Sean Akizuki's Super Sentai Blog

It's Christmas Eve, and I thought of what might be a bizarre irony. Last year's Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger didn't have a Christmas special, and the episode aired on December 24, 2024 . This year's Boonboomger had a Christmas special, presumably because Santa Claus is the ultimate delivery man. Santa Claus' mythos is are status-dependent on version . Santa Claus: The Movie tells a different story from Rankin Bass' Santa Claus stories. I found it bizarre but is there a reason some Super Sentai entries have a Christmas special and some just don't? I'd like to dig into that! Historically, Modern Japan was born out of Imperial Japan's ashes. America had a temporary takeover of Japan after the Second World War ended. The result was that Japan had become more open to the world, the Japanese Emperor was no longer considered divine, and Western influence entered. Super Sentai has had several Western pop culture influences mixed into it. For example, the use of...

Santa Claus: Look kid, there's no Super Sentai timeline, okay? I guess the debate will NEVER end whether or not there's a Super Sentai timeline, right ? Well, maybe. This week's Donbrothers' episode does give us another view of Santa Claus. Interestingly, Ichiro Mizuki died on December 6 -- the traditional feast day of Saint Nicholas aka the real Santa Claus. Here, we're talking about a fictionalized non-existent Santa Claus who either lives at the North Pole or in some strange dimension. The portrayal of the jolly old man in a right red suit really differs. I even believe Santa Claus isn't established to be real in other Super Sentai seasons.  Let's look at how Santa Claus gets portrayed all too differently... Our first portrayal of Santa Claus explored Ninja Sentai Kakuranger introduced us to a very different reimagining of Santa Claus. Scientifically, one man can't deliver gifts all in one night. Santa Claus movies do some explaining. Anybody who saw ...

Just because newer Super Sentai goes for a mostly lighter and softer approach -- doesn't mean legal drama can't be involved. Sure, we can't have brutal scenes like more mature crime dramas.  Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger has the International Space Agency. Rather than take the usual easy way out -- Boonboomger decides to add some crime drama into it. The ISA's supposedly responsible for law and order. It turns out that it's been infiltrated by CORRUPTION! Wairudo Spindo has had been paying off CORRUPT ISA officials. It turns out that Director Eiichiro Tokoyari is a SELF-SERVING PERSON. Tokoyari enters into what might be an uneasy deal with Wairudo. This is a typical crime drama element when it comes to CORRUPT OFFICIALS. This might be in a different light than Captain Ryuuya Asami's involvement in Mirai Sentai Timeranger . Ryuuya didn't have any real alliances with the Londarz Family. It was more like Ryuuya chose to let them escape as part of his convoluted gr...

Super Sentai has made certain American pop culture references. Heck, even Metal Hero and Kamen Rider have had them. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Tokosou Robo Janperson came AFTER Robocop or how Knight Rider inspired Tokkei Winspector and Kamen Rider Drive . Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger may have made several references to American movies such as Armageddon , Rocky Balboa , Speed , Die Hard , and Men in Black . It's not too surprising whenever Super Sentai and Power Rangers may have made nods to each other . Dragon Ball Z blatantly has American references such as the Days of Future Past storyline with Future Trunks or Frieza's third form with Aliens . Without much ado -- I want to present every terminology done in Power Rangers first that I'm A-OK will be used in conversations. Using the term "ranger" over "warrior"  The suffix "-man" has been dropped and the last to use it was Seijuu Sentai Gingaman . After that, the suffixes wer...

Okay, here's an old list I decided to update. Yellow rangers were usually male but there were times when they were female. In Power Rangers , most of the male yellow rangers are given female counterparts for some cultural reason. I admit I wasn't too shocked that Trini's counterpart in Zyuranger is a MAN because Turboranger had a male yellow ranger. I decided to update this post because of Haruka Kito herself. Here are the female yellow rangers in Super Sentai up to the present: Mika Koizumi/Yellow Four 1 and Jun Yabuki/Yellow Four 2 She was the first yellow ranger in Super Sentai history. Sadly she's the first female ranger to be killed off too. Bioman wanted to do so but there was some behind-the-scenes conflict with Yuki Yaijima. Yuki abruptly left the show and not so many know why she did it. Mika was presented as a loner who just wanted to be left alone. A tragedy really that she should die as well after her brother died in Africa for some unknown reason.  It wa...

I watched King-Ohger in Space . It was just another "special episode" instead of an hour-long movie. Yes, the whole web special was only 17 minutes and 49 seconds long. It would've probably been better to save it for next year or put it into the Space Squad movies -- something that's probably in Development Hell now. I watched the short film and I'd like to give my thoughts. Watching King-Ohger from start to end last 2023 was something. I still have that hangover feeling. It was like attending a party every Sunday from March 5, 2023, to February 25, 2024 . So festive that it decided to even stretch things out by being part of the same continuity as Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger . It's usually established that unless specified -- most Super Sentai entries (or seasons as Power Rangers fans call it) usually take place in their own Universe (or continuity) . Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger verified the existence of different Universes . Several events tend to contradict each oth...

That 70s Show, ALRIGHT!  I'm really feeling old as I feel the effects of the Space-Time Alpha Sword on me . I still find it weird that I had a love interest who looks like Mika Katsumura -- she's married to someone else now. It wasn't meant to be. I tried watching Battle Fever J then I took the challenge of watching Himitsu Sentai Goranger and Dengekitai JAKQ . Some people called me a baby back then for watching  Power Rangers in the 1990s -- that was all before I dropped the franchise out of PERSONAL REASONS . Officially, I've finally watched the whole 1970s era of Super Sentai . This was what might be the "simpler era" or figuring things out era. My late 30s self has an easier time watching older Super Sentai than newer ones -- even when I can still enjoy newer ones. But as said, it's not about older fans and rose-tinted glasses but on mostly younger fans! It can't be denied that before Super Sentai -- there was Tatsunuko's Science Ninja Team Gat...