Ninninger Returns released

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Ratings

Poll ended at Sun Jul 24, 2016 4:34 pm

☆☆☆☆☆
4
24%
☆☆☆☆
7
41%
☆☆☆
3
18%
☆☆
1
6%
2
12%
 
Total votes: 17
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Ninninger Returns released

Post by takenoko »

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Last week's rating: 3.11 / 5 (19 votes)
Pretty terrible ratings, but kind of expected for Ninninger. I wonder how this movie will fare?

Sentai and Precure's okay love child

Not to damn it with faint praise, but this was perfectly acceptable. Maybe it was the pacing, but the returns didn't feel annoying to me at all. We had some good character moments, the additional characters all played a good part, the action scenes were fun and creative. It's not as great as Toqger when they're in their groove, but it's good for Ninninger.

Green works well with their suit design. It seems too bad that it wasn't an actual regular character in the series. I don't think anyone had any doubts as to who Luna's secret identity was, but it was still a neat little addition.

Anime nod for Precure fans.

I think the thing that really made this a fun movie was all the character moments. While not used particularly well in the series, it was nice to see some acknowledgements of Yakumo's crush on Kasumi, or Nagi being easygoing and overpowered in his own way, or Kinji's connection to Kyuuemon through their shared darkness.

Plus, it was great to see Takaharu not act obnoxious. Maybe writer Shimoyama Kento didn't get the memo about the fan's reaction to Takaharu till late in the game, or maybe it was too late to change it, but Takaharu is actually pretty decent in the last few things we've seen him in. Instead of being the star that hogs all the attention, he's a good brother to Fuuka, he says his annoying catchphrases like once or twice, then he hangs back and lets the others shine, only playing his part when he's called to. In that sense, this felt like a real Sentai.

That said, isn't it really rude to walk around in the decorative sand in the dojo? He must have gotten sand everywhere on those clean floors. Even if he is dense, that seems like the kind of faux pas that even a meathead like him would understand, since he loves the dojo.

So it's a clean end to Ninninger, everyone's favorite Sentai to hate. I've definitely seen worse Returns flicks (Goseiger), but this definitely doesn't reach the heights of Toqger Returns either, so this was a straight 4 stars out of 5 for me. I can't wholeheartedly recommend it to fans who've fall off Ninninger, but if you've stuck with it this far, I think you're rewarded with some good moments.

Also, human forms for Ariake and Kyuuemon, played by their respective voice actresses. That's always good, especially when one of them is the legendary Mitsuishi Kotono (Sailor Moon, etc). If I had to nitpick one thing, it's the make up used on Han Megumi. She's not a teenager (she's 27, I think?) but she's cute in her own right. Maybe they were trying to make her look clownish to hide her identity, but still.

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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by Go-On Macaroni »

takenoko wrote:Anime nod for Precure fans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VRMWB8-BWc Here's the original version of their beam attack, if anyone wants to compare.
(I did try to sync it up once, but the Ninnin version's too short in areas and it didn't work right. =l )
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by TypicalStandUser »

Han-san and Mitsuishi-san wasted their time being on a subpar Sentai movie and that time could have gone to working on better anime or other works. Sorry for the blunt statement, but Toei better up their game with Jyuohger during this season and the post-season.
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by Zychotic »

I didn't mind this. Gave it a 4/5. I like how this Returns episode was an epilogue to the series like the Toqger one was. These Return movies are usually just silly and one last chance for the cast to have some fun. That I don't mind, I just disliked those which were set to be in-series.

It was awesome to see Tsumuji transform into Akaninger, that was unexpected, I was hoping they wouldn't neglect the fact that there are multiple Akaningers.

The best part was when Luna revealed themselves to be Kyuuemon and Mangetsu was like, "Oh, are you actually my older sister?" I feel like that was a big reference to the start of the series when we couldn't tell if Kyuuemon was a girl or a boy.
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by takenoko »

Haha, Kyuuemon so confusing.

Tsumuji and Grandpa actually both transformed into Akaninger at the end of the series. He's done it before.
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by Ashki »

Honestly, the only thing really unbearable about Ninninger was its "Hollywood Ninjas" theme. Real historical ninja were assassins who dressed like the people they would be amongst and who created weapons which were similar to that of the samurai class but designed to be far more deadly. But beyond the magic-wielding, pajama-wearing stupidity, I didn't think the show was all that bad. well, okay, Starninja was pretty terrible... BUT overall, I just put the show down as a sentai for small children and was thus able to enjoy much of it.

I agree the movie was great because it served as an epilogue and final closure to the series. I wasn't so big on some of the gags (such as going anime for the Precure bit, which seemed to exist only for that one-liner at the end), but seriously, the writing was pretty good overall, and there was an actual point behind the sibling rivalry tthat hasn't been overdone yet. So yeah, not a bad movie.

Obviously, I only just saw the front page posting that went up yesterday, so I missed the polls, but I'd give it a 4/5 over a 3/5 (meaning neutral opinion) for the series itself.

Incidentally, ToQGer was a tough act to follow, and I think Toei's been trying to replicate the success over the past couple shows. ToQGer got my SO into Super Sentai (she also loved Kyuuryuuger and we're watching Magiranger together) because of how well-written it was. But with Ninninger and Jyuohger, I think a lot of the shoddiness comes down to them trying to replicate the fun of that show while being fresh. Unfortunately, they're trying too hard. I feel like if this movie was how the entire series was wrritten, Ninninger would have been pretty good.
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by ViRGE »

Man, these Returns movies are always a bit on the silly side, but even knowing that the first half of that movie was rough. Obviously you need conflict to setup the plot, but magical girl aspect was overdone, perhaps?

Also, this is more so a fault of the writers, but Taku-Mom is an honest to goodness bitch. She takes over her estranged husband's dojo, gives away a sacred family heirloom to essentially a random nobody (a family she married into, no less) , strips her son from being a ninja (the thing he loves) and otherwise treats him like crap, and pushes her dream on her daughter. At no point in this movie does she actually earn any redemption. She's only barely sorry for what she's done, and it's Tsumuji that has to fix her mistakes. She may as well be the villain of the movie, as at least Ariake has better intentions by getting revenge against the people that killed her family. I fault the writers for this; I get where they were going, but to balance out the bad things the character has done, she needs to do something even better in return.

On the plus side, once we get past the first half of the movie, things get a lot better. Not just because there's more action in the back half, but as others have noted, it's when the meaningful character moments get to happen. Importantly, Takaharu is kept in check throughout the movie, and as a result the other characters all get their moment to shine.

Meanwhile I just have to say the action scenes were done really well. A few times throughout the series we had some good scenes done by the actors themselves, and the Returns movie managed to top all of that. Everyone got to do a bit of fighting, and Nagi's actor gets a gold star, as he pulled off that wrap-around body slam on his own. That's something Jyuohger (and Ghost) has been missing: these nice, physical fights done by the actors themselves.

Somewhat surprisingly, we get to see the powered up version of Red, and even a line from Lion Ha-Ou's voice actor. However there's no love for Super Starninger here.:(

And someone please tell me Yakumo's actor is wearing a wig. That hair is so bad that it's a level beyond team-up hair.

As for the plot, it's nothing great, but other than the above issues, it works. I'm almost a bit disappointed that Ariake is still as dumb as ever; after getting killed by her son, you'd think she would learn. But at least she's consistent to her character to the end. And negative points to Takaharu for not figuring out Midoninger's identity. It was all meant to be obvious to the audience and I get that, but within the plot itself, it should have been obvious to a ninja-fanatic like him that there aren't too many people that can do Igasaki-style ninpu. Granted, Kyuuemon was dead, but she was the only other pupil Troll Grandpa had ever trained...

Finally, there's a minor grammar error in the translation. 14:02 "Don't miss her compete with the Ninnin Girls!"

Oh and Takenoko, I think you accidentally closed the poll early. :P
takenoko wrote:Green works well with their suit design.
The one thing is that I wish they had done a new helmet instead of a repaint of Red. Especially since both Reds were already in this movie, so we got the same helmet 3 times.
it was nice to see some acknowledgements of Yakumo's crush on Kasumi
"Nice" is not the word I would use. In fact I'm going to go with "honest to god disturbing." That's his first cousin; they share grandparents for the love of Mike! Even as a joke it's unsettling.
Plus, it was great to see Takaharu not act obnoxious. Maybe writer Shimoyama Kento didn't get the memo about the fan's reaction to Takaharu till late in the game, or maybe it was too late to change it, but Takaharu is actually pretty decent in the last few things we've seen him in. Instead of being the star that hogs all the attention, he's a good brother to Fuuka, he says his annoying catchphrases like once or twice, then he hangs back and lets the others shine, only playing his part when he's called to. In that sense, this felt like a real Sentai.
Takaharu gets a "most improved" award for a Sentai character in recent years. He was awful for most of NInninger's run, but I agree in full that they finally found the right balance with his character here at the end.
I've definitely seen worse Returns flicks (Goseiger), but this definitely doesn't reach the heights of Toqger Returns either, so this was a straight 4 stars out of 5 for me.
For what it's worth, I'd put it right in the middle. Definitely better than Goseiger's awful movie (or Shinkenger's for that matter), and I never held the ToQ movie in high regard. But it lacked the extra cohesion and fun that made the Go-Busters and Kyouryuuger movies stand out.
Also, human forms for Ariake and Kyuuemon, played by their respective voice actresses. That's always good, especially when one of them is the legendary Mitsuishi Kotono (Sailor Moon, etc).
Seeing Kyuuemon's voice done in live action was as amusing as all heck. And for a 10 second appearance, Mitsuishi Kotono has a wicked slasher smile.
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If I had to nitpick one thing, it's the make up used on Han Megumi. She's not a teenager (she's 27, I think?) but she's cute in her own right. Maybe they were trying to make her look clownish to hide her identity, but still.
Right, so I see I wasn't the only one that noticed it. The appearance they gave her was just very weird; it's as if someone decided she needed to look young (and then overdoing it) because she's so short.
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by takenoko »

Haha, yeah, I guess I was hoping to release this sooner to meet the poll's deadline. I figured out how to reopen it though, so vote away!
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by Lunagel »

ViRGE wrote: Finally, there's a minor grammar error in the translation. 14:02 "Don't miss her compete with the Ninnin Girls!"
What's wrong with that? That's fine grammar.
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by HowlingSnail »

I rather enjoyed that. Certainly a lot more than the show, which seems to be standard for Ninninger movies. I especially enjoyed that Megumi did Luna's first lines in her Hime voice.
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by ViRGE »

Lunagel wrote:
ViRGE wrote: Finally, there's a minor grammar error in the translation. 14:02 "Don't miss her compete with the Ninnin Girls!"
What's wrong with that? That's fine grammar.
Seems like it should be "competing."
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by Lunagel »

ViRGE wrote:
Lunagel wrote:
What's wrong with that? That's fine grammar.
Seems like it should be "competing."
That'd be okay too. I searched for a while and couldn't find a specific grammar rule that applies to this situation, so it could be grammatically incorrect but it is in the native vernacular so it's okay to use.
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by Shurikenger108 »

I am not a fan of idol things, so this movie is a little bit annoying to me (especially Kasumi is involved. When NinNinger ended with everyone is training in their own way, the one I want to see most is Kasumi, seeing her combine Ninjutsu with technology. But all she did in that movie is idol things so I was a little bit disappointed).
I found something funny in this movie. Ariake no Kata was dead in series right, but in hell she wanted to revenge for her son's death? That means Mangetsu was dead "deeper" than Ariake? Death level 2?
NinNinger is a series I love to hate, but seeing the whole cast in the ending, dancing and "Thanks for all your support" makes me feel sad. I realize maybe it's the last time we see them together (Since Jyuohger is the 40th anniversary, there could be no Jyuohger vs NinNinger but Jyuohger vs Super Sentai, just like Boukenger vs Super Sentai instead of MagiRanger).
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by takenoko »

Maybe, but I wouldn't count on Toei missing the chance to milk a little more out of the franchise before it's over. With Goseiger, they got an extra chance to appear thanks to Super Sentai 199 Heroes.
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Re: Ninninger Returns released

Post by HowlingSnail »

Even if there is a Zyuohger vs Super Sentai instead of vs Ninninger I'd expect one of the veteran rangers to be a Ninninger. Like how Boukenger vs Super Sentai had Tsubasa and Sungel.
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