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Showing posts from February, 2015

Wishful Thinking: Who I Wish Played as Gaja and Ryuon in Boukenger!

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As somebody who likes Boukenger but not as much, I thought these guys should have been in Boukenger: For Gaja, I thought the actor Hiroo Okata was just too stiff. For one, Gaja was too generic a villain for me compared to Ryuon, the Questers (as idiotic as they may be) and Yaiba.  Namely, I tend to blame the actor.  Hiroo Okata is just too stiff and I thought somebody else should have taken the role. Yoshinori Okamoto is another villain actor who came into mind.  I have learned from Shougo B'Stard that Yoshinori Okamoto was the actor for Gaja on the Boukenger stage show.  I mean, this guy could have made a much stronger Gaja for these reasons.  He was both the suit actor AND voice to Adjutant Buuba in Changeman.  Later he would be Bo Gardan in Flashman and Dr. Ashura in Liveman.  In Hurricanger, he later appeared to both be the suit actor and voice of Sargain and the season was full of Liveman references.  He was even the suit actor of Agent Abrella in Dekaranger.  So I thoug

My First Impression of Ninninger

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Last Sunday a few days after my 30th Birthday (wowee, better find a wife and fast) has entered the Ninningers.  So after the rather obnoxious (IMO) Kyoryugers and the rather too generic ToQGer (which Kobayashi has really burnt out), we get Ninninger.  We have the new head writer Kento Shimoyama who wrote some of episodes of Goseiger (six episodes), Gokaiger (six episodes which were decent ones) and eight episodes of Gobusters.  These episodes were a good start so I guess this series is a hopeful revival for Super Sentai. So here's my early thoughts on the series.  The series begins with the red ranger, Takaharu Igasaki who sees their shrine attacked by the Kibaoni Army.  He has one younger sister named Fuka Igasaki.  Their cousins are Yakumo Kato, Nagi Matsuo and Kasumi Momochi.  We get introduced to their different personalities like Takaharu being reckless, Fuka being reliable, Yakumo is quick-tempered, Nagi is observant and Kasumi being scientific.  So two siblings and three

Sentai Rambling: My View on Naruhisa Arakawa as A Head Writer!

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So I can say I've seen all of the series from start to end mentioned above in the following order.  My first Sentai to watch from start to end with Naruhisa Arakawa as the head writer was Dekaranger, Gokaiger was the second Sentai series.  In between, I watched Kamen Rider Kuuga.  After Kuuga, I watched the comedy series Akibaranger but I was hesitant to do so until I realized it has the weird humor that I love.  The last would be Abaranger. Before becoming a headwriter, Naruhisa Arakawa was involved in writing some episodes for Jetman, Zyuranger, Dairanger, Kakuranger, Carranger, Megaranger (he wrote the finale instead of Junki Takegami), Gingaman, Gaoranger and Hurricanger.  After Hurricanger, he became Abaranger's head writer.  Just a note, I always thought his first Jetman episode was pretty funny which would have probably been smoothed out by the time he was involved with most episodes with Yatsudenwani in Abaranger. Instead of talking about the shows chronologically

Top Three Super Sentai Girls By Some of My Real Life Toku Peers Underrated for Face Value Reasons!

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While I wrote on top seven Sentai girls my real life Toku peers overrated for face value reasons , I would write on those they underrated for face value reasons.  This is a post-Valentine's post but February isn't over.  Here they are ranked by my opinion and I haven't talked too much with them after the Shinkenger incident. 3.) Umeko Kodou While they all end up with their unhealthy drooling over Jasmine, poor Umeko tends to get overshadowed.  I mean, what's the point of watching Dekaranger just to ignore Umeko and drool at Jasmine?  To be honest, I find this really absurd just to ignore Umeko.  I mean, she's a ditz but she's a likable ditz. 2.) Miku Imamura Well she does get into the list for this reason... all because of Chisato.  Okay I don't find Miku pretty BUT she's an interesting character.  It had me thinking that aside from watching Megaranger because Chisato is hotter than Ashley and Casey (for my peers anyway).  And now poor Miku is

Gekiranger: Another Very Chinese Themed Sentai!

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If Dairanger wasn't enough, Gekiranger is another series that is very Chinese inspired. Like Dairanger, its basis are on chi power, martial arts but they use real-life animals, not mythical ones. Yet the whole season is also very Chinese-inspired in terms of theme, martial arts and concepts. The whole show seems to run also on Chinese mythological concepts. Gekiranger like Dairanger, has the concept of positive and negative energy. Gen Juken and Rin Juken are like the Daos and Gorma but in a different way. Both schools are like the harmony of the Yin-Yang sign of Taoist philosophy. Both sides must achieve that balance or Tao with each other. The rivalry of Jan and Rio is one that shows the battle of positive energy and negative energy. Yet both energies are needed to turn around the cycle. Miki Masaki who is the head of SCRTC is a master of jaguar fist herself. The entire organization is dedicated to the use of Chinese martial arts. Master Sha Fu's name may be derived fr

Dairanger: A Very Chinese Style Super Sentai!

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Since it's near Chinese New Year, I felt like writing this. Gosei Sentai Dairanger is a tribute to Chinese mythology. Now let's tackle on each area on how they were a tribute to Chinese mythology. Gosei Sentai Darianger is the first Chinese-themed Sentai. While Hikari Sentai Maskman had some Chinese martial arts, it was a combination of Chinese and Japanese martial arts. Gosei Sentai Dairanger's mythology is very much Chinese in this way. Dairanger's martial arts are all based on Chinese martial arts. Ryou uses dragon fist, Daigo uses Chinese karate, Shouji uses long fist, Kazu uses drunken fist and Lin uses eagle fist. The Chi Beasts are representative to Chinese mythology. Ryuseioh is based on a Chinese dragon, the Shishi is a Chinese mythical lion, Tenma or pegasus well as both Greek and Chinese versions, Kirin is a mythical Chinese beast and the Houou or phoenix has a place in both Greek and Chinese myths. The Ryuseioh would be Seiryu and Houou would be Suzaku

Mega-Pairing Talk with Megaranger

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Megaranger itself had no actual couples, only official attractions.  I started to think about the possible outcomes for these teenagers with attitude.  So here's our possible couples and why they are a possible couple.  It's past Valentine's Day but hey, February is not yet over so I created this crazy post considering my heart was broken many times as a teenager. Chisato's possible pairings.   For a bit of Chisato, she is probably the hottest girl in school and maybe every guy wants her... well maybe except her friends.  However I had some possible pairing talks with possible Miss Popularity here.  I have at least two possible pairings here for her. Kenta x Chisato .   Well I did warn every newbie to Super Sentai about this  crack pairing .  So unlike the other couples I mentioned like Burai and Mei (which has ZERO chemistry), the two can get easily shipteased by the writers.  Now Kenta isn't attracted to Chisato and vice versa.  I don't think Ke

Sentai Rambling: The Choice Between Moe Sentai Girls and Hot Sentai Girls!

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In Super Sentai, we have a choice of moe Sentai girls and hot Sentai girls. I am here with some speculations and opinions in this post. This may tackle Super Sentai fans of different demographics (ex. Japan, outside Japan, SS fans who also like PR, etc.). I might keep in mind that Americans prefer hotties and Japanese prefer cuties (feel free to tell me if it isn't true) Now time for me to take a DEEP BREATH because this is going to be wacky for Valentine's Month so expect more Valentine's related articles (and Chinese New Year related articles) for the whole month of February. So let's try to define moe and hot first. Moe refers to "adorable and cute" and hot can refer to anything that's just so gorgeous. I could give a start with two characters from separate series namely Mei from Zyuranger and Lin from Dairanger. For me, Mei is more on the moe side and for Lin, she is really, REALLY hot. Yes, I find Lin so hot (pun intended) that she deserves to be

Sentai WTF Moment: Yatsudenwani's Desire For Ranru At First Sight!

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Abaranger has one really weird moment for me. It's on Yatsudenwani. Either I want to find it funny or not but somehow, I tend to think it's not even funny. Yatsudenwani appears as a perverted monster. He's a defective Trinoid thanks to some unexplained event that caused him to turn into what he is. He was captured and enslaved by Mikoto... and he wanted to gain the favor of the Evorians. However something strange happened... When he ran into Ranru, he soon lusted after her. I always thought that the lust moment here was just disgusting beyond anything. I could swallow the one shot infatuation Rin had with the Media Magician (the Gorma are technically human) but this one was just awkward. Good thing Ranru isn't returning the affections... if ever. It goes as far as worse as he wants to marry her even if he hardly knew her. The event only left Ranru in utter disgust. To be honest, this guy is just crazy. I don't know which is worse... Jabba the Hutt'

Top Seven Super Sentai Girls Some of My Real Life Toku Peers Overrated For Face Value Reasons!

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Considering it's near Valentine's Day, this should be a wacky confession. Remembering some of my College peers who weren't much of Sentai fans (like me), I jumped into their bandwagon. So maybe you'll be surprised not to find Hikaru Katsuragi here (she was my first Tokusatsu crush, not Kimberly Hart). On the other hand here were girls that me and my real life Toku peers overrated through the years. They are some of my favorites too. Here they are arranged in order according to my judgment, not my real life Toku peers and as far as memory will allow me: 7.) Rin Rin is another subject and subject to relativity. We didn't care about Mei too much but... Rin was definitely in. The group had a friendly disagreement when it came to Rin vs. Kimberly. I considered Kimberly hotter than Rin, others had a different viewpoint either she was one point higher or one point lower. The problem soon escalated when they started to overlook Mei because of Rin and Kimberly. At thi

Asuka and Mahoro: A Dino Earth Couple Torn By War!

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The happy ending Ryu and Maria should have had...  Since I've just recently completed Abaranger , I felt like writing on this love story between Asuka and Mahoro.  The love story happened in Dino Earth when Asuka and Mahoro were torn apart by war.  The Evorians attacked Dino Earth turning it into a desolate planet.  Asuka was separated from Mahoro who he had long thought dead.  He was also trapped in the cursed armor during the war, which later Mahoro's younger brother used for a short time.  Later Mahoro who was brainwashed to become Jannu (a la Rie becoming Maria) held the power of the Cursed Armor. The battle was a painful one considering that Asuka didn't know Mahoro was captured by the Evorian.  In an act of despicable behavior, Dezumozoryla forcibly matured the pregnant Mahoro's unborn daughter and turned her into Lije.  At the same time, Mahoro was forcibly turned into the cold and cruel Jannu.  Asuka arrived on Dino Earth still skeptical whether or not Jann

Abaranger: An Amazing Dinosaur-Themed Sentai!

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So I just finished Abaranger and again, sorry for pretending to be a know-it-all in the past. Abaranger for me is the first true dinosaur Sentai. Zyuranger had some mistakes in including the Mammoth and Sabertooth Tiger in its category since both are mammals, not reptiles. This was the first true dinosaur Super Sentai. Remember there will be spoilers so read at your own risk. While Kyoryuger (in Shogo's view anyway) makes dinosaurs happy that they are dead , Abaranger makes me feel like dinosaurs wish they were alive again. I had a previous post on watching Abaranger and I didn't expect to finish the marathon that quick. So what did I feel about Abaranger? Abaranger felt like taking human evolution's concept to another angle with dinosaurs. I feel a bit of Agito influence with the series when it came to the concept of Dino Guts (like the Agito Seed), minus we don't have people who were killed off simply for having Dino Guts. As Abaranger is a completely different

Kenta's Love Interests in Maskman

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Kenta was sort of a dandy playboy.  What I find weird is that while Gai Yuki in Jetman was a playboy, he didn't have some occasional dates and later fell for Kaori.  In Kenta's case, he had some love interests.  These are... Miyuki in episode 7 was where Kenta felt bad because a lot of people had a date, he didn't.  He was touched by Miyuki's kindness and decided to pursue her.  However Tube kidnapped her and made a replica of her.  Although he was able to rescue her, he didn't pursue her because the battle with Tube isn't over yet. Yoko in episode 13 was more of "played for laughs" in spite of the nightmare fuel that episode had.  So okay, Kenta did end up having Fuumin as a love interest (under her Miyuki disguise).  Yoko was a reporter who discovered something weird about Miyuki.  She's a camerawoman and quite snappy herself.  At the end of the episode, Kenta took her out and discovered she has a big appetite in spite of her figure.  As sa

My Current List of Favorite Fan-Pairing/Shipteases for Super Sentai

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Well here's my favorite shipteases for Super Sentai. So far, this isn't cracky or anything... so I'll just tell why it's my favorite shiptease. Just a correction - Riki/Haruna, Shun/Miku, Kouichirou/Chisato are more of shipteases than actual pairings. So far you may notice some of my favorite fan-pairing/shiptease is gone (or maybe a lot) since I have changed my opinion a lot these days. Please note none of these are canon as well. Since it's Love Month, I could talk about my favorite fan-pairing/shipteases. So I'd like to share them cracky as they may get... and I'll explain why: Shiro Gou/Jun Yabuki So okay there's nothing romantic about it but I thought Jun also had some chemistry with Shiro. In what way? I thought some of Jun's focus episodes had some Shiro/Jun potential. In Bioman episode 13, we have Shiro trying to help Jun out of being chased by her former coach In Bioman episode 16, I thought they had some shipping material as well. In B

My Favorite Romantic Heartbreaking Moments in Super Sentai!

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Here are some heartbreaking moments in Super Sentai which I thought were well-written that's why they are my favorite.  But hey, I'm no sadist okay?  I just thought even if these were tragic, they were well-written enough to convince me it was a heartbreaking moment.  This also includes villainous couples. Eri realizing that Kiros does not love her.  This was a heartbreaking moment when Eri had a sincere, real love for Kiros and realized he never loved her.  He could have just clarified the misunderstanding but no, he chose to try and kill her.  Fortunately for Kiros, he wasn't messing with Eri from Goseiger. Takeru breaking up with Ial at the end of the series.  So you spent the whole series trying to save the woman you love, only to break up with her in the end.  I mean, most of the plot focused on his love story with Ial, Igam's anger against him because of that and how Takeru contrasted Kiros.  Kiros got the death he deserved by seeing the woman he wants at t

Mirai Sentai Timeranger's "Only If I Can Turn Back Time" Love Stories

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Since it's February and it's love month, here's my first romantically related post. Timeranger itself was a romance that actually crossed 1,000 years. The whole focus of Timeranger's love story is Tatsuya a man from the year 2,000 and Yuuri was from the year 3,000. At the same time, it happens to Domon when he falls for Honami. I wonder why didn't that douchebag Captain Ryuya warn them not to fall in love with anybody from the year 2,000? The romances that involved time-crossed ones were seen in Jetman when Raita falls for Kaori's ancestor (way back in the stone age) and in Liveman when Jou falls in love with a girl from the year 2003. Timeranger had a season long time-crossed romance. The primary love story for Timeranger was between Tatsuya and Yuuri . I'm just glad that Yuuri had no romantic interaction with Ryuya ... compared to the Time Force's Alex/Jen relationship. So how does this work? Yuuri is a cold girl who was frequently seeking revenge t

Sharing My Thoughts as I'm Currently Watching Abaranger!

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After Imagination Station had fully subbed Abaranger, I have begun my marathon to where I have reached up to 23 episodes.  Hopefully I'll get finished with the rest soon provided I'm not bombarded with tasks. Moving on, I'd like to share my thoughts on Abaranger in part.  Abaranger is more of a fun show, not exactly dark or light but a balanced show.  The characters both heroes and villains are way better than Kyoryuger.  Although I currently like Zyuranger better than this show, but Abaranger still gives me a load of fun. Ryoga Hakua/Abare Red may feel like an idiot but he's a likable one.  He's no loudmouth, obnoxious guy like Connor (it was during Disney NOT SABAN).  His backstory featured him adopting his niece Mai after his older brother and sister-in-law died off-screen.  I always like the humor surrounding him.  I think he's a funny dude but can get serious when need be. Yukito Sanjou is the Gai Yuki of the series except he's blue.  Like Gai