Gosei Sentai Dairanger
Elements from "Dairanger" were adapted into the second season of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers", specifically the action sequences between the giant robots (which became the Power Rangers' Thunderzords) 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, within the suits from the previous season, "Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger" were instead used for the other Rangers in that show (The end credits listed the show as  titled "Dai Rangers"). 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 civilization flourished in Southern China. The civilization consisted of three separate tribes: the Dai, the Shura (the ancestors of today's humanity) and the Gorma (the military tribe); which lived in harmony. However, one day, the Gorma Tribe decided to take over the Daos civilization 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 are humans practitioners of Chinese martial arts who possess high levels of Qi powers against the Gorma Tribe . The team announces their arrival at a battle scene with the announcement , followed by the announcement of their team name. As a group, the five core Dairangers perform the 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. is the team leader who is the son of Chouryo 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 and taken to Master Kaku. Ryo deeply trusts his teammates. As , colored red, he specializes in the Dragon Fist style and uses the power of fire. Daigo. 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 , colored green, he specializes in the Hung Ga style and uses illusions in combat. His Mythical Qi Beast is . Shoji. 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 , colored blue, he specializes in the Long Fist style with the power to manipulate the gravitational forces around him, thus increasing his strength and speed. His Mythical Qi Beast is . 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. Kazu. 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 , colored yellow, he specializes in the Drunken Fist style and has the ability to freeze and reverse the flow of time to prevent mishaps. His Mythical Qi Beast is . Kazu appeared in the final episode of "Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger", receiving his powers back in the form of the Qilin Ranger Key as the Gokaigers left Earth. Rin. 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 look up her skirt and touch her breasts, but later befriends him. She once fell in love with photographer Shōichiro Takamura, the alter ego of Gorma agent Media Magician. As , colored pink, she specializes in the Eagle Fist style and uses the power of wind. Her Mythical Qi Beast is . Kou. is a 10-year-old boy who is the for drawing Byakko Shinken from his resting place, becoming the adult-like , colored white. He lived with his adoptive grandparents prior to moving into Rin's apartment. A somewhat  perverted boy, he is infatuated with Rin 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 sound-based attacks and his Mythical Qi Beast is . Allies. Kaku. Originally a member of Gorma, formed the Dairangers to oppose Gorma; his human alias is . But when Daijinryu 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. Chouryo. 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 Yuko. After Yuko was born, Chouryo was summoned back to the Gorma by his  master, Archbishop Riji, to fight the Dairangers after the Triumvirate failed to do so, but stopped upon hearing his son is the new Ryu Ranger. Chouryo 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 Chouryo to tell him they forgave him. He then passed on the knowledge of DairenOh to the new Dairangers before he died. Kujaku. is a follower of Mahamayuri Vidyaraja, the Peacock Buddha and a master of  kenpo. A member of the , she became the Peacock Buddha's follower to restore Gara by finding the 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 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 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. is Rin's great grand-uncle and Jiaxu'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 Big Wheel Blades and the Super Qi-Power Bazooka. Prior to the Kabuki Boy incident, Guhon entrusted his fiancé Xiao Qiao with Byakko Shinken which he placed within a stone until the rightful owner (Kou) could claim the weapon. Guhon later revealed to Kameo his true identity as Daimugen. Shokyo. is Guhon's 29-year-old fiancé, a Chinese Opera writer whom he entrusted with Byakko Shinken. Her profession caught the eye of Kabuki Boy, who abducted her, although Guhon won her  back. After returning Byakko Shinken to Guhon, Shokyo marries him as she returns to China. 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 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 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 Triumvirate. The , who are part of the Military Level (Kaku also belongs to this level), help spear  head the Gorma's attack on humans. In episode 30, they get to wield the ReiRyoku powers of Hell. 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 Jiaxu and disposed the previous once he is resurrected so he can become his successor. As , he intended to use the Earth Shaking Jewel to take over the world despite suffering its mind-warping effects, fighting the Dairangers. But when Daijinryu appears, the Earth Shaking Jewel left Shadam to appease Daijinryu's wrath. A maddened Shadam attempted to escape, only to be encountered by Ryou 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's not known what happened to the real Shadam and who created the copies. 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 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. 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 the Heavy Armor Qi Palace, but he survived. During the match between Shadam and Jiaxu, Zydos was sent to destroy the power booster Jiaxu intended to  use in the match. Though he barely survived the Heavy Armor Qi Palace for the second time, Zydos died when he turned into his true form: a clay figure created by Shadam as he remembered him. Senate Level. The highest level next to the Emperor. Priests, Imperial Guards, Minister's Secretaries, and Archbishop Saw belong on this level. Archbishop Saw. The was an insane Gorma of higher rank than the Gorma Triumvirate, and Zhang Liao's master. After his pupil failed to kill the Dairangers, Riju took matters to his own hands. He would have succeeded had Zhang Liao not  attacked him when he was attacking Ryou. First to be killed by DairenOh. General Denpou. is second-in-command to the Emperor and Akomaru's teacher/guardian. He was killed by Shadam when Denpou saw what he was doing to a resting Gorma XV and noticed the clay hand that exposed the Emperor as a clay copy. 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 15th banished Akomaru from the Gorma. Akomaru gave the Dairangers quite a battle when he rode atop his bodyguard Ikazuchii, via "YouRyoku Fusion". After Ikazuchii 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. Three Ladies of Hell. Three Ladies of Hell (三人官女 "Sannin Kanjo", 17-22) are three sisters who served as Akomaru's bodyguards/nannies, mistress of the 3-as-1 fighting style. They were sent to try to prevent Kiba Ranger being born, and later to track him down as  part of Akomaru's scheme of drafting him. Gorma Four Heavenly Kings. The Gorma Four Heavenly Kings (ゴーマ四天王 "Gōma Shitennō", 20 & 28-31) are the most favored of the Gorma Emperor's minions; East Heaven (東方天 "Tōhōten"), South Heaven (南方天 "Nanpōten"), West Heaven (西方天 "Saihōten"), and North Heaven (北方天 "Hoppōten"); wearing the attire of Buddhist Priests and being masters of displacement. They attempted to use their illusions to trap the Dairangers with key figures (Kujaku, Jin, Gorma 3 Stooges, and Akomaru) individually. Their teamwork skills were their greatest power, as they could merge into one deadly four-headed entity called  Combined Four Heavenly Kings (合体四天王 "Gattai Shitennō"). They survived the attack of Kiba Daioh twice, but were soon the first to be killed by Heavy Armor Qi Place. East Heaven, South Heaven, West Heaven, and North Heaven are portrayed by Yoshinori Okamoto (岡本 美登 "Okamoto Yoshinori"), Hideaki Kusaka (日下 秀昭 "Kusaka Hideaki"), Daigaku Sekine (関根 大学 "Sekine Daigaku") and Kiyokazu Inoue (井上 清和 "Inoue Kiyokazu"), respectively. Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt (イカヅチ "Ikazuchi", 42-44) is Akomaru's insectoid bodyguard, this monster fought the Kiba Ranger-less Dairangers. He obtained his name from the fact that he can fire lightning from parts of  his body, powerful enough to attract Daijinryuu and the Gorma-infested Kiba Ranger's attention. He was winning until Kiba Ranger was purified and rejoined the team, thus killing Thunderbolt with Heavy Armor Ch'i Palace. Imperial Guard. In episode 49, the armors of Kaku and Shiryu are brought to life and are metal-colored by Shadam who sends them against the Dairangers. They are defeated by Shouji, Kazu and Ryou and disappear. The Gorma 3 Stooges. The Gorma 3 Stooges (ゴーマ3ちゃんズ "Gōma San-chanzu", 15/Soccer, 24/Baseball, 40/Motorcycle Race, 47 & 48) are three Gorma in the service of  Zydos, though their foolishness deemed them at lower ranks; they all have a sense of competition and honor. Furthermore, to make them less respectable, none of them can assume human form like their fellow Gorma. They were beaten by Ryuuseioh the first time and Kibadaioh the second time. Though they survived both fights, the trio ended up being bandaged up. Over the course of the series, they would gain respect for the Dairangers (and vice versa); specifically for Shoji, who was seen as the most competitive of the Dairangers. After all that happened to them, they managed to survive the  entire series after being blown up various times. Deep down, they never wanted to kill the Dairangers, just defeat them in contests and sports. They would finally settle things with the Dairangers in a bike race, though they made their peace with the Dairangers using the minefield Zydos placed on the finish line to fake their deaths. The trio later returned to help Shoji. Before entering battle, they say "The three burning stars! Behold the famous, innocent monsters, Gorma 3 Stooges!" (燃える三つ星! 有名無実三怪人ゴーマ3ちゃんズ! "Moeru mittsu-boshi! Yūmei mujitsu san kaijin: Gōma San-chanzu!"). President Gravestone. President Gravestone (墓石社長 "Hakaishi Shachō ) is the tombstone-themed/right-hand man of the group; he can open his head to reveal a variety of things and refers to himself as Placing hands together to pray! The offering star, President Gravestone!" (手と手の皺を合わせて拝め! 御供養星・墓石社長! "Te to te no shiwa o awasete ogame! Gokyōyōsei: Hakaishi Shachō!"). President Gravestone is voiced by Takuzou Kamiyama (神山 卓三 "Kamiyama Takuzō"). Telephone Sensei. Telephone Sensei (電話先生 "Denwa Sensei") is Kamikaze's telephone-themed "girl", able to control any phone to spy on people or attack from long distances, refers to herself as "Free to spy, nation-wide! Japan's public telephone  corporation star, Telephone Sensei!" (全国どこでフリーでスパイ! 電電星・電話先生! "Zenkoku doko de furī de supai! Dendensei: Denwa Sensei!"). Telephone Sensei is voiced by Akiko Muta (むた あきこ). General Kamikaze. General Kamikaze (神風大将 "Kamikaze Taishō") is the motorcycle-themed leader of the group who rides a motorcycle. He tends to use "baby" in his sentences, refers to himself as "The red bullet cutting through the wind! The roaring engine star, General Kamikaze!" (風を切り裂く赤い弾丸! 爆走星・神風大将! "Kaze o kirisaku akai dangan! Bakusōsei: Kamikaze Taishō!"). General Kamikaze is voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama (檜山 修之 "Hiyama Nobuyuki"). Jin Matoba. is a master of dark karate 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. Jin's 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 Ryou and was defeated by him . Later, Jin sold his soul to Zydos to become stronger than Ryou, becoming the Demon-Fist Master 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 Ryou.His power had many facets, such as the deadly poisoning technique, the fierce and his . He can transform into his Demon-Fist Master form by calling out . But Zydos captured the rogue and infused him with more Gorma power, turning him into . 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 Ryou'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 Ryou, Jin went on the run from the Gorma.Jin was last seen fighting the bulk of an entire army  of Cotpotros led by Zydos, only to be seemingly gunned down by the second wave. But Jin later appeared to Ryou and proceeded to beat sense into him for not giving up despite no longer being a Dairanger. Cotpotros. The are 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 Dairanger faced red-dressed Cotpotros in the palace. The group were later summoned by Zaigan during "Super Sentai  World". Daijinryu. 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. Daijinryu is a neutral being, but has no tolerance for whoever threatens to disrupt the natural order of things. Daijinryu arrived on the planet in , only to transform into the bipedal , 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 the 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 Daijinryu 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 (the only Mythical Chi  Beast left standing). RyuseiOh was saved by Daimugen, who hid RyuseiOh inside of his shell, but was nearly crushed by Daijinryu. Daijinryu let them live because of the universe's will and the truce between the Dairangers and the Gorma. When the Dairangers dealt with Ikazuchi, Daijinryu seemingly put many civilians in Tokyo under his control, lining them up on top of buildings to fall to their deaths, before Jiaxu counter-acted the spell. Daijinryu 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. 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 , 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 Dairen-ō. Shohei Shibata, the young actor who played Hiroshi in "Kamen Rider ZO" later joined the cast of "Dairanger" as Akomaru, son of the main villain Shadam.