Ryusoulger Episodes 1-2

Though there has been a longer than normal gap between updates I swear I have not forgotten you dear readership. In fact I have been busy as the proverbial bee which was topped-off by one infuriating situation. Long-time readers know I like to provide links for pieces produced for other sites. One such article was posted last week and I refuse to guide any traffic that way as it was notably changed without my consent. As you might imagine that situation along with school and a sinus infection has absorbed most of my energy. With different fronts doing their damnedest to suck the fun out of life it’s vital to have good entertainment to seek comfort in. That brings us to our core topic for today, the premier of Ryusoulger. More accurately we’re talking about the first two episodes. During the recap for Strongest Battle I realized a one episode rate wasn’t sustainable so the new plan is to tackle this series in duos. Come along and see if this new show can ease the pain of a stuffed nasal cavity.

Story:

During the dinosaur age there were two tribes that lived on Earth. One was the Druidon tribe constituting of monstrous creatures who fled the planet when a meteor strike kick started the ice age. The other group was the Ryusou tribe, humans who lived alongside powerful dinosaurs called Dinoknights who powers were housed in various temples.

Today the Ryusou tribe lives in secret with a few skilled warriors who receive powers from their nearby trample. Three new guardians are being groomed to replace their masters when the Druidon tribe returns with plans to reclaim this world as their own. Key to their plot is the using negative human emotions to create Minosaurs, dangerous monsters perfectly suited for a weekly show.

The druidon cut off the Ryusou tribe from their temple and kill the current guardians whose soul power attaches to their students allowing them to fight on. Now these three must venture forth to find other temples, more companions, all while defending their home and Earth itself.

The trio is not along however as an odd girl with an archaeologist father is witness to these developments and brings her new friends home. As of the end of episode two her life is in danger with Druidons choosing her as the incubator of their next monstrosity.

Characters:

Thus far we have yet to meet the full cast which is honestly a blessing as it leaves breathing room for the current set of heroes to showcase what makes them unique.

Koh, our red ranger, is on the more inquisitive and energetic side of the red hero spectrum. Thankfully he isn’t nearly as annoying as the likes of Takaharu or Lucky. Instead he seems more like a caffeinated version of Zyuohger’s Yamato in that he comes across as kind and caring only with a dose of over zealousness.

Melt, The blue boy, is meant to serve as the collected and intelligent member of the crew. In these opening adventures he proves to be quicker than his companions while leaving hints of a more selfish and silly personality that he attempts to keep buried.

Asuna, our Pink ranger, is the strongman of the party. She clearly wishes to be more feminine and appreciated for those qualities as she seems embarrassed by her colossal power. Personality wise she strikes a healthy balance between her more hot and cold friends.

Ui, the silly sidekick, makes for an interesting addition to the core cast. She’s obviously lonely and given to flights of fancy which leads to a very silly outer persona. She’s quite different than the usual Sentai girl and I’d appreciate it if she got a chance at joining the team properly one day, though I highly doubt that will happen outside of a specialty video.

Villains:

Only two key villains have been introduced so far with a visual hint of many more to come. Tankjo is the typical strong and stern type who is thankfully voiced by Joji Nakata who has a long legacy of Sentai villainy and has a voice like pure silk. Loved this guy’s work since Escaflowne so it’s always great to have him around. Serving under him is Kureon, a cute but sadistic critter responsible for the creation of Minosaurs.

On the subject of Minosaurs they have a couple of unique features that could serve the series quite well. First is that whole negative emotion angle which lends a certain Quantum Leap/Touched by an Angel vibe to the series since our heroes must find and deal with the issues of normal people. This all ties into a theme of interconnected souls such as the source of their power being their dead masters. It also gives each monster a methodology that must be solved such as a creature that wants to kill the top fencer in Japan so it’s source can be the best. The second topic of note is that the longer a Minsaur exists the more powerful it gets before eventually growing to giant size. So far there has been zero giant resurrection as these beasts simply suck more life-force from their victims and end up large.

Action:

Right off the bat the fight scenes so far are a more flashy and relent on toys and gadgets than I’d prefer though they’re not totally without merit. The core concept is that each heroes sword can accept little Ryusouls that grant powers like stretching or firing off stink clouds. Thankfully there is still enough regular fighting that it keeps these gimmicks to sequences like the one where our team fights a Minsaur without the aid of giant robots.

When the giant robots are involved is when things got surprising. The robot portion of this franchise has always been at the bottom of my priority list but what’s on display here is outstanding, easily the best robo fights since Ninninger and actually eclipsing that work. Reviled to know I can watch these scenes without having my mind totally wander off.

Overall:

As of this moment Ryusoulger is not a great show but it is a solid one. There’s still plenty of depth to be found within the concept and lord knows how the additional characters might benefit or detract from the overall narrative. So far the series strikes an odd balance between more childish elements like the return of the end-credit dance or Ui’s Dora the Explorer styled antics with dark aspects like three deaths in the first episode. Experience has led me to believe this sort of middle-of-the-road beginning has a lot of promise for what we might see in the future. We’ve seen shows like Zyuohger that start sluggish only to become very solid in the end. We’ve also witness series like Lupinranger vs. Patranger that blow their creative energy in the first half and struggle to recover. By forming a solid base without overextending themselves this could form a great show. Especially if the toy gimmick provides enough sales that the writers can work freely towards their end goal rather than changing tactics every few months.

And so we’re off on another Super Sentai adventure. So glad you all come to join in in these articles. It’s a relief to know I have an audience, no matter how quiet they may be, that doesn’t seek to stomp all over opinions and censer thought. Now if you’ll allow it I must write a stern e-mail, a large editorial, and expel about half-a-pound of snot from my skull.

Super Sentai Strongest Battle Episodes 3-4

Given the title of this post shows that I'm recapping two episodes at once I suppose it's time for everyone to collect their bets. Much as I would have liked to keep the one episode at a time pace for sentai recaps life has shown that's simply unrealistic. Between regular posts, school, contributions, and what not I wouldn't be able to keep that pace without cutting every other topic and none of us want that. However I will be keeping the new format going forward as I think it works quite nicely. And I will occasionally do solo episode posts for major stuff like premiers, finales, and some classic highlights. Right now we have the second half of Sentai Strongest Battle to wrap up. Will it go out with a bang or leave us scratching our heads in confusion? Let's find out.

Story:

When we last left off, Takaharu had been revealed under the mask of Gaisorg which leads our heroes to guess that the big purple knight must be some sort of sentient object. The damn thing ditches the red Ninninger and nabs Stinger in his place who is eventually freed by the others. Marvelous then wears the helmet in order to find his captive friends. Why this thing kept people captive after they proved not to be the strongest makes zero sense but oh well.

Going back to Stinger, along with the help of Dekamaster, he finds further evidence that something is afoot on planet nemesis and that they are unable to call for help or summon robots. Both him and the big blue doggy were sent to this contest undercover to figure out what is going on. During Stinger's time under Gaisorg's control, Dekamaster attempts to decode some date for him only to be forced into fighting Kaguya who finally gets to do something as she reveals her dreams of a restaurant that brings families together.

Also of note; the two Ryusoulger who've been wandering a cave system finally get invited to the contest. That's honestly about everything of major importance from episode 3.

Once all that preamble is out of the way the real threat becomes clear. While planet Nemesis is a legit place to battle for your dreams it turns out that Rita, who I mistakenly called Rika last time, wishes to resurrect Ultimate Great Satan in order to destroy the universe. She uses the gathered pieces of stone to do just that. As you might imagine a great deal of the finale is team weirdo's efforts to destroy this grand evil without the aid of big robots. Instead they use a variety of tacky power-ups to accomplish the job which leaves them in no shape to deal with Rita once she suits up in the Gaisorg armor.

Out of nowhere the green and black Ryusoulgers finally arrive and defeat Rika, effectively winning the contest dispute not having done anything of value thus far. Takaharu gives a small piece of stone to Yamato in the hopes it might help that sick/dead kid which we never get closure on. As everyone says their goodbyes somebody runs off with Gaisorg's helmet and a young man, I think the red Ryusoulger, obtains an object of power from the cave the others had been traipsing through.

Characters:

The trio of Yamato, Takaharu, and Marvelous don't get quite as much attention in this latter-half so Kagura and Stinger can finally do something. In her case she has a fairly dull fight with Dekamaster only to reveal her underwhelming dream and get her butt beat by Gaisorg within seconds. Stinger at least gets to bond slightly with the other characters and does his best to save Rita from the path of self-destruction via some very dramatic speaches.

Cameos also start to dry up as fewer rangers are around to participate in this challenge. Dekamaster, whatever his real name is, was sort of a bore. Luka gets a bum deal spending a significant portion of her small screen time sweaty and chained up which is the sort of thing I expect from this director. At least she gets to reclaim her dignity and destroy the signal jammer keeping the team from reaching outside help. Honestly I don't want to bag on a mini-series for not having amazing personal moments but this show clearly didn't know what to do with even this small wealth of characters.

Villains:

Gaisorg still makes little to no sense. He's written off as a sentient weapon from a lost civilization and almost cast off until Rita wears him in the final battle. There's nothing to showcase how this might play into the forthcoming series other than somebody running off with the helmet. Maybe something worthwhile will be made of him soon but as of this moment I'm not holding out hope.

Speaking of Rita and her plan to resurrect Great Satan... well I had blanked on the idea of there being some potential call back to Zyuranger. I suppose it makes sense since that was the first dinosaur themed sentai and we're about to have a third but it's important to remember that outside of serving as the base for Power Rangers that series was pretty terrible and not the sort of thing to use for a franchise-wide special-event. Plus using the name Rita as a reference make little sense since Bandora summed Great Satan while her Americanized counterpart Rita summed Lokar or some shit like that.

Aside from ranting about semantics I'll admit Rita made for a unique change of pace from most recent villains. Her backstory of growing up in a lawless cruel place where notions like justice and heroism didn't exist fueling her desire to destroy the entire universe made all the difference. Sure it's a very dramatic reaction to a lousy upbringing but actually having a motive is so much better than the vast share of Sentai baddies who are evil just for the hell of it. That's the mentality of Great Satan who stands around and growls cause he's evil.

Action:

One might think for a small show that lacks characterization there would be plenty of reason to make up for it with action. Sadly nothing in this second half of the series matches up to the one against three bout from episode 2. Kagura's big fight with Dekamaster was fairly lame as were the multiple small fights against generic goons. Then there's the big battle against Satan which consists of lots of pointless explosions with little in the way of choreography.

That same kind of pointless fighting continues with the introduction of the Ryusoulger’s as their battle is essentially an advertisement for what they’ll have to offer once their show properly begins. It wasn’t fun or entertaining and definitely wasn’t helped by the guys showing up to steal the glory after everyone else saved the universe. Most likely their actual show will have decent enough writing and direction so as to avoid such pitfalls in the future.

Review:

Going back to our first review of this mini shows that little has changed during its four week existence. While it may not be the worst Sentai around there isn’t a ton to recommend. From the strange choice of characters to lacking action and a story that wrapped up without any meaningful impact. Even when compared directly against other small-scale Sentai projects this comes up short as there was more entertainment value in Dino Force Brave which was made by the same director as Strongest Battle.

The idea of making a special series to say goodbye to the Heisei period was sound but man did this ever feel rushed and cheap. Making a tribute to a series with concepts like teamwork and giant robots only to largely ignore those ideas makes no sense. Having fights on an alien planet take place in abandoned warehouses, parking lots, and rock quarries stinks of having a low-budget as does the list of blink and you’ll miss it in-costume cameos from past actors. There was so much in the way of good intentions here all for naught. Worst of all it nearly damages the upcoming show by shoehorning those characters in as rude show-offs. As far as any sort of rating or ranking at least this was better than Kyuranger.

Soon enough we’ll see of Ryusoulger can revitalize Sentai. I’m eager to see what the new production staff can do with the seemingly stale and safe dinosaur theme. Most of all I want to see a show that can start solid and keep that pace going without any weird slumps or arbitrary pauses. Won’t be long until we have a hint of what’s in store. Keep those fingers crossed kiddies.

Hammer Frankenstein Series Review Part 1

Having spent every Saturday night for more than a decade viewing horror movies has a certain level of challenge and reward. Always finding new and fresh entertainment while fitting in old favorites can be a difficult balancing act. What I’ve found helpful over the years is mixing things up every so often with theme nights or going through entire series at the pace of about once a month. Most recently I’ve used this option to comb through the classic Hammer horror series of which my experience was often incomplete or disjointed. Since we honestly don’t talk about spooky stories enough around here I thought it might be fun to talk a bit about some classics and maybe provide some guides for those who've yet to experience them. What better place to start than with Hammer Studios Frankenstein series.

It’s probably safe to say that for most people the name Frankenstein conjures up images of the monster, usually Karloff. Honestly that’s not a bad frame of reference as the old Universal series is a solid line-up of films but the sheer variety of takes on this story is staggering with versions so far out as to include time-travel, blacksplotation, and Mr. Magoo. Even then most variations stay focused on the monster. The Hammer series however is based entirely around the doctor as he travels Europe conducting ever more fiendish experiments to perfect his work. That being said this is a far different doctor than usual as there is little in the way of redeeming characteristics to his personality. Sure there’s an occasional pang of regret or sadness here and there but he’s largely a murderous, self-centered, misogynistic wretch and Peter Cushing plays the anti-hero role perfectly as he tries to deepen human understanding with questionable methods.

The other notable aspect to this series is that it’s hard to get people to agree on the exact number of movies. The studio’s sixth stab at the franchise, The Horror of Frankenstein was a more comedic remake of the original story without Cushing. Most people ignore it and move straight on to the seventh and final film which returned to the antics of our favorite doctor. For the sake of my viewings I’m sticking solely to the six Cushing entries. That’s enough background information for now. Let’s get on with the show.

The Curse of Frankenstein

This is where it all started. While Hammer had been in the film business for quite some time and had even touched on the horror genre with efforts like the Quatermass series The Curse of Frankenstein is the moment when so many different talents came together to create the entire vibe of successful British horror. Not only did this kickstart Hammer’s legacy of horror films but it brought the world the pairing of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee while inadvertently forming a competitive studio named Amicus. As you might imagine that historical significance plays into a lot of the reputation for this film which can lead some people to oversell it. Don’t let an abundance of hype influence you however as while this may not be the greatest example of U.K. terror it is still a fine piece of cinema.

Functioning as a fairly straightforward adaptation of the original Frankenstein novel means Curse hits a lot of familiar beats. We watch as Victor Frankenstein grows up, educates himself, courts ladies, and begins to stitch corpses together. None of this is all that new except for the attitude this version of the character brings with him. This guy doesn’t send a hunchback out to fetch a brain, he straight up murders people to get the exact brain he desires. If one of his mistresses gets out of hand, he’ll simply introduce her to the monster. I don’t mean that in a sexual way. Poor girl already met that monster.

Speaking of the creature, Christopher Lee’s take on the role is a bit different than the mopey beast we usually see, acting instead as something closer to a meandering zombie. The make-up follows suit with loose gray skin and hints of blood around the stiches. It’s not the actors best performance but he’s still a proper mixture of threatening and pathetic.

One aspect that has stood the test of time is the wonderful atmosphere Even this early in the game Hammer knew how to craft a comfortable spooky setting for their productions. There’s such a perfect blend of autumnal colors, harsh weather, baffling science equipment, and old-world wealth that creates a world not unlike a comfy blanket. It’s the perfect sort of film to watch when you want to feel like a kid.

Overall the film lacks much in the way of surprises and most of the scares have faded over time. What holds everything together and keeps this in the upper rankings of Frankenstein cinema is how well it presents itself with that fine atmosphere and a great leading man.

The Revenge of Frankenstein

Second installments are always an interesting commodity as companies either try to perfectly replicate the formula of the previous entry or go in a whole new direction. Revenge is closer to the later almost entirely ditching any attempt at being frightening resulting in more of a sci-fi drama.

In this tale Victor is believed to be dead by the world which doesn’t realize he managed to escape the guillotine. He now lives in another city practicing medicine under the name Dr. Stein. I can only assume that his plan revolves around no one thinking he’s dumb enough to use a shortened name as a disguise. One young doctor sees through this farce and wants to further his education by aiding Frankenstein's newest experiment. The duo is aided by a hobbled man named Karl.

The nature of the new experiment goes a large way towards separating this entry from similar fare. Instead of just bringing a collection of dead flesh to life the doctors plan to create a passable looking being and placing the brain of the willing Karl within this new being so he might escape his deformed body. After the operation there's a struggle between Karl who wishes to recover and lead a new life and the doctors who want to put him on display. Throw in a young woman, further deformities, and violent mobs & you've got one weird sequel.

Revenge is very much an odd duck within the series. Lacking the mood of the first. The craziness of the fourth, or outright cruelty of the last. this one instead finds a place via a strange storyline and a nifty ending. Sadly those unique aspects are largely ignored by the rest of the franchise due to an immediate retcon during the third film. There are some problems here, especially in the pacing department but it remains one of the most unique Franky flicks I've ever encountered.

The Evil of Frankenstein

If you ever ask someone to recap this one for you expect them to spend an inordinate amount of time scratching their head as they struggle to recall anything of note. Much like Hammer's third Dracula film this one is a bit empty. The most notable aspects of it are that Universal played a hand in production and the film puts a lot of legwork into reworking the events of the preceding movies, totally glossing over Revenge in the process.

So what happens during this installment anyway? Frankenstein is down on his luck amd along with his assistant he returns home to find it vandalized. After spending some time reigniting feuds with the townies that chased him away a mute girl leads him to his first monster who is frozen in a block of ice. The doctor revives the creature only to find its mind is shattered causing him to enlist the aid of a mentalist who takes control of the beast for his own ends. That's about it.

Though I've yet to see the fifth entry I have little trouble declaring Evil to be the weakest piece of the series. Failing to live up to the atmospheric pleasure of the first or the interesting story of the second with a monster that's just dumb looking leaves little to recommend save for one important thing. Peter Cushing is still the man and his take on Victor has only grown better throughout the series. By this point he's incredibly smug when dealing with lesser people and it's a joy to behold. Just a shame he doesn't have much to do here as the film meanders along before settling on the hypnotism plot and then rushes the ending for no discernible reason. Some might place the blame on this being the only installment not directed by Terence Fisher or the influence of Universal forcing change where it wasn't needed. Whatever the case there is still some entertainment value to be found here, just nowhere near enough to match up to the others.

And there you have it, a beginners guide to the first three entries in this classic series. Within the next couple of months I'll cover the second trio of films one of which I know is the best outing. In the meantime I may give this same treatment to some other series, perhaps even the Hammer Dracula franchise. Gotta wrap this up for now though. Something about the slow shift towards spring weather has made me very sleepy and I've no intention of passing out and drooling all over this laptop. Ciao.

Super Sentai Strongest Battle: Episode 2

Defying all expectations I'm back with another Sentai recap in our new one-episode format. Don't get me wrong I nearly feel out of the whole process what with this past being week being a whirl of school projects but here I am and with just the fainest recollection of how to write about anything other than counseling techniques, media studies, and APA formatting. Come along as we chat about colorful heroes and I'll try not to slip in some empirical data chart.

Story:

Picking up from the previous cliffhanger we find Stinger and Takaharu facing off against Gaisorg with Marvelous eventually butting in. The three get their butts kicked with Marv receiving an additional lecture from Yamato who's still quite testy about something. That's when news arrives that Gaisorg is officially part of this competition, guy even has a golden ticket.

The group begins to separate and do their own stuff. Stinger investigates the facilities of planet Nemesis and finds surveillance and guide books about Sentai heroes which hints at some larger conspiracy. Marv storms off which causes Takahau and Kagura to seek him out for a pep talk. This leaves Yamato as the only person available when the next fight arrives pitting him against a trio of rival heroes. During this battle we finally learn what his big wish is if he can win this contest. At some point after we last saw the character he befriended a sick young boy with a love for animals. Yamato had promised to take the boy out to the wilderness to see animals for real until the kid either died or become significantly sicker, it's sort of vague. Now he fights to save that kid, a passion that fuels him to win this fight and receive words of advice from Gaored.

Slowly the team starts to reconvene with Yamato making peace with Marvelous. Stinger is still out snooping and Takaharu didn't make it back to base as he was seemingly confronted by Gaisorg. Speaking of the big purple guy, he breaks up another fight only to be met by Marvelous once again who manages to knock off his helment and find Takaharu underneath.

Characters:

As for cameos this week the big one is Gaored who has a nice speech about red rangers fighting with passion. Otherwise most of the extra characters were suit-actors with voice over which allowed one of my favorite franchise heroines to appear with Kakuranger's own Tsuruhime who sadly showed up just to get thrown around by Gaisorg. A few others had some fight scenes like Dekamaster but nothing major.

Honestly it was nice to see a greater degree of interaction and personality from members of our main team. Possibly the best scene was Yamato silencing Takaharu with some rage, wish somebody had done that during Ninninger. Kagura unfortunately has still had nothing to do but be the team medic so far. Not only is this incredibly lame but it doesn't track with the director's past output as any misogyny on his part is often more exploitative in nature. Oh and I can't forget that the black and green Ryusoulgers are still strolling around a cave gathering trinkets, so that's still a thing.

The Villains:

Giasorg's still the only known baddie around and we still know nothing about him/her/it. I'm guessing the Takaharu reveal is something like Gaisorg being a suit that takes over bodies or some such nonsense.

Action:

Much improved action this week with a little less reliance on cheap wire-work and more impact to the punches and kicks. The highlight easily goes to Yamato's one-against-three bout where he changes between eagle, gorilla, and whale modes to deliver a massive ass whoopin'.

I've seen complaints online about two missing components in this series. One is how we have teams that never fight in larger groups than three. For god's sake we still have one person who hasn't even transformed so far. Beyond that there has been absolutely zero giant robot action. Honestly I don't mind that part so much as the robots are my least cared for aspect of this franchise but when you consider this is a special-event series the absence is a bit strange.

Review:

While a good improvement over the first outing this show still has little to show for itself other than being a novelty. As I said last week though it's a bit easier to forgive something that's going to be gone so soon as we only have two episodes left to view, which at the point of this writing means just over a week before it's over. It's still nice to see Yamato back in action, wish I could say the same for Kagura, and the watching the team come-together is preferable to seeing them stand in corners like wallflowers at a high-school party.

Oh man is it ever nice to write about something nice and silly after a week of APA had me dodging contractions like a damn robot. I'll be back in a few days with either our next recap or something different. Yes, we are going to have some different topics this year as I've got things lined up about board games, music, and classic horror so stay tuned.