SENTAI DAISHIKKAKU

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ActionSentai Daishikkaku
ANIME ActionSentai Daishikkaku 2nd Season

REVIEWS

• 

  CthulhuRlyehHappy

  30/100
  High potential and a great premise are let down by abysmal pacing and poorly written characters,

  I really wanted to like Go Go Loser Ranger. I thought the first three episodes were really good and was eagerly looking forward to seeing the payoffs from what it had setup. Instead it led into a six episode arc of introducing far too many characters, dumping their entire characterisation on the audience at that moment, and then expecting you to care about the fight the anime then stuck you in for the entire middle portion of the show. A fight in a car park, with constant repeating frames and boring visual design. The stark generic characters stood out even more in how utterly bland and cliche they were by trying to stand out against the visual equivalent of white noise. This sluggard pace middle arc drags the quality of the show immensely.

  While I thought the show would pick up towards the end (and stuck with it due to thinking it could perhaps work itself out of what felt like an obligated shounen setup to embrace its own identity and play to its strengths) the final arc has two really good episodes that finally feel like the show realised what it should be about before ripping it awaywith Peltrolta getting the kill on Blue Ranger, rather than letting D live up to his potential and his skillset of being a very smart, backstabbing SOB.

  D was the only character I truly liked watching in this show, and even then I felt his characterisation was fumbled and odd. With the roster of side characters he was stuck with, he stood out as the only one the author had any intent of putting real development on. Special mention goes to the female characters who almost all seem to be some flavour of psychotic shoutout to the brocon or completely bland expies (Hisui design wise feels like someone did a GGLR design of Tatsumaki from OPM, she feels like a 'copy my homework' design,the same for Ranmaru who looks like the purple-head kid from My Hero Academia.)

  Perhaps I put too much expectations on this show to live up to its own portrayal of itself as a 'The Boys' but for Super Sentai, but I don't think it lived up to those expectations or managed to deliver well on its aims well. It feels like it only embraced its tone correctly around Red Ranger, and even then he comes across as comically rather than psychotically villainous.

  The standout of this show is that both the OP and ED are great, both visually and musically. If the show had possessed as much creative visual metaphor and design as in its OP/EDs it would have crafted a much better identity for itself rather than being a very generic and very dull action show with tedious characters and a plot that ground to a snail's pace. Otherwise, it's a very mediocre show with a great start that then slowly and deliberately meandered itself into dullness. A great premise, I just wish it was explored in a show better than this one.

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• 

  DUME66

  80/100
  A grittier take on Power Rangers, that still has room to grow in the future

  Go! Go! Loser Ranger! (Sentai Daishikkaku)
  Creator: Negi Haruba (The Quintessential Quintuplets)
  Director: Keiichi Satou (GANTZ:0, Tiger & Bunny)
  Music: Yoshihiro Ike (Akiba Maid War, Saint Seiya)

  Throughout my life I’ve seen many different iterations of Super Sentai or Power Rangers, even as I got older and they were less prevalent, but I would see them around nonetheless. I’ve had the chance to get to know Super Sentai, that Power Rangers is based on, as Japanese media has become easier to access than it was, say 30 years ago. The story of Go! Go! Loser Ranger! looks to put a spin on a format we’ve all known for decades, using a formula similar to Amazon’s The Boys. What if the good guys are really just messed up, flawed individuals like the rest of humanity? Now give them super powers. Go! Go! Loser Ranger! gives us the perspective of one of the many, nameless foot soldiers so common to this genre, and how he becomes the Main Character of a revenge story against humanity’s saviors.

  What GGLR offers as a series is a story rife with twists and turns along the way, but also rife in it's amount of characters that borders on overwhelming. While something you don't expect might be lurking around that next corner, so is another character trope with a name that'll be tough to remember three episodes later. That's not to say that the series doesn't have characters with merit, but the sheer number of side characters met along the way of this debut arc is a little tough to keep up with. Don't even get me started on the Dragon Keeper Ranking system. I've watched the entire series and I still have absolutely no idea how it works, other than the Dragon Keepers themselves are at the top and have a Right Hand Man/Woman that's next in line to take their position. The story gives many opportunities for the characters to grow, not just with Fighter D (who has the most runway for growth) but even the human characters that surprisingly align with him in his quest against the Dragon Keepers.

  Moving along to animation, GGLR has plenty of original style between the cutesy to gritty character designs, well made effects for pewpews, albeit a rather dull color palette. A shoutout to the use of "swirling sand" (for lack of a better name) use of CG effects when the Fighters are regenerating. It looks good and is an example of well-used CGI when composited right. The backgrounds of the series are pretty average and aren't given much flair, which I can't really fault when nearly half your episodes take place in a parking garage. The animation itself is pretty fluid and reaches the standards for above average in this regard. There is definitely better out there, but they put more effort into making sure things were moving more smoothly than your average seasonal shonen. Composition really lacks in the series, but is overall about average. There's plenty of action and even a few moments of exposition and reflection in the series. These opportunities are often used solely for the purposes of that action and exposition, but we aren't given a very cinematographic lens with which to view it through. The moments are captured, but not in the best light given those opportunities.

  Audio! Really doing it's best to carry this series, which gets an above average in all Audio criteria, but a perfect 5/5 in OP/ED, and for good reason! Both the OP and ED are certified bangers and of course the ED follows my absolute OP/ED rule: if you make your characters dance to the song, you will get my vote! Tatsuya Kitani has been getting a lot of work done in the last few anime seasons and this OP brings a lot of depth and variance. Ranging from hard, melodic vocals, to using a children's chorus as backup vocals, this OP has a lot going on. But it's an orderly chaos that comes together so well, paired with the animation, really depicts the range of character that Fighter D is. NANAOAKARI gives us the ED, which is just a wonderful dance number complete with dancing Fighters, Dragon Keepers, and even umbrella props! Setting aside the OP and ED, the rest of the show's Score is well produced, and used appropriately to set the tone in a wide range of scenes from intense suspense to colorful whimsy. While I do have my criticisms about the sheer amount of characters in the show, I give a 4/5 to the VA team because they've all got personality across that wide swath of characters. Usually there are obvious weak-links in every show, but I think they did a pretty great job in casting given the many archetypes they had to fill.

  I would recommend Go! Go! Loser Ranger! to just about any shonen fan, but with Power Rangers' popularity in the US in the 90's, I think it can serve as an on-ramp even for those who haven't taken the plunge into anime and "Big 3" series like DBZ, Naruto, and OP are far too daunting. This series looks to have more depth than just "Strong guys go pewpew" and framing the perspective as the traditional "bad guy" gives the audience an underdog to never feel bad cheering for.

  ---

  My Grading System and Criteria can be found in the bio section of my profile HERE

  Animation:
  Style: 4
  Fluidity: 4
  Background: 3
  Shading: 4
  Composition: 3
  Total Score: 18
  Average: 7.2

  Audio:
  Score: 4
  OP/ED: 5
  Tone: 4
  VA: 4
  Total Score: 17
  Average: 8.5

  Story:
  Plot: 4
  Pacing: 4
  Character Development: 4
  Total Score: 12
  Average: 8

  Overall Score: (7.2 + 8.5 + 8 ÷ 3) 8.0 (rounded to the nearest .5)

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• 

  SimirSumaya

  95/100
  The Boys X Power Rangers: An Underwatched Modern Shounen Masterpiece in the Making

  __Awful Title, Fantastic Anime__

  Sentai Daishikkaku, or Go! Go! Loser Rangers, is an anime created by a relatively unknown studio based on a relatively unknown manga about a relatively niche premise. The basic concept is that after a great war between Monsters and Humans, the humans came out on top - They killed the leaders of the Monsters (or the 'Boss Monsters' / 'Executive Monsters') and stopped them from their dastardly plan for world domination. All's well that ends well, right? Except - they didn't stop there. The leaders of the human army, the Rangers, want a little more for their hard work. So what do they turn to? Slavery. They force the remaining Monsters, if they can even be called that, into coming down every week for a staged battle where they would beat them for the audience's amusement. And how can they achieve that? Because 1, the Monsters or 'Fighters' are pathetic little creatures who have the strength of a 1HP pokemon, and 2. The Rangers have 'Divine Artifacts' which can kill the otherwise permanently-regenerating Fighters for good.

  That's enough background, because the show truly begins with one monster, Fighter D, racking up enough annoyance and resentment to stage a resistance. He fights, he tricks and he charms his way towards his goal: Crushing the 5 Rangers.

  The premise is interesting enough at that, and a very refreshing concept in a Shonen genre so oversaturated with Exorcism and Overly-Benevolent protagonists. However, the premise grows and expands in ways much grander than I initially anticipated. I went into this anime with very low expectations, and having finished it, I can genuinely say it is one of the best I have ever watched.
  
  Production Quality

  I've not seen anything else by Yostars Studios, and honestly, that gave me very little hope. But GOD DAMN, did they pour their heart and soul into this project. I've heard quite a few complaints that the animation quality went downhill as the season progressed, so I was fearing something like GANGSTA, but I can't see where those complaints come from. The fights are gorgeous, with flowing animation and a fantastic artstyle. The character designs are dripping with charisma, the music is engaging and really goes all in for some of the hype moments, and I would be amiss not to mention the fantastic opening and ending tracks. The ending even features a dance sequence, which is apparently paying homage to the Tonkatsu genre (which I have never seen), and damn are they good.

  Much more importantly though,

  Story and Characters

  The plot and especially the characters of Go Go Loser Ranger are absolutely magnificent. It's hard to get into just how and why the story immerses you as much as it does, but I think the easiest way of explaining it is that the characters feel realistic and interesting. Every significant character has an interesting backstory (when/if revealed), believable and often unique motivations, and most critically, agency. Characters will act in ways that you, the viewer, will not expect. They will surprise you regularly, whether for the better, or for the worse. I haven't gotten so shocked and happy, and shocked and disappointed, at the actions of anime characters in years. In comparison to the vast majority of anime, these people are not 100% good or 100% bad. The cast are multifaceted, from the major characters like Fighter D and Blue Ranger, to the smaller characters like Hibiki, Suzukiri, Fighter XX and Ishikawa.

  The protagonist, Fighter D, is especially interesting. If I had to criticise the show for one thing, it would be how stupid the protagonist is in the first 3 episodes. Although I enjoyed them, Fighter D might make some of the stupidest decisions I've seen on screen in a long time. Although it can be explained by his lack of awareness about the world, it is still inexcusably irritating. However, I would encourage anyone offput by that to keep watching because he becomes a LOT smarter and more strategic as the series progresses. With the exception of one moment in the final episode, Fighter D uses mind games and strategy like he's been ripped right out of World Trigger.

  Suzukiri and Hibiki are also stand out characters to look forward to, although they unfortunately did not get as much screen time in the later episodes as I would've liked. It's a shame, but I suspect we will get much more of them next season.

  I would like to address another criticism of the show, which is the 'Bad pacing' and 'Bad Tournament Arc'. I heavily disagree with both of these. As the anime aired, it got quite a few complaints from source readers about skipping material, especially in episode 4, but most of the important stuff was covered in episode 5 regardless and this seemed to be a pattern - Yes, things were skipped, but for an anime-only viewer, 90% of it being missing did not detract from the experience. Regardless, if you are ever confused by how things happened in certain fight scenes, I'd suggest looking up the cut content. The only case I think this is worthwhile would be in episodes 4/5 though. The tournament arc complaints are insane to me, because that was easily one of the highlights of the show - To borrow someone else's words, it flips between episodes of pure dialogue and episodes of pure action seamlessly, and with both being equally amazing.

  Finally, the villains. The main villain, Red Ranger, is pretty similar to Homelander from The Boys and is just as much of a treat to watch onscreen. I found him a much more compelling villain than the other main antagonist of the season, Lord Petrolta, an Executive Monster, however both were interesting and unique enough in their own rights to be enjoyable.

  Conclusion

  I am shocked and appalled by both the low score and low popularity of this show. I suspect the awful name choice, designed to parody Power Rangers, was a reason for the lack of popularity, so I'd recommend anyone reading this to mentally rename the show to 'Ranger Reject', its unofficial fan title. If you're looking for a Shonen that feels fresh, different and immersive, I would heavily recommend you check out Ranger Reject. It has amazing, multidimensional characters, an intriguing storyline rife with plot twists, and stunning, well-thought out strategy-based fights.

  Enjoyment: 10/10, Writing: 9/10 - Total score: 95

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