BigBadToyStore.com - Toys, Action Figures, Vintage Toys, and Collectibles
Super Sentai Series Review: Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger!

After writing an Eto Ranger guest review last Chinese New Year's Eve I decided to write a Gekiranger review this year. One may consider this as a Chinese New Year's treat. Without much ado it's time for the Gekiranger review. 

The plot

Gekiranger tries to expand some of the ideal concepts of Gekiranger. Long ago, two rival schools namely the Geki Juken and Rin Juken compete for the top spot. The Geki Juken uses Geki hence the name Gekiranger. The Rin Juken uses Rinki or negative energy. The concept is similar yet different with Dairanger's conflict of Daos vs. Gorma and the use of positive and negative energies. The rivalry returns in modern day as the Gekirangers and the Rin Juken school resume their battle in the modern day.

The heroes

Gekiranger feels like a bizarre combination of Dairanger and Gaoranger except it starts with only three members. Jan Kandou (Geki Red) is an orphan who grew up in the jungle hence he's a feral child like Kamen Rider Amazon's protagonist. Ran Uzaki (Geki Yellow) is the default leader. Retsu Fukami (Geki Blue) is the third member. Jan uses Tiger Fist, Ran uses Cheetah Fist and Retsu uses Jaguar Fist. They're later joined by Gou Fukami (Geki Violet) who uses Wolf Fist and is Retsu's older brother. Ken Hisatsu is unique as the final ranger because he uses the Rhino Fist as opposed to the carnivorous animals used by the others.

The heroes are members of the SCRTC headed by Miki Masaki. Along with them are also the Fist Saints all a tribute to different masters of classic Kung Fu Cinema. While Master Xia Fu isn't based on one but the rest get their names from kung fu legends. A good example would be Bat Li is based on Jet Li, Elephun Kambo is based on Sammo Hung, Sharkie Chan is based on Jackie Chan and Gorie Yen is based on Donnie Yen. These different fist masters help the Gekirangers develop and it was fun to watch their involvement.

The villains

I think Gekiranger has done the whole transition between two organizations better than old school Kamen Rider series. For the first half we have the Rin Guken and Gen Juken schools. The Rin Juken play a brutal game of martial arts with Rio and Mele as the primary antagonists of the first half. The mosnters of the Rin Juken were based on wild animals while the Gen Juken were based on mythical creatures. Each one of them have their own charm.

The story arc transitioned pretty smoothly with some mysterious plots. The game changing villain Long has been manipulating people behind the scenes. Rio was established as a puppet leader of the second organization Gen Juken after Rin Juken collapsed. It's later revealed that Long was actually trying to establish power for himself by using Rio as a puppet. The revelation of what Long has been doing and what he is also gives a good turning point in the series. 

Closing words

So how do I compare it with Dairanger? I find the story a little more interesting but my slight beef was the quality of action. It's easily observable how action scenes in Super Sentai are toned down to a certain extent. Sure the series had some moments like alcohol and some bleeding but the violence is a lot milder than Dairanger. 

What I also felt was that maybe it wasn't quite a good move for Toei to introduce a darker and edgier series (though not that serious) after Boukenger's happy go lucky theme. It could have had the potential to be a kung fu comedy but Toei does find itself trying to do more serious Tokusatsu every now and then. Maybe we've got older fans like myself liking it but maybe it didn't work too well with the children. The fan reception may have triggered the creation of the comedy series Go-onger. 

Disclaimer:
All images and videos here are property of their respective owners and used for reference purpose only. We claim no rights to it unless otherwise stated.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
4 Responses
  1. Unknown Says:

    But I really like the Monster Of The Week Costume both of Rin and gen juken... Animal Face in their Chest... I think just good... But I'm really disappoint about the Mecha...


  2. Unknown Says:

    Boukenger was happy-go-lucky? It most certainly was not.


  3. Sunny Says:

    Bouken who? When Gekiranger came along was when I start watching sentai again. They had me doing what other sentai couldn't which is root for the villain as well. I care for both side's agendas and loved the costume designs. The mech however could have been better but the story makes up for it.


  4. Anonymous Says:

    Christopher Malone
    January 27, 2017 at 12:44 AM
    Boukenger was happy-go-lucky? It most certainly was not.

    Me
    I agree


  • Advertisement

    Recent Posts

    Blog Archive

    Site Statistics