Maskman's Prince Igam

[Dr Kain]

You would think these dudes could tell the difference between a man and a woman.

 

[Toku Prime]

Come to think of it, when Igam revealed to Takeru that she was Ial's "brother" in the Death Ring, I wondered why Takeru didn't notice the mole on "his" cheek (the same as Ial's) and think "Hmm, this guy looks awfully like Mio, even for a fraternal twin. Mio.... MIO!!!"

I don't think Takeru ever thinks about Mio anyway. Every time that Kiros or another character mentions her, he looks at them as if he's thinking "who?...Oh right, yeah..."

 

[Dr Kain]

I have watched through episode 22 of Maskman so far and I have to say that I am kind of bored. The biggest issue with the show is that there is nothing going on. It took 20 episodes to finally get to a nice multi part story, which is part of the problem. There just isn't any real story arcs going on. Yeah, there is the occasional battle between Takeru and Igam (who it seems GUIS cannot even figure our his/her actual gender in the show, nor figure out if his/her sister's name is Ian or Ial), but other than that, the show is dry when it comes to character development. In 22 episodes, Momoko and Haruka have both received only 2 episodes to develop their characters while Kenta has received 5 and Takeru three. Akira has only had three as well, but he really stands out from the rest of the cast due to his maturity level. At least there was finally an interesting mech battle. The designs of the monsters of the week are also quite bland. I also think another of the issues I have with it is its pacing is off due to everything pretty much being handed to the cast right from the get go. Don't get me wrong, I like the show, but it is not even close to being in my top 15.

 

[DaikaijuSokogeki!]

Yeah, I felt rather disappointed in Maskman. I suppose part of the problem is, by the point I watched Maskman, I had already seen Liveman and Jetman which both had far more concrete storytelling and character arcs, but I had seen Bioman as well and found that Sentai to be superior. I think a lot of the ideas in Maskman are just simply half-baked. The Igam/Ial storyline especially, but also Zeba's identity and the general intrigue behind the generals of the Underground Empire never really felt fully developed to me.

The characters are also relatively bland, except for Akira because he does get some pretty decent development, and the mecha fights are mostly uninteresting (plus Galaxy Robo's finisher makes no damned sense. He turns back into the vehicle mode, speeds up, turns back into a robot then does an awkward front-flip that leads into a chop? What?). I would certainly not call it a bad Super Sentai since it has some solid action scenes and the special effects are pretty solid, but there are better '80s Sentai out there.

 

[kuroihikari]

Galaxy Robo's finisher is that way because it's generally incomplete (I'd say inferior, but it's superior to Great Five in some ways). After all Galaxy Robo was basically a failed experiment. Whereas all they needed to do with Great Five was charge the sword up with Aura Power, Galaxy Robo had to gain speed and Aura Power on an Aura bridge.

 

[Dr Kain]

Sad part is, I enjoyed the show a lot more raw than I am subbed.

 

[Black Fang]

~character snip~

I'd have to agree there. While the characters are certainly not bad, I felt that Takeru and Akira were the only well-defined ones. Haruka I might throw in too because she does get some good episodes (my favorite being the one with her childhood doll) and that running theme of a missed out childhood due to her ninja upbringing. But Kenta and Momoko (despite that one fine moment where Momoko punches through a Dogler to save her students) always seemed "just there". Though I suppose you could claim that Kenta had the running theme of "forbidden love" with his first couple of episodes being him, the shy awkward guy meeting a girl and it ending horribly.

In contrast I started rewatching Megaranger right after finishing Maskman and the differences in characterizations are stark. Everyone's defined, and they interact in an entertaining way. I liked Kubota and his "take the kids' antics in stride" attitude from episode 1; Sugata feels like a rehash of Changeman's Ibuki without the things that made him special.

At least there was finally an interesting mech battle.

and the mecha fights are mostly uninteresting

Maskman has very good, fast-paced mecha battles. I put them up with Zyuranger and Ohranger among the greats. It's better than the lumbering about of other shows. (Perhaps the lumbering is more realistic and depending on the type of robot it can work. I don't expect Grandliner to be quick on its feet. But it can get boring fast.)

The designs of the monsters of the week are also quite bland.

Still better than the Deboss in Kyoryuger. :sick:

Plus I like that many of the 80s Sentai monsters aren't based on obvious plants, animals and objects like most are today, but seem to be simple "strange" creatures.

 

[kuroihikari]

We're kinda opposite on Haruka vs Momoko. Momoko had a really good arc, and she was also kind of partly into Akira's development as well, while I thought Haruka's doll and ninja scenario were kinda meh.

It's not something I would normally look for in other shows, but I kinda wish they had more girl-bonding moments. Most girl-bonding moments in other shows have that strong older sister figure and young sister one, but these two are strong and weak equally in their own ways. I strangely loved those scenes where they were teasing Akira.

 

[Black Fang]

We're kinda opposite on Haruka vs Momoko. Momoko had a really good arc, and she was also kind of partly into Akira's development as well, while I thought Haruka's doll and ninja scenario were kinda meh.

It's not something I would normally look for in other shows, but I kinda wish they had more girl-bonding moments. Most girl-bonding moments in other shows have that strong older sister figure and young sister one, but these two are strong and weak equally in their own ways. I strangely loved those scenes where they were teasing Akira.

I liked those two, but they were few and far between. That "Akira-Momoko sibling" feel was only in one episode, and that was fairly early in the show. Compare that to Megaranger where the characterizations and interactions are more consistent throughout.

 

[Dr Kain]

Though I suppose you could claim that Kenta had the running theme of "forbidden love" with his first couple of episodes being him, the shy awkward guy meeting a girl and it ending horribly.

The problem with that is he found Miyuki in his first episode. Said he was going to wait until they defeated Tube before coming back to her as he did not want to endanger her. Then like three episodes later he is hitting on another girl. I'm just sitting and scream, "WHAT??!!"

Oddly enough, MegaRanger is going to be my next show after Maskman. lol