KamenSentai

It has been a while which is certainly my fault, but things have been on the rougher side and I just feel like listing things off that I have done or current still to get my flow back. This will easily help me in what I will focus on for the next big post as seeing what I want to talk about more afterwards will make me go “Okay let’s do this topic.” This can range from anything like video games, shows (mostly Toku), and maybe even some of my recent manga reading. I have certainly still been doing a lot, it’s just maybe I haven’t gotten down to focus on something from my buffet of entertainment. Oh yea and for another update I got a cat which has been taking my focus lately since she is still a young kitten. Her name is Midorikawa as I named her after the No More Heroes 3 boss, which hey let’s start with that.

No More Heroes 3

NMH3 is going to be a big thing for this blog much later down the line as I only did part one of my big and deep look into that madness. I haven’t finished the new version of the game which I have the PS4 version, but man those ports are all over the place in quality. It is really interesting to see how different these ports came out like the PS5 version being a whole new build of the game that is missing things that the original launch was missing. PC mods are easily going to be nuts for this game as I remember seeing more than one player mods being worked on. Surprised to see dedicated NMH fans like this on the same level as Mario and Zelda fans, but I guess it’s not too surprising these days there is simply talent everywhere. As for my hiatus on the analysis it really came down to that I was watching more material that I felt was an influence to this franchise and this particular game in general. Two shows that I will be bringing up in this post. I even think checking something like Captain Harlock might be a helpful thing too. No More Heroes has always been this explosion of what Suda 51 carried alongside with himself as he continues being a creator which just means the possible influences are just anywhere. I still love this game and my opinion on it hasn’t changed one bit. PS: I just finished my PS4 run. There were certainly some interesting new tidbits in this port compared to what the Switch version is and even ran across one moment of this version not running as well, just one random match with a bunch of Tripleputs, the PS4 just hated running that.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Might as well talk about another number three in the realm of video games that also ended up having Ultraman references. You heard me right on that, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is very much one of the most Ultraman inspired products out there. Like at first I just saw the Ouroboros concept being a cute nod towards the franchise. The idea of people merging to become this greater being and even being on a timer were just obvious references to the giants of light. Later on though I just started seeing more and more references to the Ultraman franchise and have been listing them as I’ve been playing which as of now I am done with the base game. DLC will be around as time goes on, but seeing so much Ultraman in this game really makes me wonder how much of the Xeno games were inspired by this franchise. It certainly isn’t that surprising considering the Ultra franchise is one of the biggest pinnacles of science fiction/fantasy that has lasted over fifty years. Someone did lead me to an interview where the whole gimmick of Pyra switching to Mythra from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was even inspired by the Ultraman of the Heisei era like Tiga and Dyna with their form changes. As for XC3 there are direct homages to the Ultraman franchise with replicating and putting new spins on plots from the shows. Like there are even recreations to famous shots from Ultraman, I am amazed most of this will be flying over people’s heads. Especially considering it even is getting some great reception and notice from the gaming community so it just makes me giggle a bit that a new fan favorite JRPG ends up just being an Ultraman inspired project.

Shin Ultraman

Well might as well talk about Ultraman now with Xenoblade out of the way. The first one I want to talk about is Shin Ultraman and yes I lost my patience and watched it already before the theater release. After so many awful days at work, I just got fed up with waiting for any type of announcement for this to hit a theater near me, which of course that comes now like after a month or so after seeing this film. Shin Ultraman is a new film from Higuchi and Anno where their last big film was Shin Godzilla which I still like more, but the more I let Shin Ultraman sit with me the more I am appreciating it. I will admit the pacing of this movie was fast! It really does cram a whole lot into this movie and yet all of it felt like such an honest tribute to the original show and the original concept of the hero. There are many spins on the story that fit in line with Shin Godzilla, but it is very much merged with this love letter for the Showa era. The fact there is a near exact recreation of a famous fight from the original show was mind blowing and does show what kind of film this is being. The opening sequence for this movie too is such a delight and I am amazed they went through the effort to do that. If you have watched Blue Blazes and see how Anno is portrayed in that show, this movie has a lot of those kinds of references and in-jokes which again just really shows how much love was put into it. Highuchi and Anno are super fans who went far and beyond with this movie and it makes me far more excited for Shin Kamen Rider next year.

Kamen Rider Black Sun

For another project that takes a new spin on an old classic in Tokusatsu we have Black Sun which I think I need to watch the original Black again with a rewatch of Black Sun. I feel quite mixed with Black Sun as of now and most of that could be due to the pacing and the action not holding up for me. I will say I am happy with what the story was trying to do as I do feel it didn’t trip over itself with the political message overall. Did it feel a bit too bombastic in some areas, yes, but some of that isn’t too bad. I certainly see some political jabs that could be in-line with Ishinomori’s writing, but the way it was directed might just not be in my tastes. The thing is that I do know the original Black does have these moments of having political commentary too, but in the end the original show was still quite experimentative and suffered in some places because of some behind the scenes issues like the head writer being absent which lead to a lot of filler content being made. I very much do see the references and homages to Black in this show where they even do this with the scene layouts at times. The suit design is absolutely stellar, but it did feel like some of that did lead to some clunky suits too. There is a lot of good presentation work here with more than the suits as there is great directing, shots, and set pieces too. Still maybe trying to do one huge sitting for the show ended up having me mixed since it did feel like a slog at times. I remember being far more positive with that initial watch being done, but now I just feel more mixed on it. Still I do feel this could open some doors to more Black getting out to us since the original show is coming to us on Blu-Ray, thank you Discotek! Also who knows maybe some madmen out there can release the original manga for us and it could even lead to recreations for other projects like original Shin Kamen Rider which I think would be fantastic to see a modern take in the Black Sun style, but maybe get some pacing issues solved first… and maybe cut out some of the overly loud attitude and take things a bit more seriously.

Avataro Sentai Donbrothers

Alright for a current watch that isn’t done since we haven’t reached the forty episode mark, but I cannot resist anymore, I need to talk about Donbrothers here and now. This has easily become my favorite Tokusatsu experience in a long while, especially for Super Sentai. Don’t get me wrong, Zenkaiger and Kirameiger were fun shows, but they didn’t have that impact on me like some of my favorite shows in this franchise. I am easily more of a fan towards the 1990’s shows. Jetman, Dairanger, Kakuranger, Carranger, Megaranger, and Gingaman are easily in my top ten still as of now. Then I even love shows like Zyuranger and Ohranger simply because of how much I love their aesthetics and directing. Along with that in the Kamen Rider franchise I have been out of that lately as I didn’t watch Saber and Revice as those shows simply didn’t grab me in. Still I saw myself looking back at the early 2000’s rider shows especially with Kuuga and really missing that feeling those shows brought. Well just collide all of that I have been missing in Donbrothers because WOW it really has everything for me. The lovely world that just overflows with unique life, characters that are nearly impossible to describe in one sentence, with action and comedy that really makes me relive the 90’s and early 2000’s. On top of that the overall Sentai anniversary method this show has is just insane where they pick direct homages that still end up becoming the unique plot elements of this show and keep it moving forward. Like this is the reason why one man was hired to be writing this show and that was Toshiki Inoue who was the head writer for Jetman and tons of Kamen Rider shows. He would even be a secondary writer for many other shows too with his most notable one being for Kamen Rider Ryuki. The Inoue style for the most part was just coming to us in little specials and such, but we have full blown Inoue on Donbrothers and it just fills me with joy. I have been keeping up with no subtitled versions for a good reason since I just need to see the madness unveiled before me and the last time I watched a show with no subtitles was Kamen Rider Double. Like I can go on much longer, but I really should wait till the show is finished, but for now let me say this one last thing. Thank you so much for bringing back to us a whole cast of human faced villains, Sonoi, Sonoza, and Sononi easily help me enjoy this show along with the whole nutty cast of heroes in this show. I just cannot believe Donbrothers is a real show.

Kamen Rider Geats

Then for the current Kamen Rider show, I am sticking to it as of now and it does look promising. Again I was easily worried with the obvious game motif it was going for with the head writer of Ex-Aid being back, but he did do Zero-One as well which I still do enjoy. Along with that we have the Kiva/Gaim producer back on this show which was a surprise. With bringing Gaim up I do feel I am waiting for that obvious twist to come into Geats and change the gears of the show since I am liking the games that the riders need to play, but it just feels like it is not going to last for the whole show. Which is similar to Gaim with the whole dancing stuff when thinking about it. Ace who is Kamen Rider Geats does give me back the asshole rider who is a delight. He is far more of an obvious ass than someone like Takumi, Kamen Rider Faiz, but I will not lie that his charisma and teasing is fun to watch. Right now some of the other characters are still fine for me, but again I just feel like I am waiting for things to get a shake up to see how these characters end up reacting to that and see them develop afterwards. The Jyamato seem like fun monsters and the more I am seeing them I am getting Inves/Overlord vibes, but mixed with Hibiki. I must say the action for this show has overall been strong and Geats being a gun rider that is actually fun to watch is great, Double’s Luna Trigger form and Den-O’s Gun form finally have someone else to be on par with them. Overall I am pretty confident I am going to be sticking with Geats the whole way.

Gundam Build Fighters

I am a very casual fan of Gundam as it stands right now. The most I watched was Wing and G, but that was a long time ago during the times with Toonami and those memories are a blur for the most part. I even watched some of the SD Gundam shows before. I also know of the huge fan culture this franchise has built up with most of that being with fans who literally build up their dedication with Gunpla collections. I can easily tell you that my patience for that would be… bad. Still I do love figures and Gundam has a lot of impressive ones. I’m also a fan of mecha action when I see it, like I’m a fan of Toku here! On top of that, stuff like Getter Robo and Magizner are treats to watch whenever I get the chance to see the many products those franchises spawned. Also there is easily one certain element that kept my eye on Build Fighters… I won’t lie… it was the hot mom. I easily knew this show would basically be like a sports anime for Gundam fans and as of now I am halfway through and I think that feels like the correct thing to say. On top of being a great showcase of anime characters’ good sportsmanships it really does highlight the whole culture of people who simply love Gundam in terms of the collecting. There are many episodes dedicated to far more than the Gunpla Battles and it really does show how distinct this has become to make a whole show around it. There are easily little references sprinkled in and even some I can see and gush about like whenever I remember little things from G Gundam. I do know of the sequel season to this show not being so strong in comparison, but there certainly is a lot of fan art for those female characters, but nah I will stick with the MILF because we love mature women here!

Delicious Party Pretty Cure

Now for an anime series that is not only current, but this was one I dropped. High chance after my time with Build Fighters I will just go to the original Precure show because Delicious Party got boring. I was feeling that pretty early too, but decided to stick around till like around the 20’s if I am remembering correctly. Cure Finale and her whole character introduction and her time as the villain, Gentlu were probably the best moments I had with this show and I bet this type of character has been done before and probably better. The overall problem with this show was the whole plot of villains stealing food spirits that affect the real world food just never got dire and the whole mystery with it was being stretched way too long. I did enjoy how silly things could get about food like when people were raving about simple hot dogs! The presentation was still on full blast of fun too like hearing all the cute animals being cute, except for the best one just screaming “WONTON!” with fiery passion. Just having a nice and fun presentation is not going to keep one glued to this show though. The main hero is pretty weak in terms of how she is shown, like it really felt like other characters were stealing the spotlight from her. The only one who wasn’t stealing that was the boy hero, which that character got dirty during my time watching. Maybe he got more material, but man he was introduced and it was right onto the new Precure teammate introduction. The show is basically like a stew where it works for an easy meal, but you cannot keep having that dish over and over again since it just gets boring fast.

Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher

I have a pretty long friendship with the Monster Rancher franchise. I didn’t have any Playstation consoles until the PS3, but I did love watching that anime series when it aired for America and I did have the GBA games. Overall I have a huge appreciation of monsters and getting to see them interact with the world. Easily a reason why the Ultra franchise really touches a nice spot for me. Especially when you see the stuff from Ultra Q which is still in the DNA of the Ultraman shows (a recent Decker episode even showcased this). Then as years go on there are very much fan favorite Ultra monsters that still get their time to shine while they fight the heroes. Even for ones that are older than me! Gomora, King Joe, Nova, Birdon, Zetton, and so many more are loved by fans all around. Which gives these monsters a Monster Rancher game is a perfect match. This game certainly got me thinking that a mobile game for Monster Rancher seems so easy to pull off and yet it hasn’t happened. Maybe it’s a bit too obscure or maybe there is one in Japan only that I don’t know about. Still the whole formula of raising a Kaiju and doing activities with them is a fun little time waster, it is a game that technically can never end and is easily addicting when you get in the right mood. Trying your best to raise a monster to become the best fighter and even getting to explore to find more new things to summon and raise. Even a small thing like fusing monsters leaves for some fun and silly creations like Nova with a Bemstar skin. I bet this franchise is not for everyone, but it is certainly one for me.

Uchuu Keiji Gavan

The Metal Hero franchise has been tackled by me before and by that it has only been… Metalder, Juspion, and Jiraiya so I have a lot of catching up to do on that. Luckily Discotek got another release out for us with the original show of this franchise, Gavan. This was one of the shows I watched fully to see if I can come up with anything for my No More Heroes 3 analysis. A big thing with Gavan was that Suda did make a joke/reference with the title hero being the influence to the Beam Katana so that he could avoid mentioning Star Wars. Then yes I do know he talked about Spaceballs too, but it’s obvious the real origin of influence was Star Wars! The whole joke was talking about how big Star Wars was to the point it was even changing a genre Suda loves to this day. The 80’s for Toku was full of more science fiction elements and pretty much even copying elements of Star Wars and one being the beam swords. Along with that more ship combat was a big thing too and a grander space opera vibe was being given to the shows. Hell Gavan even has a whole family angle with the main hero and his father which would continue to be a thing for some later shows in the franchise. Either way another thing about Gavan is that this is very much one of the greatest examples of Toku out there. It is nothing, but purely special effects, stunt action (mostly by the actual actors themselves), tons of great song inserts mostly being done by the amazing Akira Kushida, and Kenji Ohba being the lead hero. For those who don’t know that name… leave now! Kenji Ohba is one of the household names of this whole genre/medium as he started his career as a stunt actor in the 70’s and soon got a big acting role as Battle Kenya and quickly onto Denji Blue and finally has the title character, Gavan. This was a big role for the man and many still know of him as Gavan and Toei also hasn’t forgotten where I bet they can still call him up to play as Gavan without hesitation. A big reason why he is a household name is because of his performances in both stunt and pure acting gold and I was extremely impressed with his performances in this show. A very basic father and son story is nice, but how Kenji acts as Retsu is unreal. On top of that his charisma rivals Hiroshi Mayuchi (V3, Aoranger, Big One, Zubat). Now I will easily admit this show isn’t a breakthrough for storytelling, but this show would very much define the Metal Hero franchise and the evolution of Toku as it moved onto the 80’s in the effects and action department. A lot of refinement for the medium is here as when you compare previous shows from the 70’s there is very much a big boom of new excitement in this show. I will probably be back to talk about this show in more than just one way since this is ONE of the hero pure Tokusatsu shows out there and I highly recommend it.

Ultraman Mebius

The Ultraman franchise is large and one of the most defining parts of that franchise would be its time in the Showa Era. Particularly mostly the shows remembered would be Ultraman onwards to Taro and yes there was Leo and 80, but history was not too kind to those shows originally. Still the original M78 universe was special as it was one of media’s earliest examples of a contained universe being represented in a series of television broadcasts. When Return of Ultraman happened and merged both Ultraman and UltraSeven together the future would keep building onto that universe until the end of Ultraman 80 as that Earth found peace until well into 2006. Around this time the Ultraman franchise hasn’t been keeping up as well, especially not so long ago Nexus happened which was a sad tale for a show that is now praised highly, but originally was met with not amazing ratings to the point the show got cut short. I sadly don’t know much about how well Max did, but one thing for sure was that the franchise needed a big show to happen. A huge anniversary project was made as this show with a new hero brought into the M78 universe, this new Ultraman was named Mebius. Being a new blood to the whole ordeal of protecting Earth the young Ultra with the human identity, Mirai would find out there is a lot to know about protecting Earth. This show really excels in bringing back the classic team dynamics and still treating things like a Toku show in the 2000’s. It’s this harmony of old DNA being realized so well into a more modern age. Probably the best part is that while Mebius is an anniversary show and even continues on the plots and concepts from previous shows, Mebius still holds its own image. The main plot of Mirai and GUTS is still the defining aspect of this show and without them the show wouldn’t easily hold as much importance. Finding what works in a new age along with being able to celebrate what made the franchise live so long. I already had a long look into the M78 universe shows and I will say that made my viewing experience with Mebius feel so damn good. Then a good friend of mine watched Mebius without much knowledge of the Showa era and still puts that as one of their favorite shows. A show like this also was extremely important for the future of not only Ultraman that now very much still does a lot of Mebius-esque things with celebrating the past in smaller doses and anniversary elements would be extremely important for the New Generation series. The anniversary also got Toei wanting to do their own take for Kamen Rider and Super Sentai with Decade and Gokaiger and it would all soon bridge the pathway to what the genre has today in modern anniversary specials. This would also be a big deal for a lot of other media as I do feel Mebius also got Suda 51 to make sure his more modern products to still stand up on their own. No More Heroes 3 very much felt like that product where for a fan like me who knows of the special little details and even cut content that most people won’t understand about, but NMH3 still ends up tackling modern media on it’s own principles still while still celebrating the franchise itself and the whole history Suda has built up to this point. I will easily be getting onto a much bigger post about the show and that might be a bigger one than my Ultraman Z post since there is a lot to look at with Mebius.

Digimon Ghost Game

Digimon being back for me particularly is something I wasn’t expecting. My most recent venture was Xros Wars which was a couple of years ago by now. There was also the reimagining of the original series which was a miss for me personally. Even the Digimon Tri stuff wasn’t getting me interested, but Ghost Game is still catching my attention well. While this show is far more episodic than any Digimon series which was done on purpose because of the staff thinking children these days are far too distracted and cannot keep up with a serialized plot, which is something I don’t fully agree with. Still even if the reason is a bit strange, this show has been a delightful treat in horrific ways. I am genuinely surprised about how this show enables horror elements in a show for today’s kids because I felt that it has only been getting weaker as time goes on. While still being a kid show, it displays some great acts of death, body horror, and even paranoia concepts. All the while being a great new take for the Digimon themselves where they exist as what is referred to as Hologram Ghosts. The show has some new fancy tech and holograms are the modern rave and now even Digimon can hide in plain sight because of that. On top of that, the Digimon in this show are extremely unaware of how to interact with humanity. It leads to many cool concepts and plots where one Digimon simply didn’t understand modern medicine or even just to be with someone they fell in love with. The show does a great job showing the struggle of how the human world is not for Digimon as they keep stumbling into it by accident. Now the show did have some trouble in the animation and budget for a bit, but that started to change as the show has started some pretty impressive animation and fight scenes. Which I do love how things are dealt with beyond fighting and is solved with simple logic and reasoning. The show is a constant surprise with what happens and how things are solved. I do wonder how this show will end, but at this point I am still glued to this young horror show.

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai

Now talking about anime that has really left an impact on me… my god I wouldn’t have expected a Dragon Quest anime to be that. I am still very inexperienced in a lot of Dragon Quest, but I can easily say my time with DQ11 was a blast and is easily one of the best modern RPGs around. The Adventure of Dai is a modern adaptation for the 80’s manga series written by Riku Sanjo who is known for his Toku work very well in Kamen Rider Double and Kyoryuger. Oddly enough he was even the head writer of Xros Wars and I will not lie knowing that the manga series was one of his first major works had me interested. I have been reading the manga, but I easily wouldn’t have started if it wasn’t for this new anime series. The people who worked on the Dragon Ball Super Broly movie were behind this production and the animation was rarely a miss here. Tons of great blends of CGI animation with the 2D styles really left for some breathtaking action pieces. Then trying to adapt the feeling of Dragon Quest into a Shonen sounds crazy, but this has been my favorite Shonen since something like Yu Yu Hakusho which I even recently revisited last year. The story of a boy who was simply raised by peaceful monsters on a lone island that soon gets the eyes of heroes around the world would soon be the hero to the world itself. The characters, my goodness these characters are the absolute best! A big thing I adore with Sanjo’s writing is that he really makes a dynamic cast of characters and makes sure to leave an impression with every single one of them. On top of that he makes sure they are used to their fullest potential. The paths these characters have is just unlike so much anime and even RPG’s. The blend of Dragon Quest logic and magic into Shonen action is somehow a best match where you have fun nice little nods to hit points, magic usage, and overall feeling of progression. Which again the progression of Dai and his party of heroes and even villains is just unreal. Especially for the most valuable player out there, Popp! Popp is like the greatest character to represent humanity, he is just feels so real as a person. He is cowardly, stupid, brave, intelligent, and the true underdog and the emotional trip he gave me during one particular part of the story. There is even the villain Haldar and as of now the less I talk about him here and not a general post is for the better, but this demon lord became my favorite antagonist of anime/manga and I feel like that won’t change for a long time. There is even Maam the female member of the group and man having a modern Shonen with a strong female presence is a rare occurrence for me these days. Not only does she prove her worth of being alongside the party she really holds some of my favorite action bits in the story. Even when things do get to become about love for this character it doesn’t feel tacked on or confusing like how Naruto did things, it felt so genuine for her character and how it even became a common link with her and her foes. I will stop here because I feel like this show will be the next blog post for the new year, but seriously watch Dai and read the manga if you have interest. If you love RPG’s and want to see how an epic Shonen tale can weave it, WATCH!

Fuuto P.I.

Of course this had to be the last thing to mention, it’s Kamen Rider Double! Double is still that defining show for myself as the years go on. When the news about a sequel coming in the form of a manga I was surprised and now five years later we have an anime series based on this manga. I am quite uncertain if this will have more than one season, I would so want more of this! I would admit not having the actors come back to reprise the roles was a bit disappointing, but for the most part I have heard these actors perform as these characters in the recent video game, Memory of Heroez. The actors they got do genuinely get the characters right in my opinion, it did take some time to adjust, but they got down their mannerisms very well. The best part for me has to be the new Dopants that are coming to life. Road was a fantastic start to the new story since it really showcases what these new products can do compared to the live action show. Not being particularly for kids anymore does have some more mature and “mature” elements if you know what I mean. On top of that there are a lot of great homages towards the standard action of Toku, but it also knows when it can break free and do things only animation can do, some of that is Kamen Rider finally having good bike segments again. As for a show that can be for beginners to Double and Kamen Rider in general I say that is very much a true statement since it has small and light references towards the original show at most. I do say there was probably only one thing that is a bit of a spoiler, but in the end it was even one of those obvious moments in the original show. Now if you know Double like I do though those little references are noticed to be extremely well thought out especially at the end of the show… first season? Either way, I am hoping for more down the line as it continues the lovely world of Fuuto that I have come to adore so much with both hero and villain powers that are still my favorite of the franchise. Along with characters that I still do love, get new adventures and developments, particularly for Shotaro to continue his complicated love story angles. The new character Tokime is also someone I am very happy with being a brand new main character of the show. Really goes to show how even after so many years one show can be cherished well to continue to this day.

Alright and I feel good with this little catch up. I bet there is certainly more I can cover like Spy X Family for example, but I think I got to focus on the stuff that means the most to me right now and will be talking more about in the future. I still want to later down the line get onto some video making of any kind even if it just starts with me in a very basic podcast nature. I bet it’s not as hard as I fear and most of the things chaining me down is the fear of learning software and editing and a personal fear of not liking my own voice along with general self confidence issues. A bit too personal maybe, but I never want to feel like I am hiding something when I type it out. I do have a strong love for media out there and while at first I simply wanted to create it evolved into me wanting to praise what we have out there. Which that as well started very aimless where I would even watch pure schlock for no good reason. I do feel like I am more focused on Japanese entertainment these days, but I think that has just become what I am drawn to the most. I can easily talk about some American media for sure as I bet I can do a big look into Ghostbusters which was a huge movie for my childhood or even talk about my favorite horror franchise out there Evil Dead which even has some new products out right now even. In the end there will always be my comfort spots with Japanese entertainment, but I feel that spot ended up really getting me to experiment with what they have and there is just so much in one region like it. Still I am no stranger to expanding my horizons and trying out even British entertainment as Edgar Wright and his movies are still my favorites. So what am I saying here again? That’s a good question. I think overall it just comes down to is that I am a very ecstatic nerd/geek/fan/whatever you want to use and I hope I can keep that passion even when there have been times I fear of losing that recently.