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Samurai Sentai Shinkenger (侍戦隊シンケンジャー) TV Asahi/Toei Company, Ltd., 2009-2010 Currently being exploited by Saban Brands as Power Rangers Samurai Directed by Shōjirō Nakazawa, Satoshi Morota, Noboru Takemoto, Katsuya Watanabe, Hiroyuki Kato and Takao Nagaishi Written by Yasuko Kobayashi (I My Me! Strawberry Eggs, Shakugan no Shana), Akatsuki Yamatoya and Daisuke Ishibashi Running Time: 25 minutes per episode Number of Episodes: 49 Not Rated (Suggested TV-PG). Contains martial arts violence and mild language. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZNhjokW2R8 一筆奏上! "Ippitsu Sojo!" ("One Stroke, Imperial Report!") Cast Tori Matsuzaka as Takeru Shiba/Shinken Red Hiroki Aibe as Ryunosuke Ikenami/Shinken Blue Rin Takanashi as Mako Shiraishi/Shinken Pink Shogo Suzuki as Chiaki Tani/Shinken Green Suzuka Morita as Kotoha Hanaori/Shinken Yellow Keisuke Sohma as Genta Umemori/Shinken Gold Koichi Tochika (Hyuga in Naruto, Taishi in Comic Party) as DaiGoyou (voice) Goro Ibuki as Hikoma Kusakabe Runa Natsui as Kaoru Shiba/Princess Shinken Red Kazuyuki Matsuzawa as Toshizo Tanba Rintaro Nishi as Doukoku Chimatsuri (voice) Mitsuru Karahashi (Naoya/Snake Orphnoch in Kamen Rider 555) as Juzo Fuwa Romi Park (Edward in Fullmetal Alchemist, Elena in Devil May Cry) as Usuyuki/Dayu Usukawa (voice) Cho (Jaken in InuYasha) as Hone no Shitari (voice) Ryo Horikawa (Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z, Kou in Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory) as Akumaro Sujigarano (voice) Hironori Miyata (Fuuraimaru in Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger and Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger) as the Narrator 天下御免の侍戦隊. シンケンジャー、参る!! "Tenkagomen no Samurai Sentai... Shinkenger, Mairu!!" ("The Samurai Sentai authorized by divine providence... Shinkenger, going forth!!") Synopsis For hundreds of years, the samurai of the Shiba House have protected mankind from a band of evil spirits known as the Gedoushuu. Several years after being sealed away, Doukoku Chimatsuri sends his Ayakashi and Nanashi army to once again wreak havoc on Earth, causing the combined grief and suffering of mankind to slowly raise the levels of the Sanzu River for the Gedoushuu to stage a full-scale assault on humanity. To combat this threat, Takeru Shiba, the 18th Head of the Shiba House, must assemble all of his vassals to form the Shinkengers. Lowdown Not too long after Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger got me back into Super Sentai, I decided to check out the back catalog to see what I missed after Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger. And with that, I discovered a new favorite in Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. Shinkenger takes all of the great parts of Super Sentai and mixes it with Japanese culture and epic Samurai Cinema, resulting in a show that is uniquely Japanese with its excellent array of characters from the firm leader Takeru to the extremely kawaii Kotoha-chan to the annoying yet badass Genta. No doubt that the production team worked really hard on developing this series, having researched on Japanese mythology to flesh out the show's villains and mystical elements. Originally, I was not impressed by the suit designs, but after watching a few episodes, they grew on me quickly. The Shinkenger suits take a very minimalist approach to the Super Sentai style while incorporating traditional Samurai elements at the same time. Plus, the helmet designs are based on the kanji of the members' mojikara (or the natural element of their abilities). Having them armed with Shinkenmaru katanas results in some of the most awesome sword fights you'll ever see. As for the mecha, the show has its share of overkill and clusterfrakks, but it all comes down to Shinkenoh, the Shinkengers' main unit and undoubtedly one of the most badass giant robot designs ever made. And let's not forget the music. The series has a remarkable array of BGM tracks, but they're all topped by the badass opening theme by Psychic Lover (Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, Witchblade). In short, Samurai Sentai Shinkenger is undoubtedly one of the greatest Super Sentai titles ever made and a milestone in Japanese entertainment. It's just too bad Saban smeared all over this epic with their Power Rangers version. Rating: A- Links Super Sentai Official Samurai Sentai Shinkenger Homepage Toei's Official Samurai Sentai Shinkenger Homepage TV Asahi's Official Samurai Sentai Shinkenger Homepage References Anime News Network JEFusion