With two episodes left, one should have a reasonable feel for the 35th anniversary Super Sentai series, Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. More than anything else, this is a love letter of sorts to the fans of Super Sentai series, from Goranger to Goseiger and all series in between.
While the characters seem somewhat out of place, with the crew being space pirates and all, this follows the Sentai Formula. Five warriors don the spandex colored suits, defend the Earth with courage, bravado, and hutzpah against insurmountable odds in the Zangyack empire. In the course, they get help from the previous 34 Super Sentais.
In short, this is a love letter to the fans. First episode and the Legend War, featuring all 34 teams vs. the Evil Overlord. It gets better on from there, with cameos from former teams and Gokaiger performing trademark attacks from the previous thirty four is a treat for the most part. Not all teams have been represented or given full due, but given the format, that's understandable, unless you happen to be fans of those not represented (sorry, France, Bioman happens to be one of them). It just feels right as an anniversary series that is celebrating the past 34 years.
And that gets me to the main point. Gokaigers themselves doesn't really feel as if they are a team of their own. Character Development is shallow at best. Gokaiger themselves could be interchangeable with anyone else as does the villains, save Basco and Sally. Even then, though, the characters themselves do end up playing the colored stereotype, with Marvelous as the Red-Hot Blooded leader, Joe as Blue cool second in command, Luka the Tomboy Girl, Hakase as the Green newbie/mechanical genius, and Ahim as the Pink Girly Girl.
Overall, this is a good series with the gimmick being that Gokaiger can take the form of the previous 34. The previous anniversary serious, Boukenger, the team was their own and had their own story. Gokaiger, because of its predecessors' and its heritage, ends up losing out. Has this been the 34th or 36th series, it would've been interesting where the series could've gone.
As it stands, it's a love letter to us Fans of the past. Kids will love Sentai so that base is covered. As for everyone else? It's a tough call. As for me, after seeing that Rolling Knuckle, I can say that I'm content.
Kicked up with Nostalgia but...
With two episodes left, one should have a reasonable feel for the 35th anniversary Super Sentai series, Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. More than anything else, this is a love letter of sorts to the fans of Super Sentai series, from Goranger to Goseiger and all series in between.
While the characters seem somewhat out of place, with the crew being space pirates and all, this follows the Sentai Formula. Five warriors don the spandex colored suits, defend the Earth with courage, bravado, and hutzpah against insurmountable odds in the Zangyack empire. In the course, they get help from the previous 34 Super Sentais.
In short, this is a love letter to the fans. First episode and the Legend War, featuring all 34 teams vs. the Evil Overlord. It gets better on from there, with cameos from former teams and Gokaiger performing trademark attacks from the previous thirty four is a treat for the most part. Not all teams have been represented or given full due, but given the format, that's understandable, unless you happen to be fans of those not represented (sorry, France, Bioman happens to be one of them). It just feels right as an anniversary series that is celebrating the past 34 years.
And that gets me to the main point. Gokaigers themselves doesn't really feel as if they are a team of their own. Character Development is shallow at best. Gokaiger themselves could be interchangeable with anyone else as does the villains, save Basco and Sally. Even then, though, the characters themselves do end up playing the colored stereotype, with Marvelous as the Red-Hot Blooded leader, Joe as Blue cool second in command, Luka the Tomboy Girl, Hakase as the Green newbie/mechanical genius, and Ahim as the Pink Girly Girl.
Overall, this is a good series with the gimmick being that Gokaiger can take the form of the previous 34. The previous anniversary serious, Boukenger, the team was their own and had their own story. Gokaiger, because of its predecessors' and its heritage, ends up losing out. Has this been the 34th or 36th series, it would've been interesting where the series could've gone.
As it stands, it's a love letter to us Fans of the past. Kids will love Sentai so that base is covered. As for everyone else? It's a tough call. As for me, after seeing that Rolling Knuckle, I can say that I'm content.