This week has felt very out of place.
Currently the temperature is in the forties, kids are back in school,
the store had plentiful amounts of pumpkin spice treats, it's hard to
believe this is still August and not the middle of Fall. The best way
to keep myself in check and not drape the entire house in spider webs
is to buckle down and wrap up some leftover Summer business. With
that in mind let's talk about the second half of that one and thus
far only Korean Sentai spin-ff, Dino Force Brave.
Having established all the basic
structure and character traits during the first half, the remainder
of the series decides to focus soundly on the relationship between
estranged brothers. This is both a good and bad decision as it makes
the rest of the team even less important. Hell, they barely even
factor into the final episode. That's not to say anything of the
mascot characters like Torin who I can only guess where a part of
this series as their guy-in-suit nature made them easy to carry over
from original Kyuryuger. Speaking of Torin, at the end of this show
he magically disappears for some unexplained reason. Is he like a
ghost something?
The one step forward, one step back
nature of the narratives narrowed focus applies to other elements of
the show. Most of the normal action sequences have improved with
faster, more elaborate choreography. Giant robot scenes on the other
hand are even weaker than before as the more cumbersome dino
combinations are fully CG, preventing them from properly interacting
with the guys in monster suits. Seeing as jumbo battles are generally
the shorter of the two we can chalk that up to a partial victory.
One of my previous complaints about
the series has been slightly addressed. Some of the monsters begin to
use powers themed around their appearance though nothing all that
creative. One guy uses a trumpet, not to brainwash people or anything
so special, just some basic explosive blasts. Likewise another enemy
utilized icicles.....that explode. You seeing a pattern here? It
really would have been fun to see this batch of heroes work to
outsmart or overpower a uniquely powered foe rather than these stock
villains with the same three attacks.
As for the story; we come to find out
that the gold ranger has been intentionally misleading the villains
all this time to convince them that he has inherited the power of the
dragon king. What's that you ask? Basically it's the touch or
quickening, pick your mystical power source. This whole ruse is meant
to protect his lil bro the red ranger. Sure enough the bad guys get
wise and kidnap the fearless leader. Of course he's rescued, the
baddies are put in the ground, and everyone returns to their old
lives. Oh, and the Zyuohgers shows up in a glorified cameo.
Gotta mention that one fun bit about
watching this show has been the different languages. About two thirds
of my viewing has been in proper Korean with subtitles. The rest
however are dubbed into Japanese and translated from there. I'd like
to think that explains some of the more colorful dialogue but who
knows, maybe the writing is just that silly to begin with.
In the end, Dino Force Brave wrapped
up it's existence much as it started. The whole production has been a
bit simple, more than a little predictable, and far too childish.
Can't deny that that simple nature has continued to be a little
refreshing. It's like an afternoon of cartoons and hot chocolate.
On the downside, the majority of the
cast has little if nothing to do and there's nothing distinctively
Korean about the plotting or style. That's why I'd much prefer to
this sort of project attempted again with a longer run time, smaller
cast, and deeper cultural bent. It'd certainly be a welcome
opportunity to have alternative Sentai for years like this where the
flagship show is rubbish.
Dino Force Brave wasn't the saving
grace we Sentai fans needed this year but it was a moderately
entertaining experiment. I wouldn't outright recommend it to anyone
other than franchise fans in need of something new. For me, it was an
easy way to get my Sentai fix this Summer. Think of it like one of
those highly superficial Summer romances, fun while it lasted but
we've each got to move on to more meaningful things.
That's all for now, folks. I should be
back soon with another regular feature post before we hit September
and a new batch of seasonal fun. See ya soon.
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