March Tokusatsu of the Month - Chousei Kantai Sazer X -Talk Up!

[Lynxara]

Okay, episode 29. Can you make me care about an Ad episode? Let's find out.

[HIDE]- The tea-drinking scene with Captain Shark is amazing. (So do they not have tea in the future, either? Maybe it's just all gaijin tea with milk and sugar.)
- "The Jackal plot is over, so Captain Shark can interact with the rest of the story now!"
- The idea that Cyclead must be hypnotized into becoming a badass is completely fantastic.
- Well, I'll be damned, I do actually care about Ad. I think a grand "I'm willing to die believing in my comrades!!" moment like this was just the thing he needed. It's very much what his archetype's mecha show counterpart is about, but this is the first time Sazer X has put him in that sort of desperate situation.
- I really enjoy Sazer X's lunar battles and this one is particularly good. Letting Ad have the last shot even though his machine can't combine with the Core Braver was classy.
- I don't think the guy who is doing Cyclead's voice is much of a name actor, but man, he's good. Mind-control Cyclead is actually threatening while believably being the same guy.
- Ad, you don't have a personality, but you're an okay guy. I'll make you white rice anytime. [/HIDE]

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

This recent arc is basically what I meant when I said early on that Ad would eventually get some of the spotlight and make him seem like someone people care about a bit more. Though I have always wondered if this arc was supposed to be any different since it seems like some plans for the various arcs werre really hammered with to make work once it was knon the series would end short.

 

[Lynxara]

I can't really imagine this particular arc running any longer, just because it'd be weird to have characters trapped in subspace for much longer than they did.

Now, I think other things might be happening faster, like the new Neo-Descal brainwashing Cyclead. I think if the show was longer it might've been four or five episodes before we got to that.

What I'm curious about is if Patora was planned for the series or not. She's entertaining, but her main function just seems to be making things happen faster.

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

Patora strikes me as a last ditch effort at subtly revamping the show...probably a little too late to really have any impact. But, hey! Least she aint totally annoying.

 

[FlashNeko]

Episode 30. We're in the final stretch!

A) Y'know, as a small flavor touch thing, I love that, even though he's no longer a bad guy and sometimes his first appearance in an episode is just him sitting around casually, they still give Blaird his big pointy-kanji name subtitle.

B) Do I really want to think about the implications of Blaird mistaking Aqual's voice for Thundara's? Or just the fact that Aqual is apparently the only female member of whatever the hell the Shogun's species is supposed to be?

C) Okay, Ad, you're liking this waaaaay too much for it to be comfortable. Do you want to be alone with your hot spring?

D) So, like... is the Rice Thing just supposed to be the non-Earth Sazers reconnecting with the Japanese Spirit through food? Like, if this was made in America, would they be getting misty eyed over corn or mashed potatoes?

 

[Lynxara]

Like, if this was made in America, would they be getting misty eyed over corn or mashed potatoes?

The best analog would probably be turkey. At one point in time an American show definitely would've used apple pie in a similar way. In a modern show, probably hamburgers.

[HIDE]- I see it's time for Tobey to get trolled by the past. This is a nice touch.
- Fanservice episode! I guess they decided that just because they were getting canceled doesn't mean they can't make sure the last arc is fun.
- The comedy in this episode is really Macross 7-ish to me, especially the way the episode also sneaks some plot into it.
- Ad's actor plays a really good straight man now that he gets the chance.
- The way Ad is freaking out about getting into the hot spring here is a really nice touch. It reminds me of the some anecdotes I've read about foreigners freaking out in Japan when expected to get into a hot spring, then freaking out over how awesome it is. I guess Ad really is from Space America.
- Another really good episode. It wasn't super-distinct the way episodes 9 and 20 were, it was just... well, good. I feel like the show is really hitting its stride in the home stretch. [/HIDE]

As an aside, Aqual has just posted to the Tokusatsu Hero Twitter. :anime:

 

[MetalSymphony]

I hate falling behind, but i'm caught up:

-31-

-Natto, the defuser of fights between Men and suit-monsters.
-Man, thats some Sex-Chair you got there cycled.
-Look, the Orga suit is back!
-So it has Cycled's brain eh? it's a Un-stealthy do-nothing?
-"Hey Takuto, you ok", "Yeah" *SLAP*
-Odd thing, but it's nice to not see a Starfield on the surface of the moon, since you would never seen it on the Light side (even though you see it in stock footage of the ships firing)

 

[FlashNeko]

It is nice to see a show where the heroes have space worthy ships, know the enemy is in outer space, and actually GO INTO OUTER SPACE TO FIGHT THEM on a consistent basis.

Granted, the consistent part may only be because plot arcs have been squashed down to where they can't have filler attacks on the Earth or attempts to steal/counter steal the Cosmo Capsules anymore, but it's still nice to see.

 

[Lynxara]

Another fine episode. Sazer X is on a roll.

[HIDE]- I like that Sazer X don't immediately turn on Blaird like a pack of douchebags over Takuto getting shot down.
- I also like that Takuto just got shot down. The trend in modern tokusatsu and anime is toward villains who are basically defanged boogeymen that couldn't possibly stand up to the heroes in an all-out fight. I can see why people would dig that from a power fantasy perspective, but I like my melodrama and there's just not any unless the villains can give the heroes at least a black eye.
- Shockingly, Captain Shark becomes a lot more interesting once he's interacting with the other cast members on a regular basis.
- Man, Takuto's actor took one hell of a dive after Remy slapped him. Nice acting from Remy here, too.
- Everyone agrees: Takuto is an idiot, but he's their idiot. Blaird may be the family dog, but he's their family dog.
- Ah, it's so nice to see the protagonists allowed to use effective proactive strategies. There's so many shows that won't ever let the main characters do anything until the villains move first.
- I don't know how believable this lunar battle is as something theoretically happening in low-gravity, but it's pretty sweet as a "****'s getting real" battle. Nice touch that they tried to remove as much of the starfield as possible to represent being on the dark side of the moon, too. (At least... I think this fight is supposed to be on the dark side of the moon and it just got translated oddly.)
- DRILL TANK'D. Heh, I may not see much Momotaros in Blaird, but I do have to wonder if the Gurren-Lagann guys had him in mind when they cooked up Viral.
- What? A major enemy taken out by coordinated fleet action, in my superhero tokusatsu? But that's like saying your secondary characters matter![/HIDE]

 

[Lynxara]

Kind of surprised I have the first comments up for episode 32. I guess everyone else is having a more eventful weekend than I am.

[HIDE]- Oh man, this is a really fun throwback to the early episode about Takuto modeling.
- I like how at this point in the show, the Cosmo Capsules are absolutely nothing but a quick and easy trigger for fight scenes.
- If Ultimate is the payoff for Sazer X's elemental system, he's a pretty good one.
- You know, just offhand, it's pretty weird to me that Takuto's grandfather is supposed to be one of the richest and most brilliant men in the world, but this has no real impact on his family's lifestyle. Takuto's mom and little sister live a completely typical middle-class Japanese lifestyle. The show even idealizes how humble it is. It's not a part of the show I hate or anything, but it's weird when you get episodes like this that let the "humble home life" plots rub up against "Takuto's grandpa can build spaceships in his garage" plots.
- Of course Ad is a successful model! That's a line of work where lacking a personality is a massive professional advantage.
- Hey, a lunar exploration scene with convincing low-gravity movement! Pretty sweet.
- How is Blaird communicating on the moon? Well, he's... he's... shut up.
- Kind of weird that they're playing with the low-gravity aspect of piloting machines on the moon in an episode that's far from their first lunar battle. I smell some inconsistencies cropping in during the rewrite cycle, maybe.
- The CG for the Core Braver launches was terrible, but I appreciate the sentiment of this fight scene so much.
- Ohhh, damn. This is one of those cases where I had sat around going, "Well, wouldn't changing the future work like this?" and then went, "Nah, that's way too depressing for this show." Apparently it's not, hooray. [/HIDE]