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Showing posts from July, 2025

Introducing Oto Ichikawa, Sumino Ichikawa's Lost Sister

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  Some narratives tend to stretch for too long. Thankfully, Gozyuger decided not to do this with Oto Ichikawa -- Sumino Ichikawa's sister. Mayu was looking for her sister even before the series started. Oto went missing as a child and returned as a teenager. It's not explained (or did I miss something) how old Oto is. The actress Alice Hiyama is 17, turning 18 this year. The actress Maaya Imamori is 19 years old. Funny enough, Maaya's playing an older character. Alice may be playing a middle school student instead of a high school student! There's a bad catch. Oto must wear the Shinkenger Universe Ring or she'd fall into a comatose-like state. The ring was later snatched away by Fire Candle at the end of the episode. Talk about having to wear that ring ALL THE TIME just to stay awake. Oto had an accident when she was little. What was this accident then? This would create some world-building here! Sumino later talks about a gray-eyed man from the past. Just who is th...

Choriki Sentai Ohranger: It's A Mixed Bag But Somehow, It Got Vindicated By History (Some Spoilers)

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  Choriki Sentai Ohranger is often considered "too awful" or a near-Franchise Killer. It's amazing how Chikyu Sentai Fiveman had that label and five years later -- this show got the label too! The rumors that Gekisou Sentai Carranger were also disproven. I've met some people who still hold Power Rangers Zeo to be "better" (possibly due to nostalgia sauce) than anything else. However, comparing the main rangers to each other is apples and oranges. Zeo continued from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Season 3 .  The Ohranger cast are meant to be MILITARY members . Come on, the Himitsu Sentai Goranger vibes could be there. Shouldn't even the existence of Chief Counselor Naoyuki Miura be a hint? Casting Hiroshi Miyauchi as Miura might be because he was in Himitsu Sentai Goranger as Akira Shinmei or Aoranger. I remember watching Zeo on Studio 23 (part of ABiaS-CBN) and getting fascinated by the huge merchandise. It's pretty much familiarity breeds contem...

Reassessing Chevalier: Fiveman's Supposedly Show-Stealing Villain

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There are times that it's the villains and NOT the heroes that save the show . Ratings can be sluggish. Chikyu Sentai Fiveman was often looked down before it got Vindicated by History. I'm amazed that Power Rangers fans actually bought the Fiveman official DVD despite the much superior Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive having its first release. However, Fiveman  would be pretty much like Kamen Rider BLACK RX -- a show that didn't do well but somehow won a following years later. Fiveman was a show that most likely suffered due to Executive Meddling. There was even that unnecessary Five-Kun puppets -- thankfully, they didn't last long! Chevalier's rise to the captaincy got rid of the puppets! As a child, I wasn't too keen on game-changing villains. However, I started finding Chevalier cool and dandy. Fiveman episode 28 knew how to make an entrance. Chevalier was singing that cool song "Hero!" by Kai Band. The late Ichiro Mizuki also made a cover version. It's i...

Kuon's Moral Event Horizon In Gozyuger

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As always, I'm going to give reactions to updates than write episode reviews. I want to focus on OTHER STUFF. At this point, I couldn't be sure if I'm having a random taste fatigue. Right now, I want to focus on spending my leisure credits on playing some games from the late 2010s. However, this week's episode is somehow too good not to post. So far, I've been having trouble selecting my favorite ranger between Hoeru Tonu (Gozyu Wolf), Ryugi Bakumagi (Gozyu Tyrano) because of his devotion to Tega Sword-Sama, and old man Kinjiro Takehara (Gozyu Eagle) because I want to become a child again until Gozyuger ends. However, Gozyuger doesn't appeal too much to my inner child.  This week's Gozyuger starts to show some descent into madness for Kuon/Ring Hunter Garyudo. Kuon's just too obviously evil. Karuma does a splendid job in making the villain come to life in human form. It's a Broken Pedestal. The tropes going with Cain and Abel is right. Cain was the e...