Just For Fun: How "Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger" Has Better Execution Than "Buntis Faib Legacy" (Some Spoilers)

 

It's been more than a year since Buntis Faib Legacy and Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger aired. I decided to write this random post but blogging is just my hobby. I would like to write this wacky post to berate Buntis Faib Legacy even more. I wrote some wacky King-Ohger episode reviews. Quite interestingly, King-Ohger is also the name of the main mecha (or Megazord for Western fans) like Voltes V is the name of the titular robot. Just a note -- there will be some spoilers for those who haven't seen King-Ohger. Meanwhile, I'll put in plenty of spoilers for Buntis Faib Legacy so you don't need to watch that HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE SHOW.

King-Ohger was almost like blending in elements of the Heisei era to Reiwa era Kamen Rider into Super Sentai. The bug theme was taken from Kamen Rider -- most Kamen Riders have a bug theme going on while only a few don't. Even the reboot Kamen Rider Kuuga is bug-themed. I could remember GMA-7 airing (and badly dubbing) Kamen Rider Faiz and Kamen Rider Kabuto. The way King-Ohger moved was more like a TV drama with Super Sentai than the average Super Sentai. Super Sentai operated with heroes stopping the villains with their overly convoluted and/or unbelievable Bond Villain Stupidity schemes. Instead, King-Ohger focused on cliffhangers per episode like in the modern-day Kamen Rider series.

What truly went wrong with Buntis Faib Legacy over Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger

Some people complained that Buntis Faib Legacy was sorely lacking Beast Fighter battles. King-Ohger barely had monsters during the first half. Instead, it was focused on a continuous flow of drama like a Heisei-era or Reiwa-era Kamen Rider. However, the bigger problem that Buntis Faib Legacy wasn't the lack of monsters but the INCREDIBLY BORING PACING. Since Buntis Faib Legacy follows the really dumb weekday schedule -- it must fulfill the Monday-to-Friday schedule. It took some time before the plot truly kicked off! 

DryedMangoez gives this rather useful insight in the review of episode 10:

We got eight episodes between the premiere and this one. And for some reason, I still feel like we didn’t really get enough proper build up. Let’s be honest, the episodes in between were mostly slow. Necessary episodes, but really slow paced. Yet, it’s almost like they focused more on less important details.

For me, I would’ve liked to have seen a bit more of the cadet training. And using those scenes to flesh out the characters more. We only got scenes from Jamie and Mark that lasted less than a minute each episode. And almost every scene with Steve and, to a lesser extent, Bert were of how cocky and privileged-feeling they were. I mean, I feel like we got more focus on Eva’s jealousy and Steve looking to cheat on her with Jamie rather than who these four out of five Voltes members actually are.

Little Jon was really the only one of the Voltes team that got substantial character foundation building. He’s the only one you feel like it’ll be exciting to see don the suit and hop into the Volt machine. For the others, it felt more like a matter of circumstance that they ended up being the chosen four.

I think that approach would’ve worked if we didn’t have these eight episodes previous that were supposed to do more to build up the feeling of “destiny” that Dr. Smith only mentioned the other day.

The episode made it seem like the only reason these four are chosen is because the others decided to slack off. And while that might be part of “destiny,” it’s not as exciting as actually laying out moments and emotions that truly build toward what is supposed to be the climactic moment of them finally becoming the Voltes team. Yes of course, we’ll meet them over the next 70 episodes. But gives us something in these preceding eight episodes at least.

A lot has been made of the last two weeks being quite slow. But while the foundation laying is appreciated and necessary, there’s still a feeling of missed potential here. These two weeks were supposed to lead up to what we saw in the premiere. But I wonder if it would’ve been better to just do flashbacks later on to fill in the gaps rather than do this chronological backstory which is far more traditional for local teleseryes. Especially being a daily series, doing flashbacks, I think would work much better compared to say a series that has only one or two half-hour episodes a week (like toku).

The same with Zardoz and Co. Use their month-long journey to Earth to flesh out Zardoz’s feelings. Show us more of the generals’ dynamics with each other and the prince. Maybe have them stop over on a planet they run into along the way. Even if it’s just a few minutes in one episode.

Again, my nitpicks might come from my experience watching toku all these years. Where both 50-episode Kamen Rider and Super Sentai series are able to jump right into the action from Episode 1 and are still able to tell stories and introduce characters with depth. Usually, the Sentai team and the title Rider get their powers in the first episode. (Or even already have their powers.) And immediately have to fight the villains. We’ll then learn more as the series progresses. Finding out about tragic backstories or intertwined pasts and the like.

I assumed it would be easier for Voltes V: Legacy being a daily show. But perhaps the familiar teleserye conventions and wanting to avoid alienating Filipino viewers overrode attempting a different, but more suitable storytelling momentum.

But even with some of these regrets, this episode showed what might end up carrying Voltes V: Legacy. And that is the pure action that they have already proven they can deliver, based on Episode 1 and now Episode 10. This is only the first battle of course. And there will be many more in the next 70 episodes. But I’m feeling more and more that the visually striking and legitimately exciting action sequences will help carry any slack caused by the somewhat shaky narrative decisions.

The writer Jeff got the words that I couldn't even think of. A lot of plot points get UNNECESSARILY DRAGGED ON AND ON. Why didn't GMA-7 decide to learn from Kamen Rider when it was airing some entries of the franchise? If they did then I doubt it that Zaidorks: Pulis Pangkaulolan wouldn't be as bad as it was. Instead, Zaidorks' plot made the plot MOVE TOO SLOW. That's what Buntis Faib did -- it drove the plot to Slowdown Pace. 

Let's take plot points that get overly stretched to sheer annoyance. One is how Suzette Doctolero doesn't get how love triangles should be done. That's why I refuse to watch adaptations of love triangle K-Dramas -- the love triangle is overly stretched! I could also mention how Eva Sanchez is also a complete waste of space. Eva should've been a one-time villain rather than simply writing her for the sake of a telebasura villain. I felt Eva should've just been written off ASAP -- she wasn't DOING ANYTHING but overshadowing the plot! It also makes Camp Big Falcon look like it's got the worst security in the Universe! In the Super Robot Anime -- most intruders are usually dealt with immediately. Here? Eva really makes Camp Big Falcon incompetent. Heck, I even remember this comment by Jeff on DryedMangoez which shows really weak security:

The closest thing to annoying was when they were talking about the ninja attack on Jamie. Lol It’s funny how Jamie was upset Apable was not in he room earlier when there was an assassin. Umm… did she want him in there after she just took a shower? What she talking about? lol Plus, Apable was using a silencer or something like that. And it’s not like you can hear what’s going on inside from the outside with those thick metal walls. Lol So even if he was outside while Jamie was rolling around with an assassin, he probably wouldn’t have heard. But then again this raises the question of CBF security. Anyone can just rappel down the side of the building and laser holes through windows with no one knowing lol. 

It took several episodes to sack Eva when she shouldn't even be a recurring villain. What was Eva's purpose anyway? What I noticed was that Racules in King-Ohger had more development than Eva -- whether it's him as a tyrant king to his past revealed. Racules was meant to be a third wheel in the conflict. Eva was probably just there to annoy Jamie Robinson more than anything else but writers went overboard. However, Racules has a bigger plot than just to annoy the heroes. Racules starts out as the rightful ruler of the throne but becomes corrupted in the process. Racules goes from becoming a capable monarch to a man no longer fit to rule. The controlling influence of Dugded Dujardin and the royal family drama plays in. Racules was seemingly killed off and then returned. Racules' rise, fall, and redemption were well-written -- unlike Eva who's just a spiteful brat and served no real purpose other than to annoy the audience. I felt it was refreshing to have Racules leave for a while and then return to reveal things. It's not perfect but Racules was certainly BETTER WRITTEN than Eva! Maybe, I could say that Masato Yano got the grasp of his character better than Martin Del Rosario.

I may have felt, "Like WTF Toei? Where are the monsters of the week?" during the second half. The Galacta-Insects showed up and started their direct attacks. However, for every episode -- there's really ACTION INVOLVED. What did Buntis Faib Legacy do? Buntis Faib Legacy only gave one nonsensical filler after the other. The moment Dugded and company showed up -- it was really terror and destruction. No crazy antics like Buntis Faib Zambojil. Every episode has drama AND action to move the plot forward. It's not like with Buntis Faib Legacy where everything is too filler-focused. Yes, those RANDOMLY IRRELEVANT DETOURS. King-Ohger was lacking with Megazord and MOTW battles. However, each and every episode was focused on FORWARDING THE PLOT!

Sure, King-Ohger isn't a perfect season. Dryed Mangoez gave this really good descripton that would put Buntis Faib Legacy to further shame:

Now the other criticism I have is the pacing. I’ve definitely talked about it all season as the brisk, nonstop pace, especially early in the season, worried me. I’ve experienced enough Toei Sunday morning toku to know that sometimes fast starts can lead to a slow crash and burn.

Slowburn stories, I like. Slow crash and burns? Not so much lol

But one thing that made King-Ohger stand out from other seasons was its pace. Fast paced is good. But I think the show really could’ve slowed things down a bit and let some legitimately good story beats breathe a little. Let those good ideas (of which the season had many) really play out.

The season’s serialized nature and its nonstop pace really pushed me to absorb everything as a whole rather than weekly pieces. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that kind of feeling for either Sentai or Kamen Rider. Needing to wait to even start thinking about whether or not I was enjoying the season was a strange feeling.

King-Ohger often relied on exposition to help push story forward. It definitely helped that our 6th Ohger was also the season’s narrator. Him often being our expository guide for everything from character backstories to world building details.

That exposition, however, was necessary considering how fast the season sped through all those good ideas. In turn, those stories didn’t get the time they deserved to fully maximize their full potential and impact.

That said, the season definitely felt like it had enough story to tell in more than 50 episodes. Maybe not two full seasons. But certainly more than the usual 50. And if there’s one thing the season has possibly shown is that maybe filler episodes really are valuable and important. We want to be able to connect with these characters by actually watching them, even in inconsequential episodes. I don’t prefer to be told how to connect with the characters, if that makes sense.

I had issues with the pacing like how long does it take for the monarchs to get together? However, as things went, King-Ohger still forwarded a lot plots as possible. Whether it's Himeno's parents or Rita revealing her true self (when she kept her biological gender a secret) -- it's still enjoyable. I even enjoyed how the Kingdom's recovery arc revealed a lot of stuff. The mysterious murderer of Himeno's parents was revealed. The true past of N'Kosopa was revealed. The world-building was far from perfect but it was definitely better done than Buntis Faib Legacy. 

And yes, I've said my piece. I hope Buntis Faib Legacy gets grounded into pieces all the more. Hopefully, Toei Ltd. wouldn't dream of letting the cast of Buntis Faib Legacy voice over King-Ohger any time soon!