#if you really liked vul eagle 2

[himitsusentaiblog]

Top 10 sentai suits design.

This one is one I’ve been thinking about for a while since I got it in my inbox. There are a lot of possible answers to this but I wanted to hold off until I caught up on some others and give it a bit of thought. Now that I’ve had the time, here we go!

10. Ryu Commander from Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger

This is going to be the most recent entry on the list and places this low because of that.  That said, I love this look.  I have always been a sucker for the long coat look on tokusatsu heroes going back to at least Shinken Red’s Super Mode and Kamen Rider Wizard, both designs I adore.

When you add violet, which is my favorite recent edition color, to the mix, you have a suit that REALLY hits my sweet spots for awesomeness. Plus, you make it dragon-themed and that just pushes it over the line to being one of the ten best ever.

9. Dragon Ranger from Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger

Sticking with Dragons and extra Rangers for a moment I can’t let Burai’s hero outfit go by without adding it to the list.  He started the trend of taking the look of the original heroic suits and adding to them (in his case the chest protector and added gold bands) to the design to make the sixth hero’s outfit something really special. His is also just a great take on the general Zyuranger costume theme and his shade of green is particularly appealing to the eyes, vibrant and rich but not pastel or too dark.

8. Starninger from Shuriken Sentai Ninninger

I am not the biggest fan of the series Shuriken Sentai Ninninger but I am a fan of Starninger, especially his ridiculous outfit.  This may be because I live in Texas and am an American and Starninger’s cowboy rock star outfit is exactly what I expect the rest of the world to think of when they come up with a Texan hero.  Built in cowboy hat?  Check!  Lone Star faceplate? Check! Faux fringe on the faux poncho?  Check and check!  I also love the balance between gold, blue black and red with the gold being primary and everything else used as accent.  It’s a great look and I can’t help but love it!

7. Heart Queen from J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai

One design element of Sentai costumes I don’t think gets used enough are capes.  I love them but more about that later.  Of call the old-school pink heroines, I think Heart Queen has the best costume.  I love the sash across the shoulder to the hip that meets up with her belt, I love the yellow cape that gives a nice color contrast with the rest of her costume, I love the heart-emblem faceplate on the helmet and I really love the four colored triangles on the shoulder.  Each one represents a member of the team and functions as an anchor point for the cape.  Love that design element and I love designs that run diagonally across like that sash/utility harness.

6. Kyoryu Violet 2 from Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger

Two of my personal favorite design elements come into play here, the across the chest diagonal design and the color violet.  I really like the Kyoryuger costume designs and somehow, I like the new ones from the South Korean/Japanese co-production Power Rangers Dino Force Brave/Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger Brave even more with their addition of white accents for the helmets and areas on the uniforms.  However, none of those are violet so I ruled them out. This is a nice design and I really like the helmet with the dinosaur teeth and raised areas for eyes plus the little fins on the lower side to suggest the flippers of a plesiosaur. That little armored shoulder bit suggesting a dinosaur eye just completes the look

5. Vul Eagle from Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan

If you can’t have a cape, I saw go with a scarf.  Yes, it’s more well known as a Kamen Rider costume flourish but I think it works for Sentai as well. Vul Eagle makes this list because I love how simple and iconic his costume is. The white and red color balance is great.  His yellow sun disc stands out on his chest and looks great.  But what really does it for me is his helmet.  The design might be kind of simple but I love the look of it with the huge golden eagle in the front and the yellow accents around the visor suggesting wings.  It’s a really great look.

4. Dekared from Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger

This is another costume I like for the helmet design. That’s not the only reason but it’s one of the first.  I like the police lights on the side of the helmet, I like the way the visor narrows in the middle and sweeps up dramatically to the back.  The visor shape reminds me of the headlights on a Nissan 350Z (which came out about the same time). The other thing I really like about this costume is the way the number designation is done with it being integrated into the left side of the costume and leaving one arm red and the other arm black,  I have a thing for asymmetric costume designs and this one is just fantastic.

3. Gokai Green from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger

I really, really like the outfits from Gokaiger.  They pirate theme mixed with a Sentai costume really works with the flared boots, hat-like helmets, high collars and colored coat over a black undersuit just creates a unique look that I really, really think is one of the best designs in the last 10 years. So, why Gokai Green?  I like Green. It’s a good color when done right and Doc’s heroic costume is just the right shade of green to strike my fancy.

2. Akaranger from Himitsu Sentai Goranger

This may seem a pretty easy choice and it was for two reasons. 1) It’s the original Red Hero outfit and set the standard for what Sentai heroes look like. 2) It has my favorite design element of all time for a Sentai costume, that short cape. I love the way capes of that length move in battle and how easy they are to flourish dramatically without having them get in the way or drag like a long cape would. I also just love his thigh holster and high collar.  It’s a classy look that’s really passed the test of time.

1. MagiRed from Mahou Sentai Magiranger

Once more with the capes!  I love capes on Sentai outfits as I just said and I think the capes on the Magiranger outfits are just perfect.  I’m going to go with their original, non-powered up forms because I just think the outfits are better before the added on bits and changes.  The lines are clean and sleek, the material is nicer than the simple cloth used on Akaranger above and the helmet design works much better for me.  In short, good costume design is Magic!

[himitsusentaiblog]

I was wondering, what are your top 15 reds? Since we had at least 41 seasons of them so far.

That’s a good question and one I’ve never really thought of before.  Red isn’t generally my favorite out of the heroes of any show.  He tends to get too much of the focus or be too perfect. Or worse, he eats up all of the screen time and makes the rest of his team suffer.  That doesn’t mean reds from these situations are necessarily bad characters, they just don’t feel right in a Sentai series where the focus should be on the team, not on any one character.

I am NOT going to include Akared because he has no out of suit form and is more of a conceptual character, being the embodiment of the the spirit of all reds.  He’s cool but doesn’t really belong on this list.

So, let’s get started.  Remembers, these are just my opinion and if you think I left someone important out or ranked someone too low, my apologies. This is a highly subjective list and all but the top spots could change daily depending on how I am feeling and what I am watching at the time.

With that said, let’s get started!

15. Daigo Kiryu/Kyoryu Red

I am putting the leader of Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger this low on the list because he is the poster child for the problems I noted above. He is the focus character, the one who gets the lion’s share of the story, he gets a power up only he can use and he’s the one who gets force shipped with the team’s only main female member (and the one the other female characters seem to want to be with). This would normally disqualify him from the list but I can’t help but like him.  He’s fun, energetic and a bit dense.  I also love his series, despite myself. 

14. Ryusuke Ohwashi/Vul Eagle I

The first leader of Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan, might not be the most memorable leader but his team is one of my favorites. He’s still a good leader and the balance between the sometimes overly serious Vul Shark and the goofball Vul Panther.  

13. Hiromu Sakurada/Red Buster

Though not my favorite series, Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters is highly underrated among a large chunk of the fandom. I love the costumes, the designs, the mecha and the villains.  Hiromu may come across as kind of a blunt, over serious jerk but he has his reasons and it feels natural and not forced.  He also works REALLY well with his team and the core group of three feel at times more like family than teammates.

12. Sasuke/Ninja Red

The only Red on this list who is NOT the leader of his team, Sasuke makes the list for his unique position and his character growth (and because Ninja Sentai Kakuranger is my favorite series ever). He starts out as a shiftless drifter with no sense of personal responsibility who ends up releasing the Youkai Army from its centuries long sleep.  He learns though and becomes a better person, even working his way up to second in command of the team after Tsuruhime/Ninja White.  By the end, he has the makings of a capable leader.

11.Ryu Tendoh/Red Hawk

Another bird-themed Red to make the list (there will be more, trust me) Red Hawk is the leader and center of Choujin Sentai Jetman.  He is the one member of the team picked from the beginning and he brings a sense of military discipline to his rather ragtag team. He also brings a profound sense of loss, having watched his fiance get sucked into space in the initial attack only to discover later that she was turned into an enemy by the villainous Vyram. He is also, unfortunately, part of the series’ love triangle.

10. Nobuo Akagi/Akiba Red

Wait a second, how did this guy get on my list?  This unofficial stuff has no place here!  Oh, wait, yes he does because Nobuo is an awesome Red! He uses his encyclopedic knowledge of Super Sentai to guide his team through the pitfalls of villainous plots, standard tropes and the sometimes overwhelming power of their own delusions!  That alone earns him a place on this list as one of the best and most memorable Sentai reds, official or not.

9.Takayuki Hiba/Vul Eagle II

Yep, two Reds from the same series!  The only series to ever swap Reds mis-seasons (with the joking exception of Hikounin Sentai Akibaranger) Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan made a change for the better with the second Vul Eagle. He was a colleague of the former Eagle and took his place on the team with the first went off to join NASA.  He brought with him a slightly more serious attitude and a mastery of Kendo, using a sword in combat in addition to the weapons of his predecessor.

8. Ryo of the Heavenly Fire Star/RyuuRanger

The fourth member to join Gosei Sentai Dairanger, Ryo is the first to get his Mystical Chi Beast and quickly proves himself an apt leader. He is also a cook and delivery boy for a local Chinese Restaurant and dreams of making the best gyoza in Japan!  He is awakened to his heritage as a member of the Dai tribe and uses his proficiency in Dragon Fist style martial arts to battle the Gorma.

7. Shirō Gō/Red One

The man who was supposed to pilot Japan’s first Space Shuttle mission, his life is forever changed when the New Empire Gear attacks. Finding out he is the descendant of those bathed in Bio Particles centuries ago, Shiro becomes Red One, the leader of Choudenshi Bioman. He is a passionate leader burning with a sense of justice and feels a great sense of responsibility not only to the Earth but also to his teammates.

6. Right/ToQ 1gou

I expect this to be one of my more contentious choices, especially given how high up on the list he is.  Despite falling prey to some of my pet peeves (taking too much focus from the other characters, getting a power up for his own use) I cannot help but love Right.  He’s a great character and so much fun with his (understandably) childish nature and optimistic outlook. He might not be the most seasoned or mature leader but he’s got a vision for victory second to none!

5.Takeru Shiba/Shinken Red

If you were to look up stoic in the Sentai Dictionary, Takeru Shiba’s picture would be there. His usually cool, calm demeanor hides his overwhelming sense of responsibility not only for the fate of the world but for the secret he has to keep.  He is not entirely comfortable with others fighting and putting their lives on the line for his sake and does not hesitate to enter into battle first, no matter the risk to himself.  He grows as a leader as the series progresses to the point where any one of his teammates would willingly give their lives for him not out of a sense of duty but out of respect.

4. Yusuke Amamiya/Red Falcon

The leader of Choujuu Sentai Liveman, Yusuke shares the sense of loss the rest of the team does because of the murder of their friends and betrayal by their fellow students. Though he is a serious leader, the loss has not made him hard but instead instilled in him a need for justice and to protect the lives and hopes of those still alive. 

3. Geki/Tyrannoranger

Prince of the Yamato Tribe and leader of Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, Geki is an all around great guy.  He’s a superb fighter, an expert swordsman and possessed of a sense of Justice second to none.  He cannot stand evil, those who would hurt others or anyone who puts children in danger. He may be royalty (by adoption) but he never acts like he is above anyone else. 

2. Tsuyoshi Kaijo/Akaranger

There is NO way I could do this list without including the original Red Warrior.  Heck, I would not be able to live with myself if I didn’t have him on this list.  Just look at the name of my blog! Tsuyoshi is the standard by which all Sentai leaders should be judged.  He is a great fighter, a good leader, a selfless hero and pretty much the pinnacle of what a Sentai red should be.  There is only one who really beats him in my opinion.

1. Captain Marvelous/Gokai Red

When I think of Sentai Reds, the first person who comes to mind is this Pirate Captain from 2011.  Captain Marvelous is everything I love in a Red.  He’s a good character on his own, leads his team well and doesn’t get in the way of the personal growth of his teammates or totally dominate the narrative.  He gets enough focus to be the central character without feeling like the entire story is all about him.  That, in my opinion, makes him the best Red we’ve ever seen.  

He’s also a snappy dresser and kind of a jerk at times.

So, there you go!  My 15 favorite reds (as of this point).  As I said before, this list could change at any time and some might get themselves booted if they aren’t LUCKY!