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mysticdragon3md3 · 4 years

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Reacting to last few episodes of Nippu Sentai Hurricanger.

4:07 PM 8/1/2020 Nippu Sentai Hurricanger ep49; last scenes.

Why is this tragic music playing during Shurikenger's battle scene?

Oh no...I just remembered that Super Sentai Hurricanger is a "ninja story". We know what's the most common trope in a story about ninja... Ninja sacrificing themselves. ;~~; . . . 4:13 PM 8/1/2020 ep50

Wait. Is Gozen dead too? Why did she appear in that flash of remembering Shurikenger being dead? Is that why Shurikenger sacrificed himself? Gozen was already dead?

I think I remember these antagonist ninja girls from Gokaiger. Ever since I started catching Hurricanger on Tokushoutsu, I've been wondering how these 2 kunoichi end up either surviving or defecting away from the villains' side.

And of course the villain in a ninja story is the one who betrays their master. Sandaaru.

Wait. Why did Ikkou and Isshu's mecha blow up? Did they do that cliche where you stab through yourself to get the enemy? Haven't seen that since Jin. I guess we gotta have more ninja sacrificing themselves before the series ends. ~.~; I want to go on about how "cliche" it is, but only to blunt the blow of the tragedy. Because honestly, these tropes really do hit me in the feels! ;o;!!!

Oboro and the Headmaster god killed to?!???? Jeeze, how much tragedy does this story need?!? ;O;!!! ...Oh, yeah, I forgot: This is a "ninja story". Tragedy and everyone dying is kind of the prerogative.

Wait. Why aren't they getting into their mecha to fight? Oh yeah. First gotta have the unmasked character introduction kata/mie pose sequence at the start of the series' last battle. I loved that in Gokaiger! (I'm going to refer to Gokaiger a lot. It's the only Super Sentai series I've finished. I barely started with Shinkenger before my source for episodes dried up.) . . . 4:30 PM 8/1/2020 ep51 "Final Scroll: Wind, Water, Earth".

Oh, yeah. Even though the lead Sentai is red like fire, there is no Fire in the Asian fundamental elements set---noWaitaminute! Yes thre is! Wind is the one that's missing! If anything, Wind is considered Ki. If Fire is there then why isn't the red Sentai representative of Fire? Is this a ninja thing? Ninja and the wind? Probably. lol

Tau Zant is back?! O.o?! Well, I guess building him up as the final boss, all season, and not giving him the final battle would've been disappointing.

Oh, wait. He's a conglomeration of all the villain's evil wills? I thought that trope was only for yokai stories... But I guess ninja stories do use a lot of magic and blur the line with the yokai genre.

I like that they won the mecha battle by pretending to be beaten. They used both the tropes of "an enemy is the most dangerous when about to be killed with a final blow" and "a ninja's primary weapon is deception", to get to Tau Zant's forehead weak spot. And I also like the trope of "the villain makes an obvious fatal flaw" during battle tactics, rather than just the plot. I know all these tropes are cliche in Japan, but I re~ally like them~! ;u;! It's so weird that at the hint of a cliche trope from American/Hollywood media, I get kind of bored, but I love all these Japanese pop culture tropes from anime, manga, and tokusatsu. ^.^; But I guess some things just speak to you, and some things don't. lol

The villains have a combined attack "canon" now? lol "Falling back from the exploooooooooooooosions!" LOL

WAit. Ikkou and Isshu are still alive? Well, it is nice to soften the blow of death for a kid's show. ^.^ And more importantly, they get to fight in the final final battle. If a series finale battle lacked in fanservice, like the fanserive of seeing all the main characters fighting together, then I'd be disappointed.

Now that they're doing their poses with minimal costuming, I can see more clearing that they're doing actual kabuki mie poses. ^o^ I love it! ^o^

Of course, Oboro and her dad turn out to still be alive. LOL I'm sorry, but I feel RELIEVED! ;u;!!!!!! All those tragic deaths, from the previous episodes, all at once, was too much. ;o;! I mean, it was really effective for The Feels at the time, but damnit, I watch fun kid shows to get away from my anxiety/depression! Later, some jerk always comes out of the fandom woodwork to complain about "undoing character deaths is cheap" or "it cheapens the story". Blahblahblah. I'm sorry, but if you can't retain the lessons/emotions/revealations you learned when you *thought* tragedy happened, unless the tragedy stays, then I've got to question your ability to learn from events and not take stuff for granted! All these crybaby fanboys complaining about the effects of a death not staying unless the death stays...I don't think they even got the important effects of a death. I don't think they really learned what's important. When a character dies, it's supposed to bring to mind all regrets left unresolved. And then, more importantly, the surviving character(s) is supposed to resolve to change themselves to not make those same mistakes. Not the mistake that specifically got the other character killed in their death scene, but the mistakes of all those everyday things that were left unresolved, out of an assumption that there would always be more time with that killed character. I personally think that striving everyday to guard against making those same mistakes is a whole other, brand new battle, that needs to be taken on everyday. To me, that's a whole new world of tension and drama that doesn't get erased when the "killed" character returns from the dead. When the "killed" character gets resurrected, that's the START of a brand new battle, a battle that the surviving character has already proven to have LOST BEFORE. That's why it became a regret---Though a regret unnoticed until the "killed" character died. The "killed" character's resurrection inherently has drama because the surviving character might fail again, might prove that they either learned nothing or more tragically, are unable to overcome their everyday flaws, to avoid repeating that same regret. That's a whole lot more tragic to me than a character staying dead. (When [spoiler] returned from the dead at the end of Kamen Rider W, I ranted so much against those fanboys complaining that his resurrection "ruined" everything. Urrrrgh!!! https://mysticdragon3md3.tumblr.com/post/111356254057/spoilertastic-rant-warning-for-kamen-rider-w)

But yeah, Gozen and Shurikenger remaining dead works. I didn't watch many episodes of this season, but there was a lot less connection between the audience and those 2, compared to with the other Hurricanger.

Is that a persimmon? He better be eating a persimmon! ^O^ Can't have a ninja story without eating persimmon! LOL

Wait. Did PlutoTV just cut off the last scene of the last episode?!?!?! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, good. Tokushoutsu came back. I wonder what all that back to back loading was all about?

I just realized "Ikkou" and "Isshu"... Doesn't that mean "Let's go together"? ;U;!

Aaaaahhhh! Another trope I love! Catch something from the master to complete your training! ^o^

Are they seriously intercutting between this graduation fight and their future careers? lol I guess it makes more sense

Big Shurikenger cameo at the end. lol Nice to get all the actors together. I did like that joke about never really know what Shurikenger's real face was.

Ah~ I didn't watch the full season, but Super Sentai finale episodes are always satisfying. ;u; . . . 5:02 PM 8/1/2020 I guess PlutoTV/Tokushoutsu is starting again with episode 1.

It was a persimmon in the final episode! ^o^

Wait. So the only reason this trio became Hurricanger was because they were the slackers playing hookie while everyone else was attacked?! LOL I love that trope. lol

But wait... So did all the other students DIE?????????????? ;O;!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaugh! O~O!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Omg. They just rushed into battle, all at the same time, with no cover, and all obvious moves... They really are idiots. lol I love them. ;u; Well, I love knowing how much they're going to grow from this low level. . . . 5:28 PM 8/1/2020 So I went on YouTube to try to find Power Rangers Ninja Storm episode 1, just to compare how they handled their character introductions. And OMG. I'm sorry, I hate them. ~_____~;;;;;;;;;;;; Everyone is snarky, disrespectful in ways that imply a lack of common compassion, and they're too much dialogue like "dude, I don't get this because I'm totally stupid". Uuuuuuuuuggh~ ~o~;;;;;;;;;;;;;; See, this is what I mean by how astonished I am that get sick of American fiction tropes so easily, but inexplicably just eat up those J-pop culture tropes. ~_~; . . . 5:31 PM 8/1/2020 Hurricanger ep2

Oh, these are the jobs that tied into the final episode's montage. I like the lesson about not forgetting the "important Fight in your heart" even while you're doing everyday mundane life.

Sorry, I'm not paying attention, but I've got stuff to do. ^^; Well, looks like Tokushoutsu is ending their Hurricanger marathon block, so I'm going to switch to some studying concentration ASMR.

Wait. Gotta listen to Kamen Rider Ichigo's opening theme! ^O^!!! "Rider jump! Rider kick! Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider! Rider! Rider!" ^U^!!!

#reactions #md3 watches hurricanger #nippu sentai hurricanger #super sentai #tokusatsu

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des-shinta · 6 years

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Access Flash! On Gridman and it’s new anime.

So Tsuburaya Productions recently branched out into the realm of anime with this collaboration with Studio Trigger. And for those who haven’t been following, it’s with a series you 90′s kids might recognize.

The name Tsuburaya should need no introduction if you’re in the Tokusatsu or giant monster(Kaiju) Fandoms, but for those unfamiliar; Eiji Tsuburaya is the special effects wizard responsible for all the effects in the original Godzilla. A Life-long fan of scale models and recreating the world in realistic miniature, he is in many respects considered the Japanese Counterpart of Legendary filmmaker Ray Harryhausen. In example of his amazing talent and attention to detail, he was consigned during world war Two to make propaganda films of the Japanese military winning in engagements across the pacific and the productions for the time were paid so much attention to detail that no-one at the time was able to tell that they were fakes. He got a lot of flack for that after the war ended, and was barred from filmmaking in Japan for several years.

His company, Tsuburaya Productions has carried that fortitude for effects and quality storytelling with it throughout the decades. Since 1966, their primary product has been the “Ultra Series” Franchise, Primarily focused in The titular Ultraman of the entry, and their adventures.

The franchise focuses on benevolent Giants from the M78 Nebula (though some originate from elsewhere as there’s actually an Ultra-multiverse) who act as troubleshooters for random giant monster calamities; bonding to specified hosts (or on occasion take human form themselves) to conserve their own powers while away from their own homeland; allowing the chosen humans to utilize their powers to defend their home and what’s precious to them. The downside of the Ultra’s is that in planetary environments they can only use their immense powers for approximately 3 Minutes before they need to rest, as their powers are garnered from light energy given off by stars, who’s rays aren’t intense enough to sustain them in-atmosphere.

The currently running series, Ultraman R/B is actually really good, and has a lot to say on the subject of caustic fans who miss the point of the merits of a series due to only caring about the action/spectacle of a fight and adherence to Tropes, and not understanding what a hero may actually be fighting For. While that might initially read poorly to some people as it attacking fandom (as a certain other current toku series does every week)--and that not helped by words from the Head of Tsuburaya from before R/B debuted--it’s more focused in social commentary refuting the Idea that the genre is message-less nonsense, and wants people to actually put thought into what being a true “Ally of Justice” means; Doing the right thing. Links to 3 Relevant twitter threads discussing this: 1. 2. 3. For the interested, R/B is currently being fansubbed by the group Color timer, as Tsuburaya has not had luck in getting it officially distributed as of yet. Crunchyroll, who’d previously been getting the import library, has recently begun dropping Ultra series left-and-right in favor of other licenses, with the only ones remaining being ones they originally subbed. If you’d like some older Recommendations, Ultraseven (available from Shout Factory) is considered the best overall series, And has multiple sequels with the adventures of Seven’s Son Zero (trying to list all of Ultraman Zero’s appearances is ridiculous, as he’s mainly been the star of a long collection of movie’s), and then 2017′s Ultraman Geed (available on Crunchyroll, the movie for the series also from MCS fansubs), focused in turn on the Son/Clone of Zero’s Greatest enemy Ultraman Belial which then had Zero act as a secondary protagonist part of that series’ Ensemble. Tsuburaya however has been having something of a hard time the last several years. The chinese Company Chaiyo, using falsified documents, laid claim to many of the showa-era (pre-1989) ultraman series and all Distribution rights to All of The related content of the franchise from Tsuburaya, preventing them from making money internationally while Chaiyo flexed those rights themselves to make them an immense sum of money. The litigation and lawsuits basically bankrupted the company as Chaiyo argued under the technicality of having a proper authentication of their document from one of Tsuburaya’s sons that the agreement was a foregone conclusion; requiring Tsuburaya productions have an in-part buyout from company Namco Bandai to continue running.

This is why recent ultra Series (Ginga, Victory, X, Orb, Geed, R/B), have ended up being awash with collectibles; Bandai over-merchandises every thing they can get their hands on. Previously the merch licenses resided with Takara/Tomy (transformers, zoids), and were a LOT more restrained as while Tsuburaya Pro Knew merchandising was important to the longevity of a series as an additional revenue source...the storytelling of the series would come first. with series before this, most of the toyetic items came in the form of scale models and figures of both the title ultra’s, some roleplay items, and an assortment of assist vehicles and jets the normie humans would use in battle to support the main protagonist against the situations of the week. That monetary support however helped, and in a newer lawsuit Tsuburaya won through and prevented Chaiyo from screwing with the company again...however, the legal distribution rights for their own assets are still in legal limbo, as the latest case only allowed them to claim Dominance over north-American distribution. which while still a significant market is still small in comparison to the rest of the world; especially with the stigma these live-actions show have in the US. to the non-converted. Really, I think that’s part of the reason why they ended up pushing a new entry of a series that Chaiyo had NOT previously been able to touch at all.

Denkou Choujin (Lightning superman, though the title is localized as Hyper Agent) Gridman was a 39-episode Tokusatsu series that ran in 1993, and more recently was imported and subtitled to completion by the US Premium channel TOKU.

It followed the adventures of Naoto Sho and his friends Yuka and Ippei as they, after encountering the titular Gridman inside of a video game they’d been developing on a kitbash computer (Junk), must assist him in defending the computer realm from the attacks of Khan Digifer (subtitles writing it as ‘Digipher’).

Yes, we know he looks like the shredder from TMNT. Both Gridman and Khan originate from the “Hyper world”, a realm comparable to cyberspace where all entities exist as living data (*cough*Digimon*Cough*), and thus can manipulate less complex data to their own ends. With Khan’s goal being the destruction/conquest of the computer world, which would allow him to transcend digital limitations and begin his conquest of the real world, ala Code Lyoko XANA means of devastating anything electrically powered which could lead to bad ends for those involved (like, say, screwing with a nuclear power plants regulation systems).

PLOT. POINT.

Khan’s efforts are Assisted by Takeshi Todo, A classmate of Naoto and Co who is an introverted social outcast and Victim of bullying; though Khan’s manipulations have turned him into a selfish, petty man. Khan uses him to create the series’ monsters-of-the-week by Takeshi programming them into a homebrew game similar to the one Naoto found Gridman in, with Khan’s incentive for doing so being to allow Takeshi some catharsis from the awful things that have happened to him in his life, oblivious/not caring towards the entities deeper machinations as making homebrew monsters in his game was how he’d previously endeavored to vent his frustrations in a healthy manner...that Khan has just taken to the opposite extreme. Though the show makes clear that Takeshi is fully an Indoctrinated thrall of Khan’s power to even allow him those indulgences so he can’t see the outstretched carrot is naught but a Stick.

To Fight Khan’s attacks, Naoto uses the transformation trinket the “Accessor” brace to Digitize himself and fuse with Gridman, With the transformation cry “ACCESS FLASH!” allowing his body to be turned to data and fuse with Gridman to upgrade his capabilities. Yuka and Ippei likewise assisting them with the programming and transmission of weapons and vehicles/robots that add additional arsenal to Gridman’s counterattacks.

And unlike Previous tsuburaya productions, Gridman was the first to have these assist robots...actually be able to combine with the core hero.

Now, you 90′s kids in the audience might be thinking, “Hey, this all looks familiar” And you’re right. Because the series got imported in 1994.

In response to the rise of Power Rangers Adapting the Japanese super sentai series, there was in turn an attempt to make bank on...basically doing the same thing.

Saban made SEVERAL adaptations of other tokusatsu series from toei’s library; Making VR Troopers and Beetleborgs from Toei’s “Metal heroes’ franchise”, and Saban’s masked rider from the Kamen Rider series “Black RX”. They did not do as well as Power Rangers, primarily because they repeated many of the same mistakes MMPR made but grew out of, and lacked quality storytelling to really keep people invested. While VR Troopers and Beetleborgs To this Day have their merits and defenders...well, the only thing Worse than Saban’s Masked Rider that Saban has made, is Power Rangers (Super)Megaforce...Though some argue That Samurai, Dino Charge and Ninja Steel are very close as well. But THAT is where We Find DIC in all this.

DIC entertainment Was a Company active in the late 80′s, 90′s and 2000′s most known now-a-days for being the original distributors for Sailor moon and it’s awful original Dub, and producers for Inspector Gadget, The Real Ghostbusters, the 90′s Sonic Cartoons, the 90′s Carmen Sandiago series, and Alienators: Evolution Continues. Those were their “good” Productions, most of the rest of their library was schlock and terrible both at the time and looked back on in hindsight.

Stargate fans do Not talk about Stargate Infinity.

But in the Power Rangers craze, DIC made two contributions to this in an attempt to cash in on the Hype. The first...is the infamously awful tattooed Teenage alien Fighters from Beverly Hills.

A Transparent ripoff if there ever was one, while many of the PR-clones of the era are accused of being ripoffs, ALL of them with exception with this show ultimately did their own things. TTAFfBH though? No. On every level it’s an awful, obvious knockoff, and only True Power Rangers Ripoff. Not-so for the series we (in the round-about way I’ve taken) should actually be discussing:

Yeah...Ironically, that name was decided on to avoid hedging in on Power Ranger’s naming conventions, SSSS was originally going to be imported as PowerBoy. No, seriously. it ended up doing the opposite, but the intention was to have no relation.

The series...actually did a lot of things right. Co-Produced with Tsuburaya, SSSS was pretty much a direct adaptation, with the plots of the week being adjusted to an Americanized setting. culture and subplots...just with the standard campiness expected of a DIC production...and even less of a budget than Power Rangers at the time had.

A Teenage basement band calling themselves Team Samurai (though why they called themselves that escapes me, I’ve yet to get the show on DVD so am working on memories from 1994/1995 and clips on youtube), end up involved in stopping that attacks of cyberspace monsters after their lead guitarist Sam Collins (Played by Matthew Lawrence, later the sidekick to Will Friedle when he would join the cast of Boy Meets World) somehow gets zapped into his computer and endowed with the powers of Gridman’s counterpart Servo, who then take up the duty of stopping the machinations of the Escaped military AI program KiloKahn (voiced by the ever-awesome Tim Curry. Seriously) and his Human servant Malcom Frink (basically just takeshi’s character again) as their various attacks upon any devices connected to electricity can end-up having real-world consequences...Just as they did in the original gridman series. Astoundingly, SSSS ran Longer than Gridman did, totaling in at 53 episodes; padded out with creative re-cutting of battle-footage alongside getting some test footage for a Gridman sequel that...unfortunately never got made. It was rumored that had SSSS done better a full sequel Starring a character named Gridman Sigma would’ve been greenlit to provide more footage and story for adaptation...but sadly by 1995 and the show’s end, much of the PR Ameri-toku craze had ended, and Gridman/SSSS became a backburner to history. ...at least, until 2015

youtube

Co-Produced by Studio Trigger, Denkou Choujin Gridman: boys invent great hero was an animated short for the japan Animator expo. taking place 22 years after the original series (and the opening several minutes acting as a recap of it), Former villain Takeshi Todo seeks his own redemption for his past actions when Khan (or potentially a successor) re-emerges with more power; Takeshi taking the form of the blue-bodied Gridman Sigma to engage in battle with Digital kaiju that now appear to be manifesting within the real world with intentions to rewrite reality. Again, PLOT POINT. ...which thus leaves us with 2018′s recently released SSSS Gridman.

High school Freshman Yuta Hibiki awakens one Day Sans his memories, and begins to see illusions of Giant monsters in the skyline. Finding Gridman within a Junk computer at his friend Rikka’s Home, he sets out to uncover the mystery of his lost memories, why these monsters are appearing, and what it means for his world as the kaiju begin emerging into the real world, forcing him to fight in the real world as the new Gridman. The series is written by Keiichi Hasegawa, who over the years has written more content for Tsuburaya than any other person; Writing on Utlraman Tiga, Dyna, Gaia, Cosmos, Nexus, Mebius, Ultraseven X, and Most of the Ultraman zero content. He has also worked on Kamen Rider’s W, Fourze and Drive, The Big O, and Zoids Chaotic Century and new Century Zero. the series is being directed by Akira amemiya, previous on the series inferno Cop Already, if you’re aware of the backstory of Gridman, a few things pop out at you. First off:

The Kaiju apperaing as phantoms before they fully emerging intro reality? While also echoing enemies in Digimon and Rockman.exe, This is the same thing that was showcased in the ‘boys invent great hero’ short and was the endgame the heroes were trying to stop in the original series. Thus, the same inference: Khan’s successor--

--(called Alexis・Kerib) has succeeded in transcending the limitations of digital existence and now is seeking to conquer and Destroy the real world.

Kerib has set himself up as a benevolent ‘genie’ to the social outcast and kaiju Fangirl Akane Shinjo, and is then proceeding to do the same thing Khan himself did with Takeshi; use her and her social issues to create his minions and monsters, realize them in the real world and devastate it while incidentally dealing with her real-life antagonists. This all conveyed through Studio trigger’s excellent visual storytelling, when Akane heads home to find it empty, and her room’s floor populated with an insane amount of bagged garbage; something no-one with actual parents in their lives would let happen. A pseudo-social outcast with no-one to turn to; no parents in their lives to give nurture and comfort, seeking companionship through the internet as a source for what can’t be found in real-life so they can be happy, only to be manipulated by a predator for the vulnerable?

All we’re missing is a marred-up desk and suicidal thoughts to make her a Yandere version of Chigusa “Atoli” Kusaka from .hack//G.U. Still time to do that, too. I honestly feel like there’s a Lot more to say on this character and the nuances to her portrayal thus-far that makes her character and actions work in a far better light than those who endlessly try to excuse other utterly-irredeemable people who bear similarities in their backstory. it’s clear she’s just lashing out and kerib--like Khan--creating an environment and unhinged mental state where she thinks any slight can be wished out of existence to make her empty life better. And people lashing out? They can be reasoned with, talked down and reformed. Not-so with those who would, with clear thought turn others into victims and steal from them their own lives; those who are truly abusive in their conduct towards others for petty reasons or only received retaliation in response to their own awful conduct. And yet the reverse is often shown to be true; the irredeemable given the chances they’d wasted before and the consequences of their actions ignored or handwaved to not be applicable, while people like Akane and Takeshi are left in the dark to suffer and be punished to start the cycle anew. However...this time there’s a twist to the kaiju attacks.

The people who died in the kaiju attacks...Die Retroactively. Whatever Kerib is doing, it allows him and Akane to in limited way rewrite reality. in the First/Second Episode, it’s revealed that The volleyball team at Hibiki’s high school were killed in the first attack, but it was noted when Hibiki and Rikka went to school the next day that not only was the school undamaged from the previous night’s attack, no-one remembered the girls that were on the team, or a team for the sport even existing. The best way I can describe the phenomena, since Kerib is appearing to manipulate the world as if it were one gigantic computer, is The kaiju metaphorically clicked on the folder containing all information on the volleyball team, and dragged it to the recycling bin; deleting their existence as the team, and killing off the girls part of it at the point the team would’ve been formed.

And even as hibiki is the newest person to take on the identity of Gridman--

--The battles at best are ones that will only prevent more people from Dying. As we’re only two episodes into the series right now, it’s unknown if any other bystanders caught in the crossfire are also being erased, or if it’s only focused on the targets Akane points out. We just don’t know at this point. What we do know is this series is not supposed to have a direct connection to the original, but because so much of SSSS Gridman is based upon the worst case scenario from the original, that could mean anything at this point; even the posibility that reality itself has been rewritten and is the cause of hibiki’s amnesia.

As a Studio trigger anime series though, there are some things that fans have been pointing out. First off, the names of the volleyball team victims are an amusing collection of homages: Tonkawa Sakiru > Tonka and Cy-kill Toiko > ToyCo Kena-chan > Kenner Doi Hako > Toybox (Hako means box) Takara Nana > TAKARA and Seven (Nana means seven) Cy-Kill was a Gobot from Tonka’s gobots series that was absorbed by Takara and transformers respectively. ToyCo is a toys and collectibles retailer, as Was Toybox. Kenner/Playmates was the US toy liscenser for SSSS toyline in the 90′s, and Takara...well, is Takara. the animation of course, is full-on Expected studio Trigger gar in it’s homages as well

Feel the Obari Pose! Expect the Obari Pose! Love the Obari Pose! “you know, when they do that, it makes it look as if they have a giant Di-” IGNORE THE OBARI POSE!

but the well goes far deeper, my friends.

This is SSSSGridman’s character designer. Just...look at that desk. I spot 5 power ranger/super sentai mechs (Kyoryujin/DC megazord hidden on the top right), gaogaigar, The box for Brave exkaiser, Gurren Lagann, a 3rd-party Optimus Primal, and Shattered Glass Megatron. that last one is kind of important, as the director, Akira amemiya, is a Huge fan of shattered glass transformers.

Shattered glass, for those not in the know, is basically the transformers mirror universe originally created for the transformers convention botcon. it’s a Universe where the autobots are the bad guys and Decepticons the good guys. For more info, I will leave a link to Chris McFeely’s transformers: the basics video on the subject. Watch him, it’s good stuff. Now why is that relevant? Every character in this show is based on a transformers design or color-scheme. Most Significantly those from shattered glass. Akane? Shattered glass Optimus Prime

Hibiki, Rikka, and Sho (who’s knowledgable on kaiju and Ultra series tropes) are cliffjumper (Classics-verse autobot who jumped into shatted glass), SG Sideswipe, and SG megatron.

The autobot Matrix

SG Starscream and Soundwave/ravage.

aaand just a few more for you all.

These four are based on the movie-verse Dinobots, and are gridman’s support programs turned into human beings. the one on the top left whose name is Samurai Calibur (yes seriously) turns into Gridman’s sword the Gridman calibur. The other three turn into the support mechs showcased below. oh, and for the checkback? Sakiru Tonkawa from the volleyball team:

But it doesn’t end there.

The jet booster and drill cannon Combinations:

yes, seriously. The heavy arms configuration as well is a common practice seen with partial-combiner robo’s as well, particularly with those lacking certain combination limbs, particularly those part of the scramble city play gimmick these robot configurations are also homage-ing with the limbs and legs being swap-able. And as all the support arms are based on Dinobots:

“Me grimlock have Anchor arms: now am Jerk and everybody loves me!”

So yeah, to wrap things up, SSSS Gridman is Tsuburaya’s revival of a 90′s gem in an era where a lot of similarly-themed series exist and have done what it has since this series ( Digimon, .hack, Rockman.exe, Code Lyoko just to name a few), but is bringing it back with a fresh transformers-toned coat of paint for a new generation and original storytelling based on the worst-case scenario of the original series, and thus-far it is absolutely glorious, and I hope is able to follow through ‘cause I just generally love series in this little subgenre.

And I will leave you with 3 things: First and second, The Anime’s opening mashed up with Gridman and SSSS openings (link and Link) and lastly an Image of hibiki’s English VA roleplaying with the original series’ toy sword while recording his voiceover:

SSSS Gridman is available from Funimation.

#gridman #tsuburaya #Ultraman #tokusatsu #anime #studio trigger #SSSS #superhuman samurai syber squad #Transformers #shattered glass #Keiichi hasegawa #.hack #Digimon #rockman.exe

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glapplebloom · 3 years

Photo

Check the reading order to see how the other sides go as well as Credits.

The Chameleon Ninjas are fighting together as always. With a big crowd like this, their teamwork is at its best. But they're not alone in this fight. Across from them are the Sonic Rangers: Hedgehogs given Ranger powers by a spirit of Sonic. A few years ago Magnolia handed them weapons based on her knowledge of Sentai and she is glad to see that all five of them are using them. The Yellow Sonic Ranger noticed this and raced towards Magnolia. “Hey, long time no see.” “Glad to see my weapons are still being put to good use.”

Muffet is ordering her pet to attack the crowd. She doesn't like to overfed her Giant Muffin Spider but the Spider Lady thinks he deserves a treat for helping as much as he did. She then noticed a few other people riding on top of her pet. They're not hurting it, in fact they're webbing up the more monstrous creatures to make it easier for her little guy. Muffet takes a closer look at those riders and noticed that despite being humans, they're all wearing Spider Motifs. She figured if they want to continue playing as spiders she wouldn't hold it against them.

Deku looked on as a fanboy would when he sees All Might fight. This was Toshinori Yagi at his prime, before the grave injury that made him look for a successor. But when he saw him struggling with a giant man wearing all red, Midoriya rushed to save his idol. He used the St. Louis Smash Air Force to kick the Juggernaut off of All Might. Toshinori recognizes the power though. “So you will inherit One for All,” All Might said to young Midoriya. The X-Men Villain began his charge as without saying a word, Deku and All Might delivers a punch together.

Jotaro is fighting alongside his family from various points of time. The combined power of the Joestar Bloodline was unmatched by the army they faced. Between the various Stand Powers and the Ripple Techniques the older generation possessed, they had all their bases covered. With Naruto, he was teaming up with other versions of him from various points of his life. They were all in awe to see that the oldest of them achieved their desire: to become Hokage. Boruto looked on confused as why there were so many different versions of his father.

Bass was fighting a powerful robot. It was obviously stronger than him, but Forte wouldn't give up. “I'm going to beat you! I'm the strongest robot alive.” But before he could get a shot of his own, the Robot was destroyed in one move. It was a bald guy wearing a cape, who doesn't really seem interested in the actions going on. He turned a little towards Bass and tells him “Don't seek to be the strongest. If you do, there won't be any excitement in your life.” The Hero for Fun known as Cape Baldy walked to the next crowd as Bass just stood there confused.

Terry McGinnis fought off ancient Batman villains alongside Bruce Wayne. When the coast is clear, the older Batman asked his younger counterpart “Don't let me know anything about the future. It could drastically change how mine turns out.” Terry was surprised. “How did you know I was from the future?” “That suit you're wearing. I am developing it as we speak. Considering how far along I am to your age, I take it that will be the last suit I wear before...” Terry stops him. “Maybe instead of worrying about me telling the future you should prevent yourself from figuring it out.”

#Royal War Infinite #story

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italicwatches · 6 years

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Animal Sentai Zyuohger - Episode 07

God damn, I can finally get this done. So it’s Animal Sentai Zyuohger, episode 07! Here we GO!

-We begin at the Big Bow, where Kubar is modifying some tokens in the back room…

-And then down at the cabin, Tusk finds that Amu has run off and left him with ALL of the chores! Literally every single one! Laundry, trash, dishes…And to make it even worse, the garbage collection is coming by, like, now. MotherFUCK

-Opening! SHARK!

-Episode 07! It’s a G-G-Go-Ghost!

-Tusk has barely gotten back from dropping off the trash in time, is ready to die, and then Amu shows up and now he’s ready to kill. At least until she shoves a really tasty bread into his mouth and she quickly starts explaining all the reasons why it’s better if Tusk does it than her. …She’s more evil than Genis, I’m telling you. Anyways she’s off again and then Tusk stomps off after her and that’s how Sela and Yamato find themselves with all the remaining chores.

-Up at the Big Bow, Azald is getting bored, because isn’t it supposed to be Kubar’s turn? They’ve got a fucking game to run here! Which is when he learns that Kubar snuck off with some tokens, without even informing Genis. Whatever he’s doing, it’s part of his own plans…

-And that’s when Amu and Tusk both get vibes. A Dethgalien, and close! They’ve got to race off after it…

-While back at the cabin, Mario learns about Amu’s trickery. Well, nothing to be done about it today, they’ll all sit her down for a long chat late—Leo and Sela get vibes, and the whole crew has to go, NOW.

-Tusk and Amu are, of course, the first on the scene, and find themselves staring down Kubar himself…They’e gonna have to buy time, then, if they’re dealing with a Team Leader!

-While Yamato’s trio…End up somewhere entirely different, by the water? And they’re facing something that’s no Dethgalien at all, but a cyborg under the service of Shocker! Oh shiiiiit.

-Meanwhile, Tiger and Elephant are working their way through mooks…When Kubar gets a chance to blast Tiger, and get in there with his fencing foil until her suit’s ripped off, and he can draw Amu into a syringe weapon…And inject her essence into a Moeba!

-Producing an obedient tigress Moeba. Who is legitimately unnerving with the way her suit actor twitches her head. And of course she’s sent right for Elephant!

-While Yamato’s crew are getting attacked by this Shocker cyborg…Only to be joined by a man of great spiritual power. Tenkuji Takeru has chased this creature across Japan, and he can’t let it get away…! He snaps out a shimmering sphere, and slams it into the belt around his waist…

-AYE! And his own shroud leaps out into the world! WATCH THIS! WATCH THIS! Henshin! EYES OPEN! It’S ME! LET’S GO! DEAD SET! G-G-GO GHOST! GO, GO, GO, GO! The shroud crashes back onto him, forming armor, as he rises into the air…

-Lands before the crew, flips back his hood, and know this, cyborg. Kamen Rider Ghost will be finishing what he started! Please stay back, you three. He has this. And Ghost races in, unleashing a flurry of blows…

-But he can’t do it alone. Not with the cyborg spraying him down with its water blasts. He needs help! Newton, come forth! EYES OPEN! NEWTON! APPLE FALLS FROM TREE! IT GOES DOWN AS GRAVITY! A new shroud crashes into him, and Ghost redirects everything coming at him!

-Edison, your turn! EYES OPEN! EDISON! ELECTRICAL INSPIRATION! THE KING OF INVENTION! Bolts of lightning tear through the cyborg, forcing it back, and give Ghost enough room to call in his most treasured of comrades, Musashi! EYES OPEN! MUSASHI! SWORD SWINGING! BLADES RINGING! IT’S THE MASTER SWORDSMAN!

-Until he has the cyborg on the ropes…And the Zyuohgers pick that time to get in there, knowing how likely it is that this guy’s about to do some kind of comeback. Instincts Awakened!

-Champion of the soaring sky…ZYUOH EAGLE! Champion of the surging waves…ZYUOH SHARK! Champion of the savannah…ZYUOH LION! Animal Sentai, ZYUOHGER!

-While up in the Big Bow, Genis is deeply intrigued…A cyborg and a spirit. They might just be interesting additions to the game…

-Meanwhile, Tusk got his ass kicked by Amu, and takes a few vicious blows that draw legit blood…Until he’s forced to barely escape with his life, leaving behind his friend. And Kubar makes it clear…He’ll kill this Moeba if you aren’t back here with your little friends, in…Ten minutes.

-Leaving Tusk with a shit choice and shit options…

-Back at the coast, Ghost can sure use the backup, as it’s time to finish this…Instincts Awakened! Gorilla charges up… And Ghost gets out the big guns. ALL EYES OPEN! SWORDSMAN INVENTOR COMPOSER PHARAOH SAMURAI PRIEST AND SNIPER! GRAND TRANSFORMATION! Countless spirits forge themselves together, into incredible armor…As these two warriors of this planet’s life unleash a kick, and a punch, that tear the cyborg apart! The battle is decided!

-While Genis decides he wants to see this keep going. Go see if you can put this Continue into that cyborg somewhere…So Naria gets down onto the ground, and with no slot, she just kinda…shoves the token into the thing’s body. Which is super unnerving. But the results speak to themselves, as he gets big.

-Zyuoh Cube! Animal Combination! SHARK! LION! GORILLA! THREE TWO SIX! ZYUOH WILD! Zyuoh Wild, ready! And Ghost just kind of gets to watch a mecha battle. Which is not the worst way to spend an afternoon, all told. It’s a vicious battle that rapidly ends in the Wild Rocket Knuckle, and the cyborg is gone with a final declaration of Shocker’s power…! So I guess that feeds into the first round of movies.

-And then Takeru bids them farewell, and just vanishes right before their eyes…Damn ghost kid. At least this one doesn’t make pun-filled banter.

-And that’s when Lion and Gorilla realize that they never saw any sign of Tusk or Amu…While he’s realizing that there’s no way they’ll make it in time. All he can do is stall for time…!

-And that’s how he races out there on his own, where Kubar is casually waiting as he literally pets Amu’s head. Oh that is so fucked up. But, Instincts Awakened! ELEPHANT! Kebab gives his minion a weapon, and Amu starts firing upon Elephant…As he tries to get through to her! You’re IN THERE, dammit! He knows it! So FIGHT! Resist! Don’t let a fucking Moeba’s form control you!!! He takes gunshot after gunshot, and finally reaches her…

-Only to get shot straight in the chest, ripped out of his armor, and Tusk is left staring her down…But something starts to hesitate inside of her…She slows…

-The others race there…In time to see the Moeba form take command, and force her to pull the trigger. Kubar is loving this shit…Only for her to whip around, and shoot the injector out of his hands! Tusk snaps to his feet and snatch it out of the air, jamming it into Amu’s chest and drawing her out of that Moeba’s body! IN a flash, he has her back out and fully free…

-She managed to get loose, and gave him a signal…And played along perfectly. You lost your ace in the hole, Kubar!

-And he’s…So very amused. You are interesting, you five. You’ll make actually interesting opponents! Until next time~ And then he’s gone…

-Which is probably for the best, since Tusk collapses into unconsciousness, totally drained, about five seconds after Kubar bails out.

-In the aftermath, Amu is overworking herself, scrubbing the cabin down and doing everything she can…While Tusk wakes up, finding himself bandaged and battered and god damn that all hurt. Amu’s so very happy to see he’s up, and also, you had something you wanted to tell her, didn’t you? That’s what you said, when you were trying to get through to her…

-Naturally, it was how deeply she’s been frustrating him with not doing her fair share! Of course. Amu despairs.

-Credits! Let’s Let’s Dance!

There were definitely some interesting beats in there, and for all that Kamen Rider Ghost had some real problems as a series, I still love so damn much of its suit design work. And jeez, that whole Kubar plot had some legitimate edge to it. If the show didn’t have to be so episodic due to its market demo…

Oh well. Looks like we’re getting some more focus on Leo next time, so look forward to that in episode EIGHT of Animal Sentai Zyuohger! Wait for it!

#where I watch #recap #tokusatsu #super sentai #animal sentai zyuohger

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furederiko · 6 years

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Advance Notice: Behold, for this is my first monthly review for "Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger"...

I had planned on publishing a First Impression post when this show premiered on February 11th, 2018, but I ended up scrapping that idea due to several reasons. I figured I should just go ahead with the review for the first episode having seen it with subs, but another hurdle came barging on my way (forcing me to be off the grid for a brief amount of time prior to my latest post) to the point that now I practically have watched 3 subbed episodes already. LOL. So as you can see, I've finally decided to just convert it into a monthly review (consisting of episode 1 to 3 that aired Sunday, February 25th) for the series anyway. Not unlike what I did with "Kamen Rider Build", of course. But there's a catch! Since I don't want my efforts for the First Impression to go to waste, I'm going to start with them first before heading directly to my Overall thoughts on each episode. Okay then, here goes...

First Impression

NOTE: Another reminder before I start. This list was written as soon as I finished watching the first episode. It contained my personal notes and INITIAL reactions to the story, theme, and also characters, some of most definitely have more or less evolved since then. So if it might sound a bit outdated, that's just the way it is. Can't help it, these were from three weeks ago... XD - Phantom Thief? More like... burglar. I'm talking about the premiere's opening sequence, that is. While it was designed to be cinematic, to me it also felt like a missed opportunity. The writer for this episode (was it lead writer Junko Komura?) probably forgot or got him/herself confused on the basic rule of a 'Kaitou'/Phantom Thieves. What made a Phantom Thief different than regular thieves or pickpockets, was in their modus operand of sending/handing out notice way ahead of their operation in order to challenge the owner of the item. Hence why it is called ADVANCE NOTICE. Moreso, they would infiltrate the target location meticulously and secretly using tricks and deceits while naturally avoiding to cause too much of a fuzz as much as possible. Those are the basics of a Phantom Thief. If you're uninformed and curious to see how this plays out, look no further than towards the many Kaitou Kid-centered story arcs in "Meitantei Conan", or the children show "Mysterious Joker". Even the heist aspect of Marvel Studios' "Ant-Man" fit in perfectly in this method. - This show DID capture the extravagant and stylish flairs of Phantom Thieves in this opening sequence. It was undoubtedly a flashy scene. But the biggest issue here was they did NOT give off an advance notice to the Casino boss, who was, in fact, the first Gangler or MotW of the show. A missed opportunity, because they could have easily inserted that bit in a quick dialogue or two. Breaking and entering, proceeded by shooting randomly at things to retrieve their target was clearly NOT the style of a Phantom Thief. Nope, this was plain robbery or burglary at play. Huge difference, right there! LOL. Handing out a calling card afterward would be considered pretty much useless because it could no longer count as an 'Advance' notice (get it?). The later mission of the episode was better, as it required a good amount of sneaking and sleuthing. No sign of advance notice though, so what a shame *sigh*. Even if this show hasn't managed to get the thieving part correctly, it was pretty apparent that the source of inspiration for the Lupinrangers was the iconic series "Lupin the 3rd". At the very least, I'm instantly reminded of that series every time they got out in action, both in or out of suit. - Oh yeah, there's another missed potential regarding that opening sequence. In this case, it's a bit technical. Debuting the theme song of "Lupinranger VS Patranger" in the first episode sounds natural, right? Well, that should've been the case. Yet when it was played WITHOUT having the Patranger around... it bugged me big time. I personally think they should have either: used the Lupinranger-only version in that scene. Especially because the Patrangers didn't even have the ability to transform until the closing scene. Or...; rewrote the scene and have it showcase both teams at the same time, fully in costume. I know the Lupinranger is first-billed, but if I were this episode's writer, I would totally use the theme song during an actual kerfuffle between the two teams. For example, in that brief part before the episode wrapped? Heck, the episode could've started with that before going into flashback mode or some sort. It would have made a major difference if you ask me... - Characters!!! I know I should never judge a book by its cover, but seriously, Kairi Yano (LupinRed) is unappealing and squeaky. No wonder some folks were surprised that his actor Asahi Itou could be appointed as Red. Plus, it's clear he still needs to improve his acting skill, with all those constant unnerving glares. Touma Yoimachi (LupinBlue) is the usual cool type, who this time gets mixed up with the chef trope. Think of it like Kyuranger's Stinger and Spada in one body. For some reason, Shougo Hama reminded me of Kamen Rider Ibuki or Mamoru Chiba from the live action "Sailor Moon" series. I think Umika Hayami (LupinYellow) is the most likable member of the Lupinranger, albeit being the usual bumbling 'my pace' girl. It felt that graduated Morning Musume member Haruka Kudo's deep affection to tokusatsu really showed, as she looked the most comfortable in her shoes. Their names combine into 'Kai-To-u'. - Keiichirou Asaka (Patren 1-gou) is undoubtedly the better Red for me so far. I sensed that Kousei Yuuki was also more convincing as an actor than Asahi. Unfortunately, Keiichirou is also the loud brash stereotype (kind of reminds you of Go Yellow, huh?), so he and his mysterious endless rage and anger will either impress you or grate on your nerves. The same couldn't be said about the other Patranger members. Sakuya Hikawa (Patren 2-gou) and Tsukasa Myoujin (Patren 3-gou) are nothing more than... generic stereotypes in the premiere. For now at least. Which was disappointing, because Ryo Yokoyama and Kazusa Okuyama (who somehow reminded me of Red Racer and Go-On Silver) could only do so much with the limited materials they were given. These two are likely the lesser important characters (Super Sentai always have ones), which says a lot about the Patranger's position. None of these three managed to... grab my attention, because aside from a stubborn hot-blooded Keiichirou, the other two could be considered as bland. Just like the Lupinranger, their names combined into 'Kei-Sa-Tsu'. - Youichi Nukumizu's Kogure and Ike Nwala's Commisioner Hilltop are the show's MVP for me thus far. In Kogure's case, the air of mystery and elusiveness easily stole my attention and made me want to see more. I think he could work as a secret big boss vibe pulling the strings behind the scene, though it would likely end up as some kind of Alfred Pennyworth scenario instead. Likewise, Hilltop showed hints of eccentric personality due to his Japan Culture-obsessed hobby (mirroring "Sakura Taisen V"'s Sunnyside). I can't help but wonder if he's meant to be the Jim Gordon of the show? It also helped that he joined the limited list of foreign actors who played a crucial role in a tokusatsu show. I hope these two will have bigger and more important roles in the future... as suggested by that recent rumor. Sadly, I couldn't praise the same about Jim Carter (voiced by Rie Kugimiya), the Global Police's mascot robot. I disliked its design, and see no actual use of it. Not to mention that name. Why TOEI, just why? - Comparing these two teams have always been an ordeal since I saw their first images. Each one has their pros and cons that sort of balanced my impression on them. I liked the Patranger cast better, but those suit design totally threw me off the table. I dig the style of the Lupinranger suit, but feel mixed about its actors. It's clear however, that the Lupinranger was put center front in the premiere (as evident by the flashy top-hatted transformation sequence and cool silhouetted roll call), to the point that the Patranger was basically just... there. Thus it felt somewhat premature and unfair to compare them due to the state they are right now. Not surprisingly, the scene in the Bistrot Jurer was executed better than the one in the GSPO's Tactical Unit Operations Room. The latter just looked more... fake somehow *sigh*. - Speaking of suits, Patranger likely had inspirations from "KyuKyu Sentai GoGoFive", "Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger", with a hint of "Go Go Sentai Boukenger". Sadly, these are not as good as those three. The Lupinranger ones are clearly a "Mirai Sentai Timeranger" nod, complete with that giant hands of clock-shaped swords that reminded me of the Vector Swords. Still, they should've gone with a long coat tail like in the transformation sequence (Zyuoh Whale and Draco Commander style). That would've made for a more elegant look. - I'm not that fond of the design for the show's main antagonist (a mixture of dinosaur and... guns?). Not the grenade-inspired but watermelon-looking Destora Mazzio (voiced by Pokemon's Brock himself, Yuuji Ueda), and particularly the hideous Goshu Ru Medu (voiced by "K-ON!"'s Ayana Taketatsu). Perhaps it's the way that every Gangler needs to include a safety box on their body that made them look... I don't know, silly? On the bright side, it does have this interesting mafia family style that would provide great potentials assuming it's explored properly. Cues from "The Godfather" movies can be felt from their so-called leader Dogranio Yabun (voiced by Mitsuru Miyamoto), as well as an obvious nod to Don Dolnero of Timeranger. In the case of those Lupin Collection, I'm sure Super Sentai fans would easily be reminded of Boukenger's Precious. - Neat camera works for the action scenes. Some... inventive movements that involved plenty of 360 shots taken from kinetic angles. Unfortunately, they would work much better in a fast-paced viewing. When you slowed the sequence down, it's more than obvious that the transitions between the different cameras (the regular huge and docked one, and possibly a drone/hand-held for the moving parts) aren't exactly as smooth. The switching was more than apparent, because there's an easily noticeable fluctuation in video quality. Not to mention, it did feel confusing to see after repeated viewings. - Last but not least, the absence of an ending sequence could be a make or break situation for the show. Many audience particularly Japanese kids genuinely loved an ending song that they could dance along with. I know that this one felt more mature already without one, but is that really a good thing? We'll just have to wait and see...

01 - "Here Comes the Flashy Burglar / Off-Beat Arrested Development"

Overall: I admit, after seeing this episode again with English subtitle, it was better than my first initial watch. Unfortunately, many of its issues (that I have pointed out above) are hard to overlook and still render my overall judgment. This was meant to be a groundbreaking series that actually features two existing Super Sentai teams at once, yet in my opinion, it ended up feeling more or less like your standard Super Sentai show. It didn't feel that much 'different', despite being taunted/promoted as such. Same old, same old. Most of that is likely due to the fact that the Patranger didn't have equal footing in it when they really SHOULD. Everything this police unit does (always-late appearance, bland characters, unimpressive significance, etc) didn't account much, giving off a distracting vibe that they were merely a set of supporting characters in a Lupinranger show. Seriously, they didn't even have a proper transformation scene and roll call because of how heavily Lupinranger-focused this has been. I'm not fond of police-themed Sentai, to begin with, hence why I already liked it less than other Super Sentai fans. Not saying this debut episode was bad, but more like... not my cup of tea? Didn't win me over? I do get why many are loving it though. This was a breeze of fresh air, especially when compared to the recent WEAK (I'm being NICE here) seasons of "Power Rangers" adaptations. Still, in my opinion, it's a pretty standard premiere, heavy on expositions, and due to its minor flaws, wasn't really on par with previous Super Sentai premiere episodes. On the bright side, if the show's future development is consistent with a recent rumor flying around the internet, then they will be enough to keep me watching this show. Here's hoping...

02 - "Frozen Back-Story / Fudging-Sweaty Fusion"

Overall: If I have to choose one word to describe this episode, that would be easy: HECTIC. Yes, as fittingly represented by the official opening sequence that... in my honest opinion, could have used better editing. The action parts felt busy and rushed, to the point that when it slowed down for the dramatic parts, the episode became uneven. I have this feeling that the debut of the vaguely disturbing Patren Union (defying all kinds of real life logic) was meant to put or even push the Patranger into the spotlight. Heck, they finally got their own flas... er generic roll call now (it still looks bland compared to the thieves no matter how you put it... *sigh*). Unfortunately, it's the drama part that pretty much stole every attention and became the major highlight of this episode. And sadly, it was particularly shining a light towards the Lupinranger... all over again. Yes, Kairi, Touma, and Umika remained to be the first-billed characters, as the show decided to reveal their real motives/goal to collect the Lupin Collection. Which was emotional and VERY personal at best. Hence our supposedly good officers were still being relegated as second fiddle, showing that the show hasn't managed to divide the focus evenly between the two teams. But hey, the Patranger also helped debuted the sentient-chatterbox Good Striker/Goody (voiced by legendary Virgo Shaka himself, Yuuji Mitsuya), right? Only to jumpstart the arrival of Lupin Kaizer when the Collection Piece combined with the Lupinranger's Dial Fighters instead. And while the show's first mecha (which didn't look as good as its design, I can't tell why) dealt with the Gangler in a flashy way, Keichirou, Sakuya, and Tsukasa only stared blankly into the night sky. Oh Patranger, I feel truly sorry for you... Ignoring the fact that it's still an uneven affair, it's indeed a much better episode than the first. It's not perfect by all means, and probably could do with better editing, but that genuinely intriguing backstory honestly did much of the heavy lifting. It's probably the show's best episode so far, though I'm hoping it's not the extent that this show has to offer.

03 - "Fiance on Ice / A Sticky Reinforcement"

Overall: LOL, did anyone actually expect some secret identities to be exposed, just 3 episodes in? That's NOT how Super Sentai works, especially in a full-year extended version of a Versus movie like this. So in that sense, what a pointless cliffhanger that was at the end of episode 2, huh? This intro scene basically answered one lingering concern I had since episode 1. Remember how Keiichirou and Kairi had a civilian stand-off about that newspaper ball in the park early on? If Keiichirou has good photographic memory and critical analysis skill as a competent police officer, he would've instantly recognized Kairi in Jurer. Not just that, he should also recognize LupinRed's voice coming from his mouth. But noooope, that did NOT happen. Frankly, I'm not sure how I feel about this. I just hope this didn't simply mean that Kei, as well as Sakuya and Tsukasa, are being written off as a bit... slow. That would be a disaster! How could one root for them if they are so unreliable? We got more insight into Touma's character concerning his fiance Aya. Not much of a surprise, because the previous episode had openly shown the identities of the frozen closed ones *sigh*. His character now reminds me of Joe Gibken from "Kaizoku Sentai Go-kaiger", who so happens to be sharing a similar cool-blue stereotype. But I'm not sure why there's something off with Touma that I couldn't really put into words. A relentless darkness that is rubbing me the wrong way. Which is strange, because Joe is my favorite Go-kaiger. It felt like Sakuya was probably meant to be the 2nd focus here, or at least meant to have his share of the spotlight. But since the execution was still uneven, still favoring heavily on the Lupinranger side, inevitably the rookie member of the Global Police ended up being eclipsed by both Touma and also Kairi. On the bright side, him showing instant attraction to Umika at the end implied that he's destined to be the awkward but likable goofball of the series. Assuming this angle will be explored in the future, of course. I might be wrong in this, but it felt like the Patranger has gotten the short end of the stick... again. Three times in a row! I mean, when the whole episode established that the Lupinranger will now be using the Patranger as tools to do their bidding, that... kind of says A LOT, right? The thieves (true to their namesake) kept on stealing attention from the public servant (fittingly so), always acting one step ahead of them. And their version of Good Striker's Finishing Move wasn't even better (lamer IMO) than Union to begin with. Even Kogure singlehandedly stole the scenes with his elusive appearances and mysterious relationship with Goody! Marvel Studios carefully constructed a story that enabled "Captain America: Civil War" audience to be divided between the two conflicting teams, but there's none of that here. For the time being, the Patranger only feels more and more like an afterthought, a lesser team that probably shouldn't even get a mention in the title. I don't think that's fair... Oh well, at least their Pat Kaizer debut was great. I can't say why, but it honestly looked much better in action. That's a hugely pleasant surprise! Was it because Lupin Kaizer's battle relied too heavily on CG to showcase its fluid movement? Not really, because Pat Kaizer also had its fair share of CG. Because the battle took place in the daylight? Regardless, the combined Trigger Machines was sturdy and strong. And though I could do without that pink pole stick, this mecha looked impressive overall and just more fun to see in motion. Next Episode: A Closed Room Case...

Episode 1 Score: 7,2 out of 10 Episode 2 Score: 7,8 out of 10 Episode 3 Score: 7,4 out of 10

All images are screen captured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

#tokusatsu #SuperSentai #lupinranger vs patranger #kaitou sentai lupinranger vs keisatsu sentai patranger #first impression #review

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himitsusentaiblog · 7 years

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do know why toei stopped making the metal hero series?

Before I get started, I am going to say this is entirely based on my owns speculation and what I know of the way things work with tokusatsu TV shows. That said, my educated guess on why they stopped was that the ratings and toy sales began to tank coupled with a desire to bring back Kamen Rider. Allow me to elaborate.

The Metal Hero series came about as a replacement for Kamen Rider after Kamen Rider Super-1 ended in October of 1981.

The Kamen Rider series had been on something of a ratings and toy sales slump and it was decided to retire the franchise and try something new as a companion piece to the then booming Super Sentai series. Enter the Metal Heroes.

There were notable similarities between Kamen Rider and the Metal Heroes with a lone hero fighting an evil organization, with help from his assistants and friends but if anything the Metal Heroes were even more firmly rooted in Science Fiction and the popularity of Outer Space that was raging at the time (partially thanks to the worldwide success of Star Wars) than Kamen Rider ever was. Just look at the first series, Space Sheriff Gavan.

You have a spaceman in silver armor who travels in what looks like a flying saucer coming to Earth to battle an evil group of space gangsters. That’s a pretty epic idea right there and you add in the flashy, even trippy, fight scenes and a transforming robot dragon and you have a winner. It’s no wonder the first three series were all Space Sheriff based.

The heavy Sci-Fi trend continued with Special Megabeast Investigator Juspion with an added helping of giant monster action that had exploded back onto the scene with the impending revival of Godzilla (the 1984 film).

Things kept going with science fiction until World Ninja War Jiraiya tapped into the eternal fascination with Ninja to change things entirely.

Of course, by this point Robocop has made a splash in Japan and inspired a new breed of Metal Heroes, police and police robots starting with Mobile Cop Jiban.

It continued into the 1990s with shows like Special Rescue Police Winspector, Super Rescue Solbrian, Special Rescue Exceedraft, Tokusou Robo Janperson and then to Blue S.W.A.T. which combined the police theme with the alien invaders that had been such a part of the earliest Metal Hero offerings.

After that, something new was needed, the police angle was growing stale so they looked to Insect-Themed heroes to help, creating the B-Fighter series starting with Juukou B-Fighter in 1995.

This is where I have to start guessing at things because I don’t have any solid information but after the sequel series, B-Fighter Kabuto, the Metal Hero series took a serious left turn into much, much more childish material with B-Robo Kabutack.

My guess is that the more mature series weren’t pushing toys or appealing to kids the way they wanted and they tried something much more oriented to children. I’m not sure it was entirely successful because after the next series, Tetsuwan Tantei Robotack, the Metal Hero series ended, to be replaced less than a year later with a revived Kamen Rider franchise.

As with all things relating to TV Shows aimed at kids and especially ones aimed at selling toys to kids, the reason any of them go away is because of toy sales and ratings. Unless there is some massive outcry from parents or a scandal (like the complaints of violence launched against the original Kamen Rider Amazon or the jumping death of the child emulating the hero from Moonlight Mask) a series and especially a franchise doesn’t just go away. So, based on these ideas, Toei decided the Metal Heroes had run their course and the experiment with a more kid-friendly approach didn’t pan out.

It was time for A New Hero, maybe even A New Legend.

#Askbox Replies #Metal Heroes #Toei Tokusatsu #Kamen Rider #1980s #1990s

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garrettsthings · 7 years

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Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger Eisode 5 Review

So we finally come to episode five of this series, and according to sources on rangerboard this is the end of the “prologue” chapter. What can be said about this episode except… WOW! I could probably just end the review there, but tradition dictates I talk for far too long about it. Spoiler alert: this was a good one. And on the subject of spoilers. I try to keep my reviews spoiler free, but I find it impossible to discuss the specifics of what I liked and didn’t like without explicitly revealing what happened in this episode, so keep in mind that if you keep reading, you will be spoiled.

So as is my custom, let’s start with what I didn’t like. And while this episode was the pinnacle of awesomeness for Kyuranger so far… there are a few things I have to mention.

First of all, the Kyulette is used once again. I don’t mind the Kyulette (in fact, I actually like the idea of a randomized team every episode), but it was ultimately useless in this episode as all eight Kyurangers wound up going down to the planet anyway. I get that new circumstances arose that made the entire team necessary, but the part that bugs me was that the episode never took full advantage of the team of Lucky, Spada, Hammy, Champ, and Naga. They could have used literally any team combination and aside from one or two lines, nothing would have changed in the first half.

And then there’s Yumepakkun, the MOTW from last week who lived to fight another day. Last week I expressed excitement at the idea of a monster lasting over two episodes, but said I would be more excited if said monster was more memorable. Unfortunately, it looked like those initial impressions were right. Aside from some legitimately funny moments (I help edit the Funny page for Kyuranger on TV Tropes, so feel free to check that out for a list of those moments), Yumepakkun didn’t contribute that much to the episode. There was one scene where he grew into a giant, and the inevitable fight between him and Kyuren-Oh (while showing off a really cool Rider Kick finisher from the latter) just felt like padding. Kyuren-Oh defeated the Malistrate almost immediately and took off for a more important battle in space. You know when you die while playing Overwatch and in the kill-cam the player who killed you barely seemed to notice you and won’t even watch you die? That’s what Yumepakkun’s last hurrah felt like.

Kyuren-Oh is a jerk.

And finally we get to what is probably the biggest spoiler of the episode: Eridron dies. While it was an awesome fight and his death scene was among one of the cooler looking visual effects in Super Sentai history, I still felt like I barely knew the guy. He was cool, strong, ruthless, intelligent (though not enough to know that his new recruit was the brother of Jark Matter’s top assassin), and voiced by one of the greatest video game protagonists in history, but at the end of the day he was just a disc one final boss. To be honest, I’m worried that this show will pull a Ninninger give us a revolving door of enemy Menasters for the Kyurangers to plow through on their way to the final boss. One of my favorite parts of Super Sentai (and tokusatsu in general) is seeing the enemy organization interact and scheme with and against each other (which is why Go-Onger and ToQger are among my favorites) and I would hate to see just one Menaster be important at a time until he or she is inevitably killed.

Okay, bad stuff is over, now let’s get to the fun part. First let’s start with the big one. You know that mental image you got the second you heard this was going to be a nine-man sentai team? Yeah. That happens. We get all nine Kyurangers assembled for an overlong and amazing roll call, and see them charge against an army of mooks. And wreck them. Oh yeah, the Kyurangers don’t mess around. We see weapons, teamwork, and all the chaotic mayhem I desperately wanted from this show. Oh yes, and it’s all set to the show’s first insert song by Psychic Lover. GOD I LOVED THIS EPISODE.

And yes, you did read that right. We get all nine rangers united against the forces of evil this week. After my initial hatred of Stinger for being… pretty much every secondary Kamen Rider ever, we learn more about him. We learn that he had a close relationship with his brother Scorpio (played by everyone’s Oniisan, Yuki Kubota). I was actually surprised that the normally stiff and formal Scorpio uses the term “Aniki” to refer to his brother. Perhaps he has a hidden fun side we’ve yet to see. We also learn that the pendant Stinger keeps was from Scorpio. While we don’t get told much, the dialogue suggests that Scorpio gave it to Stinger because Stinger was sad that Scorpio had to go away. My guess is that he had left to join Jark Matter and only returned to wipe out his former family.

So not only do we get a tragic backstory (Is Lucky the only member of the team who was just chilling before deciding to join the team?) but we also get what my screenwriting textbook calls a “piece of sugar” for Stinger. It turns out that Stinger has a soft spot for kids, and actually drops his Batman growl when speaking to them. He especially gets gentle when it comes to siblings, and is very supportive of older siblings who look out for their younger brothers or sisters. And if you even think about harming them he will knock your arrow staff from your hands and punch you in the face mid-monologue. As an eldest child myself, I certainly sympathized, and Stinger very quickly rose from the bottom of my list of favorite Kyurangers to… I dunno, somewhere below Raptor, Naga, and Spada. One of these days I’ll actually organize a list.

And finally, we learned that Lucky never had to convince Stinger to join their side, as he had been on their side from the beginning, working as a spy for the rebellion. Something Xiao happened to forget to mention to the other Kyurangers. Honestly, this just cements Xiao as probably my favorite mentor of all time.

And now, before we finish off, I want to talk about some new characters we were introduced to this episode. Kotaro and Jiro, or as I like to call them, the only humans with any backbone in this show. I absolutely loved these characters, Kotaro in particular. Not only is he a really good older brother to Jiro, but he seems to be the only human on Earth who is willing to stand up to Jark Matter. And not because he thinks the grownups on Earth are useless or cowardly (like I do), but because he wants to protect them. His very first line of the episode is “Stop picking on grownups!” And this guy? He’s not much older than twelve, and he’s cooler than every single adult human we’ve seen in this show. I love this kid! If he doesn’t become Koguma Sky Blue, I’m going to riot! As it stands, he runs the risk of actually tying with Raptor for my favorite character in this show. Finally, seeing the grownups take after Kotaro and Jiro’s example and quietly begin to cheer for their saviors was an incredibly satisfying but subtle moment.

I talked for waaaay too long about this episode, but there was a lot to like. From Stinger’s immediate redemption in my eyes, to the addition of an awesome new character (and hopefully new team mate), to the jaw dropping final battle, Kyuranger has cemented itself as a show to watch. I normally give a show ten episodes to impress me (episode ten was when I realized I was completely and totally invested in Kamen Rider Drive despite it having a bit of a rough start), but after this phenomenal episode I can safely say that I am in for the long haul. I can’t promise a review every week (though I probably will next week because we get a new upgrade), but I am certainly in this show to finish.

And what did you think of this episode? Feel free to tell me in comments or reblogs.

#uchuu sentai kyuranger #kyuranger #super sentai #toei #kyuranger review #kyuranger episode 5 #kyuranger spoilers #review #thoughts and opinions #tl;dr

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jacscorner · 7 years

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Toku-Talk 01: Puroresu Sentai Grappleranger

Welcome to the first episode of Toku-Talk, where I write out my own suggestions for a Tokusatsu show! Keep in mind when I use terms like 'Super Sentai' or 'Kamen Rider', then it's just to give you a rough idea of what my vision is. These are meant to be more like rough concepts and not meant to directly fit into a a specific series. With that out of the way... Puroresu Sentai Grappleranger, or "Wrestler Sentai Grapplerangers", or Power Rangers Masked Wrestling would be a series with a heavy focus around wrestling, mask symbolism, and big cats. Think Tiger Mask crossed with Super Sentai- in fact, you'll see a lot of influence from the former if you know the series. Prior to the series, there was a Face Wrestler-meaning they're considered 'good guys' in wrestling-who would fight against a series of Heels-bad guys. The Heels were part of an organization of evil Devil Wrestlers, we'll call the org. Black Mask. Black Mask was defeated by our Face, but he was severely injured and had to hang up his mask. Years past and the old wrestler is now a trainer for five new wrestlers who are the only ones who can step into the ring-be it an actual ring or metaphorical-where they pull on their masks and transform into the Grapplerangers. Speaking of which, this is where the 'mask symbolism' of this series comes from. Masks and alter egos play a huge role in the story, as the rangers have to take on new personas when 'stepping into the ring' in order to help hide their identity-as well as help them build their stage presence against opponents and in their hopeful careers of professional wrestling. Masks are also the transformation devices in this series. When the coresponding ranger puts on their respective masks. they glow their corresponding color and their full uniforms, helmet and suits, come on. Each Ranger wears a suit of their color with a helmet that looks like it was designed more to be a wrestler's mask. Men's uniforms look like they're wearing black trunks over their color-coded outfits, the women's look like black leotards. And naturally, all the helmets are designed off of big cats. GrappleRed/GrappleLion: Ambitious young super star, a straight Face. His mask is based off of a Lion. He's a well-rounded fighter, making him a Jack of All Trades, Master of Known. This is something that hinders him later on while the rest of the team have a specialty, but he lacks any sort of strength. When fighting, he takes the persona of a superhero, something along the lines of a Superman, high moral character. Under the mask, he's quiet and indecisive, would rather stand in the background instead of the limelight. His Finishing Move is the Lion Pride, where he grabs a foe from behind, jumps into the air-or off of a high spot-and performs a backwards suplex. GrappleBlue/GrappleLynx: A more technical fighter, an old-school style that focuses more on joint locks. Her mask is based off of a Lynx. When fighting, she comes off as a cold, heartless woman and will verbally confirm to her enemies she enjoys the sound of their bones breaking. Under the mask, she's incredibly shy and a crybaby, she absolutely can't stand the idea of people-well, other than monsters-getting hurt. Her finishing move, the Lynx Lock, is something along the lines of the Boston Crab. Ala anime, the screen goes black and you see blue kanji for 'menacing' or 'death' as a cracking noise is heard. GrappleGreen/GrappleTiger: The physically strongest fighter, Green specializes in throwing Lariats and throws. His mask is based off of a Tiger. In the ring, he's very boastful of his strength and will make loud declarations of how he will defeat his opponents-a gag of sorts is how his claims, like being able to pick and up and throw mountains will be incorporated in the visuals. Without the masks, he prefers to spend his time in textbooks and is a vivid reader. He has a passion for writing and wants to write a novel. His finishing move is the Tiger Tornado, where he spin like a tornado with his arms extended, either dragging people into his vortex or just knocking them around with his stretched out arms. GrappleYellow/GrappleCheetah: A total heel and mischievous character, GrappleYellow starts off as the weakest member and will fight dirty, but he's also the slickest and fastest. His mask is based off of a Cheetah. He uses illegal moves, punches, and will grab lots of objects and will bring weapons to fight with. He slowly starts getting better, perfecting kicks and elbow blows, until he makes a complete Heel-Face-Turn and becomes a true wrestler. With the mask on, he acts more like a villain and even talks like one-the villains will even say things like, 'why aren't you on my team' and 'hey, we're on the same side! Stop attacking us'. With the mask off, he's much friendlier, down right cheerful. He does super nice things and you could never picture him as a heel. His finishing move, the Cheetah Charge, is a dropkick with a running start, with both his legs catching fire from how fast he runs. GrapplePink/GrappleCougar: A high-flying fighter who does lots of aerials and acrobatics-well, more so than the rest of the team. Her mask is based off of a Cougar. She jumps around and bounces of off opponents and teammates to perform aerial moves. With the mask on, she's a very flirty temptress who lures monsters in close before she strikes. Outside of the ring, she's got a bad attitude, with the rest of the team just outright calling her a brat, Her signature move, the Cougar Crush, is her kicking/jumping off something before descending on her target, delivering a high kick atop their heads and a knee kick from below. Out masked heroes will have to wrestle both with Devil Wrestlers and their dual personas. such as GrapplePink flirting with GrappleRed as it's just part of her character and maybe starting to actually fall for him. Or GrappleYellow starting to act like a jerk outside his mask and wrestling-lol-with his identity. Aside from their respective finishers, the Rangers would all perform various moves throughout the fight and some combination moves with their respective teammates. I don't have any ideas for gadgets or weapons for them to carry around outside of their masks, as hand-to-hand combat is a big focus on this season. It's also why I don't have any ideas for mechas. Later on in this series, as Ranger tradition, we'd get some Sixth Rangers...well, I guess that'd make them Sixth and Seventh Rangers... GrappleShadow/GrapplePanther: A reformed villain who becomes a 7th ranger. Wait, 7th? Yeah, 7th. He's introduced as a strong minion early on-think something along the lines of Ikagen from Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger or Goldar/Grifforzor from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. He was once a fresh-faced wrestler who could've become a star, but an accident put him in the hospital indefinitely. Until the Main Villain came around and GrappleShadow made a deal with the devil. Main Villain helped him walk and fight again if they wrestled for him. He's incredibly strong, often requiring the Rangers to retreat or defeating him with some sort of trick before he's eventually reminded the reason he wanted to wrestle; that he wanted to be someone children looked up to, not feared. He's defeated/stripped of his power and is sent back to the hospital. He'll later recover and is able to join the crew later as GrappleShadow, dawning a Panther-themed mask. He specialize choke holds. Both with and without the masks, he appear to be an aloof loner. But in reality, he's guilt ridden for all the things he's done and struggles with his terrible deeds. His special move, Panther Vengeance, is similar to a hangman's choke, wrapping their arms around the opponent and jumps in the air, landing on something and hanging the opponent. GrapplerSnow/GrappleLeopard: The ACTUAL Sixth Ranger. A mysterious lady wrestler, later to be revealed as the daughter of the coach. She lived with her Mother all this time and, against their wishes, became a famous and popular masked wrestler that gets referenced throughout the show as 'Snow Mask'. When she appears in the show, she dawns her own masks when the monsters appear, only this time, she transforms into a ranger, which is, of course, based off of a Snow Leopard. Her specialty is chops, knee blows, and submission holds. She appears to be the same strong willed, determined women with the mask on and off, but secretly, she's insecure and a try hard who wants the acceptance of others. She comes off as a cool loner when she's introduced because she's so socially awkward, she can't stand being around people, but she warms up later on. Her special move, the Snow Claw, is where she performs a clawhold-grabbing someone's face with her hand-before lifting them up in the air, crushing their head before they go limp, or 'freeze over'. Again, these are all still rough concepts. They could be improved or changed if this, for some reason, is ever made into an actual sentai series. Or changed into something not-sentai related. Or maybe if I get around to writing actual episodes for this. If you're reading this and want to write out this actual story, then be my guest. Just make sure you link it back to me so I can read it.

#Super Sentai #Power Rangers #Tokusatsu #JAC Concept #Tokusatsu Concept #Concept #Story Idea #Toku-Talk

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