Sean Akizuki's Super Sentai Blog

In Super Sentai, we have the art of deception. Here's some rangers I remembered faked their deception: Haruka and Momoko pretended to be under the control of Kiros in Maskman episode 41 They supposedly robbed shops but it was all an act. Not even the Maskmen knew what went on. =P  I enjoyed all the gun action they did. Of course, it was revealed by Director Sugata that he set up the shops. The males weren't informed ahead of time -- in order to avoid the plan from being ruined. This created a lot of badass action no longer allowed in present-day Super Sentai . Most gunshots done these days come out pretty comedic.  Haruna faked defection in Turboranger episode 19 She did it to get the antidote from Zulten.  It was also pretty badass for me. Haruna pretended to be an amnesiac to fool the rather clumsy Zulten in the process. Zulten's really the worst villain in the series. One must wonder why Ragorn never bothered to sentence Zulten to death during the Bouma Real...

Although the Balban's four generals appeared all at once but these guys weren't taking turns like most regular Sentai villains.  Instead, when one died, another took place.  Here's my opinion on them and now I'm updating this entry considering that I've finished the series. Sanbash (1-13)- He's the first Balban general and somehow very insect inspired and so are most of his monsters.  He's a reckless gunslinger who recklessly fires just anywhere.  It was his mission to find anything that could revive the Daitanix.   Before he died, his death bridged towards the Lights of Ginga arc.  He died when his motorcycle exploded in mid-air after his duel with Ginga Red. Budo (1, 13-24)- He's a samurai themed villain with samurai-themed monsters.   His team was planning to grab the Lights of Ginga.  He always used the scrolls to find to any possible object that the Lights of Ginga could be inside.  In short, his whole term as a field command...

Okay I'm not a big fan of ToQGer but still, the ToQGers greet you a Merry Christmas! Kamen Rider Drive is here to great you too...

Timeranger had a three parter Christmas arc which focused on fighting destiny in itself. It also featured the appearance of the 30th Century Asami douche Tatsuya arriving into the present to "take command". I'd also share my reaction to this one a lot considering Tatsuya is my currently favorite shade of red by Yasuko Kobayashi . What's my impression of Ryuya? He's stern, he's cold and he really annoys me a lot. Again, it's not surprising since he's also a descendant of Wataru who is cold. We also discover more of the Asamis in this... it seems being stiff is part of their family line. One cannot be certain what happened in between 1,000 years and why Ryuya is like that. To be honest, I wonder what really happened that caused the Asamis to carry on the value of being cold-hearted from Tatsuya's unseen grandfather, Wataru Asami and then down to Ryuya. There is the whole task to "correct history" -- which makes Ryuya's overall rol...

Gekiranger had a one episode Christmas special which featured a boy named Carl and some focus on Ken Hisatsu. Carl is a boy who hates Christmas (we hardly have white guests in Sentai). So what's the whole episode about? Well Carl has a traumatic memory since his mother died on Christmas Eve in a car accident. Poor Carl.I can understand his dislike for the holiday but he doesn't have to spoil the others. The episode had Ken do some service for the boy. This episode also has Shuen, a Sun Wukong-styled monster do some chaos on his own.  Ken also does some cool martial arts moves. I thought it was also cool how Ken manages to get Carl back to like Christmas in spite of the tragedy. It's also interesting how the episode ended with Ken's designing.

Megaranger presented the first teenagers with attitude Christmas in Japan. Turboranger didn't have this while Dairanger and Kakuranger had Christmas specials. In this one, it specifically wraps up the Nejiranger Arc (though they return in the Hinelar City Arc). Episodes 42-43 feature the fight before Christmas. What amazed me is how the remaining Nejirangers still pose a threat, even if they are down to three. Miku is in a mute dilemma which is broken when someone's baby almost got ran over by a car. Fortunate Yuusaku as "Santa Claus" appears which lures away the Nejirangers. The Megarangers are excited about Christmas but can they save everybody else's holiday? The Nejirangers are in human form looking for the remaining Megarangers. The remaining Nejirangers engage the Megarangers in battle.  They are enlarged to which they gain the upper hand BY capturing the mecha for part one.  On the other hand, Dr. Hinelar's plans are about to be set in motion.

I would write on my favorite Super Sentai Christmas Specials. Here they are in no specific order but I'll explain why I love them. Dairanger's Christmas episodes . I love this for being realistic to remind us that special days don't exempt us from tragedies. It features Kou's Gorma heritage about to rise up, Akomaru's last minute redemption and even the death of their mother. It really challenges us to think of what really matters in life. Megaranger's Christmas episodes . So the Megarangers want to celebrate Christmas but the villains well love ruining holidays don't they? It's not just a filler as the Christmas episodes seek to conclude the fight against the Nejirangers. I just love the action involved as well as the conflict within the Nejire. The Nejirangers discover their purpose was to serve Dr. Hinelar as disposables... which will lead to Javious' death. In the end, they were able to celebrate their holidays while Dr. Hinelar may have d...

Here's Yasuko Kobayashi's different red rangers after I wrote about her different shades of pink rangers .  Now I'd share my opinion on them. Ryoma/Ginga Red- So I've seen at least 36 episodes of Gingaman (subbed) and I'm yet to bring in my overall critique.  However, he has given me some reasons to like him.  I like the plot where he is a stand-in red ranger, he does everything to fill in his supposedly dead brother's shoes and to do everything to uphold his duty as the current Ginga Red.  He has a strong sense of responsibility and wants to do everything to uphold honor.  I also like the idea where he wanted to return his powers to his brother Hyuga. Tatsuya Asami/Time Red- Yet another "stand-in red".  In the Year 3000, one of his descendants namely Ryuya was the Time Red of that era.  When Yuuri, Ayase, Domon and Sion came in they had no choice but to make him Time Red.  I enjoy his trying to fight destiny itself especially against his fa...

I always thought that Messiah in Go-Busters could have been more utilized but sigh why do I feel like he's an underutilized Venjix? What did think of Messiah's shutdown in episode 44? I felt like the Messiah's true purpose wasn't really fulfilled.  In my opinion, he should have been written back into the finale. However this is just my opinion on how Messiah should have been ended. So why just limit Messiah's death to Christmas Eve? I always thought that one way or another, I wanted Enter to really get some payback. I always thought that maybe let the Go-Busters and Enter think that Messiah is dead. I dunno who's to blame between Yasuko Kobayashi or Naomi Takebe for this injustice. I always thought that maybe let Enter be dormant for a few episodes. Let Enter absorb the Messiah Card into himself but it creates the ultimate backfire. Let everyone show that the Messiah is not a foe you can so easily crush down. My wishful thinking towards Messiah's final...

It's no secret that Gai Yuki was one character I really found annoying for some time.  Maybe it's because I like Ryu Tendo.  Part of it was because he reminded me of someone who I hated at first but became friends later.  Maybe he reminded me of my unrequited love, dating someone and breaking up with a girl.  But whatever, I always didn't think of him as a cool character until later in the series. Now let's think of the start of Chojin Sentai Jetman.  What annoyed me at first was that he didn't want to join the team.  I even thought that WTF come on, the world is going to be destroyed, all you think is YOURSELF?!  Maybe I had my obsession with Sentai reds that anybody who opposed them tends to land into my hate list.  And yes, Gai Yuki did enter that hate list but not for long.  And I thought of the whole reason why I really ticked off was that he didn't immediately cooperate with the rest.  He tried to leave the team but the moment R...

I'll admit that I've watched Timeranger as of recent but sad to say, I had to read through Jillun's synopsis to find out what the raw was saying to avoid watching bad quality videos. Now why am I mixed with Time Fire? I will admit I do have a habit of getting mad with jerks in your team. People by now know I didn't like Gai Yuki at first. Naoto is definitely one character I'm pretty mixed on. No offense Time Fire fans but I'm sharing my opinion on this character and I don't really have a good reaction towards him. Remember this is mostly opinion so feel free to disagree and raise up facts why you think I'm wrong. So why am I mixed on him? On the positive side, he's not a jerk just to be a jerk. I find him to have noble goals like his desire for justice with social classes. He got his position with the City Guardians thanks to hard work. On the other hand, what I don't like about him is that he's very standoffish, obnoxious and temperamenta...

Dairanger's mystery was its own ending... why were they all clay ? I just thought of how Zaidos, the fake Gara and Gorma XV all crumbled into dust. So what was Shadam really planning? How did he set the whole stage for Gorma? Now here's my speculation based on the events of Gosei Sentai Dairanger. First, let's talk about that senile emperor, Gorma XV So let's just say Shadam was a master sorcerer of sorts. He knew spirit transfer. I guess that could explain why the clay Shadam was like the real Shadam because they were just one person, except the spirit was no longer in his original body. Dairanger's finale arc also revealed Shadam creating a clay puppet out of Gorma XV. But one has to think how did the clay copy even have the memories of the real one? One may think of spirit transfer as a possible solution. Remember the Gorma Senate complained there was no emperor. So I guess spirit transfer would explain why Gorma XV though existing as a clay puppet acted like ...

While Mako isn't really all that tough, she's more of a sweet character but this was one episode where her limits are pushed.  So here's the episode's summary... Mako's dad comes to try and convince her to quit being a samurai, she has a plan to save a group of children kidnapped by Akumaro.  Although I would have preferred this kind of episode done earlier and Mako fighting against a monster-of-the-week mostly out of suit. A kid tries to escape and Mako really puts her neck at the risk.  This is one unexpected episode considering that she's probably the weakest of the group.  Mostly what she lacked in prowess, she makes it up with wits.  Throwing a Sukima sensor into one of the children's pockets isn't something you think of doing too much. Mako is followed by her dad.  She contacts the other Shinkengers.  She doesn't transform yet which made me think that although Rin Takanashi isn't really all that action-oriented BUT at least, she is...

Dairanger's ending for me sadly can get in a confusing direction. Now I'd like to cite what I really wish happened during Dairanger's finale arc. Here are some of the stuff that I thought needed to be worked out. I am writing this wishful thinking based on my speculation of the clay Gorma . There should have been some kind of explanation along the way like how can a clay dummy of Gorma XV possess memories of the real emperor? In my case, I might have it where Shadam might say something like, "Your majesty, your real body already perished long ago! I recreated you a body of clay so I can use you until my true plans were revealed. You were an idiot to think I was serving you! I transferred your spirit right into a clay body for that purpose!" Then we can have a bit of explanation to why Zaidos turned into dust. Gara asks Shadam, Shadam refuses to reveal his master plan. He thinks and says, Well, I had to revive a few dead Gorma. At this point, I can get my pos...

Bioman episode 12 was one Bioman episode I thought had my head scratching. Not to mention, it wasn't even funny. This is where I start with the WTF series where I tackle areas in Super Sentai that are absurd to the point they're not even funny. I agree with Ukiya Seed on some of the issues presented in this post. The episode featured Mason's plan to replicate all intruders into Mecha Humans. So what's the point in keeping them around?! I would have probably just killed them unless they held important information. Locking people up in a cell for me was stupid considering this... sooner or later, there will be more intruders, and locking them up won't be too much help. Now for Mason's plan against Green Two. It's a good plan to actually replicate the boy's father. It can create confusion to the boy. However the real problem is a lack of common sense makes Mason's plan super effective for the moment. So why do I think it's stupid? For starter...

I did talk about the time I took a break from Tokusatsu in general .  One of the reasons was I didn't like too much the direction Super Sentai took after Timeranger by reading about them.  But I had one silly reason to return... it was Jasmine from Dekaranger.  I was more into the character of Jasmine than her actress Ayumi Kinoshita.  She was a return point to Tokusatsu for me and I would talk more about it. During that time, I was struggling with my urge to become a Super Sentai purist.  Power Rangers SPD didn't please me a bit.  As for Dekaranger, I began watching it raw, not caring I couldn't understand what was spoken in the videos.  Then I started getting into fansubs.  Why I watched the raw Dekaranger videos that no longer existed on Youtube back then?  It was because I found Jasmine really, really pretty.  Yes, it's a stupid reason and I felt like I wanted to confess my crush on an otherwise fictional character. The charm of...

Mei are Lin are two of my favorite pink rangers .  So far 90s were the best era of Super Sentai for me.  Now to make a comparison of two pink rangers who had Kimberly counterparts.  Now for my humble opinions. Rishiya Princess Mei is Sugimura's first pink.  Character-wise, I find her better written than Kimberly Hart even if I like them both as characters.  Moving on, Mei's combat techniques are usually bordered on wit over strength.  The bow and arrow fits her pretty well since she's an expert mostly at long range combat.  People know I don't take her all for stupid reasons I had with other pinks.  I've discussed about her earlier comparing her with Kimberly .  Just read the entry on her and Kimberly Hart to find my opinion about her. For Lin of the Heavenly Wind Star, I'll compare her with Mei.  So what's the effect between her and Mei?  At first, I just didn't take her all that seriously.  Unlike Mei, I would admit tha...

The core of the conflict of Liveman's science After writing on Megaranger's conflict of science, let's try to write on the conflict of science in Bioman and Megaranger  I felt like Liveman showed the conflict between the Livemen and Volt.  So what's the big deal?  This is one element that makes Liveman win over Hurricanger big time! Academia was a research institute that aimed to help mankind.  Life was precious to them hence the name Liveman.  The Livemen lost two of their dearest friends who wanted to create a protective suit.  So why did Kemp, Mazenda and Obular join Volt?  They were deceived by Great Professor Bias' bias against humanity, his bias against humanitarian science and his desire to rule the world with a biased outlook.  Volt was an organization built on biases against humanity, believing that they would usher a new age. Great Professor Bias' biases are further pushed when he orders the destruction of the academy.  The ...

If there's one thing as a Super Sentai fan, I end up choosing Super Sentai most of the time over Power Rangers. While I don't hate Power Rangers as of current compared to the past, I can go from love to like (my most common emotion to it) or to plain dislike for Power Rangers (my current status). So what's the real deal between Super Sentai and Power Rangers for me as of current? I would be honest that the more I watch Super Sentai, the more I end up thinking, "Super Sentai is better." In what way? Remember I'm biased considering I'm am Asian guy with Chinese descent. So why do I think Super Sentai is better than Power Rangers? Why do I like the former better than the latter? I compare Super Sentai to spicy food and Power Rangers to non-spicy food. In a way, there are times I don't watch Power Rangers without ill feelings for it, or my opinions will change throughout the way. This is just my opinion so no flaming. You can still like both franchises ...