Sunday, February 9, 2014

Kyoryuger : a review part 3 : the storyline

(Head Writer Riku Sanjo: He wrote all 48 episodes of Kyoryuger)
This part is gonna be much shorter than the previous ones, since a lot of the story arcs have been explored in the characters parts. This part is more about showing how the Kyoryuger storyline is told through the show

Episodes 1-6: the intro arc of the show, with the heroes getting to know each other, and focus about their background. The villains have some focus as well/ Episode 5-6 introduces the first additional ranger, Kyoryu Cyan.
Episodes 7-12: the big Kyoryu Gold arc: it starts as soon as episode 7, with the return of Pteragodon. Episode 9-10 are the climactic episode, with the arrival of Kyoryu Gold who freed himself from Dogold; episode 11-12 are about his integration in the team.
Episodes 13-20: not much happens here: those episodes are more focusing on the different rangers: an important arc, the Kyoryu Grey arc in episode 17-18 and in episode 16, Ian learns the truth about Aigalon
Episode 21-24: the Kyoryu Violet arc, with the appearance of the Ulshade family and Plesion, and then, the first big attack of Deboth in its incomplete form, its defeat and the aftermath of that defeat: the arc ends with Yayoi becoming Kyoryu Violet
Episodes 25-29: the Endolf arc: after a transitional episode focusing on Souji, a big plot starts afterwards, with the new big enemy, Endolf. At the same time, Daigo receives his power up as Kyoryu Red di Carnival, and the Kyoryuger learn the truth about Torin: that arc ends with Endolf's defeat and Dogold taking his body
Episodes 30-36: The Bragigas arc: while episodes 30-33 are mostly fillers, they still are linked to the main plot because in each episode, the rangers are finding new amber gems, which are the remains of the Guardians. Bragigas appears in episode 34, resurrected thanks to the Guardians gems, and at the same time, the Gadoma arc starts: that arc ends up with Torin being able at last to become Kyoryu Silver
Episode 37-42: prelude before the finals: episodes 37-40 are mostly fillers, with the Deboth army being weakened.  While not much happens there, some elements are developed here that would be important in the final arc, like the beginning of Candelira and Luckyuro's redemption arcs, and the Spirits rangers meeting their future successors. Episode 41-42 conclude that arc, with Daigo learning at last the truth about his dad, and Endolf freeing himself from Dogold's possession.
Episodes 43-48: final arc, new Knights of Sadness and Joy appear, Deboth is at last fully resurrected, and the final showdown happens. Betrayal, tragic deaths but also hope, are the many things that occur during that climatic arc, which ends with the victory of the Kyoryugers.

A few comments:  Kyoryuger has a nice storytelling, with a lot of filler still having some relevant moments for the main plot. However, there are some moments where the plot stalls, notably between episodes 13 and 20 and between episodes 37 and 40. Besides, most of the filler plots aren't very interesting. Conversely, there are parts of Kyoryuger packed with plot, like the first 12 episodes, episodes 21-29 and of course the big final arc.
The plot is simple: Kyoryuger vs Deboth army, but it has plenty of world building. However, the introduction of plenty of new generals during the final arc felt weird, since they would have been more explored if they had appeared sooner.

As such, while not perfect, the storytelling is okay.

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