Periodically I get a logjam of topics that need to be covered, but aren't substantial or interesting enough to warrant their own posts. That's where CCLemon99 Magazine steps in! This is the fifth edition of my little magazine thingy and I kinda like relaxing to some music and just going over some lightweight topics.
--------------------
Two Months Later...
It's been almost two months since I released my 10-Year Anniversary video on Youtube. After spending hours and hours chopping it together and watching it over and over again, I was understandably sick of the video by the time I uploaded it. After a month and change away from it I decided to go back and give it another watch. I have to say, I'm happy with how it turned out. There were some things I kinda wish were a little smoother, though.What have I been doing with my time? Getting burned very badly for one. I'm happy to say I healed in time to make my Super Sentai Artisan Dragon Buckler at least. I've been spending a lot of time working, catching up on Podcasts (and cutting a bunch from my subscriptions) and watching Twitch. Seriously...fuck Youtube. I don't even like gaming that much, but there is some quality content on Twitch even if gaming isn't necessarily your jam.
I will say this, though... When I was finally able to make my Dragon Buckler video, it felt good. I reconfigured my space a little bit and really got into it when I was taking the photos. The break was very much needed, but making videos is something that will never get out of my system. I have been having these moments of "How the fuck did I do this weekly??" ever since the anniversary.
--------------------
Life Is A BReeZe PART 2...
So you guys were finally able to see the car that I ordered late last year. It's been a little over six months since I took delivery and I'm about 1/3 paid off. Wooooo. I've put about 4400 miles on it in that time and it has been running like a champ.I tend to own unusual cars, and this one has been no exception. As this is my first foray into the Subaru lifestyle (and I've never owned a Porsche), I am new to Boxer engines. I ended up doing the first oil change during the time I was covered in burns. Welllll the engine oil in this car is zero-weight (basically the consistency of water) which was a problem when I undid the drain plug and it basically sprayed everything with HOT oil except the damn oil catch pan. It did wonders for those burns...lesson learned. Other than that, it was a very quick and super smooth oil change. Heh. The filter is possibly the most accessible of any car I've ever worked on. Open the hood and it's basically the first thing you see... In my Lexus, the filter requires a lot of snaking and straining. Seriously, what a pain in the ass...
The BRZ/FR-S/86 has a common problem known as "the crickets". Basically the fuel pump has a hard time handling the ethanol-blend gasoline that is common in the 'States. The 2017 model year is the first using a revised fuel pump and I have to say... I've only heard crickets once in the duration I've owned the car. I really think I got a bad batch of fuel that one time since they went away after the next fill-up. I've only been filling it with 93 octane (US rating, I think our 93 is considered 95-99 in a lot of other countries) which has kept it running quiet. What do I know, though. I'm no fuel scientist.
I will say one thing about the car that I found a little bit peculiar in the time that I've owned my BRZ. I run into tons of other BRZ and FR-S owners (mostly FR-S to be honest...). I have YET to see another facelifted 2017 model BRZ or Toyota 86 on the road. The only other 2017 I've ever run into was the one from the dealership debacle from when I took delivery. Weird...
I think my wife is finally coming around on the car as well. Hehe... She never hated it, but she kinda digs it now.
--------------------
Kyuranger
Zero fucking interest. Zero. Just the concept of having that many characters from the start makes my skin crawl. Is the show watchable? Every time I feel like I should check in, it just feels like it's borderline a cartoon of a series. When IS Super Sentai just going to bite the bullet and make the transition to anime? It feels like it's been there for some time now.This has rubbed off on me when it comes to the toys as well. I have a lot of them and no desire to review any of them. I will probably get the Changers done just to appease the Sentai lords, but I would rather do them on my own terms. The mecha? I don't think I'll get around to reviewing them. Maybe next year. Maybe 2020. Who knows. Who cares. More on this later...
--------------------
Gingaman
I believe I already talked about the Megaranger announcement during my series of Carranger posts, but yeah...Gingaman on DVD has been announced at the San Diego Comicon. It at least softened the blow of Megaranger getting delayed until October a little bit.Honestly, I have only ever seen Megaranger and Gingaman to completion once and this was closer to their airing dates than it was to present day. It'll be nice to revisit those series since I have a vague familiarity with them at best. It might make for some interesting posts. I might even sell a few copies for Shout!Factory in the process. At least, that's what some B'Stard tells me.
--------------------
Cancelled...
Yeah, I think my overwhelming fatigue with all things Gavan and Dekaranger has finally come to a head. I managed to back out of my order the Super Sentai Artisan SP License and Fire Squad License. Seriously, I'm at a point where I really shouldn't be buying stuff for no reason. I have absolutely no reason to get these toys other than the fact that they exist. Considering the FS License was probably made in response to my popular video on a custom version...why not go whole hog and do the Deka Bright Brace Throttle. You know, like the one that Kingranger lovingly made for me.Fucking do something new. I love Kenji Ohba, but either shit or get off the pot with the Metal Hero franchise, Toei. Bringing in a Sentai series I hated really doesn't make it more interesting.
--------------------
...Ordered!
I did order the set of Denji Rings, though. Why they're releasing them as charms instead of replicas is beyond me...but at least we're getting all five for a very decent price. It's better than nothing I suppose.Maybe another thing that bugs me about Super Sentai Artisan is that it should be all about either reprinting things that go for crazy money while still keeping the originals collectible as well as crafting new items for things that never had toys. I would LOVE Super Sentai Artisan Denji Rings. I would also love some Vulcan Braces too...those would actually be pretty simple to make, no? More than that I would kill for full blown disco-rific Goggle Brace.
...but no. Crappy reprints of the crappy Legacy Morpher and crappy SP Licenses...
--------------------
Mecha Videos
OK, so let me level with you. I am probably not going to buy the annual Super Sentai DX Mecha anymore. I ended up getting a ton of the Kyuranger ones for their gimmick. The genre of toys has been on fumes for almost an entire decade at this point, though. I liked Engine-oh and I liked Go-Buster Oh. The rest have been shit. If something cool comes along, sure. It's been a real grind trying to motivate myself to even check out the ones I have on hand already.On the flip side of that, I am going to make good on my promise of finishing up making videos of the remaining 1990s mecha. You know, all four of them that I haven't covered yet. I have them...and you'll be seeing them pretty soon.
--------------------
Music Releases?
Things have been pretty quiet on the music release front. Columbia really doesn't have anything going on outside of the usual Kyuranger, Ultraman Orb and Kamen Rider Amazons stuff. There was the Space Squad CDs, but that's it. This is all stuff I covered in the last issue, though.I'm fairly certain that my next post will cover the two recent 1980s/1990s Ultraman releases. Stay tuned for that...
Oh yeah, I am still accepting submissions for non-soundtrack sounds that you either have ID'd or not. I've been getting some good entries and am keeping a running list of songs/CDs to cover. Expect the third entry before the year is out.
--------------------
I suppose I'll end it here. Be sure to check out back issues of the magazine for more. If you have any questions or anything either hit me up in the comments or on Twitter. I have open DMs in case you don't want to ask publicly.
Thanks for stopping by today. I'll be back in two weeks with a new post and a new video.
-CC
CCLemon99 Magazine Issue One
CCLemon99 Magazine Issue Two
CCLemon99 Magazine Issue Three
CCLemon99 Magazine Issue Four
Super sentai will never bite the bullet
ReplyDeleteUntil it does. :p
DeleteThey aren't meant to be in the first place so no
DeleteSentai becoming an anime has long been a nightmare of mine. And I can't believe we've reached a point where Kamen Rider's on the same road. (The way you feel about Kyuranger is how I felt about Ex-Aid, the first Heisei Rider I've seen zero episodes of. I've only watched the first GoRider, which was horrendous.)
ReplyDeleteIt's bad enough Toei's gunning for suit-only characters. As much as I like Japan Action Enterprise suit-actors, that doesn't mean I want them to replace a human cast. Replacing actor villains hurt these shows. Can you imagine the shows with only costumed heroes, too?
Kyuranger, though, is a mess. I've never felt like a Sentai was so overpowered with so little to do with that power. The villain presence on the show is pathetic; mostly forgettable monsters of the week, and the "storyline" has gone nowhere. I'm surprised, yet understand why you don't want to review the merchandise. What's to review? Kyuranger's line all seems so unimpressive to me, I can't believe it's supposedly successful.
"I love Kenji Ohba, but either shit or get off the pot with the Metal Hero franchise, Toei." Totally agree with you there!
I'm a little miffed at Shout Factory for the Mega delay. If it had been released in August, Gingaman might have been a November release, meaning GoGoFive would be early next year. (I want GoGoFive!) Was a reason ever given for the delay? I'm assuming they found out Megaranger was a 10-disc'er, when they've been used to the 20 minute shows and/or 8-disc shows for the past releases. (And Mega was announced as an 8-disc set.) Anyway, I look forward to your reviews of Megaranger. (I don't remember you talking much about the late '90s shows.)
A show with only costumed heroes? Janperson much? :p I guess it depends on the mood that you're going for. Kyuranger doesn't strike me as a show that it works with.
DeleteIIRC, pretty much every series had been announced as a 8-Disc set and then changed to 10 prior to release (except Ohranger and Carranger). Maybe another subtitle issue? I could see that being a set back.
There is a reason why I never got into late 90s stuff. A lot of IRL problems popping up at the time. Then in late 2001 I ran into a site called Japan Hero and signed up to blast the site for false info. Jeff responded by making me an admin. It kinda forced me to get back into it. :p Of course I tend to focus on a specific era, but I really believe it's OK not to love *everything*. In fact, I prefer when people have taste. The people out there who love every comic book movie, anything Star Wars, or think whatever Sentai/Rider that is currently airing is the best ever year after year...they have no taste. They enjoy hype. I really don't understand those people.
That said, I went to Mitsuwa Marketplace the other day with my wife. She begrudgingly went to the toy store with me. There wasn't a alot of Kyuranger stuff...but there was still tons of Zyuohger and Ninninger stuff. Maybe it is more popular. I was kind of expecting more than what I saw. In the end, I bought nothing and she ended up buying something. Go figure...
For non-soundtrack songs, I've been curious about the song used in Liveman 44 when Butchy goes on a rampage.
ReplyDeletehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BuPEfA1PpWE
That one is Paradise Ginga by Hikaru Genji. No idea why I know that one considering I can't stand Hikaru Genji. Hahaa.
DeleteThank you so much! If you don't mind, there's one more I've been wondering about: this song used in Spielban when he's being chased at the movie studio. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6IN5JW2yOQA
DeleteHmmm. That one is tough. It isn't a hit single and there aren't any lyrics to transcribe, so I'm drawing a blank initially. I'll have to put my detective hat on if I'm going to figure it out.
Delete