Samurai Flamenco – 12
Fire-proof leather pants: because even sentient flames like to be stylish.
Hey guys, feeling ready for some more Samumenco action? I’m…not. I had forgotten just how ridiculous this show has gotten while I was on vacation, and it’s something I would have preferred to have shriveled up and died of inexplicable causes. But it’s still here and going strong into the second half, with a new OP and ED to boot. Not that it matters much because the budget is so pathetic that the OP is entirely made of shots from the show itself. Samumenco is still here but I’m not quite sure where the dignity went…
Let’s be blunt here: Samurai Flamenco is a trainwreck. Every scene with the Flamengers is total garbage, because I might as well be watching the Power Rangers or Ultraman Taro. It follows the formula so closely that it has become indistinguishable from the very thing it is trying to parody. Which might be okay if it wasn’t copying something so juvenile and predictable. I had to fast-forward the giant robot sections because they were just so, so bad. There’s a reason those shows were made for kids.
It doesn’t help that all the rangers were suddenly brought in and it’s impossible to feel any connection to them at all. The only one I feel for is the hot one with glasses, and that’s just because he looks the most like my boyfriend out of the lot. Otherwise, they really aren’t doing it for me and I’d prefer them to focus on Mari and Goto. When they’re such strangers to the viewers that you have to get to know them through posed interview sessions, you know you have a problem. They should pull another Guillotine Gorilla and just kill them all off since God knows they don’t care about a cohesive and sensible progression of events.
*accidental model pose* Well hello, I didn’t see you there.
The annoying part of this upset is that Samurai Flamenco had promise. It started off slowly, but succeeded in creating a realistic image of contemporary superheroism. No superpowers, no magic – just a guy in a red suit running around yelling at smokers and disgruntled teenagers. It was down-to-earth and had some glimmers of coherent character development. Almost all of that has been abandoned for real aliens and giant robots. This was done with no warning, and no real attempt to provide context or an explanation for this shift has been offered. We’ve been slapped in the face without any apology.
The fact that there are now 64 villains left to face is terrible. It’s like they’re trying to laugh at the constant escalation of “but oh no, *I* am the final boss!” seen in games an anime…but it’s not funny. I’m not laughing because I have to sit through them doing the exact same thing to the same, tired monsters. I’m not looking forward to it at all. I tried, but there really is no redeemable feature about this new arc. This “joke” has gone on far too long.
His own, personal closet idol
If there’s one good reason to keep watching, it’s that during downtime (when monsters aren’t attacking) there is still some decent character development. There is a subtle melancholy to Masayoshi nowadays. Now that he has achieved his goal, perhaps he feels a little empty. Or maybe it’s because he’s so famous that his actions feel more fake. Are people obeying him because he’s famous or because they believe in the power of good? Whatever it is, he’s uneasy about being a superhero with a whole line of toys created in his image. His talk with Goto danced around his worries without actually saying anything – but you can tell something was up. Even unidentified long-distance girlfriend-chan thinks so and she’s never even met the guy.
Mari’s mental breakdown was followed up nicely as well. She’s just as moody as usual, and still hitting on Goto, but there’s a more desperate hint to her than usual. She’s starting to realize what kind of person she really is, and it’s not pretty. Living with someone as blunt but kind as Goto should help her…as long as she stops trying to be romantic. If anything, Mari is the best part of the show and I hope she makes a triumphant comeback in her own way…preferably without giant robots. That is, if I can manage to watch for that long.
Preview: 64x the fun? No, not really. Can we timeskip this?
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Mari and Goto are now, officially, the only reasons to watch the show. I don’t know anymore, man. I hate droppin’ shows, but them’s the breaks.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
I hate dropping shows, specially when I got this far. I’m really on the verge of doing it, but I have this feeling that at the end, there might be something that will let it be worth watching. Besides, it still has something different to traditional sentai to make it something kinda new.
But so far, I can’t help but wonder why it has gone so wrong…
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I drop anything as soon as I feel like it’s not worth it. Even if I’m one episode away from the end, I’ll stop if I’m fed up. But when I’m blogging something I tend to hang in there a bit longer.
There seems to be the promise of a big turnaround in the future to say “haha, we tricked you! it was all a hoax!” which also makes it tempting to keep watching. :B
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Then Zetman must have been something really horrible because it didn’t take long for you to drop that. If I remember correctly, it didn’t last beyond 3 episodes with you and you were blogging it.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Yep, that’s exactly what I’m expecting. I just hope the second trolling turns things to the better, instead of the other way around.
POWUH: Meta Resident and LN Informant with 1529 comments
I find it strange how a show like Samumenco can air on the noitaminA anime segment of Japan’s Fuji TV, given that most shows airing there are known for (somewhat) high production values.
With such odd developments, I wonder how they intend to aim the show at a wider target audience beyond the usual otaku viewers,as per the channel’s aim.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I forgot about it being a noitaminA show. The budget and divergence into pure super sentai made me forget this was supposed to be in that slot. I don’t think this series will do well at all in terms of viewers and sales :/
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
…like every NoitaminA show, ever.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The most frustrating thing for me in all of this is that I said I’d pick Samurai Flamenco back up because its posts showed things were getting interesting and they were for a while but now I’m feeling nothing but annoyance and profound regret.
Just reading the post, I can tell your patience is running thinner than my own and I’m amazed you’re still giving this the light of day. The baffling fact is simply watching it now practically implies we’re still hopeful for this to get better and up to now, it hasn’t.
I don’t usually drop shows this far in but my patience is being tried with no reward. Even Mari and Goto’s interactions aren’t enough to carry the show. If it doesn’t get anywhere acceptable in about 2 or 3 more episodes, ultimately it’ll be dropped again. I’m already busy following a lot of Winter animes, picking up some I originally had no intention of trying and following 8 other ongoing Fall 2013 animes.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Ahhh that sucks to have picked it up only to maybe drop it again. I think everyone just wants to know when the crazy robot stuff will stop, because it all seems like a big joke. =A=
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
A joke that isn’t making anyone laugh. Those are the worst kinds.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Heh, I’ve just quit watching it. With a bunch of new things to watch, I just can’t be bothered with this unless it gets rid of trying to be the Voltron Rangers. That was fun for a week, but lasting this long is just dumb. It’s hard to believe that they went through so many different genres and settled on that. I would much prefer them to keep changing it up.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
are they testing the waters are they pissing us off on purpose?
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
A smart move, Highway! I want to just read a quick summary of what happens from now until the end of the series. That’s the extent of my curiosity.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Unfortunately for you, you’re the one who’s supposed to provide the quick summary of how it’s going. 😉
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
She probably feels she won’t last until the end. If so then I sympathize with her skepticism. 😉
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 104 comments
Looks like I won’t be picking this up after all. Oh well,got plenty to watch,especially for winter season.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Good for you, dude. Believe me, you’ve saved yourself from a lot of wasted time, disappointment and misery.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Sheesh, it’s not THAT bad. It’s just really derpy.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’d say it is, in my opinion because it was near unbearable going through the first four episodes until Mari showed up because she improved the story. From there until what happened with the giant gorilla, the show was getting good then afterwards, started going downhill again. Only this time, the descent is much steeper. I’m just sorry characters like Mari and Goto have to end up as collateral damage for this ongoing mess.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 107 comments
I have never liked Mari and thought she was a pretty bad person, but now she can grow beyond the girl who wants attention and steps on guys junk cause she’s a sadist.
They’ll no doubt skip through most of the guys. They had 3 of the Four Kings in this episode and they all got beaten. So I can imagine they’ll have about 40 or so of those guys beaten in the next one.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I want my own, personal closet idol.
Actually I’d settle for those sliding door closets that you can sleep in. They just look so cool.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
If personal closet idols were easy to get, everyone would have one by now. 😉
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
( p′︵‵。)
I want a Miki version!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Maybe there’s one somewhere. 😉
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Don’t get me all excited.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I see no reason why not. 😀
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
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POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
That failed. (;¬_¬)