"FRIENDS DON'T FADE AWAY" (PR-1616): Monkey Business

Despite the usually weird/confusing scenes with Dai Shi/Jarrod and the Overloads, I did like the feuding with Grizzaka. The shot of the RinJuDen from Geki (that has no chair or carpet) felt out of place. -_-

Oh look, RJ has a small box in the closet with something glowy inside. I wonder what it could be... >_>

Poor RJ, thinking he was the one causing havoc with the sharp claws.

Kinda wish the morpher had been mentioned/hinted before this episode.

All around great focus on RJ and Fran as well, which was a bit of a surprise. Although it's kinda sad she considers RJ and the Rangers her family.

I dig RJ's fighting style and the weapons built into the suit/morpher. LASOR KNEES FTW. And nice to see the episode that this behind-the-scenes footage came from:


Funny scene at the end with the dog Nikki and the "No shirt, no shoes, no service" bit prior.

4/5. Felt like a "6th Ranger" intro ep even though it really wasn't. Ranking intro eps since SPD, I'd put this second to "SHADOW, II" with "MAN OF MERCURY, II" below it and "LONG AGO" fourth.


MID-WAY MUSINGS
Now that we're halfway through the season and underway in "scab" episodes, I thought I'd go a bit further. One thing I was hoping for, that ended up not working out too well, is staying ahead in GekiRanger, so I can see what happens there first. But with all the multi-part arcs, I'll have to wait for Jetix's obligatory block of Aug-Sept reruns to get ahead.

Seeing PR's adaptations first does take some fun out of watching the original, but I'm still enjoying Geki pretty well. I've enjoyed the Masters the most and the introduction to Kageki (I'm up to episode 21). While Jan can be pretty over-the-top, I'm used to that sorta thing in sentai and at times it can be funny. And it's obvious Jungle Fury is trying to do for Dai Shi what Geki did for Rio, but since they can't do the whole deep hatred/despair thing, they DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL THEY'RE DOING. >_<

As we go further into the season, I'm most looking forward to the Phantom Beast arc that'll feature the Bat, Shark and Elephant Rangers, as well as how they'll handle the Geki animal suits (most likely to be in the finale and a flashback). Hopefully the intro of Dominic/Rhino Ranger won't be TOO bad, but after RJ's Ranger debut it more that likely won't compare.