Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Goodbye, Space Pirates--for now: My Thoughts on the Final Episodes of Gokaiger

So sorry, for being gone for a long time! It's my last semester at college, and I'm waiting to hear from Grad Schools. I'm pretty busy. So here are the episodes I missed.


Christmas Fever J!

Who else to focus on in a Christmas episode but Luka? She's perfect for it. Luka is the kind of person who would love what Christmas is really about: presents! But, unfortunately, Santa doesn't give presents, or a sentai team's great power, to greedy children, or greedy pirates. So, Luka and the rest of the team prove themselves by saving Christmas. It was a heartwarming episode, with a great fight sequence. We get to see a Battle Fever Gokai Change/Dance fight, Gokai-Christmas, and an all Yellow Gokai-Change. All of them were amazing. Plus, there was a panda in this episode. Pandas make everything better. And so does Kenji Ohba. I also like how Luka sacrificed herself as part of a plan, which shows she can be selfless. Also, she made a beautiful MagiMother.

A Ninja New Year



When I saw the promos for this episode, I thought it would be new year themed, because it had an all-lion Gokai-Change, which I thought was a lion dance, a New Year's tradition. The episode was a clip show, which can be somewhat good, or bad. It was good, but it definitely wasn't my favorite. What can I say? I don't really like clip shows. The episode did have a reference to Kakuranger, with Ninjaman narrating what happened to him, while sitting on a stage. If you haven't watched Kakuranger, they have an old man wearing traditional Japanese clothing, sitting on a stage and narrating what's going on. He's pretty cool. The all-blue Gokai-change, and the all-lion Gokai-change was cool. I liked it when Marvelous, Joe, and Luka were trying to be on their best behavior, and dressed up. But, the best part was when Marvelous ruins Joe's cake, and Joe becomes catatonic and sits in the treasure chest. How many of you are pissed that Tsuruhime only made a five-second appearance?

Doc and Gai beat each other up and stuff

Probably one of the weaker episodes. I liked seeing the team use Sun Vulcan, but that was it. I would have liked to see the team use the Kakuranger's individual powers more. Ninja Yellow and Ninja Blue have some cool attacks.

Goodbye, Sally, you Cheeky Monkey


Really sad, heart-wrenching episode. I used to think that Sally was a bad influence on Basco, not the other way around. The rest of the team sans-Marvelous fighting against Basco was so cool! I loved them using the individual Dairanger powers. I liked the flashback sequences between Basco and Marvelous. It was pretty sweet seeing Basco taking care of Marvelous after he was injured. And by taking care, I mean helping him, and wrapping a bandage on him, not "taking care" of him by killing him. I also liked the scene between Marvelous and Joe in the crow's nest. Is it just me, or do some of the best scenes happen in the crow's nest?

Bye-Bye, Basco


The fight between Marvelous and Basco was the most amazing thing! That really blew me away. I actually cried a little when Basco died. Sometimes, you enjoy a character, whether a hero or a villain, so much that you become so accustomed to them. And when they die, you get a little sad. Sure, Basco was a jerk. But he was a fun villain. And he was an interesting character.

Cameos Galore!



What a cool episode. Takakyuki/Vul Eagle II, Sho/ChangeGryphon, Dai/Green Flash, Akira/Blue Mask, and Remi/Five Yellow all appeared. It was so cool seeing them. Sho's still hot, and Remi's still beautiful. I loved the look on the team's face when they discovered all of the great powers. And when they discovered the greatest treasure in the universe. And the individual change sequences and the fighting sequence was so cool! And Insarn had a pretty cool mecha. I was sad to see this sultry scientist go. But she put up a pretty good fight. But will the team sacrifice the greatest treasure in the universe.

Spoiler Alert!


They do. This episode had an amazing mecha fight sequence, and a lot of drama between the team. Plus, Goushi comes back. And so do some characters from the past, and from Gokaiger. I'm surprised the team destroyed the greatest treasure--especially Marvelous and Luka. Shows how much they have grown. Plus, they might find another great treasure. There has to be an even greater treasure. The final scene in this episode with Gai waving the flag reminded me of Les Mis.


So, before I saw the final episode, I had two theories on what was going to happen. One: They'd defeat the Akidos Gil once and for all, and then finally eat that curry they missed out on or Two: When Marvelous defeats Akidos Gil, he becomes corrupted or something and ends up taking over the Zangyack, setting the stage for the upcoming Super Hero Taisen movie. I guess my first theory was right!


Yay! Out of Helmet Shots!




The fights blew me away. They used every power imaginable in the fight against Akidos Gil! And I loved how they combined the powers of the different Sentai teams together in their attacks: Yellow Lion and Time Pink using their bazookas, Red Hawk and GaoYellow flying with their wings spread out, using an aerial attack, Ptera Ranger and AbareYellow teaming up, Goggle Pink and Five Yellow using their ribbons, Yellow Mask, Dyna Black, Ninja White, Shurikenger, and using ninja attacks, Red Racer, Go-on Blue, and Black Turbo using their speed, BoukenRed and TenmaRanger using their rods--no pun intended, the team using the Sentai with Super Modes! So cool! And that's not every power they used.

And I loved how the team just collapsed after the fight, happy that they won!


The team sans Marvelous and Gai giving it all against Dairando was awesome!


And the ending with them giving back their powers made me shed a tear. I loved seeing all the previous heroes--even if it was just for one second.

航海の果てに

And of course, the team's going to find the second-greatest treasure in the universe. What? They weren't going to stay on Earth forever. They're pirates, after all!

Goodbye, Gokaiger-for now!

Expect a review of the series as a whole soon!