Go-Busters 48 released

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Go-Busters 48 released

Post by takenoko »

Okay, it's really 48 this time.

Haha, Enter has such a nice smile. I liked that his response to the Busters questions was to just laugh at them.

Poor Escape. She just felt like a distraction to the epic Enter/Hiromu fight.

But what a fight! It's so great since it's also a very personal duel between two characters who have a lot of stake in it.

And the cliffhanger this time did not disappoint. It's amazing that they're still escalating things and filling it with surprises, even at the end.

I hear people often say "Well, Go-Busters is good, but it's not the best thing ever..." Well, maybe I'm starting to think that Go-Busters is my favorite Sentai series. I mean, it's pretty hard to find a story with this level of world building. Plus the plot development is actually full of genuine surprises. And it's a little dark too. Let's not forget that these heroes basically sacrificed their parents for the good of the world.

It's funny since at the beginning, I was annoyed by the "Let's morphin" and the audacious, fake sunglasses stuff. And while that stuff still feels like it's supposed to be cool in a cheap way, it's not what's important in the series. Underneath that shallow aspect is a hearty world full of interesting characters and plots.
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by Magenta »

If anyone out there is still mad that the show's original plot kinda got rushed out the way to change the show up, I'd like to extend to those people a hearty "Fuck you." based purely on this episode.

Go-Busters is so unlike modern Sentai. I was watching some Goseiger recently, and I think I enjoyed that show a lot more from having seen Go-Busters, because it reminded me of what Sentai as a medium generally is and why I like it so much. At the same time, that Go-Busters manages to kind of eschew so many conventions that I like and produce something I can enjoy so goddamn much is an absolute tribute to the concept, cast and execution of the show.

I'll agree with you but go back a bit: Go-Busters was vying for my favourite Sentai seat since a few months ago, just because I adore the cast so much. I dunno how this is from your perspective having translated so many more of these shows than I, but this show to me is just like Fourze in that over the course of the show I've adored being able to write these characters as much as I have being able to watch them - they're simply a delight to get into the heads of and try and channel. As someone who values an enjoyable, engaging and interesting cast in these shows more than the "plot", Go-Busters was vying for my top spot even when the show was going through a really shaky patch.

And then this! It's half an hour of perfection. Enter being absolutely amazing, some really touching scenes between him and Escape, that amazing city fight with Enter and Hiromu, some really nice characterization on pretty much all the main cast, the way Hiromu tries to clear up the loose end that is himself in the most effective possible way, the things Enter does to avoid it, and that goddamn cliffhanger/preview!

I love this show. And every time I see someone rail on Go-Busters for being "boring" or not being Gokaiger v2 or Shinkenger v2 or whatever, I think this ep is the one I'm going to think of in my head alongside the words "Man, fuck that guy."

So goddamn good.
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by takenoko »

>Go-Busters is so unlike modern Sentai. I was watching some Goseiger recently

That's a pretty good comparison that I had in the back of my mind actually. Goseiger is pretty much the quintessential sentai show. It's kiddy in that you pretty much know the good guys will always win in the end through teamwork. Or through being bold! It'll work out somehow!

Basically there's no real threat and almost no consequences for the heroes. They don't have to really sacrifice anything in the end.

So maybe that's why I feel like Busters appeals toward adult tastes? There's a hell of a lot at stake here. Our modern society is based on computer. Computers are everywhere. If they rise up against us, we're sort of fucked. Then we have our heroes, who are essentially the first casualties in this war against Messiah. They grow up as child soldiers (Surprised there wasn't more, "Hey, are we sure we want to put these kids through this?") The good guys win, but at the same time, barely seem like they do since Enter is getting Megazord designs, some Enetron. It's not just the Busters getting exponentially more powerful while Enter faffs around trying a new monster of the week.

And I have a confession. I really like the endgame for most Sentai. It's the Empire Strikes Back equivalent for Sentai. The heroes are in their darkest moment. This is when the stakes are at their highest. It's so good. Add this on top of Enter who is the master planner and Go-Busters which has a really good setup. Oh man, just so good.

I really like writing for the Busters, although I don't know if it's my favorite. Beet, Jin, and Enter probably stand out the most, but the rest are mostly just regular modern people. Gotta dumb things a bit down for Youko and that's sort of my formula. What I found really fun was writing for Kengo from Fourze, since he was the smarmy intellectual. Or trying to find a blend of modern/archaic for the Shinkengers. But it's always fun if the show is fun to watch.

But yeah, Enter really takes the cake. Those smirks, his taunts, and the slow revelations of his plan. I'm pretty sure the whole reason he let Hiromu know about card 13 was so Hiromu would beat Enter up so that Enter could absorb more of Hiromu's powers. At the same time, the stronger and more determined that Hiromu gets, the stronger Enter gets as well. It's such a great character relationship that's been built. They've always been awesome as rivals, but now... Hiromu has a little Enter in him too. And there's a little Hiromu in Enter as well.
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by ReversedSentai »

Awesome episode. I've said this before, but I think Enter is probably one of the greatest villains in Sentai history. I like him a lot more than Basco. The former shows up in the first episode, continues to be cunning throughout the story, and now near the ending, he becomes a mastermind villain who was constantly thinking ahead to control Hiromu and the other Go-Busters.

Watching Hiromu trying to die with Enter was also very noble of him. And what was more amazing was that cliffhanger. Enter just won't die, and in fact, he can now become one with Hiromu.

In my honest opinion, Go-Busters is a very underrated season. It starts off slow, but then gets really dark near the ending. I've seen many people give up after episode 10, and some gave up even after Jin and J appeared.
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by butyoumight »

takenoko wrote:
But yeah, Enter really takes the cake. Those smirks, his taunts, and the slow revelations of his plan. I'm pretty sure the whole reason he let Hiromu know about card 13 was so Hiromu would beat Enter up so that Enter could absorb more of Hiromu's powers. At the same time, the stronger and more determined that Hiromu gets, the stronger Enter gets as well. It's such a great character relationship that's been built. They've always been awesome as rivals, but now... Hiromu has a little Enter in him too. And there's a little Hiromu in Enter as well.
Shipper heart go PING! Not the point, certainly, but oh my god if we don't get some epic fanart from this arc, I will be extremely disappointed.

Also seconding ALL of this conversation. I cannot get over how much I am loving Go-Busters, how impressed I am, and how it still manages to redeem itself after it hits me with really awful filler episodes (Gaven and Pink Buster come to mind....).
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by ReversedSentai »

butyoumight wrote: Also seconding ALL of this conversation. I cannot get over how much I am loving Go-Busters, how impressed I am, and how it still manages to redeem itself after it hits me with really awful filler episodes (Gaven and Pink Buster come to mind....).
Really? I thought the Pink Buster filler was a nice touch.
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by Magenta »

PINK BUSTER WAS THE BEST HOW CAN YOU HATE PINK BUSTER

It was really great having one of those "lol one-shot joke team member" eps where the team member isn't a joke and can hold their own.
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by butyoumight »

The entire Pink Buster episode irritated me in the same way as the Gavan episodes did. I didn't feel like the plot progressed at all, the complete lack of either Enter OR Escape bothered me, and the whole thing just felt ridiculously contrived. While I enjoy the idea of 'joke one-off member who can hold their own', it still felt incredibly heavy-handed in the way she was able to so easily best Hiromu, considering everything else they've been through.

I know this is an unpopular opinion, though XD
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by Kuchiri »

I actually completely forgot about the Gavan episodes....

I was really half hoping Pink Buster showed up again especially with Hiromu contemplating killing himself.
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by PHurricane »

I’ve thought that Enter was awesome all season long, but this episode was probably Enter’s finest moment. It really showcased just how capable he was in planning for every contingency and finding a way to benefit from any course of action taken by the Go-Busters. He's earned every smirk, every taunt and every laugh he's thrown out there all season long.

The last two words of the episode had me cackling in absolute delight - what a marvelous twist! - but that’s just the payoff of the long con, so to speak. What makes Enter’s success so meaningful is that Hiromu’s counter-plan to force Enter to take the card out of him is undoubtedly clever. Against 95% of sentai villains, I’m sure it would work. But Enter’s in a class above the rest, so even a brilliant and literally suicidal plan isn’t enough to outsmart him.

I give the show credit, and I suppose Japanese culture, for daring to do what I doubt you’d see on American children's television - Hiromu admitting to Jin that he’s considering killing himself as an option to destroy the card inside him, and then showing the audience when he attempts or nearly attempts to do so...twice. On top of that, so much of Enter’s dialogue is chilling...and frankly, the CGI blending of Hiromu’s face with Enter’s at the end so well done that it was downright creepy.

Nick’s loyalty to and trust in Hiromu by not even trying to stop him from facing off with Enter was really touching. When Hiromu and Nick figure out that Enter is mirroring Hiromu’s style, they give the audience enough time to reach the conclusion on their own before confirming it with dialogue. I’ll freely admit now, even though we’re still two weeks from the finale, that the Buddyroids were one element to the show that I was originally dreading. I’m glad to say I was wrong about them being the show’s “weak point”, because they developed them just as well as the human supporting characters.

Some of the earlier posts got me thinking - for as much as I’ve been enjoying Go-Busters, I haven’t really thought about it overcoming series like Shinkenger or Gokaiger in my head as “favorite” sentai, and I think I agree that it hasn’t felt like a typical sentai. They were able to put a unique spin even on plot elements that seem to recur in every series. It’s been a strength for the series, and I’m glad to see them staying true to that right to the end.

I haven’t even touched on Escape’s demise. Ryuuji watching Escape as she permanently faded away was sad, but a fitting tribute. Actually, his face right after Escape transforms in front of the group was the perfect mix of pity and disgust, which is exactly what I think the audience is supposed to be feeling about her character at this point in the series. Pity that she's caught in an endless loop with data that is becoming more corrupted upon every reboot - a fate that she (ironic to her name) can't escape from.

One question to end on, since I hadn’t spent a lot of time reviewing the series this season and might have missed details accordingly: Go-Busters was really good about dropping tidbits of information in early episodes that seemed like standard world-building info but turn out to be really significant later on. Did the time limit on the Go-Busters suits when exposed to fire come up before, or did they just pull that out of their hat this episode?
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by butyoumight »

PHurricane wrote: On top of that, so much of Enter’s dialogue is chilling...and frankly, the CGI blending of Hiromu’s face with Enter’s at the end so well done that it was downright creepy.
Something I'd like to point out here as the resident Jinnai Sho fangirl- Something a friend of mine and I noticed about Enter especially in this episode was his smile. Not just the fact that Enter typically up until now hasn't been much for physical/facial expression and it's obvious that he's doing it more and more so as the show goes on, but also the fact that this is not a typical smile that Jinnai Sho uses. He's smiling more widely and keeping his eyes more open than he generally does as an actor (having seen him in... almost everything else he's done, actually). It took my friend pointing out that Enter's smile looks, probably purposefully, a lot more like the way Suzuki Katsuhiro smiles. Just an amazing little actor thing that this line compelled me to point out. :3
PHurricane wrote:One question to end on, since I hadn’t spent a lot of time reviewing the series this season and might have missed details accordingly: Go-Busters was really good about dropping tidbits of information in early episodes that seemed like standard world-building info but turn out to be really significant later on. Did the time limit on the Go-Busters suits when exposed to fire come up before, or did they just pull that out of their hat this episode?
Good catch! While the actual time limit of two minutes I don't believe was directly addressed, that line was a callback all the way to episode 2 and the fight against the Burnerroid and Burnerzord.
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by takenoko »

Yeah, I don't recall the suit time limit being brought up before either. It's probably just one of those "Your attack creates fire? Okay, here's the stats on how well your suit endures fire."

I have to admit that I didn't really pay attention to Enter's movements until Nick flat out said that he's mimicking Red Buster's move set.

Something else that I really like about Enter and Hiromu's relationship is the setup and Enter's motivations. I mean, it's a pretty significant when Enter admits that Hiromu is his "chosen human", but that's never been a secret either. Enter has always been fascinated by Hiromu and the way Hiromu's unexpected actions lead to Enter's plans being foiled. And then we get the line (if it makes it through QC) about the lover's/double suicide. So really, how does Enter see Red Buster? Is he just an enemy to be beaten? Enter said his ulterior goal was to become the perfect human. In his eyes, is that Hiromu? Does he secretly like Hiromu? Due to the complex nature of his character, maybe several of these are true at the same time.
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by Catastrophe »

Definitely liking where this is going. I'm not going to lie, I've kinda been forcing myself to watch Gobusters, just hoping Jin and J will do sweet shit, but now I'm interested in how this is going to conclude.

I like how Enter, who has clearly been the brains behind the operation this whole time is getting his time to be the big bad. I hope he doesn't get shafted and random Messiah resurrection happens, Enter deserves this.
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by locuas »

I really wish hiromu had died. I have no problem with hiromu, but it would have been so awesome had Hiromu actually died sacrificing himself to stop enter just so vaglas are defeated once and for all...

about the time limit...this is actually pretty realistic in my opinion.
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Re: Go-Busters 48 released

Post by DereklBarona »

Anyone else catch the subtext during that scene with the jenga blocks? J's watching the explanation up until the point when Jin loses his cool and knocks the stack over. After that, he turns towards the wall and goes statue for the rest of the scene. I'm sensing some unspoken meanings, there.
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