Generally, Sentai team up movies happen near the end of a series or after the end. But for Gokaiger their team up with the previous year's team, Tensou Sentai Goseiger was moved to be the first film during gokaiger's run. As the Anniversary teamup for sentai, was their any magic in this Pirate and Angel teamup.
While fighting off some Zangyack soldiers lead by Barizorg and Insarn. The Gokaigers are about to change into Goseiger when the keys are swiped by the landick siblings, Agri and Moune, who then return them to the other Goseigers. After sending the Zangyack packing, Marvelous demands the keys back due to the needing them for the Greatest treasure in the Universe. But the Goseigers are unwilling to return their powers to a group of pirates and demand in return Gosei knight's personal key to return him to his original form. When they refuse a fight breaks out with both teams having to fall back as their powers are equal. But while these two teams are fighting it out. A threat far greater than what both teams have faced have come to visit Zangyack. the Black Cross Fuher, who has revived himself through his hatred of sentai's past villains as the Black Cross King and has allied himself with the Zangyack to wipe the rangers out and conquer the world, now both teams must overcome their differences in order to stop Black cross King and some revived enemies before they can destroy the planet.
While no having the versus title, 199 does give a fairly good reason for why both teams wouldn't be initially on board with one another, on one hand we have the fairly normal heroic Goseiger's who want their powers back so they can go back to their jobs as protector's of the planet, meanwhile, there are the more anti-hero gokaigers who need the powers to find the greatest treasure in the universe. While this may make the Gokaigers seem like the evil party in this case, we have spent enough time with them to know they are willing to do the right thing when it counts. But they both want different things so this does happen. Though it really is only for the first part and then they must unite against the greater force of the black cross army.
What I think works about Black cross King is that he is not intent on ruling the planet, when he first shows up to Warz Gill, he is not wanting to team up because he thinks he also wants the planet, but then King says, no I just want to destroy all of sentai It'll be a win win for both of us since it leaves the planet free for you to take over. Which I do like as a goal rather than him wanting to pick up where he left off and his revived general's from Goseiger's Brajira, Go-ongers Yogashimacritein and Magirangers Dagon do make for legitimate threats that see the teams having to put aside their differences.
Yeah, the chemistry between the two teams is really well done, it initially starts off as both team's being against one another for a legitimate reason rather than trying to force one, and the fights the two teams have both on foot and in their mecha are some good highlights, especially Marvelous and Alata's fight showing the contrast of the more hack and slash sword play of Marvelous to the more technique focused fencing Alata is doing. It is notable in how both teams, more Alata to marvelous and Moune and Agri to Joe and Luka than Doc and Ahim to Hyde and Eri since the latter are more the good team mates of the crew, come to respect the other and acknowledge them from how Marvelous shields a family and Alata realizes, okay, he is actually a nice guy to both Luka and Moune realinzing they have more in common than they realize.
But I think the biggest take away from this whole thing is the production values on display here. Yeah, it is 100%, unadulterated fanservice from the opening scene and the previous 34 sentai teams facing down the Zangyack, the returning characters even for the slightest cameo, the mecha all coming together to face the enlarged black cross army. The climatic face off between the Gokaigers and the goseigers vs the previous 33 teams sans extra heroes, it is both a sight to behold and just sends shivers down your spines, in just how awesome it is and a remainder if you have just started this, damn, I have like 1000 episodes of this to watch, and there was more after this, and there are other series...Well, there goes most of my free time. But the action is the star, every fight is well choreographed, the camera work escpecially the drome work on display in the opening is great, small stuff like how in the mecha fight the goseigers go for their sea form and the gokaigers complain about their image being stolen. The amount of stunt actors on screen at a time how they have it in order from the newest to oldest is the kind of head aching process they went to do shows that their was a legitimate care and passion put into this whole.
God, I spent all this time gushing that I almost forgot about the B plot. Okay, so while all of this craziness is happening, we have this down on his luck salaryman who is has lost all hope seeing as how the previous sentai rangers have lost their powers, but is encouraged to value his life by some returning characters which come from the three prior eras, Showa represented by Denziman's Daigoro Oume, 90's Heisei represented by Dairangers Ryo and 2000's Heisei represented by Dekarangers Umeko Kodou. Yeah, one could say that this b-plot is fairly superfluous and only their to set up stuff like oh, that salaryman has a variblune toy that ends up growing later during the final mech battle. But this works in context where you considered Japan in 2011, mid 2011, the Tohuku Earthquake and Tsunami that lead to a nuclear meltdown's 3 month's before the film was released (it actually was delayed from its late may to early June release because of this) The fact that the series has the people who had been protecting lose that ability to protect it, it would seem like a pretty dire times, and near the end when all seems lost and hopeless, the same salaryman (and a kid who had a Daidenzin toy, don't ask about the legality of selling toys in series more brain hurt) rally the people around them to cheer our heroes as a representation of both old and young supporters of sentai standing together and believing in their heroes and giving them the energy to defeat the threat.
CONCLUSION
I know most of this review has been me gushing, but 199 hero great battle is amazing. It might not have the deepest plot and their are very few questionable things (So how long were the goseigers waiting for them to use all of the goseiger keys at once, were they following them until they did it.) Its just a fun romp. The character dynamics are great, the action all across the board is awe-inspiring and it just leaves you feeling good by the end. It is an easy recommendation for both new and old comers. Now if you'll excuse me, I have like 45 years of meta series to catch up on, alongside Kamen rider...and Ultraman...and a good chunk of one-offs, well don't really have anywhere to be in the next year.
FINAL GRADE: S
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