Classic Sentai Thoughts

[Tokuboy]

That was my point. They homaged Gatchaman to the point where you'd only expect Gai to die only if you watched the anime.

Which... means that the lack of foreshadowing weakened it (this is why I think the epilogue's the weakest part of the show).

 

[Black Fang]

What kind of an ending would it be if he went to the Hospital instead of the wedding?, :laugh:

If Inoue really wanted Gai to die, why not have it happen during the mugging so that he misses the wedding, and then have everyone wonder what happened to him, whether he was still bitter over Kaori, etc etc. People ought to stop throwing out the term "badass" for everything a character does as though they know what it means.

What would you do if you were mortally injured on your way to a friend's wedding. Let's pose that question.

 

[Silvertooth]

That was my point. They homaged Gatchaman to the point where you'd only expect Gai to die only if you watched the anime.

Which... means that the lack of foreshadowing weakened it (this is why I think the epilogue's the weakest part of the show).

Gai even had a "I'm going to fire the missiles!" moment while they were in Jet Icarus. Also, Jet Icarus's Not God Phoenix flaming finishing move...

As for Gai's ending... I'm not really sure what to make of it. One way to approach it is that he wants his final moments to be with those who have become his friends, rather than in an alley or hospital.

Another take, that one of my friends brought up, is that Inoue basically wanted to set the standard sentai epilogue on its ear. Usually, the heroes return to their normal lives, better from their super heroic experience. The catch with Gai being that, as a street level guy, even though he has changed during his time as Black Condor, he's still a bit of a city thug, and gets an ending one would expect from that stock of character. Not to say I like it, but the lesson might be that the Super Hero Experience doesn't necessarily guarantee a Good End.

Anywho, I just finished Episode 21, which has another common Sentai tropes: Monsters Are People Too. Again, Inoue ramps this up by having people being excessively cruel to him, and throws in messages on pollution and corporate inventory control methods during the 90s bubble economy. Huh.

Also watched Episode 4 of Dynaman. Still goofy fun. I've been noticing 80s sentai robots tend to be able to pull out whatever before finishing with their sword. Inventions seems to be a theme in the non-action bits. Red wants to make an environment friendly motor engine, Black's an astronomer (and is also a ninja) that wants to contact aliens, and Yellow's a cowboy that wants to improve crops. His invention in this episode was some sort of noodle machine that backfired.

 

[Fantasy Leader]

I don't think Gai's death was pointless or tacked on at all. All the way back in episode 18, Gai is about to die, because of Juuza's crystal magic. Since Gai still acted like a loner, he wanted to die alone. So because of that, he ran away and hid from his friends. Kaori did find him, and Gai told her how much he didn't want to die. Sadly, Gai does end up "dying," but he gets better. Now fast forward to ending. Gai gets stabbed and mortally wounded by a thug. I think the fact that he didn't run away and hide from his friends to die alone, shows that Gai truly does have friends and wanted to not die alone. And before he dies, the least he could do was make it to the wedding and also thank Ryu for helping him change. It's a very tragic ending, but I think it really shows that Gai was a character who developed and grew up, thus making it a full circle ending.

 

[Kivat]

So the word spoil..

Anyone know what that means? lol

 

[Forever Knight]

If Inoue really wanted Gai to die, why not have it happen during the mugging so that he misses the wedding, and then have everyone wonder what happened to him, whether he was still bitter over Kaori, etc etc. People ought to stop throwing out the term "badass" for everything a character does as though they know what it means.

What would you do if you were mortally injured on your way to a friend's wedding. Let's pose that question.

I can say badass when I think something is badass.

Here's a deal, people will stop using the term badass when you stop acting like such a fucking complainer. You remind me of a child with a toothache.

Now as for the mortally injured question, I'd go to the Hospital. But that's because I'm not as stubborn as badass as we all know Gai is/was.

 

[Black Fang]

I can say badass when I think something is badass.

And I can say how I feel about its use. See how it works?

Here's a deal, people will stop using the term badass when you stop acting like such a fucking complainer. You remind me of a child with a toothache.

Irony of ironies this is, when you constantly talk like a 12-year old trying to show how cool he is to his friends. You honestly think this is a mature answer?

Now as for the mortally injured question, I'd go to the Hospital. But that's because I'm not as stubborn as badass as we all know Gai is/was.

So it's cool to allow your friends to see you sitting there bleeding to death and go "Yeah that's how cool I am"? Yes, I'm sure they'll appreciate that touching wedding present.

 

[Forever Knight]

So it's cool to allow your friends to see you sitting there bleeding to death and go "Yeah that's how cool I am"? Yes, I'm sure they'll appreciate that touching wedding present.

Perhaps Gai knew the stab wound was so deep it was going to kill him anyway, he knew he was going to die so he had 2 choices...

a) die in a hospital
b) die with his friends that he faught with to save the world, at the wedding.

Which would you have chosen?.

If I knew I was going to die I would have chosen b.

 

[KingRanger]

So the word spoil..

Anyone know what that means? lol

You need to use a little common sense when reading threads like this one.

 

[Black Fang]

Perhaps Gai knew the stab wound was so deep it was going to kill him anyway, he knew he was going to die so he had 2 choices...

a) die in a hospital
b) die with his friends that he fought with to save the world, at the wedding.

Which would you have chosen?

Like I said already in my example, if Gai was to die then Inoue could have written it in a way that was still poignant without going to this level of "shock value".

Why don't you answer what I, Shougo or matt asked: do you think him dying in front of his friends would be good for them? A happy occasion turned tragic because their friend keeled over in front of them?

If I knew I was going to die I would have chosen b.

You just said that you would not do that.

Now as for the mortally injured question, I'd go to the Hospital. But that's because I'm not as stubborn as badass as we all know Gai is/was.

So I guess by your definition you're not a "badass".