Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers – Season 1

Recently there has been much buzz online about Bandai and Disney relaunching the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. The show will be re-aired on ABC Family, and Bandai has a whole line of freshly tooled toys ready to hit the market (including a new version of the MegaZord). With all this going on, I decided to seek out and finally rewatch the show after I hadn’t seen it in at least a decade. I have a fair amount of Super Sentai under my belt now, including Zyuranger, and wanted to really see how it stacked up. I was going to mention here that the episodes were available on iTunes, but they aren’t anymore. Not sure if that has to do with the relaunch or what. If that’s how they’re going to be though, and not have the episodes for sale or streaming anywhere, well… you know what I had to do. The versions that were on iTunes were the post-9/11 cuts which had some shots of building destruction removed anyway. I’d rather see the original cuts released. Methods of content acquisition aside though, on with the review.

Adapting Zyuranger

Saban’s concept for Power Rangers, one that they pitched many times before it was picked up, was to take footage from a Japanese tokusatsu series and splice it with new footage of American actors to make a new, English-language series. This must’ve sounded insane to the network execs, and who could really blame them. The result would be disjointed and silly as hell. However, circumstances aligned in the correct way, and Fox Kids was in need of a throwaway mid-season series. Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was greenlighted, creating 40 episodes based on the 50-episode series Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger.

Compared to Zyuranger, the premise was substantially altered. Instead of five ancient warriors waiting in suspended animation until they are needed to fight off the witch Bandora who has a personal grudge with them, Power Rangers has five freshly recruited “teenagers with attitude” battling Rita Repulsa who wants little more than to destroy the Earth. Why does she want to do that? Who knows, maybe it’s blocking her view of Venus. Instead of a wise old elf watching over them, the Power Rangers are supported by an interdimensional being called Zordon and his perpetually annoying robot assistant Alpha-5. In addition, they control giant battle machines called Zords, a more traditional idea than Zyuranger’s sentient dinosaur gods.

During this initial batch of 40 episodes, the fact that it’s written around existing footage is painfully obvious. The Power Rangers were granted the ability to teleport into battle, which conveniently explains away the sudden shifts in setting. However, this also causes the plot to leap all over the place just as suddenly. Some episodes it’s almost like there are two shows going on, one a bad Saved by the Bell clone, the other a superhero series, and never the twain shall meet. “Civilian” scenes would have the Rangers doing some bullcrap to promote peace, or help the environment, or whatever soapbox it is they’re on today. Then, suddenly, Rita will attack them, they’ll fight some putties, then transform and teleport to a totally different place to slug it out with a monster. When that’s done, it’s back to the good old Youth Center to resolve the story from before and drill in today’s moral.

This first part of the series would be almost unbearable at times, aside from two saving graces — Farkus Bulkmeier and Eugene Skullovich, aka Bulk & Skull. Played by Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy, these two bumbling wannabe bullies are always good for a chuckle. Often, I found whatever antics they were up to more interesting than what the Rangers were doing. You can hardly blame Bulk & Skull for wanting to pick on the Rangers either. I mean, they really were a bunch of dweebs.

Contrary to all expecations, Power Rangers was a smash hit. Kids all over the country were running around karate kicking each other and singing “Go Go Power Rangers!”, myself included. Problem: Saban didn’t have much Zyuranger left to work with. Almost all the usable footage had been exhausted making the initial 40 episodes. A couple more were created with what was left, plus an episode featuring an encore of the Pudgy Pig consisting of almost all American footage. Meanwhile, Saban prepared a nice little surprise.

Zyu2 — The Zyuranger episodes that never were

Saban went back to Toei with a request: Shoot another half season (25 episodes) worth of Ranger fights and corresponding Zord battles. Toei agreed, and designed 25 new Zyuranger-styled monster costumes as well as dragging the Zyurangers’ suits out of mothballs. Saban even got them to include elements tailored to Power Rangers, such as a relationship between the Green and Pink Rangers which didn’t exist in Zyuranger. This footage is often referred to by Power Rangers and Sentai fans as “Zyu2″. Since these were not full Zyuranger episodes, just costume and Zord fights, the only place to see them is in Power Rangers.

Since Saban was now working with footage that was made specifically for Power Rangers, they had a much easier time creating cohesive stories. The last 20 episodes of the season contain some of its best and most memorable. The stories are better, it’s less jumpy, the actors are improving, even Bulk and Skull are funnier. There was even new combination footage for MegaZord and UltraZord. The new MegaZord sequence is interesting since it has them going directly to MegaZord without going through the tank mode first, but it’s also pretty obvious that Toei shot these new sequences using the toys. This isn’t new, all the original footage of Kyuukyoku Daizyujin (UltraZord) was the toys, but these new sequences make it more apparent so I don’t like them as much.

In Zyu2, the Green Ranger was even revived, something that never happened in Zyuranger. Ironically he was more active after his revival with his temporary powers than he had been before. In his previous stint, Saban had to work around the fact that Burai (Zyuranger’s Dragon Ranger) had a very limited amount of time to live from the very start. Whenever he would leave his special “lapseless room”, his remaining life would decrease. For this reason, Burai would only come out to fight when his Dragon Caesar was needed. Thanks to that, MMPR’s Green Ranger never participated in a ground fight while transformed, they would always have to find a way to write him out until it was time to call out the Zords. In the Zyu2 footage though, Green Ranger is frequently right there with the others kicking ass and taking names. This is great for fans of the Dragon Ranger/Green Ranger (and who isn’t his fan, honestly).

The Zyu2 episodes are also where they started using the show’s famous battle themes. Songs like “Fight”, “We Need a Hero”, “Combat” and “5-4-1″ help to really up the excitement level of the fights. They are also genuinely pretty damn good songs. Ron Wasserman, under the pseudonyms Aaron Waters and The Mighty RAW, was called in to create the new themes. Wasserman had previously performed the series’ infectious opening theme “Go Go Power Rangers”. Though I think the drums were done with a drum machine, Wasserman’s vocals and guitar created some truly memorable stuff not befitting a mere childrens’ TV series.

All that combined to bring the series its own identity during the Zyu2 era. No longer was it merely a hacked up Zyuranger, it was its own entity with its own style and appeal. This trend would continue into the second and third seasons as they relied less and less on the Japanese footage. It does beg the question though, what would this have been if Saban had just made their own show? Could they have come up with a concept that would have worked as well? I’m not sure, but at the very least it has introduced a lot of young Americans to tokusatsu and Super Sentai in particular. Though I still think the Super Sentai shows are overall better, MMPR is pretty enjoyable once it hits its stride and shouldn’t be totally written off.

Kamen Rider Kuuga

Following the conclusion of Kamen Rider Black RX in 1989, there was an 11 year absence of new Kamen Rider series on Japanese television. A few one-off movies and specials came out, but for the most part the franchise was dormant through the 90’s. Toward the end of the decade, series creator and renowned mangaka Ishinomori Shotaro began to move on a revival of Kamen Rider. Despite Ishinomori not living to bring the project to fruition himself, the first new Kamen Rider series in over a decade hit Japanese airwaves on January 21, 2000.

The debut of Kamen Rider Kuuga would kick off a new era of Kamen Rider series. These would be known as the Heisei Kamen Riders, due to the changeover in the traditional Japanese calendar with the ascension of Emperor Akihito in January 1989. Though technically most of Black RX aired in the Heisei era, Kuuga was the first TV series to debut under the new era.

Kamen Rider Kuuga is the story of a jack-of-all-trades named Godai Yuusuke. Among his many hobbies, Yuusuke likes to travel to remote parts of the world. Frequently, he brings some kind of odd souvenir of his travels back to his friend, archaeologist Sawatari Sakurako. As the series starts, a group of archaeologists uncovers ruins of the ancient Rinto tribe, including the mummified remains of an ancient Rinto warrior and a sealed chamber. When they open the chamber, something escapes, killing the entire excavation team. Yuusuke arrives to check out the dig, finding the police there. Though he finds himself drawn to enter the ruins, he’s repelled by detective Ichijou Kaoru. Later, Yuusuke and Sakurako are called in by Ichijou to consult on the case, and are shown blurry video of the attack. The mysterious creature attacked the mummified corpse before going after the team. They are given the strange belt worn by the mummy, and asked to decipher the writing on it.

As Yuusuke and Sakurako go to leave the police headquarters, another unidentified creature bursts in, apparently after the belt. It quickly proves immune to the police officers’ gunfire and seems unstoppable. Acting on instinct, Yuusuke puts the belt on himself, only to have it disappear into his body. As the Yuusuke and the monster fight and move out onto a side street, Yuusuke’s body changes into a white armored creature, and he is designated by the police as Unidentified Lifeform #2. In this form, Yuusuke barely drives off the monster, saving Ichijou in the process.

Yuusuke consults Sakurako to better understand his new powers. He believes that he should have a different, red colored form as he sees in visions. When attacks begin from another creature, dubbed #3, Yuusuke and Ichijou confront it in a cathedral where it had been masquerading as the priest. Yuusuke declares his resolve to fight to Ichijou and achieves his true form, the red colored Kuuga Mighty Form. Though Mighty Form is misidentified as another creature, #4, by the police, he is able to drive off #3 and defeat #1.

Soon, others are brought into sharing Yuusuke’s secret. Tsubaki Shuichi is a doctor friend of Ichijou’s that looks after Yuusuke and studies the effects of Kuuga’s powers on his body. Ichijou also introduces Enokido Hikari, a scientist at the police’s research division who helps develop new weapons to combat the Grongi. One of the interesting things about Kuuga as a superhero show is that the regular humans aren’t useless. Kuuga works in conjunction with the police (though only a few know his identity), and the police actually become more and more capable as the series moves on. Initially, they just find ways to stun the Grongi, allowing Kuuga to finish them off. By the end of the series, they have a weapon that poses a real threat to the Grongi without Kuuga’s help.

The Grongi themselves are somewhat interesting, and really set a standard for monsters throughout the Heisei Rider shows. The Grongi’s main goal is the eradication of the descendants of the Rinto tribe, humanity. This is carried out through a ritual human hunting game called the Gegeru. There are several classes of Grongi, each with different Gegeru rules by which they must abide. The lowest level Grongi can’t even speak, but higher level ones are able to speak, use weapons similar to Kuuga, and even assume human disguises. This concept of intelligent monsters that disguise themselves as humans would reappear in several Heisei shows, as would the tendency for a monster to last through multiple episodes. They also tend to rack up a pretty substantial civilian body count before Kuuga can put a stop to them. The Grongi are led by the powerful Daguba, the creature that originally escaped from the crypt and is designated #0 by the police.

Following in the footsteps laid down by Black RX, Kuuga gained a number of power-up forms defined by a signature weapon. Each weapon is summoned by finding an object with a similar shape, and transmuting it. The blue Dragon Form sacrifices strength and armor for enhanced speed, agility and jumping power. Dragon Form’s signature weapon is the staff weapon Dragon Rod. Clad in green, Pegasus Form enhances all of Kuuga’s senses to extreme levels and features the Pegasus Bowgun for highly accurate ranged attacks. Pegasus Form strains Yuusuke’s nervous system however, and can’t be held for more than 50 seconds. Finally, the purple and silver Titan Form sacrifices mobility for thick armor. Titan is able to steadily walk through enemy attacks to strike at close range with the Titan Sword. Later, Yuusuke is able to access a “golden power” to upgrade his various forms to their Rising variant (Rising Mighty, Rising Dragon, etc), but only for 30 seconds. Finally, he becomes able to access Amazing Mighty Form and what may be Kuuga’s true form, Ultimate Form. This tradition of power up forms would persist through the Heisei era, as each main title Rider since has had at least one power up form.

Since Kuuga was somewhat experimental, one may find that the special effects and overall production values of the show may pale even to Agito which came immediately following. Despite this, the various costumes including Kuuga’s forms and the various Grongi all look pretty good. The special effects for the attacks may not be as flashy as some of the other Heisei Riders, but this is more in keeping with the way the older shows were. Once you’re sucked into the mysteries of Kuuga’s world though, none of this will matter much.

It’s often said that Kuuga is more like the Showa Riders than the Heisei ones. This mostly refers to the fact that Yuusuke is a pretty typical hero role model. He doesn’t have any inner demons to tackle, nor does he have any issues with his own confidence. He’s a classic hero archetype through and through. Kind, brave and strong. The overall story structure for Kuuga with its intricate plotting, mysteries to be revealed, and complex villains is pure Heisei. Kuuga is definitely the prototype for what came after.

Anyone who has been interested in the more recent Kamen Rider shows should really seek Kuuga out and try to see it. It really is a good series that doesn’t get a lot of attention due to being a bit older now. It may not be super flashy, but it’s a good, solid series full of great characters.

Kamen Rider Kabuto – DX Kabuto Zecter, Kunai Gun and Hyper Zecter

Time to finish up the Kamen Rider fest I seem to have created on the blog lately. This time, I’ll be talking about the last Kamen Rider henshin belt I intend to buy for the time being. Why am I only interested in the three I talked about here? Well, there are a couple things I’m looking for in a henshin belt. First, I like a nice mechanical action. Something to do with your hands, and that preferably makes a solid mechanical sound when you do it. Setting the Faiz Phone into the Faiz Driver, Kabuto Zecter’s lever, and DecaDriver’s open/close action. Secondly, I like voice feedback. I like it when the belt speaks as you do things. “Exceed Charge”, etc. Not sure why, I just think that’s cool. Lastly, I like it when the belt has multiple functions. Preferably a henshin, a final attack, and something else. As a caveat to that, I generally don’t like card-based systems because it’s a pain in the ass to get the cards. DecaDriver was an exception because of finding that barcode card PDF.

So, that brings us to the Deluxe Kabuto Zecter, which satisfies all three requirements. In the series, an alien species known as Worms appeared on Earth aboard a meteorite that crashed into Shibuya. One of the Worms’ key abilities is the ability to molt out of their pupal form, gaining super speed. In order to combat them, a secret organization called ZECT was formed, which developed the Kamen Rider System. The system consists of an intelligent insect robot that can attach to a belt, brace or weapon, turning their chosen bearer into a Kamen Rider. The Riders had two forms, their initial heavily armored Masked Form, and a Rider Form achieved by shedding the heavy armor. The Rider Form could “Clock Up” in order to match the Worms’ speed.

The main hero of the series was Tendou Souji, played by the wonderful Mizushima Hiro. Tendou bore the Kabuto Zecter, a Japanese kabuto beetle which attached to a belt. Above you can see the belt, which as always with the DX Henshin Series toys, is beautifully detailed. The belt looks great even just like this. The mod I made so I could wear the belt is identical to what I did with the Faiz Driver. A nylon strap with a buckle in the middle is just stitched to each side of the belt.

The Kabuto Zecter itself is a red robotic beetle. There are three buttons along one side where the legs should be. Pressing them will make the Zecter produce one of three random effects. It will say either “Here I am” or “Danger”, or make a flying sound effect. To henshin into Kabuto’s Masked Form, slide the Zecter onto the belt, and it will speak “Henshin” while making a sound effect and light pattern. In this mode, pressing the buttons will just make an effect similar to a train rumbling down a track. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be.

To change to Rider Form, rotate the Zecter’s horn forward a bit, and it will start to pulse, building faster and faster. Pull the horn all the way to the right, and it will say “Cast Off… Change Beetle!” with lights and sound effects. Pulling this lever is very satisfying, and it makes a nice solid “chunk” sound as the cover expands out. Just as in the show, you can initiate Kabuto’s Rider Kick finisher. Press the buttons in order and it will say “1-2-3″ while illuminating one light each time. Close the cover and rotate the horn back, then pull it open again and it will say “Rider Kick!” along with the accompanying effects. Again, very satisfying, and accurate to the show. However, that brings me to my one complaint about this belt — it’s missing a major feature. Remember, the whole point of the Riders in this show was the Clock Up ability… which is completely missing from the various toys (with one exception I’ll get to in a second). The pads on the sides of the belt used to initiate it are just pieces of plastic, there for show. Physically, there’s no real way for them to have electronics unless they each had their own batteries, but then maybe the belt should have been designed differently to incorporate it. You can also close the Zecter and rotate the horn back to its starting position (without doing the 1-2-3), and it will say “Put On” to switch back to Masked Form. Press the release buttons and remove the Zecter from the belt to get a henshin cancel effect, a rare case of such an effect being included.

Though primarily a hand-to-hand fighter, Kabuto also had a hand weapon. This took the form of the Kabuto Kunai Gun, which in Masked Form resembles a hand axe with a pistol built in. This form has a firing sound effect, and the barrel lights up. The light up barrel is a really obvious feature I wish had been included on the DX Ride Booker. The size is a bit of a problem, as it’s much smaller than the show, but that’s generally the case with toy weapons. Still, its a little tight getting my big hand around the grip. The Kunai Gun also comes with a holster that attaches to the right Clock Up pad on the belt.

There are two small buttons you can press, then pull the gun’s barrel out to reveal the Kunai mode, making a nice sound effect in the process. Kabuto wielded this knife in a reverse grip while in Rider Form. The toy actually has a motion sensor that will make blade clashing effects as you swing it around. Like the gun, it’s a little tough getting my hand around the grip. but manageable. If you put the kunai back into the rest of the body, it’ll make yet another sound effect.

The final piece I have for Kabuto is his Hyper Zecter. This was actually first seen in the movie “God Speed Love” where it was initially wielded by Kamen Rider Caucasus. In both the movie and TV series, it falls into the hands of Kabuto who uses it to become Hyper Kabuto, and access the time and space manipulating Hyper Clock Up. It attaches to the left side of the belt using its own special replacement for the left Clock Up pad. This attachment point is similar to those used in many other Rider belts, but actually locks with a button release, which is nice. The horn is swung back toward the body of the Hyper Zecter to initiate “Hyper Cast Off… Change Hyper Beetle” along with appropriate effects. Press the large red button to trigger Hyper Clock Up for a whopping 20 seconds. That’s twice what the Faiz Accel gives you! This is also the only Clock Up feature in any of the Kabuto role play toys. While in Hyper Clock Up, you can swing the horn down again to trigger “Maximum Rider Power” to upgrade your kick, or to work in conjunction with the Perfect Zecter weapon.

Overall, the Kabuto henshin series toys are great fun. Very solidly built, detailed, and aside from the lack of Clock Up, accurate to the show. They’re a great set to have for any Kamen Rider fan, and still decently available due to having been released to the Asian market just last year.

Kamen Rider Black

I recently finished up 1987/88’s Kamen Rider Black. Black and its direct sequel Black RX almost exist as their own “era” of Kamen Rider. The last full TV series had been Super-1 in 1980, and there wouldn’t be another full TV series after RX until Kuuga in 2000. What Black does is introduce a lot of elements that would become hallmarks of the later shows.

The story begins with Minami Kotaro and Akizuki Nobuhiko. Kotaro was adopted by Nobuhiko’s father and raised as family along with Nobuhiko’s sister Kyoko. On their 19th birthday, both young men are kidnapped by an organization of evil cultists called Gorgom. The boys are each modified into cyborgs and implanted with a Kingstone. Being given the names “Black Sun” and “Shadow Moon”, they are to fight to the death, with the victor becoming Gorgom’s next Creation King. However, Kotaro is able to escape before his brainwashing is complete. When he’s attacked by Gorgom’s three high priests, he undergoes a transformation into his Black Sun form. Kotaro decides to use his powers to fight back against Gorgom, taking the name Kamen Rider Black.

Black’s premise and tone were considered generally dark at the time. The Gorgom organization is presented as extremely creepy and even disgusting at times. It may seem a bit funny now with its obvious rubber suits, but in 1987 I can see how this was unlike what people had seen before in this kind of show. It also introduces a lot of the tension and drama that would become standard in the later movie-era and Heisei-era riders.

The most important addition is an antagonist Rider. A little after halfway through, Nobuhiko awakens as Shadow Moon. This puts a lot of strain on Kotaro, Kyoko and Katsumi (Nobuhiko’s girlfriend), and creates a conflict of loyalties for Kotaro. Can he fight his best friend and brother? Shadow Moon of course is brainwashed by Gorgom, but sometimes shows unexpected compassion and restraint, especially when confronted by Katsumi. This all culminates toward the end of the series when the Creation King pushes the two to finally duel it out, and things don’t initially go as you’d expect…

Despite all that, most of the show is typical mid-80’s tokusatsu. Gorgom comes up with some wacky plan, Kotaro stumbles onto it, kicks the monster’s ass. The formula is broken up a bit during the first half by the introduction of Birugenia, a former Creation King candidate who was considered too out of control and sealed away. Birugenia would sometimes appear to challenge Black, spicing up the fight scenes until he was finally taken out and replaced by Shadow Moon.

The effects are decent for the time. The regular monsters are a bit cheesy, but the more major characters look great. Black has some nice organic muscley stuff in his joints, and Shadow Moon is just badass all over. The priests look really good too, both before and after their mid-series upgrade. I love the grip tightening sound effect when Kotaro clenches his fists before transforming. The biggest problem I had is that the strobe effect during Rider Punch and Rider Kick really hurts my eyes. I can only imagine the seizures this show caused.

Overall, I liked it. The regular episodes could drag on sometimes, but it’s made up for whenever the story kicks in with the Priests, Birugenia or Shadow Moon getting involved. Shadow Moon especially was a cool character, setting the stage for later Riders like Ouja, Kaixa, the Hoppers, Saga, etc. It’s certainly a lot cooler than the 70’s stuff I’ve seen (not to hate on that or anything), and much more satisfying as a full series than the one-off “movie” Riders. I’ve started into Black RX, which isn’t as dark but I still like it. Best part of RX, no Furbus.

Century Kings, a fansub group consisting of I think just one guy, has Black done through episode 38. The rest I got as raws from this thread on Henshin Justice Unlimited.

Kamen Rider Decade – DX DecaDriver and DX Ride Booker

This year’s Kamen Rider series is a big what if story. Specifically, it’s like “What if there was a giant Marty Stu crossover fanfic, but it was done by the show’s actual studio, and it didn’t suck?” That essentially describes Kamen Rider Decade, a celebration of the past 10 years of “Heisei” era Kamen Rider shows.

In the series, a man named Kadoya Tsukasa is Kamen Rider Decade. In order to save his world from collapsing, he must travel to the worlds of the past 9 Riders to completely restore his powers. Decade’s powers are unique in that aside from a few specific attacks of his own, his powers are… everyone else’s powers. Decade can transform into any of the past 9 main Riders and access their weapons, powers, forms and final attacks. If he’s with that Rider, he can also transform them into a weapon for a special combo attack.

Decade’s powers are accessed through Kamen Rider Cards. With the DecaDriver belt in its open position as in the above photo, cards are inserted through the top. The logo of the Rider the card draws from will be visible in the circle at the center of the buckle. At this point, the DecaDriver will speak the class of the card, which is one of the following:

Kamen Ride — Transforms Decade into another Rider. Also used for his initial henshin into Decade.
Attack Ride — Accesses weapons, powers and even vehicles
Form Ride — Switch to one of the Rider’s power up forms. Note, “ultimate” forms are accessed separately with a device to come later.
Final Form Ride — Transforms another Rider into a weapon to perform a combo attack
Final Attack Ride — Use a Rider’s own finishing move, or initiate the combo attack with Final Form Ride

When closed, the DecaDriver will light up in the center, speak the name of the card, and play a sound effect. Unlike in the show, where the specific name of Attack Ride and Form Ride cards is spoken, the toy will only say the name of the Rider to whom the card belongs. “Faiz”, “Agito”, etc. There are specific henshin sound effects that play in conjunction with each main Heisei-era Rider’s Kamen Ride card. Other Kamen Ride cards just get a generic effect.

As with the Faiz Driver, the DecaDriver needs modification to fit an adult. Since the DecaDriver closes at the side of the buckle, and the back separation is just for adjustment, I could do things a little differrently. Most importantly, there’s no need to incorporate a buckle at the back. On one side, I just stitched the strap into place the same way I did on the Faiz Driver. On the other side, I passed it through the adjustment slot, and put the adjustment piece from the backpack back on. The adjustment piece keeps the strap from sliding back through, and also does its intended job of allowing you to adjust the belt’s size.

Decade’s other main piece of equipment is the Ride Booker. Normally hanging at his left side, its primary purpose is as a card holder.

Within, there are two areas to hold cards. The area at the left has space for 3 cards comfortably. You could maybe jam more in, but I’m worried about messing them up. When you pull a card up from this area, it will bump a little switch causing a “vrooom” card drawing sound directly out of the show. The area on the right is much deeper, holding most of your cards, but has no special function.

The Ride Booker also serves as Decade’s personal weapon. The first mode is a pistol. This looks very nice, and very accurate to the show. When the trigger his held down, you get a machine gun sound effect. The Ride Booker’s gun mode can be powered up with the Decade Blast card, though for the toy this has no effect.

The Ride Booker’s second form is a sword. Unfortunately, and likely due to toy safety regulations, the blade is embarassingly short. This comes of worse than most toy swords, since the card holder section is taking up a lot of the sword’s overall length, leaving just a pathetic tip of a blade. I can’t say this looks remotely as good as the gun. Tapping the trigger will make a sword slashing sound effect. The Ride Booker’s sword mode is powered up by the Decade Slash card (though, as with the gun, this does not affect the toy).

Here’s a quick look at the Kamen Rider cards I have at the moment. The 10 Kamen Ride cards all come with the DecaDriver. The Decade Slash card comes with the Ride Booker (but not the Decade Blast, frustratingly). Decade’s Final Attack Ride comes with the Final Form Ride series Kamen Rider Decade action figure. These cards, in addition to being usable in the DecaDriver, are also used for the Kamen Rider Battle: Ganbaride arcade game. In fact, other than the ones that come with toys, those machines are the only way to get the cards. There is a function in them to buy cards from Kivat the 3rd. Unfortunately, there are no boosters, so it’s fairly impossible to get them outside Japan. There is hope for gaijin looking to get the most out of their DecaDriver. Somebody in Japan figured out the encoding on the barcodes and made a PDF with barcode cards you can cut out. There’s also some promo card effects as well as unintended and Easter Egg effects. Pretty nice!

DecaDriver cards complete set — PDF

I love the DecaDriver. It only really has one thing that it does, read barcodes, however that one function is really fun. It’s also very solidly made, and makes a very satisfying sound when opened and shut. Details are abound, even in places you can’t normally see. Since this allows you to role play as every main Rider from the past 10 years, how could any Kamen Rider fan not want this?

Kamen Rider 555 – Deluxe Faiz Driver and Faiz Axel

I recently got one of my personal holy grails. This is a toy that I had thought I’d missed the opportunity to own, which would’ve been unfortunate since it’s the best damn Kamen Rider toy ever. Of course, if you know Kamen Rider, you know I must be talking about the DX Faiz Driver.

In the series, Kamen Rider 555, the Rider Gears were belts and weapons originally designed by the Smart Brain organization to protect the Orphnoch King. Instead, the former CEO of Smart Brain decided to repurpose them a bit. They were sent to members of a group of kids the former CEO had raised years before, with the purpose of using them to defeat Orphnochs. The only catch — they only work for people with Orphnoch DNA.

The center of the Faiz Gear is the Faiz Phone, its power source and control device. Outwardly, it looks like a normal cell phone. On the toy, pressing any random combination of numbers followed by the Call button will make the phone say “Connectioning…” and make a ringing noise and light pattern.

The really fun stuff starts from here. There are a series of codes printed on the screen. Let’s start with the ones that let you use the phone as a gun. Where’s that iPhone app at, huh? On the Faiz Phone, key in 1-0-3-Enter, and the phone will say “Single Mode”, indicating you are in single shot mode. Key in 1-0-6-Enter and it will say “Burst Mode”, indicating that it will now fire in 3-shot bursts. In either case, fold the screen straight back and cock it to the left to turn the phone into the nifty Faiz Phone Blaster. There’s a firing sound and lights moving along the “barrel” when the trigger is pulled. After 12 shots in either mode, it will make an empty sound. Key 2-7-9-Enter and the phone will say “Charge” followed by an effect indicating it has reloaded.

Of course, the main attraction with any Kamen Rider belt is “How do I henshin?” On the Faiz Phone, key 5-5-5-Enter, and the phone will say “Standing By…” and begin making loud, pulsing standby sound effect. Set it into the cradle on the Faiz Driver belt and lock it down, and the phone will say “Complete” and play the henshin sound effect. Dramatic posing is optional, but encouraged. In this mode, you can remove the Mission Memory (the Faiz face logo on the front) and insert it into one of Faiz’s weapons to ready it for battle. Open the phone and press Enter to trigger your “Exceed Charge” finishing moves!

One concern for old fans, especially those of us who are American where everything (especially guts) is bigger, is that the belts are made for kids. There’s very little chance a full grown adult is going to fit into one as-is, unless they are very petite. Luckily, it’s not that hard to work around. For my Faiz Driver, I attached a nylon strap I cut off an old backpack. This strap had one of those plastic clips in the middle as you can see in the previous photo. This was critical for the Faiz Driver as it closed in the back and has no other separation. I simply took a good old fashioned needle and thread, and stitched through some of the pre-existing holes in the belt. On the back side, the thread forms an X pattern. This was extremely simple to do, and holds very well. Also, since it’s just thread, it’s completely reversible if I decide to undo the mod later. I even preserved the adjustment piece in the strap so I can resize the belt at will.

Also on the recent acquisitions list was the Faiz Axel. This item was given to Faiz about halfway through the series, and allows him to access his Axel Form, gaining super speed for 10 seconds. The toy is styled somewhat after a sports watch, but mated to a typical Sentai type wrist changer. Like the belt, it’s made for kids and the watch strap absolutely does not fit around my wrist. The second velcro strap, meant to be farther up the arm, will fit around my wrist. This makes the Axel awkwardly overlap my hand, but it does stay on.

To use, you remove the special “Axel Memory” and insert it into the Faiz Phone in place of the standard Mission Memory. The Axel will say “Reformation” when it’s removed, though this is somewhat inaccurate. In the show, it would say “Reformation” when the Axel Memory was put back, after the Axel’s time was expended. Anyway, press the red start button to begin your 10 second countdown along with a powerful pulsing sound effect. A voice will count down at the very end “3…2…1…Time Out.” You can also use the black button to switch the behavior of the “screen saver” while the Axel is idle, or to play a simple game.

Overall, the Faiz Driver just kicks ass. Yeah, role play toys are pretty high on the geek-o-meter, but this is just one of the most fun toys in my whole collection. It does a number of things, and has fun voice feedback, sound effects and lights. It also was the personal equipment of my favorite Rider, which helps. The Faiz Driver is a worthy buy for any Kamen Rider fan, though it’s heavily sought after and finding a good price on one is tough. I had to buy mine used to avoid selling a kidney for it. Still, I regret nothing.

Evangelion

Since I finished up Gundam Wing, I figured I would take on the only 90’s mecha show more divisive among anime fans: Evangelion. I had only watched this one time, back when I first bought the DVDs. I thought it was OK, but did not get what the big deal was about. So, how does many years more experience with anime adjust my opinion?

When this show is just being a good old fashioned robo romp, it’s pretty good at it. The first half of the show contains some pretty cool sequences. Of course, things start with Unit 01 going berserk on the 3rd angel, which is great. I also like Unit 02 jumping ship to ship, the one where Asuka blocks the acid from that spider angel so Shinji and Rei could get down to the rifles and kill it, and the synchronized attack is pretty funny (and, I believe a reference to Double Rider Kick!). That’s all good stuff. Even the antics of the characters in their off time were amusing, with cocktease Asuka messing with Shinji and the perpetually drunk Misato.

Some aspects of the production are great. Sadamoto Yoshiyuki’s character designs are very nice, and I continued to like his work on the first .hack saga. The theme song is infamously catchy, and still sung wherever otaku sing karaoke. The voice cast is also superb, with the likes of Kotono Mitsuishi (Sailor Moon), Ogata Megumi (Sailor Uranus), Koyasu Takehito (Zechs Merquise) and Hayashibara Megumi (Ranma, Faye Valentine). I also noticed this recently: Kaworu was voiced by Ishida Akira who also played Gaara (Naruto), Athrun (Gundam Seed), and Fish Eye, the flamboyantly gay member of Sailormoon SuperS’s Amazon Trio o_O

Production, however, is where the show also falls apart. Gainax was famously short on cash when this show was made, and it is apparent. I have never seen so many cheap shortcuts taken in animation from a big name studio. Pan shots out the ass. The most notable one is probably the famous bathroom scene. Suzuhara and Aida have a whole conversation while the camera does nothing but pan over a static background of urinals. And that must be one humongous fuckin bathroom too to have that many in a row.

Eventually, we pass the critical point, episode 16. This is the first episode where the series just regresses into jibberish. Between the lack of money and Anno’s steadily declining mental state, the show just goes nuts here. It loses most of its narrative structure as they desperately attempt to introduce and wrap up critical plot threads, sometimes in the span of one episode. The animation also drops off even more, as even pans apparently become too expensive and they start using just static shots. Isn’t the point of animation that it moves? Big example of this is the shot of Eva Unit 01 clutching Kaworu in its fist. I swear, you would think your DVD player locked up. It just drags on frozen on this one frame with some music playing.

Of course, it all ends with the final two episodes, comprised of little more than stock footage, still shots, and… like… scribbles. It explains nothing about the plot at all. Instead, we get to psychoanalyze everyone in turn. That’s all well and good, but I’d rather it be done within a narrative since that’s what I tuned in for. Without external knowledge of what the Human Instrumentality Project was, these episodes are impossible to understand. And, frankly, that’s bullshit.

Eva had some great ideas, and some good foundations. However, in the end, the production was a disaster and they failed to deliver on it. Regardless of what the reasons were, regardless of what Anno was trying to say, the bottom line is they fucked up and the second half of the show is a complete mess. It may have been trying to communicate grandiose ideas, and be rich in symbolism, but they failed to hold it all together into a cohesive narrative. I can sit here and spew philosophy at you for 10 hours, but it doesn’t make me a great film maker.

Now, I should point out, even though I have some knowledge of what happens, I had not seen End of Eva when I wrote this, but I wanted to get my thoughts down on the TV series before I did. The TV series should be able to stand on its own, since that’s how it was originally developed. Unfortunately, it really can’t. Now, here are my brief thoughts on End of Eva which were written later:

The Rebirth part starts off pretty well. Stuff is happening, it’s very exciting. I thought I might have finally understood why people are so captivated by this show, even to this day. Then, I got to End and it basically reverted to the same BS as the TV series. “Let’s do nothing but show weird images and spew our half baked philosphy”. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. The only difference is that this time the weird imagery had a budget. I hate pretentious stuff like this. This is what happens when a creator buys into his own hype. It’s the same reason I hate the Matrix.

Look. Everybody. All you content creators out there. You can’t just put a stream of consciousness in front of people and call it art. Your job is to communicate. If you can’t distill that thought down into something that can be communicated and understood, you fail. You fail as an artist. The mere fact that people still, over a decade later, have to sit around and argue what this series means indicates it failed to communicate its message. Being obscure doesn’t make it brilliant.

Now, when are people going to stop asking me about this show the minute they find out I watch anime? Can I be done now?

Gundam Wing

Since it’s happened to come up several times lately in conversation in my life, I decided to rewatch Gundam Wing again. I haven’t watched it through in years. Probably not since I started heavily getting into the other Gundams. It’s in vogue now to bag on Wing, but how does it really hold up once you’ve seen the Gundam saga in its entirety?

Short answer: Not great, but it’s not the worst

Let’s start with what I do like about the show. First is the animation. It was very high quality for 1995. Lots of detail, very smooth. They made heavy use of the backlit effect, even when it was a trivial thing. Like, a small corner of a display screen in a cockpit would by in a shot, and they would go through the trouble of backlighting it. That is some dedication. The opening sequences are also really slick. What’s up with the “Rhythm Emotion” OP though? It was only in the last 10 episodes, and it was like… not quite finished until the last few. At first several of the gorgeous shots of the Gundams were replaced with lower quality or stock animation.

The music is also pretty good. Two Mix, of course is awesome. “Just Communication”, “Rhythm Emotion”, “White Reflection”, all good stuff. The BGM is also very memorable. I like “The Wings of a Boy Who Killed Adolescence”, “When the Dragon Swims, Everything Ends” and “The Curtain of the Next Chapter Rises Now”. Emo names not withstanding. I never really got into the character songs for this show though. They kinda… suck.

Now, onto what’s not so good. Characters. The G-Boys are about as deep as puddles. The only ones with personalities are Duo, Quatre and Zechs. Quatre’s personality is simply “annoying” (though he was kinda fun when he was batshit crazy), and Zechs’ was ripped off of Char. So, that leaves Duo who, while likable, still has nearly zero actual development. Then there’s… ugh… Relena Plotdevice… er… Darlian… er… Peacecraft… Obnoxiousbitch… whatever. I can’t say much that hasn’t already been said. I’ll just put it this way: I spent 49 episodes hoping the rhino would just sit on her. It never delivered. Fuck you, rhino. Fuck you.

It was only the secondary characters who were really interesting and/or likable. Lady Une, Noin, Dorothy (who would be hot if not for those two badgers on her face). Howard is awesome. We should all be that cool when we’re old to rock shades and a Hawaiian shirt. Even some of the secondary cast falls flat, though. Like, what were they trying to do with Treize? Are we supposed to love him? Hate him? I have no fucking idea. Neither do the other characters. Wu Fei kills him, then cries about it, then in EW he’s like “Treize is still alive, I need to rekill him or something”. I’m with you, Wu Fei. I don’t know what’s going on either.

Speaking of confused, how about the plot. Man, stuff just makes no sense. Even the very premise of the show has issues. If OZ a) Has been sitting on the Tallgeese all this time and b) knows what Gundanium is, then why can’t they make Gundams? What is so different about them? Then there’s the nonsensical decisions the characters make. Here’s a brilliant tactical maneuver. You need to get your asses into space to fight OZ. The only guy whose Gundam can actually operate in space dumps it in the goddamn ocean instead of taking it along. Why? Because if the G-Boys posed a threat in space, the whole next story arc can’t happen. Bullshit. That also brings me to my number one annoyance with Wing: not enough Gundams. The entire middle third of the show has almost no Gundams. Wing and Heavyarms are ditched on Earth, Sandrock is blown up, and Deathscythe and Shenlong are being rebuilt. So, we get little bits of Mercurius and Vayeate, Zechs doing a bit with the Tallgeese… it’s all just frustrating. I’m not tuning in for the deep, intricate character development obviously. I want to see some goddamn Gundams!

Speaking of forcing the plot, that’s Relena’s entire job. Every time the writers didn’t know how to move forward, they just pull out Relena to create the proper motivation. Relena Plotdevice. And as a coup de gras, what the holy hell happens to Zechs at the end? From like nowhere, he decides Earth = evil, peace = for sissies, let’s blow shit up. This was obviously a take on Char becoming the antagonist in CCA, but with Char it made sense. Char was moving forward the agenda of everyone moving to space that he was always a follower of. Zechs just randomly decides to kill everyone on Earth. Then goes back on it because… Heero cut Epyon’s arm off? Huh? I have no clue.

Endless Waltz has most of the same issues as the TV series. Makes no sense. Plot is forced. Not enough Gundams. The Gundams don’t even show up until the third episode. It’s not called “Mobile Suit Leo”, it’s “Gundam”. Where are the god damn Gundams?!. And here again, a character does something completely nonsensical just to make the plot work. What was Wu Fei’s problem? If he hadn’t been acting like a d-bag, they could have stopped the whole thing before it started. Argh.

EW doesn’t even do much to explain anything. Yeah, we know a little bit more of the background, but still not enough. Who trained Trowa? For that matter, how did Duo learn to pilot a Gundam? Was he the original pilot, or did he just steal it like Trowa did? Doesn’t Wu Fei’s fiance bear more than a passing mention? What’s the deal with the Gundam engineers? I know there’s a lot of extra material like manga that explains this stuff, but that’s bullshit. I shouldn’t need to read extra manga just to understand the backstory of the main characters. The main characters. It’s not like this stuff is getting into Noin’s past or something. The original Gundam has a lot of supplemental material that expands on its setting, but you don’t need it just to understand the show.

So, in the end, do I hate it? Well, it is entertaining, I can give it that much. In the overall spectrum of Gundam shows, I’d say ZZ is worst, followed by Seed Destiny, then maybe Wing. 0083 and V are down there around Wing too, but Wing is definitely better than ZZ and Seed Destiny. I guess I have it to thank for getting me into Gundam in the first place, but now I have much better ways to get my Gundam fix.

Deluxe DinoZords/Shugozyu

As one last addendum to my talk about Zyuranger, I also recently acquired some of the early Deluxe Zord toys from MMPR. In all, I picked up DX MegaZord, DX DragonZord, DX Red Dragon ThunderZord, DX ThunderZord Assault Team and DX White TigerZord. First, I’m going to talk about the 1st season toys, which were pulled from Zyuranger.

Araware, Shugozyu-tachi yo!

As the primary mecha for Zyuranger we have the now-classic prehistoric beasts. Tyrannosaurus, Mammoth, Triceratops, Sabertooth Tiger and Pteranodon. Despite Zyuranger being the “Dinosaur Sentai”, only two of them were actually dinosaurs. Granted, the pteranodon was still considered a dino back then, but it’s still a funny observation.

The toys aren’t quite bricks, but there isn’t a lot to do at this point either. They do look nice, though.

Gattai! Dino Mission!

The Shugozyu could combine into a half-way form called Dinotanker. It’s a little odd, but somehow cool. This was not used much, maybe even just the first time they were able to combine. Usually they would just move right on to the next step. There are wheels on the bottom so it can roll.

Hatsudou! Daizyujin!

Finishing the transformation gives rise to Daizyujin. Daizyujin was the sentient incarnation of an ancient god. Daizyujin would sometimes speak directly to the Zyurangers or act on its own. Daizyujin has hip and shoulder rotation, and as a function of how he transforms can bend his elbows in.

Araware! Shugozyu Dragon Caesar!

Another non-dinosaur, and in fact not even a real animal, the sixth Shugozyu was Dragon Caesar. But, nobody cared if he didn’t fit the theme, because he was bad ass. He was controlled mostly by remote with a dagger called the Zyusouken. The Zyusouken was given over to the Geki upon Burai’s death late in the series. The toy is almost completely immobile, but looks great. He does have electronics, but all it does is flash the chest lights and make an obnoxious sound. I was really hoping for some of the sounds it made in the show.

Gattai! Dragon Mission!

Dragon Caesar could combine with three of the other Shugozyu to create Gouryujin (Strong Dragon God). This combo looks fantastic. The only problem is how useless the staff is. Holding it up like that is literally all you can do with it. There is no other way for it to be held.

Jyuutei Gattai!

Once King Brachion (who I don’t have) shows up, the combination of Jyuutei Daizyujin (Beast Emperor Daizyujin) becomes possible. It was able to attack with a big ball of energy branded with a “Z”, called the Emporer Attack. Its primary purpose, though, was to ride on King Brachion to form Kyuukyoku Daizyujin (Ultimate Daizyujin), the true form of the ancient god that sealed Bandora and her minions away.

These are pretty great sentai toys. A number of different modes to play with, and they look really good. In fact, they look so good that they were often used in place of studio models in the actual show. Almost all footage of Kyuukyoku Daizyujin is of the toys, including the combination sequence and finishing attack. The toys also showed up in a number of scenes where Daizyujin or the Shugozyu appear in the clouds all Jesus-like. It’s a little funny since the toys are still very recognizable despite the harsh lighting. Overall, I would try to pick these up if you can before the prices really explode.

One last thing, you may have noticed my DragonZord’s stickers were replaced with Zyuranger ones. I was very let down by the original look of the DragonZord. The US version’s stickers were crude and ruined the entire look of it. Fortunately, ReproLabels makes a reproduction Dragon Caesar sticker set for it that can really improve your Dragon’s looks. They also make conversion kits for MegaZord/Daizyujin, Titanus/King Brachion, and White TigerZord/Won Tiger, though I didn’t find the others as offensive so I’m not worried about it for now. Take a look at this in progress shot of the DragonZord/Dragon Caesar sticker replacement to see the difference:

Zyuranger vs. Power Rangers: The DragonRanger saga — Pt. 3

Part 1

Part 2

MMPR 1×21 “Breaking the Spell”

Roughly corresponds to Zyuranger 21 “The Shugozyu’s Big Rampage” and Zyuranger 22 “Combine! Gouryuujin”

The Power Rangers head off to find and confront Tommy about being the Green Ranger. Kimberly finds him working out at the Youth Center. Upon being informed they know who he is, Tommy responds by addressing Kimberly as the Pink Ranger and threatening to destroy them all. Rita decides this is the time to finally summon the Green Ranger’s personal Zord, DragonZord. Tommy as the Green Ranger has DragonZord start to destroy Angel Grove. The Rangers morph, but can’t do anything to stop the DragonZord. Alpha finally reestablishes contact with Zordon, who revives the Zords. Now able to fight, the Ranger attack DragonZord with Tyrannosaurus and eventually MegaZord. When the DragonZord is defeated, Jason duels Tommy on the ground, eventually knocking the Sword of Darkness and Dragon Dagger from his hands. Jason shoots the Sword of Darkness, destroying it and breaking Rita’s hold on Tommy. The newly freed Tommy is confused as to what he should do, but Jason convinces him to use the Green Ranger’s powers for good. Zordon then demonstrates how the DragonZord, Mastodon, Triceratops and Saber-toothed Tiger can combine into DragonZord Fighting Mode.

Zyuranger 21:

The Zyurangers mourn the loss of the Shugozyu, and Geki takes off by himself. Up on the moon, Bandora is holding a victory celebration. In the midst of the party, Burai slinks up and attampts to assassinate her. Bandora shows off her true power and casts Burai down to Earth. Burai comes to in a forest and is met by a strange entity in a white hooded cloak. She takes Burai to a strange room with a green candle, telling him it represents the remainder of his life span which is only 30 hours. As long as Burai stays in this “lapseless room”, his lifespan will not decrease. She then gives him a dagger, the Zyusouken and tells him something will happen if he plays the flute built into it. In disbelief over his finite life, Burai uses the Zyusouken to teleport back to Tokyo and begins to play it. Summoned by the Zyusouken, Burai’s own Shugozyu Dragon Caesar rises from the bay and begins to rampage through the city. Burai is delighted and continues to egg Dragon Caesar on. The Zyurangers are shocked to see a Shugozyu causing such destruction and rush out to stop it. There they find Geki attempting to help the people injured by Dragon Caesar. Witnessing the people he’s hurting, Geki finally resolves to fight Burai. The Zyurangers transform and confront Burai, but are powerless before Dragon Caesar. Not to be shown up by Burai, Bandora sends Grifforzer and Lamie Scorpion to fight Dragon Caesar. Meanwhile, Barza is attempting to revive the other Shugozyu.

Zyuranger 22:

The Zyurangers look on as Dragon Caesar clashes with Grifforzer and Lamie Scorpion with the city caught in the middle while Barza continues his efforts. Suddenly, the Earth begins to shake violently, and the Zyurangers transformation is canceled as their energy streaks away on its own. The energy goes into the pit where the Shugozyu fell, reviving them. Bandora has Grifforzer and Lamie retreat. Burai orders Dragon Caesar to go after the other Shugozyu to prove it is the ultimate Shugozyu. Tyrannosaurus decides to settle with Dragon Caesar one-on-one while Geki and Burai do the same on the ground. Both Tyrannosaurus and Geki get the upper hand on their opponents and Burai’s transformation is canceled. The Shugozyu combine into Daizyujin and viciously attack Dragon Caesar, then demand Geki finish off Burai. Geki, however can’t kill his brother and turns his back. Burai grabs his sword and moves to kill Geki, but hesitates. Geki insists Burai kill him if it will end the hatred, but Burai can’t kill him either. Burai drops to his knees and begs forgiveness, his tears causing the Sword of Hellfriede to dissolve. With the madness produced by the sword gone, Burai isn’t sure what to do now. Geki offers to have Burai fight alongside the Zyurangers, and Burai accepts. The Shugozyu have Burai summon Dragon Caesar with the Zyusouken again and demonstrate how Caesar, Mammoth, Triceratops and Tiger can combine into Gouryuujin. However, immediately afterward, Burai returns exhausted to the lapseless room. The puzzled Zyurangers look around for him, but he’s nowhere to be found.

What came from Zyuranger?

Obviously, since this went from two episodes down to one, there was a lot of stuff skipped.

The party in Bandora’s palace is shown, though Burai’s assassination attempt is cut out. Interestingly though, some of the POV shots as he sneaks through the room past Totpat and Bukbak are used. Also, some of the shots of Bandora attacking Burai are used for Rita summoning DragonZord. In particular, a shot of her shooting red lightning from her fingertips, which was then added to DragonZord coming up through the water.

Dragon Caesar’s rampage is much shortened, mostly cutting shots of fleeing (Japanese) people. Burai spent most of the scene untransformed until the Zyurangers show up and he leaps atop DragonCaesar’s head. Thus, this is all we see of Tommy at the scene. The fight with Grifforzer and Lamie Scorpion is removed entirely. My copy of the MMPR episode does not have the shots of Dragon Caesar’s tail cutting into the buildings, though I’m pretty sure I remember them being in there before. Billy even says “Watch out for the tail.” I’m going to chalk those up as victims of the post-9/11 “don’t smash any buildings” editing. One other thing I should mention is the flute song. The song is mostly the same, but not the same performance. The MMPR version is a lower octave and slightly shortened. Also, the flute tune is repeated a lot more in Zyuranger, where it’s usually only played in MMPR when the camera is actually on the Green Ranger doing something.

The final confrontation is mostly there, just reordered. All the Zord fighting is shifted to the beginning, and shots are inserted to make it look like they combined MegaZord on purpose (again, as it has no free will). Only once MegaZord has pounded DragonZord does the ground fight start. This ends once Jason knocks the weapons out of Tommy’s hands, though Geki and Burai’s duel went on a little more. New footage was shot of Jason shooting the Sword of Darkness as the way it was destroyed in Zyuranger was not usable.

Finally, the shots of the now 6-member team posing and introducing themselves, followed by the new combination is used unaltered as far as I can tell. The only difference is Zordon introduces DragonZord Fighting Mode whereas in Zyuranger, the Shugozyu themselves introduce Gouryuujin.

In Summary

Overall, it was surprising to see how little of the Sentai show is actually carried over once you start paying attention to it. They shoot all new story scenes of the characters untransformed, some new action scenes, even hauling over the Grifforzer costume to spar with Austin St. John. They even spent a fair amount of money as it’s told to have all-new fights shot once they ran out of Zyuranger footage (the infamous “Zyu 2″ footage). It makes me wonder why they wouldn’t just do their own show. Are the special effects of guys slugging it out in spandex and rubber suits really that costly to do yourselves? Actually, strike that. I don’t want to imagine what Saban would have designed all on their own. At least this way I can get (more or less) Sentai mecha toys without having to sell any organs.