Behond, the 3rd dinosaur themed Super Sentai from 2013 and one of my personal favorites, Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger which roughly translates to Beast Power Squadron Dinosaur Ranger. While the lack of a yellow ranger is distracting, (it is rare for them to not use one of the 3 primary colors) I do like these costumes and the dino themed seasons have been some of the best. So, click "read more" and let's take a look back.
Analysis
The episode begins with a narrator explaining how dinosaurs went extinct.
I forget that the Tyrannosaurus rex is now believed to have had fur or feathers.
More importantly, this also also shows us a frozen castle that houses our main villains of the season, the Deboss (also translated as Deboth) Army. The second in command is the first of the Deboss to be revealed, Hundred-Faced High Priest Chaos, often shortened to just Chaos.
He looks way better than Sledge.
Now, Chaos summons this seasons' grunts/foot-soldiers the Zorima and sends them all over the Earth.
I'm impressed with the amount of foreigners they got for these scenes. Although, they were speaking English in Europe with an American accent which was off.
This attacks continue and they introduce our soon to be Red Ranger on Island in the South Sea, Daigo Kiryu.
Diago jumps in to save a group of people who all call him "King" and he puts up a good fight. Shotly though, the Zorima are taken out by shots fired from a birdman who flies down.
To fans of Dino Charge, are you surprised that this figure appeared on the first episode?
This birdman, Torin, gives Diago his gun which he uses to defeat a bunch of the Zorima. After that, Torin snaps his figure which causes a volcano to erupt and a T-Rex mecha appears out of it.
Geez, this is one busy first episode.
The T-Rex mecha defeats the rest of the Zorima. Diago is amazed to see a dinosaur, he looks at his necklace and tells his Dad he saw one. (It is implied that necklace is a memento of his father.) After that quick battle, Torin tells Diago that the mecha is named Gabutyra.
And text on screen tells us that these mecha are called ZyuDenRyuu.
Torin introduces himself as the Wise Deity Torin and that he is recruiting people to be dinosaur warriors, Kyoryugers. They show clips of the other 4 Kyorugers fighting around the globe and Diago confidently claims that he is a dino warrior and will be a Kyoryuger. Cut to intro!
That was an impressive amount they squeezed into the first 3 minutes.
One theme song later, we get a one month time jump where it is shown that Diago has been training with Gabutyra every day. However, this time the two actually duel. Diago gets knocked around a little but actually manages to win. He does this by blasting the mountain so that rocks fall then he jumps on a rock in mid-air that lands in Gabutyra's mouth where Diago is able to blast him from the inside. He says it is because he is "brave". Brave is the word of this season.
He just faced his mecha unmorphed and won. That is some serious skill.
However, for some reason Diago's gun/changer, the GabuRevolver, is not shining like it should. The old trope where the red rangers morpher doesn't work right away. However, no time to think about this because Torin scenes danger. Now, we cut to the enemies HQ.
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| Outside of the Deboss castle |
Now we get a lineup of the main villains. They are themed after emotions.
Anger, sadness, joy, and entertainment. What, no fear and disgust? Also, isn't entertainment something that works with emotions not one itself?
They have a simple goal, to wipe out all lifeforms on Earth. Torin tells Diago that the other 4 Kyoryugers have already been recruited and it cuts to showing each one of them.
Can you guess what colors they are? Well, don't bother, time for a Ranger Round Up.
Daigo "King" Kiryu Kyoryuu Red. The Fanged Brave. He is fearless, very skilled, and is always smiling and acting friendly. A former drifter of sorts as he used to travel the world with his Dad. But, one day the two separated after his Dad gave him a pendant of a dinosaur tooth/claw within some amber which he wears around his neck and is his treasure. Brilliant in battle, but slow in social areas.
Ian Yorkland, Kyoryuu Black. The Bullet Brave. An expert with guns and a womanizer with who possibly has a checkered past. He is always the one to make a joke at someone's expense. Could be seen as the "bad boy" of the group but actually has some humble history. (Spoilers.)
Nobuharu Udo, Kyoruu Blue. The Armored Brave. Nick named Nossan by the group. (I don't know what that means, it doesn't translate well.) He is the old man of the group at 32 and is known for constantly making "old man puns" where he makes jokes that are play on words that very few people laugh at. An electrician who lives with his his widowed younger sister and his niece. Clumsy, shy, but very strong and reliable.
Souji Rippukan, Kyoryuu Green. The Slashing Brave. A cool, level headed, and distant high school student who practices swordsmanship. He excels at fighting with a sword and adapts a back-handed grip for his blade. Has daddy issues and is clueless when a girl likes him and has a no nonsense personality. Youngest of the group at only 16.
Amy Yuuzuki. Kyoryuu Pink. The Horned Brave. An 18 year old college student and the daughter of a rich family who lives with her butler, "Gentle". Specializes in hand to hand combat. She is the opposite of what her family wants her to be because she is a free-spirited tomboy that likes to bend the rules. Very crafty in battle and life with a variety of funny skills. On a down played level, she serves as a love interest for Diago.
Back to the episode.
Torin tells Daigo that since he cannot henshin then he cannot get involved in the fight and reveals the Zyudenchi, which are basically batteries for the Kyoryugers arsenal.
These things are needed to henshin, use special weapons and summon their ZyuDenRyuu. I actually really like this concept. It gives a reason as to why they would not use all their weapons right away because they have a limited supply of Zyudenchi which can only be used once each per battle.
Torin teleports away and Diago jumps into his warp after him. After this, be wakes up outside of a restaurant where coincidentally the other 4 Rangers are. Nobuharu is fixing a light, Souji and Ian are customers, and Amy is working as a waitress.
A waitress call button? That looks really annoying. Also, it is worth noting that none of the rangers know each others identity yet.
Ian smashes the call button until Amy comes by to take his order. However, once she arrives, Ian asks boldly asks her out instead. Nobuharu calls him creepy and Souji picks up his weapon about to intervene, but Daigo rushes in and beats him to the punch.
Ian mocks Diago asking if he is trying to be a "knight in shining armor". Diago replies by saying that he is not a "knight" he is a "King" because wherever he goes people call him that. Everyone refuses to call him king though, (for now). Anyway, Diago is not strictly trying to save Amy but actually warns Ian that she looks strong and shouldn't be messed with. I need to remember that line.
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| Remember that fork and sausage. |
Amy denies it at first but once Ian puts his hand on her shoulder she kicks a sausage off his fork that Souji bats away with his concealed weapon which then hits Nobuharu in the face, knocking him off his latter only for Diago to rush over and break his fall. That was hilarious. However, after this funny series of events, Diago finds something of plot importance on the ground.
When Diago holds up his GabuRevolver (gun) to this glowing circle, he teleports to the place that will become the Kyorugers' base.
Finally, a season that explains how Rangers always retreat home so fast.
Cutting away, we now get to see this seasons first monster of the week.
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| Debo Hyougakki |
Apparently, this is the monster that destroyed the Dinosaurs and caused the ice age. That is a wasted strong backstory for a monster.
Going back to the Kyoryuger's base, Diago sees the charging docks for the Zyudenchi that also serve as teasers.
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| Interesting colors/numbers |
Torin appears now and introduces the base as "Spirit Base", the gold land where Kyouryuu Spirits gather. At that moment, Diago's pendant sparkled. Now, he tells the backstory behind his pendant where he traveled the world as a kid with his Dad and his Dad gave him that pendant as a parting gift. Saying it will guide him to becoming a strong man.
Is this symbolic or plot relevant? Well, it glowed and caught Torin's eye so, not much of a mystery.
Somehow, this is proof to Torin that Daigo is connected to the Dinosaurs by fate but still cannot understand why Gabutyra will not accept him. However, Gabutyra goes off to battle on his own. That's twice now that Torin sensing danger has dodged that question.
Back in the city, the monster, Debo Hyougakki, has frozen all the buildings and a bunch of Zorima all fuse together into a giant forms.
Cool that the grunts get to be useful in giant form, but eww.
Gabutyra rushes into battle, stepping on a bunch of small Zorima and headbutting one of the big ones. But, Debo Hyougakki freezes him. The mecha is brave but rash.
Cutting back to the spirit base, Torin tells Daigo that Gabutyra is enraged that his brethren's killers have been revived and lost control. From that, Diago is able to figure out why he has not been accepted and rushed to the teleport pad. Before warping, he tells Torin that while the battery charges he is "going to go wild", then Torin gives him the Kyoryuu Red Jacket.
He still doesn't have powers but does not hesitate to go into battle. Truly fearless.
Debo Hyougakki asks Diago if he is out of his mind to which he replies that he is and will show the hidden power of humans. Nice. Diago takes out a few Zorima but almost gets hit by Hyogakki's freeze blast before Gabutyra took the hit. Now the truth is out.
Now even the ZyuDenRyuu is acting like a leader.
With some encouraging words, Gabutyra finally accepts Diago and his changer becomes active.
Torin gives Daigo 4 ZyuDenchi and it is time for the first henshin.
Simple at first but he gets to shoot the enemies first and they do a little dance every time they henshin. The sleeves don't match.
Diago gives one of his 3 remaining ZyuDenchi to Gabutyra and the two go on the attack in a cool giant and small battle simultaneously. Not separated, the two fight in a tag team form and get some impressive moves in.
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| Diago takes down a giant after jumping off Gabutyra's tail |
Around this point, the other 4 Kyorugers show up already henshined.
The five of them do their first team roll-call and the real battle begins with the theme song playing in the background. This fight is well done and what you would expect from a fight true fight. All the rangers easily defeat the grunts while getting a chance to show off some special moves. These moves can be summed up as stronger shots/slashes and a combination of the sword & gun to form a cannon.
Diago delivers the finishing move with a very over the top finishing move.
With the battle won, Diago is about to power down but Nobuharu stops him. Everyone except Amy says they would like to keep their identities secret; be comrades in arm but keep their private life separate. To this, Diago simply smiles and powers down anyway. He introduces himself and once again says that he is known as "King" but the others still refuse to call him that. But, Daigo is not upset, he just says "for now let's try to get along" and walks away. I'll call him King now.
Final Thoughts
This episode was very well done. Now I remember why I loved this season so much when it was new, it is a lot of fun. The characters are likable with a lot of room for development, the action was high flying and constant, acting was good, and it was just overall a good time to watch. If I had to nitpick anything, the CG is really bad. It did not look good for the time and has aged even worse. However, there is not enough of the CG for it to be truly distracting. (For now.) Overall, this one gets a high recommendation from me. 5/5
PS. to Power Rangers fans wondering about the Energems, those, like Sledge, are all American made.
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