Tokusatsu Review: Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger ["GaoAcess! HA!": The Characters]
Well, here it is. I said a while ago that I was going to start posting reviews of various j-dramas and toku series that I had watched. I might as well start with Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger because it was the very first of the Super Sentai franchise that I actually watched all the way through. That includes the two movies.
First, we should start off with a very brief summary. Take it away Wikipedia!
One thousand years ago, a war raged between humans and the demonic Org race. With the help of the Power Animals, the ancient Gao Warriors were able to defeat the Org's leader, Hyakkimaru, and seal the Orgs.
Today, the Orgs have begun to revive, and five warriors have been chosen by the Power Animals. They must abandon their current lives and become the new generation of Gaorangers to protect the life of earth.
Thank you for that really brief plot outline. I don't have the time, nor the willingness, to post pictures up so if anyone is interested you'll have to look up the photos yourself. However, if you were wondering what the Disney/ABC version was it was renamed: Power Rangers: Wild Force!. I actually watched the first three episodes of it, but then I stopped once I really got into the Japanese version.
Anyways, I'm going to do this review in a matter of steps starting with the characters, then their powers, the mechas, the villains, then finally the overall plot and ending.
CHARACTERS:
GaoRed: The Blazing Lion - Shishi Kakeru (Dr.)
First up is the beloved leader of this season's Super Sentai team. When I first found out that this series was the 25th of the franchise, I was kind of prepared for something as epic as GouGou Sentai Boukenger (a later series that I watched about half of that is the 30th of the Super Sentai franchise) where the leader was really a LEADER. You know? Calm, cool, collected. Always amazingly composed and with complete faith in his team, but with a hint of a mysterious past. That would make sense. But GaoRed is nothing like BoukenRed, and for that I am very glad. I don't think I would have loved the series as much as I did if Kakeru-sensei had been that sort of leader.
A simple veterinarian who has the ability to be able to communicate with animals (which includes the Power Animals, which I shall address later on), he is in a word: failtastic. His first meeting with his future teammates had him being punched in the gut, rendered unconscious, and abducted! What a first impression. He wakes up on the floating island in the sky (which looks like a sea turtle), I don't remember the official title of the island...I think it's Sky Island (Hmm.) and faced by giant mechanical animals. Instead of running and screaming like any normal person would, he begins to have a pleasant conversation with them and GaoLion who tells him that he's been "waiting" for Kakeru. The rest is just history. I don't feel like going to in depth with how he became leader, but I'm going to focus on his character now.
Like I mentioned earlier, he's definitely failtastic. He was ridiculously naive and idealistic in the beginning which nearly got White (GaoWhite) killed while they were battling an Org, but as time wore on, he didn't lose his optimism, but he wasn't as stupid as he was at the start. There was a moment during the Christmas themed episode where he did revert back to his old ways, but you can't really blame him. It was all circumstance that led to that. Otherwise, as a leader, he's not always calm and collected. He's easily excited and leads the team in a very...cooperative (?) manner. He never makes decisions because he's the leader, he makes decisions based on what others have to say. They all have way more experience than he does and acknowledges that. I think that's what makes him really great.
He'll do everything in his power to keep his team together. There's also no doubt that he's the most level-headed out of the five (er, six? Maybe seven?). It's with his optimism, fail, child-like enthusiasm, warmth, and good-naturedness that I think makes him one of the best leaders in the Super Sentai franchise. I like leaders who don't always act like leaders.
Favourite Sayings: "I am a veterinarian!"; "I'm full of motivation!"
GaoYellow: The Noble Eagle - Washio Gaku
He was the first one to join the team and has had more experience battling Orgs than anyone else (only second to, maybe, Silver). A former airforce pilot, he's aggressive, courageous, competitive, and has a short temper - in other words, he's the perfect second-in-command. I have to be completely honest with you, I didn't like his character at first because I thought he was too serious and just plain annoying. However, as the series went on, the producers and writers showed us so many different sides of him that it was hard not to love his character by the time the show was over.
Yellow was the one that decided everyone on the team would refer to each other by their colour. I think it was mostly to keep their friends and family safe. The theme of giving up civilian life completely to do your chosen duty is something that has come up repeatedly in the Super Sentai franchise, and most recently in the latest installment: Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. Every one of them gave up their normal lives to do this job, and Yellow is the person who best embodies this resolve.
I can pretty much safely say that he is Red's opposite in almost every way, but by the end of the show, the two of them have become very close friends. As evidence I cite the fact that Yellow is the only one who regularly visits Red once they all split up and return to their normal lives at the end of the series.
Some of the more surprising aspects of Yellow's personality are the fact that he's just as failtastic as Red, but in a different way. He apparently cannot stand roller coasters which makes little sense because he's a fighter pilot; he also can play the ukulele and sing to which Red commented: "Out of character!" (I loved that moment). He also likes attacking cute, little, fuzzy Soul Animals with frying pans - well, threatening them. That was a pretty priceless moment. Oh, and he loves throwing random English phrases into the mix. Like "God damn!" or "Amazing!" much to the amusement and confusion of his teammates.
Something I found cute was his connection with Tetomu. Because he was the first GaoRanger, he and the GaoPriestess have a special connection with one another. She saw him at his lowest (as in weakest and most freaked-out) and stuck by him as they found the other members of the team. The two of them have a really great rapport and I kind of wished that the writers had gone further into it, but it would have messed up the Silver-subplot so I'm not surprised that they didn't.
Overall, Yellow is a character of extremes. He's either extremely serious and aggressive, or so failtastic (like at karaoke) that it makes you cover your eyes in embarrassment. That's why I love him.
GaoBlue: The Surging Shark - Samezu Kai
The second youngest of the team, but definitely the most immature. That isn't to say that I don't like his character, I do, but it's just a general fact. Even Wikipedia agrees with me! He and White joined the team at the same time and apparently he was a freeter before he was chosen to be GaoBlue (for those who don't know, a freeter is a person who flits around from part-time job to part-time job).
Nineteen years-old (a fact that he can't seem to stop reminding people about) and immature, he's often led by his emotions, usually letting them get the better of him. This leads to Orgs kicking his butt every time they successfully taunt him into attacking prematurely. He hates being referred to as a child and always brings up his age to prove that he's not a child. But, I think it's his immaturity that causes people to treat him like a child. GROW UP! Haha.
However, he is energetic and very playful. That's something that made him endearing. That and his motto of "Never give up!" was pretty inspiring considering that he managed to get up after being kicked to the ground multiple times.
He and Black have a very special bond. They're like brothers more than best friends, but that connection has made them a team to be reckoned with. A lot of people have read more into this relationship than I think is there, but everyone sees things differently.
One thing that I'm sure is there is that he's a bit interested in White. As the person closest to him in age, I am pretty sure that he's got a thing for her. The writers though didn't go into it very much and left it up to the fans to read into it as much as they wanted. In my personal opinion, I don't think she's interested in him but to each his own.
At the end of the day, Blue is someone you'd want on your side. His passion and willingness to fight makes him a great addition to the team.
GaoBlack: The Iron Bison - Ushigome Soutarou
He is the resident nice guy of the group. Shy, afraid of heights, and has a weakness for women, he's the perfect addition to the team. He's the muscle of the group being a retired Sumo wrestler, he's also the softie of the team.
He was recruited while he was working in a flower shop and was the last one to join the team before Red was found. Terrified of heights, during his first mission, he nearly fell to his death if it hadn't been for Blue who had grabbed his hand and helped him to climb up. That was the beginning of their friendship and the phrase "Never give up!"
Black doesn't say much in the series, but he's friendly and looks out for Blue whenever the latter gets a little out of hand. I can't really say too much about his character because he's very straight-forward in terms of character structure.
Ah! I remembered. There are moments when he is utter fail (well they all have their moments, but his are cause for some major laughter). Many times, when they're sent flying as a result of a particularly hard explosion or hit from an Org, he ends up stuck in the ground. As in upside down. As in, his legs and butt are the only thing showing and he's kicking his legs around like a cartoon character that gets stuck in the same position. It's always Blue and Yellow who pull him out of the ground, not without quite a bit of struggle first though. It never fails to make a tense situation a little more light-hearted.
The gentle-giant, Black is an integral member of the team and I can't imagine them without him.
GaoWhite: The Belle Tiger - Taiga Sae
The last member of the core team and the youngest, White is the only girl and the only one not from Tokyo. Originally from Kagoshima, she traveled to Tokyo to attend a special martial arts school against the wishes of her father when she was chosen to be GaoWhite.
White and Blue joined at roughly the same time, but she is definitely more mature than he is despite being two years his junior. Having been trained by her father with various combat techniques from an early age, she's the most level-headed of the team and worries about everyone constantly.
I really liked her character because the writers didn't bring ridiculous amounts of attention to the fact that she was the only girl. Most of the time, she was one of the guys and I liked that they treated her as an equal (especially since she could beat every single one of them in hand to hand combat). There were times, however, that the team (with the exception of Red) did belittle her somewhat because she was a girl - episode 35 [or was it 32?] jumps to mind. At times such as those, she does act like a child (in that particular episode, she threw a temper tantrum much to the shock of Red who tried to appease her in every way possible) but in the end, she always rises above it and gets back to being the dependable GaoWhite.
She's a romantic, often yearning for a prince on a white horse, carrying a bouquet of roses to sweep her off her feet. The guys tease her mercilessly for it, but she's still a high schooler! She's allowed her dreams.
I noticed several interesting things with her interactions with certain members of the team. She and Yellow have an interesting relationship. I think that he sees her as a little sister. He teases her about getting distracted, he sings and plays the ukulele for her, and just generally looks out for her. It's sweet to see the two interacting.
White and Tetomu are the only girls in GaoRock and so that's a connection right there. They're always hanging around each other and they often form a team against the boys when it needs to be done. They're really good friends and it's cute to watch them together.
Now, here's where some ambiguity sets in for me. White and Red have a relationship that I can't quite describe. He's the oldest, and she's the youngest. Of course, he's going to be quite protective of her, but I feel like there's a different kind of connection going on here. She was the one paired up with him before he became the official GaoRed and threw herself in front of an attack to protect him while he was still a civilian. That and she was the one to vehemently try and oppose the other members of the team abducting Red when his memory of them had been wiped and he had returned to his ordinary life. Of course, she had been protecting her notion of love (she thought Red had a girlfriend), but at the same time I think she really wanted to keep him away from the fighting. And then there are the more subtle actions between the two. He often has his arm around her shoulders and they're usually paired together when the team splits up. I like to imagine that there's some potential for romance there (it's tradition, really, for Reds and Pinks to hook up in the Super Sentai franchise...although she's not an official 'pink', she's considered the White/Pink Sentai).
Here's another one: White and Silver. While Silver was still Loki, he found an injured White and healed her wounds. When they were fighting, and he was struggling with his evil side, White was the one who tried to convince him to join them. Also, during one of the last battles, the six of them get thrown out of their Power Animals and he's the one who rescues her by carrying her unconscious form. I can't tell if she has a crush on him, it's a probability, but I don't think so. Although, I'm sure there are people who would cite the final episode as proof. The two of them had planned on traveling the world together after everything was finished. It never happened, but the fact that the two of them were thinking of heading off together was enough proof for some White/Silver worshippers.
In conclusion, as the only girl on the team I think that the writers did an amazing job with her character in making her one of the guys, but maintaining her femininity at the same time. I really liked her character too.
GaoSilver: The Sparkling Wolf - Shirogane/Oogami Tsukumaro
He is, hands down, the oldest member of the team (over 1000 years old), and the classic mysteriously handsome member of the Sentai team.
Originally the evil Loki after being possessed back in the Heian Era by a cursed mask in battle, he spends most of his first episodes trying to atone for his sins. That got a little tiring after a while and I wanted to smack him in the head. The others obviously trusted him and had forgiven him, but he was completely determined to punish himself. Fine!! Let him torture himself! I don't really mean that because once he got over the self-pity, he was a cool character.
He's usually very calm and has had the most experience in dealing with the Orgs. Silver's face is usually impassive and very blank with little emotion other than determination, anger, and the occasional shocked look. However, he's got his awesome moments. Like the first time the GaoRangers and Tetomu invited him to their karaoke party (which never really happened). He pouted like a little kid and I totally loved it.
The one thing that I thought was hilarious about his character were his weapons of choice. I'm not going to go into it too much here because it's not the place for it (nor the time), however I think that it really says something about how the writers viewed both the character and the actor portraying the character.
Although he had originally planned on traveling with White, he ends up going it alone and after the VS movie, he leaves without saying goodbye. He said that it was too sad to say goodbye and instead chose to leave without saying a word. I think that says a lot about him. He's really a softie at heart and it shows that he truly likes the rest of the GaoRangers.
Silver and Tetomu have a very interesting relationship. Whenever he sees her, he sees her grandmother the previous Priestess Murasaki. I think that he had a thing for her grandmother and it might have transferred over to her, partially, once he realized how similar the two of them were. I'm not too sure if she had feelings for him, but I know that she was tired of him comparing her to her grandmother. If I were her, I'd be tired of it too.
He was really cool as a character and I loved him as well.
GaoPriestess - Tetomu
The second oldest (she's also over 1000 years old), she's the mentor of the GaoRangers. I don't really have too much to say about her, but I'll go over the essentials and what I think of her anyways.
Tetomu is very innocent and childlike when she's outside of Gao's Rock, earning her weird stares as she walks the streets of Tokyo in her stranger clothing. However, she's quite the fighter (seriously) and is pretty fierce when she wants to be.
An amazing cook and has the strange ability to charge electronic equipment just by touching them, Tetomu is definitely not your typical character. She usually lies dormant in the sacred spring inside of Gao's Rock when there are no missions and pops out of the spring in a flash of light, usually taking the others by complete surprise.
I liked her for her quirkiness. There were times when her wistful way of speaking got on my nerves, but I didn't hold it against her. She was still hilarious with the television so I forgave her.
Ages of Characters
Just for fun (and in order from oldest to youngest):
GaoSilver - Shirogane: 1,062 years old
Tetomu: 1,022 years old
GaoRed - Shishi Kakeru (Dr.): 24 years old
GaoYellow - Washio Gaku: 23 years old
GaoBlack - Ushigome Soutarou: 22 years old
GaoBlue - Samezu Kai: 19 years old
GaoWhite - Taiga Sae: 17 years old
Well, that took a long time. I was originally going to put the entire review on this one post, but I realized that it would be WAY too long and this post is already long enough. Therefore, I'm separating it into sections. 'Characters' are officially completed, and I'm going to move on to their powers next time.
If you don't have the patience to read my review or if you just want general info on the GaoRangers, just click HERE and you can read the Wiki article on them. There are pictures there of each character (minus Tetomu because she's classified as an "ally") as well as the names of the actors and actresses who play them. I'm going to warn you that there are spoilers there too.
Stay tuned, folks!
~ C. Martlet
First, we should start off with a very brief summary. Take it away Wikipedia!
One thousand years ago, a war raged between humans and the demonic Org race. With the help of the Power Animals, the ancient Gao Warriors were able to defeat the Org's leader, Hyakkimaru, and seal the Orgs.
Today, the Orgs have begun to revive, and five warriors have been chosen by the Power Animals. They must abandon their current lives and become the new generation of Gaorangers to protect the life of earth.
Thank you for that really brief plot outline. I don't have the time, nor the willingness, to post pictures up so if anyone is interested you'll have to look up the photos yourself. However, if you were wondering what the Disney/ABC version was it was renamed: Power Rangers: Wild Force!. I actually watched the first three episodes of it, but then I stopped once I really got into the Japanese version.
Anyways, I'm going to do this review in a matter of steps starting with the characters, then their powers, the mechas, the villains, then finally the overall plot and ending.
CHARACTERS:
GaoRed: The Blazing Lion - Shishi Kakeru (Dr.)
First up is the beloved leader of this season's Super Sentai team. When I first found out that this series was the 25th of the franchise, I was kind of prepared for something as epic as GouGou Sentai Boukenger (a later series that I watched about half of that is the 30th of the Super Sentai franchise) where the leader was really a LEADER. You know? Calm, cool, collected. Always amazingly composed and with complete faith in his team, but with a hint of a mysterious past. That would make sense. But GaoRed is nothing like BoukenRed, and for that I am very glad. I don't think I would have loved the series as much as I did if Kakeru-sensei had been that sort of leader.
A simple veterinarian who has the ability to be able to communicate with animals (which includes the Power Animals, which I shall address later on), he is in a word: failtastic. His first meeting with his future teammates had him being punched in the gut, rendered unconscious, and abducted! What a first impression. He wakes up on the floating island in the sky (which looks like a sea turtle), I don't remember the official title of the island...I think it's Sky Island (Hmm.) and faced by giant mechanical animals. Instead of running and screaming like any normal person would, he begins to have a pleasant conversation with them and GaoLion who tells him that he's been "waiting" for Kakeru. The rest is just history. I don't feel like going to in depth with how he became leader, but I'm going to focus on his character now.
Like I mentioned earlier, he's definitely failtastic. He was ridiculously naive and idealistic in the beginning which nearly got White (GaoWhite) killed while they were battling an Org, but as time wore on, he didn't lose his optimism, but he wasn't as stupid as he was at the start. There was a moment during the Christmas themed episode where he did revert back to his old ways, but you can't really blame him. It was all circumstance that led to that. Otherwise, as a leader, he's not always calm and collected. He's easily excited and leads the team in a very...cooperative (?) manner. He never makes decisions because he's the leader, he makes decisions based on what others have to say. They all have way more experience than he does and acknowledges that. I think that's what makes him really great.
He'll do everything in his power to keep his team together. There's also no doubt that he's the most level-headed out of the five (er, six? Maybe seven?). It's with his optimism, fail, child-like enthusiasm, warmth, and good-naturedness that I think makes him one of the best leaders in the Super Sentai franchise. I like leaders who don't always act like leaders.
Favourite Sayings: "I am a veterinarian!"; "I'm full of motivation!"
GaoYellow: The Noble Eagle - Washio Gaku
He was the first one to join the team and has had more experience battling Orgs than anyone else (only second to, maybe, Silver). A former airforce pilot, he's aggressive, courageous, competitive, and has a short temper - in other words, he's the perfect second-in-command. I have to be completely honest with you, I didn't like his character at first because I thought he was too serious and just plain annoying. However, as the series went on, the producers and writers showed us so many different sides of him that it was hard not to love his character by the time the show was over.
Yellow was the one that decided everyone on the team would refer to each other by their colour. I think it was mostly to keep their friends and family safe. The theme of giving up civilian life completely to do your chosen duty is something that has come up repeatedly in the Super Sentai franchise, and most recently in the latest installment: Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. Every one of them gave up their normal lives to do this job, and Yellow is the person who best embodies this resolve.
I can pretty much safely say that he is Red's opposite in almost every way, but by the end of the show, the two of them have become very close friends. As evidence I cite the fact that Yellow is the only one who regularly visits Red once they all split up and return to their normal lives at the end of the series.
Some of the more surprising aspects of Yellow's personality are the fact that he's just as failtastic as Red, but in a different way. He apparently cannot stand roller coasters which makes little sense because he's a fighter pilot; he also can play the ukulele and sing to which Red commented: "Out of character!" (I loved that moment). He also likes attacking cute, little, fuzzy Soul Animals with frying pans - well, threatening them. That was a pretty priceless moment. Oh, and he loves throwing random English phrases into the mix. Like "God damn!" or "Amazing!" much to the amusement and confusion of his teammates.
Something I found cute was his connection with Tetomu. Because he was the first GaoRanger, he and the GaoPriestess have a special connection with one another. She saw him at his lowest (as in weakest and most freaked-out) and stuck by him as they found the other members of the team. The two of them have a really great rapport and I kind of wished that the writers had gone further into it, but it would have messed up the Silver-subplot so I'm not surprised that they didn't.
Overall, Yellow is a character of extremes. He's either extremely serious and aggressive, or so failtastic (like at karaoke) that it makes you cover your eyes in embarrassment. That's why I love him.
GaoBlue: The Surging Shark - Samezu Kai
The second youngest of the team, but definitely the most immature. That isn't to say that I don't like his character, I do, but it's just a general fact. Even Wikipedia agrees with me! He and White joined the team at the same time and apparently he was a freeter before he was chosen to be GaoBlue (for those who don't know, a freeter is a person who flits around from part-time job to part-time job).
Nineteen years-old (a fact that he can't seem to stop reminding people about) and immature, he's often led by his emotions, usually letting them get the better of him. This leads to Orgs kicking his butt every time they successfully taunt him into attacking prematurely. He hates being referred to as a child and always brings up his age to prove that he's not a child. But, I think it's his immaturity that causes people to treat him like a child. GROW UP! Haha.
However, he is energetic and very playful. That's something that made him endearing. That and his motto of "Never give up!" was pretty inspiring considering that he managed to get up after being kicked to the ground multiple times.
He and Black have a very special bond. They're like brothers more than best friends, but that connection has made them a team to be reckoned with. A lot of people have read more into this relationship than I think is there, but everyone sees things differently.
One thing that I'm sure is there is that he's a bit interested in White. As the person closest to him in age, I am pretty sure that he's got a thing for her. The writers though didn't go into it very much and left it up to the fans to read into it as much as they wanted. In my personal opinion, I don't think she's interested in him but to each his own.
At the end of the day, Blue is someone you'd want on your side. His passion and willingness to fight makes him a great addition to the team.
GaoBlack: The Iron Bison - Ushigome Soutarou
He is the resident nice guy of the group. Shy, afraid of heights, and has a weakness for women, he's the perfect addition to the team. He's the muscle of the group being a retired Sumo wrestler, he's also the softie of the team.
He was recruited while he was working in a flower shop and was the last one to join the team before Red was found. Terrified of heights, during his first mission, he nearly fell to his death if it hadn't been for Blue who had grabbed his hand and helped him to climb up. That was the beginning of their friendship and the phrase "Never give up!"
Black doesn't say much in the series, but he's friendly and looks out for Blue whenever the latter gets a little out of hand. I can't really say too much about his character because he's very straight-forward in terms of character structure.
Ah! I remembered. There are moments when he is utter fail (well they all have their moments, but his are cause for some major laughter). Many times, when they're sent flying as a result of a particularly hard explosion or hit from an Org, he ends up stuck in the ground. As in upside down. As in, his legs and butt are the only thing showing and he's kicking his legs around like a cartoon character that gets stuck in the same position. It's always Blue and Yellow who pull him out of the ground, not without quite a bit of struggle first though. It never fails to make a tense situation a little more light-hearted.
The gentle-giant, Black is an integral member of the team and I can't imagine them without him.
GaoWhite: The Belle Tiger - Taiga Sae
The last member of the core team and the youngest, White is the only girl and the only one not from Tokyo. Originally from Kagoshima, she traveled to Tokyo to attend a special martial arts school against the wishes of her father when she was chosen to be GaoWhite.
White and Blue joined at roughly the same time, but she is definitely more mature than he is despite being two years his junior. Having been trained by her father with various combat techniques from an early age, she's the most level-headed of the team and worries about everyone constantly.
I really liked her character because the writers didn't bring ridiculous amounts of attention to the fact that she was the only girl. Most of the time, she was one of the guys and I liked that they treated her as an equal (especially since she could beat every single one of them in hand to hand combat). There were times, however, that the team (with the exception of Red) did belittle her somewhat because she was a girl - episode 35 [or was it 32?] jumps to mind. At times such as those, she does act like a child (in that particular episode, she threw a temper tantrum much to the shock of Red who tried to appease her in every way possible) but in the end, she always rises above it and gets back to being the dependable GaoWhite.
She's a romantic, often yearning for a prince on a white horse, carrying a bouquet of roses to sweep her off her feet. The guys tease her mercilessly for it, but she's still a high schooler! She's allowed her dreams.
I noticed several interesting things with her interactions with certain members of the team. She and Yellow have an interesting relationship. I think that he sees her as a little sister. He teases her about getting distracted, he sings and plays the ukulele for her, and just generally looks out for her. It's sweet to see the two interacting.
White and Tetomu are the only girls in GaoRock and so that's a connection right there. They're always hanging around each other and they often form a team against the boys when it needs to be done. They're really good friends and it's cute to watch them together.
Now, here's where some ambiguity sets in for me. White and Red have a relationship that I can't quite describe. He's the oldest, and she's the youngest. Of course, he's going to be quite protective of her, but I feel like there's a different kind of connection going on here. She was the one paired up with him before he became the official GaoRed and threw herself in front of an attack to protect him while he was still a civilian. That and she was the one to vehemently try and oppose the other members of the team abducting Red when his memory of them had been wiped and he had returned to his ordinary life. Of course, she had been protecting her notion of love (she thought Red had a girlfriend), but at the same time I think she really wanted to keep him away from the fighting. And then there are the more subtle actions between the two. He often has his arm around her shoulders and they're usually paired together when the team splits up. I like to imagine that there's some potential for romance there (it's tradition, really, for Reds and Pinks to hook up in the Super Sentai franchise...although she's not an official 'pink', she's considered the White/Pink Sentai).
Here's another one: White and Silver. While Silver was still Loki, he found an injured White and healed her wounds. When they were fighting, and he was struggling with his evil side, White was the one who tried to convince him to join them. Also, during one of the last battles, the six of them get thrown out of their Power Animals and he's the one who rescues her by carrying her unconscious form. I can't tell if she has a crush on him, it's a probability, but I don't think so. Although, I'm sure there are people who would cite the final episode as proof. The two of them had planned on traveling the world together after everything was finished. It never happened, but the fact that the two of them were thinking of heading off together was enough proof for some White/Silver worshippers.
In conclusion, as the only girl on the team I think that the writers did an amazing job with her character in making her one of the guys, but maintaining her femininity at the same time. I really liked her character too.
GaoSilver: The Sparkling Wolf - Shirogane/Oogami Tsukumaro
He is, hands down, the oldest member of the team (over 1000 years old), and the classic mysteriously handsome member of the Sentai team.
Originally the evil Loki after being possessed back in the Heian Era by a cursed mask in battle, he spends most of his first episodes trying to atone for his sins. That got a little tiring after a while and I wanted to smack him in the head. The others obviously trusted him and had forgiven him, but he was completely determined to punish himself. Fine!! Let him torture himself! I don't really mean that because once he got over the self-pity, he was a cool character.
He's usually very calm and has had the most experience in dealing with the Orgs. Silver's face is usually impassive and very blank with little emotion other than determination, anger, and the occasional shocked look. However, he's got his awesome moments. Like the first time the GaoRangers and Tetomu invited him to their karaoke party (which never really happened). He pouted like a little kid and I totally loved it.
The one thing that I thought was hilarious about his character were his weapons of choice. I'm not going to go into it too much here because it's not the place for it (nor the time), however I think that it really says something about how the writers viewed both the character and the actor portraying the character.
Although he had originally planned on traveling with White, he ends up going it alone and after the VS movie, he leaves without saying goodbye. He said that it was too sad to say goodbye and instead chose to leave without saying a word. I think that says a lot about him. He's really a softie at heart and it shows that he truly likes the rest of the GaoRangers.
Silver and Tetomu have a very interesting relationship. Whenever he sees her, he sees her grandmother the previous Priestess Murasaki. I think that he had a thing for her grandmother and it might have transferred over to her, partially, once he realized how similar the two of them were. I'm not too sure if she had feelings for him, but I know that she was tired of him comparing her to her grandmother. If I were her, I'd be tired of it too.
He was really cool as a character and I loved him as well.
GaoPriestess - Tetomu
The second oldest (she's also over 1000 years old), she's the mentor of the GaoRangers. I don't really have too much to say about her, but I'll go over the essentials and what I think of her anyways.
Tetomu is very innocent and childlike when she's outside of Gao's Rock, earning her weird stares as she walks the streets of Tokyo in her stranger clothing. However, she's quite the fighter (seriously) and is pretty fierce when she wants to be.
An amazing cook and has the strange ability to charge electronic equipment just by touching them, Tetomu is definitely not your typical character. She usually lies dormant in the sacred spring inside of Gao's Rock when there are no missions and pops out of the spring in a flash of light, usually taking the others by complete surprise.
I liked her for her quirkiness. There were times when her wistful way of speaking got on my nerves, but I didn't hold it against her. She was still hilarious with the television so I forgave her.
Ages of Characters
Just for fun (and in order from oldest to youngest):
GaoSilver - Shirogane: 1,062 years old
Tetomu: 1,022 years old
GaoRed - Shishi Kakeru (Dr.): 24 years old
GaoYellow - Washio Gaku: 23 years old
GaoBlack - Ushigome Soutarou: 22 years old
GaoBlue - Samezu Kai: 19 years old
GaoWhite - Taiga Sae: 17 years old
Well, that took a long time. I was originally going to put the entire review on this one post, but I realized that it would be WAY too long and this post is already long enough. Therefore, I'm separating it into sections. 'Characters' are officially completed, and I'm going to move on to their powers next time.
If you don't have the patience to read my review or if you just want general info on the GaoRangers, just click HERE and you can read the Wiki article on them. There are pictures there of each character (minus Tetomu because she's classified as an "ally") as well as the names of the actors and actresses who play them. I'm going to warn you that there are spoilers there too.
Stay tuned, folks!
~ C. Martlet