Gokaiger Episode 18 Review

Episode 18 picks up where episode 17 left off. The Gokaigers question Gai about where he got his powers and what he knows about the grand powers. Gai reveals that he got three grand powers, from Abaranger, Timeranger, and Zyuranger. This happened after he saved a kid and was hospitalized after being hit by a truck. Here, Gai has a near-death experience, and goes to the afterworld. He meets three dead sentai warriors, Abarekiller, Time Fire, and Dragon Ranger. Seeing his bravery, they give Gai a Gokai changer and ranger key, while giving him their grand powers. However, Marvelous tells Gai that he must prove his worth before he acknowledge him as a member of the team. He does this by fighting the Gorming and the MOTW without his powers, but is overwhelmed before being saved by the Gokaigers. here, Marvelous gives him his Gokai changer back. They transform, defeat the Gormin, than transform into Shinkengers (while mistaking gold rangers in the process). Later they transform into an entire team of silver rangers. After defeating the MOTW the first time, Gai is given the ranger keys for Abarekiller, Time Fire, and Dragon Ranger to unlock their powers. Gokai Silver's mecha comes from the future, and transforms into three different forms. All of which from each of the different powers. Gai defeats the MOTW after combining all of their powers.

This episode was awesome. One of the best of the season so far. I was kinda on the fence about the first episode of this two-parter, but this one was everything I hoped for. Good story, Gai shows his worth, and more awesome fights. They also thankfully toned down Gai's rollcall, which I felt was too long and cheesy in episode 17. It was also this episode that dawned on me that not only are Abarekiller, Time Fire, and Dragon Ranger all dead, but they all had dinosaur based powers. My only complaint about the episode is that I was hoping the Timeranger's version of Gai's mecha looked more like V-Rex, which IMO is one of the more awesome Sentai mechas ever. Despite that I really loved the episode. I give it 9/10.

Power Rangers Dino Thunder Series Review

Power Rangers Dino Thunder (2004) was adapted from Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger, was the 12th installment of Power Rangers. Dino Thunder, while keeping Abaranger's dinosaur motif, had a completely original storyline. In this season, popular character Tommy Olliver returned much to the delight of the power rangers fandom. The series also plays heavily on MMPR nostalgia with Tommy, the dinosaur theme, and teenage characters. Dino Thunder is generally one of the most popular power rangers series due to Tommy's return, as well as a likable cast and solid writing. However, some tend to criticize Dino Thunder as a Disney rip-off of MMPR, as well as for the white ranger clone saga and for Tommy being stuck in morphed form during the middle third of the season. The latter was due to Jason David Frank requesting time off to take care of his dojo in the United States. This is a season that tends to be both overrated and underrated, imo. Many Tommy fans tend to overrate the show just because Tommy is in it while the actual content of the series itself I feel is underrated.

The Good
Tommy serves the mentor position quite well during this series, even though it's odd to think of him having a PHD in Paleontology. However, besides Tommy, Dino Thunder I feel has a good cast. Other solid characters include Trent, Kira, Ethan, and Haley. Also, the acting in Dino Thunder is fairly good, seemingly a rarity in Power Rangers. The villains are solid, particularly Mesogog and Zeltrax. Also, despite Tommy being stuck in morphed form, this actually worked in Dino Thunder's favor. It allowed for some good character development for the other characters while JDF was away. The story was solid, particularly Trent's story with his foster father who happened to be Mesogog. It is a bit of an overused plot but I felt it worked really well here, especially since Tommy had known Trent's father before the series began. Dino Thunder also had a good and enjoyable team-up with Ninja Storm. This series also has one of the better theme songs as well, despite not having the word "go" in it.

The Bad
While most of the characters are solid, Connor imo is one of the most unlikable characters ever in Power Rangers. Connor was the jerkass, annoying, and dumbass all rolled into one. The handling of the White Ranger clone saga wasn't particularly well done. It was a good idea on paper and worked well with the story, but how they handled the Sentai footage was a mess. The other problem was the somewhat anti-climatic final battle.

The Ugly
There's nothing I would really consider ugly about this series.

My Rating
8.5/10- Despite having Connor as one of the more unlikable characters, this series is actually pretty good. I feel all the pros outweigh the cons in this series.

My Favorite Episodes
Episodes 1-2 (Day of the Dino): Solid start to the season.
Episode 4 (Legacy of Power): A clip show of the entire first 11 seasons, and it's Power Rangers' 500th episode.
Episode 5 (Back in Black): Tommy's return as a power ranger.
Episode 6 (Diva in Distress): A kinda cheesy episode but still a solid character development episode for Kira.
Episodes 11-13 (White Thunder): Trent becomes the evil white ranger.
Episode 18 (Bully for Ethan): Good episode for character development and story, despite a chesy ending.
Episode 21 (Copy That): Strong episode involving Trent and his father.
Episode 27 (Fighting Spirit): This one is not only a great episode for Tommy, but the others as well who gather the courage to fight the MOTW without their powers.
Episode 30 (Strange Relations): The end of the White Ranger clone saga, but it ends with a cool battle between the two white rangers.
Episodes 31-32 (Thunder Struck): The Dino Thunder-Ninja Storm team-up.
Episode 36 (A Test of Trust): A clip show, but one that goes over trust issues with Trent as well as the character development the others have received.

Gokaiger Episode 17 Review

Episode 17 introduces Gai Ikari as Gokai Silver. The episode starts out with Navi giving his prophecy, which was finding something or someone "sugoi in silver." This turned out to be Gai, who the others dismissed initially (although Luka found him to be cute). However, he transforms into Gokai Silver much to everyone's surprise and takes out the Gormin. Later, he's able to defeat the MOTW, and the other Gokaigers start questioning Gai at the end of the episode.

This episode reminds me a lot of Genta's debut in Shinkenger. Of course, personality wise Gai is a lot like Genta, hyper and flashy. He's also a wannabee Super Sentai senshi, like Genta was kinda a wannabee samurai, although Genta had a deep friendship with Takeru. I thought Gai kicked ass in his fight scenes and I love the Gokai Silver suit. However, there were two issues I had with this episode. The brief second in which Gai was fantasizing about being a Gokaiger, everyone's personality except for Ahim changed which kinda annoyed me, but this was a minor issue. The real big issue I had was with Gokai Silver's long, drawn out, and over the top roll call. I mean seriously, Gai's roll call is longer than any of the Gekirangers', which is saying something. It really doesn't fit with this show especially when the others have such a short and straight to the point roll call. I hope this was just a one time thing because I don't want to see Gai's roll call stealing the show every episode. About the character himself, I felt for this episode Gai was alright. It's only one episode and there's a long way to go before I can judge his character. I am, however, really interested in seeing the next episode with him obtaining the Zyuranger, Abaranger, and Timeranger grand powers. That will be interesting to see. Overall, I thought the episode was ok, so I give it 7/10. I'm just more interested to see what will happen next.

Most Mature Power Rangers Seasons

Recently, Sean made a post on some of the most mature Sentai seasons, so I felt compelled to make one for Power Rangers.

Power Rangers In Space

In Space was the first truly mature season. It had complex and edgy storylines such as Zhane and Astronema hooking up, the search for Zordon, the main villain being Andros' sister, and the final battle Countdown to Destruction. For me, In Space is the most epic season of Power Rangers.

Lost Galaxy

Lost Galaxy was also a very mature season and was pretty dark. Lost Galaxy had more on screen deaths than any other season of power rangers and also had the morally questionable Magna Defender. Overall, I felt Lost Galaxy wrapped a nice story together, and did better than any other season of mixing the Sentai plot with its own plot. Still, for me Lost Galaxy isn't quite as good with the drama as In Space and RPM are.

Lightspeed Rescue

Lightspeed Rescue was another mature season, but not as mature or as dark as some of the other seasons on this list. Its maturity mostly revolved around the character Ryan, whom was Captain Mitchell's son and Kelsey's brother. The story involved Ryan being evil at first and later having to fight for his own life, which was threatened by the cobra tattoo that was placed on his back by Diabolico.

Time Force

Time Force is another dark season that dealt with issues such as death and terrorism. However, most of the plots surrounding these issues were copied heavily from its Sentai counterpart, Timeranger. The only real mature issue that was original and Time Force covered was discrimination against mutants in the future. This was shown with Ransik's backstory.

SPD

SPD I felt had some really mature situations as well. Particularly surrounding the murder of Sky's father, the kidnapping of Crugar's wife, and the destruction of his home planet. It also had two Robin Hood like characters, Jack and Z, who were offered to join the team as redemption for some of the crimes they committed previously.

RPM

RPM is probably the most mature and darkest season of Power Rangers. With the setting of the post-apocalyptic world, as well as many of the character's backstories. Particularly noticeable was Dr. K's backstory, how she was basically quarantined inside a military bunker her whole life and how she was the one who created the Venjix Virus that went on to nearly wipe out humanity.

Sentai Female Characters Who I Think are Their Series' Best Characters

Because Sentai has a male-majority audience, and far more male characters than female characters, I think sometimes the girls get overlooked. This is especially true unless the female character is hot. In fact, I think often the "girly-girl" or ditzy characters get bashed too often, like Umeko, Natsuki, and Ahim. So I decided to talk about some female characters that I feel are the best characters in their respective series. These are my biased opinions so I don't expect everyone to think the same way as I do.


Yuuri, Time Pink




I think Yuuri is the best character on Timeranger. Not just because she's the leader, or tsudere, but also her toughness and strategy intelligence. I also like her backstory with her family being killed and how it relates to her trying to capture Don Dorunero to bring justice to him.


Sae, GaoWhite




Sae is my favorite Gaoranger character. She's not really that good looking (but not ugly), but she has a delightful personality and excellent fighting skills. She's level headed and like the glue that keeps the Gaoranger team together, imo. I also loved the episode with her and her father. Interestingly, tvtropes.org describes her as a "bratty teenage daughter" but I just don't see it. It seems more like someone who didn't like her just added that to her character profile.


Jasmine, Deka Yellow



This one won't come as much of a surprise to anyone. For me, however, it's more than Jasmine's looks that I think makes her great. Her toughness, and mysterious charm. BTW, Ayumi Kinoshita is really good at playing mysterious characters, I'd recommend watching her on Uramiya Honpo to see this as well. Anyways, I also like Jasmine's funny sarcasm and her antics like nick-naming the MOTW or half-way singing the abaranger theme song on Dekaranger vs Abaranger, and of course because she's an ESPER. Not to mention she has a really touching backstory, where she was made fun of so much at one point she considered suicide before Doggie saved her.


Sakura/Bouken Pink and Natsuki/Bouken Yellow



In Boukenger I think both Sakura and Natsuki are the best characters. Sakura won't surprise anyone but Natsuki will. IMO Natsuki is highly underrated and gets bashed too much (at least on rangerboard) for being the girly girl and the ditz. However, I think her ditzy and energetic personality makes her cute and funny, especially episode 24 when she goes overkill with Ultimate DaiBouken. Besides her personality, Natsuki has one of the most interesting backstories with her being an ancient member of the extinct Lemuria civilization. Episodes 33 and 34, which covers Natsuki's background, are two of my favorite Sentai episodes ever.

However, I do like Sakura a tad bit more and think that Sakura is the better character. Like Yuuri, she's tough, intelligent, a genius with battle strategy, and a much different pink. But unlike Yuuri, Sakura can be both really badass (like episode 12) or really cute and adorable (like episode 37).

Eri/Gosei Pink, and Moune/Gosei Yellow



Like Boukenger, I think both of the Gosei girls are the best characters in their series. However, the difference is that in Boukenger, Sakura and Natsuki stick out in an already good cast. Here, Eri and Moune stick out in anotherwise bland and boring cast. For me, Eri and Moune aren't great characters but they're descent. They're the only Goseiger characters that really have any kind of personality. Eri, like Natsuki is bubbly and ditzy, but somewhat funny. Moune is also a bit on the bubbly and cheerful side as well. I will say that I hated the running gag of Hyde treating Moune like a child. It was alright the first time but afterwards it just got tiring.

Gokaiger Episode 15 & 16 Review

I'd like to apologize for my lack of activity in recent weeks. I've been busy with school but now that school is over, at least until September, I'll have plenty of time to work on my blog.

Episode 15

In episode 15, a new villain is introduced, Basco. Basco is a former member of the red pirates gang that included Marvelous and AkaRed. Basco betrayed them to seek the universe's greatest treasure by himself. He also had his own set of ranger keys (practically all the 6th ranger keys), and summoned them to fight with a trumpet. First, the Gokaigers defeat TimeFire, Shurikenger, DekaBreak, Dragon Ranger, and King Ranger. However, Basco summons 10 more 6th rangers, and they overwhelm and capture all of the Gokaigers except for Marvelous.

This episode I thought was pretty good. Great fight scenes, as usual, and the friendship bonding. I've felt Gokaiger had been slightly lacking in the villain department, but I really enjoyed Basco. He's despicable, dirty, just what I felt Gokaiger needs. I'm anxious to see how he'll turn out. For this episode I give it 8.5/10.

Episode 16

In episode 16 Joe, Luka, Ahim, and Don try to escape Basco's ship but fail. We get a flashback to when Marvelous first met AkaRed. They have a mini dual before AkaRed recruits Marvelous to join the treasure hunt. Meanwhile Basco ransoms Joe, Luka, Ahim, and Don for the Ranger Keys. However, Marvelous had a clever plan. He threw the chest into the air, in which Don managed to catch a Gokai changer with is mouth, while Goe catches the ShinkenGreen key with is mouth as well. Together they use it to transform Don into ShinkenGreen, who then cuts everyone free. Meanwhile Navi gathers the scattered ranger keys. The Gokaigers defeat the remaining 6th rangers and collect their keys. However, they have to do battle with a giant Sgormin, which they defeat with the use of ShinkenGokaiOh. At the end of the episode, Basco reveals he still has more ranger keys.

Episode 16 I felt was descent. Not as action packed as the first part of this two parter, but still pretty descent. I would have liked to see a little stronger background story with Marvelous and AkaRed, but I'm guessing we'll see a lot more as the series progresses. I give this episode 8/10.

May Poll Results, New Poll

Favorite Gokaiger Character



Captain Marvelous won the "Favorite Gokaiger Character" poll with 59 votes (45%). Luka was second with 31 votes (23%). Joe was third with 18 votes (13%). Ahim barely beat out Don with 12 votes (9%), and Don was dead last with 11 votes (8%).

Favorite Power Rangers Samurai


Mike won the poll for favorite Power Rangers Samurai character with 43 votes (36%). For me, he's the only descent character on Samurai and the only one that has any real acting ability. Jayden was second with 28 votes (23%). Antonio was third with 22 votes (18%). Emily was fourth with 11 votes (9%). Mia was fifth with 9 votes (7%). Kevin was dead last with 5 votes (4%).

The next polls will be on the funniest and saddest moments among 21st Century Sentai's. If I'm missing one let me know.