The Tokusatsu Thread

[Milo]

I think Power Rangers is hilarious.

Because of how over the top/campy/cheesy it is.

And I love every single moment of those moments.

Edited November 5, 2011 by Zinos

[\gunther]

New Megamax trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQOAA1Xp6H8

Super TaToBa has been revealed!

Uhhh, cool...?

It's going to be a while before I get used to that color distribution.

[Ekaje]

Bleh, head and claws look good, but the making the chest and legs almost entirely yellow and green makes it really easy to see all the shine and crinkles on the costume that used to be hidden by the black. At least we won't have to look at it for too long since it'll probably just be used with Fourze's Double Rocket State to finish off whatever the monster is in the last segment of the movie.

Edited November 6, 2011 by Ekaje

[Octarine]

The real issue with the suit for me is that the head is TaJaDor-style shiny red while the yellow and green are flat. It just seems really mismatched. I do like what they've done with the claws, though; I hope they aren't made of the same crappy foam as the normal ones (or at least that the black will help to mask it if they are).

[\gunther]

The claws are the only part I'm really liking, but that alone isn't enough to make me excited to see the form in action. I mean, most of OOO's forms had clashing color schemes, but not to this degree.

It's a shame, if it had more black like the most of other forms, I think it'd be a rather solid design.

[Octarine]

Gokaiger 37:

Man, does this show adore Wolzard or what?

Anyway, the episode was really good, even if it was mostly buildup. I really felt for Walz, especially in that scene where he basically admits that freaking Barizorg is his only friend. It's kind of a pity that we're only getting this insight into his character right before he dies, but at least Damaras is getting something out of it too. Rubber suit or not, you can totally feel his discomfort at this whole situation; it's beautiful. Marvelous forcing everyone out of GokaiOh and then crashing in the Gokai Galleon at the end was pretty powerful stuff too, but of course all of the real fun is going to happen next week. Complete GokaiOh still looks gorgeous, and I'm glad there's at least going to be a little levity with that scene where Walz and Insarn celebrate. I'm mildly peeved that it looks like the only Gokai Change in this two-parter will be the Bangai Hero one, though; I guess it kind of makes sense, since all of this is leading up to the Gokaigers' own Great Power, but it's still passing up a great opportunity to make the past teams look awesome.

Still, that Bangai Hero fight was really good. Luka as Zubaan? Cutest damn thing ever.

[Ekaje]

Fourze 10

After finding the first half of Nozama's arc to be nothing special, this episode was really great. The character development was well done (and funny, with how Gen just flew Nozama through the roof and shoved her into the space locker), and we got a nice scene summing up our big cast of oddballs. The night fight was good, and Fire States was really cool once it got to be shown off properly.

And now that we have all of the Kamen Rider Club assembled, wonder what direction the plot is going to go into now. I've heard some things that will be introduced into the plot alongside Meteor (something about a "Galaxy King", I think), but I don't think that'll come into play until after MegaMax plays in theaters and likely features Meteor/his actor in a short cameo or an after-credits scene.

[Octarine]

Gokaiger Goseiger Super Sentai 199 Hero Grand Battle:

Big, dumb and a ton of fun. It was pretty much exactly what I was hoping for.

The movie was basically packed with great stuff from beginning to end, so I'll just mention a few things that I loved. Denji Blue was immensely likeable despite his limited screen time; that scene where he talked with the little boy in the playground was ridiculously cute. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing his actor return in Vs. Gavan (and possibly Gobusters, if the rumours are true). It was great that they got so many voice actors back for the extra heroes, not just the ones they had lying around from tribute episodes. The stock footage in the final mecha battle was delightfully cheesy, and I like the way they spliced some of the footage together to have various robots attacking at the same time. My heart melted at the sight of RV Robo and EngineOh delivering the finishing blow on Yogoshimacritein* together.

I found the idea that all of the robots at the end were just giant-size toys really endearing, actually, despite the obvious commercial aspect of it. I mean, for every main mech to have showed up, at least one person in that city would have had to have owned and cherished a toy of that mech. Every Sentai team is loved.

There were a couple of disappointing bits, though. I know it was Black Cross King's movie, but it still hurt that the Zangyack were barely in it. The Super Sentai Bazooka was pretty stupid, even though it took up so little screen time that it's hard to really be annoyed at it. It was kind of a pity that Black Cross King's resurrected villains didn't get to do all that much, either; I'm not a huge fan of any of them, but it was still a little sad that Yogoshimacritein was the only one of the three who got to show off any personality.

Still, it was a great movie. Probably my new favourite Sentai Vs. movie, taking the top spot from Mega vs. Car.

*No, I'm not totally 100% on board with O-T's decision to change Yogoshimacritein's name into an English pun. That kind of thing works (and should be done) in dubs, but when you only have a split second to read the pun while the characters say a totally different word it can be kind of difficult to process. Not a huge deal, or even really a deal at all, but it's notable as basically the first time I've ever really disagreed with anything they've done.

I do adore that they translated his title as "Crime Minister", though. Good stuff.

Gokaiger 38:

Not too much to say about this episode, but it was good. Ultimate/Complete/Kanzen GokaiOh still looks good, but it was a little underwhelming in action, and it felt kind of cheap for the Great Walz to be taken out so easily. Still, I loved most of the character drama, especially among the Zangyack (having Walz die while trying to take revenge for Barizorg's death was a really nice touch), and things look like they're only going to get more interesting from here.

It says a lot that the next episode has more Basco and Mega Red, but the thing I'm most excited for is seeing what the hell Damaras and Insarn are going to do now that their boss is dead. Obviously the Gokaigers' bounty going up means that the news got around... hm.

Fourze 10:

A good episode as usual, though it was a little less satisfying than a lot of the other "recruiting" two-parters because I liked Tomoko already. Hopefully this means we can move on to the actual plot now.

I did like FIre States' second Limit Break. No lengthy charge-up, no ludicrous explosion, just BOOM -> DEAD. I nearly laughed out loud at how quickly everything was over.

Edited November 17, 2011 by Octarine

[Ekaje]

Gokaiger 39:

Typical tribute episode. School stuff was entertaining, was funny to see MegaRed being as enthusiastic as Gai at meeting each other. Kinda disappointed that Basco didn't really do much other than fight, release monsters and run off, but eh. Disappointed as well that the ultimate power wasn't used, though I wonder if this is what's going to happen to the rest of the powers now that the ultimate mecha is here, or if they'll all be CG oneshots.

Next week, time travel shenanigans, after which hopefully we'll get some plot progression on the Zangyack's end.

Fourze 11:

Got some nice plot details this episode, an explanation as to why the town hasn't looked into the going ons at the high school, because it's basically the evil principal's town. Wonder if this is going to lead to the other Zodiarts being higher ups in the town, or if they're all going to be part of the school staff.

Wonder if this is going to be Kengo's befriending arc where he accepts the Kamen Rider club, or if that's later and this is just for exposition on how he and Yuki got to the space base. Wonder who sent him the box though. (Crackpot theory:HAPPY BIRTHDAY!)

Edited November 23, 2011 by Ekaje

[Octarine]

Gokaiger 39:

I loved this episode. Part of it is just that I've got a soft spot for Megaranger, but I honestly think it was one of the best tributes we've had so far: we learned a little more about each character, their many, many references to dreams worked really well after last week's episode, Kenta was totally in character and hilarious to watch, and the few non-tribute Gokai Changes were quite creative (I never, ever thought that we'd get to see Timeranger's freeze-compression capsules again). The tribute fight scene at the end was one of my favourites, too, what with virtually every weapon in the Megarangers' arsenal being utilized and a brand-new Final Wave, including Gai's first non-Gold Mode finisher since the teen episodes. It really hit the right balance between making the Megaranger powers look cool and not diminishing Basco as a threat, so kudos. And hey, we even got to see MagiDragon in the mech fight!

Next week's tribute looks amazing, though. I love it when Gokaiger weaves together elements of past series and really makes them feel interconnected, so the concept of a Timeranger tribute with Metal Alice from Goseiger as (apparently) the main threat just blows my mind.

Edited November 25, 2011 by Octarine

[Ekaje]

Fourze 12:

Man, this arc's Switcher was creepy. "I'm going to take every girl who rejected my creepy stalking, and drown them in a bus." Glad they didn't try some cop-out for a forced redemption/friendship.

Some nice switch combo's this week, and stealth is a cool addition. Also, I just love how Gen just kept casually kicking the Zodiart away as he was talking with Kengo.

Turns out his was Kengo's befriending episode after all, and it's going to be interesting to see how the group is effected by him being more friendly now that he's accepted the club.

Looking forward to next week, as it looks like we're getting some more plot involving the past switchers, as well as the school principal (guess Mitsuaki/Red-Eyes is a chairman, as Aesir's subs put it), and not to mention, the Scorpio Zodiart seems to be the main enemy, which'll make up for him/her just showing up to run away after getting burned by Fire State.

Fourze Switch Spoilers

22- Hammer

23- Water (faucet)

24- Medical (aid-kit)

25- Pen (writing brush)

MegaMax Scans:

Double Rocket State looks good, and while Super TaToBa still looks goofy with it's coloration, it doesn't look like it'll be too terrible to watch in action.

Scans showing off that every OOO combo will make at least a small appearance in the film (except BuraKaWani and PuToTyra of course).

The villains from W/OOO reappear, presumably from Foundation X made memories and medals. The right page shows what I'm pretty sure is the Super Galaxy King, the new enemy for the last part of the film.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Ekaje

[Octarine]

^

Yeah, Super TaToBa looks a lot more reasonable in these new shots.

Fourze 12:

It's weird; Fourze is still going strong, but I never really have much to say about it. This week's episode was good as always, with some great moments not just for Kengo but for Yu(u)ki as well. I genuinely wasn't expecting Ms. Sonoda to be in league with Chairman Red-Eyes, so that was definitely a cool moment.

Looking forward to the plot finally shifting into gear. This two-parter was definitely necessary for the background (or at least the first part was), but now that we've got a foundation it's time to get to the good stuff.

Gokai 40:

Holy shit.

Y'know how in my last post I was excited at the prospect of an episode that featured a Goseiger villain during the events of Gosei vs. Shinken as part of a Timeranger tribute? Well holy shit, 'cuz they managed to make the whole thing a prelude to the upcoming Kakuranger tribute and throw in Gingaman's ultimate power as well. The whole thing was set up really well, managing to combine all of those threads without ever feeling rushed or getting too deep into the fanwank.

The best thing, though, was that even with all of that crap going on there was still plenty of love for Timeranger in there. The tribute fight wasn't spectacular like Ohranger's or Megaranger's, but it included most of Timeranger's Matrix ripoffs trademark style. Timeranger's transformation sequence is my favourite of any Sentai series, so seeing it reproduced so well was fantastic. Domon was great, too, hitting the balance between fun and serious perfectly. His slightly goofy attitude at the beginning of the episode made the crying scene at the very end all the more touching... it wasn't quite as moving as Jou's speech in the Liveman episode, but it certainly came close. Also: the guy's aged seriously well. He honestly looks better than he did in Timeranger.

Power Rangers Samurai: Clash of the Red Rangers:

Like I've said, I've only ever watched the first (third?) episode of Samurai. The show just isn't for me; even if I thought it was any good, it's so close to Shinkenger that there really wouldn't be any point in watching it. I have watched all of RPM, though (and loved it, for the record), so I was kind of obligated to give this movie a shot. Thoughts follow.

It was okay, I guess. It was awkward as hell that Scott was stuck in his suit, especially with that lame excuse about not being able to breathe the air, but it was nice that they got Eka to do the voice. It's a pity that they couldn't get more of the RPM cast to show up/do voicework, but he was still the best part of the special. The Samurai cast are still wretched actors for the most part, though the dialogue seemed like a step up from the other bits of Samurai I've seen.

The plot was a bit of a mess, what with powerups out of nowhere and footage from two movies being spliced together, but in the end it all sort of came together. Weird dimensional subway aside (just pretend K built it as a last-resort way to escape Venjix, I guess), I did like most of the RPM-related stuff: it would've been nice if they'd mentioned Venjix or Corinth or... well, any of the RPM Rangers by name, but the few nods we got weren't bad at all. I particularly enjoyed the bit with the non-red Samurai Rangers being sucked offscreen into the RPM dimension; even if we didn't get to see it, the thought of Emily interacting with Gem and Gemma is completely adorable. I also kind of liked how Scott had a hand in setting up Mike and Emily, even though I don't really care about either of them; it's just nice to think about a character from one series having a significant effect on the characters from another, y'know?

Overall, though, the whole thing was a bit of a bust. Scott spent half of the special racing Jayden and fixing a car while the Samurai Rangers fought the real final battle, and since he was the only real reason I watched, that really hurt things for me. I understand the huge handicaps that the producers had going into this, and they certainly turned out a product that was better than I expected, but in the end it was still pretty lackluster.

ALLCAPS EDIT FOR THE ONLY SPOILER THAT MATTERS:

Don Dogoier's secret backstory is that he's fucking Erdrick from Dragon Quest.

Edited November 29, 2011 by New Year's Oct

[Ekaje]

Yeah, I heard a rumor about Don being an amnesiac legendary hero. But it'll be terrible if him remembering this leads to him having a more "serious" personality and fighting style. I don't really think this'll happen, but still.

Edited November 30, 2011 by Ekaje

[Octarine]

So in addition to the piles of movie and episode spoilers over the past couple of days, we've finally gotten our first look at the suits and mecha for the Sentai series that'll follow Gokaiger, Tokumei Sentai Gobusters.

Personally, I love everything I've seen and heard about this series so far. I was really hoping that they'd go for something radically different after Gokaiger, and by all accounts that seems to be what's happening. The suits are weirder than anything since Battle Fever J, but they're sleek and fresh. The mechs look nice too (I mean, come on. There's a rabbit), and I like that they have so many modes to switch between... I hope the show actually takes advantage of that capability, though; Sentai has a history of forgetting about its interesting gimmicks pretty quickly. I like that they're going with the sentient mecha concept again, too. Ideally, the smaller cast and the human-sized forms should make it easier for them to get screentime than the Engines from Go-Onger, who were a good idea in concept but never really got enough time in the spotlight to become proper characters.

[Aquaslash]

I love everything about GoBusters so far. Totally looking forward to that.

Speaking of PR, all the new Mega Mode suits look badass. Totally making a move to collect them all.

[Ekaje]

Liking the look of Gobusters, suits are very unique in a good way. The transformation device sounds a bit odd though, it's a combination wrist device/sunglasses? Wonder how the robot partners will function in the story, because from the look of them, they could very well be partners pretty much full time, and not just when they're acting as part of the mechs.

[Ekaje]

Double posting, but apparently there's going to be a Super Sentai VS Kamen Rider film in 2012. Article hasn't been fully translated, but people have said that the news indicates that actors appearing will include:

* Masahiro Inoue (Decade)

* Ryota Ozawa (Gokaired)

* Rina Akiyama (Naomi from Den-O)

* Kenjiro Ishimaru (Owner/Stationmaster from Den-O)

* Momotaros

There's been quite a few crossover films like this lately. I guess since Toei went to the trouble of remaking all the Sentai and Rider suits for Gokaiger and the Decade crossover, they might as well get as much as they can out of them.

EDIT: Also, "next Sentai that will start in two months" (i.e. Gobuster) will appear.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Ekaje

[Octarine]

I'm not the biggest fan of Den-O, but I'm always up for more Owner. He was easily the best thing about Let's Go Kamen Riders.

I dunno about this one. It's nice to see the two franchises get to finally cross over, but I've never been fond of the "throw in all the suits" movies. 199 Heroes was really good, but I don't think Kamen Rider's ever really gotten it right.

[Ekaje]

Gokaiger 42

Really liked this one, moving forward the plot with Damaras and Basco, who absolutely wrecked the team. I know there's no chance that the rest of them are actually dead, but it's was still pretty impressive.

Doc's backstory was hilarious. It's amazing how much of a much of a mess the team was before Doc joined, such as not knowing how to turn the ship on.

Oh, and judging from Doc's nervousness, and his dialogue in the preview, he totally made up the whole legendary hero story, though it looks like he's going to make it up big time next week.

Edited December 12, 2011 by Ekaje

[Octarine]

Gokai 42:

Yeah, I find it kind of amusing that people elsewhere are still debating over how exactly the dragon-slaying thing fits into Don's past. Even if he didn't basically admit it in the preview, the way he got nervous whenever the issue was brought up (and the fact that the episode was set up with a "Don gets annoyed that nobody takes him seriously" scene) made it pretty clear that he made it all up. I'm looking forward to the inevitable scene in the next episode where we flash back to Don taking pictures of himself posing in a toga and applying a star-shaped temporary tattoo to his arm.

The episode was good, though. The scenes of Don being recruited were a ton of fun, and it's nice to see Damaras finally get into the action (although why he didn't just kill all of the Gokaigers before now if he's so strong is something I'm hoping they'll explain next week). I love that we're still getting new Final Wave variations even after the introduction of the Galleon Buster, too.

[Ekaje]

Fourze 15

Dang, I expected this episode to be a bit less important after last week's, but important stuff just keeps happening.

Libra is a nice villain, more calculating and "nurturing" of his Switchers, compared to Sonoda's "here's a Switch, blow stuff up". Wonder if that's going to be how the rest of them are going to be, though they can't all be ones that end up going past Last One. Though his suit looks a bit bulky for fighting, but from the preview it looks he'll mainly rely on his gimmick of changing forms.

Next episode doesn't look like it'll let up, with a Fourze-LibraFourze fight, Gen getting petrified, and Meteor showing up (already!).

Edited December 18, 2011 by Ekaje

[Octarine]

It's scans time!

First, we have another confirmed guest star for Gokaiger:

Tsuruhime! It's always nice to have more female rangers coming back, especially ones as important to their teams as she was. Oh, and Ninjaman's returning too, I guess. I never was too crazy about that suit.

Also, our first really good look at the Go-Busters, or at least Red Buster:

Those suits are looking cooler every time I see them, and Dr. K would be pleased with the choice of material. I'm happy that the mouthpieces are somewhat shiny rather than dull; I've always found featureless dull grey mouthpieces (see: Turboranger, Gaoranger and especially Dekaranger) obnoxiously cheap-looking.

...okay, fine. Fourze's Even Biggerer Head States, too:

It's weird; I figured the two halves of the switch would bend and meet in the middle or something rather than sticking out, sort of like W's Fang or Xtreme memories.

Edited December 22, 2011 by New Year's Oct

[Ekaje]

Fourze 16

Oh Gen, managing to stop and befriend a Zodiart without fighting and even making a single tear go down its rubber face.

I always find it funny when even the characters in the show are confused by some of the more "out there" switches ("and why does it go on my foot?"), and then the show manages to make them work wonderfully.

The introduction of Meteor was nice, I was expecting him to be a bit stoic for some reason, but then WACHAAA WACHAAA and a One Inch Jupiter Punch. The perfectly clear voice for his weapon was really weird to hear, will probably get used to it though. Looking forward to seeing more of Kamen Rider Bruce Lee next year.

Edited December 28, 2011 by Ekaje

[Octarine]

So my best friend found the second half of the original Ultraman series on DVD for $5.00 or something in a bargain bin and picked it up for me. This is both good (I now own a physical copy - subbed, even - of real, actual toku) and slightly terrible (I've managed to track down about eight more copies of the second volume but none of the first, and I've got awful OCD about this sort of thing). Shoulda seen me fangirling when I opened it, though.

I've only watched a couple of episodes so far, but it seems like a pretty good show. The effects are surprisingly good, even compared to some toku from a decade and a half later, and the formula of one giant superhero with a support team to keep things fresh is interesting. I also adore the Ultraman suits, particularly the helmets, so that's definitely a plus. I'm going to hold off on watching any more until I can pick up the first half, but I think I might have just become an Ultra fan.

[Ekaje]

Gokaiger 45

Meh, clipshow. The parts where actual things happened were entertaining, the attempts at "making a good first impression" were pretty funny, and I liked the part where they put together clips of all the various Gokai changes they've done over the series.

Fourze 17:

So Meteor is another secondary that isn't that nice to the main characters because of personal reasons, but will eventually become best friends with them. The fact that he'll be putting on a front as a friend outside of the suit(don't know how long that will last based of the preview, though), and that he'll be out to make a Zodiart evolve into the Aries Horoscope is interesting though. His shooting star trail juggle punch and kick were pretty cool too.