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Seriously? This was showy?: Gokaiger 12 - The Seriously Showy Samurai
I've got to say, that was a bit of a disappointing followup to the awesomeness that was 11. 11 built up the suspense about Joe's past and the duel between him and Kaoru. The fight scenes were excellent, beautifully choreographed whether it was morphed or not.
And then came 12. It was still entertaining and exciting, don't get me wrong. But it fell flat in a few important ways. I really did like seeing Marvelous's insistence that Joe would be back and that he knew Joe would always have his back...but I never had any reason to doubt that Joe would be back. Nothing about his departure said to me "I'm leaving and never coming back." All I got out of it was "I'm going to try to convince my brainwashedsister friend of who they really are even though I know it's stupid and it's never going to work." But then, maybe I've just seen it so much from Andros and Dillon that I was immune.
Second, the flashbacks built up the suspense about Joe's tracking collar. And it really wasn't well followed through. At first, I thought it was a bomb around his neck, the way it was blinking. Then we find out pretty much out of nowhere that it allows the Zangyack to follow him everywhere he goes. Which would have been really interesting if, you know, we actually saw more between when he escaped and when he met up with Marvelous. And then we learn that it'll shock him if he ever tries to remove it. Which really, really would have been interesting if it weren't so pathetically easy for him and Marvelous to ignore the shock. I know Marvelous is awesome, but really. Make it look like his natural marvelousness is withstanding the amazing electrical shock, not like the Zangyack are pathetic electricians who think a little static shock is enough for the death penalty. I didn't buy the suspense there for a second.
Third, not enough Kaoru. Really. I know I said "Not enough Bulk" as a semi-joke answer for what my issues with Power Rangers Samurai were, but this one is actually a serious answer. See, Gokaiger is meant to be a reunion season, like Kamen Rider Decade kind of was. So when you bring in a former Shinkenger, I expect her to do more than she did. She played a bigger role in 11 than here. I pretty much forgot all about her presence until she showed up to give Joe the disc. Sure, the other previous Reds have played background to the new crew, but I think they could have done a better job balancing Joe's story and Kaoru's return. It could have made a much more amazing story than it did.
And finally, something I alluded to with my first complaint: I wanted to slap Joe upside the head for suddenly forgetting his friends and that he had a place to belong with them. Never once did I doubt that he had a home among them. And I think his first focus episode did a much better job showing that, when Ahim had to cope with wanting to help him and respecting his need for privacy. Here, I never got any indication that he wasn't tight with the others. Sure, he's private and a bit aloof, but he never seemed like a loner. Not like, say, Andros. Or going somewhere other than Power Rangers, like Ren in Kamen Rider Ryuki, who was constantly off doing his own thing (and we learned that was usually visiting his fiancee in the hospital) and actually betrayed Shinji at least twice, to the point that there are episodes titled "The Traitorous Ren" and "Friendship's Battle." And that doesn't even count the other times he's fought Shinji, like when they first met and when Shinji decided he wanted to betray Ren this time and try to kill him for a change. None of that happens with Joe, so it feels utterly bizarre for him to suddenly think, "Wait, I do have friends! I have somewhere to go home to!" Where the hell did that doubt come from? Hell, where did it come from in this episode? There was no indication that his sense of betrayal from Cid and his focus on his past was causing a conflict with his friends in the present other than leaving. Nothing like we saw with Dillon in the RPM episode "Blitz," at least.
So, yeah. In a nutshell? Good episode, but I've seen certain elements of it done better in other shows. And oddly enough, mostly in Power Rangers.
And then came 12. It was still entertaining and exciting, don't get me wrong. But it fell flat in a few important ways. I really did like seeing Marvelous's insistence that Joe would be back and that he knew Joe would always have his back...but I never had any reason to doubt that Joe would be back. Nothing about his departure said to me "I'm leaving and never coming back." All I got out of it was "I'm going to try to convince my brainwashed
Second, the flashbacks built up the suspense about Joe's tracking collar. And it really wasn't well followed through. At first, I thought it was a bomb around his neck, the way it was blinking. Then we find out pretty much out of nowhere that it allows the Zangyack to follow him everywhere he goes. Which would have been really interesting if, you know, we actually saw more between when he escaped and when he met up with Marvelous. And then we learn that it'll shock him if he ever tries to remove it. Which really, really would have been interesting if it weren't so pathetically easy for him and Marvelous to ignore the shock. I know Marvelous is awesome, but really. Make it look like his natural marvelousness is withstanding the amazing electrical shock, not like the Zangyack are pathetic electricians who think a little static shock is enough for the death penalty. I didn't buy the suspense there for a second.
Third, not enough Kaoru. Really. I know I said "Not enough Bulk" as a semi-joke answer for what my issues with Power Rangers Samurai were, but this one is actually a serious answer. See, Gokaiger is meant to be a reunion season, like Kamen Rider Decade kind of was. So when you bring in a former Shinkenger, I expect her to do more than she did. She played a bigger role in 11 than here. I pretty much forgot all about her presence until she showed up to give Joe the disc. Sure, the other previous Reds have played background to the new crew, but I think they could have done a better job balancing Joe's story and Kaoru's return. It could have made a much more amazing story than it did.
And finally, something I alluded to with my first complaint: I wanted to slap Joe upside the head for suddenly forgetting his friends and that he had a place to belong with them. Never once did I doubt that he had a home among them. And I think his first focus episode did a much better job showing that, when Ahim had to cope with wanting to help him and respecting his need for privacy. Here, I never got any indication that he wasn't tight with the others. Sure, he's private and a bit aloof, but he never seemed like a loner. Not like, say, Andros. Or going somewhere other than Power Rangers, like Ren in Kamen Rider Ryuki, who was constantly off doing his own thing (and we learned that was usually visiting his fiancee in the hospital) and actually betrayed Shinji at least twice, to the point that there are episodes titled "The Traitorous Ren" and "Friendship's Battle." And that doesn't even count the other times he's fought Shinji, like when they first met and when Shinji decided he wanted to betray Ren this time and try to kill him for a change. None of that happens with Joe, so it feels utterly bizarre for him to suddenly think, "Wait, I do have friends! I have somewhere to go home to!" Where the hell did that doubt come from? Hell, where did it come from in this episode? There was no indication that his sense of betrayal from Cid and his focus on his past was causing a conflict with his friends in the present other than leaving. Nothing like we saw with Dillon in the RPM episode "Blitz," at least.
So, yeah. In a nutshell? Good episode, but I've seen certain elements of it done better in other shows. And oddly enough, mostly in Power Rangers.