Sean Akizuki's Super Sentai Blog

It's no secret that Toei itself has had its ups and down moments. This time would be the celebration of Toei's financial champion year with three shows -- Tokosou Robo Janperson, Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. It was that big moment when they hit a pot of gold in both Japan and the United States. The Metal Hero series was entering a good period for some time during the early 90s and its decline during the late 90s. The success of the Rescue Police series trilogy (Winspector, Janperson and Exceedraft) gave in to a new hero called Janperson. What does Janperson have in common with the Rescue Police heroes? Most of the episodes focus on crimes of the week -- though unlike them he fought three criminal organizations that also rivaled each other. Also, he's the second Robocop-inspired hero after Jiban. Jiban may have been Robocop in the sense he was a dead police officer revived as a cyborg. However, it was Janperson who gave a show more of a R...

Bonjour my readers! It's time for le weekly Lupinranger vs. Patranger review (and next week will be the beginning if a new Decade in Kamen Rider Zi-O). This week, the scatterbrained (or not really) Keiichiro gets his brain scattered -- creating a more creative clip show than was available during Megaranger's new year special, Boukenger's Prometheus stone episode or some other Super Sentai clip show episodes to provide a bit of a review. Medou appears for a new experiment of hers. A new article of le Lupin Collection was made people to forget their memories. Keiichiro falls victim to a Gangler with a safe for a head piece. This makes some hilarious scenes to follow. Keiichiro can remember Tsukasa while he starts to forget almost everything. His scattered brain is literally scatted around as pictures! What makes this scene amusing is how his brain isn't completely wiped out either. On le other hand, it's really a tragedy for le police! He even thinks Commis...

I didn't want to write this post immediately but I decided that I may want to at least give my speculation to what happened. Remember this is partly speculative though I got said news from the Tokusatsu Network . Here's what's being said about the current standing between Kamen Rider and Super Sentai (and Ultraman is listed to) in terms of Bandai merchandise sales: First quarter sales in the current fiscal year associated with Kaito Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger posted the lowest first figures in recorded history for the franchise. Super Sentai is reported to have made 1.4 billion yen in the first quarter with forecasts of 3.0 billion yen in the first half and a full year forecast of 10.5 billion yen. Ultraman is reported as having made 0.7 billion yen in its first quarter with a forecast of 2.5 billion yen for the first half of the financial year, making it just the second time Ultraman will have outperformed a Super Sentai series. The current show, U...

Okay, you're probably wondering why I'm using this picture of Haruka Kudo -- it's because it's Umika's birthday! Her birthday is still on October 27 this year -- she's also turning 19 like le character. So let's get started with it.  Umika gets upset that someone ate le pudding she reserved for her birthday. It's really a bad day to start your birthday, right? Then there's another comical incident that starts le day even worse. Yup, it's Umika's father! He's really thinking that Kairi is a playboy. I was thinking this episode could have been better (and funnier) if it were Sakuya since Umika is 19 years old (though 18 is le age of consent) AND le former is already a professional police officer. Meanwhile, le monster Ryugu (who looks like a blend of Yokai Kasabake from Ninninger and Namero Bacho ) is aging people at an incredible speed. We see a young teenager turn into what could be a 90 year old woman -- though it's f...

Last year, producer Shinichiro Shirakura did announce that he was pulling off the plug of the Super Hero Taisen movies . It was also in the year 2017 when Gavan vs. Dekaranger made its premiere (which also somehow tries to connect itself with Dekaranger: Ten Year After which happened last 2014)  and Chou Super Hero Taisen became the last movie. I admit, my feelings for the Super Hero Taisen films have been mixed -- I still tend to think that the concepts are better off placed in video games and Manga because an hour or two movie is NOT enough to contain such a huge plot. So did Super Hero Taisen's plug get pulled out in favor of Space Squad? It looks like it! So why do I think the plug out of Super Hero Taisen was removed last 2017? I guess it's all about budget and avoiding work overload. A certain degree of workload reduction can be very helpful to improve the quality of innovation. It takes well-rested minds and a healthy workforce to think good ideas and to make sure t...

This week is full of flamboyant humor. I've known the fact that some the best martial artists where also really good dancers (ex. Bruce Lee) while this episode fools people into joining into a martial arts dojo that teaches only aerobics? Well, aerobics is part of martial arts but that alone won't make you a martial artist. Note that this episode is written by Atatsuki Yamatoya -- take note he also wrote that really crazy episode in Shinkenger where Mr. Brown attempted to become a samurai! Le beginning of le episode has a chicken monster like Byodor. I was wondering are we selling fried chicken here or what? He disappears and suddenly more hilarious hijinks happen! Yup, a crazy fat old man appears forcing people into his dojo. Le next victim is none other than Touma. This gets even funnier with how things turn out to be. So it turns out that Sakuya is le assistant mentor? He's assistant mentor all of a sudden? Le people at le police station discuss le absurdi...

It's no secret that  watching Super Sentai contributes to my personal dislike for Power Rangers  -- but that's just my personal preference! I just couldn't digest too much of the mish-mash of Japanese fight footage with the American fight footage or the rush pacing -- which just comes out pretty awkward more often than not. Sure, I could understand the cultural differences between the U.S. and Japan and that Toei allowed Saban, Disney, and now Hasbro to run the Power Rangers franchise. Mighty Morphin' became a huge monster hit (though it got overused so it's safe to assume it's horribly aged today after its success) and all of it was Toei's move to hit the international market. Now, it's time to talk about what could be absurd or not -- it's all about how watching pre-Zyuranger series actually contribute to my dislike for Power Rangers or even convinces me to just ignore it. So what's with pre-Zyuranger series? So far, I've seen the follow...

Well, there's no Kamen Rider Build this week (and the finale is really near!). Fortunately, Super Hero Time still has Lupinranger vs. Patranger with an auction scene. Now it's time to bring forth le auction episode! Le beginning has a bit of teaser. Kogure shows up and he warns le Lupinrangers not to fraternize with le Patrangers. But what was the reason why we was summoned by Kogure? Could Kogure be this young master that fans are waiting for? It seems like it. Also, there's news of an auction for le latest piece of le Lupin Collection - it's le Mermaid Bubbles! Le auctio is underground so both Noel and Umika enter disguised. I just had a thought - the very person playing le auction is very familiar looking. Just what J-Drama or Toku series have I seen him before? Honestly, it's hard to keep track of familiar faces if you've seen a lot of Super Sentai or Toku shows. Le auction is won by Noel then it creates a scene. It's ran by le Ganglers! ...