____________________________________________________________
NOTE: Focus episodes are color coded.
Udonna focus and team episodes are in white.
Date Posted | Episode Title | Sub-Header
6/29: "RANGER DOWN": The cats meow.
Whoo-wee, I don't know how much more jam-packed these episodes can
get.
Shame we didn't see Koragg again this episode after he gave Imperious
his magic power. Was kinda hoping Necrolai would morph into some evil
Ranger, but the fight was still pretty good. And poor Leelee... Getting the
shaft again. :\
Nice focus on Maddie, even though it was kinda short.
The big surprise of the episode was of course -- SPOILER: Piggy,
dreaming of owning a cafe-on-wheels in the future. Definitely an
applaud-and-cheer moment. ^_^
"Meow Baby!" Jenji in battle was quite funny.
Moving the story along, the other Rangers see Nick with his blanket and
he shows it to them and explains he was adopted. Phineas reveals to
Udonna and Daggeron that he brought Bowen to the human world during
the battle between Daggeron and Calindor.
___________________________________________________________
7/19: "DARK WISH, I-III": An evil world.
The Mystic Force Blockbuster Event started out poorly but got better as it
went along.
Every season it seems like the Rangers fight a lot more than what we see
on TV. That has to be the case here, as our heros get worn out from
fighting so much and use magic any chance they get. Lord knows they
weren't acting like this in previous episodes. I dunno... It felt a little
rushed in. While being tired was believeable, I didn't really like how they
suddenly wanted to take the "easy way out" of everything.
And go figure, Jenji Shining Attack has been used just fine before, but
they make a big deal out of it this episode. I'm glad I wasn't the only one
who thought they wanted to wish the monsters away. Daggeron seemed
like he was suddenly afraid of what could happen to Jenji but didn't say
anything.
Part I was way too jumpy between the battles and wire-fu. Felt like
something outta SPD. We got another samurai and Titan Xander took
him out in ONE STRIKE?! Jeez louise...
3 stars. One of my least liked episodes of the season.
Once Imperious captured Jenji things picked up. The transition to the
dark side was way cool. Love how Rootcore transformed and the color
changed.
The unmorphed fighting was quite drawn out, but nice to see the cast get
in a bunch of moves. Enjoyed the scenes with the Tribunal as well. Sounds
like we'll be seeing them again. The cast did a great job.
Awesome battle scenes in Part III. Enjoyed the intro for Legend Mode.
The Manticore Megazord intro was OK, but Urses was just thrown in
suddenly.
Haha... Liked how Leelee managed to mess up allowing Jenji to escape.
One of her best scenes. ^_^
I guess Koragg isn't going to try to get his magic power back from the
Master. If not, then I bet he'll get it when he becomes Red.
Didn't really like how the Rangers had time to bake a cake AND make it
back to the party like nothing happened. Ya know what I wish for? That
Toby finds out his employees are the Power Rangers and stop going
insane. -_-
4 stars for Parts II and III.
___________________________________________________________
7/26: "KORAGG'S TRIAL": Koragg and Klips
A pretty simple episode focusing on Koragg, his honor and loyalty to the
Master. It's not too often we get an episode that's mostly about the bad
guys.
Nice to see both sides finally bring up why Koragg never finishes a fight.
Imperious and Koragg taking on Daggeron to decide who stays and who
gets banished was sort of a cop-out. I'm really hoping for a good fight
when Imperious is defeated.
Koragg's flash of baby Bowen/Nick is definitely an indication that
something will be happening soon. It's coming...
4 stars. Part clip-show, but at least it was worthwhile.
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8/14: "HEIR APPARENT, I and II": Family Matters
Wow, just wow. We all knew the full story was coming and it was nice to
see it all put together at last.
I'm getting sick of other dimensions. Lord knows how many more times
that desert will be used this season and for PROO next year. -_-
Imperious wanting to finish off Daggeron from last episode was terrific.
After the last battle, this was a real treat. I just knew Daggy was in deep
$&!% when Imperious grew. It was time he showed what we could
really do.
Wasn't expecting the Rangers to get captured and sent to the
underworld -- AND get their Legend power drained by the Master himself!
This is the kinda stuff I expect to see at or near the end. Hopefully it
won't take away from that.
Leanbow saving Udonna from getting killed by the Master was very cool.
Although Udonna's initial response could've been better, I liked how
Koragg/Leanbow demorphed to Ancient Mystic Mode and then Leanbow
appeared.
On to part II...
As Lisa J would say -- that was hot yo... That was HOT!
The final battle between Imperious/Calindor and Daggeron was
awesome. John Tui did a great job. The transition between Calindor and
Imperious was cool.
Awesome sentai battle footge. I can't wait to see MagiRanger's version
of these episodes.
As much as I liked Udonna and everyone not knowing Nick is Bowen, awe
heck, it was nice to see her happy.
At first I wasn't sure if the Master (Octomus) was actually going to
appear or if the Legend power would be taken back before he could be
fully revived. It was great how he rose and fought Leanbow. It reminded
me of when the Nexus was sealed (PRWF "SEALING THE NEXUS") since it
seemed like the Pit was being destroyed while sealing away Octomus.
Looking forward to when he rises again.
This is the kinda 2-parter SPD should've had, but very unfortunately
didn't. I can forgive the writers for throwing in Brightstar outta nowhere
and Nick going solo while the others watched. When I think back on MF in
the years to come, these are the eps I'll remember most.
5 stars. 10/10.
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8/18: "THE LIGHT": Ten Times The Terror
Another neutered-sentai episode I really liked.
As expected, the Pit was a mess. Where did the Prophecy Book come
from?!
I'm enjoying MagiRanger so much, I don't really care about originality
these days. If it's imported, I'll probably like it... Such as the Terrors and
how they were all already giant (and almost squashed Necrolai).
Although I thought Imperious comment about his defeat bringing a
greater threat would have something to do with them.
Surprise, surprise. Maddie acknowledged the fact she hadn't done much
for the team and Toby FINALLY paid attention to his employees suddenly
leaving so often. I thought he'd either fire them or catch them morphing.
Leelee pretty much quit the evil business and is hired instead (not that
she ever did anything evil, anyway). Also, I was surprised Chip just
blurted out they were the Power Rangers. Maybe Toby will find out first
hand before the season is over.
Interesting how the Terrors have their own set of rules to go by. I wish
they didn't have to get through the footage so quickly, but heck, all the
more reason I'll look forward to MagiRanger.
What's in store for Udonna on her quest to find Leanbow? We shall see...
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8/23: "THE HUNTER": Hunted and Battlized
This was a decent plot neutered/translated from MagiRanger (I'm
probably going to be using the word "neutered" a lot now, since thats
exactly what all these episodes are).
This episode pretty much felt like the last one with the addition of the
battlizer/explosions/wirework segment. It was very drawn out, which
was to be expected. Much like SPD's battlizer intro, I didn't feel any
depth when Nick suddenly called out to Fire Heart to transform. Some of
the wirework and CGI were cool, although it was nothing more than a 5
minute toy advertisement.
It was interesting to see the Terrors argue and Megahorn go off on his
own... But I didn't really like the battle with Daggeron. Too much of a
color difference between the sentai footage and PR. I did like how Itassis
stopped them, though. And oh geez... Why does Daggeron even need to
go to ANOTHER DIMENSION to train?!
Funny how Leelee worked hard and ended up getting the Employee of the
Month trophy, while the others were in battle.
One thing I like is the emphasis they have going that Nick is the Light and
has the power to stop the darkness. Also Clare commenting about herself
being a sorceress and joining Udonna on her quest. And it's great how
Phineas always seems to know everything. ^_^
Overall, 3 stars. Not that great a debut for the battlizer, but I definitely
enjoyed the buildup we had for it with Fire Heart. Hope next years Red
Ranger power-up gets some actual story as well.
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9/21: "HARD HEADS": Snakes on a Ranger
Have to say I enjoyed this episode more than the last one. Thank God the
battlizer fight was shorter. And yeah, another plot outta left field with
Nick suddenly interested in DJing and bumping heads with Vida. At least
it worked for the footage and Vida got more than a few lines for once.
I liked how Serpentina turned into a giant snake and actually ate most of
the team.
Itassis giving Nick and Vida their morphing power back to "follow the
rules" was pretty cheap. She's obviously becoming the "good" Terror and
will most likely do more to help our heros. But as silly as the Terrors rules
are, it makes sense. I can imagine them really kicking Ranger ass in say,
Lightspeed Rescue, but not now while the show is run by Disney.
On a final note, it was nice to see a cameo from Leanbow in the
underworld (SPOLIER) still wearing Koragg's armor, but no longer under
the evil influence and preventing the Master from rising.
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9/27: "THE SNOW PRINCE": Learning Fast
These Terror episodes keep getting better. This was a very well-rounded
episode.
Hearing Leanbow over Koragg's armor is strange (The Megazord call was
bad enough -_-), but I really enjoyed how he joined the fight for a minute.
It would've been nice if Snow Prince had some background or if we had
seen him before. Good battle with Megahorn.
Wait a minute... I thought the Lake of Lament was down below and
Leanbow had the Master trapped at the bottom or something. And yet
Udonna and Clare wandered over to it. Kinda seems like sloppy writing,
but I liked how Hekatoid found them. I'd say Udonna was pretty
vulnerable to an attack on her search with her powers gone only Clare to
protect her.
An easy 4 stars for this one.
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10/12: "LIGHT SOURCE, I and II": White Ranger Power
Good golly... In season thats had a lot of rushed battles and mediocre
plots, Part I was good and Part II was a gem. So glad things are getting
wrapped up now than at the last freakin' minute like last year.
Once again, the Rangers acknowledge exactly what I'm thinking: Nick
was too hard on Leelee.
I cringed when Nick zipped into battlizer mode, but it wasn't that bad this
time. At least they're milking it this year, after it became so obsolete in
SPD.
A little weird how Part I was practically all MagiRanger, but ya know I
love the sentai and it worked out. The dice footage was overdoing it, but
I enjoyed Madison stepping up and didn't mind her fear of frogs coming
back.
Great action between Leanbow and the Terrors. I naturally assumed he
would be the one to save Udonna going into the episode.
Loved how Leelee, Clare and Phineas teamed up and Toby basically
showed the Rangers how to defeat Hekatoid. That was cool. I'm glad he
finally saw them morph first hand.
Udonna got her snowstaff back quite easily from Leelee, but meh, it's not
like it was ever shown to be well guarded or anything.
And as of this week, Power Rangers has passed the 600 episode mark.
Part I = 4 stars, Part II = 5 stars, 9/10 overall.
___________________________________________________________
11/04: "THE RETURN": Burning Heart of Fire, Burning Soul of Master
Another decent Magi adaptation.
Nice recap by Toby, covering the family connections and plot points.
It was great when Phineas came in Rock Porium and Toby recalled him
being Xander's uncle from the old country. >_>
Phineas and LeeLee = Weirdest PR romance since Nadira and Lucas.
Heck, only real romance since Nadira and Lucas. ^_^
The focus between Vida and Matoombo was all right. I thought it felt like
she was talking to a little kid. And it was hard not to think of
Houka(MagiPink), especially during the part with Travelion. Definitely
would've made a better Madison episode.
Great cliffhanger to end the episode with the Master rising. Was
surprised they actually showed raw footage of N Ma busting out of Titan
(Motoombo) and not new footage with Octomus. Looks like we'll see both
versions of the Master in the finale.
4 stars and 8/10.
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11/19: "MYSTIC FATE, I and II": Magic Overload
Mystic Force ended the same way much of the season was for me --
pretty mediocre. Not a spectacular finale, but good enough for the
shows end.
The Master was cool. Glad to see they used MagiRanger's N Ma the whole
time after all. His appetite for magic and getting overloaded was silly,
but I've seen worse... (Namely the end of DinoThunder)
Nice reference to Rita and tribute to Machiko Soga. Stupid scene with
Leanbow figuring Mystic Mother was gone after being there 2 seconds.
The Tribunal wasn't seen or even mentioned.
Wish Koragg-Nick could've lasted longer. Goes to show what originality
would look like these days. And nice to see the forest creatures again.
This years helmetless scene was cool and made more sense than last
year. It was great seeing Maddie stand up to Nick and how he took on
the Master with both sabers.
Enjoyed how the civilians and creatures joined together to morph the
team. Too bad Phineas never got humanized.
Wasn't expecting Necrolai to be free of evil and given a human form. Her
relationship with Leelee makes a lot more sense now. But after being a
loyal General all season and shunning off her daughter, she gave in so
quickly. -_-
Another thing that was weird was how Jenji disappeared and was back
suddenly, probably from Necrolia reviving Leanbow and Daggeron nearby.
No final group morph, but enjoyed the original roll call. The main TV
theme was never that great, but I loved the final instrumental.
Thought the last part following the Master's defeat was especially well
done...
"Plan Manager" -- Gotta love it. Liked Vida's pink hair too.
Motoombo getting brought back was WAY outta nowhere, but I don't
think it's that hard to imagine the Rangers somehow brought him back --
maybe with the help of Mystic Mother?
Nick, Leanbow and Udonna riding outta town was nice, as well as Fire
Heart flying by and Sorceress Clare turning to the end of the Xenotome
before getting the final word. Looking forward to seeing who Antonia
Preeble will play next year. ^_^
A lot happened to wrap up Mystic Force, but one thing I missed was
major destruction. Would've liked to have seen the Master attack
Rootcore and the Rangers battle Hidiacs inside. Manticore Megazord
wasn't really "destroyed" -- The Master just gobbled up its power. And
someone besides Black Lance and Sculpin getting killed off (and STAYING
that way) would've been nice.
Overall, I'll give both parts 4 stars and 8/10. It'll be hard to ever top
Ninja Storm "Storm Before The Calm, I and II" (the last finale I've given
5 stars to), but I definitely enjoyed this finale the most since then.
___________________________________________________________
2/02/07: Closing Comments
Mystic Force was definitely a season with ups and downs. Unlike SPD, it
didn't go WAY down barely halfway through the season, but it didn't get
too high either (save for a few episodes). A couple things were executed
quite nicely, but the rest fell flat, as it became too much of a watered
down MagiRanger.
+ One thing I really liked about our version was the unmorphed stuff in
the premiere, whereas the Rangers always seem to go straight to the
first morph in sentai.
- We never saw the Mystic Force Rangers learn to fight unmorphed and
they just knew outta nowhere later on.
+ Fire Heart -- the first ever plotline for a battlizer.
- The battlizer itself.
+ We got one of the best episodes in history with "THE GATEKEEPER, I."
"HEIR APPARENT, I and II" and "LIGHT SOURCE, II" were also very
good. Every season has one-shot eps that I consider my favorite and
this season they were "SOUL SPECTER" and "RANGER DOWN."
- "CODE BUSTERS, " "THE HUNTER," "HARD HEADS" and "DARK WISH,
I."
+ Imperious -- one of the best lead villains we've had in awhile and
Necrolai, Queen of the Vampires
- Daggeron as another Commander Cruger would've worked better if
Udonna had been captured the whole time, leaving him as the only
mentor (That's one thing that could've been adapted from MagiRanger
but wasn't).
+ Toby learned the Rangers identities and joined together the Briarwood
civilians and forest creatures. Leelee switched sides.
- Necolai suddenly cared for Leelee and turned human. We didn't see the
forest creatures for 98% of the season.
As we go into Operation Overdrive, I imagine it'll be similar to Mystic
Force. Some will be adapted very well and there'll be at least a few great
episodes. The rest will just be a watered down Boukenger. And we'll
have an anniversary teamup sometime late in the season.
<< Home
NOTE: Focus episodes are color coded.
Udonna focus and team episodes are in white.
Date Posted | Episode Title | Sub-Header
6/29: "RANGER DOWN": The cats meow.
Whoo-wee, I don't know how much more jam-packed these episodes can
get.
Shame we didn't see Koragg again this episode after he gave Imperious
his magic power. Was kinda hoping Necrolai would morph into some evil
Ranger, but the fight was still pretty good. And poor Leelee... Getting the
shaft again. :\
Nice focus on Maddie, even though it was kinda short.
The big surprise of the episode was of course -- SPOILER: Piggy,
dreaming of owning a cafe-on-wheels in the future. Definitely an
applaud-and-cheer moment. ^_^
"Meow Baby!" Jenji in battle was quite funny.
Moving the story along, the other Rangers see Nick with his blanket and
he shows it to them and explains he was adopted. Phineas reveals to
Udonna and Daggeron that he brought Bowen to the human world during
the battle between Daggeron and Calindor.
___________________________________________________________
7/19: "DARK WISH, I-III": An evil world.
The Mystic Force Blockbuster Event started out poorly but got better as it
went along.
Every season it seems like the Rangers fight a lot more than what we see
on TV. That has to be the case here, as our heros get worn out from
fighting so much and use magic any chance they get. Lord knows they
weren't acting like this in previous episodes. I dunno... It felt a little
rushed in. While being tired was believeable, I didn't really like how they
suddenly wanted to take the "easy way out" of everything.
And go figure, Jenji Shining Attack has been used just fine before, but
they make a big deal out of it this episode. I'm glad I wasn't the only one
who thought they wanted to wish the monsters away. Daggeron seemed
like he was suddenly afraid of what could happen to Jenji but didn't say
anything.
Part I was way too jumpy between the battles and wire-fu. Felt like
something outta SPD. We got another samurai and Titan Xander took
him out in ONE STRIKE?! Jeez louise...
3 stars. One of my least liked episodes of the season.
Once Imperious captured Jenji things picked up. The transition to the
dark side was way cool. Love how Rootcore transformed and the color
changed.
The unmorphed fighting was quite drawn out, but nice to see the cast get
in a bunch of moves. Enjoyed the scenes with the Tribunal as well. Sounds
like we'll be seeing them again. The cast did a great job.
Awesome battle scenes in Part III. Enjoyed the intro for Legend Mode.
The Manticore Megazord intro was OK, but Urses was just thrown in
suddenly.
Haha... Liked how Leelee managed to mess up allowing Jenji to escape.
One of her best scenes. ^_^
I guess Koragg isn't going to try to get his magic power back from the
Master. If not, then I bet he'll get it when he becomes Red.
Didn't really like how the Rangers had time to bake a cake AND make it
back to the party like nothing happened. Ya know what I wish for? That
Toby finds out his employees are the Power Rangers and stop going
insane. -_-
4 stars for Parts II and III.
___________________________________________________________
7/26: "KORAGG'S TRIAL": Koragg and Klips
A pretty simple episode focusing on Koragg, his honor and loyalty to the
Master. It's not too often we get an episode that's mostly about the bad
guys.
Nice to see both sides finally bring up why Koragg never finishes a fight.
Imperious and Koragg taking on Daggeron to decide who stays and who
gets banished was sort of a cop-out. I'm really hoping for a good fight
when Imperious is defeated.
Koragg's flash of baby Bowen/Nick is definitely an indication that
something will be happening soon. It's coming...
4 stars. Part clip-show, but at least it was worthwhile.
___________________________________________________________
8/14: "HEIR APPARENT, I and II": Family Matters
Wow, just wow. We all knew the full story was coming and it was nice to
see it all put together at last.
I'm getting sick of other dimensions. Lord knows how many more times
that desert will be used this season and for PROO next year. -_-
Imperious wanting to finish off Daggeron from last episode was terrific.
After the last battle, this was a real treat. I just knew Daggy was in deep
$&!% when Imperious grew. It was time he showed what we could
really do.
Wasn't expecting the Rangers to get captured and sent to the
underworld -- AND get their Legend power drained by the Master himself!
This is the kinda stuff I expect to see at or near the end. Hopefully it
won't take away from that.
Leanbow saving Udonna from getting killed by the Master was very cool.
Although Udonna's initial response could've been better, I liked how
Koragg/Leanbow demorphed to Ancient Mystic Mode and then Leanbow
appeared.
On to part II...
As Lisa J would say -- that was hot yo... That was HOT!
The final battle between Imperious/Calindor and Daggeron was
awesome. John Tui did a great job. The transition between Calindor and
Imperious was cool.
Awesome sentai battle footge. I can't wait to see MagiRanger's version
of these episodes.
As much as I liked Udonna and everyone not knowing Nick is Bowen, awe
heck, it was nice to see her happy.
At first I wasn't sure if the Master (Octomus) was actually going to
appear or if the Legend power would be taken back before he could be
fully revived. It was great how he rose and fought Leanbow. It reminded
me of when the Nexus was sealed (PRWF "SEALING THE NEXUS") since it
seemed like the Pit was being destroyed while sealing away Octomus.
Looking forward to when he rises again.
This is the kinda 2-parter SPD should've had, but very unfortunately
didn't. I can forgive the writers for throwing in Brightstar outta nowhere
and Nick going solo while the others watched. When I think back on MF in
the years to come, these are the eps I'll remember most.
5 stars. 10/10.
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8/18: "THE LIGHT": Ten Times The Terror
Another neutered-sentai episode I really liked.
As expected, the Pit was a mess. Where did the Prophecy Book come
from?!
I'm enjoying MagiRanger so much, I don't really care about originality
these days. If it's imported, I'll probably like it... Such as the Terrors and
how they were all already giant (and almost squashed Necrolai).
Although I thought Imperious comment about his defeat bringing a
greater threat would have something to do with them.
Surprise, surprise. Maddie acknowledged the fact she hadn't done much
for the team and Toby FINALLY paid attention to his employees suddenly
leaving so often. I thought he'd either fire them or catch them morphing.
Leelee pretty much quit the evil business and is hired instead (not that
she ever did anything evil, anyway). Also, I was surprised Chip just
blurted out they were the Power Rangers. Maybe Toby will find out first
hand before the season is over.
Interesting how the Terrors have their own set of rules to go by. I wish
they didn't have to get through the footage so quickly, but heck, all the
more reason I'll look forward to MagiRanger.
What's in store for Udonna on her quest to find Leanbow? We shall see...
___________________________________________________________
8/23: "THE HUNTER": Hunted and Battlized
This was a decent plot neutered/translated from MagiRanger (I'm
probably going to be using the word "neutered" a lot now, since thats
exactly what all these episodes are).
This episode pretty much felt like the last one with the addition of the
battlizer/explosions/wirework segment. It was very drawn out, which
was to be expected. Much like SPD's battlizer intro, I didn't feel any
depth when Nick suddenly called out to Fire Heart to transform. Some of
the wirework and CGI were cool, although it was nothing more than a 5
minute toy advertisement.
It was interesting to see the Terrors argue and Megahorn go off on his
own... But I didn't really like the battle with Daggeron. Too much of a
color difference between the sentai footage and PR. I did like how Itassis
stopped them, though. And oh geez... Why does Daggeron even need to
go to ANOTHER DIMENSION to train?!
Funny how Leelee worked hard and ended up getting the Employee of the
Month trophy, while the others were in battle.
One thing I like is the emphasis they have going that Nick is the Light and
has the power to stop the darkness. Also Clare commenting about herself
being a sorceress and joining Udonna on her quest. And it's great how
Phineas always seems to know everything. ^_^
Overall, 3 stars. Not that great a debut for the battlizer, but I definitely
enjoyed the buildup we had for it with Fire Heart. Hope next years Red
Ranger power-up gets some actual story as well.
___________________________________________________________
9/21: "HARD HEADS": Snakes on a Ranger
Have to say I enjoyed this episode more than the last one. Thank God the
battlizer fight was shorter. And yeah, another plot outta left field with
Nick suddenly interested in DJing and bumping heads with Vida. At least
it worked for the footage and Vida got more than a few lines for once.
I liked how Serpentina turned into a giant snake and actually ate most of
the team.
Itassis giving Nick and Vida their morphing power back to "follow the
rules" was pretty cheap. She's obviously becoming the "good" Terror and
will most likely do more to help our heros. But as silly as the Terrors rules
are, it makes sense. I can imagine them really kicking Ranger ass in say,
Lightspeed Rescue, but not now while the show is run by Disney.
On a final note, it was nice to see a cameo from Leanbow in the
underworld (SPOLIER) still wearing Koragg's armor, but no longer under
the evil influence and preventing the Master from rising.
___________________________________________________________
9/27: "THE SNOW PRINCE": Learning Fast
These Terror episodes keep getting better. This was a very well-rounded
episode.
Hearing Leanbow over Koragg's armor is strange (The Megazord call was
bad enough -_-), but I really enjoyed how he joined the fight for a minute.
It would've been nice if Snow Prince had some background or if we had
seen him before. Good battle with Megahorn.
Wait a minute... I thought the Lake of Lament was down below and
Leanbow had the Master trapped at the bottom or something. And yet
Udonna and Clare wandered over to it. Kinda seems like sloppy writing,
but I liked how Hekatoid found them. I'd say Udonna was pretty
vulnerable to an attack on her search with her powers gone only Clare to
protect her.
An easy 4 stars for this one.
___________________________________________________________
10/12: "LIGHT SOURCE, I and II": White Ranger Power
Good golly... In season thats had a lot of rushed battles and mediocre
plots, Part I was good and Part II was a gem. So glad things are getting
wrapped up now than at the last freakin' minute like last year.
Once again, the Rangers acknowledge exactly what I'm thinking: Nick
was too hard on Leelee.
I cringed when Nick zipped into battlizer mode, but it wasn't that bad this
time. At least they're milking it this year, after it became so obsolete in
SPD.
A little weird how Part I was practically all MagiRanger, but ya know I
love the sentai and it worked out. The dice footage was overdoing it, but
I enjoyed Madison stepping up and didn't mind her fear of frogs coming
back.
Great action between Leanbow and the Terrors. I naturally assumed he
would be the one to save Udonna going into the episode.
Loved how Leelee, Clare and Phineas teamed up and Toby basically
showed the Rangers how to defeat Hekatoid. That was cool. I'm glad he
finally saw them morph first hand.
Udonna got her snowstaff back quite easily from Leelee, but meh, it's not
like it was ever shown to be well guarded or anything.
And as of this week, Power Rangers has passed the 600 episode mark.
Part I = 4 stars, Part II = 5 stars, 9/10 overall.
___________________________________________________________
11/04: "THE RETURN": Burning Heart of Fire, Burning Soul of Master
Another decent Magi adaptation.
Nice recap by Toby, covering the family connections and plot points.
It was great when Phineas came in Rock Porium and Toby recalled him
being Xander's uncle from the old country. >_>
Phineas and LeeLee = Weirdest PR romance since Nadira and Lucas.
Heck, only real romance since Nadira and Lucas. ^_^
The focus between Vida and Matoombo was all right. I thought it felt like
she was talking to a little kid. And it was hard not to think of
Houka(MagiPink), especially during the part with Travelion. Definitely
would've made a better Madison episode.
Great cliffhanger to end the episode with the Master rising. Was
surprised they actually showed raw footage of N Ma busting out of Titan
(Motoombo) and not new footage with Octomus. Looks like we'll see both
versions of the Master in the finale.
4 stars and 8/10.
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11/19: "MYSTIC FATE, I and II": Magic Overload
Mystic Force ended the same way much of the season was for me --
pretty mediocre. Not a spectacular finale, but good enough for the
shows end.
The Master was cool. Glad to see they used MagiRanger's N Ma the whole
time after all. His appetite for magic and getting overloaded was silly,
but I've seen worse... (Namely the end of DinoThunder)
Nice reference to Rita and tribute to Machiko Soga. Stupid scene with
Leanbow figuring Mystic Mother was gone after being there 2 seconds.
The Tribunal wasn't seen or even mentioned.
Wish Koragg-Nick could've lasted longer. Goes to show what originality
would look like these days. And nice to see the forest creatures again.
This years helmetless scene was cool and made more sense than last
year. It was great seeing Maddie stand up to Nick and how he took on
the Master with both sabers.
Enjoyed how the civilians and creatures joined together to morph the
team. Too bad Phineas never got humanized.
Wasn't expecting Necrolai to be free of evil and given a human form. Her
relationship with Leelee makes a lot more sense now. But after being a
loyal General all season and shunning off her daughter, she gave in so
quickly. -_-
Another thing that was weird was how Jenji disappeared and was back
suddenly, probably from Necrolia reviving Leanbow and Daggeron nearby.
No final group morph, but enjoyed the original roll call. The main TV
theme was never that great, but I loved the final instrumental.
Thought the last part following the Master's defeat was especially well
done...
"Plan Manager" -- Gotta love it. Liked Vida's pink hair too.
Motoombo getting brought back was WAY outta nowhere, but I don't
think it's that hard to imagine the Rangers somehow brought him back --
maybe with the help of Mystic Mother?
Nick, Leanbow and Udonna riding outta town was nice, as well as Fire
Heart flying by and Sorceress Clare turning to the end of the Xenotome
before getting the final word. Looking forward to seeing who Antonia
Preeble will play next year. ^_^
A lot happened to wrap up Mystic Force, but one thing I missed was
major destruction. Would've liked to have seen the Master attack
Rootcore and the Rangers battle Hidiacs inside. Manticore Megazord
wasn't really "destroyed" -- The Master just gobbled up its power. And
someone besides Black Lance and Sculpin getting killed off (and STAYING
that way) would've been nice.
Overall, I'll give both parts 4 stars and 8/10. It'll be hard to ever top
Ninja Storm "Storm Before The Calm, I and II" (the last finale I've given
5 stars to), but I definitely enjoyed this finale the most since then.
___________________________________________________________
2/02/07: Closing Comments
Mystic Force was definitely a season with ups and downs. Unlike SPD, it
didn't go WAY down barely halfway through the season, but it didn't get
too high either (save for a few episodes). A couple things were executed
quite nicely, but the rest fell flat, as it became too much of a watered
down MagiRanger.
+ One thing I really liked about our version was the unmorphed stuff in
the premiere, whereas the Rangers always seem to go straight to the
first morph in sentai.
- We never saw the Mystic Force Rangers learn to fight unmorphed and
they just knew outta nowhere later on.
+ Fire Heart -- the first ever plotline for a battlizer.
- The battlizer itself.
+ We got one of the best episodes in history with "THE GATEKEEPER, I."
"HEIR APPARENT, I and II" and "LIGHT SOURCE, II" were also very
good. Every season has one-shot eps that I consider my favorite and
this season they were "SOUL SPECTER" and "RANGER DOWN."
- "CODE BUSTERS, " "THE HUNTER," "HARD HEADS" and "DARK WISH,
I."
+ Imperious -- one of the best lead villains we've had in awhile and
Necrolai, Queen of the Vampires
- Daggeron as another Commander Cruger would've worked better if
Udonna had been captured the whole time, leaving him as the only
mentor (That's one thing that could've been adapted from MagiRanger
but wasn't).
+ Toby learned the Rangers identities and joined together the Briarwood
civilians and forest creatures. Leelee switched sides.
- Necolai suddenly cared for Leelee and turned human. We didn't see the
forest creatures for 98% of the season.
As we go into Operation Overdrive, I imagine it'll be similar to Mystic
Force. Some will be adapted very well and there'll be at least a few great
episodes. The rest will just be a watered down Boukenger. And we'll
have an anniversary teamup sometime late in the season.
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