Friday, May 10, 2013

Akibaranger Season 2 Episode 5 Review



Luna was only hired for one day and she is up for an audition for a director (George Speilburton--maybe a mix of George Lucas, Steven Speilberg and Tim Burton). She speaks English like a bad Japanese prostitute dressed as a girl. Funny enough, there is a Tyrannoranger and Dragonranger Figuarts on his desk. Anyway, Malshina is taking a bubble bath being called by the general in a bus who brings up Dynaman villains. He most study evil organization. Another auditioner acts like a villain in front of Speilburton and then has a soft voice with Luna. She tells Luna she will make it and that she was lazy. The other two see this.

General approaches Akina, he thought her a lot. The others meet with Luna. Akagi thinks Speilburton must be a Sentai fan. We see him playing with the Zyuranger figuarts. Akagi shows Luna a camera with a picture of Tyrannoranger. Luna says it is from the US. They see a logo that says 'Powerful Rangers.' Akagi clears up that they take Sentai footage in America. A bus arrives with four men with baskets on their heads (much like those villains from Dairanger) and a woman in the middle, showing her boobs. Men approach her and take papers and point at Luna. Akagi looks at the picture and it is Yumeria in compromising positions when dressing as villains last year.

The five turn out to be Malshina and her minions. The men run. Akagi gives Luna her transformation device and they transform. Malshina also transforms. They enter the illusionary world, and two rangers looking like Tyrannoranger and Dragonranger arrive (with America flag banner on their necks and belts) and Zyuranger instrumental plays in the background. Luna says that the Powerful Rangers are the source of Sentai. The two are combating against them and shove them. Malshina uses them to fight the Akibaranger. The Akibaranger teleport away. The Powerful Rangers cheer.

Kozukozu scares them by saying that now Gaoranger is the first Super Sentai series, that it was copied from the 8th Powerful Ranger series. It was called 'Wild Force,' (in this continuation Gaoranger aired in 2001 just like in real life). The company that made Powerful Rangers plan to sue. Akagi gets mad saying that Sentai is Japan's cultural legacy. Lumeria thinks the enemy is responsible for this. Luna looks at them with quizative faces. Luna really believes that Powerful Rangers came first. Akiga thinks that Luna's messed up idea messed up the dillusional world. Lumeria sets the record straight. Lumeria says that in the America it started with Zyuranger. Luna says it isn't what the internet says. (ha ha)

The Powerful Rangers say they don't mind working for Malshina. The new monster arrives and the general explains to Malshina that they look like Sentai but aren't. Meanwhile, Akagi has made a giant board explaining the Sentai/PR history. Luna says she likes their collars. The gang go to a Sentai shop which only seems to have Sentai stuff from after Gaoranger. Akagi talks to a cashier there but he thinks they are crazy, he doesn't remember Zyuranger. All the other stores they go to don't believe them, Luna wonders why they are so desperate.

The new monster presents himself to the three, showing them a Powerful Rangers magazine. Luna says she'll work for the PR. The three transform. Akagi appreciates the monster. Luna goes gaga for the Powerful Rangers. The PR call the Akibaranger 'copy cats.' Malshina transforms. Malshina, the monster and PR fight AkibaYellow and AkibaRed. The two references Zyuranger. Dragon and Tyranno beat up Akagi, de-morphing them and beating up their human forms. Powerful Rangers celebrates. Akagi won't give up. Luna asks why they are going so far. They say it is for Sentai and Japan. Akagi explains them the story of the Zyuranger.

The two come to their senses, getting headaches. Yumeria hands Akagi the Zyusouken and he plays it and the American flags disappear and they speak Japanese and presents themselves as Zyurangers. Zyuranger song plays as they beat up Malshina and the monster. Malshina leaves. Luna wants to fight with them, they give her the Zyuranger Cross, which looks like a Dino Buckler with a Z coin. The others transform and do roll call. The three do a special attack, launching Luna on the monster and call for the Zyuranger Dino Buckler and destroy the monster. KozuKozu shows them that everything pre-Zyu has returned, they celebrate. Luna still wants to use Akibaranger too become a idol. Akina arrives, saying the director went back home and said he would write a script about an unofficial Sentai. She says she won't Luna outdo her. The three say they will do their best.

 Review:
Some fans complain about the use of 'Powerful Ranger' instead of 'Power Ranger' but it might be a copyright thing but also because it is dealing with their own timeline where Gaoranger is 8th (Wild Force is 10th), then they can take liberties. I like how they are messing up the timeline and facts and giving a shout-out to American fans. It kind of parodies the confusion with Americans, thinking Power Rangers came first and calling Super Sentai as 'Japanese Power Rangers.' 

Akibaranger Season 2 Episode 2 Review


Akagi tells the doc that there is something wrong (Akibaranger being in place of Dairanger). A new monster has pervs freak out when making their dream dvds come true and their clothes become boxes. Akagi tries transforming but fails. The girls make it work with a backup system and Red transforms and fights the monster. The monster has a fast forward remote that makes Red skip a beat. Red finds himself in a loop. The monster makes a truck come out of a sign. Red falls on top of Ryuuranger, he has a case and thinks it is a power but it is potstickers. Ryuuranger is happy to meet AkibaRed, he is a big fan. Ryuuranger's costume is different and he's name is Chinaman, mascot of a restaurant. China Sentai CHinaman was the rumored name in pre-production of Dairanger and they had eyes.

China Red says he is just a mascot. Red snaps out of the delusion after the monster attacks them. Akagi is happy to see Akibaranger merch but the others are concerned. They then go to the karaoke shop and find no Akibaranger songs... there is one that sounds like Dairanger song but it is for Akibaranger. Akagi is sad, he thinks the monster hit Ryuuranger and made him into ChinaRed. They hear the chief singing a song. It was played only once on Dynaman. Akagi says it is dorky. The chief says he will remember it, he doesn't introduce himself because the gils take him out. KozuKozu wonders if destroying the monster will restore everything.

Akagi says he can't do it on his own. Doc says they have to look for a second Blue. Akagi says it will be hard to find someone with blue in their name. Kozukozu wonders if maybe Indigo or Navy. Luna arrives, saying that Akagi is dressed as AkibaRed, she recognizes the show from cable, she is 16. She wants to be an idol. She is offered to become Akibaranger, she thinks it is a remake series. She wants to know who is directing the pilot. She says some director names from Sentai. Monster arrives and Red and Blue transform. Red says that her hairstyle is different. The new grunts freak out the two. In time, Lemuria appears and transforms into Yellow, with new hair.
 
The three fight the monster. They call the penultimate powers... the cannon. Blue calls it something else. They fire it at the monster and he is destroyed. Chinaman comes up to Red and gives them a good job but he hasn't been fixed. Kibaranger comes in and kicks them down. He has a Akibaranger logo on his chest. To be continued.

Review:
Even though "Chinaman" is a bit racist, well it wouldn't be Akibaranger 2. Interesting loopholes and plot points. It seems everything is working like TV, when needed Luna appears. When need, Lumeria appears. The Dairanger-Akibaranger switch does seem interesting.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Beef with Saban Brands

Some of the following is not my own opinion but I see as a consensus amongst the majority of fans.

When Disney took over Power Rangers, many older fans (mainly us) did not like what they were doing with the franchise, namely the storylines, explosions, etc. (Me on the other hand had no real problem with the Disney Era, maybe some nitpicks here and there but nothing major) Most fans compared anything new to the 'Saban Era' (MMPR to Time Force or Wild Force, however fans view it). Most beef fans had was directed to the new showrunners (Bruce Kalish, etc.). When Disney let it go, fans were disappointed it was ending. When they heard Saban was taking it over again, fans were elated. Slowly but surely fans started complaining about the quality of Power Rangers Samurai. Because Saban Brands created Power Force to hear feedback from fans, I decided to lay out all the grudges fans have now in case they didn't know about it. 

Here is a (long) list of what beefs some fans (if not all) have with Saban Brands:
Power Rangers Samurai quality
I have covered this before that fans did not like that Samurai took most of its plotlines from Shinkenger. Many fans considered it 'cut and paste' Shinkenger, just being translated. I have countered that Shinkenger had Kuroko and did not have Bulk, Spike, Mega modes and Shogun modes but fans who dislike the two seasons say that is just merely aesthetic changes. Another complaint is acting. While Power Rangers acting is notorious for not being up to par, the Samurai actors have gotten more clout. Probably because there was almost no acting complaints about the RPM cast (I might be incorrect). Some excuses pass but 'wooden actor' has been used more than ten times. Daniel Ewing (Dillon/RPM) has come to the defense of the Jungle Fury actors who have also been blamed for bad acting and he said that it has to do with the writing. So maybe that was the case, I don't know. Also some fans didn't like the Mega and Shogun modes, seeing they didn't make sense to have armor INSIDE the zords instead of outside. (Also yeah I know, people said they were made to sell toys but that could be the complaint for Power Rangers all together)

 Nickelodeon
 Fans are most upset at Nickeldeon. That there is only 20 episodes each season. Under Saban and Fox back when, we had as little 40 episodes but under Disney, we got as low as 32 episodes. Collectively Samurai and Super Samurai had 44 episodes and one special but it was in the course of two years. I am a teacher and kids have told me that they hate repeats. Older fans also like the big breaks of repeats. We wish it was 40 episode per year or even more. The explanation SB has given for the 2 year themes is to grow the brand and get the same theme internationally but so far they are still off by months. France just recently got Megaforce. And fans were REALLY upset when the last batch of Super Samurai episodes aired first in Nickelodeon Latin America, months before they did in the United States. Also fans are upset at the lack of promotion on Nickelodeon and also delays in NickToons (old seasons were to start in fall of 2010 but didn't happen until mid 2011).

SPOILERS AHEAD HIGHLIGHT TO READ
Former Actors getting little to no pay
Here is the generic e-mail sent to most of the former actors, thanks to FuryDiamond of RangerCrew:

The press release that came to light last June for the Licensing Fair spotlighted cameos but in the generic e-mail, it says that they were not planning cameos. Could it be that the cameos was a last minute edition after finding it out through Gokaiger? Because I believe that before Gokaiger, SB was just planning to make Goseiger two seasons and have their Ultra Mode be the second season called "Ultra Megaforce" as they copyrighted that title (they also copyrighted Super Megaforce). But ultimately they chose to squeeze Gosieger for season one and Gokaiger for season two (calling it Super Megaforce). Anyway, recent news from former actors is that they are not being offered a lot in terms of money and only for a small cameo. 

And with Rhett Fisher (Ryan) being invited and then dis-invited, some fans are upset. People really want the Titanium Ranger because he is the first American-made Ranger that was not from Sentai. And fans consider that enough to distinguish between Power Rangers and Super Sentai. In a way, it acknowledges Power Rangers more as it is more original than the actual borrowed footage. Also with the possible news that only the Gokaiger Ranger Keys and changes are being used are only for Super Megaforce. So that means Titanium Ranger might not grace Power Rangers Super Megaforce. So why do fans care about how much former actors getting paid? Because we want to see them and not hear about the budget matters. It shouldn't matter.  Also I feel bad for the actors, who didn't get much money when they were on the show and even less now. If Saban wanted to make us happy, it wasn't that hard but not so simple either but I have 3 things: 1. Guest spots and cameos just like in Gokaiger from former actors 2. References to former seasons 3. Original footage, not relying so much on the Japanese footage (like the Goseiger cards)



The Little Things
  • The Ranger teens having the same outfits over and over. It wouldn't be so noticeable if they weren't high school students.
  • Goseiger cards being seen with Goseiger names and not Megaforce names (I mean, they shot footage of Mega mode and Shogun modes but they couldn't reshoot a couple cards?)
  • The same MMPR song being butchered for Samurai and Megaforce. Get a new song already.
  • The rhyming motto: Samurai: Rangers Together, Samurai Forever and Megaforce: Earth defenders never surrender (which hasn't been used a lot in Megaforce so a good).
  • Ranger Keys in the headquarters of Megaforce not being all that accurate and repeated twice to fill in.
  • No city name for Samurai (it has been seen on the show but not mentioned in dialogue).
  • No last names for Samurai (even though the websites have the last names of Megaforce, they are still not been mentioned on the show.)
  • Also there are a couple things happening within Power Force that I probably shouldn't mention (I'm mostly afraid of how my fellow Power Force members would react than Saban Brands' reaction).
I mean, if Saban Brands really wanted to celebrate the 20th anniversary, why not use all resources (even though he is notorious for cutting corners), why not invest a little more money on the quality of the show. In this day and age of screen capturing and tweeting (and since they encourage tweeting), why not make sure there is no slip ups ( the faulty repeated Ranger Keys in the headquarters)? I digress. I am sure there are more complaints, so feel free to comment on them on this post. 

Related: http://henshingrid.blogspot.com/2013/04/speculation-saban-brands-saving-budget.html

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Speculation: Titanium and Spirit Rangers excluded in Super Megaforce

Fury Diamond says there will be no American only Power Rangers Ranger Keys, meaning there will be no Ranger Keys of Titanium Ranger, Bat Ranger, Elephant Ranger, and Shark Ranger (Spirit Ranger). They will only be using Gokaiger Ranger Keys as per the footage. Since Gokaiger, fans have wanted one of the fifteen Sixth Rangers that are represented on GokaiSilver's Gold Mode armor to be replaced with the Titanium Ranger. ‏@CaptainDosm brings up a good point that if the issue is money, what is it to make 4 Ranger Keys?
FuryDiamond of Ranger Crew is usually right about these things. He was right about Samurai being called Super Samurai way back before it premiered, right about the Goseiger suits being primary in season two, season two being called Super Megaforce and other info. He gets most of info from an anonymous source he had for years. I used to have two sources but they have since dried up. One stopped talking to me after I spilled about Saban buying back Power Rangers in a radio podcast.

(fan made keys above)
Anyway I digress. RatherOddRanger of RangerCrew predicts that fans will freak out.  ‏@PockyBandit  says 'who cares,' that it doesn't matter. It does matter to me and I will explain why. I am not encouraging people to freak out and neither do I believe this will make people freak out more. I think those that would freak out will freak out regardless what I do. Now it could be possible that this isn't true, that we will see the Super Megaforce Rangers transforming into Titanium Ranger and so forth. But given the recent news from former actors that Saban is paying near to nothing for them to cameo in Power Rangers Super Megaforce and other cutbacks in Megaforce itself (wardrobe, Japanese cards, etc.), I am lead to believe this. So here are my justifications on why I think they should be included:
Power Rangers vs. Super Sentai
I am not on the boat of Power Rangers and Super Sentai being completely separate entities, I am also saying that they are not the same thing but you can't have Power Rangers without Super Sentai. Titanium Ranger and the Spirit Rangers represent to me the difference between Super Sentai and Power Rangers, them reflecting American attitudes, names and styles. Titanium in itself is not a color and the names like Quantum, Mercury and so on are American incarnations that I don't think Super Sentai would go with. Super Sentai usually goes with Engrish or clunky use of English like DekaBreak, DekaBright, MagiShine, etc. I don't think we would have Break Ranger, Bright Ranger or a Shine Ranger. As for the Spirit Rangers, even though Kyoryuger has similar colors and similar premise of 'Spirit Rangers,' they have unique styles and extensions to the main 3 suits.
4 Rangers and Money issues
It would had fun to seen the Super Megaforce Rangers transform into Titanium Ranger and Spirit Rangers. Making 4 Ranger Keys doesn't sound like much money. I mean they made a bunch Ranger Keys.. granted they aren't exactly like the Gokaiger ones and they were only a few (40) repeated twice (80). Maybe the issue was recreating the suits. It can be presumed that the Spirit Ranger suits are still around since Jungle Fury was shot in 2008, only 5 years ago and they have the other Jungle Fury suits. But maybe the Titanium Ranger suit had been lost in the mix but we have seen that they still have pieces from Mystic Knights and Next Mutation. But this can also be presumed that we won't be getting a Phantom Ranger Key. In two Japanese magazines, Toei was reportedly re-shooting the Legend War for Saban. If it is true, I guess no Titanium Ranger-tachi. In my mind, why reshoot the war without them.
Bandai America toys
Now there is still hope that we get the Titanium Ranger, Phantom Ranger and other rangers in toy form. I am hoping for this too. Since we have gotten a lot of non-show stuff before (including Mammoth Ranger, T-Rex Ranger, etc. from RPM). Only time can tell what happens.

WINNERS of the Design Your Own Megazord Contest

Prizes have changed. Here are the winners. Thank you for participating and thank you for voting.
Vote for the Design Your Own Megazord Contest
Rescue Delta Megazord
  8 (14%)
Mythico Megazord
  25 (43%)
Shadow Stallion
  6 (10%)
Tchotchke Megazord
  3 (5%)
Safari Supreme
  17 (29%)
Velocity Strike
  22 (38%)
Jungle Pride (Lion)
  8 (14%)
Dragonzord Buster
  16 (28%)


FIRST PRIZE WINNER
Mythico Megazord 

Winner: Joey
Votes: 25 out of 105
  First Place:
Guardians of Justice Series 2: 3 Megaforce Pink cards, MM Pink (series 1), Space Pink, Lost Galaxy Pink, Lightspeed Pink, SPD Pink, Mystic Pink, and Sky Megazord (foil).


SECOND PRIZE WINNER
Velocity Strike Megazord
Winner: Josh Frisch
Votes: 22 of 105
2nd Place:
Guardians of Justice Series 2: Space Red, Black, Blue, Pink and Yellow. SPD Swat mode Blue, Red, Pink, Yellow and Green


THIRD PRIZE WINNER
Dragonzord Buster Mode
Winner: Gamboge Ranger
Votes: 16 of 105
3rd Place:
Guardians of Justice Series 2: Tigerzord, Swordfish zord, Beetlezord (series 1), Despariano, Threacheron, Octomus, Gosei Great Megazord (Foil) and Tiger Drill Megazord (Foil)

Poll Results: End of April

Vote for the Design Your Own Megazord Contest
Rescue Delta Megazord
  8 (14%)
Mythico Megazord
  25 (43%)
Shadow Stallion
  6 (10%)
Tchotchke Megazord
  3 (5%)
Safari Supreme
  17 (29%)
Velocity Strike
  22 (38%)
Jungle Pride (Lion)
  8 (14%)
Dragonzord Buster
  16 (28%)

 
Do you think the leaked boxart for Power Rangers Super Megaforce legit?
Yes
  28 (60%)
No
  1 (2%)
Maybe
  14 (30%)
Don't Know
  3 (6%)

What do you think about the Power Rangers Samurai cast going to New Zealand to shoot Megaforce episodes? 
Teamup Special
  51 (89%)
A few PRSMF eps
  3 (5%)
cameos
  3 (5%)

With Hector David Jr. (Mike) hinting at return to NZ and Alex Heartman (Jayden) already there, do you think they will be filming the Megaforce-Samurai Teamup? 
No
  1 (1%)
Just Cameos
  11 (16%)
Maybe already filmed
  19 (29%)
Not Sure
  11 (16%)
Yes, teamup
  48 (73%)
What do you think about Andros' Red Robe picture? Means he is back or the crew messing with us?
Crew Trick
  4 (7%)
Andros will be back
  35 (63%)
Props doesn't know
  13 (23%)
No Andros
  3 (5%)

What do you think about Gokai Silver being used as the Silver Super Megaforce Ranger? 
Fantastico
  44 (58%)
Cool
  24 (32%)
So-So
  16 (21%)
Not Sure
  13 (17%)
Don't Like It
  8 (10%)

Two Weeks Poll: Who do you believe from all the rumors will be really in Super Megaforce?
Blake Foster
  41 (64%)
Hector David Jr
  27 (42%)
Alex Heartman
  41 (64%)
Roger Velasco
  19 (29%)
Christopher K Lee
  29 (45%)