New Poll! Opinions on Goggle V

So yeah, a new post for this blog, finally!


Well, I kinda think that Goggle V is heavily underrated. I mean when you look at something like Henshin Grid, you see that any polls which involve Goggle V will have the Goggle V option with the lowest amount of votes. And heck, Gokaiger so far doesn't seem to put this team on a lot... Sooo I decided to put a poll in it, open until New Year, and ask what's the general consensus of Goggle V. Happy voting, hope this works better than that one poll in my fic blog.

BlazBlue: A defense of a certain character

Well, to be honest, I really like this series outside Sentai series. It's a growing and good fighting game, fast paced and such. Unfortunately a certain incident scarred me to play this game again. Something about a character betrayal and making said character look against my expectation of goodness. I know, I've talked about her a bit...

A year has passed.

I've gotten a little better and ended up writing an essay on how people are easily blinded to hate her and make up reasons to make her look more evil and jerk. Therefore, I present you...

My defense for her.

If any of you played BlazBlue, let me know how you think about the writeup AND the character. Thank you.

My revised Top 10 Pink Sentai Warriors

So yeah, there's going to be a revision of things and probably I will not be able to go one step beyond. Previously, I made a 'Top 6', now I'm expanding it to Top 10. I know I should've gone for Red/Blue/Yellow like Kamen Sentai first, but Pink is probably the one color I can give full and fair attention first while keeping me excited. (Yeah, so what if Pink comes first from me. Real Men Wear Pink!)

Pink MAY be an exclusively female color, but it does garner some nice ladies we can swoon over for both niceness, look and badassery. So! Here's my Top 10 Pink Sentai Warriors.

10. Saya (Ginga Pink)

Well, to be honest, I really haven't completed Gingaman, only a few episodes in but thus far, Saya got me interested. Maybe there's something about that frilly dress, but from the earlier looks, I like it that she kept a strong face despite her boyfriend Hyuuga seemingly DIED in front of her (yeah, I know what happens actually, but still). I find it surprising that she looks like she would've broken down, but she didn't (and instead, Gouki did, though for other reasons...). And she didn't go over her 'cat' motif like an annoying catgirl and makes a badass 'catgirl' fighting style, especially when she... well... scratches the enemy with it. Saya really got potential from the few episodes I got her in. She's tough as nails, but tries her best to be feminine in the same time (she can bake a cake at least). Lovely.

9. Rei Tachibana (Dyna Pink)

Probably my second fave in Dynaman, I think Rei is a great character, even if her voice sounds a bit too deep. She's tough as nails, as proven that she carries a rapier all the time and is not afraid to use it. Yeah, for the first time in Sentai, we got a girl character who's more geared into action from get-go. Of course, despite this, and her slightly short boyish haircut, she's shown to have feminine traits, such as finding bridal suits really cute and wants to wear that. And she wasn't all that stoic, she can get hyper like that time she excessively taunts a monster just to trap it, it does show that she's knows how to utilize her brain and emotion to the fullest extent (but hey what do you expect, she's an inventor). But of course, one really can't forget a moment of fanservice where she fights Chimera until they're wearing nothing but swimsuit. Overall I think she puts the benchmark of what it takes to be a badass lady, though she does have one weakness that probably went unresolved... fear of cats. That episode was pretty cute and kinda shows a wackily vulnerable side of Rei. It's going to be troublesome for her dream, though, since she wanted to create an animal-communicating device... and no matter how you take it, cat is amongst the animal kingdom. Overall, I'd say the combo of badass, feminine, smart and cute would've made her to the Top 10 at number 9. And just like the rest of the older Sentai series, Dynaman and Rei REALLY needs more love.

8. Momoko (Pink Mask)

I think it's more of the fault that Momoko didn't have enough episode focuses compared to Haruka, but that's a little matter. She may be the designated 'girly girl', but boy is she tough as nails. This is Maskman after all. And I do say that since she's practicing Tai Chi Quan, her fights do show to have a lot of graceful moves with reserves as focus. Of course, she got the lowest stamina, which was a plot point, but she's trying her best to rectify it to the point that at the latter episodes, that stops being a problem. She also had her humor sides too, though mostly acting annoyed when Akira teased her, or even goes as far as stomping Takeru when he gets ahead of himself. Brains are also in works here as shown in the 'turn into thieves' episode, and yeah, I think she's having a hell of a time posing as a thief. So aside of trying to better herself further, I'm pretty sure that Momoko is more than just looks, I mean there's also brains and love for flowers and some of her nasty streaks when she's teased too much. I guess that'd be why she's at the 8th spot.

7. Haruna Morikawa (Pink Turbo)

Maybe it's just probably for nostalgia, but I think Haruna is amongst one of my favorite nostalgic ladies. She really has a tender heart, as shown with the episode where she befriended a dog-turned-human, and this goes to a greater extent that this crushed her, when she constantly saw her friends fighting her other friends, Yamimaru and Kilika, actually their friends at school, just went through a lot of painful moments that they're the enemy. Even for an older time, it was a pretty powerful scene and episode all centering on her heart being crushed with such conflict, but she still moved on. Physically, she's... not really strong, but she does make it up with a lot of things: first there's her iron will, that when all her friends lost their Turboranger power, she fought the monster alone, and even piloted the Turbo Robo alone, even if she's receiving a lot of wounds. And of course, previously, her most shining moment, is when she faked amnesia and pulled off a convincingly 'turned evil' act that fooled many (she even adds her own evil laugh, must've been having a hell of a time), all just to snatch an antidote to save a friend. Kind hearted, great actress, never willing to give up despite not being the strongest, I suppose that'd be why Haruna is on the 7th spot. Definitely a character that needs more love (along with the rest of the Turborangers)

6. Lin (Houou Ranger)

Yeah, I know I haven't gotten into Dairanger for long (but at least that's longer than Gingaman. Just hafta wait for TV Nihon to do their subbing) but I think Lin looks like a good improvement on Momoko (no offense). This being Dairanger, of course badass is part of the parcel, but aside of that she's pretty smart and sometimes knows when things just went off, like that time warning Shouji about the 3 Gorma Idiots trying to play him off. There's also a naughty side of hers, such as showing off her legs for distraction, but of course that kinda bite her back because she doesn't appreciate Kou molesting her breasts or flipping her skirt. But it's still hilarious. Of course one powerful scene that shows about her was during the Media Magician episode, when Lin fell in love for REAL that she went along with the Gorma plan and shows actual love to the monster, to the point the monster fell in love too and tried to redeem himself... and even after the confession of his evil self, Lin just won't let go. And then Gara killed the monster, and probably in the most shining moment of Lin, one that we can say "AWESOME!" and shed tears for her in the same time would be when she transformed without even doing the henshin pose (Gai pulled that off in Jetman), does an unflinching walk to the front of Gara, raises her fist... then punch her in the face. Really powerful scene and cemented why Lin is pretty awesome, getting onto the 6th spot for being badass, smart and caring at the same time.

5. Ahim de Famille (Gokai Pink)

Let me get this clear. I like Ahim more than Luka. Hey, it's my right for having a lone opinion when everyone is crazy about Luka (and I don't blame you guys for it), but still Ahim is in no way inferior than Luka. She's at core a sweet princess, a contrast to the mostly antiheroic Gokaigers, but overall it makes her a stand out to the rest. Sometimes her overly polite mannerism could get into some hilarious moments. But of course as proven in other episodes, she's not just your typical 'Oh save me!' princess. When she's kidnapped for ransom, she proceeds to make plans of swindling the Gokaigers for it rather than waiting for them to save her. A daring move, but she also even protected her kidnapper. And of course, during the time she went on a disguise-spree, this is where she shows her awesomeness in full extent. She makes the daring advances on Gai, rather than vice versa (in what I could say, the sexiest wedding dress I've seen for awhile), and all of the disguises are part of her plan, showing her smartness and in the same time looks really cute and gorgeous at it. Her backstory might not be revealed (but soon it will), but she really got me good in terms of liking Gokaiger. Ahim is awesome, no doubt about it. She is one contender of my favorite Gokaiger ever as well as holding the 5th spot.

4. Sakura Nishihori (Bouken Pink)

At first probably I got my eyes on Sakura because she's... hot. But after watching Boukenger, I'm seeing a lot of charms in her that goes beyond her hotness. She starts out as the super serious, stiff soldier, but over time, thanks to interaction with the team, she managed to blossom into a more warm-hearted person. I mean, at first she didn't even know how to smile. By the end of the series, she smiled more often and even considers it her greatest treasure. She's also pretty badass thanks to her army background and this is taking account that before joining the army, she's a rich merchant's daughter doomed for a pampered life. And while at first she comes off cold, she certainly knew how to act, like that time she's captured with Natsuki and to drive away the guards, they staged a bickering. But not all of her emotionals were staged, she did have genuine ones when she cried on Eiji's apparent demise (no, he didn't) and even yells a big "SHUT UP!" on Gai and proceeds to beat him down when previously he was pretty much invincible. And of course, her emotional moments came through when it comes to Satoru, when she's concerned about him, you really wouldn't see the usually cold Sakura. And lastly, I find it awesome that when she begged Mr. Voice to help them near the end of Boukenger, and Mr. Voice, in a dickheaded 'must-follow-order' mode didn't even flinch, Sakura instead cursed at him and punched the screen in frustration, breaking it, guess that shows that she really cared about the well-being of her friends rather than order all the time. As one of the more developed Pinks out there, Sakura got the 4th position in my Top 10. (and when she smiled, it's nice!)

3. Mei (Ptera Ranger)

Yes I do admit that the 3rd spot would've been an odd choice to you all, but Mei kinda... hits me in the right spot most of the time. True, she's for the most part static, but you don't need to be dynamic to be cool. Yes, her voice is high pitched, but I find it really cute. That, along with her face. God damn it, a combination of moe to die for, as early as the 90's! Despite being designated as the 'Princess', she's not haughty. She's kind, gentle, sweet. As for toughness and determination? She got it aplenty. There are many times that Mei saved the day on her own, like that time that she woke up from the poison on her own to save her friends from a monster that only she could destroy, or using her wits to destroy a monster singlehandedly, said monster already swallowed the rest of the Zyurangers. And of course, the most shining of all, is when she defeated a monster that not even Burai and Dragon Caesar can even damage! She's as much as loving and caring as she can fight and kick some evil butt. The constantly hairstyle changing is also a unique touch, though I like her long hair versions better. Add to the fact that her tribe has the 2nd biggest lore aside of Geki/Burai's, it adds a lot of potential in Mei. But of course, one thing that really touches me is during the Fake Zyuranger episode whereas while the Zyuranger gets driven away by the mass due to imposters. Mei was even... slapped on the face for helping a child and I think she was the only one who visible cried, I think the stress was too much, the second time she cried after Burai died, guess that spoke a lot for her tender, loving heart (that got betrayed, though it got better). And yes, I do remember about her disguise power which led to an awesome disguise battle with Lamie, one of her finest moments. Well talking aside, I do believe that Mei is definitely one of the more under appreciated Sentai characters and she DEFINITELY needs more love. I mean, what's not to love on a disguise-prone, super cute, sweet, kind hearted archer girl? The awesome thing in Zyuranger is not just Burai and his drama. I believe that Mei is also one of them and that's why she's on the 3rd spot.

2. Mako Shiraishi (Shinken Pink)

Ah yes, Mako. Probably the greatest big sister figure, IMO, in Sentai and she's just as fierce and systematic when it comes to battle. She had her share of heartwarming, which is any time she genuinely wants to cheer people up, her share of touching moments, especially when it involves her family after realizing what it is, and also shares of humors, especially her horrid cooking. Nee-san got ways to go to reach her dreams to be a normal bride. But of course, she's also real hardcore when it comes to battle, aside of occasional duels with Dayuu, there's also that moment when she, in front of her dad, already fed up with Akumaro's treatment to children, she goes to take down lots of Nanashi Renjuu unmorphed, and morphs while deflecting Akumaro's blasts. That's a real badass moment. She probably didn't develop much aside of the respect of her parents after that episode, but she remains the gentle big sister figure that tries to understand her friends, even Takeru. She also had a bigger foresight as she probably guessed the troubles Takeru was going through and would try to cheer him up, though she admitted that she was a little late overall. And of course, despite wanting to be a bride, she wasn't exactly love crazed, as shown with rejecting Ryuunosuke right off bat (but then again, he was being annoying at that time. I don't hate him, but there's such time for him that Mako's rejection does look justified), which is probably a good plus. She probably is also responsible, along with the Shinkengers, to rekindle my passion to Sentai so that's a big props, along with her caring attitude, badassery and looks, and that is why she's on the 2nd spot.

1. Miki Momozono (Goggle Pink)

This is it. The big one. When I'm little, I used to watch Goggle Five a lot, and despite incomplete, Miki really got me to know that even at the 80's, women can kick ass! True, she's not exactly dynamic and she had her share of troubles. However, in moments where she shines, she really shines. While she didn't have much strength, she makes it up with wit and brains, especially when it comes to plans involving disguise, like that time she disguised as a sexy Flamenco dancer ("Want some Tequilla? NO! You don't deserve it for being bad!") or a whole episode when she's disguising as a bunch of dolls, admittedly it was really remarkable that she switches into a hyperactive voice when disguising as the clown. She fills the role of the big sister well, and this is despite being the youngest of the team (she acts really mature for a teenager!), and her kind heart shows, especially that doll episode (where she shed a tear for a doll that got attached to her), or, despite being naive, trying to believe that the enemy can repent. And of course, aside of her brains, her finest parts was her sheer determination to go on and continue to fight evil, like that time she was bombed and fatally wounded due to it. Despite her wounds, she still resolved to fight on, even when her friends were doubting if she's chosen well. She does prove herself worthy eventually, and of course, her biggest moment during the time she got trapped in a picture book, restrained inside, the book burned, but never once she gave up and eventually escaped on her own, definitely one of the most awesome moment of hers. Damn it, Miki, you continue to be awesome even for an 80's character! So yeah, given the factors about smartness, kindheartedness, determination, and sheer nostalgia that she was one of the first heroines I knew in media, one that is pretty badass for her age and still keeps it here, it is pretty obvious that Miki is, and probably always will be my number 1 Pink Warrior... nay, number 1 female Sentai characters ever. Oh, and she definitely needs more love... because Miki is awesome. Yeah!

And so thus concludes my list of Pink Warriors. No worries, I'll get the other colors too, eventually. But until then, hope it's been a good read! (Some old series just needs more love, I suppose...)

*sigh* Bloody Roar series...

Okay, here's a non-Sentai post and I have to say... I'm pretty pissed off.

 

It's a fighting game series with a lot of basis in combo. The main catch is that the whole cast is a werebeast. From werelions, weretigers, werelions, wererabbits, weremoles, weregorillas... Well we call that 'Zoanthrope' here. The story follows something like X-Men where you replace 'Mutant' with 'Zoanthrope'. The game itself held its own, with good comboing system and some good character designs. It's made by Hudsonsoft, which eventually went to close its doors and merge with Konami, leaving the series eventually orphaned.

Well, just a few days ago, a twitter account of Hudsonsoft came in and said Bloody Roar will get a new title, which would mean we get a new BR game. After the disastrous BR4, it's going to be a continuity reboot. Of course, we're all overjoyed, we hoped it to be true...

And then just recently, it's been announced that it's a hoax. The twitter account was posing as Hudsonsoft and played a big trolling game to us all.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-----!!!!!

To these days, this is why I really really hate Trolls. They serve nothing but to sew discord and chaos amongst us just for their own amusement. And that's why I really are abhorred with trolling characters (e.g: Terumi from BlazBlue, Basco from Gokaiger)... No offense, but that's just me.

A pity about BR though, it's always going to be one of the series I'd consider a classic. Sweet, good memories.

Gokaiger 29: Ahim is AWESOME!

(Note: Will change the picture later. Probably add some more. Yeah.)

So yeah, I think this episode is really a testament of why I really like Ahim. She certainly shows that she's just a hardass as the other pirates all while she's all prim and proper and graceful. It does give out more insights about her. While she acts sweet and all, it was both genuine and a bit of a mask to cover her inner self, the more seductive, daring one. She completely got Gai on the bonkers during the wedding scene. Hell, who can blame her? This is just my opinion but Ahim thus far has the sexiest wedding dress thus far. Her schoolgirl, nurse and policewoman are really fine too, it is always great to see her hair down or in a ponytail like the nurse.

And at least she also knew when things just went too far. Especially the Abare Pig costume. It was kind of cute of her getting embarrassed like that.

Well the episode eventually ends with the Gokaigers seeing Ahim's transformation. What does Ahim do? Get embarrassed. Apparently this gives out a certain hidden depth for her: Why would she be embarrassed when her daring side was revealed, to her own ALLIES at that? Was she trying to keep the picture of 'I am sweet, prim and proper princess' to her teammates? And why? Thus adds a mystery further in Ahim's personality and mind.

Of course most importantly, this episode shows Ahim's wits in the fullest extent. Before morphing, Ahim was practically suckering the monster from day one with her disguises. Hell, before disguising, she DID sucker the monster with the bug spray. I'd say that this episode lifts up my opinion on Ahim further and hopefully, she won't lose in popularity with Luka (not that I dislike her. She's great, but... well Ahim was just awesome at episode 29).

I guess if I make a Top 5 Pink Sentai Warriors again in the future, you can see Ahim somewhere in the list.

Sentai Anniversary Shows and Crossovers

Usually every certain years, Super Sentai would pull off Anniversary show and they have been rather different for years. Let's see how it evolved.



The first special is the Turboranger special episode which began even before Turboranger's first episode aired. It honors the Super Sentai team starting from Battle Fever J until Liveman (at that time, Goranger and JAKQ hasn't been considered) and mostly just does some clip shows of those past Super Sentai and it ends with those teams cheering for the Turborangers to fight the Bouma and carry on their legacy.



The second special is the Super Sentai World which heavily featured the 16th series Kakuranger. Rather than a clip show, it calls in the Sentai warriors from Fiveman, Jetman (Gai is probably not dead yet here), Zyuranger (back from the heavens) and Dairanger (not yet old folks) in order to fight an original enemy. While this probably used the crossover nature a lot, I think it was the beginning of it. Most the pre-Kakuranger warriors don't appear out of suit.



During the Ohranger's airing, probably due to downed ratings, they may be thinking 'Only an Anniversary show can save us now!' Thus they drafted Goranger and JAKQ into the roster and after Ohranger is done, they released Carranger, an Anniversary show which is... a parody of the Sentai genre. They don't do clip shows or crossovers, they just... run along with the show, poke fun of the genre. And it saved Sentai too to continue on.



Now the next anniversary is Gaoranger vs Super Sentai. In a way, this carries on similar elements with the Turboranger special, there were clip shows, but in it, also a new original story, and all warriors from Past Sentai also appear to give their approval for the Gaoranger to continue on their legacy (in this case the whole Red warriors). But what makes this unique is that this also gives us a crossover Sentai team, a Sentai team whose members are from different Sentai teams (in this case Big One, Red Falcon, Ginga Blue, Mega Pink and Go Yellow). I think this is where the awesome really go.



The next anniversary is Boukenger vs Super Sentai. This is really similar with the Gaoranger one, except they don't use whole clip shows and limits it to the previous shows that appears after the last anniversary (Hurricaneger to Magiranger), similar to Super Sentai World. It also introduces us... Aka Red, who'll later appear in Gokaiger. A good showing, but felt like it could be expanded further. I mean, the concept on Gaoranger vs Super Sentai is awesome, a practically crossovers that knows no era or decade, Boukenger vs Super Sentai, while good, felt like a dumbed down version. Although there are anniversary element in the Boukenger show itself, starting from fight coreography into how every single enemies are based on past Sentai robos.



Then there's Gokaiger, which also takes note from Carranger: it's a show that runs on its own and is filled with nostalgia factor and cameo from past rangers. No clip shows, no crossover teams, just an awesome story filled with shout outs to the past.

I hope you had a good read about this.

Also for bonus stuffs you can do, if you are aware of my fic, you realize I am making up my own crossover on Super Sentai which is heavily based on Gaoranger vs Super Sentai. So I'm wondering, if you guys who read here would like to make up crossover teams, which would be your team? Minimum 5 characters, maximum 7 characters! Include villains too if you can! You can put them in your comments! You can see mine in these posts of my blog:

http://supersentaivssupersentai.blogspot.com/2010/06/characters-team-1-heroes.html
http://supersentaivssupersentai.blogspot.com/2010/06/characters-team-2-heroes.html

One possibly overlooked Shout Out in Boukenger

In Boukenger, the Yellow color is represented by Natsuki Mamiya, alias Bouken Yellow.

As the Boukenger storyline progresses we find out that she's not an actual human, but rather, a Princess of a lost civilization, Lemuria. This is the picture of her parents back in the past:


Yep, they're played by Sentai alumnus, in particular Keisuke Tsuchiya (Kazu/Kirin Ranger - Dairanger) and Eri Tanaka (Chisato Jougasaki/Mega Yellow - Megaranger). They're both of Yellow colors, so people might think this as some sort of Mythology Gag or Shout Out. But... Yellow? Lemuria? Le-MU-ria? Don't we have something similar like that in the past?

From Wikipedia:
His forehead jewel is the opal (second highest pitch), symbolizing Mu (Lemuria).

Oh.

Well as you can see, apparently that was indirectly shouting out back to Goggle V, in particular Goggle Yellow. It was very skippable because while ancient civilizations were mentioned as a motif, it was limited to just the forehead symbol of the Goggle V and we didn't really dig into the myth of these civilizations. Would be nice, though, but I guess that's how it goes in older Sentai (even in Changeman, despite having a mythical creature theme don't really spend time on the mythology of these creatures). So yeah, we have a Yellow ranger who had 'connection' with Lemuria in the past, so maybe that's why they pick Lemuria as Natsuki's civilization of origin. It's too bad that Sanpei Godai (Futoshi Kijima's actor) wasn't present to become something like Lemurian King or something, would've made it full circle and I heard that he along with Junichi Haruta were the only remaining actors in Goggle V that are still into acting. Pity indeed, but I'm not gonna complain. That and this is mostly unknown because people tend to forget classic Sentais NOT called Goranger (or JAKQ, because of Big One), so they didn't realize.

But regardless, I did say 'possibly' because this might not as it seems. Professor Hongo explicitly said that the Opal represents Mu continent, and if you see through the links of Wikipedia, Mu and Lemuria got separate articles, and perhaps they ARE different civilization. However, one thing that we can get is that they're both hypothetical and lost continents, thus it makes sense when you think about it.

But regardless, I do say that this is an overlooked piece from a rather unknown, classic Sentai series. I hope this shed you enough knowledge. I'll be seeing you later!

ChrisX's Top 11 Super Sentai Opening

Hello again after a longass time not posting at all. This is pretty simple. I'm going to sort out what I think to be my favorite opening pieces of Super Sentai. For shows mostly aimed at kids, they have a lot of awesome songs. So I'm gonna count down my Top 11 Super Sentai openings. Why top 11? Because, again, in the immortal words of the Nostalgia Critic, we have to take one step beyond.

11. Dai Sentai Goggle V

Despite this being my fave nostalgia Sentai ever, I realize that this is where they pick up the tempo and intensity of the song, despite being considered a 'disco' song. The Sun Vulcan song is catchy, but Goggle V managed to be both catchy and fast-paced in the same time, while still adhering to the limits. This will be perfected later in Dynaman, so it's on the 11th spot.

10. Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger

New song and it's already cool, it does convey liveliness and free spirit that the Gokaiger embodies. I don't find myself bored with the tunes like "Let's Go, Let's Go-kaiger!", in fact I find it... inspiring to move forward. Awesome.

9. Juken Sentai Gekiranger

It opens with some Chinese instrument, until it explodes with great fast pace. The repetitive 'Geki! Geki!' eventually catch on, as in imagining you punching while it's said. But I guess it is pretty spot-on for the characteristic of Jan, who tends to make up words from his head...

8. Kagaku Sentai Dynaman

This is what I call an improvement over Goggle V's song. Rather than disco, we get more rocking tunes and it's fast-paced and great. In regards, I also find it funny that the song lyrics, if we take it too literally, sounds a bit hilarious. It's as if the singer is saying "DIE DIE DIE DIE DYNAMAN". So... the singer wants the Dynaman dead?

*Ba Dum Tsh!*

Well to be honest, it can also be spelled as "DAI DAI DAI DAI DAINAMAN", in which Dai = Great. So yeah. Still the previous one just sound hilarious, but since it's also catchy, it's number 8.

7. Kousoku Sentai Turboranger

This breezily catchy song accompanies the high school road of the Turborangers. Uncovering mysteries to the world, and kicking Bouma ass. I like the song, but when turned to instrument, this gets really kickass. Turborangers' instruments, IMO, are one of my personal faves.

6. Choujuu Sentai Liveman

Well many people agree this is one of the more kickass Sentai songs and I have to agree. It has explosiveness, youth, fire (err...) and the feel of drama in spite of that. I dunno, I just feel that way. Just too bad that Daisuke Shima's singing tune is only limited to the opening, not with Yuusuke actually singing.

5. Samurai Sentai Shinkenger

Well what can I say? Psychic Lover kicks ass. This song combines a lot from Japanese instruments and rocking pieces that makes Samurai stuffs epic. Starting from the "Chan-chan-bara" to the actual lyrics itself, it is a real fast pace and awesome piece.

4. Choujin Sentai Jetman

This is the last opening of Sentai to be ever sung by the legendary Hironobu Kageyama of the JAM Project. While it wasn't as rocking/epic as the further entry below, it still has the catchy and the fast pace typical to Hironobu Kageyama, and still managed to be epic. "Jetto, Jetto, Jettoman!" Catchy as hell.

3. Mirai Sentai Timeranger

Yes, the one hailed as the most fave opening ever mostly, is just at 3rd place. It's a real kickass piece, I know. And has a lot of epic tunes here. But... well, everyone's different. I love the song and female vocal, but thus far, I have other faves.

2. Hikari Sentai Maskman

Aah yes, I think this is the most epic, kickass, rocking piece Hironobu Kageyama did to Sentai. Punctuated in style of fighting, the electric guitar of this piece are conveyed to be really epic style you won't even believe. Overall, for old school Sentai music, this is probably my fave. But still on number 2. Which one is the number one?

1. Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger

Oh yeah, now we're talking. This is a real epic, fast paced, rocking song that also combines the Engrish in Dekaranger in a good way. After the police siren went off, the epic electric guitar riffs commence and accompanied with the lyrics, it stays on top all the way. When this becomes an instrument, the jazz trumpet also sounds good. This beats out every one of the Sentai songs, IMO, and I really never get tired of listening of this over and over. Bravo, Psychic Lover. Bravo.

Yep, that's all from me. I hope you have a good read. And don't lambast me, though. Everyone is entitled to their opinions.

TV Tropes Five Man Band inconsistence - Timeranger and Time Force

I'll be honest that I haven't watched both Timeranger and Time Force. But communications between Sentai goers over there is pretty scarce, I may as well bring it here. Plus FL and Mr. Smith do occasionally trope. So anyway, this is one headscratcher that REALLY BUGS ME to the point of ripping my hair off.



So according to the Timeranger article, the spot of The Chick goes to Yuuri/Time Pink and The Lancer goes to Ayase/Time Blue. Sounds fine... considering Yuuri is the token girl and Ayase is the token 'cool guy'. However, the catch is that she is also the leader, making her also taking shots at The Lancer (kinda like Koichiro from Megaranger).



Cue Power Rangers Time Force, which can be said as a real close adaptation to Timeranger. There, it's blatantly said that Jen (Yuuri counterpart) is The Lancer, while Lucas (Ayase counterpart) is The Chick. Jen because she's the actual leader, Lucas because... he's an Ill Man. Same like Ayase!

What went wrong here? If Ayase was also an Ill Man and Yuuri was also the actual leader of Timeranger, wouldn't it make sense that Yuuri IS the Lancer and Ayase IS the Chick, not the other way around? Or the reverse in Time Force, Jen IS the Chick while Lucas IS the Lancer. Where's the difference here?? I do hope Timeranger/Time Force watchers can clear things up about this...

Thanks for letting me rant a bit.

Sentai Females Who I Think Are My Fave Amongst The Team

Based on Mr Smith's post over here, I am inspired to make up my own list. Just as a warning, this is completely opinion based and you probably won't agree (and you probably will). But I am a man entitled to my own opinions.

1. Miki Momozono

Well OF COURSE this has to happen. Miki is overall my favorite Sentai lady ever. She may be physically weak, but she makes it up with her intelligence, cunningness and personality, as well as taking multiple levels of great competence (especially that Episode 39). Yeah, I do officially believe she is my fave Goggle V ever.

2. Sayaka Nagisa

Thus far, the finest White Sentai warrior that I've watched (haven't gotten to Gaoranger yet, sorry). I liked her prim and proper attitude combined with her brains. Plus her voice's really cute and stands out. I also like that despite being the token girly girl, she held her emotion in check better (no offense to Yuuma who freaked out at that time).

3. Megumi Misaki

Well as of Liveman, taking out the factor about how Yuusuke is the one more known to public due to reappearance in Gaoranger vs Super Sentai, I'd say Megumi is one of my faves in Liveman. Not because of her being the first female Blue ever, but let's face it... most of the dramatic tensions of Liveman came from her, and when she cried, it hits right on the intended parts.

4. Remi Hoshikawa

Well if anyone stands out in Fiveman (And you pretty much would agree), it's her. Remi's is pretty fiery and cheery, but she's more known for her martial arts skill. Her drunken fist is nice, but I like it when she shows off her cunningness, especially that panty flashing episode. And she still remains cheery despite not knowing the face of her parents.

5. Mei

Okay, in most people's eyes, probably Zyuranger is viewed as bland, and so is Mei. Well... I don't think so. She's a really nice addition to the team and I find myself liking her episodes more than the Burai arcs. I see her having a lot of potentials that would be overshadowed with Burai, but I don't really mind. She's dedicated, she's sweet, she's determined as hell, tough and girly in the same time. And she's so cute, she practically defines Sentai Moe (I think).

6. Chisato Jougasaki

People probably remember Miku more, but I like the composed Chisato better. She's sweet, but also sometimes prone to some witty, sarcastic comments. And she's a real good singer too, and aside of that, she's also the one girl who is not only smart but is also good at games (the middle road between Kenta and Kouichirou!)

7. Sakura Nishihori

Ah, Sakura-neesan. I will DEFINITELY agree and brofist with Sean when I say 'Sakura is hot'. But hotness isn't the only thing I like about her, she's hard-ass, tough and really different from the usual girly pinks out there. She developed a lot from someone who only cared about her missions, as Satoru said, she has a great smile that only she possesses, and when it shows, it was beautiful. There's also an emotional moment when she genuinely cried on Eiji's apparent demise and subsequently delivered a cathartic beatdown to Gai. Yeah, we know about the 'armed with guns' episode, but Sakura does stand out the most as one of my fave Pinks.

8. Mele

Yeah, she's just an extra ranger and starts out villain even. But hell, Mele is one of the more developed villains and it keeps the Gekiranger interesting. Since she starts out villain, she's able to get a sexy outfit from get-go, but aside of that, I like her bipolar attitude of starting out cold hearted with other minions, but is a complete fangirl on Rio-sama, one that was genuine and proves great for her character development. Her eventual road to redemption and sacrificing her life for the Gekirangers are really great, and not swaying over her loyalty on Rio, so it was all great.

You probably are wondering why I did not include some, but here's some honorable mentions, when females just got on second place because I like another guy more. Or other reasons.

1. Rei Tachibana

She may be rather deep-sounding, but for deep-sounds, it sounds cute enough. Plus, I think Rei sets the standard about 'girls as tough as guys' what with her carrying rapier everywhere. Her unresolved fear of cats are also hilarious. But she's here because she had to compete with Ryu Hoshikawa for my fave Dynaman.

2. Saya

I just heard her from other information, haven't watched Gingaman fully. But from what I see about her, she looks great and on the way to be my favorite Gingaman. She's strong, losing her boyfriend like that and not even blaming anyone and keeping a normal face most of the time. And aside of her toughness of mentality, she can also be sweet. So yeah, if only I finished Gingaman, she might've been on the above list.

3. Marika 'Jasmine' Reimon

Everyone pretty much listed why they love Jasmine. Tall, sexy, sarcastic, witty, dark past... need we say more? I'll not say much about Jasmine, not because I don't have any, but everyone else have spoken for her. But she's not amongst the above girls because if I have a favorite Dekaranger, that'd be Houji.

4. Mako Shiraishi

Mako somehow defines what I see the best at female characters these days. Aside of tough, she's also nurturing, caring, a big sister figure to all. Even Takeru. (Do I have a siscon or something? Then again, I have no real life big sis). Aside of looking really stunning and beautiful, there's also the hilarity that is her horrid cooking (Yeah, look at that knife she's holding in the pic...). Again, she's not amongst the main list because I equally like Takeru as well.

5. Ahim de Famille

Everyone is on and on about Luka, but Ahim always held a special spot in my opinion (not that I think Luka is bad, she's awesome, just not on my fave list). Sweet, cute and kind, while being a badass princess at the same time. That kidnapper episode really seals the deal on her awesomeness. Again, she's not in the main place because she has a competition for favorite. No, not Marvelous or Luka, but Joe.

Well that'll be all from me, hope you got a good read!

Sentai Character Talk 7: Satoru Akashi/Bouken Red

Just so I'm fair to both sexes, I'll talk about a male character now. Don't worry, I do plan to talk about more girls later, but this guy kinda stands out. Who? Satoru Akashi the Fiery Adventurer, AKA Bouken Red



This is the lead character of Boukenger, obviously the leader. He's a renowned adventurer known as 'Immortal Fang'. While he acts cool, when situation calls in, he's just as hot blooded as you can expect from the one calling himself 'Fiery Adventurer'. His favorite saying is 'Attack!', which is used to rile the Boukengers up to take action. He gets along well with his teammates, although he wasn't above tricking them if it was for the greater good. So let's dig in to this guy...

Attack.

Past

Satoru did have to claw his way out to become the 'Immortal Fang'. He was once a trio of adventurers with his friends to search for Precious. However, during one trip, there was a disaster and when he tried calling for help, the site where he ventured to caved in, killing his friends. Thus, Satoru has carried some sort of guilt complex by being the lone survivor from the event. However, he promised that he'd keep his adventure spirit intact to honor them.

Satoru is later recruited by SGS and becomes the first Boukenger. He went ahead and eventually recruited Sakura Nishihori and Souta Mogami, before eventually recruiting Masumi Inou and Natsuki Mamiya. He was very invested in his job and takes it well.

Development

Unlike Sakura, Satoru doesn't develop from his 'by the book' attitude. In fact, he's pretty open to breaking the rules sometimes. He remains the same throughout Boukenger, except maybe that time when the Questers had him hallucinate about his dead friend, causing him to doubt his worth as an adventurer. However, he eventually came to the conclusion that he ventures because he likes it rather than continuing his friends' legacy.

Satoru often gets into fight with Ryuuon. This is most likely intentional, in a way that Ryuuon was also an adventurer, but a darker take of Satoru. Ryuuon is what happened if Satoru wasn't surrounded with good friends and instead got bad friends who constantly humiliate him and eventually lost what's fun about adventuring and got a twisted take on it. You may say Ryuuon is Satoru's shadow that he managed to conquer, but as another man rather than something born of Satoru. And however a bastard Ryuuon was, Satoru still believed he could still see the light and offer him a chance of redemption... which was promptly shot down to hell by Ryuuon himself.

Traits

Satoru is a calm, cool leader, but as said above, he's hotblooded on the inside. His tendency to say 'Attack!' is also distinctive that his teammates teased about it or mimic it. He's also hellishly competitive, offering Masumi a lot of challenges, but mostly to teach him some good lessons.

However, one thing that makes Satoru stand out amongst Red Rangers is that he's got a big ego and was rather obsessive about it. He can't stand it if people laugh at him at his expense, and it's not like he never made any mistakes or embarrassment worth laughing at. How many times has it been that Satoru did something silly, his friends laugh at him and he yells "NO LAUGHIIINGG!!" to stop them for no avail? This is why Satoru is usually considered an example that "Just because you're the Red, doesn't mean you can't escape being treated like a joke for amusement."

About his ego further, there's also that incident when he tried enrolling to an Adventure school, but thought he failed, crushing him thoroughly and spent half the episode in a slight catatonic state (or in the terms of TV Tropes: Heroic BSOD), thinking that if you take adventure out of him, what will become of Akashi? Of course this was fixed soon and he's back on spirits.

He's also anti-superstition, which got him on a predicament when he's hit with extreme bad luck. Always thinking that it was only chance, the constant bad luck crushed his ego. With the support of his friends, he was able to reshape that ego, and STILL act like he's anti-superstition, only to be proved otherwise... for laughs.

And as much as hotblooded or calm he is, he's got a sensitive side. He was filling in the role of the 'grandma' for the Momotaro stand in, and he starts acting like it, giving soft treatments instead of Eiji's harsher treatment as the 'grandpa'. And when Momotaro left, Satoru was left bawling uncontrollably, like a mother who just saw her child off.

Pairings

It should be of no surprise here. While he treats Natsuki well, she's more involved with Masumi so Satoru is probably just another big brother figure for her. However, when it comes to Sakura, it is no doubt that they are the intended couple. Satoru wasn't really interested in love, but he appreciates Sakura very much, who held a crush on him. He was really concerned at her during Gekiranger vs Boukenger arc when Pachacamac XII possessed Sakura and forced him to do many atrocities. Satoru was really against it, but he had to do the dirty job to protect Sakura. Guess it shows that he cared... although he probably would do the same if it wasn't Sakura as well.

In conclusion, there we go about Satoru. Hot blooded, Calm, Sensitive, and again with the TV Tropes term, a Butt Monkey even if he's the leader. He's far from being a favorite of mine, but he's quirky enough to warrant being talked about here. I'll be seeing you soon for another talk!

Boukenger and Wikipedia

Well I recall when browsing on Wikipedia, the Boukengers are stated to be 'based on a previous Sentai hero'. It's probably a Wikipedia vandalism that will be deleted soon as the only thing Boukenger is basing on is previous Sentai mechas on their monsters and enemies. But it was interesting to note. So let's go with how they compare...

1. Satoru Akashi (Bouken Red) -> Tsuyoshi Kaijou (Aka Ranger)
Okay, so... what's their similarity again aside of they're the leader and they're reds? I haven't watched Goranger, but I can be sure as hell that Tsuyoshi wasn't as adventurous as Satoru, nor did the storywriter at times treat him like a joke at times. They're both virtuous, I'd say that, but I think that's where the similarities end. This may be fine, but that's like saying Satoru is based on other old school Sentai Reds, preferably earlier ones.

2. Inou Masumi (Bouken Black) -> Gai Yuuki (Black Condor)
Right, so this one is probably one I can see making sense a lot. Masumi and Gai are the rebels of the team, they wear black, they start the rivalry with Red. It's easy to say that Masumi is based on Gai. Although, Masumi didn't bite the dust like Gai, and he's not so lone-wolf as Gai. Plus, he never fell in love unlike Gai. Aside of that, those were good points in comparison.

3. Souta Mogami (Bouken Blue) -> Hayate Sho (Change Griffon)
The only similarity I see is that they're both playboys, but aside of that they're really different. Hayate can be cheerful, but not as big as Souta. Plus... Souta is the tech geek of the team, while Hayate leaves the techies geeking to Sayaka and sometimes Yuuma! The hell?

4. Natsuki Mamiya (Bouken Yellow) -> Ako Hayasaka (Blue Swallow)
Again, just like above, they're of different colors and this is the first that I'd say they have... nearly nothing in common aside of they're the cheerful youngsters. Ako is LESS naive than Natsuki and much more tomboyish and leers to athleticism (until the end though), and hell, she's sometimes naughtier too! Plus Ako's backstory is quite the basic one compared to Natsuki. I kinda think that this looked like a job by someone who's bent on pairing Gai with Ako, and thus when they say Masumi is based on Gai, they say Natsuki is based on Ako! Seriously!? .... No, I'm not talking about you, Sean, I know you didn't edit that! Moving on!

5. Sakura Nishiori (Bouken Pink) -> Peggy Matsuyama (Momo Ranger)
*sigh* Where did this come into aside of they're pinks? Has it ever been said that Peggy was an ice queen as much as Sakura was before? Did she come from a rich family at least? Was Peggy being Tsuyoshi's vice-leader... or did she have a crush on him? You do know that coupling in Sentai started in JAKQ Dengekitai, right?? Where's the basis of this? *sigh* Editors these days...

6. Eiji Takaoka (Bouken Silver) -> Burai (Dragon Ranger)
It's just here because they're the token Sixth Rangers... and if that is the only basis, then I can say that Eiji is based on... Kou, Riki (Kingranger), Yuusaku Hayakawa, Hyuuga, *insert any Sixth Ranger here*. Let's get this straight, Burai's backstory was heavily linked with the Red Ranger of Zyuranger (Geki), while Eiji's backstory has NO connection with Satoru's. How did they come up with this basing!?

I swear, those editors were probably high when editing. Now... you ask who I think is based on who? I think you'd better wait till next time for that. Until then, see you later!

P.S: These are just opinions.

Shameless Self Promotion: My Fanfiction

Okay as you all know, I run two blogs. First is this one blog and the other one is the Super Sentai vs Super Sentai blog. It's a massive fan fic (and conceived before Gokaiger was announced, now still going on). It even has two versions.

Thus far I'm getting quite the reviews in fanfiction.net, but... unfortunately, most of reviews come in form of not-so-much constructive reviews such as "Hey, insert this guy!" or "Awesome! I like this chapter! Can't wait for the next one!". It's all dandy, but I could appreciate it if there are someone who'll tell me if I did something wrong, whether I got the characterization on the right tracks or whether I'm making them OOC... Stuffs like that.

So there you have it. If you're reading my fic, I could appreciate some reviews that actually tells me if I'm on the right track of characterization or if I'm making them OOC... and why. It may be asking too much, but I really will appreciate it.

Thank you very much, and I hope you'll excuse this thinly-veiled self-promotion -_-

Thoughts so far on Gokaiger

Well everyone is crazy about Gokaiger now and I'm also seeing it. Not so much overhyped, but I am enjoying the show. So I'm gonna give my thoughts on the first 11 episodes thus far.

The Good part is that Nostalgia is handled well enough. The characters has gotten more interesting, but I'm getting to see why people like Joe enough, he's getting quite a lot of details especially in episodes 11 and the upcoming 12, I hope his conflict sticks and not forgotten thus far. Marvelous is a cocky bastard, but he has his moments of goodness at times. This Sentai seems to be not scared to make the heroes not to be squeaky clean-cut like the previous ones, but they draw the line where you can always be assured that they're the heroes of the story. I like that, really.

And I still think Ahim is really underrated. Her potential is just as big as Luka, and while I do respect Luka, I can see why she's getting a lot of attention, she reminds people a lot to Jasmine, a really popular lady of Sentai; assured, tough and sexy.

The story is pretty solid so far as well, pirates vs a real evil empire. While it's getting like a black morality (Zangyack) vs gray morality (Gokaiger), it draws the line enough that we are assured that we cheer on the good guys.

Now the bad ones (IMO). I think you may disagree with me, but I'm having a mixed feeling with Don. His nature is good, he provides comic relief, his heart is in the right place, but he's such a pacifist. It may not be a bad thing, but most of his transformations tend to be the 'number two' of the teams (In Five Man Band term, that'd be The Lancer), someone who'd look like the most badass or second most badass of the team, or team vice-leaders, such as Black Condor, Goggle Black, Shishi Ranger, Black Turbo, etc. Sometimes he pulled off fine, sometimes his comic-relief state kicks in and he makes these transformation look WIMPY in contrast to the original. It just gets kinda weird that for example, in Jetman, usually Black Condor look more badass than the rest of the team barring Red Hawk, but now... Blue Swallow and Yellow Owl looked as if they out-badassed Black Condor, because his transformation belonged to a pacifistic comic relief. It's just... weird to me. Of course you may disagree.

My next topic would be our enemies, the Zangyack Empire. Barizorg, Damaras and Insarn are pretty okay (Insarn especially, with the sexy voice of Kikuko Inoue). But what about our big bad, Oiles Gils? Well here's one word to say it... he's PATHETIC! I can't believe I've seen a Tokusatsu enemy as pathetic as he is! He's pretty much what happens when you put a spoiled brat of a prince into the position of 'Big Bad'. He's pretty much all talk, and I was really hoping that when in episode 11 he came down to Earth, I was hoping that he'd at least show that he is powerful to back all his talks. But noooo, he instead just orders more and hides behind the current Action Commander and Barizorg. And when his commanders usually get destroyed or failed him at times, he threw a tantrum rather than assessing where did he go wrong. A good example to showcase this is during the Gaoranger tribute ep, when Damaras took command, it got into quite the interesting take and perhaps the Zangyack COULD achieve something. But then Oiles Gils eventually barged in, pretty much said "Your strategy sucks! Use mine!" and ordered an all-out attack... and in turn gets the commander into disastrous result... and throw tantrum some more. Oiles Gils is like taking Prince Megiddo from Dynaman, but strip away things that made him at least a credible threat (possibility of being Dark Knight included), shower him with the mind of a spoiled tantrum-throwing pampered brat, then put him on Emperor Aton's position! I'm not saying that it's a bad move so far, since he spoke about his father so much, I'm expecting that Oiles Gils' father will show up one day and show his son how to be a commander in the battlefield AND a threatening Sentai villain. But man, Oiles Gils just wins the achievement of 'The Most Pathetic Sentai Villain EVER'. He's lucky he didn't have Radiguet as his underling, or else Radiguet would've killed him if he ever throws ANOTHER tantrum...

Ahem, sorry about the rant about Toilet -- er, Oiles Gils. I thought I'd rant a lot about Don, but Toilet -- ah screw it, from now on, I'm gonna call him 'Toilet Gils' -- Gils just trumps him in rant department. But overall, Gokaiger is still an enjoyable show, despite having the most pathetic villain like Toilet Gils leading the charge. I'm still taking account that at least Toilet Gils has the cruelty of most Sentai villains (such as how he made Barizorg, go see episode 11 yourself), but most of them are just really coated with patheticness...

I'm still looking forward for the movie and the rest of the season. Hope this doesn't get screwed like Kamen Rider Decade. I guess I'm fine with not seeing the majority of old school actors, but I'm fine. Get showy, Gokaiger! Good luck!

P.S: Pics coming soon!

Sentai Character Talk 7: Rei Tachibana/Dyna Pink

So yeah, you may be wondering why I deleted the previous post. I kinda felt it was rushed, kind of stupid and has no grounds. I should be such judges when I actually HAVE seen even ONE episode. But yeah, rather than looking like a stupid hypocrite, I think I'd delete that previous post.

Oh well, in place of that and celebrating the old school actors/actresses of Sentai in the Gokaiger movie, let's add up with something from what I recently finished... Rei Tachibana AKA Dyna Pink from Kagaku Sentai Dynaman.



Well, again, since Dynaman is in 1983... it was kept pretty simple. Rei is a 18 years old fencer, thus she's usually pretty handy with a rapier. Despite such physical affinity, she's actually an inventor, her dream is to create a device that enables people to communicate with animals (though she really has a long way to go if her flaw is not taken care of). This makes Rei actually a prodigy of her age, since the rest of the Dynaman are older than her. Anyway, being an inventor, she got invited into the Yumeno Research Center, but along the way met up with 4 fellow inventors (including a swimmer-inventor and ninja-inventor to name a few) and some weird creatures that attacked them all. They were cornered, thrown to sea, but survived and made it to the Yumeno Research Center. The Center's director, the aptly named Prof. Yumeno, reveals that the ones attacking them are the Jashinka Empire who were bent on conquering Earth once more. Again, like her predecessor in Sentai heroine business (Miki), Rei really had no doubt in turning into an ally of justice and when appointed to be one of the Dynaman, she accepted without asking further and began fighting with the Jashinka Empire along with her fellow Dynamen. The good thing? She can resume her research in the Yumeno Research Center.

Trait

Again, Rei is an 80's heroine where development wasn't as much. She acts like a typical Sentai heroine, relying more on wits, typically kind to children (but then again so is every Dynamen since the research center is under a kindergarten). One thing that stands out is that unlike Miki, it seems that Rei's character is designed to be more action-oriented, as proven with her fencing specialty.

She cares a lot about her friends, but has quite the sense of fun and humor as shown time to time, just like that time she devised a plan to lure the Slug Shinka. She goes on a naughty taunting-spree and sticking tongues a lot. Also at one time, she agreed to play a prank on Prof Yumeno by wearing the stolen clothes of her Jashinka rival Chimera, of course that backfired when she ended up getting a voodoo curse by Jashinka which quickly accelerated to affecting her friend. She ended up having to beg for the voodoo curse to stop until Ryuu Hoshikawa/Dyna Black saved the day, but it does show that she cared a lot about her friends and wouldn't want them to suffer from the prank she played (of course Ryuu was the one who accidentally stole it, but he probably apologized off-screen). Speaking of clothes, you may remember that one episode where she and Chimera fought off and strip each other until they're only in their lowest tier of swimsuits, showing off some naughty... bits.

She also seems to be quite into history/legends too as when she deduced how to beat a Jashinka monster that petrifies people with the head of Medusa... by repeating the feats of Perseus accurately.

But of course, one glaring trait she got was her phobia towards cat. There hasn't been any explanations why she feared cats, but the mere presence of cats, even if it's a lucky cat statue, was enough to send her into frenzy. This is pretty ironic, since she wanted to create a communicate-with-animal device, because like it or not, cats ARE animals. By the end of Dynaman, there's still no signs that she got over her fear. In this case, Rei should be lucky Super Sentai hasn't gotten an annual VS tradition, otherwise perhaps Deathdark Empire or Gear Empire can find out her weakness and purposely abuse it to cow her down (Jashinka's cat creature was created without knowing Rei's fear in mind).

Arsenal

Being a fencer, Rei usually carries a fencing saber wherever she goes. When transformed into Dyna Pink, her saber gets evolved into 'Rose Saber', and she gets a flowery shield called 'Rose Shield'. Her Dyna Rod attack is called 'Pink Shocking Melody' which sends out sound waves to attack the enemy. And with said sword she has a diving technique called 'Rose Finale'. It's a potent attack.

As par of the 'female warrior' schthick, she is also the person that would more likely to go into disguises. Unfortunately for Rei, she didn't have the 'spin and change costumes in a blink of an eye' like Miki, she'd need preparation times to pull it off. But when situation demands, she can disguise herself just fine.

Pairings

I'll... get back to this later when I make a Dynaman pairing topic.

In Conclusion

Again since this is a 80's pre-Changeman Sentai, I'd say that Rei was quite typical for the heroines of the age. But Rei probably kickstarted the trend of Sentai heroines that's tough as nails (even if she's the sole female and wasn't as tough compared to her male friends) and more action-oriented (which I have to admit, pretty good). Sayoko Hagiwara also portrayed her well despite, well, IMO, her voice a bit too deep for heroines, but she pulled it off just fine. I would put her as one of my favorites this way. And there we have it with Rei. You can look forward for her appearance in Gokaiger movie! (Albeit looking older)

How Super Sentai saved ChrisX

Okay, this is just a moment of outburst that would just last for the moment, but I feel like I wanna express my gratitude to the Sentai franchise for something. Just keep reading.



As I mentioned before, I'm troubled to what transpired in BlazBlue, about my favorite lady betraying the image I had for her. True, I'm slightly getting better and trying to understand. But the world of fiction isn't as merciful. It's like 'depression is the new trend'.



I lately bought the PS3 Mortal Kombat. Good game, a throwback to classic MKs. The Story Mode on the other hand... it's kind of bittersweet to the point of depression. I won't spoil you much as this is a recent game, but I will say that they really went out to make that world (Earthrealm) a crapsack one, with something horrible happening to many heroes and fan favorites, and even the God of Thunder Raiden committing mistakes after mistakes leading up to that horrible thing. It was really depressing, I never thought that 'gory fun' suddenly gets to 'gory seriousness'. Wasn't as bad as my problem with Litchi, but MK takes a new level in depression. You need to play it.



Then comes the PSN outage. Here and there, complains about Sony piled up, especially after the reveal that personal information have been leaked, and PSN is still down for uncertain time. I know it will return back one day, and I don't use Credit Cards, but all this time the complains have been piling up and even if Sony gets back up, it'll have to deal with the loss of reputations, now that many people dislike it for being untrustworthy on the security.

So I opened this blog of mine, looked at the top picture... and then...

OH MY GOD.

HOLY SHIT.

WTFBBQ!!!!!!!!!

Gokaiger movie info, Junichi Haruta, Sayoko Hagiwara and Kenta Satou returning for the movie... NOSTALGIA, HOOO!! (Well, not so much nostalgia when it comes to Dynaman since I just finished watching it the first time, but still it gave me a good appreciation to that show) It was such a wham announcement it made me forget the troubles I'm having in other places. You can bet your ass that when those three (ESPECIALLY Junichi Haruta) appear on screen, even if he's not I'm gonna yell in excitement, like how Nostalgia Critic reacted to 'Frying The Coke'.

I'm pretty sure Sean is psyched with the presence of Ryosuke Sakamoto since I'm pretty sure he's Filipino and Bioman is pretty big in Phillipines, kinda like Goggle V in Indonesia. I'm not quite surprised with the announcement of Naoya Makoto and Hiroshi Miyauchi, though, they're like a must-appear list so it was kind of expected, Akaranger led the Legend War, plus Big One is... well, Big One. Both of them are the biggest names of old school Sentai. Yes I do realize that there's also Keiichi Wada, Mika Kikuchi and Kenji Ohba to count but it's nostalgia we're talking about for the moment.

So yeah, I'd like to thank Sentai for keeping my optimism up. While the world of videogames seem hell bent to make the stories seem pessimistic (though not closed for future improvement), Sentai always kept the optimism, getting my hopes up. Thank you Toku and Sentai!

History of ChrisX And Super Sentai

Yeah, yeah, I'm just following the leaders (That Chick and Fantasy Leader). But hey, may as well!

Well it started on when I was a little boy, about 4 years old or 5... In the ages of VHS. In Indonesia, back then, Dai Sentai Goggle V was the big thing about Sentai. I only had few episodes of them, episodes 5 to 8, then jump to 37 to 40, then jump to the last 4. But I really enjoyed it, since well it doesn't really depend on storyline, but just how kickass the action scenes were. I did miss out when the actors of Goggle V visited Indonesia, but hell... this is why I still have great memories of Goggle V.

Time passed, and before there was Power Rangers, Indonesia have been enjoying some Sentai. Aside of Goggle V we had Hikari Sentai Maskman, which was aired in TV and has dubbings. And yes, I used to own the VHS only for a few episodes (already dubbed). But by that time, there's also the mind-blowingly popular Kamen Rider Black on TV (and again, in Indonesia, we used to call him 'Ksatria Baja Hitam'/'Black Iron Knight') so I suppose I wasn't as hyped as I was to Goggle V for Maskman, because there's Kamen Rider to occupy me. But even then, I held great memories for Maskman.

Kamen Rider Black and RX got me good on Toku, and along the way, I also enjoyed partials of TV airings of Liveman, Turboranger and Flashman, but not as much as Maskman or Goggle V. There's also Kamen Rider Super-1 on the air, but at that time I became rather caught in school business and such so my liking for Toku kinda wanes. Plus, you know, video games is my main hobby.

But aside of that, around that time, there's Power Rangers. To be honest, I was really cool with it, but for some reason, I mostly concentrated on parts on the first season. It was good, but by that time I got really swamped with school.

Skip on years later.

My brother returned from Singapore... he gave me some modern Sentais like Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, Mahou Sentai Magiranger and GoGo Sentai Boukenger (currently incomplete). I did like how Dekaranger turned out on the first episode, but again, I'm swamped with university business and gaming has been rather tight on me.

Then I graduated university. The year was 2008.

Years in university, plus Super Robot Wars got me quite into anime and I was thinking 'What kind of live action Japanese TV I could watch for the moment?' And after thinking, then I saw... Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, in promo. Hey, I like the concept of samurai, and I think this may be fun. So I got the first few episodes and... I'm hooked. Seriously. I watched Shinkenger from first to the end, got to see some Sentai openings to relive nostalgia and it would be around that time (I think) that I discovered a youtube account named 'Divaqueen' or something, who used to hold videos about her favorite Sentai warriors, etc, mostly image slides. It was also from her account that I saw some Sentai cutscene clips which made me want to hunt down some episodes of old school Sentai. I didn't care if it was RAW, I had to take what's given thus far. So I started with Goggle V, then moved on to other nostalgia pieces like Turboranger and Maskman, and eventually also new materials like Jetman and Zyuranger, and even my brother's given Sentai back then (Dekaranger). And yeah, that, along with Kamen Rider Decade, inspires my fic...

When I asked where Divaqueen got those images, she linked to the Super Sentai Images blog, in which it directed me to Sean's blog. And after seeing Sean's blog, I became more and more involved in Sentai business, and this blog is created.

So there we have it. It started big with Goggle V and Maskman, but education business caught me busy that it kinda waned out, even for Power Rangers... nearly revived with Dekaranger, and fully revived with Shinkenger. I hope it's been a good read.

P.S: Will add pictures later! Keep watching on this post, will ya?