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When all is said and done, the top reason why M$N Instant Messenger is evil is that it only allows you to have 150 contacts on your list! !@#$%^&*()
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This has been a very... restful mid-term break. Mmm. So much for reading week.
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Mirai Sentai Timeranger vs GoGoV
I happened to pick up "Timeranger vs GoGoV", subbed by "slackin". Prior to this I had watched only a few Dairanger episodes, and maybe some Jetman/Maskman when it was showing on Malaysian TV (dubbed in Malay, no less!). So this was probably the first Sentai that I'd watched where I could actually understand what they were shouting about. Unfortunately it was only 41 minutes long, but it was very... enlightening.
For starters, it appears that I'd overestimated how much Time Force and Lightspeed Rescue had borrowed from Timeranger and GoGoV respectively. The Japanese morphing sequences looked ridiculous: the Timerangers jumped into the air and curled into fetal positions, while their suits got superimposed over them. Meanwhile, the GoGoV flipped a cape of fire around their shoulders, and their bodies glowed and became suits, while their helmets formed around their heads. The American morphing sequences were at least less ridiculous. Also, while the idea of Lightspeed Rescue's ranger jackets were borrowed from GoGoV, the ones in GoGoV were absolutely dreadful, while the Lightspeed Rescue jackets at least looked decent.
GoGoV Jackets
Lightspeed Rescue Jackets
There were also the traditional Japanese touches that we've all come to know and love. Like the part when the old scientist (Dr. Tatsumi Mondo, with a cute little ponytail) came riding in on a motorcycle to knock Pierre (Jinxer in Lightspeed Rescue) and BoriBaru down,
Dr Tatsumi's cute ponytail
Or when Dr Tatsumi took out one GoGo Bracers from his back and one from his socks - that's such typical Japanese humour, worthy of a "gah". And of course the dark themes that the Japs have always been so fond of were present.
Watching the original Sentai footage, I also saw all the parts that Fox had snipped when adapting it for American TV. When the Time Jets are summoned from the future, besides travelling through a time hole (as seen in Time Force), they also travel through time (some of the scenes of which you can see during the Time Force Opening Credits), passing through the time of the dinosaurs, Ancient Egypt, Moses parting the Red Sea, Dracula and Man on the Moon.
TimeJets startle Moses
TimeJets startle Dracula
All the same, I was startled by the similarities: the Japanese rangers writhed on the ground the same way the American rangers did. But maybe that's not so surprising - for all you know retired Sentai stuntmen cross the Atlantic to fill the spanking spandex suits. What was more surprising was the sappy rhetoric about positive thinking, teamwork and all that jazz. With darker themes mixed in, of course, but it was still in the same spirit.
The finishing move, where the Victory Robo transferred the fire on its sword to the TimeRobo Alpha, which then mounted the V-Rex and charged in to destroy the Pierre-BoriBaru composite, was quite impressive.
Incidentally, I was annoyed by how much English, albeit broken (eg the theme song, whichs starts with: "Go over time and space!" and the corny line: "Time up!", cf Time Force's "Your time is up!") the Japanese spoke. Symptomatic of popular trends, no doubt - I bet my hat that no English words were spoken in 1975's GoRanger!
Ah, I wish I could watch more subbed Sentai. Though I'd settle for dubbed Sentai if I couldn't find any subbed episodes.
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Quotes:
A lot of people think I'm your lackey.
[Me: I'm currently wrestling with the Biharis in Bangladesh.] Is that a political statement or a homework statement? [Me: How can that be a political statement?!] Knowing you, it could be both.
If you do a search for "Lin Yucheng" on Google the first page you will find is the "Gah + Crap Page", which of course I'm not very happy about.
