(SPOILER WARNING!!)
Just a little disclaimer before we begin; I do not want to hear any hate-filled comments about the film having a "femnazi agenda" or being "SJW bait". I am not here to discuss the social or political relevance of a superhero movie with a female lead. I am here to look at the film as it was intended; as a superhero movie that was made to entertain audiences. All I'm going to say in regards to this film's "controversy" is this; James Cameron, Captain Marvel had nothing to do with Alita: Battle Angel being a commercial flop. Stop being a condescending smeghead and start making GOOD Alien and Terminator movies.
With that said, I'm not acting like there weren't any concerns that I had in regards to the films release. Chiefly, it was based on a character I was not very familiar with and was thus unsure of what to expect, especially with the constant "Captain Marvel/Brie Larson will ruin Marvel" clickbait bullshit I keep on seeing online. Also, to anyone still saying "it will be a disaster":
"[...] the movie made $153 million in the United States and Canada, with a further $302 million coming in from international markets [...] $455 million dollars for its first weekend despite an otherwise slow start [...]" -- Gamespot, March 11th 2019.
Grow. The fuck. Up!
Anyways, story synopsis.
The film is set in 1995, with the amnesiac Kree warrior Carol "Vers" Danvers (played by Larson) fighting alongside the Starforce captain Yon-Rogg (played by Jude Law) in the conflict against the Skrulls, a race of alien who can mimic the appearance of other bipedal beings. During a mission, however, she gets captured by the Skrulls, lead by Talos (played by Ben Mendelsohn), which ends up in a fight that sends them to Los Angeles on Earth. leading to Carol meeting a young Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) whom she convinces to help her in stopping the Skrulls from invading the planet. As she and Fury travel, however, things she uncovers about her past and her relation to Earth make her question as to who to side with in the Kree-Skrull conflict, while also learning more about the scientist Dr Wendy Dawson. Oh, and a cat. Don't forget about the cat.
Very simple premise, very simple execution. Which, in turn, makes for the main issue I have with the film.
While I prefer it when the story is easier to comprehend, the best Marvel films are the ones that can throw the audience for a loop while still having a coherent narrative. This is part of why the Captain America movies worked well for me. While there was much to unravel, it was still straight forward enough to keep the audience engaged while still treating them with a sense of respect and intelligence.
That's not to say that this film treats the viewers as idiots, but it doesn't really do anything new with it's narrative or it's characters. You recognise the set-up almost immediately, with the film jumping just as quickly into that set-up. It's a generic buddy-cop-go-on-an-adventure movie mixed with the hero-can't-remember-their-past narrative, just with superpowers and aliens. But by this point in the MCU, nothing surprises us anymore. Even the (SPOILERS) reveal of the Kree being the bad guys and the Skrulls as victims of the Kree's aims to rule the universe is not that surprising, especially if you're watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D where they are an antagonistic presence in Seasons 3 and 5, so we're not shocked when they suddenly appear guns blazing to try and kill the Skrulls. The story is still consistently written so it never comes off as stupid, but it doesn't throw any surprises and comes off as a bit bland.
Speaking of bland, and I really do hate saying this; Brie Larson was not at her best in this film. She sort of just plays the role fairly straight forward with very little emotional nuance in her performance. She does at least try to come off as a bit of an adventurous tomboy, but she never has any real stand out moments where I really believed her as Carol Danvers. I'm hoping that the Russo brothers are able to reign her in and get her to really embody the character, as she isn't really selling me on her acting in these films.
Thankfully, however, the rest of the film worked out pretty well. The action scenes, for instance, are a lot of fun. They're shot well and the actors do a great job with the choreography, which is complemented by the film having some pretty decent special effects to back it up. I'll give Larson this much; she definitely looks great in her hero outfit and can pull off some cool fight scenes. And in spite of her minimalist performance, Larson does have a lot of great chemistry with Jackson in the film. Also, I love how they made Jackson look young again, same with Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson. It is a simple use of CG, but it looks like fucking sorcery. Good on you, special effects team.
Frankly, I can't think of much else to say. Captain Marvel is, at the very least, a fun time if you want to find one. It's not a spectacular movie, but it is certainly not the trainwreck that a lot of close minded jackasses thought it was going to be. I only wish that Larson's acting and the storytelling was handled better and if there was more to the overall plot. Oh, and the cat. I fucking love that cat.
Overall rating: 7/10 (pretty good, just a little bland).
So, until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
Monday, 11 March 2019
Sunday, 3 March 2019
Power Rangers Beast Morphers Ep 1 (Beasts Unleashed)
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
So, it seems I had my dates mixed up and Beast Morphers' premier episode, "Beasts Unleashed", released only yesterday (2nd of March, as of writing this) and next weeks premier for heroes in multi-coloured spandex was for Ryusoulger. It was just an honest mistake.
But yes, another year, another Power Rangers season. I wasn't planning on checking this season out, due to myself admitting to not being the biggest fan of Power Rangers or Super Sentai. I was just gonna let this show pass by and see how the fans would react to it by the end of the day. But the reactions to just the first episode were BEYOND crazy. People are already declaring it one of the best seasons in the franchise and the best since RPM.
And what do I think of it?
Maybe it's the lowered expectations or my lack of interest in the franchise, but I still walked away with little to praise and yet little to gripe about. But I suppose I should give more context behind my opinion beyond the use of a Simpsons joke.
The setting is Coral Harbour in the future of... the future. Scientists have somehow been able to tap into the near limitless amount of energy emanating from the Morphin' Grid, and are currently planning to use it as a conduit for a stable and clean energy source to power their technology. Grid Battleforce, however, sees an opportunity for experimentation, combining the substance "Morph-X" from the Morphin' Grid with strands of animal DNA to create a new team of Rangers. How convenient, then, that a new threat seeking to control the Morphin' Grid has arisen; the sentient computer virus known only as Evox, who can manipulate Morphin' Grid energy to create his own avatar doppelgangers of real people. Enter our teenagers with attitude, Devon, Ravi and Zoey, as they pretty much get drafted into battle against Evox and his minions; the Blaze Ranger and Roxy, avatar doppelgangers based on the original candidates for the Red and Yellow Rangers respectively.
One thing I will definitely credit the show early on for; the editing in the action scenes are FAR better than the last several years, which relied too heavily on quick jumpcuts and slow-motion to hide the fact that the choreography was terrible. This is helped by the fact that I could actually follow what was happening instead of feeling lost during the action. I suppose it also helps that the directing this time around doesn't feel as shaky or isolated as to allow a wider look at the fights and thus I can better appreciate the choreography and energy.
This also can be said for the sound editing. No longer is the music far louder than the dialogue, so you finally have the chance to understand what the characters are saying. The music is still terrible and in no way fits the scene that they are used in (thanks, Noam Kaniel), but at least it isn't blasting with endless amounts of superfluous noise that ultimately accent nothing and does little more than annoy you. This also works in the shows favour with how there is little unnecessary dialogue during the fights and the ADR dubbing for the cast doesn't sound like it was recorded in the janitors closet.
The acting for most of the cast is about on par with Dino Charge and Ninja Steel, and you get to see some decent characterisation very early on. Zoey's determination to solve any problem no matter the difficulty; Ravi having issues with balancing his friendships with his responsibilities as a soldier; Devon's quick thinking even when he can be somewhat obstinate at points (such as sneaking into a government facility just to test out a training simulator against his fathers wishes, despite his father being the mayor). There are still some stupid things, however. Ravi and his broken romance with Roxy is given very little attention and kind of ends up feeling a little "fridge-ish" with how she is forced into a comatose state and this acts as Ravi's motivation to make amends for when she wakes up. Frankly, this just felt unnecessary as we know nothing about Roxy beyond the fact that she and Ravi used to date before they joined GB and can't date because "Rangers don't date other Rangers".
MMPR, Zeo, Dino Charge,Ninja Steel and, to an extent, RPM beg the differ there, Ravi.
I also felt that the callbacks to previous seasons, even ones that explicitly take place in alternate dimensions, were not needed to sell the setting, especially when those callbacks don't seem to really get some past shows. Namely, citing Rita Repulsa as an evil force who wanted to steal the Rangers powers to take over the universe. It's been a while since I've seen the original, but I don't recall that being her motivation for fighting the Rangers. She was a one-note villain, yes, but she didn't want the Rangers' powers. She simply wanted to kill Zordon and take over planets as revenge for being sealed away in a dumpster for 10,000 years. Heck, she could obviously recreate her own Power Coins, as evident with the "Green With Evil" saga that introduced Tommy Oliver into the show as the Green Ranger, so she wouldn't need to steal the Rangers' powers anyways.
Also, citing Sledge and Galvanax from Dino Charge and Ninja Steel respectively, when those shows take place in different universes from the mainstream canon Power Rangers has had until RPM?
Also, I was hoping that Hasbro wouldn't repeat the whole "daddy issues" thing from Dino Charge and Ninja Steel and transplant it onto Devon and his dad, Mayor Daniels. I swear, every time this happens it just feels like an excuse to write in a child-parent conflict for no adequately explained reason. It didn't work for Dino Charge, because James Navarro was simply an awful dad who abandoned his son at a young age and never bothered to explain himself. And yet his dickhead conduct is never addressed or his absence ever called into question, especially when he would just keep on leaving for narrative contrivance. And it's not like Dane Romero from Ninja Steel was much better at this, as he too would constantly just leave his sons on occasion despite reuniting with them after spending several years trapped inside of a rock. They might actually address the strained relationship between Devon and his dad this season, but I'm not counting on it due to how poorly it was done the last two times they did the whole "I gotta X my dad" thing.
As a whole, the premier episode is just okay to me. There is nothing in it that is outright awful, but nothing really sticks out as groundbreaking like so many fans are saying. I will still give the standard "First Five" judgement call before I may up and abandon it, but I really hope that the season at least gets better from here on out. And please, Hasbro, fire Noam Kaniel already. His awful music has caused enough damage to Des Shinta's (and my) ears as it is.
So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
P.S: I just realised I've gone through a blog without swearing. Huh.
So, it seems I had my dates mixed up and Beast Morphers' premier episode, "Beasts Unleashed", released only yesterday (2nd of March, as of writing this) and next weeks premier for heroes in multi-coloured spandex was for Ryusoulger. It was just an honest mistake.
But yes, another year, another Power Rangers season. I wasn't planning on checking this season out, due to myself admitting to not being the biggest fan of Power Rangers or Super Sentai. I was just gonna let this show pass by and see how the fans would react to it by the end of the day. But the reactions to just the first episode were BEYOND crazy. People are already declaring it one of the best seasons in the franchise and the best since RPM.
And what do I think of it?
Maybe it's the lowered expectations or my lack of interest in the franchise, but I still walked away with little to praise and yet little to gripe about. But I suppose I should give more context behind my opinion beyond the use of a Simpsons joke.
The setting is Coral Harbour in the future of... the future. Scientists have somehow been able to tap into the near limitless amount of energy emanating from the Morphin' Grid, and are currently planning to use it as a conduit for a stable and clean energy source to power their technology. Grid Battleforce, however, sees an opportunity for experimentation, combining the substance "Morph-X" from the Morphin' Grid with strands of animal DNA to create a new team of Rangers. How convenient, then, that a new threat seeking to control the Morphin' Grid has arisen; the sentient computer virus known only as Evox, who can manipulate Morphin' Grid energy to create his own avatar doppelgangers of real people. Enter our teenagers with attitude, Devon, Ravi and Zoey, as they pretty much get drafted into battle against Evox and his minions; the Blaze Ranger and Roxy, avatar doppelgangers based on the original candidates for the Red and Yellow Rangers respectively.
One thing I will definitely credit the show early on for; the editing in the action scenes are FAR better than the last several years, which relied too heavily on quick jumpcuts and slow-motion to hide the fact that the choreography was terrible. This is helped by the fact that I could actually follow what was happening instead of feeling lost during the action. I suppose it also helps that the directing this time around doesn't feel as shaky or isolated as to allow a wider look at the fights and thus I can better appreciate the choreography and energy.
This also can be said for the sound editing. No longer is the music far louder than the dialogue, so you finally have the chance to understand what the characters are saying. The music is still terrible and in no way fits the scene that they are used in (thanks, Noam Kaniel), but at least it isn't blasting with endless amounts of superfluous noise that ultimately accent nothing and does little more than annoy you. This also works in the shows favour with how there is little unnecessary dialogue during the fights and the ADR dubbing for the cast doesn't sound like it was recorded in the janitors closet.
The acting for most of the cast is about on par with Dino Charge and Ninja Steel, and you get to see some decent characterisation very early on. Zoey's determination to solve any problem no matter the difficulty; Ravi having issues with balancing his friendships with his responsibilities as a soldier; Devon's quick thinking even when he can be somewhat obstinate at points (such as sneaking into a government facility just to test out a training simulator against his fathers wishes, despite his father being the mayor). There are still some stupid things, however. Ravi and his broken romance with Roxy is given very little attention and kind of ends up feeling a little "fridge-ish" with how she is forced into a comatose state and this acts as Ravi's motivation to make amends for when she wakes up. Frankly, this just felt unnecessary as we know nothing about Roxy beyond the fact that she and Ravi used to date before they joined GB and can't date because "Rangers don't date other Rangers".
MMPR, Zeo, Dino Charge,Ninja Steel and, to an extent, RPM beg the differ there, Ravi.
I also felt that the callbacks to previous seasons, even ones that explicitly take place in alternate dimensions, were not needed to sell the setting, especially when those callbacks don't seem to really get some past shows. Namely, citing Rita Repulsa as an evil force who wanted to steal the Rangers powers to take over the universe. It's been a while since I've seen the original, but I don't recall that being her motivation for fighting the Rangers. She was a one-note villain, yes, but she didn't want the Rangers' powers. She simply wanted to kill Zordon and take over planets as revenge for being sealed away in a dumpster for 10,000 years. Heck, she could obviously recreate her own Power Coins, as evident with the "Green With Evil" saga that introduced Tommy Oliver into the show as the Green Ranger, so she wouldn't need to steal the Rangers' powers anyways.
Also, citing Sledge and Galvanax from Dino Charge and Ninja Steel respectively, when those shows take place in different universes from the mainstream canon Power Rangers has had until RPM?
Also, I was hoping that Hasbro wouldn't repeat the whole "daddy issues" thing from Dino Charge and Ninja Steel and transplant it onto Devon and his dad, Mayor Daniels. I swear, every time this happens it just feels like an excuse to write in a child-parent conflict for no adequately explained reason. It didn't work for Dino Charge, because James Navarro was simply an awful dad who abandoned his son at a young age and never bothered to explain himself. And yet his dickhead conduct is never addressed or his absence ever called into question, especially when he would just keep on leaving for narrative contrivance. And it's not like Dane Romero from Ninja Steel was much better at this, as he too would constantly just leave his sons on occasion despite reuniting with them after spending several years trapped inside of a rock. They might actually address the strained relationship between Devon and his dad this season, but I'm not counting on it due to how poorly it was done the last two times they did the whole "I gotta X my dad" thing.
As a whole, the premier episode is just okay to me. There is nothing in it that is outright awful, but nothing really sticks out as groundbreaking like so many fans are saying. I will still give the standard "First Five" judgement call before I may up and abandon it, but I really hope that the season at least gets better from here on out. And please, Hasbro, fire Noam Kaniel already. His awful music has caused enough damage to Des Shinta's (and my) ears as it is.
So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
P.S: I just realised I've gone through a blog without swearing. Huh.
Friday, 1 March 2019
My position with Power Rangers Beast Morphers
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
In the same vain with Super Sentai, I'm not the biggest fan of Power Rangers. I am more or less familiar with the story of the original Mighty Morphin' days and have sat through all of the Zordon era series (MMPR-In Space), but much of what I know about the franchise is through word of mouth and Internet Reviewers, specifically Linkara with "History of Power Rangers" and Des Shinta with his reviews of MMPR, Zeo, In Space and Dino Charge (as well as their Sentai counterparts). Thus, while I am certainly not the most qualified to talk about the subject of today's blog, I still feel that I know enough about the franchise and how it's been treated in recent years to, at the very least, comment on it and give my overall thoughts.
I think the best way to describe modern Power Rangers is; problematic. Not in the sense that it caused major, government conspiracy level controversy, but rather with how the franchise has been managed when Saban Brands got their hands on the series again. Much of the time, the series that have been created under Saban's watch (that being Samurai, Megaforce, Dino Charge and Ninja Steel) have been behind the scenes disasters, most notably when Jonathan Tzachor was show-runner from Samurai through Megaforce. The man is not solely responsible for much of Samurai and Megaforce's failings, but his inability to let go of his "Sentai Purist" attitude to his handling of those shows is still a large contributing factor to said failings. Specifically, his tendency to just transcribe Sentai episodes with an American format (despite Shinkenger being excessively rooted in Japanese lore and cultural trappings) and using the company funds to spend it on recreating sets that didn't need to be recreated. It's probably the main reason he was straight up fired after Super Megaforce proved to be disastrous in ratings, viewership and toy sales and replaced by Judd "Chip" Lynn for Dino Charge and Ninja Steel.
But even with Lynn coming back as show-runner and producer, that didn't stop Dino Charge and Ninja Steel tanking the franchise even further, with the writing for those shows being insipid and lazy and the toyline reaching unheard of lows, due to most of Dino Charge's toys being unnecessary repaints and Ninja Steel having far too many items that don't even appear in the show (or, in the case of Surfermaru, not even appearing the toyline at all). While the cast and acting were far more than the shows themselves deserved and Ninja Steel is still FAR superior to Ninninger in virtually every aspect, it wasn't enough to keep the franchise afloat or allow for a better sitting with the fans.
Oh, and Noam Kaniel's music. It's awful. The composition is lazy and repetitive (as, it's all the same no matter how you slice it) and it never fits the tone or scene where it is used. It really makes me wish that the co-composer for the series, Youssef "Joe" Guezoum, would handle the music and theme song instead of Kaniel, as even though it can be loud at points, the compositions are still less painful to listen to for those with sensitive hearing (such as myself). And I know this from experience, as his music is used for Hell's Kitchen and it has proven to be far more soothing to the ears than anything from Kaniel's entire body of work.
Which, of course, brings me to the next series; Power Rangers Beast Morphers, which will be adapted from Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. This series was announced when the rights to Power Rangers was bought out from Saban and end up in the hands of the company responsible for Transformers; Hasbro. And just from the preview images of the toyline, I can already see that things have taken a massive step forward. No more of the superfluous repaints, overly muscular Rangers, Zord-only armour toys or underpainted gimmick figures; instead, just straight forward, screen accurate action figures with better articulation and more plastic being used for their accessories, along with coming with an item that would work to unlock a variety of lights and sounds used in the Beast-X Morpher. And the 5-inch action figures would cost the same price as those underpainted, overly muscular Ranger figures that Bandai would just toss out on a monthly basis.
That said, I'm still not sure how well this series would turn out. It's premiering next week as of writing this blog, and I'm not terribly excited for it. For one thing, while not in direct control, Haim Saban still has a say in how this series will go. And given much of what he has done is what has alienated even the die-hard fans of Power Rangers, I'm not sure whether or not Hasbro would learn from Saban's mistakes and try not to repeat them. And to the chagrin of anyone who hated Kaniel's music, he's back too. And the theme song is... well:
Will the nostalgia pandering EVER stop?
So, once again, speaking as someone who isn't the biggest Power Rangers fan, I'm still unsure as to whether or not Beast Morphers will work. Then again, this is just me speaking, so I'm unsure as to anyone else feels about Beast Morphers. If you have any thoughts, please let me know.
But until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
P.S: STOP. GOING. TO. NICKELODEON!
In the same vain with Super Sentai, I'm not the biggest fan of Power Rangers. I am more or less familiar with the story of the original Mighty Morphin' days and have sat through all of the Zordon era series (MMPR-In Space), but much of what I know about the franchise is through word of mouth and Internet Reviewers, specifically Linkara with "History of Power Rangers" and Des Shinta with his reviews of MMPR, Zeo, In Space and Dino Charge (as well as their Sentai counterparts). Thus, while I am certainly not the most qualified to talk about the subject of today's blog, I still feel that I know enough about the franchise and how it's been treated in recent years to, at the very least, comment on it and give my overall thoughts.
I think the best way to describe modern Power Rangers is; problematic. Not in the sense that it caused major, government conspiracy level controversy, but rather with how the franchise has been managed when Saban Brands got their hands on the series again. Much of the time, the series that have been created under Saban's watch (that being Samurai, Megaforce, Dino Charge and Ninja Steel) have been behind the scenes disasters, most notably when Jonathan Tzachor was show-runner from Samurai through Megaforce. The man is not solely responsible for much of Samurai and Megaforce's failings, but his inability to let go of his "Sentai Purist" attitude to his handling of those shows is still a large contributing factor to said failings. Specifically, his tendency to just transcribe Sentai episodes with an American format (despite Shinkenger being excessively rooted in Japanese lore and cultural trappings) and using the company funds to spend it on recreating sets that didn't need to be recreated. It's probably the main reason he was straight up fired after Super Megaforce proved to be disastrous in ratings, viewership and toy sales and replaced by Judd "Chip" Lynn for Dino Charge and Ninja Steel.
But even with Lynn coming back as show-runner and producer, that didn't stop Dino Charge and Ninja Steel tanking the franchise even further, with the writing for those shows being insipid and lazy and the toyline reaching unheard of lows, due to most of Dino Charge's toys being unnecessary repaints and Ninja Steel having far too many items that don't even appear in the show (or, in the case of Surfermaru, not even appearing the toyline at all). While the cast and acting were far more than the shows themselves deserved and Ninja Steel is still FAR superior to Ninninger in virtually every aspect, it wasn't enough to keep the franchise afloat or allow for a better sitting with the fans.
Oh, and Noam Kaniel's music. It's awful. The composition is lazy and repetitive (as, it's all the same no matter how you slice it) and it never fits the tone or scene where it is used. It really makes me wish that the co-composer for the series, Youssef "Joe" Guezoum, would handle the music and theme song instead of Kaniel, as even though it can be loud at points, the compositions are still less painful to listen to for those with sensitive hearing (such as myself). And I know this from experience, as his music is used for Hell's Kitchen and it has proven to be far more soothing to the ears than anything from Kaniel's entire body of work.
Which, of course, brings me to the next series; Power Rangers Beast Morphers, which will be adapted from Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. This series was announced when the rights to Power Rangers was bought out from Saban and end up in the hands of the company responsible for Transformers; Hasbro. And just from the preview images of the toyline, I can already see that things have taken a massive step forward. No more of the superfluous repaints, overly muscular Rangers, Zord-only armour toys or underpainted gimmick figures; instead, just straight forward, screen accurate action figures with better articulation and more plastic being used for their accessories, along with coming with an item that would work to unlock a variety of lights and sounds used in the Beast-X Morpher. And the 5-inch action figures would cost the same price as those underpainted, overly muscular Ranger figures that Bandai would just toss out on a monthly basis.
That said, I'm still not sure how well this series would turn out. It's premiering next week as of writing this blog, and I'm not terribly excited for it. For one thing, while not in direct control, Haim Saban still has a say in how this series will go. And given much of what he has done is what has alienated even the die-hard fans of Power Rangers, I'm not sure whether or not Hasbro would learn from Saban's mistakes and try not to repeat them. And to the chagrin of anyone who hated Kaniel's music, he's back too. And the theme song is... well:
Will the nostalgia pandering EVER stop?
So, once again, speaking as someone who isn't the biggest Power Rangers fan, I'm still unsure as to whether or not Beast Morphers will work. Then again, this is just me speaking, so I'm unsure as to anyone else feels about Beast Morphers. If you have any thoughts, please let me know.
But until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
P.S: STOP. GOING. TO. NICKELODEON!
Monday, 25 February 2019
Transformers Animated Season 1 (2007-2009)
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
I would say something about still being in my revitalised Transformers craze thanks to Bumblebee (review here, by the way), but I don't think I ever lost my love for it, hence why I've done reviews on The Headmasters (here) and Masterforce (here). Ever since I watched the first Bayverse film in 2007 and was exposed to re-runs of the original show on Kix! (or Pop Max, whatever), I simply never stopped with my love for the franchise, even when I stopped collecting toys for three years straight as I was in my "Im GrOwN uP nOw, MuM!!" phase. I would watch toy reviews; I would see the films as they came out; I would re-watch older series on YouTube (chiefly Beast Wars, Beast Machines and the original Robots in Disguise [before copyright kicked them off, ffs]); I would even read about the IDW series even if I didn't collect the comics myself.
I bring all of this up, because I really wanted to show my love for this series will simply never die (unlike the Bayverse [too soon? I don't think so]). But even with all of these shows in my head, one will always stick out as one of the best:
Yeah, this was an oddball when it was initially announced by Hasbro, especially when it was originally conceived as a tie-in to the Bayverse as something of a prequel story. Though for obvious reasons (even with how convoluted the continuity for the films got), that's not what ended up happening. Instead, somewhere along the lines, this became it's own original property that homages basically everything in the franchise while still creating it's own standalone tales to establish it as it's own canon. It's essentially what Hasbro is doing right now with Cyberverse, but doesn't need a voiceless Bumblebee to market it to kids (though because of his popularity in the films, Bumblebee was included into the main cast and replaced Hot Shot).
I think most people even vaguely aware of the Transformers knows the story by now; Autobots, Decepticons, war, Earth, GO! However, the approach is quite different. This time, the war has been over for centuries, with the Autobots winning the war and driving the Decepticons off of Cybertron. The focus is on a rookie Space Bridge repair crew consisting of Academy drop-out Optimus Prime, cool-headed and stubborn Ninja-bot Prowl, cranky medic/war veteran Ratchet, clumsy oaf Bulkhead, and egocentric speedster Bumblebee. In the pilot, they come across one of Cybertron's most heralded artefacts; the Allspark. Upon its discovery, however, they are quickly intercepted by a Decepticon warship, aboard it the tyrannical overlord of the Decepticons; Megatron.
During a scuffle involving Starscream planting an explosive on Megatron's back (because of course he would do that), the Autobots ship goes through a Space Bridge activated by the Allspark and crash land on Earth, Megatron burning up in the planets atmosphere in the process. The ship crashes in Lake Erie, Michigan and the Autobots are left in Stasis Lock for 50 years, during which Detroit has gained an actual economy again through it's advances in robotics technology. The man responsible for this technological boom is Professor Isaac Sumdac, who is leading some kids on a tour of his facility and introduces them to self-replicating Nano-bots. However, the Nano-bots get out of control when introduced to a cockroach, turning it into a giant monster that gets stronger whenever it eats machines.
This grabs the Autobots attention as they wake up and try to lend a hand, adopting Earth based vehicle modes in the process and eventually befriending Isaac's daughter, Sari, who gets chosen by the Allspark to hold a portion of its infinite power within a key. And thus, the Autobots (who don't even bother hiding due to the abundance of automatons everywhere) are made the defenders of Detroit and must learn of Earthen customs to understand their new friends better, all the while dealing with numerous threats ranging from the mundane, such as a thief with a speed suit, to the extreme, namely appearance from Decepticons. And from behind the scenes lies a dormant threat, as well as Isaac's inception for his robotics empire; Megatron's head inside of his personal lab.
Again, from the outset, Animated quickly becomes a noticeably different beast from most other Transformers shows. Usually, you'd have the situation of the week with Megatron doing something dastardly and then Optimus and his Autobots would come in to stop him so they can fight another day. That's been the set-up for almost 25 years at that point and, aside from Beast Wars/Machines, it hasn't really been shaken up to this extent. Even with the major cast change between Seasons 2 and 3 in the original cartoon just moved things to space and had Rodimus and Galvatron instead of Optimus and Megatron. Sure, the general set-up is the same, but the execution of it is more focused around having more personal stories as opposed to simply having both factions fight in disguise. The series starts off light-hearted and silly, but when you get to the 7th episode, "Thrill of the Hunt", it becomes clear that there is more to the characters than meets the eye (pun intended and relished).
In that episode, Ratchet is forced to confront a demon from his past in the form of the bounty hunter Lockdown. We see Ratchet is afraid of confronting him because of the past that they share, with Ratchet being responsible from erasing Arcee's memory core to stop Lockdown from getting activation codes that could turn the tide for victory in the war. This not only makes it one of the darker episodes (both figuratively and literally, as Lockdown causes black-outs throughout Detroit), but also makes Ratchet a more emotionally complex character; his crankiness is a facade to mask his fears of losing someone he cares about and unintentionally being responsible for them getting hurt, hence why he blocks himself from getting to know people. Helped that Lockdown is a legitimately intimidating presence, with his voice provided by Lance Henriksen and him quickly becoming a large highlight for the series whenever he pops up.
Sadly, the first season does falter with the human villains. Most of them are one-dimensional and simply exist for someone the Autobots have to catch. Nino Sexton, also known as Nanosec, is just a basic thief with a suit that enhances his speed. Couple that with an annoyingly nasal voice and you get a really annoying antagonist. Henry Masterson, inventor of the Headmaster unit, is more like one of those narcissistic MLGs you'd find on Halo 3 message boards with a voice equally annoying as grating to match. Angry Archer (based on toy designer Aaron Archer) is at least an entertaining goof with his reverse Robin Hood shtick, but there is otherwise nothing to him. Really, the best of them was Prometheus Black, also known as Meltdown, due to his hatred of Isaac Sumdac leading to him becoming a being made entirely of a corrosive liquid, but he is otherwise a bland villain who was just a bland weirdo before his accident. Frankly, just watch his performance again and tell me you could ever take him seriously as a threat.
Thankfully, while the Decepticons are used sparingly in this show, they are the main attraction whenever they show up. Starscream in this show, while being the traditional backstabber we expect him to be, is still a powerful foe worthy of being a true challenge for the Autobots to overcome. He also provides a good laugh with his faux-sycophancy whenever he plays kiss-ass to Megatron, which is accented by his performance given by Tom Kenny. He's no Steve Blum, but he can still get a laugh. Lugnut and Blitzwing make for a great duo, with the former working brilliantly as an extreme loyalist to the GLORIOUS Decepticon cause, and the latter also giving the audience some levity thanks to his three personalities to coincide with his nature as a triple-changer. Blackarachnia also makes for a great villain, with it being revealed that she was previously the Autobot Elita-1, but after Optimus unintentionally abandoned her on a planet infested with spiders, she was mutated into a techno-organic with a burning hatred for the ones who had left her behind, when all she wants is to be rid of the plague of being a techno-organic; to be Elita-1 again.
And while I still have my grievances with the human villains, all of it is balanced out with the shows reinvention of Megatron!
This may be my favourite reinterpretation of the character. While he still retains all of the arrogance and villainy of the traditional Megatron, he is far more cold and calculating, biding his time to make his grand return to not only take revenge of the Autobots (and Starscream), but finally grab the Allspark to rid Cybertron of all Autobots and scorch Earth of any organic beings. He makes for a great, intimidating threat and his power is built up throughout the show, so that when he makes his comeback in the first seasons finale, it was worth it. Even when he's stuck as a head inside of Sumdac's lab he is still able to manipulate everything to his advantage just so he could get a new body; from something as simple as tricking Sumdac into thinking he's an Autobot to the more extreme of using Sari to upgrade Soundwave into becoming self-aware, he is always thinking ahead and using everything at his disposal to benefit him and reach his end goal. And of course, his voice provided by Corey Burton is simply bone chilling while also giving the character a sense of sophistication.
The newer versions of the Autobots are also more interesting than before. I already mentioned Ratchet and he emotional complexity, but that's not to say the others don't have enjoyable characterisations. I like how this show had Optimus be an inexperienced rookie for a change, as it actually gave the character a chance to learn and grow as a hero. If he were still the wisdom spewing, morally righteous saviour that he usually is, it would've been boring because it was something we had seen before. Sure, I love Optimus Prime, but a change of pace is always welcome. Bulkhead may be an oaf, but he makes for an entertaining one, especially when he gets to smashing things. Prowl, like Optimus, is a nice change of pace; he may be as stubborn as the character normally is, but he is still able to give helpful advice to the others and still shows a willingness to help, even if it's to get a little bit of quiet away from everyone else. Also, he's not a prick in this one; which helps. As for Bumblebee, he can best be described as a less annoying Scrappy-Doo; he's small, loud and full of himself, but it never gets to the point of being irritating, as he actually learns his lesson by the end of the day while retaining his fun-loving attitude. I can definitely see why he was originally going to be Hot Shot.
As for the human cast, it is thankfully kept to a minimum, consisting only really of Isaac, Sari and the techno-phobic police Captain, Carmine "This is why I hate machines" Fanzone. Isaac seems like a decent enough guy for much of the series, though he is ironically quite naive about a lot of things. Again, Megatron easily tricked him into building him a new body, but then Isaac acts all aloof when the speed suit he invented goes missing and is given to Nanosec who uses it to carry the material Megatron needs. These are some obvious things that most people would catch, but Isaac pretty much misses them at every opportunity. Granted, he does try to help stop Megatron when he learns the truth, but he still does things that don't seem right for a supposed scientist. As for Fanzone, I actually enjoyed the character whenever he was on-screen, especially when he makes his hatred for machines clear, even to the machines. It makes a nice change for someone to be cynical of something in their everyday world, and yet Fanzone still has a good sense of right and wrong, trusting the Autobots to protect the city just as he does. At least he ins't an inherently bad guy, and his techno-phobia is more based on bad luck with machines instead of being malevolent.
And this brings me to Sari, the main kid who hangs out with the Autobots and helps them get acclimated to humans. In the first few episodes, she does come off as somewhat annoying and bratty, especially when she keeps on getting involved in the conflict. But at the very least, this trend of annoyance doesn't last with how she does legitimately want to help the Autobots during their stay and also provides a good lead in to humanity. That, and with her Allspark key she at least has more of a functional purpose in the show. She also becomes more important and relevant to the main story later in the series, but that's for another day. Again, she can be annoying at times, but she is still far from the worst human character in the franchise. Trust me; there are still far worse *cough* Kicker *cough* than Sari.
Admittedly, this show is not perfect, especially early on. While the animation style is certainly a given taste, my only real issue with the animation revolves around the overall consistency. At times, the animation has a lot of energy and life to it, which allow the action scenes to pop off the screen. Other times, however, it can be really stilted, and I blame that on the show trying to have an Americanised anime style. There are instances when the characters stand still and stare at something coming right at them when they have ALL the time in the world to just get the fuck out of the way! One instance was in the 4th episode, "Home is Where the Spark is", where the Autobots are dealing with equipment trying to kill them at their home base, and Sari is about to be shot by a nail gun... and she stands perfectly still, standing in horror, as it fires at her. And from how the scene is framed, she had a good 5 seconds to GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY!
This, in turn, also affects the tone of the show as well. At some points, the show can be rather serious in tone, as evident with the episodes "Thrill of the Hunt", "Along Came a Spider", "Sound and Fury" and the two-part finale, "Megatron Rising". Each of these episodes took a more serious tone and showcased the characters facing legitimate struggles. But then there are episodes like "Nanosec", "Lost and Found" and "Nature Calls", which are silly in their concepts and presentations, don't really develop the characters in a meaningful way and mainly exist as excuses for comedy. While they can sometimes provide a decent laugh, this also acts as a detriment to the show and creates a conflict in tone, thus making it somewhat difficult to take seriously at times. It also doesn't help that the humour could be cringe inducing at some points. The second episode, "Transform and Roll Out Part 2", as an example, has Sari whisper into Optimus' ear about where babies come from... yes, really.
Still, even with these things holding the show back, it is still a quality series with it's story, characters and music. Even when it gets dumb at points, it's still fun with how you get to enjoy the characters and their interactions. Also, count the references; there are PLENTY to spot.
Overall rating: 8/10 (really damn good).
So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
I would say something about still being in my revitalised Transformers craze thanks to Bumblebee (review here, by the way), but I don't think I ever lost my love for it, hence why I've done reviews on The Headmasters (here) and Masterforce (here). Ever since I watched the first Bayverse film in 2007 and was exposed to re-runs of the original show on Kix! (or Pop Max, whatever), I simply never stopped with my love for the franchise, even when I stopped collecting toys for three years straight as I was in my "Im GrOwN uP nOw, MuM!!" phase. I would watch toy reviews; I would see the films as they came out; I would re-watch older series on YouTube (chiefly Beast Wars, Beast Machines and the original Robots in Disguise [before copyright kicked them off, ffs]); I would even read about the IDW series even if I didn't collect the comics myself.
I bring all of this up, because I really wanted to show my love for this series will simply never die (unlike the Bayverse [too soon? I don't think so]). But even with all of these shows in my head, one will always stick out as one of the best:
Yeah, this was an oddball when it was initially announced by Hasbro, especially when it was originally conceived as a tie-in to the Bayverse as something of a prequel story. Though for obvious reasons (even with how convoluted the continuity for the films got), that's not what ended up happening. Instead, somewhere along the lines, this became it's own original property that homages basically everything in the franchise while still creating it's own standalone tales to establish it as it's own canon. It's essentially what Hasbro is doing right now with Cyberverse, but doesn't need a voiceless Bumblebee to market it to kids (though because of his popularity in the films, Bumblebee was included into the main cast and replaced Hot Shot).
I think most people even vaguely aware of the Transformers knows the story by now; Autobots, Decepticons, war, Earth, GO! However, the approach is quite different. This time, the war has been over for centuries, with the Autobots winning the war and driving the Decepticons off of Cybertron. The focus is on a rookie Space Bridge repair crew consisting of Academy drop-out Optimus Prime, cool-headed and stubborn Ninja-bot Prowl, cranky medic/war veteran Ratchet, clumsy oaf Bulkhead, and egocentric speedster Bumblebee. In the pilot, they come across one of Cybertron's most heralded artefacts; the Allspark. Upon its discovery, however, they are quickly intercepted by a Decepticon warship, aboard it the tyrannical overlord of the Decepticons; Megatron.
During a scuffle involving Starscream planting an explosive on Megatron's back (because of course he would do that), the Autobots ship goes through a Space Bridge activated by the Allspark and crash land on Earth, Megatron burning up in the planets atmosphere in the process. The ship crashes in Lake Erie, Michigan and the Autobots are left in Stasis Lock for 50 years, during which Detroit has gained an actual economy again through it's advances in robotics technology. The man responsible for this technological boom is Professor Isaac Sumdac, who is leading some kids on a tour of his facility and introduces them to self-replicating Nano-bots. However, the Nano-bots get out of control when introduced to a cockroach, turning it into a giant monster that gets stronger whenever it eats machines.
This grabs the Autobots attention as they wake up and try to lend a hand, adopting Earth based vehicle modes in the process and eventually befriending Isaac's daughter, Sari, who gets chosen by the Allspark to hold a portion of its infinite power within a key. And thus, the Autobots (who don't even bother hiding due to the abundance of automatons everywhere) are made the defenders of Detroit and must learn of Earthen customs to understand their new friends better, all the while dealing with numerous threats ranging from the mundane, such as a thief with a speed suit, to the extreme, namely appearance from Decepticons. And from behind the scenes lies a dormant threat, as well as Isaac's inception for his robotics empire; Megatron's head inside of his personal lab.
Again, from the outset, Animated quickly becomes a noticeably different beast from most other Transformers shows. Usually, you'd have the situation of the week with Megatron doing something dastardly and then Optimus and his Autobots would come in to stop him so they can fight another day. That's been the set-up for almost 25 years at that point and, aside from Beast Wars/Machines, it hasn't really been shaken up to this extent. Even with the major cast change between Seasons 2 and 3 in the original cartoon just moved things to space and had Rodimus and Galvatron instead of Optimus and Megatron. Sure, the general set-up is the same, but the execution of it is more focused around having more personal stories as opposed to simply having both factions fight in disguise. The series starts off light-hearted and silly, but when you get to the 7th episode, "Thrill of the Hunt", it becomes clear that there is more to the characters than meets the eye (pun intended and relished).
In that episode, Ratchet is forced to confront a demon from his past in the form of the bounty hunter Lockdown. We see Ratchet is afraid of confronting him because of the past that they share, with Ratchet being responsible from erasing Arcee's memory core to stop Lockdown from getting activation codes that could turn the tide for victory in the war. This not only makes it one of the darker episodes (both figuratively and literally, as Lockdown causes black-outs throughout Detroit), but also makes Ratchet a more emotionally complex character; his crankiness is a facade to mask his fears of losing someone he cares about and unintentionally being responsible for them getting hurt, hence why he blocks himself from getting to know people. Helped that Lockdown is a legitimately intimidating presence, with his voice provided by Lance Henriksen and him quickly becoming a large highlight for the series whenever he pops up.
Sadly, the first season does falter with the human villains. Most of them are one-dimensional and simply exist for someone the Autobots have to catch. Nino Sexton, also known as Nanosec, is just a basic thief with a suit that enhances his speed. Couple that with an annoyingly nasal voice and you get a really annoying antagonist. Henry Masterson, inventor of the Headmaster unit, is more like one of those narcissistic MLGs you'd find on Halo 3 message boards with a voice equally annoying as grating to match. Angry Archer (based on toy designer Aaron Archer) is at least an entertaining goof with his reverse Robin Hood shtick, but there is otherwise nothing to him. Really, the best of them was Prometheus Black, also known as Meltdown, due to his hatred of Isaac Sumdac leading to him becoming a being made entirely of a corrosive liquid, but he is otherwise a bland villain who was just a bland weirdo before his accident. Frankly, just watch his performance again and tell me you could ever take him seriously as a threat.
Thankfully, while the Decepticons are used sparingly in this show, they are the main attraction whenever they show up. Starscream in this show, while being the traditional backstabber we expect him to be, is still a powerful foe worthy of being a true challenge for the Autobots to overcome. He also provides a good laugh with his faux-sycophancy whenever he plays kiss-ass to Megatron, which is accented by his performance given by Tom Kenny. He's no Steve Blum, but he can still get a laugh. Lugnut and Blitzwing make for a great duo, with the former working brilliantly as an extreme loyalist to the GLORIOUS Decepticon cause, and the latter also giving the audience some levity thanks to his three personalities to coincide with his nature as a triple-changer. Blackarachnia also makes for a great villain, with it being revealed that she was previously the Autobot Elita-1, but after Optimus unintentionally abandoned her on a planet infested with spiders, she was mutated into a techno-organic with a burning hatred for the ones who had left her behind, when all she wants is to be rid of the plague of being a techno-organic; to be Elita-1 again.
And while I still have my grievances with the human villains, all of it is balanced out with the shows reinvention of Megatron!
This may be my favourite reinterpretation of the character. While he still retains all of the arrogance and villainy of the traditional Megatron, he is far more cold and calculating, biding his time to make his grand return to not only take revenge of the Autobots (and Starscream), but finally grab the Allspark to rid Cybertron of all Autobots and scorch Earth of any organic beings. He makes for a great, intimidating threat and his power is built up throughout the show, so that when he makes his comeback in the first seasons finale, it was worth it. Even when he's stuck as a head inside of Sumdac's lab he is still able to manipulate everything to his advantage just so he could get a new body; from something as simple as tricking Sumdac into thinking he's an Autobot to the more extreme of using Sari to upgrade Soundwave into becoming self-aware, he is always thinking ahead and using everything at his disposal to benefit him and reach his end goal. And of course, his voice provided by Corey Burton is simply bone chilling while also giving the character a sense of sophistication.
The newer versions of the Autobots are also more interesting than before. I already mentioned Ratchet and he emotional complexity, but that's not to say the others don't have enjoyable characterisations. I like how this show had Optimus be an inexperienced rookie for a change, as it actually gave the character a chance to learn and grow as a hero. If he were still the wisdom spewing, morally righteous saviour that he usually is, it would've been boring because it was something we had seen before. Sure, I love Optimus Prime, but a change of pace is always welcome. Bulkhead may be an oaf, but he makes for an entertaining one, especially when he gets to smashing things. Prowl, like Optimus, is a nice change of pace; he may be as stubborn as the character normally is, but he is still able to give helpful advice to the others and still shows a willingness to help, even if it's to get a little bit of quiet away from everyone else. Also, he's not a prick in this one; which helps. As for Bumblebee, he can best be described as a less annoying Scrappy-Doo; he's small, loud and full of himself, but it never gets to the point of being irritating, as he actually learns his lesson by the end of the day while retaining his fun-loving attitude. I can definitely see why he was originally going to be Hot Shot.
As for the human cast, it is thankfully kept to a minimum, consisting only really of Isaac, Sari and the techno-phobic police Captain, Carmine "This is why I hate machines" Fanzone. Isaac seems like a decent enough guy for much of the series, though he is ironically quite naive about a lot of things. Again, Megatron easily tricked him into building him a new body, but then Isaac acts all aloof when the speed suit he invented goes missing and is given to Nanosec who uses it to carry the material Megatron needs. These are some obvious things that most people would catch, but Isaac pretty much misses them at every opportunity. Granted, he does try to help stop Megatron when he learns the truth, but he still does things that don't seem right for a supposed scientist. As for Fanzone, I actually enjoyed the character whenever he was on-screen, especially when he makes his hatred for machines clear, even to the machines. It makes a nice change for someone to be cynical of something in their everyday world, and yet Fanzone still has a good sense of right and wrong, trusting the Autobots to protect the city just as he does. At least he ins't an inherently bad guy, and his techno-phobia is more based on bad luck with machines instead of being malevolent.
And this brings me to Sari, the main kid who hangs out with the Autobots and helps them get acclimated to humans. In the first few episodes, she does come off as somewhat annoying and bratty, especially when she keeps on getting involved in the conflict. But at the very least, this trend of annoyance doesn't last with how she does legitimately want to help the Autobots during their stay and also provides a good lead in to humanity. That, and with her Allspark key she at least has more of a functional purpose in the show. She also becomes more important and relevant to the main story later in the series, but that's for another day. Again, she can be annoying at times, but she is still far from the worst human character in the franchise. Trust me; there are still far worse *cough* Kicker *cough* than Sari.
Admittedly, this show is not perfect, especially early on. While the animation style is certainly a given taste, my only real issue with the animation revolves around the overall consistency. At times, the animation has a lot of energy and life to it, which allow the action scenes to pop off the screen. Other times, however, it can be really stilted, and I blame that on the show trying to have an Americanised anime style. There are instances when the characters stand still and stare at something coming right at them when they have ALL the time in the world to just get the fuck out of the way! One instance was in the 4th episode, "Home is Where the Spark is", where the Autobots are dealing with equipment trying to kill them at their home base, and Sari is about to be shot by a nail gun... and she stands perfectly still, standing in horror, as it fires at her. And from how the scene is framed, she had a good 5 seconds to GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY!
This, in turn, also affects the tone of the show as well. At some points, the show can be rather serious in tone, as evident with the episodes "Thrill of the Hunt", "Along Came a Spider", "Sound and Fury" and the two-part finale, "Megatron Rising". Each of these episodes took a more serious tone and showcased the characters facing legitimate struggles. But then there are episodes like "Nanosec", "Lost and Found" and "Nature Calls", which are silly in their concepts and presentations, don't really develop the characters in a meaningful way and mainly exist as excuses for comedy. While they can sometimes provide a decent laugh, this also acts as a detriment to the show and creates a conflict in tone, thus making it somewhat difficult to take seriously at times. It also doesn't help that the humour could be cringe inducing at some points. The second episode, "Transform and Roll Out Part 2", as an example, has Sari whisper into Optimus' ear about where babies come from... yes, really.
Still, even with these things holding the show back, it is still a quality series with it's story, characters and music. Even when it gets dumb at points, it's still fun with how you get to enjoy the characters and their interactions. Also, count the references; there are PLENTY to spot.
Overall rating: 8/10 (really damn good).
So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
Friday, 15 February 2019
Transformers: Choujin Masterforce (1988-1989)
(REDUNDANT SPOILER WARNING!!)
While I wasn't the biggest fan of The Headmasters, I was still willing to give the rest of the Takara Trifecta a chance to see if they were, in any way, better. The main problem I had with Headmasters was the lack of a storyline and the characters being absent of any actual personality, which I feel should be the main parts of a series that hooks an audience in to watch.
Oh, and Daniel and Wheelie. Never. Forget. Daniel and Wheelie.
Besides, I have heard some other peoples thoughts on the next series, Choujin Masterforce, on how it was a vast improvement over Headmasters. And having finally seen it all the way through... Yeah, it is. Not just on a character and story perspective, but also on other levels such as action scenes and music. Choujin Masterforce is a massive improvement in every sense of the word, and is one of my favourite instalments in the franchise (that I have seen, at any rate).
And once again, I'll be using the Japanese names and judging the series based on the version I saw in the Complete Takara Collection box set released by Metrodome, as the SHOUT! Factory releases are apparently terrible and it's surprisingly difficult finding other subs of the series that are, otherwise, easily accessible. Also, I refuse to torrent. It just won't be happening. So, if there are any incorrect translations present that I am not aware of, I'm sorry; I'm working with what I got.
Anyway, TIME 4 BACKSTORY!
In the future of... the future, Earth is at peace. That is, until the reemergence of Destrons who have been on the planet since the Stone Age; a trio of Pretenders with monster forms consisting of Blood, Gilmer and Dauros, along with a seemingly endless horde of Seacons. And of course, to counter them are the Cybertron Pretenders who have lived on the planet disguised as humans; lead by Metalhawk and consisting of Diver, Lander and Phoenix. Both sides are now uping their game, as there comes the revelation of the Godmasters, lifeless Transtectors that can harness Chokon Power (or, "Super-Soul power") through a unity with a human wielder. Thus, the race is on for the Cybertrons to recruit people who can use Godmasters to fight on their side to stop the new Destron Emperor of Destruction, Devil Z, from wiping out humanity. Helping both the Cybertrons and Destrons along the way are the Headmaster Juniors, human children who can also use the titular Masterforce to fight alongside the robots in battle; the Cybertrons helped by Shuta Go, Cab and Minerva, and the Destrons recruiting Wilder, Bullhorn and Cancer.
Oh, and the Godmasters, too; made up of Lightfoot, Ranger, Road King, Double Clouder, Grand Maximus, Overlord, Hydra, Buster and Ginrai.
Oh, and Black Zarak and Sixknight. There are a LOT of characters in this show.
The main critique that most fans tend to agree on is that the series has difficulty deciding who the main characters are. The best one could say is that Ginrai is the main character by the end of the series, but it otherwise seemed to juggle between the Pretenders, the Cybertron Headmaster Juniors and the other Godmasters, but they get less significant time than Ginrai does. Some of this might have been due to the fact that Ginrai, for an in-story reason revealed AFTER the events of the series, was designed after Optimus Prime (or Convoy), or it could have been due to the fact that this series was initially conceived as something of a fresh start disconnected from the original series and Headmasters. Nonetheless, there is a form of incoherence of who the main character is supposed to be.
As a consequence, some of the characters, specifically Hydra, Buster, Sixknight, Lightfoot, Ranger, Double Clouder and Road King, don't have much in terms of focus or character development and lose relevance to the story pretty quickly after their debut. I can at least let the Pretenders, both Cybertron and Destron, have a pass, as they have been on Earth longer and are more of mentor figures to the younger, less experienced characters, no too dissimilar to the Spirit Rangers from Kyoryuger. Nonetheless, some of the characters feel like extra support just there to sell toys. I understand that that's the main aim for any Transformers series regardless of quality, but I counter that with the argument that the character should be would encourages viewers to buy the toys, not just a promotion of them.
Heck, there even a few missed opportunities with them, most notably Double Clouder. In reference to his toy and Western counterpart, Double Dealer, Clouder is a Transtector with a neutral missile truck mode, a Destron beast mode and a Cybertron robot mode. As such, he is initially cast as a double agent working for the Destrons so that they can discover the Cybertron's base of operations and destroy it. However, it's over and done with after two episodes and, because the Destrons left him to die, Clouder joins the Cybertrons and is automatically a good guy. The episodes focused on the base attack and it's destruction are some of the best in the series, especially with the ramifications of it's destruction and the effect it has on everyone, but Clouder's sudden shift of allegiance doesn't, especially when he is never punished for what he has done and the hand he had in ruining everything for the Cybertrons, which lessens the impact of the bases destruction.
There could've been more time focused on Clouder and his interactions with the others, slowly showing his shift of allegiance and his guilt for when the base is destroyed, not dissimilar to how the Teen Titans animated series would handle Terra. But instead, due to the lack of filler plots, we gone none of that. Kind of a waste if you ask me.
Thankfully, the characters who DO get focus and development have easily identifiable personalities that I got to like quickly. Ginrai is a nice breathe of fresh air for the commander type, as he isn't entirely fond of being the leader at first, but slowly learns his responsibility of being the leader and how important it is to take those responsibilities. The Cybertron Headmaster Juniors, though initially one of the dumbest ideas in the franchise, prove to be incredibly likeable very quickly. Shuta has an understandable motivation, having lost his father early one in the series; Cab is energetic and straight forward, but never to the point of being a liability; Minerva shows herself as smart and a pacifist, but is still willing to stand up for the others while understanding that not everyone can be a good person.
Even the Destrons have more of a personality than before, as none of them, aside from Black Zarak, Hydra and Buster, are just basic:
I will never tire of that clip.
Giga and Mega, the Godmasters for Overlord, still seek the destruction of the Cybertrons to prove their loyalty to Devil Z, but they otherwise treat their fellow Destrons as some kind of bizarre family unit, mainly due to Mega doting excessively on the Headmaster Juniors as they were they're own children. Wilder and Bullhorn, even through their violent antics, still have a sense of respect for their comrades, and despise other children or people that aren't involved being used hostages or bargaining chips, due to hating any sign of weakness or frailty. This helps elevate the villains to being more than basic mooks standing in for the main villain,
But the most surprising of characters has to be Cancer... Yes. One of my favourite characters in this show is a kid named Cancer. At least you could justify the name as a reference to the Horoscope, as his beast mode is (apparently) a bipedal mutant crab monster.
Regardless, what made this kid appealing to me is how he is actually exposed to the chaos that the Destrons, and by proxy himself, have been spreading. He is a victim of bullying due to being orphaned as an infant, but he was taken in by a martial arts master and spent his years trying to master his techniques as a sign of gratitude to the old man. But a combination of the bullying and his own desires are what lead to him leaving his master and joining the Destrons to advance his skill. But when Minerva shows kindness to him in a time of need, which lay the seeds for his eventual turn on the Destrons when he sees the destruction they spread, especially when his home and few friends at the dojo are threatened by an invasion from Black Zarak. When he learned that his master dies alone and saddened by Cancer's departure, he finally took the chance to try and save people and actually redeem himself for what he has done. The character who I thought would be my least favourite actually ends up being my favourite character this series.
Thankfully, due to the absence of filler plots, more focus is put on the overall threat of Devil Z and his machinations, even if not much is revealed about his past aside from being the creature that powers the Godmasters and their ability to absorb Chokon energy for their fights. Their antics start off small time, due to the Pretenders being more old-school evil, but they are still leading to their goal of humanities destruction. Even with the more outlandish plots of the week, they are still smart in the execution of their goals for those plots. Although, Blood's plan of causing a stampede in African to try and get humans to kill their cattle? Yeah, that one was stupid. Nonetheless, this Destrons are probably some of the best written in the franchise as none of them are just one dimensional or really all that stupid. If only Headmasters or (spoilers) Victory had villains this smart or interesting... yeah, I'm not liking Victory thus far.
The music, even if the theme song once again is slow and disconnected from the themes of the show, is far more exciting and fitting for the scenes that they are used for. One of my personal favourites is probably "We Believe Tomorrow", mainly due to this feeling of both despair and hope that contrast perfectly with the more mellow musical accompaniment that helps to convey the scenes where it is used. Hell, it was first used for the destruction of the Cybertron's base, and it actually left a strong emotional impact with me when seeing it fall apart and the Cybertrons are left without a feeling of hope.
The action, despite its reuse of stock footage and not being the best animated, is always engaging to watch for due to the characters being more entertaining and, get this, VITAL TO THE STORY! One of the complaints that I alluded to in my review for Headmasters was that the action was never engaging due to the absence of any form of character development or personality, feeling more like a lower grade generic super robot anime. While, yes, Masterforce also uses several anime troupes, the use of them do not supersede the story or character development, but instead is accented by such, thus making the final victory in the battle between Ginrai and Devil Z at the Matterhorn all the sweeter and feels earned.
Choujin Masterforce is a far better series than Headmasters. I understand that isn't saying much as Headmasters was more of a corporate cash in than the Prime Wars Trilogy, but it doesn't detract the idea that Masterforce is a really good show. The characters are better defined and likeable, the villains have more complexity to them than previous shows (or even a few modern ones [looking at you, RID '15]), the music fits the series near flawlessly and the story has emotional weight that leaves the viewer satisfied by the end of it. Masterforce really is a series that any Transformers fan should check out for themselves.
Overall rating: 8/10 (really damn good!)
Until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, and you too can use your Masterforce, and TRANSFORM!!
While I wasn't the biggest fan of The Headmasters, I was still willing to give the rest of the Takara Trifecta a chance to see if they were, in any way, better. The main problem I had with Headmasters was the lack of a storyline and the characters being absent of any actual personality, which I feel should be the main parts of a series that hooks an audience in to watch.
Oh, and Daniel and Wheelie. Never. Forget. Daniel and Wheelie.
Besides, I have heard some other peoples thoughts on the next series, Choujin Masterforce, on how it was a vast improvement over Headmasters. And having finally seen it all the way through... Yeah, it is. Not just on a character and story perspective, but also on other levels such as action scenes and music. Choujin Masterforce is a massive improvement in every sense of the word, and is one of my favourite instalments in the franchise (that I have seen, at any rate).
And once again, I'll be using the Japanese names and judging the series based on the version I saw in the Complete Takara Collection box set released by Metrodome, as the SHOUT! Factory releases are apparently terrible and it's surprisingly difficult finding other subs of the series that are, otherwise, easily accessible. Also, I refuse to torrent. It just won't be happening. So, if there are any incorrect translations present that I am not aware of, I'm sorry; I'm working with what I got.
Anyway, TIME 4 BACKSTORY!
In the future of... the future, Earth is at peace. That is, until the reemergence of Destrons who have been on the planet since the Stone Age; a trio of Pretenders with monster forms consisting of Blood, Gilmer and Dauros, along with a seemingly endless horde of Seacons. And of course, to counter them are the Cybertron Pretenders who have lived on the planet disguised as humans; lead by Metalhawk and consisting of Diver, Lander and Phoenix. Both sides are now uping their game, as there comes the revelation of the Godmasters, lifeless Transtectors that can harness Chokon Power (or, "Super-Soul power") through a unity with a human wielder. Thus, the race is on for the Cybertrons to recruit people who can use Godmasters to fight on their side to stop the new Destron Emperor of Destruction, Devil Z, from wiping out humanity. Helping both the Cybertrons and Destrons along the way are the Headmaster Juniors, human children who can also use the titular Masterforce to fight alongside the robots in battle; the Cybertrons helped by Shuta Go, Cab and Minerva, and the Destrons recruiting Wilder, Bullhorn and Cancer.
Oh, and the Godmasters, too; made up of Lightfoot, Ranger, Road King, Double Clouder, Grand Maximus, Overlord, Hydra, Buster and Ginrai.
Oh, and Black Zarak and Sixknight. There are a LOT of characters in this show.
The main critique that most fans tend to agree on is that the series has difficulty deciding who the main characters are. The best one could say is that Ginrai is the main character by the end of the series, but it otherwise seemed to juggle between the Pretenders, the Cybertron Headmaster Juniors and the other Godmasters, but they get less significant time than Ginrai does. Some of this might have been due to the fact that Ginrai, for an in-story reason revealed AFTER the events of the series, was designed after Optimus Prime (or Convoy), or it could have been due to the fact that this series was initially conceived as something of a fresh start disconnected from the original series and Headmasters. Nonetheless, there is a form of incoherence of who the main character is supposed to be.
As a consequence, some of the characters, specifically Hydra, Buster, Sixknight, Lightfoot, Ranger, Double Clouder and Road King, don't have much in terms of focus or character development and lose relevance to the story pretty quickly after their debut. I can at least let the Pretenders, both Cybertron and Destron, have a pass, as they have been on Earth longer and are more of mentor figures to the younger, less experienced characters, no too dissimilar to the Spirit Rangers from Kyoryuger. Nonetheless, some of the characters feel like extra support just there to sell toys. I understand that that's the main aim for any Transformers series regardless of quality, but I counter that with the argument that the character should be would encourages viewers to buy the toys, not just a promotion of them.
Heck, there even a few missed opportunities with them, most notably Double Clouder. In reference to his toy and Western counterpart, Double Dealer, Clouder is a Transtector with a neutral missile truck mode, a Destron beast mode and a Cybertron robot mode. As such, he is initially cast as a double agent working for the Destrons so that they can discover the Cybertron's base of operations and destroy it. However, it's over and done with after two episodes and, because the Destrons left him to die, Clouder joins the Cybertrons and is automatically a good guy. The episodes focused on the base attack and it's destruction are some of the best in the series, especially with the ramifications of it's destruction and the effect it has on everyone, but Clouder's sudden shift of allegiance doesn't, especially when he is never punished for what he has done and the hand he had in ruining everything for the Cybertrons, which lessens the impact of the bases destruction.
There could've been more time focused on Clouder and his interactions with the others, slowly showing his shift of allegiance and his guilt for when the base is destroyed, not dissimilar to how the Teen Titans animated series would handle Terra. But instead, due to the lack of filler plots, we gone none of that. Kind of a waste if you ask me.
Thankfully, the characters who DO get focus and development have easily identifiable personalities that I got to like quickly. Ginrai is a nice breathe of fresh air for the commander type, as he isn't entirely fond of being the leader at first, but slowly learns his responsibility of being the leader and how important it is to take those responsibilities. The Cybertron Headmaster Juniors, though initially one of the dumbest ideas in the franchise, prove to be incredibly likeable very quickly. Shuta has an understandable motivation, having lost his father early one in the series; Cab is energetic and straight forward, but never to the point of being a liability; Minerva shows herself as smart and a pacifist, but is still willing to stand up for the others while understanding that not everyone can be a good person.
Even the Destrons have more of a personality than before, as none of them, aside from Black Zarak, Hydra and Buster, are just basic:
I will never tire of that clip.
Giga and Mega, the Godmasters for Overlord, still seek the destruction of the Cybertrons to prove their loyalty to Devil Z, but they otherwise treat their fellow Destrons as some kind of bizarre family unit, mainly due to Mega doting excessively on the Headmaster Juniors as they were they're own children. Wilder and Bullhorn, even through their violent antics, still have a sense of respect for their comrades, and despise other children or people that aren't involved being used hostages or bargaining chips, due to hating any sign of weakness or frailty. This helps elevate the villains to being more than basic mooks standing in for the main villain,
But the most surprising of characters has to be Cancer... Yes. One of my favourite characters in this show is a kid named Cancer. At least you could justify the name as a reference to the Horoscope, as his beast mode is (apparently) a bipedal mutant crab monster.
Regardless, what made this kid appealing to me is how he is actually exposed to the chaos that the Destrons, and by proxy himself, have been spreading. He is a victim of bullying due to being orphaned as an infant, but he was taken in by a martial arts master and spent his years trying to master his techniques as a sign of gratitude to the old man. But a combination of the bullying and his own desires are what lead to him leaving his master and joining the Destrons to advance his skill. But when Minerva shows kindness to him in a time of need, which lay the seeds for his eventual turn on the Destrons when he sees the destruction they spread, especially when his home and few friends at the dojo are threatened by an invasion from Black Zarak. When he learned that his master dies alone and saddened by Cancer's departure, he finally took the chance to try and save people and actually redeem himself for what he has done. The character who I thought would be my least favourite actually ends up being my favourite character this series.
Thankfully, due to the absence of filler plots, more focus is put on the overall threat of Devil Z and his machinations, even if not much is revealed about his past aside from being the creature that powers the Godmasters and their ability to absorb Chokon energy for their fights. Their antics start off small time, due to the Pretenders being more old-school evil, but they are still leading to their goal of humanities destruction. Even with the more outlandish plots of the week, they are still smart in the execution of their goals for those plots. Although, Blood's plan of causing a stampede in African to try and get humans to kill their cattle? Yeah, that one was stupid. Nonetheless, this Destrons are probably some of the best written in the franchise as none of them are just one dimensional or really all that stupid. If only Headmasters or (spoilers) Victory had villains this smart or interesting... yeah, I'm not liking Victory thus far.
The music, even if the theme song once again is slow and disconnected from the themes of the show, is far more exciting and fitting for the scenes that they are used for. One of my personal favourites is probably "We Believe Tomorrow", mainly due to this feeling of both despair and hope that contrast perfectly with the more mellow musical accompaniment that helps to convey the scenes where it is used. Hell, it was first used for the destruction of the Cybertron's base, and it actually left a strong emotional impact with me when seeing it fall apart and the Cybertrons are left without a feeling of hope.
The action, despite its reuse of stock footage and not being the best animated, is always engaging to watch for due to the characters being more entertaining and, get this, VITAL TO THE STORY! One of the complaints that I alluded to in my review for Headmasters was that the action was never engaging due to the absence of any form of character development or personality, feeling more like a lower grade generic super robot anime. While, yes, Masterforce also uses several anime troupes, the use of them do not supersede the story or character development, but instead is accented by such, thus making the final victory in the battle between Ginrai and Devil Z at the Matterhorn all the sweeter and feels earned.
Choujin Masterforce is a far better series than Headmasters. I understand that isn't saying much as Headmasters was more of a corporate cash in than the Prime Wars Trilogy, but it doesn't detract the idea that Masterforce is a really good show. The characters are better defined and likeable, the villains have more complexity to them than previous shows (or even a few modern ones [looking at you, RID '15]), the music fits the series near flawlessly and the story has emotional weight that leaves the viewer satisfied by the end of it. Masterforce really is a series that any Transformers fan should check out for themselves.
Overall rating: 8/10 (really damn good!)
Until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, and you too can use your Masterforce, and TRANSFORM!!
Monday, 21 January 2019
My issues with modern Sentai (and potentially Ryusoulger)
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
I will freely admit that I'm not the most familiar with Super Sentai as I am with Kamen Rider, though I have enjoyed the handful of series that I have watched and still acknowledged the importance of the franchise to Tokusatsu. Granted, the extend I had watched is more in lines with Gokaiger onwards as well as the first 5 or so episodes of Shinkenger and Goseiger, but I hope that is enough for me to be qualified to talk about today's subject; modern Sentai.
Since the end of Zyuden Sentai (Vamola!) Kyoryuger, I have noticed a drop in quality with the storytelling and characterisation not seeming anywhere near as refined as what was seen in previous years. Much of what was appealing with the likes of Gokaiger or Kyoryuger was either missing or outright dismissed in the narrative for the sake of promoting more and more toys and ridiculous gimmicks, which would then strangle the appreciation a viewer may have for a series. I am fully aware that Toei measures the success of a show based on toy sales nowadays as opposed to the actual ratings and viewership, but that is no excuse for how they keep on repeating the same bad elements from failed series instead of learning from their mistakes and trying to make good shows again.
Sadly, however, much of my problems with modern Sentai can be boiled down to what I consider the last legitimately good Sentai; Kyoryuger.
While not a perfect series, Kyoryuger was still nonetheless an enjoyable one, with entertaining characters and villains, as well as a nicely fleshed out storyline that allowed everyone a chance in the spotlight, no matter how brief. Despite the executive meddling and Riku Sanjo's difficulty in managing his cast the larger they get, the series still did well enough financially for Toei to overlook the decline in ratings and viewership statistics to call it a legitimate success story. Unfortunately, due to the series more comedic nature in contrast to Go-Busters' "serious" nature, this left Toei with the mistaken idea that making a show as silly as possible is what makes your show successful. And it all starts with... the train dorks:
Ressha Sentai ToQGer is, simply put, an awful series. The main 5 characters were insufferable brats with little in terms of growth, the soundtrack was either grating on my ears or lifelessly bland, the costumes were ugly to look at, the Megazords (calling them that for simplicity) were equally ugly, and it's Red Ranger, Right Suzuki, is one of the worst Sentai Reds ever in the franchise; a conceited, selfish moron who has no right (pun not intended) to even be considered a Sentai member let alone the leader. While the villain's main motivations were interesting and the ToQGer's 6th member, Akira, had some cool ideas behind him, it wasn't enough to save this series from being a financial and critical flop. This series was bad. And Yasuko Kobayashi should feel bad.
And yet, Kento Shimoyama would go on to do worse:
Somehow, through black magic or something, Shuriken Sentai Ninninger was not only bad, but it was actually worse than ToQGer. All of the issues I had with ToQGer were present in Ninninger, with even more problems on top of that. Takaharu Igasaki, the idiot Red for this series, is pretty much the same character as Right, only with a passion for combat instead of eating and the actor was absolutely atrocious, which thus results in none of the characters getting development that didn't in some way insult them or make them worthless. The villains for the series were blatant imbeciles who's own intentions completely sabotaged their plans for world domination, which ruined their overall status as a threat. The Megazords (bar Bison King) were awfully designed, especially that stupid visual of a robot sitting inside of another robot. Normally, that would be cool, but this series somehow made it suck, which resulted in Ninninger not only having worse ratings than ToQGer, but some of the worst toy sales in the history of the franchise. Ninja Steel may have sucked, but it still did more than it's source material with it's characters and storytelling.
These problems would negatively impact the next series, despite the obvious improvements showing from the first episode:
Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger (or Jyuohger, I forget which) was a MASSIVE improvement from ToQGer and Ninninger. The characters were not overshadowed by the Red and actually shown some growth from their early stages. The Megazords had some decent designs and I actually enjoyed the cube theme for the Zords. The villains felt like a legitimate threat, with each one having their own style of attack and having deeper connections than just "the bad guy". Yamato Kazakiri made for a breath of fresh air, with how he was actually a compassionate person who legitimately tries to help his teammates with their issues, showing no complaint or hesitation to do the right thing for his friends. But even with these improvements, the series was still underwhelming and lacked a sense of urgency due to the lack of complex villains or any real expansion on Zyuland. I still like the show, but it does take a while to show it's strengths with it's storytelling and characterisation.
But it is still a masterpiece when compared to when Kento Shimoyama took the writer's chair again:
Ninninger was ruined after the first episode. This series fell apart in it's first scene.
If there is a word to describe Uchu Sentai Kyuranger, it's this; LAZY! The characters are completely superfluous as none of them have a character arc. The villains are completely pathetic unlike any other in the franchise, with how they somehow take over the galaxy and yet have several squadrons destroyed by a stupid looking space-bike. This show does NOTHING with the outer space setting and makes it another "save the Earth" story despite the fact that they could've gone ANYWHERE ELSE and had a much more interesting story. And Lucky is the worst Sentai Red ever. He's a compulsive, reckless, selfish, egocentric, narcissistic, moral aggrandising dipshit, but the entire cosmos pretty much bends over backwards to make him right when everything presented says he should be wrong; instead, they reward him with power-up after power-up that he has not in any way earned, and only gets them because of his nonsensical Deus Ex Machina powers.
And need I even mention his catchphrase?
Yes. There is 7 and a half minutes of him shouting his stupid catchphrase. It is about as annoying as it gets.
And I'm not gonna bother talking much about the next series, Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger vs Keisatsu Sentai Patranger, as I pretty much dropped it after Lupin Blue gets into a cooking contest with a monster. While still an improvement on Kyuranger, LuPat was still doing nothing for me due to the storytelling issues and the characterisation getting frustrating at points; namely Keiichiro, Patren#1, being a complete smeghead with no clue about what the fuck he's even doing, not to mention sucking at his job as a police officer. From what I've read, the show has done little to mediate the issue, despite doing better than Kyuranger has been.
When looking over all of these series, I think I've decided what the main problem is with most of them (not counting Zyuohger as it avoided this troupe); the idiot Reds. At the end of the day, the protagonists for ToQGer, Ninninger and Kyuranger were insufferable assholes, braindead idiots, or both rolled into one. Their actions prove caustic to everything and everyone else because of how often they are made the main focus of a series where one of the core themes is the importance of a team. They are made right despite all evidence saying they should be wrong, yet are never called out for their damaging actions and the way they mistreat those around them for the sake of their petty egos. Whereas good Sentai Reds like Captain Marvellous or Yamato act as a prism for the others to shine through, Right, Takaharu and Lucky are planks of wood that stop the lights of the others from ever coming together as one. Thus, it is all the more irritating when these conceited jackasses get more spotlight than any other potentially interesting characters.
Which is were the newest series to arrive at the time of writing this, Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, comes into play. Thankfully, neither Kento Shimoyama or Shinichiro Shurakura seem to be nowhere near this series, thus there is hope that it will at least be adequate. But with how most modern Sentai just regurgitates the previous elements of successful series and do them worse, and how Ryusoulger's set-up directly contradicts any sense of canonical relevance with Kyoryuger, it's still likely that we'll get a dud of a series, not helped with the preview images of the suits and mecha looking really underwhelming. Here's hoping Sentai can pick itself out of it's creative slump and get back into creating good content again.
So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off.
I will freely admit that I'm not the most familiar with Super Sentai as I am with Kamen Rider, though I have enjoyed the handful of series that I have watched and still acknowledged the importance of the franchise to Tokusatsu. Granted, the extend I had watched is more in lines with Gokaiger onwards as well as the first 5 or so episodes of Shinkenger and Goseiger, but I hope that is enough for me to be qualified to talk about today's subject; modern Sentai.
Since the end of Zyuden Sentai (Vamola!) Kyoryuger, I have noticed a drop in quality with the storytelling and characterisation not seeming anywhere near as refined as what was seen in previous years. Much of what was appealing with the likes of Gokaiger or Kyoryuger was either missing or outright dismissed in the narrative for the sake of promoting more and more toys and ridiculous gimmicks, which would then strangle the appreciation a viewer may have for a series. I am fully aware that Toei measures the success of a show based on toy sales nowadays as opposed to the actual ratings and viewership, but that is no excuse for how they keep on repeating the same bad elements from failed series instead of learning from their mistakes and trying to make good shows again.
Sadly, however, much of my problems with modern Sentai can be boiled down to what I consider the last legitimately good Sentai; Kyoryuger.
While not a perfect series, Kyoryuger was still nonetheless an enjoyable one, with entertaining characters and villains, as well as a nicely fleshed out storyline that allowed everyone a chance in the spotlight, no matter how brief. Despite the executive meddling and Riku Sanjo's difficulty in managing his cast the larger they get, the series still did well enough financially for Toei to overlook the decline in ratings and viewership statistics to call it a legitimate success story. Unfortunately, due to the series more comedic nature in contrast to Go-Busters' "serious" nature, this left Toei with the mistaken idea that making a show as silly as possible is what makes your show successful. And it all starts with... the train dorks:
Ressha Sentai ToQGer is, simply put, an awful series. The main 5 characters were insufferable brats with little in terms of growth, the soundtrack was either grating on my ears or lifelessly bland, the costumes were ugly to look at, the Megazords (calling them that for simplicity) were equally ugly, and it's Red Ranger, Right Suzuki, is one of the worst Sentai Reds ever in the franchise; a conceited, selfish moron who has no right (pun not intended) to even be considered a Sentai member let alone the leader. While the villain's main motivations were interesting and the ToQGer's 6th member, Akira, had some cool ideas behind him, it wasn't enough to save this series from being a financial and critical flop. This series was bad. And Yasuko Kobayashi should feel bad.
And yet, Kento Shimoyama would go on to do worse:
Somehow, through black magic or something, Shuriken Sentai Ninninger was not only bad, but it was actually worse than ToQGer. All of the issues I had with ToQGer were present in Ninninger, with even more problems on top of that. Takaharu Igasaki, the idiot Red for this series, is pretty much the same character as Right, only with a passion for combat instead of eating and the actor was absolutely atrocious, which thus results in none of the characters getting development that didn't in some way insult them or make them worthless. The villains for the series were blatant imbeciles who's own intentions completely sabotaged their plans for world domination, which ruined their overall status as a threat. The Megazords (bar Bison King) were awfully designed, especially that stupid visual of a robot sitting inside of another robot. Normally, that would be cool, but this series somehow made it suck, which resulted in Ninninger not only having worse ratings than ToQGer, but some of the worst toy sales in the history of the franchise. Ninja Steel may have sucked, but it still did more than it's source material with it's characters and storytelling.
These problems would negatively impact the next series, despite the obvious improvements showing from the first episode:
Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger (or Jyuohger, I forget which) was a MASSIVE improvement from ToQGer and Ninninger. The characters were not overshadowed by the Red and actually shown some growth from their early stages. The Megazords had some decent designs and I actually enjoyed the cube theme for the Zords. The villains felt like a legitimate threat, with each one having their own style of attack and having deeper connections than just "the bad guy". Yamato Kazakiri made for a breath of fresh air, with how he was actually a compassionate person who legitimately tries to help his teammates with their issues, showing no complaint or hesitation to do the right thing for his friends. But even with these improvements, the series was still underwhelming and lacked a sense of urgency due to the lack of complex villains or any real expansion on Zyuland. I still like the show, but it does take a while to show it's strengths with it's storytelling and characterisation.
But it is still a masterpiece when compared to when Kento Shimoyama took the writer's chair again:
Ninninger was ruined after the first episode. This series fell apart in it's first scene.
If there is a word to describe Uchu Sentai Kyuranger, it's this; LAZY! The characters are completely superfluous as none of them have a character arc. The villains are completely pathetic unlike any other in the franchise, with how they somehow take over the galaxy and yet have several squadrons destroyed by a stupid looking space-bike. This show does NOTHING with the outer space setting and makes it another "save the Earth" story despite the fact that they could've gone ANYWHERE ELSE and had a much more interesting story. And Lucky is the worst Sentai Red ever. He's a compulsive, reckless, selfish, egocentric, narcissistic, moral aggrandising dipshit, but the entire cosmos pretty much bends over backwards to make him right when everything presented says he should be wrong; instead, they reward him with power-up after power-up that he has not in any way earned, and only gets them because of his nonsensical Deus Ex Machina powers.
And need I even mention his catchphrase?
Yes. There is 7 and a half minutes of him shouting his stupid catchphrase. It is about as annoying as it gets.
And I'm not gonna bother talking much about the next series, Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger vs Keisatsu Sentai Patranger, as I pretty much dropped it after Lupin Blue gets into a cooking contest with a monster. While still an improvement on Kyuranger, LuPat was still doing nothing for me due to the storytelling issues and the characterisation getting frustrating at points; namely Keiichiro, Patren#1, being a complete smeghead with no clue about what the fuck he's even doing, not to mention sucking at his job as a police officer. From what I've read, the show has done little to mediate the issue, despite doing better than Kyuranger has been.
When looking over all of these series, I think I've decided what the main problem is with most of them (not counting Zyuohger as it avoided this troupe); the idiot Reds. At the end of the day, the protagonists for ToQGer, Ninninger and Kyuranger were insufferable assholes, braindead idiots, or both rolled into one. Their actions prove caustic to everything and everyone else because of how often they are made the main focus of a series where one of the core themes is the importance of a team. They are made right despite all evidence saying they should be wrong, yet are never called out for their damaging actions and the way they mistreat those around them for the sake of their petty egos. Whereas good Sentai Reds like Captain Marvellous or Yamato act as a prism for the others to shine through, Right, Takaharu and Lucky are planks of wood that stop the lights of the others from ever coming together as one. Thus, it is all the more irritating when these conceited jackasses get more spotlight than any other potentially interesting characters.
Which is were the newest series to arrive at the time of writing this, Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, comes into play. Thankfully, neither Kento Shimoyama or Shinichiro Shurakura seem to be nowhere near this series, thus there is hope that it will at least be adequate. But with how most modern Sentai just regurgitates the previous elements of successful series and do them worse, and how Ryusoulger's set-up directly contradicts any sense of canonical relevance with Kyoryuger, it's still likely that we'll get a dud of a series, not helped with the preview images of the suits and mecha looking really underwhelming. Here's hoping Sentai can pick itself out of it's creative slump and get back into creating good content again.
So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off.
Monday, 14 January 2019
Transformers: The Headmasters (1987-1988)
(SPOILER WARNING... for a show that's about 30 years old!!)
As I'm still in my re-emerging Transformers craze thanks to Bumblebee, I think now would be a good time to talk about one of the stranger points the franchise in between G1 and Beast Wars; the Takara Trilogy.
This is referring to a trifecta of Transformers fiction that was originally released exclusively in Japan, carrying on from where G1's third season left off. In the same vain as was seen with Scramble City, this trilogy (comprising of The Headmasters, Super-God [or Chojin] Masterforce, and Victory) acted more of deviation from the traditional formula of Autobots and Decepticons (or Cybertrons and Destrons) with how their story is presented. But while Scramble City was essentially a prequel story for Trypticon (or Dinosaurer), The Headmasters acted as an alternate version of the American G1's "The Rebirth" three part finale to the series. Unlike "The Rebirth", however, the story was continued passed The Headmasters with how both the shows and the toylines were continually popular, with Masterforce being the most well received... at least, among fans.
Still, talking about The Headmasters will be tricky for at least 2 reasons;
1. There are not that many subs of the series (that I am currently aware of, at any rate), and I am not the best when it comes to judging the accuracy of the translation. Thus, the version I am reviewing is the one that came in the "Transformers: The Complete Takara Collection" boxset from 2007, which I only found at my local CeX by complete accident for £50 (steal of a deal, I'd say).
2. The Headmasters actually DID get some notoriety outside of Japan, when Omni Productions dubbed the series in Malaysia and Singapore and released it on the TV channel RTM 1. And the overall quality of the dub is... well:
Yeah, it's terrible. Infamously so. From the abysmal voice acting, to needless changes in dialogue, to the bizarre renames for major characters and plot Mcguffins (Fortress Maximus is renamed "Spaceship Bruce", for fucks sake); it proved to be one of the single worst "English" dubs for any anime ever. As such, I avoided watching it for this review so that I wouldn't have the terrible, not in any way matching voices stuck in my head as I watched it.
Still, even as I avoided this dub and tried to not let it cloud my judgement for this series, I still couldn't bring myself to actually like this show. Even with the crazier subplots and stories presented, I felt like I was wasting my time watching this series, as it simply refused to make the characters or their situations interesting.
Also, I'll be using the Japanese names for the characters despite the subtitles using the American ones.
With that said, what is The Headmasters even about?
Well, it has been a year since Convoy has returned, and the Destrons, lead once more by Galvatron, are back attacking Seibertron with their new servants; the Destron Headmasters of Weirdwolf, Skullcruncher, Mindwipe and their shadowed leader, Zarak. Due the Matrix of Leadership losing it's power, there's nothing keeping the Vector Sigma computer operating fluently, thus it may lead to the planet dying for good, which the Destrons use as the opportunity to attack the Cybertrons. What they did not expect, however, was the arrival of new Headmasters who have allied themselves to the Cybertrons; Chromedome, Hardhead, Brainstorm, Highbrow, and their leader operating from their ship the Maximus, Fortress. With Convoy dying... again... and Rodimus abandoning the Cybertrons when their planet gets blown up by Zarak (yes, seriously), Fortress is made leader and they continue the good fight with new toys being added to their forces every other week; chiefly, the Destron Ninja Six-Changer Sixshot, and Fortress acting as the head for the Spaceship Maximus to become... well, Fortress Maximus.
Now, from the outset, the first 3 or so episodes are not that bad. They act as a decent set-up to the basic plot-line of the show and there are some decent moments where we get a better glimpse at not just the personalities of the Headmasters, but their abilities as well. I actually like how they swap their heads in order augment their abilities in different ways. I also appreciate how it actually shakes up the status quo a little bit by not having Rodimus or Galvatron be the focus of antagonism, but instead building up the mystery behind Zarak and his machinations. Also, Sixshot is easily the best character in the show, with how he shows himself as a legitimate threat, but still has a sense of honour and grace. He's isn't just run of the mill evil.
But sadly, that's pretty much where the good stuff of this begins and ends, as the rest can be chalked down to either filler or plain stupid.
And it all begins with THESE two nimrods!
Look; I never liked Daniel or Wheelie. They just felt like unnecessary additions to an already colourful and entertaining cast of characters. Whenever they were the focus of an episode, they would often end up being the worst part of it, as their stupid antics would eventually grate on you. That said, while I didn't like them, I wouldn't say they were outright awful characters. At the very least, their inclusion in the story didn't supersede the importance of the rest of the cast whenever said cast were the focus of an episode. They were certainly more pivotal to the narrative then Blurr was.
But with Headmasters, there weren't any other characters that I wanted to see killed off more than these two. While they didn't supersede anyone in G1's third season, they pretty much become the main fucking characters in Headmasters, with how a majority of their antics are not only annoying, but they took time away from the actual plot of the episode just to focus on some stupid shit they would be doing. For instance, a plan to stop an asteroid from destroying the Earth stops, comes to a complete fucking halt for a few minutes... because Fortress tries to stop Daniel crying by making some silly faces... fucking, REALLY?!
This not only robs any tension or suspense the episode may have previously had, but also paints Fortress, the newly christened and dignified leader of the Cybertrons, as wasteful idiot too busy focused on stopping this little bastard from throwing a hissy fit! Daniel's very presence in this show is robbing the cast of it's dignity! Made worse by the fact that Daniel is apparently the ONLY person who could stop this asteroid, thus the entire story pauses for a few seconds just because it's waiting for Daniel to get off of his lazy fucking ass and do his goddamn job!
What. A fucking. Joke!
Then again, Daniel robbing the dignity of the cast could be worse if any of the Headmasters had any kind of endearing personalities. But instead, the Headmasters, at least in this iteration, have to some of the blandest, most generic characters in the entire franchise. They're just "the good guys". That's about it. Oh, they try to give some kind of quirks to them to have them stand out from each other, but not in any way that gives us a chance to even know who they are. Chromedome? He's just the hot head who charges first and asks questions never. Hardhead? The bruiser who likes fighting. Brainstorm? I guess, the science guy? It's never made clear. Hell, I can't even describe Highbrow's personality, because they didn't even bother to give him one. He's just the guy who turns into a helicopter and will sometimes shoot something. How can I care about what these characters are doing if I don't even care about they are?
Same goes for the new villains, especially Zarak. Zarak has to be the most bare bones villain in ANYTHING I've seen in this franchise. He wants to destroy stuff, because:
With an extra dose of:
I couldn't choose between the two, so I included both. You're welcome.
And that's not even getting into how ridiculously stupid some of the filler plots can be. And when I say filler, I don't mean the good filler that's actually used to get to know the characters and enjoy our time with them. No, I'm talking about Steven Universe Season 4 type of filler; the filler that just exists to lengthen the list of episodes in a given series. Just for an example, there is an episode where the Headmasters encounter an alien planet. And the inhabitants... are Bees.
It was either that or the "Not the Bees" scene from Wicker Man. Take your pick.
And most of these filler plots just follow the same formula; someones/somethings in danger, go save that someone/something, Daniel and Wheelie antics, vague moral lesson, never call back to the event. Lather, rinse, repeat. There is such little continuity in this series, that I forgot what either the Cybertrons or Destrons want. At least with Zarak, I get him; destroy because evil. But everyone else? What purpose do they serve? What role do they serve? How do their actions affect the narrative? Do they have an end goal to any of the random shit that happens in this show?
The answer to all of these questions is, of course:
By the end of the series, very little was actually accomplished. In fact, it kind of felt like everything just went backwards, and I ultimately feel like I know LESS about these characters. And frankly, the less I know about Daniel and Wheelie, the better!
Overall, I won't say that The Headmasters is terrible, but there is one word to describe it overall. Or rather, one song:
Even with my frustrations with Daniel and Wheelies pointless shit, or the subplots being ridiculous in their presentation, I was just in a constant state of boredom. I probably could've skipped over this show entire and missed absolutely NOTHING by the end of it. As of writing this, I am at least 12 or so episodes in Masterforce, the series that comes canonically The Headmasters. And even though I think the "Headmaster Jr" stuff is just a dumb excuse to have kids be the heroes, the show thus far has been far more entertaining and well written than The Headmasters. I actually want to keep watching Masterforce, whereas I really struggled to get through Headmasters before turning it off and watching something else.
So, take my opinion for what it's worth, but I just can't recommend Headmasters, either to die hard fans or casual viewers.
Overall rating: 5/10 (BOOOOOOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIIIING!)
Thanks for reading, and until next time: This is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
P.S: The theme song, as well as most of the music in Headmasters, sucks.
As I'm still in my re-emerging Transformers craze thanks to Bumblebee, I think now would be a good time to talk about one of the stranger points the franchise in between G1 and Beast Wars; the Takara Trilogy.
This is referring to a trifecta of Transformers fiction that was originally released exclusively in Japan, carrying on from where G1's third season left off. In the same vain as was seen with Scramble City, this trilogy (comprising of The Headmasters, Super-God [or Chojin] Masterforce, and Victory) acted more of deviation from the traditional formula of Autobots and Decepticons (or Cybertrons and Destrons) with how their story is presented. But while Scramble City was essentially a prequel story for Trypticon (or Dinosaurer), The Headmasters acted as an alternate version of the American G1's "The Rebirth" three part finale to the series. Unlike "The Rebirth", however, the story was continued passed The Headmasters with how both the shows and the toylines were continually popular, with Masterforce being the most well received... at least, among fans.
Still, talking about The Headmasters will be tricky for at least 2 reasons;
1. There are not that many subs of the series (that I am currently aware of, at any rate), and I am not the best when it comes to judging the accuracy of the translation. Thus, the version I am reviewing is the one that came in the "Transformers: The Complete Takara Collection" boxset from 2007, which I only found at my local CeX by complete accident for £50 (steal of a deal, I'd say).
2. The Headmasters actually DID get some notoriety outside of Japan, when Omni Productions dubbed the series in Malaysia and Singapore and released it on the TV channel RTM 1. And the overall quality of the dub is... well:
Yeah, it's terrible. Infamously so. From the abysmal voice acting, to needless changes in dialogue, to the bizarre renames for major characters and plot Mcguffins (Fortress Maximus is renamed "Spaceship Bruce", for fucks sake); it proved to be one of the single worst "English" dubs for any anime ever. As such, I avoided watching it for this review so that I wouldn't have the terrible, not in any way matching voices stuck in my head as I watched it.
Still, even as I avoided this dub and tried to not let it cloud my judgement for this series, I still couldn't bring myself to actually like this show. Even with the crazier subplots and stories presented, I felt like I was wasting my time watching this series, as it simply refused to make the characters or their situations interesting.
Also, I'll be using the Japanese names for the characters despite the subtitles using the American ones.
With that said, what is The Headmasters even about?
Well, it has been a year since Convoy has returned, and the Destrons, lead once more by Galvatron, are back attacking Seibertron with their new servants; the Destron Headmasters of Weirdwolf, Skullcruncher, Mindwipe and their shadowed leader, Zarak. Due the Matrix of Leadership losing it's power, there's nothing keeping the Vector Sigma computer operating fluently, thus it may lead to the planet dying for good, which the Destrons use as the opportunity to attack the Cybertrons. What they did not expect, however, was the arrival of new Headmasters who have allied themselves to the Cybertrons; Chromedome, Hardhead, Brainstorm, Highbrow, and their leader operating from their ship the Maximus, Fortress. With Convoy dying... again... and Rodimus abandoning the Cybertrons when their planet gets blown up by Zarak (yes, seriously), Fortress is made leader and they continue the good fight with new toys being added to their forces every other week; chiefly, the Destron Ninja Six-Changer Sixshot, and Fortress acting as the head for the Spaceship Maximus to become... well, Fortress Maximus.
Now, from the outset, the first 3 or so episodes are not that bad. They act as a decent set-up to the basic plot-line of the show and there are some decent moments where we get a better glimpse at not just the personalities of the Headmasters, but their abilities as well. I actually like how they swap their heads in order augment their abilities in different ways. I also appreciate how it actually shakes up the status quo a little bit by not having Rodimus or Galvatron be the focus of antagonism, but instead building up the mystery behind Zarak and his machinations. Also, Sixshot is easily the best character in the show, with how he shows himself as a legitimate threat, but still has a sense of honour and grace. He's isn't just run of the mill evil.
But sadly, that's pretty much where the good stuff of this begins and ends, as the rest can be chalked down to either filler or plain stupid.
And it all begins with THESE two nimrods!
Look; I never liked Daniel or Wheelie. They just felt like unnecessary additions to an already colourful and entertaining cast of characters. Whenever they were the focus of an episode, they would often end up being the worst part of it, as their stupid antics would eventually grate on you. That said, while I didn't like them, I wouldn't say they were outright awful characters. At the very least, their inclusion in the story didn't supersede the importance of the rest of the cast whenever said cast were the focus of an episode. They were certainly more pivotal to the narrative then Blurr was.
But with Headmasters, there weren't any other characters that I wanted to see killed off more than these two. While they didn't supersede anyone in G1's third season, they pretty much become the main fucking characters in Headmasters, with how a majority of their antics are not only annoying, but they took time away from the actual plot of the episode just to focus on some stupid shit they would be doing. For instance, a plan to stop an asteroid from destroying the Earth stops, comes to a complete fucking halt for a few minutes... because Fortress tries to stop Daniel crying by making some silly faces... fucking, REALLY?!
This not only robs any tension or suspense the episode may have previously had, but also paints Fortress, the newly christened and dignified leader of the Cybertrons, as wasteful idiot too busy focused on stopping this little bastard from throwing a hissy fit! Daniel's very presence in this show is robbing the cast of it's dignity! Made worse by the fact that Daniel is apparently the ONLY person who could stop this asteroid, thus the entire story pauses for a few seconds just because it's waiting for Daniel to get off of his lazy fucking ass and do his goddamn job!
What. A fucking. Joke!
Then again, Daniel robbing the dignity of the cast could be worse if any of the Headmasters had any kind of endearing personalities. But instead, the Headmasters, at least in this iteration, have to some of the blandest, most generic characters in the entire franchise. They're just "the good guys". That's about it. Oh, they try to give some kind of quirks to them to have them stand out from each other, but not in any way that gives us a chance to even know who they are. Chromedome? He's just the hot head who charges first and asks questions never. Hardhead? The bruiser who likes fighting. Brainstorm? I guess, the science guy? It's never made clear. Hell, I can't even describe Highbrow's personality, because they didn't even bother to give him one. He's just the guy who turns into a helicopter and will sometimes shoot something. How can I care about what these characters are doing if I don't even care about they are?
Same goes for the new villains, especially Zarak. Zarak has to be the most bare bones villain in ANYTHING I've seen in this franchise. He wants to destroy stuff, because:
With an extra dose of:
I couldn't choose between the two, so I included both. You're welcome.
And that's not even getting into how ridiculously stupid some of the filler plots can be. And when I say filler, I don't mean the good filler that's actually used to get to know the characters and enjoy our time with them. No, I'm talking about Steven Universe Season 4 type of filler; the filler that just exists to lengthen the list of episodes in a given series. Just for an example, there is an episode where the Headmasters encounter an alien planet. And the inhabitants... are Bees.
It was either that or the "Not the Bees" scene from Wicker Man. Take your pick.
And most of these filler plots just follow the same formula; someones/somethings in danger, go save that someone/something, Daniel and Wheelie antics, vague moral lesson, never call back to the event. Lather, rinse, repeat. There is such little continuity in this series, that I forgot what either the Cybertrons or Destrons want. At least with Zarak, I get him; destroy because evil. But everyone else? What purpose do they serve? What role do they serve? How do their actions affect the narrative? Do they have an end goal to any of the random shit that happens in this show?
The answer to all of these questions is, of course:
By the end of the series, very little was actually accomplished. In fact, it kind of felt like everything just went backwards, and I ultimately feel like I know LESS about these characters. And frankly, the less I know about Daniel and Wheelie, the better!
Overall, I won't say that The Headmasters is terrible, but there is one word to describe it overall. Or rather, one song:
Even with my frustrations with Daniel and Wheelies pointless shit, or the subplots being ridiculous in their presentation, I was just in a constant state of boredom. I probably could've skipped over this show entire and missed absolutely NOTHING by the end of it. As of writing this, I am at least 12 or so episodes in Masterforce, the series that comes canonically The Headmasters. And even though I think the "Headmaster Jr" stuff is just a dumb excuse to have kids be the heroes, the show thus far has been far more entertaining and well written than The Headmasters. I actually want to keep watching Masterforce, whereas I really struggled to get through Headmasters before turning it off and watching something else.
So, take my opinion for what it's worth, but I just can't recommend Headmasters, either to die hard fans or casual viewers.
Overall rating: 5/10 (BOOOOOOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIIIING!)
Thanks for reading, and until next time: This is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
P.S: The theme song, as well as most of the music in Headmasters, sucks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)