47 installments, going on 48 with the upcoming Boonboomgers. Super sentai has definetly been around for a while, despite a single break in the 70's after the dissapointing performance of JAKQ, there has been a sentai every year since 1979. With how long the franchise has been running. It may come as a shock that the meta-series was in danger of being cancelled once upon a time. The first two sentai's of the Heisei era Kousoku Sentai Turboranger and Chikyu Sentai Fiveman were not particularly the most successful. While Sentai through the 80's had average televison ratings had enjoyed ratings in the lower 10%, Turboranger saw an almost 3% drop in people watching, which dropped an additional 1.1% for Fiveman. For comparison, JAKQ Which had previously put sentai out of commission for 2 years had an average rating of 9.8%, Still a big drop from Gorengers 16.1%, ratings, but still noticably lower.
Despite moving timeslots to avoid the increase popularity in many anime's sentai still struggled, while I couldn't find any info on Turborangers toy sales, Fiveman was an unmitigated disaster, with the big Carrier robot sitting on toy store shelves and blasters, somehow yellowing without opening. Suffice to say, in the wake of back to back poor performances, Sentai was on thin ice and was given one more season before putting it out to pasture.
Hirohisa Soda, who had basically sheparded the franchise through the 80's was out, and in was new blood. Toshiki Inoue, the son of the man who wrote much of the showa era of Kamern Rider, was brought in to write this last season. While had come in to write a couple of episodes of sentai from Flashman to Fiveman, he was primarily doing anime before hand, including the likes of Ranma 1/2, Yawara and Dirty Pair. In fact the show had a lot of new talent including one of the earliest directing roles for Keita Amemiya, and featured the first time that Naruhisa Arakawa wrote for sentai.
If you couldn't tell by the fact we are at season 47. Jetman saved the franchise, both saw in increase in ratings and merchandise also sold well, and interest in the show was big, it was featured in J-drama magazines a feat never seen again for sentai, and I'm guessing merchandise sales were up and gave the series new lifeblood, which would be solidified with the following season. To understand let us finally talk about this legendary season.
SYNOPSIS
In 1991, the earth is protected by the Skyforce, an international defense agency that protects peace on the planet. Aboard Earth Ship, scientist led by Aya Odagiri have been working on an experiment known as the J-project, with the intention of empowering human's with superhuman abilities. 5 members of the skyforce are chosen to become an elite squadron that protects the earth, amongst them is Ryu Tendo and his girlfriend Rie Aoi. Unfortunately for the project, after Ryu is infused with the birdonic waves that make him a jetman. The earthship is attacked by Vyram, an evil interdimensional group bent on dominating every dimension their is. After declaring this dimension as theirs, they proceed to destroy the earth ship, killing a lot of people and Rie as Ryu and Aya have to flee back to earth.
During the destruction, the remaining birdonic waves ended up being fired towards earth and affecting 4 civilians. Alongside Ryu their is heiress Kaori Rokumeikan, farmer Raita Ooishi, student athlete Ako Hayasaka, and bad boy loner Gai Yuki now are earth's only hope against the Vyram, who have chosen to make their destruction a game to decide on a leader. Needing to put aside differences if their is any hope for the world, which is easier said than done with a love triangle forming.
You can feel the influences of Inoue's work on anime's, specifically romance anime's like Ranma 1/2. The show is just as much about the jetman's fight against the Vyram as it is about the interpersonal drama between Ryu, Gai and Kaori and the love triangle that develops. You may notice I bring up a lot of the season is focused on a main three, so what about Raita and Ako... well, they are there and have their moments, but they are mostly sidelined for plot most of the time which is probably my biggest issue with the series is that the focus is very clearly on 3 rangers, leaving the other 2 lacking.
CHARACTERS
Ako definitely gets the short end here, she's the youngest of the group and starts the show wanting to sell the use of her powers to the heroes, which gets solved in the opening episodes, after that she is more of a background in the main story. That's not to say she's bad, oh no she's actually really solid. When she does get a focus episode, like her old teddy bear or the sort of love interest she get's in Dan from the back dimension soldiers (Who's actor would play another Dan next season.) The episode focused on school or the dove one are really good episodes. She just kind of the one with the least amount regarding main plot stuff.
Alot of the same can be said for Raita, they try early to make him apart of the love triangle but mostly leave it to the trio. He's kind. humble the big strength guy (And I do mean big guy, since one of his signature moves is just throwing a whole lot of boulders). Likewise I do like think he does get good episodes, like when he is sent back in time and becomes an inspiration or with his childhood friend who later becomes his wife. While not the second-in-command he does often feel like he needs to step up when Gai feels like being... well Gai Which I do really like.
So that brings us to Jetman's main trio, lets start with the eye of our two heroes Kaori, who has easily the best character arc of the show. Growing from the spoiled Heiress who just wanted to do something to change up her life, unwilling to do something that scares her, to being the heart of the team. One thing I like is her relationship with Ryu, claiming that she will love him not taking into account that he is still reeling from what happened, to being the real heart by the end talking to him at shack. It shows an emotional growth that I really enjoy from a character standpoint. And she has some good episodes too, like when Ako is cursed by the beast or when she believes that she may end up dying.
Ryu's character is very defined by the relationships he has. Throughout the season he is hung up on Rie's death, causing him to push Kaori away when she claims to like him and causing numerous problems with Gai. When he is not hung up on his dead girlfriend, he plays the straight sentai leader of the time, the serious stoic man who never gives up in the face of danger, but its very clear it is a front to cover for the trauma and lonliness he feels.
He clearly wants nothing to do with Kaori initally because of what he's lost, and upon learing that Maria and Rie are the same person just causes the poor guy to snap, belieiving that she is alive, its a point that shows a turning point in the main trio's relationship, as Gai clearly becomes a better person after this moment and it is the point the team starts to feel like a team rather than 5 people who sometimes work together. But even after his team snaps him out of his funk, Rie still has this hold over him, carrying him to attempt a suicide attack against Radiguet in vengance. But it is that very group of misfits (Specifically Kaori) that drags him back to save him. Though a part of me wonders if Inoue was going back and forth on who to put Kaori with, the trio has really great chemistry (Though the entire casts chemistry has good chemistry) But it feels like up until the end he hadn't decided. Or maybe but we will get to it.
Gai Yuki... is not a good person... sort of. He's self-serving, has no desire to be part of the team initally nd only claims to join because of Kaori, who he feels entitled to because... because I guess she's the first girl to not immediately fall for him. And often he butts heads with Ryu regarding his leadership. And he smokes, think of the children.
But beneath all of those rough edges is probably one of the most interesting and deep charactes sentai has ever done. He may not want people to believe he is good, but when the chips are down, he is willing to do what is right. Even death can't keep him from helping his team and doing the right thing. ultimately his arc for the season is coming to accept the team around him and getting over his loner attitude. And the guy just has so many awesome moment, when he takes on the vaccum monster sucking up love, or his rivalry against Grey and their final battle. And the actor just captures the danger of the character. Sentai would attempt to recapture Gai's character, but the later ones you can take home to mom without worry, Gai... you may not be able to without your mom wanting a slice of that pie.
The only real recurring character on the heroes side is the mentor Aya Odagiri is a more stern kind of leader, One of the first things she does post Vyram's first attack is to punch the despairing Ryu and tell him to suck it up since they are the last hope for humanity. And that treatment also goes to the rest of the jetman and how they act. But despite how stern she can be, it does go towards making them a better team, and even rewards them with a vacation later in the show. What also help is that the team really doesn't have a smart one, so she is often helping with the strategizing against the Vyram monsters, and even later on flies in Jet Garuda to help her team when they need it.
The Vyram are quite unique even today, usually with an evil force their is the leader, a few commanders that vary in what they do, then the monsters and foot soldiers. The Vyram don't have really any of that, its more like 4 different people who are feuding for said leadership, making them all a big bad in their own way, it gives the goal of the MOTW a different flavor depending on who is sending them out. And it is quite interesting watching as they sometimes fight amongst themselves more than they do the jetman. Making for a more interesting and volatile villain faction than ever seen in sentai.
I do like that they do initally attempt to set up an actual leader in Juuza for an arc, sadly she doesn't really last beyond the arc involving her and really I feel she is kind of overshadowed by Radiguet jumping over a billion moral event's to be the worst person. An insane God am I who has quite the screwed up plot involving making people into crystals and extract their pain to power up her monster. Its proof of just how much darker this season as going to be even compred to previous seasons.
Grey is probably the most interesting in terms of morals, he is definetly evil, but when compared to the fellow nobles of Vyram, he is much more well... grey. Having a code of honor compared to the treasonous nature of both Tran and Radiguet makes his nature as Robot with the most heart an ironic tragedy. Especially that his love for Maria is actually something real rather than just something to possess but we know that it isn't going to end well for anyone. Both Tran and Radiguet may be far more hateable and a joy to do that, but their is something tragic behind Grey, you don't want to see him go but you know because of his allegiance it isn't gong to work out.
Likewise, their is also a bit of tragedy with Maria, the baroness who has both Grey and Radiguet, is the cold cruel baroness who's episodes often put her at odds with the girls of the team. but she does have her moments that make her feel human, playing the piano is one thing that builds something between her and Grey. And the revelation that she is a brainwashed Rie only makes things hurt worse, she knows all of the horrible things she has done and their is no way to redeem herself. Its honestly saddening knowing that in her final moments she still loved Ryu and was sad that he couldn't be there with, a double ouch for Ryu but also Grey since he would be the last one with her.
Tran starts as the young one of the group, acting like a child who enjoys making everyone's life hell for his amusement, think that kid from the Twilight Zone with the psychic powers. Just a horrid little demon child just enjoying watching everyone suffer. But like most bullies when they get called out, is quite weak, which happens when the other Vyram make fun of him. Unfortunately he proceeds to become even worse after that.
Tran's time as Tranza may be short, but he makes it clear that he is by far the biggest threat at that point in the season, even still having that manchild tendencies like beating the male jetman members at what they are good at, Despite that he is a monsterous genius who nearly brings the jetman down, but the usual failing of the Vyram shows up, in the form Radiguet.
Radiguet is an interesting bad guy, he's a complete and utter bastard, a monstrous sociopath with not a single redeeming bone in his body. Starting the season by effectively massacring the forces of earthbase, he continues to show how little he cares for others, sans Maria but its more in a possessive yandere feeling kind of way. The only person that matters to Radiguet is himself, even willing to help the Jetman if it is beneficial to him, first against the empress and later against Tranza. And I do mean no soul, when the empress returns, he attempts to stand against her but is beaten and then turned into a human with no memory. During this time he is found by a young women who cares for him and the two kind of hit it off, and once he remembers who he is, proceeds to subsequently kill his caretaker just because. The actor himself even hated him, to the point that he didn't want his own child to know he had played such a monster on T.V. You know you are doing something right when the actor hates your guts.
AESTHETICS
The Jetman suits are really good, you can tell what they are based on just from looking at the helmets, the balance of white and the respective color, and the wings just are a perfect touch. The changer is fine though, just a diamond wrist morpher that is pretty simple tap to transform. Nothing special but it is pretty good.
The mecha are all planes, but different sized planes based on the specific bird each jetman represent. I like that they do have some use early on, before it kind of was just the thing that they jumped into form Jet Icarus. A fine mecha, their are some interesting style choices but it is a bit too blocky, which is also something that could be lobbied at jet Garuda, but I think having a standardized color helps it a bit and I do like the full fusion between the two, and Tetra boy is a pretty simple mecha that works.
Vyram also comes packing in some pretty good style, all of the main generals all look really good design wise, giving an otherworldy vibe as well a regal feel to them. The soldiers are fine, black soldiers with red splotches to give it a sort of magma look. The dimension monsters take our everyday objects and contorts them into more monsterous creations, with the latter half of the season they start to mix with organic life. They have a lot of good designs across both.
Music wise, the soundtrack does really well, between the main theme letting you know the jetman will always be their and just sounding really good, to the more somber ending theme. Some of the tracks continue that sort of somber and often sad tone some of the episodes follow.
EPISODES
Episode 1: The first episode perfectly sets the tone for the rest of the show, the destruction of the earth ship, Rie's death, the fact we are only introduced to half the team and the new members spend most of the fight against vyram getting their ass handed to them. Its an episode that shows that this season was not going to be like anything sentai had seen, twisting the standard setup episode in ways that fit perfectly.
Episode 7: I really liked Ryu's grandmother in this episode, between how funny he is and how he takes the at times duty focus Ryu to more funny portions, I also like how the group tries to interrupt is also quite funny too, a nice example of the more comedic elements of the show.
Episode 21: Something this season gets really right is the tragic monster, we later learn about Maria but then their is the Trash dimension beast, infused with the good soul of Ako's teddy bear, seeing it initally being good and then made evil is honestly one of the saddest thing the season does.
Episode 20: Really this can just be for any episode that has Gai as the focus, it might seem cheap but you know what, the guy just has so many cool moments, between his epic walk towards the vaccum dimesnion, or his final fight against Grey, or the casino or... you know what I'll leave it at that.
Episode 26: raita's journey to the past is both heartwarming, funny and shows the best of his abilities.
Episode 28: I like this look at how the old monsters feel after the villains move on to a stronger variant, seeing its attempts to beat the jetman fail is one of the funnier episodes.
CONCLUSION
There is a good reason as to why Jetman has such an amazing reputation as the savior of Super Sentai, a shot in the arm with a cast that feels like they are real, do they get equal focus, no. Saying that would be lying,, but when they do get something it is really good. The villains are excellent, the overall suit and a few mecha designs are good. It perfectly walks a line of so many tones that makes it so interesting to watch. If you haven't seen this classic, you can, its available on Tubi or blu-ray, its just as fantastic today, over 30 years down the road.
FINAL GRADE: S
Comments