Tokusou sentai Dekarenjâ

Words can't describe how bad this show is. It has absolutely no plot (as of this writing the series is about to end and all they seem to be doing is introducing new toys...I mean characters). The cast is supposed to be made up of elite cops who tend to goof off and be pretty instead of trying to act.

It's convoluted junk. The acting is bad. The characters are lame. The designs are horrid. The action is weak. And since a show about the planet's most elite and finest cops happens to be a comedy in this case, the comedy is unfunny. To enjoy this heap of waste would most likely require a lobotomy.

"Dekaranger" is the 2004 entry in Japan's long-running series of "sentai" action-adventure programs highlighting the exploits of various teams of "Rangers" in color-coded costumes. I watched four episodes of "Dekaranger" after watching the season opener for "Power Rangers S. P. D.," the American counterpart of "Dekaranger." Interestingly, the characters in "S. P. D." are considerably older than their Japanese equivalents, who all seem quite young. Dekaranger's Pink Ranger is quite short (under five feet) and looks and behaves as if she was 14 or 15, while the others all have a late-teen vibe about them. (The ages given for their characters on one website are considerably older than they look and behave.) They squabble amongst themselves, much more than usual for a sentai team, which makes them a little different and, in fact, a little refreshing. It helps that Pink Ranger, Umeko (played by Mika Kikuchi), is so darned cute and perky, and that Yellow Ranger, Jasmine (played by Ayumi Kinoshita), is so pretty. Green Ranger is the quiet, serious no-nonsense one, Red Ranger is the wild, irresponsible, individualistic one and Blue Ranger is the one who fights with Red Ranger the most. (This relationship is echoed in "S. P. D.")

There's a lot of good action in the episodes I watched, including lots of battles with aliens and robot henchmen. There's a rousing Zord battle reminiscent of the Zord action in "Go Go Five" (also reviewed on this site) and its U. S. counterpart, "Lightspeed Rescue," and several good martial arts battles and stunts. There's a clever bit in ep. 4 where an alien opponent sends the combatants teleporting all over Tokyo, so Red and Blue Rangers find themselves fighting the alien in an empty speeding commuter train one minute and then on the back of a truck immediately thereafter. What I've always liked about sentai series is the frequency of on-location battles as characters in outlandish costumes go at each other in dramatic locales and sprawling public spaces. It gives a sense of believability and immediacy to the otherwise preposterous (but highly enjoyable) goings-on.

Ever since Disney got the rights to Power Rangers they forgot the art of storytelling let alone adaptation. This is where the original came from in SPD. Great vast number of individual characters. Ban the fireball, Hoji the professional, Sen-chan the thinker, Jasmin the calm ESPer, and Umeko the perky one. They are later joined by Tetsu the one with the gold badge. The story are well done. They have their fare share of series and comedic episodes. The actors are way more into their characters when compared to their SPD counterparts. It is a great series. If you like Power Rangers and saw SPD. You should not miss how it was rightfully done in Dekaranger.

As a person who has viewed the entire Super Sentai series since its inception in 1975, DEKA-RANGER stands as one of the best shows of the sub-genre. From the sharp opening theme song to the charismatic Doggy Kruger (Deka-Master) to the insidious Agent Abrela, this show hits all cylinders in terms of music, acting, storyline, and visual SFX. The fact that the main 5 are top-notch actors helps, along with a great supporting cast, and practical usage of the mecha (giant robots) in the series without going into overkill. For the male fans of the series, the two actresses (Kinoshita Ayumi as Jasmine / Deka-Yellow and Kikuchi Mika as Umeko / Deka-Pink) are quite striking looking and for new starlets, are able to hold their own in scenes requiring skills other than their obvious physical beauty. Forget the Americanized POWER RANGERS S.P.D.--DEKA-RANGER will blow it away.

Yes! I watched then since I was 7! Now I'm 20!. Once upon a time Dekarangers suddenly popped on my facebook page and I just simply watched it, and WOW! After rewatching the deka fighting scene my childhood memories starts to flooded into my head and made me wants to watch dekarangers again!