#and the well scene was ALSO when we originally saw Zoro's backstory

[pyrrhicprose]

Hey guys so I was rewatching OPLA and uh.

They really carried that well theme through huh?

[furederiko]

It's Valentine's Day! Since I'm not celebrating (why should I? It's a commemoration of someone's death! And I don't even know the guy ;D), here's the recap-view for "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger"'s debut episode that I've promised two days ago! Hey, I did say that the show felt like a LOVE letter to space opera genre. So it fits! Ahahaha.....

- Our episode begins with a quick shot of Earth. A very quick one. I didn't pay much attention about it before, but now that I've seen again... well, it bugs me a little. We know that Kyuranger cannonically takes place 'after' "Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger". Not directly, but probably years, or at least a decade apart. Problem is, this Earth looks... odd. I mean, putting the ending of Zyuohger into consideration, Earth should've looked... different, right? It's too bad, because TOEI could've easily used this fact to establish some sort of continuity between both series. Of course, this is just a minor nitpick for now, and I might be overthinking stuff (as always). But I do hope this will be addressed later. By the way, the theme of this season is 'GLOBE'. And note what those Earthling boy is playing? A blue ball. LOL. Not very subtle, eh TOEI? But don't mind that, because the setting takes place in an entirely different galaxy. Yep, just like Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy". - If you ask me, this season is promising from the get-go. Why? That shot with all of those constellations is more than enough to make me geek out. To be precise, the "Saint Seiya" fan in me. Hahaha... I'm just kidding, of course. The reason is because it doesn't waste time and immediately gets into action. Space action! Our first planet is Planet Clothos, and the evil Space Shogunate Jark Matter is already hard at work to demonstrate its threat. Destructions everywhere! Civilians in danger! Those spacecrafts... you know what they remind me of? TIE Fighters from the "Star Wars" series. - Champ the Taurus Black (VA: Akio Ootsuka, who is the voice of Solid Snake in "Metal Gear Solid" series!), Hammy the Chamaeleon Green (Sakurako Ookubo), and Sparda the Dorado Yellow (Tetsuji Sakakibara) debut! Respectively, their official numbering and titles are #5 The Ring Star, #7 The Shinobi Star, and #9 The Food Mei-Star. Over-Time chooses to use the official Constellation Names in their translation, instead of its Japanese. Not too sure about "Kyutama" as "Kyu Globe", but I'm totally digging this approach. I'll be using the same format in my recap-view too. - Hammy and Sparda look a bit... nervous, but let's ignore that. The more important thing is that they are ALREADY Kyurangers! I know we'll be getting their individual backstories along the way, that's inevitable. But I really prefer this approach better than having an origin story. The duration of their transformation and roll call are short, but effective. Not to mention, those constellation symbols look amazing too. Why so short? There are only 3 members so far, just imagine how long it'll take when all 9 have been assembled! Oh and yeah, they descend to Clothos' surface using their "Voyagers". The globe-shaped cockpits are comfortably released to land them on the ground. And I'm totally loving this mechanism. - All the while, snarky Raptor283 (VA: M.A.O., who is none other than Gokai Yellow herself!) is guiding them from the Starship Enterpr... I mean, mothership "Orion". She's the pilot of this huge spacecraft. We know that she's a Kyuranger too, but it looks like that's not the case yet in this episode. Orion itself is a huge ship with a statue of a bearded man holding a torch on its front, with 9 ports on the back, globe-shaped part. That torch seemingly serves as the control room, while the ports are likely to store the Voyagers. It has the constellation symbols of our current Kyurangers. - Enter Lucky (Takumi Kizu), who is hovering through space on his... Speeder? Another "Star Wars" nod? Not just that, his costume looks a little similar to... a StormTrooper! And wait a sec... his name, its similarity to a particular "Star Wars" protagonist is just too good to be called coincidence. As suspected from the teasers, this guy is LOUD and well, generally an annoying-type for my taste. He already reminds me of Kai Ozu / Magi Red, and also Takaharu Igasaki / AkaNinger... the latter which is NOT a good sign. Gotta love his optimism though! He came from "Planet Luth", and makes one flashy entrance to the episode. While thinking that true to his name, he's simply... LUCKY. LOL. - Opening Sequence! And this first version (since only 3 Kyurangers are shown together as group) has a nice ring to it too. Maaan, TOEI is REALLY inspired by "The Avengers", eh? I mean, that 360 degrees battle shot? Yep! They even wrap it up with a very cool closing pose. Speaking of music, not just the Opening, this episode has great background music too. It immediately reminds me of "Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger". Which actually makes sense, considering Kyuranger and Dekaranger should technically exist in an era that isn't far off from one another. - Should I be surprised? Sparda is the Orion's chef! He might look nervous before, but not anymore. And great gawd, I'm loving all the cooking-references he makes in his dialogues. Champ is a bodybuilder, eventhough he's a robot who doesn't need one. And Hammy, well... looks like she's a bit sarcastic. So... WOW. We certainly never had a snarky-sarcastic combo for our females before! As for Lucky? This guy boldly proclaims that he wants to join the team... without even knowing anything about who they are, or what they are doing. Just a whimsical action, but a good one. I mean, who could even dare hate this guy, especially when he's spewing out confusions with those 'dumb expressions'? *sigh*. But really, as I've said before, although Lucky seemed annoying at first, his whole 'being lucky' gag, and plain 'ditzy' traits makes for genuine hillarious moments! - Our gang is called the "Rebellion", the sole organization that is resisting to Jark Matter. Aaah yes, another "Star Wars" nod. In order to do so, they need to locate the Nine Saviors chosen by the Kyutam, er... Kyu Globes. Legendary Heroes called Kyurangers, who will save the universe. There are only 3 so far, but Lucky thinks they are in luck, because he's going to be the 4th. Yep, 'going to', because he needs to find a Kyu Globe first. LOL. He even grabs the "Constellation Blaster" (Seiza Blaster) in advance. "What a nutcase", remarks Champ. "Spot On", I say. XD. - The Jark Matter is certainly a force that shouldn't be underestimated! Its Darth Vader-esque prime leader, Shogun of the Space Shogunate Don Almage (VA: Atsuki Tani) doesn't waste time to show how ruthless and terrifying he can be. His general, the Malicestrate of Sagittarius System, Eridron (VA: Takaya Kuroda, that heavy voice of Kazuma Kiryuu in the "Yakuza" game series) is already punished for his failure to deal with the Kyurangers. WHAT. A. GREAT. SIGHT! It has been a while since we last saw a Super Sentai big boss demonstrating his menace right away, huh? A solid improvement over Master Genis. - Second destination, Planet Jugjug. This already feels like "Star Trek", huh? And Lucky is well indeed, lucky. Because his wish to locate a new Kyu Globe is immediately answered as soon as he land... er, crashes to the planet. Its a Blue-colored one, and belongs to a wolfman who doesn't hesitate to give Lucky a piece of his mind! The equally blue-colored wolfman with heterochromia eyes is Garu (VA: Doumeki-kun... I mean, Kazuya Nakai, who is more familiarly known as... ZORO XD). The last of his kind because his clan was annihilated by Jark Matter. Good backstory, but I hope this is not the full extent of it. We still have 40 more episodes, right? We learn here that a Kyu Globe needs to be awaken first, and well, Garu is too pessimistic to do so. Of course, Lucky's sincerety and passion manages to move his sense of justice. - Uhm, scratch that. It works wonder for Lucky first. Attempting to distract the Jark Matter army, Lucky is thrown away to space. Don't you feel this scene looks... similar? Yep, just like what happened to Peter Quill / Star-Lord in "Guardians of the Galaxy". Anyway, this condition luckily awakens his own power. Lucky obtains the firey Leo Kyu Globe! Looks like meteor shower has become his signature item too, as he rides one while transforming into #1 The Super Star Leo Red. "Talk about lucky!", huh? But that's not all. He is also capable to perform a special finisher, "Regulus Impact". And when Chamaeleon Green and Dorado Yellow each summon the Chamaeleon Voyager and Dorado Voyager to help fend the attack on Orion, Leo Red stumbles upon the "Say the Go" function and awakens his Leo Voyager as well. And it has much bigger size than the others! SOOO LUCKY! LOL. - Continuing the trend of rivalry between Red and Blue, Garu is inspired by Lucky, and awakens his own Lupus Kyu Globe. #3 The Beast Star Lupus Blue debuts, and fights together with Taurus Black. The silly thing here, is that the two haven't even introduced themselves to one another. But it doesn't take long for Leo Red to steal back attention, as he luckily stumbles upon the "Say the Docking" function and well, accidentally docks Chamaeleon and Dorado Voyagers (whose pilots are completely dumbfounded about this ability) to his Voyager, and form "Kyuren-Oh". A legless version, that is! Hahaha. This is neat, and I just have to praise that rotating cockpit once again. Because I really love its flexibility! - Doesn't take long for Taurus Voyager and Lupus Voyager to be dragged into the battle. A complete-form Kyuren-Oh is formed, and the Kyurangers have to deal with the giant Jark Matter goon... on the surface of Jugjug's icy moon. Yep, this is the benefit of a Space-themed story. The show's not bound to do the mecha fight on miniature cities anymore. The writers and directors can let their imagination runs wild. Of course, there's got to be an obvious boost of cost for production design and CG. So I hope the show won't run off steam quickly because of it. Anyways, that "Kyuren-Oh! Star Break!" attack looks reaaally good. This mecha battle is sooo exciting, I feel so giddy! XD - New uniform for Lucky and Garu! This once again reminds me of "Guardians of the Galaxy". And also "Voltron Legendary Defender". Five Kyurangers down, that means four more to go. Will we be getting the other chosen ones, one by one in the next episodes? Nope, because two more candidates have already shown up, eating at a Cosplay Caf... er, the Mos Eis... uhm, diner on Planet Jagama. And they seem interested with the bounty of the Rebellions. By the way, who is that on the TV? I wonder why he somehow looks... familiar? Hmmmm. - The ending dance is beyond FUN! I mean, sure, either it's going to be a huge hit, or gets tired really fast, is anyone's guess. But with that catchy lyrics, fun 90s disco tune, the simple, easy to memorize, and highly addictive choreography, along with the funky millenial repetitive format? I think people are going to dig it. Heck, I liked this a lot more than the Opening. LOL. Ninninger had a cool choreo movements, Zyuohger had a puntastic tune, but their whole 'counting fireworks' and 'guessing cube color' didn't work for me. This one's different. Similar to Kyuren-Oh's limb-changing gimmick, I can already see the maaany variations of this ending sequence. Especially if Lucky and Garu (who both made their debut in this episode. Notice how they are taking the highlights in the dance?) are any indication. If TOEI is not holding back, of course. Because similar to the Opening Sequence, this means the Ending will need to be updated each week as well, until all 9 Kyurangers are part of the team. And I'm not counting future members... assuming there will be any *grins*. Also, that fisheye shot gives the sensation of a 3D 360 degrees style. I see what you're doing there, TOEI! Hahaha...

Overall: I enjoyed the episode when I first saw it live, and I loved it even better the second time around. There were clear influences from both "Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger" (the big composition and diversity of the team), and particularly its US counterpart "Power Rangers Dino Charge" (notice the similarities in the plot? powerful items from space?). But I genuinely enjoyed both, so I don't mind. Lucky was initially grating on my nerves, but surprisingly, at the end, I just can't hate him. Let's just hope the writers will pull off wonders with him, so he won't end up disappointing like several past Reds. Not just him, this goes to the other members too. They are all rife with personal backstories to be explored, so I hope this potential won't be wasted aways. The main storyline itself is promising, and I hope it will be utilized to optimum level. Eventhough the mecha looked a bit bulky, this show can play up numerious variations of mecha combinations, since every other non-Red Voyagers can take turns to become different limbs (similar to "Kamen Rider OOO"). To sum it up, it really felt that TOEI is going all out with this season, and I really appreciate it. As I said on my First Impression, this was an excellent first episode. TOEI nailed it wonderfully. Of course, the big challenge had only just begun. Can they keep the hype up, maintain the quality, and even better, make it even more stronger and better? Remember, this is still a year-round show, so things can change and fluctuate along the way. And the Super Sentai franchise isn't actually bulletproof in this matter. Yes, we had seen many seasons that started out bland and dull, but morphed into a great one halfway through. But on the other hand, there were also ones that showed promise, but teetered out as it went along. Which side will Kyuranger place itself in? Let's just wait and see... Next week: The dynamic of the BN Thieves! Han So... uhm, I mean, Balance and Naga-Ray arrive!!!

Episode 01 Score: 8,2 out of 10

Visit THIS LINK to view a continuously updated listing of the Kyutama / Kyu Globes. As of writing, it's already Version 03! (WARNING: It might contain spoilers)

All images are screencaptured from the series, provided by the FanSubber Over-Time. "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.

[thatsockbehindthedrawer]

That's hilarious 😂😂😂

Hey guys so I was rewatching OPLA and uh.

They really carried that well theme through huh?