Sentai Month: My Top Ten Favorite Super Sentai Series

Well the time has finally come, I have did many top ten list for Sentai, but I never did a list of my personal favorites. Now I haven't seen every series so don't flame me for not having your favorite. Also if there is one not on this list you can send me any information on how to find them. So let's start!

10. Liveman

Whenever fans talk about the 80's what usually comes up is Bioman, Maskman, and Liveman. I only finished watching one of the three, but I promise to watch Maskman when I get more free time. Another thing with these three series is that they are known for being dark and I mean dark. There are great members, but I actually only like the first three. The other two are okay, but just never got much attachment for me. Then there was that ending which fans mostly do agree was pretty bad for being very rushed. The filler episodes are okay at times, but it was mostly the main story plots that got me. Overall it's a good series and many fans love it, for me I don't love it as much, but I can easily see why people adore this series.

9.Gekiranger

Gekiranger was a very interesting series I will say. The main hero was very hyper active and you think some of the fans would hate that. Jan was well done as they really made great character moments for him, but that is a flaw as well. Jan did take too much of the spotlight. This is not the worst example of red focus though as the others do get big moments with the other two main getting most. Geki Violet to me really got ignored at points and the same for Chopper. Oh well the series had a nice story along with one of my favorite villains Mele. The action is a big saver for the series as well as the mecha battles are so great. It didn't do much of the clustering that we saw in the series before and after it. The biggest flaw I find with this series though is some of the filler episodes as the comedy for them just hit the ground. If it kept a darker feel which it did for main story plot points, it would be higher on the list. Not saying comedy is bad, but blending them is very hard to do.

8. Sun Vulcan

Look guys a Sentai series that actually had a spy motif and didn't change! Sun Vulcan is a very fun series as it's very fast paced for it's time and it doesn't feel it's lacking anything. Also even though I haven't finished Denjiman I love seeing how this Sentai is a sequel to it. It brings a classic villain back for another go. This series has some of favorite designs as I love how the three members look and their robot is another big personal favorite of mine. It was the first three teamed Sentai and it gave a path for many to follow as this a common trend for beginnings in Sentai. Then that opening, oh that opening theme! Finally as I said for it's time the action was well done and it was more of a comedic series so it got some laughs from me. Sun Vulcan is a classic and the series still shines brightly in the franchise.

7.Shinkenger

Shinkenger was very big for when it came and many fans still go back to it saying it was one of the best during the 2000's. I easily agree with this, Shinkenger shows more of a blend with humor and comedy. There are very comedic moments, but it doesn't hurt the serious feel. I mean Geki Gold is an overall comedic character yet he is the smartest and easily one of the most helpful ones in the team. Now the red focus was here, but not like Goseiger though. It makes sense for the leader to be the main focus and it makes more sense here since it follows a samurai and his retainers. The characters were well used and easily work as supporters so they worked around with the red focus. One thing that bring this series down though were the mech fights. I personally really hated the mechs they were big and clunky, they even moved in odd ways. Overall it's a series that holds a strong story and cast, but the mech action is not that good in comparison.

6. Go-onger

Now you probably know that I love Go-onger. This was my first Super Sentai series so of course it left an impact on me. First I will say that the series is more on the random humor factor. I personally love random humor and with the high energy the series has it works very well. I could never guess what was going to happen so that always surprised me about the series. Also with there are running gags, but they done correctly and aren't just occurring when it just did a couple of seconds ago. The heroes are still some of my favorites as their personalities really jump out. Now the robots did get clustered, but that was closer to the end and it was really only G-12 that bugged me. The villains are fun, nothing special though, but I still love them. Overall the series is more of a guilty pleasure for me and it holds many memories for me. I guess I got some blindness for Go-onger, but I really love for what it is. Go-onger is very humorousness and yes the series does hit dark parts, but they come at good times. So yea I love Go-onger, but it's not in the top five for many reasons.

5. Dekaranger

Now if you're not a fan of police shows this series could work for you or not. Personally it works with me a whole lot. It's a different turn on cop dramas as it still sticks to the Sentai tropes. Now I will agree there is really no big story and in ways that could lose some investment. Each episode though really highlights on the traits and bonds for the characters and that really keeps me invested. Tons of great heroes in this series as Deka Blue is my all time favorite Blue Warrior. Then finally for me this is the second best blend of humor and comedy in the franchise. There are many moments where I laughed too much I was coughing. Going back to the lack of a big story then this connects to most of the villains just being fun to watch. They are criminals and that's it. So there are some things lacking for Dekaranger, but it really saves itself thanks to one of the best casts.

4. Jetman

Onto the beginning of the 90's there was Jetman. This is probably the biggest Sentai still since many fans get interested in it when hearing it was originally going to be the first Power Ranger series. It was not used since it was too violent and boy it is violent. Then the villains called the Vyram and one of the best villain groups as this series holds my all time favorite villain Grey. Each character goes through hard times and learns something from it. There will be many feels for this series as the characters do go through a lot. Then I can't forget about the greatness that is Gai! Oh he is so awesome! Easily one of the most badass warriors. Finally as I said before the Jetman go through a lot and they help each other to go on and continue their fight. It can be dark, but the series is also very uplifting.

3. Boukenger

Ready for an adventure? Well if you want one Boukenger is right for you. Again this is a Sentai that lacks a big story, but with the many villains and character plot points it saves itself from that flaw. There are many character moments as even the villains can have big moments. Bouknger is another series that holds one of my favorite cast members and characters. The villains are strong and they really give a challenge to the heroes powers and morals. The mecha action was very fun as it did start the clustering path, but it's nothing like we have now. Each episode except for the flashback episode, had a big sense of adventure and it helped give something to our heroes. For me this is the best series to get me pumped as there are many high packed moments of suspense and relief. Overall Boukenger is an adventure that never gets boring.

2. Gokaiger

Just wow, when this series came fans were overly happy. I bet now many fans say that Gokaiger should be one of the firsts to watch in the franchise. I would not disagree with that. It's a perfect series that shows what the franchise is. It's a great tribute series as it's probably the best anniversary I have seen in anything entertainment wise. I just got can't hold back on why I love this series with a passion. Another series with some of the best characters ever. Now the villains were lacking except for one, Basco! Going on though I find the villains to be tributes to the older style of villains sort of like how like how Kyoryuger  is with theirs. Some of the best action and mech fights. There isn't much bad with this series except for some parts that are slightly weak in comparison. Each character has many moments and is very balanced out. Still there is one other Sentai series that is even closer to perfection to me.

1. Dairanger

Now this is my absolute favorite. This is the number one best blend of comedy and humor. The best mech action. The best suit action. The best out of suit action. Finally my all time favorite cast. Dairanger just hits me with a wave of positivity. The Dairanger series is the closest thing to perfection except for one villain.... I love each member of the team and Kaku is my all time favorite mentor. Like in Boukenger and Dekaranger each episode can highlight on a character's traits and Dairanger does this very well with arcs. Each character has some arc where they interact with certain characters. Lin and Kou dealt with Akomaru, Souji had to deal with the three idiots, Kazu protected Kameo, Daigo fell in love with Kujaku, and Ryou had to fight his greatest rival Jin. I loved this style of story telling and there are fillers that show more of the character's strong traits. This though is a series that had an odd ending, but it still leaves at a good thought of the battle of good and evil. So that's my list. Now I will have to do an overall favorite Toku shows list at some point, but I am going to really wait for that cause I need to see way more series to have a big opinion on it. Feel free to comment on your favorites.

Sentai Month: Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters Review

Oh Go-busters how I had to stop reviewing you because of my personal life. All I can say if I kept continuing episode reviews for this series it would have been the same complaint over and over again when the show went into the aftermath arc. So what are my thoughts on the this "spy" motif series, well we are going to find out.

Go-busters follows the story of three heroes who gained their powers thirteen years ago since a virus broke out. This virus was completely out of control and soon a whole group of scientists had to give three kids a vaccine program and leave them so that they can seal this virus away. During those thirteen years these three have been training for the day that it comes back. This foe does return, but he has more than one would think. During his time in the subspace he made an avatar to do his bidding and with the virus' power he can make new robots to attack the city. The virus Messiah though only cares for Enertron so that he can escape from the Subspace and bring havoc to the humans. His avatar, Enter has other plans though as he basically only uses Messiah to get what he wants. Our three heroes have been training for very long and are ready to finally take down the virus that changed their lives and took their families. Sadly there are some bugs with the team as they have weak points from the vaccine program. The leader Hiromu has a fear of chickens and whenever he sees one he freezes up yet his true powers is to go super fast. Ryuji the blue member can overheat and completely go crazy in the battlefield with his super strength. With Yoko the yellow and only female member she needs calories to keep working and if she runs out she cannot move, but when she is pumped she can jump higher than any man possible. Each hero though comes with a Buddyroid to assist them in their lives as they have been together for the whole thirteen years. Nick, a motorcycle robot that has no sense of direction is with Hiromu as he is a good teacher for Hiromu at times. Gorisaki, the overly worried Gorrila robot is with Ryuji as the two never had any struggle with each other. Usada, a over tempered bunny robot is paired with Yoko as the two act like siblings and have constant fights, but they still care for each other. Hiromu is the leader character who at first wanted to do things by himself, but throughout his experience he learns that teamwork is important, more than once. Ryuji is a calm and mature man who takes care of the team like an older brother as he and Yoko have a close bond. Yoko is a very cheerful person even with her constant anger at times. Soon new character arrive like Escape another avatar made by Messiah who follows his orders completely unlike Enter. Jin was a man who was with the scientists and comes back looking the same he did thirteen years ago! He is a very comedic guy who doesn't act his age at all, but to be honest he is also the most serious member of the team who really is important to the plot. His Buddyroid is Beet J Stag who is actually a Sentai warrior as well. He is far from perfect, but that is what Jin likes as the two have little moments of struggling with each other and a deep bond. J can seem like an idiot, but he honestly has a heart of gold at times and does a lot for his partner.

I must have this here since the series has a complete turn around plot wise. This series was having trouble with the core audience so changes had to be made and so the original plot of the series was done in thirty episodes. The rest of the series is an aftermath like arc. So there will be SPOLIERS here so skip this whole paragraph if you want to. So Messiah was defeated and it seemed everything was over, but Enter and Escape are still alive. Enter uses these cards that have Messiah's powers in them as he wants to revive Messiah by getting data on human emotions since Hiromu a human defeated him in combat. Enter is doing the same he did, but is much more power hungry as he shows that he is aiming for power. Escape is different as she wants to protect Messiah and she knows Enter will only use him while she wants Messiah to rule. So our heroes fight new Metaroids that are made by these cards as they get data from certain human emotions. So the fight continues as our heroes made big sacrifices to just stop Messiah so they want to make sure that Enter and the rest of the Vaglass are fully destroyed.

Cocky villain is changed into a power hungry villain..... *sigh*

Pros- The first thirteen episodes are probably the best you will get from the series. I reviewed those and not every episode from their is a true masterpiece, but they keep honest with the theme they were playing with. These episodes had a huge motif of spies and teamwork as the team thought of many plans to try to counter Enter's. The characters in the first half of the show are completely fine as they are. Hiromu did act more like a solo hero, but he was starting to open up with the others. Ryuji and Yoko were already very close so they have some of the best moments in the series. I love their sibling like bond it was a lot of fun and the show really put a lot of emphasis on this. Jin was another really fun character as I said he can be very funny and yet very serious and essential, but that changes. J is a pure comedic character and even when I didn't enjoy an episode fully he got my smiling or laughing. Then as I said before J does have some shining moments other then comedic ones. Enter could have been one of my favorite villains since in the first part of the show he was a whole lot of fun. He was smart and always had the team in a corner, his plans were near flawless. Now he does keep his genius ideas, it's just how they executed him later was disappointing. The action portion of the show stayed the same luckily as this part of the series didn't have many flaws. The suit action was very well done with great stunts and nice looking effects. I was really surprised on what was done in terms of action as we got some unique moments thanks to the heroes superpowers. I will still say this, the mecha action for this show was some of the best in the franchise. They went back to some basics and improved on them with a great mix of effects. Each of the mechs had importance and could fight on their own with no problems and then when they combine they make powerful robots. The last thing I loved from this series was the designs, I love how the suit for the Buster's looked. The mechs even looked amazing with the Ace being one of my favorite robots of the franchise. Sadly even with pretty effects and great designs there are many story elements that keep the show down.

I so can't wait for this!

Cons- Messiah, I was so hoping for him to be much better. He was completely out of control and had so much power that Enter had to use his trickery to use him. I was expecting for Messiah to be gaining intelligence since he did make Escape on his own when Enter was failing and he made Escape more loyal to him. I was expecting for Messiah to soon be able to overcome Enter and find be the big villain he should have been. The series had to rush the first part though so Messiah was only seen as a big toddler. Escape was a villain that barely had anything, she was plain and boring. She really only a good moment when she was protecting Messiah from Enter. They even tried forcing a rivalry with her and Ryuji as it really got nowhere. The series completely drops a lot of things including the spy theme it had for a while. You will completely forget about Enertron as it will have barely any importance. I mean the whole series in a nut shell can be jokes about "Remember when Go-Busters had....." Going on with that it's mostly because of the re-writing and the aftermath arc. So many things got ruined in this arc of the series. First they completely change Enter to a power hungry villain as he just got too crazy and not in the good way like Kamen Rider Ouja. Enter used what he had, but now they made him a villain who gets what he wants to use. There are also so many things forced into the series like a new mech which the effects for are terrible. There are even power-up forms and they do work with the teamwork motif, but they just make Jin and J useless. Going on with that Jin's and J's importance with the plot only comes near the end of the aftermath arc. There was like one other episode before that where J was trying to do something for Jin and another where we learn more about Jin. So they basically get two episodes for the rest of the series. The whole focus changes as you can tell as Hiromu steals the spotlight as the series feel way too single hero like. Then with all the new things added some effects for the fights are terrible as they added way too many new things and wasted their budget. The series also goes through the Goseiger issue with having too many climaxes making the real climax weak in comparison since we had an ending for the first arc in episode thirty. Finally the biggest thing that gets me about this series is how they repeat so many of the same messages. Even the beginning did this with Hiromu accepting teamwork and it is brought up again in the aftermath since Hiromu tries to do things on his own. That is not the only message they repeat as the sacrifice that was made in the first arc comes up way too much and our heroes should know this already. It is done again in the end of the series and yes it's sad no matter what, but the heroes already know about sacrifices.

Honestly, the most disappointing villains for me in a Sentai

One more thing is that the series has a whole group supporting them. Why am I just mentioning them now since they are the most ignored of the whole series! The series does give these three characters their moments, but in reality they do their job and that is it.

Overall- This series is really split among the fanbase. It's a real love or hate it relationship and when looking back at this series I am in the middle sort of. As I said if the series actually did end at episode thirty I would probably give it a B-. It was a fun series to watch as Enter was great during this and a lot of things were still flawed, still not terrible though, but the aftermath arc just completely ruins the series. To be honest I was thinking this wouldn't be my least favorite Sentai, but when doing this review it probably is. I mean it completely abandons on what the series was originally trying to do. It completely ignored many of it's characters just so that Hiromu could get even more of the spotlight. The series has a downgrading effect cause at a certain point the series just keeps doing down which is surprisingly near around when I stopped doing the episode reviews. There are still good moments, but when you reflect it for the overall feeling it makes me sad. I saw good potential for this series since it was going back to the old ways when adding many new things. There were even twists to avoid cliffhangers, but then the series does them anyways later on. I will say this mission was not a complete failure as I give Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters a D.

It does hurt me to bash on this series though since I had no problems with the cast. It's just so many things went wrong and I cannot ignore it. I thought I was going to give this series a C- at best, but I just couldn't. There are way too many flaws and it just makes me sad. I really hope I can see some of these actors return for another toku or some other show since they deserve better. If you want to watch the series I highly recommend just watching the first thirty cause the other episodes just gives a bad taste in your mouth.

Sentai Month: Top Ten Favorite Robots

For the third week of Sentai Month I will take a look on my favorite robots of the franchise. Now use any term you want for it as there are three common names for them. First is Robot since the first ones were mostly called with the team name with robot at the end. Second is Mecha which is a term that was brought up from anime series like Gundam. Finally there is Megazord which is from Power Rangers, but the in-between fans call them by that name. There really isn't a wrong name so please don't flame me for saying robots. Now I will do one per series and look on their design, different weapons, and any combinations they can make.

10. Daibouken from Boukenger

Starting off is a robot from one of my favorites. This one was built by the formation of five machines that are based on real vehicles, but each show a different way of travel. So the major motif of this robot is adventuring. It clearly does that and with it's equips it shows that well again. The thing can actually use a shovel and a mixer as a weapon. Now the motif does die out when it does bigger combinations, but the base form of this robot is too impressive to stay out of the list.

9. Magi King from Magiranger

Magiranger was a magic series so the biggest thing that this robot should have is a magic theme. Again it shows this well mostly thanks to the hat since it looks like a wizard's hat. Also being formed by other magical beasts helps out as well. Then there are many additional parts that I love about it. First is that it can grow wings! The wings are huge, but it doesn't look funny and seeing it done in battle is well done. Then it can even have a completely change around to form Magidragon. Hence where the wings come from since the team can make a dragon robot. So a good amount of magic used for this robot and it doesn't add on it so the magic just keeps working by itself.

8. Daidenjin from Denjiman

This is the second big robot in the franchise and I really like the older design it brings. Now Denjiman had a higher technology theme so comparing this to Battle Fever Robo does make it looks more high tech. Also it has three main weapons: a sword, ball and chain, and a boomerang. Is there really any other robot with a boomerang? It's a basic robot, but it holds a lot of appeal thanks to some weapon varitey and I still love the sword finisher is has. For the second robot it's design is still pretty good and holds the team's name well. I bet for some it will be shocking to see on the list, but for me it's at home with the number eight spot.

7. Go-Buster Ace from Go-busters

Next week I will take a look at this series, but first is one of their robots. I love it when the red warrior can have a separate robot by himself. This was first done in Dairanger with Ryusei-oh and I love the idea so much. With the Ace it's based on a cheetah as you can tell by looking at the chest. Then there is the warrior motif and it holds that as well. Then this robot is combined with other two buster machines and once with Stag's Buster machine. The Ace itself is strong on it's own and whenever it combines it still gives off it's presence. The Ace had good movement which is surprising to see in some of the recent robots. It was a small build, but it packs a big punch.

6. Dragon Ceasar from Zyuranger

Now when I was a child I knew this as the Dragon Zord and completely loved it. I still do love this robot a whole lot. First it easily has a giant monster feel to it which is something that was very different for the 90's. It has a really big look to it thanks to some parts being slightly bulky, but it's good since it makes the robot look strong. Also it could fight on it's own as well make it's own combination with the team. When changed into the warrior form it uses it's drill as the main weapon. Then there is when Ceasar becomes the top part of Daizyujin. The importance this robot had was huge since it came during the best part of Zyuranger and helped the team out tons of times.

5. Gekitouja from Gekiranger

What I love about the robots the most is how they can move as this for me is the last free moving combined robot. So many other robots become clustered and it just hinders on the action portion of their shows. Gekitouja though holds a lot of originality even though it has a beast motif which is very common. The major weapon it had was a rod that could snap to act more like kung chucks. The whole torso can even spin around! When it combined with the other machines then it still carried it's presence and never really had a clustered combination. It was fast moving and even though red does take over in the overall design this mech gets the number five spot for using basics very well.

4. Gozyujin from Gokaiger

Another six ranger mech takes the number four spot for the amount of amazing callbacks it has. First it has a ship form which is based on Timeranger, but that form does make me think of the ship machines in the first two Sentai. Then it has a T-rex form and it's very similar to Dragon Ceasar as it has a drill for a tail. Then comes Abaranger's part and thanks to the overall Dino theme this mech has it helps. Gozyujin is a very good mecha as it's design is nice looking with blue, silver, and gold. Gokai-oh was good as well, but it did cluster at a point. Gozyujin does combine with it yes, but there is no way I couldn't let this guy not be on the list.

3. Sun Vulcan Robo from sun Vulcan

Again this is an older mecha, but I still see this as a big personal favorite of mine. First I love the colors it uses as it all blends well. Then this robot has another one of my favorite finishers, again basic, but it does it in the best way. This robot has a good amount of weapons as it carries a sword, can fire it's own hands, cannons, and a twist on the ball and chain that was used in Denjiman. Again since it's basic it's hard to really describe it, but it does everything in the best way possible as I know many fans would agree that this robot is awesome. So overall it's like Denjiman's robot in many ways, but it improves on the factors it had.

2. Ryuuseioh and Won Tiger from Dairanger

I couldn't pick between these two as they come from my favorite Sentai series. Both of these robots are fast moving and hold tons of great themes. First Ryuuseioh is a dragon warrior while Won Tiger is a tiger warrior both are Chinese beast and their warrior forms are nice and built well. Ryuuseioh is known for his kick move while Won Tiger is known for the blasts of energy it can make. Then both combine into their own robot and both are just amazing. Dairen-oh is a samurai and the armor looks awesome. Again another personal finisher of mine that one holds. Then there is Kibadaioh that improves on Won Tiger's look and holds another favorite finisher of mine. The biggest reason I love these two so much though is for their beast forms as so much work is done for them. Ryuuseioh had tons of wire work with it as Won Tiger had a similar way, but on the ground. Both moved very well as seeing the use of practical effects is top notch.

1. Jet Icarus from Jetman

Now this robot takes all the things I love the most about the giant robots. First the use of the bird motif is very present. Second is that it has many weapons that it can use in battle. There's a sword, hammer, axe, lance, daggers, ball and chain, a shield, and it can fire it's fists! Holy crap that's a lot of weapons! Then it even has a bird form called the Icarus Hawken. Next is when it combines with the Jet Garuda and you can still see the Icarus which is something Zyuranger picked up from. It was fast moving as well. Finally it has amazing finishers with the Icarus Hawken having my all time favorite finisher. There is so much greatness with this robot and if Jetman was the first Power Ranger series I would have completely loved seeing this one as a child. So that is my list and has I said before next week I take a look on the series I forgot for a while, Go-busters.

Sentai Month: Rant: Super Sentai Movies

Welcome to the second week of Sentai Month and for this day I will do my first rant. I have reviewed some of the Sentai movies before. Mostly with Gokaiger recently, but this still lives on. I mean the Sentai movies that shouldn't even count as movies. This is a big personal thing I got with the franchise and I am surprised they are still doing this. Now to be exact I am talking about the movie that usually comes out in the Spring now these days. Now what I like are the Versus movies since most of them are an actual film. So let's begin with my first rant.

As I said before the Sentai movies shouldn't even count as films. I mean they are only like half an hour! I know they play this along with the Kamen Rider movie in a double feature, but I would at least think both films would be an hour at best. I remember seeing the Shinkenger movie as it has a run time of twenty minutes, that's shorter than an actual episode! Even if there is a rider movie coming up next that is unacceptable and is a slap to the face for the fans. If the Versus movies can be around an hour why can't these films? Is it really that hard to add an extra half an hour or to be exact forty more minutes! This is another flaw with the franchise because if the rider movie is longer, which film will people remember more? Probably the film that actually has the longer run time since the rider movies usually have a plot and do some exploration with the elements. With these short Sentai movies it just feels like a rejected episode with no character focus what so ever.

Go-busters the Movie had a run time of thirty minutes so this trend is still recent.

Now unlike the Buster's movie the other movies don't really have a difference in the quality. Going back to the Shinkenger movie nothing looks that different. Whenever a series gets a movie there is usually a big change in how things look. Remember in PR Samurai they used both of the movies for the Clash of the Red Ranger special and the Go-onger vs Shinkenger footage looked different, but the Shinkenger movie footage looks just like the series. The older movies have done this as well as it just kills the feeling of a movie as it still feels like a rejected episode for the series.

One thing that the rider and Sentai movies have in common is that they show new things in the movies. Again this is for the toy sales, but the Sentai movies do it so wrong. I mean really in the Buster movie the Frog mech was only used once and it came back for a short moment in the series. The same for Shinkenger and Goseiger. So many other movies do this as well as it just seems forced. At least rider movies use these movie forms a little more in the series or in the other movies. Look at Fourze's Rocket States it was used for three episodes in the series when it was near the end. Heck it was used in the final battle. Double Golden Extreme was used in the movies and even OOO's Burakawani form is used in the Wizard and Fourze movie. Now not everything in the rider movies is used twice, but at least most of them are used again. This will then lead to my next point about the movies, how important they are to the series.

Boukenger used this mech for the movie and two episodes.

The biggest gripe I have with the Sentai movies is then how unimportant they are to the overall canon of the series. As I said the movies feel like rejected episodes and don't add any character development at all. I mean the characters do learn something, but do we see this in the series, not really. Heck even the main villains aren't even involved in the movies. The overall movie just feels ignored then and just bringing it back up in one episode doesn't count. Kamen Rider Double movies had some big connections to the series and other movies. The NEVER group and how they are zombies actually come up in the series and then the group as a prologue movie. Kamen Rider Skull is a really big character in the overall plot when you learn about him, he was even connected to Shroud. Heck most of the time when the movie mech or weapon comes into the series they just use it in a Sentai movie at times.

So that is my view on the rejected episodes of Sentai that somehow count as movies. They are so short and have nothing important in them. I usually tend to ignore these since they just feel like a waste of time so I am saying I haven't seen them all. They just make me mad since the Versus movies are ten times better! This is why I love Gokaiger, they did have the short useless movie, but they had the awesome 199 movie, the team up with Gavan, and the recent Go-buster versus movie. Gokaiger actually has 3 movies that I can call movies as they bring something new and feel like something. I really hope this trend will die and the franchise starts to make actual movies for the so called double feature as this could help with the popularity issues the franchise is having right now. So that's done and I need to go to something positive so next time it will be about the robots that fight the giant monsters! One more thing please be say your thoughts, but don't come swearing at me just saying you love them. Please tell me why.

Sentai Month: My Thoughts on the Super Sentai Franchise

 To begin Sentai month I will describe my personal reactions to the franchise. First I have to say this, I don't hate Super Sentai series. If you seen some of my reviews I am very positive about the franchise. That doesn't mean I got some personal issues and there are some series that just make me grind my teeth together. So let's start with a personal bias I have.

There is a reason why I have a Kamen Rider image in this post and this brings me to the first point. I am a bigger fan of Kamen Rider and that is mostly because of the single hero motif. I just like it more compared to team motives. For example I say both Amazing Spiderman and The Avengers and I liked Spiderman more. This is because a single hero series really focuses on the main character and tells his story. With Sentai it's a team and it's hard to have a story for every member. Now not all Sentai have this issue. There is the red focus issues though that some recent Sentai series have been doing and I'm not the biggest fan for it. I guess this also goes with having too many characters, like Shonen manga and anime. Again not every Sentai does this. There are some though that have too many characters and sadly some will have to be ignored. Look at Go-busters it had three people helping the team and yet we didn't learn much about them. So this is a bias I will admit to that, but I won't give a series a low grade because of this. It's only when a Sentai completely ignores characters including team members. It's a team series and I can see why people can like that more than a single hero. For me personally though I like the idea of having a main hero with secondaries coming in later like Kamen Rider series.

Kamen Rider VS Super Sentai, an endless debate.

Now continuing on with Kamen Rider I feel some of the recent Sentai series have been influenced by some rider series. I mentioned the red focus before and sometimes the leader gets too much focus and it doesn't feel much as a team series anymore. Now with the broadcast wars I will say Kamen Rider is more popular since it had that resting period while Sentai continued on. I mean we are talking about 37 straight years there is bound to be a bad egg in the mix. I know Kamen Rider isn't perfect either, but since it was gone for a while when it came back it had explosive results. Then Sentai followed a motif that was started in Kamen Rider, the power in the pocket motif. Den-o was the first as the hero held a pass in his pocket that could lead him to transform. It was Sentai though that used it to what it is today, small collectable items. Go-onger came up and used this idea and it was very high with humor and wackiness, like Den-o. Then the most recent influence was with Go-busters since the series had too much focus on Hiromu and his rivalry with Enter. I mean really it felt like Hirmou was alone at times because he fought by himself most of the time. So I do believe Sentai has been trying to get a rider feel at some points, but there are series during this period that step beyond that like Gokaiger.

Now onto the biggest thing the Sentai series has and that is the mecha. Ultraman easily had some influence here since giant battles got people's interests. In the first two series the mecha weren't used, but an airship to be exact. Then came Battle Fever J and the robots started to be used. Now this is a point where people can like Sentai a whole lot or makes them want to fast forward. For me it's a mixed bag. There are amazing mechs in the design portion, but when you see them in battle they can barely even move! There are some mechs that are just plain ugly and do the dumbest things possible. Shinkenger is an example for me cause Shinken-oh did have a nice idea, but when doing it, it falls apart. The mech fights in Shinkenger for me were some of the worst parts of the series. The robot was blocky and had trouble moving at points. Then came the clusters in recent series. Go-onger was the first to do a cluster with G-12 and it looks good, but it just makes the fights sooooo slow. Then there was Shinkenger's cluster which had wheels to move.... yea I find that to be dumb. For me the best era for the robots were the 90's since there were so many cool looking and fast moving mechs. It didn't make a negative for the series and the same for some of the 80's mechs. I guess to be completely honest how mechs are being handled lately, I'm not a fan of it. Hopefully Kyoryuger is going to fix this.

Now one thing that didn't effect me watching it was having knowing of Power Rangers first. I am a person who takes things with a clean slate and watch it through making some marks as the series continue on. I am more of a Sentai fan than a Power Ranger fan, but I won't have hatred for any of these franchises for no reason. The debate between Sentai and Ranger purists can be annoying since I look at it as a coin. Sentai and PR are on the same coin as they are both team hero series. Where the differences are though are the engravings on their sides. Sentai is more mature as it had tons of time to age and only has been having issues recently. Power Rangers did fall to the ground and it took a while for it to come back on it's feet. So I am not saying which franchise is better, but if I look at the series I will say if the original or the adaptation is better.

Again another endless debate

Overall I have no unnecessary hate for Super Sentai. I really only have some biases, but again that doesn't mean I am going to give a Sentai series a lower grade. I will critic them, but some aspects are very different. There are team motives, the mecha, and the how everything plays out. I bet there are also many other things I can talk about, but I'm leaving one thing in particular for the next post, as next time will be the first Rant post.