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This is a parody of shows such as Power Rangers and Sailor Moon. It takes the familiar elements (a team of five people who transform into colorful super-heroes and fight alien invaders) and adds a few twists. None of the humor is over the top, in fact it is fairly low-key. Which I like just fine.

To its credit, I did watch this anime all the way through. Most of Go Nagai's productions have that effect on me. But if you're a fan of anime, keep in mind, not all anime that makes it to this side of the Pacific is good.

There were some half-hearted attempts to bring some sophistication to this story, but personally, I was quickly distracted from those attempts by the gratuitous breast shots and the fountains of blood.

There is also an attempt to build Savage Jack into a anti-hero, which doesn't completely succeeds, and winds up making him more of a thug than anything else.

I was quite surprised to see this movie show up at my local Blockbuster. I'd heard of it before, but I knew it's a relatively unknown movie in North America. Here are my (disorganized) thoughts on it.

I must say that it was a very pleasant surprise for me. I knew this movie was notorious for its use of SFX, but the way they are used for the fight scenes is visually creative, and are very much reminiscent of what one would see in a FINAL FANTASY video game (VII and later). It also brought to mind the mystical warriors of BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, which was possibly an inspiration for the filmmakers.

I also enjoyed the soundtrack and the gorgeous sets. Some of the storytelling techniques used were initially jarring, but I quickly got used to them. The dubbing was competent, and did not bother me as much as it usually does. Sonny Chiba's portrayal of 'Lord Conquer' brought a lot to this movie, what a great villain. Qi Shu was lovely!