Juken Sentai Gekiranger



""A martial art which grants the power of beasts through sensing one's own feral spirit: Juken.

Juken is split into two opposing styles.

One, a Juken of Justice: Geki Juken Beast Arts!

The other, a Juken of Evil: Rin Juken Akugata!

Martial artists destined to fight.

Every day they aim for the top.

They learn. They change.""

Jūken Sentai Gekiranger (Beast Fist Squadron Gekiranger) is the 31st program in the Super Sentai series, airing from 2007 to 2008.

SCRTC (pronounced "Scratch") is a sportswear company that acts as a front for a secret martial arts academy teaching the ancient art of "Juken". The academy specialises in the "Geki Juken Beast Arts" school of Juken, teaching students to harness their inner spirit of justice to generate a powerful force called "Geki".

One day, a talented student of Geki Juken Beast Arts decides to defect from the academy in his pursuit of more power. He revives the opposing school of Rin Juken Akugata, an evil style that reaps strength from the suffering of others, and resurrects an army of undead Rin Juken fighters.

Opposing him are the top three students of Geki Juken: the wild child Jan Kandou, the straightforward and honest Ran Uzaki, and the stylish Retsu Fukami. With their training and Gekichangers, they harness their Geki to transform into the heroes of Geki Juken Beast Arts: the Gekiranger.

While on the surface, Gekiranger focuses on Chinese martial arts, it more specifically takes its elements from the Wuxia genre: split sects, constant competition in martial arts, and Wire Fu techniques very prominent in Wuxia media, to name a few. And also, since a major standpoint of the series is how heroes and villains alike strive to improve and perfect their skill, it was a notable entry exhibiting Character Development to both sides.

Note : The word "Ken" used throughout the page can mean either "Fist"/"Ken", alternatively "Kobushi", or "Martial arts"/"Kenpo", owing to the same Kanji.

The Gekirangers

 * Jan Kandou / GekiRed (Geki Ju Tiger-ken ): A "Tiger Boy" who grew up in the forest with animals. Naturally dumb, childish and quite active. Uses nunchakus and twin sabers which can merge further, with focus on power. Starts off as a Rookie Red Ranger.
 * Ran Uzaki / GekiYellow (Geki Ju Cheetah-ken ): The only girl on the team. Her focus is on spirit, and wields a Simple Staff and an Epic Flail. She is officially the team leader.
 * Retsu Fukami / GekiBlue (Geki Ju Jaguar-ken ): A former artist and the team second-in-command. He is smart but selfish. Focusing on technique, his weapons are a pair of tonfas and a set of war fans.
 * Gou Fukami / GekiViolet (Geki Ju Wolf-ken ): Retsu's brother. A Lone Wolf, but also a hard-hitting one with two-fisted action all the way. Uses no weapons.
 * Ken Hisatsu / GekiChopper (Geki Ju Rhinoceros-ken ): A lazy genius sent to study GekiRed at the sacred grounds, but ended up goofing off. A bit of a scatterbrain, but don't let that fool you. He has his own weapon for melee and ranged combat. Complains constantly.

Allies

 * Miki Misaki (Geki Ju Leopard-ken): The high executive of SCRTC, and Mama Bear.
 * Natsume Misaki: Miki's daughter, and Big Eater.
 * Bae (Geki Ju Fly-ken): A former Geki Juken user, now a small half-fly... in Mele's stomach. Never fails to drop in on any giant battle as Combat Commentator. Voiced by Akira Ishida.
 * There is actually one mecha fight he misses, because Mele is busy with an unconscious Rio. So Elehung did commentary that time.
 * The Seven Kensei: And yes, the names are puns on names of famous martial artists.
 * Shafu (Geki Ju Felis-ken): A really big cat with Eyes Always Shut. Enjoys unorthodox training methods.
 * Elehung Gambou (Geki Ju Elephant-ken): Dirty old elephant-man.
 * Bat Li (Geki Ju Bat-ken). A mystical dancer. Voied by Shuichi Ikeda.
 * Sharkie Chan (Geki Ju Shark-ken). Voiced by Hiroya Ishimaru.
 * Gorie Yen (Geki Ju Gorilla-ken)
 * Michelle Peng (Geki Ju Penguin-ken): A peppy penguin-sensei. Voiced by Atsuko Tanaka.
 * Bion Biao (Geki Ju Gazelle-ken)

Rin Juken Akugata

 * Black Lion Rio (Rin Ju Lion-ken): Evil Overlord. As proud as he is strong, he still wants to be stronger. Also, yearning for a Worthy Opponent.
 * Mele (Rin Ju Chameleon-ken): Dark Action Girl and Rio's second-in-command. Also a THE Love Martyr for Rio, which also gives her the strength and willpower she needs for Rio-sama~!.
 * The Three Kenma : Founders of Rin Juken.
 * Kata, Kenma of the Sky (Rin Ju Hawk-ken).
 * Rageku, Kenma of the Sea (Rin Ju Jelly -ken).
 * Maku, Kenma of the Earth (Rin Ju Bear-ken): A big bear on full-steam 24/7.

Like every modern Super Sentai series, Gekiranger was adapted into a Power Rangers season titled Jungle Fury.

Recurring Super Sentai tropes:
"Jan: "This body swells with infinite energy! Unbreakable Body, GekiYellow!"
 * Animal Motifs: Done in several stages.
 * Panthera Awesome: the core three, strengthened by Shafu being a cat, Rio as primary antagonist and Miki's use of Leopard style.
 * Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Mele
 * Big Badass Wolf: Gou.
 * Rhino Rampage: Possibly subverted as Ken is one of the mellowest Rangers out there.
 * The three Kenma:
 * Big Badass Bird of Prey: Kata
 * Everything's Squishier with Cephalopods: Rageku
 * Everything's Worse with Bears: Maku
 * And finally Long and the Genju pantheon, all of whom combine mythical animals with the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.
 * By the Power of Greyskull:
 * "Tagire! "Power of the beast!" for the core three,
 * "Hibike! "Cry of the beast!" for Gou,
 * "Togisumase! "Blade of the beast!" for Ken, followed by
 * "Beast On! by everyone.
 * Rio has "Rinki Gaisou!"
 * Crossover: Gekiranger vs. Boukenger. Notable in that it was the last in the Vs. Series that was a straight-to-video release.
 * Custom Uniform
 * Eyecatch: Jan, Retsu, and Ran in Ranger form do a few katas, the title card appearing when Jan slashs at the screen. After the break, it is the same, only with the trio in civilian form.
 * Five-Man Band: The team solidifies after the addition of Gou and Ken.
 * The Hero: Jan
 * The Chick: Ran
 * The Smart Lancer: Retsu
 * The Big Guy: Gou
 * Kid Appeal Character: Ken
 * Humongous Mecha A bit simple compared to the previous series.
 * A Mech by Any Other Name: The Geki Beasts
 * Animal Mecha: The Geki Beasts of the main trio are based on felines, while the rest (including those of the extra heroes) are based on assorted animals.
 * Combining Mecha
 * Geki Tiger + Geki Cheetah + Geki Jaguar = Gekitouja
 * Geki Gorilla + Geki Penguin + Geki Gazelle = Geki Fire
 * Transforming Mecha: Saidain, Geki Chopper's rhino mecha, which transforms into Saidaioh.
 * Mecha Expansion Pack
 * Gekitouja + Geki Elephant = Geki Elephantouja
 * Gekitouja + Geki Bat = Geki Batouja
 * Gekitouja + Geki Shark = Geki Sharktouja
 * Geki Fire + Geki Shark = Geki Shark Fire
 * Geki Fire + Geki Elephant = Geki Elephant Fire
 * Geki Fire + Geki Bat = Geki Bat Fire
 * Gekitouja + Geki Wolf - Geki Cheetah = Gekitouja Wolf
 * Geki Gorilla + Geki Wolf + Saidain = Saidai Geki Fire
 * Gekitouja + Rin Lion + Rin Chameleon = Geki Rintouja
 * In the Name of the Moon - Large Ham : One of the longer roll calls in the history of Super Sentai. What's more, nearly every important character gets one.
 * In the Name of the Moon - Large Ham : One of the longer roll calls in the history of Super Sentai. What's more, nearly every important character gets one.

Ran: "With daily purification, polishing the heart! Honest Heart, GekiBlue!"

Retsu: "Techniques color this grand flower! Fantastic Technique, GekiViolet!"

Gou: "Excitement, my style, to the limit of my will! Iron Will, GekiChopper!"

Ken: "Polishing the talent, I cut open my future! Amazing Ability, Juken!""

- All: Our blazing Geki is our proof of justice! Juken Sentai Gekiranger!

"Jan: "Extreme Unbreakable Body, GekiRed!"
 * Super Mode

Ran: "Extreme Honest Heart, GekiYellow!"

Retsu: "Extreme Fantastic Technique, GekiBlue!""

- All: Our seething Kageki is for justice! Juken Sentai Gekiranger!

"Rio: "As purely fierce as a lion, as powerful as a lion. The one destined to rule the world; my name is the Black Lion Rio!"
 * GekiViolet:

Mele: "For Lord Rio's love I live, for Lord Rio's love I fight as his Love Warrior. Rin Ju Chameleon-Ken Mistress, Mele!""

"Rio: "Pure fierceness, pure power, leaving the world, one without equal; I am Gen Ju King Rio!"
 * GenJuKen:

Mele: "For Rio-sama's love, an even more powerful-clad Love Warrior. Gen Ju Phoenix-Ken Mistress, Mele!""

"Kata: "Hatred is power givingly born. Sky Kenma, Rin Ju Hawk-Ken's Kata!"
 * The Kenma:

Rageku: "Envy is power bestowed. Sea Kenma, Rin Ju Jelly-Ken's Rageku!"

Maku: "Rage is the power to dominate. Land Kenma, Rin Ju Bear-Ken's Maku!""

"Shafu: "There is training in one's livelihood. The Geki Juken well achieved on a daily basis. Felis-Ken, Shafu!"
 * The Kensei:

Elehung: "There is training while having fun. The worldly-loving Elephant-Ken, Elehung Gambou!"

Bat Li: "There is training while in a trance. The performance mastering Bat-Ken, Bat Li!"

Sharkie: "There is "Sharkin!" while training. The doing your best Shark-Ken, Sharkie Chan!"

Gorie: "The Wild Wiseman. 'Raging Heart,' Gorie Yen!"

Michelle: "The Splendid Fighting Goddess. 'Supreme Technique,' Michelle Peng!"

Bion: "The Savanna Shortstop. 'Undying Body,' Bion Biao!""


 * Make My Monster Grow: "Ringi! Jashin Gouten Hen!" followed later by "Gengi! Genshin Gouten Hen!"
 * To put this in context, Rinrinshi, and, later, followers of Genjuuken, are able to make themselves grow using martial arts! Now THAT's Serial Escalation!
 * Another Shout-Out to Wuxia media; martial arts can, depending on the tone of a series, vary between just practical self-defense to replacement for magic.
 * Mix and Match: Super Sentai + Wuxia.
 * Monster of the Week: A variation this time around. The monsters are essentially Rinshi (this series' footsoldier mooks) that are stronger than the other Rinshi. Proven by passing through the Chamber of Trials, defeating all the other Rinshi inside single-handedly. Then they can remove their mask and the animal motif on their forehead appears. They also gain the ability to transform into the shows traditional monster form.
 * The Movie: Gekiranger the Movie: Nei-Nei! Hou-Hou! The Decisive Battle in Hong Kong
 * Regular Caller: Jan himself. If he utters "Zowazowa!", there's a Monster of the Week wreaking havoc.
 * Sixth Ranger: Gou and Ken, who are actually the fourth and fifth members of Gekiranger respectively.
 * The Smurfette Principle: The Gekirangers themselves only have one female member, even when the roster is extended from three to five. However, when Mele switches sides, she essentially serves the role of a second heroine, even though she's technically not a Gekiranger.
 * Super Mode: Literally and figuratively: "Super Gekiranger".
 * Transformation Trinket:
 * Jan, Ran and Retsu: Geki Changer
 * Gou: GekiChopper
 * Ken: Super GekiRed
 * Weapon of Choice
 * Fighting with Chucks: Jan's Geki Nunchaku.
 * Bifurcated Weapon: Ran and Retsu's Geki Tonfa.
 * Dual Tonfas: Standard Mode, mainly used by Retsu.
 * Simple Staff: Long Baton Mode, mainly used by Ran.
 * BFG: The Geki Bazooka.
 * Jan: Geki Saber
 * Ran: Geki Hammer
 * Retsu: Geki Fan
 * Gou: Bare-Fisted Monk
 * Ken: SaiBlade
 * Super Gekiranger: Super Geki Claw
 * Super Geki Red/Geki Chopper: Super SaiBlade

Tropes specific to Juken Sentai Gekiranger:

 * Actor Allusion: Shafu's VA also voiced Korin before, and he apparently isn't shy about having it known; the same tone, the same way of speech, and the same use of "-ja" after sentences. Even the "Show respect to your elders" part is there in Training 2!
 * A Monster of the Week voiced by Tetsu Inada at one point shouts "We'll delete you!". He used to have the badge to back up his call as the SPD boss.
 * Animal Battle Aura: Juken largely consists of weaponising this trope.
 * Artifact of Doom: Bracelet of the Kenma. Sure enough, it allowed the revival of three major antagonists.
 * Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other:
 * Back From the Dead:
 * Badass: Rio, Gou, Jan, etc. This is "Badass: The Series"!
 * Big No: Maga does this Narm-tastically in English in episode 7. Hell, everything he does in that episode is Narm-tastic.
 * Blond Guys Are Evil:
 * Brilliant but Lazy: Ken. He spent much of his study period in Super GekiBlue wooing girls in a nearby village instead of training. But even then, he's really powerful already.
 * Breather Episode: Fittingly enough, the Christmas Episode.
 * Broken Faceplate: Jan gets a hole punched in his visor during his final fight with Rio.
 * Casting Gag: Hiroya Ishimaru, the official Japanese dub voice of Jackie Chan, as Sharkie Chan, who's also based on Jackie Chan.
 * All three of the pre-Super Gekiranger Kensei's voices are the official Japanese dub voices for Chinese Kung Fu actors: Yuu Mizushima is Sammo Hung (Gambou) and Shuichi Ikeda is Jet Li.
 * Character Development: Very, very heavy in the series. This is one of the main reasons Gekiranger is a fan-favourite.
 * For Jan, Rio, and Mele, sure. Ran, Retsu, Gou, and Ken, not so much.
 * RinJuKen: The sealing technique the Kenma used on the Kensei.
 * Chinese Girl: Mele's outfit design.
 * Chinese Vampire: The basis for the Rinshi. Also played straight in that they're undead.
 * Chosen One: Deconstructed with Jan and Rio.
 * Competitive Balance: The core trio line up pretty well with the universal types.
 * Mighty Glacier: Jan. He's not physically large like most examples, but his focus is strength and defense, and he's the team's official tank.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Ran. By far and above the fastest, but strong enough to use the Geki Hammer and dangerously accurate.
 * Fragile SpeedsterSaiBladeGlass Cannon: Retsu. He can use his skill for offense or defense, but lacks physical constitution.
 * Completely Different Title: The Korean dub refers to the series as Power Ranger Wild Spirits.
 * Crucified Hero Shot:
 * Cute Little Fangs: Fukui Mina, Ran's actress, has two slightly prominent upper canines you can spot when she smiles.
 * Cuteness Proximity: Watch what happens when Jan meet Sha Fu for the first time.
 * Dangerous Forbidden Technique:
 * Department of Redundancy Department: Most of the Gekiwaza Technique names have the first word doubled.
 * Devil but No God:
 * Don't Think; Feel: The motto of, founder of Juken.
 * A variation of it also pops up in the lyrics of the Ending Theme: "Just feel it, don't think 'bout it!"
 * Drunken Boxing: Retsu, probably unintentionally and beautifully, pulls it off in Training 36. No less from the Kenshi embodying "Technique", eh?
 * Elephant in the Living Room: Sure, the Gekirangers and people asociated with SCRTC are around the Kensei long enough to get use to their unusual appearances(Jan's even fascinated by them), but even ordinary people don't bat an eye at the sight of talking animal people who aren't wearing costumes!
 * Enemy Mine: In several instances, the Gekirangers are getting beaten up by some third party villain, and Rio and Mele have to bail them out.
 * Goetsu Doushuu Juken Gattai is Enemy Mine in mecha form. Needless to say, since these are the only times Rio and Mele whip out their mecha, it's always a Moment of Awesome.
 * Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting: Oh god, were they ever! You can count the total number of characters who can't fight, not counting Characters-of-the-Day, easily with one hand.
 * Everything's Even Worse with Sharks: Averted! Sharkie Chan is a really nice guy fish dude!
 * Double Subversion with SaiBlade: One of the first things it does after it's summoned is attack JuKenGyo. But it turned out to be.
 * Expy: Gekitouja and Geki Fire are bestial versions of God Sigma.
 * Fan Service: Not just the obvious Ms. Fanservice Mele, but the female audience also gets some of this, namely Jan's occasional Shirtless Scenes as well as the Furo Scene in episode 12.
 * Fingerless Gloves: Geki Changers are these.
 * For the Evulz: See all the stuff in the Complete Monster entry above?
 * Fountain of Youth: An ~Chekhov's Gun~ technique turned Jan into a kid and Retsu into a baby. It leads to a Mama Bear moment for Ran, and to a Shout-Out to Fist of the North Star.
 * Freudian Trio
 * Id: Jan
 * Ego: Ran
 * Superego: Retsu
 * Funny Bruce Lee Noises: Nunchaku Banki in the teamup movie with Engine Sentai Go-onger just loved this trope. Regardless of whether he was attacking, jumping, getting hit, or painfully getting knocked across the battlefield by exceptionally powerful attacks, he still made these noises.
 * Furo Scene: Episode 12 has Jan, Retsu and Ran being sent to a bathhouse to start their sentou training.
 * Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Miki does this to all three of the Power Trio after Rio pounds them and takes Shafu hostage..
 * Gratuitous English: The fighting style of any character will be expressed with the English name of the animal; for example, Rio's style is "Rinju Lion-ken" instead of "Rinju Shishi-ken".
 * Retsu is also prone to more daily-conversation Gratuitous English (similar to another blue ranger 3 installments before him.)
 * Heel Face Turn:
 * Hell-Bent for Leather: Rio and Mele: They look even better than the Gouma Trio.
 * Heroic Sacrifice:
 * Heroic Sacrifice:


 * Idiot Ball: The other team members carry it when an impostor from the Mirror World replaces Retsu whom they cannot tell from the original. They even invent handy excuses for the impostor, like for him being suddenly left-handed, which he didn't think of.
 * If It Swims, It Flies: Quite arguable with RinJyuKen: It never floats through air, and jumps out of a small "pool" of Geki when summoned. But then another question pops up on how it approaches the base Mecha.
 * /, however, completely averts this by floating around on a small jet surf-board.
 * The Jimmy Hart Version: A meta example from the same singer: the ending theme, sung by Ichiro Mizuki, is pretty much a rearranged, relaxing version of the Mazinger Z theme song. This is more noticeable within the first verses and the start of the chorus.
 * Ki Attacks: Spammed for all its worth: Geki Juken has "Gekiwaza", Rin Juken has "Ringi", . But they all boil down to "[School Name] Technique".
 * Lampshade Hanging: When Ran lets being team captain go to her head, Elehung and Michelle refer to her as Moe and Tsundere respectively, even remarking that those tropes are popular lately.
 * Love Redeems:
 * Making Use of the Twin: An episode features an Evil Twin of Retsu, played by Takagi Manpei's identical twin brother.
 * Meaningful Name: One word: "SCRTC".
 * Ken Hisatsu. "Hissatsu" means "finisher" or "final strike", Ken means "fist". He's the last warrior to appear; so he's the "Finisher Fist".
 * Most of The Rin Ju Den Kenshi, save Rio and Mele, have names based on the Japanese for their theme animal, but with the first Kana moved to the end.
 * , the grand founder of Juken, is named from . Also, when written in Kana, his name his a combination of.
 * Retsu, Gou, Ran, and Jan are named to say "Let's go run and jump."
 * is Chinese for.
 * My Juken Is Stronger Than Yours: THE core element of the series.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: The Five Deadly Venoms, and later the Kenma, which literally translates into "fist demon". Corny, but nothing with the word "demon" in its name is bad, especially here..
 * Not Worth Killing: Rio defeats the Rangers more than once, only to let them go.
 * One-Winged Angel: . Interestingly, . Then again, ...
 * Panthera Awesome: The three core Rangers use tiger, cheetah, and jaguar styles. Rio uses a lion style. Even Miki uses leopard style (which we get to see... once or twice).
 * Perky Female Minion: Mele, Mele, Mele.
 * Pet the Dog: Rio is mostly evil, but he is nice to Mele every once in a while.
 * Pummel Duel: Ran in spades.
 * Redemption Equals Death:
 * Rhino Rampage: Ken, and Brusa Ee before him, hence the existence of GekiShark.
 * Scenery Porn: The scenes of the rangers fighting in the opening (before they announce the title.)
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: The three Kenma, and.
 * Shout-Out: To an earlier fellow Sentai series; GekiTouja, a giant white animal mecha, also a standalone giant, piloted by the White Sixth Ranger on its back with a curved saber. MoTD's, a giant white animal mecha, also a standalone giant, piloted by the White Sixth Ranger on its back with a curved saber. Hmm...
 * Speaking of Dairanger, the Ranger suit designs are very similar to Dairanger's, only solid-coloured.
 * Ken shares some key character traits with Kinnikuman. In one episode he even yells "Kajiba no Kuso Jikara"!
 * The not so quirky miniboss squad the Five Venom Fists are a reference to the "Five Deadly Venoms."
 * Rio's Lion Armor has many similarities to Lowemon.
 * At one point, Geki Yellow performs Hokuto Zankai Ken on an unfortunate Monster of the Week, complete with the beast apparently exploding.
 * At the end of Lesson 43, the Gekirangers pose like the Imagin from Kamen Rider Den-O, whose colors they parallel (Jan = Momotaros, Ran = Kintaros, Retsu = Urataros, Gou = Ryutaros, Ken = Sieg).
 * A Shout-Out to previous Sentai: Rio being mainly black-colored, learning Gryphon-ken, and later gets counted as a ranger (unofficially) whereas in Dengeki Sentai Changeman, we have a Black Ranger called Change Gryphon...
 * Shout-Out Theme Naming: The Kensei are named after various martial arts film stars: Elehung Gambou, Bat Li, Sharkie Chan, Gorie Yen, Byon Biao and Michelle Peng.
 * The founder of Juken is named Brusa Ee.
 * Significant Anagram: The Monster of the Week will typically have as its name the katakana of the Japanese name for the animal it represents, with the first kana shifted to the end (for example, a frog (kaeru)-themed enemy is called Eruka).
 * Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Even the other two Kenma fear Maku and his Dorinki (as do the good guys--even when he was initially killed, his heart was removed to assure that he would never be resurrected. As is often the case, the impossible took a while.)
 * Spell My Name with an "S": An alternative spelling to Master Shafu's name is "Xia Fu". Considering the series take heavily from Chinese Wuxia, it makes sense.
 * Not to mention "Jyan", "Retu", and "Mere" from The Movie's opening sequence.
 * And . A possible alternative on his name is a combination of, thus.
 * Supernatural Martial Arts: One of the main themes of the series.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Ran and Mele.
 * Theme Naming: All five of the Gekirangers' names contain two Kanji for Family Name, and two Kana for First Name. And the first syllables of the core group's names when combined spell "Kung Fu".
 * Also, the aforementioned Significant Anagrams.
 * Three Plus Two
 * Took a Level In Badass: The powerful moments of the series are built on this.
 * The Rangers when they acquire their "Kageki" powerup, and later Rio and Mele as they learn "Dorinki".
 * Personality-wise, Jan took a level in badass over the course of the series. By the mid-30s, he's almost unrecognizable as the Idiot Hero he was in the early episodes.
 * Rio and Mele take another level in badass.
 * Villain Protagonist: Rio and Mele are probably the only Sentai villains to get as much focus and Character Development as the heroes. Justified as they are sort of a rival team
 * Villainous BSOD: Rio, when he realizes.
 * Wax On, Wax Off: Shafu's all-time favourite, but other masters also employ this concept in their own ways.
 * Unwitting Pawn:
 * Wham! Episode: Training 40. After three relatively-lighthearted episodes spotlighting most of the characters' relationships with their families, all of which ended well, we get this episode.
 * What Could Have Been: According to leaked production notes, the series was originally going to be a Spiritual Successor to Gosei Sentai Dairanger, with a much greater focus on Chinese mythology, including mecha based around the Eastern Zodiac. Interestingly, many of the rejected elements, such as a black ranger with a snake mecha, were later recycled to make Tensou Sentai Goseiger, accounting for its many Dairanger-esque elements despite their wildly different premises.
 * Wham! Episode: Training 40. After three relatively-lighthearted episodes spotlighting most of the characters' relationships with their families, all of which ended well, we get this episode.
 * What Could Have Been: According to leaked production notes, the series was originally going to be a Spiritual Successor to Gosei Sentai Dairanger, with a much greater focus on Chinese mythology, including mecha based around the Eastern Zodiac. Interestingly, many of the rejected elements, such as a black ranger with a snake mecha, were later recycled to make Tensou Sentai Goseiger, accounting for its many Dairanger-esque elements despite their wildly different premises.