Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger: Episode 3 Review

THOUGHTS

When I first heard that Magiranger was going to be the first past team focused on I was ecstatic. Magiranger was my first season of Sentai that I watched all the through so I was excited to see the characters again. I was slightly disappointed that only Kai (Magi Red) was returning, but this is only Episode 3 so there are chances of the others returning in future episodes.

After the opening sequence we hear the episode title along with a Magiranger spell attached onto the end: ~Maagi Magi Go Gokai ~. I really like that they’re using naming conventions during these past season focus episodes and I hope they continue this trend in the future.

The moment where we first see Kai is perfect; we hear his voice echoing throughout the forest first and then the familiar background music kicks in. The Magiranger background music really added to the scene, giving it a lot more impact.

The interaction between Marvellous and Don was done excellently because it showed both Marvellous’ ingenuity and Don’s fearfulness. I also really like that Kai was used to develop Don’s character and show him that he has courage, rather than just being a cameo.

One complaint I do have is the transforming effect. In previous episodes and later in this one, the transformation effect has been similar to effect from the original series. However, this episode featured the team’s symbol coming out of the Mobirates and merging with the Ranger. I’m not sure why they have two different effects, but I much prefer the original effect rather than the symbol effect. I loved the homage to the Magiranger henshin sequence, especially because it was accompanied by more background music from Magiranger. This is another trend I hope will continue with future episodes. I was also really glad that the Gokai-Magirangers used their individual weapons and attacks to show off the team of the week’sabilities.

While I’m not a big fan of Magi GokaiOh, I did enjoy the mecha battle. Unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed with the final attack. After Magi Dragon trapped Salamandam with the Magiranger insignia I was expecting some sort of final attack like Magi Dragon to use fire or maybe Magi GokaiOh to fly towards him with swords drawn. Instead, Salamandam was defeated just by being trapped by the Magiranger insignia. I didn’t just think that it was impressive enough to be a final attack.

RANDOM NOTES

The crash landing feels very reminiscent of Jetman where Jet Garuda crash lands in a similar fashion. It’s probably just a coincidence but it’s just something I thought of.

Another thing I thought of while watching this: How does Luka get up and down from Gokai Galleon’s mast? It’s not really a big deal, but still, I thought about it.

GRADE

As usual, the fights were fantastic and I really enjoyed the interaction between the characters. It was great to see Kai back and I’d really love to see him with some of the other Magirangers in future episodes.
Overall, I give this episode a 4/5.

When, or if this gets adapted, I would think that they'd reshoot the scene with Big One and White Swan. It would probably be best to only show new Rangers if they were focused on the episode (like this episode focused on Magiranger), rather than confusing the audience with cameos from unknown teams.