For all you faithful readers of Sentai material it's quite obvious
this recap is overdue. The truth is I haven't been feeling a
connection with this current series thus far with the decent
impression it made in the first few episodes fading quickly. For a
while I wasn't even sure whether I'd bother to finish covering the
season or just switch to other Tokusatsu coverage. Since our last
look at Ryusoulger something has happened, the show is still
stumbling in different areas but has made some excellent strides that
make it seem as if it's finally become worthy of our time and effort.
This is largely thanks to the introduction of the sixth hero. That's
not to say he's anything special, he actually suffers from the same
characterization issues as his new friends, but the thematic elements
that he brings forth and reinforces have helped the serious
tremendously. Let's dive in and talk about what's been going on.
Story:
The
first episode to feature our new hero really wasn't all that good
though it at least outlined his personal mission and brought in yet
another new villain. Canalo of the Ryusoul water tribe has come up to
dry land in order to search for a bride. He's caught in the act of
flirting by Ui who alerts the rest of the team to the arrival of a
new fighter. Meanwhile a new Druidon general named Gachireus has come
to Earth in order to impose his own will over Wyzul and Kreon, the
former of which walks out leaving the latter to suffer under his new
commander. Outside of that this is a fairly basic installment with a
monster that needs to be put down and the new guy being unwilling to
help for unknown reasons.
Fifteen is where thing begin to heat up first with the appearance of
Canalo's sister, Oto who believes she should also check out what, and
who, are available on the surface world. We learn the reasoning
behind the water tribe being separate goes back to an old grudge from
way back when the Druidons left Earth. A rift had formed within the
Ryusoul tribe which resulted in war that finished when a portion of
their society fled to live in the sea. Canalo and Oto have both been
raised by Mosa Rex, a dinoknight who experienced this tragedy
firsthand and still holds suspicions about landlubbers. This distrust
reaches a boiling point when Druidon's kidnap Oto in order to make
her brother fight against the Ryusoulgers. All of this drama is
rather fittingly played out in a battle against a monster that can
attract and repel people using magnetism.
Episode sixteen continues the rocky road to friendship when the team
must face off against Gachireus while Mosa Rex refuses to offer aid.
There's a much higher emphases on action here with the character
moments mostly relegated to Canalo learning to trust his new comrades
while convincing his mentor to do the same.
While the previous three adventures had been building the quality of
the series, it was seventeen that began a pair of adventures that
have me convinced this series has gotten it's shit together. The
set-up is simple enough with Canalo helping a young boy to photograph
rainbows with the help of an attractive woman who is actually Wyzul
in disguise. The villain uses the young lads wish as a means of
capturing Mosa Rex and presumably hypnotizing the creature into
submission. Not only does Canalo wish to rescue his mentor but he's
encouraged all the more that the kid wants photos of rainbows for his
sickly yet supposedly beautiful teacher. In a surprise turn Bamba
makes an extra effort to help out in order to preserve the connection
between mentor and student. In a crazy last minutes twist we learn
that the boys teacher is actually very old and was Bamba's girl of
choice fifty years ago. He brings her a rainbow seashell, a famous
sign of affection for this area, and she comments that he resembles
someone she once knew only he couldn't be the same as he doesn't look
so lonely. We're gonna touch on this again.
In episode nineteen we return to the concept that Minusaurs can be
spawned from objects. This time it stems from a wishing stone under
the care of Canalo's newest love interest. Bamba tries to destroy the
rock in order to end this quickly and preserve lives which creates a
rift between him and Canalo. Worse still this act actually results in
a duplicate monster with both feeding off of the wishes of humans to
grow in power. All this activity results in a fantastic spread of the
team in different duos handling specific portions of the battle
before they naturally save the day.
Heroes:
Let's
get straight to the point and talk about Canalo. So far he's not
amazingly well-developed and the actor portraying him doesn't feel
like he totally fits in just yet. That being said he represents the
core values of the story better than most of the other heroes while
having the benefit of his own unique goal to seek out. Personality
wise he's a tacky romantic who cares about the environment.
Thematically he's someone who is learning to overcome years of social
brainwashing and seeks the ultimate connection with another soul. His
showy romantic nature makes him a natural opposite to the practical
Bamba which has already created a rivalry between the two. At the
same time that dreamer element to his personality pairs up nicely
with Koh. What I love about his goal of finding a bride is how it
reminds me of older Sentai series like Dairanger
where different heroes could have their own sub-story running
throughout the series. These always helped to make the shows feel
richer than the standard monster-of-the-week entertainment.
Speaking of Bamba; that unexpected scene in episode seventeen was
brilliant and just the right level of melancholy. The show has
already made a point of showcasing the heartbreak associated with
Ryusoul tribe members long lifespan. Seeing this woman fondly
remember her old love showcases the luggage these mystical folk carry
yet at the same time we see a softer side of Bamba, including a smile
at the realization of his growing circle of friends.
Finally that big battle in episode nineteen illustrates how this
show is getting a much better grasp on these characters. The pairings
got into unexpected territory with Melto and Towa taking on foot
soldiers while Koh and Canalo dealt with the giant monsters. The most
interesting duo was Bamba and Asuna, two powerhouse who run hot and
cold, as they took on Wyzul who is pleased by how much the heroes
dispise him. Hopefully the series remembers to play with character
pairings in the future.
Villians:
The
brief run of Gachireus was a bit odd. Obviously he wasn't a
strongly-developed villain though his personality was fairly
entertaining thanks to a cocky attitude that had him mistreating
everyone. If anything his most lasting impact may be the damage he
inflicted on Kreon, particularly when he attempted to kill the little
guy who just reformed since he's made of slime.
Gaisorg sat out this stretch of episodes as did Wyzul for a few.
Thank god he came back in full force when he did. Far too many recent
Sentai villains have been lifeless so having one that is this fun and
devious is a real treat. My expectations are that he'll be destroyed
and replaced before too long with Kreon likely serving as the full
series antagonist but for now I'm enjoying the ride.
Action:
Like
everything else in this batch of adventures the fight scenes have
seen a notable improvement. Choreography has gotten more involved
with both the regular and suit performers pulling off some spiffy
moves. The robots continue to impress more than past series. Of
special note was the undersea battle against Gachireus with some
wonderful camerawork and lighting effects. Canalo has brought in a
visually appealing fighting style with a gun that doubles as a short
chainsaw/sword. In earlier episodes I'd noticed some goofs such as
visible knee-pads but the production team has really pulled it
together here with the only lingering issue being the times when you
can see goons flailing around in the background as they wait their
turn to strike.
Overall:
I
know it seems weird for me to be gushing so much about this show as I
continue to note some of its continuing issues. The fact is this
series has begin to feel very self-assured despite it's failings. For
the sake of fairness I must point out how oddly sidelined and quiet
both Towa and Ui are for most of these episodes. The latter bothers
me more as here presence was a key factor in setting this series
apart early on. Likewise with three girls now in this shows, albeit
one only recurring and maybe a fourth if the PM ever returns, I'm
still holding out hope for more than one to get some powers. If I
wanted to watch a sausage-fest I'd tune into Kamen
Rider. Even though it
still lacks balance, and often fails to flesh out the world these
characters live in, Ryusoulger
is at last becoming a
Sentai worth viewing thanks to little improvements in every
department. Now I'm truly eager to see how things develop from here.
At last we're back on track with these recaps. More importantly the
next one should be coming soon. We're finally past the lamest part of
Summer and I've got a whole lot planned for months to come, so expect
more updates than usual. Most likely I will make these recaps in more
frequent smaller batches in order to keep from falling behind. You
all have a good end of July.
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