In my previous post I mentioned how I love Pirate Sentai Gokaiger, it’s insanely fun, but it doesn’t usually inspire me to actually write about it on here. So much of it is “stupid awesome” pirate shenanigans that it’s really easy to forget that it can touch deeper topics, and that, in fact, most of the main characters have had fairly dark backstories revealed.
Work happened. Then vacation happened, and I just got back to my regular routine a week ago. In any case, quick rundown of what I’ve been watching:
The stuff I’ve gotten into in the past 3 months, and that I’ve been playing catch up with…
Community – I’d watched Advanced Dungeons and Dragons last year and always meant to watch more. Took advantage of long plane flights to watch the first season and wow, how have I not gotten into this show before now? Best. TV show. Ever. My favorites are Abed and Troy. I’m more than halfway through season 2 and have already caught up on the new season; and I know this is just echoing what everyone else has been saying, but Remedial Chaos Theory was amazing.
Mad Men – I’d been watching the 4th season as it aired earlier this year, and about 2 months went back to the first season. Love it. I love how seeds planted in an episode bear fruit 10 episodes later. I love the characterization, and I particularly love the female characters, and how each navigates the male-dominated world they live in in their own way… some better than others, obviously.
The Good Wife – Watched the second half of last season and then went and watched what I’d missed in the summer hiatus. I’ve already caught up on new episodes. Kalinda and Eli are one fabulous team, and I’m really enjoying seeing Lisa Edelstein play a character so different from Cuddy.
Downton Abbey – I still have a couple of episodes left from series 1, and have been really enjoying the soapy period drama. I understand things get darker in series 2…
The Hour – Was also about halfway through when I went on vacation. It’s not Mad Men, but I like it a lot. Loved the episode where everyone was invited to Hector’s in-laws’ country estate. Love Freddie Lyon.
…We’re just going to pretend that I haven’t blogged about Gokaiger because I was purposely waiting to be two episodes in so I could have more informed opinions about the show and characters. :D
Promo for the first episode and handoff, via fygoukai.
So, starting with the Den-O (re)watch.
Personally, I didn’t realize before the link between Den-O and Ryuki, but now I do, and Ryuki being my favorite it’s inevitable that I’m going to be drawing conclusions, the first of which involves Ryotaro himself and the ways in which he is like Shinji, and the ways in which he’s not. Obviously, they’re both “Fail!Riders”, but their attitudes are very different. Ryotaro is resigned to be bullied, both by other people and by the universe itself, really, while Shinji kind of… just creates his own shenanigans, but meets everything with what can only be called feistiness. But really, even in this first episode, the real similarity between them is their drive to do the right thing. Shinji gets involved in things that are not his business out of his sense of justice, and Ryotaro, even when kicked to the curve, is always all about doing the right thing… to the point protecting those that have wronged him. And there’s kind of an innocence, I think, in that, in their overpowering goodness.