Chouriki Sentai Ohranger: The Complete Series (DVD) Review: For Hardcore Fans Only

“Power Rangers: Zeo” is considered by many to be the best season of “Power Rangers.” It is this show that revitalized the series for another season (before “Turbo” almost killed the series.) The opposite is true for its Japanese counterpart, “Chouriki Sentai Ohranger.” SHOUT! Factory, in keeping with its “Super Sentai” trend, has brought this series over America just for US fans to see why this show almost killed “Super Sentai.”

In the year 1999 (this show aired in 1995) The Machine Empire of Baranoia has invaded Earth. Chief Counselor Miura of the “United Airforce Overtech Hardware” has enlisted five specialists to become “Ohranger,” an elite fighting group that uses an ancient power known as “Chouriki” to fight against Baranoia as the last hope for mankind.

Based on the plot synopses, this shows sounds like it could be awesome. In many ways, it is. It is nonstop action with every new enemy being more powerful than the last. Not to mention there is a ton of scenes of people running in panic whenever “Baranoia” attacks. The mechs are also pretty cool as there are a lot of different combinations and attacks. One of them is even a pyramid.

Another strength of the show is the characters. They are all interesting and have unique personalities besides just “the leader,” “the idiot” and “the chick.” Plus, each character has multiple episodes of character development.

The main reason this was a bomb in Japan is because, yes, there can be some over the top melodrama. Not to mention that there are parts of the show where the characters are saved by a literal deus ex machina.

There is also a major shift in tone from super serious to light-hearted halfway into the series which was due to the Tokyo subway sarin attack. This shift does come out of nowhere and it shows in many episodes. There’s one where it’s a beach episode that turns into a Japanese version of “Rambo” where the yellow ranger is avoiding the mind-controlled rangers in her bathing suit. This shift comes full circle in the next installment, “Gekisou Senta Carranger” which is balls to the wall comedy.

Besides these problems, “Chouriki Sentai Ohranger” is still worth watching for “Super Sentai” and “Power Rangers” fans. Admittedly, it is not as memorable as “Power Rangers Zeo,” but it is worth owning and sharing with everyone.