I had included these characters in my previous post, but figured I should remove them since I wasn't going to talk about characters like Ninjaman or Signalman. Because while nobody counts these two, I really like 'em. You know Bandai was obviously shitting bricks when they realized GoGoFive wouldn't be having six heroes ("They'd have to change their name to GoGoSix!"), but I thought the story was a bit crafty in how they approached the idea of a sixth. (I also have to give credit to Power Rangers for creating their own sixth since GoGoFive lacked one -- Titanium Ranger is pretty neat looking.)
I know some people think that Jiku doesn't fit in with GoGoFive, introducing an alien character, but I always preferred to look at Jiku as...not really being an alien from space, but maybe an angel from Heaven. (There also seems to be something angelic about the artwork of Jiku Jienne on the Laserdisc cover, emitting light.)
It's awesome enough that Keiichi Wada plays Jiku (and is reunited with Ryuu Ranger suit actor Naoki Oofuji), but the best part of this movie is that Kyoko's prayers are answered in that she gets to be a hero. Even if briefly, having her transformation be the centerpiece of this one-off movie special made it stand out, and she gets to help the GoGoFive, even getting to deliver the "Sword, show the light" line for Victory Robo. (What a difference an additional hero can make, what an impact they can have when their arrival isn't about selling toys, huh?) It's just too bad that this movie was made at a point when toku movies tended to be stand-alones, with events never affecting the actual series or continuity, so they never really care to match up with the show. I mean, it would have even been nice to show Kyoko in a later episode wearing the necklace made from Jiku's crystal. That's simple enough, why couldn't they even just do that!?
Nevertheless, the GoGoFive movie is one of the best Sentai movies, IMO, and worth checking out. (And worth jumping on the bandwagon of "Jiku is awesome, let's mention him whenever we talk about extra heroes.")
Thanks for the reminder that I need to watch this film again. I don't think I've seen it since it was relatively new.
ReplyDeleteI always wondered why they deadlocked themselves into only five heroes in Gogo Five in the plot. I mean, they can still be Gogo Five...with a sixth. The movie seemed like a fair compromise I suppose. Like you said, though, an easter-egg callback would've been cool.
What is it with adding the "-jeanne/jienne" suffix anyhow? Heh. It kinda adds to the costume designs for Jiku and Jiku Jienne having a kind of Rescue Hero feel to them.
Speaking of movie-only characters. What did you think of Project G4? I rewatched that one again recently and I think I liked it better this time around. The G4 suit was so nice--way better than G3 (bug cop?) and G3-X (more Metal Hero than any Metal Hero ever).
I used to think that G4 was kind of a plot mess, but if it weren't for the first plot Agito and Gills wouldn't have anything to do really. G4's fatal flaw of not-quite-being-ready-yet also seemed a little weak. It was funny seeing him try to stand up and fight when you know there was a dead guy in the suit.
How do I always end up going off-topic? > <
I remember first seeing the GoGoFive finale and being like "They can do this crap with the dumb black-colored Victory Robo repaint, but not have a single reference to the movie!?!"
ReplyDeleteAs for Project G4...to be honest, when I first saw it, I was disappointed. I didn't start liking that movie until I saw the director's cut, which makes it feel a little fuller. It makes it feel like, I don't know, a MOVIE? (I haven't bothered watching the regular version since watching the director's cut, but I remember it just seeming like an episode of some other show.)
I really like the G4 design, but what prevents me from really liking the character is the dude they got to play him. The guy just seems like...the knock-off of the popular actor they wanted to cast, but who was too expensive. I think I like the regular G3 design more, though, but definitely not G3-X. I'll get bummed out when I watch the show and Hikawa switches to G3-X. Way to ruin a cool design. (I like the storyline for it, though, with Lee Keflen creating the V1 as its competitor.)