#That Fourze guy could be in a sentai...

[yo-yo-yoshiko]

Colored some junky morning warmup comics eehehe... This is Superhero Taisen to me.

The Sentai is here to deal with physically large threats and contribute nothing else.

[screentunes]

Hi! I've been interested in tokusatsu shows for a while now, but I don't know which to start with, or how to watch them.

Could you help me?

GRINS SO WIDE summarized quick answer: where to start: my go-to answer is kamen rider ryuki, it's my absolute favorite and you can find it for free on tubi :-) tubi is a streaming service only available in the us, so if you don't live there you'd have to use a vpn to use it (that's what i do!) how to watch: tubi has a few other titles from kamen rider, sentai and ultraman, so feel free to look around if any others interest you! tsuburaya also has an official youtube channel with a bunch of content, icnluding the currently airing season with subs in multiple languages and an english dub! there's a lot of shows with no official international releases, for which you'd have to use.. other means

if interested, there's a longer (very long... sorry), more detailed answer under the cut!

as for where to start, it's completely up to you! :-) look around and if a show catches your interest, go for it! in kamen rider and super sentai at least, the shows are self-contained and separate from each other so you can jump in with any show you want at all!

some reccs of mine for the big three are as follow:

kamen rider: my personal favorite so far of the big three :-) the seasons can vary a lot in tone and setting, pretty much the only consistent thing is that there's a guy with a bike. oftentimes the guy looks like a bug. sometimes there's even more than one (!!) guy with a bike

for kamen rider, i recommend:

kamen rider ryuki: my absolute favorite tokusatsu show, and one of my favorite shows period!!! it's the 2002 installment of kamen rider. in this series, a silly journalist guy happens to discover a mysterious card deck while investigating for a story. with this, he accidentally becomes involved in a conflict between kamen riders. as the series advances, the reasons for this conflict become more clear out of the shows i've watched, this is one of the heavier ones in tone. however, it's also really funny. the show jumps from grim conflict to looney toones sitcom situations and then back again and its so awesome this was actually the show i began with, and it kickstarted my interest in tokusatsu!! i don't want to say much so as to not give anything away, but there's compelling, unforgettable characters that are so so dear to me, a pulling story with unfolding mysteries, and beautiful suit design!

some other shows i can mention are kamen rider fourze (show from 2011, generally much lighter in tone, very funny and sweet, space-themed kamen rider show about a delinquent-esque highschooler who wants to become friends with everyone) and kamen rider w (i think this one is commonly recommended to beginners! it's very fun, it's about a pair of young detectives who investigate mysteries and fight monsters. the main trio from this show are so dear to me). there's also a bunch of other shows i loved like ooo and kuuga (my second favorite!) but if i started listing them all out we'd be here all day...! if you wanted to start from the currently airing season, gotchard is on episode 16 right now. it's been cute so far!

super sentai: this is the series power ranger adaptations are made out of! there's a team of color-color coded heroes fighting villains and they have a giant robot etc etc

for super sentai, i started with kikai sentai zenkaiger! very cute and silly show, made me laugh out loud multiple times :-) a guy and his robot buddies hang out and have sooooo much fun

another recommendation would be tokumei sentai gobusters! probably one of the most solid tokus i've watched. it's a techy-themed season which is a plus for me :-) i heart computers. this one has a smaller core team than the usual sentai show, composed of three members. the characters are great and the antagonists are unforgettable!

i also loved toqger and i've had a lot of fun with gokaiger so far :-)

ultraman: ... i know far less about this one SORRY. there's a giant alien guy who fights giant monsters. lots of creatures in this one. peace and love on earth and also the entire universe...!!! like i said, i'm less knowledgeable about this one but from what i've seen the special effects tend to be breathtaking! miniature sets the world...

so far, the only ultraman show i've watched is ultraman orb, it was very nice! with around 20 episodes, it's shorter than the other shows i've recommended, which average 50 episodes

the currently airing ultraman show is ultraman blazar, which... i've unfortunately fallen back on a little! i have no idea if it's still airing or if it finished HELP. anyway i've loved it so far! there's a nice, slow-pace feel to it, gorgeous effects, and very memorable episodes! it's available worldwide on youtube for free, with an english dub and subtitles in multiple languages!! getting to watch it live is suchhh a nice experience there's also plenty of shows outside of those three franchises, but i'm not knowledgeable about them and i don't have reccs for those! i definitely want to venture out at some point.. i hope this helped! again, these are just some general reccs of shows i've liked! look around and see if any show catches your interest :-) if you have a certain tone, setting, etc etc in mind and want more specific recommendations i can also help with that!! thank you for letting me ramble about toku for a while ^__^

[astral-from-afar]

Ooh nice to see a fellow Kamen Rider type of person

Personally, out of the three main tokusatsu, I think I watched Kamen Rider more than anything. I did watch all 3 equally at first but my interest went from Ultraman and Super Sentai (from when I was little) to more of Kamen Rider as I grew older.

I haven't watched much from Reiwa since I stopped watching Tokusatsu maybe 3 years ago. But growing up, my parents were into tokusatsu, so I was naturally shown a lot of it, lmaoo. I kinda stopped being open about it after some kid in third grade made fun of me for it 💀

After that, I became self-conscious about it as I grew up, so I told myself I had to stop watching it. My parents still watch it though, and they tell me it's good, but I don't have the courage to start watching again 😭 Lately I wish I didn't do that cause now I feel like I'm missing out on the fun lmao- it was really fun to watch because they tend to have a deeper/darker meaning to them, even if it seems to be for younger audiences at first glance, which I find neat.

I don't really remember much from W, since I watched it way back when I was younger, but I remember the acting was great (I think the actor for Philip was only 15 at that time? I've seen that guy in other J-dramas and his acting is amazing). I remember liking W but I just don't really remember what it was about. Maybe I should revisit it sometime.

I think my favorite was Den-O. I'm pretty sure I've watched all of the heisei ones but I can't recall all of the good ones that I liked. I do remember liking the 3 last Heisei ones which I believe were Ghost, Exaid, and Build, but out of those 3, I think Ghost was the best.

ALSO YOU ARE SO RIGHT the kamen rider soundtracks tend to be bangers

Oops I kinda talked too much about myself LMAOA (I tried to shorten this the best I could. i really did. I DELETED 3 PARAGRAPHS LMAO)

No way you used to be a fan AS WELL. Now I feel a bit embarrassed for recommending stuff. Also Den-o is top tier. Deneb is probably one of my favourite kamen rider characters just for how funny he is.

To be fair I was more of a Power Rangers kid growing up. I started off watching mega force when it was still airing and religiously watched the reruns of older stuff like Dino Thunder, which was my favourite.

I stopped watching after a bit because man are kids RUTHLESS. Some of them made fun of me so I stopped watching for a bit. Luckily I have younger siblings who were watching the show up on it so I became a casual viewer, mostly watching for my siblings and then lying at school the next day.

The reason I got into Toku was actually because of a YouTuber that I was subscribed to. I had 0 clue what kamen rider was and they were praising fourze so I thought ‘I’ve seen jojo part 4, this is practically that with superheroes’ and then proceeded to watch the series. I then moved onto the other series like ooo, build,gaim,W,Den-o,ex-aid and blade.

Funny story about my watch through of blade is that I had no context for where most of the memes in the fanbase came from so I watched Blade to mainly understand everything. I had gotten up to the final arc but had to take a break since mock season was going on. When I finished I remember that I rushed home and decided to watch the last arc, despite being very tired. Yeah big mistake. Who knew a bench could make Astral cry but it did

I’m wondering right now what series to watch now. The smartest decision is to probably catch up to the latest season but I’m probably going to wait until it finishes to binge it. I’m torn on watching a late heisei era show or trying to see more early heisei works. I’ll do what I do best which is spin a wheel and decide what to watch lol.

Nooo man you don’t need to shorten down your thoughts. It’s fun reading this stuff and believe me I’ve been holding back from spamming the dashboard with my random Toku thoughts so you shouldn’t worry about if you’re saying too much. If you want to get back into it the newest season of kamen rider is around the corner so you could start getting back into it from there.

[tsuki-sennin]

Hello, Tsuki here~! Things are certainly going ass over backwards in Revice Land because of [SPOILERS FOR PREVIOUS EPISODES] and [SPOILERS FOR LAST EPISODE], but when you think about it, it really fits [SPOILERS] because we've known [SPOILERS], and that's why I'll never eat at Applebee's ever again. And neither should you. But enough about that~! It's time for America's favorite live blog/reaction video without the video part format...

Spoilers, I guess...

-Anyways yeah, I said that Hiromi's self-sacrifice is the perfect end to his character arc even if it did nothing to stop Olteca, but from a narrative standpoint, this opens up a lot of possibilities going forward. If a major character dies, they should leave an impact on your story. How do the heroes grapple with losing their friend? What kind of character will come to be focused on in their place? Is there opportunity for post-mortem development?

-Oh hi, Kagero~! I missed you for the past like... how many episodes? Shame, I really liked your stabby slashy moves.

-Guess Daiji's definitely still

-Oh, cool, Olteca has a creepy mannequin collection. Why focus on the hands?

-And meanwhile Aguilera's just vibing out here in the open. Gonna get ice cream?

-Oh, neat! I was right!

-Ohhh, don't do Tamaki like that, he's a... well, I'm kind of hesitating to call him a good boy, but he bought that for you! With his own money presumably! Y'know how much cash an (assumed) high school graduate has without any real job? It ain't a lot, and I know that for a fact! :(

-And of course, we have Ikki-nii, obessively cleaning because what else can he do?

-Fuck you George :<

-Don't drink the bath water!

-Future fossil? Oh, right, the movie! With Ichigou and that really cool looking Century guy! Yeah, the subs for that one aren't gonna be out for a while, but if I did do my usual format for that one, the run time'd be bumped up from your average DCOM to Ben-Hur, so...

-Man, shit's crazy.

-Oh frick, a threat!

-The funnymen are dangerous.

-Bodyguard!

-Go Ikki-nii!

-Yabai, Revice Manzai.

-Alright, I really like the set up to this episode. It seems like it'll be a breather, so that's good for me personally, since I'm definitely still reeling.

-Oh no! Cringe! (*C'mon! R-R-Rex!*)

-Funny Man!

-Katamari and Mogura. ..."Clump and Mole?" Is that Atmosphere Stairway? Or perhaps Kuuki Kaidan would be more appropriate, since that's the name of their actual duo.

-Celebrity cameos are always so surreal for me to see in a non-American thing. Like, of course they're a thing!

-WHY DID HE FALL ASLEEP IN THE DOGEZA

-Please teach us how to comedy, Mogura-san!

-Purikura? Oh, like the photo booths! I thought you just got robbed by the Delicious Party cast. I haven't seen either episode that came out yet, but that seems a bit out of character for them.

-Speaking of PreCure, I've been considering dusting off my fanfiction skills to try my hand at a fan-season! Like, y'know how Super Sentai loves them their cars, right? And how Showa Rider put special emphasis on racing before motorcycle and road laws changed? I think perhaps I could explore that idea through the kind of lens PreCure usually does, and uh... Oh, Sakura! You okay, girl? I uh... didn't mean to go off like that.

-Yeah, it's a lot to think about, huh.

-TAMAKI WHAT

-SHE DIDN'T EVEN TAKE THE FUCKING ICE CREAM

-Pavlov Dogs.

-Kashiwamochi. ...I personally prefer Sakuramochi myself, but I assume there's some Children's Day symbolism in your act.

-These Pavlov Dog guys have like the exact same energy as Ohsugi-sensei from Fourze. But like... half of it. No wonder they bombin'.

-Kashiwamochi guys seem like good fun though.

-Double up!

-Oh my god, Vice dabbed. Good on you for that Eitoku, that got a laugh out of me.

-Oh, I mention Fourze and they use the Kong stamp. Funny.

-Oh god, they're really using the Zero-One because comedians.

-Baisu ja... naito!

-Man, the lightning effects look great.

-Ohhhhh, that's a nice callback.

-STAMPING IMPACT!

-Jesus Christ, what is happening to this man?

-Them!

-HAS IKKI KEPT THAT DUCKY ON HIS SHOULDER THE WHOLE TIME

-Do you need to see a doctor, Vice? Perhaps lie down?

-Director Man.

-Ok, assistant lady, you're mad sus too.

-I hope Kagero comes out and fucks shit up soon.

-DON'T DRINK THE COFFEE

-Oh god, not the bees!

-Girl, don't do it.

-Guess we're fighting.

-Oh boy, Vice meds!

-You could punch somebody with that thing.

-Whaddup, sis?

-Orifu, huh?

-Keep them glasses on, Tamaki-san.

-Can you even feel that fist?

-"Busy", huh?

-These're a lot of... bizzarely effective

-SUDDENLY DEADMANS

-Thanks, god!

-BOKO BOKO!

-Let's gooooo!

-Help us out, Dai-chan!

-My man really likes this Manzai thing. Good for him :)

-Let's stampin'!

-OOOOOH. Nice punch!

-Ohhh, it's a paint roller! That's so cool!

-VICE UP!

-Hey look! It's Revice! Vice! Vice! Vice!

-WAIT

-Ikki...?

-GODDAMN

-So, the paint splotches on the Rolling Vistamp. They look an awful lot like Evil's airbrushed paint. And that raises a lot of implications.

-Inky.

-You rolled the shit out of those motherfuckers.

-Oh God, Vice, bro, don't do that.

-He's free now. Lock your doors, latch your windows, and bust out the big guns.

[fortunefavorsthebrave-dude]

Who is that in your icon?

OUGH. my friend. i am gently putting my hands on your shoulders and looking directly in the eyes and saying THANK YOU for the opportunity to gush about my boyyyyy my favorite boy

okay! so! that's gentarou kisaragi, the protagonist of kamen rider fourze! kamen rider, if you're not familiar, is a japanese action drama series where each season has a different set of characters, powers, suits, and stories, but they're all generally about guys who transform into masked heroes to protect people from monsters and villains. y'know how power rangers uses japanese footage (from super sentai) that's redubbed and has english scenes spliced in? kamen rider is made by the same company that does sentai! just to give you an idea of the Vibes.

now, onto gentarou! fourze aired in 2011-2012, and is my favorite of every kamen rider season i've watched for a number of reasons! gentarou is a new transfer student to amanogawa high school. he dresses like a delinquent, but his goal is to befriend everyone in the school, which makes fourze a very very sweet power of friendship story by the end. he finds that students are being turned into monsters called zodiarts (themed after constellations), and turns into the space-themed kamen rider fourze to save them! along the way, he gains a tight-knit circle of friends, many of whom started off as enemies but were won over by his kindness and support.

the series is both really full of heart and action-packed with excellent fights and creature designs. i'm gonna add a few images below to hopefully really seal the deal but you also may recognize my boy gentarou from a few big tumblr posts like jumping off a bridge for a love letter and this video and this one like my boy goes viral everyone so often just no one knows him.

anyway! i am on my hands and knees now begging you that if you're even a little bit interested in superhero stories, themes of friendship, space, and/or shonen action, you give fourze a shot because it's SO good and i would love for more people to get into kamen rider because it RULES. you can check out the opening here (as well as other kr openings, if you're interested)! okay picture time then this long post is done <3

above: the kamen rider club!! fourze/gentarou is in the middle, with friends tomoko, miu, yuki, kengo, jk, and shun from left to right behind him

above: the only image in my brain at all times. created by fullbottles.

above: the krc again, with the addition of ryuusei (tan uniform), the secondary kamen rider for the series!

above: the monsters of the series! one of my favorite things about kamen rider is how much they use practical effects, especially for the suits! created by PlayWithKOR on deviantart. (it was the only non-webp image i could find)

[taliquest]

Well okay I guess it's my turn but this list is gonna suck because I live under a rock.

Samurai Troopers/Ronin Warriors

Arguably my first experience with fandom if only from afar, but something that so deeply resonated and rewrote my brain chemistry (this guy in particular) that I eventually tracked down the flock, blended into the flock, and now I am deeply entwined with the flock like microplastics in the fish population.

Gundam 0080

I do not deny that there are a lot of much better, much more resonant, much more entertaining Gundam series out there. None of them hit me on as deeply a personal level as 0080 does, being that I am myself a military brat who grew up neck-deep in the propaganda of the military-industrial complex and a love of war machines, only to find the realities of war hit home at a young age... albeit not in the same way as our protagonist Al. 0080 isn't the best Gundam series, but to me, it is the ideal one.

Burn Notice

There's nothing deep here. Just a great cast and lots of explosions. Perfectly, Adequately Entertaining Mid-00s USA programming.

Danger 5

I don't know something about it just seems relevant in the current day and age. Also it's just delightfully gory comedy channeling all manner of pulp stories with perfectly executed gags parodying zero-budget productions ranging from cheap sets, costumes, miniatures, "bad" acting, and the occasional boom mic, to say nothing of send-ups of classic tokusatsu.

And mountains of dead Nazis.

Samurai Sentai Shinkenger

There are plenty of other, much more salient Sentai series out there, of that you can be certain. However, Absolute Mad Woman Yasuko Kobayashi lured me in by my samurai sympathies established by Samurai Troopers above, and hooked me with truly compelling character drama, weaving jidaigeki flawlessly into toy commercials and giant robot fights. Yes the blue on is my favorite, Ryunosuke is a delightful dork.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon

Oh look another Yasuko Kobayashi joint. The 90s series is iconic, the manga is outstanding, and Crystal... updates it to modern times, more or less (I haven't seen Eternal or Cosmos, I'm sorry, I can't provide any greater insight). PGSM only runs the Dark Kingdom arc but brings Kobayashi's usual incredible character writing and twists, warps, and refines quite a few concepts, giving new insights and interpretations into the cast while also making them feel so much more alive.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica

I've got nothing to add that hasn't been said before other than it's nowhere near as Ow The Edge as you've probably been led to believe, and this show literally saved me.

Kamen Rider Fourze

With 50 years of history under it's belt, picking an actual favorite Rider season is an exercise in frustration because even the weaker series have parts and themes that make them shine. But my top five are consistent if constantly swapping places, and Fourze is at the top today. This is not a hard-hitting, introspective piece that questions the nature of humanity and justice that so many do. Fourze is a show in which friendship literally saves the day and grants the titular protagonist ever greater power as he forges bonds with his classmates and school faculty until even the stars themselves are within their reach. This is one of the few shows where the bad guys get redeemed at the end and yet it feels like such a natural conclusion; Fourze is a show about overcoming your hangups and your past, finding community and family, and through that becoming not just a whole person but the person you only dreamed of being before.

Fourze is beautiful and I'll gladly go to bat for it any day. But tomorrow my answer might be Ryuki, so...

The SoulTaker

Before we go any further please understand, this show is not here because I think it is good. The SoulTaker is something, but I could never in good conscience describe it as good. This show is here because it hijacked my adolescent mind in Year of Our Godoka Two Thousand Threeourive and I have not been able to escape it since. I want you to imagine THE MOST Early 00s, Post-Evangelion, Post-Matrix, Edgelord Cringe thing you can. Got it? Good. Now GO FURTHER. The SoulTaker cannot be described. It can only be experienced. Or rather, it can only be inflicted.

Gushing Over Magical Girls

You've probably heard a lot about this series. It's true. All of it. This show is transgressive and queer as hell, unapologetic in both its lust and adulation for the genre, both a touching exploration of a young girl's budding sapphic feelings for her heroines and a raunchy comedy wherein she exploits the same - and in the process causes them to have a few realizations. You may have been turned off by this show's reputation as smut, and that's true, it absolutely is.

But it's the best kind of, and very well done, smut. And right now, I think we need more of that kind of thing than ever.

who to tag, who to tag... Let's see... @yamiquietshadowflo, @starlitskvader, @popeyeotaku, @samurai-skittle-squad, and @kamenstranger, have a go if you please!

10 shows, 10 people game!

Game: Add 10 gifs from your favorite shows and tag 10 people.

Tagged by the ever sweet @snowviolettwhite 💜

9-1-1 (my emotional support family 🥹)

Warehouse 13 (another found family show 🥺)

Grimm (I can't explain how much I love this one it's like spn but happier) (911 lovers Lou Ransone is in this one and he has so many shirtless scenes lmao)

The Guest (Korean horror) (I'm actually not into horror but the fact that this is one of my fav is so funny. It's more the 3 main characters than anything, I loved their interaction)

From Today It's My Turn (Japanese) (this one's so silly and hilarious)

The Librarians (another found family show!) (yes Albert from 911 is in it. so is Elliot from Leverage)

Person of Interest (literally my babies 😭 i'm sorry i couldn't add root/shaw 😭 also you WILL sob)

Unbelievable (heavy but so 🤌🏽 based on a true story)

Beyond Evil (Korean) (Lee Dong Sik 😭😭 this WILL destroy you)

Dark (German) (actually haven't completed it yet but s1 is exquisite)

Honestly there's SO MANY shows that I love but I tried to include diverse ones and some not so popular ones.

Honourable mentions: Haven (if you know this one I'll love you forever lol), Kotaro Lives Alone, Ragnarok (Norwegian), Kingdom (Korean), Signal (Korean), Tunnel (Korean), The Following

No pressure tags @scknight05 @lemotmo @eddiediazismyhusband @jackwhiteprophetic @diazguzman @begebege28 @mazzystar24 @syfygirl1998 @monroemary @ofqueensandwitches and anyone else who wants to do this!

[r4bbitdragon]

If you could make a six man sentai out of riders, who would be on your team?

im not limiting myself fully to riders bc i want to increase my girl options. ok.

gentaro fourze- red. i want to see my friendship boy... (there he is!)

toko yashiro from decade agito world- blue. deep cut i know but i havent actually watched that many rider series i can choose from while still keeping one per series, and i dont feel like removing any of the main decade characters from the context of decade. and i needed a blue. anyways she's here to be mean and pragmatic.

naki 01- white. them :) they are just vibing. do you know how many times naki Canonically got their memory wiped anyways they're an amnesiac robot friend here.

shotaro w- green. he may be a little stupid. but. very much a team heart, despite that not being what he wants his team role to be. he’s cool, guys

ren saber- black. please dont question my color choices for the last two thank you. sometimes a team just needs a terrible gremlin

extra ranger!!

sawa build- pink+silver! hehehe arc where she's introduced to she show as a harmless seeming character, only to be revealed a spy for the baddies, only to choose the team in the end and join!!!

[matt0044]

Ninja Steel is Fun Actually or How I Learned To Stop Worrying & Love Victor Vincent.

1. The season seems keen on chilling out for most of its run with a dash of goofiness, each episode being its own adventure with the thinnest of Myth arc sown together. The Ninja Rangers themselves don’t have to answer to any higher power aside from the semi-sentient Nexus. No Zordon and especially no Gosei. They feel like high schoolers who choose for themselves to be heroes.

This is honestly my favorite kind of team similar not unlike with Lost Galaxy. They’re not Rangers because they were bestowed these powers by somebody but because the powers deemed them worthy. While Mic plays mentor, he and Redbot are mostly two Alphas working as one. It feel like an unofficial after-school club down to how their base is located in the high school ala Fourze.

Mic Kanic was a fun character, owing to Kelson Henderson’s being able to show his on-screen chops after being on voice-over duty. He’s the one who dispenses the moral of the story not unlike with Keeper, illustrating his points through reverse engineering them not unlike... a mechanic. Damn, that’s good.

Unlike with Keeper, he doesn’t feel as though he’s “there” for the sake of moralizing. He’s the one forging the Ninja Power Stars whenever the Prism displays a new weapon to wield along with Redbot. He doesn’t pretend to be smarter than the others, he’s just helping teens out in his own weird way. Not that his shape-shifting couldn’t have been played with in more episodes IMO.

2. The episodic nature feel far more like a feature than a flaw. In addition to the Rangers being high-schoolers, we have ourselves a light-on-plot format not too dissimilar to Mighty Morphin’ way back when. Now as an anniversary season. this can feel like a problem when many expect it to be “Go big or go home.” I get that yet... I also enjoy how one could go back to any episode in isolation.

That’s not to say that I don’t feel like it can’t feel held back at time in adhering to this format. I can say that giving each Ranger more pronounced character arcs while maintaining this structure wouldn’t have been impossible with a bit more focus on Story Editing. Preston reconciling with his father could’ve been set up if Marcus Tien had more of a presence up to that episode for one thing.

3. Victor and Monty. Where do I even begin with these two goobers? Chris Reid and Caleb Bendit go absolute ham with their characters ever scene they get. The latter is an over enthusiastic nerd who I swear has the hots for Mr. Vincent. The former has such a flare to him in bringing this young Gaston to life with such delicious arrogance.

Now... I get why they’re (charitably speaking) not exactly fan-favorites. Their C-Plot antics can feel divorced from the story compared to a lot of Bulk and Skull’s escapades way back when. To say nothing of some of their... bowel-based comedy routines.

Yet for me, there was just an unabashedly enthusiasm to their wacky hijinks that I could never hate for the life of me. They could be so juvenile yet did it without ever feeling an ounce of shame. Even their fart jokes don’t just settle for less.

One episodes they’re cocooned by a spider monster and float into the sky in their inflated wrappings. Another they try to turn the entire class into one big Dutch Oven to avoid a test they didn’t study for... only for the teacher to pass out gas masks. The cherry on top? They don’t get any.

It leaves me in a sense of “Oh my god,” but in the best way possible. I shouldn’t like them. I really shouldn’t but... I’m too much of a late 00s kid to grow out of it. Go ahead and call out my bad taste, I don’t care.

Now this isn’t to say that there were things that couldn’t have been improved upon from small adjustment to pretty major tweaks that I’ve often pondered.

1. The villains were a tad hit or miss. Odious was a good Star Scream in how she schemed behind the scenes and got the likes of Ripcon to take the fall when her fake Aiden plan didn’t precisely go as planned. Cosmo Royale is a huge ham in the best way as Galaxy Warrior’s host, playing up each monster of the day.

That said, Galvanax and Ripcon were the weaker of the lot. The latter could’ve had more of a rivalry with Brody. Maybe as a former master who gave him the skills his father couldn’t, leading them to clash when out in the field. It would help him stand out as a villain.

The former should’ve been less of a gruff brute like Sledge and more watching from the shadows ala Doctor Claw, stepping in when stuff got real like the season finale. The camera could hide him from view until he stepped into the fray. He could also do with a smooth yet menacing voice so to speak. You know, hype up his final showdown in the end.

2. Brody’s time is space could’ve been expanded upon. Perhaps a few of Galaxy Warriors’ contestants crossed paths with the young ninja and are in a conflict of interests. Be it a noble warrior or a former foe. Again, Ripcon could sort of be the Shadow Weaver to Brody’s She-Ra of sorts.

Wait... does that make Odious Catra?

Um...

Additionally, maybe show how out of touch he is with Earth customs due to living on an alien ship for a bit of comic relief. Think Super Sentai’s comedic Reds but more chill and far less obnoxious, being a good leader even with his eccentricities. You could have him be the ones to weird out Victor and Monty.

3. Sledge’s crew should’ve been a rival to Galaxy Warriors in Super Ninja Steel as they catch onto her ruse and return. You could actually have him bring over the Galactic Ninjas with Fox Bots replacing the Viviks, making them more of a big deal.

Odious would go along with it to boost rating for the show and attract more warriors for her benefit. She could try to play both side leading up to the finale with Badonna as a spy so to speak. She has magic so while not let her shape-shift.

4. I get the sense Dane Romero was meant to be dead but it was deemed a tad dark and brought back since they had three Akaningers to adapt. He could’ve acted as a secondary mentor for the Rangers as he caught up with his sons and taught them more advanced skills.

Despite this, Ninja Steel was a fun ride even if it was a touch mellow. I feel like some of the hate is a touch overblow for the sake of hyperbole but I don’t fault anybody for finding this to not be their cup of tear. The anniversary element is another post entirely so I’ll save that for later.

Alright, guys, tear me apart.

[narashikari]

Be the One: Screenshots and Thoughts- Part 3

Build Team shenanigans as the camera pans out... Sento and Ryuuga bickering per usual, everyone else trying to look at Gen’s shirt... bwahahahaha

ICYDK: Daichi Nobe was the suit actor for the Hell Bros. During the filming of Build, he died due to an accident while practicing a stunt. Suit actors are rarely recognized for the risk they take in performing for toku shows like Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. These people literally put their lives on line to put on a hell of a performance for a kid’s show (which is why I am constantly flabbergasted by anyone who would say toku shows are just guys fighting in rubber suits or something similar and want to punt them in the crotch). I think it’s sweet, and awesome, that Toei and the Build cast and crew chose to dedicate this work to Daichi. 

Don’t forget, they could have just as easily done this for Shotaro Ishinimori instead as its his 80th birth anniversary as well. Instead of paying homage to the man who started it all, they honor someone who kept the legacy alive in the present.

That password utterly fails all the cardinal rules of password making... dictionary words, no mix of capital and lowercase letters with numbers (it passes the symbol bit though)...

Surprisingly good English... with the exception of a few misspelled words this is actually pretty coherent...

IT’S THE LOOSE FLOWY SWEATER-TIGHT LOW-NECK SHIRT COMBO FROM EPISODE 46!!! -unearthly screech because of Acchan’s sexiness-

(Is it bad that I want to do things to his neck and throat?? And those exposed collarbones?? UUUUGH)

-cue explosions-

We get our first glimpse of the Rider War! While it’s certainly not on the scale of the Legendary Battle of Super Sentai fame, it’s still pretty epic to see all the suits out there. And the Legend Riders are all still fighting the same way as they did in their own series! Speaking of Legends...

Heh, it just occurred to me that Sento and Emu never actually introduced themselves to each other during HeiGen Final, which is why he calls him by his Rider name, not his actual name. Also, Emu’s still getting beaten up... you’re the Legend Rider now, c’mon, Emu!

Another callback to Movie War Core of all things. This is EXACTLY THE SAME WAY Gentaro makes his grand appearance as Fourze!

We also get the first look at a Time Mazine (chronologically) 

The eff are you doing baka-no-usagi?

Oh, hello Sougo! Good to meet you... uh... wait... He already has Sento’s RideWatch? (Well, he does get it in the first two episodes... but these cameos do tend to disregard canon anyways)

That’s creepy as fuck without someone doing the pose inside the armor...

I wish Sougo was half this crazy awesome in the show....

No gags here to be seen. I guess it wouldn’t do good for Zi-O’s reputation to flub the copied finisher in his debut. Which makes episode 2 slightly more hilarious, because apparently by this point he’s given up replicating the finisher perfectly..

Ugggh... way to go, Sougo, introduce yourself as an OP overlord to your senpai the first time you meet... You better meet those standards, Overlord-sama!

[friendshipstates]

Into the Riderverse (AU RP Interest Thread)

What has gone on before:

“I’m not supposed to tell you this, but when have I ever let the rules get in the way?” The message had come from Kaitou Daiki, also known as Kamen Rider Diend. “Behind the floodgates, you’ll find another gate. A gate to everywhere. Don’t let them open it.” And with that, the phantom thief had formed a dimensional wall and left Fourze and his allies in the Rabbit Hutch befuddled.

Certain allies were less confused by the cryptic clues from the blue Rider than Fourze was. After taking the time to hear the explanation from a friend who understood the answer, Fourze led his team down into the flood tunnels under Tokyo.

The Radar Module had been activated, and soon the scanner found something that definitely shouldn’t be there. There was no reason for a door to be inside the flood tunnels. After all, the first major storm would see that place under a foot a water.

After a few moments to pry open a door that definitely didn’t want to be opened, the Rider and his allies had found themselves in the middle of a Shocker laboratory. All around them, skull-masked goons were talking about the coming incursion, and how they’d take over the whole multiverse. At least that was the topic of conversation until they spotted one of their most hated foes. A Kamen Rider dared show his armored face in their lair?

What followed was like music. Fourze and his allies moved in such perfect synchronicity that the dozens of Shocker mooks never stood a chance against them. This finally led into a battle in the middle of a room that should not exist. A massive supercollider in a space barely big enough to contain an IMAX theater. And the collider had been turned on, just as Fourze found himself in hand-to-hand combat with an augmented human. The Snake Commander of Shocker fought against Fourze for ten minutes, luring him closer and closer to the center of the room. Finally, the supercollider reached critical state, and a dimensional gate was opened, catching Kamen Rider Fourze in the middle of it.

In a brief moment, Kamen Rider Fourze looked into the Multiverse, and the Multiverse looked back. He knew that he couldn’t allow Shocker to use this gate. So, summoning his Barizun Sword to his hand, he opened his own warp portal inside the dimensional portal, shunting the energy from the collider elsewhere. As thanks for protecting it from the whims of wicked men, the multiverse drew Fourze into it. His armor fell from around him and he turned to his allies, who had just subdued the Snake Commander.

“Don’t worry about me. Find them.” He gestured off into the portal at unseen figures. “They’ll be here soon. Find them, and bring them to Hikari…” What appears to be a humanoid form in grey mist drifted around his body, and Kisaragi Gentaro was gone.

There was no explosion, no shower of sparks. With an unceremonious “POP” the two portals collided with each other and slammed shut, taking their friend with them.

This left his allies in a secret base and very confused. But elsewhere, some other people are going to be very confused.

In a small photo studio, a young man with a Blackbird camera looks up at a photo backdrop of a moonbase, and shields his eyes as the image seems to shatter into seven pieces.

Turning to his own allies, Kadoya Tsukasa says “I know what you’re thinking, but this wasn’t my fault.”

----

All Right, Let’s Take it From the Top…

My Name is…

Sir Gentaro Bladebond, Paladin of the Goddess Kazashiro who stands for Purity, Beauty and Self-Worth.

I was raised in the temple of the Goddess to be her chosen champion. During a diplomatic mission to the Blue Sky Kingdom, to join my church to the church of their god Blue, I met a young mage named Tsubasa. She had lost everything that was dear to her, and I took her under my wing as I continued my adventure. We returned to the Blue Sky Kingdom bearing an artifact of great power, which we returned to Blue in person. For a few days, things were peaceful. Then my fellow acolytes called my attention to a strange vortex that opened in the divine gardens. Leaving Tsubasa in the care of Angela, my group’s ectomancy expert, I went to explore it. I found myself in a strange new world, with spires of steel and glass, and found myself in conflict with an unusual creature. A beast of stained glass, trying to claim the life force of a woman on the street. I drew my holy blade to fight the monster, and that’s where my story resumes…

---

My name is…

Gentaro Kisaragi, Blue Lantern of Space Sector 2814. 

Seven years ago, I had an encounter with an alien spacecraft. The pilot, Roa’ka’nar, was heavily injured in the crash. I took him into my home and nursed him back to health. Through the whole time, I worked to keep him from reopening his wounds, helped him regain his strength and get accustomed to Earth food and tradition. When the time came for Roa’ka’nar to return to his homeworld, he revealed his true identity to me. He was a member of galactic protection agency, A Blue Lantern, who used hope to save the worlds. He told me his last battle before the crash had been so taxing that he was thinking of calling it quits. But I had stood by his side, and motivated him to be better. He saw in me the potential to bring great hope. So for the first time in Blue Lantern history, a Corpsman took on an apprentice. I joined Roa’ka’nar for those years as he trained me to fight against the Reds and the Black Lanterns. During our last day together, I was separated from Roa’ka’nar by a dimensional vortex. Though I’m in a different world, it’s still the same Tokyo I grew up in, mostly. As long as there’s hope here, there’s still a charge in my power battery...

My name is...

Gentaro Kisaragi, also known as Switch-1. 

Seven years ago, The Zodiac Alliance descended on Earth. They came to force humans to evolve to a higher power, by giving them a taste of “Star Blood.” But before them came the Yuujou Switch, a device that drew power from people’s bonds of friendship. On countless other worlds, the Zodiac Alliance had been driven back by warriors of great friendship using the power of the Yuujou Switch, and our world was no different. Okay, maybe a bit different. My own belief in the power of friendship granted me and my friends the power to transform into Yuujou Sentai Switchman, and we took the fight to the Zodiac Alliance. During a fight with Commander Libra, I found myself and my mecha, the Rabbit Racer, sent to another world. There are others here like me. Maybe I can be their friend and fight alongside them until I get home. I hope my team is ok…

My name is…

Gentaro Kisaragi, though the rest of the world knows me as the Pro Hero Fourze.

 Though I may not be at his level, I fought alongside All-Might in a few encounters. But my power source isn’t like his. You see, each time I create a genuine, lasting friendship, my power increases by four. Four extra feet per jump, four extra seconds to take a beating, four extra miles per hour, four extra pounds of weight. I have over two hundred friends, and I’m looking to make a thousand. Not because I want to be more powerful, but because I just want more friends.

When the portal appeared, I had put myself between it and a villain I was trying to save. The last thing I heard was that villain saying “He really did care about me..” I hope I can get back home and find that guy. I really want to be his friend.

My name is…

Gentaro Kisaragi. I’m a graduate of Mahoutokoro Magical Academy, and I work as a private eye. 

Did someone get lost in the Nevernever? I’ll find them. Does some Black Court vampire need a punch in the mouth? I’m your guy. I use my magic to get the job done, and my hands to make your life better than when I found it. Everyone I’ve helped has stayed in touch and referred me to other cases, so I’m never hard up for work. One day, I finished up a case and found myself staring into a cloud of mist. I heard a woman’s voice coming from the mist. She said “Follow me, there are people that need your help.” Of course, I followed her towards the portal. This new version of Tokyo is different from what I’m used to, but magic still follows the same rules here, mostly...

My name is…

Gentaro Kisaragi. I’m a Pokemon trainer from Mistralton City. But I don’t go out and catch Pokemon after harsh battles. Whether they’re lost, abandoned or mistreated by their original trainers, I nurse them back to health and give them a spot in my team. Right now, I have an Arcanine named Queen, a Swanna, a Gothorita, a Porygon named Gigabyte, and an Ivysaur that seems to have adopted me, and comes and goes as she pleases. She was with me when the portal opened, so I have that going for me. But now I’m in a world with no Pokemon except the ones I brought with me. I’m kind of scared, to be honest.

My name is…

Shinyu Kisaragi. I’m Sixteen years old, and can I tell you a secret? I’m a legendary warrior. 

I know, it’s weird to think that a girl dressed like a punk rocker could be a force of pure magic, but it’s true! During a field trip to the observatory, my classmates and I watched as a geologist cracked open a meteorite. The inside of it glowed, and we found ourselves in a different place. Right in front of us was a massive spider web made up of gold and silver threads. A really pretty boy named Kengo appeared from the web and told us we were looking at the Bonds of Life, how everything in the universe was connected. Off on the edges of the web, lines were being snapped. Kengo told us that a great enemy calling themselves Threadbare were working to break apart people’s connections to each other. As each person was severed from those ties, they fell into darkness. Kengo gave us each a Star Switch and told us that when the time came, we could transform into the Soul Bond Pretty Cure. Well, I did transform into Cure Friendship and it was so awesome. Now if only my costume wasn’t so frilly. I’m in another version of Tokyo now, and I know that my friends are still out there. I can feel them in the Bonds of Life but who are these other people I sense…

---

Welcome to an AU RP, inspired heavily by and cribbed directly from “Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse.” If you haven’t yet seen this movie, do so as soon as possible.

In this AU, Every other version of Gentaro I have dabbled in, and some I haven’t, have found their way to this reality. But being in a different plane of reality causes their bodies to glitch out in painful ways. It’s this reality’s way of saying “You don’t belong here.” They want to get home as soon as possible, but once they’re made aware of one of their own number being missing, they’ll do whatever it takes to help Gentaro come back.

In order to return the other Gentaros to their home universe and reclaim this universe’s Gentaro from The Void, the heroes who take part in this will have to find the other Gentaro’s and bring them to the one place where a Rider can open a dimensional gate: The Hikari Photo Studio, base of operations for Kamen Rider Decade.

But the heroes aren’t alone. Some of them have brought enemies with them, and the Shocker organization that created the original multidimensional gate will stop at nothing to prevent Fourze from returning.

If you’re interested in taking part in this, give this thread a like and tell me in the comments which AU Gentaro you want to do threads with, or if you want Multiple Gentaros for a thread. Then we can plot the adventure as it takes turns and curves Through the Riderverse.

[cheetahgabriella4444]

Zi-O Complement 9.5

What will be about today? Ah, about rulers, mixed with some publicity here...

Sougo makes the question everyone is having... and... makes a good point!

Please tell me is to assassinate him...

Well, Decade was an overlord too, but not really a King... oh but there was King OOO, right? Though he wasn’t a Rider... and Kabuto called himself “The Ruler of Everything”...

Oh? could you confirm then the other two?

Oh, right! ... but that was never mentioned in-univerese, I found that funny... that everyone would know he was “Den-O” but never would comment about the “King of Trains” thing...

And with “OOO” you mean the original one, or Eiji? Just to confirm...

That’s a good point! On those cases, Ouja from Ryuki, Blade King Form and Kiva Emperor Form should also count...

Aw... now he’s sad that Kiva Emperor sounds cooler than a king x3 that’s cute...

Stop bullying him! He’s not Geiz!

And now publicity for the toys! This weekend was the official release for the DX Time Mazine! and because is in the middle of the OOO arc, the OOO Watch comes for free with it! and there’s also OOO Armor and the DX Hawk Watchroid next week...

Only the children will rejoice... their parents and the older fans will get upset because of the price!

And Sougo wonders why Dan Kuroto, who is apparently from Ex-Aid, is on OOO’s arc... this is not like Fourze+Faiz where they mixed them to compensate the Fourze cameos were busy....

... And now there is a campaign for the Genm Watch? Is that guy really that popular...?

I’m sure the wourld be more joyful if it was just OOO!

Also, Dan Kuroto has been just there in the background and that’s creepy!

It looks Sougo also doesn’t like the idea...

Well... how do you think Kamen Rider, Super Sentai and even Power Rangers have been able to last for decades...?

And now Dan Kuroto mocks Sougo...

Ey! He’s just 18!

indeed!

Well, considering the partnership between Toei and Bandai...

Leave them alone, you creep!

And results his cameo was timed to the campaign by the sponsors!

... and now he calls himself a God. Great.

They hate him! They both hate him! Even without watching Ex-Aid, I can’t tell he’s horrible!

*Ejem*

So Woz explains that the plot and the toys are adjusted according to the availability of the Legends...

... This. Guy. So. Annoying...

He sounds so hopeful...

And now Dan Kuroto is interrupting the ending just to complain about Sougo’s mistakes -.-

Now Woz is worried too!

[furederiko]

"The laws of victory has been decided!" Seriously? Here's my First Impression for the new Rider series...

The new "Kamen Rider" series, "Kamen Rider Build" has given me unquenchable curiosity ever since its first official design debuted in July. It looked fantastic, but the follow up news to that (including its cast announcement) has pulled me back and forth between wanting and NOT wanting to see it. To be honest, Tokusatsu in general (and "Kamen Rider" in particular) is a tricky genre. Sometimes the designs and cast looks awesome, but the execution falls flat (looking at you "Kamen Rider Decade" and/or "Kamen Rider Wizard"). Other times they look unappealing with a totally weird concept, but manage to draw up a massive fanbase that can't stop praising (hi there, "Kamen Rider Fourze", "Kamen Rider Gaim", and also... apparently, surprise, surprise, "Kamen Rider Ex-Aid"). Many of them ventures in between okay to great, or serving a particular niche of audience (like "Kamen Rider Drive" and "Kamen Rider Ghost). Only a few is a perfect home run; having great iconic design that gels together with great storyline. For the time being, it's unclear which direction "Kamen Rider Build" is going to fit in. After all, things can suddenly change after a few episodes in...

To relieve myself from such curiosity, I've decided to see the first episode when it aired earlier this morning. And well, since my stream went on and off, I didn't actually catch the entire episode in one go. So I admit, I can't really say whether I actually liked it or not (it's not even subbed). With that said, I'm going to share several notes that I was able to write during the broadcast. Here they are, in no particular order:

- Great design and concept, I'll give you that. It's definitely a Stylish-SCIENCE Rider. That theme is STRONG, with the transformation sequence being a really easy example. A neat angle, especially coming off a title that focused on Doctors x Video Game. This one feel like a love-letter to those who love Physics and Chemistry. Although... the way those subjects are implemented, can be downright cheesy and campy. - The cast is... a mixed-bag for my taste. I've sensed this before from the trailers, but decided to reserve my judgement until I saw the show itself. Well... I can say it out loud now: I'm NOT liking the protagonist. At ALL. Nothing against actor Atsuhiro Inukai, but his Sento Kiryuu is... annoying. In a nerdy way, that is, because he looks clumsy at first, but then goes cocky later on when he's about to transform. Not saying that nerds can't be charming (I myself would beg to differ LOL), but this one just looks like an unlikeable 'pretty face'. Feels like the show is trying to emulate "Kamen Rider W" so much with this guy. Unfortunately, it's an alternate reality where nerdy-Philip is the sole main character, but without carrying Shoutarou's good personalities. - The supporting cast also fares the same. For some reason, there are two I really like. First, is Eiji Akaso's Ryuga Banjo. Not just because audience will likely be shipping his character with Sento (come on, as if that zipper joke wasn't obvious enough), but because he's carrying a far more intriguing development. If I don't know any better, I think Ryuga is on a trajectory to become the show's 2nd Rider, and there's no complaining about that. The second, is Kensei Mikai's Gentoku Himuro. Interestingly, this Touto 'ikemen' is so ambiguous, that I won't be surprised if he's revealed to be one of the bad guys. Not unlike Genm in Ex-Aid, right? Kaho Takada and Yasuyuki Maekawa play daughter-father Misora and Soichi Isurugi, the main supporting characters for Sento. Sadly, they are not likeable. At least not yet in this episode. Yukari Taki's Sawa Takigawa is okay, she's the show's first damsel in distress and seems to exist only to drive the plot. - Storyline has huge potential. No surprise, because Shogo Mutou (writer to "Densha Otoko" and "Crows Zero") is the main writer, while Ryuta Tasaki who worked on both Gaim and W is directing. Similar to "Uchu Sentai Kyuranger", this show feels fast-paced too. Lots of information dump and mystery in the first episode alone. The questions surrounding Pandora Box, the sinister antagonist Knight Rogue, and also that weird experiments (that's obviously a nod to Shouwa Riders)... totally get me hooked. For some reason, I'm also sensing a "Romance of Three Kingdoms"-inspired story here. I could be reading it wrong, but if this is indeed the case, then I'm totally going to enjoy it. Let's just say, I will be thrilled if Gentoku ends up becoming the Cao Cao of the series, while Sento serves as its Liu Bei. Yuki Ochi's Shigeaki Utsumi, who serves as Gentoku's assistant, could be on track to be Sima Yi, who then takes over the series as the next antagonist. That sounds fun, right? - Unfortunately, 'fun' is also an issue. The jokes are a bit... dry and forced. I feel like they should just focus on either being serious, or purely comedic. Its supposed-to-be comedic moments sort of ruined the episode IMO, And this is coming from a Marvel Studios fan! - No opening sequence, but I think the theme song "Be The One" by PANDORA feat. Beverly is played during that... bromancing motorcycle ending. Need to hear it more to get a better sense of it, but for now, I think it's just okay.

Overall, as I've said on Twitter, it's a mix of good and bad popping here and there. It's generally good, but definitely not perfect. However, this is just a 'Quick First Impression', so I can't give it a score just yet. I'm going to need to watch it again, if I ever want to post an actual review and cast a fair verdict. Question is, will I continue watching after it then? Will I start posting weekly recap-views after this then? I'm still NOT sure. It all depends on my reaction after seeing it again with subtitle. Perhaps I will like it enough to continue watching, or I might simply drop it to save my monthly bandwith. One thing for sure, I'm intrigued, and willing to give this show a shot. We'll see then, we'll see...

The video above is officially released by Bandai Japan. It's available on their official Youtube channel. "Kamen Rider Build" is produced by TOEI, and airs every Sunday on TV-Asahi. Credits and copyrights belong to their respective owners.