Sean Akizuki's Super Sentai Blog

While I did write why I'd watch Go-onger over Gobusters , but I figured out I'd watch Gobusters over ToQGer.  For me, ToQGer was really where Yasuko Kobayashi either burned out or... just gave up writing a better story.  Gobusters for me, I don't think I can hate it either although I have a low opinion on it.  Moving on.... The heroes While I was watching both sides of the coin, ToQGer felt more like it was too primarily focused on children but Gobusters at least tried to appeal with the older audience.  Gobusters was basically Yasuko Kobayashi trying to make her darkest work after she previously wrote the fun season of Shinkenger, she wanted to re-attempt into going back with darker, more serious stories.  Now I have nothing against fun seasons, but ToQGer for me failed to impress me as much as Go-onger.  At least Go-onger for me felt more like it had a plot going on along with it. So where do I think the Gobusters cast stands out against the ToQGer...

It's really funny how there were times I actually dreamed I was not scared of Gear but the Biomen? Actually, maybe it's because Doctor Man's story sort of gave me guilt trips as a child like I intended to become the world's greatest genius, I wanted to cybernetically alter myself until I am purely mechanical, how I started to view my human emotions and weak and sought to well... rule the world. Part of my nightmares weren't purely nightmares. I saw myself wearing a wig, carrying a staff, having cybernetic body parts and... I was practically ruling New Empire Gear (back then I only knew it as the Neo Empire). I would proclaim myself as the "world's greatest genius" and that, every other competition to my scientific knowledge had to be eliminated. I had my Big Three, Farrah Cat, the Beastnoids and some giant monsters. In most of my dreams, I was Dr. Sean , not Dr. Man! Nothing was really funnier to why the Biomen seldom gave me nightmares. That is,...

When I think of Bioman and how short-lived Mika was, fortunately the concept did not die with the character.  I felt like Bioman was a season to experiment here and there.  Bioman was the first Super Sentai series to have two females (and back then, I had NO IDEA that most Sentai series had only one girl in the team back then), the first female yellow ranger (one died, another came in) and you can consider the first (and only) Super Sentai team to use the Beastnoids lacking human-sized monsters (Dekaranger hardly had human-sized monsters but no Beastnoids that keep retreating) and the first to have a mad scientist (Dr. Man).  Now I can discuss about Mika's concept and how it really lived on even if she didn't last long... that is the concept of a female yellow ranger who's snappy, rebellious (but not really) and badass! The concept was sort of relived with Haruka herself in Maskman. I felt like Mika's concept was relived in Maskman, one of my favorite series. Haruka...

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...

There's a new guy in town and it ain't Robocop!!!! Carranger itself was a parody of Super Sentai (in some way) what may surprise (or not surprise) some Toku fans is that the show ended up parodying Metal Hero in some way. If Jiban was a Robocop-inspired hero in 1989 and Janperson (who was purely mechanical vs. his inspiration) was created in 1994, in 1997 they really ended up creating SIGNALMAN the Robocop parody. Robocop never imagined that Toei would create a parody of him after they created Jiban and Janperson as tributes to him... How is Signalman a Robocop parody? Well he comes as the "new guy in town", a mysterious hero that even the Carrangers don't really know him very well at first. I mean, he has intense rules for the traffic. He is also chasing the Bowzock Gang like Robocop is chasing after the gangsters in Detroit. Like Robocop, he is a law enforcer and well, you can tell by his appearance that he is OBVIOUSLY BASED ON ROBOCOP!

As a Dekaranger fan, I also watched the Dekaranger special feature called Dekaranger: Full Action Blast which the Dekarangers face off against the Algolians.  The movie itself may have a subtle reference to oligarchy itself. The main villain of the movie is named Vulgar (Vodka) while he is flanked by his minions namely Brandel (Brandy), Zeen (Gin) and Whinsky (Whisky).  So what was their entire plan?  It was a dirty business that involved a dirty monopoly.  Vulgar is acted by none other than Kenichi Endo, who resembles the Filipino-Chinese businessman and liquor tycoon Lucio Tan.  Coincidence? What was Vulgar's plan in the movie?  First they infect people around the galaxy with a virus that turns everyone into machine slaves... and they started with Planet Leslie.  One could view that a country ruled by the oligarchy can have people become machine slaves unless they do something about it.  Vulgar's plan was taking over Planet Leslie for his...

It's been some time since I did some reviews or write-ups on Sentai crossovers. As said, the Super Sentai crossovers DO NOT happen in the mainstream universe but in the VS. Universe . This is because the norm of writing Super Sentai is to start everything from scratch in a self-contained continuity compared to the norm of Power Rangers of attempting to link them one by one. Both writing styles have their merits and demerits. Now I'd like to share my thoughts on the Mega-Crossovers what what I thought about them. What's also funny for Carranger, Megaranger and Gingaman all my favorites are the RED RANGERS. Both crossovers were written by Naruhisa Arakawa. Megaranger vs. Carranger The movie's crossover plot involves Picot who travels from one planet after the other granting wishes. I felt this movie may have tried to reference throughout the Hirohisa Soda era with with what may be incidental references such as the Carrangers dressing up as high schoolers (t...