Seiju Sentai Gingaman
The Starbeasts: They are mysterious animals who fight for the sake of defending harmony in the Milky Way!
Seiju Sentai Gingaman was the Super Sentai series for 1998; 3000 years ago, the Baluban space pirates showed up on Earth, intent on ravaging, pillaging, and eventually destroying it to turn it into a highly valuable gemstone. Fortunately, they were defeated and sealed away by the Gingaman team, a group of warriors from the Ginga Forest able to channel the power of the Earth through their bodies, along with the Star Beasts. But in the present day, as the 133rd warriors are being named, an earthquake breaks the seal on the Baluban pirates, releasing them but not their Demon Beast Daitanix, the creature that carries them from world to world and destroys them as they leave. Our heroes are soon forced to leave behind the Ginga forest and enter the outside world to defend it from the evil Captain Zahab and his motley crew.
Oh, and only the first 27 episodes have been subbed and there are no episode summaries for anything after that.
One interesting thing about Gingaman is that Captain Zahab has four different generals under his command, each with their own distinct motifs and approaches, and because they get along like oil in a firestorm, Zahab orders them to go one at a time so they don't get in each others way. This works at first, but eventually betrayal and double crossing makes its way into the ranks, making things deliciously complicated. Also, the method by which the monster of the week is made giant is an interesting one; they ingest a substance known as "Baluba-X", and it is specifically noted that while it turns them giant, it also causes them to slowly die, which neatly explains why they wait until after they've been defeated on the ground before going giant. I like that sort of thing, it shows thought.
The heroes are also well done; you have Ryouma who only became Ginga Red because his older brother Hyuuga was "killed" by Zahab at the start of the series, so he's got a lot on his shoulders to deal with. Hayate, Ginga Green, the calm and steady second in command for the team, he had a fiance back in the Ginga Forest before everything went south and ends up in a rivalry against the swords woman Shelinda. Gouki, Ginga Blue, the gentle giant of the group who's subplot involves a teacher that he has fallen for and tries to woo; also, a good cook. Hikaru, Ginga Yellow, the impulsive, irreverent and bratty member of the group who nevertheless knows where the line is and not to cross it. Saya, Ginga Pink, the lone female of the group, she had a deep admiration for Hyuuga and as such tries to be a great warrior like him, and by and large she succeeds at this most admirably. Later on, The Black Knight Bullblack arrives to exact vengeance on the Baluban pirates for having destroyed his home world and killed his little brother, and he's none too concerned about who gets caught in the cross fire. Overall, the dynamics of the group are well done and their development over the course of the series is solid.
The Star Beasts serve as the mecha for the series, and interestingly enough their default state is not a mechanical looking one, and they are quite capable of fighting in their organic forms, which makes the early episodes feel like pokemon or digimon battles, which is neat. Sadly, the combined mecha, Gingaioh, doesn't really look all that impressive, and the upgrade it gets halfway through is unimpressive. Fortunately, the other mecha are well designed and are quite nice to look at as they kick ass and take names.
However, there are some downsides; there are several episodes that try to be funny and are just annoying, complete with "wahh-wahh" music. The backstory of the Ginga Forest isn't nearly as well fleshed out and explored as I would have liked, and there are a couple of subplots that have disappointing resolutions.
Overall, Gingaman is a very good show with a lot going for it, but it does fall a bit shy of what it could have been.
Seiju Sentai Gingaman was the Super Sentai series for 1998; 3000 years ago, the Baluban space pirates showed up on Earth, intent on ravaging, pillaging, and eventually destroying it to turn it into a highly valuable gemstone. Fortunately, they were defeated and sealed away by the Gingaman team, a group of warriors from the Ginga Forest able to channel the power of the Earth through their bodies, along with the Star Beasts. But in the present day, as the 133rd warriors are being named, an earthquake breaks the seal on the Baluban pirates, releasing them but not their Demon Beast Daitanix, the creature that carries them from world to world and destroys them as they leave. Our heroes are soon forced to leave behind the Ginga forest and enter the outside world to defend it from the evil Captain Zahab and his motley crew.
Oh, and only the first 27 episodes have been subbed and there are no episode summaries for anything after that.
One interesting thing about Gingaman is that Captain Zahab has four different generals under his command, each with their own distinct motifs and approaches, and because they get along like oil in a firestorm, Zahab orders them to go one at a time so they don't get in each others way. This works at first, but eventually betrayal and double crossing makes its way into the ranks, making things deliciously complicated. Also, the method by which the monster of the week is made giant is an interesting one; they ingest a substance known as "Baluba-X", and it is specifically noted that while it turns them giant, it also causes them to slowly die, which neatly explains why they wait until after they've been defeated on the ground before going giant. I like that sort of thing, it shows thought.
The heroes are also well done; you have Ryouma who only became Ginga Red because his older brother Hyuuga was "killed" by Zahab at the start of the series, so he's got a lot on his shoulders to deal with. Hayate, Ginga Green, the calm and steady second in command for the team, he had a fiance back in the Ginga Forest before everything went south and ends up in a rivalry against the swords woman Shelinda. Gouki, Ginga Blue, the gentle giant of the group who's subplot involves a teacher that he has fallen for and tries to woo; also, a good cook. Hikaru, Ginga Yellow, the impulsive, irreverent and bratty member of the group who nevertheless knows where the line is and not to cross it. Saya, Ginga Pink, the lone female of the group, she had a deep admiration for Hyuuga and as such tries to be a great warrior like him, and by and large she succeeds at this most admirably. Later on, The Black Knight Bullblack arrives to exact vengeance on the Baluban pirates for having destroyed his home world and killed his little brother, and he's none too concerned about who gets caught in the cross fire. Overall, the dynamics of the group are well done and their development over the course of the series is solid.
The Star Beasts serve as the mecha for the series, and interestingly enough their default state is not a mechanical looking one, and they are quite capable of fighting in their organic forms, which makes the early episodes feel like pokemon or digimon battles, which is neat. Sadly, the combined mecha, Gingaioh, doesn't really look all that impressive, and the upgrade it gets halfway through is unimpressive. Fortunately, the other mecha are well designed and are quite nice to look at as they kick ass and take names.
However, there are some downsides; there are several episodes that try to be funny and are just annoying, complete with "wahh-wahh" music. The backstory of the Ginga Forest isn't nearly as well fleshed out and explored as I would have liked, and there are a couple of subplots that have disappointing resolutions.
Overall, Gingaman is a very good show with a lot going for it, but it does fall a bit shy of what it could have been.