Sean Akizuki's Super Sentai Blog

Maybe, maybe not you know this by now that my favorite Kyuranger is actually Tsurugi Ootori. I guess it has to do with the fact that actor Keisuke Minami is a J-Drama regular who has decided to take on a Toku role -- perhaps it's to understand the generation gap he shares with its regular cast considering he's an 80s baby and almost everyone he worked with are born in the 90s. Hmmm it's quite nearly the same scenario with actor Shiro Izumi who returned in 1992 to play as Burai in Zyuranger in his 30s. But I guess that's not entirely the reason why I feel like Tsurugi is my favorite Kyuranger -- aside from the obvious fact that my favorite Changeman is Hiryu Tsurugi ! I did remember how often I joked a lot during Kyuranger and how Lucky kept getting me critical (at times) of what direction the show would get. Lucky is well kinda happy-go-lucky and not everyone can easily appeal to his screaming "Yosha Lucky!" for almost every episode. If there was a need to ...

It's no secret that Lupinranger vs. Patranger is nearly coming to an end considering that 2018 is almost over. Now, I'd like to write why I think Keiichiro Asaka/Patren-1 is my favorite character in said show! Read on and find out why he's my favorite character! So what makes me like Keiichiro? I could have easily taken the easy way out and pick Kairi or even the recent Noel as my favorite. But Keiichiro? Well, I always think about the number of times he ends up as a comedic goofball but he's a badass comedic goofball. He's always determined to do his job and make sure that justice prevails. He may actually lack a certain degree of intelligence while he always makes up for it with his never give up attitude -- something I wish I had more than I did have it back then! He may have gotten into peril way too many times yet he always makes up for it with his dedication and loyalty to his friends. Also, he would rather put the safety of people first than his desire to ...

Shogo B'Stard has begun his latest Time Force related post called " Time For A Blue Streak " and I thought of bringing up one area in Timeranger where I'm mixed -- it's the whole story of Ayase suffering from the Osiris Syndrome. Okay, just a warning -- there'll be spoilers ahead so don't read it unless you don't mind getting spoiled! Anyway, let's continue if you don't mind the spoilers. Personally, I'm somewhat a fan of sickness drama -- call me sicko or whatever but seldom -- I tend to watch some Taiwanese or Korean TV drama where people have a terminal illness such as heart illness (in Lavender) or the common leukemia sickness in K-Drama. In the case of Timeranger, we've got one terminally sick member called Ayase -- and he's got that incurable disease that resulted from a magnetic radiation disease from space. It exists in that space age era which can lead to a serious cardiac arrest. Ayase had an interesting plot with the ...

While watching Changeman, I thought of who my favorite would be. I thought I could relate more to Yuuma Oozora or to Shou Hayate but I ended up picking Hiryu Tsurugi. Yes, Hiryu and the actor Haruki Hamada together with the suit actor Kazuo Niibori (who I never knew until Akibaranger) do a good job portraying the character. So what's up with him as the leader of the Change team and how did he become my personal favorite? Just read and find out about this amazing guy. I could talk about how he may be a forerunner to Jetman's Ryu Tendo . Both characters are reliable leaders yet they have their own personal issues to deal with. He tends to put duty above feelings but there are times his feelings gets the best of him. This sort of clashes with Shou (who could be a forerunner to Gai Yuki in some way) though the conflict is more of how to run a mission. Such incidents were like how he chose to still believe in Sayaka Nagisa's anti-gravity belt invention or when he saw an amnesi...

Abaranger itself was an entertaining season with some cheesy Japanese humor (which I like a lot in Super Sentai)... for me one character pretty stood out between heroes and villains and it's Mikoto Nakadai.  In my opinion, he's really the most badass villain the show has ever had, perhaps he's the best villain that was ever created for Naruhisa Arakawa's Super Sentai works.  Okay, maybe he's not as cruel as the Grongi in Kuuga (still under Arakawa's headwriting) but he's definitely for me, top-tier than Basco (another favorite of mine) in Gokaiger.  I felt like this guy showed the idea of "Humans are bastards." to a whole new level. Now I can't help but think of at first, comparing Zyuranger and Abaranger .  What I felt about this guy was he's really a game-changing villain, with the shoutout that, "Hey let's play this game." but it's not all fun and games, all his games disregard the welfare of people around him.  The ...

Dr. Hinelar as Megaranger would have it, was indeed a twisted genius.  He was a scientist driven by mad ambition, trying to reach the level of godlike powers and for everything he was, his own personal glory.  What was tragic to know is that he was once a friend of Dr. Kubota... the two were like brothers but personal ambition had ruined their friendship.  While Dr. Kubota was more conservative, for the good of mankind scientist, this scientist was different.  He was focused on dangerous experiments on his quest for ultimate power.  His mind was so warped he could easily adapt to the Nejire Kingdom where Javious I its ruler offered him some assistance.  At this point, Dr. Kubota swore to stop him.  This relationship was similar to Dr. Man and his former friend Dr. Shinichiro Gou. Dr. Hinelar had entered into the Nejire Kingdom as the second-in-command of Javious I.  During that time, he had created two robotic (and possibly mingled with biology...

Now I'll spotlight Silver of Bioman which he first arrived in episode 37. What was known is that he was a robot created by the Anti-Bio Alliance who weaponized the Anti-Bio Particles which negates Bio Particles. But what was really amazing about this guy is that he was not only a threat to the Biomen but also to New Empire Gear. Peebo greatly feared him and in episode 37, he showed just how dangerous he was when he was invulnerable to BOTH the weapons of Gear and the Biomen. His Bi-Buster Gun, he made mincemeat out of the Mechaclones faster than the Biomen could! One could see the truly terrifying power of Silver! Peebo recalled the incident way back at episode 10, the tragic death of Mika. I'm glad that the writers brought back the issue of Mika's tragic incident because the Anti-Bio Particles were an interesting concept. Peebo mentions that Silver's Bio Buster gun is far stronger than the Bio Killer Gun. While none of the Biomen were killed after they were shot du...

Since it's October and well, I forgot it's Women's Month aside from Halloween, I'm willing to wear a pink ribbon to help fight against breast cancer too.  Now moving on, I'll do this character spotlight on Mei.  I have done a character spotlight for Mako , Momoko , Lin  and Sakura ... time to do on Mei who I believe deserves much spotlight here.   Before Erina Nakayama was born in 1995, Reiko Chiba was the moe of 1992.  Moving on... I'd love to talk about the Rishiya Princess Mei who is the arrow firing princess.  While appearing to be gentle, cute and sweet but beware, she knows how to fire arrows... and even if she's not as badass as Jun Yabuki or Megumi Mori... you can't deny that she fires them with extreme accuracy.  She may easily break into tears but those tears also empower her one way or another. One of my favorite moments of Mei was when she was poisoned by an apple.  Bandora knew that only her arrow can destroy the apple on Dora ...

Well I never realized I haven't written about my very first favorite Sentai ranger, Ryuta Nanbara a.k.a. Blue Three of Bioman.  I'd like to spotlight him for now after discovering I've been doing spotlights left and right.  Ryuta started out in Bioman as a water sportsman, which makes him nimble.  One day during hte Gear's first invasion attempt, he was chased by Gear's fighter jets but was recruited by Bio Robo, which made his life never the same. The very first time I started to like him was in episode 9 when Dr. Man caught several children, hoping to use them to power up his machine.  When Ryuta Nanbara was caught, he discovered that the machine was used to analyze the Biomen's abilities.  He became that test subject and without him, the Biomen were basically powerless without him.  In that episode, I love how badass he got, in trying to rescue the kids.  In that episode, he beats Messerjuu ALL BY HIMSELF after he is filled with so much rage. ...

Genta Umemori would be what I'd call a secondary comic relief after Ryunosuke's hammy reactions or Chiaki's slacking.  So he was just appearing as a mysterious sushi seller with unusual antics who turned out to have some unusual gifts in handling mojikara, a funny attitude and of course he was Takeru Shiba's best friend as a child.  So he always interrupted Takeru's training to where he obviously got the Ika Origami, and he managed to train himself hard and he became from a samurai wannabee to a modern day samurai despite the fact he came from a line of sushi sellers.  His return to the present was of course hilarious.  My only issue was that seldom, the actor Keisuke Sohma felt like Felix Ryan (Spike's actor in PR Samurai) in his acting but I wouldn't say its horrid, at least he's a comic relief with plot contribution. While trying to join the Shinkengers in the most comical of methods, he was initially denied by his childhood friend to keep him safe....

So while I can't write a Mika Koizumi tribute thanks to Yuki Yajima's very uncalled for departure, so let's write it for Jun Yabuki who continued the job of the former.  So it was a dilemma for the Biomen when Mika Koizumi had died because of the Bio Killer Gun and they needed a replacement.  So Jun seemed to be just a spunky girl of sorts, shooting arrow and was unaware it was fate that drew her.  So she wanted to join the Biomen badly unaware she was going to be part of them and the others unaware that she had the Bio Particles in her body.  Shiro was hesitant to let her join at first because of price Mika paid to save the others but eventually, they made her part of the team as it was her destiny to replace her presumed distant relative Mika.  How she and Mika are related are never known except they may have shared the same ancestor and why the Bio Robo only picked the other four and Mika and didn't detect other descendants wasn't clearly explained.  So...

I haven't done a tribute in a long time but I thought I should do a tribute to one of those Sentai girls I enjoy watching for better reasons.  Okay I don't find Haruka attractive but what makes her enjoyable for me is she is kickass... definitely a continuation of the badass Jun Yabuki was in Bioman though she had an unusual backstory.  Maybe other female ninjas were taught to be graceful and elegant but she is a badass which makes me put her in my list of favorite Sentai heroines.  What was known was that she was raised as a ninja and couldn't play with girly things, or was presumably taught to be masculine.  However, despite her being a fighter she was truly a woman at heart while also respecting the art of the kunoichi.  At the same time, she had her rivalry with Fuumin which was pretty fun to watch.  But the Maskmen didn't know much about her at first. For one, it was really fun to see her test her might for the right of "super shinobi" against Oyobu...

Gai Ikari... a fanboy who gets his dream to come true but in the most unusual way.  So what's it going to be and where do I start?  Well he was just your average Super Sentai fan who one way after the other, was living life selflessly and he was the friendly Gai, the nice Gai, the all around Gai...  So Gai Ikari one day met a truck accident while trying to save a little girl, an accident that could have either killed him or nearly killed him.  Regardless, it was a miracle he lived through that but it was speculated but never confirmed he was living on borrowed life thus leading to the urban legend he would die so soon.  He was selected by the ghosts of Mikoto, Burai and Naoto to become Gokai Silver, the only human Gokaiger who will help them identify all the previous Super Sentai.  At first he was rejected by Marvelous but overtime the Gokaigers grew to accept him as one of them.  Doc had some jealousy moments, he seemed to be lovey dovey with ...

So where do I start?  So let's think of it that Lin does deserve some spotlight.  She may be eye candy but beware, she is an eye bruiser.  Yes she's blazing hot but she's also the phoenix that can scorch.  Now let's get down to the cake and not the icing.  Lin started off pretty much as an exchange student from China to where she was the only Dairanger who can control ki energy out of suit, pretty much not the kind of girl you want to mess with.  Though she was the only female Dairanger, she had shown some really badass moves beneath her elegant, girly exterior which made her a really fun to watch heroine.  So pretty much like it, Lin was a student and a ranger at the same time- pretty much tough work yet she manages to pull through. Aside from being a badass, she does possess other qualities a woman usually can do better like being the team heart or the one to talk sense into the males whenever they don't make any sense.  Of course, that's one...

Well I haven't written a spotlight for a long time but I'll start writing some for my favorites soon maybe some heroines or heroes but I just thought I'll write more hero, heroine (I might write on Haruka next!), villain spotlight but I'll settle for Momoko the fighting flower.  So where do I start for her? Well she was as a child, somebody who got lost and had once met the true ruler of the underground, the mother of both Igam and Ial.  She was lost along the way and found the Carol Love flowers that helped her find her way home.  Little did she know she was fated to fight to protect the Earth from an usurpation that happened behind the scenes by Zeba himself.  While she appeared to be a soft woman but don't let her beauty fool you for she can really prick hard with her thorns.  Along the way, she also developed a friendship with Haruka while having nothing more than professional interaction with the guys while for some reason, she and Takeru didn't have mu...

It's been some time since the last time I made a spotlight on a hero.  Well, I guess Ryuunosuke Ikenami shoudl make the spot.  So what's kind of unique about him?  Well he's a blue ranger with a dragon emblem.  While originally a dragon would mean a hot headed character, he is quite the opposite.  In fact, like the water that is his element, he is the cool guy of the group.  There's some things to say about him- loyal vassal who can get annoying like Tanba, team support and ever reliable second-in-command.  What's not to say about this guy? So here's the big deal- he was a kabuki actor way before he was inevitably called to fulfill his destiny as a Shinkenger.  Hmmm... it was a pretty hard choice to make isn't it?  So anyway, he became a devoted vassal to Takeru Shiba, at first becoming sort of a comic relief due to his rashness at times and inevitably developing into a serious character fans know and love him for.  His seriousness is ...

I have to be rude not to give him a spotlight. So where do I start? For some, this guy Satoru Akashi served as a refresher of the typical Sentai red ranger leader than the not-so-typical red ranger leader. I thought this guy also deserved a spotlight although I find Inou Masumi and Eiji Takaoka more interesting than he was. He was known as the "immortal fang" because of the many times he had cheated on death or does he? Well, he was also calmer and more organized than anybody, but also a sneaky guy. What was fun to watch was his catchphrase "attack" and how he springs the team into action. He also had a rivalry with Inou Masumi who wanted to exceed him, although he paid little attention to it. He had trust and confidence in every team member. He is also being admired by Sakura Nishihori but he seems oblivious to her feelings. Maybe just maybe, he's not willing to fall in love again after he had lost what might be his first love (my speculation only) in ...

He's no ball of light, he's really real. Yup that's Tetsu Aira (real name Tekkan) who first appeared in episode 21. Aside from Hoji Tomasu with whom he became close friends with, he was another of the interesting sixth members. Why? Well in the academy he was orphaned at five years old (his parents died at Genio's hands) and raised by the Space Police, whoever acted as his foster parent was unknown. It have also assumed also that Lisa Teagle may have been a foster sister to him. Maybe Lisa Teagle's parents raised him or maybe Doggie Kruger himself. Who knows? So he started to appear when the Hell's Siblings arrived on Earth. They already destroyed 79 planets and the Earth was next. He was quite distant with the Dekarangers at first, because he was used to fighting alone. However during the battle with Hell's Siblings, things started to change. He was sent to Earth to deal with them because of his expertise at the same time, the Dekarangers may not...

Hmmm... really bad of men never to think of giving this rather interesting character a spotlight. So where do I begin? So okay, she was just some woman found in the rubble by Inou Masumi who had no memory of her past and was dubbed as Natsuki Mamiya so she could fit in the present society. As someone who has no past experiences, she is the most childish of the Boukenger team and can be a frequent source of irritation to the more serious members. She is overly energetic and optimistic towards life compared to the rest. She has a brotherly relationship with Souta Megumi which can at times, annoy Inou Masumi who also acts like a big brother to her who can get mighty overprotective of her. She also had a special sisterly relationship with Sakura Nishihori, who was at first her opposite in terms of personality. What made her unique was that she had some foreseeing ability, which puts her aside from the rest of the team as someone who had special powers out of suit until Eiji Takaoka c...

Well I guess I'll do another character spotlight and it would be on one of my favorite pink rangers Mako Shiraishi, whom some consider to be the hottest Sentai heroine as of this decade. In a sense, she does remind me of Kimberly Hart in some ways of being ditzy at first but starts to reveal a different personality as the series progresses. Hee hee hee. So anyway where do I begin? If there was anybody quite interesting among the ladies, it was actually Mako Shiraishi is- pretty as a rose, deadly as its thorns especially in combat. So I thought that she would always make a good match with Takeru Shiba since the beginning of the series- they always look so good together. So she starts of as a sweet girl who loves children and at the same time, destined to be a pink ranger. But strangely, she was brought up as a samurai but she manages to keep her sweet and simple self when need be, even if she has some painful thorns to deal with. She had a potential relationship with Ryunosu...