King-Ohger 23 discussion post

[takenoko]

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Ratings: 3.67 out of 5 (9 votes)

Oh no the research boy

Oh, do they put the movie footage in the streaming openings too?

That's a lot of cgi cogs

rip racles' terracotta statues

It's always interesting that Shiokara isn't a hacker himself, so he just makes himself useful supporting the people around who are

And the start of Gira's tyrranical reign

At least the numbers look like our numbers

Seems like the rulers aren't doing a very good job protecting the citizens

Where's Boon's sister today

That's an unfortunate commercial break

Another robo that only Gira can drive? boo!

Oh there's Boon's sister

So despite being fully cgi, slow robo fight that can barely move, and Gira is being full blown chuunibyou the whole time? Kinda anticlimactic for all the people working together to activate the robo to begin with

Another episode, another terrible greenscreening

Are we not going to talk about Himeno's electric powers?

Disappointing episode for me, since we've set up this giant robo for three episodes, and I just didn't dig it

Maybe next week will be better since it looks more light hearted

[ViRGE]

Perhaps I'm just in a charitable mood this week, but I really liked this episode. And admittedly, mecha episodes do tend to be among my favorites (Go-Busters forever!), but they still have to execute well to be worthwhile. And this episode largely did just that.

We've been building up to the new robo for a few episodes now. And while the built-up hasn't been very even, this is one of this arcs where the payoff/landing actually exceeds the build-up, which is something of a rarity for Sentai. Normally if it fumbles anything, it fumbles the landing, frankly.

Working backwards (since the mecha fight came last), the castle robo (King Caucasus Kabuto) is the most entertaining addition of a mid-season robo in quite some time. What's more powerful than a giant robot? An even bigger giant fucking robot!

Above all else, I'm enjoying the fact that Kabuto moves more appropriately for a robot of its size. Which is to say: slowly. It's not zipping through the sky like LuPat's VSX; it's slowly plodding along the ground, step by step. Even moving its arms is a relatively slow process; it has momentum that can't be easily stopped. Along with the scale of the robo versus its surroundings, this really helps to sell the idea that this is a massive machine trying not to trample everything beneath it.

The design reminds me a lot of Shell Gods from B-Fighter Kabuto on multiple levels. Besides the obvious fact that they're beetle-themed, the Shell Gods also moved in a similarly slow manner. So I suppose this is a rehash of that concept in some ways, though it has been over 25 years.

I do like the extra wrinkle in Kabuto's design that comes from it being a transforming castle. The castle aesthetics don't always shine through, but they're not ignored, either. The brickwork is visible at several points, and the whole thing looks like someone stuffed robot parts into a castle, as it should. It makes for a more interesting design than just a robot in the shape of a bug.

While I'm disappointed that Toei went all-CGI here, I can't say I'm surprised. These days it seems like Toei only does full physical suits for a couple of robots per year, and there's no way they were going to do a suit for a bot being introduced 23 episodes in. Something will undoubtedly come in Q3, and that will be the second suit.

The CGI itself isn't quite Toei's god-tier work (e.g. the King-Ohger gattai sequence), but it's well-done overall. I don't need to point out how much Japan loves their giant robots, and the transformation sequence for Kabuto lives up to those ideals in the best of ways. It's pure, unadulterated giant robot transformation porn from start to finish. It's as slow and impactful as the movements of Kabuto itself, especially that initial shot of Kabuto standing up. Which, compared to the rapid cuts and camera movements of the King-Ohger gattai sequence, it makes for a nice change of pace.

I am a bit worried about what this means for how often we'll see Kabuto, and how much the CGI will be reused. There are a lot of stock shots from that fight that could be reused, but all of the striking shots have the MOTW in them. So it hopefully won't be another VSX, but we'll probably get fewer new shots than we'd like, as well.

And does this mean King-Ohger is pulling a GoGoV and now all of the MOTWs are going to grow to a bigger size to justify using the gianter robo? I'd be surprised if that were the case, given what we've seen so far. But they are going to need to justify using it in the future. Regardless, it's an interesting mechanic that we only see sporadic use of in Sentai.

Giant robot matters aside, I liked that all of the main characters got something to do in this story, even if it varied in significance. Yanma and Gira had a proper conversation for once, and Yanma even used Gira's name for what I'm 99% sure is the first time. There's a lot of drama that can be milked from the unprepared Gira becoming king, and discussions like that about the hardships of the job are a great way of doing so. Meanwhile, Jeremie's spider-man act was actually useful for once, and I'm glad Rita's spiel about the team crossing borders is going to be a recurring element. Hell, they even remembered that Shugoddom has guards!

That this tied in to Racles' Secret was unexpected. True to most spin-offs, the connection doesn't really matter. But I do appreciate the effort. I suppose at the end of the day someone was needed to deliver the exposition on the castle robot, so that was as good a way as any to do it, especially since Racles is out of the picture. (Also, I believe this is the first episode where Racles doesn't make an appearance?)

On the downside, I could do without Gira's evil king act at this point. Now that he's actually king, he needs to change his behavior. Perhaps his talk with the citizens towards the end of the episode will be the catalyst for change? Though I fear Toei has already doubled-down on that being one of Gira's defining character traits, which would mean he'll continue on like that all season.

I'm also a bit bummed this episode didn't delve further into the Shugod souls or why Kuwagata doesn't have one, especially after raising the question last week. There's still room for this episodes to be tighter, and not leave so many unanswered questions hanging around as plot threads. If anything, this episode adds more since it calls into question who built the castle to begin with, and what's powering it.

Minor nitpick: the final gear inserted into the castle's core is nothing like the original gear that broke. Forget the ornate red gem at the center; even the teeth of the gear are wildly different

Seems like the rulers aren't doing a very good job protecting the citizens

They seemed a bit overwhelmed. The Bugs did a full-court press there throughout the city.

Another robo that only Gira can drive? boo!

Yeah, I signed at that as well. But it's not unexpected. Plus it is Gira's castle to begin with.

Another episode, another terrible greenscreening

Early on in the series it wasn't this bad. But after episode 10 or so, Toei seems to have accepted a lower quality of work. I don't know if this is just having post-production time or what. But it's seriously distracting at this point. We kind of just suffer through it until they get to their next proper location shoot.

Are we not going to talk about Himeno's electric powers?

I sure will. That has to be a reference to another show (or manga), right? That was too on the nose otherwise.

[takenoko]

Is it a reference to something? I just thought Himeno had innate doctor powers for... reasons

[ViRGE]

Is it a reference to something? I just thought Himeno had innate doctor powers for... reasons

It's just so specific that I have to assume it's a reference to something.

For lack of a better place to look, I checked the Super Sentai subreddit, they think it's "Hokuto Shinken". I don't know anything about that work to tell if that's accurate or not.

[takenoko]

Fist of the North Star? Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time