Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

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Poll ended at Sun Sep 23, 2018 11:53 pm

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Total votes: 15
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Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by takenoko »

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Last week's rating: 4.73 / 5 (11 votes)

Alt Title: Tsukasa falls in love

Okay, she doesn't, but what was the point of this episode? This is probably my least favorite Tsukasa episode yet. It's like they wanted to do a PatRanger/Tsukasa episode, but decided to be shit about the details.

Am I forgetting something, but when does Tsukasa ever befriend the Ganglar? She had like one interview before Noel is like "Back away from that Ganglar. Also, I'm a douchebag so I can't tell you why for no reason."

And then the weird dream sequences where Tsukasa is married to the Ganglar and stuff. Where did this come from? The whole episode is so disjointed.

What's the joke with Hilltop and Jim? I get one's supposed to be Robocop. Is this another Beverly Hills Cop joke?

The shot of the LupinRangers flying in and watching the mecha battle was cool, but yeah, what a waste of a PatRanger focus episode.
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by TypicalStandUser »

After a pointless giant battle between those Safehead Podamen and the Thieves, it’s now the Pats’ turn to correctly interrogate a turncoat Ganglar, like a fracking dating sim. And the MOTW does have a trap.

Good on Noel to be skeptical of the MOTW and manipulating the Pats to ensure their survival.

The Collection Pieces of the Week are the following: the ones that are in the protection of the Thieves/Noel are the Dino Brace with the Tyranno Plate from Abaranger and the SP License from Dekaranger while the Ganglerstein likely has 5 Pieces, with one of them being a Mobirates from Gokaiger, and then a fifth safe with a Magiphone from Magiranger added in.

If the Production Crew is stupid enough to keep the Safehead Podamen, the Ganglerstein could return in the future with Status Gold safes.

OK Episode.
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by Lunagel »

Okay, this episode has a lot to unpack so let's explaining!

The first sketch with Sakuya was spoofing old Japanese cop dramas. Not any one in particular, just the stereotype.
Hilltop = Robocop.
Jim Carter = Beverly Hills Cop
The detective who loves his wife = Columbo
The dirty magnum investigator = Dirty Harry
Detective who loves tea = Aibou (possibly Poirot?)

Katsudon is a common trope in Japanese cop dramas. No one really knows where it originated but the guy they're interrogating always gets a bowl of katsudon to eat.

All that said, putting all that in this episode is a really weird choice. I mean, no kid's gonna get these references. Maaaaaybe Aibou, but this just smacks of a writer inserting their own interests into the series. And with the odd fantasy scene, that makes this the most cosplay-heavy episode ever.

Although this was one of the few episodes where the LupinRangers play second fiddle to the PatRangers, so I guess there's that.
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by Catastrophe »

Noel is such a shit character. He sees the safe flash and works out what collection piece it is and doesn't say anything. This episode would have been so much better if he was wrong and he learned a lesson for being a smug prick all the time.
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by WannaFantaMan »

LOLOLOLOLOLOL, I literally had to rewind the episode when the Dino Brace showed up just to be sure that was actually it!!! xD
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by resop2 »

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm20290693

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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by ViRGE »

Going along with what Takenoko has already said, this episode really was all over the place. The A-plot falls flat on its face (more in a second), and in the meantime we have those cringe-worthy skits that add nothing to the story. But then we shift to the final act of the episode where it focuses on the series' lore, and it suddenly gets amazing.

As far as the A-plot goes, it could have been good. A ganglar that's actually good? How do the Don and his flunkies enforce loyalty to the gang? Or if it was a trap, have it matter; have it be more devious. Instead this episode doesn't go either direction. The MOTW isn't really good, but his situation also doesn't appear to be a trap. The only reason he even reverted to evil was because the collection piece was removed. Everything in the episode corroborates his story that Gauche was stripping safes off of ganglars, and that he bolted for his own safety. But since he turns evil once the piece is removed (and by him no less), he's not a sympathetic character. He's neither a detestable character though, since we hardly get to know the evil version.

Meanwhile for the Pats' involvement in the story, I submit that any time your source of character conflict is when one friend/ally is withholding important information until the end, and for no good reason, then you have written a shitty story. I can think of no reason why Noel would need to withhold that information from Tsukasa. Sharing it doesn't compromise him in any way, and meanwhile not sharing it makes him look bad. Had Tsukasa been informed earlier, they could have used that fact to their advantage. Instead Noel's actions just served to bring another safe to Gauche. So the entire character conflict was artificial.

And I really wish this had been a better A-plot, because it had all the makings for a good Tsukasa story. Why is she a good person? How does she rise above it all when her core beliefs are challenged? Instead she becomes chummy with the MOTW for flaky reasons, and there's little time to wrap-up her story at the end after the MOTW turns evil. In particular the conflict with Noel is ended, but not resolved. So what could have been a good character focus episode eventually sublimated into nothing. And to add insult to injury entirely too much time was spent on the stupid police skits when it could have been spent on making the A-plot deeper. Plus it just further reinforces that the Pats are the series' comedy relief. Which is incredibly schizophrenic considering how seriously the actual dramatic elements were being taken.

But once all that is done, we're suddenly focusing on lore. And things become awesome! Ganglerstein looks like a true Frankenstein's Monster; a mishmash of parts that don't belong together. And the more safes a monster is made out of, the more dangerous they are. Plus there's a collection piece that counters Good Striker, the good guys' ace in the hole! Gauche isn't screwing around and things are getting serious. (Except then PatRed charges in like an idiot, because he can never be the smart one)

I have no idea what went on behind the scenes at Toei. I think it's clear that this episode was always meant to be a two-parter, so it's not the case of trying to force together unconnected episodes. But everything in this episode before Ganglerstein was a waste of time. Functionally speaking, I'm not sure it does much more than serving as a teaser for next week's episode.
takenoko wrote: Sat Sep 08, 2018 11:53 pm The shot of the LupinRangers flying in and watching the mecha battle was cool
Agreed. I had that same thought before even seeing the comments. That entire scene, as brief as it was, was executed fantastically. Toei's VFX department did an amazing job compositing that scene; it really does look like the camera is with the Lupins on the side of a building, watching this giant fight from waist-high as spectators. Off the top of my head I cannot think of any previous scene that came this close to integrating the two sizes so well.
Lunagel wrote: Wed Sep 12, 2018 5:16 pm Okay, this episode has a lot to unpack so let's explaining!

The first sketch with Sakuya was spoofing old Japanese cop dramas. Not any one in particular, just the stereotype.
Hilltop = Robocop.
Jim Carter = Beverly Hills Cop
The detective who loves his wife = Columbo
The dirty magnum investigator = Dirty Harry
Detective who loves tea = Aibou (possibly Poirot?)

Katsudon is a common trope in Japanese cop dramas. No one really knows where it originated but the guy they're interrogating always gets a bowl of katsudon to eat.
Thanks for the breakdown, Luna. I had picked out most of those, but I didn't realize the wife bit was a Columbo reference. (Also, is it bad that I kind of want to get arrested so that I can have some authentic katsudon? :p )
Catastrophe wrote: Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:49 am Noel is such a shit character. He sees the safe flash and works out what collection piece it is and doesn't say anything. This episode would have been so much better if he was wrong and he learned a lesson for being a smug prick all the time.
He really is. He's been here 11 episodes and he causes more problems than he solves. The frustrating part is that I'm not sure if this is some master plan by the writers - to have him fall so that he can grow as a person - or that they are purposely writing what's essentially a 4th antagonist ranger for the Pats.
Last edited by ViRGE on Fri Sep 14, 2018 1:00 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by takenoko »

ViRGE wrote: Thu Sep 13, 2018 11:29 pmI have no idea what went on behind the scenes at Toei.
Doesn't it feel like something got left on the cutting room floor that was meant to explain either Tsukasa or Noel's motivations in this episode?

Yeah, the detective loving his wife was kind of a dumb nod toward Columbo, a character whose many other idiosyncrasies could have bee noted. No idea who the detective who loves tea would be, on the wiki I made a guess that it was a nod to the DekaRangers, who have tea-based names.

>He's been here 11 episodes and he causes more problems than he solves.

He's the shittily made bridge on a poorly constructed foundation. From episode 1, the Lupin and Pat have been enemies for the flimsiest of reasons, occasional allies and even friends. Then add Noel on top of that, who acts as both a double spy, an ally to both sides. All this while still maintaining a bit of antagonism because he has his own reason and goals for doing things, but we still don't know what they are, since they're either A) Not relevant B) Going to be some dumb twist that will be played off cheaply later on.

Call me a cynic, but I'm not sure if I'll care more about Noel even after seeing what his reasons are (or who he's trying to rescue). I'd much rather see more stories about the base team members for Lupin and Pat.

I think Komura is doing a lot better on this series than her previous contributions to the toku genre, but it's still far from the tightest work.
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by Lunagel »

takenoko wrote: Fri Sep 14, 2018 12:51 am
Yeah, the detective loving his wife was kind of a dumb nod toward Columbo, a character whose many other idiosyncrasies could have bee noted. No idea who the detective who loves tea would be, on the wiki I made a guess that it was a nod to the DekaRangers, who have tea-based names.
Mentioned up top it's Aibou. The main lead is noted for his tea-drinking, although it could be Poirot? All the rest were Western detectives which points toward Poirot but I don't think he's as popular/well known in Japan as Aibou.
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by Catastrophe »

Noels double agent plot line falls apart almost instantly when he tells the Pats or transforms into Lupin X. I can't remember.

It would have worked better if it was a secret. Shit. They should have just introduced 2 new characters, one for each team.
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by ViRGE »

takenoko wrote: Fri Sep 14, 2018 12:51 am Doesn't it feel like something got left on the cutting room floor that was meant to explain either Tsukasa or Noel's motivations in this episode?
Possibly. As it stands the episode does feel whole. It just also feels stupid. So if you told me that this episode is exactly what was planned and that the writer was just having a bad day, I'd probably believe you.
He's the shittily made bridge on a poorly constructed foundation. From episode 1, the Lupin and Pat have been enemies for the flimsiest of reasons, occasional allies and even friends. Then add Noel on top of that, who acts as both a double spy, an ally to both sides. All this while still maintaining a bit of antagonism because he has his own reason and goals for doing things, but we still don't know what they are, since they're either A) Not relevant B) Going to be some dumb twist that will be played off cheaply later on.

Call me a cynic, but I'm not sure if I'll care more about Noel even after seeing what his reasons are (or who he's trying to rescue). I'd much rather see more stories about the base team members for Lupin and Pat.
I suppose I'll defend Noel a bit. He's not an entirely useless character. He's the one person that actually knows what's going on, and will undoubtedly be the person who finally exposes whatever scheme Kogure is working on. The problem with that though is that he knows too much; this is the knowledge equivalent of the 6th ranger starting out more powerful than the entire core team. So the writers have to do something to depower him. In this case making him hold back information and otherwise remain vaguely distant from the core teams. It technically works, but it's stupid.
Catastrophe wrote: Fri Sep 14, 2018 4:45 am Noels double agent plot line falls apart almost instantly when he tells the Pats or transforms into Lupin X. I can't remember.

It would have worked better if it was a secret. Shit. They should have just introduced 2 new characters, one for each team.
His double agent thing fell apart essentially immediately. That said, I would argue that he's in practice a Lupin spying on the Pats, as he sure as hell isn't helping the Pats in a meaningful manner.

And giving each side its own 6th ranger would admittedly simplify things some. But this is a show that started with 6 characters right off the bat; so having two 6ths would just make for yet another character that doesn't get enough development.
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by KRMonkey »

Something about the commercials. There's a Super Sentai Legend Wars commercial, and one of the lines in the translation is "create robo too!" However, the feature they're demonstrating when that is said is the ability to customize your "MY Sentai" logo. (Audio may be super-deceptive because it sounds exactly like "robo" to me.)
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by Lunagel »

Oh that's embarrassing. I guess I thought being able to create your own robot was a wayyy better feature than just a custom logo.
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by Phoenix512 »

So I think the reason why Noel didn't tell Tsukasa about the Collection piece being "Change of Heart" because he wants the Collection piece for himself. If he had told Tsukasa about it, she would double down on Noel not to steal it and thus his chances of getting it are lower and would had to do more extreme measures to get the piece (which would using Kaito and the gang to steal it while under Global Police custody would make the Patrangers lose significant trust in Noel). We all know that Noel is all about himself and not do anything that would screw with his agenda too much so the actions he took in the episode was the less of two evils to him.

I know people want Noel to play nice with everyone along with having the Lupins and Pats being best friends but this is so refreshing in a way.
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Re: Lupin VS Pat 31 Released!

Post by takenoko »

Feels like a stretch of an explanation. Even if that were a case, they could have set it up better to show that was his intention. Instead, it just feels like a character withholding information for no other reason other than plot purposes. They don't have to be best friends, just don't write a shit story.
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