The Energon Pub

[Jelze Bunnycat]

Believe it or not, Zyuoh King is starting to grow on me. Maybe it's because the Minipla kit of the mech has just been released, with the auto-transform gimmick removed. This is a true testament on how gimmicks can hamper a design:



Having him be fully articulated makes him so much better, don't you think? btw The 4th kit is Cube Kirin (Giraffe), the first of the Zyuoh Cube Weapons. Works exactly like the DX version.

:EDIT: Should Zyuohger be adapted into Power Rangers: Zoo Force or whatever, what would they be called? Beast Blocks? Totemzords?

[Hellscream9999]

Believe it or not, Zyuoh King is starting to grow on me. Maybe it's because the Minipla kit of the mech has just been released, with the auto-transform gimmick removed. This is a true testament on how gimmicks can hamper a design:



Having him be fully articulated makes him so much better, don't you think? btw The 4th kit is Cube Kirin (Giraffe), the first of the Zyuoh Cube Weapons. Works exactly like the DX version.

:EDIT: Should Zyuohger be adapted into Power Rangers: Zoo Force or whatever, what would they be called? Beast Blocks? Totemzords?

That articulated one actually looks pretty cool, but based on the zord's, I'd say they should just cancel this line and move onto something better, and less gimmick-ridden, like biklonz, or space deleter type toy designs, those are nice lookin' lines

[Jelze Bunnycat]

I hear ya, the space theme really tickles my funny bone. I wish I could have one of them...

[Hellscream9999]

I hear ya, the space theme really tickles my funny bone. I wish I could have one of them...

Indeed they showed ingenuity, apparently have great quality, and are nice and refreshingly simple. I was far more interested in the mini knock-off or whatever it was of the minecraft zord that guy had. I would be 1000% more accepting of the actual zord toy if it had that level of articulation. I mean, I've built better megazord style transformers than this

(click the link in my sig to check them out)

[King Kuuga]

I hear ya, the space theme really tickles my funny bone. I wish I could have one of them...

Indeed they showed ingenuity, apparently have great quality, and are nice and refreshingly simple. I was far more interested in the mini knock-off or whatever it was of the minecraft zord that guy had. I would be 1000% more accepting of the actual zord toy if it had that level of articulation. I mean, I've built better megazord style transformers than this

(click the link in my sig to check them out)

It's an official product, they do them every year. They're miniature model kits that eschew the bells and whistles of the DX toy for improved articulation. The trade-off is that the stickers are crap and there's some partsforming. And it's small.

[Hellscream9999]

I hear ya, the space theme really tickles my funny bone. I wish I could have one of them...

Indeed they showed ingenuity, apparently have great quality, and are nice and refreshingly simple. I was far more interested in the mini knock-off or whatever it was of the minecraft zord that guy had. I would be 1000% more accepting of the actual zord toy if it had that level of articulation. I mean, I've built better megazord style transformers than this

(click the link in my sig to check them out)

It's an official product, they do them every year. They're miniature model kits that eschew the bells and whistles of the DX toy for improved articulation. The trade-off is that the stickers are crap and there's some partsforming. And it's small.

Hmm, maybe they should've eschewed the actual megazord for an upsclaed articulated one, it'd be a dream come true

[King Kuuga]

If they thought they would sell, they might. Clearly though, kids are okay with gimmicky bricks. Or cubes, in this case.

Well I suppose it's too early to fairly say that, we need to see how well they sell. But articulation has never been a DX Sentai Robo strong point, ever. Anything beyond shoulder rotation is a blessing. Shurikenjin and Gekiatsu Daioh having hips and knees was a miracle from heaven.

[Bradimus]

Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger takes the whole "sentai toys are bricks" thing a bit too literally with the main toy, but the theme looks great in the show. The pixelated look of the mecha works well with the video game theme of the villains. So far I am happily entertained.

And speaking of villains, Seijuu Sentai Gingaman's first general Sambash has the best theme music I've heard for villains yet. Overall I enjoyed Gingaman and am surprised at how well Saban adapted Ginga Red's and the Black Knights' stories to Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. As usual I like the original sentai better, but not by much as Lost Galaxy was one of the better Power Rangers series. Gingaman was a letdown after the high of Megaranger, but that was going to happen.

I found Gekisou Sentai Caaaaaarranger, so I'm watching that now. Also very enjoyable, but I forgot how strange RV Robo looks. The way the torso and arms match up the proportions look off. Oh well, it's not like I buy these things. And RV Robo has the coolest victory pose, so all is forgiven.

Before I found Carranger I watched the first episode of Kyuku Sentai GoGoV. It looks good. I was surprised to see the train mecha revealed in the first opening. Hopefully the subs will be complete on that show by the time I finish Carranger and catch up on the team up movies. I did watch Chouriki Sentai Ohranger: Ole vs. Kakuranger. I think Kakuranger remains my favorite sentai.

[King Kuuga]

Before I found Carranger I watched the first episode of Kyuku Sentai GoGoV. It looks good. I was surprised to see the train mecha revealed in the first opening. Hopefully the subs will be complete on that show by the time I finish Carranger and catch up on the team up movies. I did watch Chouriki Sentai Ohranger: Ole vs. Kakuranger. I think Kakuranger remains my favorite sentai.

Imagination Station is making good progress on GoGo V so you should be fine.
https://anotherimaginationstation.wordp ... uad-gogov/

Hopefully you weren't waiting on HikariSenshi's though, because they're kinda dead.

[Bradimus]

Before I found Carranger I watched the first episode of Kyuku Sentai GoGoV. It looks good. I was surprised to see the train mecha revealed in the first opening. Hopefully the subs will be complete on that show by the time I finish Carranger and catch up on the team up movies. I did watch Chouriki Sentai Ohranger: Ole vs. Kakuranger. I think Kakuranger remains my favorite sentai.

Imagination Station is making good progress on GoGo V so you should be fine.
https://anotherimaginationstation.wordp ... uad-gogov/

Hopefully you weren't waiting on HikariSenshi's though, because they're kinda dead.

As long as the sub makes sense I'm happy. Though I really can't stand the use of given names when someone says "onee-san" or "nii-san" or the like. My head automatically substitutes what should be there, but still, it would be nice to read it correctly all of the time. And then there is "you guys" when it should just be the plural "you." With some subs you could get together with friends and have a drinking game.

[wilcosu35]

Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger takes the whole "sentai toys are bricks" thing a bit too literally with the main toy, but the theme looks great in the show. The pixelated look of the mecha works well with the video game theme of the villains. So far I am happily entertained.

And speaking of villains, Seijuu Sentai Gingaman's first general Sambash has the best theme music I've heard for villains yet. Overall I enjoyed Gingaman and am surprised at how well Saban adapted Ginga Red's and the Black Knights' stories to Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. As usual I like the original sentai better, but not by much as Lost Galaxy was one of the better Power Rangers series. Gingaman was a letdown after the high of Megaranger, but that was going to happen.

I found Gekisou Sentai Caaaaaarranger, so I'm watching that now. Also very enjoyable, but I forgot how strange RV Robo looks. The way the torso and arms match up the proportions look off. Oh well, it's not like I buy these things. And RV Robo has the coolest victory pose, so all is forgiven.

Before I found Carranger I watched the first episode of Kyuku Sentai GoGoV. It looks good. I was surprised to see the train mecha revealed in the first opening. Hopefully the subs will be complete on that show by the time I finish Carranger and catch up on the team up movies. I did watch Chouriki Sentai Ohranger: Ole vs. Kakuranger. I think Kakuranger remains my favorite sentai.

I haven't yet seen Zyuohger though i do have the episodes. I'm currently watching Megaranger, and will finish that before starting on Zyuohger.

I haven't seen much of Lost Galaxy (only a few eps when it aired on TV) but i did like Gingaman. It's a bit simple, but there are some very nice things in that one.

Carranger is quite good too, it manages to have quite a lot of humour. The villains' misspelling of "earth"kept cracking me up, and i liked the characters vocal mannerisms a lot: Kyosuke's laidbackness, Naoki's very proper talking, and Minoru's hyper-fast accent.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

If they thought they would sell, they might. Clearly though, kids are okay with gimmicky bricks. Or cubes, in this case.

Well I suppose it's too early to fairly say that, we need to see how well they sell. But articulation has never been a DX Sentai Robo strong point, ever. Anything beyond shoulder rotation is a blessing. Shurikenjin and Gekiatsu Daioh having hips and knees was a miracle from heaven.

And even then they were transformation joints, any working joints beyond the shoulders are happy accidents. Give me one DX mecha that has articulation for the sake of articulation (i.e. not used in any transformation scheme). In a nutshell, DX is reserved for the main gimmick of the series, while the Minipla kits focus on articulation where possible. If the gimmick needs to be truncated or excised, so be it.

Toy sales must have been pretty good, considering the series is running with overall lackluster ratings (how did ToQger do btw?). Kamen Rider has suffered the same fate with Kamen Rider Hibiki and some (not all) later series.

[wilcosu35]

If they thought they would sell, they might. Clearly though, kids are okay with gimmicky bricks. Or cubes, in this case.

Well I suppose it's too early to fairly say that, we need to see how well they sell. But articulation has never been a DX Sentai Robo strong point, ever. Anything beyond shoulder rotation is a blessing. Shurikenjin and Gekiatsu Daioh having hips and knees was a miracle from heaven.

And even then they were transformation joints, any working joints beyond the shoulders are happy accidents. Give me one DX mecha that has articulation for the sake of articulation (i.e. not used in any transformation scheme). In a nutshell, DX is reserved for the main gimmick of the series, while the Minipla kits focus on articulation where possible. If the gimmick needs to be truncated or excised, so be it.

Toy sales must have been pretty good, considering the series is running with overall lackluster ratings (how did ToQger do btw?). Kamen Rider has suffered the same fate with Kamen Rider Hibiki and some (not all) later series.

I've seen some posts on Rangerboard stating that Ninninger had the second-worst toy sales of all time, only above Timeranger, but i'm not sure if i'm willing to believe that. There are people who bought multiple Shurikenjins, so they could have all the auxiliary otomonin piloting too.

[King Kuuga]

If they thought they would sell, they might. Clearly though, kids are okay with gimmicky bricks. Or cubes, in this case.

Well I suppose it's too early to fairly say that, we need to see how well they sell. But articulation has never been a DX Sentai Robo strong point, ever. Anything beyond shoulder rotation is a blessing. Shurikenjin and Gekiatsu Daioh having hips and knees was a miracle from heaven.

And even then they were transformation joints, any working joints beyond the shoulders are happy accidents.

The hips and knees on the aforementioned robots were "for transformation" if you define their transformation as "sitting in a giant chair". That one I contend. The rest, you are absolutely right. Time Robo and BullTaurus are the only ones I can think of with "knees" and those are, as you said, purely from transformation and not practical as actual knees due to the lack of hips.

Oddly, Legacy White Tigerzord has DELIBERATE knees but no hips to make use of them.

[wilcosu35]

If they thought they would sell, they might. Clearly though, kids are okay with gimmicky bricks. Or cubes, in this case.

Well I suppose it's too early to fairly say that, we need to see how well they sell. But articulation has never been a DX Sentai Robo strong point, ever. Anything beyond shoulder rotation is a blessing. Shurikenjin and Gekiatsu Daioh having hips and knees was a miracle from heaven.

And even then they were transformation joints, any working joints beyond the shoulders are happy accidents.

The hips and knees on the aforementioned robots were "for transformation" if you define their transformation as "sitting in a giant chair". That one I contend. The rest, you are absolutely right. Time Robo and BullTaurus are the only ones I can think of with "knees" and those are, as you said, purely from transformation and not practical as actual knees due to the lack of hips.

Oddly, Legacy White Tigerzord has DELIBERATE knees but no hips to make use of them.

There are actually a whole bunch more of them who have knee joints, but all due to transformation: Kakure daishogun, sirender, victory mars, gao icarus, daibouken, gosei ultimate, goujyujin and pteraiden-oh, just listing ones that i have.

[King Kuuga]

How did I forget about Daibouken's impressive articulation? I own the damn thing.

[Jelze Bunnycat]

There are actually a whole bunch more of them who have knee joints, but all due to transformation: Kakure daishogun, sirender, victory mars, gao icarus, daibouken, gosei ultimate, goujyujin and pteraiden-oh, just listing ones that i have.

Pteraiden-Oh is lucky: the Ptera Charge Megazord has those knee joints removed...

[Bradimus]

Carranger is quite good too, it manages to have quite a lot of humour. The villains' misspelling of "earth"kept cracking me up, and i liked the characters vocal mannerisms a lot: Kyosuke's laidbackness, Naoki's very proper talking, and Minoru's hyper-fast accent.

I like Natsumi.

[wilcosu35]

Right, today i finished watching Megaranger. Overall, quite an enjoyable ride. The main 5 were acted well, and were easy to like. I especially appreciated Yuusaku/Megasilver. Like all early 6ths he didn't appear much, but he sure did make a good impression on me. Goofing off whenever he can, but serious when he must, and his interactions with the rangers and Kubota were entertaining to watch.
As for Kubota himself, i consider him one of the best mentor characters of all the series i've seen. He's always there to support them in any way possible, and genuinely cares about the kids he chose for his team as shown quite well when Kouichiro and Chisato give up on their exams to go save their friends, and he gives them a big hug. Quite a change from the strict hakase at the start of the series.

The mecha were good, still in the days when the suits were not ridiculously bulky.

The Nejirejia were a bit bland, but the Nejirangers provided some fresh breath into their midst. It's a shame they went out relatively easily in the end, Yugande being the only one to provide some serious opposition.

[Sabrblade]

Hey guys, here's a PR Lost Galaxy related question that's been bugging me for years.

Waaaaaay back in the day, before that season premiered on Fox Kids, there was a Lost Galaxy promo Fox Kids aired that contained something that never actually made it into the show. It's the first promo in this video:



At the 0:11-0:12 mark, one can see a fleet of CGI space ships all flying towards a planet. As these ships were never seen in the show, their presence in this promo always confused me as a kid whenever I thought back to seeing these ships in the promo.

Does anyone know what exactly this fleet is? Like, is it something from Gingaman that was left out of PRLG? Or something from another tokusatsu that Saban merely inserted into the promo to look cool? Or some Saban-original creation from some early concept that ultimately went unused? What is this fleet?

[Hellscream9999]

Hey guys, here's a PR Lost Galaxy related question that's been bugging me for years.

Waaaaaay back in the day, before that season premiered on Fox Kids, there was a Lost Galaxy promo Fox Kids aired that contained something that never actually made it into the show. It's the first promo in this video:



At the 0:11-0:12 mark, one can see a fleet of CGI space ships all flying towards a planet. As these ships were never seen in the show, their presence in this promo always confused me as a kid whenever I thought back to seeing these ships in the promo.

Does anyone know what exactly this fleet is? Like, is it something from Gingaman that was left out of PRLG? Or something from another tokusatsu that Saban merely inserted into the promo to look cool? Or some Saban-original creation from some early concept that ultimately went unused? What is this fleet?

Is it the footage from the very first time the bug guy is introduced?

[Sabrblade]

Is it the footage from the very first time the bug guy is introduced?

something that never actually made it into the show.

...

As these ships were never seen in the show,

[Hellscream9999]

Is it the footage from the very first time the bug guy is introduced?

something that never actually made it into the show.

...

As these ships were never seen in the show,

huh, I've got nothing then

But I've seen similar phenomena with movie trailers and the actual movie; the trailer has footage that doesn't make it into the final cut of the movie

[King Kuuga]

I asked a friend of mine who knows a lot about these things and he said it's from an old UPN show. We speculate that they used it as filler material before the final cut of the show was done.

In other news, Crunchyroll now has Ultraman Ginga and Ginga S up for streaming. Excluding the shows that Chaiyo has the rights to (Ultra Q, Ultraman, Ultraseven, Return of Ultraman, Ultraman Ace, and Ultraman Taro), and the movies, Crunchyroll now has almost every Ultra series. They're missing Tiga, Dyna, Neos, Cosmos, Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy, Ultraseven X, and Neo Ultra Q. CR's full lineup now is Leo, 80, Gaia, Nexus, Max, Mebius, Ginga, Ginga S, and X. Ultra Q, Ultraman, and Ultraseven are all on Shout Factory TV and subtitled DVD.
Clearly this partnership is successful for both parties. Take a hint, Toei!

[Madeus Prime]

Excluding the shows that Chaiyo has the rights to (Ultra Q, Ultraman, Ultraseven, Return of Ultraman, Ultraman Ace, and Ultraman Taro), and the movies, Crunchyroll now has almost every Ultra series. They're missing Tiga, Dyna, Neos, Cosmos, Ultra Q: Dark Fantasy, Ultraseven X, and Neo Ultra Q.

Fingers crossed for Dyna and Cosmos, I've been itching to watch more Ultra shows from that era...