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 improbable that actor Kihachiro Uemara was doing the singing. It was most likely a voiceover with Mizuki's voice. Chevalier shows himself as a charming villain -- even the Hoshikawa sisters swooned over him at first! The populace would dance to death to Chevalier's rhythm.
One criticism I have for Fiveman over GoGoFive is the bloated number of villains. Quality over quantity please! I would always use the Saima Family to overshadow Silver Imperial Army Zone's bloated cast. The Ginga Sentai Gingaman team (to distinguish them from Seijuu Sentai Gingaman) or the Galaxy Men (according to the dub) were actually his! The Galaxy Men were once used by Doldora for a scheme to overshadow the Fivemen. Chevalier showed up and the conflict within Zone erupted! In fact, Garoa was in fear of getting replaced. Garoa started out as a genuine threat BUT he was becoming a Butt Monkey. Was it because Hirohisa Soda had no idea what to do anymore?
There are times I criticized some of Chevalier's plans -- to be just as dumbass as Garoa's. Billion was probably the only one with a brain among Zone's generals. However, I couldn't discount Chevalier's bomb multiplication scheme or how he temporarily murdered Gaku Hoshikawa. That scene made we wish Gaku Hoshikawa met with Gaku Washio in Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai crossover film. However, Garoa was becoming more and more laughable (but it was entertaining) that Chevalier was a harder foe to defeat. The Fivemen continued to feel threatened by Chevalier -- despite him being supposedly a goofy villain!
I don't blame the Fivemen for getting scared of Chevalier. Sure, Fiveman episode 34 had some danky humor. I remember laughing when Chevalier's new monster Shark-Antlion-Gin was tasked with capturing the Fiveman and TURNING THEM INTO CANNED GOODS. Yeah, talk about trying to make cannibalism censored. We're talking about the 1990s when Super Sentai was significantly more violent! I laughed how the Can-Can played while the Shark-Antlion Gin captured Ken, Fumiya, and Kasumi -- effectively turning them into canned goods! Dongoros even wanted to eat Kasumi in that episode. Chevalier offered Dongoros it for FREE. Gaku acknowledged that Chevalier was that aggressive. In fact, several episodes Chevalier was in had him doing some half-brained plot that keep the Fivemen in bigger trouble!
What made Chevalier different than Garoa was that he was MORE ACTIVE. It was interesting to see Chevalier attack Gaku with Leopard-Cobra-Gin. Chevalier carried out the half-brained plan to swap people's minds with Scorpion-Catfish-Gin. Both Fumiya and Remi couldn't morph when their bodies were switched. Chevalier's only real weakness is his overconfidence. Other than that, the Fivemen couldn't claim victory as easily as they could. It just got more and more intense after that. Chevalier was stealing the show. At the same time, a starting revelation was about to hit everyone from the Fivemen to the audience!
Chevalier started getting more serious. Fiveman 42 started showing one thing -- Chevalier stole the show from the Fivemen too! Was the episode meant to show that popularity was fickle?
The same idea was later put in Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger in a different angle. The Fivemen kept their identities secret -- which was a PLUS against the Zyurangers. Chevalier used Leech-Swallowtail-Gin to steal the Fivemen's powers and give them to the Galaxy Men. The Galaxy Men started doing acts of evil in the name of the Fivemen. The episode also hinted at something about Galactic Empress Meadow, too. Why did Meadow spring out of Vulgyre's energies? Meadow suddenly becoming red right after Garoa entered into another chamber of Vulgyre hinted something was wrong!
The rivalry of Chevalier and Garoa got more out of hand towards the finale. I still remember my one-time rivalry with someone in high school -- in the same way. Fortunately, we're both no longer enemies and that we never served Vulgyre! Garoa created the Big Garoan out from some strange energy within Vulgyre. Chevalier tried to turn the Fivemen into trophies for Meadow. However, that episode had Gaku reveal that Vulgyre was actually a LIVING ORGANISM. Meadow simply gloated that the Zone generals were powering up Vulgyre. However, it was later revealed that Meadow was nothing more than an illusion. The revelation drove Doldora mad with grief the most. However, it seemed that Chevalier only served Vulgyre out of fear than loyalty. Could the same be said of Garoa? Dongoros was most likely only kept in line with fear. Dongoros saw two of his fellow scientists Shaishal and Shinder murdered by Vulgyre -- for attempting to jump ship! Vulgyre was truly a terror to behold!
Chevalier's final appearance wasn't his last credit. In fact, Chevalier was credited even in the final episode where he's already bit the dust! Chevalier had one final duel with Five Red. IMHO the Chain Deathmatch between Chevalier and Five Red was the best duel in the whole series! It wrapped things up perfectly. Chevalier succeeded in killing Five Red (once), but it was undone. Five Red managed to destroy Chevalier in the Chain Deathmatch. Chevalier didn't explode but lay down as a lifeless corpse. Yeah, I remember Chevalier actually spitting out blood -- something NOT done in Super Sentai these days! Chevalier lay down lifeless. Vulgyre revealed that Chevalier was the finest death essence. After all, Chevalier helped Zone destroy several planets. It seems Vulgyre (as Meadow) anticipated that Chevalier would return one day during Zone's struggles against the Fivemen. It was also in this episode Chevalier's Black Gorlin was destroyed for good.
For one, I'm going to say Chevalier is one of my favorite villains in the Super Sentai franchise. Chevalier deserves to have his name credited even after his death. Given the episodes he was in -- some showed him doing plans just as stupid as Garoa's. However, Chevalier's aggressiveness and charisma made him one of my faves!
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