Denji Sentai Megaranger Review

Another of the 90's Sentai. I went in knowing this was gonna be really episodic and I'd heard a lot of praise for this show. It was well worth my time and I ended up having a lot of fun with it. Yeah I really don't have much to say for the introduction. So lets get down to business...Install Megaranger!

The show opens up with  high school student Kenta Date playing a video game in an arcade called Megaranger. After showing off his skill at the game, he is approached by INET to assist with their research project. Meanwhile 4 of his classmates show up to find out more about INET just as Nezirejia launches its first attack. Having no other choice, Dr. Kubota hands them their Digitizers so they can become the Megarangers.

Characters: I like this team a lot. The main five are one of the most believable groups of friends I've ever seen. Sure they all have their differences but they still mesh well together. It really helps that their personalities don't really conflict to the point where I can't buy them being friends.

• Kenta/MegaRed: Kenta is a love-able goofball while being a bit reckless. I quite like that he isn't as tech-savy or as smart as the other members of the team. He can be a bit lazy but he has a big heart and will fight tooth and nail for his friends. He is also pretty driven to make up for his failings when he screws up in battle. A great episode for him is the one where Gurail tricked him into injuring a kid mid-fight.
• Kouichiro/MegaBlack: Koichirou is the leader of the team and the one who takes being a Megaranger most seriously. He pretty much keeps his teammates on their toes and tries to make sure they're training. He can be a little uptight at times and there are one or two episodes where the main message is that he needs to chill out and relax. He also tends to overdo his role as leader a bit and in an early episode, he outright blames himself for the team falling into a trap. Episode 16 in particular shows a rather vulnerable side to him.
• Shun/MegaBlue: Shun is the smartest one on the team. He is usually pretty calm and collected while being quick to react and figure out some of the science behind Nezirejia's plans in a few instances. A prime example of his intelligence is the episode where he comes with a trap within a trap to throw off the Nezirangers. He is also kinda oblivious to Miku's feelings for him.
• Chisato/MegaYellow: Chisato is more serious and mature compared to Miku and she is probably the most resourceful team member next to Shun. She is smart and able to think on her feet, especially when she has to risk revealing her identity to stop the MOTW or save someone. Her dream is to be professional photographer and the show actually shows her dabbling into that hobby a few times. She and Miku feel like they're the closest out of the whole group of friends. She has some pretty cool focus episodes.
• Miku/MegaPink: Miku is adorably upbeat most of the time while being goofy like Kenta. She is without a doubt one of the kindest characters I've seen so far. I liked her so much that Shun being oblivious to her feelings kinda made me a bit sad. Its a tough call but Miku is probably my favorite character in the show. Her best episode is the Super Miku episode cuz Chisato helps talk her through her insecurities and short-comings so she feels like less of a burden on the team.
• Yusaku/MegaSilver: Yusaku is a goofball. When he first showed up, he felt a lot like an older more tech-savy Kenta. He tends to do stuff behind his boss' back in order to do projects that will help out the team. Despite being the oldest and a researcher for INET, he acts just like the Kenta and Miku. Its a pretty cool dynamic and he feels right at home on the team. The suit's time limit after his debut was a good way to use him effectively and I do like that you actually get to see him fix it.

Dr. Kubota is easily one of my favorite mentors, if not my overall favorite mentor. He is wound a little too tightly at times but he is constantly sticking up for the kids and believing in them. He even hopped into Galaxy Mega in an early episode when it was close to being destroyed just to show the higher ups how important it was that the kids be the ones allowed to pilot it. He showed that he really cared for them and understood that they had their own lives to live to the point of not wanting to disturb Kouichiro and Chisato's entrance exams unless he absolutely had to. Yusaku makes his job harder by doing projects behind his back but he does genuinely appreciate the guy's work in helping the team so long as he can stay on task. I think a lot of his concerns about Yusaku doing that comes from the seeming death of his friend Samejima who he failed to stop from transporting himself into the Nezire dimension (he finds out later what really happened to the guy).

Villains:

The Nezirejia villains have some nice presence and style to them. They have one of the best debuts I've seen in Sentai. In the first episode, they manage to absolutely decimate INET's earth base forcing them to flee into space. That introduction felt like something you'd see in a series finale. Their plans over the course of the series have this insane level of danger to them. The designs for the main three Nezirejia villains are pretty good. Dr Hinelar has this mad scientist vibe and an otherworldly look to him and the actor (Tetsuo Morishita) gives him quite a lot presence and that hairstyle is absolutely splendid. He also has a large ego and a lot of ambition and the actor portrays that rather well. He was originally one of Kubota's friends while working at INET and he defected to Nejirezia because he felt like he wasn't given his due. He also really despises Kubota because INET chose Kubota's project over his own. The final episode adds something that says quite a lot about his character and adds a whole new level to his relationship to Shiborena. I'm not going to spoil it in this review because man its a doozy. Its not mentioned in the show but given his righteous fury and malice toward Gurail for using Yugande like a tool, I wouldn't be surprised if he has the same sentimental attachment to him that he has with Shiborena. Yugande has this neat wire-frame look to him and he is a pretty good power-house villain. I think its pretty cool that he upgrades himself after being the times he takes the Megarangers on himself. Its a good way to keep him feeling like a threat. He is also extremely loyal to Dr Hinelar. Shiborena's armor looks great and has some nice detail to it. The shade of blue is pretty nice. Her plans always seemed to have this mind control component to them. Like Yugande, she is extremely loyal to Dr Hinelar.

Gurail is a powerhouse, really sadistic, and deliciously evil. I don't really have much to say about him other than him bringing a nice amount of threat to the show. He is basically brought in by King Javious because Hinelar and the others are taking too long to take the Megaranger's out of the picture conquer earth. He also carries out King Javious' will but mostly he is there for world building. His appearance also leads to a stronger breed of Nezire beasts being created.

The Nezirangers are nice and intimidating. They're pretty powerful villains while also being nicely dysfunctional as a group. They are sadistic and have tunnel vision when it comes to fighting their specific Megaranger. The best part about this is the second the Megaranger's realize this, they immediately start hammering on this weakpoint. Its a nice instance of them having to out-think an opponent as opposed to simply over-powering them. NeziPink and NeziYellow actively took pot-shots at each other in one episode and the rest of the team felt nothing when NeziPink and NeziBlue were destroyed. I love it so much and its a good example of Hinelar's ego and arrogance being carried over to his creations since they are made in his image. They see each other purely as a means to an end. Despite them being so monstrous, I legitimately felt bad for them when they found out they were gonna die. It takes a lot for a show to make me feel that way about monstrous characters like them.

Favorite Episode: My favorite episode is episode 16, the aptly named "Very Bad! Will We Die?". The basic plot of the episode is that Moth Nezire is sent out to spread powder that places a moth shaped mark on people when it touches them. Those with the mark will die within 24 hours and naturally all 5 of them get hit by it. While Kenta, Shun, and Miku decide to try to live out their dreams in the one day they have left, Kouichiro and Chisato desperately try to find the cure. Over the course of doing their things, those 3 run across people around town going on about their plans for the next day while noticing that every one of them have the mark. It dawns on them that if they don't do something, more people will die. The desperation on Kouichiro and Chisato's side hits when they're having no luck on finding a cure and Kouichiro breaks down looking at a picture of his family. The resulting fight against the monster is the most tense fight in the show imo because not only is it a race against time, the suits stop functioning because they're dying. They fight tooth and nail despite that. Its a great episode and its the first time that it really sunk in for me that at the end of the day, they're still kids while at the same time the episode proves that they have what it takes to be heroes. I was close to tears throughout this episode. This kind of thing is the reason I watch superhero stuff. Even though I knew they'd obviously survive and win the day, this episode was so effective that it actually made me think they might not survive. This episode is a prime example of why I like this team so much. It is easily one of my favorite episodes in all of Sentai.

Mecha: This review is already getting kind of long so I'll just talk about the mecha briefly. Galaxy Mega is pretty cool. Its a nice starting mecha for the show and there is an early episode thats a good example of how much the team needs it. Delta Mega is a nice solo robot that gets a surprising amount of use even after it becomes able to combine with Galaxy Mega. Its operated entirely by pumping Kenta's voice through the Battle Riser. Voice controls are just a cool control scheme imo. Now with that being said, my favorite mecha in the show is probably Mega Voyager since its episodes are extremely tense. Its a pretty cool 5-part mecha housed in a base on the moon. Its powerhouse and its debut really ramps up the steaks since its made pretty clear that the Megarangers might not stand a chance without from here on out. MegaSilver has his own mecha called the MegaWinger. Its an alright mecha but it shows up kind of late and its pretty much stated in its debut that it exists to combine with Mega Voyager. This is mainly just done by passing its glider wings to Mega Voyager. I would've like to see more of what it could do on its own.

Music: The music is pretty good. The opening is nice and energetic. It really helped build up the hype for every episode. I couldn't help but get up and dance while singing along with the song. The ending theme is a nice closer to each episode. Its pretty mellow while at the same time sounding uplifting. It pops up throughout the show a lot because a slowed down instrumental version is used for the slower more dramatic scenes and it sets the mood for scenes pretty well.

Final Thoughts: Without a doubt, my favorite part of this show is the high school setting. Seeing these kids try to balance their school lives with being Megarangers was fun and the high school angle had me pretty interested. It actually showed the consequences of them having to fight, especially the episode where Kouichiro and Chisato had to choose between their entrance exams and saving the civilians. Seeing them miss their exams because of Nezirejia made me tear up. The show kept making that dynamic clear and it helped reinforce that they still had their own lives to live after being Megarangers. All of that is in addition to them having to keep their identities a secret even from the villains of the show. Oh boy does it hard when that shoe drops in the final few episodes. Its one of the most crushing moments in Sentai for me because the villains do not hesitate to destroy their personal lives when they find out and I felt just as bad as the characters did. The episodic nature of the show made for some really great and memorable moments while also making it easy to binge. The final 2 episodes made me tear up and it hands down one of my benchmarks for how to do a mecha fight as well as probably being my favorite finale in all of Sentai. Overall, I had a lot of fun with this show and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it. Note: I didn't cover the suits here because I already gave my thoughts about them in the 90's Sentai suit post and the review was already rather long.

Sentai Suits Through The Ages: The 90's

The 80's were a pretty strong decade for suit designs so now lets move on to the 90's.

Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman:

The big Vs going across the torso look pretty cool and without them the design might be a little too simple. The yellow highlights work well on all five suits. Its also really rare to see them on a yellow suit as normally they'd be replaced with black so they can be seen more easily. The helmets look nice and I like each one has its own emblem on the forehead. The white stripes going down the middle looks good alongside their respective colors. Its a nice touch and it keeps the helmets from simply being one solid color. Red's has a nice little extra bit of flair since his stripe enters the visor of his helmet. It even ends in a little arrow that matches the shape of his visor. I like the segmented visors but I kinda think they went overboard on Yellow and Pink's. They don't look bad per say, more so that they are segmented in a way that looks unnatural given with the visors' shapes. The yellow bands looks good on the white gloves and boots. Overall while not one of the first designs I think of when it comes to this decade, its a perfectly fine design.

Chojin Sentai Jetman:

The bird insignia on the chest looks pretty cool and I love how it wraps around the shoulders. The helmets on all 5 suits look pretty cool and they get the bird motif across really well. They also sort of complete the bird insignia on the chest. The silver mouthpieces look alright on each helmet. The yellow highlights on every Jetman besides Yellow Owl look pretty good with all their main colors. In Yellow Owl's case the highlights are black and they were rather well with the his color. Blue Swallow marks the first time that this shade of blue has been used and it works well with her overall design. The white portions of the suits work well for the ones that they're on. I think they look pretty good and compliment their main colors rather well. I think they look the best on Blue Swallow as there is just something about how that shade of blue mixes with the white and the accompanying yellow highlights. Its probably because its a nice light shade of blue as opposed to all the standard blues the franchise has had before now. It makes the suit feel like it has this sort of shimmer to it. Due to white being her main color, the bits on White Swan's chest and legs are pink instead. The bird emblem on the belts is the icing on top of these designs. Overall these suits are one of my favorites of this decade and Blue Swallow is probably my fav design on this team.

Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger:

They're rather simple but pretty distinct. The white diamond pattern on the main five's chests looks pretty good. The diamond patterns on their boots and gloves are a nice contrast to that since its in their main colors. The white trim on PteraRanger's skirt is a nice touch.The Dino Bucklers on the belts really ties the main five's suits together. The sculpting on all six helmets is great and there is a nice amount of detail on them. I particularly like the sculpting on MammothRanger's trunk/tusks and TigerRanger's fangs. MammothRanger's trunk even goes into his visor. PteraRanger's helmet looks nice thanks to the mixture of white and pink. Most of her helmet is actually white and I love it because it give the pink portion a sort domino mask or faceplate-esque look. Her Pteradon head even extends down into her visor. Its notable because unlike PteraRanger and MammothRanger, the other four's visors are the mouths of their dinosaurs. DragonRanger's suit looks cool. Its a tweaked Zyuranger suit obviously which is to be expected because its a sixth ranger suit after all. His gloves and boots have gold bands on them and a spike pattern instead of a diamond pattern. The chestplate looks cool and the center replicates the diamond that the other Zyuranger's have. The gold on the suit makes the green pop really well and the gold Dino Buckler brings his look together.

Gosei Sentai Dairanger:

The helmets get their mythical beasts across nicely. All six stand out pretty well and I think my favorite helmet might be RyuRanger's due to how well the black on the forehead works with the gold and red. The silver mouthplates look cool and each one has a slightly different design. I think HououRanger's mouthplate looks the best and works with her phoenix motif since it resembles a bird's beak. The white torso on the main five's suits balance out their colors really well. It really captures the martial artist look and gives the suits a very classic vibe. The white bands with gold outlines on the boots and gloves look cool and that color combo really makes their main colors pop. The gold trim on HououRanger's skirt is a nice touch. I particularly like the Dairanger emblem because of how well it uses all 5's colors and its neat that it looks a little bit like a fist. Kibaranger's suit is cool cuz its just a Dairanger suit with a chestplate added. The gold and black works well on the chestplate and I like the emblem in the center but I do think its a little too big. The gold bands on the boots and gloves being outlined in black looks pretty good and all the gold in his suit in general really makes the white pop.

Ninja Sentai Kakuranger:

The suits look exactly how you'd expect a ninja team to look. They're pretty much a perfect example of the "less is more" approach and there is a lot of beauty in that. The gold headbands look pretty cool on all 5 suits and each one has a different symbol on it. The gold belts on Red, Blue, Black, and White work well with their colors. NinjaBlue is a nice light shade of blue which is interesting as its the only time that I know of that a male blue ranger has used that shade. Yellow and Black's suits probably make the best use of the black and white bands on the gloves and boots out of the whole team. For Yellow, its probably because the bands match his belt and it completes his look rather well. The V's on the torso work well to break up the simple design. The black around the necks is a nice touch and I especially like that the tips of the V's are gold (well black in Yellow's case).

Choriki Sentai Ohranger:

The suits have this ancient vibe to them. The helmets look alright and the visors on the main five look good outlined in white. The sculpted mouth-pieces matching each one's respective colors is cool and it kind of reminds me of those Easter Island statues. The weathered gold on the main five's torsos looks pretty good and there is quite a lot of detail on that portion. It looks almost like its engraved metal even tho its still spandex. The gold bands compliment the white gloves and boots rather well as does the white neckline on the torso. The gold trim on Pink and Yellow's skirts is a nice touch. KingRanger's suit looks the best to me, mostly cuz its an Ohranger suit with extra gold armor added to it. The sculpting on his chestplate is great and there is some nice detail in there. His visor looks good outlined in gold. The white gloves and boots really compliment the black spandex and gold armor. The gold belts on all 6 suits look pretty cool and even include all of their shape symbols.

Gekisou Sentai Carranger:

Ignore White Racer for the moment as I couldn't find a decent looking pic without her and hers isn't really a suit per say. These suits look pretty stellar and I love the car panel designs going down the sides. The helmets capture the car motif pretty well and the chrome molding around the visors looks amazing. The helmets even have headlights on them and I just find that to be really cool touch on top of the chrome molding. The sculpted silver mouth pieces look pretty cool when paired with the chrome molding and they look like they're almost sunken into the helmets. The yellow around the neck and on the chest pairs well with the black surrounding them. The black bands on the gloves and boots look good and contrasts nicely with the white. I like that the Carranger emblem is a patch on the arms as opposed to a patch on the chest as it doesn't distract from the rest of the torsos' design. The headlight belt buckle really ties these suits together nicely.

Denji Sentai Megaranger:

These suits are pretty sleek and stylish while being just simple enough. The white on the main five suits helps their main colors pop really well and the white gloves and boots look cool. The yellow around the neck is interesting as you don't usually see that on a team with a Yellow on it. The main five's suits also have little squares going across the white stripe on the chest that match all five of their colors. Its a rather neat detail and it looks better than it would to have them all simply incorporated into an emblem. The white highlights on the main five's helmets work well with their colors and look pretty cool with the silver mouthplates. This Sentai marks the first introduction of a Silver. The gold highlights on the suit look great alongside the silver. His suit includes gold bands that look pretty good alongside his gloves and boots. The green squares look pretty good on the gold stripe going across his chest and if you look closer, they have this sort of wire-frame pattern on them. Its a rather cool and fitting small detail since in-show the suit is a prototype. The glass domes on all six helmets look pretty cool and make them look hi-tech. The domes can actually light up as well which is a really cool touch. The Megaranger emblem on the helmets and belts is a neat detail and it helps bring the overall look together.

Seijuu Sentai Gingaman:

The sculpting on all 5 helmets looks pretty cool and they show off their animals rather well. GingaRed's helmet has these cool looking yellow streaks to match GingaLion's mane. Its a nice touch and it looks pretty good with the red. The silver portions on the other four's helmets look pretty good and the silver works well with their colors. The animal eyes on top of the visors is a nice touch and they make the visors look like wide open animal mouths. The silver mouthpieces look pretty good and the way they're sculpted gives the helmets this tribal war mask vibe. The tribal pattern on the chest, arms, and boots looks pretty good. These suits have the best color balancing I've seen so far. The white portions of the suits are used in a way that perfectly balances out their main colors without overpowering them. Other suits so far have done that too but its more noticeable on these suits for me. The white portion on the chest look like tunics which fits pretty well with the tribal aesthetic. The black tribal patterns really make all 5 colors pop. Overall, its a pretty stellar look.

Kyuukyuu Sentai GogoV:

These look pretty dynamic while being rather sleek and streamlined. The white portions on the torso look cool and work well with their main colors. They also really make all 5 colors pop. None of the colors on any suit overpower the others. I like how their visors are each shaped like a badge belonging to each sibling's profession. Yellow's visor actually makes his helmet look a little slimmer than the others. Maybe its because the visor is kind of square-ish and the bottom corners lineup with where it slopes into the jawline. The gold belt looks good and a nice small detail is that the team's emblem isn't just on the belt, its also on the gloves and boots. The emblem being blue really compliments the gold surrounding it. The gold bands look pretty good paired with the white gloves and boots.

Man this decade sure loved gold highlights/accents. Half of the suits in this decade have them in some capacity. If I had to pick my favorite suits out of this decade, it'd be either Jetman or Dairanger. With that being said, I think Carranger has the best helmets this decade. Overall, its another pretty solid decade for Sentai designs. You may have noticed Ninjaman, Signalman, Hyuuga, and a few others are missing, I'll be covering those and any others that I miss in this series in a later post once I'm caught up to the present.

Denji Sentai Megaranger First Impressions

After the Bioman first impressions, I told myself that I wouldn't start a new series until after I finished Bioman. However, I had a Megaranger itch to scratch and some time to kill. I checked out the first 9 eps of Megaranger and oh boy was I surprised.

The series opens up unsurprisingly in an arcade. Surprisingly, Megaranger is a fighting game in the arcade. We're shortly introduced to Kenta helping some kids who are being bullied and he challenges the bully to Megaranger. After he beats the bully, he is approached by a bunch of guys in suits because of his skill with the game. They take him to INET to and reveal that the game is actually a test used to recruit people to become Megarangers. After that we're introduced to Kenta's friends from a school club just as the enemy attacks.

The first outing for the Nezirezia Empire was incredible. The first two episodes felt like an end-game move you'd see for a finale. That was a great way to demonstrate just how dangerous they are right off the bat. They wiped INET's earth base off the map. This is one of the most competent first attacks for the villains that I've seen in Sentai. They are definitely some of the most upfront villains I've ever seen. In episode 5, they created a monster specifically to counter Galaxy Mega's sword and in episode 6, they essentially said "lets just nuke the city". I love their plans a lot and it makes the early episodes feel very tense. I absolutely love their designs. I love Dr. Hinelar's make-up. Its really effective and surprsingly detailed. He has this almost royal look to him. I really like the wire-frame look for Yugande's suit and the cape looks good on him. It sort of gives him the look of a digital knight. The black and green perfectly complement each other. I like the shade of blue for Suhiborena's outfit and it looks nice with the silver bits. The silver bits are nicely detailed.

I love Galaxy Mega's design. There is an absurd level of detail in this thing. Every time I look at it, I notice a detail that I didn't catch before. The sculpting is fantastic as well and all of the colors blend really well. I particularly like the big red M on the chest. Its got a really combination sequence. I love how the sword doubles as a lazer whip.

The Megaranger suits are nice to look at. They are simple and stream-lined. The white complements their colors rather well. Like the Timeranger belts, you can look at the Megaranger belts and instantly recognize which team they're from. I like that the design on their chests includes each of their colors. The first eight episodes introduced their individual powers really well. MegaRed can be programmed with lots of abilities. MegaBlack can use satellites to scan and search for things. MegaYellow can search and playback images. MegaPink can use her MegaCapture to scan for things.

The Megarangers are endearing and pretty nice characters overall. The first episode shows their skills with electronics rather well. The enemy's initaly attack fries an electronic lock and they manage to fix the lock with just the gadgets they have in their pockets. Episode 3 reemphasizes this when they run a computer program to figure out whats on Kenta's next test so he can study for it despite missing the class due to fighting Nezirezia. Kenta is a red I can really get behind. He is a nice guy overall and episode 3 shows that rather well. He fights a monster un-henshined to guard a room Shun is in while he saves a program that could help him realize his dreams. In the same episode Shun learned that his friends were more important and said he'd start his dream over from scratch after all his floppy disks got destroyed when he saved Kenta. Kouichiro seems cool and really wants to make sure his friends are taking being Megarangers seriously. The dude actually blamed himself for his friends falling into a trap in episode 4 because he thought he wasn't responsible enough to prevent it. Episode 5 isn't exactly a character episode for the Megaranger's themselves, its for the mentor Dr. Kubota. It shows just how much he cares for the team and believes in them. He even points out that Galaxy Mega was specifically designed to grow with the Megarangers when INET's board tried to automate it. Episode 6 was a nice episode for Miku. It basically shows her being responsible when she thinks someone caught her turning into MegaPink. It also showed just how kind she was as she helped the guy who tricked her into a date get over his shyness. Episode 7 was enjoyable and had a nice moment between Kouichiro and Chisato. Episode 8 we get a great episode for Kenta since he learns just how valuable working with his team is. It also gave us some backstory on Dr. Hinelar. Episode 9 was a great episode for Chisato. It shows that she and the others besides Kenta are a little too quick to judge based on appearances.

I absolutely love the theme song. Its pretty good at getting you pumped up for the show. The ending theme is rather nice and soothing while sort of capturing the high school vibe. I love just how much science and technology is a recurring theme. The show does so far has done a nice job exploring its uses and possible applications. It makes it world feel more natural and organic so its rather easy to get into for me. This is the second series since Timeranger to make me like the entire team before the 10 episode mark. Its very rare that a show pulls that off. I love Abaranger, Dekaranger, and Gekiranger's characters too but this pulled it off a bit faster than they did. This is definitely a series I'm looking forward to seeing more of.