Toku Discussion Thread

[Lyude/Jayce]

Here, a formal thread for talking about different Toku series. Sentai, Rider, misc. Anything.

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I'll open with some brief thoughts, since I haven't seen a lot lately. Busters two parter with Gavan? Not that great. I blame the writer here. It just felt really lacking, and ShinkenYellow is annoying as her character, but Geki is awesome.

Seriously though, that writing killed it. It was boring, and...well, just kind of bad. A teamup could have been well done, but not with this writer, especially not Ryuuji's line to Youko:

"You're both girls." (on why she should go with Shelly)

No.

[Storm and Mira Ryuudou]

So, Rangercrew is doing a Hibiki watch and reviewing the episodes as they go. My review from episode 5:

I forgot about some of the weird camera angles this show used (Asumu’s face at the start).

I like the cutting back and forth between Asumu getting ready, and Hibiki going about his running as an Oni.

He hurt one, so he assumed it would die on its own. I like that. It’s not that they always have to kill them, but it feels more natural this way.

I love these nature scenes, such as when Hibiki’s painting his Rekka. Just beautiful.

I like Kasumi a lot, but Hinaka…I never cared for her in the first…I don’t know how many episodes. I still don’t here.

Back to Hibiki painting the Rekka, I just love it. Just watching Shigeki doing, well pretty much anything, is great. I love him in the role of Hibiki. Finest Rider lead I can think of.

When they were stuck by the train, I enjoyed the conversation Asumu and Midori had. I like the conversations about life and stuff, about things that matter. It’s different for Rider, but I love it, and did the first time around too.

Hibiki doing incline pushups is awesome. Incline always seems strange to me, though. Decline looks more natural, and I think harder? I’m not sure.

Sure Hibiki, make Kasumi do the work in taking down camp. But the camp was always one of my favorite parts of the series. Though the table/benches always seem weird to me, almost like it should be for kids with the plastic look to it, and the colors.

I love the music in this series in the background, during his conversation with Kasumi.

The woman couldn’t swerve around the kid while she’s on the bike?

I like Asumu’s little spying antics.

Also, that Douji. Love it. The Douji/Hime designs are almost always hits in human form. There are very few I haven’t liked.

I like the Disc Animals. For a gimmick, it’s not an annoying one. It’s useful and doesn’t come off as a gimmick. I don’t know if it was intended to be one (in the same vein as Blade’s cards, or the Zecters, or the Memories/Switches/Medals/Rings), but if it was, it worked well (granted, so did the cards and Zecters, I think).

And now Midori’s in on the spying too. I like how obvious it is, and then Ichirou runs off. Love that he runs away from them.

I like this giant Makamou. How we don’t see a lot of it at a time, how it’s done from the start as well, just glimpses of it and stuff. I like that feel with giants.

The three running past the guys playing whatever game that is (I didn’t quite see). I like that for some reason, just how it’s focusing on the game players and they’re running in the background.

Hibiki “yo”-ing the Makamou. Nicely done.

Yes, berate the children for being out of shape.

I like the camera tricks used at times with the Makamou fight, like the clearly suited scenes, and how it’s shot to look like it is a giant. It looks better with those shots than the CGI, and it just adds something to intermingle the shots so it’s not all CG.

I love the shots of Hibiki with the sun off of his suit. Nicely shot there. I also forgot that the buckle returns to him when he was done.

I find the title strange for this episode. Sure, Ichirou ran, Asumu and Midori ran. But I don’t know if the title quite works.

Ah, Shonen Yo. So beautiful. I just love the song, the actual scene. Just following Hibiki as he passes by the people whose lives he touches. And how the ending changes too, so it’s different scenes as well. There’s always been something about Shonen Yo that I absolutely love, beyond what I’ve stated.

Ah, next episode is my second favorite’s debut: Ibuki.

[Marilen Yoshida]

Presumed W concept art.

[Arthur Ingram]

You can really tell that he's based on Kamen Rider 1 in that picture.

It's interesting how designs develop over time, since originally he looked more like Kamen Rider 1/ 2 but as time went on he became more like his (their?) own Kamen Rider and their design came more unique.

I like it

[Lyude/Jayce]

From HJU:

My third point hinges on a factor you haven't cited, the chilling effect of the Hibiki Screwjob. For context, the Hibiki Screwjob resulted from Toei's upper brass telling Hibiki's producer, Takatera, that he had to make certain changes to the show to try and boost the toy sales. Takatera refused, although to this day I think he's never explained exactly why. Chances were that Toei wanted him to make his show blatantly more stupid and crass. While Hibiki was incredibly divisive at the time of its initial airing, fans praised it for featuring more mature storytelling and nuanced characterization than even the prior Heisei Riders. At the time it initially aired, Kabuto was actually viewed as a regression from what Hibiki was doing, by the small group of fans that actually watched both shows. This didn't really damage Kabuto's reputation, since it pulled in a lot of new fans who'd never seen Rider before, and a lot of fans who really couldn't get into Hibiki.

Getting back to the Hibiki Screwjob: when Takatera refused to change the show, Toei fired him. I cannot overstate what a big deal this was at the time. Takatera was hugely respected, possibly the single most respected creator in Toei's employ. He had saved Sentai from the dead, created Heisei Rider as we know it, and Toei was still happy to sack him the minute he stepped out of line to try and defend his show's creative integrity. This had to send a message to everyone else at Toei: You're not here to tell stories, you're here to sell toys, and you can always be replaced.

The first wave of shows developed with the Hibiki Screwjob firmly in the past would've been Gekiranger and Den-O. You can visibly see Toei's storytelling grow more iterative and conservative with these shows. There is no further interest in breaking new ground, because if you give people something new they might not like it, and then Toei won't let you finish your damn show anyway. Increasingly, Toei's shows after the 2007-8 have focused not on plot or storytelling, but on seeking out unique gimmicks and heavily marketing likable characters played by trendy or attractive performers. The producers and writers on these shows had clearly grown somewhat hesitant to really pour their hearts into them anymore, because who knows when Toei is going to come along and demand that you change it completely? Anyone who seriously doubted this was the case need only look at what's happened with Go-Busters for a reminder.

Remarkably, by using it as a vehicle for sales of adult collector toys, Arakawa and producer Jun Hikasa actually made a show about that feeling of depressing uncertainty, Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger. The way that show ends speaks volumes about how the creative staff at Toei now likely view their positions. Trying to tell a meaningful story in tokusatsu at Toei now appears to be viewed as a doomed effort, something that at best you'll sneak into a series when no one's looking, provided your merchandise sales are high enough that nobody's watching you too closely. Sometimes it really feels like the Toei that was willing to fund a project like Hakaider, or a radical new take on a franchise like Carranger or Kuuga, is dead. The future is going to be Super Hero Taisen, forever. Did I mention that Super Hero Taisen is produced by one of the main parties behind the Hibiki Screwjob?

[Kyle Walker]

Pretty depressing :/

[Ren Nakamura]

HJU:

Now this what a SHT movie should be. A selection of heroes. Not a giant mass of suits just thrown onto the screen.

Honestly, what is the appeal of that? Ever since Decade this has been going on. Wouldn't you much rather see actual characters with their actors reprising their roles?

Imagine if the Avengers movie was just every hero and villain from the past Marvel movies thrown on screen together, instead of the end result of a build-up from previous movies without direct connection to each other.

This. This is what should be done.

[Cass Hoban]

This awesomeness needed posting.

[Arthur Ingram]

I think that the Boukenger team-up with previous Sentai was really cool. It was utterly fantastic, we got characterization for the team up members and some really awesome fight scenes.

The best bit though was the partnering within the team, something that happens with other Sentai team-ups too. But with the more recent films it's just been a huge mass of people in suits.

A better team up would be to just have the riders meet up, talk for a little and then get into a fight against something evil.

[Koyomi/Eisuke/Maya/Kizaki/Misa]

My Koyomi theory, merely for the sake of having a record in the off-chance I'm right. I'll spoiler tag it, since this is what I'm working off of for how I'm doing her here:

SPOILER: Click to show

Due to the opening sequence, we see Misa crying, so we can figure she has some importance, or something is up with her. Due to her interactions with Koyomi early on, there's been theory that the two are linked (there might have been some odd dialogue or something says something more than just their encounter did. I don't recall if it was just that she's the first one to encounter Medusa, or if it was something else that sparks the link theory). We know what happens when someone falls to despair, and Koyomi is clearly in one piece. Tropes offers the theory that her Phantom is small enough to just have gotten out of her without ripping her apart.

My theory is that Misa/Medusa is Koyomi's Phantom. That the two aren't the same in appearance is where the next part of my theory comes to play. Misa is the original; Koyomi (by appearance) didn't exist prior to the ritual. Misa was what was born of Koyomi, while Koyomi as a person is just the mind/soul of Misa's humanity, taking a different form due to not being the real person, or something like that. The are the same person; Misa is the body of who originally existed, while Koyomi is the personality/soul, just without the past to remember, due to trauma, or the means of their split.

[Shigeru Jo/Kaito Akita]

Regarding Rider Girls, I have to agree:

Their introduction came off as a crass, sexualized tie-in to the Rider series. Their singing is okay, but their main selling point is "Here's a pretty lady wearing a Rider belt." It comes off as a bit insulting if that's the extent to which they're being marketed toward the fans.

[Selena/Ryan/Trixie]

How to write like Inoue.

[Retsu and Yui Endo]

Well, Busters, you were one fucking amazing Sentai. The finale was the weakest of the three finales the show had, I feel, but damn, it was so good.

The moment the Kyoryugers popped up on screen (promo), I shut it off. No Kyoryuger; this is not your moment. This is still time for Buster.

[Noa Clarke]

Last year I did a Gokaiger review after the finale, and now:

It's time for Buster


When we first saw the Buster suits in the pictures for Gokai vs. Gavan, I didn't like them. It was the designs (not the leather) that I disliked. Once we started hearing plot, and a plot that sounded like RPM no less, I was excited. It sounded awesome, and the suits grew on me. The leather was absolutely fantastic; it fit the themes of the series and worked as more of a militaristic suit than spandex would have. And later, we'd see suit damage, wires sticking out, helmet detail (rebreather things in the helmets), and it was awesome. This is one of my favorite things from the show.

Enter and the Vaglass. The Vaglass first. They were almost a standard Sentai threat; a leader who didn't/couldn't fight at the start, commanders carrying out his will. I really loved the Metaroid designs; they were just beautiful. The Buglars were also very well designed suits, and I loved their spawning methods through electrical sockets. The concept of the enemies using giant robots instead of the MOTW growing is something like Dekaranger, but I think this was possibly better executed. The ground/giant battles going on at the same time was awesome, and it was sad to see it being used less as the series went on. In Deka, they had so many robo suits, and I think they just changed things up, so some enemies would use the same suits as previous enemies, but with modifications/different weapons. I really liked that the Vaglass had three (initially) designs, and the Metaroid theme was just affixed to it.

Enter's plot for the first dozen or so episodes was great. Gaining supplies, obtaining the plans for the Beet mecha, and then modifying it to Delta. Fantastic. Delta was underused, and overpowered too easily after its initial debut, I feel. But we had a growing mecha enemy presence, and that each mecha brought something different was fantastic. Alpha, Beta, easy. Gamma? Gattai. Delta? Well, depends on the episode. I liked that, that Gamma was an 'oh shit' moment for a while. I wish Epsilon had gotten more use, but oh well.

Now it's time for Escape. I'll get to Enter yet. Escape came in, and I was among the people happy to see another commander. Then her debut episode hits, and it was strange. It felt like we had missed something, like this was just another episode. It was oddly done, but her fights were pretty awesome. Sadly, her personality/character weren't. I liked her rivalry with Ryuuji and his overheated side, but those shipping notions were stupid. Escape pretty much existed for sex appeal, and I hate that. She could have been cooler, but no. Anyway, started to feel for her by the end, stuck in continual loop, and then she died for good. Yeah, felt for her, and so did Enter. They had an interesting relationship through the entire series, and the end of it was probably appropriate.

Messiah. A useless villain at the start who stifled Enter's plans. I remember Enter suggesting hoarding some Enetron and then sending multiple Megazords at once, but no. He was too angry and wanted to get attacks out for more Enetron. I don't have much to say, but then we hit Messiah Cell. The Cell suit feels odd; it should have been used more, but I'll chalk that one up to executive meddling (at the least, it should have been two episodes). Then he dies, we get the Messiah Card story (which kind of sucked, but had some good episodes in there), and then we get his revival at Christmas, which is very appropriate. That entire episode was amazing. The mecha battles were so top notch, and damn, that one was just beautiful.

Enter. Oh, Enter. Such a fun villain. A smart one; one who constantly outmaneuvered the Busters, infiltrated their base within 10 episodes, and did a lot of damage. I loved the slow build to his plan, and that he was just a monster, like when he used civilians as a shield early on (the hospital episode). He was just such a cool villain; he didn't really get angry, he was just calm, and a troll (as some other sites put him). His death in 30 was awesome because he wasn't angry. He was calm. He revived and became a bit more unstable, which made sense, having some of Messiah in him. But he always remained the same calculating, awesome, fun villain. By the end he pulled what is probably the greatest plan of any Toku villain ever, and I firmly believe that he would have won, if it weren't for the 'hero's win' mandate (although after the finale, I don't know, it made enough sense...). I disliked his suited form, just like I did for Escape (I missed seeing the human faces fighting), but damn, it was awesome (I can do without the head chain thing). The rapier really fit. And then Dark Buster? Beautiful. To the end, Enter was amazing, and ranks up there with Long, possibly even beating him.

Ok, mecha time. No gimmick this year for making money, like Keys or Cards. It was the mecha. Ace was beautiful, and I loved watching it go. The fights were important this year, and actually very well done. When I did Timeranger, I skipped most of the mecha fights. They're boring as fuck most of the time. Busters changed that, and I hope that Toei takes note and does this as it does its next seasons. Just beauty. I loved that there was no gattai for a few episodes, and that even then, we didn't get a gattai each episode. It was only for emergencies. Also, the cockpits were gorgeous. Anyway, wow, I love these things. Lioh I can do without, if only because it had such a stupid appearance into the series. I feel that was a result of the meddling, though. But I'd have loved to see Ace destroyed, and Lioh replaces it.

The Busters. I loved them; although, Hiromu is hard to place as a character. He was so much different at the start, and it felt like there wasn't enough consistency in his writing. I loved early Youko, and how she was so cold towards Hiromu, and then there was Ryuuji, just an awesome character, especially from being the oldest. Jin was ridiculous in a good way, and J...oh, J... I hated him, but grew to love him so much. The characters were well done overall, but Jin and J were underused, Youko is hard to place, as is Hiromu. I don't know, I just don't have enough to say here.

The command staff. Almost useless, but damn, I loved Kuroki and how he was such an ass, really. Wish he had turned out to be Beet or something. Speaking of that, Enter-Beet (or VagBeet, as I will refer to him if he comes up again) should have been an episode. Hell, he should have had the Beet powers after making the Delta, like obtained those plans too or something. VagBeet for Enter, and like VagStag for Escape would have been cool. And piloting Delta, of course.

The story and the world. Those were brilliant. Enetron, the rules of the world being established, yes. They didn't make shit up as they went, they had things planned. Teleport is in a 3 mile radius of the marker, slower transport uses less Enetron, etc. Yes! I love this stuff! It felt like a comprehensive and complete world, although some things don't make sense. Siphon Enetron slowly in a way the Busters won't notice. That would have worked...

Anyway, the world of Busters is far more grounded in realism. I mentioned the suit damage before; we see the wires and stuff. The cockpits are so fantastic because it adds to this. The rules of the world. Just so well done.

This series had consequences. It didn't just solve everything. The parents died; they didn't get magically saved in a handwave/asspull.

SPOILER: Click to show

Jin dies to defeat Enter. And then he vanishes without a long farewell; he just vanishes.

It was just so well done. I mean, could it have been more realistic? Of course, but this is Toku. This is probably the most realistic we'd get.

The battles were so fantastically done, especially overheated Ryuuji's first fight. The minimal weaponry, and the ways they used them were fantastic.

I hated the Lioh Attache, but it was nice to have a separate cannon weapon like that, I think. I just had issues with its annoying voice and being able to tell everyone anything pertinent to the plot, like weakpoints.

Weakpoints and Buddyroids. I didn't mind the weakpoints in the end; they made sense, and it made the Busters human, as Hiromu said in the finale. The Buddyroids were underused, and I feel for the suit actors who are usually Rangers. I remember Kobayashi (I think it was her) saying that the Buddyroids would feel more human, and we'd care about them and stuff. Didn't really work.

Now, the meddling. Crappy new theme song, probably shortened first finale (as I call it), terrible, shitty Gavan two-parter, and then the Messiah Cards... Lioh probably had something much more awesome planned out, and the Attache was probably to find things in the subdimension. I don't know what the plot would have been there, but it could have been awesome. I also feel like Powered Custom is from the meddling. I mean, we were getting it regardless, but I think the way it worked in the show is different than planned. We get the prototype armors as something made by the EMC, and then the PC suits are the Buddyroids combining with the Rangers. It seems like it was supposed to be a creation of the EMC, but didn't end up as it.

Even with the meddling, damn, this was a good show. There were weak episodes (especially in the Card arc), like Pink Buster (how did she basically beat the trio?), and others, but overall, Busters had so many good episodes. A lot of episodes were important in the long run in one way or another. It had a good balance of funny plots, and serious plots (although not the best mixture; that belongs to Keitai Sousakan 7 and Tomica Hero Rescue Force, I believe), but in the end, it was a more serious plot than anything, and just so well done.

Last year I ranked Gokaiger as a D+ or a C, but Busters, I truly rank Busters as an A or so. The second best Sentai to me, right behind Gekiranger. It had weak points (no pun intended), but so many good things going for it.

And then we get this, and I just felt so much. The finale, and then that. I refuse to watch Kyoyruger for weeks; I need time to get over Busters, I really do. Farewell Go-Busters; you'll be back, but I'll miss you. It does not feel like it's been a year.

Shutdown...Kanryou...

[Katsu Arai]

According to the magazines, Joker Memory is the 'wild card' of the Body Memories; as such, it is the ultimate adaptable Memory, and can be used in conjunction with any Soul Memory. In addition, Joker is Shotaro's supercompatible Memory, in the same way that Invisible is Lily's supercompatible Memory, Cyclone is Philip's, etc. The combination of these two strengths allow it to stand up to the untamed power of the Fang Memory.

Fang is an incredibly powerful Soul Memory, and even Joker is not unaffected by it (FangJoker warps the Joker half's design: Xtreme is the only other Memory to do that.) The magazine never explained what would happen if Metal or Trigger were to be used, but it seems like the transformation would either fail or the Body Memory used would break.