And so begins the Hasbro Era...
And does it begin with one hell of a bang or what?
To start, holding off the theme song well until the first commercial break was a good way to let us just dive into the episode itself and immediately get invested in the story. I almost forgot until eight minutes in so it was a nice surprise. Yes, it includes “Go Go Power Rangers” but better that as a reoccurring leitmotif than a wholesale rendition of Mighty Morphin’s theme song.
Beast Morphers definitely earned major points by embracing that it’s part of a wider Power Rangers universe without compromising itself as a stand-alone storyline. The Morphing Gird itself being at stake was cool enough but I loved that Mayor Daniels mentioned Rita Repulsa, Sledge and Galvanax to stress how this is a universe that knows full well that evil forces are always abound.
I’m guessing this takes place in the main universe with Galvanax mentioned and Sledge briefly tried his takeover with “The Poisy Show,” given Dino Charge is in an alternate dimension. Shame Evox seems to not be Venjix... but with the mention of transporters reaching out to other dimensions (I’m guessing Time Force had a hand in that), I’m not letting that little theory go just yet...
Devon had me with how he was listening to his tunes during karate. While Tyler and Brody were cool, Dev’s giving me Spider-Verse Miles Morales vibes with how he’s a teenager taking life at his own pace and feeling pressured by those around him. He’s like Jack Landors of SPD growing into Scott Truman, a Rookie Red Ranger with a lot to learn. Always a delight in my book, cliche or not.
His fight with Blaze sets up their future confrontations and really impressed me with the unmorphed fights already. Considering more original footage is set to be shown, I should hope the choreography can take cues from RPM and get pretty creative. Wonder if Koichi Sakamoto could swing by in the future...
Ravi and Roxy set up the future bond between Go Buster’s Ryuji and Escape pretty well. A lot better actually since it’s between two lovers who have to keep things professional between them before Evox strikes, not unlike Jetman’s Ryu and Rie. I recall Go Busters giving them a nice rivalry but kinda pushed for a star-crossed romance that did not feel very earned compared to this version.
Evox creating evil Rangers from their friends gives the Rangers the long term goal of saving those who were stolen from them. It reminds me of Code Lyoko where William was made XANA’s warrior. I do feel that keeping their bodies rather than just their corrupted consciousnesses would make for more palpable stakes, making them ponder on how to save their friends if they can at all...
The Rangers’ first battle was one hell of a showstopper. Not only was their no Sentai footage but it was an impressive display of all three of their animal DNA powers along with Nate’s smarts, leading to a victory that relied on little weaponry or flashy final moves. No victory catchphrase though. Not yet...
As for our new intrepid duo, Ben and Betty, well, I can’t imagine fans getting bent out of shape like with Victor and Monty. I’d say they’re more like Boom. Well, so far. One of them’s on the pudgy side and you know what that tends to entails...
I have a feeling this season’s gonna be special. Well, Hasbro, let’s see if you can keep the ball rolling. Lynn, I’m expecting your A-game here. Ninja Steel was fine enough on easy mode but this time, let’s kick it up a notch.
