Well, the Power Rangers Super Samurai season debuted today. Aside from changes in the title sequence and a couple of hairstyles, the main changes are that the monsters are allegedly getting stronger, the toxic Sanzu river water is seeping into the mortal world, and Jayden has gained a so-called "Super Samurai" powerup, which was alleged to give him new powers beyond imagination, but really just amounts to adding a long-tailed, sleeveless white coat thingy over his costume (I know there must be a name for that type of garment, but I don't know it) and adding some new flashy animation when he shoots the monster with a fireball from his sword. They really rubbed it in when he crowed about how much power he'd gained while in the process of fighting Moogers with no greater ease than he ever did before. He also gets a new "Megamode" costume which looks like something Elvis would've worn in his later years. The only moderately significant upgrade that isn't just a matter of appearance is a new Megazord mode combining all six Rangers' Zords, plus an "artillery" piece assembled from their supplemental Zords. So basically Super Samurai mode seems to be the equivalent of a Battlizer mode, but with a more modest costume change and little actual impact beyond the cosmetic. One thing I did really like, though, was the final swell of music at the end of the episode, as the Rangers smiled at each other and joined hands. It was the loveliest, most powerful statement of the original Power Rangers theme melody that I think I've ever heard.
Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger ended today They pretty much owned the Emperor by spamming Gokai Changes. They even used past Super modes for the first time. In the end the Gokaiger's return all the ranger powers to their rightful owners. Some quick cameos from the ranger power's owners It feels like just yesterday everyone was talking about the fanwank opening of Gokaiger episode 1. The best part is that the series is 51 episodes. Plenty to rewatch again(If Go-busters stinks) I think some of the weak points in Gokaiger were the villains. They were seriously underused. I'll more post pictures when it gets subbed. Go-busters Episode One Promo reds [YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k06ZJGWVCEc[/YT] and passing of the torch moment between reds
totally agree fantastic episode today. I loved those fire breathing monsters fantastic. also liked the fact that Bulk and his nephewy are trying to find out who are the samuari rangers verly classic feeling to the originial series.
Passing of the torch moment between GokaiRed and Redbuster [YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvr018XbGWM[/YT] GokaiRed throws a punch and Redbuster easily catches it.
Gokaiger's finale battle. Spamming 35 GokaiChanges [YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9GR4TAR4vo[/YT]
Is it really a punch? I thought it was just a sign of camaraderie in Japan -- I think Joe and Marvelous did the same gesture a couple times on the show out of respect for each other. I believe he was trying to link the the Gokaiger's final battle.
Go-busters Opening [YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBvJKcsQULc[/YT] Some episode 1 remarks. -Has a very different atmosphere. It's blending Power Ranger terms with Kamen Rider filming techniques -At the moment no stock footage. They all transform in real time -Still weird to hear "It's morphin time" over in Japan. The brace actually says it but the transformation code is "Let's Morphin"
Nice. That can't be the actual opening though, can it? It's missing a lot of the usual tropes of a sentai OP, things exploding, giant robots, no sound effects, etc. They must be saving the henshin / gattai stuff for when it happens in-episode first. Transformation is different, I'll get used to it and I'm sure stock footage will be showing up soon. Definitely not missing the perpetual use of cellphones through most of the last decade though! Mark
Meanwhile, over on this side of the Pacific, this week's Super Samurai episode (or the Shinkenger episode it was based on) was fairly good, with the team having to reason out a strategy using their symbol power to defeat the monster (though at the same time it was silly that they kept limiting their attacks to its impenetrable shell rather than trying for its softer underbelly or limbs when it was unrolled). And they managed to find a decent way to incorporate Bulk & Spike into the story for once. I've realized how awkward it is to have them so completely detached from the Rangers, neither group knowing each other except from a distance. At least in the old days, Bulk & Skull were classmates of the Rangers so there was some direct interaction (though that diminished in later seasons with the junior police/detective/Professor Phenomenus stuff). It might be cool if Bulk & Spike found out the Rangers' identities and, say, got taken on as assistants at the dojo, so there'd be some level of interaction (and you could have Master Ji do the whole long-suffering superior thing like Lt. Stone back in the day). Though it'd be tough to explain why such bumblers wouldn't be fired within hours (come to think of it, how does Bulk pay his bills anyway?).
Christopher, yesterday's episode was actually mostly original in terms of its content, with the writers and producers splicing together several episodes of Shinkenger, including one that actually aired before Antonio's Sentai counterpart joined the team (hence the reason for him losing his morpher and being oblivious to what was happening around him). It wasn't quite as good as last week's ep, IMO, but wasn't by any means a bad episode either, and the writers really succeeded, for the first time, in capturing the MMPR-esque tone and feel they've been wanting to imbue the season with from its start without things feeling forced.
Had to chuckle - all I heard in the above video was "LET'S MORPHINE !!!". No wonder everyone loves being a Sentai... Mark
Just going on the clips in this thread, I'm not feeling any interest in Go-Busters. It's not bad, it's just not grabbing my interest.
Watched the first episode. I do like the feel, but following Gokaiger will be a toughie as expected. Anyone notice the mecha transformations were very... Bay-esque? I'm not surprised they used so much CGI, but I'm not sure it's sustainable for the long run. The mecha are also noticably smaller than Sentai average, unless they magically grow larger as they often do. Gotta love the lack of continuit sometimes. Finally, I'm guessing someone will be keeping track of how many pairs of sunglasses they'll be throwing away. Mark
I've never seen Jungle Fury in its entirety, and therefore decided to do a full watch-through of the season. I'm currently on Episode 11 (Pushed to the Edge), and the season is quickly becoming one of my favorites; it feels very much like a 'spiritual successor' to MMPR S3, PRWF, PRNS, and PRMF (especially MMPR S3 and PRNS), and is by far the best of the four seasons which were produced by Bruce Kalish (and the only one, to this point, which is by and large free of any major issues of any kind). I'm not yet sure if it'll crack my Top 5 Favorite Seasons list, but I'm definitely prepared to call it a 'very underrated' iteration of the franchise.