a unique weapon is usually an instant-win in my book. But alone, Imperial still looks cool. It's got the Guan Yu body with extra add-ons. Loving the open dragon jaw shoulder pads (literally just noticed that; back when I first watched this show years ago, I thought they were dragon heads; but no, the line on the arm is the open mouth). The dragon head crest is especially cool. 3) The form's powers are used often (or at least displayed a ton in the debut fight and sparingly after; Fourze's does this well, Build's does not). I love cool powers. What can I say? For example... You gimme the power of flight on an armored, robotic, laser cannon-wielding angel of death and I'm happy. Give it the ability to teleport with a feather effect and create portals and light ring attacks and I'm SOLD. Basically, all of these fall under "rule of cool". Which means most final forms already meet my criteria for being "good". |
07-22-2021, 11:11 PM | #118 |
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Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: World of Ataru
Posts: 857
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Episode 43 "Cao Cao's Choice" & Episode 44 "Counter-Attack of a New Dark Warlord" & Episode 45 "Roar, The Tiger Of Gangdong" & Episode 46 "The Tiger of Gangdong Still Stands"
This arc has been mostly all right the main problem is well juxtaposing Cao Cao becoming Kaiser is the story of Sun Ce and his family the level of investment feels off simply due to Sun Ce illness coming straight out of nowhere and his issues with his younger brother while there from the beginning might as well have been introduced in this arc. If it seems like I’m being a bit harsh on this I suppose it just is not that this story is inherently bad just oddly paced is all I'm saying. Far more invested in the inevitable final clash between Cao Cao and Liu Bei at the Red Cliff FIghting Tournament which I’ve just realized they’ve been foreshadowing since the beginning of the show. But let us not bemoan what we didn’t get but what we got it. We’ve got some nice range of emotions from all of the cast from Sun Ce to regret to his family anger at his silent disappearance, and Zhuge Liang surprisingly pleading for Sun Ce to continue fighting for his family, his Hero Pieces and Zhou Yu. Is it just me or do the two of the new Dark Warlords introduce remind you guys of the Two Flyquito guys? Like I thought they were corrupted versions of them. And Shanxiang being dragged into was smart storytelling giving us a physical version of Sun Ce’s familial struggles.
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Last edited by GrandComplete; 07-22-2021 at 11:27 PM.. |
07-23-2021, 08:38 AM | #119 |
Master Procrastinator
Join Date: Sep 2015
Posts: 367
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Sorry if you already mentioned it, but I should point out that Kaiser has the exact same profile as Imperial, meaning the destroyer warlord shown in the dreams has been Kaiser all along, not Imperial as we were lead to believe.
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07-23-2021, 09:03 AM | #120 |
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Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: World of Ataru
Posts: 857
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No I didn't mentioned thats actually a great swereve from the creatora makes me love the suit even more.
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