Sean Akizuki's Super Sentai Blog

  This is an idea that came to mind but I was hesitant to write it. I'm still stuck with Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger and not too excited about Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger -- even NOW! It's probably because King-Ohger felt so different it's more than just something new. I felt King-Ohger's innovation was highly ambitious! It felt more like a serialized Anime series than a Super Sentai . Toshiki Inoue made a comeback in Avatar Sentai Donbrothers -- something I enjoyed more than Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger . With Inoue's return -- I was excited and worried at the same time. Inoue is among the writers who got overused. I even remember a rumor that Kamen Rider Zi-O's head writer would be Yasuko Kobayashi.  As I did more research on Kobayashi -- she also wrote for Attack of Titan -- something I only discovered by researching about her! What I never realized was that some Super Sentai fans have compared it to Attack on Titan . I wonder if Toei actually planned Kobayashi to be t...

Okay, I decided to revisit and update this post which was written last 2014 . This is just some random post I wrote. I decided to update this post since Toshiki Inoue had returned to become a Super Sentai head writer in 2022 with Avatar Sentai Donbrothers . So far, Donbrothers is enjoyable and it has managed to keep the Ranger History lessons to a mininum. 2022 is also 10 years after Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters . I felt that Inoue was somehow underutilized in Super Sentai during the 2000s - maybe except for the guest writing that he did during Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger's "cruel episode". Yes, I still stand by it me thinking it's a very cruel episode. Go ahead, get mad, but as said I still think it's a cruel episode. Still, I felt that the "cruel episode" should've been a hint that Inoue was fit to be a writer for Go-Busters .  Yasuko Kobayashi became the head writer. The secondary writers were Kento Shimoyama (who was with the terrible Shuriken Sentai Ni...

  Ah yes, all before Toshiki Inoue made a grand return in Avatar Sentai Donbrothers . I caught up and noticed that the episodes are more on the lighter and softer side. Back then, he was the type to write darker and edgier episodes. The same can be said for most of his Kamen Rider episodes except for majority of Kamen Rider Kiva . I decided to revisit Inoue's contributions to Super Sentai before he got overused in Kamen Rider . Heck, I even felt that he wasn't even given enough Super Sentai to do. I still feel assigning him to become Kamen Rider Hibiki's head writer for the second half wasn't such a good move. Meanwhile, I thought about Inoue's contributions and how he contributed to the nightmare fuel. Inoue did get some minor writing roles during Choshinsei Flashman , Hikari Sentai Maskman , Chojuu Sentai Liveman ,  Kosoku Sentai Turboranger , and  Chikyu Sentai Fiveman before becoming the head writer of Chojin Sentai Jetman . Yes, Jetman , a season full of night...

  I was thinking about it that Yasuko Kobayashi is probably still a fan favorite. I think it's very common to see her name probably mentioned alongside Judd Lynn (who I think is just  overhyped by the fans ). With Go-Busters on its 10th anniversary and ToQGer getting its 10th by 2024 - I felt I wanted to write this post. If you're not a fan of spoilers - please DON'T READ. If not, you can go ahead and read this post. So, how did her finales do? I think it'd be best to evaluate them. Meanwhile, please do check this post I read years ago about  Toshiki Inoue and his finales  and Kobayashi's Kamen Rider finales . Seijuu Sentai Gingaman Kobayashi did get some minor Toku work such as with Janperson . Later on, Kobayashi did become an important contributor to Denji Sentai Megaranger as a secondary writer. I guess Toei Ltd. was impressed with her work, So, like Toshiki Inoue, Kobayashi was immediately set with being that "saver". But how did she fare well? Well,...

  I remembered one of Shogo B'Stard's entries and one of them was Toshiki Inoue and his finales . If there were two Toku writers I feel don't put their best in finales - it's both him and Yasuko Kobayashi . I still find it all too weird the way both Gai Yuki and Naoto Takizawa died - one died by a thug and the other by a lowly footsoldier from a distance. Both Gai and Naoto are douchebag anti-heroes in their own series though the latter is the sixth ranger. Hojo Toru in Kamen Rider Agito is pretty much the douchebag antihero who I wish was played by Shinji Kasahara. Inoue tends to be one of those guys who gets known for good episodes and his screw-ups.  That's why I wanted to panic with his appearance in Avatar Sentai Donbrothers - just remember how Hirohisa Soda fell down during Kosoku Sentai Turboranger (and I feel like fans of Power Rangers are going to rant on me over and over again that Gekisou Sentai Caaaarrrrrannger is SO MUCH BETTER) and  Chikyu Sentai F...

Granted, Junko Komura is a writer for the Pretty Cure series. What I didn't realize was that she was that secondary writer for several Super Sentai series such as Engine Sentai Go-Onger  (which I hate now after Gekisou Sentai Carranger ran over it), Tensou Sentai Goseiger , Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger , Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger , Kamen Rider Drive , and served as a major contributor for Kamen Rider Wizard  - a series I felt failed to meet its potential. Komura herself would have three major Super Sentai involvements - Doubotsu Sentai Zyuohger , Kaito Sentai Lupinranger vs. Keisatsu Sentai Patranger , and last year's Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger . I would like give my personal thoughts. If you like any of the shows I bash - I'm fine with it. If you dislike any of the shows I like (ex. Seijuu Sentai Gingaman for those who might want to say Power Rangers Lost Galaxy and maybe Choshinsei Flashman  are better) then I'M STILL FINE WITH IT. Granted, my opinions should NEVER affect wha...

Perhaps one of the most overrated head writers back then is Yasuko Kobayashi. I would say that it's because Hirohisa Soda's era of Super Sentai didn't get translated immediately. If Power Rangers has Judd Lynn then Super Sentai has Kobayashi. Just thinking how the two probably get more credit than they deserve. I feel they even unintentionally overshadow Soda - a writer whose contributions to Super Sentai brought it out of the basic cardboard formula into better development. ThRis also leads some people to wonder which is her Super Sentai Magnum Opus? Answers may differ. In my case, people know my favorite will still be Timeranger. My least favorite from her is still ToQGer. However, they are just personal preferences and I can respect negative opinions on Timeranger and positive opinions on ToQGer. Now, it's time to consider the times she became Super Sentai's head writer. Seijuu Sentai Gingaman Gingaman is Kobayashi's first time to be a Super Sentai...

Another important era to remember in the history of Super Sentai is the Sugimura era. The late Noboru Sugimura didn't start off with Super Sentai. For me, the shows where he's the head writer can be a mixed bag of preferences - at least for me! It's known how I ended up not liking Jiban because of my extreme favoritism for Janperson. It's no secret that I'm a fan of Winspector and Solbrain. After him, there was Junichi Miyashita who was the head writer for Exceedraft, Janperson, Blue SWAT, B-Fighter, B-Fighter Kabuto, and Hurricanger. Both Sugimura and Miyashita were major contributors to the classic Showa (and maybe my ONLY favorite Kamen Rider series of that time) - Kamen Rider Black! Sugimura quickly kicked in after Toshiki Inoue wrote the Super Sentai's phoenix of redemption namely Jetman. Why Inoue wasn't given another head writing job UNTIL 2001 baffles me. Inoue did write the Jin arc in Dairanger, wrote some episodes during the Sugimura era of Su...

2020 is a big time to consider some milestones and major anniversaries for Toei's Toku franchises . I could say some of these anniversaries belong to an era where I'm mixed about. It's no secret that I usually prefer newer Kamen Rider and older Super Sentai even when I check opposites. Right now, I could think about how one man launched a franchise forward but was overworked that it went backward. 2020 would celebrate Fiveman's 30 anniversary - a show that may get people divided, I have shifting preferences with it due to GoGoFive, all the while I could say that Fiveman was an important experiment that GoGoFive couldn't do without. Granted, I think I do have a bit more head-knowledge now than what I had back then. Granted, I've already seen from start to end almost everything in Soda's era. I'd say I've watched Goggle V, Dynaman, Bioman, Changeman, Flashman, Maskman, Liveman, Turboranger (though the rest is raw and I don't speak Japanese), an...