Friday, April 20, 2012

Poll#7 has ended...

Yes, I apologize for the lack of updates. Tons of new games and such, and real life business. Anyway, we have our final batch of winners here.

GEKIRANGER (18 Votes)
Despite many's praises and such to my expected, despite some complains on some parts (especially loudness) about the eventual champion, Jan wins with 11 Votes! This certainly will make him feel wakiwaki than ujauja! And my predicted champion, Rio, is behind with 8 votes. Behind him are the two females, Ran and Mele with 7 votes. The Fukami bros (Retsu and Gou) are next with 6 votes, and the last place is Ken with 4 votes. Even so, this is quite the solid match, although it does make Jan feel REALLY wakiwaki.

GO-ONGER (18 Votes)
Another Red-winner, here being Sosuke with 10 votes. I guess with that and Jan, this disproves that loud reds are not that repulsed. And tailing behind is Miu with 8 votes, her twin Hiroto ties with Gunpei with 7 votes, while behind is Saki and Hanto with 6 votes with the last place being for Renn in 5 votes. A little more solid than the Gekiranger votes, but overall a strong standing for a humor Sentai.

SHINKENGER (24 Votes)
Of course this being a fan favorite Sentai, this gets a lot of vote. Regardless, winner goes to Takeru with 12 votes (well of course, he fits well on the stoic badass part). And behind him is the very moe Kotoha with 10 votes (I guess Kotoha fans can rejoice now). And following behind is Genta with 7 votes, Kaoru with 6 votes and then Mako in 5 votes. Unfortunately poor Ryuunosuke and Chiaki only got 2 votes, I'm starting to wonder if those are pity votes... This is kind of unbalanced, but results are results.

GOSEIGER (23 Votes)
Okay this is weird. For the first time, we got a 3-way tie for champion, between Alata, Eri and Moune for 11 votes! Wow! And behind is a tie between Hyde and Gosei Knight for 6 votes (I thought Gosei Knight would top here, seriously). And lastly, the last place goes to Agri with 5 votes. Right now I still wonder how in the hell there can be a 3-way tie for champ...

GOKAIGER (28 Votes)
I actually expected Marvelous to take the lead here, but the eventual winner turns out to be (much to my surprise and joy) is Ahim with 12 votes, beating Marvelous AND Luka by 1 vote! Woo-hoo! Go Ahim! <3... Wait, what? Oh, excuse me. Anyway, behind them is Gai for 10 votes and then followed by Joe by 8 votes, and finally Doc with 7 votes. This is quite balanced, yes, but for the moment, let me just bask in the victory of Ahim. Yay!

I'll post more, including pictures and plans with these winners, but for now, the poll ended. Thank you for voting and see you next time!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Winners of Poll#6 and Poll#7 begins!

It looks like we've got some surprising results, and lots of votes too! Better, I guess. Let me see....

 
HURRICANEGER (17 Votes)
Well, it looks like the stigmata of 'taking lead at first' means nothing. The winner this time is Ikkou with 11 votes! Followed behind by his brother Isshu with 9 votes! Whereas tailing just closely behind is the former 'take the lead' character Nanami with 8 votes! Really, I nearly expected her to win, but... yeah. Quite 'far' behind her is Shurikenger with 4 votes, while Yousuke and Kouta both only got 1 vote... It just seems a 'pity vote' to me, but I'm not one to complain.



ABARANGER (17 Votes)
Surprisingly, it's kinda balanced. And leading here would be Asuka with 14 votes. He's followed by Yukito in 11 votes, while Ryouga and Ranru tied in 10 votes. And... um... I guess people kinda dislike Mikoto in revelling on his evilness so much he only got 5 votes, I thought he could gather more, seriously. Yep, not one to complain here.



DEKARANGER (19 Votes)
Okay, now this is what I call utterly surprising. The winner is someone I totally didn't expect... Sen-chan with 13 votes! And closely followed by his girlfriend Umeko in 12 votes! Wow, totally didn't see it coming. My guesses, first Boss only got 10 votes, while the other one, Jasmine, only got 7 votes. My favorite, Hoji, only got 4 votes (T_T), followed by Ban with 3 votes, then followed by Tetsu in 2 votes, and finally Swan in 1 vote. Now THIS is what I call 'totally unexpected'.



MAGIRANGER (18 Votes)
This one's surprisingly solid and balanced. Winner goes to the big bro, Makito, in 12 votes. He's followed by mid bro Tsubasa in 11 votes, and tying in next place are lil' sis Urara, lil' bro Kai and mama Miyuki in 10 votes. 'Son in law' Hikaru is next with 9 votes and the last places, big sis Houka and papa Isamu held with 8 votes! Wow, even the last place got solid scores!



BOUKENGER (19 Votes)
Another 'imbalance' and a surprise entry to me. The winner here ends up in the Blow Knuckle of Souta with 12 votes! And behind him is Natsuki in 11 votes, followed by Eiji in 10 votes. While Satoru, Masumi and Sakura all tied in 5 votes, surprising because one of them would be the ones I expect to take the lead... And Zubaan is dead last with 1 vote... well one could get worse.

Next up is the last poll, I'll not make a Gobuster poll until it's finished. Enjoy!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Winners of Poll#5 and Poll#6 begins!

Well looks like Poll#5 ends like Poll#3, too small voters. What's wrong, people? Regardless, the winners are set.



MEGARANGER (8 Votes)
For some reason, the votings were even at first, but the eventual winner is Kenta with 5 votes, while the rest of the main rangers (Kouichirou, Shun, Chisato and Miku) all got fair 4 votes, and only one vote for Hayakawa. I wonder how it ends like this, though... was everyone (except Hayakawa) equally liked, and Kenta only manages for the top for his appearance in Gokaiger? Hmm...





GINGAMAN (9 Votes)
For this one, and after quite some time, we have two champs again, this time the brothers who would've been Ginga Red... Ryouma and Hyuuga! With 5 votes! Tailing behind them is Gouki with 4 votes (I think aside of his actor's popularity, his appearance in Gaoranger vs SS do help a lot), and next we have Saya with 3 votes. Hayate and Hikaru are last place with 2 votes, but... well considering the amount of voters... not a bad score, I suppose. Still, congratulations to the brothers!



GO GO V (8 Votes)
And like Megaranger we have a tough slightly fair battle, but in the end, winner goes to Matoi with 5 votes, while Nagare is last place with... 3 votes (well he fared better than Hayakawa, I guess). The rest (Sho, Daimon and Matsuri) are with 4 votes. I was actually quite sure that Matsuri could've taken the first place considering her appearance in Gokaiger and that she's usually pretty popular amongst Sentai heroines. Oh well, the eldest is taking the lead for now unlike Fiveman.



TIMERANGER (10 Votes)
Predictably, Yuuri takes the 'leaping' lead (leaping because the lack of votes) with 7 votes. Of course being one of the more developed female leader as well as being a Tsundere will immensely help her for victory. Second place are actually tied between Domon and Sion with 4 votes, while the rest (Tatsuya, Ayase and Naoto) are 3 votes... No complains really.





GAORANGER (10 Votes)
And we have another tied champions, this time leading in 5 votes... Kakeru and Gaku! Kakeru seems normal to me so I'm surprised he won, while I coulda expect Gaku taking the lead due to his development and his hilarious Engrish. But for Kakeru to tie with him? Impressive. Anyway, behind them is Sae with 4 votes. Aaand... the rest (Kai, Soutarou and Tsukumarou) are last with 2 votes... hmmm...

While the poll has very little voters, the matchup seemed really solid and there's not much leaping lead. I hope the next poll has more voters though! I can only hope.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Persona 4

Hello folks. Since this is a free talking stuffs, I'd like to speak about one of my recent favorite series I'm getting at. This is... Persona 4.





Shin Megami Tensei series is a series which involve demon-contacting to traverse through a dangerous world full of demonic horrors ready to pounce on you anytime. Starting from the sub series of Persona, we're given concepts of 'summoning our other selves' called 'Persona', in order to combat the enemy. The story overall is pretty pessimistic dark, but Persona 4 takes the cake of being actually light and hopeful, while keeping some of its darker elements.

Basically, you take control of a white haired boy (third from right in the picture) from a town getting transferred for a year in the town of Inaba. In the town, aside of making friends, he heard rumors about a new channel called 'Midnight Channel' and for some reason, he's able to put his hands into TV and eventually it turns out he CAN enter the TV, along with his friends. Within the TV is a new foggy world where creatures called Shadow lurks. Complicating the parts is that there are some murder case going on in Inaba, and those who were murdered usually appear at the Channel first. So it's up to you to probably solve this murder.

What makes me like this section very much is the concept of Shadows here. Rather than a bunch of mindless monsters, they actually represent a repressed feelings of people. So, for instance, did you just meet an idol singer just retiring? Her Shadow is actually a strip-teasing pole-dancing attention whore. Did you just meet a tough delinquent guy who turns out like to sew? His shadow is a big... gay... uh, I think we'll stop there. But this allows for great characterizations for your teammates, and knowing that they've got their own issues, and helping them sort it out is part of the game.

These paragraphs probably don't do justice to the game, so I suggest that you grab it ASAP. Either the PS2 version or the upcoming VITA release. Or watch the anime. Or later, grab the Arc System Works-made fighting game in the future.

Last words, I'll just say this is a bear-y good game and you'd bear-tter give this game a grizzly shot, it's that good!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Winners of Poll#4 and Poll#5 begins!

Again, these series of overnight working is taking the toll of my free time here, so here's the winners of the previous rounds... At least there are more votes for this batch.


ZYURANGER (21 Votes)
Well it's pretty obvious that Burai is gonna dominate, he leads with 16 votes. All I hope is that this is not largely due to him being a Tommy counterpart. Tailing behind is surprisingly Goushi with 8 votes. I wonder if it's because of his appearance in Gokaiger, or one of his PR 'successors' is Adam (who's played by the famous Johnny Yong Bosch)? Whatever. And behind them is a tie between Dan and Mei, 5 votes each. I'm not pissed, really. At any rate, Geki is next in line with 4 votes, and behind him is Boi with 3 votes. Regardless, all I say for this round is... Burai is DOMINATING.



DAIRANGER (21 Votes)
And leading up in the first place is Ryou for 17 votes. Yep, we're definitely amazed with his utter badass fighting scenes, not to mention going shirtless many times and shows us just how ripped his body and abs are (and it was glorious). And tailing behind him is Daigo with 13 votes, I suppose the Kujaku story arc help him give some edge. And behind him... Shouji with 7 votes, followed by Rin with 6 votes, then Kazu with 5 votes, and lastly Kou with 4 votes (I suppose the 'image of Tommy' did not help at this occasion...)



KAKURANGER (21 Votes)
We have another dominating vote, the one dominating today is Tsuruhime with 14 votes! Guess that shows why female leaders are things to make popularity. Behind her is a tie between Sasuke and Jiraiya with 9 votes. I'm not gonna guess who's more popular between those two. Behind them is... Ninjaman with 4 votes, Seikai with 3 votes and Saizou is the last with 2 votes! Wow, guess Ninjaman's appearance in Gokaiger do help out a lot.



OHRANGER (21 Votes)
This is a much closer battle. The winner this time is Gorou with 10 votes... in which he took the narrow victory from Momo who was at first leading heavily, but in the end could only amass 9 votes! Surprisingly, those two are the ones appearing in Gokaiger, but I do realize that Momo also had this darkhorse feel amongst many. Anyway, behind her was Juri for 7 votes, and a tie between Yuuji and Riki with 6 votes, and the last one being Shouhei at 5 votes. All in all, tight, solid voting for this one.



CARRANGER (22 Votes)
For once, a vote with number not 21 votes total! And it was quite the dominating battle too, with Kyousuke on the lead for 14 votes. And behind him is what would be another 'darkhorse' character that is Natsumi, but only for 8 votes. Followed by... Signalman for 6 votes, wow! Behind him is Naoki for 5 votes, Minoru for 3 votes and then Youko for 2 votes...

I realized that with the exception of Kou, the winners of these polls are the one who at least got to be Tommy Oliver's alter ego from Power Rangers original to Turbo. Does it influence what you vote, I wonder? Regardless, just enjoy the next batch! Later!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Trivia: Coincidence? Nana Mizuki & Nanami Nono

Okay, you may be totally shocked and said "Are you out of your mind, ChrisX!?" But this is one trivia I find REALLY funny and coincidental and could be a little awesome.

First off...


Folks, this is Nana Mizuki. You anime fans probably knew her as the seiyuu/voice actress of Naruto's Hinata Hyuuga, but ESPECIALLY Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha's Fate Testarossa, along with so many other roles. She's really famous too, even for a seiyuu she managed to be one of the top J-Pop idol singers today and winning many awards. Yes, I know, her songs are awesome. You might not believe it but she started her career as an enka singer at the age of five, and released her first single (enka) at 1993, when she's 13 years old.

Hmm... a former enka singer, who eventually exploded in popularity as an idol-singer and very talented at that. Where have we seen that before in the world of Toku?

Oh.


Maybe they're totally unrelated, but interestingly I find that Nanami's path of life as shown in Hurricaneger kinda looked like Nana Mizuki... just added with being a ninja. She guised herself as an enka singer, who eventually had a lot of trials of being an idol singer, and by the end of Hurricaneger, she's a full-fledged one and proved to be quite popular as well.

Not to mention, when you take Nanami's name (without Nono), it's like saying Nana Mizuki's name, just without the 'zuki'. And Nanami's stage name is... well... 'Nana'. This is one pure coincidence, I gotta say, because Toei couldn't have recognized or predicted Nana's eventual boom of popularity, when Hurricaneger aired, Nana was just gaining a 'darkhorse' fandom being Hinata of Naruto.

This is seriously just coincidence and nobody planned or based on Nana Mizuki. But this coincidence is something I kinda found out and thought it'd be kind of interesting to share between us Toku fans and Anime fans. Well, thanks for hearing my ramble, and I hope you had fun listening to it along with my silly discovery or sorts.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Winners of Poll#3 and Poll#4 begins!

For some reason, the number of voters here are really less than usual... But the score's pretty solid so far. Also apologies for the delay, the work in me is getting hectic. Here we go, though.


MASKMAN (10 Votes)
Akira won over for 8 votes. Man, I really could've expected this, since I think Akira is one of the most favored characters in Maskman I see everywhere. At any rate, second place is tied for both Takeru and Kenta for 5 votes, with Momoko tailing behind for 4 votes, and Haruka last place for 3 votes. Solid scores, I say.


LIVEMAN (10 Votes) 
And the winner is... Yuusuke with 7 votes! I suppose his appearance in Gaoranger vs Super Sentai really helps, I do admit he's a real badass over there. Second place is surprisingly Megumi, with 6 votes, beating Jou at 5 votes, even if Jou appeared in Gokaiger! While Jun'ichi at least got 2 votes... Tetsuya got zero. I wonder what could cause that...


TURBORANGER (9 Votes) 
The lowest vote from the batch. I do wonder how that came to be though. At any rate, obviously Riki leads with 6 votes. I'm more or less surprised on how Youhei got 5 votes. That certainly can't come from how I included him in my fic! And behind him is Haruna with 3 votes, while Daichi and Shunsuke tied for last with 2 votes. Well one could go worse...


FIVEMAN (13 Votes) 
Lots of votes for today... and once again we had a Yellow Domination, with Remi dominating on 11 votes! Gee, I really should see this coming as she's sometimes considered the darkhorse of Fiveman, plus appearing in Gokaiger. And far behind her is Gaku with 5 votes, followed by Ken with 3 votes, all while Kazumi and Fumiya were last in 2 votes. It's a bit lopsided, admittedly.


JETMAN (10 Votes)
For one lauded as one of the best oldie Sentais I'm surprised there's only 10 votes. And surprisingly, even if Gai expectedly leads with 7 votes, he's tailed closely by Ryuu with 6 votes rather than dominating like Remi before! Both Raita and Ako, meanwhile tied behind Ryuu for 4 votes, and there's only 1 vote for Kaori... Well, there's quite little I could say for this...

At any rate, the next batch is up. Happy voting!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Winners of Poll#2 and Poll#3 begins!

Sorry for a little late posting. Busy with work. Regardless, this batch has quite some surprise, and more votes.


GOGGLE V (23 Votes)
With happiness, I am proud to announce that Miki won with 14 votes! Aww yeah! Although the rest of the votes kinda surprised me. Akama was second place with 12 votes, while both Aoyama and Kijima ties in the third with 10 votes, and Kuroda, who was taking the lead in the first place, got last at 9 votes!? Come ON, I thought you all like him. Pity, I like him too and I don't feel he's that overrated. Oh well, results are results...



DYNAMAN (22 Votes)
Now this is also surprising. I really didn't expect the winner... Nangou with 10 votes! Wow, and I thought he's usually dismissed when mentioning Dynaman. Second place were both Hokuto and Hoshikawa with 9 votes, while Rei, the one who leads in the first place, was 3rd place with 8 votes... Shima only got 6 votes as last... But still, this is definitely a surprising result. I mean, who would expect Nangou when everyone talking about Dynaman were mostly (as far as I heard) about Hoshikawa and Rei?



BIOMAN (23 Votes)
This part is dominated by Jun Yabuki, who won with 17 votes total. The one that is second place are just Gou with 7 votes... that's some gap all right... Unfortunately the rest of the Bioman only got low votes, with Nanbara only 3 votes, both Hikaru and Mika 2 votes, and Shingo with only 1 vote... What is wrong with the Bioman cast if it's like this?

 

CHANGEMAN (25 Votes)
This is at least much more balanced, very similar to the Goggle V one. Leading in first place is Tsurugi with 15 votes, followed by Sayaka with 14 votes, then BOTH Mai and Oozora with 13 votes and Hayate... after leading in numbers for the first days, became the last in 11 votes... VERY similar to Kuroda. I guess early start doesn't speak for everything in this case...



FLASHMAN (28 Votes)
Most votes so far and I say the vote amounts are spread in good balance... sort of. Sara expectedly leads with 19 votes. Of course, one can only expect as such from the 'Ensemble Darkhorse' of Flashman. Jin tails behind with 17 votes, while Lou got 13 votes as the next place, Bun with 12 votes afterwards and Dai with 11 votes as the last. I suppose it is some sort of stigma that the one who leads in the first days are nearly doomed to be the last one.

Don't get your hopes down though, I'm sure it's just coincidence (it didn't happen to Bioman!). Regardless, let's see how the standing goes for the next poll, ranging from Maskman to Jetman!

(Pictures coming soon)

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Winners of Poll #1 and Poll #2 begins!

The first five team favorites are in... Here are the scores and the winners:

GORANGER (11 Votes)
Both Tsuyoshi and Peggy won with both 7 votes! Well of course, THE original red and THE original pink would be the most popular. Tailing far behind them is Akira with 3 votes... surprising that even Hiroshi Miyauchi's popularity didn't help him much, but then again his popularity begins in the next series. Daita and Kenji got only 2 votes, while Daigorou got 0 (that was pretty sad, but then again when the replacement was just completely temporary, I guess it can't be helped)

JAKQ (12 Votes)
Soukichi takes a leaping lead with 10 votes! Oh boy... I guess it'd be expected that people know Big One more than the JAKQ and it didn't help that when Big One appears, he took over and beforehand, JAKQ's rating was failing. Regardless, Gorou and Karen are second place with 2 votes, I guess because they are responsible for the first instance of Sentai canon romance...

BATTLE FEVER J (15 Votes)
Shirou leads with 8 votes. Guess being played by Kenji Ohba totally helps, plus he reappears in Gokaiger. Tailing behind him is Kyousuke (6 votes) for... um, I'll leave it to his voters. Masao and Kensaku are 5 votes together, with Maria behind them for 4 votes, Makoto for 3 votes and 1 vote for Diane.

DENZIMAN (13 Votes)
And it's a tie between Daigorou and Tatsuya in 8 votes! I guess Daigorou for the Kenji Ohba factor, and Tatsuya for being the token 'cool loner guy'? Well, I wouldn't know. Jun goes second place with 4 votes, while Akira was surprisingly 2 votes... but then Ippei got 0 votes! My God, what's wrong with the Red of this series? Too standard? I'll never know I guess...

SUN VULCAN (13 Votes)
A very similar situation with JAKQ. Takayuki takes a leaping lead with 10 votes! With Asao just 3 votes, Kin'ya 2 votes... and Ryuusuke got no votes like Ippei. I suppose Takayuki just overshadowed his predecessor? Wonder how... but regardless, he won.

Images courtesy of Super Sentai Time Capsule.

Now enjoy the votes from Goggle V to Flashman!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Poll Result & New Polls

Welp, sorry for not updating the poll long after it's gone... at any rate,  the results are in.



The results of the poll about Goggle V is...

-Best. Sentai. Ever
1 (7%)
 
-I love it for real. Awesome! Even if there are newer Sentai, it's still high on my list!
  2 (15%)
 
-It's good, but there's a lot better Sentais out there
  8 (61%)
 
-Uh, what is Goggle V? I never watch, I never bother.
  1 (7%)
 
-Bad... though I've seen worse
  0 (0%)
-It sucks. ChrisX, what are you thinking, obsessing this?
  1 (7%)
 


From a total of 13 votes. Well I guess my hunch is true that it's rather underrated. Many would call good, but too many new bloods, which also improves its formula is on the plate, and I really can't blame them. Oh well, I may as well just hold this nostalgia feeling and always appreciate the series as it is. Just as long as people don't constantly refer it as a team of gymnasts...


Anyway, didn't I say 'New Polls'? Yes. In a short time, I'll be making a series of polls of favorite characters in a Sentai team, to see who's the top 2 characters in each team. Then maybe each team will duke it out on the ultimate favorite. And I'm not going to limit to the ones I've watched only. Even the non-watched one (Goranger, for example) gets its place. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger - First Impressions






Hello once again, people. At this moment, I'm suddenly starting up on watching Gaoranger.

First off, my impression is at least the fight scenes were pretty good from the 1st 2 episodes, the 'attack names' appearing when they attack is kind of similar, but less silly than the ones in Kakuranger. But I really could see shades of Gingaman when they fight. I mean, drag your enemy on the ground and smash them somewhere? Really reminds me of Ginga Yellow's style. Also, Gao White and her 'drop down from tree and scratch' REALLY reminds me of another style by Ginga Pink. Haja Hyakujuuken will be something different, though from what I heard, I probably would expect that they go back to the usual cannon finisher. But a giant sword finisher is a good concept.

As far as character goes, the characters I'll definitely watch out for would be mainly Gaku (Yellow) and Sae (White). From what I heard from that youtube video on Gaku's Engrish, his barrage of Engrish probably won't come until 21, but I'll have the chance to grasp on his other characteristics. I really have no say on Kai and Soutarou, or probably Kakeru, but I'm definitely checking them out.

Since I watched Linkara's HOPR and got to Wild Force, I actually smiled when I see Kakeru trying to 'speak with the Orgs, but fail because they have no heart', since it reminds me of that one section Cole attempted the same to WF Orgs. I'll stop comparing, but I'll know that some things similar would make me smile. No say on who's going to be better, but I've got decent expectation on Kakeru.

The music is... a mixed bag so far. I'm normal with the ending song, but I... don't like the opening. It's just... ugh, hard to describe on how it's like, but I don't like it. But it's stuck in my head like an ear worm! Gah, maybe it'll grow on me, like the Hurricaneger song? Whatever. But of course my favorite piece is whenever they do their role call, the one later used in Gao vs SS. It was TRULY the awesome piece from Gaoranger, and when I write my fic and it's time for role call, I put on that music for more epic feel. It's just THAT good.

I'll keep watching, and who knows, it can impress me very much and I may add further stuffs from Gaoranger in my fic.

Gao.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

RIP Megaupload

Yeah, I am not kidding when I say this. Megaupload... is dead. The site used to host MANY RAW episodes of Sentai for us all to enjoy. But now it's dead, the founders arrested by US Department of Justice. And you know what's horrifying? This is before that SOPA passed. It happened at January 19th 2012.

This is a bleaky era for us internet user, with government waging war against us, and of course a very bleaky era for Toku fans like us...

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

My revised Top 10 Blue Sentai Warriors

Yep, Blogger Come Back!

Ahem, excuse my Gaku/Gao Yellow impression a bit, but I'm back with another Top 10. Previously, I got off with Pink, but now I'm gonna tackle my favorite color: Blue. Here we are, you may once again be pissed at my choices.

10. Yukito Sanjou (Abare Blue)

First off, we get to Sentai's most obvious 'Jerk With A Heart Of Gold'. Yukito got a really nasty mouth, but his heart just doesn't match. Even if he mellowed down, it still stuck until the end (he's charging Ryouga with a lot of money for dragging him to the whole Abaranger mess... yeah, you ain't tricking us with that jerkassery, Yukito, we know you're grateful!). His past is pretty fine, having a dad that overshadows him a little bit big. Also another thing I like about him is that he is not afraid to use his chiropractor skills into some dangerous things like breaking bones... a deadly doctor at that! Though I think that being a fellow medical guy, he'd make a good foil to Mikoto, but well that arc are more reserved for Ryouga. But still, for what he is, I do like Yukito a lot to make him on the 10th spot.

9. Shun Namiki (Mega Blue)

And ninth place, we got the Teen genius Shun. While his development mostly come at the beginning, from that sacrificing his dreams for friends, I like it that he sometimes act like a jerk, but still at times find time to have fun rather than being super uptight like Koichirou. While he mostly ignores Miku, when push comes to shove, he shows that he does care, which speaks a lot for him. I think his greatest moment is during the Nejiranger arc, executing that one plan that later T.J in Power Rangers In Space would repeat, about painting the other Megarangers into blue. Well, if you've got the brain, better use it. And that's probably why he's on the 9th spot.
 
8. Shouji (Tenma Ranger)

Yes, Dairanger is not yet finished in my watch list, but on 40 episodes, I think I can safely say that Shouji got his place at the 8th. He's a delinquent, looks like it and overall a fun boisterous guy to go with. Kinda like how he tricked Ryou into waking up like the Crying Wolf, although that bit him in the ass later. I will also admit that I like his overarching arc with the Three Gorma Stooges, especially one where it's revealed that the reason he bothered so much was because it reminded him of his young self, especially when the other rangers thinks he's just wasting his time, it does show dedication underneath that rough dude with attitude outlook. As of power, yeah, Gravity/Weight control is nice. I realize that Shouji rarely got into people's Top 10 blue lists, and I'm a sucker for underdogs so... yeah, Shouji really is one underrated guy who deserves his place at 8th.

7. Akira (Blue Mask)

Aah, Akira, one of the Blue warriors that got in my childhood. Always full of energy, wacky, but can be serious at times. It's always good to fight for his mother and his cockiness at times shines when he adds up in teasing. He's got quite the big spotlight after Takeru in Maskman, but when he does, sometimes it gets REALLY dramatic like the Unas saga, when he's possessed and proceeds to kick the rest of the Maskman's asses. 'Twas a scary thought, but this does has a depth in him, which was... unfortunately not so touched after it's revealed. So a combo of funny, short smartass and some dangerous stuffs gives Akira a spot in the 7th place.

6. Nanami Nono (Hurricane Blue)

For the most part, I thought she was overhyped. But once I finished Hurricaneger, I can safely and confidently say... Nanami LIVED UP to that hype of hers. Her 'idiocy' comes up in some innocence and cheeriness that it does balance out from Yousuke's hyper determinator idiocy and Kouta's straight man. The voice delivery really gets into the cheerful part which adds up to her fun, which includes some really funny awesome moments like that one time, after constantly mistaking combat commentaries into food commentaries (complete with 'down' and 'up' montage), into punching a cockpit window after waving 'Hi!'... just to draw scribbles on the face. Of course, behind that are also two things: an unbridled anger when she's pushed way too hard as Furabijou found out (you don't mess with a girl who always wanted a fellow female friend, b****!), and an equally tender heart which does make her cry when things really go to south, like in the finale when she started losing nearly every of her friends. Buut back to cheeriness, I'd say that Nanami completely lived up to my expectation so I give her... #6.

5. Youhei Hama (Blue Turbo)

So yeah you may be asking what the heck is an old school guy being here. Was it because he's my blue rep in my fanfic? Well, in the first glance, you can say that. However, the one thing I'd say that Youhei could've been one of my favorite Turborangers is that for a comic relief guy, he seems to have a lot of pasts sprayed here and there, like when he had his childhood friend move because of a Bouma residing in her house, or his favorite teacher leaving him. Even if he's the comic relief, getting into trouble here and there, I think if I wanna say who's the most tragic of all Turborangers, it would've been Youhei. Not only past losses, he also suffers present losses, like that one time he fell in love with a Bouma girl... and said girl got killed by Jarmin. It's just a pity that it's not him who offed Jarmin. But aside of that, he provided a lot of humors in Turboranger and keeps a cheery face despite his misfortune. That and I do also have nostalgia factors in Turboranger, therefore Youhei gets #5.

4. Joe Gibken (Gokai Blue)

Newest guy with real cool stuff. Joe really got a nice style in swords, and hey, I like swords better than guns. He usually fills in the 'cool guy' role very nicely with his overall cool, aloof attitude which is still different with Marvelous' brand of cool. And I bet he's pretty packed with all those push-ups and sit-ups in his spare time. His backstory did great to me, he symbolizes that there are just some limits good men in a bad company can do, as long as one has their goodness and not tossing them away, they always have a chance for redemption. Which then led to the backstory with Cid. It was quite the sad one that he ends up realizing he couldn't totally save him, but well he found an alternative and closure for it, and he went through it just fine. So for his overall badassery, swordplay despite the pretty boy look, I'd say Joe deserves to be at #4.

3. Saburou Aoyama (Goggle Blue)

And nostalgia hit in again. While he wasn't as much as sticking out like Miki and Kuroda, I'd say Aoyama is a good mix of humor and occasional badassery. He probably has one of the unorthodox weapons (a normal, non-bladed ring), but boy does he know how to use it. His growth as a fighter is a good thing to watch too, the first time he got into a solo fight, he was terribly owned, but around 20 episodes later, he is capable on owning the monster single-handedly. Admittedly, one of the favorite episodes involving him would've been the jetpack episode which also highlights his second desire aside of a hockey player, an inventor. His partnership with Kijima is pretty badass and fun to watch, in both efficiency, humor (mostly provided by Kijima, but he's still responsible) and the drama. And this being the first Sentai I watched EVER, Aoyama probably taught me how to like the color blue. So, without further ado, I'd say he's on the #3 spot... no matter what you say!

2. Ryuunosuke Ikenami (Shinken Blue)

TONOOOO!!! Yeah, who could forget that one hilarious yell. I'd say Ryuunosuke is also quite underrated. Sure, he starts out hyperactive annoying, but take a few episodes and you'll see that he lived up his placement as Takeru's second-in-command and he's just as capable as the rest of the Sentai, with some of his annoyingness toned down to make an admirable character. What was once an annoying type of funny becomes a genuine type of funny, and when he hams up the scene, he hams up nicely. His existence as a hammy hyperactive dude makes a good contrast to the to-the-point, serious Takeru. And when drama kicks in, he showed genuine anguish and even the usually loud and annoying scream can become something really heartwrenching as proven in some of the final episodes, which shows his conflicting loyalty in great detail. He can be dismissed as an annoying dude, but if you can get past that, Ryuunosuke is a dude that is really awesome and deserving #2.

1. Hoji Tomasu (Deka Blue)

And just like the rest of many of you guys, my #1 spot is for Hoji. I mean, what else can I say? He hits on nearly everything well. Badass, Development, Drama, Humor... you name it. Badass, as in his sheer determination and hard work that in a short time, he CAN master boxing and beat the crap out of an underground fighter on drugs while unmorphed. Humor due to his broken Engrish at times which can make things also look awesome, or his constant bickering with Ban, although that proves to be a point for his development later. Development due to his change from a jackass high and mighty perfectionist officer humbled with some failures and despite the bickering, eventually accepting Ban as his 'partner'. Drama for... well, the buttload of dramatic episodes that he carried on, from his friend turned evil, choosing law over love by killing his lover's criminal brother.... The one thing I can say 'pity' is that his partnership with Jasmine was only touched in the very end, I kinda ship those two. But... yeah, I think it's really safe to say that the #1 spot is unchanged from the previous one, it's still Hoji. Super Cool. Perfect.

Welp, thus concludes my list so I hope you had a good time reading! Maybe Red or Yellow are next...

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Thoughts about Hurricaneger

Happy New Year! And just to open up New Year, I just finished Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger. Overall, my opinion is very positive about it, but I'll just detail over it anyway...


First off, I gotta question how the series is spelled. Is it Hurricaneger or Hurricanger? (no 'e' between the 'n' and 'g') Well I'm just gonna go with Wikipedia and call it the former. I'm not gonna go over the plot summary since I say everyone else did a good job in covering it.

At any rate, many call this a spiritual successor to Liveman. So yeah, not only we got Academy students, start out with three members, the blue one is a chick and appears to be the 'smartest' (Megumi was the top class student, Nanami got a grade up first than the rest even if she started out at the bottom like the rest), they're joined with two more members eventually, the villains has some evaluation system, etc. It managed to be different and not just a carbon copy with Liveman set on the new age. For instance, rather than focusing on brains and smarts, it's more on the ninja in Hurricaneger. Then, while in Volt, evaluation system is like a serious business, in Jakanja, only Furabijo did that and it wasn't taken seriously. And lastly, back then, Tetsuya and Jun'ichi were immediate allies and obviously good guys from the first time they met. Ikkou and Isshu were a lot more antagonistic at start, and weren't accepting at first, before they realize their destiny and be more friendly. So it's a lot different.

Plot-wise, there's quite a bit silly moments here and there, and many would say this could be lighter than the already dark Liveman. However, I do say that once the finale hit in, it took a dive in dark and edgy... seriously, allies dropping like flies and the reactions were really spot on. Especially when it comes to Shurikenger and his master (and later Ikkou and Isshu, even if it's rectified in the end), the reactions coming from the Hurricanegers were pretty spot on and conveys quite the emotion.

Now as of characters, Yosuke pretty much standardizes the 'idiot hero' we've seen quite a lot and the one thing he develops from is probably his skills. He is still the brash guy, just also heroic. Nothing much to say. Kouta has some familial stuffs which got him in trouble at times, sometimes with his grandma, sometimes with his sister, but I like it that he's pretty calm most of the time. But... well...

Then there's Nanami. My God, people hypes her like hell and my opinion says... she pretty much lives up to that hype. No I'm not talking about how hot her actress is (Nao Nagasawa, although I do admit she's pretty hot), but I do like that she really adds up the girly touch in the team, and her personality is kind of a cheery, bubbly girl done right, added with some badass moments AND funny ones (like that one time with her taking her cooking for Gozen-sama into serious business levels). I dunno, maybe it's her voice that got it good. Although this isn't touched on, I kinda liked on how she evolved from being a lowly enka singer into a full blown pop star idol. Unfortunately, we never get a filler to show her evolution into this, would be a delight to see. But well, too bad. Also I do say that when Hurricaneger takes levels in darkness in the end, I really got caught onto how Nanami got really sad and expressed her fears. But overall I could say that Nanami definitely has the right to be one of my favorite Blue senshi out there...

... Wait, there are more heroes? Oh! Right, we're getting into that.

Next we get into Ikkou and Isshu. They at first got their no-nonsense attitude, and I find their development really beautiful. Beginning Ikkou/Isshu were totally different with final Ikkou/Isshu, seriously. Their brotherly bond is great, and I can't help but pity them with their dad. My God, I think I get the feeling that Ikki (Their father) is a gigantic asshole... Though it bugs me that despite admitting that their dad is pathetic, Isshu still clinged onto his memory one more time (the Kirai Maru episode). Why cling to a man who is known to be pathetic? The Ikkou-Manmaruba rivalry also adds up to the seriousness factor, and I do say it's pretty good.

There's then Shurikenger, who seems to be hailed as a gigantic badass thanks to Engrish speaking, disguises, etc. However, I'm just normal with him. His Engrish can be hilarious and one way to detect him, but I do like his final moments when he really gets serious in facing Sundahl. Lots of emotions there, and not taken for hilarity.

Now villains. I do say that the villains may look typical, but most of them prove to be different under certain circumstances. Tauzant look normal type of 'overlord sitting on his throne too many times', but his cruelty does shine when he grafted that one gun to Satorakura. Chuuzubou is too short lived, but did his part well (and once again, RIP to his voice actor Daisuke Gouri who died at 2010). Sargain is a decent villain, and once again I hear a familiar voice of Yoshinori Okamoto (Buuba, Dr. Ashura) once again giving his recognizable "Onoreee!" or "Koshakunaaa!" yells. Manmaruba can be scary with his Space Scorpion skill, and that's all I'm gonna say. Satorakura is the hyena 'laugh-all-the-time' type which is decent, but Shimada Bin's trademark crazy laugh just sells it. Wendinu sounds alluring and her obsession with beauty can be hilarious. Sundahl presents himself as some sort of noble villain, but is also pretty quick to show that he is also a scumbag on his own level. Then there's Furabijo. Sorry to say, but I don't quite like her and find her rather annoying. If Linkara says Vypra of PR Lightspeed Rescue got emotionless actress, I really can say the same to Furabijo. She tried hard to be 'cute', but she ends up to be dry most of the time, the emotions in her voice sound kinda lacking emotion. While she sometimes get some effective moments, I think I feel that her voice just eclipsed it... ugh.

The battle is at times pretty okay, it was good, but I don't think there's something super spectacular to note. The music is something that grew on me. I recall that first time, I don't like the opening due to the "Shuushuu to Sanjou!" part, but overall it grew on me and I like it for real. The instrument helps too. The instrumental version when fighting were also pretty good, could be one of my favorite tracks after Flashman's battle themes. And lastly... the ending. Man, so kickass! Of course, it's by Hironobu Kageyama, and I like JAM Project.

Overall, it's not my top favorite or something, but Hurricaneger is a solid Sentai series and lived up the hype of many.