#gaoon

ZenkaiOh VrooMagine

It it weird that I was scared by the ZenkaiRed special? (Which I have but haven’t watched yet.) Not that there was literally anything at all to be scared of in it, but because I saw the screen caps of the human versions of all the mechanical cast members, and I thought that was going to be a change made to the main series. I love the designs from this series, and going back on the decision to use robot characters before the show is even past the 10 episode mark gave me series Kyuuranger flash backs. If you decide to do something bold, embrace it! Don’t chicken out; don’t go back on your decision! Really glad that was for the special only, though.

The Good: Magine and Vroom are so much fun to transform. Vroom is very simple to get from vehicle to robot, but has this crazy thing he does with his hips when you go to combine him. Magine does a similar thing, but her overall transformation is insane. The amount of shifting her body does to go from Dragon to Robot to Combined is super cool. She might be one of the most complicated toys has Sentai put out...maybe ever? I’m not a fan of having to pop her wings off for every conversion, but I 100% understand why she does it.

Magine also balances really well despite having tiny legs and an enormous backpack. Even without her staff, she stands really well even though she’s a ridiculous triangle from the side.

The Bad: My issues are mostly aesthetic. I don’t like Magine as a leg. She’s very cluttered, and when she’s JuraMagine her balance is tenuous. Magine’s backpack, as I mentioned before, is also enormous, and she doesn’t look great from certain angles. Vroom’s giant shoulder is a little weird since it’s so much bigger than both Magine and Gaoon’s. And just, compared to JuraGaon, Magine and Vroom don’t mesh well together. The disproportionate shoulders, the hips, the mismatched head clamps. They almost look better as JuraMagine and VroomGaon. All nitpicks I can easily overlook.

The only actual issue I foresee with this toy in the future is the painted chest details for Magine and Vroom end up on the bottom of their feet, so that might eventually scrape off if you’re not careful.

ZenkaiOh JuraGaon

I’m three episodes into Zenkaiger, and am very much enjoying it. It feels even more comedic than Kiramager was, but also not to its detriment. It’s also taking its time introducing the team, and giving a good amount in their starting episodes to show off their personality and relationships with the other Rangers. It’s definitely lacking some of the oomph and reverence that Gokaiger had, but that might come in time, and even if it doesn’t it should be fine. We don’t want every anniversary series to be the same, after all.

The Good: I have had so much fun transforming this toy. Jyuran’s T-Rex Mode is pretty sizable, having similar bulk to the Rexes from Jyuranger and Abaranger. His integration of his weapons is also neat, with the sword obviously becoming the tail, but the shield folds to fill out his stomach. Gaoon is equally as large, dwarfing most other lions.

Despite where the transformation joints are, the individual robot/Ranger modes are very solid looking. Jyuran is able to hold his large sword with no issue, and also has a neck joint. Gaoon is able to hide his head away since he doesn’t have to house electronics. I also like how when his paws fold up they become his shoulder pads.

I love the symmetrical docking feature. While most Megazords stand out do to their aesthetics, this one has the added advantage of color separation. Despite its thinner legs, it has no balance issues, and can be positioned with both hands straight out, holding its weapons (if you store the buckler on the side of its red arm), without the fear of tipping. I’ll also add that these are the most intricate transformation schemes we’ve gotten in a while, with a ton of moving parts. It’s a lot of fun.

The Bad: A problem with that more complicated transformation scheme, however, is that this release doesn’t come with an instruction manual. It comes with a sheet telling you haw to assemble ZenkaiOh from the parts in the box, but that’s it. You have to suss it out for yourself, which isn’t too hard, but it took me a minute to figure out where everything goes and the order of operations.

Jyuran Tyranno’s legs are a little silly, and I wish his head could fold away at least a little bit. Also, his face mask pops back up very easily and is the only thing on this release without a detente. Gaoon Lion is a little anemic around the stomach. Zenkai Gaoon is also lacking a lot of paint on his face. There are plenty of recessed areas around his face where they’re supposed to go if you want to paint them yourself, but unless I decide I’ll be displaying them in those forms for the long run, I’ll skip doing it myself for now.

My only issue with ZenkaiOh is Jyuran’s head being tucked right behind his red arm. It’s not easy to see, even with his arms up, but it’s still a little silly. Also, don’t push it beyond where the detente is, as I’ve discovered a very tiny bit of stress on the plastic, even after a single day.