TokuERA 2018 |OT| Building a new ERA

I come into these Rider movies expecting nothing. That way I can at least be pleasantly surprised, though the only recent movies I genuinely enjoyed both belonged to Drive: its own summer movie and the Kamen Rider 4 film.

Ex-Aid's movie has a couple of cool sequences. Dan Kuroto proving to be a maniac behind the wheel and Parad being all "you thought it was Emu Hojo, but it was me, PARAD!" was delightful. Ex-Aid's goofy costume aside for his Creator form - that fight sequence against Fuma is also a highlight, making great use of the game creator/imagination motif.

Everything else is just trash.

The story about the dad and his family I couldn't care less about. Poppy continuing to be criminally underutilised and spending most of the money fretting around do no service to the film.

The main villain is somehow just as bereft of anything interesting in his own right. That blinding mix of CG jank, bright colours and endless noise when Emu finally decides to whip out Muteki (after spending the film not using it for some reason - probably because if he did, the movie would conclude in 15 minutes) to take on horrendous CG eldritch abomination Gemdeus is abysmal. I don't watch Toku to see these kind of CG fight sequences, because visually I find them appalling and I'm completely taken out of the action. I'm here to see guys in rubber suits beat up other guys in rubber suits, with CG appropriately used to compliment these sequences. CG used to elevate a Rider's kick and provide them with cool individuality that fits with the suit motif? Absolutely. Drive for example does that very well. CG vomit climaxes against Gemdeus? No thank you.

We should do another groupwatch, it's the best way to get entertainment value out of these movies.

Both Ghost and Ex-Aid's movie follow this structure where the new movie form is used with a special power for the middle of the movie, but the final battle falls back to the tv show final form which the hero has since the start of the movie. The movies share neither writer nor director, so, it seems to be some kind of directive coming from above the series specific creative team.

I really hope they drop it because it's just stupid even from a marketing point of view, since it makes the movie exclusive form feel pointless.

Vareon said:

We should do another groupwatch, it's the best way to get entertainment value out of these movies.

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Without subs it's even better. Everybody pitches in their headcanon and anything is better than the real thing.

I can't remember most of what happens in the Ghost movie (which is probably for the best). Did that movie ever provide an adequate explanation for why Takeru couldn't simply whip out the Mugen Eyecon and win, besides there having to fill a bizarre "Takeru has to die X number of times" quota?

Because I know Ex-Aid's sure as heck did not. Am I supposed to feel any genuine tension from that expository scene about Gemdeus growing stronger as purple fog engulfs his company's building? Am I supposed to keep seeing the guy as a legitimate threat? The film has provided no reason as to why Hyper Muteki cannot be used, so all Emu has to do was whip it out and essentially win. The fact that this is exactly what he does just left me wondering why we even bothered with all this. What a godawful way to handle any movie. "Main protagonist had the win button all along, but just inexplicably couldn't be bothered to use it until near the end, because we had to fill up the hour somehow."

Nope, the same thing happens in the Ghost movie. The villain takes the Heroic Eyecons, but leaves Ore, Boost and Mugen with Takeru. Yet Takeru keeps using other forms beforehand, until it's the final battle and he finally uses Mugen.

Both movies also try to make a spectacle out of the final form finally being used in the final battle (giving it more focus than a standard transformation) even though there's nothing really new. It's weird, but seems very specific in spite of each movie having different staff, so I don't think it's a coincidence. I really hope they drop that structure this year, but it's hard to tell since it's not clear who is the one behind it.

LuPato 7

Fun episode. Also includes one of the best reasons to switch teams for the mech fight ("We just don't feel like it").

Next episode, though. I'm surprised they're already going *there*.

WarRock said:

Without subs it's even better. Everybody pitches in their headcanon and anything is better than the real thing.

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Or badly translated HK subs, like that Faiz one where they keep calling Supermen. Fun.

Build 28

Hey guys, LuPato is good. Hope there are more Gopro/drone shots, they are really dynamic.

Also, good for Build's attempt at a more visually interesting episode.

Kazumin 29
Nabeshima is the gift that keeps on giving.

Loved this episode because of the dumb power up, how well executed both twists were (even if predictable), how nice the character chemistry is and specially because of all the JUSTICE being delivered.

The use of projectors in the Rogue scene was interesting, too.

UtterlyPerplexed said:

Build 28

Spoiler

• I have to hand it to these guys. Staying in suit and duking it out all night and well into the next day without a single toilet break or any sign of them struggling to breathe at the end of it like they've just climbed Mount Kilimanjaro is the kind of superhuman feat only this show can offer.
  
• That Nabeshima girl has seen way too much shit to still be this happy. For all you know, Sawatari could be your next kidnapper!
• It's good to have confirmation that when caught, Namba Children do generally end up committing suicide as did a few other minor characters over the course of the show. Suicide being a part of the show is always something I'm surprised to see in a Japanese kids show, especially airing in a country where suicide rates are high.
  
• Sawa's resolution here is fine, albeit very predictable. But on my end, since it feels like a retread, I don't know why she's any more trustworthy this time than last time. Imagine you're one of the characters. How do you know this isn't part of yet another ruse?
  
• Namba is frightening. Even without Stalk hanging around to deliver some swift executions and face swapping, Namba stands on his own as legitimately one of the most terrifying human villains in Toku and Kamen Rider of late has very, very few instances of human antagonists who exclusively play a central role in pulling the strings in the background and letting their Machiavellian schemes play accordingly. I did think this about Mitsuaki Gamou in Kamen Rider Fourze, the cult-like leader in the background until he inexplicably joined the battlefield in person. I felt that was unnecessary and I really hope this show doesn't repeat that with Namba.

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Kane Kosugi made a Twitch account earlier this month.

https://www.twitch.tv/kanekosugi/videos/all

Lupat - 07

Umika focused ep with some Sakuya. I did laugh at Keiichiro going all "Are you serious about her?" followed by his expression following Sakuya's reply.

Tsukasa is very perceptive as well I see. Doubt next ep will be the reveal of Lupinrangers identity to the Patorangers but she is pretty much right on the money. Look forward to seeing how she and the rest (especially Sakuya considering the Sakuya/Umika stuff) react when they find out the Lupinranger identities.

Build - 28

I enjoyed it more than I expected, at least with the Sawa stuff. Predictable but enjoyable (well predictable outside of the kidnapped family. Didn't expect to see any of them again. At least not til much much later or something)

The stuff with Gentoku flashback and Sento out of suit speech were great to watch. Really enjoyed that.

I also expected Sawa to get shot in the back or something to end the ep. Just seemed like a death flag and all. There is still time though.

Build 28

Sawa playing all sides, damn. At least good won out in the end.
Nanba taking over as prime minster of Seito, that won't be good. At least Stalk finally reappeared.
This part of the war may be over, but it's going to get worse.

Lupin vs Pat 7

Pretty good episode, emotional and funny. Nice to have some character to Umika.
There has to be a catch in next week's episode, they can't be exposed THIS early

Build 28

Episode was soooo good.

Surprised that Ryuta Tasaki directed this episode and last episode with some especially good touches like the spotlight and video projector memories (not to diss his past work on Rider, but I do think a lot of his recent credits like Drive and the previous Build episodes have been pretty run-of-the-mill affairs). Otherwise, nice to see him complimenting the show's streak of solid directing.


Also, I'm sure it doesn't need to be pointed out, but...

That still amuses me to this day. Kaito getting taken out by the nut brothers and that very screenshot being elevated to partial meme status among the Toku community.

Build 28

Sawa... well, her treason was explained. I don't think the treason per se was well done, but the reasons were fine. However, they shouldn't have revealed that Saya was the traitor to the characters, back then, made this feel like a rethread. They should've made the viewers think she was a traitor from back then and reveal it all now, with this resolution, it would be better.

The directing here was great, as always. Gentoku's memories were well done. On a different note, I like the Saint Seiya like armor transformation of those two forms.

And yeah, Namba is a pretty good non-monster (in the literal way) villain. I wonder how much time Stalk was waiting behind that door.

More of the Mars plot next episode!

Lupinranger vs Patranger 7

Hm, I like that they are using the traumas of at least one of the character.

The date scene was pretty funny too. And a good mecha battle again! Still not Go-Busters useful, but there's at least some effort put in them.

Next episode is going to be interesting. I'm betting that, if any of the Patranger finds out who the Lupinranger is, they will keep it to themselves. I'm betting on the robot thing, if it happens. Actually, it would be pretty funny if the Patrangers discovered their identities little by little, and Pat #1 was the last to discover it, near the end of the series.

I love how the goofy narration in the beginning of at least the last two episodes of Build actually set up jokes the pay off in dialogue later in the show.

What's up with the axe (?) wielding mech looking dude in New Den-O colors in that Build scan? Also, if that is a new Banjo power up, WHEW.

WarRock said:

What's up with the axe (?) wielding mech looking dude in New Den-O colors in that Build scan? Also, if that is a new Banjo power up, WHEW.

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Having seen the scans I have no idea who you are referring to.

pacific rim 2 was fun. Makes me wanna watch some giant things wack each other. How is the latest ultraman?

coredecepts said:

Just finished Dairanger. The last 15 episodes or so were all really good. I like how pretty much each ranger had a personal connection with someone (my watching group called them social links). It made for much less filler, and good ongoing storylines. That was a great series.

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Glad you liked it, I think it's great, too.

Have you picked your next season?

Jeff ChickenDig said:

pacific rim 2 was fun. Makes me wanna watch some giant things wack each other. How is the latest ultraman?

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Geed is fine, with some great moments, and the characters are good.

If you didn't watch it, Orb is also pretty good, with better characters but messier plot. Also, best villain.

Pluto said:

Glad you liked it, I think it's great, too.

Have you picked your next season?

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Yeah, I've been watching with a group, and we switch between full seasons of Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. So far it's been Zyuranger, Kamen Rider Gaim, Dairanger, and next up is Kamen Rider Fourze. I think Gokaiger will be after that.

Gokaiger's the last Super Sentai series I genuinely liked and enjoyed from start to finish. There's no specific reason why, but every installment since has failed to maintain my interest after a certain point and I've still yet to even check out Kyuranger and LuPatranger.

Kamen Rider Fourze is a very decent show, and it's quite a fun contrast to Build right now and the early J-drama like Heisei shows. It took me a short while to get into the setting and the large cast of what were initially American high school stereotypes mixed with your standard OTT Japanese Toku humour and mannerisms. And this was while large portions of the online Toku community were absolutely lambasting Fourze for being too childish and lighthearted, with rose-tinted nostalgia for the Faiz days even. When Wizard was initially revealed and the very early plot synopsis of the eclipse and the birth of the Phantoms was publicised, I remember those same groups of people salivating for Fourze to be over so that a seemingly darker, moodier show could replace it. Looking back on it now, that was funny.

Lupinranger Vs. Patranger Episode 7 - The Vore Episode
Every season of Sentai has one.

I feel Patren #1 is one of the most enjoyable Red in a while. Though he need his teammates to contrast his always serious personality.

coredecepts said:

Yeah, I've been watching with a group, and we switch between full seasons of Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. So far it's been Zyuranger, Kamen Rider Gaim, Dairanger, and next up is Kamen Rider Fourze. I think Gokaiger will be after that.

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Fourze is awesome! Gokaiger was good but post-zyu I like Carranger, Megaranger, Gingaman, Gogo V, Timeranger, Abaranger, Dekaranger, Magiranger, Gekiranger and Shinkenger more. Still a good choice though. :)

Pluto said:

Fourze is awesome! Gokaiger was good but post-zyu I like Carranger, Megaranger, Gingaman, Gogo V, Timeranger, Abaranger, Dekaranger, Magiranger, Gekiranger and Shinkenger more. Still a good choice though. :)

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Glad to see more endorsements for shows I want to watch :)

Looking to watch Timeranger, Abaranger, Dekaranger, and Gekiranger when I get the time. I've already seen Shinkenger on my own, and it's what got me into Sentai in the first place.

I've also seen Go-Busters, but I wasn't crazy about it when I finished it. But looking back, I like it more than I did when I watched it. If that makes sense.

coredecepts said:

Glad to see more endorsements for shows I want to watch :)

Looking to watch Timeranger, Abaranger, Dekaranger, and Gekiranger when I get the time. I've already seen Shinkenger on my own, and it's what got me into Sentai in the first place.

I've also seen Go-Busters, but I wasn't crazy about it when I finished it. But looking back, I like it more than I did when I watched it. If that makes sense.

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Those four are part of my top 5 or top 10, depending on how I feel, so good choices.

coredecepts said:

Glad to see more endorsements for shows I want to watch :)

Looking to watch Timeranger, Abaranger, Dekaranger, and Gekiranger when I get the time. I've already seen Shinkenger on my own, and it's what got me into Sentai in the first place.

I've also seen Go-Busters, but I wasn't crazy about it when I finished it. But looking back, I like it more than I did when I watched it. If that makes sense.

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Both Timeranger and Gekiranger are Top 3 Sentai, you can't go wrong with those.

coredecepts said:

Glad to see more endorsements for shows I want to watch :)

Looking to watch Timeranger, Abaranger, Dekaranger, and Gekiranger when I get the time. I've already seen Shinkenger on my own, and it's what got me into Sentai in the first place.

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Great picks!

Gekiranger is in my top 3 sentais of all time, the story is very good even if some of the rangers are neglected.

SHATTERED GRID THOUGH

ShadowSwordmaster said:

Is it out?

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First part, yeah.

They cleverly got around showing pools of blood.

Even though it has the robot fights that the Power Rangers movie should have had, even with the Kamen Rider Fourze finisher, Pacific Rim Uprising was terrible movie. Insanely bad.

You can't say it has the Fourze finisher when there were 0 drills involved, sorry.

I guess my main complaint about True Ending is that it could have easily been re-tooled to take place within the series instead of after the ending. It is sort of awkward that it was released while the series was still airing, so I think they might have tried not to spoil too much, and I bet re-using Gamedeus was to save money and time. Still, can't complain too much since it's more Ex-Aid, and is way better than the last Super Hero Taisen.

I'm thinking about buying some toku blu rays. If I downloaded the subtitle text files from OT could I just slap them on the file? Or would I have to edit the times and whatnot?

jwk94 said:

I'm thinking about buying some toku blu rays. If I downloaded the subtitle text files from OT could I just slap them on the file? Or would I have to edit the times and whatnot?

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You'd probably have to edit timing, but a good person to ask would be https://twitter.com/OZCLive. They're the top dog for this kind of business.

Patlupin; 7

I wonder if Lupin Yellow and Pat Green will be a couple at the end of the series, though that might be questionable considering that Lupin Yellow seems to be in high school...unless some time had pass since her friend being encased in ice?

Also I like how that episode showcase both women to shine, what with Lupin Yellow freeing her comrades and Pat Pink deducing the identity of the Lupinrangers.

Build 28;

This was a wonderfully shot episode and did give Sawa a moment to shine after being absent for so long.

I am loving Kamen Rider Build and I really really hope that it keeps up it momentum all the way to the end and doesn't stumble at the final hurdle like how Kamen Rider W, my favorite rider, did by building up Terror as the major villain throughout the entire show only to treat him as the monster of the week in favour of someone else.

modoversus said:

I guess my main complaint about True Ending is that it could have easily been re-tooled to take place within the series instead of after the ending. It is sort of awkward that it was released while the series was still airing, so I think they might have tried not to spoil too much, and I bet re-using Gamedeus was to save money and time. Still, can't complain too much since it's more Ex-Aid, and is way better than the last Super Hero Taisen.

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I get that the whole point of the movie being the true ending is meant to be a homage to video games with multiple endings but that only really works for video games as they are designed for replay purposes and as a result it leaves Ex-aid ending on a sour note as it just suddenly ends, unless viewers opts to watch the movie to the get the true ending.

But for me I didn't really didn't like the ending because it tried to introduce a brand new villain that had zero screen time, a new form for Ex-Aid that was a gimmick and was hardly ever used. So as a result Ex-Aid kinda stumbles at the ending which is a shame as the show was doing pretty great with the villain being top tier but it doesn't quite get the proper send off it deserve.

Vanishing Line was amazing. It definitely brought back my interest in Garo again.

Toei's April Fools prank:


Super Sentai Villians crossover featuring the return of Mele, Basco, Escape, and Juzo

I love how they got back the four most popular modern Sentai villians and did this to mess with people, though they are appearing in the movie anyways.

At the end there's a real trailer for the Kyuranger vs Space Squad

I don't speak Japanese, so I don't know if this is a new thing or April's fools.



Edit: Nevermind, April's Fool.

Sandfox said:

Toei's April Fools prank:


Super Sentai Villians crossover featuring the return of Mele, Basco, Escape, and Juzo

I love how they got back the four most popular modern Sentai villians and did this to mess with people, though they are appearing in the movie anyways.

At the end there's a real trailer for the Kyuranger vs Space Squad

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Aaah, this is cool!

Sandfox said:

Toei's April Fools prank:


Super Sentai Villians crossover featuring the return of Mele, Basco, Escape, and Juzo

I love how they got back the four most popular modern Sentai villians and did this to mess with people, though they are appearing in the movie anyways.

At the end there's a real trailer for the Kyuranger vs Space Squad

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Is that Alpha 5