Mahou Sentai MagiRanger ~Magical Talk Stage~(thoughts and opinions)

[musashi03]

I loved Magiranger too because it was definitely one of the lighter-toned Sentai with a great mix of mysticism and a memorable mythology behind the setting. Heroes were awesome, villains were awesome, you just can't help but root for both at times.

 

[Sage Shinigami]

I have fond memories of Magiranger, and watching it with two friends of mine. I should actually go back and re-watch it some day.

At first, it sort of got on my nerves how goofy the series seemed after the first five episodes or so (great ones), but once I heard about MagiShine and got a chance to see how awesome he was, I was really excited about going back and actually seeing how the team got to that point.

Once I sat down and got through the entire thing, I was impressed. The series rarely had filler--the story was always going somewhere. They developed the team both as heroes and as a family pretty well, and the fight scenes were usually pretty awesome.

Also. MagiShine. Best sixth ranger outfit ever.

Still, it seemed like MagiShine was doing fine until he fought Drake. He was definitely not on a bad losing streak

And I honestly have never seen any of what people call "sixth ranger syndrome"

People really exaggerate that, and I don't like it at all

Actually, I've never seen that "syndrome", not in Gekiranger, Go-Onger, Shinkenger, Goseiger, or Magiranger, so I don't think it even really exists

It's pretty blatant in Gekiranger. To the extent that GekiViolet goes through all this training to learn the "greatest Geki-Waza hissatsu"...and Rio stops it without flinching. And GekiChopper, who had a unique Geki that even those who attained Kageki couldn't gain...got his weapon (which only he could use) stolen by GekiRed 'cause it looked cool seeing him as Super GekiRed combining it with hsi claw.

And of course, there's also the fact that only the main three got to learn RinJyuKen and beat Long. Sixth Ranger syndrome is not half the problem they make it out to be, but it's definitely a problem in that particular series.

Even if it only happens a few times, for him that's a few times too many. Hence his depression and Snowgel's intervention.

...Wasn't there a point in the series where he'd convinced himself there wasn't anything he could learn from Kai because he was a Heavenly Saint and Kai was just a magician, though? I don't remember depression as the guy's problem.

 

[cypsiman2]

...Wasn't there a point in the series where he'd convinced himself there wasn't anything he could learn from Kai because he was a Heavenly Saint and Kai was just a magician, though? I don't remember depression as the guy's problem.

Well, that one started with Magishine's moping getting so bad that it drew Snowgel's attention, so she told him to learn from Kai. Then Hikaru sees Kai's 'just get **** done' attitude as thoughtlessness, and so he wouldn't learn what he was supposed to, which was not to get so wrapped up in what might happen that nothing ever does happen.

 

[FieryRed]

I finally finished Magiranger today, and I already watched the Magiranger vs Dekaranger movie (two of my favorite sentai series) as well as the movie, Bride of Infershia. I don't think this series as gotten enough accolades, but I've really developed a fondness for this series, and it is one of my favorites right now. I think one of the best things about Magiranger are its characters, and they really sold me that they are a close-knit family, who although has sibling rivalry, nevertheless support each other. Another thing I think Magiranger did well is the villain faction, the Infershia. From Wolzard early on, to Meemy and then the Hades Ten Gods toward the end, they managed to develop most of the villains well and gave them some depth, particularly Wolzard and Titan, but the villains were really challenging and not a pushover. Oh, and although I'm not always fond of the mech design in sentai series, I really love all the mechs in Magiranger. From MagiKing, to Travelion (probably my fave), and later MagiLegend, it made me wish I had watched this series earlier so I may collect some of the toys.

The ending was climatic and satisfying, and Hikaru & Urara really do made a very attractive couple (could be the best looking ever in SS). I brought in their romance, but I wish they had developed it earlier. If I have a complain about the ending, it'd be in the epilogue, we didn't get to see Kai with Yamazaki, nor Mikato with his GF. Oh well.

 

[cypsiman2]

I finally finished Magiranger today, and I already watched the Magiranger vs Dekaranger movie (two of my favorite sentai series) as well as the movie, Bride of Infershia. I don't think this series as gotten enough accolades, but I've really developed a fondness for this series, and it is one of my favorites right now. I think one of the best things about Magiranger are its characters, and they really sold me that they are a close-knit family, who although has sibling rivalry, nevertheless support each other. Another thing I think Magiranger did well is the villain faction, the Infershia. From Wolzard early on, to Meemy and then the Hades Ten Gods toward the end, they managed to develop most of the villains well and gave them some depth, particularly Wolzard and Titan, but the villains were really challenging and not a pushover. Oh, and although I'm not always fond of the mech design in sentai series, I really love all the mechs in Magiranger. From MagiKing, to Travelion (probably my fave), and later MagiLegend, it made me wish I had watched this series earlier so I may collect some of the toys.

Yeah, the characters and their relationships were definitely where the show shined the most, and the reason it did so was because each episode, with rare exception, focused on a pair of characters instead of just one at a time. This lets you see how character A reacts to the plot, how character B reacts, and how their reactions come together to affect how they relate to one another, giving even the early, plot-lite episodes greater depth to them. And the Infershia Pantheon, I have yet to see their like repeated in Super Sentai, with every battle against them being huge, epic confrontations where everyone has to do more than just punch harder, they have to dig deep and draw on their inner strength to find a way to overcome time again and again and again. I'm also amused at how they made Wyvern come off as the "cool guy" of the group, the nice one...and then it turns out that beneath that mask, he's just a jerk who doesn't like getting shown up. And Sphinx's heel-face-turn was also very interesting, since unlike with Titan the Magirangers weren't even trying to get her to become good, that was something she did all on her own. And yeah, the mechs are great and really well put together, especially MagiKing. My only wish was that MagiLegend had been more like MagiKing 2.0, and that we could have seen a fusion of Wolzard and Unigolon, to bring the pallet-swapping full circle

The ending was climatic and satisfying, and Hikaru & Urara really do made a very attractive couple (could be the best looking ever in SS). I brought in their romance, but I wish they had developed it earlier. If I have a complain about the ending, it'd be in the epilogue, we didn't get to see Kai with Yamazaki, nor Mikato with his GF. Oh well.

Along with Changeman, Magiranger's ending was one of the few where it felt like the world at large had changed forever, instead of just for the heroes and their immediate friends. Personally, I didn't have any problems with how Urara and Hikaru's relationship had developed, though I certainly wouldn't have objected to more focus and development. And yeah, I really wish that they'd had Kai with Yamazaki in the epilogoue, since otherwise her knowing that he and MagiRed are one in the same doesn't have a payoff to it, and it's not as though they didn't have access to the actress, we saw her there in the last episode. Oh well, they just wanted to keep the focus on the magic family I suppose.

Oh, and as you may have noticed, you will not see a lack of accolades for Magiranger on my account, that's for sure.

 

[FieryRed]

Yeah, the characters and their relationships were definitely where the show shined the most, and the reason it did so was because each episode, with rare exception, focused on a pair of characters instead of just one at a time. This lets you see how character A reacts to the plot, how character B reacts, and how their reactions come together to affect how they relate to one another, giving even the early, plot-lite episodes greater depth to them. And the Infershia Pantheon, I have yet to see their like repeated in Super Sentai, with every battle against them being huge, epic confrontations where everyone has to do more than just punch harder, they have to dig deep and draw on their inner strength to find a way to overcome time again and again and again. I'm also amused at how they made Wyvern come off as the "cool guy" of the group, the nice one...and then it turns out that beneath that mask, he's just a jerk who doesn't like getting shown up. And Sphinx's heel-face-turn was also very interesting, since unlike with Titan the Magirangers weren't even trying to get her to become good, that was something she did all on her own. And yeah, the mechs are great and really well put together, especially MagiKing. My only wish was that MagiLegend had been more like MagiKing 2.0, and that we could have seen a fusion of Wolzard and Unigolon, to bring the pallet-swapping full circle

I also want to add that there is no Ozu family members that I dislike, even Tsubasa (which I thought would've been the jerk of the family, but instead he was the brain and the level-headed one). Both Urara and Houka are very attractive, as well as Nei and Mare, and Rin. The villains, with the exception of N-Ma, all have their individual quirks and personalities. This is quite an achievement due to the large cast of Infershia characters involved. I think the general lack of filler really helped moved not just the plots alone, but also character development.

As for the mech, I'd love to have seen Travelion combine with MagiLegend, but at least they avoided the clusterf**k problem in other sentai series.

Along with Changeman, Magiranger's ending was one of the few where it felt like the world at large had changed forever, instead of just for the heroes and their immediate friends. Personally, I didn't have any problems with how Urara and Hikaru's relationship had developed, though I certainly wouldn't have objected to more focus and development. And yeah, I really wish that they'd had Kai with Yamazaki in the epilogoue, since otherwise her knowing that he and MagiRed are one in the same doesn't have a payoff to it, and it's not as though they didn't have access to the actress, we saw her there in the last episode. Oh well, they just wanted to keep the focus on the magic family I suppose.

Oh, and as you may have noticed, you will not see a lack of accolades for Magiranger on my account, that's for sure.

I think they could've shown some more affections between Urara and Hikaru before ep 47, where they were married, or at least some playfulness. But I think they did drop plenty of hints, such as the apple pie episode and the one where Kaa-san returned and Hikaru mentioned that her cooking was better than Urara, and got his face pitched in return. I'm just disappointed that we didn't see Kai with Yamazaki together as a couple in the end, particularly since their relationship was the basis of the movie Bride of Infershia, and although Yamazaki already knew his secret identity, nothing came off of it. I think if after a year, we can see both Kai and Makito gotten married or engaged and have both ladies added to the family, it would've had a great effect to show us how the Ozu family has grown since their victory over N-Ma.

Btw, what IS that red streak in Kai's hair? Is it a result of Kai's training as a magician?

I also want to say that I think MagiShine has the best costume among all the sixth senshis, and one of the best henshin sequence ever. And although Hikaru was their sensei, he never really overshadowed the Ozu members and imo was a terrific sixth senshi. I recently checked out Mystic Force's Solaris Knight on Youtube and was shocked at the difference between the two; Solaris Knight looked like a middle-age man and nowhere near as handsome as Hikaru/MagiShine.

 

[cypsiman2]

I also want to add that there is no Ozu family members that I dislike, even Tsubasa (which I thought would've been the jerk of the family, but instead he was the brain and the level-headed one). Both Urara and Houka are very attractive, as well as Nei and Mare, and Rin. The villains, with the exception of N-Ma, all have their individual quirks and personalities. This is quite an achievement due to the large cast of Infershia characters involved. I think the general lack of filler really helped moved not just the plots alone, but also character development.

Heh, I've mentioned elsewhere that I can't pick a favorite out of all the magirangers because everytime I try, I keep remembering how so-and-so is awesome and really well developed and they did this amazing thing and that. And don't forget Miyuki, she aged very well in my opinion, especially for someone who had five kids and had to raise them on her own for fifteen years. And while N-Ma could have been richer, I really loved the soft, despairing tone he delivered his first line with after he tore himself out of Titan's corpse. "I am the Absolute God. Dwelling with me is fear." And you have to admit, destroying the local cosmic equivalent of heaven in a matter of minutes is pretty hardcore. As to filler, there's only three episodes I can really count as filler; 8 (Urara cheerleader), 10 (Makito's girlfriend), and 22 (Houka in Kyoto), mostly because they don't have much effect on plot, but they're still rich in character development and/or bring in new spells that get reused later on. But otherwise all the other episodes matter and feed into one another as they rise and fall, rise and fall.

As for the mech, I'd love to have seen Travelion combine with MagiLegend, but at least they avoided the clusterf**k problem in other sentai series.

MagiLegend? Huh, I usually think of Travelion combining with MagiKing, never considered Legend. But, being the last sentai before the clusterf**k trend took hold is well enough I suppose.

I think they could've shown some more affections between Urara and Hikaru before ep 47, where they were married, or at least some playfulness. But I think they did drop plenty of hints, such as the apple pie episode and the one where Kaa-san returned and Hikaru mentioned that her cooking was better than Urara, and got his face pitched in return. I'm just disappointed that we didn't see Kai with Yamazaki together as a couple in the end, particularly since their relationship was the basis of the movie Bride of Infershia, and although Yamazaki already knew his secret identity, nothing came off of it. I think if after a year, we can see both Kai and Makito gotten married or engaged and have both ladies added to the family, it would've had a great effect to show us how the Ozu family has grown since their victory over N-Ma.

How the family had grown, that's not an angle I'd considered before; now that's two reasons why they should have included Yamazaki and Eriko (Makito's girlfriend). Oh well, it would have been suspicious if everything had been perfect, amirite?

Btw, what IS that red streak in Kai's hair? Is it a result of Kai's training as a magician?

No idea, it just seems like something they threw in to really emphasize that Kai had come into his own while fulfilling his father's legacy. Not that anyone's complaining, me least of all.

I also want to say that I think MagiShine has the best costume among all the sixth senshis, and one of the best henshin sequence ever. And although Hikaru was their sensei, he never really overshadowed the Ozu members and imo was a terrific sixth senshi. I recently checked out Mystic Force's Solaris Knight on Youtube and was shocked at the difference between the two; Solaris Knight looked like a middle-age man and nowhere near as handsome as Hikaru/MagiShine.

Well, aside from some sound-effect flubs, I do agree that MagiShine had a damn good henshin sequence, and yes, he was an excellent addition addition to the team, bringing out the best in everyone instead of turning the show into being all about him. Heh, there's this interview with the Magiranger cast where they talk about, among other things, how they were worried that Hikaru's arrival would result in him taking all their screentime; there worries were plainly unfounded. And yeah, Solaris Knight, much like the rest of Mystic Force, is nowhere near as good as his magiranger counterpart.

 

[lazycoconut]

I think that cramming the series with romance is one of the main reasons for my dislike of Magiranger. I don't believe there has ever been a well-written or meaningful romance in Sentai, and these were some of the worst. Not to mention that it created three flat, poorly written characters (Yamazaki, Rei and Eriko) who existed for no purpose other than to be love interests

I recently checked out Mystic Force's Solaris Knight on Youtube and was shocked at the difference between the two; Solaris Knight looked like a middle-age man and nowhere near as handsome as Hikaru/MagiShine.

That's because he was :laugh: Actually, that was an odd side effect of the transition to Power Rangers. Even though Mystic Force was trying to hint at the Blue Ranger having feelings for Red, the Sentai footage made it look very much like she and Solaris Knight were supposed to be a couple, which was creepy because he was middle-aged and she was supposed to be 17 (although the actress was really 27)

 

[FieryRed]

MagiLegend? Huh, I usually think of Travelion combining with MagiKing, never considered Legend. But, being the last sentai before the clusterf**k trend took hold is well enough I suppose.

Yeah, perhaps combining Travelion with MagiKing is a better decision.

How the family had grown, that's not an angle I'd considered before; now that's two reasons why they should have included Yamazaki and Eriko (Makito's girlfriend). Oh well, it would have been suspicious if everything had been perfect, amirite?

I just thought that after a year since N-Ma was slayed, they should've at least shown that Kai is now dating with Yamazaki. The writers spent many episodes and even a movie focusing on these two's relationship, the least they could've done was having Yamazaki at the dinner table having a lunch with everyone.

No idea, it just seems like something they threw in to really emphasize that Kai had come into his own while fulfilling his father's legacy. Not that anyone's complaining, me least of all.

I hope it is a side effect of all that training, and he didn't just dye his hair for fun.

Well, aside from some sound-effect flubs, I do agree that MagiShine had a damn good henshin sequence, and yes, he was an excellent addition addition to the team, bringing out the best in everyone instead of turning the show into being all about him. Heh, there's this interview with the Magiranger cast where they talk about, among other things, how they were worried that Hikaru's arrival would result in him taking all their screentime; there worries were plainly unfounded. And yeah, Solaris Knight, much like the rest of Mystic Force, is nowhere near as good as his magiranger counterpart.

Although I really like Magiranger, I have no plan to watch Mystic Force. It's too bad that they never got a Boukenranger vs Magiranger movie.

 

[cypsiman2]

Yeah, perhaps combining Travelion with MagiKing is a better decision.

Well, I'm just going off the standard of the sixth mech combining with the main mech, as opposed to the super mech, like the way DekaBike Robo combined with DekaRobo but not DekaWing. Truth be told, I think the aesthetics of Travelion would clash too much in a combination with either MagiKing or MagiLegend. And besides, my preference is for more mechs on the field anyway.

I just thought that after a year since N-Ma was slayed, they should've at least shown that Kai is now dating with Yamazaki. The writers spent many episodes and even a movie focusing on these two's relationship, the least they could've done was having Yamazaki at the dinner table having a lunch with everyone.

I agree, would have been a good move on the part of the writers.

I hope it is a side effect of all that training, and he didn't just dye his hair for fun.

Heh, that kind of makes me want to write a fic where the others ask Kai what the deal with his hair is, he plays it like it was a side effect of his training...and then Nai and Mare pop up out of nowhere to say that he asked them to dye his hair 'cause he thought it would look cool. What can I say, I like to ruffle Kai's feathers, heh.

Although I really like Magiranger, I have no plan to watch Mystic Force. It's too bad that they never got a Boukenranger vs Magiranger movie.

Truthfully, you're not missing out on much at all. And yeah, Boukenger vs. Magiranger would have been nice, though to be honest I think there would be a problem of making sure that the Magirangers don't come off overpowered next to the Boukenger, as the Magirangers are definitely among the more powerful sentai teams.