I admit, I have not seen much of Gavan except for an episode or two. In fact, I can say that about all the Metal Heroes at this point. So maybe I have no right to see this movie without seeing its predecessors first...
But that being said, I really liked this movie! :anime: It was serious when it needed to be, silly at the right times, and bringing the old Gavan back for Double Gavan Action was really great! I like how they were willing to have more blood splatters than your average Saturday Morning toku series these day. And probably what was the best surprise for me was seeing Shaider and Sharivan getting successors to the titles just like Gavan did. I hope, if we see more of them in the future, they also get a bonding moment with the original Shaider and Sharivan.
I am not sure if this movie would make me interested enough to see the original series, but I still think it was great. Just short of getting something made by the makers of Garo like many wanted, this a great modern version of the Space Sheriff series that I would gladly encourage more of.
I've only seen the five episodes subbed by Midnight Crew, along with the Gokaiger and Go-Busters appearances, so I'm by no means a Gavan expert, but was he always a harsh kind of guy who slaps his underlings about? I got more of a big brother or fatherly vibe from the character previously. Though I've never understood how that whole "beat you up until you have a breakthrough" thing was meant to help anyone. "You need to concentrate on this issue, so I'll distract you by hitting you in the face".
~Snip~
Then just as it seemed we were going to jump into the action, we got the Makuu space BIG LIPPED ALLIGATOR MOMENT!!! :redface2:
It's been a while since I saw every Metal Hero title, so this may have happened in another series besides Gavan, but... Things like the Makuu Space are actually NORMAL in some of those shows. In fact, considering the scene was taking place in the city, that's really kind of a toned down version of what you might normally see. Usually, things like that get a lot more trippy because the TV shows didn't limit themselves to taking place on Earth alone.
As for the *slapping New-Gavan around* scene, consider it Retsu trying to teach Geki how to fight. Sort of a torching-passing scene, except Retsu is giving Geki the same skills and the same warrior's resolve he has. When it's over, Geki gains that new fighting move where he does that somersault over his opponent, and the will to defeat the enemy at the risk of Touya's life.
Think of it like Batman and Robin. Bruce Wayne went to different parts of the world to learn fighting and other skills from the best. He dedicated all of his childhood and teen years to it. Robin doesn't need to do all that life-long searching because Bruce all ready learned from the greatest masters, so everything he has to learn is right there with one person.
So, yes, time was of the essence in that moment, but the moment wasn't wasted at all. And honestly, I love it when previous heroes pass the torch this way. I totally endorse mentoring through face punches. :169:
I loved the moment when Geki and Retsu first enter Makku Space, Geki smiles and throws up a peace sign at a girl in the front row. Then Retsu smacks him in the head but immediately does the same thing as soon as Geki turns his head. I think that showed the charm of both actors even for a bit and had me dying.
Oh yes, that scene! It was silly, but timed perfectly. A serious warrior should still have some charm and likability, and this scene cemented that. It showed us that, after Retsu taught Geki how to fight as Gavan, he still had the same kind of charm and character that Retsu has. And honestly, I would have loved to see more character exploration like that going on, to see how similar the two Gavans really are. But what we got was still a nice treat. :thumbs: