Annual Dose Of Awesome 7/17/10

Time for another Annual Dose Of Awesome!


Today's Feature:




GATCHAMAN!


A history lesson-


Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is the animated precursor to the modern "Super Sentai" franchinse- featuring a team of five teenagers (with attitudes) capable of transforming into powerful costumed warriors of justice.

The long-running series has been adapted for American audiences no less than three times: first as "Battle of the Planets," later as "G-Force" and finally known as "Eagle Riders." But the American adaptations are kind of a mess; bits cut and pasted from throughout the origin series & other details omitted because of "content concerns." Nevertheless, Gatchaman is an important part of the Sentai lineup and deserves respect.

The video here is a teaser for an apparently upcoming film adaptation of the Gatcha-verse. The movie is the brain-child of Imagi Animation, the studio known for 2007's "TMNT" relaunch and 2009's "Astro Boy" revision- both of which were acceptably entertaining films.

However, negative financial results after the release of "Astro Boy" lead to Imagi reportedly closing its doors earlier this year. The Gatchaman project was presumed abandoned until this new teaser began circulating along with new reports that Imagi had received an alternate source of financing to complete the work. Gatchaman is scheduled to be released sometime in 2011 if all goes well and I for one can't wait for it! Everyone keep your fingers crossed for the eventual release of this super-heroic film!!!

Kyoryu Sentai ZYURANGER Mecha Review

Zyuranger started off as just another entry in the ongoing Super Sentai franchise (by then in its 16th year) and ended up with a place in the history books.

A group of American producers led by one Haim Saban decided that this sort of thing just might fly with American audiences-assuming they could splice in some of their own homemade footage around the battle sequences. It was a shot in the dark but it got incredible results- the show was an overnight runaway success. And the rest is history!


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These are the first five Guardian Beasts- Mammoth, Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, SaberTiger and Pteranodon. By themselves they're somewhat boring but the real fun is just ahead!

These 5 are also the source of the series' primary anachronism: The literal translation of this title is "Dinosaur Squadron" but only 2 of these creatures can honestly be called "dinosaurs."

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The Guardian Beasts first combine into this form, BeastTank DinoTanker. It has a few powerful attacks but is mainly used only as an intermediate stage.



THIS is the Beasts' main combination, DaiZyuJin! An elegant fusion of all five powers. Its blocky and virtually inarticulate but damned if it doesn't send everyone who reads this on a happy trip down memory lane.


Now, ZyuRanger was actually the first series to firmly establish another tradition: that of adding new members to the core team of Rangers. And this was accomplished with-





Burai, and his powerful companion the Dragon Caesar! Summoned & controlled by the tune of a flute, Caesar came to life and rose out of Tokyo Bay with explosive force in a clear homage to his proud kaiju ancestors.

Though they started off as enemies, Green Ranger & Caesar eventually joined the others. This (to no one's surprise) allows for new, more powerful combinations!

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Goruryuujin, a combination of Dragon Caesar & some of the other Guardian Beasts. Occasionally the Tyrannosaurus would fight alongside this configuration but Pteranodon was still left out in the cold. The "Dragon Antler" drill-spear is his primary weapon; the toy form can't really wield it to resemble its televised counterpart.

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This alternative configuration was also used a few times- Zyutei DaiZyuJin! It uses energy attacks to dispose of enemies (something else that doesn't translate well in toylines).



God-King Brachion, the most powerful of the Guardian Beasts. So strong that he doesn't need a pilot like the others. He first appeared as a way to test the Zyuranger's worthiness. Once they met his approval, Brachion helped them in several battles.

As a side note- the US toy producers were apparently VERY fond of this mold (which they called Titanus). So much, in fact, that it was reincarnated for another Ranger toyline two years later. And then corpse-raped into a god-awful remold three years after that.


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Brachion's alternative form, affectionately known as "King Tanker." Merely a stepping stone for his true purpose-



he's the foundation of [b]ULTIMATE DAIZYUJIN!!![/b] The perfect formation of Beast-God, crushing its enemies in a hail of energy.

While the overall design of these toys is considered "inferior" to modern standards, I cannot help but look back on these three with unbridled fondness. Nostalgia's a great thing sometimes.

The Super Sentai Formula

Since I'm an obsessive Super Sentai fan I thought I would take a moment to analyze & explain things relating to this legendary franchise.


First off, the name "Sentai" literally translates to "Task Force" or "Team." At the core, that's what each series is about- a team of heroes.

Now, the actual number on the team can vary- in most cases we'll see a group of five but other times a Sentai series will begin with only three members.

The trademark colors of Super Sentai Ranger heroes are Red, Blue, Yellow, Green or Black (the two are generally interchangeable) and Pink or White (likewise interchangeable). Each color generally reflects a specific character trait- Red is always the leader, Blue is usually the calm one, Pink is always "the girl," Green is always the quirky one, and so on.

Moving on from characters we focus on the central idea of every Super Sentai: The Gimmick. Every Sentai show has a central plot idea that plays a key role in the visual designs and storytelling elements. Gimmicks can be anything from kung-fu to Japanese culture to dinosaurs.

Once the gimmick is in place we then move onto Morphers (no, that name doesn't appear in the original but the overall description fits): the devices that allow this team to transform into their "Ranger" forms- the brightly colored "Not Spandex" we all know & love. Each Morpher is usually related to the Gimmick in question for a particular series.

Of course, we can't have a team of Heroes without villains! And each Super Sentai has at least one team of villains, direct counterparts of the Super Sentai team's objectives. Generally villains also come with an endless supply of faceless grunts that the Ranger team will regularly encounter to fill time between fighting the newest villain- (in a style known as the "Monster-Of-The-Week" format).

As the show plays out, we'll usually see the thing I love most: GIANT ROBOTS! When a show first starts we'll have at least one "Megazord"- a fusion of multiple battle-craft known as Zords controlled by each Ranger. This leads to the other staple of Super Sentai-suit-motion; fights filmed between actors in suits on small-scale sets (somewhat similar to Godzilla movies).

As the series plays out the initial Megazord may eventually become inefficient or under-powered against opponents. This leads us into another important element: the Power-Ups! Along the way each team (or team-member) will receive new abilities, weapons or Zords to symbolize their growth as a team or person. This element has become more obvious in recent years as part of the efforts to increase merchandising for the shows.

At some point during a Super Sentai show we will generally confront the "Newcomer"- another Ranger playing a part in the development of the years' team. The Newcomer can take several forms: an eager rookie happy to be part of the group, an antagonist-turned-hero, or an indifferent third-party perspective are the three most common character tropes for New Rangers. The Newcomer will generally bring along their own new Megazord, adding even more power to the Super Sentai Team's arsenal.

Later on we will frequently see the villains gain more powers too, forcing the expanded Ranger teams to find one more boost in power (generally in the form of one additional Zord even bigger than all the others) forming an "UltraZord" to lead them to the final victory over evil.

There are minor variations but each Super Sentai will generally play out like this. After 34 seasons, I think its safe to call this a "winning formula."


In the coming weeks I'll use this blog to analyze the various Super Sentai series in greater detail.

Until next time!