Kyoryu Sentai Zyu Ranger
By Great Blue Warrior

The Story

Zyuranger's story begins millions of years ago. It seems that historians got our evouloution wrong. We evolved from dinosaurs. With this in mind, dinosaurs did indeed live in peace with each other. Life on Earth was watched over by the great god, Kyuukyoku Daizyujin, the supreme force of good. The humans were split into five coexisting kingdoms: The Yamato kingdom, the Sharma kingdom, the Etof kingdom, the Daim kingdom, and the Risha kingdom. However, a darkness soon fell over the land in the form of the evil witch Bandora.

Guided by the dark power of Dai-satan, she wrought havoc on the five kingdoms. Kyuukyoku Daizyujin fought against Dai-Satan and Bandora, and won, but at heavy cost. The battle split him into 3 forms: King Brachion, Dragon Ceasar, and Daizyujin, who himself was made of five demi-gods. Eventually, the white wizard Barza sealed Bandora and her minions on the wandering planet Nemesis.

To assure Earth's future was safe, the five kingdoms placed their royal heirs in suspended animation and granted them the powers of the five dinosaur demi-gods: Geki of the Yamato kingdom was entrusted the power of Tyrannosaurus, Goro of the Sharma kingdom was given the power of the Mammoth, Dan of the Etof kingdom was granted the Triceratops' power, Boi of the Daim kingdom gained the strength of the sabre toothed tiger, and Mei of the Risha kingdom was given the power of the pteranadon. Barza watched over them to keep them safe, until the inebitable day Bandora returned. Now, she has arrived on Earth, and the five warriors are needed. With the powers of the dinosaur demi-gods, they become the upholders of justice, Kyoru sentai Zyuranger!

How Good it it?

Zyuranger itself is regarded as one of the lesser sentai series of the 90s, especially since it preceded the sentai classice, Dairanger. My opinion of Zyuranger is mostly positive. The story is an epic one, about honor, trust, and the grit to overcome all. First, the costumes and mecha. I absoloutely love the Zyuranger suits. They are simple, but at the same time, very striking. Each one has a unique helmet patterned after their respective dinosaur. The weapons are also pretty nifty.

The monsters are some of the best of sentai. While most series after it presented goofy, relatively dum-looking enemies, Zyuranger produced some awesome beasts, like, for instance, Dora Sphinx, Dora Ladoon, and Dora Knight. Griforzer, Bandora's right hand, uh, thing, is also a nice design. The mecha are some of the best, ever. Daizyujin is one of the coolest combined mecha, and when combined with King Brachion and Dragon Ceasar, well, let's just say, you don't want to meet him in a dark alleyway( though he probably wouldn't fit in it). The battle scenes are well choreographed, and are very bouncy, exciting, and fun to watch. The same goes for the zord battles.

Now, the story. I feel it is a very interesting one, with the same tone as a legend from medievil times, but there are some faulty moments. I could've done without the ape people, for instance. However, it still moves at a nice, brisk pace. The acting is well done, with soul and heart in each spoken line. The music fits the series nicely, with it's bouncy themes. Another thing I enjoy is the team dynamics. When they start, the Zyuranger are more or less five warriors grouped together, each fighting independent of the other. This is in contrast to most other sentai, whose teams mostly automatically start working together. We see that they were meant to fight as a team, because if they don't they end up in trouble, as shown when Dora Sphinx traps most of the team in trees because they refuse to truly cooperate. We also get a glimpse of the dark future of Earth, courtesy of the five dinosaur demi-gods, if the team does not work together.

The finale, for the most part, is exciting, and a joy to the eyes. However, the unanimous best part of Zyuranger comes with the arrival of Burai, the Green dragon ranger. The saga of Burai is heartfelt, saddening, and at the same time hopeful. As most people already know about Burai's story, I won't waste space repeating it. Another shocker of Zyuranger is the secret of Bandora's history, which presents her as a sympathetic character, who lost her son and swore vengeance on the world for it. It's things like these that make Zyuranger.

Admittedly, Zyuranger has it's problems. There are a good number of episodes I disliked, mostly because they were too goofball, in stark contrast to the show itself. For instance, the episode with Ginn, a genie of the lamp, or the one when a little boy thinks his father is a vampire. These are episodes that served no purpose, and could've been done away with. Also, Dai-Satan should've played a bigger part in the finale.

Final Word

Although there are some faults, Zyuranger should not be missed by true sentai fans. This is my first review, but I hope to return with more. Until then, just keep watching the skies.

Great Blue Warrior