What if they never had robots?

[Knight]

Mechas are the main reason why I prefer Kamen Rider series over Super Sentai. As a toy-selling mechanic I think it works great but I never bought a DX Sentai mech and probably never will, since they are way too much colorful and... I can't find a proper word. Silly?

I think the multi-form Riders of these last years to be rather silly as well, I mean - I like Decade, got used to W even finding it to be very weird (but the whole Dragonball-esque Fusion thing kind of got to me) and just couldn't go with OOO. Two was okay, but three-parted Rider like that... Fortunately Fourze looks a bit better IMO.

Sorry for the off-topic. I don't really like mechas except for a few awesome ones like Gekitouja and Dairen-Oh. Besides that, I could do without it. I'd like to see more giant scaled fights with the actual vehicles instead of just fusing the damn robot and finishing the enemy. We had it for a long time before, I wish Joe would fly that fighter and kill some aliens.

 

[Hobo ODST]

I love the mecha and I think Sentai wouldn't be Sentai without them.

 

[KouAidou]

More than wanting to see a series "without the robots" I would like to see series use them more wisely. The mecha sequences just aren't cool if they don't feel "earned" or necessary. I love shows that hold off on debuting the robot or are willing to do episodes without the robot, because then the appearance of the robot actually feels "special."

What I hate is often how so little thought is put into making sure the robot sequences always feel interesting and necessary; they seem to take for granted that you'll be happy just seeing a robot on a screen or a new toy and not whether anything that's happening is contributing, thematically, aesthetically, or pacing-wise, to the episode as a whole.

A few examples of the types of robot sequences I hate:

Episode 20 of Gokaiger, where Basco summons a useless giant monster we know nothing about in the last two minutes and the hero robots literally do nothing but run through their stock footage to beat it.

Episode 43 of Shinkenger, where the shocking and dramatic on-foot death of one of the show's most compelling major villains was immediately compromised by the need to have the heroes fight him in an utterly formulaic BWAHAHA I KILLS YOU NOW giant monster/robot battle.

Episode 13 of Goseiger, where the episode's attempt at explaining the show's cosmology is immediately compromised by the appearance of a robot that shares no aesthetic similarity with the rest of the mecha, explicitly has no place in the cosmology they just got finished describing.

Superfluous, tone-breaking, distracting. The robot sequences don't have to be that way. All three of the shows I listed above also contain their share of awesome, practical, dramatic and fun mecha sequences that successfully work the way a mecha fight in sentai should, at expanding the show's personality and themes to giant scale and being creative and just being hella fun to watch.

I'll put up with the occasional bad if it means I get the good, but it's very trying sometimes, especially if a show's mecha sequences skew so heavily toward the former. But in those cases, rather than getting rid of them, I just wish they'd give more of a damn.

 

[Knight]

More than wanting to see a series "without the robots" I would like to see series use them more wisely. The mecha sequences just aren't cool if they don't feel "earned" or necessary. I love shows that hold off on debuting the robot or are willing to do episodes without the robot, because then the appearance of the robot actually feels "special."

What I hate is often how so little thought is put into making sure the robot sequences always feel interesting and necessary; they seem to take for granted that you'll be happy just seeing a robot on a screen or a new toy and not whether anything that's happening is contributing, thematically, aesthetically, or pacing-wise, to the episode as a whole.

A few examples of the types of robot sequences I hate:

Episode 20 of Gokaiger, where Basco summons a useless giant monster we know nothing about in the last two minutes and the hero robots literally do nothing but run through their stock footage to beat it.

Episode 43 of Shinkenger, where the shocking and dramatic on-foot death of one of the show's most compelling major villains was immediately compromised by the need to have the heroes fight him in an utterly formulaic BWAHAHA I KILLS YOU NOW giant monster/robot battle.

Episode 13 of Goseiger, where the episode's attempt at explaining the show's cosmology is immediately compromised by the appearance of a robot that shares no aesthetic similarity with the rest of the mecha, explicitly has no place in the cosmology they just got finished describing.

Superfluous, tone-breaking, distracting. The robot sequences don't have to be that way. All three of the shows I listed above also contain their share of awesome, practical, dramatic and fun mecha sequences that successfully work the way a mecha fight in sentai should, at expanding the show's personality and themes to giant scale and being creative and just being hella fun to watch.

I'll put up with the occasional bad if it means I get the good, but it's very trying sometimes, especially if a show's mecha sequences skew so heavily toward the former. But in those cases, rather than getting rid of them, I just wish they'd give more of a damn.

You know, I felt the mecha sequences of Boukenger were actually worth it. Mostly when they used them unassembled, each one with a very specific role, even when the role was plain dumb. I felt a bit like this in Dekaranger too, sometimes.

I just think it's pretty stupid to have goddamn green and blue arms if they're not actually gonna do anything outside of the "main-robot-formation", you know. If it's gonna be like that at least use the whole **** the same color so we can have an actuall good-looking mecha. :laugh: I think the way Gokai-Oh get things done just goes against the concept of "lets homage old stuff".

 

[KouAidou]

You know, I felt the mecha sequences of Boukenger were actually worth it. Mostly when they used them unassembled, each one with a very specific role, even when the role was plain dumb. I felt a bit like this in Dekaranger too, sometimes.

Ah, I do love it when the uncombined parts get to be useful (I like this in mecha shows too).

That's it. I keep saying I want to see it, now I have to grab some Boukenger.

I just think it's pretty stupid to have goddamn green and blue arms if they're not actually gonna do anything outside of the "main-robot-formation", you know. If it's gonna be like that at least use the whole **** the same color so we can have an actuall good-looking mecha. :laugh: I think the way Gokai-Oh get things done just goes against the concept of "lets homage old stuff".

I agree. I think there's a line in ep 2 of Gokaiger where Marv says something along the lines of "Let's just go right to the combination this time!" and I just thought to myself "... and every other time after that, right?" What a disappointment.

Gokai-Oh is a pretty cool looking robot, but I would definitely like him better if he were just a transformer and not an extraneous combiner. (Or, if he must be a combiner, that they would let the vehicle forms do something.)

 

[KingRanger]

I like the mecha. Now with that out of the way.. What I am sick to death of is using the mecha ALWAYS for finishing the monster of the week. Many episodes have the team learn a lesson, and that lesson ends with them doing some cool finishing move outside of the mecha. I think in those cases using the mecha lessens the moment.

 

[kokowaks]

it would be better if its not episodic...

 

[Knight]

Ah, I do love it when the uncombined parts get to be useful (I like this in mecha shows too).

That's it. I keep saying I want to see it, now I have to grab some Boukenger.



I agree. I think there's a line in ep 2 of Gokaiger where Marv says something along the lines of "Let's just go right to the combination this time!" and I just thought to myself "... and every other time after that, right?" What a disappointment.

Gokai-Oh is a pretty cool looking robot, but I would definitely like him better if he were just a transformer and not an extraneous combiner. (Or, if he must be a combiner, that they would let the vehicle forms do something.)

Don't expect to see it all the time in Boukenger. But when it happens it kicks ass. :laugh: I liked it at the start of Dekaranger too. It's not that I don't like anything related to the colorful mechas, but I think I liked it better (or desliked it less) back by the time of Flashman when the mecha actually looked like a weapon of alien mass-murdering of sheer awesomeness. If not, it at least looked a bit like a weapon and comparing with nowdays sentai mechas, less like a toy.

@KingRanger: I've been noticing this, dunno if it's only me. Have you guys realized that in some episodes the writer kind of rebels against the "mecha finishing move law" and the episode actually STARTS with the Gokai-Oh fighting those... what's their name again? Sugormin? Anyway, they start the episode slaying a handful of these and then the story unfolds brillantly without the stupid need to sell toys every fuckin minute. Gotta love that.

 

[KamenRiderBiblio]

They'd replace mecha with power-suits. Imagine, an army of G3s.

 

[KouAidou]

@KingRanger: I've been noticing this, dunno if it's only me. Have you guys realized that in some episodes the writer kind of rebels against the "mecha finishing move law" and the episode actually STARTS with the Gokai-Oh fighting those... what's their name again? Sugormin? Anyway, they start the episode slaying a handful of these and then the story unfolds brillantly without the stupid need to sell toys every fuckin minute. Gotta love that.

Yeah, I like that. I think Goseiger got away with that a few times too, showing off the mecha in some other context so that they didn't need it at the end.

Oh, let me add: those eps where the mechs get an upgrade and it's really well-set-up with genuine tension and point behind it and you think it's gonna be totally awesome... and then the actual toy turns out to be something so incredibly stupid.

Like Hurri seems to do this all the time in the early eps. Totally sweet conflict between the teams to grab the new Karakuri ball, and... it's a fuckin' pinwheel. OH MY GOD THE GORAIGERS ARE BEATING THEM WITH THEIR EVIL PINWHEEL OF DEATH! HOWEVER WILL THEY FIGHT THE DEADLY PINWHEEL! Seriously, give me a break. :nono: