Power Rangers Beast Morphers First Impressions

I'm still amazed that Hasbro chose this as the next season simply because its been so long since Gobusters aired and they had plenty of other Sentai shows to choose from as their starter show. I majorly held back my expectations for the show because I don't have much experience with how Hasbro handles their shows. Anyway, lets see how the first 3 episodes of Beast Morphers turned out.

Unfortunately I'm not a fan of the theme song. A bit too much techno in it for my tastes. I tend to prefer a rock feel when it comes to Power Rangers openings. The lyrics are also a tad too generic and it might work better if it were longer. It being yet another reworking of Go Go Power Rangers doesn't really help much. All in all, its gonna take some time to grow on me.

Episode 1 is a nice start for the show. The pacing of the episode is nice and tense. It feels a bit like a Disney era premier in that regard to me. It set up the rangers' motivation well enough. The avatar thing is an interesting way to handle things and is a decent way to give us Blaze and Roxy as evil rangers. Although when Blaze first showed up in the episode, I figured he'd either willingly turn evil or just be brainwashed.That feeling mostly came from him being a little eager to try and beat Devon down after a small provocation.The Ravi and Roxy thing should be interesting later on and its actually an interesting way to handle Blue Buster and Escape's rivalry. It should make for some tense stuff as the series progresses. I saw a bit of a debate as to whether or not Roxy's avatar counts as a ranger. Until Hasbro says otherwise, I'm going to counter her as a ranger because thats what the machine was initially designed to make and Hasbro repainted Escape's monster form to yellow to show she is a twisted version of what would've been the yellow ranger. Overall, I enjoyed it but I kind of wish it was an hour long premier because we didn't learn much about Ravi outside the love story stuff.

In episode 2 we get a nice bit of rivalry between Ravi and Zoey as they compete to become leader of the team. We also get a decent look at Devon's leadership skills after their weak-points cropped up. It was actually nice seeing Devon be the only one not interested in competing to be the leader. The unmorphed fight is nice and has some good environmental action. I'm a bit surprised they brought over the weak-points from Gobusters. I thought for sure that those would get cut out. Other than that, the episode was establishing the villains' plan. I sort of expected that since the premiere didn't establish that. It also had a lot of exposition. Overall its an ok episode but not much really happened in it so its a bit of a step down from the premiere.

Not gonna lie, episode 3 was kinda weird. In order to stop a forest from being torn down for a new road to cut down on traffic flow, Zoey pitches a new city-wide bike program powered by Morph X to the mayor. The weird thing is that they're just regular bikes with a slot for a vial of Morph X. With that being said, this might be one of the more subtle environment episodes the franchise has had in a while, even if the problem was essentially solved by the rule of cool. The bike chase was decent if a little too 90's/early 2000s. Other than that, there wasn't much to the episode. It felt out of place compared to the 1st two episodes. However, I'm glad that idea of them using the Grid as a power source is still being carried on past the 1st episode. It wasn't a bad episode but its a step down from the previous two.

Its decent start to the series though episode 3 makes it clear that Hasbro is still trying to get a feel for how they want the franchise to go. Episodes 1 and 2 felt like they were intended to be an hour long premiere and that Nick probably said no to that idea. It would explain why episode 2 had so much exposition. Overall I'm looking forward to how the show plays out. I'm also curious as to whether or not future seasons will keep the Morphing Grid being used as an energy source. That really not something you can take back once you've done it unless each season from now on is an alternate universe.

Power Rangers Ninja Steel First Impressions

Its that time of year again folks, a new Power Rangers season just started. Despite the bumps in its execution, I enjoyed Dino Charge/Supercharge enough for both halves to get a pass from me. Why did I start out by mentioning Dino Charge? Well, its because I legitimately don't know how to feel about Ninja Steel at the moment. Is that a good or bad thing? Well read on and find out how I felt about the first five episodes.

Ok first, we gotta talk about the theme song. Its generic, extremely generic. You could remove the words Ninja Steel from the lyrics, put it in front of any PR season, and it would still fit. Other than that, its just there and doesn't really have any oomph to it. There also isn't anything memorable about outside of the opening riff.

Episode 1 of Ninja Steel was perfectly fine well, except for one thing: They kept repeating what happened to Brody's dad. They reminded us what happened to his father 4 times in a 30 minute episode. The first time they reminded us, it wasn't even two minutes after the prologue. It felt like they needed something to fill out the run-time. Other than that, it introduced Brody, Preston, and pink will enough. It also set up the show decently however, there is another problem with that which I'll talk about when I mention episode two's problems since its a two part premier.

Episode 2 was alright and was a nice intro for Calvin and Haley. Its the second half of the premier and it being a two parter is kind of a problem for me. Given Nick's scheduling, I don't think they have the time for two part premiers any more. With that being said, the tail-end of the episode is a problem for me as well. They noticed that the gold power star was already missing when Calvin and Hayley got their power stars. That could've been a nice mystery but they killed the mystery two minutes later by revealing that one of the villains somehow got their hands on it off-screen. That is a big deal, you don't do something like that off-screen that soon after you've pointed out the object is missing.

The main plot for episode 3 was ok. Basically it was just to teach Brody about teamwork though I have to ask what the point was of introducing his wrist watch and using it to find out monster weaknesses when they were just gonna ditch it three episodes in. The subplot for the episode however was just stupid. This idiotic jock named Victor Vincent is upset about the rangers being more popular than him so he decides to fight a monster. The subplot is only there to explain why Brody can't use his wrist watch, because he lost it and Vincent found it.

Episode 4 was ok. It was a decent episode for Preston. Its probably the best episode out of these five. Even Victor and Monty didn't annoy me. Episode 5 however, is probably the worst so far. Calvin's lesson is fine on its own but his fear of driving really should've been introduced in an episode where a new zord was supposed to premier. The Rumble Tusk zord effectively comes out of nowhere because the focus was promoting the bike. With that being said, its the subplot for Victor and Monty this episode that really gets on my nerves. Its all one big, unfunny fart joke.

These first few episodes are ok so far with a few missteps. My biggest problem so far is without a doubt Victor and Monty. I think the franchise is a dipping a little too much into the nerd/jock cliches for those two though at least Victor isn't exactly a bully. It feels like the show is trying to make them the new Bulk and Skull. Its really not working for me. I'm not gonna lie, if I had to go out of my way to watch this, I'd have likely dropped it for the time being. It hasn't given me the urge to keep watching. As it stands right now, I'm going to continue watching simply because all I have to do is turn my tv on.

One-Punch Man First Impressions

Yeah I'm kinda late to the party on this one. I've been watching One-Punch Man lately on Toonami. I'm actually rather enjoying it so far. Its fun and hasn't managed to disappoint me action-wise. This one is gonna be shorter than my usual posts like this.

I'm not going to give a basic overview of the setup like I usually do since I think a lot of superhero/toku fans have likely seen this show by now. Essentially monsters and supervillains have started showing up so heroes have arisen to combat them. The strongest of them by far is a man named Saitama.

I like the idea of the Hero Association. As much as I love Tiger and Bunny, the Hero Association in One-Punch Man is more what something like that would realistically be like. Anyone can be a hero provided they pass the written and physical tests. The heroes are also ranked and scored based on their activity and ability. A nice detail I like is that the C-class heroes get kicked from the Association if they're inactive for a week. The show also manages to make each of the heroes and villains memorable in one way or another. If I were to pick my character favorite so far, its probably either Genos or Speed of Sound Sonic (yes thats actually his name). Genos is basically a cyborg who admires Saitama's strength and wants to become stronger so he becomes Saitama's student. He keeps trying to figure out how he got that strong and doesn't believe Saitama did it through regular training. He is a lot more serious-minded about being a hero than Saitama. Sonic is a ninja that just wants to fight Saitama as Saitama was the first person to ever beat him so he wants to prove that he is stronger.

This show is so close to One Piece levels of weird for me. Its sort of so odd feeling that I can't put it into words. I can definitely say this much about it though: Its fun. It also doesn't take itself too seriously. I particularly like how no one believes that Saitama got this strong just by doing strength training. You've got all these special beings just assuming that Saitama has superpowers just because he is strong enough to blow pretty much anything away with one punch. The show is pretty fun in terms of its action. I was actually rather invested while watching a simple training fight between Saitama and Genos.

I was sort of hesitant to watch this because of all the hype. I was worried it would end up like Attack On Titan and that I'd run into particularly militant fans if I didn't like it. Unlike Attack On Titan, I totally see how this got popular. It honestly deserves ever bit of praise I've seen it get. I'm definitely enjoying myself with this show. I particularly like how Saitama doesn't make a big deal about his strength while everyone else is going nuts trying to figure out how he got that strong. Thats really all I've got to say about this show so far. On the off-chance you haven't seen it yet, check it out, you'll probably enjoy it.

Legend Heroes First Impressions

I've been broadening my toku horizons because a  friend of mine on Twitter was posting screen caps of this series. They sort of peaked my interest so I decided to give it a shot. What resulted was a relatively weird show in my opinion. I've seen Japanese and American toku but this is my first experience with Korean toku. How did the first 6 episodes fare for me? Read on and find out.

The show is basically Romance of the Three Kingdoms told in a way similar to Kamen Rider Ryuki so far. Its pretty much only lacking Mirror World and the body count. The tone is also lighter than Ryuki. There is another difference but I won't say what it is here. I'll just say that its something I find to be a bit of an interesting twist on this type of setup.

Liu Bei (they go so far as to give characters names from the story) is a student of the Flying Dragon Fist. He saves a girl who turns out to be an angel and once he tells her his name, she tells him of the Dream Battle and gives him the hero piece Guan Yu. You need to have the name of a legendary hero to qualify for the Dream Battle. If someone were to win the Dream Battle they can have a single wish granted. What basically follows is him fighting for his dream to master the Flying Dragon Fist.

The fight scenes are enjoyable enough and actually feature a nice variety in movements. I was actually rather impressed with Zhang Fei's fighting style in eps 3 and 4. It played up the fact that his weapon had a shield and axe mode well enough. However, the one that really sticks in my mind so far is this cat-themed Legend Hero who shows up at the start of episode 5. His fighting style basically involves chucking needles at his opponent and using acupuncture to keep them in place. Its actually something I want to see done more in tokusatsu in general.

The show also features mecha battles and unfortunately I'm not a fan of how the show does them. Each mecha fight is done in two parts: It starts as a vehicle fight and then they transform into giant robots. The vehicle parts of the mecha battles are done in really bad CGI. The giant robot parts of the mecha battles leave a lot to be desired as well. They are very obviously shot in a studio. The miniatures are also not that detailed and the painting of the sky isn't that convincing. Some of the designs are ok but the mecha fights are easily the show's weakest point so far.

The comedy so far is kinda of hit or miss however some of it had me at a loss for words. The villain for eps 3 and 4  and his cronies are meant to be more comedic. His introduction in the show involves them singing and dancing while talking about their dream of taking over the world. To top that off...they're some of the biggest dorks I've ever seen and I mean that in a good way. Some of the slapstick can be kinda cringe-y at times. The show definitely lends itself really well to out of context screen-shots.

The dramatic bits so far are ok. I did like Liu Bei's reaction when realizes just what the cost of losing the Dream Battle is after he beats He Jun. I enjoyed his moments with Gonsun Zan (his adoptive sister) in eps 5 and 6. I'm a bit of a sucker for family dynamics in tokusatsu. Liu Bei looks like my kinda of protagonist because the dude wants to make people happy. He is also willing to avoid a fight if possible.

This is my favorite suit in the show so far

The suit designs are nice and have a good variety to them. Judging by intro to the show, there are going to be a lot of suits in this show. Each of the suits so far have a nice amount of detail on them. I'm looking forward to seeing them all in action. The Hero Pieces themselves are sentient and CGI. I don't mind the CGI used for them since they're pretty small so it doesn't look out of place. The show feels a lot like Kamen Rider Ryuki only more comedic. There is also a lot of other stuff I've seen mixed in there as well. The odd thing is, I can't pin down exactly what it reminds me of other than Ryuki. Overall, I do actually recommend trying out the first couple eps. Its enjoyable enough and kinda charming so far even if its kinda goofy.

Ultraman Mebius First Impressions

I had some time to kill so I sat down and watched the first arc of Ultraman Mebius. Not really sure if it counts as a first impressions at this point. Originally, my cut-off for this post was episode 6 but the show planted the seeds for this arc in episode 5 so I decided to continue until I was done with the arc which was ep 11 but I watched ep 12 just to be safe. I should probably mention now that this is only the second Ultraman series I've seen. My first one being Ultraman Nexus so yeah, this is a franchise that I don't really have much experience with.

The first episode opens up with a conversation between Father of Ultra and Mebius about him going to Earth. Over on Earth we learn that they've been going through an era of peace as far as monster attacks go. Needless to say that ends as soon as the show starts. The first episode really establishes the stakes by having the entire Japanese branch of GUYS all but annihilated while trying to fight off the monster. Its a really nice action packed episode and introduces the crew we'll be following for the show.

The monster designs are nice and creepy. They actually manage to look pretty natural yet alien at the same time. Between this and Nexus' monster designs, I guess that something the Ultraman series do rather well. Bogal is a great first arc villain. Its just a monster with the desire to consume to the point where it attracts other monsters to the planet so it can eat them. Its final design is great nightmare fuel.

The new GUYS crew has a nice variety of skills and backgrounds. Other than Mebius and Ryu (a surviving member of the Japan branch of GUYS), we have Konomi (a preschool teacher), George (a star soccer player), Teppei (a medical student), and Marina (a champion bike racer). Episode one shows off Marina and George's skills rather well. Marina can hear the monster's sonic attack before it hits and George can see and react to it. It also shows them all being willing to risk their lives and rescue some rabbits at Konomi's preschool for the kids. Those 4 officially join GUYS in episode 2. Episode 3 is a nice and tense episode and it shows that Teppei actually has some knowledge regarding some of the monsters and he shows interest in researching what they're fighting. Episode 4 is a nice introduction to Konomi's character as it shows her motherly nature by having her tame a monster. Episode 5 is a nice episode for George as we learn a little bit more about his past. Episode 6 is a Marina episode and it basically reveals the downside of her hearing abilities since she can hear the subtle changes in their equipment. It sort of makes her nervous but she learns to trust their equipment in the end. The Tsurugi stuff was heart-wrenching just because of how it affected Ryu and episode 11 makes a nice parallel because he started acting like Tsurugi when he sees the same type of monster that killed Captain Serizawa.

I liked Tsurugi/Ultraman Hikari's introduction arc where he is basically trying to avenge the inhabitants of a planet he idolized. It does a great job of showing a man consumed by his hatred. It goes so far that he is willing to let people die if he can just stop Bogal. Its a story that I'm usually a sucker for. Admittedly though, I kinda liked his design as Tsurugi more than I did when the armor went away. He first shows up at the end of ep 5 and his arc lasts until ep 11.

I really like how the show features a database that has basic entries on the monsters they fight. It really makes Mebius accessible to newcomers like myself. The action is fantastic so I really have to major props to the suit actors for Mebius, Hikari, and the Kaijuu. The miniatures and model sets were very well design and had some great detailing. My personal favorite model set was the town on the shore-line from episode 3. Overall, I enjoyed the first arc of Mebius.

Denji Sentai Megaranger First Impressions

After the Bioman first impressions, I told myself that I wouldn't start a new series until after I finished Bioman. However, I had a Megaranger itch to scratch and some time to kill. I checked out the first 9 eps of Megaranger and oh boy was I surprised.

The series opens up unsurprisingly in an arcade. Surprisingly, Megaranger is a fighting game in the arcade. We're shortly introduced to Kenta helping some kids who are being bullied and he challenges the bully to Megaranger. After he beats the bully, he is approached by a bunch of guys in suits because of his skill with the game. They take him to INET to and reveal that the game is actually a test used to recruit people to become Megarangers. After that we're introduced to Kenta's friends from a school club just as the enemy attacks.

The first outing for the Nezirezia Empire was incredible. The first two episodes felt like an end-game move you'd see for a finale. That was a great way to demonstrate just how dangerous they are right off the bat. They wiped INET's earth base off the map. This is one of the most competent first attacks for the villains that I've seen in Sentai. They are definitely some of the most upfront villains I've ever seen. In episode 5, they created a monster specifically to counter Galaxy Mega's sword and in episode 6, they essentially said "lets just nuke the city". I love their plans a lot and it makes the early episodes feel very tense. I absolutely love their designs. I love Dr. Hinelar's make-up. Its really effective and surprsingly detailed. He has this almost royal look to him. I really like the wire-frame look for Yugande's suit and the cape looks good on him. It sort of gives him the look of a digital knight. The black and green perfectly complement each other. I like the shade of blue for Suhiborena's outfit and it looks nice with the silver bits. The silver bits are nicely detailed.

I love Galaxy Mega's design. There is an absurd level of detail in this thing. Every time I look at it, I notice a detail that I didn't catch before. The sculpting is fantastic as well and all of the colors blend really well. I particularly like the big red M on the chest. Its got a really combination sequence. I love how the sword doubles as a lazer whip.

The Megaranger suits are nice to look at. They are simple and stream-lined. The white complements their colors rather well. Like the Timeranger belts, you can look at the Megaranger belts and instantly recognize which team they're from. I like that the design on their chests includes each of their colors. The first eight episodes introduced their individual powers really well. MegaRed can be programmed with lots of abilities. MegaBlack can use satellites to scan and search for things. MegaYellow can search and playback images. MegaPink can use her MegaCapture to scan for things.

The Megarangers are endearing and pretty nice characters overall. The first episode shows their skills with electronics rather well. The enemy's initaly attack fries an electronic lock and they manage to fix the lock with just the gadgets they have in their pockets. Episode 3 reemphasizes this when they run a computer program to figure out whats on Kenta's next test so he can study for it despite missing the class due to fighting Nezirezia. Kenta is a red I can really get behind. He is a nice guy overall and episode 3 shows that rather well. He fights a monster un-henshined to guard a room Shun is in while he saves a program that could help him realize his dreams. In the same episode Shun learned that his friends were more important and said he'd start his dream over from scratch after all his floppy disks got destroyed when he saved Kenta. Kouichiro seems cool and really wants to make sure his friends are taking being Megarangers seriously. The dude actually blamed himself for his friends falling into a trap in episode 4 because he thought he wasn't responsible enough to prevent it. Episode 5 isn't exactly a character episode for the Megaranger's themselves, its for the mentor Dr. Kubota. It shows just how much he cares for the team and believes in them. He even points out that Galaxy Mega was specifically designed to grow with the Megarangers when INET's board tried to automate it. Episode 6 was a nice episode for Miku. It basically shows her being responsible when she thinks someone caught her turning into MegaPink. It also showed just how kind she was as she helped the guy who tricked her into a date get over his shyness. Episode 7 was enjoyable and had a nice moment between Kouichiro and Chisato. Episode 8 we get a great episode for Kenta since he learns just how valuable working with his team is. It also gave us some backstory on Dr. Hinelar. Episode 9 was a great episode for Chisato. It shows that she and the others besides Kenta are a little too quick to judge based on appearances.

I absolutely love the theme song. Its pretty good at getting you pumped up for the show. The ending theme is rather nice and soothing while sort of capturing the high school vibe. I love just how much science and technology is a recurring theme. The show does so far has done a nice job exploring its uses and possible applications. It makes it world feel more natural and organic so its rather easy to get into for me. This is the second series since Timeranger to make me like the entire team before the 10 episode mark. Its very rare that a show pulls that off. I love Abaranger, Dekaranger, and Gekiranger's characters too but this pulled it off a bit faster than they did. This is definitely a series I'm looking forward to seeing more of.

Power Rangers Dino Supercharge First Impressions

Dino Charge was decent. It had some problems here and there but it was enjoyable. I could definitely tell they were trying which is all I ask from Power Rangers. Time to take a look at my thoughts on the first three episodes of Dino Supercharge.

Episode one opens up with Tyler doing a recap of the first half. After the recap, we cut to Sledge's ship. Sledge was apparently killed in the crash. Unfortunately, Poisandra survived so now she has even less reason to be here. Its also weird that she seemed to forget about Sledge the second food was mentioned. The episode had some really nice tension with Ice Age from the first half picking off the rangers one-by-one. It also shows Heckyl trying to get close to the rangers while in his human form. Its actually a nice plan that sort of works.

Episode two was ok. Weirdly enough like Dino Charge episode two, this was a Riley-centric episode. Its basically Heckyl trying to wipe the rangers memories so he could swipe their energems. Its actually a rather smart move on his part and its something I'm honestly surprised Sledge didn't try. It has a sub-plot with Riley standing up to a guy who used to bully him in high school. I've honestly never really cared for this trope in PR as it usually just comes out of nowhere. Though I did like that it sort of shows just how much energy the energems put out. Riley challenges the bully to the climbing wall and uses the energem to give him an edge. The energem actually puts out so much energy that it flings him over the climbing wall and makes him land in the tree right behind it. The main plot of the episode involves Heckyl trying to wipe their memories so he can steal the energems. When that doesn't work, he has the monster wipe his memories forcing them to take him to their base to fix it. That part of the plan works but by the end of the episode he gets that bit of his memory wiped away.

Episode three was the weakest of these episodes. Its sub-plot features an overbearing parent trope which is something that has kind of annoyed me over the years because sometimes its not exactly handled well. Its also a bit weird to see her father show up now. It doesn't really feel all that impactful of an episode. My real issue with the episode however is sort of how they handled Heckyl's stuff but I'll get to that in a bit.

These three episodes had something interesting with Heckyl but the pay-off is disappointing. Heckyl does something that I haven't seen many villains in PR do. He basically uses his human-form and the fact that he saved Kendel in the first half to get a job in the museum so he can get close to the rangers. He does this to learn the location of their base so he can steal their energems. He finds out the location of their base in episode two which is fine but his plan from the episode backfires and it sort of wipes his memory. Episode 3 however, is where the disappointment happens. They drop that plan immediately because Shelby walks in while Heckyl is knocking everyone else out and stealing their energems. He even transforms into Snide once he is caught.

They could've honestly played it off because due to Heckyl's main plan in the episode, the rangers hadn't slept in days. If he just pocketed the energems as he was taking them, he could've just convinced everyone that Shelby was hallucinating from lack of sleep. It felt like something that should've been an over-arcing thing until Heckyl's eventual exit from the show but instead it was thrown away after three episodes.

Overall, its an ok start to Dino Super Charge. It shows off Heckyl's ability as a leader but has a few problems with hand-waving away the stuff about him knowing where their base is. Its in-line with the quality of Dino Charge. This might seem like a weird thing to bring up but it doesn't really feel all that different from Dino Charge. It does feel like the stakes have been raised and them ending Heckyl's plot-line about befriending the rangers so suddenly really doesn't help in that regard. I know that introducing Dino Super Drive mode is supposed to indicate that the monsters have gotten stronger since Heckyl took power but it doesn't feel like it was necessary or earned. Also as a personal thing, I don't like that Dino Super Drive mode gets rid of the silver mouth-bit on the helmet. It makes the suits look a bit soul-less if its just the visor on the front of the helmet.

Mirai Sentai Timeranger First Impressions

Yes I have decided to check out the first few episodes of another Sentai series. Alongside Bioman and Maskman, I had an itch to scratch with Timeranger's first few episodes, I ended up watching the first seven. A lot of stuff happened so lets get right into it. Spoiler warning for this one since I'm going to cover their first character episodes as well. All in all, I saw the first seven episodes.

The series opens with a beautifully done shot of a city in the year 3000. We are then introduced to a batch of new recruits being given a lecture on the history of time travel and why it is banned. Shortly after we see a nice setup with Don Dornheirno about to be put into cryo-stasis and stored with other prisoners. A break out orchestrated by his right-hand man Gien occurs and the two actually managed to impress me with their creativity. They actually trick the Timerangers into thinking they had jumped into the past so they can have the time ship knock them and their prison into the past when they tried to chase after them. Heck to even make sure that the plan works, they had Lira go undercover as the commanding officer of the group of recruits the Timerangers were apart of. I can definitely say this group is competent. Dornheirno is interesting as just destroying things or taking over the world isn't his main goal. Its all about the money with him. In episode 6, he basically told Gien not to send in monsters to destroy the Timerangers because it wasn't going to make them any money.

Aesthetically, the main members Londarz family (something they named themself after they escaped into the past) are nicely designed with lots of bright colors. Dornheirno looks like a big, intimidating space frog. Gien looks rather creepy with his robotic skeleton being covered up on only one side. The sculpting on Lila's chestplate has some nice detail. The pink hair really fits the rest of the suit.

Time Robo is an interesting case for a main mecha. It has two forms: Time Robo Alpha for general ground combat and Time Robo Beta for long range combat. Alpha's design looks nice with all the red being balanced with silver and black. That really makes the green portion of the chestplate pop out. Its major weapons are a sword and shield.

Beta's design is nice as well though the fins on the shoulder pads are a little distracting to me. Otherwise, the blue balances nicely with the silver. The time flyer becomes a gun for the mecha. Its interesting to see a mecha that can flip between the two on the fly. It shows its versatility rather well. I honestly hope we see another mecha like that at some point.

There is a third form called Gamma but it isn't exactly a robot mode. All the time jets combine into an even bigger Time Jet. It was mainly brought out to counter long ranged opponents so its a lot more agile and mobile than the other two.

The Timeranger suits are very nicely designed and they've all got the colored visors which is something I always like to see. The black surrounding the visors looks great while the white going across the chest complements the each color. I especially like that the Chrono Changers don't vanish when they henshin. They get added into the sides of the gloves. The sculpted silver mouth pieces are usually distracting for me but they really work well here. The belt buckles are nicely designed. Its one of those unique designs where you can immediately tell what team it is from without seeing the rest of the suits.

The Timeranger's themselves seem interesting. I like Tatsuya's dilemma with his father in episode two. Parents who plan their children's future for them usually strike a nerve for me so I really felt Tatsuya's need to get away from his father's influence. He makes a great speech about how even if they can't change history itself, they can still change their individual futures. Their reasons for joining the Timeranger's seem interest with Yuri being a cop in honor of her dead family, Ayase formerly training to be stock car racer, Domon being a disgraced fighter, and Shion being an alien. Ayase in particular seems to have more to him than the show is letting on. Episode 3 was a great bonding moment between him and Tatsuya. Shion potentially being the last of his kind and raised in a lab is a nice way to explain his overly naive outlook and it makes him all the more endearing to me. Yuri's tale of losing her family was a tearjerker and it made her capturing the Londarz responsible extremely satisfying since he was outright shown to be scumbag. Out of everyone, Domon seems to be the one most affected by the prospect of being stuck in the past. I feel sort of bad for the guy, feeling trapped in a strange place and the sadness that comes with it is a terrible thing. It isn't often a show makes me care for everyone so quickly but this is one of the shows that managed to pull it off.

The beginning of this show is packed with so much its was exhausting to watch, but in a satisfying way. It was time well spent. One of my friends wasn't kidding when he said it was dialogue heavy. I had to rewind a few scenes two or three times to catch everything they said but in the grand scheme of things, that isn't a big deal. The action was well paced and well handled despite some speed blur in the first episode but that is more of a minor complaint. The model city in episode two got some real use. It is one of the few times that I've seen a monster pick up part of a building and throw it at the heroes. These first seven episodes were great and I look forward to picking the series back up once most of it is subbed.

Hikari Sentai Maskman First Impressions

In addition to Bioman's first two episodes, I also watched Maskman's first 4 episodes. Like with Bioman, I normally wouldn't do this since its not a currently airing show but man did it give me a lot to talk about. Lets get right into it.

One thing I really enjoyed is that the series wastes no time in throwing you right into the action. The very first scene with Tube is them declaring war on the surface world and causing massive damage with an aerial strike. Like Bioman's first episodes, doing that really helps establish the threat and cranks up the stakes. Its been a while since I've seen villains that don't screw around in their first outing. Heck, at the end of episode 2, they do something that feels like the end game moves you would normally see for series finales. Also, I love the way Tube handles traitors. Instead of death, they get subjected to eternal sleep and dreams filled with their worst nightmares. They also feature a very nice variety in designs. A majority of the main members are human looking villains which as I said in the Bioman post is something I miss nowadays.

The flashbacks showing Mio and Takeru's budding relationship was a nice touch. Normally, I'd roll my eyes when I see something like that in the beginning of a series but the show does a nice job of making the relationship known. I honestly feel bad for the guy and I want to see him get her back.

One thing that really surprised me was when they were training to unlock Aura Power in episode 3. Takeru got distracted because he was thinking about Mio during meditation. That caused an energy feedback that threw them all over a cliff and no one tried to punch him for messing up. I'm not even kidding, I expected Kenta to slug him once they got back on their feet. Its a sad thing that I'm just so used to modern styles that I instinctively expected the heroes to be jerks to each other early on. Heck they even followed Takeru when they heard Mio's voice. It was really rather refreshing to see. It really shows solidarity in the team and that everyone understands what Takeru is going through. The training itself was nice to see. I'm always a sucker for training montages.

I like the prop-work for their individual mecha. They are really well made. I'm almost convinced that Red Mask's fighter jet is remote controlled since the way it flies, turns, and dives seems a bit too complex for it to just be done with wires. I like Great Five's transformation sequence. Its rather simple and the details on the models are excellent. The suit itself is very nicely sculpted and all the colors mesh pretty well.

I like the suit designs. They're all simple and sleek yet very easy to identify at first glance. I don't usually comment on the designs for the visors but they have a nice variety for just being one team. The white portions of the suits really complement each color and I like the big 5 logo on the chests. I find it a strange yet nice detail that Pink Mask and Yellow Mask's helmets have earrings attached to them.

Overall, I enjoyed these 4 episodes. It gave a great first look at its concepts while also managing to make the characters endearing right out of the gate. Mio and Igam being played by the same actress is a nice touch since the characters are twins. The show does a nice job of shooting around that by doing over the shoulder shots when both characters share a scene. The theme song is nice and energetic and the ending theme is enjoyable. The action was well handled. The episodes themselves manage to squeeze in a lot in a short amount of time. The episodes don't even feel that long. I can tell that I've got a lot to look forward to in this series. I'm going to put this on my watch-list for after Gingaman and Jetman.

Choudenshi Bioman First Impressions

On a whim, I checked out the first two episodes of Choudenshi Bioman. Normally, I wouldn't do a first impressions post for something that isn't currently airing but the first two episodes really gave me a lot to talk about. Lets get right into it.

This was an extremely strong opening for the series. We get introduced to the villains first and man do they look awesome. Doctor Man's make-up is amazingly effective during the lightning flashes. It nearly made me jump out of my seat. They do a great job with all of the villain designs. A bigger plus is that they are all mostly human villains instead of talking suits with is something I always like to see.

The New Gear Empire wastes no time invading Earth and I mean it when I say they are brutal. One of the first attacks we see is a group of foot soldiers capturing a group of scientists and letting loose with a machine gun. Its a really strong first outing for the villains and really establishes the threat. They don't even bother sending in a single monster, they just sent in a general and a giant mecha. The enemy mecha actually remind me a lot of Dekaranger.

During the invasion, Bio Robo activates and then starts recruiting people to become the Biomen. It looks bulky but it is actually very move-able. It seems as if movement was the major thought for the designers back then. I'm still impressed that the mecha can kick like that. However what impresses me the most is that they actually built a giant prop hand just to pick up the Biomen. Heck in the first two episodes we even get to see inner panels in other parts of the mecha as opposed to just seeing the cockpit. Its also a nicely designed mecha. The sculpting is great, especially on the head. I particularly like the helmet-esque look the head has. The black contrasts nicely with the silver while also balancing with the red and yellow.

These episodes do a nice job of showing what the suits can do without it feeling shoved in. To show that the suits are bullet-proof they get shot at with machine guns after transforming and the bullets just stop when they hit them. The suits enhance their physical strength and its not afraid to show it. They can really cut loose since the foot soldiers aren't human and it is brutal. After these two episodes, I can officially say that I've seen one get its head punched clean off by Red One, one get its throat slit by Yellow Four, and one get stabbed right in the spine by Blue Three. I really did not expect it to go there but I am so glad it did. A lot of toku nowadays need at least one moment like that. Each suit also has a super computer in its helmet that lets them do a variety of things. So far I've only seen two use it: Red One has a radar in his that lets him calculate angles and Yellow Four's produces a holographic display. These computers also give them instructions for how to pilot Bio Robo. The suits themselves are nicely designed. They have a nice hi-tech look to them thanks to the circuit board-like pattern across the chest and the panels on the helmets. The silver bands over the visors help add a space age feel to them and the sculpted silver mouth-pieces are a nice touch.

The special effects are fantastic, even compared to today's effects. There was a ton of effort put into them and it really shows. The blades of their laser swords are actually colored neon light tubes which is why they are able to glow like that. However, my favorite effect so far is Red One's sword finisher because the sword is actually on fire. That sort of thing always manages to impress me whenever I see or hear about it. I was slightly disappointed that Red One shooting his gun in both episodes is the same shot but I can let that slide given the era and the other practical effects.

Overall, I enjoyed these two episodes a lot. It managed to introduce a lot in a short time. The brisk 20 minute pace of the episodes worked in its favor because it kept the action going. Speaking of the action, I enjoyed Farrah Cat's fight with Mika because its both actresses doing their own stunt work. Its also been a while since I've seen a villain use nunchaku in a fight. The techno brace is a simple yet effective wrist-watch. I also like the hand-drawn commercial bumpers they used back then, I think Toei needs to bring those back. I'm actually a bit surprised that I didn't see some of the brutality coming since I saw similar levels of brutality in Liveman's premier. Since it isn't fully subbed, I'll piece out what is left in between different series.

Power Rangers Dino Charge First Impressions

After watching the first two episodes of Dino Charge, I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised. I wasn't really expecting that much from the show after last 4 years. Anyway, lets get down to business. Note: this will include both episodes since it was technically a two part premier.

I actually enjoy the theme song this time around despite it using some lines of the remixes from the last few years. It has this slightly ancient vibe to it in the beginning of the song. The song actually synched up rather well with the opening, especially that clip of Koda punching Fury.

First Episode: 

The first episode opens up with a space battle between Keeper's and Sledge's ships. The CGI used for the battle and the inside of Sledge's ship could have been used better. I was waiting for him to walk right through the green screen when they showed the command deck. Sledge's design leaves a lot to be desired since it is essentially just a green body suit with foam armor on it. Despite his design, the show does a relatively decent job of show how strong Sledge is. You don't actually see him fight in the episode but there is a scene of him just cataloging prisoners in his ships prison block and carrying wanted posters.

Keeper is the mentor of the season and well, his design is alright. He looks like an older, wiser ET that turned orange. However, with only 3-5 minutes of screen time in this episode, I can honestly say that he has already done more than the last two mentors. He seems to have some degree of fighting skills given that he fought Fury for a brief bit after sending out the energems.

One of the surprising things is that the monster of the week actually went right for the kill the moment he knocked the energems away from Shelby and Tyler. He only failed because he was about a second too late. In an interesting choice, only Tyler and Shelby actually morph and fight during this episode. The fight scene that followed could've used some work. It feels out of synch due to all the wireworks and it didn't feel like it flowed naturally. The CGI for the T-Rex zord...yeah there was no way I could take that seriously when it attacked the monster of the week.

Second Episode: 

Riley's introduction is a rather odd choice in terms of skill set. He is a rancher but also a fencer which doesn't really mesh convincingly with KyoryuGreen's reverse grip sword-style in the footage used later in the episode. In an unmorphed fight scene, Riley manages to beat out Fury in a sword fight to protect the green energem. Chase and Koda are revealed to already have their powers. I'm actually a bit surprised about Koda's lines. I half-expected him to speak fluently despite being a caveman. Sort of glad they went with the fractured dialogue. Though the caveman thing wasn't actually mentioned in the show but I think they'll probably give his backstory soon. The morphed fight is sadly Kyoryuger stock footage from their premier.

Final Thoughts: I definitely needed this. I went into this expecting Megaforce levels of cash-in and honestly, I'm pleasantly surprised. While not a perfect start, I can at least say it looks like they're trying with this one so I'm relatively happy. Its rather refreshing after the last four years and I'm looking forward to seeing where they'll go with this.

ToQger First Impressions

Well I've seen the premiere of ToQger and yes this is a bit late, but better late than never. Its time to get down to business. Based on the information that was released early on, it was clear that this show was seemingly going for a light tone. What did I think of it? You'll find out soon enough.

The episode opens with a nice bit of narration about the importance of imagination. We see a train from the Shadow Line abducting children and surprisingly there is an adult on board. Suddenly we see the dark train being chased down by 5 trains from the Rainbow Line. After a battle between the trains, the dark train is driven to a dead stop and we're shortly introduced to our heroes: The ToQgers, well 4 of them anyway as Right doesn't join until later in the episode.

The dark train's design is decent enough with a nice looking albeit very generic skull on the front. It should also be noted that the miniatures for the show look fantastic. I'm a bit mixed on the theme song. It is decently exciting but it might get rather annoying at some point. As for the ToQgers, the color scheme is about what would be expected with the colors being red, blue, yellow, green, and pink. Though it is nice that they went with a nice bright shade of green instead of the usual shade. The color swapping however could use some work. In the premiere it just gets played off as a flashy way for them to simply switch weapons and it really doesn't affect their fighting ability in any way.

I was expecting each color to be linked to a specific ability and by assuming that color, a ToQger could gain access to that ability. The cast seems interesting enough and imagination being the source of their power is a cool idea. Its really interesting that Kagura can use her own imagination to augment her physical abilities and I'm wondering if the other ToQgers can do something like that as well. Her signature weapon is also a bit twisted in a sense as she used it to shrink some foot soldiers and began literally crushing them like ants. However it is an interesting idea for a weapon regardless. Personality-wise, I don't mind Right at the moment, for now he is just a reckless guy. He even went so far as to jump onto a moving train before grabbing his henshin device.

That just might be my favorite gag in the premiere.

The design for ToQ-Oh is just massive and way too bulky though I will give the designers some points for going with full-size trains and instead of just giving each ToQger an individual train car. ToQ-Oh actually moved a lot better than its design would imply. Given its overly bulky design, it definitely wouldn't be the most agile mecha so it was a great idea to have it fight on tracks. The villains' designs are interesting though the premiere didn't give us much insight into their personalities.

In terms of the comedy, it had a little too much slapstick from my tastes but it was still enjoyable. I just hope it won't sink to the level of relying too much on the slapstick to get the comedic tone across.

Well those are my thoughts on the premiere. Overall, it was a decent premiere and it looks like the show will be fun. I'm not going to set my hopes too high. All I can hope now is that the show will be entertaining and not rely on padding as much as Kyoryuger did because that can really hurt the show.