Monday, November 28, 2011

Gokaiger Goseiger Super Sentai 199 Hero Battle Movie Review and Screenshots

Note: Screenshots below the review
Warning: Possible spoilers ahead

For Super Sentai's 35th anniversary, TOEI decides to go all out by... having a Gokaiger team-up with Goseiger. Ok so most of it was a team-up with Goseiger, that bland Sentai team many fans have grown to dislike, but this team-up still had plenty of merit. There were plenty of guest appearances from past warriors, a little more insight on the Legendary War, and lots of good action that still made this movie an enjoyable nostalgic trip.

The movie begins with the Legendary War, which this version includes all the "extra" heroes as well. After having their powers drained via ranger keys, the Goseigers steal their ranger keys back from the Gokaigers. This leads to a fight over Gosei Knight's ranger key. They're interrupted by Black Cross King, the reincarnated version of Black Cross Fuhur, who has made a deal with the Zangyack to destroy the remaining Super Sentai teams (Gokaiger and Goseiger). Accompanying him are other past villains such as Bladeron, Hades God Dagon, and Yogoshimacritein. They take all the ranger keys, save for Gosei Knight's ranger key, and teleport the Gokaigers and Goseigers to different locations. From then on, the Gokaigers and Goseigers have to learn to trust each other, defeat their designated enemy, and unite to fight Black Cross King.

While this movie largely consists of a Gokaiger-Goseiger team-up, you knew before hand that the movie was going to mostly feature the Gokaigers and Goseigers. For once, it was nice to see the anniversary team get to team-up with the previous team. As flawed as Goseiger is as a series, it does have a pair of good team-ups (first with Shinkenger and now with Gokaiger). Unlike their series, the Goseigers are actually likable in their team-ups. However, other than being a team-up with Goseiger, the movie still managed to integrate many nostalgic elements into the movie, such as the Legendary War, past Super Sentai heroes and villains, the grand powers passed onto the Gokaigers, and the awesome mecha fight near the end. I also really liked a couple subplots, particularly the ones involving this man who got laid off and encounters Umeko, Ryo, and Daigoro. This subplot overlapped well with the main plot. While a lot of characters only made cameos in the movie, it was still nice to see them. By the way, this also brings up an interesting question as to why the Gokaigers were given the Dekaranger and Shinkenger grand powers twice? (They had already gained both grand powers before the time this movie takes place). The interaction between the teams was good, with both teams being split up into different places and learning to trust one another. The movie isn't without its share of flaws. Moune and Luka uttering the same lines at the same time was funny at first, but got annoying after a while. Also, the movie used extensive stock footage, but I guess there's so much the producers can do if they don't have all the mecha costumes. Still, the mecha battle was awesome, as well as the fight with the Gokaigers and Goseigers going against every single other sentai team.

I give it a rating of 8.5/10. Overall, this was a very good team-up and reminds me what Gokaiger is about, a celebration of the franchise. I think Gokaiger has been a better celebration of Super Sentai then its predecessor anniversary seasons like Gaoranger and Boukenger.

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Friday, November 25, 2011

Gokaiger Episodes 37 and 38: The Mother of all Spoilers

Warning: Absolutely do NOT read this post if you don't want to be spoiled...

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Episode 37 begins with the Gokaigers defeating giant sized Sgormin. After the battle, Machalchon asks the Gokaigers what their "ultimate power" is, which the Gokaigers are unable to answer. Later on, Gai and Marvelous have a conversation about protecting Earth. When Gai asks Marvelous "What do we have to do to protect it?" Marvelous walks off, saying he doesn't know. Meanwhile, the Zangyack emperor sends a new weapon for Walz Gils, the Great Walz robot. Walz Gils also argues with Damaras, and reveals through a flashback that he knew his father had sent Damaras to babysit him. Barizorg shows his loyalty to Walz Gils by pledging to fight by his side. While Gai and Joe are having a conversation on deck, they're attack by Barizorg and the Gormin. Joe tells the other Gokaigers he'll take care of Barizorg, while the rest fight the Gormin. While Barizorg and Joe fight, the other Gokaigers are attacked by the Dogormin, who are much more powerful than the Gormin. The Gokaigers then transform into various extra heroes for the first time (BullBlack, Zubaan, DekaSwan, WolzardFire, and Signalman), and force the Dogormin to retreat. The Barizorg-Joe fight ends in a draw, when Walz Gils shows up with the Great Walz. The Gokaiger's mecha arsenal is overwhlemed byh Great Walz, so they try GoZyu-GokaiOh, but it also fails against the Great Walz. The Great Walz is about to obliterate GoZyu-GokaiOh when Marvelous uses his captain rank to eject the other Gokaigers. They're spread throughout town, and episode 37 ends with Marvelous lying unconcious inside the cockpit of Gokai Galleon.

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Episode 38 picks up with Walz Gils sending Barizorg and the gormin to search for the Gokaigers and finish them off. Luka, Ahim, and Don are able to avoid the gormin, and run into Gai. Gai says he can't except what Marvelous did, and wants to be a crew instead of him trying to protect them. Meanwhile, Joe runs into Barizorg and defeats him. Meanwhile, Marvelous seemingly in the afterlife, is met by AkaRed who tells him that the Gokaigers rather have him protect their friendship to pursue their dreams instead of protecting them. Joe has a similar experience, seemingly meeting Cid Bamick in his conscious. Cid tells Joe to go meet up with his friends. While Joe leaves, Marvelous wakes up to search for everyone. Joe catches up with the others, who are confronted by the Sgormin. Marvelous shows up and tells them that he realizes their dreams aren't fragile enough that he should worry about protecting them. Meanwhile, Joe tells Marvelous that it gave him the opportunity to take care of unfinished business. The Gokaigers transform and defeat the Dogormin and the Sugormin. Walz Gils shows up in Great Walz, trying to avenge Barizorg's death. However, the Gokaigers are able to unlock their own ultimate power and form Kanzen GokaiOh. The Gokaigers proceeded to defeat Walz Gils. At the end of the episode, Damaras carries Walz Gils' corpse and curses at the Gokaigers.

This two parter, along with the movie (which I'll review within the next week) really gave me a new perspective on Gokaiger. When I first started viewing Gokaiger, I was really excited about the show with all the likable cast and the tributes to all the past sentai teams. As the series progressed, I thought it was starting to lose a little steam. The show has never been bad, and in fact I've always enjoyed the cast and the majority of the episodes. However, what had been a letdown were the villains, save for Basco and to an extent, Barizorg for how his story relates to Joe. I felt that the Zangyack main villains were always underused, and Walz Gils was overly stupid. Overall, I thought the Zangyack were among the weakest villains of the last decade. However, this episod gave some really good depth to the villains, particularly Walz Gils, Damaras, and Barizorg. After watching this two parter, I realized the Zangyack are support characters, and as long as you know when to use the villains, you don't always need strong villains to have a great show. It showed Walz Gils in a new light, struggling to prove himself among the Zangyack ranks. When I looked back, Walz Gils in the last 11 or 12 episodes he appeared in, did have a few competent plans. I also like how Barizorg was used as both a support character to Joe (because of the backstory) and to Walz Gils (because of his loyalty to him). This two-parter also showed Damaras in a new light. One that has a responsibility to protect Walz Gils, the Emperor's son, and shows the emotional attachment he has to Walz Gils. This two-parter doesn't fully redeem the Zangyack. I'm still mixed on them as a whole, and it's still hard to ignore Walz Gils' 30+ episodes of incompetence. I also wish they explored the Damaras-Walz Gils relationship earlier in the series. However, it gives me hope that by the end of the series that the Zangyack could be respectable. The show still has Basco, one of the better villains over the last decade. Damaras I believe can get interesting, and we still haven't seen the emperor yet. Besides the development for the villains, I also enjoyed the story and the character development for Marvelous, Joe, and Gai respectively. There were still a couple mild complaints that I have about it. One being how easily Joe's suit was reflecting Barizorg's attacks, and the other being the underwhelming finishing move that Kanzen GokaiOh has. However, these flaws have no weight on the story as a whole, so I'll let them slide. I'm giving this two-parter a rare perfect rating of 10/10. I loved this two-parter so much, and believe it's the best plot in Gokaiger so far.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Gokaiger Episodes 35 and 36, Lets Go-On!!

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Episode 35 & 36 featured Sousuke, Go-On Red. Gunman World had been taken over by Gaiark member, Chirakashizky. The attack on Gunman World was a trap to lure Sousuke and the Gokaigers away from Human World, so Babatcheed could take it over. Meanwhile the Gokaigers are trapped on Gunman World, as the border to Human World had been sealed by Babatcheed. Thus, the Gokaigers go to Machine World to seek out the help of Machalchon, Speedor and Bear RV's rowdy son (Speedor and Bear RV are now married). Meanwhile, upset at the Gaiark invasion of Earth, Walz Giles goes down to Earth along with Insarn and Barizorg to counter Babatcheed. The Gokaigers are able to pursue Machalchon, after having a skirmish with him, to help them break through the barrier to Human World. Machalchon then becomes the Gokaiger's aibou (partner). Once on Human World, the Zangyach retreat, and the Gokaigers transform into Go-Ongers to defeat the Uguts and Gormin. Babatcheed grows large, and the Gokaigers use the Go-Onger grand power, which is GokaiOh combining with Machalchon to form Go-On GokaiOh. The Gokaigers then proceed to defeat Babatcheed.

Overall, I enjoyed this two-parter. Sousuke was a dork as usual but I like his dorkiness. I also liked how they continued the story, with Speedor and Bear RV getting married. It was also nice to see the Gokaigers finally transforming into Battle Fever J. The fight with the Gokaigers transformed into Go-Ongers was a little dissapointing because it was a special effects fest, but it wasn't a complete disaster. I enjoyed Machalchon's rebellious, rowdy personality which is one of the reasons why the Engines are so underrated. I think despite the silliness of the concept, the Engines are really enjoyable characters. I was, however, a bit disappointed that Hiroto didn't get a part in Gokaiger. 4 Go-Onger characters made it into Gokaiger, I think it's disappointing they leave Hiroto out because his actor is a huge Tokusatsu fan. Overall, I do like the Go-Onger tribute, so I give it 8.5/10.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Gokaiger Episodes 33 and 34

Episode 33
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In this episode, Ryo/Ryu Ranger from Dairanger is the guest star. Here, Gai loses his ability to transform after the MOTW eats is Gokai Cellular. Gai is unable to come to terms with it at first. However, with the help of Ryo, he realizes that what he wanted to do (and the most important thing) wasn't to be able to transform, but to be a hero to protect people. He realizes he didn't need to transform to do this. When the Zangyack show up, him and Ryo fight the Gormin and the MOTW until the Gokaigers show up.

This episode had a number of plot lines that have been used to death in Sentai. One of the heroes losing his ability to transform, the MOTW trying to eat all of the world's food supply, exc. However, the good execution and character development for Gai is what makes this a good episode. I think Gai is at his best when the focus is only on him. In these types of episodes, Gai gets some really good character development when he's learning that there's more to being a hero just because it's his lifelong dream. I think it was a really good character development episode for Gai, and a good tribute to Dairanger in the process. Overall I give the episode 8.5/10.

Episode 34
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In episode 34, the final pieces of Luka's backstory are revealed. One of her friends returns from her home planet (which was destroyed). At first, it's the MOTW who has captured Luka's friend, Cain, and disguises himself as Cain. He uses this to his advantage to kidnap Luka. The MOTW then disguises himself as Luka, tries to sneak onto Gokai Galleon, and blow it up. However, he was fooled by the Gokaigers who recognized his strange impersonation of Luka from the beginning. Meanwhile, Cain tries to convince Luka to come back with him, that he's collected a huge amount of money to accomplish her dream. Luka's dream is to buy a planet that's safe for an orphanage, out of the Zangyack's reach. In a flashback it's revealed that she was stealing fron the Zangyack to try to acheive this goal. That's when Marvelous and Joe appear, and recruit her to join them on finding the greatest treasure in the universe. When she realizes she could get her hands on it, she figured she could buy the whole universe.

Luka's background story was a bit predictable since it was first revealed in episode 6. However, it is still a nice little background story to give her some character development. Her acting was good as usual (I think Luka, Joe, and Gai are the best actors on Gokaiger). It was also consistent with her character that she wanted to buy the whole universe, seeing how greedy Luka has been since the beginning of the series. Walz Gils also had a competent plan to take out the Gokaigers, if the MOTW did a better acting job of portraying Luka. However, there were a couple flaws with this episode. To start out, I found the guest actor who played Cain to be a little underwhelming. He wasn't horrid, but I found no real sense of emotion on his line delivery. Also, I kinda found it unconvincing how easily Luka trusted Marvelous on finding the "Greatest Treasure." For the majority of the flashback, she was a hardcore skeptic and then when Marvelous said "just trust me," she inexplicably changed her mind. I would of liked to see something more, like Marvelous give a couple more convincing lines than just "trust me." Overall, I don't think it's a bad episode and I do like Luka's backstory as a whole. It's just that this episode leaves some things to be desired. Overall I give it 7/10.

Friday, November 11, 2011

October Poll Results, New Polls

Which Power Rangers series would you like to see me review next?
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Surprisingly, 42% of voters (24 overall) want to see me review Power Rangers Turbo next. I guess viewers want to see me go on a rant. :P 14 viewers (24%) voted for Time Force, 12 viewers (21%) voted for SPD, and 7 viewers (12%) voted for Turbo.

Which Super Sentai series would you like to see me review next?
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This one ended in a tie, with 28 voters each choosing Go-Onger and Goseiger. Since it ended in a tie, I'll choose which series I want to review.

Would you like to see my older reviews in my newer format?
21 voters (61%) said yes.
8 voters (23%) said they didn't care.
5 voters (14%) said no.

This month's poll will be asking the viewer's opinion on the Gokaiger vs Gavan movie and what they think about the rumors of Gokaiger possibly having more than 50 episodes.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Gokaiger Episodes 30, 31, and 32.

I know I'm a bit behind on reviewing Gokaiger episodes, but I've gotten busy with school. Since these episodes are more than a month old, I'll give brief reviews and my opinion.

Note: Pics from Super Sentai Images

Episode 30
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Episode 30 was the Liveman tribute episode, featuring Yellow Lion/Jou Ohara, who displayed some pretty impressive fighting skills for his age. It was a Joe focus episode, and the episode briefly lampshaded the fact that the guest star and the character focus both had the same pronounciation to their name. The episode focused on Joe's story with Barizorg, as the Zangyack tried to mass produce Barizorg. Joe asked Jou, a scientist, to attempt to find out rather there was a cure for Barizorg. Unfortunately, according to Jou, Barizorg can't be turned back into Cyd Bamick.

Overall, I really liked the episode. I felt it did well to pay tribute to Liveman, and the dramatic story with Joe and Barizorg is getting better. The only issue I had with it is the pacing, going a full 18 episodes before it's discussed or mentioned again. Joe and Barizorg should of had at least a hesitation in the Hurricaneger tribute episode. But still, I liked how Jou told Joe that even though Joe might not be able to save Cyd, he can still save his soul. As usual, Joe acted out the dramatic parts well. I also really liked the part where Joe used the finishing move taught to him by Cyd on the MOTW. Overall a great episode, and I give it 9/10.

Episode 31
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Episode 31 was the Ohranger tribute episode, and it also featured Basco. Basco had taken the grand powers of three different Sentai teams (Changeman, Maskman, and Flashman). As a result, the Ohrangers planned to lower Basco into a trap. The trap failed, but as back-up the Ohrangers also planned to give their ultimate power to the Gokaigers. The Gokaigers refused, their reasoning being they want to take it, not be given it. Basco uses the remaining ranger keys he has, but after the Gokaigers transform into Ohrangers and use their ultimate power, they defeat the ranger keys and keep them in their possessions. They then go after Basco, who transforms into his true form. Once transforming into his true form, he overwhelms the Gokaigers and injures all of them. He also reveals to Marvelous the grand powers he has taken.

This episode was pretty good. I'm still hoping to get tribute episodes from Changeman, Flashman, and Maskman, but to be realistic the show needed to show Basco succeeding at least partially at acheiving his goal (taking the Super Sentai grand powers). Despite appearing in must five episodes, Basco has managed to outshine the Zangyack and is clearly the best villain on Gokaiger. I'm hoping that Basco is the villain the Gokaigers have to defeat in the final battle, not the Zangyack emperor. I give this episode 8.5/10.

Episode 32
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Episode 32 was a Don focus episode, and gave him some character development. This episode revolved around two plots. The first plot, Don making a blaster for the Gokaigers to use in battle against the Zangyack, and the second, helping a kid to practice and get better at soccer. The Gokaiger struggled to break the defences of Shieldon. However, they decided to try to last in battle with him until Don finished the blaster. This fight included the Gokaigers finally transforming into Changeman for the first time. Don used the Ohranger grand power to finish the Gokai Galleon Buster. Once finished, the Gokaigers used the buster to successfully break through Shieldon's shield, and defeat him.

Overall, this was a good episode. It was nice to see Don finally get some character development. The one part I did like was when the kid wanted to give up because he didn't think practice was going to help. Don criticized him and told him he doesn't know if he doesn't try. This is a sharp contrast from Don earlier in the season (episode 7) when Don himself was reluctant to train to get better. Overall, I think it's an enjoyable episode, so I give it 7.5/10.