Movie REVIEW: Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters vs. Gokaiger

Ever since 1995's Chōriki Sentai Ohranger, the Vs. movie series has been a staple of Super Sentai shows. While for last year's anniversary series things took a different turn with Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Gavan (the Goseigers having appeared in the early 199 Heroes film) things are back on course with this year's Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters vs. Gokaiger. This hour long film fits in somewhere toward the end of the Go-Busters series (after the original Escape's death) and acts as an epilogue to Gokaiger.

Across the galaxy are five Phantom ranger keys, which are able to grant unlimited power to those who possess them. Unfortunately, four of the five keys have come into the possession of Enter, who has allied himself with Bacchus Gil, nephew to Ackdos Gil and new leader of the Zangyack Empire. They return to Earth in search of the final key with an additional surprise, the Gokaigers are now working under the Zangyack! As the Go-Busters do battle with the previous Sentai team, a portal in time is created when the five keys are gathered and they are sucked through, along with Yoko and Beet J Stag.

You wanted pirates? Here's your pirates!

As the Go-Busters team up with a confused Gai Ikari in a race through time to find the Phantom Ranger keys, they discover the real reason for the Gokaigers' turn and Enter's plans. Can the combined force of the 35th and 36th Super Sentai teams put a stop to this deadly alliance?

As soon as you see the main five Gokaigers in their "badass" pirate costumes, its pretty easy to see where the story is going. Yup, evil Gokaigers. One team going rogue isn't a new thing for the vs. films, but having just see it (partially) happen in Super Hero Taisen to same outcome makes the whole shock value of it all fall a little flat. Not that it lasts very long anyway, because the film's plot moves at lightning speed and it isn't long before the Gokaigers are back to their heroic cocky selves. What really drives Go-Busters vs. Gokaiger is the relationship between the Go-Busters and their Buddyroids, and how it affects the team when that is taken away. It makes for some really powerful emotional scenes, and shows that the Buddyroids are much more than glorfied accessories to the 36th Sentai team.

Oh hi there Kaoru.

Of course, with a Gokaiger film comes the obligatory Gokai changes. Having given all the ranger keys back to their owners at the end of their own series, seeing them back in their possession is a little bit of a head scratcher. Since the film dabbles with time travel (mainly so Toei can pull out their infamous Edo period set), it's not too much of a stretch to believe Marvelous had Gai retrieve them from the past, but it isn't something that's ever fully explained. Thankfully they are still kept to a (mostly Showa era themed) minimum, giving a rare opportunity for the Gokaiger suits themselves to feature in long action sequences. There's also a former Ranger cameo in the form of Kaoru Shiba (the "true" Shinken Red), which while tacked on is none the less appreciated.

Can Bacchus Gil hold his liquor?

Though Enter plays a big role in the film, he does take somewhat of a backseat to the newest Gil on the block. Bacchus Gil is the nephew of the former Zangyack emperor, but has no interest in conquest and simply would like to see the Earth destroyed. Other than that, there isn't much to his character other than being an alcoholic. The Gil's weren't the best of characters to begin with, but Bacchus does little to elevate himself above the levels of monster of the week. His subordinate Wardonaier is even less memorable. Past Super Sentai fans will also be pleased to see a couple of older faces appear too, particularly Gokaiger's Basco, Damaras and Jerashid, as well as Abaranger's Yatsudenwani.

VAMOLA!

And of course, over the last few years a staple of these Vs. movies has been the introduction of the next Super Sentai team, in this case the Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger, who take you the completely forgettable Waredonaier. It's a fairly humorous introduction with King (Kyoryu Red) appearing before Gokai Red and Red Buster without his team mates, causing the two to be more than a little confused. The rest appear later, setting up the fact the five team mates live different lives well, before engaging in some great fight sequences like the show itself has displayed so far. The weapon noises are also kept to a very effective minimum.

Bring on the giant robots!

But of course, if you've paid attention to any of the trailers for this film it's true appeal is that it includes a number of MECHA Gokai changes. Gozyujin to Daizyujin! GokaiOh to Daibouken! Buster Hercules to MagiKing (I see what you did there Toei)! Go-Buster Li-Oh to GaoKing and GaoCentarus! Go-Buster Ace to Gekitouja, Flashking and RyuuseiOh! It may only be a short spectacle, but its a fantastic one nonetheless and redeems the problems many people had with the Gokaiger mecha fight sequences. Plus it's amazing to see suits like Flashking and Daizyujin back in action, who haven't been seen properly in years.

Overall Go-Busters vs. Gokaiger is a very good film. The plot is rather on the thin side and speeds along particularly fast in its one hour run time, but the excellent fight footage and emotional scenes featuring the Buddyroids do a lot to balance it out. This film isn't Goseiger vs. Shinkenger or Hurricanger vs. Gaoranger levels of great, but a treat to the eyes that's far more memorable than the standard Vs. movie fare.

Toybox REVIEW: Bandai Super Robot Chogokin Magiking

 

Bandai's Super Robot Chogokin line continues its mission to provide smaller, articulate but non-transforming Super Sentai robots to fans. The fourth entry comes in the form of Magiking (or Mystic Titan megazord to the Power Rangers fans), from Mahou Sentai Magiranger and Power Rangers Mystic Force.

Upon taking the figure out of its packaging, you'll notice that the wings aren't attached to the main body. The wings peg easily into the body, and can be removed without hassle should you prefer posing your Magiking taking up less shelf space - because that wingspan is HUGE. Articulate as ever, Magiking's full range of motion stretches to its hat (yes, the hat is indeed articulated, moving up and down like in the show), head, shoulders, arms (at the top and then two points around the elbow), hands, waist, legs, knees and feet. The wing articulation is by no means bad, but I personally felt it could be better as there is no form of joint to move them up and down at the end that connects to back, only forward and backward. The larger part of the wings requires a little extra force for the full range of articulation, as the shell hides a hidden ball joint (bit with a very limited range of motion) which may go unnoticed if only gently moved.

That isn't to say be really forceful with toy, because out of the four SRC figures I own this definitely feels like the most fragile. The green piece of the skirt feels incredible brittle and like it could snap if brushed the wrong way, and the forearm articulation is incredibly fiddle. In addition to this, while there isn't anything truly wrong with it, the hip articulation feels a bit restricted by the skirt pieces (also made of that brittle plastic).

Due to the sheer size of Magiking because of it wings, the accessory count seems a little lower than his predecessor. That being said the toy still comes with everything you'd expect to see with Magiking - its signature sword the KingCalibur, a variety of extra hands and a thin plastic magic circle depicting all five symbols of the Ozu family (with a small plastic stand to hold it upright). The magic circle makes a nice little display piece, but takes up a lot of room. Now Magiking's box art may tease of flying poses, but a Tamashii stand is not included with the figure. Adding insult to injury, an arm and connector port for said stand IS included. While usually I can get over Bandai's inability to include stands with their figures, this particular instance irks me because the toy was constantly promoted in poses which required that stands and I consider the wings to be an integral part of Magiking's design.

Unlike Dekarobo, Magiking does not come packed with the Gokaiger version of the Magidragon which can be used with SRC GokaiOh to make MagiGokaiOh. This comes as a surprise given that there are plenty of images of an SRC MagiGokaiOh, so what Bandai's plans for this figure (be it an additional full release, add on pack or exclusive) are yet to be known.

While I personally feel Magiking is the best designed of the four Super Sentai mecha released in the line thus far, its fiddly nature means that it falls short of perfection and ranks second to Dekaranger Robo. Had Bandai had included a stand with the figure I'd probably raise the toy up a notch. Still, Magiking is more than a worthy addition to anyone's collection and great for anyone looking for a smaller, sturdy and articulated Super Sentai mecha who's willing to sacrifice the combining.

Series REVIEW: Mahou Sentai Magiranger

Magic, it is a sacred power.

Magic, it is an adventure into the unknown.

Magic, and it is the proof of courage!

2005’s Mahou Sentai Magiranger is the 29^th entry into Toei’s Super Sentai franchise, and would later be adapted in the West as Power Rangers Mystic Force. The story follows the aftermath of a war between the magical world of Magitopia and the underground Hades Empire of Infershia. 15 years after Magitopia defeated Infershia and sealed them underground, they reawaken to exact their revenge and cause havoc on the surface world. When the 5 siblings of the Ozu family witness their mother transform into the Magician of the White (Magi Mother) in front of them, they are given magiphones to grant them the ability to turn into the legendary magicians of the five colours. When their mother is struck down in the battle against the evil dark magic knight Wolzard, the siblings are left alone to discover their new powers and defeat the forces of Infershia.

The first noteworthy thing to discuss would be the dynamic of Magiranger. As mentioned in the synopsis, the team of Magiranger are not friends or coworkers, but a family. There’s the eldest son Makito (Magi Green/earth element), eldest daughter Houka (Magi Pink/air element), youngest daughter/middle child Urara (Magi Blue/water element), middle son Tsubasa (Magi Yellow/ Lightning element) and youngest son Kai (Magi Red/fire element). Due to this and the ages of the Magirangers, there never really feels like there’s a proper leader to the team (Kai shows the most potential and courage of the team at times as he is a red ranger, but I’d never call him a fully-fledged leader) and so the element of teamwork between them feels that much stronger. Each brother/sister has their own strengths and weaknesses and bring something different to the table. They are eventually joined by the heavenly saint Sungel (who takes on the name Hikaru while one Earth) who teaches them the ways of magic as the 6^th Magiranger Magi Shine (light element). Even then, while he takes the role of a teacher he’s not really in charge either, as it eventually comes to light that he has just as much to learn from the Ozu family as they do from him.

Magiranger manages to maintain a perfect balance between slapstick and seriousness. When the series begins, the rangers imagination when it comes to their magical powers is very clear – Houka turns herself into a variety of the things to battle (a fan, a cannon etc) and the sisters also engage in a particularly strange dance routine to defeat one of the monsters. The rangers are initially guided by a talking Magitopian plant named Mandora Boy, and Magi Shine’s partner is a talking cat genie named Smoky (Magi Shine’s weapon is a genie lamp, which needs to be rubbed before it can work…complete with DJ turntable noises). The series morphers are the magiphones – mobile phones where the screens flip to become more traditional magic wands. I’ve never been the biggest fan of mobile phone morphers, but this series certainly has one of the better uses of them. As you can probably guess, the style of magic is takes a very traditional approach – magic wands, potions, spells etc. but as the series progresses and the plot becomes more series, the slapstick is toned down (but not lost altogether so that Magiranger can retain its charm). The villains are an excellent bunch – main antagonist N Ma remaining mysterious until the very end, and the main general changing a good few times, each bringing different things to the series. The monster costumes really excel in this series – particularly Meemy and the 10 Hades Gods (especially Dagon and Cyclops). Wolzard’s dark magician armour gives off a nice evil sentai vibe.

Next we come to the mecha, which are also very different in Magiranger. Aside from Magi Shine’s Travelion (a flying train that can transform into a robot) the rangers themselves actually use their magic spells to BECOME the mecha. Initially they take the forms of Magi Phoenix (red), Magi Garuda (Yellow), Magi Mermaid (Blue), Magi Fairy (Pink) and Magi Taurus (Green). One of the interesting things is the sheer size difference between them (Magi Taurus is the biggest, while Magi Fairy is positively tiny by comparison, often perching on its shoulder). Garuda, Fairy, Mermaid and Taurus are able to combine into the Magi Dragon, and then the 5 together can also become Magi King, the main mecha for the series. Magi King has one of the more interesting transformations, as the size different between the individual components means the basic “torso + limbs” formation isn’t an option, and the end result is definitely one of the best Sentai mecha I’ve seen – complete with a colossal wing span. When the Magirangers attain their legend forms, Magi Red also gains the ability to become the Magi Firebird, while the others form the Magi Lion. These two then combine into Magi Legend (which, while has an impressive transformation sequence, isn’t much more than a humanoid lion robot with a bird head and wings). As they actually become the mecha, sadly an epic Magi King/Magi Legend tag team battle isn’t possible, but thankfully the rangers still make decent use of Magi King once they have the legend powers (something I was afraid of).

However, it’s very rare to find a series without any sort of flaws, and Magiranger sadly is not an exception. The romance between Urara and Hikaru isn’t developed particularly well – their initial meeting shows signs of a potential romance blossoming, and while there are some moments sprinkled throughout the series it doesn’t come back up properly until they truly proclaim their feelings for each other, and then get married in the SAME episode. The whole scene itself plays second fiddle to the build-up of the final battle, and probably would have been better off as part of the series’ wonderful epilogue. More minor complaints include the repetition of magic spells (they learn a new one pretty much every episode, and they themselves are always variations of the same three words) and the show’s main twist – Wolzard’s identity. While the revelation is well handled, his identity is obvious 2 episodes in, and it doesn’t actually happen until episode 33.

Magiranger isn’t perfect, but it’s damn well near it. The different dynamic is really refreshing and nice change of pace, and its perfect balance between story and comedy really keeps the story flowing. If you’re a fan of Super Sentai or Power Rangers then you need to check this series out, and if you aren’t this is the perfect series to introduce the franchise to you. It is, to put it simply, magical.