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.

My Favorite Kamen Rider Characters

Well since I did a least favorite/most aggravating Kamen Rider characters list, I think its time I do one that is more positive. Time to show you all the characters I look up to or think it would be cool to just hangout with.

4. Shotaro and Philip from W:

Of course the hard-boiled detective pair was going to make this list. These two hold the same spot because they legitimately feel like one whole character to me and they have some great chemistry. The way they play off of each other is fun to watch. Shotaro is the goofier of the two with Philip being the more naive one. Shotaro is also the more rash of the two with Philip having to provide a bit of insight and thought during some of the early fights. Philip apparently has a habit of getting engrossed in researching things to the point where its all he can think about until he knows everything about it. Both of their roles are actually summed up rather well in the end of the Money Dopant arc.

3. Kouta from Gaim:

I like him because of his ideals. He believes in a world where you don't have to step on other people to get what you want out of life. The man is a true hero as even in the face of terrible odds and danger he does not deter from his chosen path. Its was nice seeing him grow as a fighter and hero as well as finding his own reason for fighting other than just helping his friends. Even in the darkest of times, he never gave up hope, even going so far as to sacrifice his very humanity to save the world. Seeing everything he went through was sort of heart-breaking but it makes him very endearing to me. He is also pretty forgiving and understanding when it comes his friends. He forgave Micchi even though Micchi essentially tried to sell out the entire human race when Helheim invaded.

2. Kiba from Faiz:

Now you're probably thinking "Wait! Why is a Faiz character here? You don't like Faiz!"but hear me out. Faiz was a dreary and depressing show for me but Kiba was the one ray of hope in the show and he is the main thing I am still able to like about Faiz. Kiba was a guy who lost everything. His parents died in the car crash that left him in a coma and while he was in the coma, his girlfriend left him. The guy basically died during the coma and became something that was no longer human, yet the man still found the will to cope with his new situation. When other Orphenochs carelessly tossed away their humanity and kept telling him to let go of his, he refused to do so. He stuck to his ideal of "I may be dead but I'm still human". He even went so far as to urge fledgling Orphenocs to hold on to what they once were and telling them that they were only monsters if they chose to be. Unfortunately, Inoue made him do a complete 180 during the final arc that made no sense given who Kiba was. I like to remember him for what he was before that though. In light of his actor's death, my thoughts go out to his friends, family, and fans. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. He shall be missed.

1. Gentaro from Fourze:

You all had to have seen this coming. If you know me then you know just how much I love this character. The guy is just a fun overly energetic goofball who likes making friends. He is the ideal of friendship personified and he fits the message of Fourze perfectly. Gentaro is what I view the meaning of friendship to be. He is always there for anyone no matter what their problems are. He shows how friendship can help even the most messed up of people. Take the kids at Ama High for example, a lot of them were going through some very bad problems even if they didn't physically show it. Some of them sought out the switches power as a way to solve their problems. Gentaro saw the problems they were going through and helped them through it even if they had just tried to kill him. He never gave up on any of them. That is true friendship right there. Some people will complain that Gentaro doesn't grow as a person but in all honesty, it is fine that he stays the same. It isn't his role to be changed by people, his entire purpose is to help others grow and overcome their problems.

Power Rangers Dino Supercharge First Impressions

Dino Charge was decent. It had some problems here and there but it was enjoyable. I could definitely tell they were trying which is all I ask from Power Rangers. Time to take a look at my thoughts on the first three episodes of Dino Supercharge.

Episode one opens up with Tyler doing a recap of the first half. After the recap, we cut to Sledge's ship. Sledge was apparently killed in the crash. Unfortunately, Poisandra survived so now she has even less reason to be here. Its also weird that she seemed to forget about Sledge the second food was mentioned. The episode had some really nice tension with Ice Age from the first half picking off the rangers one-by-one. It also shows Heckyl trying to get close to the rangers while in his human form. Its actually a nice plan that sort of works.

Episode two was ok. Weirdly enough like Dino Charge episode two, this was a Riley-centric episode. Its basically Heckyl trying to wipe the rangers memories so he could swipe their energems. Its actually a rather smart move on his part and its something I'm honestly surprised Sledge didn't try. It has a sub-plot with Riley standing up to a guy who used to bully him in high school. I've honestly never really cared for this trope in PR as it usually just comes out of nowhere. Though I did like that it sort of shows just how much energy the energems put out. Riley challenges the bully to the climbing wall and uses the energem to give him an edge. The energem actually puts out so much energy that it flings him over the climbing wall and makes him land in the tree right behind it. The main plot of the episode involves Heckyl trying to wipe their memories so he can steal the energems. When that doesn't work, he has the monster wipe his memories forcing them to take him to their base to fix it. That part of the plan works but by the end of the episode he gets that bit of his memory wiped away.

Episode three was the weakest of these episodes. Its sub-plot features an overbearing parent trope which is something that has kind of annoyed me over the years because sometimes its not exactly handled well. Its also a bit weird to see her father show up now. It doesn't really feel all that impactful of an episode. My real issue with the episode however is sort of how they handled Heckyl's stuff but I'll get to that in a bit.

These three episodes had something interesting with Heckyl but the pay-off is disappointing. Heckyl does something that I haven't seen many villains in PR do. He basically uses his human-form and the fact that he saved Kendel in the first half to get a job in the museum so he can get close to the rangers. He does this to learn the location of their base so he can steal their energems. He finds out the location of their base in episode two which is fine but his plan from the episode backfires and it sort of wipes his memory. Episode 3 however, is where the disappointment happens. They drop that plan immediately because Shelby walks in while Heckyl is knocking everyone else out and stealing their energems. He even transforms into Snide once he is caught.

They could've honestly played it off because due to Heckyl's main plan in the episode, the rangers hadn't slept in days. If he just pocketed the energems as he was taking them, he could've just convinced everyone that Shelby was hallucinating from lack of sleep. It felt like something that should've been an over-arcing thing until Heckyl's eventual exit from the show but instead it was thrown away after three episodes.

Overall, its an ok start to Dino Super Charge. It shows off Heckyl's ability as a leader but has a few problems with hand-waving away the stuff about him knowing where their base is. Its in-line with the quality of Dino Charge. This might seem like a weird thing to bring up but it doesn't really feel all that different from Dino Charge. It does feel like the stakes have been raised and them ending Heckyl's plot-line about befriending the rangers so suddenly really doesn't help in that regard. I know that introducing Dino Super Drive mode is supposed to indicate that the monsters have gotten stronger since Heckyl took power but it doesn't feel like it was necessary or earned. Also as a personal thing, I don't like that Dino Super Drive mode gets rid of the silver mouth-bit on the helmet. It makes the suits look a bit soul-less if its just the visor on the front of the helmet.

Power Rangers Dino Charge Review

If I haven't made it abundantly clear by now, I despise Megaforce and Super Megaforce. I hate it for all the other options it ignored for the sake of playing it safe. It actually made me question why I loved the franchise if that was how they'd treat fans during an anniversary of all things. Why did I start off talking about that instead of talking about Dino Charge itself? Well its to show you how desperately I needed Dino Charge to work. There is a very clear difference between Megaforce/Super Megaforce and Dino Charge. That difference boils down to one very important thing: Effort.

Theme Song: I might be one of the few people who like the theme song. Yes, its generic to some degree but its opening features this nice ominous ancient tune. It is an improvement from the last 4 years of theme songs. Its not a remix and it has some decent energy to it. The visuals are actually nicely timed with the music, particularly Koda punching Fury.

Characters:

The rangers are ok. They're not great per say, but they're also not as one note as the Megaforce/Super Megaforce team. I don't particularly dislike any of them. Since this is only the first half, I'll save a lot of the character stuff for when Dino Supercharge ends. However, I kind of find myself asking why Shelby has this interest in dinosaurs as a part of her character when it so rarely pops up. Its usually only applied during new zord episodes. Normally that wouldn't be much of an issue except well, she isn't the dino expert on the team. Kendall has more dino knowledge than she has as well as technical expertise so it seems a bit unnecessary for Shelby to have that. Its not a big complaint it just sort of bugs me that Shelby's interest in dinosaurs is rendered a bit of a moot point. Prince Phillip is the one I'm most meh on. Thats because he has only appeared for two or three episodes but hopefully, he'll show up more in Dino SuperCharge. In terms of being a mentor, Keeper is a massive step up from Gosei because Keeper actually does things alongside providing nuggets of wisdom. Not to mention that he has been shown to have some fighting skill here and there.

Writing: I don't have much of an issue with the writing so far. It is a step up from Megaforce/Super Megaforce. Its still cheesy in places like you'd expect from Power Rangers. Where it really improved however are the puns. Some of them actually work. With that being said, it sort of fell on its face in one episode. It was the episode "True Black". It was basically an episode about Chase learning not to be jerk to others because of their choices in music. I appreciate the lesson but its something that I think Chase should've already known about. It would've been a more effective episode if Chase had to master the battery by over-coming fear or something to that effect.

Acting: I don't have much of a problem with the acting so far. They're all decent actors. With that being said, Tyler has a bit of the same problem Emma did in Megaforce. He sounds slightly too cheery during some of the more serious moments but its not enough to warrant a strike against him. Shelby has the same problem here and there. Koda's actor does surprisingly well playing a confused caveman with the broken dialogue helping there. Ivan's voice took some getting used to. Its a little too bombastic and cheesy but not to the point of being distracting plus he sells the talking like a knight rather well. Chase and Riley have been alright so I don't have many complaints about their acting.

Villains:

If there is one major issue I have with this season, its some of the major villains. Sledge seems like a decent villain. He can be threatening at times though he'd be better without Poisandra around (I'll get to her in a bit). The explanation for why Sledge has such a wide variety of monsters at his disposal is a nice touch. He is a space bounty hunter so it makes sense that he would have access to creatures with such a wide set of powers and designs. When Poisandra wasn't around he actually managed to capture most of the rangers for a bit. He managed to snag two energems for a bit simply because Poisandra wasn't around.

Don't have much to say about Wrench since I'm still trying to get a feel for him but at least he has proven himself useful thanks to his technical skills. He feels less like a big general and more like a lackey. Fury seems to be the most proactive in the search for the energems and is the one the rangers face constantly. At times he can be intense (well for the Neo-Saban era anyway) but other times he seems to act a bit childish like the episode with the Plesiozord. When the fossil hunter told him that he can't destroy the zord, Fury shoved him and effectively said "Can too!".

Now we come to be biggest problem with the show for me...Poisandra and Curio. They're those types of characters where I pretty much have to ask why they are even here. They serve virtually no purpose for being there except that the stock footage needed them to be. Curio's Sentai counterpart's function is performed by the magna beam in Dino Charge so he is effectively just relegated to being Poisandra's sidekick. However, Poisandra is the more confusing of the two. She is a villain who is actively going against her own goals in the show. I have never used the term bridezilla before but I think it applies here. She wants to marry Sledge which Sledge said will happen after they collect the energems. However, she constantly gets in everyone's way and distracts Sledge from his mission, while blaming them for it. She openly antagonizes Fury when he is trying to locate the energems. He is technically helping her reach her goal yet she will not let him do his job. Why is she constantly doing stuff like this? I didn't particularly care for Candilella or Luckyurio in Kyoryuger either but at the very least they had a reason to be there. So far, there is no point to either of them being on Sledge's ship. I'm honestly wondering what Sledge even sees in her. I mean Zed and Rita were sort of the same way but at least Zed had the love potion as an excuse for why he loved Rita.

I'm wondering if Heckyl is just going to be a one-shot villain or not. If he is just a one-shot it kind of feels like a waste since they built him up so much in his introduction. Sledge clearly considered enough of a threat to lock him away from the other prisoners. Not to mention, the only thing that subdued him at the end of the episode was Sledge's gun powered by the purple energem. I hope he shows up again because he has this weird vibe to him. Threatening yet non-threatening at the same time. The actor pulled it off decently and his human form oddly looks like he walked off the set of Dr. Who. I've been told that he is in the Dino SuperCharge trailer but I usually avoid PR trailers so I don't get prematurely hyped.

Worst episode: The worst episode has to be Synch Or Swim. Its not really that bad of an episode, its just annoyingly stupid. Team members fighting over petty things has always been a pet peeve of mine. Some shows do it fine and in a way that it feels natural but I usually only harp on it when its used for dumb reasons or pads out an episode. This episode is mostly Tyler and Ivan passive aggressively sniping at each other and trying to show each other up. It was extremely annoying and distracting. I get that the point is to show that they're not really meshing well and Tyler is getting used to Ivan but it really could've been handled better. It didn't help that the episode ends on a stupid selfie joke. It also featured a ton of unfunny fart jokes. All in all, it is a heavy comedy episode that fell flat on its face.

Final Thoughts:

I really needed this after Megaforce. and while its not perfect, the show has been enjoyable at the very least. It hasn't brought out seething boredom induced rage. There is a very notice-able gap in quality between Dino Charge and the preceding Neo-Saban seasons. This is what happens when you put effort into it. Yeah, the show has problems here and there but you can at least tell they're trying this time. I'm really looking forward to Dino SuperCharge. With that being said, I'm still going in slightly cautious since this could easily be a fluke for Judd Lynn.

My Favorite Sentai Suits: Individual Suits

Super Sentai has had a lot of suits of over the years with a huge variety in terms of designs. A lot of them have looked great but others haven't. Aesthetics can help make even some of the worst shows a bit easier to swallow. So without further hesitation, lets take a look at what some of my favorite suits in Sentai are.

8. DekaBright:

Her suit is nice and the shade of silver is a really nice choice. It has an almost metallic grey look to it but it works rather well. It blends nicely with the navy and gold on the rest of the suit. The number on her chest-plate looks great in gold and works out well combined with the navy and silver. The gold bands on the gloves and boots are a great combo with the navy on them. The belt looks great in gold. The helmet looks nice with the gold outline around the visor and the lights on the sides.

7. DekaSwan:

The white, orange, and black blends really well. The helmet looks great with the visor having an almost wing-like pattern to it. The sides of the helmet have a feather pattern on them that really compliments her swan-motif. The feather pattern also extends to the shoulder pads. The orange spandex and white gloves and boots are a  nice combination.

6. Mele's Chameleon Armor:

The greens and purples blend really well together and it really sells its chameleon motif. The chest-plate has some nice detail to it and the sculpting on the chameleon's face is fantastic. It even has a tongue hanging down from the chest-plate to make it look like a sash that goes on slightly past the belt. They even went so far as to give the chest-plate this scale-like pattern to help sell the reptilian look.

5. MagiMother:

It looks like a nice in-between suit that bridges the look of the main five's basic designs and the armored look of Wolzard's suits. The the white, silver, gold, and black blend very well together. Its a very nice shade of white and the chest-plate looks great with the silver bit outlined in gold going across it. The black portions on the arms and around the legs add some nice contrast. The helmet is cool with the silver fins going across the sides. The helmet also features a nice, clear, almost crystal-like snowflake on the helmet.

4. Wolzard and Wolzard Fire:

Since they are both essentially the same suit just with the colors changed, they both hold this spot. I'll talk about the purple Wolzard armor first since it was the original armor we saw. The armor looks fantastic and the sculpting on both versions is incredible. The purple, gold, silver, and black blends really well. The sculplting on the wolf shoulder pads is nice and they have some great detail with individual teeth being visible. The sculpting on the shield looks great with N Ma's red eye on the center being outlined in gold and being surrounded by black, purple, and silver. The shield looks great thanks to the silver out-line.

Wolzard Fire looks the same as regular Wolzard just with a nice burning red instead of purple. The bright silver armor on the upper legs looks nice and contrasts really well with the red, gold, and black on the rest of the suit. Again the sculpting on the shield is nice and the red blends well with the silver. If I had to pick between the two suits, If I were to choose between the two, I'd have to go with this one simply because I like the way the red reacts with the other colors on the suit. It looks a bit more dynamic than the purple armor.

3. DekaMaster:

Out of the Dekaranger suits, this one is my favorite. This suit is spectacular. I love the more armored look it has compared to the main six DekaSuits. The light blue armor looks great mixed with the black spandex. The black number on the chest-plate really stands out thanks to the red outline. The belt looks really good in red especially combined with the silver buckle. The raised ears on the helmet really help sell the dog motif.

2. AbareMax:

This is my favorite Abaranger suit. The red, blue, and gold blend really well. Its a very simple upgrade for AbaRed that doesn't over-shadow the original design. It simply adds some shoulder pads and outlines the visor in gold while expanding the logo. It also adds some gold plates to the side of the visor and changes the white spike pattern to gold and blue while gold-plating the brace. The shield looks great and and has some nice detail on it. The black, red, and gold on the shield blend together very nicely.

1. Kurojishi Rio's Lion Armor:

This is my favorite suit in all of Sentai. The black and gold work really well together. The level of detail on this suit is amazing, especially the chest-plate. From the lion's eyes to the teeth to the mane, the sculpting on the chest-plate is fantastic. The helmet looks really great too with golden spikes forming a mane around the sides of the helmet and another black mane coming off the back of the helmet.

Well those are my favorite individual suits. The main reason its mostly sixth/extra suits is because of the vast difference in looks compared to their team members. I will most likely do a post involving team looks for the main teams at some point. I hope you are all looking forward to it.

Super Sentai series titles : some recurring Kanji

Hello guys, it's been a while since I've written here; I had trouble finding ideas to write a new blog post.
However, today, I've been thinking about the sentai series franchise : 40 years, 39 series and a 40th series to come soon.
As you know most sentai series have a title involving three words : a specific word written in kanji, different for each series, involving usually two, but sometimes one or even three kanji, followed by "Sentai" and then, a third word in katakana, being the name of the team, including either "man", "ranger" or its short form "ger", or even sometimes, "Five".
I've investigated the kanji used in the first part of the title (or those used outside of either "Sentai" or the katakana in the few series not including "sentai" in the title, such as Bioman or Flashman)). Because Super Sentai often uses the same themes, it often uses the same kanji in different individual series titles, and I've made a list of the kanji that appear in at least two titles of sentai series.
And here are the results : 

The kanji appearing the most, with six sentai series titles is the kanji 電 (den), the kanji meaning "electricity" : it appears in JAKQ, Denziman, Bioman, Changeman, Megaranger and Kyoryuger : it has been used in different contexts : either, it reflects a technology theme involving electronics, such as in Denziman, Bioman and Megaranger, and in a lesser way, Kyoryuger, with the dino theme associated with a "battery" theme. Or it is used in combination with the kanji "strike" (geki), to mean a "sudden attack", meaning that the team strikes quickly and hard, such in JAKQ and Changeman. The kanji started being used very early, since it appears in JAKQ first, the second series, and most of the series having it in the title are pretty early, (4 out of 6 in the first 10 shows) ; however, it has been used pretty recently too, as seen with Kyoryuger. Of course, "Den" is also included in katakana in Denziman.

In second place, with five titles, is the kanji  獣 (Juu),  the kanji meaning "beast" : it appears in the titles of five series : Liveman, Gingaman, Gaoranger, Gekiranger and Kyoryuger : it's pretty expected since animals is a theme used very often in sentai, and predictably, the five series have an animal theme (even if Kyoryuger has the more specialized theme of dinosaurs) ; besides, it's obvious that Zyuranger and the upcoming Juuohger also have in katakana actually the same meaning. It's interesting that, while used frequently, the kanji started being used relatively late in the franchise, starting with Liveman,  when animals started becoming a major mecha theme.

In third place, is the kanji 超 (Chou), meaning "Super", used four times, (in Bioman, Flashman, Liveman, and Ohranger) : interestingly, it's especially used in series not including "sentai" in the title, since among the four series, two of them don't include sentai (Bioman and Flashman) ; that kanji isn't unexpected, since we're talking about superhero shows titles (we're talking about Super Sentai). Thus having sometimes "super" in the titles of some shows is pretty logical. Interestingly, most of the shows having it in the title are 80' show in a short span (the golden Soda age), with Ohranger being the exception (and even that one has Soda heavily involved)

In fourth place is the kanji 星 (sei),  meaning "Star" included in three titles (Flashman, Dairanger and Gingaman) : interestingly, the series having it in the title aren't especially space themed, with the exception of Flashman, which has a major space theme : Dairanger has a martial arts, mystical beast and Chinese theme, while Gingaman has an animal theme, with the only "spatial" elements being the origin of the villains, and of the mechas : but having the kanji "star" in the title gives a sense of large scale in the show's universe, since it goes beyond Earth to include the whole universe.

Interestingly, those kanji are often associated with each other :
"Juu" is associated with "Den" in Kyoryuger, "Chou" is associated with "Den" in Bioman, "Sei" in Flashman and "Juu" in Liveman, and "Sei" is associated with "Juu" in Gingaman.

Several kanji appear twice, often in series with a same theme :

忍 (nin), meaning "stealth" appears in two ninja themed shows titles, Kakuranger and Hurricanger, and of course, it's in katakana in the title of the third ninja themed sentai title, Ninninger

Similarly, 竜 (Ryu) meaning "Dragon", is included in two dinosaur themed sentai show titles, Zyuranger and Abaranger (Kyoryu means dinosaur (terrible dragon), and of course it's in katakana in the third dino themed sentai title, Kyoryuger.

Another kanji, 特 (toku), meaning "special", is used in recent shows having a professional team included in an official organization involved in fighting the enemies : Dekaranger (the police sentai) and Go-Busters (the special Energy Management Center). It's interesting to notice that the kanji has been used a lot in the Metal Hero franchise, also involving professional teams (notably in the Rescue Police shows, which Dekaranger pays tribute too)

Two kanji are used twice, and always associated with the kanji "Den" : it's "子"(Shi), which usually means "child", but here is used with "Den" to mean "Electronic, in the titles of Denziman and Bioman ; and the other "撃" (Geki), meaning "Strike", used in JAKQ and Changeman with "Den" to mean "lightning strike", "Blitzkrieg", a very quick sudden and effective attack : it's however likely that kanji that appear in Katakana in "Gekiranger", which has a martial arts theme involving "strikes". 

In a word of conclusion, the kanji 轟 (Go) is used twice in the same title, the title of Boukenger, to have both the pun of the english verb "go" showing the "adventure theme" and the "loud explosive sound" which is the true meaning of the kanji, which means to show how that adventure team is full of energy. 

It's more than likely that future sentai shows are either gonna have those kanji appear again, or having kanji that have appeared so far only once appearing again. 

Your thoughts?

Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger Review

It is sort of weird how my last Sentai review was Dekaranger and now I'm covering its predecessor. This is a show that I had been curious about due to what I had read about it and what some friends had said about it. Needless to say, I jumped on it once it was subbed completely. Time to unleash my Dino Guts and take a look at how I felt about Abaranger. Note: Its going to be hard for me to talk about certain characters without getting into some spoilers so for the purpose of this review, my no spoiler policy is gone. However, I will try to avoid the biggest spoilers if at all possible.

Plot: The story opens with a lone warrior riding through a desert wasteland on a raptor while an Evolian ship rains down energy blasts. The warrior sees a portal to another world and jumps through winding up on Another Earth. Once there he seeks out warriors who can channel their Dino Guts to fight the on-coming invasion. Thus begins the tale of the Abarangers.

Characters: The main cast is fun and they have some great chemistry. We get a lot of nice interactions in the series, particularly between Ryouga and Mai. Note: AbareKiller will be covered in the villains section since he was a villain for most of the series.

• Ryouga/AbaRed: Ryouga is Mai's uncle but he treats her like she is his daughter. His relationship with Mai was entertaining and adorable. It is that sort of family dynamic that I want to see more of in Sentai. A lot of his plots revolve around either AbareKiller or children being targeted by the Evolian. Needless to say, both of those involve great speeches from Ryouga about having hope in humanity and usually result in a righteous butt-kicking for the villains. I don't have a favorite episode for him because there are too many good ones to choose from.
• Yukito/AbareBlue: A serious level-headed chiropractor. He manages to take all the weirdness with a straight face. One thing that sort of surprised me is that his chiropractic skills actually got applied multiple times throughout the series. It was something I thought that they'd simply write off as something he could do and not mention it again. My favorite episodes for him are probably the mind-swap episode with Ryouga and the episode were Tricera turns into a human child.
• Ranru/AbareYellow: Ranru is a fun character. Everything is her hobby and I mean everything, including but not limited to science, machines, and wearing bullet-proof vests. She has a strong sense of justice and the drive to help anyone in need. She is also one of the major driving forces that keeps Asuka motivated in his search for Mahoro and is very invested in making sure they could reunite. She even went so far as to take back a bracelet Asuka made for Mahoro when an Evolian stole it.
• Asuka/AbareBlack: I'm just going to come right out and say it, Asuka is my favorite character out of the main cast. The dude went through a lot over the course of the series. His love story with Mahoro was really well done and honestly, Sentai needs more love stories like that. My favorite episode for him is actually the arc where they destroy the cursed armor as it shows the lengths that he and Mahoro would go to for each other.
• Mai: Ryouga's niece who lost her parents when she was young. Her interactions with Ryouga were fun to watch and really adorable. They really feel like family.
• Emiri: She is mostly comic relief though she does get a few episodes devoted to her. She is effective as both comic relief and as an ally. No matter what happens she will usually try to make sure Mai is ok and keep her from worrying whenever the Abarangers are in danger. She sort of acts like an older sister for Mai in that regard. My favorite episodes for her are the episodes with the psychic rhino trinoid and the AbarePink episode.
• Ryunosuke: The owner of a curry restaurant known as Dino House that serves as the Abarangers' base. He provides little nuggets of wisdom and gives the Abarangers a place to stay in exchange for helping out around the restaurant.

Bakuryu: The Bakuryu are the mecha but they are much more than that. They are sentient partners that the Abarangers can turn to. They have their own distinct personalities and they are a great support system for the Abarangers. The relationships between the Bakuryu and the Abarangers was fun to watch, especially Ryouga and Tyranno's relationship. Both of them know exactly what it is like to be fathers and have families to take care of. They are honestly what I think the ZyuDenRyu should've been in Kyoryuger since it feels like an actual partnership. You actually get to see the Abarangers interact with the Bakuryu instead of just saying that they are partners. Tyranno, Tricera, and Ptera's appearance in the first episode had this Godzilla/Jurassic Park vibe to it. If I were to pick my favorite of the Bakuryu, it would be Tyranno, Tricera, Stegoslidon, and Brachio.

Their combined forms are nicely designed. Most of the extra Bakuryu are normally limited to being arm changes or add-ons for Abaren-Oh and Killer-Oh. It works out really well and doesn't change the overall design aspects of the two mecha. The mecha action is nicely choreographed and each fight carries some nice weight to it. The fights between Abaren-Oh and Killer-Oh were done well. My personal favorite Abaranger mecha design is Killer-Oh. It has a very imposing look to it and the colors blend really well.

Villains: 

From left to right: Michela, Jeanne, Rege, Geitron, and Voff.

The Evolians are the major antagonists and they feature a wide variety of designs. The bulk of the Evolian forces are Trinoids made by Michela and Giganoids made by Voff. Michela makes the Trinoids by painting three objects and it usually results in weird designs and abilities. The Giganoids are massive kaijuu-like beings created by Voff composing music. Geitron wasn't really around for long but his armor became a major part of Asuka's story. Now we get to the major players of the Evolians: Jeanne and Rege. Since these two are major parts of the plot, spoilers incoming.

Jeanne is honestly my favorite villain among the Evolians due to her plot-line being so closely tied to Asuka. Her fights with him were very intense and they are some of my favorite fights out of all of Sentai. The swordplay used by the two was fantastic. She made a great rival for him especially given who she actually is. She is Mahoro which isn't really much of a spoiler since Asuka speculates that she is or at least looks oddly similar to Mahoro rather early on and it makes the dynamic between both of them all the more interesting while adding some fantastic tension. I also like costume she wears, it has a lot of intricate and ornate details. It has an almost regal or royal air about it and she looks like a priestess.

Pretty much everything Rege does in the plot qualifies as a big spoiler so I'll try to describe her as best I can. Rege is Dezmoparamecia's host body. Its weird to think that such an adorable little girl has that much power inside of her. In addition to that, she serves as a way to transport the Evolians between Dino Earth and Another Earth.

When she becomes Regel later on, her power really shines through. She is a nice power-house villain and her first fight gives off a good glimpse of her true powers. Her arc is rather sad yet heart-warming due to its relation to Jeanne and the Evolian invasion of Dino Earth. I unfortunately can't say much more than that because it will spoil on of the most emotional moments of the show in my opinion.

AbareKiller is my favorite Abaranger villain overall. AbareKiller was fun to watch and made a great rival for Ryouga. He really knows how to push people's buttons. He doesn't have some grand plan in mind, he just wants to destroy stuff so he can ease his boredom. The man's take on boredom is an interesting one since well it is a major extreme. If he is bored he will do anything to get rid of it, whether it includes fighting, messing with the Abarangers' heads, or even crashing a planet into the Earth while he is still on it. He has no regard for his own safety and he will do anything as long as it amuses him. He'll even go so far as to change his own rules or cheat as long as it will make the game more exciting for him. All of that combined with his strength kind of scares me. He is just so much fun to watch.

Suit designs:

The suit designs for all of them are awesome. They all have a sleek design.The suits for Ryouga, Yukito, and Ranru feature white spike patterns along with their associated color. There is a big gold and black logo on the chest that looks like a dinosaur footprint. The helmets are nicely sculpted and immediately lets you know which dinosaurs they are modeled after. The visors look nice outlined in white. The gold wristbands look nice on all three of them and the belts look great in gold with a silver buckle.

Asuka's suit looks great and features a nice balance of black and gold that blends really well. His suit features gold shoulder pads and gold spike patterns. The helmet is nicely sculpted and immediately gives off a brachiosaurus look and features an interesting touch of red on the fin. The helmet even has little purple bits around the eyes on his helmet. Its the finer details like that that make me admire the craft that goes into making suits and how they affect the overall aesthetic of the show. The visor looks great outlined in gold. The gold wristbands and belt compliment his color scheme the most out of all five suits.

Mikoto's suit features a nice combination of white, black, and gold. The chest-plate looks great outlined in gold and the sculpting on the spikes is nice. Unlike the other suits, the collar is black instead of white. Its an odd choice but it works well enough since it helps provide a good bit of contrast with the white on the rest of the suit. The helmet is nicely sculpted and the visor looks great in red while being outlined in the black. The visor has a sort of sinister look to it thanks to the red. The black fin on the helmet has some nice little red eyes on it. The Abaranger logo for him is located on the belt with the points of the logo being black.

The spike patterns on all five suits were a nice choice for two reasons: 1. They provide a nice aesthetic value. 2. They serve an actual purpose in combat. By focusing their Dino Guts they can access Abare Mode which causes the spike patterns to actually protrude from the suits. Their bodies effectively become slashing weapons and they way they fight becomes more brutal. This further emphasizes the savage nature of dinosaurs in general and nicely alludes to the dinosaurs they are themed after. Asuka's fights are particularly brutal as he punches straight through some of the Evolians. At one point, AbareKiller even impales one on a tree branch. Ranru's Abare Mode even includes wings under her arms though they disappear later on for some reason. A nice little reference to their Bakuryu partners is that they also grunt and growl using the same words that the Bakuryu usually end their sentences with.

Ryouga has an upgrade form known as AbareMax. This is actually my favorite Abaranger suit overall. It doesn't really over-shadow the original AbaRed suit so it seems a bit more natural by just adding shoulder pads and a gold face-plate around the visor. The white spikes get replaced with blue and gold spikes. The logo gets expanded to look like the shield that enables the transformation and the brace gets gold-plated. The shield has some nice sculpting on it and red, gold, and black blends really well together. I absolutely love AbareMax's weapon since it doubles as both a sword and a shield. I've always like dual purpose weapons like that.

Music: Abaranger has a nice soundtrack. The opening theme does exactly what it it supposed to do. It gets you pumped up and excited. The ending theme is catchy and energetic. Those two songs are among the short list of opening/ending themes that I couldn't bring myself to skip through in order to save time. The tune from Asuka's harmonica is nice. It feels sort of eerie, sad, yet hopeful all at the same time. In a way, it sort of captures Asuka's feelings as the show goes on.

Final Thoughts: The show as a whole seems to have a certain way about it that I wish post-Gokaiger shows had in them. Each episode plot just has this scale of epic-ness to it and it all fit together rather nicely. There is nothing about this show that feels off to me. Despite the weirdness of one or two episodes, they still feel like they belong in the series. Each of the Abarangers gets their appropriate moments to be awesome and its fun to see them interact with each other. The fight choreography was really well handled particularly the sword-play in the fights between Asuka and Jeanne. The Abare Mode fights were down right brutal and featured quite a few wince-inducing moments. Abaranger is filled with moments where I couldn't help but smile because of the characters or pump my fist in the air due to the levels of awesome. The current Sentai at the time I started Abaranger kind of had me down and bored (ToQger which I gave up on after 22 episodes of nothing happening) so it felt good to get excited about about something again. I would highly recommend this series to any Sentai fan, especially if post-Gokaiger Sentai series aren't exactly agreeing with them. At the time of this post, Abaranger holds my number 3 spot right alongside Dekaranger.