(Where Wraithstrike Watches) The Toku Thread

[cypsiman2]

As I recall, it's a song of heartfelt sorrow and longing for home, so I imagine Waraji could have kept at it for quite a while.

By the way, I don't think I've mentioned what an accomplishment the drama with Gaata and his family is, given how goofy and comedic their character designs are.

 

[Wraithstrike]

That drama is amazing. You don't need good costumes to provide great drama.

 

[Wraithstrike]

I was on self-imposed internet fast yesterday, so I finished this up

Episode 51: Nana! Tell Him!

Episode 52: Booba Dies on Earth

Episode 53: Fiery Ahames

Episodes 54 and 55: Grand Explosion Giluke and Farewell Friends of Space

It's been a fun ride. My thoughts on the series are below.

Ratings Scale for Changeman on a scale of 1-5 Gyodais
Characters(Heroic)
Changeman is a decent collection of character archetypes. The Brash leader, the gentle soul, the vain guy, the girl, and the other girl.
Of all the heroic characters, the ones I like the best are Sayaka, Oozura and Hayate. While Mai does do stuff occasionally, it often seems like she's getting swept under the rug. I would have liked to see more about her that wasn't about motorcycling or cosplay.
Tsurugi is often performing feats of questionable tactical value, but he manages to make it work. He also has at least two alien woman who have the hots for him.
Thus, for heroic characters, and the titular Changeman, I give a rating of 3.5 Gyodais.

Characters(Villainous)
The Gozma Fleet and most of their space beastman are some of the most amazing villains I've seen in Super Sentai. Their motivations are believable, and you're actually capable of empathizing with them. They're all being blackmailed into conquering the universe, but we can see where that enforced loyalty fails for each of them. When the person they've become comes into conflict with the person they should be, it leads to great drama.
Villainous Characters gets a rating of 5 Gyodais.

Characters(Supporting)
Whether we're talking about Ibuki and the support staff at Changeman base, or the various aliens that Changeman encounter, the supporting cast shines. When former villains become supporting cast, it's even better.
Supporting Characters gets a solid 5 Gyodais

Storywriting
Out of 55 episodes there are 17 that can be skipped over without losing anything. This would then mathematically be a rating of 3.2 However, when the writing is on its game, it is glorious. When it's bad, it's really only "meh" For that reason, I'll bump Storywriting up to 3.5 Gyodais.

Worldbuilding:
The world they have built for Changeman is an impressive one. With only 55 episodes, they managed to set up an entire universe populated by strange and interesting aliens. There are some points that don't really work, like the aliens that practice blood magic through crayons, but the rest of the aliens are an amazing group.
Worldbuilding gets 4 Gyodais.

Cinematography(Special FX, Camera Work, Kaijuu Battle Scenes)
The special effects aren't that great, but they can be forgiven. They're decent in places and strange in others. So for cinematography, special FX is on the low side.
However, for the fight scenes, the camera work is dynamic, flowing from one subject to the next, rarely needing to cut because it's been set up really well.
The Changerobo scenes strangely work for me. The rollout sequence and Earth conversion effects are remarkably well done, and with the way the vehicle looks, the giant robot they form is actually believable.
All told, Cinematography gets 3.1 Gyodais.

Costumes:
By making most of the space beastmen look genuinely frightening, they do a far better job than even recent seasons. The designs are amazing, and a lot of work must have gone into making them.
I think the Changeman suits have style to them, by combining the wraparound visor with the vest style top.
Costumes get 4 Gyodais.

Music
The music is where I consider the series to fail. Too often,they'll try to make a moment seem more creepy with synthesizer music, and it just comes off as stilted. The intro is not interesting, and the only bits of music I like are the "Let's Change" theme and Gyodai's theme, with honorable mention going to the music that played when Ahames first arrived.
Music gets a rating of 2.5 Gyodai.
Overall score: 3.8 Gyodais.

Final Recommendation: If you want to see a series with great camerawork, fantastic villains and an impressive universe in canon, Changeman is definitely worth watching. Below is a list of episodes you can watch to get maximum impact from the show without filler.

Streamlined Episode List
Episode 1 Secret Power Arrives
Episode 2 Wrath of the Star King
Episode 5 Pegasus Arrest Order
Episode 7 Sad Space Soldier
Episode 11 SOS Kiki
Episode 12 Mermaid Mama
Episode 13 Papa Sells The Earth
Episode 14 Huge Lizard Attack
Episode 16 Winged Girl
Episode 17 Nagasaki Ghost Ship
Episode 18 Ahame's Challenge
Episode 19 Bet on Sayaka
Episode 20 Grand Attack Giluke
Episode 24 Runaway Gyodai
Episode 26 Mai's First Love
Episode 27 Gaata's Dream
Episode 30: Run, Pegasus
Episode 31 Great Mystery Revealed
Episode 32 Nana's Dangerous Reunion
Episode 33 End of Giluke
Episode 34 Ahames the Terrible
Episode 35 Earth! help Us!
Episode 36 Behold Our Power
Episode 40 Strange Candy
Episode 41 Prince of a Dead World
Episode 42 Sailor-Suited Nana
Episode 43 Super Giluke
Episode 46 Beautiful Sheema
Episode 47 Gaata's Tears
Episode 48 Buba's Storm of Love
Episode 49 Sad Sheema Beastman
Episode 50: The Day Gozma Trembled
Episode 51: Nana! Tell Him
Episode 52: Buba Dies On Earth
Episode 53: Fiery Ahames
Episode 54: Giluke's Grand Explosion
Episode 55: Farewell Friends of Space

 

[cypsiman2]

Changeman is a pretty impressive ride. When Sheema pulled her heel-face-turn, I was kind of worried that she was going to lose all her battle competence in the process and I was very glad that this wasn't the case. Similarly, I was also glad that Gaata's family wasn't killed off, as that would have been grossly unnecessary. Now, Ibuki being an alien, I just have to wonder why this wasn't revealed sooner; it would have made sense of how he knew so much about all the alien cultures and civilizations and creatures throughout the universe. Oh well, that's more than made up for by the amazing ending; a lot of the time in a Super Sentai it doesn't feel like all the fighting has had much of an impact on the rest of world beyond preserving it, but in Changeman the whole universe is changed, which is emphasized by Ibuki and the others taking off to heal the worlds ruined by Bazoo's reign.

Overall, Changeman is one of my favorites if only for its endgame, and there's more going for it then that.

 

[Wraithstrike]

Chojin Sentai Jetman Episode 1: Seek The Warriors

Part of what I encountered in watching Changeman was indifference to the characters presented, at first. I just couldn't bring myself to like these military men and women who gave up on training because it was hard. I eventually warmed up to them, though.

With Jetman, I like these people from the moment we meet them. I'm a sucker for stories where the heroes are brought together by accident. I've seen up to the fourth episode by the time of this writing, and I like all the Jetman characters.

 

[Painted_Outlaw]

"Mephisto has sent me a spy mission..."

He's a really crappy spy then, if he's bragging about it. :laugh:

 

[cypsiman2]

Jetman definitely had a stronger start than Changeman did, and for the most part I did find the characters much more engaging and likeable. I will get to the exception when we get there.

 

[Wraithstrike]

Remember, in-character, King Mephisto is the kind of guy who will climb a drainpipe to the room of his daughter's friend, just because he can.
Think of watching these programs as penance for Falsetto's actions under Noise.

Even if he's not immediately likeable, I do enjoy Gai. Part of that probably comes from his portrayal in Gokaiger, where he beats God at cards so he can go back to Earth one last time.

 

[Painted_Outlaw]

You're implying I paid attention to Suite, though.

 

[Wraithstrike]

Jetman Episodes 2-4 should really be watched collectively. There are some great moments here, and I really do love this whole team.