I went into Kiramager not expecting much, only to be pleasantly surprised.
This show has a really strong beginning. The Kiramagers are all well set up and have their personalities established right at the beginning. Juru is not great but good, solid red, balancing out his naivety with being wise and encouraging to his teammates. Shiguru I also really liked given his try hard "cool" persona and seeing him open up to his teammates, and Sayo did a good job balancing it out and acting as the compassionate, but stern minder to him. Tametomo and Sena I found to be less interesting, but both have their moments. Takamichi's introduction with a bad taste in my mouth given how contrived it felt, considering Muryou and Mabushina hadn't mentioned him at all before when you think they would, but he is fleshed out and given an arc.
One complaint I did have in regards to the Kiramagers is that their team dynamics weren't really fleshed out. It felt like they had much stronger bonds with their Mashins than with each other, and while characters like Sayo and Shiguru felt somewhat close, the rest of the cast felt more distant and professional from each other, having developed relationships with maybe one or two team members but not the team as a whole.
The villain lineup of this show is also pretty good. Carantula, Garza and Yodonna were all very fleshed out and felt threatening whenever they went up against the heroes. Shadon was cool, but he only lasted for one episode. The Jamenshi are also really monsters of the week. Even though most only appear for one episode, they each have their own flashy and expressive personality and motif that makes them feel memorable. Emperor Yodon however I found to be an incredibly underwhelming and bland Big Bad, especially when put against his more fleshed out minions. For all the buildup, him appearing in episode 37 didn't feel like it changed much as he just went back to hiding in the shadows soon after, though the reveal of the connection between him and Yodonna was well done.
In fact, I would say Emperor Yodon's debut coincides roughly around when the show start to falter, as the final arc felt very formulaic. What really annoyed me is they teased doing something a bit more unique, only to undo it the episode after, leaving the audience with a generic "beat the big bad" finale.
Overall, I wouldn't say the final arc totally ruins Kiramager, as it's still a fun watch right up until that point. To summarize, I'd say it's a "B" show that comes very close to being an "A", only to back away from it towards the end.
A good Sentai that falters towards the end
I went into Kiramager not expecting much, only to be pleasantly surprised.
This show has a really strong beginning. The Kiramagers are all well set up and have their personalities established right at the beginning. Juru is not great but good, solid red, balancing out his naivety with being wise and encouraging to his teammates. Shiguru I also really liked given his try hard "cool" persona and seeing him open up to his teammates, and Sayo did a good job balancing it out and acting as the compassionate, but stern minder to him. Tametomo and Sena I found to be less interesting, but both have their moments. Takamichi's introduction with a bad taste in my mouth given how contrived it felt, considering Muryou and Mabushina hadn't mentioned him at all before when you think they would, but he is fleshed out and given an arc.
One complaint I did have in regards to the Kiramagers is that their team dynamics weren't really fleshed out. It felt like they had much stronger bonds with their Mashins than with each other, and while characters like Sayo and Shiguru felt somewhat close, the rest of the cast felt more distant and professional from each other, having developed relationships with maybe one or two team members but not the team as a whole.
The villain lineup of this show is also pretty good. Carantula, Garza and Yodonna were all very fleshed out and felt threatening whenever they went up against the heroes. Shadon was cool, but he only lasted for one episode. The Jamenshi are also really monsters of the week. Even though most only appear for one episode, they each have their own flashy and expressive personality and motif that makes them feel memorable. Emperor Yodon however I found to be an incredibly underwhelming and bland Big Bad, especially when put against his more fleshed out minions. For all the buildup, him appearing in episode 37 didn't feel like it changed much as he just went back to hiding in the shadows soon after, though the reveal of the connection between him and Yodonna was well done.
In fact, I would say Emperor Yodon's debut coincides roughly around when the show start to falter, as the final arc felt very formulaic. What really annoyed me is they teased doing something a bit more unique, only to undo it the episode after, leaving the audience with a generic "beat the big bad" finale.
Overall, I wouldn't say the final arc totally ruins Kiramager, as it's still a fun watch right up until that point. To summarize, I'd say it's a "B" show that comes very close to being an "A", only to back away from it towards the end.