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.

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!

How SOPA Affects Us

For my American readers, a controversial, and detrimental bill is set to be voted on in the US congress next week. Now, if you've been reading the news, SOPA, or Stop Online Piracy Act, is, like it's called, a bill to stop online piracy. Read about it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopa

SOPA has the potential to threaten free speech, and the Internet.

Now, as fans of a genre of media from Japan, it's pretty hard to enjoy it without some people uploading it onto the Internet. We have no other way of watching it, other than buying DVDs. But not all of us speak Japanese, so we need subbers to do their magic and sub them for us. So even if we buy the DVDs, we probably won't understand them, and won't enjoy them.

So, let's say that possibly the juiciest episode of Gokaiger, or Gobusters comes out. And you need to watch it, because it looks epic. And not only that, but you probably need to have subs because there is a lot of dialogue and dramatic confrontations, so you need to understand Japanese to understand what they're saying, and why did Marvelous get so upset at what Joe just said. Well, you would usually download a sub from one of the more reliable sub sites. But, if SOPA is passed, you probably won't be able to access those sights. In fact, the bill could put the people behind the site in jeopardy. The bill poorly defines what they want to criminalize, that anyone could get penalized.

So the people who work so hard to upload, sub, time, and QC series could face penalties. And this goes for RAWs too.

And this doesn't just go for the current series. A bunch of the older series are really good. And the only way to get a hold of these series is, you guessed it, the internet.

And we, the viewers, could also get penalized as well.

So, if you have an urge to watch an episode of Battle Fever J, and you get hooked, so you download a half a season, and in a few months, there's a knock on your door, you're busted, and could be facing prison time. And all you wanted to do was to watch Battle Cossack (both ones) and Battle Kenya kick butts to disco music, because there was no other way to watch other than, you guessed it, downloading it.

So, for my American readers, sign this. Your zip-code is required, so you can't sign it if you don't live in the States:

https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

And for my international readers, please support the actions of those protesting the bill, and protest the bill yourself. Because it affects not just us fans of an internationally obscure Japanese genre (come on, ask your neighbor if they're heard of Super Sentai) but pretty much everyone who enjoys using the internet.

Thank you!

My Thoughts on Kamen Rider Den-O

Now, I know there have been a lack of updates, but that's because I've been working really hard on this post. So enjoy.

I recently finished watching Kamen Rider Den-O. It's an amazing series. I'm going to give you guys a basic run-down of my thoughts on the characters, plot, and anything else I can think of.

The Plot

In the near future, these creatures called Imagin destroy the world by going in the past. Imagins are creatures that thrive on the memories of humans. When an Imagin comes in contact with a human, they will gain a form based off of the human's memories, and then attempt to grant the human's greatest wish. Once they have granted that wish, they will use the human (or whom they call their contract holder) as a portal to travel back in time to a memory of the human, and reek havoc on that time. The only people who can resist the lure and influence are singularity points: people who have the ability to exist outside of time, and can't have their memories altered by changes in the past. One of them is Hana, who is from the future that the Imagins destroyed. She bears a strong hatred towards them. Hana now lives on the Den-liner, a train that travels through the sands of time. Hana was given a boarding pass by the mysterious owner of the train to save the future and preserve the flow of time. When the train makes a stop in 2007, she encounters another singularity point, Ryotaro Nogami, an optimistic yet severely unlucky man who dropped out of high school to help his older sister, Airi, run her coffee shop, the Milk Dipper. But his luck has changed because he has found the rider pass. Hana convinces him to become Den-O and join her to save the flow of time. At the same time, Ryotaro encounters the Imagin, Momotaros, who literally joins him in his fight by possessing him, due to the fact Ryotaro is too weak to fight on his own. Ryotaro uses his Den-O powers not only to defeat the Imagins bent on destroying time, but to make the future better for the contract holders, causing subtle changes in the past to happen.

Gradually, Ryotaro becomes possessed by three other Imagins, who like Momotaros, don't really seem to have an interest in destroying time. And a new Kamen Rider appears: Zeronos--who is really a younger version of Airi's former fiancee, Yuto Sakurai, who disappeared months before the series began. In fact, Airi doesn't even remember being engaged to Yuto Sakurai. And this Yuto is nothing like the Yuto Ryotaro has grown to bond with. Can Ryotaro work together with this incarnation of Yuto? Of course he can, but can Yuto work with this unlucky young man claiming to know who he is?

Later in the series, the true villain, the one controlling the Imagins appears. Is he an Imagin or not? And what is this junction point he's so obsessed with? And will Airi remember what she forgot? And not only that, but Ryotaro's Imagins are starting to disappear because of Ryotaro and Yuto's actions as Kamen Riders. Will they live to help Ryotaro during the final battle?

Ryotaro Nogami- Our Unlucky, yet Lucky Protagonist

Ryotaro is a genuinely nice guy who happens to have really bad luck. It's like the universe hates him. And most of the comedy on Den-O comes from it. But, he has one thing that cancels all of that out--he's a singularity point. That means that changes in time can't harm his memory, he can exist outside of time, and Imagins can't influence him. Albeit, he can still get possessed by them-- and Ryuutaros and Sieg are the only Imagins who can over-power him.

Ryotaro is a nice guy. He dropped out of school to help his older sister, Airi, he genuinely trusts people, he cares more about saving people, even if it does change time, and most importantly, even though he has bad luck, he deals with it, and he's optimistic.

Takeru Sato shines as Ryotaro. His acting chops really manifest when his character is possessed by the Imagins. He adopts different mannerisms for each one. And he can break-dance too. Also, he's pretty hot.

I also applaud Takuya Mizoguchi, who took over Takeru's role from Decade on. He is able to play a young man trapped inside his pre-teen self's body pretty nicely.

Yuto Sakurai-Don't You Forget About Me

Yuto was the antithesis of Ryotaro: Lucky, spoiled, and he cared more about saving time than saving people. But, now here's the shocker, Yuto is really a younger version of Airi's fiancee. The present Yuto gave the past Yuto the Zeronos belt and cards before he disappeared. Now past Yuto is in the present, where no one knows who he is--except Ryotaro, who figures out within the first few episodes of his debut, and Hana and the rest of the Denliner crew. Yuto obviously had a lot of growing up to do. The Yuto that Ryotaro knew was nicer. The Yuto that we see now is kind of a snot, and he still does a lot of childish things, even though he's the same age as Ryotaro, such as putting a lot of sugar in his coffee, and refusing to eat Shiitake mushrooms (okay, I love mushrooms, and Shiitake are some of the best mushrooms, so I'd get a little upset when someone refuses to eat Shiitake mushrooms). But he still has some of the qualities as the Yuto that Ryotaro knew: his interest in stars. In fact, Zeronos's motif is stars. When Yuto joins the series, he brings a lot of drama with him. Not only is he different from Ryotaro and has a different motivation, but there immense tragedy surrounding his character. He is without a time. He's stranded in the future (our present), where no one knows him. And if they do, it's his future self. Also, he uses cards to Henshin, and they gradually run out. And these cards also connected to him. They are based off of people's memories of his future self--the self that Airi was engaged to. And every time his Henshins, people gradually forget about his future self. But he runs out of cards. And he gets new cards, but now, every time he Henshins, they forget about him, the Yuto we see. The only people who remember him are Ryotaro, Hana, the Imagins, and the rest of the Den-o crew. But Yuto isn't this angsty, moping character. There is a lot of comedy surrounding his character. Most of this humor comes from his interaction with Deneb, the Imagin who is contracted to him. Deneb kind of spoils him, but he can't help it, Deneb's a very caring Imagin. And sometimes, when Deneb interferes with his life too much, including possessing him, or dotes on him too much, Yuto gets angry. And believe it or not, Yuto is very funny when he's angry with Deneb. Also, Yuto's actor, Yuichi Nakamura is just as talented as Takeru Satoh. He is able to portray Yuto's tragic circumstance with realism, and is able to take on the character of Deneb when he is possessed, and he can be extremely funny.

Hana- The Pint-size Big Sister Power House

Hana is a pretty interesting character. She is Ryotaro's guide to his power as a Kamen Rider, and acts like his big sister. Plus, she has enormous strength, both emotionally, and physically. She initially treats the imagins with disdain, because they destroyed her future. Her present, her place in time has disappeared because of them. But eventually, she learns to respect them. I think she is even unaware of how important she is. Hana, like Ryotaro, is a singularity point. So her mind wasn't affected when Ryotaro and Yuto's meddling in the past caused her own future to be changed, and caused her body to physically change into a child. Even as a child, she still acted like Ryotaro's older sister, and her strength against the Imagins looked more powerful. Both of her actresses were really good, especially Takumi Matsumoto, who had to play a young adult trapped in a child's body.

Airi-Did I Forget Something?

Airi is Ryotaro's older sister. She cares about him a lot, probably because their parents are dead, so she is not only his sister, but a mother-like figure as well. Airi has completely forgotten about her fiancee, Yuto Sakurai, after he disappeared, so Ryotaro has been watching out for her as well. Airi can be... well... airy. She is oblivious to the fact that most of the customers who come to the Milk Dipper are there to flirt with her. And she doesn't return their advances, because she isn't aware that they are flirting with her. Oh, and she hand grinds her coffee beans! She's a very important character.

The Owner-An Enigma

He's a pretty mysterious but funny character. I love the way the actor portrays him. In addition to being all-knowing, he's obsessed with eating either rice or flan with a flag on top, making sure it doesn't fall down. All and all, he's a pretty trippy character.

Naomi-The Hot Waitress who puts Wasabi in Coffee

Naomi was a funny character. She makes un-edible coffee (but if you ask me, putting Wasabi in Coffee is the perfect thing to wake you up in the morning). Besides being eye-candy, she was a funny character, and her interactions with the Imagin are hilarious. She's always doing something funny in the background so pay attention!

The Imagin

Let's face it, the Imagin are the true stars of the show. They are voiced by some talented Seiyuu's and portrayed by talented suit actors. And they make Den-O, Den-O.

Momotaros-The Badasss with a Heart of Gold

Momotaros was the first Imagin that Ryotaro came in contact with. Unlike the meek, and weak Ryotaro, he is extremely rash and strong. Despite this, he and Ryotaro gradually become best friends, with a few bumps in the road. Momotaros is kind of silly: he usually gets pwned by Hana, is afraid of dogs, can't swim, and announces his attacks, gradually forgetting the numbers. He's the main Imagin that Ryotaro uses, so you'll see a lot of him as Den-O.

Urataros-The Silver-Tongued Turtle

Urataros is the second Imagin that Ryotaro comes in contact with. Whereas Ryotaro is an honest, klutzy person, Urataros is smooth, cool, and an extremely talented liar. He is so good that the only person who can see through his lies is Hana. Urataros comes in handy whenever Ryotaro has to talk his way out of a jam. However, he can easily manipulate Ryotaro into letting him use his body. During these excursions in Ryotaro's body, he'll flirt with girls, resulting in Ryotaro waking up on the couch in a girl's apartment. Despite this, Urataros is a true friend.

Kintaros-The Noble Bear

Kintaros is a rather unique Imagin. Out of all of the Imagins, Kintaros is the most noble. When we first meet Kintaros, he isn't possessing Ryotaro, he's possessing a former karate master, who couldn't fight anymore, due to either a sickness or an injury, I forget which, to help him find the ultimate fighting style. After Kintaros is mortally wounded, protecting his contract holder and another Imagin's contract holder, Ryotaro allows him to possess him, and become one of his Imagins. Like I've said, Kintaros is noble. He didn't want to destroy time, or manipulate people, or truly hurt anyone. He cares the most about Ryotaro, which is especially evident in the New Year's episode. Kintaros is super strong, which can put Ryotaro at a disadvantage when Kintaros possesses him. Whenever Kintaros possesses Ryotaro, Ryotaro's mass increases, causing him to easily break things, even things he is standing on. Since Kintaros is like a bear, he's in hibernation mode most of the time, and can't be waken up, unless he hears any variation of the word "cry." That usually results in him instantly possessing Ryotaro. Kintaros speaks Kansai-Ben, giving him a rustic feel. If Kintaros's voice sounds familiar, his voice actor voiced Shadow Moon from Kamen Rider Black.

Ryuutaros-The Dancing Dragon

Ryuutaros possessed Ryotaro about the same time as Urataros. He lied dormant in him, and a few episodes later, he completely possesses Ryotaro. Ryuutaros was told if he killed Ryotaro, he would get to be the conductor on the Den-liner. But he decides to let Ryotaro live because he likes Airi, like a little brother, and if he kills Ryotaro, that means that Airi will be sad. Ryuutaros is mischievous, and child-like. He is a dancer, and even dances while he walks. He has a soft spot for animals, likes drawing, and spends most of his time on the Den-Liner with Naomi. When Ryuutaros possesses Ryotaro, he not only has the ability to dance, and to control people, but he also completely overtakes Ryotaro, and unlike the other Imagins, it's hard to get Ryuutaros to leave Ryotaro's body. When Yuto arrives, you can guess how Ryuutaros felt. Like a jealous little brother, he didn't like anyone taking his sister away. Honestly, Ryuutaros is the little brother you wish you had. He isn't one of those annoying little brothers who makes it his goal to ruin your life, but instead wants to protect you. Isn't that cute?

Deneb-The Butler

Deneb is a modest Imagin, and the only other Imagin, besides Kintaros, who had a noble goal. Deneb was contracted to Yuto in the present, and because he made a wish to aid his past self, Deneb is able to have a physical form in normal time, unlike the other Imagins, who can only exist in a physical form outside of time (i.e. on the Den-Liner). Deneb not only fights with Yuto, but dotes on him as well, like a parent. He cooks his meals, keeps him entertained, and protects him. He wants to make sure Yuto makes friends as well. Whenever Deneb will possess Yuto, it will result in Yuto getting pissed. Deneb hands out Deneb candy to everyone he meets. He's a friendly, sociable Imagin, and is a good foil for Yuto and vice versa.

I'm not going to reveal the force behind the Imagins. Because you guys should watch it. It's an awesome series.

My thoughts:

Kamen Rider Den-O will have you laugh, cry, and fall in love with Takeru Satoh. A lot of people don't like the fact that Kamen Riders lately have a lot of forms, but Den-O manages to balance it out, and it works.

Den-O can suck you in, due to the characters, the story, the twists and turns.

Before you watch Den-O, I highly recommend you watch a movie or TV show that has time travel in the plot. I recommend Back To the Future (I or III) Dr. Who (speaking of which I need to watch it) or, and this episode is a great example of changes in the timeline, the Futurama episode "Roswell that Ends Well." That way you'd be familiar with time travel.

Just to warn you, pay attention. This show can get confusing, which is one of the downsides. You might have to look at some previous episode summaries, or watch the episode, to remember something that happened.

One of the best things about Den-O is that there are no filler episodes. Every episode is important to the plot.

Now, there are two things that you may like or not like. First off, every episode ends with a cliff-hanger. Okay, not every episode. Usually the odd-numbered episode. So you have to watch two episodes to see a whole plot. Now, I don't mind this, but some people might. And the other thing that you may hate is that sometimes there is a lot of computer animation, especially the Denliner fight sequences (yes, the train can fight giant monsters that can sometimes be released by dead Imagins). But there's no other way to do those fight scenes without using a computer. Using miniatures might be a little hard.

One thing that a lot of people hate is Toei's milking of the series. After the series ended, there was another movie, a Kiva vs. movie (which is a given), a Decade vs. Movie (note: this is when Takeru Satoh was replaced, because by this time, he was starting to get more and more roles, and the producers understood that, Takeru Satoh doesn't hate being in Den-O, you can tell he's having fun, he wanted to move on, and the producers didn't want to hold him back), the Cho-Den-O trilogy (which doesn't even focus on Ryotaro) the OOO 40th anniversary crossover with W, and the Imagin anime. But that doesn't mean it's all bad.

So, watch Den-O. The future depends on it!

Don The Dragon Slayer? My thoughts on Gokaiger Episode 42-43

Spoiler alerts ahead, so read with caution.


So for weeks, rumors about Don have been circulating. We knew that in this episode, the Gokaigers would discover that Don was an amnesiac Dragon Slayer, Damaras and Basco would team-up, Marvelous would be executed, and Joe, Luka, Ahim, and Gai would be defeated. And Don would pull out all the stops to save them.

This episode had two big twists. One was that Basco turned on Damaras, revealing that he didn't kill Joe, Luka, Ahim, and Gai. Basco's unlikely assistance was what lead to Damaras's downfall.

The other twist was that Don being a dragon slayer was made up. I could tell Don crafted it himself, right after Don said that maybe if he ate gourmet food, it would jog his memory. You're pretty sly, Don.

I liked seeing how Don joined the team. Essentially they needed him because without him they are messy, can't eat healthy meals, and the ship would probably break, just like they had needed Ahim because she had a calming presence.

The all-green Gokaichange was really cool, and I liked seeing the team as Fiveman.

The mecha fight against Damaras was legendary.

I think Don finally has the confidence, that he's been gradually building throughout the whole series. also, he should wear that green version of Marvelous's jacket more often.

Don't You Forget About Me: My Thoughts on Gokaiger Episodes 39-41

I've been pretty busy this whole month with grad school applications and my final projects.

But here we go, my thoughts on the most recent episodes.

I love Megaranger, and I loved seeing Kenta again! It was a funny episode. And I loved how they used the Megaranger's powers. What's interesting is that most of the team hadn't even attended high school, and they each found something they liked about it. And I was happy to see Basco.

I really liked seeing how Domon matured so much. The timeranger episode was a fun episode to watch as well. I love how they used the powers, especially the matrix dodge. The best part was the end, when Domon saw the picture of Honami and his son, and it brought tears of joy to his eyes. I was happy they were able to get Honami's actress. Also, it looks like Domon's actor has barely even aged.

Man, Ahim can kick some ass if provoked. I liked seeing the change in her. The fight scenes in this episode were the best. I hope the rest of the team will be able to use the GokaiGalleonBuster as well as Ahim. A lot of the shippers went really nuts before the subs even came out. Sorry guys, nothing romantic happened. But we did learn why Ahim is important: she has a calming presence that they team needs. I also liked Ahim's reason for joining the team.

Once again, I'm sorry about the quality of these reviews. If any of you have applied to grad school, you know how tough the process is.

BIG SPOILER ALERT: My thoughts on Gokaiger episode 37-38

Okay, remember when everyone was complaining that "Walz Gil is spoiled." "Walz Gil is lame." "Walz Gil is annoying."

I was waiting for this to happen. No, not for him to die. For him to prove he wasn't the boss's son who was messing up the place.

And not only did he prove that he could pilot a mecha like a pro, but he proved he had a good heart.

First off, he was well aware of how everyone thought of him, he wasn't oblivious. This also showed that he actually lacks some confidence. He was so happy when Barizorg was the only one who believed in him (however, Barizorg is programmed to believe in him, but forget that). And I think he actually respected Barizorg. You never saw him (correct me if I'm wrong) freak out at Barizorg like he did at Damaras. So he was pretty miffed when he found out Barizorg was dead. So the reason he attempted, with all his might, to defeat the Gokaigers once and for all was because he lost someone dear to him. I'm kind of sad he's dead so soon.

And I'm kind of sad Barizorg is dead so soon. And I don't think he'll (or Sid) be coming back. Because they already did the thing where they hand him the flowers on set. I liked the final scene between Sid and Joe. And I liked the final battle as well. It was awesome, and heartwrenching at the same time.

The Gokaiger's ultimate power mecha is AWESOME!

Oh, and finally, I loved seeing the team fighting as extra heroes. Luka saying "Zuu Zuu" was infectious. Even Gai was doing it. I'm glad that the actors are having fun.

I'm baaaaaack

The last few weeks I've been swamped. But now, I'm back, and it's time for me to review the Gokaiger episodes that I've missed.

Episode 33

This episode followed a standard format used in pretty much every series: a member of the team loses the ability to transform. And the character that undergoes this is Gai, which is a great choice, because Gai always wanted to transform into a sentai hero! And of course, Gai learns that he can still be a hero without transforming, and who else but Ryou to teach him this lesson. My favorite part of this episode was the out-of-suit fight sequence that Ryou did. Keichi Wada's still got it! I would have liked to see the Gokaigers use the Dairangers individual powers when transformed, though. They had some pretty cool attacks. The worst part of the episode: it made me crave gyoza. Trader Joe's has the best gyoza... (starts to drool)

Episode 34

Yay! Luka episode. Luka hasn't had a solo focus episode in quite a while. Okay, I kind of knew what Luka's dream would be: to help the orphans. So apparently, all the street urchins she hung out with were orphaned by the Zangyack, so she does have a personal grudge. I thought Luka would use the money to by an orphanage or something, but no, she wants to buy something even cooler: THE UNIVERSE! How epic is that? I want to see Luka's friend Cain return towards the end. I kind of liked the chemistry between the two, and to me, they seem like a viable ship. This episode also showcased Mao Ichimichi's acting. She showed so much strength when she explained her dream, and when they showed more of her past. And this is the second time she had to play someone who wasn't herself, and she did a great job! Okay, the only downside of this episode was when they showed Luka meeting Marvelous and Joe for the first time. Remember when Marvelous and Joe met and they had an epic scene when they battled the Zangyack together, and Marvelous pulls off Joe's tracking collar using pure strength, and when they were lying on the ground together, and Marvelous hands Joe the ranger key? That was an amazing scene. The scene with Luka was a little too fast.

Marvelous: What's a pretty girl like you doing, stealing from the Zangyack? (Marvelous actually said this)

Luka: Never you mind!

Marvelous: Wow, you managed to break in just like us. Wanna join the team?

Luka: Hmm....

Joe: We're finding the greatest treasure in the universe.

Luka: Yeah, sure, whatever!

I would have liked to see the scene get the same justice as Joe's, and probably the same coverage as Doc and Ahim's scene are going to get (Ahim has a planet blowing up, I mean, come on!)

Episode 35-36

Did the gunman world the team travel to remind you of Zubat? Anyway, I liked seeing Sousuke (his actor, despite Go-onger being one of the weaker series, is still good). I liked seeing the engines, they were so cute. And for me, Gai having a fangasm over seeing a sentai hero, will never get old. I liked seeing Battle Fever J, and the team using their attack styles (each Battle Fever J team member represents a different country or world region, and so they each have elements of the culture, one of these being the dance style they use in the attack). Joe doing a tango was epic! I also liked when the team tried to get Machlcon by using their individual mecha. A lot of times, series will usually forgo showing the individual mecha by the second episode.  Oh, and anime fans, the guy who does the voice of Machlcon does the voice of Sanji on One Piece bringing Gokaiger full circle. All and all, it was an okay episode. Not my favorite tribute though.

And next week (I mean next week, I don't think Gokaiger's airing this week) a lot of really important stuff is gonna happen. A lot of stuff. Including the team (sans Joe, who's got his own plot to deal with) transforms into extra heroes finally using the ranger keys they obtained from Basco. And it will be one of the episodes that will just leave you stunned, breathless, just amazed. I love those episodes, don't you?

Sorry if this post isn't that great (by great, I mean there aren't a lot of original pictures due to the fact that taking all these screencaps are starting to clog my hard drive)

Thanks to henshingrid and henshination for these beautiful pictures!