Mirai Sentai Timeranger

[areaseven]

Mirai Sentai Timeranger (未来戦隊タイムレンジャー)

TV Asahi/Toei Co., Ltd., 2000

Previously exploited by Saban Entertainment in 2001 as Power Rangers Time Force

Running Time: 25 minutes per episode

Not Rated (Suggested TV-Y7). Contains violence and mature situations.

Cast

Masaru Nagai as Tatsuya Asami/TimeRed

Mika Katsumura as Yuuri/TimePink

Yuji Kido as Ayase/TimeBlue

Tomohide Koizumi as Domon/TimeYellow

Masahiro Kuranuki as Sion/TimeGreen

Shinji Kasahara as Naoto Takizawa/TimeFire

Yusuke Numata (Mack in Kishin Corps) as Navigator Robo Takku

Ryuzaburo Otomo (Ivanov in Macross Zero, Astaroth in Soul Calibur II) as Don Dolnero (voice)

Asami Kuru as Lila

Koji Tobe as Gien (voice)

Hideyuki Hori (Hayabusa in Dead or Alive 1-3, Phoenix Ikki in Saint Seiya) as the narrator

"Chrono Changer! TIMERANGER!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9yFIK7j6NU

Synopsis

In the year 3000, mankind has evolved into a perfect society and made peace with other races in the galaxy. But when intergalactic criminals Don Dolnero and Gien take control of a prison complex and attempt to travel in time, Captain Ryuya of the Time Protection Bureau selects four recruits to board the ship Yglieg and help him stop the duo. However, at the last second, Dolnero teleports the prison on Yglieg's travel path, sending both units to the year 2000.

Upon arriving to the present timeline, the recruits find out that Ryuya is Lila, the female intergalactic terrorist who instigated this mess. She ties up the recruits and blows up Yglieg before reuniting with Dolnero and Gien. Meanwhile, a 20th century man named Tatsuya Asami finds the four heroes at the scene of the wreckage, but when they mistake him for Ryuya, they attack him before realizing that Lila and her forces are wreaking havoc all over town. In a last-minute decision, the recruits give Tatsuya a Chrono Changer, and all five of them become the Future Task Force Timeranger. However, with their time ship destroyed, the Timerangers cannot return to the future unless they capture Dolnero and his gang.

Lowdown

The sentai franchise has had its ups and downs during the 1990s. While we had great shows in the form of Choujin Sentai Jetman (1991) and Denji Sentai Megaranger (1997), shows like Chouriki Sentai Ohranger (1995) and Kyukyu Sentai GoGoV (1999) left us wanting better sentai material. That's where Timeranger steps in.

We've seen sentai shows borrowing elements from American sci-fi throughout the years. Megaranger borrowed from The Last Starfighter and Sliders while Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger borrowed from Men in Black. This series uses elements from Timecop, Demolition Man and The Matrix. In addition, there's much less slapstick comedy and a more serious tone than previous titles. Not to mention that the soundtrack quality has improved a lot, along with excellent opening and ending themes.

As with most sentai shows, Timeranger has cool fights, flash transformation scenes and an army of drones for our heroes to wipe the floor with. Timeranger, however, has outstanding special effects and excellent set designs. It's also one of the few shows to use motion blur to enhance the intensity of the fights.

The characters are an interesting bunch: you have two guys who talk too much, one guy who wants someone's autograph, a girl who is actually an undercover cop, and a normal guy from the present day. Because of this, Timeranger focuses a lot on Tatsuya trying to comprehend with his comrades from the future and his newly-acquired abilities. In addition, this is one of a few sentai titles where the female is the team leader.

Overall, Mirai Sentai Timeranger is not as fun to watch as Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, but is still one of the better sentai titles to pick up if you're interested in this genre.

Rating: A-

Links

Super Sentai's Official Mirai Sentai Timeranger Homepage (Japanese)

References

Wikipedia

The Internet Movie Database

Edited April 13, 2011 by areaseven