Last Sunday a few days after my 30th Birthday (wowee, better find a wife and fast) has entered the Ninningers. So after the rather obnoxious (IMO) Kyoryugers and the rather too generic ToQGer (which Kobayashi has really burnt out), we get Ninninger. We have the new head writer Kento Shimoyama who wrote some of episodes of Goseiger (six episodes), Gokaiger (six episodes which were decent ones) and eight episodes of Gobusters. These episodes were a good start so I guess this series is a hopeful revival for Super Sentai.
So here's my early thoughts on the series. The series begins with the red ranger, Takaharu Igasaki who sees their shrine attacked by the Kibaoni Army. He has one younger sister named Fuka Igasaki. Their cousins are Yakumo Kato, Nagi Matsuo and Kasumi Momochi. We get introduced to their different personalities like Takaharu being reckless, Fuka being reliable, Yakumo is quick-tempered, Nagi is observant and Kasumi being scientific. So two siblings and three cousins (presumably the grandchildren of the "Last Ninja" by his daughters) gather together to fight the Kibaoni.
At first they are skeptical until they see the truth. I just love the air of skepticism since it's never easy to believe anything that's unbelievable. So the episode has the red ranger being the only one to believe his father. The rest that is his younger sister and cousins don't believe the upcoming attack. Provided that Ninninger takes place in its own continuity, these guys never heard of Kakuranger or any previous Sentai dealing with demons. So it's only natural for the rest to be skeptical until they see the situation.
The monsters are somewhat like the monsters of Jetman and Gaoranger, both born from inanimate objects. An inanimate object is hit by a shuriken which in turn gives it an animal/inanimate object motif like the Bio Jigens in Fiveman. The monster design is pretty badass for me. I would want to see how many more possible combinations will exist.
The mecha has one humanoid mecha, two animal based mecha and two vehicular mecha. I'm getting a bit of Ohranger vibes with Ohranger Robo even with a forced comparison. The combination itself on the other hand looks pretty weird as if there's a man sitting on a mobile throne of sorts. Hehehehehe! It almost reminds me of that gross character from Total Recall, having a parasitic twin or what? Somehow, I'm such an informal critic to mecha design at times.
Even the cockpit is kind of weird for me... why is the red ranger sitting down and the others are standing up? I still need to do research on Japanese culture. So its a portable shrine. So what's with it? I just need to know more. The next episode features blue on that seat. I'll just have to wait and see how it works.
Overall, the premiere was good in its own way. The ending theme is also pretty enjoyable. Looks like Sentai may get the warming up it needed after Gobusters, Kyoryuger and ToQGer. On the other hand, will Toei let Saban skip ToQGer for this show? Only time will tell!
I think the throne thingy in the cockpit tells us the kind of transformation of the mecha. In the preview, blue will sit there.
ReplyDeleteI did not see too much of episode one except the opening which like Shinkengers and started by Abarerangers. We only hear the theme opening and see the action with Aoninger coming off like a rough and tough Takeru Shiba. Like Kyoryugers, the transforming device is their everyday primary weapon.
ReplyDeleteThis is another family based team since Fiveman, GoGo V and Magiranger. Though most are cousins.
The props for the Sentai consist of a Ninjata which now most ninja theme teams uses, a toad gun and finally a giant Shuriken which can transform into other form of weapons. They do not have their personal weapons like their predecessors. The robot isnt that impressive as I think it looks clunky and seeing Shinobi Maru sitting on a visible throne cockpit isn't too imaginative.
It is too soon to say if this series is a hit or miss but Gobuster is a classic compared to the two later series!