Gosei Sentai Dairanger


Gosei Sentai Dairanger is a Japanese tokusatsu television series. It was the seventeenth production in the long-running Super Sentai metaseries of television tokusatsu dramas produced by Toei Company, following Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. It was originally broadcast from February 19, 1993, to February 11, 1994, replacing Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger and was replaced by Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. Toei gave this series the name Star Rangers for international distribution.
Elements from Dairanger were adapted into the second season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, specifically the action sequences between the giant robots and some of the monsters. None of the Dairanger costumes were used in Power Rangers, except Kiba Ranger, which was adapted into the White Ranger's costume for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for the remainder of Season 2 and throughout Season 3, while the suits from the previous season, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger were instead used for the other Rangers in that show. Although the Aura Changer was adapted as the Magna Morpher in “Power Rangers Lost Galaxy”, the core Dairanger costumes in the footage were not used in Power Rangers until Power Rangers Super Megaforce.
In July 2015, Shout! Factory announced that they would release "Gosei Sentai Dairanger: The Complete Series" on DVD in North America. On November 10, 2015, Dairanger was released on DVD in North America. This is the second Super Sentai series to be released in North America. In addition on May 23, 2016, Shout! streamed the series on their website.

Story

Eight thousand years ago, the Daos Empire, also known as the Daos Civilization, flourished in Southern China. The empire consisted of three separate tribes: the Dai, the Asura and the Gorma ; which lived in harmony. However, one day, the Gorma Tribe decided to take over the Daos Empire and the world, beginning the war between the Gorma and Dai tribes. The war between the Gorma, led by the Gorma Triumvarate, and the Dai continued for 5,000 years until the Mythical Qi Beasts appeared to oppose the Gorma, whose qi powers had increased to the point that they could turn themselves into monsters. Five Dai warriors' Qi-Powers had increased to the point where they could control the Mythical Qi Beasts. The war ended with the disappearance of both the Dai and Gorma tribes and the Shura scattered around the world. In the present day, the Gorma Tribe, one of the Daos' two missing branches, arose to take over the world. To counter them, Master Kaku assembled a team of five youths with high levels of qi, who became the Dairangers.

Characters

Dairangers

The eponymous Dairangers are human practitioners of Chinese martial arts who possess high levels of Qi-Power against the Gorma Tribe. As a group, the primary members perform the Qi-Power Bomber finisher by gathering their qi and firing it towards the enemy. After their final battle, the Dairangers separated, with the last scene of the series showing them fifty years in the future in which their grandchildren follow the Dairangers' legacy and fight against the last remnants of the Gorma Tribe.

Ryo

Ryo of the Heavenly Fire Star is the team leader who is the son of Choryo and a human woman. Initially, he was completely unaware of his Dai heritage as his mother died prior to the series' beginning leaving him to raise his younger sister, Yōko, by himself. He aspires to become the best gyoza cook in Japan and works in Yokohama Chinatown. Ryo became a Dairanger after he was captured by Baron String, only to be saved by the Mythical Qi Beast RyuseiOh and taken to Master Kaku. Ryo deeply trusts his teammates. As the red-colored Chinese dragon, he specializes in the Dragon Kung Fu and uses the powers of fire and thunder. His Special Attacks:Heavenly Fire Star Lightning Bursting:, Flaming:, & Heavenly Fire Star Secret Technique: Metor Flash:.

Daigo

Daigo of the Heavenly Illusion Star is the second-in-command who is the gentlest and most serious member of the team. He works at a pet shop and becomes romantically involved with Kujaku. Daigo was recruited as a Dairanger after Kaku discovered his qi connection with Kujaku. As the green-colored Chinese guardian lions, he specializes in the Hung Ga Kuen and uses illusions in combat. His Special Attacks: Heavenly Illusion Star "hidden by mist":, Tengensei Rod Arrow:天元星ロッドアロー
Tengen-boshi roddoarō), Lion Fist nameless "empty mind:, & Dairen Rod Peacock Slash:.

Shoji

Shoji of the Heavenly Gravity Star is a former delinquent who dreams of becoming a world boxing champion after reforming from his past as a member of a violent street gang. He has a strong sense of fair play and competitiveness, only applicable with Kazu. He is strong, balanced, playful and loving. Boss Kamikaze, of the Three Gorma Stooges, sees him as his greatest rival. As the blue-colored Tianma, he specializes in the Chang Quan with the power to manipulate the gravitational forces around him, thus increasing his strength and speed. Shoji appeared in the final episode of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, receiving his powers back in the form of the Tenma Ranger Key as the Gokaigers left Earth.His Special Attacks:Celestial Gravity Stars Gravity Reversal Breaks:, Celestital Gravity Stars Spinning Kicks:, Celestial Gravity Stars Gravity Rotation Drop:, Celestial Gravity Stars Spinning Kicks:
Tentai no jūryoku hoshi no kaiten kikku), Tenma High-Speed Rotation Kick:, & Tenma Super Rotation Kick:.

Kazu

Kazu of the Heavenly Time Star is a stylish beautician and dancer. He left home at the age of 15 and traveled to Tokyo. He has a tendency to go rushing into battle without thinking. He helped an old lady who sheltered him when he ran away from his home. As the yellow-colored Qilin, he specializes in the Drunken Boxing and has the ability to freeze and reverse the flow of time to prevent mishaps. Kazu appeared in the final episode of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, receiving his powers back in the form of the Kirin Ranger Key as the Gokaigers left Earth.His Special Attack:Celestial Time Stars and Time Return 天体時間星と時間の回帰
Tentai jikan-boshi to jikan no kaiki), Tentoki Star / Headache Positive Fist Thrust:, Celestial Star / Large-Flowered Shoot:, Kirin Ken Rod Arrow:, Kirin Bomb Punch:, Kirin Bomb Punch:, Acute hangover headache fist:. & Tentoki Star / Headache Positive Fist Thrust:.

Rin

Rin of the Heavenly Wind Star is Master Kaku's niece and the only member of the team capable of qi control when not transformed. She came to Japan to be a Dairanger in the guise of an exchange student from China. She hates living with Kou, as he tends to dab in front of her, but later befriends him. She once fell in love with photographer Shōichiro Takamura, the alter ego of Gorma agent Media Magician. As the pink-colored Fenghuang, she specializes in the Ying Zhao Pai and uses the power of wind. Her Special Attacks:Celestial Wind Star / One Letter Tornado:, & Large-wheeled sword and whirlwind slash:.

Kou

Kou of the Howling Nova is a 10-year-old boy who is the "Child of Fate" for drawing the sentient White Tiger from his resting place, becoming the adult-like, white-colored Canine tooth. He lived with his adoptive grandparents prior to moving into Lin's apartment. A somewhat perverted boy, he is infatuated with Lin and "playfully" harasses her much to her chagrin. New to fighting, he is not particularly strong. Kou initially kept his identity a secret from the other Dairangers, with Byakko Shinken speaking in his stead to appear more grown up. After the other Dairangers learned of his identity, he began to speak on his own and joined the team. Shadam eventually learned Kou was his son and Akomaru's twin brother, although Kou himself was never aware of this. As a result of this knowledge, Shadam tried to recruit Kou into the Gorma on his tenth birthday, but his mother's baptism purified him of his Gorma lineage. As Kiba Ranger, Kou specializes in the White Tiger Fist style and uses sound-based attacks. His Special Attack:Howing New Star disturbance echo:,"Yamabiko Band"/ & "Yamabiko Police Squad`.

Allies

Kaku

Originally a member of Gorma, Chief of Staff Jia Xu formed the Dairangers to oppose Gorma; his human alias is Master Kaku. But when Daizinryu returned to Earth, Kaku returned to the Gorma in his metallic red Cyclops-like armor and fought Shadam for the right to the throne to become the 16th Gorma Emperor and end the fighting, using the Tower of You-Power and the Tower of Qi-Power as boosters. Once Gara and Zydos destroyed the towers, Kaku was defeated and mortally wounded in the battle against Shadam, and later died in the arms of the Dairangers. He later appeared in spirit form to the Dairangers and told them that Gorma must be thwarted rather than be destroyed.

Choryo

Iron Face Zhang Liao was the previous Ryu Ranger who joined the Gorma and became immortal as a result. 20 years prior to the events of the series, he fell in love with a human who gave birth to his son Ryo and daughter Yoko. After Yoko was born, Choryo was summoned back to the Gorma by his master, Archbishop Riju, to fight the Dairangers after the Triumvirate failed to do so, but stopped upon hearing his son is the new Ryu Ranger. Choryo eventually saw the error of his ways and turned on his master. During the ensuing fight, he received a fatal blow and collapsed. Dying in Ryo's arms, the four spirits of the other original Dairangers appeared to Choryo to tell him they forgave him. He then passed on the knowledge of DairenOh to the new Dairangers before he died. Choryo is portrayed by Go Ibuki.

Kujaku

Kujaku is a follower of Mahamayuri Vidyaraja, the Peacock Wisdom Queen and a master of kenpo. A member of the Dai Tribe, she became the Peacock Wisdom Queen's follower to restore Gara by finding the Sacred Peacock's Tears, an ancient artifact said to heal whoever drinks from it. Gara joined the Gorma and through deception, trapped Kujaku in Mirror Make-Up Artist, causing Kujaku to swore revenge, resulting in her losing her compassion and love during her 6,000 years of imprisonment. Kujaku was freed by Daigo and attempted to murder Gara in revenge for her imprisonment until Daigo's perseverance and a little girl's kindness caused her to have a change of heart. Kujaku then resumed looking for the Sacred Peacock's Tears, realizing that she was dying from the Earth's pollutants and evil. Unfortunately, Kujaku realized that she would sicken and die even if she drank the Sacred Peacock's Tears, causing her to use the artifact to restore Gara's beauty instead. Kujaku then died with the real Gara at her side. Kujaku would later reappear in spirit form to restore Daigo's faith and plead with him not to take revenge.

Guhon

Grandmaster Yu Fan is Lin's great-granduncle and Kaku's mentor, who tends to be bizarre at times and often cracks his neck. Despite his appearance, Guhon was the inventor of the Aura Changers and later provided the Dairangers with their Dairinken blades and the Super Qi-Power Bazooka. Prior to the Kabuki Boy incident, Guhon entrusted his fiancé Shokyo with Byakko Shinken which he placed within a stone until the rightful owner could claim the weapon. Guhon later revealed to Kameo his true identity as Daimugen.

Shokyo

Kou's mother

Kou's mother is married to Shadam and is a member of the Dai Tribe. She possessed a strong qi. She placed a tiger tattoo on Kou at birth to suppress his Gorma-inherited powers and had him adopted after his birth to prevent the Gorma from tracking him down. Kou's mother was taken captive by an elderly Gorma and Akōmaru. She escaped when Shadam broke into her prison to discover the source of Akōmaru's information. She later used Byakoshinken to save a wounded Kou and to purge the Gorma powers from him. She died in a cave collapse along with Akōmaru.

The Gorma Tribe

The Gorma Tribe are the antagonists of the series. Eight thousand years ago they were the military of the three tribes but decided to take the world for themselves and destroy the other two. The Gorma are humans who have mastered You-Power and gained the ability to become monsters. Their leader is the Gorma Emperor with many other divisions under him. However, it was revealed that most of the higher aristocracy had been killed centuries before the series even began. It was thought that Shadam had secretly made clay versions of them all in a bid to be emperor himself. However, as he himself turned out to be clay, it's debatable who created the clay copies. While the You Power the Gorma uses gives them great power, it also has damaged their mental stability, as the most powerful Gorma are almost completely insane as seen with the Gorma Emperor and those before him due to the Earth Shaking Jewel

Gorma XV

Gorma XV is the fifteenth Emperor of Gorma who mysteriously resurfaced to reopen the Gorma Palace with intent to restore his crumbling empire to its former glory. He is an extremely powerful entity, though a bit insane. The insanity was an inherent aspect of all the Gorma's past fourteen emperors due to the power of the Earth Shaking Jewel which supplies the Emperor with an unlimited supply of "You Power" for him to live, though only few actually know the truth. The Emperor was more of a sadistic, heartless creature with a "playful" outlook on things. However, the Emperor got more serious when he saw Shadam's intention to overthrow him. He was hoping for Shadam to fall to their enemies so he can rule the world forever. But when Shadam became next in line and demanded the Earth Shaking Jewel, the Emperor refuses and attempts to use the jewel to kill Shadam himself. However, The Emperor's own conceit was a flaw as Shadam revealed he recreated the Emperor from clay, only letting him live until Shadam became Emperor himself and Gorma's official leader. With that revelation, Shadam managed to steal the Earth Shaking Jewel while the former Emperor is reduced to clay dust.

Gorma Triumvirate

The Gorma Triumvirate#Chinese triumvirates, who are part of the Military Level, help spear head the Gorma's attack on humans. In episode 30, they get to wield the spiritual powers of Hell.
Shadam
Shadam is the leader of the Gorma Triumvirate and the real father of Akomaru and Kou. He was also the one who spearheaded the Gorma attack against the Dai Tribe in China. He hates humans for their weaknesses and can assume a fighting form, with a mask that practically covers his face.
Shadam's motivation in Gorma was to reach higher rankings until he became the 16th Gorma Emperor, deposing the competition in any way possible. He eventually realized his dream and the power of the Gorma Emperor once he defeated Kaku and disposed the previous once he is resurrected so he can become his successor. As Gorma XVI, he intended to use the Earth Shaking Jewel to take over the world despite suffering its mind-warping effects, fighting the Dairangers. But when Daizinryu appears, the Earth Shaking Jewel left Shadam to appease Daizinryu's wrath. A maddened Shadam attempted to escape, only to be encountered by Ryo in a one-way knife duel between them. Shadam lost and died on his own knife, revealing that he was actually a clay figure made long ago. As his body crumbled to dust, only an electricity-vibrating human eyeball remained among the pile of dirt. Shadam was revealed to have been responsible for making clay copies of the Gorma higher ranks, as most of them died years ago but since Shadam too was a clay copy, it is not known what happened to the real Shadam and who created the copies.
Gara
Commander Gara is the female member of the Gorma Triumvirate, though she was actually a clay copy of the original Gara and a former member of the Dai Tribe who joined Gorma at age 10 when she believed that her friend Kujaku abandoned her after she was scarred in the face while protecting her, getting revenge with Mirror-Makeup Artist's aid. When Gara died soon after, Shadam created the one that the Dairangers would face in the present time, identical to the original in every way. She created a copy of herself called Wraith Gara for a short time by dripping her own blood onto a small doll made of straw. During the final battle, Gara learned the truth of her existence as the "Real Gara" appeared and used her power to reduce Gara into dust.
Zydos
Zydos is the strongman, brutal and prone to deep thinking. He was a key player amongst the Gorma because of his power and he could create extremely dangerous new Gorma like Jin. He believed utterly in Shadam as his leader, but was also prone to doing his own things. He has trouble controlling the 3 Gorma Idiots as they tend to botch the plans due to their competitive nature. He was nearly killed by Jukou Kiden, but he survived. During the match between Shadam and Kaku, Zydos was sent to destroy the power booster Kaku intended to use in the match. Though he barely survived Jukou Kiden for the second time, Zydos died when he turned into his true form: a clay figure created by Shadam as he remembered him.
Akomaru
Akomaru is a Gorma child who is the son of Shadam, though the two despise each other fiercely. Shadam apparently had Akomaru put up for adoption when he was born, and was now under General Denpou's wing. In fact, Akomaru is ranked higher than his father. He wants to replace his father as the Gorma military leader. He first appears to take the power of the Kiba Ranger, knowing Kou has it and aware of their relation and wanted Kou to fight by his side as brothers. Unfortunately, Akomaru saw that Kou seemed unable to hate and it annoyed him. Akomaru was killed when he was crushed by a boulder, with Kou at his side. Later the Gorma Emperor brought Akomaru back from Hell prior to his tenth birthday, when he, after having absorbed Hell's Spirit Power which made him more powerful, and Kou came into their adult power as Gorma, Akomaru using his powers to manipulate Kou in his dreams. Akomaru was made to believe that his mother abandoned him to a father who never cared about him. After losing Kou's mother to the Dairanger, Gorma XV banished Akomaru from the Gorma. Akomaru gave the Dairangers quite a battle when he rode atop his bodyguard Ikazuchi, via "You-Power Fusion". After Ikazuchi died, Akomaru learned the truth that his mother abandoned him because of a taboo that one twin must be killed so the other can have the power of both. So their mother decided to save them, with Akomaru to live as a Gorma and Kou as a normal human. But Akomaru was soon mortally injured by Shadam, limping into the cave collapsing on itself and dying in the embrace of his dying mother with the knowledge that he was loved.

Jin Matoba

Jin Matoba is a master of dark karate known as Panther Fang Style Wicked Heart Fist and all manner of martial arts, and was a gentleman assassin. His favorite targets were martial arts masters, as his own master cut off his left arm. Jin got a prosthesis, perfected his arts and went on a campaign to slaughter other masters who were too hard on their students to return and kill his first teacher. His trademark was to flip a coin into the air and kill his opponent before it landed. But the man foiled that plan by dying before Jin got around to it. But that all changed the day he met Ryo and was defeated by him. Later, Jin sold his soul to Zydos to become stronger than Ryo, becoming Demon-Fist Master Jin after punching Aki, a young nurse who was the only person who cared for him. But Jin refused to be Gorma's lapdog and perfected his new-found powers on his own, after which he went hunting for Ryo. But Zydos captured the rogue and infused him with more Gorma power, turning him into Garouki. Unlike the normally born Gorma, Jin's transformation was against his will and thus he was unable to control himself as Garouki. As Garouki, Jin is like a totally obedient dog for Zydos with a desire to kill and eat his victims. Jin was soon freed of his "Gorma-incarnation" thanks to Ryo's attack separating the monster from his body. While Jin fought Zydos, with Garouki destroyed by the Qi-Power Bazooka, he was mortally wounded. After one final bout with Ryo, Jin went on the run from the Gorma. Jin was last seen fighting the bulk of an entire army of Cotpotoros led by Zydos, only to be seemingly gunned down by the second wave. But Jin later appeared to Ryo and proceeded to beat sense into him for not giving up despite no longer being a Dairanger.

Cotpotoros

The Cotpotoros are bartender-themed Gorma grunts in black tuxedo tights with lipped but otherwise blank black and white faces. They would disguise as humans and serve virtually any Gorma, including the Three Gorma Stooges, serving as players in their various games. In the finale, the Dairangers faced red-dressed Cotpotoros in the palace. The group were later summoned by Zaigan during Super Sentai World.

Daizinryu

Daizinryu is a colossal god-like entity who preserves the natural balance of the world, referred to as the "Great King of Fear that will destroy the Earth" by Kameo/Daimugen. He appears whenever battles have gone too far, like the ones between the Dairangers and the Gorma. Daizinryu is a neutral being, but has no tolerance for whoever threatens to disrupt the natural order of things. Daizinryu arrived on the planet in Rising Dragon Mode, only to transform into the bipedal Dragon God Mode, his feet as big as Daimugen's shell.
He is also capable of firing lightning bolts with immense destructive power. During his first appearance, he attacks Great Famous Pachinko Player and RyuseiOh. The universe's will that he obeyed told him that the two warring factions had to agree a cease-fire, so Daizinryu would spare the lives of everyone on Earth and the planet itself, but he gave a warning to both the Dairangers and the Gorma not to incur his wrath by destroying most of Tokyo.
The annoyed dragon crushed the monster to death under his massive foot, then turned and disassembled DairenOh with a lightning bolt. He then attempted to crush RyuseiOh. RyuseiOh was saved by Daimugen, who hid RyuseiOh inside of his shell, but was nearly crushed by Daizinryu. Daizinryu let them live because of the universe's will and the truce between the Dairangers and the Gorma.
When the Dairangers dealt with Ikazuchi, Daizinryu seemingly put many civilians in Tokyo under his control, lining them up on top of buildings to fall to their deaths, before Kaku counter-acted the spell. Daizinryu made his final appearance to destroy the Gorma Palace, seeing that Shadam and the Gorma were the cause of all the trouble. To calm him down, the Lailai Balls and the Great Earth Shaking Jewel scattered to the four winds on their own will.

Episodes

Movie

The film version of Gosei Sentai Dairanger premiered in Japan on April 17, 1993, at Toei Super Hero Fair '93. Directed by Shōhei Tōjō and written by Noboru Sugimura, the movie was originally shown as a triple feature alongside Kamen Rider ZO and the film version of Tokusou Robo Janperson. The main villain of the film is an original monster, named the Duke Trump, who gathers four of the Dairangers' previous adversaries to defeat them. While the movie was filmed between episodes 5–8, its story actually takes place between episodes 8 and 9 due to the appearance of DairenOh. Shōhei Shibata, the young actor who played Hiroshi Mochizuki in ZO later joined the cast of Dairanger as Akomaru, son of the main villain Shadam.

Cast

  • Ryo of the Heavenly Fire Star: Keiichi Wada
  • Daigo of the Heavenly Illusion Star: Tatsuya Nōmi
  • Shoji of the Heavenly Gravity Star: Ei Hamura
  • Kazu of the Heavenly Time Star: Keisuke Tsuchiya
  • Rin of the Heavenly Wind Star: Natsuki Takahashi
  • Kou of the Howling New Star: Hisashi Sakai
  • Master Kaku: Koji Naka
  • Commander Shadam: Rintarō Nishi
  • Commander Gara: Kaya Hanezu
  • Lieutenant Commander Zydos: Maroshi Tamura
  • Kameo: Sugisaku Imagawa, Ikko Tadano
  • Grandmaster Guhon: Takeshi Kuwabara
  • Kou's mother: Mikiko Miki
  • Jin Matoba: Yutaka Hirose
  • Kujaku: Masako Morishita
  • Akomaru: Shōhei Shibata
  • General Denpou: Chūkō Ueda
  • Gorma XV: Munemaru Kōda

    Voice actors

  • Byakko Shinken: Wataru Abe
  • General Kamikaze: Nobuyuki Hiyama
  • President Gravestone: Takuzō Kamiyama
  • Master Telephone: Akiko Muta
  • Narration: Hironori Miyata

    Guest actors

  • Archbishop Riju : Ulf Ōtsuki
  • Viscount Cherry Blossom: Jun Yoshida
  • Shōichirō Takamura: Ryosuke Kaizu
  • Human form of General Cactus: Satoru Saitō

    Songs

;Opening theme
  • Gosei Sentai Dairanger
  • *Lyrics: Toei Company#Saburo Yatsude
  • *Composition: Katsuo Ōno
  • *Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto
  • *Artist: New Jack Takurō
;Ending theme
  • Ore-tachi Muteki sa!! Dairanger
  • *Lyrics: Saburo Yatsude
  • *Composition: Katsuo Ōno
  • *Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto
  • *Artist: New Jack Takurō