#sentai rinviews

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Sentai Reviews: Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger vs Keisatsu Sentai Patranger

Oh this review is going to be hard to write.

Not because I have anything against this season, actually its the polar opposite. This is one of my all time favorite seasons of Sentai that is definitely up there in terms of seasons I've rewatched the most.

So where do I even begin with a hopefully unbiased review of one of my favorite seasons. Let's see.

I guess it would be best for me to start with the fact that this season does have issues. The biggest and most glaring is how unbalanced the story gets toward the end, favoring the Lupins more than the Pats. There's also the loose thread of them clearly trying to develop some form of bond between Touma and Tsukasa like there is one was Sakuya/Umika and Keiichiro/Kairi, but it was starting too late in the season for that parallel to be there.

Zamigo could have also used more development. For someone who was the big bad for the Lupinrangers, we barely got content with him or seeing him as much of a threat through a majority of the season.

But where LuPat does fall short, I truly believe it makes up for it everywhere else.

First off, the action pieces in this show is some of the best in the series. All fights, both major and minor are shot in such fun and dynamic ways. I adore the Go-Pro footage, especially with the Lupins being a more acrobatic team as to the Pats who are very straight forward. Even the zord fights are dynamic and fun (especially the one in Episode 2. God I wish we had more Lupin v Pat zord fights.)

Also the characters. God does LuPat have such a strong cast of characters. Kairi and Keiichiro are fantastic leads, both compelling and their developing dynamic throughout the whole season really has you believing Keiichiro during their final unmasked conversation before the finale. How the two of them grew and played off each other is one of the best parts of LuPat. Touma and Umika are amazing compliments for Kairi to balance out the Lupin Trio, and their relationship of reluctant partnership to found family is such a fun one to watch Develop throughout the season.

Tsukasa Sakuya and Keiichiro are just a good time whenever they head up an episode, or even the 2nd patran Nigou Special (which I believe should have been a proper episode but it is what it is). Yes they are coworkers but you can tell they are genuinely friends and care deeply for each other.

Noel is such a fun 6th. He plays off both the Lupins and the Pats in such a fun parental kind of way. His introductory scene where he flips around and instantly gets arrested is easily one of my favorites in the show. He is such a complex character and his way to play off both groups and mesh right in so easily just bring me so much joy. I love Noel.

Honestly, I could gush forever about LuPat. It uses its characters to the advantage of the story so well and it doesn't feel like any episode isn't there for a reason. Sure some of them could have been paced better but It's hard for me to absolutely pinpoint an episode that isn't necessary in developing the character's relationships with one another to make the finale work as well as it does. I truly do hope we get more of them in the future, because I would love to see how these teams play off each other post finale.

Final Score: 9.1/10

[kaizokupolycule]

Sentai Reviews: Mashin Sentai Kiramager

Another instance of it being my first rewatch of a season and Honestly I forgot just how... pleasant? Kiramager was as a season.

I think where Kiramager thrives is its simplistic structure but uses that structure in a way that isn't boring? It takes a tried and true formula and spins it in a way that makes every episode an absolute joy to watch, especially when using common tropes. It was a way of a return for form but in a great way.

Like stated above, this was my first Rewatch of Kiramager with all its movies and specials in relatively the correct places, meaning this was the first time I watched through Kiramager in how I typically show my friends the seasons, and honestly it was a joy. Episode 0 is such a fun way to not clog up your first episode with all the exposition, giving us a better introduction to the other 4 main Kiramagers while having episode 1 focus more on Juuru.

Speaking of Juuru, he was such an enjoyable protagonist. He reminds me of Right from Toqger in a lot of ways and thats a compliment because Right is up there in some of my favorite reds in all of Sentai, so having Juuru remind me of him is a joy. I think the places Juuru actually thrives is his way to connects and interacts with everyone in the cast. His ability to be a great friend and support to the other Kiramagers and the way he can change the hearts of those who are supposed to be his enemies (Garuza and Carantula) is honestly such a treat to watch.

The other Kiramagers are also joys to watch. They all have such distinct personalities without falling into a standard architype for a sentai cast and it works really well. I also enjoy that (for the most part) the other Kiramagers are more than their professions. Tametomo and Sayo better show this point off than Shiguru and Sena, but all of them just arent solely restricted to what their profession is and its fantastic on how they use those professions to build on their characters as it is. Out of all the Kiramagers, Tametomo actually is my favorite because I loved how they took the gamer and instead of making him a nerd he was mostly cool headed and a strategist through and through, and the fact that he was more the leader of the Kiramagers than Juuru was a nice touch, even if they never did full make him their leader.

I think where Kiramager does it's best work is its take on commonly done tropes. Having the Rangers swap bodies with their Zords was such a treat of an episode and the Mashin's being in their bodies was having me laughing the whole. I won't lie, episode 20 absolutely was my favorite episode of Kiramager because Juuru and Mizuki are absolutely precious together and having them be stuck together and Mizuki choosing not to let go is just so precious. (Come on guys, why is there not more content of Juuru and Mizuki!! They're so precious!)

I think the point where Kiramager struggles is its big bad, Emperor Yodom. We don't see the guy appear until super late game and he never really felt like a threat despite being the big bad. Honestly the fake out where Garuza became the true big boss was much more satisfying than Yodom. Hell I would have been okay with Yodonna being the true final boss, but Yodom's entire end game was just... lackluster at best.

Kiramager isn't doing much in terms of revolutionizing Sentai or making the grandest changes to the franchise, and it honestly doesn't need to. I would have loved to see what they would have done with their additional 4 episodes if they didn't have to stop shooting for Covid, but Kiramager, even with its shorter than average run was definitely a treat and a nice return to form.

Final Score: 8/10

[kaizokupolycule]

Sentai Reviews: Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger

I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that each Decade of Sentai fit into a trend. The first sentai of a season fits with the status quo of what was happening during the previous decade, while the second of the decade sets the mood for how the rest of the Decade is going to go.

If this trend says the same then BOY are we in for a fun decade with how insane and fun Zenkaiger was.

I think that's actually the best way to describe Zenkaiger as a season: Pure, Unbashful, FUN

As my first rewatch of Zenkaiger I truly did forget how just fun and silly the start of the season, the running gag with Jyuran and Gaon shooting the grunts the moment they get their morpher, Zox's entire first scene, the entire Zenkaiger Saber crossover. It's just fun!

Zenkaiger's strongest aspect is absolutely its characters. The Kikanoids are a fun cast of characters, with all of them having memorable moments or bits that didn't have them dragging down throughout the season, but I think the human characters absolutely steal the show. Kaito is a fantastic protagonist. He's such a joy to watch and you honestly cant help but root for him in all of his goals. The season would not be as fun if Kaito wasn't as entertaining to watch as he is. Stacey's entire development and growth through the season is probably the most compelling part of the entire story. Watching Stacey going from someone doing everything to get approval to just genuinely being a better person is so important and yeah the fandoms love for Stacey is entirely justifiable.

Without a doubt, my favorite character(s) in this season was Zox and the World Pirates. Whenever Zox appears on screen I know its going to be a great time. His introduction was iconic, his entire bit of singing and dancing every morph never failed to make me smile, his dynamic with his siblings (especially Flint) just warms my heart and makes me smile. Flint is everything, and honestly I am surprised the show never did give her a morph within it because she truly seemed a perfect fit for an auxiliary ranger for this season (thank you stage plays for the suit). Flint being the smartest person on the show and doing so much for progressing the plot and advancing the characters is just, everything. I love flint.

Now, Zenkaiger isn't a perfect. The villains as a whole are kinda weak. While I love the gimmicks they give us every week and the absolute insanity they provide, the whole organization and stakes don't feel all that high until God gets involved, and even then that's not for the last like 5 episodes at best. I wish they had done more with them, I guess had the stakes more high, or heck even had God more prominent than the last few episodes. And while I do love the Kikanoids and the development they do get is fantastic, they are greatly overshadowed by other characters which kinda sucks because they are the main characters alongside Kaito.

Overall, Zenkaiger was a joy of a season, and even with the flaws it has, it's a season I can see myself going back and rewatching more times in the future.

Final Score: 8.5/10

[kaizokupolycule]

Sentai Reviews: Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger

Going into my rewatch I honestly didn't remember much of Ryusoulger's plot. I rememebered the characters, I remembered how much I loved the ending (Que Boom! Ryusoulger best ending) and I remembered how much I loved its crossover movie with LuPat.

And then I remembered why I didn't remember Ryusoulgers plot all that well. It doesn't have one.

Okay, before I go off on my rant with the negatives of Ryusoulger, because sadly, there is quite a few, I will start out with the positives, and that's the Ryusoulgers themselves.

Ryusoulger has such a wonderful cast of characters, all of who are enjoyable to watch and you find yourself rooting for the whole time. The main three have such a fun dynamic with each other being from the same village and basically growing up and training together, and honestly the siblings have the best relationship and dynamic in the whole show (also Bamba is the best character). Canalo is fun to tease and his relationship with Oto is absolutely precious through and through. Even the non-Ryusoulger characters are entertaining to watch, Ui is a joy every time she's on screen and her dad is equally as entertaining to watch.

But... That doesn't mean every character was perfect. Kleon was honestly the only Villain I somewhat cared about, Wiseru was a kinda close second but even then It didn't really do much. I had no emotional attachment to Master Black because they introduced him truly in like episode 41 and then make his 'grand return' 2 episodes later. And Don't even get me started on Nada. Nada was a great character, but why redeem him only to kill him off literally in the next episode.

I remember watching the solo movie with Sonic and us being like 'wow, this looks nice but the plot feels non-existent at best and messy at work' and that's honestly how the rest of the season felt. There wasn't a real plot or any stakes until the last 8 episode of the season, and some plot points they introduced were never expanded on so when they tried to play those points up from the dramatics near the end it all feel flat.

Ryusoulger's biggest issue was its pacing, because it felt like it was dragging its feet and giving us nothing for about 20 episodes in the middle then remembered it had a story it was supposed to tell and crammed it all into the last 8 episodes of the season. As much as I love the Ryusoulgers as characters, their season was messy, poorly paces and story non existent. The Ryusoulgers shined their best during both of their Crossover Movies (LuPat & Kiramager) because it was in a self contained story and it worked well.

Final Score: 6.5/10