Thursday, December 13, 2012

Power Rangers Samurai Finale "SAMURAI FORVER"

The unmorphed fight was perfect, getting to see cast do actual stunts, then a pose.

What happened to Xandred going to kidnap Lauren? I could buy if they had stopped him before he got to the Shiba House but it wasn't even brought up. Really enjoyed the fight against Xandred and Shogun finally getting used as a battlizer, among a few refilmed parts beforehand. Awesome... And then Jayden thinks Xandred's gone for good. Oh brother.

Good zord fight and great to see the cast in the crumbling cockpit. Xandred's final speech seemed to allude to what we the fandom already know - the Nighloks and Samurai Rangers will definitely be back.

Bulk and Skull's reunion was kinda over-the-top and Skull acting like a dick was odd. Still, best moment of Samurai. I'm still wrapping my mind over the fact that Bulk BECAME Skull at some point, which completely explains his behavior now. I have a good feeling we'll see them next year but hopefully written better than Bulk and Spike, and not forgetting storylines like Spike's crush.

Lauren leaving made as much sense as when she arrived. And as far as Mentor's gift, past seasons would've tied it in with an interest shown before. Also, liked that they decided to callback Mike/Emily but it's one of the things that could've been hinted at more over Samurai's run.

This was also the first finale without any sort of attack on the Rangers headquarters. It definitely had its good, long-overdue moments but was sloppy in places as well. "THE SEALING SYMBOL" was the better of the 2 but this still earns a 4/5. A pretty fitting end to Samurai.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Catching up on Super Samurai comments

"STROKE OF FATE"
Good episode written by Amit Bhamuik and a nice end to the Serrator arc.

Antonio's moral dilemma over not finishing off Deker worked

Liked how they combined Deker with the same scene from Shinkenger since it's basically the same character.

Wish Bulk and Spike had been more involved and they had included the interaction with Antonio but for what we did have the bubblegum parts weren't bad.

Awesome zord fight and one my favorites out of all of Samurai. This episode did enough for a 4/5.


"FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE"
Episode started out pretty good. I really liked Fiera and how she used the fire attack against Jayden. But then things got too Japanese I thought, when the team went to battle at the park and we got mostly Shinkenger footage with the cast cut-ins. Jayden firing the bullzooka in a demorph was pretty sweet at least.

I liked Lauren's intro and how she defeated Fiera. But by the time she and Jayden had their talk it all lacked any soul and the last part was the nail in the coffin. I'm not bothered by Jayden leaving - It's just the way it was presented. :\ 3/5


"THE GREAT DUEL"
Better episode this time. Jayden fighting Deker unmorphed was awesome and I enjoyed Lauren's interaction with the others, especially the training scenes. Liked seeing her lead the team in battle and that shes uses a shodophone.

The beginning and end of the episode still kept things a little painful but the rest was still good enough for a 4/5.


"THE SEALING SYMBOL"
After suffering through almost 2 years I was happy to at last reach this point.

Dayu's "sacrifice" reminded me a bit of when Queen Bansheera absorbed Vypra. Kinda different for PR and a nice departure from the villainess-turned-human.

I had less of a problem with Jayden taking back leadership even though he never actually gave it up. All-around better scene with Lauren than when he left.

Bonus points if Xandred did send out the entire Mooger army (I always appreciate references like that). Also for no zord battle, which I liked having a break from.

Remember back when Red would USE the battlizer? It's obvious what Jayden has to do as a final attempt to defeat Xandred, since nothing else has worked.

Most of this episode worked for me and with the bonus points I'll give it a 5/5.