Samurai Sentai Shinkenger/Headscratchers


 * Act 6, the team fights a Gendoshu that insults people, which somehow causes them to explode and go flying into the scenery. This is truly Crazy Awesome, but it makes you wonder why they don't just fight him while wearing earplugs?
 * Maybe because they didn't want to fight an enemy while impared?


 * So... MogyuDaiOh, an origami made before mojikara was ever created, has multi-barrel salvos and gatling guns? Oh well.


 * Any idea why Dokoku never leaves the Junk? He could be a lazy boss for all we know. He mentioned in Act 4 that Gedoushu are trapped in the Sanzu River without living or dying, but I don't think that's related to the matter. Then how about Dayu and Shitari, who can leave the river as they will?
 * Maybe only he was bound to the Junk?
 * Hmm. Also, note from Act 3 that the Gedoushu have to return to the Sanzu if they stay out too long. Maybe there's a tipping point, power wise. Dokoku hasn't been awake and around the water long enough to go that far. Uh, further speculation may require a WMG page, though.
 * Episode 40 has answered the question. All Gedoushu dry out the longer they stay away from the river but Dokuku dries out really fast compared to the others. This is because of the seal put on him by Kaoru's father.


 * Act 2 says that the Samurai battle the Gedoushu secretly. Takeru and the gang, on the other hand, don't seem to care, let alone the giant mecha fighting giant demons through much, much collateral damage every time. Maybe they gave up the Secret Identity part, considering it's the information age where virtually nothing gets by.
 * Well, they do actually shout out there names during roll call and some civilians seem to know the location of the Shiba Clan Manor.
 * Takeru probably did away with a lot of the secret stuff, but not all of it; the public acknowledge and even attempt conversation with the kuroko. It's just that the kuroko always have all civilians evacuated long before the Shinkenger reveal themselves full-face to the Gedoushu and pull out the roll-call. And you never see public tours of the Shiba mansion (yet), so it's obvious there's still some things worth hiding.


 * This is probably more up to personal speculation than anything official, but here goes. When Genta texts his mojikara kanji on the Sushichanger, does he text in English or romaji?
 * There's some kind of Japanese system for texting kanji, I think based on the hiragana.
 * He texts in hiragana. Japanese phones have hiragana letters on them, and the predictive text element brings up lists of appropriate kanji for the characters typed in. To know which kanji in the list is appropriate requires a decent knowledge of the language and a good vocabulary of kanji, which is why Genta's abilities as a texting whiz are presented as impressive and worthy of a place on the team, even if he's not talented at oldschool calligraphy.


 * This family has had incredible powers and giant mecha for 18 generations. What the hell were they doing during World War II? Or during the Meiji era, for that matter?
 * Fighting the Gedoushu.
 * First off, why didn't Meiji or Hirihito steal and nationalize the magic/technology behind Mojikara? Second, when Japan started losing the war, wouldn't they have put the Gedoushu problem on the back burner and sent the team to the front lines? Third, why was Japan allowed to keep their giant mecha after the Treaty of San Francisco? Is fighting Gedoushu considered a necessary public utility, like the fire department? Does every country have an equivalent team of super sentai?
 * Because the general turmoil caused by both periods (separation and loss of love ones and family members, entire lives being upturned and general rough times for large portions of the population) probably had the Sanzu River running high and the Gedoshuu particularly active. Taking the Shinkenger teams of those times away from their duties may have made the mundane problems easier but resulted in a large scale obake invasion.
 * America does have the Power Rangers...
 * About the Treaty of San Francisco and Japan having all those mecha running around... it's important to note that there isn't an official Super Sentai team sponsored by the Japanese government or its army. The ones who have an "official" background are part of international organizations (or even intergalactic organizations), the series focusing in their (very busy) Japanese branches (because, well...). Also, most of the teams are formed by normal civilians that have just been called to adventure (when not directly jumping at it). In both cases the Japanese government has nothing to do with them, so the Treaty shouldn't apply.
 * The closes thing to an "official" team is Go Go Five, which is formed by... firemen and other rescue-related operatives. So...
 * MST3K Mantra, guys. If the creators themselves didn't elaborate on those, don't strain yourselves. The series requests a certain amount of WSoD, since the Master-Vassal relationship itself (on which the drama, the series' main element, is built on) won't work otherwise.


 * What's up with the crappy explosions for the giant monsters? Why does the rest of the show look so great, but then the giant Ayakashi go up in this gay little poof of sparks?
 * It's been a Super Sentai staple for a long time. Deal with it.
 * No, it hasn't. For a long time, the monsters would always die in a huge fiery explosion. Then somewhere around Magiranger, the giant monsters inexplicably started just bursting into sparks.
 * But does it matter, I wonder? Big or sparks, explosions are still explosions; in this case, it's the implication/context that viewers are supposed to look at. Another possibility is that sparks produce less heat and are less dangerous than flames on the scene, thus the crew prefers it.
 * I've been wondering about this for several years, actually. In at least Zyuranger, monster explosions were an awesome affair, with expanding rings of energy, multicolored lightning bolts, and a dramatic flip to the ground that would usually end with two explosions as the effects died down. For years now, they just kinda go phoom and it's nowhere near as cool. What gives?


 * What does Takeru mean when he announces that the team is "authorized by Providence"? What, do they need the government's permission to fight the Gedoushu?
 * It probably just means they're the destined heroes due to their ancestry.
 * Ah. Now that I've done a little research, I think I get what it means. Seems I was confusing "providence" with "province".
 * Funny thing is, Samurais HAD to be authorized by the government at one point.
 * This can be attributed to cultural dissonance due to the usage of a classic Jidai Geki word: "Ten ka". It basically means "Under the Heaven/Sky", i.e: "among all". It's used solely for its theatricality and emphasis value. To drive away the bug for this one, allow me an understandable interpretation: Since the team is "supported by the Heaven itself", it means they're peerless and invincible, thus essentially announcing themselves "The Invincible Samurai Sentai". As said earlier, this is all part of theatrics.


 * Why does Kaoru leave Takeru at the end of finale? It makes sense that the rest of the Shinkengers leave as they have fulfilled their mission and wish to return to their normal lives but Kaoru has no reason to. You'd think his newly adoptive mother would spend a little more time with him.
 * That's a good point. Though there's also a couple of viewpoints I'd like to present:
 * Just as they had their lives prior to their mission, Kaoru, even while in hiding, must have had her own life. If not, then it's all the more reason for her to relax by herself.
 * For a series with a lot of emotions, this might sound heartless, but: Kaoru and Takeru don't even seem to have met/known each other before her actual debut. (Thus why Kaoru didn't know about Takeru's bonds with his vassals at first.) So, even though she adopted him, they're practically just a little more than strangers at the point. They'll probably bond starting after the series' end.
 * Besides, there's no indication that she's leaving forever.


 * How did Samurai Haoh use Mojikara DaiDanEn while Kaoru was active and Genta was absent from the team? In the first place, Ebi Origami was created by Genta, so the Shinkengers really shouldn't have been able to summon it without his express permission. But that aside, without Genta on board, where did the Ika and Ebi Moji come from? We even see all of them writing their Moji in Episode 46, and nobody was writing Ika and Ebi in Genta's place.
 * And while we're on the subject of Kaoru and her Origami, she apparently inherits Kyoryu Origami after her Kuroko steal it from Takeru on his sickbed. But Kyoryu Origami is with Dai Goyou, who pretty much got kicked out from the Shinkengers by Tanba along with Genta.
 * The two Moji's worth of power might be supplied by Kaoru, considering how strong she is. If you have the power, a Kanji or two isn't hard to write, after all. She even made a powerful disc by herself near the finale, remember?


 * Chiaki and Ryuunosuke got stuck together by a Gedoushuu. Okay, fine. Until you realize that by the time that episode rolls around, Takeru's already gone for a nice swim in the explicitly anti-Gedoushuu springs twice!! Why didn't they just stick their hands into the springs until the holy water dissolved the handcuffs?
 * Not quite; it's implied quite clearly that water itself hinders the MotW's powers in Act 17. (Whether it has something to do with Japanese folklore mythos, I'm uncertain at the moment; but with vampires' weakness to water being one example, water itself is at least considered to have cleansing properties in fiction.) Takeru intentionally soaked in the spring near a shrine so that it blocks of the Ayakashi's power completely, with the power boost from the shrine. And since Gedoshu are underworld-dwellers, the shrine naturally works against their powers. It's not that the spring is actively anti-Gedoshu or corrosive to their powers. As for the handcuff, wouldn't it be rather hard for the shrine's aura to hinder, let alone expel, something that's already physically materialized, as opposed to just the magic in Act 17?


 * Samurai HaOh's first appearance. The Shinkengers are up against an Ayakashi with a wall-shield-thing that DaiKaiShinkenOh can't penetrate with it's normal attacks, so they take the risk of pulling off an unprecedented (well, for them, anyway) combination. However, they did this without seeing if the IkaTenkuBuster would work.
 * If they tried the Buster and it didn't work, they'd have been out of power anyway. Probably better to go with something you're pretty sure is going to be massive enough to just squish the opponent, than to potentially waste all your remaining energy.


 * Somewhat minor, but don't some of the Origami match different elements better? For example, monkey's are more associated with trees than earth, while bears tend to be more ground oriented. Similarly, while eastern dragons are occasionally associated with water, it seems like a heaven-elemental dragon and a water-elemental turtle would make more sense.
 * Five-Man Band rules. The Lancer needs something a little more threatening than a water turtle. Pink dragons aren't really threatening either.
 * And as for bears and monkeys; the monkey represents Kotoha's Ditziness while Chiaki's Bear represents his agressivity and individualist personality. Also, there's a Yellow bear and a Green Monkey in sentai already.
 * I agree with the first part (though they could have pulled a first with a female green), but as for the second, a red lion ain't exactly the most original concept.
 * Strict Formula ,man, its Super Sentai. Of course red lions are the most common thing ever, i mean, its basically a Sentai staple. Bears and monkeys, on the other hand, didnt have a lot more appearances.
 * With the series' theatrical and cultural theme in consideration, the Origami animals could very well be taken from animals common to (or are popular in) traditional artworks, like the animal drawings in the ending. As for the Animal-Element alignment... I'm pretty sure it's the designers' doing for the sake of matching Kanji, animal and shape (in case of the first five) in one go - if the turtle matching with the rounded "Ten" Kanji is any indication. (Granted, the theme concepts aren't exactly strong in Shinkenger...)


 * Extremely minor, but why do all of the Shinkenger and the Shinken-Oh wear their blades with the edge down? Aren't katanas supposed to worn with the edge up?
 * Realism: edge-down was due to the fact that back in the early eras (during and before the Warring States), the swords were tachi, a much longer blade, and due to the bulk of the armor. Plus, those on horseback didn't want to accidentally injure their mounts. Sentai design: It's a LOT easier for the katana to not fall out of their sheath (for lack of better term), due to its design.


 * Where can on watch the full series dubbed? Veoh has only fragments that are dubbed and YouTube doesn't have any. It was such a good series dang-it!
 * A fully-dubbed-over version would take a surprisingly long amount of time for a group of fans to make, and would be unauthorized and probably taken down from any site too quickly to make it very far. Fortunately, Power Rangers Samurai looks like it's going to be pretty faithful to the source material, so just hold your horses until the end of January 2011.


 * Just started watching, and I love all the characters in their own way...but I'm an American. There's clearly something I'm probably not getting culturally, so I'll put it here. I'll fully admit to being a modern person, so I'm not quite understanding Takeru's issue with Chiaki, as well as Jin's issues. I'm not denying that swordsmanship and proper ability to fight is important to a Samurai and their vassals; Chiaki's complaining there is stupid and vain...But writing characters? The only character he needs to write is the one which signifies his transformation, and he's done that perfectly up to the point I'm at. I don't think there's much chance of that not happening after Act 3 and beyond. Its like they're asking me to believe that these people are gonna follow Takeru like sheep, him being the Lord and them the vassals and all, especially Ryunosuke and Kotoha (poor girl in Act 2.) At least Chiaki is trying to stay modern.
 * The Kanji writing works like True Name Magic, each kanji they can write properly in the correct brush stroke order is a 'spell' they can 'cast', only being able to cast the absolute basic requirement needed to transform and summon his mecha just isn't good enough, especially since mojikara seems to increase the more words you can use, and all their stuff is powered by mojikara... Him sucking literally forces the rest of the team to make up for the power he's not giving the giant robot.
 * As a person learning Japanese, I myself had a good deal of instances where I mistake a Kanji's stroke orders on a whim, while I could have gotten them right if only I think carefully first. Chiaki's Kanji "Ki" in the scene you described is a really basic Kanji that a child could have gotten right, so it doesn't make much sense for him to be getting it wrong. Which is why, if you don't mind a little speculation from me, I think that scene is meant as characterization, i.e: he's lax, improper, free-spirited and doesn't restrict himself to rules, which is what that Act is about. And that Act 3 is one of the early episodes which sets up the characters further from what was established in Act 1, so that's all the more reason for me to think so. One more fact I know is that Yasuko Kobayashi tends to drop little hints like that throughout, as opposed to big, full-blown character trait dumps all at once, keeping the audience reminded of that character. -- Infinix
 * As for the lord-vassal relationship in modern times, my overview of the series tells me something: Shinkenger is a theatrical character-based drama which: (1) takes the Super Sentai formula; (2) uses the modern environment/setting only as part of the stage prop. What I mean by (2) is that whether it's 21-century-modern or 20th-century-modern wouldn't have made a lot of differences because the series largely didn't comment on the modern age; on the other hand, by using the modern setting, it broadens the range of character perspectives available, Chiaki being the one who gets used most in this aspect, from being lax and free-spirited (Major character trait) to hanging out with his friends or playing Tekken (Minor character trait). If you wanna count other things, Jii's motorbike could have been a horse if set in the previous century, but just using readily-available items is a cost-effective decision for a TV series. Additionally, taking from (1), it's a Sentai series, so it pretty much has to follow the Sentai formula, which includes the idea that each SS series takes place in the same year they are aired in; plus, the sudden setting change would have alienated some core viewers, if Kamen Rider Ryuki was any indication. To summarize, the lord-vassal relationship can be taken as a more personal spin on the employer-employee relationship; started as "business" and slowly warmed up into "camaraderie". Chiaki's rebelliousness causes some tension because the team is also a combat force at the same time; insubordination can potentially bring harm to the whole group. Working together also happens to be a staple SS aesop. So... these are my takes on the topics, for the very least. Hope these help. -- Infinix
 * They very much do, thank you all. My understand as to why it's important is well-understood now. My next question in regards to Mojikara and brush strokes for these characters is quite simple then; why is drawing in these ways important? What is the point to drawing it in just that way every single time? Anyone who knows japanese kanji, can you give me a reason for that? That always confused me. I mean, we have so many ways to draw a letter or number, sure, but we don't subscribe to the same way and the same way of drawing it. And on that same note, to what purpose does it actually have in terms of being a Samurai?
 * I don't have any knowledge of kanji and it would probably help my explanation, but I think in this case, it's Magic A Is Magic A at work. It's pretty much a rule for Mojikara that it has to be in perfect stroke order otherwise it won't work.
 * It's all to do with the Japanese way of thinking. It's about how you do it, not just the end result. Tea ceremonies aren't about quenching thirst so much as the actions of perfectly completing each stage of making and drinking the tea. Kanji are the same; a perfect piece of calligraphy isn't just one with a pleasant final character, but one where each stroke is done with absolute commitment by the person writing it. Sure, when you're drawing kanji with a biro, there's little visible difference between a kanji drawn with perfect stroke order and one drawn any which way, but when you're using a shodo brush, it's very visible because the lines taper. It actually takes a huge amount of practice and concentration to do good Japanese calligraphy. The stroke order is designed to create kanji with beautiful shape and flow. Chiaki's wrongly ordered kanji doesn't look elegant, and also his lack of concentration hampers his ability to bring out the magic inherent in the character. How this relates to being a Samurai is all to do with discipline, concentration and respect. Shodo is a traditional artform Samurai practised, and many of the skills such as focus and coordination are very closely linked to martial arts.
 * OK, why did the Koreans skip Shinkenger and dub Gaoranger instead, and yet still include Power Rangers Samurai Force in their Kamen Rider Decade dub? They should've skipped those two episodes, else any excuse for skipping Shinkenger goes right out of the window!
 * From what I can remember, anything related to Samurai is taboo in Korea. However, seeing as the Decade episode prior to the Shinkenger crossover episodes shown that the Shinkenger World was the Hikari Studio's next destination, they couldn't have skipped those episodes. Two episodes with samurai rather than forty-eight would have sounded pretty good to them.