The World of Gokaiger

First of all, yesterday was Mao Ichimichi's birthday, which pretty much ties into this post, as she was the yellow Sentai in this series. I've gotta say, one year later, watching Gokaiger was one of the most fun things I've ever decided to do. Let me briefly introduce you to this world.

Allow me to be really trivia-ish for a few minutes. You may have heard of this children's show on TV called Power Rangers. Well, that show's fight scenes and characters, suits and villains, and pretty much everything else come from a long-running Japanese TV show called Super Sentai. The original series on the US show was actually the 17th series in the long-running Japanese show. The Japanese Super Sentai shows are also heavier in plot and character development, and don't contain the stupid morality tales for kids that the US series features. Just plain, simple justice and fighting for earth.

That being said, Gokaiger is awesome. It's the 2011 Sentai series that features probably the coolest cast of Japanese people in anything ever and it's a 35th anniversary season to boot. A friend of mine and I decided around December 2012 that we'd watch the whole entire thing. Not only was it worth it, and provided some of the most fun I've ever had watching a show ever, but it also paved the way to a more developed interest in Japanese drama, including Kamen Rider OOO and other, older series in the culture of this genre.

The series follows five aliens who are looking for the greatest treasure in the whole world. From right to left, these characters are Ahim, Don, Captain Marvelous, Joe, and Luka. Basically the series revolves around special keys they acquire that allow them to turn into any of the previous 34 teams of Sentai, as well as their own, pirate-themed suits. To be honest, I was surprised at the darker tone of the Japanese shows as opposed to the lighthearted American ones we watched as kids. Gokaiger is pretty awesome in the regard, and the character arcs are very cool.

After 51 episodes of pure awesomeness, with a few that weren't quite up to par with the rest, I had finished Gokaiger, and I feel like I'm a part of that bigger culture in Japan that's not just anime and manga, though. The whole thing was just a fun experience, and my friend and I continue to discuss and even make references to this show in videos. This is strongly recommended for people who can deal with a little silliness and aren't afraid to watch a long-running show in Japanese. While I can't speak for other seasons, I know they're probably much better than the US ones, and if you're only gonna catch one, make sure it's Gokaiger.

- It's Clear