Sean Akizuki's Super Sentai Blog

Sometimes, you'll never know how much they meant to you before they're gone, right? I've been feeling blue. There are times I think of my late paternal grandmother -- even if she's been gone for more than a decade. The actress Chieko Murata died in 1995 at 80 years old. My paternal grandmother managed to live until she was 91 years old. The episode has the lighter side of Toshiki Inoue -- a guy who usually does well with serious stuff but tends to screw up with humor. However, that hasn't stopped me from wishing Inoue was Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters' secondary writer! The episode has some generation gaps present. Obviously, Grandma Tendo was born before Modern Japan. Ryu Tendo would've been born in Modern Japan. Some values start to change over time. One must wonder where Ryu's parents are. It seems that his parents died ahead of his paternal grandmother. Hence, Grandma Tendo was the one raising him if that's true. It's an aspect that was never exp...

  With Daimos having its 45th anniversary - I felt like writing this article. I guess I never bothered to observe how the defunct Super Robot anime still influences Tokusatsu. Sure, we aren't going to see any more of those giant robots since Super Sentai took the spot. It's like how Power Rangers ends up overshadowing the Voltron franchise - both based on a Toei license. I guess World Event Productions (WEP) didn't stand a chance when Haim Saban got his turn with a Toei license. Some shows may be quite old but it doesn't mean they don't deserve a revisit. One character from Daimos would be an interesting revisit. It's the concept of that Stupid Evil bigot named General Sakimori Miwa. Yes, that Baam-hating general who'd do anything to get rid of them AND take the credit for himself. If I'm not wrong, the last Super Robot Anime that Toei had was Dairugger XV . Yes, that very show became the source material of the unpopular Vehicle Voltron cartoon. I guess ...

This episode of Chojin Sentai Jetman was first seen by me when I was already 13 years old. It's pretty much I'm stuck in the desire not to grow up and the desire to grow up. What wasn't helping the situation This episode does raise my emotions as the years go by. It also reminds me I had an obsessive crush on a girl who looks like Sayuri Uchida (she's been married for some time now though) while I was watching this episode as a teenager.  This episode has Ako get rid of her old teddy bear which is in quite a bad shape. Okay, maybe not. She could've had it repaired in a shop but I guess she's gotten too fixated with making money. However, the years of affection she poured over that teddy bear really created a disaster of a monster -- at least for Vyram! The monster both had the detached eye and missing ear of the teddy bear. I really remembered that I ended up dumping my X-Men Wolverine action figure from Toy Biz after I broke it as a teenager. It was a hard thin...

Granted, this year, 2021 will be Chojin Sentai Jetman's 30th anniversary. Last 2011, it was Jetman's 20th anniversary. Jetman is the series that's hailed as the series that saved Super Sentai when Chikyu Sentai Fiveman nearly ended it. Fiveman actually had issues such as Hirohisa Soda's burnout considering that he started with Dai Sentai Goggle V and didn't have a break from being a head writer. Soda's work from 1983 to 1991 as a head writer was pretty exhausting so most of the Fiveman episodes by him weren't as good as his previous episodes. There was secondary writer Kunio Fuji and Toshiki Inoue. Yes, Inoue, the guy who experimented with several concepts such as the anti-hero Ryo Asuka/X-1 Mask in Hikari Sentai Maskman . Soda's era came to an end and it was time for a transition. Before the late Noboru Sugimura - there was Inoue in his one-shot deal with Super Sentai. He would still be doing writing jobs for later projects but a shame that he wasn'...

I don't exactly know what to think after hearing from Ukiyaseed that Jetman is getting a DVD release alongside Gaoranger . This has me thinking that my personal favorite series is getting a DVD release? I don't know what to think. I could understand if Gaoranger will get a DVD release because Timeranger will get a DVD release but Jetman this September 25, 2018? I didn't see that coming but I'm glad it did. So much for my crazy suggestion of  alternate DVD releases  that Shout! Factory should be releasing Jetman instead of Timeranger (which is set for a July 31, 2018 release). Then why release just one classic when you can have BOTH of them? First, I could talk about the inevitable Gaoranger DVD release -- it was inevitable considering that after Timeranger there's Gaoranger. Gaoranger is praised while Power Rangers Wild Force is mocked. I guess most of the praise Gaoranger gets is mostly from the acting and not the writing. Forever Red had the potential to be be...

This just brings back memories whether it's my crude and unrefined humor (which led to an old shame where I laughed so evilly while writing said story) or just the fact that I tend to be unreasonable towards people. Heck, there are times Ichijou just reminds me of how I tend to be that petty towards others (such as when I slapped a working student when I could have just reported her over to the authorities for her misbehavior) or how uncontrolled jealousy can be dangerous to anyone. Shogo B'Stard has been reviewing Chojin Sentai Jetman (and I have my extreme favoritism for that show) and I want to review on the two Jetman episodes that focused on the Neo-Jetman episodes (40-41). These were written by sub-writer Kenichi Araki. Even better, we get to see Yuuta Mochizuki in action giving viewers a hint that he would be Geki in Zyuranger. Radiguet, Maria and Gure were planning to overthrow the man-child Tranza. This plot was somewhat copied into GoGoFive when Drop is force-grow...

So I read from Tokusatsu News Network a couple of days ago that Jetman, not Carranger saved Super Sentai . I still remembered the shock I had when I realized this fact: Fiveman wasn't well-received and the show was problematic during its airing. I even think that as much as I want to see Fiveman all over again, I still think that GoGoFive is miles better as a family-based Super Sentai. There was the Hirohisa Soda era where he served as the head writer for Goggle V, Dynaman, Bioman, Changeman, Flashman, Maskman, Liveman, Turboranger and Fiveman for nine consecutive seasons. He started to show signs of burning out during Turboranger and met his inevitable burnout during Fiveman. Fiveman nearly cancelled Super Sentai so I guess Jetman was meant to be a "finale" but instead, it opened up another era. Producer Takeyuki Suzuki soon worked with Toshiki Inoue for Chojin Sentai Jetman. The Soda era came to its closure with the great writer meeting his inevitable burnout. I...

I wrote a post on Jetman and the possible meanings behind the monsters-of-the-week , now I'd like to talk about the villains themselves. Count Radiguet... ah that big bastard of a complete monster right?  I always thought that since he was pretty much a live version of Gatchaman Fighter's Count Egobossler (who was human), he had always shown signs of immense cruelty.  He represents somehow the judgment of fallen humanity with his justification that "Humans are bastards." while he also represents hypocrisy, because his actions are no different than the very humans he hates.  I always thought he's also a hypocrite when it comes to keeping Maria around... and I felt creepy every time he touched her face or something, what was he thinking?  He may also be the the embodiment of treachery considering he got rid of Juuza and Tranza by betrayal.  Not to mention, every time he gets a chance to be redeemed, he just... throws it away!  He may also represent prog...

While it was nice to have Toshihide Wakamatsu was in Gokaiger 28, which is a guest appearance for Gai Yuki.   Gai Yuki's death was verified by the Jetman Encyclopedia, the son of Ryu and Kaori is named after him.  While it was nice to have Gai Yuki appear again even as a ghost, I always got bothered by WTF went wrong with Gokaiger 28 .  However please note that Super Sentai usually has no continuity, Gokaiger is more of an alternate continuity for the last 34 seasons. Really, it still bothers me until now that Gai Ikari can't see Gai Yuki.  I mean, he did meet the ghosts of Mikoto, Naoto and Burai.  Some may think that he was only able to meet the ghosts because he really died then he was restored fully back to life or two, it was a near death experience.  So what was really wrong?  Wow, Gai Ikari can't see Gai Yuki?  I always thought that episode was pretty stupid until now.  Dang it, Toshiki Inoue!

So as a child who watched Maskman's crappy dub on IBC-13 way back in the 90s, I was always intrigued by the one-time ranger Ryo Asuka also known as X-1 Mask... so much after seeing Bioman's Magne Warrior episodes.  I always said, "Why couldn't X-1 Mask just stay for more than one episode?"  Back then, I also watched Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers while having no clue about Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger... but now it's time for me to speak as a grown-up 30 year old Super Sentai fan! Just in case you didn't know but I guess most Sentai fans know, Toshiki Inoue was the writer behind the X-1 Mask episode of Maskman.  It was sort of his experiment to attempt on an anti-hero who would oppose the red ranger.  X-1 Mask was an experimental Maskman who ran off without a word after his girlfriend died during a Tube attack.  So with Gai Yuki doing the stuff like X-1 Mask did before he fully becomes a Jetman like going to a bar, playing pool, getting a drink, going t...

Well it may be back in the 90s and I still remember that crappy Family Computer system... and here's some of the games I remembered playing back as a 90s child: The Chojin Sentai Jetman NES game This game was based on the series Chojin Sentai Jetman way back in 1991. The game itself allowed you to select five areas that you may want to play, five rangers to select from (each with different attributes and I always used Red Hawk) and at the end of each stage, you pilot the Great Icarus (for me, I'd rather have to select between two robots). There's a password system that would allow you to start where you left off at the same time. The whole game itself was good for its time. The final boss in the game was sadly Semimaru instead of the vilest villain ever, Count Radiguet. After Semimaru was defeated, we get to see an 8-bit animation of Great Icarus destroying the Vyram spaceship. The Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger NES game I used to think this was a NES MMPR game back...

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...

While reading through Orends Range , here's one site I failed to notice.  It's the wooden shack in Shinkenger could be the same wooden shack in Jetman.  It made me think of a bit of similarities here.  Now for some comparisons and differences: In Chojin Sentai Jetman episode 50 one can see Ryu nursing to Kaori who manages to survive Radiguet's attack.  Now it's questionable really since she was out of suit when it happened, it could have killed her. It was in this shack that Kaori tries to reach out of Ryu one way or another. This was the scene where Ryu was still obsessed with killing Radiguet for murdering Rie.  Ryu was lost in revenge and wanting only to avenge Rie.  Kaori reminds Ryu of who he really is... a Jetman and the warrior that Rie loved so much.  She reminded him of Rie's last words prior to their final battle with Radiguet. The scene was somewhat copied into Shinkenger but in another way.  Here Takeru Shiba and Mako have anothe...

Chojin Sentai Jetman was definitely one of those unique Sentai for me. But one has to take note that it's also a Gatchaman tribute so what could have happened when they conceptualized Gatchaman ahem Jetman? Here's what I believe really happened: Now we have Takeyuki Suzuki the producer of a good portion of the Soda era (Goggle V, Dynaman, Bioman, Changeman, Flashman, Maskman, Liveman, Turboranger and Fiveman) and he was also the producer of Jetman, Zyuranger and Dairanger. Let's take a look at the pre-Jetman works to what he could have conceptualized. So it's obvious that four out of five Jetmen are based on Gatchamen. Ryu Tendo is Ken the Eagle (changed to Hawk for some reason), Gai Yuki is Joe the Condor, Raita is based on Ryu the Owl (weird huh) and Kaori is based on Jun the Swan. Ako Hayasaka is a female version of Jinpei but unlike the latter, she is a teenage school girl. So I guess they wanted to deviate a bit but Jetman is obviously a Gatchaman tribute! Pe...

Now I have discussed about Gai Yuki's death, now let's talk about Gokaiger 28!  So here's my opinion on Gokaiger 28... which for me had good points but had one severe injustice IMO... Gokaiger episode 28!  Now what's the big deal?  Let's get this points done and over with and why I think it's an injustice... Toshiki Inoue style! What's the big deal?! Good you asked.  So Toshiki Inoue was that guy who write Chojin Sentai Jetman and Kamen Rider Agito, two series I really like.  He also wrote Kamen Rider Kiva which I also like but not as much.  But he also wrote Kamen Rider Faiz which was really a mess.  Now here's what I think is wrong with his guest writing in Gokaiger! So what's the big deal?  Now I can accept now that Gai Yuki is dead while still believing how he died was a complete Sentai injustice !  I mean, this episode showed that Gai Yuki was a warrior worthy of the halls of Valhalla!  It was nice to have him back, verify ...

Now I would understand if you got stabbed by a knife, yon can die and Gai Yuki's death was realistic on his part but the Jetmen looked like idiots when they couldn't notice anything wrong. Now what was practically wrong with it? Here's what I think... and you can ask WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? You may also read my speculation behind Toshiki Inoue's injustice . For one, Gai Yuki is partly based on Joe Asakura. Both of them were badass heroes who would go into the battle line. For one, Gai Yuki was the type who would risk his life in combat. For example, during the Juuza Arc, he took a blast meant for Kaori and even he knew he could die. During the Three Demons Gods arc, he was willing to die to set Kaori free and he said he'll fight to his last drop of blood. For one, Gai Yuki's actions prove that he is one that if he should die, he would truly deserve a warrior's death not just being killed by a random mugger! You know, the death scene of Gai Yuki could...

One controversy I may want not to open up for speculation is the way Gai Yuki died. I would have accepted it if he died in the final battle, blew up with Jet Garuda... then maybe you can think that, that was the way Gai Yuki would have wanted to die. But no... I thought his death was too random. Now he did a good deed before his death by recovering a lady's purse... then the thug I assume is a semi-amnesiac Radiguet stabs him after that. Toshiki Inoue in his cameo in Kamen Rider Faiz... Now here's what I was thinking about the events that could have led to Inoue writing this unusual way to kill a Tokusatsu hero. Now here's my speculations behind why Toshiki Inoue killed Gai Yuki in a manner that was not easy for me to accept. Now I don't really care much if he wanted Ryu and Kaori to end together, there were HINTS in the show . Now he could have just left it up with breaking Gai Yuki and Kaori up but no... we really just had to get Gai Yuki killed in a way that...

Well I'm kind of inspired to write this post because some idiot thinks that one reason why MMPR is bad because it fails to explain why Rita turned evil, Zyuranger explained why Bandora turned evil. But what that ignored is that not all villains have given backstories to explain their actions or motives. On the other hand, I thought Radiguet was a villain who deserved to have a backstory dedicated to him. Moving on... what's the big deal? Radiguet felt like his cruelty needed some well-deserved explanation! Shadam, well we understand of the Gorma's You energy may explain why Shadam is evil. For Radiguet, IMO he remains a big mystery to why he's that kind of evil monster who double-crosses everyone, power hungry, merciless and throws away his humanity every chance he's got! And I thought he's one character that deserved to have an awesome backstory since he's one freaking awesome villain S.O.B. who you'd love to hate! Now let's take a look at one pe...

I used to compare Natsuki Mamiya who Ako Hayasaka. What is often ignored by me (or others) that time are the following. Ako is capable of fighting, Natsuki is not. Ako isn't stupid, Natsuki is stupid. Although Ako and Kotoha have their differences but I thought these two had some similarities aside from being cute girls who can actually fight: Ako is a bright and cheery girl in Chojin Sentai Jetman. Ako herself had her powerhouse moments at the same time, able to think herself out of any situation. She has led the attack against Noodle Jigen, she has beat Sound Jigen jilly, single-handedly fought Maria after seeing Trash Jigen die before her eyes (Maria HAD it coming) and she has also beaten Toxic Rat, in spite of being temporarily blinded by toxic gas finding a way out of it. One may also think, she secretly "stole" one communicator during the Neo-Jetman Arc, which proves she's really a witty girl. Now Natsuki NEVER did anything like that in Boukenger of that nor ...

One of Toshiki Inoue's writing styles seldom involved foreshadowing what he wants to happen.  If he foreshadowed  Gai Yuki's death , he also foreshadowed the wedding of Ryu and Kaori.  So how did that happen?  Jetman had a couple of episodes that shipped Ryu and Kaori into becoming an actual couple. Episode 4 "The Fighting Bride" had the instance that Ryu was scolding Kaori for her lack of interest in learning how to use the Jet Birds.  In that episode, Kaori was trying to ignore Ryu one way or another.  After a supposed heated conversation, Gai Yuki teases them about being a couple, before he actually falls for Kaori. Episode 7 "Ryu's Marriage?" has another but done quite teasingly, Inoue humor style.  In this episode, Ryu is destined to be married.  However to pull him out of his arranged marriage, Kaori and Raita draft a rather hilarious script.  Kaori says, "You agreed to marry me." Episode 12 "The Bus to Hell"has Kaori ima...