Sentai Shows I've Praised The Most

Note: I have deleted the previous entry that used "overrated" due to the corrections made so to them who corrected my terminology, I appreciate but sorry due to the deletion of that entry, your comments won't make it here. :-(

I would like to show the shows I have praised the most as a Sentai fan. These are:
Jetman was for me still the best Sentai. I agree that it's hard to duplicate its success as it seemingly gave tribute to Gatchaman- I mean not even the newer Sentai that still has the "old flavor" matched up. It had its "deviance" where for example, Vyram is a syndicate that challenges each other for power, Ryu's missing lover Rie Aoi who has become "evil" in the person of Maria and how the team tries to adjust with each other especially the rivalry of Ryu Tendo and Guy Yuki because of the fact that Guy Yuki likes Kaori Rokumekan but she likes Ryu Tendo instead. As the series progresses, the characters learn the true meaning of life, Ryu Tendo also reveals his own weaknesses when he finds out Rie had become Maria hoping to reach the former goodness in her (which he succeeds but loses her as she chooses not to be near him anymore in guilt of what she did while she was "dead" as Maria) and Guy Yuki his strengths and how vengeance bounces back like the final fates of Radiguet and Tranza. It seems though Radiguet is still alive but powerless at the end of the series. However I still refuse to believe Guy Yuki died despite the fact a thug (I think he's Radiguet without powers) may have mugged him as the final credits doesn't mention him dead.

Dairanger was another. Why? It was a series that really beats the pulp out of Zyuranger anyday. Zyuranger was okay but not worth overpraising for me. It had all the twist and turns especially with Ryu and Lin's Dai heritage, Lin's forbidden love story with the Media Magician or even Kou's parentage between Daos and Gorma tribue which leads to a tragic nine year old white ranger despite his appearance as a comic relief that Lin hates to be with. Also, one thing that never left my head is how Chinese culture got exposed through Sentai as well aside from just Anime. Like how? Almost everything in Dairanger is so Chinese- from characters to mecha to villains. By the way, I really can't help but "knight" Daimugen as the first seventh ranger even if he wore no spandex or was actually living mecha. And about the villains- Shaddam makes an interesting villain too with his relations to the characters, to how some Gorma were clay copies and the other used clay bodies or like how a cold and cruel Emperor meets his last and Shaddam as the final villain. It's so far the only show to show a possible future of the rangers involved.

Dekaranger was actually my personal favorite 2000s Sentai. It's not only for the face value of Jasmine but because of the plot in itself. Despite wacky scenarios, it's actually darker than Power Rangers SPD. The plot focuses on an obnoxious and arrogant guy in Banban Akaza who meets his destiny as the red ranger and how the whole Dekaranger team learns to accept themselves in the mission to defeat the bigtime crimelord Aburera who has been responsible for selling equipment to different alien organizations. I find all its exaggerated battles awesome or how the theme of greed destroying one's self is emphasized especially by the Alienizers. Hoji Tomasu the blue ranger was also an interesting fellow as he despised Banban Akaza because he wasn't the red ranger he worked with before.

Shinkenger- well I finally realized it's part of this list. So maybe it has its flaws but I like the show with it bringing me a mixture of 80s-2000s Sentai feel in some ways although not that well done, but still good. I find the rangers so 80-90s in personality yet they're piloting 2000s mecha and how the rangers interact with each other especially with their comedy moments which actually prevents the show from becoming dark, which again reminds me of watching Maskman as a child in some ways. I also enjoyed the fact that the swordplay has to be the greatest along with a complex storyline. Perhaps the most interesting twist had to be Takeru was a shadow warrior of a hero while Kaoru was the true heir of the Shiba bloodline. So maybe Kaoru didn't fight with Takeru side-by-side plus she adopted him... LOL... so I thought that was a little bit of disappointment but still good nonetheless. I believe this actually beats Kakuranger in almost every way- story, mecha, the supernatural... hmmm... I bet PR fans who like Sentai would like this too in both original and adaptation.



Maskman was one I praised for its introduction of Chinese martial arts into Sentai, something that adds the nicely done but unrealistic scenario where one blow after the other is delivered yet nobody falls down that easy. Also, I liked the story of Takeru and Ial even if they didn't end up together and how Momoko and Kenta got sucked into similar themes with falling in love with members of the Tube, in Kenta's case with two Tube girls- one a renegage and the other an underground mutant. One of the best plots here has be I asked myself when will the Maskmen ever discover that Igam is actually a man? Also, it's interesting that Zeba's story gets interwoven to the point that Zeba was actually a monster himself.


Gekiranger was worth praising not only for its dedication to martial arts but for the villains turned heroes in Rio and Melee where they discover the light as the series moves on and die redeemed. The plot of the heroes' past especially Jan's was really an interesting plot. It's one of those "deviant Sentai" where the story is kind of fresh. It's very Chinese in its theme like Dairanger.

Gaoranger's theme on the animals plus the plot of the Orgs makes a good mix. Although the show leaves some unexplored potential but it opened a new gateway for new mecha and plotline, each of the power animals woven into the lives of the Gaorangers or for the plot of the day.

Comments

  1. Hey, no problem at all. I was also thinking that you don't add my comment but I forgot to mention it in my comment.

    I just hope I am not being too intrusive with your blog though. I want your work to be as "you" as possible. (Don't add approve this comment, people won't relate to it anyways. Thanks!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like all your opinions, but Jetman seems a bit overrated... lol

    ReplyDelete

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