A Look at Sentai's Screaming Reds and Ditzy Chicks

Some of the most controversial characters in Sentai can be classified under two subgroups, the "screaming reds" and the "ditzy" girls.  These characters tend to have similar traits, hyperactive, bubbly, sometimes childish, and outright idiots.  They divide fans.  Some love these characters for being fun, energetic, or even funny.  Other fans get headaches from watching them, being annoyed by how loud one screams or squeals, or even how hyperactive they are.  One thing I've noticed is that while Sentai had these or similar types of characters before, the trend seemed to start with Dekaranger.  Perhaps it was Dekaranger's popularity that influenced writers and producers to make more similar characters.  Also, while there were a handful of ditzy girls before the 2000's, I'm focusing more on the 2000's because that's what I've seen mostly and where the trend seems to start.




Yousuke is seen by some to be the first screaming red type.  He was the stereotypical idiot hero, but was more of a screecher than a screamer.  With Yousuke, I'm not entirely sure if he's even meant to be as much of a screecher as he is.  The actor's acting wasn't very good and often had awkward delivery.  As a character, Yousuke also fell flat in comparison to the other Hurricaneger characters.  His character had ego problems, and often fought over little things, had conflicts with his sensei, or with Kouta over who was chosen to be captain.  Yousuke also didn't have a storyline that stood out with his character, like Nanami with her singing career, Kouta with his sister and grandmother, the Goraijers with their father, or even Shurikenger with Gozen.




Some fans classify Nanami as one of the ditzy girls, though I don't really see it that much.  Like the other Hurricanegers (and many who fall under the ditzy stereotype) she's cheerful and energetic, but I don't really see the "airheaded" part in her.  Nanami acted like an airhead in episode 43 after reacting to Gozen not eating her New Years dinner that she cooked, but that's really the only time throughout the series where she seemed airheaded to me.  She had some instances where she fell for a Jakanja trap, but I don't think it would be any different for any average human given the situation. The character herself I thought was fun and enjoyable.  I felt her actress did a good job handling the hyperactive aspects of her character, and had her idol drama going on as well.




Ban was the first true "screaming red" character in Sentai.  With the exception of Boukenger, Ban was the first of a series of screaming reds that ended with Go-Onger.  He seems to be modeled after the cowboy cop stereotype.  Him and Jan are probably the loudest of the screamers, as such he tends to annoy fans more.  His actor does overact at times, but I found many of his quirks to be pretty funny.  Examples being drop kicking Hoji for acting pathetic from a mistake, and the wild, recklessness of his character.  What made his personality interesting was the sharp contrast between him and Hoji, the by the book cop, and how both characters interacted throughout the season.  At times this interaction got a little grating because of their respective personality nuances, but it was still fun to watch them grow together and respect each other throughout the series.




While Umeko wasn't the first ditz in Sentai, like Ban she started a trend with this type of character. Dekaranger through Boukenger all had a ditzy female character, and later Goseiger had a ditz as well. Among all the ditzy characters, Umeko is probably the most simplistic, without much depth or development.  However, her actress IMO did the best job with the character and was fun to watch.  Her actress had good comedic range and was pretty funny.  She had funny moments like the drunken boxing episode, and she felt like what the writers were aiming for: a cute, funny, and more like a kid who was untypical for a cop, but still had her traits that made her valuable to the space police.  However, Umeko isn't all that ditzy.  Despite having her airhead moments, she has some rather good ideas for handling the various cases that the Dekarangers encountered.  This included situations like her being a negotiator, and going under cover in the dream state to help her team catch an alienizer who invaded other people's dreams.



Following Dekaranger's success, Magiranger built many of their characters with similar personalities to their Dekaranger counterparts.  This included Magiranger's version of the screaming red, Kai.  Kai was a lighter version of Ban, reckless, rash, and a screamer, but not as loud as Ban.  As such, he doesn't get criticized as much as Ban does.  Being the youngest sibling of the Magiranger cast, Kai had an innocence element that also added a bit of flavor to the character.  He also matures later on towards the end of the series.  IMO, Kai was descent.  His innocence, along with his interaction with Yuka and rivalry with Wolzard made him interesting enough to watch.



Likewise, Magiranger had its own version of the ditz, Houka. But with Houka, having her as the "kiddy ditz" didn't really make sense.  She was the second oldest of the Magiranger siblings, and the writers seemed confused as to whether they wanted to make her the comedic ditz or the motherly figure of some past Sentai pinks.  They got something in between that didn't quite work.  Her ditzy characteristics were the worst part of her character.  The actress IMO didn't really fit well with the character.  Furthermore, she felt more often like she was more meddlesome and in the way, than fun.  One example being her trying to be a matchmaker for Kai and Yuka, but making the situation more messy.



Of all the ditzy child-like characters, I felt Natsuki was the most believable and understandable, in the way that she was written.  She acted childish and was airheaded, but she was a character that felt like she actually was a child in an adult's body.  She had no memory of herself, and was in fact, in suspended animation throughout what would have been her childhood.  So without a real childhood and ignorant of civilization, I felt it made more sense that she would act like a child, was airheaded, and still growing up.  Her storyline also helped make her interesting.  The actress did ok with her role, but was still enjoyable nonetheless.



Like Natsuki, Jan was the most well-written of the screaming reds.  I'm personally mixed on the character.  Like Natsuki, he has a believable background of growing up away from civilization (in a jungle actually), and didn't know how to interact with humans regularly.  He also has an interesting storyline to go with his character.  My complaint with him are some of his quirks.  I felt he screamed and overacted too much at times, and also the way he threw temper-tantrums at times got really grating.  He does mature towards the end of the series which helps, but at times it felt like a chore for him to get there.



In terms of IQ, Sousuke is easily the dumbest character on this list.  Sousuke was the standard idiot hero, and had little of a storyline in comparison to Jan, Kai, or Natsuki.  At times his idiocy does get over the top, but I felt he pulled off the idiot hero character pretty well.  He didn't annoy me like other idiot hero characters do, and I felt his actor had the charm to make him enjoyable to watch.  Like Hoji and Ban, the contrast between him and Hiroto made the two enjoyable to watch.  But what really helped his character was his relationship with his Engine partner Speedor.  I thought the two had some good interaction and character development from this interaction.



Eri is the last character to be a ditz so far. She was... up and down.  Compared to the other Goseigers she had a little more personality and probably the most consistent characterization along with Alata (which isn't saying much).  However, there are times where she can get irritating, particularly when she squeals or when her mind goes to a thousand places at once.  Also like virtually all of the Goseiger characters, she has very little character development.  Her actress did an ok job in general, but like the rest of the Goseiger cast, didn't know how to handle the bad script.

My Top 10 Miscellaneous Colored Sentai Warriors

After reading some of Godzilla606's top 10 lists, I decided to start one of my own. This one will be on miscellaneous colored Sentai warriors. By miscellaneous, I mean colors that aren't very common such as violet, maroon, navy, silver, gold, and even orange (though this is debatable). Usually these characters fill in the 6th ranger or extra ranger role.

Note to ChrisX: Hurricaneger spoilers (and spoilers for other shows) ahead.

10. Naoto/Time Fire


I don't like Naoto's attitude that much, but he does work out really well from a story perspective. He adds some spice to Timeranger, and does balance the other Timeranger characters out. While the others have their own problems and are the heroes, Naoto is the anti-hero who has his own ambitions.

9. Swan/Deka Swan


Swan was quite charming as the team mom of Dekaranger, and awesome as Ms. Tech support (although Miki of Gekiranger beats her for tech support characters). I also likied her humorous side, like using a really big needle on Doggie at the end of episode 44.

8. Genta/Shinken Gold


#2 through #8 are really tough choices for me since I love all of these characters. Genta comes in at #8. He's both funny and badass at the same time. IMO he's the funniest character that we've had from Magiranger-Gokaiger.

7. Isamu/Wolzard Fire


Between being the villain Wolzard, being the Magiranger's father, and turning good again, Isamu IMO is the best character on Magiranger. He was badass as a villain, and still awesome once he became good and turned into Wolzard Fire. His story arc was pretty cool as well.

6. Isshu/Kuwaga Raijer


I think Isshu is the weaker of the two Goraijer characters due to overacting a little bit (though he's not horrid), being overreliant on his brother at times, and his relationship with Nanami going nowhere. However, I still think he's an awesome character. He shares the same awesome backstory with Ikkou and his father. I love their development and what they went through. Isshu is the support character, and a very good one at that. His rash yet more sympathetic personality balances out Ikkou's cool yet more stoic and stern personality.

5. Miu/Go-On Silver


Like Isshu, Miu is the supporting character to her more stern, stoic brother Hiroto. She's the nicer of the two Go-On Wings. Like the Goraijers, the Go-On Wings develop from jerkasses to learning to accept the wackier Go-Onger characters (this was rushed a bit at the beginning but was done better as the series progressed). Also like Isshu, Miu becomes overreliant on her older brother, but what I like about Miu is that she learns to not become overly dependent on Hiroto (episode 38).

4. Gou/Geki Violet


Sandwitched in between the two Go-On Wings is Gou, whom IMO is the best of the core 5 Gekiranger characters. He's badass, has a cool backstory involving him becoming a werewolf, and a cool vibe about him. I also liked his development from being the lonewolf to being part of the team, as well as his evolving relationship with his brother Retsu. To me he's Tsukumaru amped up to 11.

3. Hiroto/Go-On Gold


I really liked Hiroto's development as the jerk with a heart of gold. He had to learn to recognize the strength of the Go-Ongers. Initially this was a little rushed but I felt the loose strings were tied more convincingly when he learned in episode 23 that Sousuke's randomness was useful. What I felt really solified his character was the episode with Chibi-Chan (episode 41), which really showed a soft, gentle side to Hiroto.

2. Eiji/Bouken Silver


Eiji is really cool. He's rash, badass, yet quite funny with his extreme herbivore antics. I also loved his backstory that involved the Questers and his parents (especially his mother). It's one of the better storylines in Boukenger. I also liked how he developed to accept the other Boukenger's help to defeat the Questers.

1. Ikkou/Kabuto Raijer


Ikkou is my favorite jerkass character to receive the defrosting the ice queen development. The Goraijer story-arc from villains to jerkass rivals of the Hurricanegers, and finally becoming friends is really well done. What separates Ikkou from Isshu is his storyline with the scorpion, and realizing how much Yousuke and the other Hurricanegers cared about him.

Most Childish Sentai's

Recently, Sean Akizuki made his list of "kiddie" Sentai series, so I decided to make my own list of Sentais I consider kiddie or childish.

Go-Onger

G0-Onger IMO is easily the most childish Sentai series with the talking mechas complete with anime eyes (the engines), cartoon strips, and its comedic style. Commercially Go-Onger was a success, selling 12 Billion Yen in toys, the highest since Abaranger. However, this strategy alienated older adults. Among English-speaking fans Go-Onger has come off as a love it or hate it series with many calling Go-Onger the worst Sentai series, mostly due to its childish nature. Personally, I don't think Go-Onger is a bad series at all. Actually, I feel that its childish nature works well in its favor and makes the show entertaining. The engines have really cool and vibrant personalities with my favorites being Speedor, Birca, and Bear RV. As for the show's comedy, I thought it was ok. Not as good as the comedy from Dekaranger, Boukenger, or Shinkenger but much better than say Goseigers, Power Rangers Ninja Storm, and Power Rangers Samurai.

Magiranger

Magiranger I think is the second most childish Sentai behind Go-Onger because of the magic motif, characters like Mandora Boy and Smokey, and its goofy comedy. However, this series mixes its childishness with some pretty dark and serious moments. Unlike Go-Onger, Magiranger doesn't get as much criticism for its childish nature due to its unique story. Personally I think the childish aspects of Magiranger were ok. I'm not a fan of magic shows but I felt the magic motif overall was handled ok. Mandora Boy was ok and I actually liked Smokey quite a bit. The comedy, like Go-Onger's, I thought was just ok. However, for me Magiranger is at its best when its more serious, like when the story focuses on the villains or Magiranger's family aspects.

Zyuranger

Zyuranger is another childish Sentai. The dinosaur motif was handled in a fairytale fantasy setting, the child of the week gimmick, and its kiddie outro. This seemed to work well with kids but like Go-Onger it alienated older audiences. Among Western fans, Zyuranger has fans split between fans who think it's not that good and fans who tend to overrate the series due to MMPR nostalgic factors. Personally, I disliked Zyuranger's childish aspects. I don't really care for the fairytale setting in Zyuranger, but unlike Magiranger I didn't think it was handled well at all. Also, the child of the week gimmick I feel is pretty lame and distracts the show from character development. However, like Magiranger, I think Zyuranger is at its best when its story circles around its more serious aspects such as Burai's touching story, his relationship with his brother Geki, and to an extent Bandora.

Goseiger

Goseiger is fourth on this list for a few reasons. The show's motif IMO is pretty childish with the angel motif and the second outro was kinda kiddie. However, it's last on this list because when you actually watch the show it seems unsure as to rather it wants to take the turn of childish comedy like Go-Onger or go for the more serious tone. Goseiger hasn't been well received among Western fans. I have to admit like Magiranger's motif, I'm not much of a fan of Goseiger's angel motif. But at least Magiranger did handle the magic motif reasonably well, here Goseiger does virtually nothing with the angel motif. Initially it was set up well with the 5 Gosei Angels from three different tribes but other than having different powers and abilities, nothing is really done to distinguish how these tribes are different. In Zyuranger for example, when all the characters are from different tribes, we do at least get some background story, particularly surrounding Geki and Burai. However, unlike Magiranger or Zyuranger, the serious moments in Goseiger aren't that well handled IMO, at least not until towards the end a little bit. So for me, this series fails both with its childish and comedic tone, and its more serious moments. Goseiger so far is the only Sentai series I truly dislike.

Sentai's Handling of Multiple Villain Groups

Note: Images from Super Sentai Images

One of the complaints that some Sentai fans have about Goseiger is the multiple villain groups. Personally, I don't have a problem with it nor with Bladeron staying throughout the season. It does keep the story fresh and moving. It's been done before in Sentai, actually. The problem is how they handled the use of the multiple villain groups. Here, I'll analyze how three different Sentai series, Magiranger, Boukenger, and Goseiger, handled having multiple villain groups.

Magiranger

Magiranger was arguably in this category, with three groups or commanders of Infershia: Branken, Meemy, and the Hades Gods of Infershia. Similarly to Goseiger, they all came one after another. After one was killed off, another would step to the plate. However, unlike Goseiger, all these villain groups belonged to the same organization, Infershia, under the control of N Ma. They all worked to revive N Ma to conquer the world. Also, Wolzard and Vancuria/Nae & Mae were constant throughout the season. Since the three different villainous groups/commanders in Magiranger belonged to the same organization and had an overarching villain, transitions from one villain or villain group was smooth and there was no early climax. Also, Wolzard imo is one of Sentai's best generals, and had an interesting rivalry with Kai. Among the three villain groups I thought Branken was ok. He wasn't a good villain or a bad villain, but descent enough to start out. Meemy I felt was the second most interesting villain in the series behind Wolzard. Meemy was a former Heavenly Saint who was also a traitor. I liked most of the Hades Gods, especially Sphinx and Titan. The only one I didn't really like all that much was Toad. So overall, all the villain groups in Magiranger were pretty solid. I think Magiranger handled the multiple villain groups really well.

Boukenger

Boukenger like Goseiger and unlike Magiranger had multiple villain groups that were not connected through the same organization nor had an overarching villain. However, unlike both Magiranger and Goseiger, these four villain groups didn't come one and go after another was defeated. Instead, they were all constant throughout the entire season. The Boukengers would fight them in separate episodes and sometimes these villain groups would team-up. None of them were killed early in the season and thus there weren't any early climaxes. The villain groups were the Gordom Civilization lead by Gaja, the Jaryuu Tribe led by Ryuoun, the Ashu/Questers, and Dark Shadow. What made it interesting is they all had different motives. Gaja and Ryuoun each wanted to conquer the world, the Questers were human hating demons, and Dark Shadow was a ninja clan that was more interested in making money off of the precious' they stoled. Among them, Gaja was probably my least favorite. He wasn't a bad villain he just felt kinda bland and stiff, and I felt it was anti-climatic in the final battle when he went back to sleep and seemingly gave up. Ryuoun was awesome and had an interesting backstory that really developed his character. The Questers were even more badass than Ryuoun and had a history with Eiji. Dark Shadow was refreshing because they weren't bent on conquering humanity like the other groups, they were money-driven instead. Yaiba was the most interesting of the group, eventually betraying Dark Shadow. Shizuka was the one in Dark Shadow that didn't have much backstory or development, but I kinda liked her somewhat childish behavior. What really made having multiple villain groups at once interesting was that all the Boukengers except for Natsuki had a villainous rival. Satoru's rival was Ryuoun. Eiji's rivals were the Questers, especially Gai who killed his father. Masumi's rival was Yaiba. Sakura and Souta were both rivals with Shizuka. Like Magiranger I felt Boukenger handled the multiple villain groups really well and arguably better than Magiranger.

Goseiger

Then we have Goseiger. Like Magiranger, Goseiger's three villain groups (Warstar, Yuumajuu Beast, and Matrintis Empire) all came one after the other was defeated. Unlike Magiranger, however, there was no overarching villain or organization connecting the three groups. However, there was one constant villain, Bladeron. Bladeron was the most interesting villain on Goseiger who like Meemy, was a traitor and a rogue Gosei Angel. One of the big problems with how the multiple villain groups were handled in Goseiger was early climaxes, with the most obvious example being Warstar. Through the first 11 episodes, Warstar does nothing and felt rather bland and boring. There were hints of a rivalry between Alata and Dereputa, but Dereputa was killed off initially in episode 12 and for good in episode 16. As a result the rivalry went nowhere and Dereputa came off as wasted potential. Similarly, Warstar's Big Bad Mons Drake also came off as wasted potential. After Dereputa was initially thought to be killed off in episode 12, Mons Drake got desperate and made the show interesting briefly. However, Mons Drake was killed off in episode 15, which was another early climax and a big disappointment. This also didn't help with audiences since there weren't hints of Goseiger having multiple villain groups after Mons Drake. However, the worst part was to come, with the Yuumajuu Beasts. The Yuumajuu Beasts are easily one of the worst villain groups in Sentai. The Yuumajuu Beasts were pollution-driven villains, which I really despise. I'm a bit biased here but having pollution driven villains imo really feels so anti-climatic, uninteresting, and non-threatening. This was made worst with a really preachy 6th ranger, Gosei Knight. Some fans complain that the Green Aesop in Go-Onger was overt and preachy, but it was nothing compared to the combination of the Yuumajuu Beast and Gosei Knight. Not to mention the designs I felt were terrible. The Yuumajuu Beasts were killed off after episode 32, but this time it didn't feel so rushed or like a premature climax. However, that's because you could naturally expect it to happen after Warstar being killed off so early in the season. Then finally the last villain group was the Matrintis Empire, a robotic empire that first appeared in Episode 33 after the change of producers. I actually liked the Matrintis Empire. Among the three Goseiger villain groups they were the most interesting and had the most effort put into them. They went back to the old conquering humanity motive, but I felt like they were the only legitimate villains in Goseiger besides Bladeron that felt like a threat. Unlike the other Goseiger villains (and many Sentai villains for that matter), they scouted the Goseigers, strategized, and collected data. They actually did their homework. Robogogu had a mildly interesting backstory of being a former mad scientist, while Metal-Alice felt like a throwback to Sphinx of Magiranger. However, she didn't feel so much like a throwback that she came off as a rip-off. She seemed interested in the idea of having comrades, but mostly because she was abused and unappreciated by Robogogu. And unlike Sphinx she didn't turn good in the end, but was killed off by Bladeron.

Having multiple villain groups without an overarching big bad could have worked in Goseiger if it was better handled. Overall, Goseiger's handling of the multiple villain groups was easily the worst. Transitions often felt rushed, and the Yuumajuu arc was really the jump the shark moment of Goseiger, even more disappointing because it covered the entire middle portion of the series and after it briefly became interesting for a few episodes. However, I think there's also a clear difference in the Matrintis Empire, who came right after the change of producers. I felt that wasn't a coincidence either.

Some Unpopular Opinions That I Have in Power Rangers and Sentai

ChrisX recently made a post about some of his opinions that are somewhat contradictory to the typical Sentai fandom. After reading his post, I decided to share some of my views that are also contradictory towards certain PR or Sentai series/characters. I think we all have some contradictory views in some ways, and it's good if you don't let the fandom dictate your opinions. I'll start with Power Rangers first.

Power Rangers

Power Rangers Time Force is Overrated.

Power Rangers Time Force is in no way a bad series. In fact it's pretty good and has some characters that I do like such as Jen, Wesley, Eric, and the villain Ransik. But whenever a series like Time Force copies the majority of its plot from its Sentai counterpart I tend to compare it to the original Sentai. While Ransik was a nice addition to the Sentai material, the character development for the supporting cast, particularly Katie, Trip, and Lucas, was terrible. They were shoved into the background and unlike their Sentai counterparts (and for that matter other PR series like In Space or RPM) they never really got a chance to shine. For example, in Timeranger, Ayase had problems with his incurable disease, Domon had his fighting license suspended and he developed a rather cute relationship with Honami, and Sion's home planet was destroyed when he was a kid, thus making him a virtual loner. This was all left out of Time Force. The other issue I have is that PR fans lash out on series like Wild Force and Mystic Force for being virtual carbon copies of their Sentai counterparts but completely ignore this line of thinking and praise Time Force. Where's the consistency?



Forever Red is Overrated.

Forever Red is definitely a good episode and I loved seeing all 10 red rangers together to fight. It was a great nostalgic episode. However, the episode reaps of terrible writing. There are numerous plot holes and innacuracies such as Jason getting his powers back and the fact that the Zeo Rangers didn't destroy the Machine Empire. Also, the unrealism of the episode goes beyond ridiculous. I can live with humans breathing on the moon and horses on the moon, but that terrible CGI Serpentera that looked no bigger than a 20 story building (in MMPR S2 it was at least 10 times the size of ANY skyscraper and/or zord) and the fact that Serpentera was defeated by Cole on a motorcycle was just stupid.

My unpopular opinions about Sentai


Go-Onger isn't a bad series.

Go-Onger has many Sentai fans split. It's truely a love it or hate it series. Most of the people who don't like Go-Onger criticize it for being too goofy, childish, and even the cast. I personally like Go-Onger, and like many of the things that most fans seem to hate about it. There are some things I don't like about this series, such as the villain's goal of "polluting the earth," the G9 and G12 combinations, and Ren/Go-On Blue, but I really liked the cast and the talking mechas. Most fans tend to like the Go-On Wings. While I do like the Go-On Wings as well, I also like a couple of the original cast members, Sousuke and Saki. The mechas, while having mecha overload problems with G9 and G12, all had really enjoyable personalities.

Having a fiery or "screaming" Red Ranger isn't a bad thing.

Some older Sentai fans, and some PR fans tend to be turned off by the so-called "screaming reds." These screaming reds include DekaRed, MagiRed, GekiRed, Go-On Red, and to an extent Hurricane Red. Many of these fans tend to like a more traditional red that's level headed or a true leader, like Takeru/Shinken Red or Tatsuya/Time Red. My personal personal opinion is that it really doesn't matter. Isn't red a sign of hotbloodedness anyways? When we have other hotblooded or hyper active characters that aren't red (like Genta) they don't receive the same criticism. This seems like terrible inconsistency for me. I'd judge characters based on their personality and development, not the color of their suits. And besides, I think it's a good thing to have a different type of red warrior once in a while. Sentai usually tends to stick one type of personality with a certain color, for example, pink rangers tend to be cute, feminine, bubbly, and sometimes ditzy. I think its good to have some originality in the characters, which is also why I like pink rangers such as Yuuri and Sakura.

Kaoru (Female Shinken Red) receives unfair hate.

Ok this may not be exactly an unpopular opinion, but among all the Shinkenger characters Kaoru is about the most underrated. She receives little to no development, but has a hatedom for the wrong reasons. Many hate her for just simply replacing Takeru as ShinkenRed, which is unfair. Takeru is definitely a likable character, but some fans tend to forget that Takeru was given back the throne of the Shiba clan by Kaoru for the betterment of the team. Also, many fans I think get the wrong impression that she's a spoiled brat based on her jerkass retainer, Tanba. Tanba is annoying, but I don't think Kaoru should be a targeted for hatred simply for replacing Takeru and because of her annoying mentor

Magiranger Series Review

Note: Images from Super Sentai Images.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Mahou Sentai Magiranger (English translation Magic Squadron Magical Ranger) (2005) was the 29th installment of the Super Sentai franchise and the first to use a magic motif. Magiranger is kinda like Go-Onger, mostly campy and lighthearted through most of the series, but gets more serious towards the end. Magiranger is generally a popular series (especially compared to its PR counterpart, Mystic Force) for the story it tells, but also has some critics for its campy and childish nature. Personally, I'm a little mixed about this series. It's not bad, it just could have been much better.

The Good

Like Gekiranger, the villains and the main plot are the strength of this show. My favorite villain (and favorite character) on this series is Wolzard. Like many of the villains on this series, Wolzard is a complex villain, who has honor and later turns out to be the Magiranger's father. Other villains I liked included Sphinx, Titan, and Meemy. The story elements I like are the family and courage aspects. I like the story circling around the Magiranger's parents and felt it was well done. I also liked that even the Magiranger's teacher, Hikaru, had to learn some things like learning from Kai to not give up or not overthink. The music from this season, though lighter in tone compared to say Dekaranger, is pretty good. I like both the intro and the outro themes (though it took me a while for the intro to grow on me), and I also like some of the insert songs, such as Mika Kikuchi's Peace in Heaven and the Nae and Mae theme song. Among the main characters, my favorite was Makito. He's easily the most mature and he seemed to be a better leader than Kai, although Kai was definitely courageous. Speaking of Kai, I also liked his rivalry with Wolzard, which was like a lot of good Sentai red warrior/villain rivalries such as Jan/Rio and Takeru/Juuzo. I also liked the Magiranger team-up with Dekaranger, and the movie was ok. The final battle was pretty good and did everything to bring it to a close.

The Bad

The main problem I have with this series is the ranger cast. The cast really isn't bad. They're better than their Mystic Force counterparts and better than a few other Sentai casts (like Goseiger), but across the board all the characters come across as just average. They get solid development, it's just I wish they could liven up their personalities a bit more. Houka for example, does some stupid things (like spying on Kai and trying to play matchmaker, and later dating 15 different guys), though she does redeem herself with the Titan arc. The rest, I'm kinda nick-pickinng on a few things. While I like the story overall, some of the subplots felt either a bit awkward (like the method of how Miyuki "survived) or felt rushed (like the Urara-Hikaru relationship and how suddenly Vancuria/Nae & Mae turned good). Also, the new spell every episode saga was kinda overused and repetitive.

The Ugly

The only thing that I found terrible about this series was Hades God Toad. While all of the other villains were generally very solid, Toad was just, baka.

My Rating

C+, 7/10. Overall, it's an ok show. It could have been much better if it had a better cast.

Favorite Episodes

Episodes 11-12: Houka is turned into a vampire, and we get to see some background of Vancuria as well as hear the awesome Nae and Mae song.

Episodes 16-18: A new character, Lunajel, is introduced.

Episode 21: This episode is one of the reasons why I like Makito.

Episodes 23-24: This one gives some good development to Tsubasa, and Hikaru learns that being a teacher also means learning.

Episode 28: A touching episode about a girl who was being forced to do evil deeds.

Episodes 33-34: The big reveal, I won't reveal anymore than this.

Episodes 37-38: Makito shares his dreams while Tsubasa shows him that he doesn't have to do everything.

Episodes 45-46: This two parter is the best of the season, imo. It shows not to discriminate against everyone even if they're part of the Infershia, and you have to like it when a villain shows he does have a heart. Also, Isamu becomes Wolzard Fire and he's badass.

Episodes 48-49: Magiranger has a pretty impressive final battle.

Episode 26: Some character development for Smokey.

Sentai Influences I See in RPM

In a post about a month and a half ago, I talked about various influences that certain hollywood movies as well as PR and Sentai seasons had on RPM. When taking a closer look, many of RPM's characters are Sentai like. It's clear that writer Eddie Guzelian had seen his fair share of Sentai before producing RPM, or perhaps it's just a coincidence. Anyways, here are some of the influences I see.

Perhaps Dillon is a tribute to Gai (Black Condor, Jetman). Besides both of them being black rangers, Dillon, like Gai, is the brooding, rebel bad boy of the group. Also like Gai, Dillon has a rivalry with the red ranger, often mocking him.

As I've mentioned before, Summer has practically the same back story as Ran, GekiYellow. Their personalities are pretty much the same as well.

And last but certainly not least, the use of hyperactive, comic relief rangers, which Sentai loves to use a lot but is rarely seen in Power Rangers. Ziggy is similar to his counterpart Hanto in terms of personality, but he's even funnier thanks to some great acting. In fact, I think Ziggy is the funniest ranger ever in Power Rangers.

Gem and Gemma are very hyperactive, and finish each other's sentences (perhaps a wink at Nai and Mare). They're the complete opposite of their Sentai counterparts, Miu and Hiroto. Gem and Gemma get criticized by PR and Sentai fans alike for their hyperactiveness. Admittedly, they can be annoying, especially the first four or five episodes they appear in. Afterwards, they're toned down a bit and are tolerable. Personally, I like their Go-Onger counterparts better, but at the same time I think some of the criticism that Gem and Gemma receive (especially from Sentai fans, which I won't go into) is ridiculous since they're no different than how Sentai portrays some of its own characters, like Ban, Jan, Kai, Sousuke, and Genta.

My Picks for Cute Sentai Heroine

Since I made a post on hot Sentai heroine, I've decided to make a post for cute Sentai heroine as well. A post for attractive PR heroine will come as well. Enjoy :)

Ako/Sayuri Uchida (Blue Swallow, Jetman)

Though not as adorable as some of the other girls on this list, Ako is still cute in her own way.

Mei/Reiko Chiba (PteraRanger, Zyuranger)

Mei is quite adorable and cute, especially the different hairstyles she would use. For me, Mei is one of the few bright spots from Zyuranger.

Matsuri/Kayoko Shibata (GoPink, GoGoV)

Though I haven't seen much of GoGoV (except for the team-up with Timeranger), I though Matsuri was cute.

Umeko/Mika Kikuchi (DekaPink, Dekaranger)

Umeko is cute and adorable in many ways. Besides being short, she's energetic and cheerful, the kind of girl I would like to date. And she has a nice singing voice to.

Houka/Ayumi Bepa (MagiPink, Magiranger)

Houka is much like Umeko. Very feminine, bubbly, and a ditz. Though for me, not as cute as Umeko, nor as attractive as Urara.

Natsuki/Chise Nakamura (BoukenYellow, Boukenger)

Natsuki is one of the few yellow rangers that is feminine, and bubbly. She's childish but in a cute way. She's even more interesting of a character because she's a 100,000 year old princess of a destroyed civilization.

Ran/Mina Fukui (GekiYellow, Gekiranger)

Though Ran is much more serious personality wise than most of the girls on here, look's wise, she's kinda cute. For me, her best moment was when Jan was turned into a kid and Retsu was turned into a baby, her reaction was hilarious.

Saki/Rina Aizawa (Go-On Yellow)

Saki I think is another cute, cheerful character. Though not as feminine or as bubbly as Umeko, Houka, or Natsuki, she's cute.

Kotoha/Suzuka Morita (ShinkenYellow, Shinkenger)

Kotoha is another cute and adorable girl. Though she's tougher and more serious (most cute Sentai heroine are used for comic relief), her interaction with Chiaki, admiration for Mako and Takeru, and her innocents make her adorable, and like Umeko she's tiny. I guess what also make's her adorable is that she's so young as well.