When the Monster Army invaded Earth thirteen years ago, the Divine Dragon Rangers rose up to stop
them! With the war raging on, these great heroes are mankind’s last hope!
...or are they?
In truth, the invaders were subjugated within a year, forced to continue to crank out a monster a week
for the Rangers to crush in front of their adoring fans! But one monster has had enough. Something has
to change! He’ll rebel against the might of the Dragon Rangers and destroy them all...from the
inside!
(Source: Kodansha USA)
I really wanted to like Go Go Loser Ranger. I thought the first three episodes were really good and was eagerly looking forward to seeing the payoffs from what it had setup. Instead it led into a six episode arc of introducing far too many characters, dumping their entire characterisation on the audience at that moment, and then expecting you to care about the fight the anime then stuck you in for the entire middle portion of the show. A fight in a car park, with constant repeating frames and boring visual design. The stark generic characters stood out even more in how utterly bland and cliche they were by trying to stand out against the visual equivalent of white noise. This sluggard pace middle arc drags the quality of the show immensely. While I thought the show would pick up towards the end (and stuck with it due to thinking it could perhaps work itself out of what felt like an obligated shounen setup to embrace its own identity and play to its strengths) the final arc has two really good episodes that finally feel like the show realised what it should be about before ripping it away~!with Peltrolta getting the kill on Blue Ranger, rather than letting D live up to his potential and his skillset of being a very smart, backstabbing SOB!~. D was the only character I truly liked watching in this show, and even then I felt his characterisation was fumbled and odd. With the roster of side characters he was stuck with, he stood out as the only one the author had any intent of putting real development on. Special mention goes to the female characters who almost all seem to be some flavour of psychotic ~!shoutout to the brocon!~ or completely bland expies (Hisui design wise feels like someone did a GGLR design of Tatsumaki from OPM, she feels like a 'copy my homework' design,the same for Ranmaru who looks like the purple-head kid from My Hero Academia.) Perhaps I put too much expectations on this show to live up to its own portrayal of itself as a 'The Boys' but for Super Sentai, but I don't think it lived up to those expectations or managed to deliver well on its aims well. It feels like it only embraced its tone correctly around Red Ranger, and even then he comes across as comically rather than psychotically villainous. The standout of this show is that both the OP and ED are great, both visually and musically. If the show had possessed as much creative visual metaphor and design as in its OP/EDs it would have crafted a much better identity for itself rather than being a very generic and very dull action show with tedious characters and a plot that ground to a snail's pace. Otherwise, it's a very mediocre show with a great start that then slowly and deliberately meandered itself into dullness. A great premise, I just wish it was explored in a show better than this one.
__Go! Go! Loser Ranger! (Sentai Daishikkaku) Creator: Negi Haruba (The Quintessential Quintuplets) Director: Keiichi Satou (GANTZ:0, Tiger & Bunny) Music: Yoshihiro Ike (Akiba Maid War, Saint Seiya)__ Throughout my life I’ve seen many different iterations of Super Sentai or Power Rangers, even as I got older and they were less prevalent, but I would see them around nonetheless. I’ve had the chance to get to know Super Sentai, that Power Rangers is based on, as Japanese media has become easier to access than it was, say 30 years ago. The story of Go! Go! Loser Ranger! looks to put a spin on a format we’ve all known for decades, using a formula similar to Amazon’s The Boys. What if the good guys are really just messed up, flawed individuals like the rest of humanity? Now give them super powers. Go! Go! Loser Ranger! gives us the perspective of one of the many, nameless foot soldiers so common to this genre, and how he becomes the Main Character of a revenge story against humanity’s saviors. What GGLR offers as a series is a story rife with twists and turns along the way, but also rife in it's amount of characters that borders on overwhelming. While something you don't expect might be lurking around that next corner, so is another character trope with a name that'll be tough to remember three episodes later. That's not to say that the series doesn't have characters with merit, but the sheer number of side characters met along the way of this debut arc is a little tough to keep up with. Don't even get me started on the Dragon Keeper Ranking system. I've watched the entire series and I still have absolutely no idea how it works, other than the Dragon Keepers themselves are at the top and have a Right Hand Man/Woman that's next in line to take their position. The story gives many opportunities for the characters to grow, not just with Fighter D (who has the most runway for growth) but even the human characters that surprisingly align with him in his quest against the Dragon Keepers. Moving along to animation, GGLR has plenty of original style between the cutesy to gritty character designs, well made effects for pewpews, albeit a rather dull color palette. A shoutout to the use of "swirling sand" (for lack of a better name) use of CG effects when the Fighters are regenerating. It looks good and is an example of well-used CGI when composited right. The backgrounds of the series are pretty average and aren't given much flair, which I can't really fault when nearly half your episodes take place in a parking garage. The animation itself is pretty fluid and reaches the standards for above average in this regard. There is definitely better out there, but they put more effort into making sure things were moving more smoothly than your average seasonal shonen. Composition really lacks in the series, but is overall about average. There's plenty of action and even a few moments of exposition and reflection in the series. These opportunities are often used solely for the purposes of that action and exposition, but we aren't given a very cinematographic lens with which to view it through. The moments are captured, but not in the best light given those opportunities. Audio! Really doing it's best to carry this series, which gets an above average in all Audio criteria, but a perfect 5/5 in OP/ED, and for good reason! Both the OP and ED are certified bangers and of course the ED follows my absolute OP/ED rule: if you make your characters dance to the song, you will get my vote! Tatsuya Kitani has been getting a lot of work done in the last few anime seasons and this OP brings a lot of depth and variance. Ranging from hard, melodic vocals, to using a children's chorus as backup vocals, this OP has a lot going on. But it's an orderly chaos that comes together so well, paired with the animation, really depicts the range of character that Fighter D is. NANAOAKARI gives us the ED, which is just a wonderful dance number complete with dancing Fighters, Dragon Keepers, and even umbrella props! Setting aside the OP and ED, the rest of the show's Score is well produced, and used appropriately to set the tone in a wide range of scenes from intense suspense to colorful whimsy. While I do have my criticisms about the sheer amount of characters in the show, I give a 4/5 to the VA team because they've all got personality across that wide swath of characters. Usually there are obvious weak-links in every show, but I think they did a pretty great job in casting given the many archetypes they had to fill. I would recommend Go! Go! Loser Ranger! to just about any shonen fan, but with Power Rangers' popularity in the US in the 90's, I think it can serve as an on-ramp even for those who haven't taken the plunge into anime and "Big 3" series like DBZ, Naruto, and OP are far too daunting. This series looks to have more depth than just "Strong guys go pewpew" and framing the perspective as the traditional "bad guy" gives the audience an underdog to never feel bad cheering for. ----------------- My Grading System and Criteria can be found in the bio section of my profile [HERE](https://anilist.co/user/DUME66/) __Animation__: Style: 4 Fluidity: 4 Background: 3 Shading: 4 Composition: 3 Total Score: 18 __Average__: 7.2 __Audio__: Score: 4 OP/ED: 5 Tone: 4 VA: 4 Total Score: 17 __Average__: 8.5 __Story__: Plot: 4 Pacing: 4 Character Development: 4 Total Score: 12 __Average__: 8 __Overall Score__: (7.2 + 8.5 + 8 ÷ 3) 8.0 (rounded to the nearest .5)
~~~__Awful Title, Fantastic Anime__~~~ Sentai Daishikkaku, or Go! Go! Loser Rangers, is an anime created by a relatively unknown studio based on a relatively unknown manga about a relatively niche premise. The basic concept is that after a great war between Monsters and Humans, the humans came out on top - They killed the leaders of the Monsters (or the 'Boss Monsters' / 'Executive Monsters') and stopped them from their dastardly plan for world domination. All's well that ends well, right? Except - they didn't stop there. The leaders of the human army, the Rangers, want a little more for their hard work. So what do they turn to? Slavery. They force the remaining Monsters, if they can even be called that, into coming down every week for a staged battle where they would beat them for the audience's amusement. And how can they achieve that? Because 1, the Monsters or 'Fighters' are pathetic little creatures who have the strength of a 1HP pokemon, and 2. The Rangers have 'Divine Artifacts' which can kill the otherwise permanently-regenerating Fighters for good. That's enough background, because the show truly begins with one monster, Fighter D, racking up enough annoyance and resentment to stage a resistance. He fights, he tricks and he charms his way towards his goal: Crushing the 5 Rangers. The premise is interesting enough at that, and a very refreshing concept in a Shonen genre so oversaturated with Exorcism and Overly-Benevolent protagonists. However, the premise grows and expands in ways much grander than I initially anticipated. I went into this anime with very low expectations, and having finished it, I can genuinely say it is one of the best I have ever watched. __ Production Quality__ I've not seen anything else by Yostars Studios, and honestly, that gave me very little hope. But GOD DAMN, did they pour their heart and soul into this project. I've heard quite a few complaints that the animation quality went downhill as the season progressed, so I was fearing something like GANGSTA, but I can't see where those complaints come from. The fights are gorgeous, with flowing animation and a fantastic artstyle. The character designs are dripping with charisma, the music is engaging and really goes all in for some of the hype moments, and I would be amiss not to mention the fantastic opening and ending tracks. The ending even features a dance sequence, which is apparently paying homage to the Tonkatsu genre (which I have never seen), and damn are they good. Much more importantly though, __Story and Characters__ The plot and especially the characters of Go Go Loser Ranger are absolutely magnificent. It's hard to get into just how and why the story immerses you as much as it does, but I think the easiest way of explaining it is that the characters feel realistic and interesting. Every significant character has an interesting backstory (when/if revealed), believable and often unique motivations, and most critically, agency. Characters will act in ways that you, the viewer, will not expect. They will surprise you regularly, whether for the better, or for the worse. I haven't gotten so shocked and happy, and shocked and disappointed, at the actions of anime characters in years. In comparison to the vast majority of anime, these people are not 100% good or 100% bad. The cast are multifaceted, from the major characters like Fighter D and Blue Ranger, to the smaller characters like Hibiki, Suzukiri, Fighter XX and Ishikawa. The protagonist, Fighter D, is especially interesting. If I had to criticise the show for one thing, it would be how stupid the protagonist is in the first 3 episodes. Although I enjoyed them, Fighter D might make some of the stupidest decisions I've seen on screen in a long time. Although it can be explained by his lack of awareness about the world, it is still inexcusably irritating. However, I would encourage anyone offput by that to keep watching because he becomes a LOT smarter and more strategic as the series progresses. With the exception of one moment in the final episode, Fighter D uses mind games and strategy like he's been ripped right out of World Trigger. Suzukiri and Hibiki are also stand out characters to look forward to, although they unfortunately did not get as much screen time in the later episodes as I would've liked. It's a shame, but I suspect we will get much more of them next season. I would like to address another criticism of the show, which is the 'Bad pacing' and 'Bad Tournament Arc'. I heavily disagree with both of these. As the anime aired, it got quite a few complaints from source readers about skipping material, especially in episode 4, but most of the important stuff was covered in episode 5 regardless and this seemed to be a pattern - Yes, things were skipped, but for an anime-only viewer, 90% of it being missing did not detract from the experience. Regardless, if you are ever confused by how things happened in certain fight scenes, I'd suggest looking up the cut content. The only case I think this is worthwhile would be in episodes 4/5 though. The tournament arc complaints are insane to me, because that was easily one of the highlights of the show - To borrow someone else's words, it flips between episodes of pure dialogue and episodes of pure action seamlessly, and with both being equally amazing. Finally, the villains. The main villain, Red Ranger, is pretty similar to Homelander from The Boys and is just as much of a treat to watch onscreen. I found him a much more compelling villain than the other main antagonist of the season, Lord Petrolta, an Executive Monster, however both were interesting and unique enough in their own rights to be enjoyable. __Conclusion__ I am shocked and appalled by both the low score and low popularity of this show. I suspect the awful name choice, designed to parody Power Rangers, was a reason for the lack of popularity, so I'd recommend anyone reading this to mentally rename the show to 'Ranger Reject', its unofficial fan title. If you're looking for a Shonen that feels fresh, different and immersive, I would heavily recommend you check out Ranger Reject. It has amazing, multidimensional characters, an intriguing storyline rife with plot twists, and stunning, well-thought out strategy-based fights. Enjoyment: 10/10, Writing: 9/10 - Total score: 95
__Overview: __ When monsters thought they rules the world.. but the Rangers put a stop to that. English title does a play off of Power Rangers American theme song. I don’t like it, the title translation is not reflective of the work being produced. Reject Ranger is the real direct translated name. Ranger Reject also works, Japanese wording and translating allows either to be correct. Anything but gogo loser ranger :throwup: Anyways, fighter D has had enough of the constant torture show that all the fighters are put through on a weekly basis. A deal that the Dragon keepers made after they killed all the fighters bosses. Dragon keepers said `you mah bitch and you gon like it` as a simple tldr. Fighters are a created thing [?] that the boss monsters made to aid in their fight against the humans. Fighters are immortalish. Ish in the sense that they cant die from normal attacks or fights but they will die if a dragon keepers divine weapon strikes them down. The weapons the keepers use are special and imbued with, as they state, the power of a dragon god. Hence the naming scheme of Dragon Keepers. The fighters after their boss monsters/leaders were killed were put into a form of slavery. They don’t try to break out of it since they realize the futility of going up against the ones who killed their masters and creators after all. Not to say all the fighters did this but the ones that are left certainly are following their new strict guidelines. Every weekend down in the main city the Keepers are from, they have an arena that the fighters show up and have a fight. A losing fight that the keepers will always win. The fighters are in charge of making it entertaining while the Keepers are in charge of doming them. Simple rules set to allow them to live. They lost the war after all. However fighter D has finally had enough of all this fake fighting, arena every week, die and come back and do it again. Time wise spent is 13 years, one can only imagine how that would weigh on them. They do feel pain but the fighters are each a bit different. Some fighters will specialize in different aspects, like D is able to shapeshift very well. Some are more resistant and resilient ect. Its all varied with a lot of overlap from one fighter to another. D, has had enough of all of what is going on though and wants to take charge again. Not that he was in charge but loosely correlates. It’s a fantasy the boi is trying to live out. He disobeys and escapes to the mainland and wants to take down all the Keepers, believing they are the reason and only thing keeping them in their current position. He is very simplistic and not thinking ahead at all of what might happen after they are taken down. He is going into this without thinking he will actually win. As the show progresses and event unfold, it is telling that there might be a chance of it happening given the circumstances that happen to follow suit around him. He is very lucky in a lot of regards. Once he is in the city he shapeshifts to blend in but is quickly found out and well this is where he happens to meet one of the fixer uppers. She is lil bit twisted but aren’t we all… anyways, she knows D is a fighter and yet does not kill him and send him back. Instead she is the type that will use him to advance her own goals. As for what her goals are, they are unknown, only really knowing that she is in line of wanting to take down the Keepers. An enemy of my enemy is my friend type of agreement they have. D is as confused as anybody else as to why she is helping him out but sort of accepts it and chooses to turn a fairly large blind eye to the entire situation. Shortly after the fixer upper is found and worked with, another fonds out about D and his shapeshifting and wants to *talk*, D aint having it though and quickly says peace while crumbling away to dust as his exit. Even now he likes to put on a show, it has been engrained into him lol. The day is not over for D though as he finally gets his chance to fight one of the Keepers, or multiple. With an ending that was already certain, but a beginning that was unexpected. After the fight he awakes in the woods near the one he did his poof disappearance with. Turns out he saved him. While escaping and being saved, they are not out of the woods yet and one of the lower tiers under Blue Keeper tracks and fights them. Fighting in a battle that is different than the other just before. In that the fight is instead a lot more strategic with D and the one helping him out. The fight ending in a swaparoo where D is able to make his way back into the city. This time under a disguise of a actual person. Sakurama, who is this certain person, is part of the Ranger academy ~not the official name~~ that happens to be a gateway into a position D could use to further his world domination/kill all the keepers goal. Once inside the city, the final arc of the season occurs. For better or worse this arc also takes up most of the season. It is fairly slow. The arc consists of several wanting to become rangers to take part in trials to see who and what ones are able to advance. They are pitted against each other with their trust on the line. During the trials, friendships are made, trust is lost but through it all a boss monster appears. Stirs up quite a bit of trouble and before you know it D fights a keeper. Blue keeper to be precise, with an expectedly unexpected turn of events at the end. Yes, glossing over basically the entire arc as its mainly character development and world lore building so not a lot of actual story progression, its character progression. __Visuals/Music: __ Visuals are great, the particle effects are on point. The CGI used is pretty heavy at times but the way that the show is animated and crafted, its melded well enough to make it work. As per usual, CGI shines when it comes to particle effects. It is used correctly and adds to the show rather than a lot of other CGI implementations for the sake of budget cuts and shoving the show out faster. Not everything is CGI and along with it, the regular animation is quite well done as well. Very clean and clear with vibrant colors. Facial animations match well to what is being conveyed. Backgrounds follow along with the rest. There are only positives when it comes to the animation quality . Music is good but not perfect. There are great OSTs that really add to the mood and scene but the variety is lacking. Seems this is where more time could have been spent to allow for more variety. More would have helped keep the immersion for all the scenes. There are several times that it breaks a fair amount since the music does not match entirely correct. Opening Preview of Me by Tatsuya Kitani and especially the ending Seikai Wa Iranai by Nanaoakari… heh, don’t even need to say anything, both songs productions are :pacha_perfect:. Especially with the animation sequence they have on top with all the rangers and fighters. Both artists voices and the lyrics that go with the songs fit the series quite well. Both are up there for how well they match with the series. __Final Thoughts: __ Recommend to most, it is a fun show that would be entertaining to pass the time with and enjoy a good story. The main odd pacing is near the end of the show. The rest is quite well done. Especially the 11th episodes pacing was all over the place due to time constraints. The 12 and final episode does not quite make up for it and still feels a but half assed like the second half of that arc. Honestly not sure if more episodes would have solved it, the story itself in the second arc is just odd. Where a lot of changes would likely need to be in place to make it truly feel right, there is a lot going on and needing to be shown while also a forced need to push the story forward. Apparently, this is the lowest tier arc of the series to date with the ones coming after doing a 180. What would have likely done better is a separate arc in between to help build the world to take out a lot of that forced need that was shoved into this arc. Problem with doing that is it would also not work the best when fighter D is the one who needs to know these details. Rock and a hard place I guess. Not as bad as it is made out to be though. More of something to be aware of, it is a recommendation for most after all lol. Ranger Reject is quite a stark difference compared to other shows and their post war worlds depictions. There are a lot of parody plays against power rangers but the actual show and story itself is not able to be further away from it. The story is edgy and such but that doesn’t matter. Even by the end of the first season, Fighter D character growth in mindset is heavy. From his childish view of the world at first to learning more and realizing a more sound end goal for his dream. Hmm, I can fix her :eyes: Characters (main) – 4/5 Characters (sub) – 4/5 Enjoyment – 4/5 Visuals – 5/5 Music – 4/5 Story – 3/5 ```Overall Ratings - Rec: 3/5 Raw: 80%```