|
Community Links |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
05-04-2021, 09:00 PM | #8531 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
|
~Fish's Zenkai Tour!~
Episode 9 – Dengeki Sentai Changeman Most of what I knew about Changeman comes down to how insanely catchy that theme song is. Easily one of the best in the franchise, even now. And yet, somehow, in all the time I've felt that way, I'm pretty sure I never realized the singer is Hironobu Kageyama? Like, no wonder it's so awesome then, right? So as you can tell from me missing things that obvious, there's a whole lot about this show still for me to discover. I have a vague understanding now that Changeman is a rather well-regarded series, being part of the string of Sentai from main writer Hirohisa Soda that made huge strides when it came to introducing more engaging and complex drama to the franchise. Apparently it's even a favorite for Soda himself, which is cool and all, but of course, now I'm starting to talk about the series as a whole, when I'm supposed to be speaking for the one episode I've actually watched. That one episode was pretty cool. Changeman shoots for a heavy military theme, kinda taking things back to those early cool organization days, which really shines a spotlight on how much the franchise had already evolved. It doesn't feel like some huge retread of the premieres of the first few Sentai, and even more impressively, it also doesn't feel like a rehash of the premieres Soda had been writing the previous few years. Instead, it's got elements from both mixing together to make something rather fresh for the time. I think the plot point that sums it up best is that the protagonists are introduced undergoing impossibly tough training exercises for their cool organization, which is very old-school, but they're immediately shown chafing under the inhuman expectations, getting so fed up they straight up call it quits and walk off, which is a very, very new-school behavior for a tokusatsu hero. There's a casual human vulnerability to that I really liked. Another great instance of very smartly executed blending of the old Sentai flavor with the emerging new style is that there is once again a scene of the team getting their mission exposited to them by a commander character in a room... after the team has transformed for the first time, which does the Bioman routine of having them terrorized by mooks until gaining mysterious superpowers to turn the tables – a routine that, as I mentioned last time, is basically objectively exciting. The mooks themselves are these amazingly freaky snot goblin dudes, too, which is a natural enough segue to toss in a mention of how appealingly unappealing I found the monster aesthetics. There's a very clear emphasis on making the alien invaders look fleshy, which I think is maybe the grossest sounding adjective I can think of to properly get across how much they nailed what they were going for. It's the kind of thing where a lot of kids were probably genuinely frightened by some of those close-up shots. I will say that this premiere didn't grip me quite the way Bioman's did. I'm all the more appreciative of that bold cliffhanger after going right back to the heroes riding off while the narrator says words to the effect of "please tune in for 50 or so more weeks of this." Which, you know, again, nothing wrong with that, and those are some cool bikes to ride off on, but there are aspects of Bioman's debut I definitely enjoyed more. Still, that's all a matter of personal preference more than anything, and I was even more impressed than Bioman when it came to how much you could feel the franchise gradually redefining itself. Changeman is a rather fitting name when there's all this change, man! This isn't a show I'm particularly eager to get around to like some others, but I have a feeling it will impress me when I finally do.
__________________
Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 03-05-2022 at 05:26 PM.. |
05-04-2021, 09:28 PM | #8532 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,435
|
Is it just me or are the Ranger suits wearing tank tops?
__________________
|
05-04-2021, 09:29 PM | #8533 |
Ex-Weather Three leader
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,563
|
I always consider this Shiro Izumi's Malcolm in the Middle and Zyuranger his Breaking Bad because of obvious reasons.
That said, it is fun to see Izumi play a polar opposite to Burai in the show as the more upbeat Yuuma/Change Pegasus. A crop top at that. In reality it is sewen to the suit, not a separate piece, but it occasionally gets brought up I feel.
__________________
Last edited by Sunred; 05-04-2021 at 09:34 PM.. |
05-04-2021, 10:29 PM | #8534 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 909
|
I'm currently up to episode 14 of Gokaiger. I almost forgot how so damn fun this series is.
|
05-05-2021, 02:18 AM | #8535 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,554
|
The most I recall off the top of my head about Changeman’s first episode is the training scene, sheerly for how damn OTT it came off as.
And in another behind the scenes fact, this series was the suit-acting debut for Richi Seiike and Jiro Okamoto (who were playing grunts at the time, but that soon changed), and the first regular suit-acting jobs for Yuichi Hachisūka and Yoshinori Okamoto, after some guest spots in the previous season (Hachisūka is playing Change Phoenix, while Okamoto is playing and voicing Adjutant Booba, for anyone interested. |
05-05-2021, 06:32 AM | #8536 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
|
In fact, it's 55 episodes! Not often a Toku series goes on for that long; but apparently there were some production issues with getting the next season ready, so Changeman got a few more episodes bumped on to make it the second longest Sentai in existence.
... and that's about all I know! It's another one of those Sentai that interests me and I want to get to, but partly because of that I'm actively avoiding information about it. It's part of what made Dynaman so fun for me, after all! I'm glad to hear it's following the streak of Showa Sentai really hitting its stride, even if said Showa era was ending in a few years
__________________
|
05-05-2021, 06:50 PM | #8537 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
|
It was the 80's! Don't act surprised!
I didn't touch on the suit designs, but while I can respect them realizing Bioman was so good they should just do it again, for whatever reason, I don't like them quite as much. They seem more refined in a lot of ways, but— man, I guess I just REALLY am that drawn to Bioman? It's like I keep subconsciously attempting to steer this discussion back a series without even trying. Quote:
Quote:
... and that's about all I know! It's another one of those Sentai that interests me and I want to get to, but partly because of that I'm actively avoiding information about it.
__________________
|
05-05-2021, 08:37 PM | #8538 |
New Member
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: VA
Posts: 47
|
i really like Changeman. i think my Sentai sweet spot is everything from Bioman to Liveman.
anyway, i'm currently watching Kiramager. i watched the first five episodes when they originally came out... but my computer died and i just never got back into watching it. till now. |
05-05-2021, 10:55 PM | #8539 |
Ex-Weather Three leader
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,563
|
Quote:
It was the 80's! Don't act surprised!
I didn't touch on the suit designs, but while I can respect them realizing Bioman was so good they should just do it again, for whatever reason, I don't like them quite as much. They seem more refined in a lot of ways, but— man, I guess I just REALLY am that drawn to Bioman? It's like I keep subconsciously attempting to steer this discussion back a series without even trying.
__________________
|
05-06-2021, 03:17 AM | #8540 |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 462
|
|
|
TokuNation News & Rumors |
Kakuranger: 30 Years After |
ToyRise RyuKenDo |
Alternative Cut of "Day Of The Dumpster" Released |
Shodo SUPER Kyoryuger Teaser |
Figuarts/Seihou GRIDMAN |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:09 PM.
|