New HD Alphas look incredible

Wave 2 of the Go-Busters HD Alpha candy toy set looks to be just as stunning as its predecessors. Take a look at this BeetBuster!

In this release, there's BeetBuster, StagBuster, Beet J. Stag, and Gorisaki. See below for the full wave.

I'm really looking forward to picking these guys up.

Bandai to step into 12 inch toys

In a recent press release, Bandai has announced its intent to start making foot-tall figures in conjunction with Tamashii. The first two licenses to get this treatment are Star Wars and Tiger & Bunny.

A 12 inch Wild Tiger figure is up for pre-order from the Tamashii site September first, for release December 2012, followed by C-3PO pre-orders available at the same time with a release in February 2013.

See the Official Press Statement.

Apps available

Okay, so it's actually been available for a while now, and I've just been sending links to interested parties. I know my readership is small, nearly nonexistent, BUT I still want to make those of you have a good experience.

 

Here's the link!

Ranger Board didn't want me working on an app for them since they want to team up with TapaTalk or something like that, so I did this instead. Hey, why not? It's simple and leaves a small footprint. Once I get Flash CS6, I'm going to republish it so AIR is included and not a required download, but for the time being, you'll need it.

As an added bonus, I made (with some help from a friend of mine from Mutnick Media) a Spoony Soundboard, with all of his BETRAYALS in it.I just whipped it up for the fun of it, and I've gotten a ton of fun out of it.

Betrayed Me!

If you want either one customized for you, let me know.

MIA again, and where I am with my reviews

So, I haven't done any reviews lately. I have one that I haven't posted yet of the Legend Sentai Ranger Key series 1. Reason being, I don't like it. I have the Gobusters Ranger Key Set 2, Kamen Rider OOO set, and a new Figuarts to add into the mix, as well as an unboxing I've been holding off on until the Mega Force TCG comes out. I've pre-ordered the Gridman and both Liveman Figuarts from Image Anime, and will review them in November when they arrive.

The reason I haven't posted anything at all is because I have a new baby baby girl, and have been busy learning to develop mobile apps at work.

For my Gekiranger VS Jungle Fury review, I've had a tough time getting through Gekiranger. It's not that it's bad, I just got distracted with Kamen Rider. I'd never really watched Kamen Rider before, but I decided that since I was buying the OOO keys, I should probably learn about the franchise it comes from. Despite all the reading I'd done on it in the past, I hadn't actually watched any of it. Since Fourze is still ongoing, I started with OOO. After finishing that, I went on to Kamen Rider W, and am now on Decade. Once I finish Decade, I will move on to Kiva and Den-O. After that, I'm going to go back to Gekiranger to continue with my US/JP story comparison.

I will be doing a series review of Gobusters once it's completed. Akibaranger, being much shorter will probably not get a full review. In short, I liked it, but it's mostly just fanservice.

If anyone is wondering, no I'm not actually planning on reviewing the Kamen Rider shows. I just wanted to watch them.

For video reviews for the retrospectives, I'm not sure it that's actually going to happen. Reason being, I'm planning on getting into another review series. In my currently unreleased toy review, I had asked for commenter suggestions for movies that get a horrible reviews or guilty pleasures. There are so many angry reviewers out there ripping movies and shows a new one, sometimes in character, sometimes not. So, ever one to encourage people to give things a chance, I want to try to find the good points of bad movies. If I pick one of your suggestions, I have 5 spare ranger keys from my review and I will send out one of your choosing in a padded envelope. These reviews will be posted on my own server and on a new YouTube channel.

I have a bunch of stuff planned, and not a whole heck of a lot of time (I'm writing this at work...bad me) I don't have a schedule figured out yet. Also, I'm trying to convince my boss to either give or sell me one of our old and unused cameras, but he's not wearing down, so until I can convince him, I have to stick with my webcams and phone camera (which is actually pretty good). In any case, if anyone has has a bad movie idea, let me know!

Power Resources app now available!

I've finally gotten around to uploading my Android app for you guys.  It's not much special, but is an app that links out to some of my favorite resources and some I anticipated others to request. If you have any recommendations for links to add in, let me know!

LINK

Power Rangers MegaForce - What does this mean?

There has been a lot of debate about which sentai series will be adapted next. Goseiger or Gokaiger? Well, the long rumored MegaForce is confirmed to be Goseiger. Obviously very little of the CGI effects will be used since America is afraid of using angels in anything that's not of the "touched by" variety.

So, with Goseiger celebrating the 20th anniversary, and getting the movie, how will this impact our Gokaiger adaptation (if we even get one). I mean, passing on Goseiger would have been preferable, as the themes in the show were a bit too preachy for my tastes and I've never been big on their costumes, but if we get the pirates, will they have the same powers? It seems like they'll be a little late to the party if Power Rangers Space Pirates gets to transform into past rangers. The impact will be cheapened without the anniversary gimmick.

We really need more info before there'll be much more to say, but for the time being, I just worry that the epicness of a Gokaiger adaptation is in jeopardy.

The first 7 season Pre-Order

Shout! Factory and Time Life are teaming up to bring us the first 7 seasons in the Power Rangers franchise in one ginormous boxed set. That's MMPR - Lost Galaxy. No word if this includes the specials, but those we can really live without.

Check out the link

Also, as a pre-order bonus, you get the shielded Red Ranger figure from MMPR 2010. Which is kinda awesome.

As expected, this set isn't going to be easily affordable. Weighing in at a hefty $220, it's not going to be an easy purchase.

Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad - Back on Jaroo

Well, the show is back to Episode 1 right now. Currently airing is episodes 1-5, and next Wednesday episode 1 will be removed and 2-6 will air. If you want to start rewatching this series back from the very start, now is the time!

Check it out!

Top 10 shows that should have survived cancellation

First off, it seems like Fox just won't let Joss Whedon's shows survive for long. Poor marketing, bad timeslots, and being too eager to pull the plug on shows that hadn't found themselves led to two of his shows meeting an unfortunate end. Any show with the gorgeous Eliza Dushku gets the same fate. What earns these titles a place on my list is that there is no good reason their stories didn't continue even after the TV show was killed off. So, here we are, in no particular order, the Top 10 shows that should have survived cancellation.

FireFly: Oh, Firefly, you appear on everyone's list. Sure, you got a deeply depressing movie as a special favor to the fans, and a few comics that amounted to very little. The downside is that your creator was so saddened by how little money you earned production companies, that he's sworn off your universe forever. While a network revival is out of the cards, like Buffy and Angel before you, a full comic book continuation would have been divine.






Dollhouse: Dollhouse, another entry in the Whedonverse which was actually given 2 chances by Fox to survive the axe. Originally going to be pulled midseason, and again after the first season concluded, fans got loud enough to give the show a shot. However, the writers were trying to not leave loose ends so they could leave the show at a satisfactory point whenever the hammer fell, that the overall story suffered. I loved the first season a lot, and the second season wasn't too bad, but the cloud of doom hanging over the show made the viewership dwindle and Fox pulled the plug. However, why in the hell wasn't this turned into a series of 10-15 minute webisodes? Comics don't seem like the proper medium for a show as surreal as this, but some shorter webisodes a la Mortal Kombat Legacy would have been a good move for Dolllhouse.


Reaper: Reaper is the best show that never was. It had an excellent cast, excellent story, and was so ridiculously honest, that it could have lived on for another 4 seasons past the two we got. This was a show with an expiration date from the start. Like a book series, there was no way to carry this story on and on, but rather I see it as a six year narration of a young adult's life with the Devil. Plans for a comic or animated series were mentioned once, and then never again. Unfortunately, the demographic for this show was so limited, the CW really wasn't the right place for this show to begin with. It just had the wrong kind of drama. ABC or SyFy would have been much better suited for this chessgame's moving pieces. Instead, all we have are a dustbuster and a pile of ashes from the dove who thought it was a phoenix. While an cartoon show would have been cool, I doubt it would have lasted long, but Dark Horse and/or IDW execs, if you're reading this post, I only have this to say. "TAKE MY MONEY AND MAKE THIS HAPPEN!"

Freaks and Geeks: Like the title, this show was just awkward. It's cult-status worthy dialogue-heavy episodes doomed it from the start, and network television was never a good home for this show, but I do honestly believe a revival as a cartoon (released on Netflix or Hulu) would be absolutely perfect.

FlashForward: This show was another one with a short shelf-life, and the writers should have known that. Unfortunately, this show really should have been one or two movies, or a series of novels, or even a radio play. While I enjoyed watching this show, I kept telling myself at the end of each episode, "This show is never gonna last". Sadly, I was right. I would love to read a novelization of it though.






Heroes: Simply put, if this show was too expensive, but still had a relatively high viewership, WHY DID THE COMICS HAVE TO END WITH THE SHOW!? Not much else to say. The 2008 writer's strike, and the removal of Peter's powers (while Sylar still remained all-powerful, though for a short while was reset to zero) ruined the dynamic of the show, made for sloppy writing, and left some pretty big plot holes that now will never be filled. Seriously, who decided to end the companion comic series when the show was cancelled? It could have became a staple of any comic reader's subscription list!

Kyle XY: This show just got so weird towards the end with the inclusion of Jessie XX, that fans were turned off and tuning out by the hundreds. However, in the grand scheme of things, the character was really quite good, though only in hindsight. This teen drama could have grown up with the characters, but you could tell that the cast was becomming less enthusiastic about coming to work with each episode of the final season. This show really should have continued in novel format. Hey, Animorphs survived it's show (granted it was a book series first), why not Kyle XY?




My Own Worst Enemy: Christian Slater's psychological drama just didn't meet its audience, which is a shame. I rather enjoyed it. Since TV didn't seem like a right fit, I think a FireFly-eque movie wrap-up or a handful of webisodes would have nicely concluded this story. It deserved at least that much.








The Unit: This military action/drama/thriller show delivered such a mishmash of emotions, that the clusterfuck of season 4 was inevitable. I'm not at all surprised this show eventually failed, but I still enjoyed the first few seasons immensly. However, the turn the show took in the final season opened up a possibility that was never explored. A whole film franchise. Seriesly, if the Bourne book series made it past one movie, there is no way this couldn't be successful.


Tru Calling: Okay, this show should never have been cancelled to start with. But it was...which was stupid. This story was SO brilliant, it should have crossed mediums. We should have gotten games, book, movies, comics, a web series, the whole nine yards. It's well suited for all of them. Well, maybe the movies are a bit of a stretch, but I'd still like to see it happen. Tru Davies' story should have continued past the show just like Star Trek. While, I make no comparison between the two shows, both have tales to tell inbetween the episodes, both have the possibility for silver screen greatness, and while video game adaptations usually suck, it's always worth a shot.

Forthcoming App!

If you're an Android user, you've probably noticed that on every UI, the browser is a little bit different. The one problem that I have, is that there is no bookmarking mechanic I actually like to use. I tried using the built in bookmark scheme, but the bookmarks don't transfer from one phone to another. Web2Go recently updated and got rid of all my bookmarks, and Motoblur is just a total mess. Sense UI is probably the nicest with the desktop widget, but that takes up so much space, it's unwieldy. So, I decided to make my own link repository. At first, I just wanted to make a link launcher for RangerBoard, but Omega told me he wouldn't approve of it. I gave it a shot anyway and decided it wasn't enough.

 

So, I introduce to you readers, the Power Rangers Resources app for Android! A small collection of links to some of my favorite databases and review blogs, as well as a couple that I anticipated would be frequent asks.

Before I officially launch it, I'd like to get a gauge for who would prefer it to be in the Android Market (Google Play), and who would prefer to sideload the app? Leave a comment, message me on Facebook or YouTube, or email me.

Before anyone asks, here's the basic rundown. It will work with OS2 for the BlackBerry Playbook, I am totally unsure about blackberry phones, I can get it to work for Windows Phone 7.5, it should run on most (if not all) versions of Android, though it might look a little funny on a tablet at this current stage. No, it will not work on pre-Mango versions WP7, nor will it work on iOS. I have no intention of making it work for these platforms.

"What went wrong with Power Rangers Samurai" or "AR trying to rationalize spectacle"

I think we all recognize that there's a whole lot wrong with the Power Ranger's franchise adaptation of Shinkenger. However, I've been thinking about WHY some of the choices made it into the show. Sure, for the most part, it closely follows the Japanese source material, but the sense of urgency, the dark undertones, and a good bit of the fighting have all been stripped away. Replacing these elements with filler and the "emPOWERED" was done on purpose. Thought went into this. While I don't mind the producers trying to get kids up and moving again so they aren't prone to a sedentary lifestyle that many of us from the mid-to-late eighties were, I do mind being forced to suffer the current cast any longer than I have to.

\RANT TIME/
Jayden is wholly unconvincing as a leader, authority figure, or experienced fighter. He seems more like a varsity football player rather than a natural born leader bred to take charge of a long line of warriors to fight the forces of darkness. Kevin and Emily are just bland. There's absolutely nothing to them. They shows nothing on their face, and can't vocally express emotion (surprise, confusion, displeasure, et al) with any degree of accuracy.
Mike and Antonio, to their benefit, are touch and go. Sometimes they can be convincing, sometimes not. Overall, I don't mind their arcs, and look forward to further developments to their characters. This leaves us with Mia, the pink ranger. Being the least discussed of the six rangers, Mia's actress is in my opinion the single most talented performer of the lot (which admittedly, isn't hard to do). When she says a line, I can believe it most of the time.
\END RANT/

So, other than the obvious problems with the writing and the desire to stand as far apart from the Sentai as they can while keeping those purse strings as tight as they can, what is it about this show that causes so much derision among fans of the franchise older than 10 years old? Well, let's take a very brief look at international reception. Countries like New Zealand and Canada banned the franchise from airing due to complaints of violence to their respective censorship boards, and TV stations pulled the original MMPR before the end of its second season (some much, much sooner). Currently, as far as I've been able to find, all of the countries that formerly banned the show, currently allow Power Rangers Samurai to air, as it's the first season to adhere to their rather script censorship policies regarding violent imagery and adult themes. By cutting out a great deal of the action and tension, and by extension the wind down and resolution (and lessons learned), Saban has sacrificed over-all quality and family appeal in exchange for an international release and the resulting revenue.

Now, don't get me wrong, I totally understand this. By making compromises to reach a wider audience, you open your product up to a greater turn on investment. I just wish that they didn't make the compromises they did, and try lobbying for a closer look at network censorship (which would cost more money, so naturally that option is out). I get that there's a bottom line to keep in consideration, however I think we can all agree the product being offered to us has greatly suffered.

Why do we keep coming back and buying merchandise? Well, there are several possible reasons. My personal reasoning, is that Even though I don't care for the current direction, I know well enough that every year the franchise is given an opportunity to go back to basics and try again, and buying merchandise helps to fund the next year of shows; more money coming in typically means more care goes into production. Also, I really liked Shinkenger and buy merchandise to show that (even though Bandai of Japan probably doesn't get much of the BoA profits) in hopes it encourages further quality Sentai shows and by extension better Power Rangers shows. Granted, my logic is flawed considering how good Shinkenger was, and how abysmal Samurai is. Other reasons may be the most common one. Fans by and large are hoarders; we tend tend collect things. Regardless of how much sense it makes, we throw money at things related to something that makes us feel good, filling some kind of hole in our lives to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and live these characters' lives vicariously. Whatever the reason, Saban has us firmly held by the short hairs.

While they have us, what can we do to make sure we're actually HAPPY about giving up our money? It's simple. We get involved. We can get involved in the industry as writers, effects artists, producers, directors, maybe even actors. It's not impossible for us to have a stake in the development of something we love to ensure its longevity for the coming generation.

Just for you iTunes users

So, as I was trolling around the world wide weberverse, I stumbled across something interesting. Nippon Columbia's sub-label Nipponophone has released a near complete collection of opening and closing theme songs for the last 35 years of Super Sentai on iTunes GLOBALLY. All of Gokaiger's Getter ending variants are missing, though it's understandable and we at least get the (correct me if I'm wrong) 199 Hero Battle version. These collections are broken up into 7 volumes.

You can either buy individual tracks for $0.99, or whole albums for $9.90. If I were an iTunes user, I'd totally get MagiRanger and TimeRanger's themes right off the bat, but for now I can only content myself with the hopes that they'll be available soon for Google Play, or lust after the physical discs.

If I dig up any more info, I'll update. In the mean time, here's the links to each individual album.

Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5
Volume 6
Volume 7

Engine Sentai Go-onger Versus Power Rangers RPM - Part 2

So, after taking a look at Engine Sentai Go-onger, I was fairly unimpressed. It was completely episodic, and the events in one episode rarely left an impact on future episodes save for scant character development. Disney's last developed season of the Power Rangers franchise took a decidedly different approach than it did with shows like Dino Thunder and Mystic Force, not only in formula, but also in tone. Power Rangers RPM stars a cast of young adults, no younger than 17, and no older than 25 (though no ages are actually given, this is just based on personalities and roles and success/failures prior to donning a morpher). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the main cast was supposed to be that old since Time Force. As an adult, I find it easier to believe this part about our central characters having passed those ages already. Buying that anyone other than Summer is under 21 would be a real stretch, and I think Disney understood that when this show was in pre-production. So, we are left to guess the character's ages. The only one we get a hint about is Summer, but we'll get to that later.

So, the series starts us off with something different than normal. We are treated to a monologue that gives us a little bit of information about the global events that lead up to the start of the pilot episode. A self-aware computer virus called Venjix, has taken over nearly all of man-kind’s machines that were connected to the internet. He’s used the machines to build foot soldiers and all sorts of nasty robots to remove the human imperfection from the earth. Why? Because he’s evil. Okay, whatever. Our narrator is begging anyone who hears her transmission to flee to the domed city of Corinth. Why? Well, it turns out that Corinth may very well be humanity’s last vestige against the super virus, Venjix, and his army. Protected by a force field dome, this city has grown and prospered, keeping the semblances of pre-apocalypse Earth civilization alive. It’s often stated in the series that Corinth holds the last of humanity, but we find out that that’s not exactly accurate later. So, the audience is left to assume that it’s the last standing city. I take issue with this, but I’ll keep my mouth shut on that for the time being.

Our Tommy of the series, Dillon, driving around in his old muscle car in a vast desert wasteland watering a single flower that has just started to grow. Already, we know he’s going to be a “rebel with a heart of gold”. And since no pilot episode can go by without a fight scene in the first few minutes, we see the grunts of the season, Grinders. Fight, punch, win, no surprise. As Dillon dusts himself off, he get help up at gunpoint from behind by a shrimp-ish dude in a ripped suit demanding a ride and some water. Dillon, already knows that the “gun” is actually a broken muffler, calls the little man out on his bluff, and stares him down. After an exchange where Dillon reveals he doesn’t remember his name, past or anything, and the would-be attacker calls himself Ziggy from the last known human city, Corinth.

So, that's the opening scene. To avoid going on too long, let's go through with the character studies and then summarize as much as I can.

Scott Truman: Red Ranger and former fighter pilot. He assumes the role of leader naturally due to his background in the military, influence to his father, and out of a sense of responsibility from the death of his brother (yes, that's right, we have an off-screen death in the first episode) who was his squad leader before the Ranger team was formed. He proves that he's not perfect, but tries to be level-headed and rarely loses his cool. Dillon is really the only one who knows how to push his buttons by thumbing his nose at authority.

Flynn McAllistair: Blue Ranger and team mechanic. This Scottish dynamo has a lot of heart and has always dreamed of being a hero to the people. The weird thing is, when he tries to be a hero, he fails miserably. When he just reacts to a dangerous situation, he always comes out on top. He twice tries to assist the team with his new inventions, both times meeting with failure and shame, but quickly fixes the problem and saves the day. Clearly he needs to do some more beta testing rather than rushing a product out the door. This actually fits in well with his personality. As mentioned, when he goes out of his way to try to do something it inevitably blows up in his face. When he has a knee-jerk reaction, he's spot on. His inventions and his childhood attempts of defending the public good are both evidence of this. His bluecollar auto-mechanic father, only shown a couple of times, plays a surprisingly large role in his development as a character. He feel obligated to make his father proud, to show his father he can make a better life for himself using the values taught to him as a child, but is ashamed that his fantastical dreams of herodom are a disappointment. It's this above all that I think is why his instincts are so refined while his critical thinking is lacking. However, once he visits his father to find him asleep in a rather comfy looking armchair with a scrap book filled with all of the news scraps of his (Flynn's) deeds as a Power Ranger, Flynn has a really powerful unspoken connection with his father, knowing he's made his humble father proud. This moment is actually one of my favorites in the whole franchise.

Summer Landsdown: Yellow Ranger and debutante turned rogue. Summer comes from a wealthy family who (unknown to her) has gone broke since the end of the world. When her butler and the closest thing to a true friend or father she ever really had dies in her arms (SHOCK!) during the major Venjix attack that drives humanity into seclusion, she is hit with the realization that she's a spoiled little brat with no direction in life. Being the youngest member of the team, the only female (for the first several arcs), and the only person with no real experience in the real world has forced her to mature the fastest. She develops as a solid character quickly, and proves her worth in the world, hoping to make her deceased friend proud. Her naivete has kept her from becoming too jaded and she's still able to see the good in people, and she's the most willing to support controversial decisions surrounding Dillon in finding his past. She makes a pact with her parents to be on her own for a year to find herself, if she agrees to wed a blue-blood to keep the family out of the streets. When the anniversary of the agreement passes, and her parents come-a calling, Summer mournfully agrees to hold up her end of the bargain rather than fight it every inch. During this plot, she shows her ingenuity by faking the wedding ceremony with an unlikely body double to lure out a villain. Her parents' financial troubles come to light, but they agree to call of the charade in the aftermath and share a tender moment with their estranged daughter.

Ziggy Grover: Green Ranger and former mafioso. Ziggy is a schemer who can't scheme, a mobster who can't follow protocol, and a Ranger who can't keep his head in the game. At least at first. He's nervous, twitchy, conniving, friggin hilarious. He actually becomes a Power Ranger trying to follow Dr. K's orders by keeping the Green Ranger morpher safe, and is force to permanently bond with it to keep the ranger technology out of villainous hands. His nonthreatening antics that first introduce him to Dillon seem to endear the leather rebel to this jokester, and they are largely inseparable, with Dillon always willing to stick up for little Ziggy whenever he gets in too deep. He's one of those characters who has a huge personality, and makes dozens of tiny character changes as the series progresses. It's clear a lot of care went into this character when he was written, which is good since characters like him walk a fine line between adoringly comical and obnoxious. One revelation about Ziggy that occurs about mid-way, that is kind of central to the series' closing scene, is not something I will discuss, as I want to keep the ending to this series as spoiler-free as I can, but I will say it may make your eyes well up a bit with how selfless it is.

Dillon: Black Ranger and the closest we get to a Tommy as the franchise has ever gotten besides more Tommy. This character is literally a rebel without a cause. He knows nothing about his past for most of the show, other than at some point he was essentially turned into a cyborg with experimental Venjix technology. While this plot device is used a lot, it has the added benefit of making him an angry ball of clay that the events of the series shapes. Again, a lot of care went into this character, as they were really careful not to over do it. He gradually develops a relationship with Summer, and even finds family. There isn't much else to say other than he has one of those faces you've seen before, but you can never place it.

Gem and Gemma: Gold and Silver Rangers respectively. These hyperactive siblings come into play and shake things up. Thought to be long dead, these relics of Dr. K's past burst into the scene ready to make everything explode. Seriously, these two have a severe hyperactive disorder and are obsessed with explosions. They also finish each other's sentences. They're creepy. Really creepy. Like those twins from The Shining. Thankfully, being exposed to so much stimuli lets them stop acting in tandem and they start to act like two individuals instead of a hive-mind. I don;t really start to like either of them until Flynn's attempt at constructing a "Road Attack Zord". Gemma bonds closely with Flynn, and they develop a sort of crush on each other, resulting in Flynn asking her out. Gem, knowing jealousy for the first time, expressing his dislike for the whole affair, guilt trips his sister offscreen and she declines. But, there's still a little spark from then on. Oh, and they die. It's sad and really dramatic. Fear not! They manage to come back to life after the big bad is beaten, so Flynn/Gem shippers can still hope.

Doctor K: The inventor of the Ranger technology and super short with a bad haircut. Much like Operation Overdrive's explanation, she taps into the morphing grid and makes cool stuff. Gem and Gemma were her lab rats for testing her tech in the thinktank they lived in. She was essentially kidnapped as a very young child and forced to create stuff and solve complex problems for a bunch of no-faced suits who kept her inside the bunker by explaining she was sick and allergic to the sunlight. When she finds a butterfly fluttering around and follows it, she passes by a tiny window/air vent thingy (it looks like an archer's barricade) and sunlight splashes on her face. Not bursting into flames and exploding in a pool of death, she realizes she's been made a fool of and unleashed the AI virus, Venjix, into the compound's security systems to try to flee. She is caught, and before she can launch the kill code to stop the virus from leaving the network and infecting the world, she gets busted. Gem and Gemma save her, and seemingly die in an inferno as the virus self-destructs the compound before heading off to be an evil computer virus. So, Dr K is responsible for the end of the world. Hey, at least she made a mark in the history books. Okay, more like a smoldering crater the size of North America, but still. So, to assuage her guilt, she improves on the Ranger Series technology to combat her evil brain child. More stuff happens, and she 's still short as hell.

Colonel Mason Truman: Scott's father. He clearly is proud of his son, but can't show it as he is essentially in charge of the safety of presumably the last city on Earth and his only living son is leading the charge against a nigh immortal threat bent on killing them all. He feels letting his emotions get the better of him could lead to humanity's end, which is kind of understandable. What's not understandable, is that he never gave himself time to grieve for his eldest son. One would assume that bottling something like that up would lead to an outburst at the wrong time or an easily exploitable weakness for the enemy. So, since he had to be all cold and stony, his son, Scott, felt he had to be as well. Eventually they reconcile, but that wall has been there for so long, I doubt their family would have ever recovered.


The Good:
This series is the most mature out of all of them. As the last Disney entry in the franchise, this was a real high note.The characters were great, the villain was threatening (until he got himself a face, meh), the twists were believable, and the cinematography was GREAT. I know a lot of people hate the civilian powers, and they did get rid of them for this entry in Power Rangers, though they did add a new power for the main five in their morphed state. There was so much new footage shot, that this could hardly be considered an adaptation of Go-Onger at all.

The Bad:
The fight with Venjix was a little weak. I do like it when the final battle isn't done in Zords, but this one felt lacking. It had such built up, only to have a mediocre release, that I keep expecting the villain to come out of the explosion all charred and cut up and try to chock Scott (as the leader, it's his job to be choked by the baddie) while everyone is high-fiving.

Summer's age is the only confirmed age we have. Venjix attacked on her 16th birthday, and a couple of days later, she arrives at Corinth and makes the pact with her parents for a year of freedom. Assuming her parents gave her an extra month or two, she would be a little over 17. She ain't no 17 years old. I don't buy that for one second. Nineteen, maybe. MAYBE. But not seventeen. If a seventeen year old girl who was raised to be a snob and only had a year to find her path could make THAT big of a change in character, I'll shave a penis in my chest hair. If she were 18 and forced with some responsibilities (like overseeing some small part of her parents' financial empire) by the time the world ended, then I could maybe see it. Early twenties would be more believable. But no, we're told she's 17, and before arriving in Corinth lived a life of ignorant indulgence. We're told this, and we're shown this, and I don't like it one bit.


The Ugly:
Do the writers really expect us to believe that when the domed city of Corinth was being engineered, that the blueprints were shared with NO ONE? Or that no one else thought of a similar safe haven? I find it hard to believe that Corinth houses the last humans on the planet outside of Venjix's guinea pigs. At times this notion can ruin an episode for me. In fact, being reminded of this during the opening sequence made me feel dour quite often, so I just skip it when I revisit this season.

Summary:
Engine Sentai Go-Onger is a nice show full of camp, but whatever substance it may have had is so bogged down by its extensive cast of characters and episodic format, that it's hard to remember much of a story. I'm surprised their camper didn't have a spotlight episode dedicated to it. Giving the mechs character roles was a mistake in my book, and made the show really hard to sit through.

Power Rangers RPM trimmed the fat from 24 featured characters down to 9 (I am counting Gem and Gemma as a single person). With a unique and entertaining story to the franchise, humor in all the right places, and most of the action being spot-on, this was a lot of fun to watch. Yes, I know I didn't write up a synopsis on Tenaya. I wanted to, but felt like it may lead to too much of a spoiler for that closing scene.

Versus Results:
If you have a kid who just likes bright lights and sounds, pop in some Go-Onger. However, if you are looking for a story befitting a post-college age group, you can't go wrong with Power Rangers RPM. It may be a little tame for adult audiences, but there's nothing wrong with that at all, and it's still age-appropriate for children. RPM is a great family show regardless of your age with more than enough elements to please viewers of all ages.

Why do I like PR/Sentai?

Having grown up with the Power Rangers series, I want to explore how I think of the franchise now, rather than what I thought of it twenty years ago. I also want to explore the Super Sentai franchise, which started it all. While both series as a whole try to target children, it's clear that there is plenty for adults to enjoy as well. While the mature undertones are subtle, they serve more to remind parents of their own pasts and fantasies all while keeping in mind that a child's brain is a sponge, constantly on the brink of over stimulation from absorbing so much new information. The maturity can get lost in the muddle of what, in a few years, can become everyday for a kid.

Before I proceed, I want to impress that when I use the word "mature", I am not necessarily referring to sexual content as the word is often used today, but rather I am referring to themes or instances that a typical child just wouldn't typically totally grasp (and if they have, they need a hug from someone who cares about their well-being). These situations could be some form of social problem, a common issue for anyone (divorce, physically or emotionally violent abuse, et cetera)

At least in the sentai series I have seen so far, the only things we Americans would consider "too mature" are instances of sexual harassment. But, this is a common issue for Japanese girls on public transportation (just google "chikan" or "Japanese groping laws"). Young women and girls are often groped or otherwise improperly touched by an older man on trains and buses, so seeing a strong young woman on a TV show being molested only to in turn exclaim her displeasure and soundly beat the everliving snot out of him, shows that the show is socially conscious and want these girls to stand up for themselves.

Power Rangers has its fair share of mature moments. Take Power Rangers Samurai. While the episode where Emily realized she was strong because of how often she was insulted was taken directly from Shinkenger, this is a pretty serious topic here. She has been berated, ridiculed, and brought down SO MUCH for her clumsiness, that words can't hurt her anymore, even when faced with a monster whose words have real and devastating power. That much emotional scarring should take DECADES to really make someone completely impervious to insults. I was birthed with an extremely unfortunate name, a (admittedly slight) physical deformity, a stutter, and a social awkwardness that would make any psychiatric professional roll up their sleeves, and even I still feel hurt when insulted for these things, even with the love from my wife and children behind me every day. Emily's torment would have to have been so, so much more than anything I have experienced to temper her against ridicule. Bullying is an issue that most children have to overcome, and for most, it goes away towards the end of high school when everyone else their age is faced with the real world and its own horrors. This example is just depressing. Then take Nick from Mystic Force. No mom, no dad, no siblings. Just foster homes. While I'm sure his adoptive family loved him greatly, he clearly never felt the connection that you would feel with your biological family (in many cases). A piece of him was ripped away when he was removed from his family (who he would later be reunited with...as an adult). Forces beyond his control alienated him from really being able to open up to anyone, to even trust anyone. He felt he was FORCED to be brave to survive the day to day, to stand out as someone could could be alone, who should be alone, and who was better off keeping everyone at arm’s reach. In Ninja Storm, Cam's father symbolically, died in front of him. While his dad was technically still able to be there to guide him, the familiar face he had known his whole life was ripped away in a single, violent moment.

This is why I still like Power Rangers, and why I think many grown-ups in the East still are willing to watch Super Sentai with their own children. There's something that resonates with us throughout our whole lives, which reminds us that (though fictional) someone understands our hardships. We saw them experience it or reminisce about it, and then either use it to their advantage, or overcome it completely. We want to do that too. We want to know that no matter how bad things are as we get older, there's always going to be a smile at the end waiting for us.

Legend Mobirates and Go-Busters Keyset Review

New Ranger Key sets forthcoming

The next sets are to come are Hurricanenger and Boukenger, hitting shelves for 1,050 yen very soon, with a date announcement next month.
Not much to say, it's the core 5, as the extra heroes and sixth rangers are not present. I'm fairly certain they will be in their own set, if packaged at all. I may get the Hurricaneger set, but probably not the Boukenger set. I didn't care for those costumes, and I can just get the red ranger in one of the previous sets. I already have Hurricane Red, so I'll just give the candy toy one to my son or daughter (depending on who annoys me about it the least, lol).

source: http://www.b-boys.jp/sentai/legend/

Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger Legend Mobirates has arrived!

Also to be reviewed are a new HD Alpha figure, 4 new candy toys, and the Groundion headder!

Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad is BACK!

The short-lived American import of Gridman starring Matthew Lawerance is currently under a small revival on Jaroo.com. Currently only 5 episodes air each week, with the next cycle rotating in every Wednesday.

If we can get the popularity of this show up on the ranks, perhaps we may even get a DVD release one day.

Check it out!

Toy Reviews #2

Just a Quick Update

Did you ever like Power Rangers? Do you still like Power Rangers? If you're here, then the answer should be obvious. Help convince the powers-that-be to release complete season box sets on DVD (with special features and subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing...like me). Sign the petition here: http://www.petitiononline.com/PRsets/petition-sign.html

Now that that's out of the way, I finally got my hands on the candy toy for GoZyuJin, more ranger keys, and another HD Alpha. Plus, I'm going to take a leaf from Brad Jones (the Cinema Snob) and review Not See Kola! I'm really excited about this. I just gotta get in front of a camera for a few hours (GoZyuJin is gonna take some time to review, it's in 3 boxes) and then edit it. I'm also still writing my second part of Go-Onger VS RPM. It's not quite where I want it yet, and as long as it is, I still feel like there's a ton missing. I may have to write out a third part for final thoughts rather than trying to fit it all in as I go...we shall see how it turns out. In any case, that's where I am with things, so hang tight!