Sean Akizuki's Super Sentai Blog

  Super Sentai and Power Rangers differ in a lot of things. There's always the cultural difference. It doesn't matter how much I dislike Power Rangers -- I understand that the show had to exist due to CULTURAL DIFFERENCE. Calling Power Rangers an "act of cultural erasure" or "ruined the precious material" is ABSURD. Choriki Sentai Ohranger started another almost yearly tradition -- the Super Sentai VS. Movies  tradition. However, one might notice the difference between how Super Sentai and Power Rangers handle crossovers . Super Sentai writes crossover films WITHOUT canon in mind. Power Rangers tries to put most of its entries into a singular timeline. However, some Power Rangers shows are self-contained, such as Power Rangers RPM and Power Rangers Dino Charge .  Choriki Sentai Ohranger had a crossover movie with Ninja Sentai Kakuranger on March 5, 1996, directly on home video. The short film featured a team-up between the Ohrangers and the Kakurangers. It w...

Santa Claus: Look kid, there's no Super Sentai timeline, okay? I guess the debate will NEVER end whether or not there's a Super Sentai timeline, right ? Well, maybe. This week's Donbrothers' episode does give us another view of Santa Claus. Interestingly, Ichiro Mizuki died on December 6 -- the traditional feast day of Saint Nicholas aka the real Santa Claus. Here, we're talking about a fictionalized non-existent Santa Claus who either lives at the North Pole or in some strange dimension. The portrayal of the jolly old man in a right red suit really differs. I even believe Santa Claus isn't established to be real in other Super Sentai seasons.  Let's look at how Santa Claus gets portrayed all too differently... Our first portrayal of Santa Claus explored Ninja Sentai Kakuranger introduced us to a very different reimagining of Santa Claus. Scientifically, one man can't deliver gifts all in one night. Santa Claus movies do some explaining. Anybody who saw ...

  I was getting skeptical about Super Sentai reunion films. In this case, I decided to watch this Ninja Sentai Kakuranger to see how it'd go. It's a half-hour-long short film. I guess Toei has a lot of projects this time. The cast of Kakuranger all return with a relevant message. We have the following actual ages of the cast members: Teruaki Ogawa is 55 going 56 Satomi Hirose is 44 years old (youngest member) Kane Kosugi is 49 going 50 Hiroshi Tsuchida is 52 years old Shun Kawaii is 52 going 53 years old The short film's introduction has the Narrator talk about how the Internet has become toxic. As the former rangers gather -- they talk about how the Internet had become a TOXIC PLACE. Yes, even mere disagreements can turn into huge quarrels. I'm not so innocent myself either. I've noticed some YouTube videos no longer allow comments. The new generation Youkai were born from the Internet. A span of 30 years could've given birth to a new generation of Youkai.  The...

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...

I may have some issues with reunion movies these days . Despite its popularity in Japan, I was glad Samurai Sentai Shinkenger didn't have a 10th-anniversary reunion movie. I may be a fan of Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger but I wasn't too flattered at a 20 years after movie. I have mixed feelings about the news of a Ninja Sentai Kakuranger reunion movie. Some reunion movies may no longer be possible due to cast members who have died such as Tatsuya Nomi in Gosei Sentai Dairanger , the most recent demise of Yuka Motohashi from cancer, or having some sickness such as Kenji Shibata's brain tumor in Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive.  Kenichi Endo will resume his role as Prince Junior/Gaskadokuro -- something I think is built on nostalgia. Prince Junior was pretty entertaining. I'd dare say that while Prince Junior was crueler than Rito Revolto -- he also managed to be funnier at the same time. I still find the skeletal design to be funny. It wasn't explained why Kenichi left the show m...

  There are always cultural differences between Super Sentai and Power Rangers. My dislike for Power Rangers is partly cultural. I want to launch a speculation about where  Ninja Sentai Kakuranger stands among Power Rangers fans. We've had the DVD releases starting with Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger . Kakuranger had its DVD release and it seems there's no news yet of a Mahou Sentai Magiranger DVD. I tried watching Kakuranger and I feel the series could be more of So Okay It's Average (like Seijuu Sentai Gingaman ) among Power Rangers fans. That's okay because I think most Power Rangers fans may actually enjoy anything after Mirai Sentai Timeranger .  The 1980s to 1990s Super Sentai era can be characterized by stuff that makes you, "What? They show this to children?" After watching Zyuranger , I simply started to understand more why Saban Entertainment (or Fox Kids) didn't just dub it over. Zyuranger has heavy amounts of violence that may no longer be allowed in ...

I remembered checking out Kakuranger on fansubs before Shout! Factory finally had its license. The success of the Zyuranger and Dairanger DVDs led to the sales of this DVD. So, how does it stand? I think about how the show can be considered (even by myself) as weird and campy. In fact, it's the first official Super Sentai season that focused on Japanese mythologies. Sure, the Metal Hero series Jiraiya did with its ninja theme. Now, it was time to take it to the Super Sentai franchise, anyone? I think of Kakuranger as a weird show and maybe, just maybe, the late head writer himself Noboru Sugimura was starting to run out of ideas. So, what's with Kakuranger that makes it a weird experience for me? It's good with the martial arts choreography but I'd discuss some aspects that just got me mixed about the show. Remember this is just my OPINION so feel free to disagree. Tsurihime as the first female leader I think Tsurihime's role is an interesting concept but wh...

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...

I was inspired by Toku Warriors' post about Bilgenia to write this post. Here's my two cents.  So I'm still watching Kakuranger (and I have a LOT of distractions as of late) and there was one villain I thought was really written off too soon namely Gasha Dokuro.  He was played by villain actor Kenichi Endo who has been involved in a lot of action movies, usually playing villainous characters.  On the other hand, the first time I saw Endo was in one episode of Janperson where he acted as an agent of the Super Science Network. So what's the whole deal?  Junior appeared as the leather-wearing punk in Kakuranger who is cruel, vicious and vindictive to the core.  He showed up making the Kakurangers really suffer more than they should.  He would not hesitate to use children as shields and he brought the Hanarangers to fight the Kakurangers.  Every moment he was in, he literally caused a nightmare to the Kakurangers.  Just a warning there are spoiler...

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...

While there were Shinkenger clues, there seems to be Kakuranger clues also.  Here ar they: Ryuu Hoshikawa/Dyna Black- He was a descendant of ninjas and had ninja skills. Haruka/Yellow Mask- She was raised as a ninja and a very tough girl.

In Super Sentai, there have been some entries that have been quite Asian themed. Now moving on my short thoughts on them on their Asian influence. For some reason, I would like to consider Hikari Sentai Maskman as the first Asian-themed Sentai. Why? Well the whole theme focused on Asian martial arts. It mixed both Chinese and Japanese fighting styles. Gosei Sentai Dairanger instead of using Japanese themes, used Chinese themes in almost all the stuff from suits to mecha to the enemies instead of Japanese themes for some reason. To an extent, some characters were actually half-Chinese- Ryou and Lin. Kou, well he may have been pure Chinese himself. Ninja Sentai Kakuranger was the first that used purely Japanese themes instead of Chinese themes. It also battled the supernatural based on Japanese myths as well. Ninpou Sentai Hurricanger is the second ninja-themed Super Sentai. It was for me a fusion of Kakuranger and Liveman. Liveman in a sense of the first three members, betrayal,...

Well just take a wild guess why this is the entry. :-P Bwahahahaha! Emperor Ragorn- He is the emperor of the 100 Bouma Tribe. It's kind of ironic that Riki Honoo/Red Turbo was able to defeat him in a one-on-one duel. He was killed twice. Dai Satan/Lokar- It's not surprising he's named Dai Satan, after all he rules the Netherworld. He's the ultimate evil in Zyuranger with whom Bandora sealed a deal with. Like Ragorn, he was defeated twice. However he only appeared in episodes 30-31, 47-50. He was first defeated in episode 31 by Kyokyoku Daiyzujin. In episode 50, his physical form was destroyed. Only if he could just get rid of Hercule in Dragon Ball Z for using his name in vain. LOL. Daimaou/Master Vile- His name literally means Great Demon King. Funny he shares the same name with the antagonist in Akazukin Cha Cha. N-Ma- He was the ruler of Infershia. Although he was initially fragmented, he however managed to assemble himself back together. In the end, it ...

In response to ChrisX, I'll make this entry immediately. Here are the females in Sentai that I had taken a fancy. Hee hee. Mika Koizumi/First Yellow 4- I liked her due to her gutsy personality plus her passion for photography. Too bad the actress left the set and never came back so she had to be written off.  But her death was really powerful IMO. Jun Yabuki/Second Yellow 4- She's a gutsy, aggressive woman. I like her despite the fact she looks like somebody I dislike. Sara/Yellow Flash- I liked her due to her rather sneaky tactics and smart brains. Haruka/Yellow Mask- Although she is a tomboy, she does qualify in my list.  I may not find her sexy or attractive but her inner qualities are well, attractive to me.   Momoko/Pink Mask- She was my favorite pink ranger in the 80s. She was rightly balanced between being feminine and being tough and she was my ideal girl for Takeru/Red Mask all along.  However she was underdeveloped. Haruna Morikawa/Pink ...