Hasbro's Power Rangers era and General Tokusatsu discussion

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Samurai8472, Jan 11, 2019.

  1. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    At first I thought the common thread was gold Sixth Rangers, but then I remembered that KingRanger is considered a Black Ranger with gold highlights, though his American counterpart was called the Gold Zeo Ranger. And it wouldn't have explained why those two in particular were chosen.
     
  2. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    Zenkaiger episode 7

    Stacey has arrived. We find out he's half human/half machine. Gaon's love of Earthlings, and distaste for Kikainoids, is taken to a much darker, more dramatic place (with the self-loathing being made explicit)

    His talk with Kaito about not really knowing how to resolve this inner conflict is also really interesting

    The Grand Finale of the Zenkai Gattais duking it out with their Classic Counterparts was cool to see.

    The creativity of the choreography, the way we move from a solid two-on-four to a four-on-four free-for-all, the excellence of the camera work (there's a bit where our perspective follows the course of one of the blasts that is absolutely exquisite)
    ...it's seriously some absolutely fantastic stuff.

    Gao VS Gao! with Jyuran singing a big of the Gaoranger theme

    The series also recreated the exact scene of how the Goranger's performed their team attack with the football

    In a meta moment. The past core mecha emerge through the original box art they had when the toys were released.
     
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2021
  3. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I really hope GoKaiger get to have a full cross over including all 6x of them meeting the 7th GoKaiger and being surprised to find that TwoKaiser could really double as GokaiGold =D
     
  4. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Not bad. It's clearly after the movie that I haven't seen yet, since the Zenkaigers recognize their Super Sempais and Kaitou greets Akarenger as a prior acquaintance. We're finally getting a bit more connection to the past with the impostor teams and robos, though it's still not the actual character appearances I was hoping for.

    Stacey seems like he's motivated by the desire to prove himself to his father (?) Ijirude [correction -- Barashitara]. That might make him redeemable, or it might just drive him to greater villainy.


    Yes, the giant battle choreography is so much better these days. It's kind of ironic to see it paired with older robos that generally had much more mediocre fight choreography, although the weakest period was probably before any of the four counterparts featured here.


    Well, not quite exact. The original went Green, Yellow, Blue, Red. I guess Pink, Yellow, Blue, Red, White was as close as they could come. And they didn't duplicate the moves and calls precisely, but did a quicker, more streamlined version. Also, in the original, it was Momorenger who called out what the End Ball would transform into at the start of the Hurricane, rather than the leader calling it out at the end.

    Plus, in Gorenger Hurricane (as opposed to the earlier, soccer-like Gorenger Storm), the monster and enemy grunts would usually run interference during the maneuver, befitting the football theme. Though later on there was a simpler version where the End Ball just hung in midair and the Gorengers vaulted over it and tagged it one by one. (I guess the idea was that they were charging it with their respective energies, or something.)


    I think that's pushing a bit too far through the fourth wall. And is too much of a reminder of how commercial this all is.
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2021
  5. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    Kamen Rider Saber episode 31

    Rintaro and Touma put in some teamwork, and Mei is saved! That was a good episode, but far from the end of this arc.

    So Storious is now working with Master Logos full time and has taken the key Sophia left to Mei. That sets up just Northern Base vs Southern Base (vs Kento) for the show's final arc, since Legeiel is gone and Zooous most likely will be after next week. It looks like Reika is keeping secrets from her brother too.

    I wonder if there's anything more sinister behind Sophia apparently feeling pain when a Megid is nearby or if it's just an alert system she has (since she handed over the book to Mei?)

    From the Kamen Rider Official website

    Poor Daishinji and Sophia weren't too keen on their likenesses/expressions lol. I'm not sure on why Ren has a "confused/Dizzy" look

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    This show likes teasing the Touma/Rintaro shippers, with them smiling at each other as their swords clash and light up and then lying side by side on the ground, panting in the afterglow. Get a room, you two!

    Speaking of enclosures within buildings, I wonder where that familiar location is where Zoous was holding Mei, that walled-in rooftop atrium or whatever you'd call it with the artwork on the walls. There have been a number of notable scenes shot there, including a major villain's very poignant death scene in a late Kamen Rider Drive episode. I tried looking at Google Maps' overhead view of Toei Studios to see if it was one of their rooftops, but though I found a couple of very familiar-looking railing-lined rooftops, I didn't see anything that looked like that recessed area. (I did, however, find Oomori Hill, the iconic curving drive that's been a perennial location since the '70s. It's shorter and less curved than it looks onscreen.)

    Anyway, I'm glad Rintarou is over his weepy self-loathing phase -- and apparently he's due for a major power-up next week. I liked his and Touma's teamwork in freeing Mei, and how they inspired her to fight back inside the Megiddo.

    Interesting how there's this parallel conflict going on with Tassel aka Victor and his enemies offscreen, with us just getting glimpses of it.
     
  7. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    Kamen Rider Black RX episode 2

     
  8. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I REALLY loved TsuuKaisers Intro.

    I wasn't expecting a literal Song & Dance.

    His entrance felt a bit like a Space Sheriff entrance =D

    Even in the next ep preview, he seems to have some chick with him as his assistant, just like a Space Sheriff.

    I hope the Gokaigers gets to come back and interact with TsuuKaiser.
     
  9. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    That girl is his sister Flint. Besides the ponytail hairstyle IMO she bares a resembles to Sena from Kiramager. There's already murmurs she might be a future ranger


    Atsuki Mashiko who plays Zox is a singer and dancer so they incorporated that into his character

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    Henshin lesson with Zox.



    It's funny how some were worried about the lack of human characters before the show premiered.

    One actor and 4 robots?!

    Now it's expanded to 3 more humans before we even get to the double digit episodes.


    Zenkaiger episode 8

    Zox came in singing a sea shanty! I've seen it all now

    Interestingly TwoKaisers debut was also where ShinkenGold's debut was by the stream.


    The central gag of the team trying and failing to get to where they're trying to go is absolutely fantastic

    The knowledge that Barashitara has taken many wives (presumably one for each world the Tojitendo Dynasty has conquered) and they are, all of them, dead and forgotten ( Does Stacey even know his mother ?) is a shockingly grim turn for the series to take, but it works remarkably well at grounding Stacey's character, deepening Barashitara's, and drawing a compelling parallel to Kaito.
     
  10. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I see, so it's not just TwoKaizer, it's Tsuukai-zer, from Japanese for delightful or thrilling. One of those bilingual puns they love so much. And tsuukai is his catchword just as zenryoku zenkai is for Kaito. (So many "kai"s...)

    The song and dance was unexpected. It seems he steals Sentai Gears, no doubt favoring Gokaiger because he styles himself as a fellow pirate. I guess he also managed to steal the Ohranger and Shinkenger Gears somewhere along the way.

    Cute variation on the roll call, having four of them do it at giant size with Zenkaizer standing on a bridge in front of them.

    I was surprised -- I thought the Door World monster was going to send the team to alternate realities, in keeping with the show's theme. But I guess those realities are all supposed to be imprisoned, whatever that means.

    Stacey was favoring Showa-era teams for his impostors this week. Fiveman is the only one of the three that I've seen so far. But of the two main giant robos that attacked the team in the beginning, I recognized DaiDenzin from Denziman -- the second giant robot and the first transforming one (though the first combining one was a year later, Sun Vulcan Robo). They actually used the original footage of DaiDenzin and the other one doing their finishers.


    Yeah, that's creepy as hell, although I also can't help thinking, "How the hell does that work? He's a robot!" But then, I could just as well ask how Juran, Gaoon, Magine, and Vroom are able to eat and drink.
     
  11. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Since Kikainoid DNA is obviously compatible with humans, it seems odd that Humans become the dominate feature trait instead of a hybrid.

    Weird.

    That explains why the song & dance felt so natural and professional

    Yup, it's going to be hard to top this entrance for a 6th ranger.

    I do love how Stacesar went with the logical route of summoning as many Rangers & Robos as possible, only to run out of energy to defeat the protagonists.

    At least they "Tried" that option, but realize there are technical energy limits.

    I really appreciate that aspect from the writers.

    Very rarely do the bad guys try over whelming #'s when they should have the advantage.
     
  12. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    Some Power Rangers news appeared to during Hasbro's Q1 Earnings Conference Call

    https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1387035443540242433

    Sounds like Power Ranger's tenure on Nickelodeon is ending in the near future.
     
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  13. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Washington State, USA
    Decided to drop Zenkaiger. Its just too cartoony for me, and I say that as someone who enjoyed Carranger. The looney toons style physical gags (like Zenkaiser's body falling but his head staying in place for a second) were driving me nuts, and Twokaiser's debut is one of the worst things ever in sentai. I was hoping that Zenkaiger would turn out more like Kamen Rider Saber, where the preschooler style elements would be hiding at least some deeper/less kiddie stuff, but instead Zenkaiger is just the Japanese equivalent of shows you'd find on Disney jr. Even the action isn't very good, because half of it is just physical gags and half of the remaining is sub-Saber level CG action. Its disappointing, but hopefully the 50th anniversary will have actual effort put into it.


    Well thats interesting. I'd be glad to see Nick gone. If nothing else, we will probably stop getting "super" seasons, and probably won't have a huge hiatus part way through every season. I'll also hope to see some better writing, but I doubt they'll be switiching the production crew even if they switch where the show airs.
     
  14. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Saber 32: So, the Northern Base gets invaded. Touma starts to see through Durandal's teleport power -- which we learn isn't teleporting so much as superfast movement akin to Kamen Rider Kabuto's Clock-Up. And Rintarou gets his final form, a white ice-based lion armor with a tategami (lion's mane, or samurai's full head of hair) theme, and a spinning belt gadget reminiscent of Tategami Li-Oh from Go-Busters. Also, I think this is the first Kamen Rider armor with hair. I think the original Kamen Rider's (Ichigou's) first helmet left a bit of the wearer's hair visible over the nape of the neck, and this was echoed by the 2005 movie reboot version of Ichigou; but that's not the same as incorporating artificial hair as an actual component of the helmet. The only other tokusatsu costume I can think of that did that was Miss America from Battle Fever J.

    Also, Zoous gets a repaint and is finally defeated, and Reika realizes Master Logos is working with the Megiddo and begins to have doubts at last.

    We see a lot more of the Northern Base, with filming at the same indoor location used for Southern, as well as a big climactic battle in the CGI exterior of the NB, which apparently is anchored to the polar ice cap. I'm tempted to think it's right on the North Pole, but then that would mean Sophia is also Santa Claus, and that would raise all sorts of questions.
     
  15. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    So Durandal power

    According to the official site
    What happens is that when he separates his sword, he is cutting and erasing time, allowing to move in a special space like sea because of his chest armor, where he can see the slow passage of time.
    the thing is he isn't completely free to move there, and can’t attack in that space. And it’s said that is a very difficult sword to handle, as one mistake can hurt friends

    Not sure if it fully makes sense but it’s something




    I've definitely seen a divide in people who love this years style/format and some that haven't

    Regarding the 50th anniversary.

    Remember, the way TOEI has set themselves up, Kamen Rider and Super Sentai share anniversary duties, that's why Sentai has been celebrating bigger on the 5s.

    If they didn't do anything particularly groundbreaking for the 40th, and this much groundbreaking for the 45th, the chances of doing anything big for 50 are low. Not impossible, given 50 years is a notable anniversary year, but still low.
     
  16. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I've been fairly disappointed by their approach to 45 so far. Zenkaiger is a fun show with effective character work, but the anniversary angle is superficial. The only real engagement with past Sentai teams so far has been in the movie and a direct-to-video special rather than in the show itself. Otherwise it's just a bunch of glimpses of costumes, gimmicks, and mecha, all duplicates rather than the real things.
     
  17. kirk55555

    kirk55555 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I get that, but 50 is a big anniversary. Pretty much the second biggest one possible, and I doubt they'll be worrying about a potential 100th. I can't see them not going all out for half a century of sentai. Zenkaiger is barely an anniversary season, its mostly a comedy with some anniversary elements slapped on, I really don't seem them considering this the "big" anniversary and not putting effort into the 50th. But, Sentai and the people making it have been more disappointing then not since at least the end of Gokaiger, so who knows.
     
  18. KamenRiderBlade

    KamenRiderBlade Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I think if you're going to do a Anniversary you gotta do something that was different from your previous anniversaries.

    Otherwise, doing them that often will get boring for the creators and the fans.

    And the Odd # Anniversaries are kinda weird compared to even # Anniversaries and special #'s like 50.

    Gokaiger was great because of select returns of certain previous Sentai members, but they only lasted for 1-2 eps.

    Instead of just passing by and having 1 or 2 members show up for an ep for a story of the week.

    I'd like one that was just more focused on a few teams and have the team members last several episodes for a deeper interaction and more mentorship.

    Kinda like how Decade showed up for many episodes of Zi-O.

    More "Deeper" integration of previous Sentai members or teams.

    It doesn't have to be for as long as Decade was in Zi-O, but it could stand to use some depth (3-7 weeks).
     
  19. Kai "the spy"

    Kai "the spy" Admiral Admiral

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    Composer Shunsuke Kikuchi passed away on April 24.
    Among his many memorable works is the music for the original Kamen Rider series, including the iconic theme song "Let's Go! Rider Kick!":

    Among his other film and tv scores are "Doraemon", "Dragonball" & "Dragonball Z", "Jumborg Ace", "Ultraman Zoffy", "The Terror Beneath the Sea", "Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell", and the Gamera films "Gamera vs. Guiron", "Gamera vs. Jiger", "Gamera vs. Zigra" and "Gamera: Super Monster".
     
  20. Samurai8472

    Samurai8472 Admiral Admiral

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    Mar 27, 2007
    My smart tv has access to plutotv which offers Tokushoutsu! Currently its cycling between
    Megaranger,Carranger,Timeranger

    [​IMG]


    Episode 30 of Timeranger is playing. It's the episode after Timefire's debut. So cool! I don't have to mess with usb's or anything. Just switch to the channel and watch the episode. SO convienient.