Why Power Rangers is Not a Super Sentai Rip-Off

For weeks now, I can't help but notice the number of fans who are complaining about their "precious" Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger becoming a Power Rangers show. They think that it ruined the spirit of Gokaiger and such. Oh come on, I don't hear people complain when when it was first announced that Shinkenger will become Power Rangers Samurai! In short, the aim of this post is to educate those fans that Power Rangers is not a Super Sentai rip-off, but a licensed adaptation.

For starters, here's a bit of common sense. If Power Rangers is ripping of Super Sentai for 20 years now, why Toei is not suing Saban or Disney? I mean, if they are ripping off their property, it's obvious that Toei is not earning anything but it's quite the opposite actually, both Toei and Bandai are earning money thanks to Power Rangers! If you check Bandai's year end toy reports (page 22 in the 2012 report) Super Sentai and Power Rangers are lumped in a single category. That alone is a clear indication that Bandai recognizes the two brands and not that one brand is ripping off the other brand.

Next is about the issue of adaptation, Saban and Toei had an agreement back in the 90's about using the Zyuranger footage. You can read the full details about it in this post coming from RangerCrew. What's interesting about it aside from the order on how the episodes were sent to Saban is the follow up letter requesting the use of Toei's other properties. I quote:

Saban has granted Toei the right to exploit, in Toei's reserved territories, the new episodes Saban creates using Toei's material. Saban's term of rights in Toei's material is ten years with an option to renew for an additional fifteen years;

In simple terms, Toei and Saban had an agreement that Saban can create new shows based on Toei's property and they can renew the license for them to do so once the contract is expired 10 years after. The letter was made in 1994 and it is likely that Disney, the ones who owned the Power Rangers license back in 2004 decided to renew the contract. In short, in strict and in legal sense, Power Rangers is not a rip-off of Super Sentai. 

But some of you might ask, if Saban has the license with Toei's property, why can't they just dub the original Super Sentai footage and air it in America dubbed in English? Here's the thing, they tried pitching it, only to fail at the end. Prior to Zyuranger, Marvel tried to pitch in a Super Sentai show that caught Stan Lee's eye years ago. TV networks hated it and only see it as a piece of garbage. Same with Saban, he also tried adapting a Super Sentai show, to be more specific, Choudenshi Bioman for American audiences only for it to be rejected by the TV networks. To put it simply, dubbing a cheesy looking Japanese superhero TV shows will not work for American audiences.

Let's face it, American culture is vastly different from Japanese culture and if you want your Japanese TV show to be accepted by a foreign audience, it's either you make it tailor fit to their culture (like what some anime titles did) or localize it and make it work for that country. At the end of the day, making TV shows is all about business and business means money. Super Sentai is not much of a cultural icon back then like what it is right to now most people. Heck, the franchise faced attempts of cancellation numerous times! But thanks to the effort of its producers, writers and fans, the franchise managed to survive. Same goes with Power Rangers, as long as there are fans to support it, it will stay. If you don't like it, don't watch it.

P.S. Saban is contractually obliged by Toei to not skip a Super Sentai series as part of their contract. In short, expect a Go-Busters adaptation once Super Megaforce is over.

EDIT (8/2/13): Fixed the wording of the Power Rangers Samurai part. People started complaining about the show after it aired. A lot of fans where excited about Samurai prior to its airing.

Kamen Rider Den-O Kids: 5 Years Later

Because of one Facebook post coming from J-HERO, I realized that Kamen Rider Den-O ended 5 years ago! This cause me to wonder what happened to the kid cast members of the show, namely Kid Ryotaro and Kohana.

The young Ryotaro Nogami also known as Kotaro in the Kamen Rider Den-O the Movie: I'm Born! was played by Takuya Mizoguchi. Seen above is his latest profile photo posted in his official profile. The last time he reprised his role as Ryotaro was in the Cho Den-O Trilogy that aired 3 years ago. According to his blog, he's part of a stage play called "FROGS".


The young Hana, also known as Kohana was played by Tamaki Matsumoto. Seen above is the music video of her single, "Sunshine". Just like Mizoguchi, the last time she reprised her role as Kohana was in the Cho Den-O Trilogy that aired 3 years ago. According to her Japanese Wikipedia page, she is not doing any activity because she is dedicated with her education. She is currently in junior high school.

Lastly, the young Yuuto Sakurai, also known as Yu in the Cho Kamen Rider Den-O & Decade Neo Generations: The Onigashima Warship was played by Ruka Sawaki. So yeah, the young Yuuto was played by a girl. Seen above is a picture coming from a midnight drama series that aired in 2012 where she made a guest appearance.

When Super Sentai Actors End Up Voice Acting

Here's the thing, most people who are new into watching tokusatsu superhero shows think that it is basically live-action anime, which they are kinda right about it. In short, it is no surprise that some Super Sentai actors end up becoming voice actors or some voice actors end up in Super Sentai! And so, here is the list of Super Sentai actors that end up becoming voice actors and their prominent roles.

Naoya Uchida played Tatsuya Midorikawa/DenziGreen will later play Naruto Shippuden's Obito Uchiha (Tobi); Getter Robo's Hayato Jin and does some monster of the week voices for Super Sentai.

Kihachirō Uemura played Dai/Green Flash will later play One Piece's Chaka.

Jouji Nakata played Sir Kaura from Choushisei Flashman and Volt's Great Professor Bias from Choujuu Sentai Liveman is best known to most anime fans as Hellsing's Alucard and Fate/stay night & Fate/Zero's Kirei Kotomine. He also did a lot of voice acting work for years now and you can check the full list of his work on Wikipedia and in various anime websites.

Reiko Chiba played Ptera Ranger, Mei is the voice of Samurai Showdown's Cham Cham and King of Fighters' Moe Habana.

Teruaki Ogawa played Ninja Red Sasuke and Black Knight Hyuuga is Ginga Densetsu Weed's Ken and Lector, Transformers: Beast Wars Neo's Mach Kick and Full Moon o Sagashite's Keiichi Wakaouji.

Hiroshi Tsuchida played Ninja Blue Saizou will end up playing Skullman in the Skullman anime adaptation, but for most Soul Calibur fans, he is best known as the voice of Zasalamel. In addition, he is the sort of official Japanese dub voice actor for Joseph Gordon-Levitt of The Dark Knight Rises and Inception fame.

Tamao Sato played Momo Maruo/OhPink was one of the voices of Athena Asamiya in The King of Fighters video game franchise.

Yuji Kishi played Kyosuke Jinai/Red Racer is best known by most fans as the official voice actor of Street Fighter franchise's Ken Masters, and voiced Yazoo in the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie.

Masaya Matsukaze played Shun Namiki/Mega Blue did a lot of voice acting work and some of his work includes: Ouran High School Host Club's Kyoya Ootori, Hunter x Hunter (2011)'s Illumi Zoldyck, Rockman.EXE's Blues.EXE and Death Note's Teru Mikami.

Mami Higashiyama played Miku Imamura/Mega Pink is Shikabane Hime: Kuro's Hibiki Shijou, Earth Maiden Arjuna's Juna Ariyoshi/Arjuna and Wangan Midnight's Mika Murakami.

Yuko Miyamura played Kyoko Hayase/Sieg Jeanne from Kyukyu Sentai GoGo-V is best known to most anime fans as the voice of Neon Genesis Evangelion's Asuka Langley Soryu. She is also the voice of Chun-Li in the Street Fighter video game franchise.

Takeru Shibaki played Kai Samezu/GaoBlue is Ull/Ulf in the Grandia 3 video game.

Nao Nagasawa played Nanami Nono/Hurricane Blue is Lilly in Sockie's Frontier Quest anime.

Ayumi Kinoshita played Marika "Jasmine" Reimon/DekaYellow is Aki Izayoi in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.

Mika Kikuchi played Koume "Umeko" Kodou/DekaPink is Mokona Modoki in xxxHolic and Tsubasa Chornicle and she also played Mai Otome's Arika Yumemiya.

Tsutomu Isobe is already a voice actor before he played Isamu Ozu/Wolzard/Wolzard Fire from Mahou Sentai Magiranger as he is the official Japanese dub voice actor of Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson. In addition, some of his prominent anime roles include Black Lagoon's Dutch, Monster's Heinrich Lunge and Mobile Suit Gundam 00 The Movie: A Wakening of the Trailblazer's Aeolia Schenberg.

Chise Nakamura played Natsuki Mamiya/BoukenYellow is Dragonaut: The Resonance's Megumi Jinguuji and Corpse Princess' Itsuki Yamagami.

Yuka Hirata played Mele from Juuken Sentai Gekiranger is Shikabane Hime: Aka & Shikabane Hime: Kuro Special's Minai Ruo and Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger's Kumi Mashiba.

Kazue Itoh played Juuken Sentai Gekiranger's Miki Masaki is Rurouni Kenshin's Shura.

Hidenori Tokuyama played Hiroto Suto/Go-On Gold is Gensomaden Saiyuki's Tongpu.

Yumi Sugimoto played Miu Suto/Go-On Silver is Kuuchuu Buranko's Mayumi.

Tori Matsuzaka played Takeru Shiba/ShinkenRed is .hack//The Movie's Kakeru Tanaka.

Hiroki Aiba played Ryunosuke Ikenami/ShinkenBlue is Majestic Prince's Izuru Hitachi and New Prince of Tennis's Irie Kanata.

Louis Yamada LIII played Professor Shuichiro Amachi from Tensou Sentai Goseiger is Tentai Senshi Sunred's Vamp.

Mao Ichimichi played Luka Milfy/GokaiYellow is DD Hokuto no Ken's Lin and Cookin' Idol Ai! Mai! Main!'s Kirakira.

Junya Ikeda played Gai Ikari/GokaiSilver is Majestic Prince's Ataru Suruga.

The list is made thanks to Wikipedia, MyAnimeList and Anime News Network with a little help from Google.

Rare Himitsu Sentai Goranger (Star Rangers) Philippine English Dub Footage

Checking the YouTube channel where the English dub of Kamen Rider was posted, I ended up stumbling upon this old clip of the English of dub of Himitsu Sentai Goranger that aired in the Philippines as Star Rangers.

Even though the show is called Star Rangers in the Philippines, the show still refers the team as Five Rangers, the literal translation of Goranger.


According to the one who uploaded the said clip, he got it from a friend who grew up watching this show in the Philippines. Currently, he has 21 episodes of the Goranger English dub, and he can only upload clips of some of the episodes.

Rare Kamen Rider (1971) Philippine English Dub Footage

While lurking on a thread in the HJU board, I came across in one topic about English dubbed toku in the 80's. According to one poster, the original Kamen Rider TV series and Kamen Rider X aired in the Philippines!

I didn't believe it at first since most of us grew up watching Kamen Rider BLACK, that is until someone posted this clip found below.


According to the video's description, it is clip coming from the episode of Kamen Rider that aired in the Philippines during the early 80's. Sadly, compared to the English Choudenshi Bioman dub, only a handful of these episodes were recorded by fans.

Kamen Rider Blade Short Story "Tasagore"

Kamen Rider Blade ended years ago but to those who don't know, series head writer Sho Aikawa wrote a short story called "Tasagore" that ties up loose ends of the show's finale.

The story is about a dying old woman (Amane) who tells her grandson the story of the 4 Kamen Riders. The story covered what happened to the 4 after Kenzaki went missing after his fight with Hajime.

Hajime lurks around Amane, and stayed by her side during her last moment. He looked exactly the same as they first met. Mitsuki, Hirose, and Koutaro died due to old age. Koutaro's book about Kamen Rider was so popular that it later became a TV drama and merchandise, which made a lot of money for the Kurihara family.

Tachibana became the head of the BOARD. He kept on researching on the Undeads and did experiments on himself. He gained long longevity from his research and kept an eye on the 2 Jokers. He is also Amane's health insurance.

Tachibana found information about an unknown beast attacking armed insurgency in Africa. The beast was trying to keep homeless kids safe from the war zone. That beast is likely to be Kenzaki in his Joker form.

In addition, outside the short story, Kamen Rider 555 was supposed to have an extra episode wherein Kenzaki meets Takumi. Sadly, this was never released in public and was only brought up the Kamen Rider BLADE DVD round table discussion.

Source: 4chan's /m/ board (link 2)

Kamen Rider: Seigi no Keifu PS2 Game - Why is This Game Canon?

4chan's /m/ board is sometimes (more like most of the time) is a gold mine when it comes to Kamen Rider or Super Sentai related production stuff. This time around, we have stuff that has something to do with Kamen Rider: Seigi no Keifu, a crossover game for the PS2.

This crossover game features Kamen Riders #1 & #2, V3, BLACK and Agito. The premise of the game is simple, it takes place after the end of Kamen Rider Agito and Shouichi ends up meeting the past Riders who were voiced by the original actors via a plot device known as time travel.


Fans have debated if the game is part of the Kamen Rider mythos. 2ch agrees that the game is canon mainly because most of the original actors consider it canon, Toshiki Inoue considers it canon, and the Agito website listed it within the Agito timeline before the site was taken down.

The game was also one of the external materials that brought up the fact that Agito is based on a golden Chinese dragon. It is also one of the rare times Agito is being referred to as a Kamen Rider.

Special thanks to 4chan's /m/ board for the info and Kamen Rider Wikia for the info about the game.

Super Sentai: Same Name, Different Hero Edition

Daigo Green and Daigo Red.

Super Sentai has been around for 37 years now, which is why it is no surprise that the franchise will feature heroes with the same name but they are totally different characters. This post compiles the heroes with the same names, with a little help coming from Wikipedia, Notepad and Ctrl+F (Find).

1. Akira - AoRanger, DenziPink & Blue Mask
2. Asuka - Shurikenger & AbareBlack
3. Daigo - Shishi Ranger & KyoryuRed
4. Daigoro - KiRanger II & DenziBlue
5. Gai - Black Condor & GokaiSilver
6. Gaku - FiveRed & GaoYellow
7. Goro - Spade Ace & OhRed
8. Hikaru - Pink Five, GingaYellow & MagiShine
9. Joe/Jou - Yellow Lion & GokaiBlue
10. Jun - DenziYellow & Yellow Four II
11. Kai - GaoBlue & MagiRed
12. Ken - FiveBlue & GekiChopper
13. Kenta - Black Mask & MegaRed
14. Kyosuke - Battle France & Red Racer
15. Riki - Red Turbo & King Ranger
16. Ryu - Dia Jack, DynaBlack & Red Hawk
17. Shiro - Battle Kenya & Red One
18. Sho - Change Gryphon & GoGreen
19. Takeru - Red Mask & ShinkenRed
20. Tatsuya - DenziGreen & TimeRed
21. Yoko - Pink Racer & Yellow Buster
22. Yosuke - DynaBlue & Hurricane Red

Akira Blue I, Akira Pink and Akira Blue II.

Now that the data has been properly arranged, it is time to analyze it. From a total of 22 names, only 3 of them were used thrice, namely Akira, Hikaru and Ryu. 4 names featured two heroes with the same color and these names are Akira, Goro, Jun and Takeru. 19 names featured heroes with the same gender, and these names are Asuka, Daigo, Daigoro, Gai, Gaku, Goro, Joe/Jou, Kai, Ken, Kenta, Kyosuke, Riki, Ryu, Shiro, Sho, Takeru, Tatsuya,Yoko and Yosuke, with Yoko being the only female.

2012 Year End SP: Top 5 2012 Japanese Movies

What I expected to see this year. It's worth the wait.

2012 is also a great year for Japanese movies and here are my top 5 list of my favorite Japanese movies. Because I don't live in Japan, this list also includes movies that have their home video release this year.

5. K-ON! the Movie
I admit, I didn't watch the second season but it didn't hinder my enjoyment of watching this movie since this movie is basically an episode of K-ON! that lasted for more than an hour with a plot that has something to do with the main four members of the Light Music Club graduating from high school and decided to have a trip in London before they graduate. Its fun, it's cute and lastly, it's also an emotional roller coaster ride as the movie deals with issues related to graduation and leaving an underclassman behind. [MOVIE REVIEW SOON]

4. Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan the Movie
Though at first I am having a hard time accepting the fact that this Super Sentai Versus movie will feature a crossover with Space Sheriff Gavan since it doesn't make much sense, I ended up actually enjoying the movie. Aside from having three Kenji Ohbas in one scene and references to past Space Sheriff programs, it also gave us another side of Marvelous' past that the series didn't explore. It's entertaining and gave me interest in watching some shows in the Metal Hero franchise. Too bad, not all of them are fully subbed. [MOVIE REVIEW SOON]

3. Ace Attorney
Before watching the movie, I decided to play the Nintendo DS port of the original GBA game since hey; it's the only version available in English! After finishing four chapters of the game, I got more hyped in watching the movie and boy, I am not disappointed. To sum up the movie, this is the closest thing we have for a good video game live-action movie adaptation. [MOVIE REVIEW SOON]

2. Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: Movie Wars MEGAMAX
After two Movie Wars movies, this movie finally got the perfect formula for a Kamen Rider crossover movie without it becoming a Super Sentai Versus movie. The way how they tied up the events of the OOO and Fourze segments to the main plot of the movie is superbly done. The fights are really amazing especially the movie's climax scene. [DIRECTOR'S CUT MOVIE REVIEW SOON]

1. Rurouni Kenshin
After much anticipation, I was able to watch Rurouni Kenshin twice when it hit Philippine cinemas earlier this month. All I can say is the wait and the Facebook campaign in bringing this movie to Philippine shores is worth it. This is one of those Japanese comic book movie adaptations that really worked thanks to how it faithfully recreated the setting of the original manga into film. To put it simply, it's hard to describe this movie in one paragraph, so here, just read my review of this movie. [READ MOVIE REVIEW HERE]

Special Mentions

Here are some movies that I anticipated this year, only to end up getting disappointed.

Sadako 3D
The movie's concept is interesting but as for the rest of it, it was... horrible. Seriously, I need to forget the fact that this movie features bad CGI Sadako zombies and a lame male protagonist, who happens to be the same guy who played Kamen Rider Kiva! Until now, I regret watching this movie when it hit Philippine cinemas earlier this year. [READ MOVIE REVIEW HERE]

Kamen Rider x Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen
It has an interesting concept yet failed in terms of execution. Seriously, the plot is so bad that I want this movie to end as soon as possible. Also, a lot of characters seem to be out of character and that's a bad thing. The viewer loses their money while Toei is swimming on a heap pile of cash. Oh well, at least the final scene of the movie is really amazing. [MOVIE REVIEW SOON]

2012 Year End SP: Top 10 2012 Anime Titles

Here is yet another year end blog post and this time, it is about my favorite anime titles for the past year. Unlike the tokusatsu list, it took me quite some time thinking about what are my favorite anime titles for this year. Take note, this list of mine is just my own personal opinion, if you hated my favorites, it only means that we don't have the same taste.

10. Nyarko-san Another Crawling Chaos
The series is basically what if the characters in the Lovecraft Mythos are now moe anime girls, do anime and tokusatsu references and have the main female protagonist madly in-love with the male protagonist. This is the show in a nutshell and I really enjoyed it and I hope the second season is just as fun as the first one! [SEASON REVIEW COMING SOON]

9. Kuroko's Basketball
It's hard to watch some recent sports anime titles for the following reasons: (a) too much pretty boys, (b) more drama less action and (c) if there is action, it's always over the top. I don't mind the 3rd reason since that's the only reason why recent sports anime is fun to watch but that's not what I am looking for in a sports anime.

Kuroko got what I wanted for a sports anime; there is a balance of sports action, comedy, drama and yes, moments of some of the characters going a bit over the top. With the announcement of a second season, I hope that the introduction of the two remaining members of the Generation of Miracles will be really good! [SEASON REVIEW COMING SOON]

8. Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
At first see the series as Akibaranger the anime with more focus on the split-screen comparison between reality and delusion. It gets more interesting when they started talking about the issue of escaping reality via delusions and if it is time for Rikka to face the harsh reality. [SERIES REVIEW COMING SOON]

7. Bakuman Season 2 and 3
The previous season improved a lot in terms of pacing, making the series more enjoyable to watch. Aside that the series is more focused on Mutou Ashirogi's trials in the world of manga like how can they make Detective TRAP last longer and the trials they went through during its run before moving to Tanto then to PCP. The second season also expanded Mashiro and Azuki's love story, especially during the time Mashiro was hospitalized due to some liver complications.

With the third season getting more interesting every week thanks to the introduction of a new rival, guess next year will be one explosive year to the Bakuman anime as it draws nearer to its series conclusion.

6. Mobile Suit Gundam AGE
The concept of generations of Gundam pilots is the first thing that got me into watching this series. Though the series started a bit slow, it gets more interesting in the last few episodes of the first arc. The Mobile Suit designs are interesting and Flit's growth from an innocent young boy into an old man who only wants genocide is something that rarely happens in a Gundam series. I might rank the series a bit higher if it wasn't for the fourth arc. At least Flit is awesome till the end. [PART III & IV REVIEW COMING SOON]

5. Sword Art Online
One of the most talked about anime show of 2012 for obvious reasons, the setting is really interesting and having a game beta tester as the main protagonist made me more intrigue since he is supposed to be the first person who has the knowledge that the game's creator plans to trap 10,000 players in his own video game. So why this show ranked 5th in my list? Simple, they have forgotten some elements that made the series intriguing in the first place and the second arc. I will reserve my thoughts about it my review of the series.

4. AKB0048
To be honest, I have very low expectations about this series. I mean, how can you write a series based on an idol group without making it too cliché? The result: a space opera featuring idols fighting for the rights of every human to experience free entertainment with a major focus on a group of young idols aspiring to become those famous idols. Since the series ended with a message about the General Elections, I can't wait for the second season! [SEASON REVIEW COMING SOON]

3. Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Though I have problems with the series at first for skipping some fun details about the Hunter Exam arc, they were able to make up for it with the later story arcs. Aside that they fixed the issues I had with the 1999 anime, namely the amount of filler content and some of the animation, the 2011 anime was able to compress 90+ episodes of the 1999 anime into 50+ episodes. The reason why I got bored with the later episodes of the 1999 anime is that felt too slow for me that I tend to ignore the important details. The new series made me want to watch more Hunter x Hunter and it's a good thing. The only problem I have right now in the series is if they have plans to change the opening theme.

2. Fate/Zero
The first season is exciting but the meat of the story is in the second season. Seriously, we have the Kiritsugu's back story, an epic battle in some river featuring a Lovecraft-inspired monster, the Holy Grail War drawing closer to its conclusion and finally, how they were able to tie up the events that happened in the original Fate/stay night eroge without making any plot holes like what Star Wars did in its prequel movies. Did I mention that ufotable did a good job in adapting the series and the show had one amazing soundtrack? [SERIES REVIEW COMING SOON]

1. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
After 25 years, the adventures of the Joestar family finally has a proper anime adaptation and boy, it didn't disappoint me! The anime series is so amazing that I decided to read the original source material because I can't wait what will happen next in the next episode! The series is currently on Part 2, my favorite story arc in the manga and hopefully, by the end of the arc, we might have an announcement if they will adapt Part 3 and 4!

2012 Year End SP: Top 5 2012 Tokusatsu Titles

Goodbye, 2012. Hello, 2013!

Due to the holidays last year, I wasn't able to make a special year end blog post that highlights my favorite tokusatsu titles for 2011. Thankfully, I have enough spare time to make one right now so let's get started! Take note, this list of mine is just my own personal opinion, if you hated my favorites, it only means that we don’t have the same taste.

5. Kamen Rider Wizard
Sure, the suit designs looked great, the Wizard Ring gimmick is awesome but the problem with the series is its villains. I mean, for at least 16 episodes now, they weren't able to make a new Phantom! But hey, it's still the first 16 episodes of the series and anything can happen once Kamen Rider Beast is in the picture! Also, there is something with Wiseman that is bothering me for the past few weeks now. Why he let Koyomi have the sapphire magic stone and laugh like a maniac about creating more despair with it? Guess we will have to wait and see how this pans out next year!

4. Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
So why top 4 in the list? Simply because most of the best bits of the series aired in the previous year and all that is left are how the series wrapped up and the VS Gavan movie. The series ended up brilliantly and how I wish that it lasted for another 3 episodes since hey, they weren't able to make a proper tribute episode or arc for 80's Super Sentai teams!

As for the movie, aside they were able to explain why we have a Gavan crossover instead of the more logical Goranger crossover (4 of the original 5 Goranger casts are still alive), it's a really interesting crossover that I would like to talk about someday.

3. Kamen Rider Fourze
Kamen Rider Fourze is one spectacular Rider series, but the 48-episode length, the slow and dragging middle and the Horoscope boss rush are the reasons why the show is at the top 3 of my list. The fights are really great, especially in all episodes directed by Koichi Sakamoto while as for the writing, it ranges from amazing to mediocre as some questions were left unanswered after the series aired its final episode.

2. Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters
The reason why Go-Busters is top 2 on my list is because the show gave me this 80's-early 90's Super Sentai vibe in it... and I seriously love that era of Super Sentai! Giving this show a more realistic feel is something that I really liked about this show. Heck, if there is one thing that I can easily complain about this show aside from Messiah and Escape being not interesting villains is the lack of focus episodes of the guys working behind the scenes aka the maintenance crew and the ones in-charge in operations. Also, we have Enter whose character growth is one of the key factors that I like about this show.

1. Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger
For starters, it's an unofficial Super Sentai series made by the company responsible for making official Super Sentai series. Second, it's a comedy-action series featuring three otakus becoming heroes... in their heads and third, it's like the closest thing we have for a post-Super Sentai 35th anniversary celebration as it also poked fun with the production of a Super Sentai series! Also, Akibaranger season 2, when?!

Special Mentions

• Choujin Sentai Jetman - Took me over or almost 15 years just to finish this show, which is part of my childhood. The wait of seeing this show properly subbed is worth it.
• Kyoryuu Sentai Zyuranger - For starters, this is a completely different show from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and this show is quite a ride! The best part about this show? It can easily go from light-hearted to serious with ease as the transition between those two feels more natural. Same with Jetman, it's worth waiting to see this show fully subbed at last.

Gravure & Tokusatsu, An Interesting Mix

Yuka Hirata as Juuken Sentai Gekiranger's Mele, Master of the Rin Juu Chameleon Fist Style

Tokusatsu is an avenue for new actors and actresses to have an acting career since hey, what better way to start a career by becoming a superhero... or a super villain! Aside from giving us actors like Joe Odagiri and Takeru Satoh, it also served as an avenue for actresses to have a career as a gravure model. It also served as an avenue for gravure models to have an acting career and this, my friends is what this post about.

Sayoko Hagiwara in her younger years.

The involvement of gravure with the tokusatsu genre can be traced back during the late 70's and 80's. Actresses during that I know are also gravure models are Michiko Makino aka Pink Five (which ended her acting career), Sayoko Hagiwara aka DynaPink and later, Ley Neffel and Naomi Morinaga best known as Space Sheriff Shaider's Annie.

The 90's also have a couple of actresses ending up having their own gravure. The first thing that I can think of right now is Reiko Chiba best known as Ptera Ranger Mei and as far as I can remember, she recently posed for Japan's Weekly Playboy magazine.

Left: the cover of her first gravure; right: some pic from one of her photo books

Thanks to the advent of the internet, it is easier for fans to Google images of their favorite tokusatsu actresses, which eventually end up landing on some of their gravure photos. That is why I was surprised back then when I landed on some of Naomi Morinaga's gravure photos since I didn't expect Shaider's partner to have those photos since hey, she is a heroine in a superhero show and parents don't want their kids to become bikini models in the future!

It is also thanks to Google that I was able to notice a pattern on newer Super Sentai shows. Starting with Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger, it seems like it is a requirement for the heroine of the franchise to release a photo book or if they can do it, have a gravure photo book and an idol video. Some actresses have their gravure book based on their color in the respective Super Sentai series she is in. A perfect example is Ayumi Kinoshita's Yellow Sensation as Ms. Kinoshita played Marika "Jasmine" Reimon aka DekaYellow in Special Police Dekaranger. Because of this, it served as an avenue for some new actresses to have a gravure career once the run of her Super Sentai series is over.

From left to right: Ayame Misaki, Mikie Hara and Makoto Takeda

As for the opposite of it, some gravure models see tokusatsu as an opportunity to expand their horizons and in this case, it's with acting. Because the companies who are producing these superhero shows tend to hire up and coming actors, gravure models tend to use this opportunity. Yui Koike, Yumi Suguimoto and Yuka Hirata are some of the recent examples of those gravure models that used tokusatsu as a way for them to expand their acting prowess.

Outside the Super Sentai franchise, a couple of gravure models are also in the Kamen Rider franchise. Japan's Queen of Ass, Rina Aikiyama appeared in Kamen Rider Agito and in Kamen Rider Den-O wherein there was one scene where they featured her firm looking ass. Kamen Rider Hibiki had a couple of gravure models as support characters for our heroes. Nana Akiyama played the Oni (Rider) apprentice to Kamen Rider Ibuki and classmate to Asumu Adachi, one of the protagonists of the show.

Lucky Shotaro and Philip.

Kamen Rider W also had a couple of gravure idols as guest stars and most of them are clients of our hero detectives, Shotaro Hidari and Philip aka Kamen Rider W. The ones that I can think of right now who made guest appearances in the said show are: Yuuri Morishita, Nao Nagasawa, Yuka Hirata and AKB48's Tomomi Itano and AKB48's Tomomi Kasai.

Outside the Kamen Rider franchise, shows such as Cutie Honey: The Live stars Mikie Hara as Cutie Honey as she fights the evil Phantom Claw organization. Since the live-action is based by a manga created by Go Nagai aka Manga's Dirty Old Uncle and one of the pioneers of the ecchi and mecha genre, the show is filled with a lot of gravure models. In addition, the live-action Sailor Moon series featured a couple of future gravure idols.

Also, she did this badass video of a possible movie that needs funding.

So what happens most of these actresses that end up doing gravure? Nao Nagasawa, best known for her role as Nanami Nono aka Hurricane Blue in Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger, had a couple of roles in Japanese dramas as a support character in the 2012 GTO drama and a badass gunslinger in the live-action Sengoku Basara TV series that stars Gackt. In a recent interview, she revealed that aside from doing roles in JDrama, she is also into theatre.

Some of these gravure models also end up becoming anime voice actresses; Ayumi Kinoshita played the role of Aki Izayoi in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's while her fellow co-star in Dekaranger, Mika Kikuchi ended up as Mokona's voice actress in Tsubasa Chronicles and just recently, Risa Yoshiki has a minor role in the Fairy Tail movie.

So the next time you Google images of your favorite tokusatsu heroines, please don't be surprised if you see pictures of them in their bikinis or doing suggestive poses because it means that they at least did one gravure book or once posted for a gravure magazine.