Ressha Sentai ToQger 23 - "United Hand in Hand"

[Dark Kabuto]

Right getting all right-eously indignant about Gritta pissed me off. I don't care about Gritta. I am sick of the show's efforts to force her down my throat and tell me I should be sympathetic to her. I am not interested in this whiny character who is A CHILD pining over an adult man; and if she becomes a motivation for the heroes, I will have no reason to be interested in them either.

I hated the Grita/Schartz thing too, I'm glad to see it shelved for now but…

Watching Zed erupt from inside her like that? That's a pretty brutal way to go.

 

[Undrave]

I was surprised at how fast they dealt with Grita. I didn't think they would shake that new status quo as soon as they established it. I kinda wish we could have seen her try her hand at being the villain for a while first, just to see the kind of plots we could get out of her. Things moved a little too fast but if they keep this pace I won't mind at all.

 

[Kivat]

This was a really good ep. Zed's come back was sweet and the whole hero focus story was finally great to see. Oh and more civilian fights, please and thank you.

 

[Undrave]

You know Zed isn't going to keep Madame Noire around after that stunt she pulled... so we'll be down two generals by the end of the next episode. Two generals our heroes didn't even get to defeat :/

I wonder if other Shadow Monsters will get to have names and show up as new generals?

 

[Photon]

I kinda wish we could have seen her try her hand at being the villain for a while first, just to see the kind of plots we could get out of her.

Technically, she already did. The last few Shadow Monsters are all sent by Grita. In fact, at this point I think she has sent more monsters than any other generals.





Anyway, the gattai in this episode feels really epic. I think it's because of the holding hands scene and the BGM.

Too bad subsequent ChoCho ToQDaiOh gattai won't have the same feeling :sweat:

 

[Black Fang]

ToQ 23:

- Why is Gritta referring to herself as "Emperor" and not "Empress"? Or is that just a sub thing?

- I can't remember the last time I saw kimonos and other 'native dress' in a Japanese show.

- Not much build-up to ToQ DaiOh's debut. It just sort of happens.

- I like the nonchalant way Zett disposes of Schwarz.

- Couldn't they just find Subarugahama by looking at a map of the country? Or going online? How will this plotline last the whole rest of the show, if it does?

Maybe there's more than just an echo of Flashman after all?

 

[Toku Prime]

Anyway, the gattai in this episode feels really epic. I think it's because of the holding hands scene and the BGM.

Too bad subsequent ChoCho ToQDaiOh gattai won't have the same feeling :sweat:

Yeah I suspect it'll be a very rushed-through combination scene from now on. I did notice that the episode tries to disguise how the lower half of Build Dai-Oh basically just becomes a sled for the robot to stand on. :sweat:

- I can't remember the last time I saw kimonos and other 'native dress' in a Japanese show.

Kyoryu Pink wore one, the Go-Busters vs Gokaiger movie was partially a historical so the Go-Busters dressed up for the end dance, Gokai Yellow wore one and I think the woman that fell in love with Jealoushitto wore one in her second appearance............

- Not much build-up to ToQ DaiOh's debut. It just sort of happens.

I'd disagree. It's the climax of the "as long as we're together" theme running throughout the episode and the big moment where they turn the tables. I thought it was a big deal.

 

[Undrave]

ToQ 23:

- Why is Gritta referring to herself as "Emperor" and not "Empress"? Or is that just a sub

- Couldn't they just find Subarugahama by looking at a map of the country? Or going online? How will this plotline last the whole rest of the show, if it all?

The japanese word for Emperor is genderless. Subarugahama is the name of the festival, not the town, and even if they knew the name, stations taken over by the Shadows change name anyway.

Not sure exactly how that even works and if it's like...no one notices??

 

[HurricaneDragon]

I was surprised at how fast they dealt with Grita. I didn't think they would shake that new status quo as soon as they established it. I kinda wish we could have seen her try her hand at being the villain for a while first, just to see the kind of plots we could get out of her. Things moved a little too fast but if they keep this pace I won't mind at all.

I have to agree with the first part at least. I expected this to last for at least a month or two (for us, meaning 4+ episodes). Moving too slowly is bad, true, but moving too quickly can make things lose impact. I'd been thoroughly enjoying the show up until now, but this just seemed rushed to me, and in bringing Zed back so quickly, it really lessens the impact of the betrayal, while killing off Grita and having her come to her senses all in one episode really makes all the buildup they were doing seem pointless - this is the kind of treatment you expect a villain introduced partway into the show to get, not characters who had been major players from the start.

And on that note, boy did my ToQ#7 theory just got shot in the foot. :laugh: I still believe that Grita/Zed have the color scheme they did/do for a reason though, but it may have been a red herring for now - or Zed might complete the rainbow in a different way later on. Time will tell.

That aside, I actually could see Noire being kept around, maybe as a punching bag/lapdog, and it looks like that was what was happening in the preview. Brought down from . Zed doesn't seem to be particularly malicious either, when you get down to it - Grita's death served an explicit purpose and Schwartz was him testing out his newfound power.

Though I have to wonder... Does this mean he didn't even have a monster form at all prior to this?

In any case, it was a pretty good episode, but it moved too fast and I just can't help but think killing off both Grita and Schwartz so soon instead of keeping them around to suffer the repercussions of their actions (Grita's actions being... existing at all while having a crappy mom, I guess?) or do something about them was a bit of a mistake. I'm really hoping at least one of them comes back later on, but we'll see.

Regarding the team's motivation, I'm thinking introducing the families are going to be the bigger factor in that, but who knows?

 

[Kivat]

ToQ 23:

- Why is Gritta referring to herself as "Emperor" and not "Empress"? Or is that just a sub thing?

- I can't remember the last time I saw kimonos and other 'native dress' in a Japanese show.

- Not much build-up to ToQ DaiOh's debut. It just sort of happens.

- I like the nonchalant way Zett disposes of Schwarz.

- Couldn't they just find Subarugahama by looking at a map of the country? Or going online? How will this plotline last the whole rest of the show, if it does?

Maybe there's more than just an echo of Flashman after all?

I'm pretty sure for at least a decade, give or take, Toei has made it a point to have at least one episode where kimonos are worn.