Looks like this team of Sentai just might come with their own Advent Cards.

Courtesy of our very own, Red Ranger comes the first image of 2010’s team of heroes to save the word, the Goseigers!

Here’s some of what we know according to Red Ranger:

First episode airs on Feb 14th.

Names and weapon
Red - Arata (Skyick Sword)
Black - Aguri (Landick Axe)
Blue - Haido (Seaick Bowgun)
Pink - Eri (Skyick Shot)
Yellow - Mone (Landick Claw)

And then Rumble says:

-Goseiger is going with the celestial motif. The pamphlet describes them as Guardian angels wielding Gosei power.

Goseiyellow/Mone - Landic power wielder. Tiger motif. Youngest yet the most frank and mature one. Cares dearly of her older brother and tends to do combo attacks with him in battle.

Hit up the thread for more info as it comes.

Hey and thanks for taking the time to swing by HJU.

Tell us a little about yourself, like where you’re from and what you liked to do as a kid?

My name is Joe Fletcher, Producer on Kamen Rider Dragon Knight for the Wii and DS. I’ve been living in (not so) sunny California for the last bit, but I’m really an Arizona boy, born and raised. Growing up, I played games constantly (video and otherwise) and watched more than my fair share of cartoons and anime. Quite a few days were spent rushing home from school to catch Ronin Warriors and hop onto my SNES to play some Chrono Trigger.

How did you get into the biz of video games?

Perseverance and a bit of luck. As a kid, I always wanted to get into the industry. I was one of those people that played Combat on the 2600 and made up new rule sets not covered even in the multiple play types that the cartridge offered. I was drawing out Mega Man level designs on paper in elementary school for the fun of it. As it happened, I had just gotten back from Japan for some schooling (language and culture) and heard through some acquaintances that a new QA outfit was opening in my area. After that, it was a matter of impressing the QA manager in the interview and working my way up through the ranks.

Can you tell us what a average day is like for you?

The first couple hours of every day is taken up with reading over emails and taking action on anything that needs the be done. This ranges from making decisions on bugs in a game, updating in-game text spreadsheets, offering up opinions on marketing materials, to figuring out game design to move the project forward. That usually takes up the morning before lunch. After that, it’s a whirlwind of meetings (project related and otherwise) and cramming in time to handle any issues that come up during the working day.

What were your impressions of the Kamen Rider Universe when you got to see it?

Seeing Kamen Rider Dragon Knight wasn’t my first exposure to the Kamen Rider universe actually. Way back when on the USA network there was a show called Night Flight I used to watch with my Dad. They had a parody dub of Dynaman that they’d show from time to time that I thought was funny and entertaining. I asked if there was anything like it, and my Dad being my Dad, managed to find some subbed VHS tapes of a couple Godzilla films and some episodes of Kamen Rider Stronger. Of course, at that time, I knew nothing of the history of Kamen Rider, so it was all just a guy in a suit beating people up to me. I had mostly forgotten about that until Dragon Knight came around and reminded me that the series (in its different forms) has been around all this time.

Tell us how you came to the general design of the Wii game, like of all the game designs from fighter, RPG, open world, or first person adventure.. how did this version come about and were any other ideas played with?

I can’t speak to different ideas for the game in regards to genre changes (most of that was done in early design before I ever had a hand in it) but the idea of the free roaming and arena style combat being in the game was one that was definitely a goal of the project. Kamen Rider in general, and especially Dragon Knight, has many battles against multiple minion type characters as well as having “big bad boss” battles. Having the ability to run around and beat up multiple foes in one form of combat then going into a fight against a Rider and switching to a more “standard” form of combat was a natural evolution of the concept of the show. Both Eighting (on the Wii) and Natsume (on the DS) implemented this feel slightly differently, but both were very successful in bringing the feel of both these combat styles to life.

How about the DS?

The DS version has a lot of the same feel of the Wii version while being placed on the portable screens of the system. We wanted to make sure that the Kamen Rider feel of multiple enemy combat was there as well as having fun and challenging battles against the other Riders and Xaviax. While the free running system works fine on the Wii, the DS’s smaller screen makes this difficult to really hold to. After all, how fun is it to try and pick out the 5 pixels that make up the Blue Minion that is 100 yards away and decide to move towards him? With that in mind, the DS focused on the close in, feeling constantly swarmed combat style when facing multiple enemies that the Kamen Rider shows are known for.

Can you tell us some of your influences in making this game?

Well, I’ve worked with Eighting in the past (I was Senior QA on the Naruto: Clash of Ninja games on GameCube and the first two on the Wii) so I knew what they were easily capable of and what would take more effort to get their Wii engine to do. Read the rest of this entry »

Ultra-Senshi are Alien’s from the M78 Galaxy also known as “The Galaxy of light” who are sentient species made out of pure photons who come to the Earth to fend away Kaiju and Aliens who threaten our planet with destruction or with other purposes. Due to Pollution in our atmosphere Ultra-heroes must take a Human host or be disguised as a human for most of the time when they are on the planet so that when the situation gets tough they will know when to transform into their respective form to fight a threat but can only be in their respective form for a short amount of time.

In just about each and every Ultra-Related series there is a team of scientists who use advanced technology and advanced weapons to fight those that threaten the earth and normally the human host or disguised ultra-hero is a member of those respected teams, they will know when the right time to transform is because a lot of time the advanced tech and weapons does damage to the threat that they are fighting.

There are many universe’s in Ultra-History, Some of them may seem like they all belong in One universe which lately is to be thought of with the recent movies that have come out or are coming out, Some said examples are “Superior Ultraman 8 Brothers” Which took place in an Alternate Original Universe with said characters as Daigo Madoka[Ultraman Tiga], Shin Asuka[Ultraman Dyna] And Gamu Takayama[Ultraman Gaia] Who play 3 best friends who grew up together watching the Showa Era Ultraman Series.

The next movie that is trying to pull all of the universe’s together as well as introduce new characters is titled “Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie” Which is a mix of characters from Every ultraman they can pull out of the Catalog including A handful of Fodder Ultra-Acadamy Cadets as well as Two new Ultramen one that is likely to have his own series and another that will probably stay a movie exclusive, The one that is most likely to get a new series goes by the name of “Ultraman Zero” and has been confirmed to be the son of UltraSeven, The other is known as Ultraman Beilel who is like the Devil of M78 who gets loose somehow and plans his revenge.

There have been Two english Ultraman series not counting the dub of the Original Ultraman series from 1966 and the 4kids dub of 1996’s Ultraman Tiga. Ultraman Great which is a 1990 Australian production and Ultraman Powered which is a 1993 American production that surprisingly never saw the light of day in America.

The Ultra-Series and all of its spin-offs were created by Eiji Tsuburaya and Tsuburaya Productions. Aside from Ultraman, Eiji Tsuburaya is known for being the creater of one of the longest lasting kaiju tokusatsu’s around. The one and only Godzilla, who has had more movies then pretty much anything in japan.

I hope you enjoyed reading my guide to the Ultra-Series, I got inspired by this from a man named August Ragone and from The original ultraman being the first tokusatsu I saw back in 1992. From here on in you are ready to step out of Kamen Rider/Super Sentai and embrace that which is the warriors of light.

~B-Money~

Previously on RPM. Scott’s daddy issues continued, as he disobeyed Colonel Truman to go run off with the Speed Twins and blow some stuff up. Fortunately for them, Scott was right and Truman was wrong, and they ended up saving the whole city. But the twins are proving to be a bit of a handful, as Gemma almost got herself killed in the process of trying to blast the enemy. Will the team be able to handle the cracktastic habits of their newest teammates? Let’s find out!

I think Gem and Gemma may be some of the most divisive characters in the entire Power Rangers franchise. They’re crazy, childlike, and finish each other’s sentences constantly. Some people find this incredibly annoying. I, on the other hand, love them. Both for their ridiculous comic value, and for the darker side that is so clearly lingering beneath the surface. Which is why I love that they again are getting to have a bit of fun in this episode, even if it quickly turns into “The Adventures of Dillon & Friends” for a large portion of it. 

The twins begin by explaining that they plan to attack one of several Venjix outposts scattered about the Mad Max Wastelands. This one in particular is where the twins were held captive and forced to work for the machines under incredibly harsh conditions. And I’m convinced that the way they tell this story could make young children cry. They talk about this horrific existence in such a cheerful way, with these enormous grins on their faces. It’s enough to give even the Joker nightmares.  

And this is the scene where you know for absolute certain that these guys are crazy. Not just quirky-crazy like Bridge, or nerdy-crazy like Chip. They are completely and utterly batshit fucking insane. Just look at their faces as they plot to destroy the Venjix factory (which, by the way, is filled with prisoners that they don’t seem too terribly worried about at the moment).

A while later, Dillon has a quiet moment alone as he opens up his mysterious pocket watch and it plays that same tune we’ve heard since the premiere. And I hate to bring this up again, but since this is RPM and I feel I must point these things out- this is yet another example of the writers bothering to set up part of the story that we’ll be seeing in a few minutes. Just another reason to love RPM and its attention to detail.

But Dillon’s emo session is interrupted by an alarm, as they’re alerted of a new Attack-Bot entering the city. The five core Rangers rush out to defend the city.

I wish I could say I loved this section of the episode, but I really, really didn’t. In fact, it’s got to be among my least favorite series of moments in the whole season thus far. Almost every moment feels flat and uninteresting to me. 

We start off just fine with the Rangers getting ready to head out for battle. Ziggy and Flynn carry on an asanine debate about whether or not it’s a good idea to have a Sewing Needle Zord in order to fight a giant ball of yarn, since it’s not a cutesy animal like the rest of them. They’re dead serious with this conversation, and I heart this moment. But then they have to drag the comedy out into the streets, as the team literally starts searching for a giant ball of yarn. Not only that, but Tenaya 7 shows up with The Gold One and The White One, and they all go on for what feels like 6 minutes about the frakking ball of yarn.

Okay, Random Writer Whose Name I Don’t Remember Seeing Before. Ball of yarn, funny. I GET IT! Can we please move on to the part where the characters start hitting each other?

Apparently, Dillon agrees with me. Because when Tenaya tries to put her last two cents into the conversation, he mercifully shouts “Please! Stop talking!” 

And that is why Dillon is awesome.

However, Tenaya does manage to let out at some point that the Attack-Bot was designed not to destroy the city (which never works), but to destroy the Rangers themselves. In fact, he’s learning all their moves as they duke it out. Wow, I hope this is an integral part of the episode’s plot, and not something they almost completely drop later on. Fingers crossed!

The Attack-Bot is doing a good job at what he was sent to do, and the core Rangers are getting their tails kicked all over the battlefield. But suddenly, a hail of sparks flies everywhere as the Destructo Siblings, Gem and Gemma arrive on the scene. Tenaya shoots the ground and an explosion of smoke bursts up, masking their retreat. Don’t ask why they retreated so fast. I’m not sure they know themselves. But it sure doesn’t dampen Gem and Gemma’s spirits. They assume the enemy just blew themselves up. Perhaps in a desperate attempt to escape the twin-speak. How dare they!

More fun with G&G is had back at the garage, as they gleefully hum an innocent tune… while mixing an explosive compound in the kitchen. Ziggy steps in between them, assuming they’re just making pancakes or something, and takes a nice, big spoonful of the stuff into his mouth.

Now, if I was Ziggy, I would think the smell of lethally destructive chemicals (to say nothing of the flavor once you stick it in your mouth) would be enough to warn you about trying some. Especially when it comes from the mixing bowl of THOSE TWO. But Ziggy doesn’t realize what it is until the siblings explain it to him. And I just have to wonder if they would have said anything at all if Ziggy hadn’t mentioned that he thought it was food. Ziggy’s reaction is among the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Potential death is fun!
Read the rest of this entry »

AKA: “SO FRIGGIN CUTE!!!”

Previously on RPM. Dillon’s robo-brain led the team into the wastelands, where Venjix nearly blew them all to kingdom come. But speaking of explosions, Gem and Gemma arrived just in time to save them, and blasted the hell out of every enemy in sight. The two were taken back to RPM HQ, where the other Rangers were stunned to realize that Dr. K not only knows these two crazy kids, but she’s brought to tears when she sees them. Ziggy must feel so un-loved right now.

We begin after a short time has passed since last week, where Dr. K briefly explains to the team that Gem and Gemma have been fighting on their own in the wastelands ever since the “think tank” they grew up in was destroyed by Venjix. Gem starts: “We like to shoot first and–” Gemma finishes: “–ask questions later.” Yeah… They do that.

Let me just take a moment to say in no uncertain terms. I LOVE Gem and Gemma. They talk and act like they are on some of the most amazing drugs you’ve ever taken, and they love to blow shit up and act reckless as all hell in the face of danger. Not only that, but they’re not afraid to tell you how much your plan sucks if they disagree. They’re literally crazy, and there’s actually a reason behind it. Their experiences being trapped inside a creepy government facility since presumably childhood, and then forced to survive on their own has serious screwed with their heads. They’re not just kooky for no reason. (I’m looking at you, DAX!) Plus, their twin-speak is actually performed pretty well, considering. There are plenty actors who couldn’t pull that off half as well.

Anyway, after Gem and Gemma make sound effects and childlike re-enactments of explosions they like to create, Dr. K states that she realizes that sometimes she may come off as cold and detached with the Rangers. The great thing is that she doesn’t at all realize just how true this is, or that the Rangers are being slightly sarcastic in how they try to downplay this fact to her. This is gold. (Especially when you consider that “What’s it like being stupid?” line that was debated so fiercely several weeks back.)

Dr. K then proceeds to do something amazing. She goes through the team one by one, giving them all compliments. They all squirm at the forced earnestness. Dillon turns around and tries to make a run for it, but Flynn turns him back around. I think my favorite compliment is how Dr. K tells Summer she likes her, and that’s why she’s not secretly trying to sabotage her from getting more attention from “the males.”

Oh, and she gives all of them super-awkward hugs. SO FRIGGIN CUTE!

But when she comes to Ziggy, she just looks at him for a second and says “… You too, Ranger Green.” DENIED.

Somewhere in here, Tenaya just kinda walks right into the city somehow, along with The Gold One and The White One. The gist of the scene is that Tenaya suggests they take away something humans need to survive: oxygen. Yay for intelligent plans! Sort of!

So they arrive at Random Factory, which controls the city’s air supply, and start trashing the place. The Gold One and The White One spray each other with air-tubes like kids with Super Soakers. No comment. But the Rangers show up just in time to have a fight sequence. One in which they each use their individualized special abilities (time-manipulation, teleportation, forcefield, etc.). There’s a specific reason why I love that they do this here, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

Tenaya flips a switch, which causes a giant fan at the other end of the room to start spinning, which is amazingly powerful enough to pull people right off of the ground and yank them back. A bunch of foot soldiers get grinded up in extremely awesome fashion. I swear, the Grinders get killed in more creative ways than any foot soldiers ever. I love it.

In any case, the Rangers are getting sucked off as well. Particularly Ziggy, who loses his grip on whatever he was holding onto and goes flying. Now would be a great time to teleport to a safe distance, Ziggy! But wait! That would mean the Speed Twins wouldn’t be able to come and rescue you just in the nick of time!

Enter Rangers Gold and Silver, kicking ass and taking names. And slashing the controls to shut off the fan right before Ziggy gets chopped to bits. Ziggy then becomes the victim of one of the few failed jokes he’s ever been apart of. In cartoon fashion, his body suddenly just stops in mid-air, and he says “I wasn’t worried,” before gravity decides to get off its lazy ass and pull him to the ground again. It’s the thought that counts, I guess…

So, the bad guys make a “tactical retreat” after their defeat, but it is quickly revealed that Venjix wasn’t expecting his minions to succeed in the first place, and the REAL plan was about to begin… Seriously, it took me a while, but I actually really like Venjix as a villain. He actually thinks his plans through, and has back-ups within contingency plans, wrapped up in traps.

In any case, it seems Colonel Truman is about to play right into Venjix’s hands, as he states that they should maximize the power output on the city’s shields to fortify their defenses in preparation for a massive robot attack. I love the way Gem and Gemma disagree with Truman here. They practically laugh in his face for having such a stupid plan. They show no deference toward him whatsoever, wheras everyone else (especially Corporal Hicks) is practically on egg shells whenever they deem his orders questionable.

The best thing ever occurs here as Gem and Gemma decide to just walk away and go outside the city to take on the enemy alone. Truman informs them that, once the city’s shield is charged beyond its limits, they won’t be able to open the gates for several hours. Gem’s response is one word……….

“Meh.”

… God I love this show. Read the rest of this entry »

Previously on RPM. Dr. K basically spent her whole life working like a slave in a “think tank” with the ridiculously cheerful twins, Gem and Gemma. Tenaya also stuck a device on Dillon’s neck to turn him all robotical and stuff. Summer decided she was a hypnotist and that she would use her skills to bring Dillon’s memories back. Well, his memories lead the kids to the post-apocalyptic Omega City, where Venjix (in a spiffy new body) is waiting to kill them all to death. But at the last second, the Rangers are saved by two shiny new guys who talk really funny. Will the Rangers ever return from Omega City alive? Well of course they will, but let’s pretend we don’t know that.

We begin pretty much where we left off, with the gang all huddled into the Go-Onger van (teehee). Flynn drives, while Ziggy makes an admirable, if not misguided attempt at navigating. I think I love how these two antagonize each other. This is a bantertastic episode for sure, and it offers up no short supply of snark.

The Rangers wonder who the shiny new guys might have been, and Flynn just throws it out there that he thinks they might be ghosts…. Which I just think is funny. And apparently, so does Ziggy, because he spends half the episode harrassing his teammate over that suggestion. I love him for this.

Also, Flynn is the first to point out that one of those fancy zords they were piloting was a “giant flying chicken.” CRACKED. MAH. SHIT. UP!

Scott wishes that they could talk to Dr. K, but sadly there’s too much interference in the wasteland.

Finally, the Rangers arrive at Cylon-Occupied Caprica (or something) and everyone steps out to look at the big sign that says “Kenmore.” I keep looking around to see if I can spot that washer-dryer combo I thought Dillon might have been shopping for when he was captured by Venjix, but it’s nowhere to be found.

Meanwhile, back at The Garage, Dr. K is hard at work doing… something smart. She then stumbles onto a major discovery. It seems the same “signal” coming from Omega City is also coming from the device Tenaya stuck on him a few episodes ago to try to turn him into Seven of Nine of the Borg. This was all part of some elaborate plan by Venjix!

Now, hold up… This right here is freaking awesome. And would you like to know why? Well, I’ll tell you anyway.

See, I complained last week about Venjix acting like he just knew automatically that Dillon and the others were coming into the wasteland. It seemed a bit odd that he just knew this would happen. And now we see that this wasn’t just a case of shoddy writing (which, let’s face it, happens all the time on this show). It was actually part of the plot, which was waiting for this moment to be revealed.

I freaking LOVE this season!

The Rangers aren’t coming up with anything interesting in Omega City because, well, there’s nothing for them to find there. And it seems like Dillon knows that now. “Something’s not right,” he says to the others. His rebel-senses are tingling.

Back at the base, Colonel Truman is sipping his coffee, all cozey in his chair, as Dr. K has arrived to try to explain to him and Corporal Hicks that something terrible could be happening.

As a sidelight, I’d just like to say how much I’m loving Corporal Hicks. I didn’t notice it at first, but every single time he shows up on-screen, he’s doing something wrong. He trips, or drops something important, or stammers like an idiot. You just want to give him a hug and say “Shhh, it’ll be okay.” I can’t help loving the screw-ups. It doesn’t hurt that his name constantly reminds me of Hicks from “Aliens:” “We’re in some real pretty shit now!”

Anyway, Colonel Truman doesn’t like the idea of lowering the shield just so Dr. K can talk to the Rangers. I don’t think he was meant to sound like a total douche here, but he comes marginally close in this moment. Which is why the rest of the scene is such a joy.

Dr. K explains that, while she was part of that psycho “think tank” for most of her life, she was asked to make a lot of things. Including a chemical compound that would enduce explosive diarrhea when ingested with coffee. Which is what Truman happens to be drinking at that moment. She ponders what would force someone to use such a compound… So basically, she’s implying that she’ll use her superior intellect to screw with Truman to get whatever the frak she wants. AWESOME.

With Colonel Truman’s whole-hearted blessing, Dr. K has the shield lowered and contacts the Rangers. Ziggy and Flynn show up inside the van just in time to speak with her (I guess their actual phone service is T-Mobile and thus impossible to reach). She tells them the device Tenaya planted on Dillon a while back also embedded false memories into him. Which means Kenmore doesn’t actually mean anything. IT’S A TRAP!

Ziggy barely lets out that Gold and Silver zords came to their rescue earlier, before he and Flynn have to go rushing to tell the others what they’ve learned. Of course, they’re too late. And an Attack-Bot shows up with Grinders to take care of them.

What ensues next is the best unmorphed fight of the whole season. And I must say, this group of actors seems generally pretty nimble when compared to some of the other recent teams. Not that the stuntmen who like to cover their own faces as they do seven cartwheels into a stack of boxes are any less obvious, but the actors themselves are markedly better than most when it comes to fight sequences. They’re not zombies on sleeping pills when they go out to fight- they move fast, and they do some fairly athletic stunts in some places.

Anyway, the Rangers finally morph to face the Attack-Bot, but I guess this guy’s too tough for them. He also loves to throw bombs at them, which is giving me “Power Rangers Turbo” flashbacks. I wonder if they referred to the bombs as “detonators” in the script to avoid the terrorist implications. ^_^

The Attack-Bot throws a detonator (heh) at the Rangers, and they act like it’s the worst thing ever, despite being Power Rangers who could easily deal with a few bombs going off near them. They need the Shiny Twins to show up and catch the bomb in mid-air as they drop out of nowhere to help. They toss the detonator back at the robot and it explodes, launching him off.

More Grinders just kinda show up so the new Gold and Silver Rangers can show off their new costumes and fight choreography. I like how they have a slightly different fighting style to the other RPM kids. Silver does a lot more aerial moves, while she and Gold both tend to just sorta glide their way right through the foot soldiers as they take them down. The Attack-Bot retreats like a surly wench. And then Gold and Silver just leave again.

Okay… why are they doing this exactly? Ziggy notes that they’re anti-social, but since we know who they are and what kinda personality they have, it strikes me as odd that they would keep doing this. And actually kind of annoying, as this is something their sentai counterparts did, except they had a reason. I pray the Shiny Twins have a reason too, otherwise I won’t be pleased. And I think a certain Golden Girl would agree with me.

In any case, the RPM kids, for the second time in a row, have completely failed at fighting Attack-Bots, so they decide it’s time to head home. They start to pile back into the Go-Onger van to return to Corinth. Dillon is the last to step inside as he stares out at Cylon-Occupied Caprica. “We’ll find the answers,” Summer says. “You guys are the answer,” Dillon sexies. ” I’m just looking for the question.” Awww. He likes them. He really likes them!

Meanwhile, however, the Attack-Bot has planted another detonator on the back end of the van as it begins to drive off. And now I’m REALLY having “Power Rangers Turbo” flashbacks. Tenaya just needs to raise her parascope out of Dillon’s glass of Sunny Delight to spy on the Rangers and it’ll be complete.

So, the detonator explodes and… Well, it must be a dud because it didn’t blow the whole van to kingdom come. It just sorta rocks the thing a little, and the Rangers morph and bail out of the van while it’s still moving. Scott looks up just in time to watch his dad’s van go flying off a cliff and explode on impact!

GO-ONGER ACRONYM VAN!!!!!!!

WHYYY?! WHY DOES GOD LET THERE BE BAD THINGS?!?!

The Rangers aren’t out of hot water yet, as Venjix, the Attack-Bot, and… The Gold One, have all shown up to kick them while they’re down. Well, the Shiny Twins aren’t gonna let that happen. They launch into another fight with more Grinders. Only this time they use their spiffy dagger weapons. Silver uses ice attacks. Gold uses fire attacks. They both rock my socks.

Before Venjix can really do too much, The Gold One suggests that they let the Attack-Bot handle things. Because he did such an awesome job the first time. And the two of them retreat into a cloud of fog that just happened to be floating by.

The Attack-Bot hopes to settle the score with Gold and Silver, but he underestimates the power of the Bandai toy department, who have equipped these kids with daggers that shoot rocket fuel, causing them to basically fly. They swoop in and slash the living crap out of the Attack-Bot with utter ease. The robot goes down in no time.

Okay, time to fly off again, Shiny Twins!

Oh… They’re not flying off this time, I guess. They’re offering the other Rangers a ride back to Corinth.

At the base, they’re detecting the two new zords with no lifesigns aboard. Dr. K, being a genius, explains that they’re equipped with a dampening field that masks their lifesigns. She knows this because she’s the one that built it… Booyah.

As the core five Rangers walk into The Garage unmorphed, Gold and Silver have curiously decided not to power down their suits at this point. Maybe they’re like Bubble Boy types or something. In any event, Ziggy tries to prepare them for some seriously cold behavior from Dr. K when they meet her, because she grew up in a psycho think tank.

Well, all that flies right out the window the moment Dr. K shows up and Gold and Silver reveal themselves as the Caffeine Twins, Gem and Gemma. She practically launches at them and gives them a big hug, tears streaming down her face. She’s never looked so happy in the whole of the series. Never. My God. It’s like……. (*bursts into hysterical crying*)

This episode made me happy. Very, very happy. The story had a fairly epic scope to it, with a narrative that was actually complex and gave a good surprise or two. Good comedy. Good moments of drama. Good action. It gave me practically everything I could have wanted out of one solid episode. I look forward to where the series takes us from here.

“Ghosts” gets a strong A.

-Dr. Tristan

Previously on RPM. The scat really hit the fan in the last few episodes. As Dr. Kr reveals to the Rangers how she accidentally, kinda, sorta, might have had something to do with a lethal computer virus destroying civilization as we know it. Dillon has his own problems to deal with, in the form of some pesky amnesia, and a bunch of Venjix technology swimming around his insides. What’s a cyborg to do?

This week’s episode begins with a random zord fight. Luckily, they know which monsters NOT to feature for a big story, so this guy gets taken care of pretty quickly. I’m not sure how many scenes I could have taken where the attack bot uses his lethal “Slippery Floor” technique. As a finisher, I half expected him to throw a banana at their feet in hopes that the Megazord would step on it and fall on its ass.

Our intrepid Rangers make quick work of the attack bot while talking to each other through their helmets. I think I like this new idea of looking through the visor to see their eyes as they speak. It means we don’t have to look at the Rangers throwing their arms around like they’re having a seizure just to say “Hi, how are you?” or some such nonsense because the sentai footage they tried to splice in doesn’t work. It’s part of what makes RPM such a dynamic Ranger show. They’re not slaves to the sentai footage, almost at all. Which, given the acid trip that was the original show, is quite an achievement, I’ll tell you what.

Anyway, the Rangers return to their base, a job well done. But danger is still afoot, as Venjix reveals his latest creation. Oh, goody! They’re finally introducing the new, tougher general, who’s going to make the other two robots look even more irrelevant than before! I wonder what this new character is going to be like. He could really shake things up. He might even–

“I. AM. VENJIX!!!”

Oh.
Read the rest of this entry »

THE POWER OF THE KUROKO
Airs May 31st 2009.

Ryuunosuke, Chiaki and Kotoha accidentally destroy a treasure of the Shiba family. Hikoma orders them to learn from the Kuroko. After observing them, they discover how hardworking, corteous and appreciated Kuroko are. Then the three of them decide to start doing good deeds with terrible results. Then, the Ayakashi Marigomori appears. The three samurais, more worried about outshining the Kurokos, show up late to the battle…

My trigger finger is itching and I’m looking to frag some n00bs. The heroes of the 360 Nation Podcast want to take up their guns and jam with us Justicers. We’ll be doing new map packs, so make sure to snatch ‘em up before game time.

Fight the fight, heroes… and see you on the battlefield!