Sentai Mecha Discussion: Abaranger
 

AbarenOh
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170128072818
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170311083648
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170311084941
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170311073851
AbarenOh is a design I have a lot of memories with since I actually owned his toy but looking back in hindsight especially compared to other mechas, he's really middle of the road design. There are a few neat aspects about him though. The Tyranno Drill is easily the most iconic part of his design and it's not hard to see why, it's just a cool idea and it's not something many other Sentai mecha have. The ornaments on his shoulders and shins are also nice though I wish they weren't such a dull shade of gold. I do also like the way the colours are split on him, with yellow occupying most of the torso, both arms being predominantly blue and red respectively, and silver being the colour that sort of unifies them together.

AbarenOhJi
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20160609092951
Since Ptera is only used to make the chest piece and helmet, there was kinda no reason why Tyranno and Kera couldn't form a mecha on their own, which is how we got AbarenOhJi. It's a cool idea, having an incomplete version of the primary mecha and I'm surprised that the sword and shield is only used in this form, from what I've seen of Abaranger anyway.

Nagurusu/Nokodon/Rokkiru/Veilus
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20160609093455
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170311073036
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170401045106
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170311085536
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20140423012156
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170315064018
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20140423021049
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170225124621
Like Gaoranger, Abaranger has a bunch of auxillary mechas that simply form different limb attachments. While they are used in the combination of MaxRyuuOh, the way they are used in that combination isn't exactly the same as how they are used with AbarenOh which is why I want to cover them separately. They are all fine for the most part. They create some unique weapons for AbarenOh such as a boxing arm, a saw blade, and a giant pair of scissors. I like that they all share the same design aesthetic as the main 3 Bakuryuu, such as the abundance of silver and the shoulder ornaments, though for some reason Dimenokodon has it around the arm. I do question why Ankyloveilus forms another drill arm. I mean there's technically more to her than just that but on AbarenOh it just seems redundant.

KillerOh
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20130426223048
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170311074720
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170325155136
KillerOh very much has a more evil look to it compared to other Sentai mechas which makes sense considering it's AbareKiller's mecha, who was a villain for most of Abaranger from what I've read. The colour combination of white, purple and gold work very nice together. The use of gold over silver in particular is a nice contrast to AbarenOh. The head has a very weird shape to it though, I gotta say and having Stegoslidon's hind legs just sticking out around the waist looks lazy.

MaxOhJa
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20130110180008
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20170325125158
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20131107182525
MaxOhJa might be my favourite out of all the standard mechas. I love the heavy use of gold all around the mecha, gives it a very regal look. There's a lot more bulk to it compared to AbarenOh and KillerOh which I like quite a bit. I also quite like the cone head. It works with how bulky the mecha is and in particular I like the horns around the face and the large forehead jewel. The axes are pretty cool weapons as well. With all that said, while I do like bulky it is, there is a bit of discrepancy between the legs and the arms in terms of their bulk. The shoulders being asymmetrical also looks odd since the right shoulder looks heavier than the left shoulder.

MaxRyuuOh
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20160713221121
MaxRyuuOh, the combination of MaxOhJa and the four auxillary Bakuryuu. It's a little weird to me that Abaranger doesn't have many multi mecha combination, especially coming off Hurricaneger. MaxRyuuOh is cool enough, it very much looks like a souped-up version of MaxOhJa and the little upgrades that Bachycelonagurus and Ankyloveilus get are pretty neat since they change up the way they look as weapons. However Dimenokodon and Parasarokkiru being relegated to the legs is pretty lame since you can barely tell that they are even in there. Also while I like the new helmet, I think it's a tad too small given how bulky the rest of the mecha is.

OoAbarenOh/Killer AbarenOh
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20130816074119
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20130816073929
Technically the final combination of the series, OoAbarenOh is pretty obviously something that they just thrown together at the last minute. I mean for one, it's just an upgraded version of Killer AbarenOh who showed up in the movie, which is why I'm including it in the same section. Killer AbarenOh isn't even that interesting since while it's technically a combination between AbarenOh and KillerOh, all it amounts to is Stegoslidon forming his Slidon formation, which was easily the lamest out of all the auxillarry combination, and TopGaler forming a wing pack. The only thing that OoAbarenOh adds on top of that is the MaxRyuOh helmet, which I actually think works a little better here, and the axes which also marks one of the only time AbarenOh uses his actual hands outside of AbarenOhJi. These addition are nice but at the end of the day, it's just AbarenOh with more stuff on top of it.

BakurenOh
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20090413020202
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20121220212945
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/...20121220213032
The movie exclusive mecha, essentially an evil version of AbarenOh and a pretty cool one at that. I really like the colour scheme it has and having the sword and shield be its default formation is a nice way to differentiate it from AbarenOh

The fact that you forgot about Brachio makes me sad :(

That being said, I like Abaranger's mecha far more then I feel should. This is largely thanks to the fact that all of the mecha not only talk but have actually personalities. I'd almost go so far as to say its insulting how rare this is, given how big a priority the mecha is in the toyline these days. They aren't terrible if you ignore the fact that they're actual characters but outside of a few stand outs, such as Abarenoh and his large drill arm, none of them are really anything to write home about.

On a side note, Abarenoh's theme song kicks ass. It remains one of my favorite mecha themes in the franchise.

Brachio was more of a carrier mech. He didn't have a humanoid mecha form nor a combination with any of the other mechas which is why I didn't include him here, same as why I didn't include the carrier mechs from some of the earlier Sentai shows.

Yeah, it's a pretty awesome theme.

Abaranger's mechs were always ones that I wanted to like more, but there's always one or two details that just put me off towards them. My favorite is the default AbarenOh, but my problems with that one stems from it's toy overly chunky and poorly proportioned design, so even that one bothers me in one way or another :lol

I really want to love Killer Oh and MaxOhJa, but their heads are too silly, and Killer's bothers me due to how little the stego actually does, while Max's arms just feel too thin in comparison to the rest of his body.

I loved how colorful they were as an ensemble and Tyra at the time I thought was a nice step-up from Zyuranger's T-Rex design-wise. Abarenoh though despite a cool combination sequence clip and cool finishing move I thought was a bit mediocre as time went on. KillerOh on the other hand was my favorite especially when it went berserk and did its finishing move.

Fun fact: there WAS a proposed DX Brachio for the line, scaled with the other Mecha.

it apparently never got past the prototype stage, presumably for economic reasons.
https://i.imgur.com/ttLn9xy.jpg

Economic reasons? Was something going on in Japan at the time?

Probably more that they thought it wouldn't be able to pay back its production cost. I mean for one, it would have to be very big in order to fit to scale with the DX toys, which translate to it being very expensive. Plus you need have the other DX Bakuryuu's in order to make use of its primary and presumably only function, being a carrier.

True. The only other thing he could have possibly do was say Tokusatsu phrases like he did in the show, which would have driven the price up even higher thanks to the electronics.

Actually, in toy version, the DX Bakuryuu Brachiosaurus head and neck can removed from his body. The Bakuryuu Brachiosaurus head and neck can become new arm for AbarenOh or KillerOh.