Gokaiger Episode reviews, 22, 23, and 24.

Episode 22

Gokaiger episode 22 was a focus episode for Joe and Gai. It was basically a filler episode but still a pretty descent one. The episode starts with Joe and Gai doing the weekly shopping for the Gokaiger team, when they run into a kid whom at first seems like a brat. In reality the kid, Shouta, had made a promise with his friend Daigo to meet him at Mt. Kamikura to watch a meteor shower. However, the kid is attacked by the Zangyack, who plan on putting a crystal in a power stone on top of Mt. Kamikura. Shouta is injured, and Gai becomes concerned about the kid's safety. However, Joe tells Shouta to go and keep his promise. Eventually the Zangyack head to Mt. Kamikura and the other Gokaigers join Joe and Gai to stop them. The MOTW, Starguru, succeeds in planting the crystal fragment into the power stone, and uses its power to pull an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Starguru is eventually defeated, but the Gokaigers struggle to destroy the asteroid. However, Gai asks Joe to throw him at the asteroid. They use GokaiOh to launch GouJyuJin at the asteroid. Gai succeeds in destroying the asteroid by using GouJyuJin's drill. The episode ends with Shouta meeting his friend Daigo to watch the meteor shower, while Joe tells Gai that he doesn't dislike earth.

Overall, this episode was a descent one. It had a nice story involving the kid, and touches on Gai's naiveness about the other Gokaiger's personalities. Overall I give it 7.5/10.

Episode 23

Episode 23 is a focus episode for Luka and Ahim. The episode begins with Navi doing his usual treasure navigation prediction, which was: "helping you shalt guide you to a meeting." So the Gokaigers split into three groups of two (Gai & Marvelous, Joe & Doc, and Luka & Ahim). Gai and Marvelous give piggy back rides to a bunch of old people trying to clime stairs. Meanwhile Doc and Joe help a drag queen. Luka and Ahim help a pregnant woman and her daughter. When the pregnant lady's daughter talks about having a little sister, Luka has a flashback about the death of her little sister, whom Luka was unable to get her to a hospital in time. The lady begins to have labor contractions, when Matsuri/GoGoV Pink appears. They take a taxi but are suddenly interrupted by a Zangyack attack. Luka and Ahim repel the attack, allowing Matsuri and the lady to get to the hospital. After fighting off the Gormin, Luka and Ahim go to the hospital to check on the lady. There, they learn that they're going to induce the lady's labor and learn Matsuri's identity as GoGoV Pink, who is working as a paramedic. Meanwhile, Matsuri tries to take an injured kid by ambulance to a hospital, but is attacked by the Gormin. Luka and Ahim come to her rescue, just in time to learn that it was Basco who attacked. Basco is after the GoGoV grand power. The ranger keys of Zubaan, Rio, and Mele block the ambulance's path, as Basco demands that Matsuri give up the GoGoV grand power. However, Luka is concerned about the boy's safety and tells Matsuri that she must go with the boy, while Luka talks about her failure to get her little sister to a hospital. Meanwhile, Ahim talks some sense into Luka and tells her that Ahim isn't just someone for Luka to be overprotective towards like a little sister. Luka and Ahim come up with a plan. Ahim uses Magipink's shape changing ability to disguise herself as Matsuri. This allows Matsuri to escape with the boy. Eventually the other Gokaigers join them. They transform into GoGoV sans Gai and defeat the Zubaan, Rio, and Mele ranger keys before Sally takes them back. Basco uses a giant monster, Firenoid Meran as a decoy so he can escape. The Gokaigers earn the GoGoV grand power and use it to defeat Firenoid Meran.

This episode I think was the best out of the bunch. It gave some more detail to Luka's backstory, and gave some small bits of character development for both Luka and Ahim. It showed how overprotective Luka can be of Ahim and also showed Ahim being more than capable of standing up for herself. It also had some nice humorous bits with the drag queen as well as Marvelous and Gai having to help out a tone of old people. My rating for this episode is 8.5/10

Episode 24

Episode 24 was another filler episode but it was still an ok one. This episode revolves around a Zangyack general, Jealoushitto, who's basically been dumped by the Zangyack. A woman stumbles upon him while throwing trash away. Meanwhile, the woman's son notices Jealoushitto trying to take some Takoyaki, and offers Jealoushitto to become his pet. The Gokaigers, who were looking to eat Takoyaki, stumble upon them and watch. Meanwhile, the MOTW Sen-Den, tries to spread propaganda around the planet when he notices Jealoushitto. Seeing the Zangyack attack Jealoushitto, the Gokaigers decide to join the fight. They give a different version of their roll call, that includes Joe doing a badass Clint Eastwood pose above while Don, being the usual butt monkey, gets hit in the nuts. After the fight, they propose that Jealoushitto could work at the Takoyaki stand. However, the guy had to get approval from his mom, who objected, showing prejudice towards aliens. Sen-Den tries to interrupt them but Marvelous tells them to wait because they're having a serious talk. Sen-Den cooperates but tries to blast the woman for treating a member of a Zangyack like garbage. The woman is saved by the Gokaigers. They all run outside. The lady, her son, and Jealoushitto hide in empty barrels. Soon, the woman feeling hot, leaves the barrel she's in and is about to be blasted by Sen-Den when Jealoushitto uses his body to shield her. Jealoushitto then pretends to be dead but really isn't. The Gokaigers go on to defeat Sen-Den. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Jealoushitto and the woman had a shotgun wedding.

This episode was descent. It had its funny moments, as well as its cheesy moments, including some cheesy dialog. Overall, I give it 7.5/10.

Is Darker and Edgier Overrated?

Many fan favorite series among both Super Sentai and Power Rangers are series that can clearly be defined as darker and edgier. This includes Sentai's such as Liveman, Jetman, Dairanger, and Timeranger. On the Power Rangers side, Lost Galaxy, Time Force, Wild Force, and RPM are seen as the darker seasons. Sometimes, however, I think both fan bases tend to give too much praise to the darker series. Don't get me wrong I tend to like many of the darker series as well, but I think the lighthearted seasons are often just as good.

Power Rangers RPM is clearly the darkest power rangers season to date with the post-apocalyptic storyline. No doubt, RPM is one of the best seasons of power rangers ever made. In contrast to Super Sentai, I think Power Rangers is much better when it is darker, edgier, and more serious. This is mostly due to much of Power Ranger's comedic style which tends to fall flat. However, besides clearly being the darkest season of Power Rangers, RPM was also one of the funniest. RPM had funny characters like Ziggy and General Crunch, as well as a healthy dose of well used lampshades. It was this combination of being dark and gritty combined with its comedic aspects that makes RPM one of the best seasons.

Like RPM is popular with the Power Rangers fanbase, Jetman is a darker, grittier, and very popular series among Sentai fans. Like RPM, Jetman has some good and I might add very underrated comedic aspects. Jetman rarely attempted humor, but when it did it was quite funny. However, Jetman is one of the darker seasons that I think is also a bit overrated. There's some scenes in Jetman that are a bit disturbing, like daimond-like objects growing out of human skin and a later episode when Maria was transforming into a monster. Jetman also had some writing issues, particularly at the end of the series. For example, the end result of the Gai/Kaori/Ryuu love triangle was a bit rushed and the ending with Gai's death was so random that it was unnecessary and didn't really add anything at all to the series.

Then there are series like Dekaranger, Hurricanger, and Shinkenger. All of these seasons I think have a healthy balance of dark themes and light themes. They tend to switch between the two, but aren't overly dark or overly silly. The humor in all of them is pretty funny if you ask me, and proves that not everything has to be dark and gritty. Just like the darker seasons like Jetman and Timeranger are great series, I think these seasons have their own charm as well and work perfectly fine as well.

July Poll Results, August Poll

July's polls were aimed at seeing what my audience wanted from my blog. The first question was "What do you want to see more on my blog?" and here are the results.

87/112 voters said they wanted to see more series reviews on my blog. Which I'll definitely do, and will probably re-edit my previous blogs to give a more in depth analysis of each series/season. 33 voters said they want to see more focus on characters. While 30 said they want to see more Gokaiger episode reviews.

The second question was a question to see if the audience wanted more posts on Power Rangers or Super Sentai.

85 of the 108 voters said they want to see both.

15 voters said they want to see more Super Sentai posts.

8 said they wanted to see more Power Rangers posts.

August's polls will be asking how or should Goseiger and Gokaiger be adapted for Power Rangers.

Late Reviews, Gokaiger Episodes 19, 20, and 21

This is a bit late but I decided I wanted to review the last 3 episodes of Gokaiger, starting with episode 19. Episode 19 is a character focus episode for Gai and Doc. The episode begins with Gokai Silver being linked to the 6th ranger-ranger keys. Afterwards he cooks for everyone, and everyone loves it. However, Doc gets jealous and starts to think that Gai is replacing everything that Doc has done, essentially making him useless. In a fight against the MOTW, Gai combines both the Go-On Wings keys into one, making him half Go-On Silver and half Go-On Gold. However, the MOTW pulls the bones out of Marvelous, Joe, Luka, and Ahim, making them too lazy to do anything. Doc reaches his breaking point, and tells Gai to fight the monster by himself since Doc feels useless. However, Navi tells Doc about how Gai complemented his cooking, which cheers Doc up. Later on, Doc tells Gai to combine all of the 6th ranger-ranger keys, which he does to create Gold Mode. Gai uses Gold Mode to defeat the MOTW.

Episode 19 I thought was pretty good. A solid character development episode for both the newcomer (Gai) and for Doc. However, I will say that Gai's Gold Mode looks silly. The armor is too big and all the helmets on it look a bit goofy. That said, most Power Ranger battlizers and the Power Rangers Samurai Mega Mode look a lot worst than Gold Mode. Overall I give this episode 8/10.

In episode 20, the Gokaigers have to go to Ginga Forest to collect Gingaman's grand power. However, as the Gingaman team fought Space Pirates, the Gokaigers knew they might not receive a warm welcome. In preparation Doc made some donuts. When the Gokaigers reach the forest's border, they recognize that they're just walking in circles. Eventually, Basco appears after attacking Hyuuga. Basco uses the DekaMaster, MagiMother, and Wolzard Fire ranger keys to combat the Gokaigers. Doc, Luka, Joe, and Ahim are overwhelmed and fall into a river. However, they're saved by Ryoma. For helping, Doc gives the donuts to Ryoma. Meanwhile, in the presence of Hyuuga, Gai starts to doubt himself, leading to Hyuuga demanding Gai to give him the Gokai Silver changer. Later, Basco tries to steal the grand power away from Hyuuga, but Marvelous stops him. However, Marvelous is overwhelmed fighting against BullBlack, Deka Master, Magi Mother, and Wolzard Fire. Basco tells Marvelous he should quit, but Marvelous responds that he won't quit his dream, which is to get his hands on the universe's greatest treasure. After hearing these words, Gai realizes he can't give up his dream of being a Super Sentai warrior, and tells Hyuuga. Hyuuga says that's what he wanted to hear. Gai defeats BullBlack, while the other Gokaigers transform into Gingaman and defeat Deka Master, Magi Mother, and Wolzard Fire. However, Sally retrieves all these keys (except for BullBlack) before the Gokaigers could get them. Later on, Hyuuga entrusts the BullBlack ranger key and the Gingaman grand power to Gai.

Like the previous episode, this one was also pretty good. It provided some solid bits of character development for Gai, who learned he can't easily give up his dream after being starstruck. I give this episode 8/10.

In episode 21, Akashi/Bouken Red board Gokai Gallon and asks the Gokagers to help him find a precious named the "Heart of the Underworld." Initially Marvelous was reluctant but Akashi challenges him, saying Marvelous doesn't have the "confidence." This leads the Gokaigers to search for the Heart of the Underworld, but Insarn and the Zangyack are also after it. Marvelous and Luka follow Akashi while the others stay and fight the Gormin. Eventually, Marvelous, Luka, and Akashi find the Heart of the Underworld, but the Jaryu Tribe had already found it and use it to revive Ryuuon. Eventually, Marvelous and Luka join the others to fight Ryuuon to retake the Heart of the Underworld. After transforming into Boukengers, Marvelous being a badass, rips the Heart of the Underworld out of Ryuuon's chest. However, Ryuuon being even more badass had already absorbed its power. He fights off all of the Gokaigers' attacks and grows large. The Gokaiger mecha attacks, including DekaGokaiOh and MagiGokaiOh don't work. Eventually, they decide to use the Boukengers' grand power which does work.

Of the three episodes, I felt this one was the best. It provided some minor character development for Marvelous, mostly through flashbacks but it showed he had gotten more anxious because of Basco's presence. Marvelous was badass throughout the episode, and it was really awesome seeing Ryuuon back. Ryuuon proved even more how awesome of a villain he is. I give this episode 9/10.

Power Rangers SPD Japanese Dubbing Press Conference

Here's the press conference with the Dekaranger cast, whom except for Swan's actress will all be dubbing their Power Ranger counterparts. The best part is when Tetsu Inada does his Doggie Krugar impersonation.

Most Childish Power Rangers Series

A while back I did a post on what I thought were the most childish Sentai series. Now I've decided to make a post on the most childish Power Rangers series.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers


MMPR was kinda childish when it began. The series had its fair share of cheese and it always talked down to its audience. It was preachy in terms of what good kids should and shouldn't do. However, at the time (early 90's) this was fairly common among American TV shows. Some even went to greater extremes, like Captain Planet. On the whole, I think MMPR was a little childish but it wasn't that chidish. Compared to its counterpart, Zyuranger, MMPR didn't have the kid of the week thing going, even though MMPR had its fair amount of children guest stars as well. Also, MMPR didn't revolve around a fantasy. There were other shows around at the time or slightly later that were more childish, like Masked Rider and Big Bad Beatleborgs. However, Disney's remake of MMPR (MMPRv2) was extremely childish. It was complete with corny special effects and comic book strips. Needless to say, the remake version was terrible.

Power Rangers Wild Force

Wild Force I felt was even more childish than MMPR, although not as childish as the MMPR remake version. Wild Force was kinda like Magiranger, an odd mix of childish themes and dark themes. However, I think Wild Force's childish aspects dragged down the show. Wild Force had a lot of children guest stars (most of them bad actors) and the story of the Animarium was read ridiculously from a childrens book. This I felt dragged down Wild Force the most.

June Poll Results, New Polls

Gokaiger Episode 14 was voted overwhelmingly to be the funniest moment/episode of the 21st Century, with 77 votes. The Shinkenger Returns V-Cinema movie and Natsuki's rampage (episode 24 of Boukenger) tied for second with 34 votes. Akashi being cursed with bad luck was 4th with 31 votes, and an alienizer falling in love with Tetsu was 5th with 29 votes.

The ending in Timeranger was voted as the saddest moment of the 21st Century with 62 votes. Second was Hoji (DekaBlue) having to delete his girlfriend's brother, with 38 votes. Third was Rio and Mele's death in Gekiranger.

New polls will allow people to pick to see what they want to see more from my blog.