Ressha Sentai ToQGer and Similarities With Some Kamen Rider Seasons!
While watching Ressha Sentai ToQGer I just noticed that the series itself tends to push me to remember older Super Sentai. While I would have been okay with a more Flashman-type plot inserted into it (Flashman is the only series to have children kidnapped and raised in space, I'd love to see it again). However ToQGer is more prone to make you think of previous Kamen Riders?
For some reason, I always looked at Right as Wataru 2.0 without a lover. If I can compare Gingaman to Jetman and Timeranger to Agito, ToQGer feels mostly like Kiva mixed with Den-O and Wizard elements. It's throwing back to Kamen Rider in some way.
Like Kamen Rider Kiva, the whole show is horror-comedy based. That is, you have the creatures of the dark but played for mostly comic purposes. Like Kamen Rider Wizard, the ToQGers were tasked to drive out any negative feeling in towns occupied by the Shadow Line. The Shadow Line were always harvest negative feelings and the ToQGers were there to reinforce positive feelings.
Now here's a bit of details. Kamen Rider Den-O was not only a time travel Super Sentai but it was also the first Kamen Rider to have a train. I thought of the whole theme of ToQGer to Den-O. Like Kamen Rider Den-O, they are based on a train (which is their default mecha).
One may see the similarity between the Conductor and the Owner in Kamen Rider Den-O.
Although Naomi from Kamen Rider Den-O is HUMAN and Wagon is a ROBOT, both of them are waitresses aboard their respective trains.
Also another thing worth noting is that ToQGer is a Super Sentai season that has horror elements but puts them in a world of rainbows and teddy bears. That is, it's not even scary but more of a fun show. So pretty much, it reminds me of two Kamen Rider seasons that did that- Kamen Rider Kiva and Kamen Rider Wizard. Shadow Line is horror inspired but the villains are hardly scary.
Now for some similarities between the Shadow Line to the Fangires and Phantoms. Like the Fangires and Phantoms, they are horror-like characters in a comic series. Like the Fangires, they have a status of royalty. Like the Phantoms in Kamen Rider Wizard, they are gathering negative emotions from humans to achieve their goal of taking over Earth. However unlike the Phantoms, they prefer to do it in a massive scale like the Gedoushu did.
Emperor Zed for me can be compared to the Fangire King and Taiga but sort of a combination of both characters. Like Taiga, he has an arranged marriage (but it was treachery at best) and he is the King of a shadowy realm. Both of them are young rulers to their respective races with backstabbers. As of late, nothing is known of Zed's father but all that is known is that he's a young monarch obsessed with shiny stuff.
Both General Schwartz and Bishop in Kamen Rider Kiva are traitors to their young masters. Bishop wanted to get rid of Taiga, General Schwartz wanted to get rid of Emperor Zed.
Grita and Mio were arranged brides for their emperors but were in love with somebody else. Grita was in love with Schwartz while Mio was in love with Wataru. Both of them requested their lovers to get rid of their fiances.
Missed any? Let me know! On the other hand, I hope Nininger actually brings fresh blood with Sentai with Kento Shimayama. Hopefully he will pump the badly needed fresh blood for a new generation of fans. =)
So even within the tokusatsu series the writers borrow concepts from other stories they produced? Do you think this is just a coincidence?
ReplyDeleteI doubt it. I think they really borrow and modify. I mean, let's face it... nothing is completely original. We just take a creative direction.
DeleteAlso Ryotaro and Right both have this really homo erotic nighttime voice and in reality Takeru Sato doesn't sound like that as he played a Dragon possessed Ryotaro and Ruroni Kenshin and he sound normal!!!!
ReplyDeleteP.S.- With two more episodes to go and a good season is 50- more. ToQgers are ending but will have a OVA movie and a exclusive Violet(PURPLE) makes this only appearance!!!
ReplyDeleteThe parallels (besides the train motif) are numerous.
ReplyDeleteThe team of Imagin in Den-o are very much like a sentai - multi coloured and skilled with different weapons - with Ryotaro serving as the "red". Also both Den-o and ToQger had the same lead writer (she took the lead on Go-Busters, so she isn't entirely obsessed with trains).
The enemy Imagin and the Shadow Kaijin could also take giant form upon their defeat as human scale monsters without intervention from their respective big-bad.