Sean Akizuki's Super Sentai Blog

Sentai Villains That Died in a One-on-One Confrontation with Various Sentai Rangers

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:23:00 +0000

Here's a list of various villains that died on a one-on-one confrontation with various Sentai Rangers. Missed any? Comment! They are:

Buuba- Changeman featured the final battle between Change Dragon and Buuba. So Buuba chose to die on Earth rather than let Gozma face him. What better way to do so than to fight his rival Change Dragon to the last? In fact, what's so awesome about Buuba is that he not only rejected Gozma's cowardly ways but got to die at the hands of the strong plus he restored Shiima to her true self.

Ley Wanda- He was killed by Red Flash in a one on one duel, this is one of Fantasy Leader's favorite duels of all time.

Baraba- In Maskman 48, after being pressured by Zeba to defeat the Maskmen or never return, he was eventually killed by Red Mask in a final duel after Oyobur refused to help him.

Jarmin- In episode 29, Jarmin was defeated by Black Turbo together with her monster Kuroko Bouma. Before she died, she enlarged her ally which was defeated by the Turbo Rugger.

Rehda- In the midseason of Turboranger, Red Turbo manages to defeat him one on one in contrast to Zimba where he had the help of the other Turborangers.

Ragorn- This is pretty much what I'd call very WTF but amazing as Red Turbo defeated this guy one-on-one in a battle in episode 39 that looks very impossible to win. Well he did also come back to life after that duel and going giant, terrorizing the Turborangers before he was defeated by the Super Turbo Builder. =P He did return however for the final arc.

Billion- In Fiveman episode 46, he challenged Five Red to a final duel concluding their rivalry. Five Red went to Five Tector mode to destroy him. I thought that was a cheap way to kill this guy.

Chevalier- In Fiveman episode 47, I would say this is the coolest final duel in Fiveman. He challenges Five Red to a chain deathmatch that won't stop until one of them dies. In a desperate sword fight, Five Red uses his final attack on Chevalier killing him providing Vulgyre the final energy to terrorize the Earth with almost unlimited power.

Gure- After seeing his beloved Maria die and with nothing to live for, he decides to conclude his battle with Gai Yuki to which he fought honorably. So he was granted a badass death but too bad Gai Yuki wasn't. So Gure before he died lay down to contemplate on his final moments, Gai Yuki lit a cigarette to acknowledge him and Gai died in a veryr normal way.

Shaddam- In the final episode of Dairanger, Ryou and Shaddam had their final battle. Ryou was out of suit as all their jewels including the Earthshaking Jewel had to be surrendered to appease Daijinryu's wrath. In here, Ryou beats him a knifing duel killing him off for good. It was revealed Shaddam was made of mud which may leave us to speculate to the truth... just a thought the real Shaddam used a clay body to cheat death but forgot he was using one much later. =P

Yugande- After several rebuilds, Mega Red finally kills him near the finale.

Ura- In Gaoranger, after Shirogane newly became Gao Silver he was temporarily killed off but he found a way to return and cause more trouble.

Quester Gai- He was finally destroyed by Bouken Silver in a one on one duel while his partner Rei was destroyed by the rest of the Boukengers.

Yaiba- Compared to Gure, this guy REALLY deserved to die more horribly. Too bad the final fight between him and Masumi wasn't as brutal.

Juzo- He eventually died in a final duel with Shinken Red in the near finale. That is, it happened after Takeru Shiba left the others leaving them to Kaoru's care.

Dareptor- He was killed in episode 16 of Goseiger by Gosei Red.

Barizorg- In the near finale, Gokai Blue defeats him one on one so his former self can be free of the torture of being brainwashed and crazy.

Basco- He was finally killed by Gokai Red singlehandedly in the battle to recover the greater powers of the Fiveman, Maskman, Flashman, Sun Vulcan and Changeman from Basco. After a really intense battle, Basco dies in the most creepy way possible but he DESERVED it. =P

Some Things I'd Like to Return in Super Sentai

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:32:00 +0000

As a Super Sentai fan, I felt like there are times I switch in between Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Chinese wuxia drama and Japanese drama. But I'd like to see these things return in Super Sentai:

Not having an extra ranger. Extra rangers are fine but sometimes, I feel like extra rangers get too overrated since the arrival of my favorite Zyuranger, Burai. It would be nice to have some old school five-man team through and through.

I would really want a third team composing of teenagers to save the world again.

To be honest, I think most Super Sentai villains lack scariness. Basco was a refresher for some but he wasn't really that scary, he was more of the cool villain who's an annoying troll to the Gokaigers BUT he really lacks the scary factors that villains like Radiguet possess. Villains like Zeba, Radiguet and Shaddam should make a return to Super Sentai somehow... that is real complete monsters.

Or perhaps heavy drama build up like that of Igam's "I'll kill you to restore my family honor." type. Hee hee, maybe I'm just getting overly dramatic.

Hurricanger and Ninja Storm Clarification

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:29:00 +0000

I like both seasons but Hurricanger for me is better. Okay no bad comments of either which side as both sides had their weaknesses too. Now for some starting comparison:

While I don't really feel compelled to compare the first three rangers from each show, the Goraigers and the Thunder Rangers had this difference. The Goraigers are blood siblings, the Thunder Rangers have no blood relation whatsoever.

Another is where compared to Cam Watanabe, the Shurikenger (once Kagura Asakura) character has no real identity whatsoever while existing as a mysterious character who had several face changes guest starring as several Tokusatsu seniors. So pretty much, very different. You might find Shurikenger doing stuff in battle that Cam wasn't able to do so be ready to be pretty surprised.

Here's a distinction. In Hurricanger, Tao Zanto is purely not human compared to Lothor who is human who has a backstory with the Ninja School. Lothor was a cruel villain with a sense of humor, Tao Zanto is a more cruel master with no personal history whatsoever with the Hurricangers prior to the start of the show. So that means Tao Zanto is NOT the brother of Mugensai in contrast to Lothor.

Pretty much, while Ninja Storm keeps its ninja theme it did add some elements unique from Hurricanger to have distinctions allowing me to enjoy both seasons each to their own.

Gaoranger and Wild Force Clarification

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:17:00 +0000

Well here's some clarification for Gaoranger and Wild Force... however there are just a few character differences that for me can be ignored (like Sotaru isn't a geek while Danny is a geek) but here are some:

Yup draw the differences here are too huge. Kakeru is presented as a veterinarian while Cole is basically "uncivilized" when the series starts except the writers weren't keen on taking advantage of the latter's weakness of having a hard time in society for character development. This keeps them both pretty different. The rest of the Gaoranger/Wild Force comparison has only very slight differences.

Well the difference between Taylor and Gaku is gender. Other than that, they are alike in some ways.

Another difference is this. While the Orgs in both shows basically operate more or less the same, in Gaoranger note that the three Org Highnesses (whose counterparts are Retinax, Nayzor and Mandilok) are the head orgs while using the stone face the "Org Master" as nothing more than a mere non-existent villain. Yup that's right there is NO Master Org type villain in Gaoranger which makes another distinction. I found the Cole/Master Org plot to be another factor that made Wild Force have its unique distinction from Gaoranger though Gaoranger still is better execution-wise.

Or maybe this, compared to Retinax, Shuten really had more screen time and he was bossing around Tsuetsue and Yabaiba as the Org leader until episode 14 where he met his demise. Also, he was killed by...

Yup, Ura killed Shuten. The powered up forms of Yabaiba and Tsuetsue were not a brainwash scheme but rather, Ura powered them up in contrast to Master Org's brainwashing of Jindrax and Toxica.

I hope that tackles that.

Villainous Fathers in Super Sentai

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:50:00 +0000

Well we should credit them as well huh? Happy father's day everyone!

Emperor Aton is the father of Prince Megiddo. He really didn't care much about his son which led to his downfall.

Doctor Man has a biological son named Shuichi and an artificial son called Prince who the audience may have thought was a human being at first. He struggled between his taking over the world and his son who cares about him very much.

Gator in Changeman had a family. So glad he was able to reunite with them in the end after he betrayed Bazoo and became good.

Shaddam is the father of Kou and Akomaru and a terrible one at it. Really he would even rival his own sons just to get power? How much of a damnable guy is this guy? =(

Daimaou is the father of Gasha Skull.

Bacchushund and Buldont were fathers. Later Buldont became Kaiser Buldont, married his cousin Maruchiwa and later had a child by her called Buldont Jr. How these people ever reproduce is unknown. Despite being a villain, Bacchushund did care about his son.

Dr. Hinelar had a daughter who he lost in one of his experiments so he created Shibolena.

Suugu was actually Jan's father Dan being brainwashed and crazy. Jan had to defeat him to free Dan from his tormented state.

Yogoschrimaten was the uncaring father of Yogostein.

Ackdos Gill was Warz Gill's father. He was crushed to hear of his son Warz's death. He even sent Damaras to help his rather idiotic son do the job right. In the non-canon Super Hero Taisen, he and his son were revived mysteriously and fought side by side only to be destroyed again.

Super Sentai Rangers Whose Fathers Were Mentioned or Appeared

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 23:34:00 +0000

Since it's father's day today I would like to mention these rangers whose fathers appeared. If I missed any, please do comment:

Futoshi Kijima/Goggle Yellow- His estranged father appeared in episode 13.

Shiro Gou/Red One- His father was first seen in episodes 43-44 but it wasn't figured out but we do somewhat get a hint. Then later, the mysterious man is revealed to be his father who is also Dr. Man's former friend.

Sara Tokimura/Yellow Flash- Her father appeared late in the series. Too bad she could not stay home to be reunited with her family. Tears. =( Now only if I can see more of Flashman.

Haruka/Yellow Mask- Her father appeared very briefly in a flashback. =P

Megumi Misaki/Blue Dolphin- Her father appeared to train her in archery.

The Fiveman siblings' parents were revealed to be very much alive in the last series which might have been a shocker to the audience.

Kaori Rokumeikan-Tendo/White Swan- Her parents appeared in episode 43 to meet Gai Yuki.

In Zyuranger we later see the adoptive father of Geki and the real father of Geki who is also Burai's father during the "Green with Evil" arc featuring Burai and his really disturbing evil laugh.

Ryou/Ryuuranger- His father appeared in episodes 7-8 in a very Darth-Vader like fashion. He was estranged from his father, reconciled with him before his father died in that episode.

Kou/Kibaranger- Well his father is Shaddam. =(

Tsurihime's father appeared in episode 31 of Kakuranger. Her father tried to infiltrate Daimaou's forces but was found out and turned into stone. Good thing they were reunited at the end.

In Gogo V, their father Mondo Tatsumi IS their mentor. =P

Tatsuya Asami's parents appeared for certain episodes. He has a bad relationship with his father Wataru Asami but were reconciled at the end of the series.

Sae's father appeared in Gaoranger who discovered her identity as Gao White in Quest 11.

The Goraigers' father was also featured in a flashback only.

Yukito Sanjou- Fantasy Leader has added that Yukito's father appeared in Abaranger for two episodes. Man poor Yukito with having a father who's worse than Time Red's dad. =(

In Magiranger, Wolzard IS their father. They are later reunited at the end.

Satoru Akashi/Bouken Red- His father appeared in the Boukenger movie. I found his dad VERY ANNOYING. -_-

Eiji Takaoka/Bouken Silver- His father was in a flashback during his introduction arc as an Ashu Hunter who fell in love with an Ashu.

Jan Kandou/Gekui Red- His father Dan appeared in certain flashbacks and he was later forced to kill his own father (who was brainwashed and crazy) as the only way to free his father from such a terrible burden.

Ken Hisatsu/Geki Chopper- His father was also showin Gekiranger.

Takeru Shiba/Shinken Red- His father appeared in episodes 1, 12 and 46. Later we discover his father was a servant of the Shiba clan who lent his son over to be trained as a shadow warrior.

Ryunosuke Ikenami/Shinken Blue- His father appeared in episode one very briefly.

Chiaki Tani/Shinken Green- His father appeared in episode 21.

Mako Shiraishi/Shinken Pink- Her father appeared in episode 34 to try and get her to resign as a Shinkenger. There was some focus about her mother in that episode but it was more focused on her and her father.

Ahim de Famille/Gokai Pink- Her father appeared in a flashback with her mother.

Super Sentai Rangers Who Became Fathers On-Screen (Specials Included)

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 22:44:00 +0000

So far here are the Sentai rangers who became fathers onscreen for this Father's Day 2013. Sadly mine is gone. =(

Ryu Tendo- After the war with Vyram, three years later he married Kaori. According to the Jetman Encyclopedia, he and Kaori had a son they named Gai, after their late friend Gai Yuki which dismisses the Jetman Manga epilogue while verifying Gai Yuki's death. So I wonder how Gai Yuki reacted to that in the afterlife? XD

Domon- He became a father at the end of Timeranger with Honami at the end of Timeranger and this was also later seen in Gokaiger. =P

Ryouga Hakua- Not exactly that he became a father but he is a father figure to his niece Mai. =P

Asuka- He is the father of Rije and then after recovering his wife Mahoro from her brainwashed and crazy state, had other unnamed children by her.

Clarifications Between Shinkenger and Power Rangers Samurai

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 13:34:00 +0000

Well there's not really much to compare between Shinkenger and its adaptation Power Rangers Samurai. But I hope this will manage to encourage Power Rangers fans who are checking out Super Sentai to check out Shinkenger as well. Now for some clarifications... and character differences. Basically take note that the Nighloks and Gedoushu are hardly distinguishable. Again I won't spoil out much of the rest but please do check out Shinkenger and plus there is no Mega Mode in Shinkenger.

Maybe the first verification is that Takeru Shiba compared to Jayden is that the former is less cheery and hardly smiles for some time but does get better eventually. So it might be a cultural thing or not. But regardless, Takeru Shiba is portrayed more serious than Jayden but does also get into awkward moments as well. But for Takeru, you might like him due to his actor Tori Matsuzaka being really badass.

Another is well my appreciative to the originality of actually making Kevin a swimmer instead of a kabuki or any theater related ones. Ryunosuke is a kabuki actor which actually is a Japanese art, not American so it wouldn't make sense to make Kevin one. Other than that, they are both loyal deputy in commands who are very devoted to their jobs. For Ryunosuke I personally think he is funnier than Kevin.

Mako vs. Mia... well they are both the team big sister to the yellow rangers with sweet personalities but given different backstories. Okay we met Mia's brother but Mako has a different backstory than Mia's family. Mako was actually growing up with her grandmother to be trained as a samurai while her parents were in Hawaii. I would credit the fact that Mia got a more original backstory than copy/paste from Mako.

For Chiaki and Mike, well not too much to say. However Chiaki is NOT a dancer and two, compared to Mike the amount of episodes taken for their character improvement happens at different paces due to the fact that PR Samurai only had up to 40 episodes in contrast to Shinkenger having 49 though they are more or less having the same good and bad values overall. So yeah, while Chiaki and Kotoha is fan paired, Mike and Emily seem to have that relationship at the end of their series. Other than that, the two are slackers who learn to be better people as time passes by on them.

Maybe for Emily and Kotoha, it's more of a cultural thing on how they are carried out. I really think that the only difference I could draw is Emily's sense of humor added to cheeriness present in both characters while the two are characters who develop to become better fighters via experiences while struggling with growing up pains.

For Genta/Antonio well you have a lot of differences. For one Genta unlike Antonio IS a sushi chef and not a fisherman who has a very wacky personality, seems to be stupid BUT possesses some kind of amazing talent when it comes to mojikara at the same time. For Genta, you might lmao when he first appears considering he really, really is more hyper than Antonio is while being surprisingly able to do amazing stuff.

So yeah, here's a little start-up for you all.

My Thoughts on Dairanger 20 Years After...

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:07:00 +0000

Well this is a 20 year reunion of sorts that has Keiichi Wada, Natsuki Takahashi, Ei Hamura, Tatsuya Nomi, Keisuke Tsuchiya and Hisashi Sakai. I got this picture from Orends Range. My thoughts? Well it's been some time and time flew so fast like yesterday, both Hisashi Sakai and Blake Foster were still the child rangers they were in their respective shows and both are grown up as shown in this picture. Just made me wonder who married who in Dairanger's cast... since I've heard Natsuki Takahashi is currently married I wish to see her family picture as well as the others. Other than that, any 90s Sentai fan would LOVE this reunion. Then again, in my celebrities blog I am so compelled to write about role analysis on the Dairangers maybe on Keiichi Wada or Natsuki Takahashi... but I really wish I could see pictures of their family lives =P

Maskman's Biggest Plothole IMO: The Rest of Princess Igam's Backstory

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:05:00 +0000

For Maskman, as much as I love the series I have this plothole issue with Igam herself. So okay we do know why she was raised as a prince was because of the absence of a male heir (but they could have just forgotten about that whole male heir thing that is the family), however I had my thoughts while she masqueraded as a prince, it was her fierce loyalty to Zeba that bothered me too much since in the first place, Zeba usurped her parents' throne and KILLED them so why serve such a monster? So if she was after restoring the Igam family honor, why is she serving Zeba who in the first place dethroned her parents? It wasn't explained to why she serves Zeba so fiercely? Was it possible that in the first place, she was really brainwashed by him as a child but it's never mentioned. Also, it wasn't mentioned at what point did Zeba take over or how she became his fierce enforcer? I mean, if she wanted to restore the Igam honor, why does she allow an imposter king like Zeba to rule over her in the first place? Lots of questions really and also, I pretty thought it didn't make sense (on her part that is) in Maskman 50 that she still decided to serve Zeba even after she knew he was the usurper of the throne and a literal monster. =P By then, I guess she's too headstrong stubborn until Ial managed to snap her back to her senses.

Goggle V Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 09:51:00 +0000

I felt like I wanted to write this article. Okay so I wonder if I have any mistakes here but I thought Goggle V deserves to be revisited. Now for the article:

Well I am afraid this season is pretty underrated... despite it not really entering into my "amazing list" but still, I feel this is a must watch. For me, I thought this whole season was filled wit concepts that would soon bring forth Super Sentai's newer ideas. There's a little bit of a shout-out for me. For example consider Goggle Red symbolizes Atlantis, Goggle Black symbolizes Asia, Goggle Blue symbolizes Egypt, Goggle Yellow symbolizes Lemuria and Goggle Pink symbolizes the Easter Island. I thought that the whole show was laced with a lot of gymnastic style fighting which really makes the fight scenes fun to watch.

So any shout-outs referencing to Goggle V in later Super Sentai? Here they are that I think do exist:

Kenichi Akama was an adventurer. Did his character concept give birth to Satoru Akashi and eventually Boukenger? I dunno about this but I feel that way although the two can't be compared all the time.

Saboru Aoyoma representing Egypt... well here's a little bit of what we get. Yuuji Mita/Oh Blue later has a Sphinx for his symbol.

Futoshi Kijima represented Lemuria. Later Natsuki came from Lemuria, thanks for the shout-out reminder Chris X.

Miki Monozono was using her ribbon style in fighting. Strangely enough Zyu2 footage (which was used in MMPR) also had Kimberly try to use a ribbon-like weapon once too. =P

I can't talk too much about the robot or anything except that it was the start of a three combiner system while it was also unique, since only three out of five rangers piloted it.

For the Deathdark, I felt like the were all either precursor to future villains in Super Sentai or Kamen Rider. For example I had my thoughts on these things I think are noticeable:

Deathgiller seriously reminds me of a Darth Vader type attire that's poorly done though he's still a competent villain. Made me think that he had a badass death when he decided to challenge the Goggle V for the last time piloting the Bear Kong.

Mazurka well she did share a close relationship with Deathgiller but what a shame really to kill her like that. I thought she deserved a really badass death, not to be used as a bomb. Made me think her design was later copied into Kamen Rider Black RX's Maribaron with huge modifications.

Grand Marshall Deathmark... well he does seem to look like Marshall Darkness in Kamen Rider as well as Pharaoh Mask from Goranger. Hmmm... I wonder if we can have more Pharaoh-like villains the future as field commanders?

I would consider Igaana and Zazoriya's deaths to be kind of lame since I thought I wanted these guys to die in battle. But the abrupt cast departure may have not allowed time for the writers to write them off in such a way but unlike the three generals in Turboranger were written off in the most badass way possible. But then, I thought that Zazoriya may have been the template to inspire both Dordora in Fiveman and Lamie in Zyuranger.

For Fuehrer Taboo, I really don't have much to say except there was one scene in the final episode where Goggle Red actually singlehandedly poked him while he was immobile, releasing his mobile form. So was that a precursor to the Riki vs. Ragorn battle? Maybe.

Overall, made me think that Goggle V is still a good experience overall, I really don't think it's that great but I might put it into the "must watch" list. To be honset, I still feel like this Super Sentai still has a special place for the hearts of many fans even if it's not in my top ten list including mine.

Sentai Villain Writing: What I Think Makes a Good Villain Plot

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 01:06:00 +0000

After reading Fantasy Leader's post on his favorite villains, I was encouraged to write this post. Now here are just a few examples of what I think makes a good villain with some examples:

You may want to consider the truth of inner conflict. For example, Doctor Man may be a mad genius who's always aiming to ascend above his human self to the point he completely mechanized himself. The adding of conflict to Doctor Man was when he was struggling between his battle with the Biomen and his son Shuichi who loves him dearly.

There are also the writing of misguided villains. Take Igam for example- being raised as a prince instead of a princess while wanting to restore the Igam family honor is one of the things why I like Igam as a villain. So she's disguising as a he, or two she really got everyone but us fooled. But the point is that, she's very misguided thinking that all she is doing is restoring the family honor, she does her work with much vigor until she realizes that she has been misguided and evil all along.

Trolls who work with neither the heroes nor the villains but are seriously a real menace as they know how to torture the heroes. For example Silver in Bioman added conflict to the series considering his fanatical vigor to kill ANYTHING with bio particles plus he's got the anti-bio particles which killed Mika Koizumi! Kiros is another- he works completely alone with no allies (except for stealing some Ground Beasts) while he does try to make an alliance with Zeba to get Ial for himself, even on his own he destroyed the Shot Bomber and two, he really is a pain the neck for than most of the villains. My third would be Basco- he's really got little or no remorse after betraying Marvelous or the fact the'll do anything to get the Greater Power for himself at the cost of people makes him a real menace.

Usurpers who really know how to get the job done and how to keep themselves in power for long periods of time. So okay it's really not too hard to figure out that Zeba isn't human considering he's always wearing a disguise but he does manage to keep things in control. So while under the guise as a great monarch hiding he is in reality the second Lethal Dobler, he really managed to keep everyone under his control. So nobody really questions who he is and why and if they do, he really shows just how cruel he is by ordering their executions. Made me think the way he manipulated Igam, Fumin, Baraba and Oyobur was really one of the best plots ever.

Not just a complete monster for complete monster's sake or as to call it evil for evil's sake. Sometimes you can have a complete monster but can be poorly written. Radiguet is one of the best well-written complete monsters considering he's got development. Radiguet despite being a complete monster thinks he's purer than everyone while he carries his unjustified genocides against other people he thinks are stupid and bastards, he's got a few chances to redeem himself (like when he helped the Jetmen twice but for the reason he wanted to kill them himself later) BUT he tosses them aside wanting to remain who he is and the fact he really makes the Jetmen and his fellow Vyram hate him so much. The other example might be Shaddam who is more or less a cruel bastard who is portrayed to be very cunning and will get the job done... while portraying to be somebody who can be a real life character who doesn't even care about his own family even willing to kill his own sons to get what he wants (that does happen in some royal families).

Giving the villains some redeemable value. So we might as well consider the fact that although they have irritated the heroes for quite some time, let's think some of them do have redeemable values. Buuba may be a menacing threat to the Changemen yet in the end, he began to see Gozma's cowardly ways, he delivered Shiima from her brainwashing and he chose to battle Change Dragon to the death so he can die a warrior's death rather than die at Gozma's hands. Gure despite being a villain in Jetman, he truly loved Maria and was even willing to let her go if it made her happy, he even asked the Jetmen to help restore Maria and he decided to fight Black Condor one last time in an honorable combat so he could die a warrior's death.

Okay both characters are played by Akiko Amatsuri. After watching Liveman and Dairanger, it made me think Mazenda and Lt. Gara were both a mixture of cunning, sneakiness yet they can be utterly cruel whenever need be. The mixture of cunning and aggressiveness makes these ladies truly dangerous while having some backstories that are pretty interesting.

Personal rivalry that goes a way back. Yup, that's one. I thought of the rivalry that has a long way like Dr. Kemp's rivalry with Yuusuke/Red Falcon was unexpected since they were best friends (that kind of plot was also written with Basco and Marvelous) but later both are forced to fight against each other as Dr. Kemp keeps throwing aside every chance of redemption he gets. For Yaiba in Boukenger he really has the most roots in the show considering he REALLY messed up Masumi big time since as a little boy to the time he was an adult, he constantly menaced Masumi to the point that the rivalry had grown very intense more than Garoa's wound from Gaku/Five Red as a child.

Villains who actually care for their subordinates. While it does get cliche with villains who don't care abut their subordinates but it can also make a good villain plot to have villains who do care about them. For example, Bandora herself may be an evil queen but she does care about her minions and same went with Hedrian from Denziman, both played by Soga Machiko.

Overall, it does take a lot of effort more than just being a skilled writer to do this.

Jetman's Biggest Plot Hole?

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 06:59:00 +0000

While Jetman still remains my favorite Super Sentai, sometimes I really want to ask this question on why in in the world did Radiguet turn Rie Aoi into Maria? For one, let's just analyze Radiguet:

We know Radiguet is a self-righteous person who abhors humans calling them "bastards" but why in the world did he save Rie Aoi? I mean he could get any girl he wanted but why her of all people? Why did he turn her into a Vyram? I do sometimes find it confusing whether or not Radiguet really has a good taste in women then if he does, why doesn't he well turn every hot girl on Earth into Vyram officers? Maybe even attempt to seduce Aya-Chokan? Hmmm... just doesn't make sense that Radiguet had to even...

Yup it's all about that Radiguet falling for Maria thing. I do find that plot of him lusting after Maria to be a really terrifying plot. So he said, "Regardless who wins, you are mine." The plot resulted to that after he fell for Maria and realized he can't have her, he killed her. Then again, if I were him, I would really try to seduce Aya-Chokan and use her against the Jetmen as well.

I really wish Toshiki Inoue can explain this one.

What If I Wrote Hurricanger

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 22:49:00 +0000

Well here's my first first on a "what if I were the writer" of this series. So first maybe I'll feature Hurricanger. Here's how I might write it:

Introducing the heroes. For me, I would really build some tension between them like maybe, let some darker and edgier themes hit the three of them. I might make it where they seek revenge for their loved ones, friends, etc. that were killed during the Ninja School attack. I would start the opening with the Jakanja attacking the Ninja School and to make things tighter, I'll put a backstory with some of the Jakanja members having joined Tao Zanto for the sake of power.

For the Goraigers, I think I might retain their desire for revenge. The desire for revenge here will be because they are misled by Tao Zanto into believing their parents were killed by the Hurricangers during the assault.

For the bad guys:

I would make the Jakanja darker and edgier with real background story with the Hurricangers. I do think it would be better if Tao Zanto didn't kidnap the students, instead he orders his troops to massacre them. I might write his plot where he has been manipulating certain people until they reach a certain level of evil energy for him to use. Then I'll have him finally absorb all their power, put the world under mind control and the Hurricangers defeat him with all their might.

I might make Sargain the only person that Tao Zanto ever trusts.

For Wendinu, I might give her the cold personality of Mazenda. I might give her a past with Hurricane Red or Hurricane Yellow like Mazenda's in Liveman to which leads to dangerous intrigue. For Furaibijou, I might make her a tragic character who after dropping out of ninja school, Tao Zanto makes her one of his members but is severely a misfit.

For these generals, I might give them a personal backstory with the protagonists. For Chuuzubu will have a history with the Goraigers as the murderer of their parents. For Manuramba, I might make him a genetic experiment that Tao Zanto created to spite the others. For Satorakura, I might give him a backstory of being an ambitious kabuki player who joins Jakanja out of spite or maybe a yakuza gang leader. For Sandaaru, I might make him more than just a treacherous foe, I might give him the backstory similar to Kemp but with a twist- he's joined Jakanja hoping to achieve the ultimate power but is destroyed eventually by Hurricane Red in a one on one battle.

My Overall Thoughts on Go-onger

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:37:00 +0000

Go-onger is pretty much a like it or hate it season, for me it's a guilty pleasure. I don't hate it but I can't praise it either. For me, I just watch this show for blatant silliness than storyline since I'd admit it's truly a messy one.

The cast of characters. Pretty much, the characters are usually imbalanced or something. Like I would comment that Saki's pretty dumb. I don't have much problems with Sosuke, Gunpei or Renn (despite him being the nerdy type) but sometimes Hant gets me mixed due to the fact he can be very funny but there are just some scenes that makes him very annoying.

For the Go-on Wings, Hiruto is VERY much like a Squidward-type character. I really find him annoying but at least he's got real talent but whatever. Really Hiruto does get on my nerves with how self-obsessed he is and Miu, well she does have those issues to. Fortunately Hiruto doesn't play the clarinet and suck at it or busily make portraits of himself.

The Go-on Engines are pretty much those in Cars. So they do talk and interact, something that's more appealing to younger audiences. For me the mecha designs are pretty goofy which may be appropriate considering this is a wacky denser and wackier season.

As for the Gaiarc, I think they're just a group of silly villains at first. To be honest, I think Yogoschrimaten ruined the atmosphere when he arrived in the scenario. They are pretty inconsistent between lighter and softer, darker and edgier to denser and wackier.

Overall, Go-onger's not a bad season for me, I don't hate it but I can't really call it an outstanding season though I'd watch it over the more serious (and depressing) Gobusters.

Pre-Zyuranger Super Sentai I'd Advise Power Rangers Fans Who Like Super Sentai to Watch First

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Wed, 29 May 2013 06:15:00 +0000

Well there are some Power Rangers fans who may be open minded to Super Sentai but aren't very open to pre-Zyuranger probably due to the fact it didn't provide them with the footage.

Dengeki Sentai Changeman- Well it's very old really but it does provide the space-themed ones though they're not operating in space. Maybe those who have already watched Power Rangers in Space should check this out first instead of Megaranger. But if they want to check Megaranger first, fine but I'd say don't miss this!

Choshinsei Flashman- I'd say this might be a good one to watch for those who have watched Power Rangers Lost Galaxy or Power Rangers in Space. Maybe they're wanting to watch Gingaman either. But maybe, Choshinsei Flashman might be better to start with for some "familiarity" with the origins of sources of inspiration for Super Sentai.

Hikari Sentai Maskman- For Power Rangers fans who like martial arts a lot, this show is very good. So maybe they like Dairanger but Maskman does deserve to be in this list. Good story, some intense plots and some mysteries too bad it got underrated in the past.

Chojuu Sentai Liveman- I'd recommend this if they want something better. This Super Sentai managed to inspire

Kosoku Sentai Turboranger- Perhaps the trope codifier to "pick teenagers with attitude". Well if they've seen MMPR, they'll probably like this one. Turboranger focuses on five teenagers with attitude who one day become superheroes that have to hide their secret identities.

Chojin Sentai Jetman- I'm being biased here since it's my favorite season, Chojin Sentai Jetman! This one was hailed as the best Sentai ever by some. So far, not really overall but for me it is. It made me think that as a Super Sentai fan, I still can't get over this one. Just watch and see why.

The Erroneous World of Dubbed Super Sentai

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Tue, 28 May 2013 05:16:00 +0000

As a Super Sentai fan, I personally feel I'd rather read accurate subs even if it sometimes hurts my eyes. In fact, there have been a lot of errors and there's only a few out of many I can point out:

Maybe the one I could share first is the Bioman English dub. Plenty of stuff were altered like the powers of the New Empire Gear are exaggerated (for example, the bomb that was set on an earthquake fault was actually only meant to destroy Japan, not the whole world). Plus, it really is something to realize that the Prince was introduced as Dr. Man's son, Mason knows Dr. Man was human from that episode and there was NO plot to steal the world's energy reserves. A lot more will be known by fans later through GUIS to how many errors there are.

Another was Hikari Sentai Maskman translated as "Laser Squadron Maskman" when it should be "Light Taskforce Maskman". Hikari means light, not laser. The Tagalog dub not only erroneously translated the opening and ending songs but also pretty much the whole show in itself. For example, Igam's gender crisis was never brought up in the Tagalog version thus further confusing Filipino viewers.

For Jetman, there's really a lot of errors in the Filipino dub. For example, Ryu is told by Aya to stop crying like a kid when he mourns over Rie's supposed death making her sound like a bitch while the real words she said in the Japanese version are, "Cry now Ryu so you won't have to later."

Any more you can name? Please mention but don't forget to state the language. =P

Go-onger and Power Rangers RPM Clarification

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Mon, 27 May 2013 12:34:00 +0000

Well I guess this is very much a contrast. To be honest, this is where there are mixed emotions like people who like serious themes may not like Go-onger and prefer RPM. Now for starters.

First Go-onger is a wacky, funny series of blatant silliness compared to RPM's rather apocalyptic serious nature (but hey that show does have some funny moments but not as wacky). The whole concept of Go-onger is on Braneworlds, fighting pollution and having Engine Souls that actually talk and dance.

Second, I guess this just settles that. Gaiarc is NOT run by a computer virus that destroys the world peace, no they are pollution ministers who are silly-minded vs. to that of the seriousness of Venjix's troopers in RPM. So pretty much, the villains in Go-onger are usually pictured as bumbling buffoons.

So pretty much, both series are very different. For RPM, I guess the idea of a doomsday scenario should have been used in Gobusters (which I feel has similarities to Power Rangers RPM) but I guess there are certain rules in Super Sentai now.

Megaranger and Power Rangers in Space Clarification

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Mon, 27 May 2013 12:28:00 +0000

Well perhaps one of the greatest thoughts that might hit a Power Rangers fan who wants to check out Megaranger is, "Well it's space themed." Not really. While they may discover it's not some kind of finale of sorts with a culmination of villains mixed with a lot of dramatic moments, tragedies of war, some hilarious outcomes, etc. plus don't expect to meet the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since Toei may not have permission, so let's do some clarifications.

Megaranger is based on computers even if they have a moon base and a group of teenagers with attitude who one day become a force to save the world from the Nejire. Pretty much, Power Rangers in Space should be credited for not copying the Megarangers' personalities while maintaining likability. However just for a start- Kenta and Miku are pretty much slackers at the beginning but they improve overtime compared to their more competent from start to end PR counterparts. The concept of three boys and two girls as a teenager team? Well I do kinda want to give credit to MMPR's lineup. =P

Just for starters, the Megarangers are gathered by Dr. Kubota who got them in a very unusual fashion. If you love hilarious stuff, Megaranger's a season for you.

The Nejire are a very different set of villains. Nope they're not ruled by Dark Specter but by Javious a mysterious being that really doesn't do much but give orders. So I guess PR fans guessed that there isn't a United Alliance of Evil here from Zyuranger up to Ohranger joining them. =P

However there's a few advice I might want to give especially this...

Well you might want to try watching a pre-Zyuranger Super Sentai in Changeman as well. Sorry for going off-topic but I thought PR in Space fans might enjoy this rather old Super Sentai.

Zyuranger, Dairanger and MMPR Clarifications for Newbies

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Mon, 27 May 2013 08:39:00 +0000

Well here's another clarification for those newbies here. Here's some things that need to be clarified before jumping into conclusions:

The Zyurangers are not five teenagers who have the attitude to save the world (you can find that in Megaranger and Turboranger which might interest you more instead than either Zyuranger or Dairanger in the long run). For Dairangers, Lin is the only one who's below 21 in the group and they're not students either. Plus they are NOT connected to each other except in Gokaiger's continuity.

Burai and Kou belong to separate series though the child actor appeared as the younger Burai previously before Jason David Frank would wear both suits as well. Well I guess some aren't so shocked to figure out that Kou was a kid IF they saw Power Rangers Turbo first but yeah, Kou is from Dairanger and he's the white ranger called Kiba Ranger. Also Burai is Geki's older brother... just a start. Of course, a little more spoiler is Burai's death.

Also the Bandora Gang are not space aliens but are members of ancient mankind and so are the Gorma. So pretty much, please don't expect the Gorma Emperor in Dairanger to be a walking guy with no skin. For starters, both groups are very different from each other.

Plus Daijinryu was not some family car like Serpentera with the potential to be badass if it didn't lose energy so fast. He was a living being that maintained peace in the Universe.

Overall, I really had my mixed emotions since I personally thought MMPR should have ended with Rita's defeat to wrap things up rather than let a show extend too much but I don't know how others felt. Fortunately that was done since the end of PR in Space (which I will do a Megaranger/in Space comparison and maybe Gingaman/Lost Galaxy comparison for newbies) and up to present.

It's VERY Important for Die Hard Super Sentai Fans to Be Professional in Handling Power Rangers Fans!

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Sun, 26 May 2013 10:47:00 +0000

I still could not forget the epic clash between constructive criticisms and stubborn hatefulness that Chris X underwent during the time that awful hate fic called Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Power Rangers Samurai (which was nothing more than a hate fic by Arnold who's a Super Sentai fan). Moving on, that awful fic was nothing more than a ground to fight, I treat it like a plague like I do with Rangerboard. For the super awesome Toku critic Fantasy Leader, he may be a die hard Super Sentai fan but he doesn't go around being jerky. Now moving on, I just thought that Super Sentai fans should be professional in handling Power Rangers fans. In the world of the Super Sentai vs. Power Rangers debate, it can go as sour as to the fact that the whole episode "Delusional Import" of Akibaranger was severely misrepresented by some die hard Super Sentai fans as an anti-Power Rangers episode when it reality, it addressed the delusions made by both sides. As said, this blog was meant to be a hate blog but I'm glad I didn't make it go that way.

In my own experience, by avoiding the argument of which is better, I simply began to introduce Super Sentai without muddling up Power Rangers with lies like "It's fake." and "Saban should be sued by Toei." stuff. However the problem can be with unfair haters that Chris X says he's very against them. What I admire about Chris X is that he states he's neutral about Power Rangers but he is against the unfair haters. He even stated he's not a Power Rangers fan but he has helped them a couple of times when he goes against unfair haters. As said, Power Rangers is still part of Toei even if it can't exist without Super Sentai. What I am really against are the unfair haters when they both belong to Toei's umbrella and everything so it's indeed true. Unprofessional treatment of Power Rangers fans may actually trigger the immature PR purists among them who can't accept that Super Sentai came first or their closemindedness or two, it's more or less stooping on the same idiotic level as those PR fanboys who pick on Super Sentai fans. That's why I'm thankful for the existence of PR Sentai Universe by Mr. Smith where it manages not to start a severity war between both sides. So that's why I instead focus on Super Sentai and avoiding any bashing of Power Rangers, instead while being firm, I try to be as gentle as possible in sharing to them.

As said, you are a Super Sentai, I appreciate your support but don't let any unnecessary hatred blind you. I hope this article brings more eye openers.

Some Gobusters/Power Rangers RPM Similarities

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:52:00 +0000

Well this will be a very shallow article but I just thought here are some similarities between Power Rangers RPM (based on Go-onger) and Gobusters as said, they both like to copy from each other. Note these are all very shallow and just surface similarities.

Takeshi Kuroki and Colonel Mason Truman- Both act as the commanding officers of their respective series.

Messiah and Venjix- Both started out as computer viruses that have become a real menace. While Venjix was created by Dr. K in an attempt to escape, Messiah was an unknown virus that gained power through Enetron. Unlike Venjix, Messiah is ultimately destroyed after he was revived near the finale leaving Enter as the final villain and noteworthy Gobusters is NOT a doomsday Super Sentai. In fact made me think Enter might also get rid of Venjix as well if he were in RPM giving the RPM group a much harder time.

Escape and Tenaya- Made me think that both were femme fatales though they operate very differently. Escape was purely a computer program, Tenaya was a brainwashed and crazy human being.

Super Sentai Finales I Felt Weren't That Good

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:32:00 +0000

Here are some Sentai seasons I thought the finales weren't that good. These were:

For Liveman, well it's a good series but I thought that I had some issues with the final episode. I thought Bias turning into a child wasn't a very good plot, I would rather have that Bias really torture the Livemen to death becoming the ultimate organism of his kind rather than release one more monster of the week. But still, at least the world is saved and Bias gets a karmic death so I'd say overall it's still passable.

For Turboranger, I thought that the finale was kind of rushed. Neo Ragorn was supposedly more powerful than his previous form yet he was easily destroyed by the Super Turbo Robo?!

For Jetman, my biggest problem had to be how Gai Yuki died since he deserves a more badass death in battle instead of that mugged by a mugger stuff. It was in fact why I got into the losing side of the 20 year debate of his fate whether or not he died by that mugger. The reason why I couldn't accept it back then was that... such a death was so lame. Really? He's dying there and the other Jetmen don't notice him? Made me think that why of all days the wedding of Ryu and Kaori? This shows that Inoue isn't very good with finales- the only decent finale he wrote so far was Kamen Rider Agito's ending for me. However this didn't really affect much of my overall fandom of Jetman as still my favorite series.

For Boukenger, I felt like the ending was pretty lame in a way. So far, we really don't get a real wrap up but a group of plot dangers like Gaja surviving after he was destroyed, some Jaryuu remnants still roaming and the Dark Shadow ninjas still at large. Made me think that the plot had some danglers which is probably as bad as Faiz's ending making me think at first Toshiki Inoue was the writer of this series seeing some Jetman elements in it.

Villains with Concealed Identities in Hirohisa Soda's Era

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:19:00 +0000

In the Soda era, there were some villains with concealed identities. It seemed to be a very common trend during his era to have villains with concealed identities.

Dark Knight- He was a mysterious villain who was actually Emperor Aton's estranged son Prince Megiddo all along.

Doctor Man- While some speculate that he is human, his identity was kept a secret until later he was revealed to be Dr. Hideo Kageyama a former robotics scientist gone mad with power. His revelations were during the Prince saga and two during the revelation of his real son Shuichi saga. Mason figured out that Doctor Man was human during the Prince saga while the robot Prince managed to fool us into believing he was a wayward human being but was in reality a robot.

Bazoo- While appearing himself as a giant torso in space, he was in reality the living planet Gozmaster.

Emperor Zeba- While it's pretty obvious that he's not human, nobody knows what he was until the second to the last epsiode. It was rumored by some that he was the original Lethal Dobler, however he is the second Lethal Dobler who took over the throne and ruled by oppression.

Vulgyre- During most of Fiveman's airing, he pretended to be Empress Meadow projecting the face of a dead woman whom he desired. It was until later he was revealed to be the battleship Vulgyre itself!

Some Clarifications Between Boukenger and Power Rangers Operation Overdrive

noreply@blogger.com (Sean Akizuki) — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:49:00 +0000

Well I don't know how many clarifications might be written but somehow, I feel like Power Rangers fans new to Super Sentai really need some of these to get a warm-up. No fighting okay? =) Not so much spoilers though but just some clarifications are needed.

Not all the Boukengers have out-of-suit special powers except for Natsuki/Bouken Yellow and Eiji/Bouken Silver. Also for some details...

You don't have an ice themed villain like Flurious, instead you have Gaja who is no way related to Ryuon. He is a sly, cunning villain with some stupid edge who doesn't have a bumbling Yeti to help him.

Ryuon is not a whiny villain over a red sled like Moltor is plus he's got a backstory that's totally separate from Gaja. He exists as a cruel, calculating villain with little or no mercy to his opponents and a complete monster. Be prepared to face his utter cruelty.

The Ashu/Questers are NOT extraterrestrials but are rather supernatural creatures.