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#8951 |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 462
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I get that kids and toy sales will always be the most important audience factors to a degree, but it is still pretty cynical that, with Kyoryuger especially, Toei just went for a show that was light-hearted, but with little actual substance and just hoped that people would spend money anyway, which obviously still worked on a lot of people but again I remember when it was new there were still some people that saw through it!
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#8952 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,448
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Update
Ryu (Episode 36) The Rangers have formed King Rex Knight mode. (Episode 35) 10 episodes left and the finale. Resuming Kira soon.
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Currently watching Galaxy Man - Aba and To Quger - Don Bros. on DVD. Last edited by wentwood; 10-25-2021 at 02:35 PM.. |
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#8953 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,551
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Here we are, at the advent of another edition of…
Androzani’s Tsukai Detour And today, we’ll be covering the first VS movie I saw… Tensou Sentai Goseiger vs Shinkenger: Epic on Ginmaku In a dimension that is invisible to human eyes, called Gosei World, there are beings called Gosei Angels. They have super powers that humans do not have, called Gosei Power. Unknown to humans, they use their powers to protect the Earth and mankind from dangerous elements. To defend the Earth from the invading enemies, the Gosei Angels use a passage called the Tower of Heaven in order to travel between the surface and Gosei World. However, a group of enemy invaders, called Warstar invades the Earth and destroys the Tower of Heaven. With the Tower destroyed, the Gosei Angels are unable to reach the surface. With no Gosei Angels, the Earth will be destroyed by these invaders. However, 5 young and immature Gosei Angels, while in disguise, were visiting the human world before the invasion and rise up against the demons to protect the Earth. They are the heroes, the Goseigers! Goseigers: Alata/Gosei Red: The more mature of the two Skick Tribesmen on Earth. Alata has an innate ability to see through to the true essence of things. Unlike his Skick Tribe partner Eri, Alata is ten times more sensitive to the wind and he can easily pick up and track evil around the area. Similar to Eri, he also has a bubbly and positive personality. Whenever things get get rough, he never gives up and fights his way through. Alata truly believes in his moral of protecting the earth and everyone. He quickly befriended Nozomu Amachi and truly trusts him, rejecting Hyde's attempt to erase his memories of the Goseigers. However, despite being a strong leader for the group, Alata is usually an airhead and often does things before thinking about them. Eri/Gosei Pink: The other Skick tribesman on Earth. She is a very optimistic person and is always positive about life. She is the maternal figure of the group. Eri's personality resembles that of a cheerful and bubbly girl, as she is always thinking positively and never gives up. She also lacks common sense, as shown when collaborating with Moune. Her capricious and airheaded personality also causes Eri to clash with Moune and her other teammates. Agri/Gosei Black: the elder of the two Landick tribesmen on Earth. He is a hot-blooded warrior and Moune’s younger brother. He prides himself as being the strongest fighter among the Goseigers. Moune/Gosei Yellow: The youngest of the Goseigers, the second Landick representative on Earth and Agri’s younger sister. Moune is a perfectionist and*has a very strict nature. This often causes the mistakes Eri makes to get on her nerves. Despite this, she can be loving, although she rarely ever shows it. In addition to this, she always sticks to the battle plan. Although Moune is young and is the youngest member among the Goseigers, she wants to be treated as a grown up. However, Hyde tells her off for her mistakes and usual childish nature frequently. This really irritates her and she calls him an old man in response. Hyde/Gosei Blue: The sole Seack tribesman on Earth following the death of his partner Magis a year ago. As a Seaick, Hyde is calm and rarely if ever loses his temper. He is the logical and insightful one of the Goseigers. He is also the serious voice of reason. Hyde has an inflexible and stubborn side as well. Despite these traits, he is the oldest in his team causing him to sometimes act like an old man in front of his teammates. His sense of humor in particular is like an old man, as seen in episode 26 when he was laughing at old man jokes and puns. Hyde initially felt a sense of loneliness; unlike his teammates who had one more close tribesman with them, since Alata and Eri are Skicks and childhood friends while Agri and Moune are siblings and of the Landick tribe. He is the only Seaick due to Magis' death before the Goseigers' formation. Hyde also has the ability to accurately sense the quality of water through touch. Allies: Gosei Knight: Originally the Groundion Headder used by the Legendary Gosei Angel who sealed the Yuma Beasts, he was injured in battle with Wa-hoz the Nessie and buried under ice until the present, wherein he made a pact to protect the planet which granted him a human form and the ability to use a unique form of Gosei Power known as Knightick Power, which can use all three types of Tensou techniques. His motivations however have put him at odds with the current Goseigers, as he doesn't care for the people who inhabit the Earth, seeing them as seperate from the planet. Datas: A robot sent to Earth from the Gosei World to focus as an emergency communication system for the Goseigers on Earth. In addition to being able to sense enemy activity, he can also equip the Hyper Headder to become Datas Hyper. Kaoru Shiba/Princess Shinken Red: The true 18th head of the Shiba Clan, who was hidden at birth so that she could perfect the sealing character, with Takeru being chosen as a body double. But, when she revealed herself, a mix of having no chemistry with the vassals and the sealing character being rendered useless led to her naming Takeru as her son so she could give him the position back. She is currently enjoying life as a normal rich girl, though she is trying to escape the thrall of her servants. Enemies: Bladerun: A mysterious figure opposing the Goseigers. He initially appeared as Bladerun of the Comet, assisting the Warstar in their conquest of Earth. But upon Warstar’s demise, he reappeared serving the Yuma Beasts as Blade-Run the Chupacabra. But this was merely a ploy to receive access to the EllRai Box to seal both sides away forever. But he was tricked, and forced to be destroyed by the Goseigers. He has access to mysterious knowledge of the Gosei Angels, including crystals that allow one to use Tensou techniques and BB bugs and soldiers he acquired from aliens Warstar previously defeated. What do I think of Goseiger? I think it’s actually a pretty good show. The cast are easy to like (which is not something I can say about the next two series), the three different villain factions keep things suitably fresh and the episodic plots are a good mix of drama and comedy. Now as for the specific credits, the producer this time around is Takahito Ohmori, who took over Goseiger halfway through after the previous guy quit (there isn’t a notable difference though), and later went on to do Kyoryuger, before being the main creative mind behind Kamen Riders Drive, Ex-Aid, Build and 01. Out writer this time around is Kento Shimoyama, detailed information about whom can be found here. Our director this time around is Noboru Takemoto. With all of that said, on with the review. We open with a scene of the Goseigers defeating a group of BBS at the Toei beach (the one from their logo), while Shitari looks on, lamenting about how bad today’s bad guys are (damn kids), before noticing that only Doukuku should’ve been able to lift him to the surface (after he sank to the bottom in the finale of Shinkenger)… at which point a figure rises from the Sanzu River. After an intro, Alata has his trip to the grocery store turned into an errand run for he others. While on his way back, he encounters a group he recognises as neither Yuma Beast, nor Warstar. While battling them, a monster shows up, refusing to introduce himself (I’ll call him “Three-face”) In battle, Alata finds that none of his Tensou techniques are effective, as Three-face can absorb and return them at twice the power. Alata ends up saved by a mix of Takeru appearing and Three-face having to return to the Sanzu River due to drying out. As Takeru ponders the implications of an Ayakashi showing up (namely, that Doukuku might be back), he is observed by the mysterious figure that revived Shitari and gave relevant info to Three-face. Back in the world of the living, Alata takes Takeru to the Amachi Observatory, where the Kuroko have set up shop (due to the Shiba Castle set being demolished), and Ryuonosuke has returned from his kabuki career. After looking up information on Samurai via Datas, and everyone gets caught up on each other, the Goseigers show off what they understand a Samurai to be… it’s interesting. The Gedoushuu get picked up at a stadium, where the 7 heroes, soon joined by Chiaki, go to face them. They soon find that Three-face has also developed counters for the other Goseigers’ Tensou techniques and that they have access to BBs. Their leader then reveals that he is no Doukuku, but he is an old acquaintance of the Goseigers… Bladerun announces that he has been revived as Doukuku’s successor, Chimatsuri Bladerun. As Takeru tries to face him as a Super Shinkenger, Bladerun defeats and captures the Lord of the Shiba clan, before making his getaway. As Chiaki and Ryunosuke blame the Goseigers for Takeru being kidnapped (yes, it’s their fault that Takeru decided to be a self-sacrificing maverick), they refuse to work with the Angels further. Their solution? Gather the other three Shinkengers and win them over. So, Agri and Eri intercept Mako as she returns from Hawaii to carry her off in a box… but problems crop up. Agri asserts that he can do all the heavy lifting… which Eri takes as a cue to climb inside the box and make his job harder. At a train station, Kotoha gets off a plane from Kyoto to see Ryunosuke… who turns out to be Hyde using his Camomirage. Moune then explains that the two of them are angels, leading to one of my all time funny moments in Sentai. Kotoha: Angels have come for me? Am I dead? Moune: Oh no, we’re not that kind of angels. As Alata tries to reason with the other two, they still refuse. As the other Goseigers return with their kidnap victims - er, I mean, guests, Kotoha gives everyone souvenirs from Kyoto (even Hyde). At this point, Takeru appears, surrounded by fire. And if that wasn’t enough of a tip-off, look what he transforms into. Takeru then attacks everyone on his team and the other, before Bladerun and Three-face show up. The former explains that he has turned Takeru into Gedou Shinken Red. As Alata takes what would be a fatal blow for the Shinkengers, Gosei Knight arrives with Genta (who was held up getting DaiGoyo through customs at the Charles de Gaulle airport), with the two extra heroes managing to briefly overpower the enemy with a combination attack, before getting everyone out of there. Back at the observatory, Gosei Knight explains that the only way to win this time is to combine Mojikara with Tensou techniques. While Alata spends the night recovering from his injuries, while trying Mako’s cooking (and in a subversion of the running gag from Shinkenger proper, he actually thinks it’s good), the others spend the time practising their combo attacks, which takes the same amount of time (and conversely, the Shinkengers try Eri’s somehow worse than the already low standard Mako set cooking and like it). Elsewhere, Bladerun reveals his plan: by combining Takeru’s flame Mojikara with Three-face’s airbending powers creating a water lens, he can create an artificial solar flare to open the portal to Gosei World where the Tower of Heaven once stood (if you’re wondering why he doesn’t simply wait for a solar flare, the kind he requires only occurs every two hundred years. And that window closed in episode 2 of Goseiger). He will then send the Sanzu water through the portal to kill everyone there. He shoos Shitari away when he objects and prepares to continue. Back at the Observatory, A teenage girl shows up to meet with Alata, who Genta introduces as Kaoru, the previous head of the Shiba Clan. (To clarify, Takeru’s actor was 22 at the time this was made, while Kaoru’s was 15. No wonder Alata’s confused) The other heroes head off to stop Bladerun’s plan, they run foul of Gedou Shinken Red. As he proceeds to defeat all of them effortlessly, Alata shows up, and after fighting Takeru to a standstill (and only surviving because the other Shinkengers use their Mojikara to shield him), reveals why Kaoru wanted to meet with him: so she could give him her flame Mojikara (which is a lot stronger than Takeru’s on account of being inherited rather than learned). Merging this with his Skick power has birthed a new Tensou technique, Kaentornado, which Alata uses the Gosei Card for to purify Takeru of his darkness (and apparently destroy the Inromaru, since it’s never seen again either in this movie, or any later media). Tensouder: Explosion! Mojikara Skick Power! With one problem solved, everyone moves on to solve the bigger of the two problems… Bladerun’s plan. As Bladerun summons an army of Nanashi and BBs, everyone transforms and does their role call Alata: Tensouder! Tensouders: Gotcha! Takeru: Shodophone! Genta: Sushi Changer! Shinkengers: Ippitsu Soujou! Genta: Ikkan Kenjou! Goseigers: Change Card, Tensou! (Invoke) Tensouders: Change: Goseiger! Takeru: Shinken Red, Shiba Takeru! Ryunosuke: The same in Blue, Ikenami Ryunosuke! Mako: The same in Pink, Shiraishi Mako! Chiaki: The same in Green, Tani Chiaki! Kotoha: The same in Yellow, Hanaori Kotoha! Genta: The same in Gold, Umemori Genta! Alata: The storming Skick power! Gosei Red! Eri: The breathing Skick power! Gosei Pink! Agri: The towering Landick power! Gosei Black! Moune: The budding Landick power! Gosei Yellow! Hyde: The surging Seack power! Gosei Blue! Gosei Knight: The crusader for the planet’s purity, Gosei Knight! Takeru: The Samurai Sentai authorised by providence… Shinkengers: Shinkenger, going forth! Goseigers: Angels have a duty to protect the planet, Tensou Sentai Goseiger! Alata: Advent! The fight then begins, with the 6 pairs all taking down groups of BBs and Nanashi, with Mako and Eri devising the Pink Double Attack (retroactively Part 1) on the fly. The two reds then go on to face Bladerun. Elsewhere, Shitari and an army of empowered Nanashi prepare to continue Doukuku’s will themselves as DaiGoyo watches on. But luckily, they get distracted by the arrival of newcomers. “Gokai Red!” “Gokai Blue!” “Gokai Yellow!” “Gokai Green!” (Who has a very suggestive those in which he rubs his own crotch, which in no way reflects the kind of guy he is) “Gokai Pink!” Red: Kaizoku (Pirates) Sentai… All: Gokaiger! Shitari then attacks. Red: It’s the movie, so let’s make this flashy. (A bit of medium awareness that never shows up in his series proper) After a short scuffle, The new kids pull out their gimmick. Gokaigers: Ranger Key! Gokai Change! (An announcement they never make in the show proper) They insert the keys into their phones, which make announcements. “Go-Onger! Gekiranger! Boukenger! Magiranger! Dekaranger!” Shitari: Are those… the legendary Super Sentai? Yellow: Nope, just pirated copies (which is totally not what they are in the show) The secondary 4 destroy the minions by combining DekaRed’s Hybrid Magnum, MagiRed’s Red Fire, BoukenRed’s Dual Crusher (used without the Acceltecter, though that’s the least of the issues I’ll be going into next time) and GekiRed’s Geki Waza: Hou Hou Dan, before Gokai Red uses Go-On Red’s Road Saber and Kankan Mantan Gun to kill Shitari. The 5 then revert to normal and leave after Pink asks DaiGoyo to keep their secret. DaiGoyo: Once again, the lantern saw! Back with the main battle, the Goseigers and Shinkengers combine their powers to overwhelm Three-face, since they’re too powerful for him to return. Back with Takeru and Alata’s battle with Bladerun, he summons his ‘allies’, Bladerun of the Comet and Blade-Run the Chupacabra (Don’t ask how he does this, since no plausible explanation exists) As the three Bladeruns seem to have the advantage, Alata and Takeru survive by going into their Super and Hyper modes respectively, as Goseiger’s theme kicks in. We were born to protect the world we love. For no-one must stop it’s people from dreaming. We spread our wings in preparation. To come together as one… And set course for a future of peace on Earth (Tensou!) Our hope will sustain us (Tensou!) As long as we live, (Tensou!) Because the future lies with you! (Tensou!) Tomorrow will shine (Tensou!) Ever brighter than today, (Tensou!) If you shape it with boundless imagination! Now, spread your courageous wings, Tensou Sentai Goseiger! As the two destroy the copies effortlessly, Alata sends Chimatsuri Bladerun flying with the Super Sky Dynamic, before Takeru blows him down with the Kyoryumaru: Denchi Issen. With the two bad guys cornered, the Goseigers whip out 5 Shinkenger Gosei Cards,, activating them. These cards grant each of the Shinkengers the ability to access their Super modes simultaneously (even Genta, who normally can’t use it). As the two Sentai destroy the bad guys with their finishers, Bladerun wills the Sanzu water to float into the portal. But the Shinkengers use the sealing character to stop the waters, while the Goseigers mix Defenstorm, Defenstone and Defenstream to prevent it from doing any damage by closing the portal. But before they can celebrate, the two Ayakashi enter their second lives, which prompts Gosei Knight to do his transformation. Leon Cellular: Gotcha! Gosei Knight: Change Card, Tensou! Leon Cellular: Change, Groundion! The others summon their mecha, forming DaiKai ShinkenOh and Ground Gosei Great. As Three-face summons the Nanashi, Datas Hyper and DaiGoyo appear to deal with them. As the two combined mecha destroy Three-face, Bladerun hits all the good guys with the Gedou Chimatsuri Dan, destroying the Origami and blowing the Goseigers down to Gosei Great. However, the resolve of the two Sentai to never give up, allows them to unlock a new combo with Gosei Great, Datas Hyper, Groudion, the Seack, Landick, Skick and Knight Brothers. Everyone combines their powers into the Mojikara Victory Charge card, destroying Bladerun again with the Mojikara Headder Strike (and yet, that doesn’t kill him for good. He comes back in Goseiger episode 39). After seeing the Shinkengers off, the Goseigers briefly consider reorganising themselves to be like the Shinkengers… an idea they promptly reject as the movie ends. Final thoughts: I think this might be one of the best yet. We got a good deal of interaction between the characters and integration of elements from the two series. And it has the unique twist of our big bad being an established character in a new form from the outset. I’d definitely recommend this beyond being “the first one I saw”. The challenge: What was the first crossover you watched? Of anything. Last edited by Androzani84; 10-26-2021 at 07:44 AM.. |
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#8954 |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 462
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The first one I saw might have been To the Tenth Power on the Ultimate Rangers DVD in 2003 being as I didn't have multi-channel TV or anything
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#8955 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 902
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Goseiger vs. Shinkenger is my sixth favorite Sentai crossover movie. Admittedly, I actually enjoyed this one more than I ever did with most of the latter Sentai series. The English subtitles for it really helps. Same goes with Goseiger which is the series I find to be rather underrated. That series features not only my second (initially fourth before thinking about it for quite awhile) favorite sixth ranger of the franchise through Gosei Knight but also my third favorite villain of it as well via Bladerun/Brajil. Oh yeah, and if I must pick a favorite ranger among the main five in Goseiger, it’s easily Hyde to the point where he is among my honorable mentions for my top favorite Blue Rangers of Super Sentai.
Last edited by GuardianAngel87; 10-26-2021 at 12:33 PM.. |
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#8956 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,833
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~Fish's Zenkai Tour!~
Act Thirty-Three – Samurai Sentai Shinkenger ![]() I don't know how true this still is today, but back when I was really getting into tokusatsu around 2011, it seemed to me that Shinkenger was everybody's jam. An all around excellent series well-liked by people already into Super Sentai, that also acted as a gateway into the franchise for a huge number of Power Rangers fans who were looking to fill the void during that scary year after RPM where there wasn't a new show on the air. Shinkenger would've been next in line for an adaptation (and it was!), and it attracted a ton of new fans with how insanely cool and exotic it was, while still being familiar. It was one of those shows you just *had* to watch. So of course, I just kinda, didn't, for like half a decade? Sure, I wasn't actively interested enough in Power Rangers in 2010 to jump on that whole boat with everyone else, but that can only excuse so much. We're talking about one of the most beloved shows written by Yasuko Kobayashi, my favorite toku writer, who is deeply tied into my love of this stuff to begin with! Which I guess is the thing here – Shinkenger felt like part of that anyway? I saw some of their appearances in other stuff, and I saw so much passion for the show constantly, absorbing quite a bit of knowledge about it, that I think I inadvertently ended up staying away from it for so long because it simply never occurred to me that's what I was doing. Again, Shinkenger was this massive pillar of toku fandom when I got truly invested in it. The stuff I'm about to say regarding the overall show is backed by my own firsthand experience now, having seen it in all its glory, but even back in the day, I probably could've parroted something along these lines just fine, even never having seen an episode, because that's how ubiquitous the notion that "Shinkenger = awesome" felt to me. If I had to sum up the story of Shinkenger in a sentence, I'd say it's about five people brought together by obligation, who become friends by choice. The core appeal of the series, as always with Kobayashi, is in the humanity she imbues the characters with, and Shinkenger's strongest drama is all internal. By the end, the heroes have developed a bond as deep as any team out there, but what I think distinguishes Shinkenger a lot is how that bond is built entirely from scratch. There's a conflict not simply between the heroes and villains, but between the demands of the heroes' samurai lineage and their own desires as individuals. Between traditional values and modern-day people. Thanks to the incisive writing and some commendably nuanced performances from the cast, the end result is a richly layered show that drills deep into the various wants and worries of its protagonists, and how their relationships with one another grow over time. There's a specific kind of tender love and care applied to Shinkenger's storytelling that's downright astonishing to me. I'm probably hyping it up way too much for somebody right now, but speaking for myself, I went into this series with years of expectations built up, and seeing it all play out with my own eyes still managed to give me a whole new level of appreciation for everything it did. The other core appeal of the series, though, is something I genuinely could see without properly watching it, and that's the style. Being deeply rooted in Japanese tradition may be both a blessing and a curse for the characters, but for the audience, Shinkenger being so aggressively wafuu only makes it that much cooler. If I tried to sit here and explain every little considered detail, it'd just make two things readily apparent – one is that Shinkenger's whole world is ridiculously cohesive in its themes; and two is that I barely have any idea what I'm talking about. You could use this show as a study guide, I swear. Look, I'll even prove it without having to go any deeper than the title of the show. The word shinken literally means "true sword", pointing to the series' focus on stylish action heavily influenced by old samurai movies, but the word has a much more commonly used idiomatic meaning, "serious", in the sense of being earnest or dedicated, which reflects the characterization of the heroes as disciplined warriors driven by a sense of duty. (The non-literal meaning is of course derived from how a fight with real blades instead of wooden practice swords requires the will to risk far more deadly injuries.) See? We're learning with Shinkenger, which is probably the coolest way to learn! And it's pretty much like that for every last aspect of the series, big or small. This means a ton of cultural grounding for motifs and the like that has/does/will continue to fly over my uneducated head, but none of that extra context is needed to enjoy the show, and there are some things I've always been able to grasp that I find super neat. The team's suits are as stylish as can be. Cleanly and striking at the same time, and you'd better believe those kanji on their faces were the first I learned to recognize! Whoever had that idea for the visors is some kind of genius, and possibly the exact same genius who had the idea to have the mecha be called Origami. (Which is actually a bit of wordplay involving homophones and the concept of shikigami, but again, I have neither the time or the intelligence to be getting into all that.) Paper folding is a hobby of mine specifically because it has the same appeal that draws me to transforming robots (you take a shape and make it a different shape), so Shinken-Oh especially has always been a huge favorite of mine for being the Sentai robo that just totally leans into that similarity. Plus, the Origami are also treated sort of like pets by the heroes, so they even kinda check the whole "sentient mecha" box I'm always looking for while they're at it! As much fun as it would be to ramble on and on about the designs in Shinkenger, though, it's around time for me to start talking about the premiere. Shinkenger comes out of the gate strong with a rather impeccable debut. One of the most impressive things about it is how clearly it conveys so much of how the character dynamics are going to work right away. The plot is all about modern-day feudal lord Takeru finally having to assemble the four vassals sworn to help him defend the world from monsters as the Shinkengers, and immediately, you can tell how awkward this is for basically everyone involved. Four of these people basically have to drop their entire lives to go help out Takeru, which isn't ideal for them, and for a bunch of reasons, Takeru doesn't want to drag four people into his life-and-death struggles, so this isn't ideal for him, either. And also none of them even know each other. The scene where they first meet up hammers this fact home by having a ton of embarrassing confusion about which one of them is even the lord, until Takeru arrives dead last to finally put a stop to that. Literally the only thing these people have binding them together is an oath other people made for them, that they all have mixed feelings about, and it's that slight air of reluctance that gives the show so much of its flavor, especially early on. Again, this is a team that has to build all their relationships from the ground up. They've trained their whole lives to one day fight together; everything besides that is something they have to learn. On top of how well the team's (lack of) chemistry comes across, the episode finds time to demonstrate things about the individual characters rather well, too. Particularly smooth is how much Ryuunosuke's background as a kabuki actor informs you about his values and motivations. Even just from what you see of him here, it's readily apparent that he's devoted his life to wholeheartedly following an old tradition, which explains why he clearly takes being a samurai the most seriously... even though that's probably not the tradition he'd prefer to be following, deep down. Just the tip of the iceberg for great characterization in this show, naturally. One of the other most impressive things about Shinkenger's premiere is that style, though. This is a show explicitly themed in part about the very concept of theatricality (hence "Acts", for example), and that syncs up perfectly with what shows like Super Sentai are about in the first place. This applies to every facet of the series, and it's part of why the narrative comes across as strong as it does, but I'll be focusing here on how grand the action in particular feels. Shinken Red is cool. That's probably going to be your takeaway from the premiere, when the very first scene in the show is him slicing up mooks while one of the coolest Sentai theme songs ever plays in the background. Like, they straight up didn't bother having the normal opening sequence, just so you could watch Takeru do his thing. The action in Shinkenger is consistently impressive, and you can tell how much effort and practice probably went into the fancy choreography in any given fight scene. I also have to give major props to Shinken Red's suit actor, Hirofumi Fukuzawa, who I'm gaining a new level of respect for bouncing so quickly between all the shows he played a Red in. Not only does he nail that fancy action, but his body language as Shinken Red is instantly distinctive and cool. It's so characterful that if he were standing that way as Gao Red or Go-On Red, you'd just be like "why is Takeru wearing the wrong outfit?" I always thought this was a role he was great in, but after seeing how much variation he's actually capable of, it's all the more impressive. And they also made him swing around the most stupidly oversized sword prop imaginable! When Shinken Red busts out the Rekka Daizantou later in the episode, he somehow gets even more awesome, and I also start really appreciating the work that went into filming this stuff. This is a blade big enough to have an elaborate design of Mount Fuji erupting sculpted throughout its length (and width!), and yet surprisingly few shots avoid using the prop in favor of CG. There's such a palpable weight to this thing as a result, and it's maybe one of the coolest, most iconic weapons in toku history because of it? Is that even an opinion, or is it just a fact? I genuinely feel like the Rekka Daizantou is emblematic of the whole magic of the genre. It's something completely unrealistic and impractical, and they do it for real anyway, somehow make it look good in the process, and create a way more dynamic visual that captures the viewer's imagination. I know I just gave an entire paragraph to a sword, but I'm telling you guys, this is one heck of a sword! ...Did I mention it's also the team's bazooka later on? Anyway, what else is there to cover? I mean, there's the debut fight scene for the Origami at the end of the episode, which is also super cool, and involves a lot of great practical effects work. Oh, and speaking of, I didn't even mention that I like the Shinkenger emblem because it's literally a stylized origami samurai helmet, and that's really cute! There's also— No wait, this is where I start doing that thing again where I can't stop myself. But once again, it's hard to help it! Shinkenger is some truly superb Super Sentai. It's yet another show I'd love to talk about even longer than I just did, but since I need to bring this post to a close eventually, I guess there's only one thing I should be saying next. The true depths of one's passions can be difficult to convey fully. Although further words of praise may be left unspoken to the samurai, the journey onwards continues all the same. Fish's Zenkai Tour, Act Thirty-Three, shall end here.
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Last edited by Fish Sandwich; 03-05-2022 at 07:09 PM.. |
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#8957 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 902
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Ah, yes, Shinkenger. A Sentai series I would forever have very mixed feelings about (this also extends to the show's red ranger) to the point where I became very wary of Yasuko Kobayashi’s writings and where I have to keep my expectations in check whenever she serves as a head writer which I’m more likely to do the same with the Kamen Rider shows she worked on. I'm cautiously optimistic on those said shows but it's better to be safe than sorry. There is even a time where I feared that Timeranger is a total fluke and thankfully it’s not the case at all thanks to Go-Busters and ToQger and I honestly found them to be better written with the latter in particular to be on the underrated side of things.
Last edited by GuardianAngel87; 10-28-2021 at 08:04 PM.. |
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#8958 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,404
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aint kobayashi the one who wrote power rangers samurai
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#8959 |
Showa Girl
Join Date: Jun 2018
Posts: 9,064
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I thought it'd feel weird to hit this point, and yeah, it really does -- this is the point at which I've watched every Sentai onwards aside from Goseiger, so this is absolutely what I associate the most with the franchise. I've loved Dynaman and Timeranger this year, but like, this year; so it's strange for me to see you suddenly start talking about shows I actually friggin' know!
Shinkenger is a show that took me a while to come around on, but in typical Kobayashi fashion; of course I ended up falling in love. It's impossible to do so without spoilers because in a way that's so very Blade of it it's one that's all tied into the ending and how perfectly it wraps all of the character drama together, and it's a hell of an ending that's always on my mind. It actually made it a little hard for me to get into Timeranger as a whole because I feel Shinkenger is a greater execution of what Kobayashi was trying to do almost 10 years prior! It's just such a strong show, with sharp intent and effort crafted into everything it does. I'm not a fan of everything the show does and I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for not being able to like it, but it's one that was just so rewarding by the end
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#8960 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 2,551
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Yeah, I was also someone who came into Shinkenger late (it was the 7th to last show I watched) though by the time I was in the fandom, it seemed like most of them had forgotten about it (only two people ever talked about on Twitter, one of who considers it ‘the best Sentai’, the other of whom considers it ‘the last good series Kobayashi wrote’, though he still has some criticism of it’s third quarter, mostly because it abandons the ongoing plot in favour of selling toys and focusing on a villain who’s plot line was ultimately filler.). I myself was pretty ambivalent, I thought much of the acting wasn’t up to scratch, but the plot was mostly easy to follow.
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