A broad view of Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger, 2016 animal-themed Super Sentai.
Team Fanboy takes a look at Zyuohger this weekend. Salaryman here again giving you another inspection of a tried and tested formula for a TV series originating from the Land of the Rising Sun. Oh yeah y’all know this and for some of you and especially from Team Fanboy, has been watching Super Sentais just after Marcos has been ousted from Malacañang.
25 episodes in and the series is nothing but awesome, what can you get when the literal English translation of Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger is Animal Squadron Beast King Rangers? The series is a breath of fresh settings and new theme; I say this because the last 2 series are not up to par with the prestigious history of spandex wearing teenagers with different color motifs fighting alien/monster threats every week since 1975. I say this not as an expert but as a…. Fan. What can we expect with this one? Read on true believer.
We start first with the bane of the series: the Deathgaliens. Their leader Ginis and his Generals: Azaul (the immortal bruiser), Cubal (the conniving opportunist who has his own vendetta against Ginis) and Naria (the ever loyal Secretary). Their beef with Earth? Nothing. They just needed a place to play their 100th Blood Game whose ONLY rule is to amuse Ginis and whoever can do so will be rewarded. To that end, no one is safe from the havoc they will ensue. How does that Zyoughers come into the game? It’s because Yamato Kazakiri’s curiosity. More to that on the next paragraph.
Yamato has a history with a certain “Birdman” who he saved once and as thanks he left him with a Rubik’s Cubed-like artifact. That artifact turned out to be one of the “Marks of the King” – a set of six cubes that possess a mysterious power. They originally kept the portal between Earth and Zyuland via the Link Cube gateway until one of Mark was stolen by the same person who gave it to a little boy. That same boy discovered the Link Cube again and thus he was accidentally transported to Zyuland, a place where humanoid bipedal animals live. He immediately was branded as the thief by the four guardians of the Cube aaaand you guess right; they are Sela, Leo, Tusk and Amu – comprising the new Super Sentai.
Ok to explain how these two factions fit together…. Yamato escaped Zyuland and arrived back on Earth with the four guardians tagging along the trip back just as exactly when the Deathgaliens commenced their games. Caught with the chaos and stranded when the Link Cube destroyed, the 4 Zyumans with Yamato band together to fight off the rowdy aliens and possibly find the Birdman again since 6 cubes are needed to restore the Link Cube. Pretty solid origins right? That where their adventures begin.
Now this post would not be complete if I don’t give a quick low-down on each of the Rangers right?
Yamato Kazakiri: The perennial Red Sentai. Calm, collected and a novice Zoologist. When he was young, he helped a mysterious bird-man. As token of gratitude, he gave Yamato a mysterious Cube. A passionate person, he’s the type that is willing to take on everthing. His respect for life and love of animals made worthy to sumon the power of the Mark of the King, something which only a Zyuman should be able to do.
Sela: Sela is a Shark Zyuman with very sensitive hearing. She is the type who doesn’t want to show others her weaknes and doesn’t like to lose although her motherly skills are apparent to anyone she care for. Plus she has an overbite which is super kawaii!
Leo: The loudmouth of the group whose roar is troublesome to his enemies and also to Sela. he is seemingly the strongest brawler in all the Zyoughers but none of the restraint when it comes to butting heads with the enemies. Nonetheless, he harbors deep honor and loyalty to his friends.
Tusk: In every Tokusatsu, anime, Japanese drama there is always one person who is serious and “mataray” for this group it’s the Elephant man. The most intelligent of the four Zyumans and though he seems like the insensitive, unapproachable-type, he’s actually extremely kind. In addition, he has a sharp sense of smell.
Amu: The Pink Ranger with all of her quirks and beauty. Her taste buds are so acute that she can tell the ingredients of anything she eat or drinks! Aside from that, she is the most acute, no pun intended, of all with a cool head in every problem, she can think of a solution especially when it comes to their most peculiar member…
Misao Mondo: He is the most indecisive Ranger I’ve seen, why? Because he has 3 Zyumans imprinted onto him by Ginis. Please watch the show to know why. His skins is so sensitive that he can detect faint signs of anything. Calling himself Zyuoh The World he fight with 3 modes: Rhino, Wolf and Crocodile.
So to close this report, my verdict is a 5 out of 5. The series is a fit for a Showa fan like myself. Their stories although is as mentioned tried and tested for a Super Sentai show, the episodes are not lackluster. It’s fun, action-packed and most of all the story progression is engaging to the end and we’re just in the middle of it all.
