Turboranger's First Half and Second Half
Turboranger was one season that had two arcs- the three generals arc and the Nagare Bouma arc. So let's examine the arcs shall we?
First arc is what I'd dub as the three generals arc. Actually that was from episodes 1-29. Turboranger as said was actually suffering from ratings and perhaps affecting pay issues in the process. The three generals that were eventually killed off mid-season are Zimba, Jarmin and Professor Rehda. If I'm to talk about it, these guys were pretty cool actually and too bad they had to be written off. For villain plots in Turborangers, I thought they were typical for Super Sentai in the 80s- going from absurd to rather sadistic like Zimba's Agito Bouma, Jarmin's stealing love maybe because she's jealous or Rehda's Slime Bouma turning pollution into toxic zombies. I guess the show started to have bad ratings or just plain payroll issues or both. In the middle of this was also the introduction of Yamimaru and later foreshadowing Kirika as the first half ends.
Episode 27 featured the death of Zimba. In that episode, Ragorn was furious and started smacking everyone with his stretchable arms from his throne and Zulten is afraid of Ragorn's wrath. In this episode, Zimba volunteers to finish the Turborangers just when Jarmin was begging Ragorn not to get mad. He leaves the castle with a slashed bell after he stood for Jarmin, volunteering to fight the Turborangers as a last battle. For that episode, I thought that he was being badass to his death. We then see a battle between Red Turbo and Zimba which I thought wasn't all that impressive. After that, the Turborangers kill Zimba and Yamimaru enlarges him. While a scene like that was typically for near finale, no it was a midseason change. An enlarged Zimba defeats the Turbo Robo but is destroyed by the Turbo Builder.
Jarmin is next. Shortly after episode 27, she is sentenced to death by Ragorn which makes me wonder why he decided to sentence her to her final battle but not Zulten? I thought that this episode was pretty much another great way to handle a departure. So Jarmin reveals her "other half" namely the Kuroko Bouma which is a serpentine monster. It's obvious Jarmin is merely wearing a human disguise since her true form is that of a serpent. In that episode, the Turborangers are finishing the Turbo Rugger. She aims to finish off the Turborangers probably to avenge her lover Zimba's death. The downfall of Kuroko Bouma is that whatever happens to her, happens to her other half. Black Turbo finishes her off once and for all. She quickly enlarges her other half which was shortly defeated by the Turbo Rugger. Hmmm was she the inspiration for Lami in Zyuranger?
Episode 29 features the end of Rehda. In that episode, Ragorn sends Rehda to use the Chomajin Bouma to attack the Turborangers. So I was wondering why Masashi Ishibashi left the show? He was staying for a whole season in Dynaman and Battle Fever J so why did he leave Turboranger? In that episode, Rehda uses his desperate attacks and buries the Turbo Rugger alive. Yamimaru in this episode kidnapped Dr. Dazai (which happened last episode) and the Turborangers must rescue him. I really thought of the episode as one awesome way to lay off a character professionally. In here, Red Turbo duels with Rehda one on one and wins leading to Rehda's death. For me, the whole Red Turbo vs. Rehda duel is really one of the best ones ever done in the Soda era. The Turbo Robo and Turbo Rugger form the Super Turbo Robo which destroys the Chomajin Bouma. A really neat episode IMO but sadly, Rehda was written off.
The second half featured Yamimaru and Kirika. Yamimaru was introduced in the first arc as a wandering Bouma who was coming in as a "teenager with attitude" while he was actually thousands of years old. Now looking at the whole arc, this arc was pretty interesting though I really wished Zimba, Jarmin and Rehda weren't written off so soon because I could imagine the conflict of the two. In this one, Zulten was immediately turned into a pushover clown such as in episode 33 when he was turned into a fart machine. So the second half had Yamimaru get Sayoko a teenager who was an outcast (and a half-Bouma, half-human like himself) to become his partner in crime and inflict humanity with whatever pain they can, while struggling between their human and demon halves.
Episode 38 supposedly wrote Ragorn off but its ending hinted he was returning in the finale. For me that was the best Turboranger episode ever. Yamimaru and Kirika kidnap Riki, they lock him in battle with Ragorn while they intend to destroy the Turbo Builder. I would say the whole Riki vs. Ragorn battle gives a sense of suspense knowing it's a one on one battle against the series big bad. After Red Turbo is nearly defeated by Ragorn, he uses one desperate attack that actually allows him to survive. Ragorn enlarges and they destroy him with the Super Turbo Robo merging with the Turbo Builder, Sentai's first "Ultrazord". Ragorn is defeated but eventually returns for the finale arc to deal with the Nagare Bouma for betraying him.
Now we know during the return of Ragorn who Kirika's parents are and note that both Kirika and her mother are played by the same actress Masako Morishita who would later be Kujaku in Dairanger. It's one of the best development ever done for Kirika especially when she lived a life of hate, she realizes that her true father was a peaceful bouma who fell for a human woman and thus she was born. She tries to see the reality of things while Yamimaru was still insisting to be stubborn. This worked its way to the finale when Yamimaru and Kirika later live peaceful lives after the defeat of Ragorn for the second time which was rather rushed.
First arc is what I'd dub as the three generals arc. Actually that was from episodes 1-29. Turboranger as said was actually suffering from ratings and perhaps affecting pay issues in the process. The three generals that were eventually killed off mid-season are Zimba, Jarmin and Professor Rehda. If I'm to talk about it, these guys were pretty cool actually and too bad they had to be written off. For villain plots in Turborangers, I thought they were typical for Super Sentai in the 80s- going from absurd to rather sadistic like Zimba's Agito Bouma, Jarmin's stealing love maybe because she's jealous or Rehda's Slime Bouma turning pollution into toxic zombies. I guess the show started to have bad ratings or just plain payroll issues or both. In the middle of this was also the introduction of Yamimaru and later foreshadowing Kirika as the first half ends.
Episode 27 featured the death of Zimba. In that episode, Ragorn was furious and started smacking everyone with his stretchable arms from his throne and Zulten is afraid of Ragorn's wrath. In this episode, Zimba volunteers to finish the Turborangers just when Jarmin was begging Ragorn not to get mad. He leaves the castle with a slashed bell after he stood for Jarmin, volunteering to fight the Turborangers as a last battle. For that episode, I thought that he was being badass to his death. We then see a battle between Red Turbo and Zimba which I thought wasn't all that impressive. After that, the Turborangers kill Zimba and Yamimaru enlarges him. While a scene like that was typically for near finale, no it was a midseason change. An enlarged Zimba defeats the Turbo Robo but is destroyed by the Turbo Builder.
Jarmin is next. Shortly after episode 27, she is sentenced to death by Ragorn which makes me wonder why he decided to sentence her to her final battle but not Zulten? I thought that this episode was pretty much another great way to handle a departure. So Jarmin reveals her "other half" namely the Kuroko Bouma which is a serpentine monster. It's obvious Jarmin is merely wearing a human disguise since her true form is that of a serpent. In that episode, the Turborangers are finishing the Turbo Rugger. She aims to finish off the Turborangers probably to avenge her lover Zimba's death. The downfall of Kuroko Bouma is that whatever happens to her, happens to her other half. Black Turbo finishes her off once and for all. She quickly enlarges her other half which was shortly defeated by the Turbo Rugger. Hmmm was she the inspiration for Lami in Zyuranger?
Episode 29 features the end of Rehda. In that episode, Ragorn sends Rehda to use the Chomajin Bouma to attack the Turborangers. So I was wondering why Masashi Ishibashi left the show? He was staying for a whole season in Dynaman and Battle Fever J so why did he leave Turboranger? In that episode, Rehda uses his desperate attacks and buries the Turbo Rugger alive. Yamimaru in this episode kidnapped Dr. Dazai (which happened last episode) and the Turborangers must rescue him. I really thought of the episode as one awesome way to lay off a character professionally. In here, Red Turbo duels with Rehda one on one and wins leading to Rehda's death. For me, the whole Red Turbo vs. Rehda duel is really one of the best ones ever done in the Soda era. The Turbo Robo and Turbo Rugger form the Super Turbo Robo which destroys the Chomajin Bouma. A really neat episode IMO but sadly, Rehda was written off.
The second half featured Yamimaru and Kirika. Yamimaru was introduced in the first arc as a wandering Bouma who was coming in as a "teenager with attitude" while he was actually thousands of years old. Now looking at the whole arc, this arc was pretty interesting though I really wished Zimba, Jarmin and Rehda weren't written off so soon because I could imagine the conflict of the two. In this one, Zulten was immediately turned into a pushover clown such as in episode 33 when he was turned into a fart machine. So the second half had Yamimaru get Sayoko a teenager who was an outcast (and a half-Bouma, half-human like himself) to become his partner in crime and inflict humanity with whatever pain they can, while struggling between their human and demon halves.
Episode 38 supposedly wrote Ragorn off but its ending hinted he was returning in the finale. For me that was the best Turboranger episode ever. Yamimaru and Kirika kidnap Riki, they lock him in battle with Ragorn while they intend to destroy the Turbo Builder. I would say the whole Riki vs. Ragorn battle gives a sense of suspense knowing it's a one on one battle against the series big bad. After Red Turbo is nearly defeated by Ragorn, he uses one desperate attack that actually allows him to survive. Ragorn enlarges and they destroy him with the Super Turbo Robo merging with the Turbo Builder, Sentai's first "Ultrazord". Ragorn is defeated but eventually returns for the finale arc to deal with the Nagare Bouma for betraying him.
Now we know during the return of Ragorn who Kirika's parents are and note that both Kirika and her mother are played by the same actress Masako Morishita who would later be Kujaku in Dairanger. It's one of the best development ever done for Kirika especially when she lived a life of hate, she realizes that her true father was a peaceful bouma who fell for a human woman and thus she was born. She tries to see the reality of things while Yamimaru was still insisting to be stubborn. This worked its way to the finale when Yamimaru and Kirika later live peaceful lives after the defeat of Ragorn for the second time which was rather rushed.
I remember seeing the arc and Turboranger for the first time in 1990 when Toei Hero Club produce VHS and they crammed 4 episodes in 30 minutes of the Turbo rugger special.
ReplyDeleteAfter the 30th episode, dynamics in Turboranger suffered in my opinion still when they eliminated the there generals. Before we knew the final fate of the three. It was grand to introduce Yanimaru who came off as a Byronic hero/ villain. Like Sun Vulcan the villain roster grew, and I was hoping for that to happen. But unlike the Gobusters, the ratings is not the issue but the budget dispute. I can see them kill off the three generals in final quarter of the series but not that early.
It made absolute logic that the heroes where vulnerable as they where only highschool kids and was not warriors like Maskman, Zyurangers or Dairangers.
They did look cool with the "Combination Attack".
This would be Milton Musashi Ishibashi's final role in Super Sentai until he would return until 16 years later in Gekiranger.