If you can't stand the atmosphere, I guess then it never improved, but what Kyoryuger has over other recent Sentai is a sense of things always going forward. In spite of having an episodic structure, there's a large number of extra ranger and subplots in the villain side which pretty much continuously flow, with many large arcs spread through the series.
Personally, I don't think the characters themselves were particularly great, and the ending was disappointing, but its sense of movement and action really kept me entertained throughout.
Shinkenger up to 30
Daigoyo is the best Shinkenger! The kirigami looked great! Those characters keep being boring and undeveloped! How do you guys complain about muh bros GoBusters but not about shit like this?
Guys, could each of you guys make a list of recommended shows to put on the OP for the next TokuGAF thread? I plan on having as many of you guys being quoted on the OP with a list of shows you think newcomers should watch.
Rider: W: One of the Heisei's best: characters, secondary Rider dynamic, suits, unique shenanigan with the 2-in-1 MC, ending is not a disaster, solid movies.
Gaim: Just an amazing ride (hah) with the most improbable start and motifs (fruits? dancing gangs? pokemon?) that never stops surprising you, a must watch even if it doesn't seems like it.
Agito: Modern Rider/Toei tokusatsu isn't your cup of tea? Watch this then. Suffering, mysteries, murders, cops, amnesiac people and EVOLUTION.
Anti recommendation - Wizard: Just. Don't. Watch. It. It's not worth your time.
Are we ok to suggest movies and manga? If so, I would include OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders, Kamen Rider Spirits and Kamen Rider Black.
And Shin. Yeah, I actually like it.
Sentai: Gokaiger: Some of the best fighting scenes on TV, consistent (if shallow) characters, solid ending and a sneak peek into all other sentais. A kick ass show in general.
Wish I could recommend some Metal Heroes/Ultra/different stuff, but either I haven't watched much of it, it's pretty hard to find subbed or I'm going mostly by nostalgia. And that reminds me that I must watch Zubat after I finish Kaku!
Boring is subjective, like most "recommended" lists. I just chose series I think would be a good introduction to the franchises. Like, my favorite Sentai is Gekiranger, but I would NEVER recommend that to a newbie because that isn't indicative of what Sentai usually is.
It's certainly not close to being the worst, it was pretty decent until the plot stopped in it's entirety to have the random 40th anniversary segment. It's nowhere near as bad as, say, Den-O Episode Red.
You can easily watch it without a lot of knowledge about the KR franchise and see a bunch of guys throwing punches with nice effects, the pacing is not complete shit like other movies too.
And... the worst? Worse than SHT or Godspeed Love, seriously?
Boring is subjective, like most "recommended" lists. I just chose series I think would be a good introduction to the franchises. Like, my favorite Sentai is Gekiranger, but I would NEVER recommend that to a newbie because that isn't indicative of what Sentai usually is.
Guys, could each of you guys make a list of recommended shows to put on the OP for the next TokuGAF thread? I plan on having as many of you guys being quoted on the OP with a list of shows you think newcomers should watch.
The Ninninger villain generals look kinda generic. I dunno why, but it's like they chose to focus on the whole Japanese Warlord thing rather than being yokai.
The cockpit on the other hand is genius.
I bet the upgrade will just be a recliner for Red to sit in.
Guys, could each of you guys make a list of recommended shows to put on the OP for the next TokuGAF thread? I plan on having as many of you guys being quoted on the OP with a list of shows you think newcomers should watch.
Honestly, none of those Rider shows captivated me.
However, Akibaranger and Kyoryuger are must-sees. You may like Go-Busters by the time you finish it, but I admit it is a really bland show with poor characters until around half-way through the teens. Obviously, Gokaiger is an all-time great, and another very recent Sentai show that's fantastic is Gekiranger.
Kabuto: It was my first rider show and still my favorite (although not the best). It has tons of Riders, the characters are interesting for the most part, and the action is marvelous. The only bad thing is that the plot gets pretty convoluted near the end. I watched this a second time last year (made my roommate watch it as his first rider show) and the plot makes sense now, so you may need to watch it twice. Did I mention the Hopper bros?
Gaim: Take everything Kabuto did (minus hilarious characters) and dial it up to infinity. Yeah, Gaim is definitely the best rider show, plot wise. It has a pretty mundane start but after around 10 episodes it picks up the pace and develops into a show where every single episode after will have you saying "THAT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN!" If there were a Rider show to represent the "just one more episode" or "next episode is the finale, right?" mantras, this would be it. Guaranteed to have you sitting on the edge of your seat.
W: Detectives and two-in-one Kamen Rider. Seriously, if Kabuto didn't exist, this would be my favorite season. 'nuff said.
Sentai
Dekaranger: First Sentai that I watched. I struggle to really say why I recommend it because I haven't watched it since 2006 but damn was it entertaining. If you like Power Rangers SPD, then you'll definitely love this. It has mystery, a good cast of heroes, and a talking dog. What's not to like?
Kabuto: It was my first rider show and still my favorite (although not the best). It has tons of Riders, the characters are interesting for the most part, and the action is marvelous. The only bad thing is that the plot gets pretty convoluted near the end. I watched this a second time last year (made my roommate watch it as his first rider show) and the plot makes sense now, so you may need to watch it twice. Did I mention the Hopper bros?
Gaim: Take everything Kabuto did (minus hilarious characters) and dial it up to infinity. Yeah, Gaim is definitely the best rider show, plot wise. It has a pretty mundane start but after around 10 episodes it picks up the pace and develops into a show where every single episode after will have you saying "THAT DID NOT JUST HAPPEN!" If there were a Rider show to represent the "just one more episode" or "next episode is the finale, right?" mantras, this would be it. Guaranteed to have you sitting on the edge of your seat.
W: Detectives and two-in-one Kamen Rider. Seriously, if Gaim didn't exist, this would be my favorite season. 'nuff said.
Sentai
Dekaranger: First Sentai that I watched. I struggle to really say why I recommend it because I haven't watched it since 2006 but damn was it entertaining. If you like Power Rangers SPD, then you'll definitely love this. It has mystery, a good cast of heroes, and a talking dog. What's not to like?
Kabuto: It was my first rider show and still my favorite (although not the best). It has tons of Riders, the characters are interesting for the most part, and the action is marvelous. The only bad thing is that the plot gets pretty convoluted near the end. I watched this a second time last year (made my roommate watch it as his first rider show) and the plot makes sense now, so you may need to watch it twice. Did I mention the Hopper bros?
Sure, the rider vs rider conflicts feel pretty forced in that show. Sure, the plot gets pretty dumb in the latter half. Sure, the writers drop plot devices like yesterday's red shoes.
But god damn I'd be lying if I said the characters sucked. Tendou is so god mode he's amazing, KaGAmi serves as a nice contrast to his antics, and Tsurugi...
...Well, he's probably the best rider in the show.
Kabuto isn't a great show, but I'd say it's worth watching for the characters alone (and for the nice clock-up sequences they rarely use.)
Guys, could each of you guys make a list of recommended shows to put on the OP for the next TokuGAF thread? I plan on having as many of you guys being quoted on the OP with a list of shows you think newcomers should watch.
Guys, could each of you guys make a list of recommended shows to put on the OP for the next TokuGAF thread? I plan on having as many of you guys being quoted on the OP with a list of shows you think newcomers should watch.
I can only recommend Kamen Rider, because I haven't started on a Super Sentai show yet. I've seen some of the movies here and there.
Go in this order - the Kamen Rider ZO movie, W, OOO, Fourze, Gaim, Kuuga, Agito, and then everything else in any order. Start with ZO because it's basically the pure concept of KR condensed into 45 minutes. If you like it, it'll help you get into the shows proper. The weakest Kamen Rider shows are Wizard and Kiva. They can be quite fun though. Drive is, so far, very good, so jump in on that whenever.
If you're going to watch anything from the Showa era, don't watch more than 2 episodes a week, because you'll burn out very quickly if you try to binge them. I tried to binge Black and I stopped in the 20s and didn't go back to it for 12 months.
I agree with Agito being better than Kuuga. The plot is better, the pacing is better, the writing is pretty decent and Inoue's tendencies for misunderstandings, love polygons, etc. are toned down a level where they enhance the show instead of making you question their stupidity. I still think if anyone wants to watch Agito, they need to watch Kuuga first because even though Toei says they're not related, I feel it enhances the Agito viewing experience if you treat it as a loose, thematic sequel.
It's pretty understandable as they might look similar at first, but becomes really different in direction later on. What I like in Kuuga is not in Agito, hence why I choose it.
Honestly, I found ZO boring. What confuses me, that villain is amazing, ZO looks cool and the action is decent. A shame Spirits is never going to be adapted to TV, the first ~9 chapters are the best crash course in KR ever.
If you're going to watch anything from the Showa era, don't watch more than 2 episodes a week, because you'll burn out very quickly if you try to binge them. I tried to binge Black and I stopped in the 20s and didn't go back to it for 12 months.
Most Showa series are episodic, but Black's first half is even worse for watching all at once than most since it attempts to keep a single consistent story all the way through, in spite of rarely advancing it. In Amazon, for example, you've got the first villain faction completely destroyed by episode 14. There's also Stronger also actually attempts a running plotlines starting around episode 20 up to the end of the show and even before that had changed the main active villains and introduced really entertaining villain in fighting.
Of course, most older Showa series are from the early 70s, so they're clearly pretty old. There's Skyrider (subbed halfway though, also guest appearances of all past 7 Riders starting from episode 20) and Super-1 (subs only for the first 5 episodes...) from the early 80s and then Black and Black RX in the late 80s, and you can see the jump in production values with each period.
I would say that if KR The NEXT didn't exist...but yea, I'm generally okay with most Rider films, but this one was just terrible (Fuck that giant 40 finisher).
eh, I was okay with the FIRST, it was passable...ye best stay away from NEXT though, it was terrible. I'll save you the trouble, yes, Takatora's actor is in the film, but it was a post credits thing that was dumb/pointless.
Watch W, OOO and Fourze. Really great Rider series.
For Sentai I suggest Boukenger, Shinkenger, Gobusters, Kakuranger and Dekaranger. If you watch Gokaiger for the first time it might give you a false impression on how Sentai works.
While I adore "Power Rangers Dino Charge |OT| Mighty dinos roar. Dino-Charged for more." I know it's going to be lost among the Gen One-ers in GAF. I really have no idea what a good name would be.
As for #2, it will be tough to find a scene like that, since the best morphed scenes have Gold or the Spirit Rangers in-them, and all the other good ones have the unmorphed actors doing it.
@Dino Charge OT
Why not something along the lines of "In this one everybody has a dinossaur" or just a pun with "morphin' time"? It's... CHARGING time? I dunno.
I decided to watch this in the intended order (after Episode 13) rather than finish the series first. Especially after Fourze referenced his Movie War in the series proper.
Amazing to see the Fourze crew again, and I liked seeing their 2017 selves. Excellent fight scenes of course, and Nadeshiko returns! Pretty cool that they incorporated another of Ishnimori's creations.
Wizard's segment, gotta be honest, it's the most I've enjoyed of Wizard so far. The first 13 episodes have been dull and predictable as fuck (Episode 11 annoyed me with the decoy, and they kept purposely not showing his face to hammer in that it's a decoy, kids aren't stupid!) While I do find Wizard's theme catchy, it doesn't work well in fight scenes. At least compared to W, OOO and Fourze's themes.
As for the team-up, freakin' timey-wimey... And of course W/Accel/OOO/Birth rings out of nowhere (IN STORES NOW... IN 2012!) I did love the chase sequence, that was a ton of fun to watch. Buuut we get another ending that looks right out of a PS2 game.
I will say, the punchline made it all worth it.
Also, that was a lame Secondary Rider preview. He didn't even get a fight scene, it's like "Oh shit, we forgot to film the Secondary Rider debut... throw something together fast"
Now to keep trucking through Wizard. At least it's not Gaoranger boring.