Sean Akizuki's Super Sentai Blog

Am I excited for the Ninja Sentai Kakuranger 30th anniversary movie (because they can be so rare) OR am I just looking for something to nitpick ? I even said  Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Once and Always was proof that Power Rangers was too stuck in the past.  An update I got from UkiyaSeed reveals that Ninpou Sentai   Hurricanger and Shuriken Sentai   Ninninger will be part of the movie's continuity . Most Super Sentai entries are usually self-contained or take place in some other dimension -- unless specified. There are times when the convenient portal or "It's just a special." plot device is pulled during certain crossovers. Most Super Sentai crossover movies are like the Dragon Ball Z movies -- they probably just exist as some form of distraction or a fun What-If scenario.  I have a bit of my hypothesis for the return of three seniors. Kohei Yamamoto was born in 1980, Nao Nagasawa was born in 1984 (her husband Koji Nakata was born in 1979), and Hideya Taw...

For some reason, Super Sentai makes some non-canon crossover movies (and I wonder if some Super Sentai movies are even non-canon). It's pretty much like what Dragon Ball does by making a series of What If films . Sure, I usually tend to skip Super Sentai VS. Films these days due to them being non-canon. However, some entries were still enjoyable as a reunion film. The trend started with Choriki Sentai Ohranger vs. Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and became a yearly trend. The films were more like What If Scenarios. Ohranger vs. Kakuranger was already too obvious that it couldn't happen. The same goes with Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger vs. Ninpou Sentai Hurricanger . The film seems to fit into that imaginary Super Sentai timeline. Wendinu and Furaibijo apparently survived and met Dino Earth's legendary evil, Evil Ninja Iga. Iga was a member of the Space Ninja Group Jakanja. Okay, it does feel cool and he's almost way cooler than the rest. Iga fought with the Ryujins of Dino Earth. Ig...

Granted, this year is the 20th anniversary of Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger . Personally, I felt this series was more than enough to bury Shuriken Sentai Ninninger - a show that only got "bailed out" because of the terrible reviews that Power Rangers Ninja Steel kept getting . Personally, I still REFUSE to rewatch Ninninger as it's been mind-numbing while  the crossover with Kamen Rider Drive was pretty decent . Moving back to the topic - one could think of the sequence of Super Sentai a few years back before 2022. The late 1990s did have some change of direction. It might be important to think about how Super Sentai went during the late 1990s up to 2002 when Hurricanger first aired. Choriki Sentai Ohranger was trying to be as serious as possible. However, the Sarin Gas Incident caused it to become a rollercoaster series. Yup, I'd still keep saying that it's way better than Power Rangers Zeo BUT I'd like to rewatch other series before or after it. 1996 followed wi...

I can't deny that Hurricanger is one of my favorite last decade series. While I do prefer Liveman over it but I prefer it over Kakuranger at the same time. It's time for some throwback to what I believe to be one of the most fun Super Sentai series. Let's get started with the episodes shall we? Scroll 26 This episode is a pretty funny one involving Shurikenger and Isshu falling for Nanami due to some love spell. Is it me or am I a sucker for these? I thought Ohranger and Zyuranger made it funny. Zyuranger had both Dan and Boi in a temporarily love triangle for Mei and were locked up. In this episode, Shurikenger having assumed the form of a popular singer fights for Nanami. Isshu reveals that love can also make you strong. IMO, the Isshu/Nanami shipping should have been developed. Scroll 5 This is one reason why I actually ended up having Yousuke as my favorite member of the Hurricangers. He's headstrong, he's somewhat stupid but he actually develops as a c...

After I've been reading through Them's Fightin' Words, I decided to make my own wishful thinking. I'm also doing some Hurricanger rewatching right now for my planned top ten favorite Hurricanger posts (which might be canceled anytime soon because of real life issues) which has affected what I wanted to happen. On the other hand, I keep in mind that 2002 and 1988 are 13 years apart so this may not make any sense. Image taken from Thems Fightin' Words So I read of Shogo's blog posts and he thinks that Liveman's weaknesses are the two additional warriors . Here's what he said and I'd present my side of the story: When I picture in my head what Takuji and Mari's siblings as new heroes could have meant for the show, I get so mad, man. It certainly should have caused a bigger splash than it did. It's just no big deal to the characters, to the show, to the fandom. The big scene when the five transform and fight for the first time -- besides c...

I saw Ninja Storm prior to Hurricanger. After watching Hurricanger I couldn't take a look at Ninja Storm the same way again. I just don't feel like rewatching Ninja Storm compared to Hurricanger. Now it's time for me to write my five personal but not shallow reasons to why I prefer Hurricanger over Ninja Storm. Take note though that I still like Liveman over Hurricanger which I'm still figuring out five reasons to defend that stand but it feels like apples and oranges. =P I find the main cast of Hurricanger be able to do their job better than Ninja Storm's main cast in the area of acting The main cast of Ninja Storm gets the job done in the acting department. I think the people in Hurricanger are more convincing to what they're intended to portray than the cast of Ninja Storm. Nao Nagasawa's not better than Sally Martin because she's hotter but because she really knows how to act. Sally could still act, I'd still hire her to play a role in my s...

It's official. I've already added Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger to my list of Super Sentai I've watched from start to end . I remembered how I used to think it's somewhat similar to Liveman with the whole three plus two formula. So what do I think of the show? It's actually one of my favorites though I'm afraid that it might enter into the ranks of shows like Shinkenger or Gokaiger... shows that just get too much credit by the fanbase. Let's get started shall we? Just expect me to get so unfair with full mode rage bashing right now so proceed with caution. Warning! Spoilers ahead!

While I won't be doing my "My thoughts on Zyuohger in X episodes..." due to the weekly updates (And I wonder why the show's not clicking?!), I'm now thinking about writing this one after I wrote one for GoGoV  and Ninninger . I won't do any weekly updates (and maybe I'll drop doing episode reviews for now, other fellow bloggers or critics just keep beating me to it) on this one considering I've been watching this at my own pace (which is an advantage when I'm watching older seasons). Without much ado, I'll give my thoughts on this series. As usual, beware of spoilers.

There's a set of complete Hurricanger subs  and they're not those really bad quality Hong Kong subs. It's no secret that I had a lot of bad vibes and I mean super bad vibes with Ninninger. Ninninger's crossover with Kamen Rider Drive was pretty decent. Just that, Kamen Rider Drive kept me occupied and hooked while Ninninger made me drop it and watch it and eventually I dropped it. I don't even know if the fault is Kento Shimoyama's, Naomi Takebe's or is Super Sentai suffering from franchise fatigue considering that it's Toei's longest running Tokusatsu series .

Considering Ninninger is already starting to come to an end and the first episode sort of took a bit of Shinkenger's first episode, I might write on ninjatos and katanas. I would admit in the past, I was confused between the difference of a ninjato and a samurai sword until I did some more research on the matter. If anybody has anything to add, just comment. The ninjato The type of swords used by the Kakurangers, Hurricangers and lately Ninningers are examples of the Ninjato or Ninjaken. It has this description that it has a straight-edged compared to the samurai. In history, these swords were used in a stabbing motion which required more stealth to get closer to the victims. What was interesting was that they were usually shorter while the scabbards were usually longer was for other reasons than combat. These swords could be used to be shoved into the earth or a wall all the way to its hilt to reach higher. The scabbards also carried other weapons like poisons and other small...

Well no doubt Super Sentai is a Japanese heritage yet it was legally adapted into Power Rangers.  Now here are they: Ninja Sentai Kakuranger- This is the third of the late Noboru Sugimura's works (the first was Zyuranger and the second was Dairanger).  Kakuranger utilized much of Japanese elements such as ninjas and the monsters were basically all based on Japanese mythology which the narrator introduces whenever he's around.  It also had a Japanese version of Journey to the West added as well.  The whole series in itself was pretty much the first Japanese themed Sentai.  The series in itself also featured classic cartoony special effects likle "Thwok" and "Thump" during battle though I wish they were written in Japanese instead.  My complaint about this series was why Gasha Skull was killed off so soon because I wish he could have fought side by side with his father Daimaou but oh well. For Power Rangers, part of its footage was taken into MMPR Seaso...

Well here's my first first on a "what if I were the writer" of this series.  So first maybe I'll feature Hurricanger.  Here's how I might write it: Introducing the heroes.  For me, I would really build some tension between them like maybe, let some darker and edgier themes hit the three of them.  I might make it where they seek revenge for their loved ones, friends, etc. that were killed during the Ninja School attack.  I would start the opening with the Jakanja attacking the Ninja School and to make things tighter, I'll put a backstory with some of the Jakanja members having joined Tao Zanto for the sake of power. For the Goraigers, I think I might retain their desire for revenge.  The desire for revenge here will be because they are misled by Tao Zanto into believing their parents were killed by the Hurricangers during the assault. For the bad guys: I would make the Jakanja darker and edgier with real background story with the Hurricangers. ...

Despite the end of their series, it's a good thing to see their friendship last. =)

Compared to previous nostalgic episodes, I count this to be the most awesome two-parter ever for the following reasons: The first three Hurricangers return but looking quite different, doesn't matter because they do kick major evil butt.  Unlike the others, they managed to regain their powers for some reason and fight with the Gokaigers.  It's really a bigger crossover. Apparently Satakatura and Sandaaru managed to sire their juniors somewhere along the way before Jakanja eventually fell down.  Hee hee.  It's just funny as they were never heard of to have been married.  When were they born?  That's up to you to decide.  But I can really say, they're just as racist and cruel as their fathers.  They also play a lethal game that the Hurricangers beat them in- a game of cheating. Marvelous, Luka and Joe transform into the Livemen.  Well just fitting knowing that Hurricanger has also been inspired by Liveman.  Hee hee.  But I wish Jo...

I have noticed that in the later Sentai series, there seems to be concepts that were ultimately "hybrid" or merging concepts and themes of previous Sentai series. These are: Gogo V- As a series, it seemed to combine the concepts of Fiveman as a sibling team with Maskman (technology vs. supernatural) as well as a bit of Kakuranger when it comes to enemies. I pretty much thought of it that Toei was making rip-offs within its own company. Hurricanger- The concept of the ninja came from Hurricanger. However it also had elements from Liveman such as the primary robo, the addition of two more rangers in the series and the themes of revenge, redemption and academics. Abaranger- It had the dinosaur concept from Zyuranger and the multi-gattai concept from Gaoranger. Go-onger- The color coding was taken from Liveman while the comedy concept was taken from Carranger.

Okay I found Shurikenger's ten human forms a pretty weird plot twist in Hurricanger thus I was hesitant to cover it. Here are the ten human forms all of them are ranger actors:   Hayato Oshiba   Masaya Matsukake   Yuji Kishi   Yoshihiro Masujima   Toshiya Fuji   Shuhei Izumu   Ryuchiro Nishioka   Tatsuya Nomi   Masaharu Shishido   Kenji Ohba   Here's the interesting thing: Hayato Oshiba, Yuji Kishi, Toshiya Fuji, Ryuchiro Nishioka and Masaharu Shishido all acted as red rangers which is the majority. Masaya Matsukake, Yoshihiro Masujima and Kenjo Ohba all acted as blue rangers while Kenji Ohba later acted as a black ranger. Tatsuya Nomi was the only green ranger in the list. Shuhei Izumi is the only yellow ranger actor in the list. The character's real name of Asuka Kagura was never given a real face nor did we see how Shurikenger looked like prior to his giving up of his identity.