Monday, January 30, 2006

DekaRanger. Episode 46. Proposal Panic

I at first was going to comment mostly on Umeko in this blog, however upon reviewing episode 46 again for this post I had to do a double-take at the villain of the week. I kept stopping, rewinding, playing, pausing, squinting saying to myself "no, it's not him. it can't be!" so I found the cast list for sailor moon. This still didn't quite answer my question as i looked at the picture of the character in question and the frozen frame of the dekeranger episode. I went to the wikipedia site in Japanese and typed in the actors name.

I was right! Episode 46's bad guy of the week and crusher of Umeko's heart was portrayed by none other than the same actor who played Nephrite in the live action version of Sailor Moon! Why are all these hot guys in a show like Sailor Moon? It's a really bad show with horrible acting even for a live action sentai-esque show.

OK now on to the actual plot of the show, this is actually one of the episodes I like. Umeko gets to kick butt and be pissed off, which are rare occurrences in and of themselves. The episode opens up with Sen-chan and Umeko on patrol. Umeko sings the melody of "Girls in Trouble" to lyrics revolving around her upcoming date. She tells Sen-chan about a guy she's been seeing for the past three months and their one hour dates. Also her date with this mystery man who seems perfect in every way is immediately following their shift... that is if nothing happens. And so, a giant mech shows up to ruin Umeko's plans and she doesn't take very kindly to this at all.

After trouncing the giant mech around with Umeko at the controls, she releases her Zord essentially turning it into a missile that propels her into the enemy cock pit where she forcefully evicts the mechenoid controlling it, after which she jumps down and runs off asking the others to take care of the clean-up. Sen-chan let's slip that her forceful behavior was due to the fact that she was in love and Ban-chan upon return to DekaBase grips him in a headlock angry with him for not telling them about Umeko's love life and the possibility of her retiring her position to get married.

Alas Umeko's love was not to be, Sen-chan quickly discovers that his co-worker's love is a criminal using psychotropic mushrooms (clears throat) to become everything his victims want in a man and once they agree to marry him he steels their pure hearts and turns them to dust. When Sen-chan catches up to the guy he's extremely pissed off in such a way that leads us to think that his anger extends a little past protecting a friend. For the second time in the entire series he does a voiceless transformation and just before he takes the guy on in SWAT mode Umeko shows up and and gives her would-be fiance a piece of her mind... and her fist, and her boots.

It ends with Umeko finally getting back her cheerful personality and the group looking at the possibility that there may be something between Sen-chan and Umeko. . .

Friday, January 27, 2006

The Final 5!

To set my naming of kamen rider a side for a moment. I just checked TV-Nihon, like I do every 20 minutes I'm at my computer because I'm slightly compulsive that way, and lo and behold! The last 5 episodes of Tokusou Sentai DekaRanger was posted! This makes me jump up and down for joy as there was a brief scare that they were going to cancel it 5 short of completing the sub!

::spins around the room:: YEAH! ::looks down at Azureus:: You know you want to move faster! That's why I have a cable connection damn you@!!! ::looks back at screen and smiles:: Hee ^_^ ja ne!

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Naming in Kamen Rider #2

Whereas most Kamen Riders in this series take up the name of their predecessor, Todayama Tomizo felt it wouldn't be right to take up the name of his master. In his eyes his master will always be Zanki. With the approval of Zanki, Todayama becomes Todoroki (轟鬼) "Roaring Demon." The real irony here is that of all the Oni seen on the show, he's beyond tone deaf despite his exceptional guitar strumming capabilities. His henshin device (transformation device) is a wrist band with with three small strings on it. Once they are strummed he raises it to his forehead revealing his Oni mark. His energy revolves around electricity and his weapon is a guitar (though it resembles a tapered shamisen more) narrowed to a point and bladed to form an axe or mace-like weapon. The first few missions he completed were completed fairly easily and he performed a post victory rift. After being called on this he stopped shortly thereafter as the battles were becoming increasingly difficult, simply not having the energy to show off. Posted by Picasa

Monday, January 23, 2006

Naming in Kamen Rider #1


(Hibiki & Asumu waving to Hitomi)

This kid in orange is Asumu. He's a thirteen year old just entering his first year in high school. As I've mentioned before, everyone in this series has a name appropriate to their concept.

Asumu looks to find his way in life and is in need of guidance on his way to becoming a man. Fortunately for him he meets Hibiki on a fated trip to visit relatives, which in turn pushes his thoughts about where his future will be to the fore. The kanji for his name (明日夢) can be read as Tomorrow's Dream. It's not uncommon to see him staring off into space contemplating where he is in his life and the possibility of becoming an Oni when he's older.

After their fated meeting, Asumu discovers that he lives near Hibiki. Awed by Hibiki's casual presense and fighting capabilities, Asumu decides he must learn more and sees Hibiki as not only a life mentor but also a father figure as well. Since at this time Hibiki has no apprentice, he takes Asumu under his wing and shows him the ways of life. His kanji reads (響鬼) "Echoing/Reverberating Demon" it's no wonder his weapons are bachi (taiko drumsticks)! As the title character he gets the most power ups and cool toys ^_^ I just love his salute.



Sunday, January 22, 2006

Names in Kamen Rider Hibiki

After looking over some of the names in Kamen Rider Hibiki after Kalinara mentioned how funny they were, I thought about it... She's right. They are incredibly funny... Especially Ibuki's name.
I took the opportunity to look at the kanji they used to spell his name and I laughed even harder.
The characters of his name can be read as a "Mighty Blowing Demon" I giggle. Later I'll do a similar line up of their names with references from the show... They do comment on how everyone's name is a pun on their personalities and attributes. For the Oni especially, it's their title ability.

Which makes my gut hurt from laughing at Ibuki's name.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Kamen Rider Hibiki

As Kamen Rider Hibiki draws to a close on Japanese television, I'm just a little past half way through the series downloading from TV Nihon. When I first began watching the show a few months ago I wasn't sure what to expect. I can't help compare it to Super Sentai, yet in many aspects this show is much more mature. It should also be noted that Kamen Rider Hibiki is the first series I've seen of this set of shows.

Let's get started with the basics...

The show is told mostly through the eyes of 13-year-old Adachi Asumu. His likes are: playing the drums, hanging out with friends (especially Hitomi) and spending time with Hibiki-san who's become a father figure slash mentor to him.

In this series music is the main theme of the hero's regime. Three types of "oni" (read here as transforming superhero) fight the demons according to creature type and season of the year. The taiko style oni (hibiki) is best suited for summer. While the "string" style oni (todoroki) is suited for taking down large creatures, and the "wind" style oni (ibuki) takes care of the winged creatures. And most importantly; the Oni don't have to shout out a pose in order to transform. In many cases, they are running into action as they transform. They do perform a post transformation pose. In that armor? How can you not!

The transformation devices fit with the instrument they fight with (yes, the instrument they fight with). Hibiki uses a tuning fork to strike an object to produce the resonance required to transform then places the fork to his forhead where an oni mark appears. He fights with two taiko sticks and a mystical taiko (it's a lot cooler than the description) his instrument and fighting style would be about as traditional japanese as you get. His element is fire. He has two further transfermations as he's the most powerful Oni in their group.

Ibuki's transformation device is a whistle. He simply blows a note and raises the whistle to his forehead and an oni mark appears. He fights with a trumpet that produces blaring sound waves in addition to a semi-automatic gun that shoots mystical air bullets (it's just as silly as it sounds, yet he makes it look cool). His element is naturally air/wind. Ibuki also has an apprentice that is the same age as Asumu, she also uses a transformation device but she doesn't use it to transform. She uses the device for it's secondary functions discussed later.

Todoroki is essentially the new kid on the block. He's just been elevated to Oni status when Zanki, his mentor/master, became too injured to continue fighting full time. He makes many mistakes and is sometimes very stiff when around Hibiki and the others especially when interacting with Zanki. His transformation device is a wrist band that has three strings on it. When strummed, it produces the sound of a biwa or shamisen. Raising it to his forehead the Oni mark appears. He fights with a bladed guitar (looks closer to a shamisen in my opinion but the sound effects speak for themselves ^_^). His element is Thunder (Lightning).

As the series progresses we get glimpses of other Oni that fight with Hibiki. These other Oni are usually assigned to other areas of Japan, though sometimes their areas overlap.

As the series continues you learn that the Oni are not limited to their main instrument. Todoroki must learn to use the taiko to fight summer demons in one arc. All in all, I love this show and I can't wait to see the end of the series and Kamen Rider Kabuto begins.

Friday, December 23, 2005

A Look at Red #15

And that brings us finally to...

Character: Jack Landers
Actor: Brandon Jay McLaren
Ranger: Red Space Patrol Delta Ranger, B-Squad
Picture From: Ranger Central

The reason I started this long glorious look at Red. In 14 Red Rangers, there's never been one to willingly quit. I can accept him being a complete jerk in the beginning; but the amount of his redemption away from being a complete and total jackass doesn't out weigh the fact that he repeatedly refuses to listen to his teammates who are almost always right.

The other Rangers do their best to work with what they've been handed. You can actually sympathize with Sky when he complains that he's more deserving than Jack in becoming the Red Ranger. In the last few episodes he shirks his duties to go off to play with his new found girlfriend. And of course he leaves his badge/comunicator/morpher in a spot he won't hear it, leaving the Rangers hanging. The least he could do was request time off and ask the others if they understood if he left as soon as the monster was destroyed.

But my main problem with Jack is a little unfair. My main problem is that even if Ban (Japanese version of Jack's Character) were on Ritalin, he would make Jack look like he were on tranquilizers trying to stay awake.

Ban's fire fused the others into being a team, and his energy carried them through everything trial and tribulation. He was a great character, and I was so excited to see how they'd import it into Power Rangers. They managed to get the characterizations of the other characters great; Sky and Bridge being the closest characters to the Japanese version, and then there's Jack. Posted by Picasa

A Look at Red #14

Really there's a brain under that dumb jock exterior... really there is... ok even I can't lie that badly.

Character: Conner McKnight
Actor: James Napier
Ranger: Red Tyrano Dino Ranger
Photo From: Ranger Central

Conner had the misfortune of being a Ranger on the same team as the "Legendary" Tommy Oliver, or Dr. O as he's referred to by the other Rangers. Despite that he makes a decent Field Commander. OK, he's a figurehead leader who doesn't have any qualms about being a figure head. His job is to fight, look pretty, and be an arrogent prick with a secret soft heart. It works for him, amazingly so. Posted by Picasa

A Look at Red #13

He kind of counts. Where else are you going to put the first male pink ranger?

Character: Hunter Bradley
Actor: Adam Tuominen
Ranger: "Crimson" Thunder Ranger
Picture From: PRM Ninja Storm...

I almost didn't include Hunter in my little rant... You just can't ignore a Ranger whose "color" says that he's a color of deep dark red, but ends up looking on most people's TVs as fuschia. He was a very manly Pink Ranger, and so I must give him props under Red. You go Hunter! Posted by Picasa

A Look at Red #12

He wasn't hired for his brains ladies...

Character: Shane Clarke
Actor: Pua Magasiva
Ranger: Red Wind Ranger
Photo From: PRM Ninja Storm...

Ninja Storm was a great series, why? Because they make no qualms about the characters being dumb. The first three Rangers we see were chosen not because they were the best and the brightest. No, they were chosen because they were the last members of their school left, because they were goofing off and showed up after everyone was taken hostage.

Shane as a Red Ranger is naturally arrogent, however, he doesn't completely discount out of hand the members of his team. It takes him a couple of eps to realize they can work very well as a team, but he learns his lesson. So in a nutshell, he's sexy, he's red, and he can lead his team by being a contributing member. Posted by Picasa

A Look at Red #11

How do I loathe thee...

Character: Cole Evans
Actor: Ricardo Medina Jr.
Ranger: Red Wild Force Ranger
Photo From: Ranger Central

Another Red Ranger not beginning as leader but warming the hearts of his comrads and assuming the leader position if anyone asks. Cole is a Ranger I hated with a passion. His character seemed to be a Tommy Oliver marty stew wanna be. . . as if the character of Tommy isn't marty stew enough. I swear I went into near convulsions of revulsion everytime he said "For the Earth!" either that or want to watch Captain Planet and the Planeteers. He got to save the day in Forever Red the 10th year anniversary in a way that was extremely twitch worthy.

The only thing that made me chuckle was when Merrick came onto the show as first a kick ass bad guy and then as the 6th Ranger and Cole makes mention of seeing a guy bathing in a lake (and of course we flash to a naked Merrick bathing naked in a lake with a little huskie swimming around him.) All I'm saying is, he must have gotten mighty close to be able to tell the damn dog was half wolf. Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

A Look at Red #10

The second half of the ambiguously gay duo...

Character: Eric Meyers
Actor: Daniel Meyers
Ranger: Quantum Ranger
Photo From: Quantum Power!

Eric takes the term hardass to a level nevel before seen on Power Rangers. He's the first 6th Ranger that's Red, he's also the first Ranger that sides with only himself when he first receives his Powers. He was originally Wes's "friend" in Prep School. (Yeah he's Wes's "friend" just like Achilles was Patroclus' cousin.. cousin yeah that's it, cousin.) As the series unfolds, the Leader of the Silver Guardians (That would be Eric at the moment) lets some of his ice queen exterior melt and the two Red Rangers re-establish their bond. Eventually Wes inherits the position of Leader of the Silver Guardians and requests Eric as his (coughs) partner.

I admit, initially I hated Eric for being an ass. Then I realized that was what I liked about him the most. And on another note, watching the Japanese crossover episode for this series my brain halted onto one peg seeing the resemblence to the Japanese version of his character. They look very much alike, in appearance and demeanor. That was one very very good bit of casting. Posted by Picasa

A Look at Red #9

The first half of the ambiguously gay duo...

Character: Wesley Collins / Alex
Actor: Jason Faunt
Ranger: Red Time Force Ranger
Picture from: Futures Apart // Images of Jason Faunt...

There's something about the name "Jason" that draws me to a Ranger. Whether it be the actor's name or the character's name.

Alex and Wes are near genetic douplicates 3000 years apart. This enables Jen (Pink Ranger) to give Wes a morpher locked by DNA encoding thus enabling the Time Force Rangers to activate their powers and become a full team. His angst... because we know by default he has some... is that he's a rich playboy trying to pull away from his father's influence and at the same time trying to be loved by him, the Rangers (Jen) hate him because he looks so much like Alex, and Eric (the second half of the ambiguously gay duo) hates his guts for well... being a rich boy (you might read that as unwitting suducer, but then there's Jen.)

Overcoming the role of outsider to the group of time traveling cops, Wes gives up his inheritence and helps the Rangers make a new home for themselves in the year 2000. His overpowering charisma, ability to fight, and surprising selflessness earn him respect by his team. Making him one of the few Rangers actually having to earn their way to leader after joining the team.

As for Alex, he had a heroic 'death' in the first episode, came back as a complete jerk, though slightly sympathetic.. slightly, and then regaining respect from the rest of the team by helping Wes.

If going by length... yes I do believe Wes is my favorite Ranger. ^_^ Posted by Picasa

A Look at Red #8

Lightspeed Rescue as a series is somewhat of a sore spot for me. Don't ask... it stems from a very irrational reason. It's a TV show for Pete's sake, and a bad one at that!

Character: Carter Grayson
Acter: Sean CW Johnson
Ranger: Red Rescue Ranger
Photo From: Ranger Central

I admit that I haven't seen very much of this season. I pretty much caught the episodes in which Ryan (The Titanium Ranger) came on to the scene, a few around the time he "leaves" and the Ending. As a Leader Carter is a man that plays by the rules to the point that he comes across as having a Ten Foot Pole shoved up his nether regions (or Ryan if the general concensus is true :P ) He also has the honor of being the first Red Ranger to make me twitch. Posted by Picasa

Monday, December 19, 2005

A Look at Red #7

Hurt me I'm pretty...

Character: Leo Corbett
Actor: Danny Slavin
Ranger: Red Galaxy Ranger
Photo From: Realm of Fire - Danny Slavin Online

Again with the angst. Having to deal with not actually pulling the sword from the stone, Leo walks in the shadow of his Hero older brother whom for half of the series is believed to be dead. (Not hard to believe he isn't... seeing some one fall into a bottomless chasm tends to make one believe death is certain.) He began as a carefree kid who just wanted to see the universe by stowing aboard a shuttle for Terra Venture.

He spends most of his time on the show getting injured like a good little Red Ranger, dodging the Kai - the Blue Ranger, and angsting over the fact that he's the replacement for his brother whom is more deserving (so he thinks.) But most of all he looks pretty. If he wasn't so gung-ho about making everything right, I'd hate him.

This season also had several episodes that were very character driven and had little to do with actually being Power Rangers but humans in an unknown environment. Posted by Picasa

A Look at Red #6

Get it? Striped hair = Alien

Character: Andros of KO-35
Actor: Christopher Khayman Lee
Ranger: Red Space Ranger
Photo From: /ckl; a christopher khayman lee site

Red Rangers are supposed to have Angst. It's apart of what defines them as a Ranger. TJ had no real angst as Red Ranger; his angst only came later. Andros on the other hand has volumes of angst. A leader with no angst is boring.

Andros brings angst to the color Red by having his younger sister kidnapped by aliens at a young age, later finding out that his archnemesis is his aformentioned missing sister, a best friend sleeping in cryo because he took a near fatal shot for him, returns his sister to the side of good only to have her taken away and brainwashed again, and the topper of it all Andros has the dubious honor of killing Zordon - The Ultimate Mentor of All Rangers for over 10,000 years. Like I said... Angst baby... Angst.

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A Look at Red #5

Filler of large shoes...

Character: Theodore Jay Jarvis "TJ" Johnson (why did they have to give him such a horrid name? Theodore Johnson would have sufficed for TJ)
Actor: Selwyn Ward
Ranger: Red Lightning Turbo & Blue Space Rangers
Photo From: Unknown (My brain is like a well greased sieve. Not much sticks)

TJ had a rather unfortunate career as Red Leader. He had the daunting job of replacing the Ranger with one of the largest fan followings and managed to be the Ranger to have the Power Chamber blow up on them. (Tommy doesn't count as blowing up the Command Center as a Ranger because he was technically Powerless at the time... I think.) In spite of it all he was a goof ball and managed to balance it well with being a decent team leader. Posted by Picasa

A Look at Red #4

All hail to the Pirate King! Tommy is a record holder to beat all record holders in the Power Ranger Universe.

Character: Tommy Oliver
Actor: Jason David Frank
Ranger: (cracks knuckles) Green Dragon Dino, White Tiger Thunder, White Falcon Ninja (& Ninjetti), Red Zeo #5, Red Lightning Turbo, and last but probably not the final, Black Brachiosaurus Dino Thunder Rangers.
Photo from: Frankly Jason

Seeing as how you'd probably need a whole blog just to talk about Jason's character I'll just talk about Red. Tommy had a slight advantage, ok a large advantage over other Red Rangers in that he'd already been the leader of the Team before donning the imposing color. He pretty much let the team do it's own thing and if anyone asked who the leader was they'd all point to him unanimously so that he'd be the one to land on his but after being beat up by a girl.

So essentially, Tommy's role was to look pretty, have someone else think of something, and be on the spot marked X where his teammates need him to be. Whether it's coming to the rescue or to be the damsel... er hero in distress.
 Posted by Picasa

A Look at Red #3

Some would say like Paul McGann, Aurico doesn't count. But he was a Ranger, appeared in more than one episode, and was in the 10th Anniversery special as a Ranger, so he counts :: blows raspberries ::

Character: Aurico
Actor: David Bacon (I pride myself in the fact I actually had to look that up)
Photo from: Alien Ranger Pictures

I don't remember much about this character as he pretty much only appeared in the mini-series Alien Rangers and the 10th Anniversery special, and even in the special I don't believe it was the same actor, as we never see him demorph. He was co-Leader of his team sharing the position with Delphine, the White Alien Ranger. She brains, he braun, them mash!
 Posted by Picasa

A look at Red #2

So he was never a team leader. He was still a man in Red...

Character: Rockwell "Rocky" DeSantos
Actor: Steve Cardenas
Ranger: Red Dragon Thunder & Blue Zeo #3 Rangers
Photo From:
Ranger Central

The first thing I remember about Rocky is his ability to do the full splits. There's just something about a guy that can spread his legs more than 180° that get's to me right there.

But I digress; being one of a small group of Rangers wearing Red yet never holding the position of Leader (only 2 if memory holds,) we had the opportunity to see a goof ball in action without trying to balance the role of leader on his shoulders.
 Posted by Picasa