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[Toku Prime]

I started the year by finally dealing with some unfinished business...

Neo Ultra Q #7-12 (END)

It's been years since I watched the first half of this series, but I was finally in the mood for it again. It doesn't have the charm of the brilliant original, but it made a nice little change from the usual superhero fare for a short while. I can't say I'm eager to immediately dive into more of this odd little branch of the Ultra franchise though. The movie and Dark Fantasy will have to stay on the back-burner for now.

 

[Toku Prime]

Ooh, forgot to post this one. About a month ago...

[Wandering Moonbeams] Kōsoku Sentai Turboranger (END)

Turboranger's kind of an odd one. Put aside the five piece mecha for a moment, and it feels like this show should have come immediately after Dynaman, not six years later. The show's emphasis on the Wandering Bouma, Yamimaru and Kirika, forms so much of the overarching story and feels like an evolution of what they'd previously done with Prince Megid.
Which isn't to say Turboranger is necessarily a bad show, but it is one that feels a bit behind the times when you look at the franchise as a whole. Fans often accuse Fiveman of being the point where the franchise seemed tired, but in many respects it's following along the path laid by decisions made here.

[Rubber Subs/Maxwell Breeze] Ultra Q Dark Fantasy #24-26 (END)

Well I lied in my previous post, and decided to finish this off as well. Much like Neo Ultra Q, this doesn't have the charm of the original. Comparing it to "Neo" I think that show has more 'wtf' moments, but just by virtue of it's longer episode count this one does get to know the recurring characters more. Regardless, if you want to get into this odd little sub-franchise, the original remains the one to beat.

 

[Toku Prime]

[TVN] Ultraman Dyna #48-51 (END)

Another long-term backburner project that I figured I'd finish off before starting anything new, and perhaps more importantly before Decker begins in a couple of month. A solid series, more straight forward than Tiga and with a bit more energy than Gaia. But as beloved as they are those 90s Ultra shows don't light my fire in the same way that shows before or since have done, so I'd call this soldly entertaining rather than a contender for favourite season. Certainly a positive change of pace after my recent slog through the Ultra Q sequels though.

 

[Toku Prime]

I totally forgot about this, but about a month or so ago...

[MF] JAKQ Dengekitai #31-35, JAKQ Dengekitai vs Goranger (END)

I don't feel like I really have anything to say about this show that hasn't ben said a thousand times before. It's a show of three parts. The first is easily the best, and really feels more like one of the other 70s Ishinomori series (and frankly one of the better ones) than a Sentai, but it didn't get remotely close to Goranger level ratings at the time.
The second part is where they are panicking and trying to retool the show on the fly, and is easily the weakest part. Then you get the final part which is simultaneously better and worse. Better because they bring in Hiroshi Miyauchi, who is coming in straight off Zubat and at the height of his charismatic powers. Worse because they also bring in Tamasaburou, a team cook who can't actually cook, as the show's comic relief character, and I find him borderline intolerable.

By no means the worst Sentai, but in the end not the best and certainly not enough to get out of Goranger's shadow. I do like the crossover movie between the two shows though. It somehow feels like a movie and not just an extra episode with a slightly larger budget, as so often tends to be the case.

 

[Toku Prime]

[Berndadelta] Battle Fever J #51-52 (END)

I always figured this would be one of the Sentai seasons that I would find the least enjoyable but I got more from it than I thought I would. There aren't any real surprises but it's solid Showa era action (they really do love their fire stunts) and from a historical perspective it's interesting to see them experimenting a bit with the mecha action before it was solidly locked into the standard pattern we know today.

[MBE] Tokusou Robo Janperson #49-50 (END)

JANPERSON FIGHTS FOR JUSTICE
<siren wails>

One of the longest running fansub jobs has finally come to an end. I must admit I've really enjoyed watching the show evolve from it's more episodic beginnings to juggling multiple ongoing story threads and having a small but tightly knit cast of characters. Sadly the show really peaks just before it's three finales (because there are three villain groups in this show) which slightly takes the edge off. But for a henshin hero with no henshins, it was really enjoyable. Plus it has that background music that totally rips off the opening theme to Star Trek TNG.

SEE YOU AGAIN

 

[TokuPrime]

New account but the same old routine.

Android Kikaider: The Animation #01-13

I have now seen every televised/movie version of Kikaider, and this is the only version where they manage to use the 'conscience circuit' concept in a way that helps the story they are trying to tell! In short, this has the best story in any official Kikaider project (although I'd still say that Metalder is a better unofficial version of the Kikaider story) and yet it's also probably the least accessible for people who have not already experienced other versions. The pacing is frustrating and it's clearly being made on a tiny budget where they have to employ every cheat in the book to try and limit the amount of drawing that they had to do (don't come here for action as there's hardly any) and it hurts the show so much.

Kikaider 01: The Animation #01-04

The OVA sequel to the above and they totally blow the budget on making the first two episodes as action packed as possible. Sadly this means that the fourth episode looks kind of awful (Hakaider in particular spends most of that last episode looking horribly off-model).

Unlike in the original, where Ichiro is kind of the bland protagonist that manages to be less interesting than every other character, this keeps Jiro as the main character and re-imagines Ichiro as more of a hot-head who leaps into action without thinking anything through - and he's all the better for it! Also, they finally explain how he ends up hidden in a statue for the entirety of the first season.

We also get a new character called Rei, who is Kikaider 00 - a prototype that is not brought online until the events of the show who, as he's more primitive than his two brothers, exhibits little personality and really is only there because merch the good guys need more firepower to combat the villains this time.

Sadly there's no Waruder at all, but they just wouldn't have had the time to adapt his story in four episodes, so it's probably for the best. Even as it is, there are times where it feels like whole chunks of the story have been edited out for time. It makes me wonder if it was originally going to be five episodes and got cut down so they could make the next entry instead?

The Boy Who Carried a Guitar: Kikaider vs. Inazuman

One final special, and it's a crossover with Inazuman. This is heavily based on an issue of Ishinomori's Inazuman manga in which Jiro appeared. The problem with that is that the Inazuman manga made sweeping changes to the main cast compared to the televised version of Inazuman, and because it was part of an ongoing series it obviously had no need to introduce these characters. Whereas in this we've never met them before (and being familiar with the toku is no help) so you just kind of get dropped in and have to roll with it.

The lack of explanation also extends to not communicating the idea behind the whole idea of Inazuman's two stage evolution. If you didn't know about Sanagiman going in, you'll probably wonder what on Earth is going on. But the transformation from Sanagiman into Inazuman is probably the best looking sequence in this whole project.

tldr for all of the above: really one for diehard Kikaider fans only, but if that's you then you should certainly give it a look.

 

[TokuPrime]

Andro Melos #45-47 (END)

OK time for something different. A series that's 45 episodes long, but the episodes themselves are only about five minutes long (six if you want to watch the opening credits every time). Also there's plenty of recaps throughout to further bring down the amount you'll actually watch.

Despite being made by Tsuburaya and being officially counted as a part of the Ultra franchise, this is clearly made at a time in the 80s when they just couldn't afford the usual production values. In some ways it's more akin to the modern Ultra Galaxy Fight shows. In-suit characters only, clearly filmed entirely on a single set with different backgrounds to represent different planets. Also similarly, it turns into a quest to stop the villains from acquiring a superweapon that they can use to destroy the universe.

It's inoffensive, but about as inessential as it gets. Do not be disappointed that Mil Creek did not get the rights for it.

 

[TokuPrime]

[Bern] Denshi Sentai Denziman #49-51 (END)

I expected to really enjoy this season, as it has Kenji Ohba, Machiko Soga, and Shinji Todo, all of whom I have enjoyed in other toku series. Sadly, I think they have a lot less to do here than in those other shows, and so don't get to shine so much.

Watching it on the heels of Battle Fever, this is more conventional but less memorable. It probably would have helped if they'd had a proper mentor figure, instead of promoting the talking-animal team pet to that position. IC is somehow important enough that his initials are the team logo (with the C reversed so it combines with the I to look like a D) yet not to be in the show helping very often. Perhaps that's why they picked a red ranger who somehow looks and acts like a middle aged man despite the actor only being 26 years old?

 

[TokuPrime]

[MF] Uchū Keiji Sharivan #49-51 (END)

Well, it's been something like six or seven years since I watched Gavan, so I guess it's time to continue with the space sheriffs.

Gavan took about half of it's runtime to really find it's groove, so Sharivan gets to sit in that groove from the start and nestle in it for it's whole run. There's a more cosmic ongoing plot than Gavan ever had, but it's not changing the wheel. If you liked Gavan, you'll probably enjoy Sharivan (which is probably the point of a sequel).

Hiroshi Watari doesn't have the sheer charisma of Kenji Ohba, though who does? If you can avoid making that comparison though he's a good enough heroic lead (which is probably why they later re-hired him to play Spielban).

Yumiko Furuya regularly steals the show as Sharivan's assistant, Lily. She's so much better than Gavans assistant Mimi. She's a much more active part of the stories. Almost more in the mould of Taki from the original Kamen Rider. Her successor will have a tough act to follow when I get to it.

If there's one thing I do wish had been changed though, the music should be more different from Gavan's. I know they're employing the same people to create them, but the musical elements tend to be so similar that they constantly remind me of Gavan's. That's when they're not just outright re-using some of Gavan's music.

I'm sure I'll check Shaider out someday, but for now it's back to Sentai!

 

[TokuPrime]

[MF] Dai Sentai Goggle-V #46-50 (END)

In a strange way, part of the intrigue of this show is that nobody ever talks about it. It's one of those 'forgotten seasons' of the franchise. Even anniversary shows just seem to go "uh, it's the one with the gymnastics equipment!" Sadly, I can't report that this is a case of an overlooked gem.

Goggle V is from the early days when Sentai was still bedding in it's formula, so it feels a bit generic at times, lacking the bells and whistles later series would use to differentiate themselves. It doesn't even have the usual 'villain civil war' arc that the two seasons before it had, and would recommence the next year with Dynaman.

It also lacks a strong mentor figure, as Dr Hongo is only in the first two and last two episodes! Instead we get the Computer Boys And Girls, a group of five children that fall somewhere between Rider Scouts and kid sidekicks for each of the rangers. That's probably the most distinct aspect it has going for it really. all of the main characters are architypes that you can find done better elsewhere in the franchise (quite literally in the case of Goggle Black, as they re-hired the same actor to play the black ranger again in the very next show!).

There's nothing particularly badly done here. It's just 'fine' in a rather anonymous way, and likely only one to watch for die-hards and completionists.