[DISCUSSION] Ryusoulger, Episode 10

[SamuraiEchidna]

A good swordsman is more important than a good sword.

Welcome to the discussion thread for Dinoknight Sentai Ryusoulger, episode 10; "The Invincible Counter".
(Show's title and episode title translation may vary depending on your fansub group of choice.)
This week: Just as the Ryusoulgers go up against an invincible Minosaur capable of reflecting attacks directed against it, its host unexpectedly saves Asuna. While Koh tries to attack their latest foe directly, Asuna tries to save the monster's host even as Wizul attempts to complicate matters for her.

This thread was made with Toku Prime's permission. And remember, this is a SPOILER ZONE! If you are trying to avoid spoilers, this is not the place for you.​

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

Wow, that was just... sickening.

We finally see Wyzul's true colors. And wow, I really, really hate him now! And not even in a "love to hate him" kind of way, I just genuinely wish he was no longer around (not that I'd try to boycott him or anything, but it's still very bad). Wyzul takes advantage of a situation and emotionally manipulates someone who is all ready suicidal. That's just NOT okay, even if the show tries to play it off as just another day in Tokusatsu. Now I know he's a villain and he's suppose to be evil and uncaring, and I can't hate the writers for doing their job, but still... That's messed up! Someone tell me I am not the only one who thinks so.

The only saving grace in this, even if it's stupid, is that Wyzul doesn't even try to kill Asuna while she's busy trying to pull Mori back up. Instead he starts gloating, and my reaction was "Really?! You pick NOW of all times to go back to being the flamboyant villain?" I don't know, maybe since he effectively manipulated one person's emotions, he thought he'd try for two birds with one stone. But that's still very stupid.

And since we're on the topic of being offended, was it absolutely necessary to have a "shut up, the men are talking" moment with the Ryusoulgers? It just came out of nowhere, and all for the sake of drawing this story out. They were getting along pretty well in the previous episodes, I never saw them ignore Asuna like this before. And people complain about the previous episodes before this...

 

[Dr Kain]

I just don't get this show. We're now 10 episodes in and still have no fucking idea what the plot is, who the villains are, what their motivations are, why they exist, nor what the whole point of this show is. How is this show written by a drama writer? It's just the rangers whipping out any soul ability they need to solve the issue of the day.

I will give this episode credit though for doing something cool with the camera for the 10 seconds it lasted when Pink fought the villains. It's the first time this show has done anything interesting with the camera. I wish Toei would give us an entire battle using the camera style they would often use for a moment in LupinvsPat. I don't get why they don't want to put any effort into the camerawork these days.

So next week the red ranger gets an upgrade already. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay... -_-

BTW, is it just me, or have the rangers not fought a single monster without transforming beyond the first episode? Even when they are up against the grunts they seem to be transforming instead of having out of suit action.

 

[Shougo B'Stard]

I haven't watched past episode 8. I wanted to keep up with this show so it didn't end up piling up on me like the past few Sentai shows have, but...there's just no there there! This show has nothing going for it, no identity of its own. I'm not saying I'm quitting it, just that when I think about watching the ones I haven't, I'll be like "Eh, I'd rather watch something else."

BTW, is it just me, or have the rangers not fought a single monster without transforming beyond the first episode? Even when they are up against the grunts they seem to be transforming instead of having out of suit action.

The writer must be one of those nuts you find on message boards who are always like "OMG! Why do Showa heroes fight the grunts without transforming? That's pointless!"

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

I just don't get this show. We're now 10 episodes in and still have no fucking idea what the plot is, who the villains are, what their motivations are, why they exist, nor what the whole point of this show is. How is this show written by a drama writer? It's just the rangers whipping out any soul ability they need to solve the issue of the day.

It was pretty much explained in the 2nd episode.
In the age of the dinosaurs, the righteous Ryusoulgers and the evil Druidons coexisted. The Druidons left into space when the dinosaurs were becoming extinct, and now they're back and more evil than ever.
Is it a basic, shallow set up? Yes. But it's not the first time Super Sentai has done basic plots like this. Asking why the Druidons exist is about the same as asking why the Ryusoulgers exist. They just do. Why are they evil? They just are. Plot says so.

We MIGHT get an explanation about what motivates the Druidons in the later half of the show, similar to how we didn't understand why Bandora was an evil witch until the last half of ZyuRanger; but for now it's just a standard, bare-bones Sentai story. It happens. I'm not happy that a dinosaur-themed Sentai is going the basic route since every other one after ZyuRanger has been a vast improvement, but we just have to accept that sometimes the people at Toei just want to do easy, straightforward stories like this. It's not for everyone, but what can you do? Give it a year or two and Toei will eventually come up with a show with a more engaging plot.

 

[Dr Kain]

similar to how we didn't understand why Bandora was an evil witch until the last half of ZyuRanger;

Yes, but there's a few things wrong with that:

1. Bandora showed up in the first episode, we still have no idea who or what the leader of the Druidons even is.
2. There was character development for the minions early on and they didn't die after 5 episodes just for the sake of being killed off.
3. All of the villains had personalities including the monsters of the week. The Druidons have little to no personalities and the monsters are just mindless beasts. Hell, the Druidons barely even have a presense. I'm just waiting for the episode where the rangers fight air.

we just have to accept that sometimes the people at Toei just want to do easy, straightforward stories like this. It's not for everyone, but what can you do? Give it a year or two and Toei will eventually come up with a show with a more engaging plot.

But this is supposedly the series that is going to make or break the franchise, so Toei should be putting their A game into it. What was the point of hiring this drama writer if they aren't going to do anything with him?

Also, I've been waiting for Toei to come up with a show with a more engaging plot for 8 years now.

 

[SamuraiEchidna]

Yes, but there's a few things wrong with that:

1. Bandora showed up in the first episode, we still have no idea who or what the leader of the Druidons even is.
2. There was character development for the minions early on and they didn't die after 5 episodes just for the sake of being killed off.
3. All of the villains had personalities including the monsters of the week. The Druidons have little to no personalities and the monsters are just mindless beasts. Hell, the Druidons barely even have a presense. I'm just waiting for the episode where the rangers fight air.

But this is supposedly the series that is going to make or break the franchise, so Toei should be putting their A game into it. What was the point of hiring this drama writer if they aren't going to do anything with him?

1. Who said the Druidons have a leader? For all we know, they may just be a group of autonomous generals working independently, each with a similar mission of defeating the Ryusoulgers and attacking the earth.
2. In ZyuRanger or Ryusoulger? I don't remember that for either show... Did you mean Bandora's generals? I'm not sure that's a fair comparison just because one show wants to do something different. Not saying it's an idea done right, just trying to make sense of this year's show, which is probably more simple than it needs to be.
3. I disagree. The MOTW definitely don't have a presence, but that's because they are suppose to be virtually mindless beasts, because they are often created from one base feeling or one base aspect of the original host. As for the generals, their personalities might just be stereotypes (Brute, child, and performer), but you gotta admit that it's still more than the MOTW.

As for the rest of what you said, putting either of our personal tastes aside, I can't tell you why they aren't trying to make the series phenomenal. I honestly don't know. Maybe they think something basic will have a better chance of connecting with a wider audience as opposed to a story that's "too complicated" (it's a dumb worry that people in the business often have, because they often underestimate how smart children are), maybe they gave up because the stress of making a "make or break series" was too much pressure, maybe the drama writer in question is being asked by the higher-ups at Toei to just make a simple non-challenging story (as much as we might hate when things like this happen, under-utilizing great talent has been known to happen in the business), etc. There's a huge number of possibilities why this season is the way it is. I can't say, I don't work for Toei. Feel free to look up any interviews or anything that exists about the production.

Sorry you've been waiting 8 years. So far, I've only been waiting 2. But you know, as I typically explain, I'm the guy who's usually easy to please.

 

[Dr Kain]

I'm usually easy to please to, I just don't want to be bored, and that's what I have been for these last many shows, bored. The shows are on auto pilot and haven't had anything innovative at all in them. They all pretty much follow the same formula, which has been happening ever since Gekiranger ended. No show has tried to break the Sentai mold, but at least Gokaiger was kept entertaining through its past ranger abilities and suits.