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[O-SHT!/OT/TVN] Mirai Sentai Timeranger #50-51 (END)

Well it's been a long road but I'm finally here. On a personal note this was the 30th main Sentai series I've seen in it's entirety. Which means nothing really, aside from a lot of time wasted watching Japanese childrens' television when I could have been doing something more useful. But it somehow feels like a (very nerdy) milestone.

So here's to Super Sentai, in all it's silly, spandex-clad glory.

[SS] Ninpū Sentai Hurricanger #47-51 (END)

Wow did it really take me six months to watch a single show? I really need to step it up!

[TVN] Chōseishin Gransazer #50-51 (END)

Well I was watching this with the intent of reviewing it for the main HJU site but I'm not sure now because my overall impression is simply that it's very underwhelming, both in general and especially for Toho.

Currently watching Kamen Rider Build and Lupinranger vs Patranger as it release's. I'll eventually watch Garo Asura mainly for Hiroshi Tanahashi. I might re-watch Gavan now that somebody fully subbed the blue ray of it.

Toku Prime said:

[TVN] Chōseishin Gransazer #50-51 (END)

Well I was watching this with the intent of reviewing it for the main HJU site but I'm not sure now because my overall impression is simply that it's very underwhelming, both in general and especially for Toho.

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Out of the the 3 Chosishin series I think Justiraiser was the best one with Sazer X being the worst. It did have some pretty good mecha design's thou with Shark leaguer being the biggest stand out.

Over the last two days:

[OT] Kamen Rider Build #49 (END)
[GUIS/SXIG] Chikyu Sentai Fiveman #43-48 (END)

Fiveman is often named as one of the lesser Sentai seasons, and I can see why. A lot of episodes are just plain silly, even by tokusatsu standards, and there's a lot that's rehashed from previous seasons. I can't deny I was quite bored at times, but I can't completely right it off either; There were some really cool stunt sequences and occasionally some good model work, and (like Bioman IMO) the final arc is better than everything that came before it, so it goes out on a high.

Shaider03 said:

Out of the the 3 Chosishin series I think Justiraiser was the best one with Sazer X being the worst. It did have some pretty good mecha design's thou with Shark leaguer being the biggest stand out.

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I will probably get around to watching Justirisers eventually, but with everything else out there I can't imagine it happening for at least a year or so.

I've had Juspion, Solbrain and Return of Ultraman all sitting on my hard drive for months now, so I'm long overdue to dive into one of them and cut down this backlog (especially as Juspion is coming out next year and I want to know if it's good enough to be worth getting a region 0 player, importing the set etc). But I must admit part of me would rather keep this Sentai train going and watch Goranger now that it's completely subbed.

[GC/TVN/Rando on FB] Ultraman Orb: The Origin Saga #11-12 (END)

One that's been on my backburner for a while. It's OK, but doesn't live up to the massive amounts of hype it got when it appeared on facebook with hk subs. Watch it if you need to see the various Ultra characters again, but otherwise a pretty easy skip tbh.

I may have had an enforced hiatus from the internet for a good chunk of this month, but I still had toku on my laptop and plenty of free time to watch it!

[TVN] Kamen Rider Amazons: The Final Judgement
[TVN] Uchū Sentai Kyuranger vs. Space Squad
[OT] Engine Sentai Go-Onger: 10 Years Grand Prix
[Noob Subs] Garo: Divine Flame (the first animated Garo movie)

[MBE] Kyojū Tokusō Juspion #26-46 (END)

Juspion is a show that has a rough start. It's initially very comedic in a 'constantly pulling funny faces' kind of way, and the MotW designs are a weird combination of fugly yet unmemorable. It's honestly kinda terrible at first. The designs don't really improve but thankfully the show decides to go in a more serious direction before it's even hit it's tenth episode, and is all the better for it. Combined with a number of ongoing story lines and an expanded cast, it becomes really very good.

Hikaru Kurosaki doesn't have the sheer charisma of Kenji Ohba but then again, who does? Once they stop him doing the comedy stuff that clearly wasn't his forte he's a decent lead. As an overall package, it might just be a better series than Gavan was(?!).

We now know Juspion is getting an official release in 2019, and if it's not going to be an expensive pickup for you (I know some people need to pay import costs, buy a compatible DVD player etc) then I'd recommend getting hold of it if you haven't already seen the fansub.


And now back to catching up on everything I missed during my hiatus.

Return of Ultraman #49-51 (END)

So, the first of my toku resolutions for this year finally gets finished.

RoU is a very important production in toku history. The first Ultra series made after Eiji Tsuburaya's death (and so the first to defy his wish that the series end with Ultra Seven), it retconned the previous two entries into one continuity to begin an ongoing franchise, and rumour has it that the announcement that it was being made is what prompted Toei to decide they should compete with them and contact a certain Shotaro Ishinimori...

Having said all that, I wasn't a massive fan of this one. Early episodes paint Goh as kind of a jerk who would surely have been fired for insubordination were he not the main character of a TV show. The show doesn't really find it's rhythm until a quarter of the way in, when they decide to allow monsters from space instead of just "strange Earth creatures". Even then, they drop a lot of the mystery of Ultra Seven. In the first few episodes and the finale, that's being exchanged for spectacle as they throw money at the pyrotechnics. Otherwise, it doesn't seem like they got much in return. Or perhaps it's just the dodgy hk subs on this Malaysian bootleg meaning that I missed a lot of what was going on?

Which is not to say it's all bad. There are some good episodes. It has a Leo-style "wham" story years before Leo was even a thing. But it's probably my least favourite of the Showa Ultra series that I've seen so far.

[CR] Garo: Vanishing Line #21-24 (END)

OK, so it's an anime spin-off of a toku franchise rather than an actual toku, but if you like the Garo franchise then I'd recommend checking this season out. It might have replaced 'The Carved Seal of Flames' as my favourite of the three anime seasons, and it's nice to have fun watching Garo again after some disappointing live-action entries. I hope they eventually make a sequel movie to this, as they did with the other two animated seasons.