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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 29, 2018 15:34:25 GMT -5
LvP episode 7: What more is there to say other than this is another fantastic episode? The Good: This is the episode I've been waiting for: the episode where we finally get Umika's backstory. First off, I thought it was a great idea to tie how she felt when she was the only one left after Kairi and Touma got captured to how she felt after her friend Shiho died, because it helped justify showing that backstory in this episode. It actually worked two-fold, because not only was that sense of loneliness and helplessness the same, but it also ties into how she felt when she was a kid, and that's one of the ways Shiho helped her, by being a friend and standing up for her. I loved the whole scene in the restaurant, and how the show takes the time to deal with her feelings dramatically. Also, another great line from the show: "The power you've obtained has already transformed you."
One thing I realized is that Umika is kinda Touma and Sakuya rolled into one. I praised episode 3 for focusing on both of those characters, but this episode does both arcs at the same time. Umika is as self-conscience as Sakuya was, but also has a tragic backstory like Touma. It kinda makes Umika feel like one of the more well-rounded characters of the show, and it kinda makes Tsukasa feel like that much more disappointing of a character by comparison.
Also, "I'm entrusting you with this. The VS Vehicles are very valuable, after all." I knew it! The way he said that line made it feel like he doesn't care about Kairi and Touma at all. If that's not enough proof that Kogure isn't to be trusted, I don't know what is.
As for the plot with Sakuya, despite this being one of the more dramatic episodes of the show, I also think it's the funniest episode so far. I freaking love Sakuya. That actor is just freaking great. He perfectly portrays Sakuya's awkwardness, but never in a way that's even an inkling of being annoying. I also find it funny that he's that awkward, but he also hits on a lot of girls. I wouldn't have ever expected that. I don't usually play the shipping game that often (although I do root for Bughead), but I actually do ship these 2, and I hope they do get together by the end of the show. I think they would make a cute couple.
As for the action, like I said before, I never get sick of the camera tricks, but the best thing ever, which may be the best moment in any sentai ever, and I can't tell if I'm exaggerating or not, is that Black Widow Double Takedown Umika did. I want a gif of that ASAP. That wasn't just freaking awesome. That was bad-freaking-ass. I also love the line, "We're about to chew you up and spit you out!" Umika is a BOSS!
Also, as for the Lupin Collection piece, it's based on the lamp from Magiranger. Seeing as how the one that was based on the lion zord from Shinkenger had fire powers, and this one can create a near infinite space, it feels like the powers of each piece is also based on those objects. Why does this show feel more like an anniversary than Zyuohger? The Bad: The only problem I have with this episode is an overarching problem with the show, but it's the villains. "Maybe he'll once again provide us with some surprising delicacies." Dogranio, are all you gonna do is just sit on your butt and enjoy the show? You're just Ginis 2.0. I'm not gonna harp on this anymore. Final thoughts: I feel like my posts read like I'm overhyping the show, just because I found the last 4 shows to be disappointments, and I want to be clear that's not the case. I do genuinely think this show is that great, and this was another great episode. Next episode: It looks like Tsukasa figured out who the Lupinrangers are, but I doubt they're gonna go through with it. After looking at the scans, I think I can tell how they get out of this one. I just hope they don't keep doing this close call thing too often. We know they're gonna figure it out eventually, so don't keep teasing it. That being said, this episode does still look like fun, especially with Jim Carter pretending to be a Gangler. Also, 2 down, 1 to go. I can't wait to get Kairi's backstory episode.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 29, 2018 10:09:40 GMT -5
Alright, I finally finished Kiva. It took eons, but I finally trudged through it. As far as I can tell, this show is a fan favorite, but it's yet another KR show I have to disagree with the masses on, and I'm sorry to say, but I don't care for it. This is the first KR show that I've seen that I straight up do not like. I found most of this show just boring. Just (yawns) boring. I'm so bored So very, very bored
I'd rather watch a bunch of Poppys sing a silly song and then go run into a door
I'm so bored There's nothing to say
I'd rather admit that I like Drive, talk about this show and then go watch some Fourze
Why is this show so dull? Why is it slow?
Did Fangires suck out the drama? Seriously, I got more enjoyment out of watching Ghost.
(Boring) This show is rarely interesting. (Boring) Where did it go wrong? (Boring) I'm not even doing this post anymore I'm just parodying NC's song
This show has its moments but they're so rare This show barely explains anything then it just got to a point where I just didn't care
(Boring)(Boring) (Boring)(Boring) (Boring)(Boring) (Bo-oooo-oooring) To be clear, this show isn't terrible. It's certainly better than all of the sentais and PR seasons that I don't like. I don't dislike any characters, except for maybe Shizuka. This show certainly has flashes of brilliance, but this show takes forever to get to them. Of the 2 storylines, I prefer the past one especially since Yuri and Maya are my favorite characters of the show. As for Otoya, he was a character I didn't care for at all at first, but he really grew, and I ended up surprisingly liking this character by the end. I'm starting to realize just how much I prefer modern KR's faster pacing, because these slower shows from the past just feel needlessly drawn out to me. Plotlines and character arcs just drag on longer than they need to. This show takes forever to explain the setup for the world. There's a very interesting mythos here, but it's just poorly told. I didn't hate it, and it certainly has its moments, but I certainly can't say it's a good show. I'm sorry, but this one has to go straight to the bottom. I'm gonna finish Jetman, then instead of doing Go-Onger and RPM, I'm saving that for later for when the 10 Years Grand Prix comes out, and I'm gonna do Gekiranger and Jungle Fury instead. My ranking: Current KR Ranking: 1) OOO 2) Amazons 3) Drive 4) Fourze 5) Ex-Aid 6) Gaim 7) W 8) Wizard 9) Ghost 10) Kiva
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 21, 2018 18:00:30 GMT -5
LvP episode 6: Just another damn good episode. I do have some flaws with it. It's not as great as 1,2,3, and 5, but not as "just okay" as episode 4. It's just really good. The Good: Sh Ranger, if last episode made you appreciate Keiichiro more, this episode did the same for me. Last episode did a great job of showing what the ideological conflict is between Keiichiro in Kairi, and this episode did a great job of showing how that affects Keiichiro's character. I love how personally he takes the loss against Kairi, and I love how he has to put aside his pride, and relearn his resolve to protect people, especially with the way he saved those people. As much as I love the rogue-ish nature of the Lupinrangers, I do also appreciate characters that are also just purely good, which is why I like characters like Captain America and Superman (and why it annoys me when people just say they're boring boy scouts). It's why Alata is one of my favorite reds. It's funny how just a few episodes ago, I was complaining that the Patrangers aren't being developed, then we get the episode with Sakuya, and this. (As much as I think the "Heal me" thing is funny, I still don't think that episode did much for Tsukasa's character). While the Patrangers' stories aren't as dark as the Lupinrangers', I appreciate what they're doing with them. I think this episode does a great job of showing how this show justifies its premise. I love the rivalry between the 2 reds (and that fight), and I love how the show not only shows us the depth of the characters (well, most of them), we also see how each team views each other. I actually kinda feel bad for Keiichiro when Kairi keeps calling him "that hotheaded policeman", because we know it's not that simple. I feel the same way when Keiichiro sees the Lupinrangers as just "those damn thieves". That's why I love the ending scene where we see Keiichiro look at the cartoon picture of the Lupinrangers, thinking about what Kairi said. There's a chance he might be starting to see that the Lupinrangers might not be as bad as he thinks they are. Each teams' lack of knowledge and understanding of each other helps to get us invested in the characters, and it's something we've never seen before, because it can only be done with a Vs premise like this. I love the comedy in this show. Sakuya is slowly becoming one of my favorite green sentai rangers. I love the scene where he's telling them what's happening between Keiichiro and Tsukasa, and he's like, "I'm saying too much." It's obvious they're taking inspiration from Doc and Hanto, and while I can't say this for Doc, and while I do like Hanto, so far, I think I might like him more than Hanto. I'm still loving the action in the show. That's something I forgot to mention for last episode. There's so much to say about these episodes that it just slipped through. All 3 toku shows sometimes run into the problem of when something works, they just reuse it over and over, and that can be annoying sometimes, like in Ninja Steel with the way Mick teaches his lessons, which was funny at first, but it's starting to annoy me, so I feel guilty for saying I never get sick of the camera movement thing during the fight scenes. I also love the fact that we hear the individual theme songs for each team in the show. Even in the music, I prefer Patranger's soundtrack. I can kinda agree with that. As much as I do love Lupinranger's henshin theme, I think I might prefer Patranger's, and after listening to the full versions of the 3 themes, Patrangers' theme is starting to creep up there as my favorite, on top of the fact that from the snippet of the mecha themes we heard, I prefer Patranger's. The Bad: My main gripe with the episode is that I don't understand why Bundolt is only after the Lupinrangers. I get that he wants the Lupin Collection pieces that were taken, but the Patrangers also have Lupin Collection pieces. There's no good reason he should only want the ones that were stolen. The reason this bothers me is because it feels like it's only done so that we can stall the Lupinrangers coming into the battle, so that we can stall the 2 reds' duel. I also don't care for the fact that Good Striker gave the Patrangers the bike. Since this was Keiichiro's focus episode, I think he should have gotten it back himself. It feels cheap to have Good Striker to that. I don't really like the idea in general of Good Striker taking the Vs vehicles like that since the conflict is between the rangers. The rangers should be the ones to take the Vs vehicles from each other. I also want to reiterate how generic I think the villains are. It's definitely not a dealbreaker; Gokaiger and Shinkenger are my 2 highest ranked sentais, and I think their main villains are generic. It's just disappointing because with how different this show is trying to be, I wish we could get a great main villains again like Rio and Mele, Enter, and Zett. Final thoughts: With shows like Ninninger and Kyuranger, each week it felt like I was running out of ways to say, "This show sucks.", but with LvP, I'm starting to run out of ways to say this show is fantastic. At this point, this show will have to screw up royally to not make my top 5. Next episode: It looks like Umika and Sakuya are going on a date. I'm assuming that Umika is doing this as part of some kind of mission to save Kairi and Touma, and I'm so intrigued to find out how. This situation could also be mined for some good comedy, which is an aspect that this show hasn't let me down with a single time. It also looks like Umika does the "Black Widow Takedown", which I think is awesome. The episode is called "Always Saved", so I think it might be dealing with Umika coming into her own, picking herself up, and coming through when her friends need her the most. I do hope we eventually get an episode similar to Touma's episode, dealing with her backstory with her friend, but this episode still looks great.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 19, 2018 16:59:42 GMT -5
Go-Onger's not in my top 10, but I do really like it, and I've rewatched it 3 times, and it's a show that I like and appreciate more every time I've watched it. It sucks (at least for me) that it looks like Magiranger, Boukenger, Gekiranger, Shinkenger, and Goseiger aren't gonna ever happen, so I'll take this. Here's hoping for Gokaiger or Go-Busters. I was excited to hear this news. Even if it was a show I didn't like, *coughHurricangercough* I still think it cool that the actors come back after all these years to do this, so I'm glad it's being done with a show I do like. I'm really looking forward to this. It's official! tokusatsunetwork.com/2018/03/engine-sentai-go-onger-10-years-grand-prix-announced/Saki is the only one in the trailer and group shot that's not wearing her uniform. I wonder if they'll have had her retire from the team - perhaps to have a baby a la DekaYellow (the cardigan and jeans in that picture looks like a "mom" outfit.) This made sense for the Dekaranger movie because Jasmine's actress had actually just had a baby and couldn't do so many action scenes, but Rina Aizawa (Saki) hasn't. Maybe she has a busier schedule than the others and needed to have her scenes reduced? (in before "but Go-onger was terrible!" Its toyline did well in Japan and none of the heroes have retired, that's probably why it's getting this movie) Did you not like Go-Onger? I thought Jasmine being a mother in Dekaranger 10 Years After was contrived since she married a random ESPer who only appeared in 2 episodes of the series. Even worse was that weird backwards compatibility explanation for her deus ex machina ability to teleport between planets. Oh and then her substitute doesn't even survive the movie! So much for Neo Deka Red and Yellow. I doubt Saki being a mother would make any more sense although getting Minami Keisuke back would be a piece of cake after he became a ranger last year. It would be cool if Machalcon shows up. Saki's like his honorary aunt so being a mother as well would just seem unnecessary, I think. Besides, there are other characters who are more likely to have kids like Sousuke and Miu or Kegaleshia and Kitaneidas. Just saying, they should focus on giving this movie a good plot and action rather than repeating the formula of Dekaranger's V-Cinema. The best part of Go-Onger is the unique comedy. 1) Eh, I guess you have a point, but I actually liked all of that. I thought they made all that work okay. 2) I can agree with that. As much as I love Dekaranger and the 10-Years After movie, I don't want a forced repeat of that stuff.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 19, 2018 16:34:54 GMT -5
^All that was well said. (By the way, as of this typing, I still haven't seen episode 6 yet) I do understand where Keiichiro is coming from, but I still side with the Lupinrangers. I'm rooting for them to save their loved ones. I still appreciate how this show is showing both sides of the argument, though. I always compared Kyuranger to CA:CW in how that movie is proof that 12 characters can be balanced, but this show is reminding me of it in how it's taking 2 opposing ideals and putting them against each other. It makes it that much more funny that Kyuranger really is doing its own more stupid version of Civil War with that Vs Gavan movie.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 19, 2018 15:25:33 GMT -5
LvP episode 5: Aaaaand we're back. Back to the quality the show delivered in the first 3 episodes. That kinda makes me slightly more disappointed in episode 4 because if that episode was as great as the other 4, we would have gotten 5 fantastic episodes in a row. Still, this is the most enthralled I've ever been in any sentai this early on. As much as I love Magiranger, Go-Busters, and Gekiranger, if this show keeps this up, this could make my top 5. The Good: The absolute best thing about this episode is the conflict and rivalry between Keiichiro and Kairi. I've always said this show feels like it's taking inspiration from KR, and the conflict over the Lupin Collection like this reminds me of OOO, which I love, because that's the reason it's my favorite KR show. One thing I've always wanted to see SS do, that I actually thought we were gonna do when the show was announced, is a villain faction that's a sentai. I like that we finally get the Patrangers learning about the power of the Lupin Collection, because while the Lupinrangers certainly aren't villains, I can see how Keiichiro sees them as villains. In his eyes, they are just another villain faction. He sees them as just another gang that's out to steal the collection for personal gain, on top of them being vigilantes that don't have the right to take out the Gangler. I like that in this episode, Keiichiro's anger at them isn't played for laughs with the "Damn you, thieves!" cliche, as funny as it was in those other episodes (and I also find it funny that we get that exact line in this episode, and not played for laughs).
I don't really care to get into the "TV-Nihon Vs Overtime" debate, because I don't speak Japanese, so I'm just glad we have people who are willing and able to to do this for us, so I take what I can get, but I have to bring it up, because the Overtime subs, which are the subs that get uploaded to Kissasian, where I always watch SS, were late for this episode, so the TV-Nihon subs were uploaded the first time I watched this episode, and during the part where Kairi is looking up at the moon thinking about what Keiichiro said, Kairi said, "He hit a sore spot.", but in the Overtime subs, which were replaced a few days later, and the subs I watched every subsequent time I rewatched this episode, he said, "Way to put it bluntly." This is why I don't like watching multiple subbed episodes of a show. I like the "sore spot" line better, because I think it adds an extra layer to the situation. "Putting it bluntly" might show that Kairi had a problem with what Keiichiro said and how he said it, but the "sore spot" line really shows how hurt Kairi was by what he said, and I don't get how we got such different interpretations from one line.
I like that we keep bringing up the fact that the police keeps showing up with these Lupin Collection. I also like that the Lupinrangers bring up the fact that Kogure might be hiding things from them. This show also brings up a new mystery with Destra saying that there's a difference between the villains' collection piece and the rangers. All this stuff is intriguing. The Bad: All I have are nitpicks. The first is when Bundolt jumped in front of the police car in his human form, and no one reacted until he transformed into his monster from. If he didn't transform, would he have gotten run over? My other nitpick is when Kairi decides to use the bike against Keiichiro. "Have to say, I do like flying more." "Big mistake not taking the helicopter first!" Yeah, but there's no reason that Kairi couldn't have just used his own personal flying zord against him. He doesn't strike me as the guy who would play fair. Maybe there's an argument that that was within his character, but it came off to me as needing to show off the new toys. Final thoughts: None of this stuff even comes close to harming what I thought was a fantastic episode, and maybe the best episode of the show so far. I've watched this episode 6 or 7 times. Granted, that's only because I wanted to rewatch this episode right before I typed this, and stuff kept coming up, but when this happened before with Kyuranger, I usually just went from memory, because I didn't want to rewatch the episode, so it's a testament to how great this show is that I'm willing to rewatch this episode this many times just to do it justice. This show is on fire. Also, Kaizoku Blue, I know you don't usually care for 3-man teams, but I wanted to get your thoughts on how this show is handling it. Does it work for you, since there's 2 of them, and we get 6 rangers, or would you have preferred one or both of them be a 5-man team? Or anything else? Next episode: It looks like another great episode. It looks like it's gonna be Keiichiro-focused, and that he's going to have a newly found resolve fight the Lupinrangers for justice, rather than revenge.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 9, 2018 18:14:48 GMT -5
^ I agree, in recent years it's mostly been something they give to the female villain (or in Kyoryuger's case, to Luckyuro who is a child - Sentai will often pair a child with the only woman on the team or only woman on the villain side.) I'm not sure why that would be, maybe it's come to be seen as a "tradition"; but it makes me wonder if they feel it looks kind of silly and thus don't want to give it to a male character, who tend to be presented as the main villains I think the ep was a little deeper than JUST "Tsukasa likes soft toys": it did tell us a little more about her. She doesn't want others, even Keiichirou who is an old friend, to get too close or know too much personal information about her and she is concerned with upholding her image. But, yeah, it did feel disappointing next to the other focus eps we've had recently "Come to be seen as tradition" That's funny to me, because this show touted itself as trying so hard to be different, but we still get the same plain generic villain setup. I guess you do have a point. I think the thing that's missing for me is some kind of pathos. Something to emotionally connect me to the character. The stuff with Sakuya wasn't as dark as the stuff with the Lupinrangers, but I could get behind it. With Tsukasa, she's embarrassed that people knows she likes stuffed animals? Not only is that not something worth being embarrassed about, but no one else cares, and it's not a big deal to anyone. What was the story? What was the point? I just saw the subbed version of episode 4, today. Now, you're probably going to hate me when I say this. I F@#$'N HATE TSUKASA'S CHARACTER IN THIS EPISODE!!! I can't stand her girly attitude and I am not going to taker her very seriously as a pink ranger in later episodes. I mean, how the Hell could Toei make a sentai pink that is even worse than Kagura/Toq #5, Amy/Kyoryu Pink and Mei/Ptera Ranger?! You just have hug a stuff animal and all of sudden, that's your bad-ass sentai pink for the show?! Seriously?! Ahim was a better Pink than Tsukasa, even Tsukasa Kadoya makes a far better pink than her. AND HE'S A F@#&'N KAMEN RIDER THAT IS PASSING THROUGH!!!! God!!! This really irritates me. Well, at least Lupin Yellow has more potential as a character than Tsukasa, so far. No one's gonna hate you for saying you hate Tsukasa. She is a weak character. I don't hate her, and it doesn't bother me that you do. What does bother me is your rants. You can't be that angry. It's just a TV show. Calm down. You don't need to use bolds and exclamation points. Can you please stop the "angry fanboy" shtick? I can't take you seriously when you do that, and it makes you look immature.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 8, 2018 14:05:06 GMT -5
LvP episode 4: With this episode, I feel like doing that thing Lindsey Ellis does in her videos: it's fine. It's...fine. This episode was fine. The first 3 episodes were brilliant, but this episode was surprisingly just...average. The Good: I'm glad that this episode focused on a Patranger this time, because lord knows the Patrangers need some more focus, and I'm glad they went with Tsukasa, since she's the least characterized. I thought all of the stuff with the stuffed animals was funny. More on this later. A lot of the stuff that was great about the other episodes were also great here, too. I love the action, especially that first one. Those camera movements are just freaking fantastic. I like the dynamic with Lupinrangers and the Patrangers, especially when Umika told the Patrangers about what the monster's piece of the Lupin collection does, and Kairi is understanding of that. I like Good Striker, and how much he doesn't care about either side. I think it adds an interesting dynamic to the mecha scenes. I like that we get to hear a little of the mecha theme for LupinKaiser, which confirms to me that each combination has their own theme. I thought they would do something similar to Delta Mega or Max Liner (which by the way is one of my favorite mecha themes) where the song is about both combinations, or the Kyoryu Red Carnival where it's the same song, but different lyrics for each combination, and I would have been okay with either of those, but they actually get their own unique mecha theme, and I like that. Just from the little I've heard, I think I prefer PatKaiser's theme, but I really want to hear the whole song to be sure. I hope each team gets their own battle theme song, and I think they will, because the music that played during the fight in the forest sounded more like an instrumental for a song than just a normal BGM. The Bad: I guess I can't consider this a flaw, but because last episode looked like it was gonna be a just a Touma focus episode, and it focused on both him and Sakuya, I assumed that since this episode looked like it was gonna focus on Tsukasa, I thought it would also focus on Umika. DosmRider pointed out in his review of last episode that people expect these episodes to be symmetrical, and that might not be the case, but like I pointed out, as much as I appreciate this show trying to not be formulaic, no one would care if they alternated between the teams like that. As for Tsukasa, since last week gave us this deep character episode for Touma along with a decent character episode for Sakuya, I thought we would get at least one of those for Tsukasa, but her part of this episode is just this one joke. It was a funny joke, but I don't get what purpose it served. We learned she likes stuffed animals, and that she's embarrassed by that, but what did she take away from this episode? What were we supposed to take away? It feels like this episode only exists to give us the exposition that she likes stuffed animals, and that's it. That's kinda lame. I think Tsukasa is the biggest weak link of the show so far. It feels like the Patrangers are only here to be laughed at, and that's disappointing. At least as far as we know now, the Patrangers don't have any deep backstories like the Lupinrangers have, but I feel like there's more that can be done with them. I feel like, if Junko can write great Lupinranger characters, why can't she do the same for the Patrangers? LvP episode 3:Also, something else I forgot to mention in my last post is that I find Goche's theme jarringly hilarious. It sounds like someone trying to sing a sexy version of Wizard's henshin. Also, did anyone else notice that in just the last 10 years, 5 of those female villains (Metal Alice, Insarn, Kyuemon (if you want to count it), Naria, and Goche) are just there to grow the monster? I'm actually curious to hear Kaizoku Blue's thoughts on this. Kaizoku Blue, I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Final thoughts: This episode felt like filler, done on purpose because the last 2 episodes tended to be more dramatic, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it could have been more. I can't call it a bad episode. I just think it's...okay. Next episode: Now, next episode, however, looks exciting. It's cool seeing PatKaiser in a nighttime battle, and seeing Destra joining in on the fight. I love seeing both reds go at it, and I also love the line "We're thieves because we have no other choice!" Hopefully this starts Keiichiro on a character arc where he learns that the Lupinrangers aren't as bad as he thinks they are, and that in a way, they're the victims. We'll see.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 5, 2018 17:01:30 GMT -5
^ I think Spada is one of the least developed characters on the show. He gets a meh focus episode with Houou Soldier and Raptor, and a focus episode down the line that I thought was just plain stupid. Honestly, I ended up not liking the character. I think he's just a bland Cilan knock-off, which wouldn't have bothered me if he just had more depth and development. I don't want to derail the thread too much, so to bring it back to LvP, what were your thoughts on episode 2, the fact that it didn't focus on the Patrangers like we all thought it would, and the fact that the show doesn't have an ending theme?
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 5, 2018 12:04:27 GMT -5
^ I noticed that pun, but I thought, "Nah, it's too easy." I second-guessed myself. I probably should have just used it.
I think 5-7 might be a sweet spot for most seasons, but I don't mind large teams every once in a while. I think what matters most is how it's approached and executed. I think Kyoryuger did it well and Kyuranger did it poorly. I still think that how they approached it with Kyuranger could have worked if we got more episodes like this that focused on multiple rangers at one time, and if they paced the show as a whole way better.
However, I think Kyoryuger had the better idea. There were 10 rangers, but they were spread out among the typical character roles: 5-core team (red, black, blue, green, pink), 6th ranger (gold), reoccurring characters (cyan and grey), tech advisor (violet), and mentor (silver), and they were introduced slowly over the course of the show. Kyuranger introduced the whole 9-core team in 5 episodes, RyuCommander in episode 8 and 9, Koguma SkyBlue one episode later, then Houou Soldier in episode 21. With that approach, Kyuranger was destined to have a harder time balancing all those characters.
As for LvP, it feels like the show is hard-wired to favor the Lupinrangers: The have the better suits, the better characters, the better weapons, the better-looking zords, and even the better theme song (although I still love Patranger's theme), but in the case of the megazords, PatKaiser won me over, and I like this mecha battle more than LupinKaiser's. While LupinKaiser has the better design, I think PatKaiser is cooler.
As for "if the staff actually realized Lucky and Stinger weren't the only characters", if I remember right, you said you didn't watch all of Kyuranger, and that you didn't even get to Houou Soldier yet. If you're judging by just those episodes, the show does feel like it leans heavily on them, but later on, the show does focus on some other characters. The problem is, most of those episodes are stupid. You said you liked Balance and Naga, and they actually get their own arc, and I think you might like those episodes, but Hammy gets a stupid idol episode, Champ gets an episodes with one of the dumbest Garu jokes ever, and if you hate Raptor already, wait until you see the payoff to that Uncle Orion thing. The level of stupidity of that payoff will blow your mind.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 5, 2018 9:30:32 GMT -5
LvP episode 3: While I don't think this episode is flawless like episode 1, this is definitely my favorite episode so far. The Good: There is so much to unpack here, and it's almost hard to figure out where to start. I love the fact that it's a Touma and Sakuya focus episode, which is an idea that Kyuranger could have used, to help balance all of those characters. I kept saying that Touma was in need of characterization, and boy did they give it to us. The "Serious Blue" archetype is usually the one that's there to keep the red ranger from being reckless, and they turned that on its head. I like seeing how desperate Touma is, and when they showed his backstory, it helped me connect with this character in a big way. I'm the type of person that usually judge these shows on emotion, and how they make me feel, and I try my best to articulate why they make me feel the way I feel. A lot of reviewers I see would go through an episode with a fine-toothed comb, and my mind simply doesn't work like that. That's why I always appreciate it when any show can make me emotional or tear up. The last episode to do it was episode 25 of Zyuohger, with Misao standing up to Leo. Despite me being meh on Zyuohger, and not liking Misao at all, I still thought that was a brilliant character episode for him, and that episode did make me tear up, and it's one of my favorite episodes of SS, and that's how I feel about this episode of LvP. I loved that whole backstory scene. I love the fact that it was Aya who taught him how to cook. That's a great detail, because I naturally assumed he always knew how to cook, like Spada. I love the fact that we actually see the proposal. I thought the scene with each of the Lupinrangers' loved ones getting killed was heartbreaking before, but this added another layer to it. I actually find Aya herself to be pretty likable, and I like the line, "Things that look pointless at first are great for expanding your options". I already liked all the Lupinrangers, but Touma was kinda the weak link, but this episode brought him up to Kairi and Umika's level, and I love them all equally. As for Sakuya, he's essentially the Hanto or Doc of the group. I loved his arc about needing to try his absolute best, because it reminded me of the exchange from Gokaiger, when Marvelous told Doc to "do what you can". Doc was a character that I always liked in the show, but I never really saw what Marvelous saw in him, and that episode solidified it to me. I like that we get the exchange "Mistakes made at work an be made up for at work. Let's see what you can do when you give it your all." here with Hilltop, who I forgot to mention in my last post that I was disappointed he wasn't in that episode, especially since I found this interview with that actor, and heard how important it was for him to be in a kids show. I really want to get more from this character. When this show is over, there's a chance that Kairi could make a list of favorite sentai reds. I love that all of the Lupinrangers are up for playing a little dirty, and I loved that they used the Patrangers as bait for a trap. I also loved all the comedy in this episode. In fact, there's not a single joke in this episode (or any of these 3 episodes, for that matter) that I didn't like. When I do these posts, I always try to watch the episodes twice (although Kyuranger had episodes that were so stupid I only watched them once), but with this episode, I watched it 4 times, because it was that good, and it took me until my 3rd watch to notice what Keiichiro meant when he said he thought Kairi looked familiar, because of when they met in the premiere. I thought the Lupinrangers' reaction to the 3 LupinReds was funny. I thought it was funny when they destroyed the monster's statue. "At least the feet are still there?" I liked the joke with Touma saying he could put laxatives in the Patrangers' food. I even like the joke of Sakuya having a crush on Umika. The comedy in this show is on point. I also loved the mecha battle, especially since we heard the mecha theme. I don't know if LupinKaiser or PatKaiser have their own mecha theme, or if they share one, but I'm assuming (and hoping) they have their own, although I'm okay either way. Honestly, I'm just glad we're still doing mecha themes, because after they skimped out on the ending theme (last time, I promise), I wasn't sure. From the little we hear of it, I really like it. I love PatKaiser, and I think I might like it more than LupinKaiser. I love that it skates to get around, and the maneuverability reminds me of DekarangerRobo. I feel like that was deliberate. Also, I actually like this finisher, so that's good. While it's simple, I like the idea of it utilizing its own weapons better than summoning a giant morpher. The Bad: The only main problem I had with this episode is when Kairi told Touma not to take the Patrangers' VS Changers because it will leave them at a disadvantage. He's right about that, but I felt like it conflicted with the idea from the first episode when Kairi didn't save Touma and Umika because even if there's one of them are left, the last one will fight for them. If there's supposed to be a difference, I don't think the show made that clear. Also, something else I forgot to mention in my last post is that I find Goche's theme jarringly hilarious. It sounds like someone trying to sing a sexy version of Wizard's henshin. Also, did anyone else notice that in just the last 10 years, 5 of those female villains (Metal Alice, Insarn, Kyuemon (if you want to count it), Naria, and Goche) are just there to grow the monster? I'm actually curious to hear Kaizoku Blue's thoughts on this. Also, we're only 3 episodes in, so it's not a big deal (yet), but I find the villains generic so far. This is the same writer of Zyuohger, so I hope Junko doesn't fall into that trap again. Final thoughts: This could make a list of favorite sentai episodes in general, and I don't remember the last time I could say that about a show this early on. This show is on fire. Next episode: It looks like next episode is gonna be a Tsukasa focus episode. I'm glad that we're focusing on a Patranger this time, and I'm assuming it's also gonna be part Umika focus, and I would love to get the same kind of backstory episode for her too, and hopefully Kairi after that.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 4, 2018 14:54:37 GMT -5
Color me shocked, but I liked this episode. I liked Making Waves, so I guess we'll have to see if they can make it a 3-in-a-row. Since I'm late, I didn't bother to watch the previews, so when the episode started, I thought we were doing an original monster, which would have been cool, but then, lo and behold, it transformed into that dumbass Lawnmower Yokai. I was always wondering how they would adapt that episode, and they somehow managed to take that stupid episode from Ninninger and adapt it into a decent episode. I actually like this monster, and I thought its powers were cool. My only problem with this episode, besides the typical Neo-Saban problems I have (and Victor and Monty), were Levi having to paint himself green to get the people to stop playing the games. I thought that was stupid. Other than that, I, surprisingly, give the adaptation of that dumb lawnmower episode, a 3/5.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Mar 2, 2018 15:31:05 GMT -5
LvP episode 2: I thought this was another fantastic episode. It's definitely not perfect, but I'll get to that later. I should also mention that I do these posts one at a time, so while I'm behind, as of now, I haven't seen episode 3 yet. The Good: First off, I have to talk about the opening. To give a little background on my taste in sentai openings, how much I love any music from a sentai never correlates to how I feel about that sentai as a whole. I love Gokaiger, Go-Busters, and Kyoryuger, but I think the openings are just okay, and they're not ones I go back and regularly listen to, but on the other hand, I think Gaoranger is a boring sentai, but that opening is anti-boring, and it's one of my favorites. I love sentai music, especially openings, but going by sentai order (because I haven't watched every sentai in order), I haven't loved a sentai opening since Shinkenger's, until we got to Kyuranger, so that was a big deal to me, and the fact that I love the very next one is a big deal to me, too.
What's an even bigger deal to me is that in watching these past sentais, I've come across a lot of openings that I ended up loving, with Timeranger, Abaranger, Dekaranger, and Magiranger, just to name a few being one of my favorites, but none of the openings I've seen has even come close to topping Shinkenger, until now. I never thought this would ever happen. I love you Psychic Lover, I love you, Shinkenger opening, but this LvP opening is my new favorite. I already thought the song was great already, but I also love the visuals. The way the visuals were done are very different from how sentais are usually done, and honestly, they remind me of KR openings, which I assume was the point. There are 3 versions of the opening: The Lupinranger one, the Patranger one, and the combined version, and I would have been happy enough if I loved just one of them, but the fact that I love all 3 is yet another big deal for me. I love how big band Lupinranger's opening is, with the trumpets and the funky guitars, and I love Patranger's opening with the modern techno-y, dubstep-y sound, and the fact that we have another opening with a female singer, which apparently, Kr does all the time. I would love to see SS do it more often. As for the combined version, going by the fact that W is my favorite KR opening, and with songs like Yuuki Bakuretsu, Go-On Wings' theme, Ra-Tora-Tah's theme, and PutoTyra's theme, I guess I'm just a sucker for duets.
As for other things I loved about the episode. I loved that we got a little more backstory on the Lupinrangers. I guess, more accurately, I like the backstory we got for the Lupinrangers. I thought that scene was very well done. I thought it was heartbreaking, especially when you see the look on Touma's face. That's some great acting. The way that scene played, it made Kogure look very suspicious. We now know the name of that ice Gangler, Zamigo Delma, and know what his human form looks like, since I'm late on this, for not having internet these past few weeks. Despite now having this information, I still find Kogure suspicious. There's something up with this guy.
I also like the story with Kairi having more respect for Keiichiro and the Patrangers, and deciding to let them take out the Ganglers while they collect the Lupin Collection. I also like that this causes conflict with Touma. He is in desperate need of more characterization, and this could help.
I love the action in this episode. I love all the camera movements when the Lupinrangers fight. I also love the Patrangers henshin and roll call, and I liked the scene with the MegaBo. The Porderman lining up like that just to get taken down like that was silly, but it's silliness that worked for me. I love that we're getting the Patrangers' finisher in this episode, but the Lupinranger's megazord, and that we're switching it up in the next episode. I love the zord battle we got at the beginning with the Lupinrangers Vs the Patrangers. I love GoodStriker, and anytime we get sentient zords in general, like with Abaranger and Go-Onger. I love this megazord battle. The agile nature of LupinKaiser reminded me of GekiTouja and Kyoryujin. My only gripe with it is the finisher. I don't know what I would do instead, but I didn't care for the fact that it's just the giant morpher, but other than that, I thought the fight itself was great. The Bad: Everyone, me included, is expecting the next episode to focus on the Patrangers, and if I had one fear about the show after seeing this episode, it's that I hope that since the show put Lupinrangers first in the title, and focused on them first, that it doesn't fall into the trap of focusing more on them and sidelining the Patrangers. There's every bit a chance the next episode could put the focus on the Lupinrangers again, and while it could still be another brilliant episode, speaking as someone who is definitely wholeheartedly Team Lupinranger, that would be a huge miscalculation, and a gigantic missed opportunity. I hope the show isn't stupid enough to do this. I'm the guy that says that Kyuranger could have balanced all 12 rangers if they tried hard enough, and we have half the number of rangers this season, so there's no excuse. Man, I called it. I thought this episode was freaking great, but story-wise, this is my only big problem with the episode. It feels like this was done because they figured if every odd-numbered episode was a Lupinranger episode and every even-numbered episode was a Patranger episode, the show would be too formulaic, but this is freaking Super Sentai, the master of formulas. No one would have cried foul on this, because it would have showed deliberate attempt to focus on both teams. If the show was just called Lupinranger, I would have less of a problem with this. No one expects, say, the Gouraigers or the Go-On Wings to have equal or more screen time with their respective main teams, but the Patrangers' name is in the show, and the whole novelty of this Vs show was to pit one team against another, and focus on both of them, so the show should put in that effort. I know the "Damn you, thieves!" this is a trope of the gentlemen thieves archetype, since they do it all the time in Sly Cooper, and even in the Lupin the 3rd opening, and as funny as it was here (along with them being surprised when they fused), I hope the show doesn't make the mistake of the Patangers just being here just to be the butt of jokes. Even if they end up being funny, it would kinda be a shame. Another problem I had, which is a problem I have with the show as a whole, is the lack of an ending theme. I'm just gonna stick a pin in this, so that I don't harp on it in every episode, and I'm not gonna mention it again until my finale post with my season overview. Meh. I Would prefer that the efforts focus more in plot and characterization. An ending song doesn't gonna add something substantial to the series. It's like how you said it, tradition. The times are changing. If people accepted the Super seasons for Power Rangers, to keep watching new episodes, I think people gonna accept not having ending, to have more sponsors for the show. Ya I don't really see the need for end themes myself. We really just need intro for a show. Heck we should be happy shows have theme songs any more. As for the past decade most programs have been leaning away from themes and just doing a title card and that it. I tend to just collect the full OP for Sentai because I end up imagining the Rangers dancing during the EDs and I don't like that. But some EDs I do like. I didn't have internet these last 2 weeks, so I couldn't reply to these when they were posted, but I don't agree with any of you. Plot and characterization have nothing to do with music. Timeranger had a good story and still had a great ending theme, so to me, that's not an excuse. You're right that ending themes don't add anything substantial to the show, but neither does the openings. They're just fun, and I like them, and like you said...that I said...it's tradition. Those are all the reasons I need to be disappointed. I also don't get the comparison to the Super Seasons. There's not a single PR fan, even the people who like these Neo-Saban seasons (which, for the record, I don't like any of them), who likes the fact that these adaptations are spread over 2 years. We only deal with it because there's literally nothing we can do about it, not because we accept it, and it doesn't mean we have to like it, and that's how I feel about LvP not having an ending theme. Admittedly, this problem for me is very subjective, because I love ending themes, and I love sentai music in general, to the point where I'm making a ton of playlists on my Youtube channel for them: www.youtube.com/channel/UCmpqZF7qG. I would take a bad one over none at all, and whoever made this decision, I hope they realize their mistake, and that they rectify this either later in the show, or for the next sentai. Preferably both. Final thoughts: Despite all that, I still thought this was a great episode. Just 2 episodes in, I think this is a return to form for SS. I wish we can just erase the last 4 years of disappointing sentais and have this show come right after Kyoryuger. Next episode: Because this episode focused so much on the Lupinrangers, I chalked it up to the show just wanting to spend more time setting up the Lupinrangers, but next episode is a... Touma focus episode? What? Like I said, he is in serious need of characterization, but can we get some focus on the Patrangers? Also, as for that last scene, it's obvious the the Patrangers didn't figure out who the Lupinrangers are. I know SS is trying to be different, but they don't have the balls to not stretch this reveal out as long as possible. The Lupinrangers work in a restaurant. The Patrangers are just coming in to eat. It's so obvious. I can't believe they tried to pull something like that, but then again, this is a kids show, so overall, I'm okay with it.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Feb 18, 2018 2:31:34 GMT -5
^But it's not better to not have an ending theme than to not have a good one. Also, if I didn't like an ending theme, I always had the option to skip it, which I've done. I never would have thought in a million years that they would just stop doing them. LvP is not too old hat for ending themes. Even if they didn't want to do the dance ones, Boukenger and Timeranger are perfect examples of ending themes that were still great, even though they weren't made to be danced to.
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Post by Gokai Gaburincho on Feb 17, 2018 23:22:38 GMT -5
This news is insane. Consider my mind blown. I never would have saw this coming in a million years. I'm meh on the new logo and the name Beast Morphers, but I don't even care. I'm excited for this, if this is indicative of a change in the quality of the show. I really want to know how they're gonna handle the season format, and who's the head writer gonna be.
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