Lauren's picks for Favorite Sentai Boys
so, I got this idea from one of my best friends Min-chan. I asked her who her favorite sentai warriors, and she responded with a top 5 for the females and a top 5 for the males. So, I followed her chance, but instead of top 5, I have 8 for each in order, with 2 honorable mentions on the male and female sides. So sue me, I get attached easily. But the boys first. note that I am going to give a little bit about why I like each of the characters.
There may be spoilers for certain series beneath this cut; by my watch, there is:
-Ayase's fate at the end of Timeranger
-Naoto and Captain Ryuuya's fates
-Satora's fate (not counting Geki vs. Bouken)
Honorable mentions go to ones who I only didn't rank by number because it would've gotten crowded. First up is:
Jan Kandou (GekiRed), played by Hiroki Suzuki.
Ah Jan. I wasn't originally going to watch Gekiranger, because I saw the first few, and was thrown by how much crack was in the first few episodes. Eventually, I succumbed and started watching (for reasons later in the standings), but one of the things that I will miss about it is Jan, and his facial expressions. Seriously, the boy has the best facial expressions of anyone that comes to recent memory. When he looks sad, it's like his world is crumbling around him and when he's happy, his whole face lights up and he looks like he could bounce around the room from sheer energy.
The other honorable mention goes to this particular fellow:
Ayase (TimeBlue) played by Yuji Kido. (picture from mariko_azrael)
ah Ayase. you and Tatsuya were duking it out over who would get an HM and who would be on the list. but anyway, for anyone who watched Power Rangers Time Force, the blue ranger there, Lucas Kendall is somewhat of an egotistical, caring, racecar driving speed fiend. Since I have a few Timeranger characters on both lists, let me just say that Time Force followed Timeranger very precisely, and so the plot and characters are eerily similar (more so than in any other sentai I've seen). Ayase, like Lucas, is also a former racecar driver, but there's a big difference. Ayase has a life-threating disease called Osiris Syndrome (I don't think this is a real disease), but the only manifestations that you see of it on Ayase is real pain under certain circumstances that happen by chance and not very often. Of course at the end, history is altered and there is a cure, but that does not matter. Ayase is a very quiet character who takes a bit of warming up too, as I didn't like him at first. He is very serious and doesn't take anything for granted.
now onto the actual numbered rankings.
8.
Tatsuya Asami (TimeRed), played by Masaru Nagai.
Tatsuya, like Ayase before him here, is pretty much a copy of Wes from TF (though technically Wes should be a copy of Tatsuya, since he existed first, but since I saw TF before Timeranger, I think of it the other way around). Tatsuya is a huge dork. An adorable, brave dork but still a dork all the way. He truly believes in helping people for the sake of helping them, and shuns his father's company, which only wants to make money off people. in Timeranger vs. GoGoV, he admires the rescue team unabashdely at first.
7.
Kenta Date (MegaRed), played by Kunihiko Oshiba.
Kenta, once again is a huge dork, plain and simple. However, given the little amount of Megaranger that I have seen, he's my favorite out of the guys so far. He's in the process of learning how to be a team player, and is resistent to authority figures *coughKouichirocough*. But he is able to understand people, even if he isn't the brightest bulb in the pack and loses his temper easily. Here's hoping he gets better.
6.
Naoto Takizawa (TimeFire), played by Shinji Kasahara.
*shakes head* remember how I said before TF characters are pratically copies of their Timeranger counterparts. Most of the core 5 rangers have a few differences (small sometimes but still), but Naoto is like his counterpart Eric down to a tee. everything is the same, except for the most important thing - their fate. Naoto is a self-centered, claw his way to the top kind of guy who clashes with Tatsuya, much like Wes & Eric clashed. Naoto is in it for himself and no one else. (HE EVEN TALKS TO HIS BIRDS, JUST LIKE ERIC DID!) besides the creepy similarities, there is the thing that sets them apart - Eric got shot by a Cyclobot in the "End of Time, part 2 & 3 (I really don't remember which part). I've read that they were considering killing off Eric, but then the PR people eventually decided against it (which is good, because I had really grown fond of Eric). But Naoto dies, in one of the most truly heartbreaking ways you can think of. As I mentioned in this paragraph, Naoto had a pair of birds that he talked to, and then gave away to his neighbor girl (JUST LIKE ERIC AGAIN). also, like Eric, Naoto gets shot by a Zenitto (the Sentai name for Cyclobots) and is taken by a hospital to Tatsuya, where they have a real heart-to-heart, in which they talk about all the wonderful things they're going to do after the big enemy is defeated and how they determine what happens in their own lives. Since Tatsuya's future teammates have been sent back to their original time (JUST LIKE IN TIME FORCE), Tatsuya has to leave Naoto to go off and fight the seemingly endless enemy army. Naoto talks to himself about how Tatsuya was happy with himself and somehow he'll survive (before this, Naoto was in a bad state from his injuries, and coughed up a little blood). Naoto reflects that he's always wanted to know what comes after power, and then makes a chilling statement: "That's...if I'll live." A few minutes later, Naoto sees a little girl that he had saved earlier, and realizes that her lost bird still hasn't come back. He spots it outside the makeshift hospital, and struggles outside, since he is in a lot of pain and heavily bandaged. Meanwhile in the future, Timerangers' version of Alex, Captain Ryuuya (played by the same guy who plays Tatsuya [ALSO JUST LIKE IN TIME FORCE]) is checking a history file, and enters the data that says the TimeFire pilot, Naoto died. The comptuer claims that this is not correct, that it does not match history, though Ryuuta forces it to accept the change. Ryuuya is covering up the fact that he was the original TimeFire pilot, and that in the alternate futures, he had died. He simply changed the TimeFire pilot to Naoto so he wouldn't be killed that way. But Ayase kills him later, so all is well there. anyway back to Naoto. While retreiving the bird for the little girl, a lone Zenitto comes and shoots him...off a staircase (like picture a staircase going up, that then turns left, and Naoto somehow falls off the outside place, as if he was hanging onto the side of the stairs without the steps, and falls. Tatsuya finds him sometime later, and Naoto urges Tatsuya to change the future and then he dies. *sobs* WHY MUST HE BE SO TORTURED?! WHY TOEI!!!!! anyway, I like Naoto because he really is a tortured soul and isn't cleared of that mentatality in a few episodes after he is introduced. It takes him dying to really change sides. Poor thing, watching him die, so I could get it right for this description made me tear up.
5.
Gou Fukami (GekiViolet), played by Riki Miura.
Plain and simple, the reason I really started watching Geki. he belongs to Min-Chan, but he's my favorite out of the Geki boys. Just the effort that he puts into his training and his attitude about life really make me identify with him.
4.
Houji 'Hoji' Tomasu (DekaBlue), played by Tsuyoshi Hayashi.
Hoji-san, where to start. Since most sentai people I know have watched Deka, I really don't need to elaborate on this guy. Hoji starts out the series as an uptight perfectionist who hates ametures (like Ban). But over the course of the series, he develops into something more. Sure, his duties as a Deka take precedence over everything (including his little sister's wedding), but not because he wants them to, but he knows that it's what he signed up for. Hoji really develops into a person who cares and is compassionate about others (especially his teammates). It's just nice to watch his transistion, and he comes out as an admirable guy.
3.
Tekkan 'Tetsu' Aira (DekaBreak), played by Tomokazu Yoshida.
Tetsu is certainly a unique spirit. He's very by the books, as an elite Deka (Tokkuyou), but learns that emotion can be the way to win or lose a battle as he works with the Earth Dekas (our main heroes). He's kind of a pariah, as he was raised around aliens and lost his parents when he was only 5. He doesn't know the meaning of the word 'tact' (see episode 45), and his catchphrase is 'Nonsense!'. Also, his character song rocks. Overall, Tetsu is kind of a big kid who can survive just fine on his own, but is still learning how to intearct properly with others.
2.
Satoru Akashi (BoukenRed), played by Mitsuomi Takashi.
This one, and the top person battled it out for the first slot, but Satoru ended up settling for 2nd place. Satoru has several talents - people instantly gravitate to him, he's completely loyal to his comrades and he has the natural ability to read people, which endears him to almost everyone (human, anyway) that he meets. He's completely adorable in a dorky way (as so many sentai reds often are) and he loves nothing more than a good adventure. He can be very reckless and forget about his own safety, but overall he's a very good guy. Another thing that drags him down is that he's completely oblivious when it comes to the girl who loves him, Sakura Nishihori, his team's Pink Ranger. She does everything but say it out loud and still he seems (mostly) oblivious. capncosmo has said that he does notice, but if he does, WHY DOESN'T HE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT ALREADY! *is sorry*. Anyway, despite his shortcomings, Satoru is a pretty awesome guy.
and now the number one pick (according to me, anyway).......*drumroll*
1.
Banban 'Ban' Azaka (DekaRed), played by Ryuuji Sainei.
okay, how many people are really suprised by this? There are not words to describe to say how much I really love this character. Ban is a fireball, totally reckless and always in it for justice. like Satoru, Ban can sometime forget his own safety to help others, but he's pretty much reckless in literally everything that he does. Other than that, he's got to be the most hyper character I've ever seen and take Jan's facial expression amazing abilities, and exaggerate it a few times, and you've got Ban. Now, I realize that this picture has him sad, but when he smiles, the smile threatens to take over his whole face. Oh Ban, why did Deka have to end and you had to leave us?! *cries and clings to Ban*
Man, that took longer than I anticapted (I partially blame Naoto and his backstory taking up a hell of a lot of room), but I enjoyed doing it. Expect the Sentai Girls to be up either late tonight, or sometime tomorrow afternoon. 'Till then, f-list.
--Lauren
There may be spoilers for certain series beneath this cut; by my watch, there is:
-Ayase's fate at the end of Timeranger
-Naoto and Captain Ryuuya's fates
-Satora's fate (not counting Geki vs. Bouken)
Honorable mentions go to ones who I only didn't rank by number because it would've gotten crowded. First up is:
Jan Kandou (GekiRed), played by Hiroki Suzuki.
Ah Jan. I wasn't originally going to watch Gekiranger, because I saw the first few, and was thrown by how much crack was in the first few episodes. Eventually, I succumbed and started watching (for reasons later in the standings), but one of the things that I will miss about it is Jan, and his facial expressions. Seriously, the boy has the best facial expressions of anyone that comes to recent memory. When he looks sad, it's like his world is crumbling around him and when he's happy, his whole face lights up and he looks like he could bounce around the room from sheer energy.
The other honorable mention goes to this particular fellow:
Ayase (TimeBlue) played by Yuji Kido. (picture from mariko_azrael)
ah Ayase. you and Tatsuya were duking it out over who would get an HM and who would be on the list. but anyway, for anyone who watched Power Rangers Time Force, the blue ranger there, Lucas Kendall is somewhat of an egotistical, caring, racecar driving speed fiend. Since I have a few Timeranger characters on both lists, let me just say that Time Force followed Timeranger very precisely, and so the plot and characters are eerily similar (more so than in any other sentai I've seen). Ayase, like Lucas, is also a former racecar driver, but there's a big difference. Ayase has a life-threating disease called Osiris Syndrome (I don't think this is a real disease), but the only manifestations that you see of it on Ayase is real pain under certain circumstances that happen by chance and not very often. Of course at the end, history is altered and there is a cure, but that does not matter. Ayase is a very quiet character who takes a bit of warming up too, as I didn't like him at first. He is very serious and doesn't take anything for granted.
now onto the actual numbered rankings.
8.
Tatsuya Asami (TimeRed), played by Masaru Nagai.
Tatsuya, like Ayase before him here, is pretty much a copy of Wes from TF (though technically Wes should be a copy of Tatsuya, since he existed first, but since I saw TF before Timeranger, I think of it the other way around). Tatsuya is a huge dork. An adorable, brave dork but still a dork all the way. He truly believes in helping people for the sake of helping them, and shuns his father's company, which only wants to make money off people. in Timeranger vs. GoGoV, he admires the rescue team unabashdely at first.
7.
Kenta Date (MegaRed), played by Kunihiko Oshiba.
Kenta, once again is a huge dork, plain and simple. However, given the little amount of Megaranger that I have seen, he's my favorite out of the guys so far. He's in the process of learning how to be a team player, and is resistent to authority figures *coughKouichirocough*. But he is able to understand people, even if he isn't the brightest bulb in the pack and loses his temper easily. Here's hoping he gets better.
6.
Naoto Takizawa (TimeFire), played by Shinji Kasahara.
*shakes head* remember how I said before TF characters are pratically copies of their Timeranger counterparts. Most of the core 5 rangers have a few differences (small sometimes but still), but Naoto is like his counterpart Eric down to a tee. everything is the same, except for the most important thing - their fate. Naoto is a self-centered, claw his way to the top kind of guy who clashes with Tatsuya, much like Wes & Eric clashed. Naoto is in it for himself and no one else. (HE EVEN TALKS TO HIS BIRDS, JUST LIKE ERIC DID!) besides the creepy similarities, there is the thing that sets them apart - Eric got shot by a Cyclobot in the "End of Time, part 2 & 3 (I really don't remember which part). I've read that they were considering killing off Eric, but then the PR people eventually decided against it (which is good, because I had really grown fond of Eric). But Naoto dies, in one of the most truly heartbreaking ways you can think of. As I mentioned in this paragraph, Naoto had a pair of birds that he talked to, and then gave away to his neighbor girl (JUST LIKE ERIC AGAIN). also, like Eric, Naoto gets shot by a Zenitto (the Sentai name for Cyclobots) and is taken by a hospital to Tatsuya, where they have a real heart-to-heart, in which they talk about all the wonderful things they're going to do after the big enemy is defeated and how they determine what happens in their own lives. Since Tatsuya's future teammates have been sent back to their original time (JUST LIKE IN TIME FORCE), Tatsuya has to leave Naoto to go off and fight the seemingly endless enemy army. Naoto talks to himself about how Tatsuya was happy with himself and somehow he'll survive (before this, Naoto was in a bad state from his injuries, and coughed up a little blood). Naoto reflects that he's always wanted to know what comes after power, and then makes a chilling statement: "That's...if I'll live." A few minutes later, Naoto sees a little girl that he had saved earlier, and realizes that her lost bird still hasn't come back. He spots it outside the makeshift hospital, and struggles outside, since he is in a lot of pain and heavily bandaged. Meanwhile in the future, Timerangers' version of Alex, Captain Ryuuya (played by the same guy who plays Tatsuya [ALSO JUST LIKE IN TIME FORCE]) is checking a history file, and enters the data that says the TimeFire pilot, Naoto died. The comptuer claims that this is not correct, that it does not match history, though Ryuuta forces it to accept the change. Ryuuya is covering up the fact that he was the original TimeFire pilot, and that in the alternate futures, he had died. He simply changed the TimeFire pilot to Naoto so he wouldn't be killed that way. But Ayase kills him later, so all is well there. anyway back to Naoto. While retreiving the bird for the little girl, a lone Zenitto comes and shoots him...off a staircase (like picture a staircase going up, that then turns left, and Naoto somehow falls off the outside place, as if he was hanging onto the side of the stairs without the steps, and falls. Tatsuya finds him sometime later, and Naoto urges Tatsuya to change the future and then he dies. *sobs* WHY MUST HE BE SO TORTURED?! WHY TOEI!!!!! anyway, I like Naoto because he really is a tortured soul and isn't cleared of that mentatality in a few episodes after he is introduced. It takes him dying to really change sides. Poor thing, watching him die, so I could get it right for this description made me tear up.
5.
Gou Fukami (GekiViolet), played by Riki Miura.
Plain and simple, the reason I really started watching Geki. he belongs to Min-Chan, but he's my favorite out of the Geki boys. Just the effort that he puts into his training and his attitude about life really make me identify with him.
4.
Houji 'Hoji' Tomasu (DekaBlue), played by Tsuyoshi Hayashi.
Hoji-san, where to start. Since most sentai people I know have watched Deka, I really don't need to elaborate on this guy. Hoji starts out the series as an uptight perfectionist who hates ametures (like Ban). But over the course of the series, he develops into something more. Sure, his duties as a Deka take precedence over everything (including his little sister's wedding), but not because he wants them to, but he knows that it's what he signed up for. Hoji really develops into a person who cares and is compassionate about others (especially his teammates). It's just nice to watch his transistion, and he comes out as an admirable guy.
3.
Tekkan 'Tetsu' Aira (DekaBreak), played by Tomokazu Yoshida.
Tetsu is certainly a unique spirit. He's very by the books, as an elite Deka (Tokkuyou), but learns that emotion can be the way to win or lose a battle as he works with the Earth Dekas (our main heroes). He's kind of a pariah, as he was raised around aliens and lost his parents when he was only 5. He doesn't know the meaning of the word 'tact' (see episode 45), and his catchphrase is 'Nonsense!'. Also, his character song rocks. Overall, Tetsu is kind of a big kid who can survive just fine on his own, but is still learning how to intearct properly with others.
2.
Satoru Akashi (BoukenRed), played by Mitsuomi Takashi.
This one, and the top person battled it out for the first slot, but Satoru ended up settling for 2nd place. Satoru has several talents - people instantly gravitate to him, he's completely loyal to his comrades and he has the natural ability to read people, which endears him to almost everyone (human, anyway) that he meets. He's completely adorable in a dorky way (as so many sentai reds often are) and he loves nothing more than a good adventure. He can be very reckless and forget about his own safety, but overall he's a very good guy. Another thing that drags him down is that he's completely oblivious when it comes to the girl who loves him, Sakura Nishihori, his team's Pink Ranger. She does everything but say it out loud and still he seems (mostly) oblivious. capncosmo has said that he does notice, but if he does, WHY DOESN'T HE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT ALREADY! *is sorry*. Anyway, despite his shortcomings, Satoru is a pretty awesome guy.
and now the number one pick (according to me, anyway).......*drumroll*
1.
Banban 'Ban' Azaka (DekaRed), played by Ryuuji Sainei.
okay, how many people are really suprised by this? There are not words to describe to say how much I really love this character. Ban is a fireball, totally reckless and always in it for justice. like Satoru, Ban can sometime forget his own safety to help others, but he's pretty much reckless in literally everything that he does. Other than that, he's got to be the most hyper character I've ever seen and take Jan's facial expression amazing abilities, and exaggerate it a few times, and you've got Ban. Now, I realize that this picture has him sad, but when he smiles, the smile threatens to take over his whole face. Oh Ban, why did Deka have to end and you had to leave us?! *cries and clings to Ban*
Man, that took longer than I anticapted (I partially blame Naoto and his backstory taking up a hell of a lot of room), but I enjoyed doing it. Expect the Sentai Girls to be up either late tonight, or sometime tomorrow afternoon. 'Till then, f-list.
--Lauren