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Juken Sentai Gekiranger

JyukenSentaiGekirangerTime again to look at another entry in the Super Sentai franchise. This time the show we will be looking at is the 31st entry of the series which debuted in 2006. The martial arts focused team known as the Juken Sentai Gekiranger.

Juken, an ancient form of martial arts where the practitioner mimics animal traits. Two practitioners, Retu Fukami of the Fantastic Technique and Ran Uzaki of the Honest Heart are taught by Grand Master Xie Fu under the guise of the sporting goods company, SCRTC. They train to fight against the Rin Juken School and their Kyonshi (hopping ghosts) who wish to resurrect a great evil. Joined by the feral boy Jyan Kandou of the Unbreakable Body, they become the Juken Sentai Gekirangers.

The team is an interesting bunch to say the least. Retu (the blue) is a man who has mastered various techniques and strives for perfection and Ran (the yellow) is the highly energetic one who is the heart of the group. The two of them resemble the behaviors of the blue and yellow members of the Akaranger team, but are distinct because of their red member. Jyan is annoying to say the least. The feral nature makes him unaware of how to act in too many social situations while at the same time spewing nonsense words like “Waki Waki” and “Gokin Gokin” which have no actual meaning but to Jyan. They get old fast. The other two members that come later do a offer a more appealing performances. Gou (the purple) has to overcome an evil presence which turns him into a werewolf and ken (the white) offers a more whimsical aspect to the team. A pretty decent team other than Jyan’s behavior.

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The supporting team is very unique to say the least. SCRTC is owned by Miki who backs up the team with equipment and lodging along with her daughter Natsume. That’s the normal part. The seven Kensei Masters of Juken are each an animal who walk around without anyone questing that they are that they are a walking talking animals in people’s clothing. This is strange but you get get used to it as the show goes on. Also the Masters after Xie Fu offer new weapons and animals spirits that become the mecha. Great segway to talk about giant robots.

The mecha are based on animals and are called Geki Beasts. The main three are Geki Cheetah, Geki Tiger, and Geki Jaquar who form together into Geki Tohja. The other Geki Beasts become weapons for the Geki Tohja (and later Geki Fire) to help them in battle. The Mecha are controlled by the team mimicking movements in a group together which allows them to act out the moves they learned in the episode on their opponents through the machine. Also notable is that the Mecha battles get ringside commentary by Bae, a fly that lives in Mele, henchwoman of the main villain.

Another clever segway. The villains are led by Rio who is doing all he can to raise the three Kenma. He has a bit of a one track mind about wanting to train harder to obtain this goal. he is so blind to what’s going around him and doesn’t realize that Mele is in love with him. Poor girl.  So devoted but sadly she just can’t get her guy to reciprocate. Also, no spoilers on who is the last boss but he truly is an evil individual. The kind of evil boss that doesn’t mind stepping over his underlings to obtain his goals.

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Despite the annoyance of Jyan and the one track minded plans of Rio, Gekirangers is still an intriguing show who’s training and martial arts allows for character growth and action. Though it would have been nice to see the weapon based Geki Beasts do more than just be weapons. Fans who enjoy the martial arts side of the Sentai series will find Gekirangers particularly entertaining.

RATING: B

1 Comment Posted on Anime, Mecha

Vandread: The Second Stage

vandread2logojn1As state previously, any time there is an anime that has a second season that should be analyzed, I will take the time to break them into two different reviews. Much like I did with Valvrave the Liberator. Today its time to finish up Vandread and see if the series is able to bump itself up a bit and receive a higher rating.

The crew of the Nirvana is still on its way back to their home planets. Just as the group is starting to grow closer together some new crew members come aboard. The first is Misty, a young woman from a planet where Men and Woman coexist and Ezra’s baby, Karu gets delivered. Team members also start to grow and mature but stakes also get more intense. Can the crew save their homes or with the alien force beat them their first?

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There is a lot of growth in this series and that’s really key to any good series to have a lasting impression. Characters change and grow closer as the series progresses along. Whether its Bart’s cutting his hair in memory of a lost girl to Ezra having her baby in an trapped elevator, the second series if filled with a lot of great character moments that seemed to be lacking previoulsy. Its as if someone looked at what went wrong with the first season and did their best to improve upon it.

The series is really able to bring it home at the end. The last few episodes are an intense mix of emotions and action as the crew is broken apart, is brought back together, and just in time to fight in the final battle. Between the heroic speeches of Hibiki and the others professing that they are going to fight for their freedom and all the different friends and allies they have met coming to help them, the joy and intensity hits a high point.

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A new Mecha is introduced in the second season. A combination of three different dread ships and Hibikis Vanguard robot fuse into Vandread Hibiki (Also known as Super Vandread). The new robot is impressively strong but sadly doesn’t get to be seen more than twice in the entire series. Isn’t that how it always happens? The most destructive and powerful robot doesn’t get used as much as one would hope.

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Though this is the end of the series there is a light novel that helps to add as a prologue. Unfotunately, this book has never been translated into English so the only way to really know what happens is to read fan sites and Wikipedia. Shame too as it seemed to really have a very satisfying ending for Dita and Hibiki’s relationship.

Thanks to the fun ride with the last few episodes the series is able to come from behind and goes up in its rating. Over the course of the full run of both seasons, the show serves to be a great mixture of comedy, action, and giant robots. Check it out and see how much fan the battle between the sexes can truly be.

RATING: B

Leave a comment Posted on American Giant Monsters, Kaiju

Son of Kong

son-of-kong-1Sequels are often stigmatized as not being as good as the original films and series they were based on. This is often a disservice to these films because they still have a lot of entertainment to offer the viewer. Today’s sequel is another example of one that is looked at as being inferior but simply dismissing it as such would in discrediting a pretty decent film on its own.

Taking place right after King Kong, Carl Denham is hounded by the authorities who want him to pay for the destruction and carnage Kong caused. Escaping with Captain Englehorn ,the two dock in a port and meet a girl named Hilda who joins their group. The trio then runs into Nils Helstrom, who gave Denham the map to skull island. Helstrom claims that their is a treasure on the island ready for the taking. Thinking this is great idea, Englehorn, Denham, and Helstrom sets out to Skull Island not knowing that Hilda has decided to stowaway on the ship. On Skull Island they will meet the heir to the Kings throne, the Son of Kong.

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The problem with Son of Kong isn’t that its a terrible picture by any means. It just doesn’t have as high a level of production and story as the original. This is due to the fact the sequel was released within nine months of King Kong`s release. The stop motion was put together in a hurry and it shows. The movie also showcases more comedy then the first movie. The lack of time to truly polish this film to its full potential is probably why some can criticize it so harshly.

The human aspect is one of the better parts of this film. Improving on the cheesy dialogue between the romatic leads in the first film, Denham comes off as a guy who is sorry for what he has done and is looking for redemption. Once he meets Son of Kong he feels bad for getting Jr.’s dad hurt and treats the creatures wounds. He’s a man looking for redemption and really hopes he can obtain it if he can just get the treasure. sok05-jpg

Son of Kong himself does offer some aspects different from his old man. Sporting white fur and being much smaller in size than Kong, the son is also much friendlier than his dad was. Kong Jr. makes a quick connection with Denham and Hilda and is willing to protect them from the horrors of Skull Island. The ending scenes with Denham and Kong Jr. will leave a lasting impression on all who watch this film.

Though not an essential film to watch to be a true film buff, Son of Kong still offers a lot for fans of giant monster movies. If you happen to find it playing late night on AMC or during some Halloween movie marathon then give it the time and attention it deserves. The son may not be as good as the original but it is not a bad movie in the slightest.

RATING: B

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Vandread

232094 Animes that have a lot of hype on their initial release but then fade into obscurity are not uncommon at all. Its a little surprising that this show has seemed to go that way as it had a huge fan following when it first came out. Still, its not exactly an essential series when it comes to Mecha so I guess I can see why it had that effect. It is worth discussing though so let’s dive in.

Men and women are from different planets and are at war with each other. Hibiki is a low class laborer who wants to prove himself to the rest of his fellow workers. He sneaks on board the latest warship to steal a Vanguard robot but the ship is attacked by women. In the course of the battle, the two flagships of both men and women fuse and are transported away. Now Hibiki has not choice but to work the alien obsessed Dita, the cold Meia, and flirtaous Jura and combine his Vanguard with their Dread ships to create Vandreads.

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The interactions between men and women that treat each other as aliens offers some very entertaining moments. Dita is cute with her quirk of calling Hibiki “Mr. Alien” and its adorable to see the two of them grow closer. The side romance between Duelo and Parfet is also interesting to watch but sadly they never get a really good romantic moment (not even in the second season). The series does well to showcase that it takes a combination of men and women working together to truly succeed in life.

The robots in this series are interesting but could have had a better focus. There really isn’t any data files or show moments that showcase each of the different Vandread’s full abilities. Instead each of the three has a generic specialty such as offense (Dita), defense (Jura), and speed (Meia). I personally prefer when a robots abilities are established rather than being able to pull out a special move from thin air as the situation dictates. Sadly they never thought to make technical specs for this series so each robot basically has the ability to do what it needs to when the story requires it.

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Again I won’t make the claim that the Gonzo effect is in place here. The series starts and ends on a good note with little in terms of a decline in quality of the art. This is probably right before Gonzo started to cut corners and work on getting the most anime out on as little budget as possible.

So that’s Vandread, or at least the first half. Fun bit of romantic comedy mixed with giant robots. Its worth a look but I wouldn’t spend hours trying to track it down or anything.

RATING: B

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Rebirth of Mothra 2

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Time to check back in with the giant laser firing, winged insect who always has a pair of cuties with him. Yes, its time to tackle the second movie in Mothra’s trilogy from the 90s. For all you Mothra fans out there, you may not like what I have to say.

As strange and destructive creatures called Barem spread across the ocean, another mysterious creature named Ghogo appears. Ghogo befriends 3 kids named Shiori, Yoji, and Kohei who wish to help stop the the Cosmos Twins, Moll and Lora o stop the Barem from consuming the world. As they work towards stopping the Barem, they soon find that Barem are being spread by a monster named Dagahra. Moll and Lora have no choice but to summon Mothra, but even his power may not be enough to stop Dagara and the Barem from covering the ocean.

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As promised its all down hill from here. This film is basically the Goonies with giant monsters and sadly the humans are less charming this to around. The trio doesn’t really have anything in terms of memorability behind them what they do and offer no real skills or talents that would help them on their adventure. Truth is that they are just the kids who were lucky enough to find Ghogo and decided to help.

Mothra does gets two new transformations in this movie. The first is called Rainbow Mothra, which I will admit I didn’t really notice until writing up this review that it took place. The wing shape and color changes a bit but the attacks stay about the same. Maybe blame that old VHS fansub version of this film I used to watched. The second form, Aqua Mothra is much more distinct with its shape and color. It also has some interesting attacks but the weird look to him may turn off a few of the Mothra fans out there. I haven’t heard people complain about it but I think he looks too much like a flying fish myself. I’m sure that’s what they were going for with the design aspect but I’m just not feeling it myself.

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The environmental message here is much thicker than the one in the previous film. The movie states that Dagahra and the Barem were created to eat the waste of man but that didn’t work and ended up destroying the ancient civilization instead. I personally prefer Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster when it comes to the environmental message mixed with Kaiju. This didn’t really grab me as much.

Moll and Lora regrettably don’t have a chance to grow much this film and get no actual character development. They are still just supporting characters to the humans and don’t get to shine. There really hasn’t been anything to help describe who they are and what makes them function other than they serve Mothra. They care whether or not humanity is destroyed but that’s about all we get to know about them.

I hate to keep comparing the Mothra and Gamera trilogies, especially since Gamera’s three films are vastly superior. Still both came out a time when Godzilla was nowhere to be seen. They were the monsters in the spotlight and while Gamera performance was phenomenal, Mothra really didn’t make any strives or impact with his movies. The Gamera trilogy totally reinvented the monster from his comedic films in the 60s and is some of the best giant monster movies to come out of the 90s. The Mothra Trilogy really becomes a treat mostly for the Mothra fanbase and few others. And if you think this is bad, wait until I get around to the third movie.

Rating: B-

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Gurren Lagann

tumblr_mmz1cqDrNV1qi6b5eo2_1280 When I started this blog I knew there was a lot of posts that I would have to do if I wanted to prove myself as a true fan of Kaiju and Mecha. There were a lot of reviews that I knew right off the top of my head I would have to do if I wanted to showcase that I had not only seen great shows but really taken the time to analyze them. This is one of those shows. A show that every Mecha fan needs to have seen and taken to heart.

Simon is a digger who lives in an underground city and is content with working the day away drilling holes. His best friend Kamina dreams of the surface world, saying their is more to life than what they have been told. Their lives are thrown for a loop when a giant robot crashes through the roof and exposes their is a world above and its filled with creatures called Beast Men that pilot giant robots. The pair is saved by a girl named Yoko, a sniper from the surface. Simon returns the favor by using an artifact he found earlier to operate a smaller robot and save the day. Afterward, the three set out on a quest to defeat the Beast Men and prove their worth.

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Gurren Lagann isn’t just a good Mecha show but a Mecha show that reminds everyone just how entertaining the genre can be. Those who are true fans of Mecha know that sometimes after watching show after show it can often get repetitive and sometimes dull. You need a show that re-energizes your love for watching giant robots kick the crap out of one another. That’s what this show offers. It showcases giant robots, combining with other robots and getting enormous weapons just by taping into the internal power of awesomeness that lies dormant in all of us.

There are a few points that I would like to talk about with this series but I fear dropping spoilers. I pride myself on doing my best not to give too many spoilers (after all Wikipedia is stock full of them). Still I will say that the colossal events that take place are shocking and will leave you questioning whether to keep going at a certain point in the series. I urge all who watch this to finish it until the end as it is worth the ride that you take. The ending does feel a bit off but again no spoilers here. Go watch it and come back to see if you agree or disagree with what I have to say.

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This show is fun. Sometimes that’s all an anime has to be. Yes there is more to it then that and the messages that its trying to convey  such as believing in yourself and never giving up are very poignant. Still, sometimes a show just has to be fun and entertaining. And this show is that in spades. Ro, Ro fight the power.

RATING: A-

Leave a comment Posted on American Giant Monsters, Colossal News, Godzilla, Mecha

Colossal News: Shin America, Cancelled?!

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I’ve got some news bits so its time for another, COLOSSAL NEWS!

First up more news on the King of the Monsters. Godzilla’s film from Toho Studios coming out in 2016 has a title. It will be called, SHIN GODZILLA (New Godziila). Not very impressive but still good to hear that things are moving ahead. There is also rumors that if things go well with King Kong’s new film, Skull Island, the two foes could go team up in the future. Fingers crossed on that one.

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Next up, the kickstarter worked! Team America has reached the goal to outfit their robot for their fight with Japan. The Megabots new concept looks is like something out of G-Gundam. Not in a good way. Still, the giant robots will fight so we have that going for us.

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Finally, Pacific Rim 2…is cancelled?! What mockery is this? Announced early this week, Pacific Rim is on indefinite delay which could become a cancellation. The reason? Money. Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are having a financial look at the film and fear it will not be feasible or a good idea to keep going. I couldn’t disagree more and think they should get off their butts and give me more Jaegers but that’s me. Hopefully this will be resolved in the near future and we won’t have to worry about this hiccup in the road to get more giant monsters from director, Guillermo Del Toro.

That’s it for now. As always people, LIVE LARGE!

Leave a comment Posted on Cartoons, Transformers

Transformers Prime Season 1

season2OrionPax_1327426487Seems like the more I get done on this blog, the more I still need to do. There are many shows and movies that are now staples of Mecha and Kaiju that I haven’t gotten around to tackle yet. Really wish I had the time to make this my day job. Because I don’t I have no choice but to keep on going. Time to look in on one of my all time favorite franchises with Transformers Prime.

Unknown to the world at large a war is going on between a race of robots from the planet Cybertron. One one side of the fight is the heroic Autobots and on the other is the traitorous Decepticons. A trio of kids named Raleigh, Miko, and Jack discover this war and join the Autobots. Together with Ratchet, Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Optimus Prime, the three kids will work to protect he world from Megatron, leader of the Decepticons.

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This series is dark, edgy, and taking the franchise in the way it needed to go with a lot of new twists on  different aspects of the Transformer mythology. Story lines like Dark Energon which causes transformers to become zombies and the new approach to what Unicron is are very intriguing takes on aspects of the history that we have already seen. In the initial five part premiere we watch as fan favorite cliff jumper is killed, Megatron creates a race of zombie robots, and is blown up and presumed dead trying to bring his new army to earth. If that doesn’t entice you nothing will.

One of the aspects I enjoy in this series is how they decided to treat the characters like they were robots. Introduced in the show Beast Wars, the writers and creators of the show actually decided to portray the characters as robots that can actually sustain damage and be repaired afterward. This allows for highly graphic violence to be displayed on a regular basis which makes the tension and stakes feel much more real.

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We are also introduced to a few new Decepitcons each with their own unique skills and personality. Knockout the Decepticon scientist/medic who is extremely vain and cunning easily became a fan favorite. We also get actor Steve Blum as Starscream who keeps the character faithful to his Generation One counterpart but adds his own bit of a deceptive nature with the slyness overflowing his voice. People are split on the idea of the now silent Soundwave, who repeats what people say back to them much like the Predator but personally I liked him. He was more mysterious and he unsettling that way. Adding to the fact that his job was to monitor communication frequencies to spy on people and the creepiness of him goes up a bit more.

If this review isn’t clear enough, let me spell it out for you. GO WATCH THIS SHOW. At least the first season which I feel is spot on. How will the seasons that follow fair? You’ll just have to come back for those reviews another time.

RATING: A

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Godzilla vs. Biolantte Podcast

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Got to do the recording of a Godzilla vs. Biolantte Podcast. Check the link out to see the turbulent road that finally led to Paul Chapman (the host), Mike Dent (Guest one), and myself (Guest two) sitting down and discussing this movie in depth. I once again found myself gushing over film. Download it and give it a listen.