[Fish Sandwich]

~Fish's Zenkai Tour!~

Episode. 28 – Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger



See, now this is the mid 2000's Sentai written by Naruhisa Arakawa I'm always thinking of. And it's not even like I've seen it already! No, sure enough, watching the premiere for the tour was the first proper episode of this show I've ever seen. But Dekaranger managed to leave one heck of a lasting impression on the franchise, and that wasn't really because it was influential or anything – it was just that *awesome*. People freakin' love Dekaranger, and it's even got the Seiun Award to prove it, a badge of honor for science fiction works in Japan that only a select few tokusatsu television series have ever received.

These five cool detectives with fiery hearts have gone on to appear in a bunch of post-series material, including a ton of crossovers I have seen, so it really didn't even feel like stepping into uncharted territory finally checking out a bit of the series. I mean, I even already checked out the movie on a whim years ago. Oh, and the theme song rules, if that needs saying. This show sorta just feels like home, you know? If I've got my fansub history right, this was even the very first Sentai TV-Nihon translated waaaay back as it was airing, so it would've been one of, if not the very first Sentai to be made pretty readily accessible to international fans online. (Not that I was aware of any of this at the time, of course.) Sometimes I feel like all of us are fans of Dekaranger; we just don't always know it yet.

But like, that's hyperbole, right? I'm probably just feeling way too fired up on account of Dekaranger's first episode being so full of that Arakawa swagger. This is another premiere that gets right to the action, with the very first thing that happens being an epic car chase scene on an alien planet, lovingly crafted entirely with miniatures, immediately establishing a conscious decision Dekaranger made to push in the opposite direction of all that fancy CG, bringing things back to basics for that raw feel you can only get with props. It's a glorious little sequence, thrilling, yet with a cute gag or two thrown in, and it gets you up to speed on the episode's titular Fireball Newcomer, Deka Red, who is all kinds of crazy. I mean, Reds by this point in the franchise already tended to be rather passionate, but Ban ramps it up to a whole new level. I said Dekaranger isn't particularly notable for directly influencing the franchise in the long-term, but Deka Red arguably codified a sort of new standard for that color that Toei goes back to all the time. I know a lot of these Reds rub some fans the wrong way, but I've always seen the sense in having the "main" hero be sort of a big kid, with uncomplicated and excitable outlooks that would generally be pretty relatable for the actual kids watching at home.

Relatable as his personality is though, it's certainly not very professional, which might create some friction once he heads to Earth to join his new team. There's a very effective contrast between Ban's introductory segment and the other four Dekarangers. While the former is wild, energetic, and leans heavily on fantasy elements; over on Earth, things are much more precise, methodical, and grounded. There's a bit of Kamen Rider Kuuga's style poking through as we see regular everyday cops and citizens reacting to some creature terrorizing the city. Although in this case the actual problem is merely a giant alien holding a bus full of people hostage. Well, I mean, "merely", but trust me, the Special Police have got it under control – rolling up in their oversized vehicles that are shown making their way through ordinary traffic, the kind of consideration for realism ordinarily reserved for GoGoFive. The trick here is that, as I mentioned, the show is also completely unconcerned with realism elsewhere, so on top of simply looking cool, this is establishing the uniquely varied tone and style of the setting. Dekaranger was a cop show all about those weekly cases, and it makes sure to create room in that world for all sorts of stories to be told. (Or at least, I assume based on what I have absorbed about this show over the years.)

The team heads back to base after wrapping things up (literally!), demonstrating yet more cool miniature and set design work, and also getting them hot on the trail of a much deeper case at the root of the one they just resolved. It's as cop show as can be as they hit the mean streets to track down leads, resulting in the obligatory confrontation with an obvious suspect – a shady robot in a trench coat. It's all pretty normal stuff, and the fight is cool... until Ban finally shows back up, and the fight becomes fiery. Dekaranger marks the first time in quite a while that Super Sentai got a new action director, and I'm going to assume that's part of why the climax to this one is so insane. Deka Red has a super distinctive fighting style, running around using his two handguns in all sorts of dynamic ways, only most of which actually involve firing them, and that means things get real intense when he's involved. It's such a delightful display, it's honestly hard to even care how right his new pals are about him being a showoff. Sure, Ban maybe has that punch to the face coming for blowing up their only lead, but, on the other hand, how cool was it when he blew up that robot!!!?

So uh, yeah, Dekaranger is pretty sweet, but I already knew that going in. I love cop stuff to begin with, and this is that plus Sentai plus sci-fi plus Arakawa, so it's only a matter of time before I finally sit down to watch this show in full, and become the huge fan I know I'm destined to be. It's got its target locked on my heart!