[ComicGuy89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

No. Tell me. How did the characters grow? What occurred in the series that changed the characters from how they were in the beginning?
Because, outside Don's little arc, I can't think of any.
There was tons of potential and possible build up, but it's almost immediately dropped or solved by just destroying the monster.

Spoilers below, so be careful.

Remember, I never said it had the best character development, but I'd say what we got was pretty good. At the core I'd say that what the characters learned is to grow into heroes, hence the "Gokai" prefix. The Gokaigers were relatively selfish at first, seeking only goals that coincide with their own. Heck if Ahim didn't stop at the plight of the civilians under attack in the first episode, the Gokaigers might have not have lent a hand. Even when they did, it seemed largely about pride rather than selflessness. Although not at the level of the Zangyack, there was a sense that Earth and humanity were beneath them.

For a whole series about striving for your dreams, it's amazing that towards the end, they gave up their greatest dream, the one that gave them purpose for much of their later lives, for the sake of their predecessors that inspired them so. Their all-out assault on the Zangyack sealed their heroism, made them into proper Super Sentai.

Individually, they learned quite a lot of things too. Joe learned to let go of his past, Luka learned there is greater value than money, Don learned true courage, Ahim learned to adopt the strength of a warrior, Gai learned to step out of the shadow of his idols and find footing of his own. What Marvelous learned, of course, coincided with the overall heroic theme of Gokaiger as a whole. This is seen when Basco taunted Marvelous with the truth of Akared's intentions to save the Super Sentai rather than to obtain some glorious treasure. The Marvelous of episode 1 might have felt betrayed, but the Marvelous of the final episodes merely shrugged it off.

Yes, the character development here may arguably not be as strong as say, ShinkenRed, Rio, Abarekiller, Black Hawk, or any number of past Sentai heroes. However, who says a series has to focus solely on character development? Again, this is what I liked about Gokaiger, it's good in almost everything, even if it may not excel as much as past examples. Gokaiger is more than the sum of its parts, and those parts are all very good to begin with, in my opinion.