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Juken Sentai Gekiranger

Juken Sentai Gekiranger is Toei Company's thirty-first entry in the Super Sentai metaseries. Production began on September 29, 2006, with principal photography beginning on October 6, 2006. It aired on TV Asahi's 2007 Super Hero Time programming block with Kamen Rider Den-O from February 18, 2007, to February 10, 2008, replacing GoGo Sentai Boukenger and was replaced by Engine Sentai Go-onger.

Story
4000 years ago in ancient China, a form of Chinese styled kenpō martial art called was created by a man named Bruce Ee, who came to Japan and built the hidden village . Jūken is a martial art in which one mimics the abilities of animals as well as trying to attain spiritual peace. However, dissent grew among the creator's ten students; three of them believed that they should use the suffering and hatred harnessed within humans to increase their power, using their power to assume the monstrous Three Kenma. After Bruce Ee was murdered, the Kenma gathered followers to practice an evil form of the Jūken style known as Rin Jūken Akugata. The other seven students believed that true strength should come from within and engaged their former friends in a great war, ending the fight with a forbidden technique to seal the Kenma powers at the cost of losing their human forms in the process, becoming the Seven Kensei. Followers of the Kensei created the Geki Jūken Beast Arts school: the Jūken of justice whose sport discipline enhances the human body with the self-produced positive Qi called "Geki." It is taught by Grand Master Sha Fu, one of the Seven Kensei, using a sports goods company named as a front. Presently, a fallen student from the Geki Jūken school named Rio turned to the Rin Jūken style. He rebuilds the Rinjū Hall and brings the long-dead Rin Jūken users back to life as kyonshi to collect Rinki, Geki's polar opposite Qi, to resurrect the Three Kenma so that through them, he can become stronger. To fight the new Rinjū Hall, Sha Fu trained two youths: Ran Uzaki and Retsu Fukami. Along with Jan Kandou, a feral boy raised by tigers in the woods near Jūgenkyō, the Gekiranger team is formed and later joined by two other Geki Jūken users, Gou Fukami, Retsu's brother and master of the Geki Jū Wolf-Ken style, and Ken Hisatsu, a genius master of the Geki Jū Rhinoceros-Ken style, to save the world from the Akugata's ambitions. However, an even greater evil uses the two sides for its plan. ==Characters==
Characters
Main • Gekirangers: The eponymous students and associates of the Geki Jūken Beast Arts martial arts schools. The primary members utilize a pair of bracers, which harness and amplify their Geki, to transform and store their weapons, such as the . After acquiring their , the primary members can become where they gain jet engine-like vents on their suits, allowing them to channel their Kageki and perform various feats of speed and aerial maneuverability. Furthermore, with the exception of Ken, the Gekirangers can use their Geki to manifest the auras of their fighting styles' totem animals into physical and combine them to form . • : A feral child raised by tigers in the forest outside the who narrowly survived an attack by Long, who intended to kill him due to his lineage, and repressed the memories of the incident. As a result of his upbringing, Jan's speech is impeded. In the present, Master Xia Fu begins training Jan as the latter embodies the aspect of Geki Jūken, which allows him to withstand most forms of pain, but requires assistance in mastering the heart aspect. Soon after, Jan joins the Gekirangers as and becomes a practitioner of the style. Jan Kandou is portrayed by as a young adult and as a child. • : An employee of SCRTC who comes from a high-class family and initially focuses heavily on her willpower and keeping her heart in the highest place, to the point where she embodies the aspect of Geki Jūken as , and is a practitioner of the style. However, a combination of these and her inability to attend to small details leaves her technique lacking. In time, she becomes happier and more relaxed, and is appointed leader of the Gekirangers. Ran Uzaki is portrayed by . • : An intelligent yet solitary, selfish, and seemingly cold SCRTC employee who holds a grudge against Rio, who he believes killed his brother Gou when he was a child. In pursuit of seeking revenge, he set aside painting to study his brother's fighting style, but believes winning should be like a painting; complete and inspirational. Due to prioritizing his techniques in his training, to the point where he embodies the aspect of Geki Jūken as , and being a practitioner of the style, Retsu's attention to beauty costs him stamina, leaving his body at a disadvantage. Retsu Fukami is portrayed by as a young adult, as a child, and as a baby. • : Retsu's overprotective older brother and a student in Jūken alongside Rio and Miki Masaki. Despite this, he initially lacks passion for justice and fights only for himself. This resulted in him developing and mastering a dangerous form of Geki called and reinventing the style into his personal . After their parents died, Gou forced Retsu to never practice Jūken before leaving to fight Rio using an imperfect form of a forbidden Geki Waza in an attempt to defeat and seal him. However, he was transformed into a feral werewolf and wandered the world for fifteen years until he eventually regains his human form and reluctantly joins the Gekirangers as . Unlike the primary Gekirangers, Gou embodies the aspect of Geki Juken and utilizes the bracelet in order to transform due to his Shigeki being incompatible with the Geki Changers. Gou Fukami is portrayed by . • : A free-spirited martial arts prodigy who trained at the Beast Origin Village and mastered one of the oldest fighting styles in the Beast Arts, the , to overcome the pain of losing his mother at a young age. He was originally meant to join Ran and Retsu as their third teammate, but left to travel abroad due to his Geki Changers being broken and his desire to not restrict himself to the Geki Jūken school. He eventually returns in the present to aid the Gekirangers in their battle against the Rin Jūken Akugata and Gen Jūken schools as the white-colored before returning to work at SCRTC Meisters once the aforementioned battle is over. Unlike the primary Gekirangers, Ken embodies the aspect of Geki Jūken and utilizes the gauntlet in order to transform. Ken Hisatsu is portrayed by . • : The leader of the Rin Jūken Akugata school and a practitioner of the style who seeks to gain strength so he can never suffer pain again. He initially joined the Geki Jūken school, trained under Master Xia Fu, and formed a close bond with Gou Fukami, but was dissatisfied with his progress and left to join the Akugata. During this time, he harnessed the power of Rinki to manifest an armored form called . Throughout the series, Rio forms a rivalry with Jan and cultivates Rinki from his fear, hatred, and jealousy before he is overthrown by Maku and manifests Dorinki from his self-hatred. After receiving more power and killing Maku to regain his position, Rio falls under Long's influence and uses the Gen Jūken school's power to transform into , gaining mastery over the style. Eventually, he discovers Long's treachery and joins forces with the Gekirangers to defeat him, sacrificing himself in the process. Rio is portrayed by as an adult and as a child. • : A cruel and malevolent practitioner of the style who possesses an extendable tongue. In battle, she dual wields a pair of sais. Having died during the Geki-Rin Rebellion, Rio used Rinki to revive her as a Rinrinshi and grant her a human form a decade prior to the series due to their similar objectives. As a result, she became highly devoted to him and developed an initially unrequited love for him. She aids Rio in his plans throughout the series, during which she becomes a Vermilion Bird/rooster-themed Genshou with mastery over the style while working with the Gen Jūken school, before discovering Long is manipulating Rio and joins the latter in helping the Gekirangers defeat him, sacrificing herself in the process. Mele is portrayed by . Recurring • : A fictional martial arts school that uses a form of Qi called as a source of power that manifests from the user's passion for justice and emphasizes the concepts of heart, technique, and body. The ultimate form of Geki is , which can manifest if the user has mastered the heart-technique-body triangle and possesses a selfless desire to protect others. The sporting goods company serves as a front for the martial arts school, specifically its Gekirangers. • : An assistant to Master Xia Fu, a student of the Geki Jūken Beast Arts, practitioner of the style, and the head of SCRTC's special development department who is responsible for designing most of the Gekirangers' weapons. Before training in Geki Jūken, Miki was an infamous sukeban in her youth and former leader of the Kanto Sukeban Alliance. Miki Masaki is portrayed by . • : Legendary creators of the Geki Jūken style and students of Brusa Ee. After three of their fellow students broke off to found the Rin Jūken Akugata as the Three Kenma and killed Ee, the Kensei battled them in what would later be called the Geki-Rin Rebellion. The Kensei used a forbidden Geki Waza to seal the Kenmas' bodies, but forcibly turned them into anthropomorphic versions of their fighting styles' totem animals. Following the battle, the Kensei swore a Jūken Oath of nonviolence, only using their skills in defense, established the Geki Jūken in the Beast Origin Village, and created the to prevent Akugata members from entering its sacred grounds. Following this, three of their members have become the after fully mastering one of the three major aspects of the Geki Jūken Beast Arts while one, Master Xia Fu, has mastered all three. • : Jan Kandou's father, a practitioner of the Geki Jū Tiger-Ken capable of accessing white tiger-based Geki, star pupil of Master Xia Fu's, and senior master of Rio, Gou Fukami, and Miki Masaki who is also known as . When Rio left to join the Akugata, Dan attempted to save him, but was fatally wounded by Long, who used his Geki Soul to create Suugu. While Suugu initially serves Long loyally, Dan's soul would eventually awaken inside the Genshou and rescue his son, who kills him to release his soul. Dan is portrayed by , who also voices Suugu. • : A fictional martial arts school and the Geki Jūken Beast Arts' rival school based in the , a dojo located on the remote , with a natural selection-based philosophy, believing that only those strong enough can survive their harsh and inhuman training methods. Rin Jūken practitioners use a form of Qi called , which is powered by the user's darkness and is used to perform fighting techniques called , with the ultimate form of Rinki being , which manifests through infinite rage and a desire to destroy everything. • The : The Akugata's founders and counterpart to the Geki Jūken's Seven Kensei who mastered the Beast-Man Wicked Body Change technique to transform themselves into monstrous anthropomorphic versions of their respective fighting style's totem animals, though they require high amounts of Rinki. Years prior, they studied under Brusa Ee alongside the Kensei before their desire to use fear and rage to power themselves combined with Maku's grudge against Ee led to them murdering the latter, breaking off to found the Akugata, and starting the Geki-Rin Rebellion. However, the Kenma were defeated by the Kensei, who sealed their souls in three while their bodies were sealed separately. In the present, Rio gains possession of the Kenma Bracelets and steadily resurrects them throughout the series. While they are killed by Long, Jan Kandou gains ahold of the Kenma Bracelets and receives their help in defeating Long. • : A practitioner of the style, which turns his vocalizations into Geki, who fought Mele during the Geki-Rin Rebellion, during which he assumed an imperfect anthropomorphic fly-like form, only to be swallowed by Mele before she died. After Rio resurrected her, Bae was resurrected as well and became dependent on her for his survival. Throughout the series, he impulsively serves as a commentator for battles between the Gekirangers' Kenpō Giants and enlarged Beast-Men and serves as an unwanted confidante for Mele before she eventually sees him as an equal. When she underwent the Fist Judgment to cleanse herself of her Genki, it entered Bae and fully resurrected him. Bae is voiced by . • : A fictional martial arts group who utilize golden Qi called , practice , and seek to exceed the power of natural beasts by mastering the power of mythical creatures via thirteen fighting styles based on the Chinese zodiac and the Four Symbols, the latter of which being represented by the group's leaders, the . • : The malicious Azure Dragon-themed coordinator and leader of the Gen Jūken, the self-proclaimed master of the , and an immortal whose true form is a many-headed golden dragon with terrible power who manipulates humanity on a whim. Because of his immortality and evil nature, he found the world dull and decided to create the "Destroyer", a mindless monster capable of destroying the world. To this end, he manipulated Maku in a failed attempt at turning him into the Destroyer before turning his attention to Rio and attempted to kill the Kandou family for fear that their ability to enhance their Qi would threaten his plans. In the present, Long reveals himself to personally oversee Rio's training until Mele discovers his true intentions and convinces the latter to join her in helping the Gekirangers defeat Long by sealing him in the , which Jan Kandou takes possession of to protect it. During the events of the crossover film Engine Sentai Go-onger vs. Gekiranger, Akugata engineer Meka steals the Dōkokugan and converts it into the in order to empower Nunchaku Banki as part of his plan to rule the world with the dragon's power. After Jan and Go-on Red defeat Nunchaku Banki, the Dōkokugan's seal is partially undone, allowing Long to emerge and convert Nunchaku Banki into so he can seek revenge on the Gekirangers. He enlarges, but is defeated by the Gekirangers and Go-ongers, which restores the Dōkokugan to normal. Long is portrayed by . • : A talkative, immortal Black Tortoise/snake-themed Genshou, Long's right hand, and master of the style, which emphasizes gravity-based attacks, that Long created from his own body. After inadvertently revealing Long's true plans to Mele, Sanyo battles her and Geki Yellow, Blue, Violet and Chopper. Despite surviving the battle, Sanyo helps recreate Long, who reabsorbs his subordinate after assuming his true form. Sanyo is voiced by . • : A White Tiger/Tiger of the Earthly Branches-themed Genshou and master of the style, which allows him to use Geki and Rin Jūken styles, that Long created from Dan's Geki soul. While he initially lacked Dan's mind, Suugu slowly takes on aspects of the latter's personality and gains access to his memories. This would lead to Suugu overcoming Long's control and sacrificing himself to save Jan Kandou. Suugu is voiced by Kenji Ohba, who also portrays Dan. ==Production==
Production
The trademark for the series was filed by Toei Company on September 19, 2006. In a final message to the fans, producer cites various items he thanks for inspiring the series, including the past Sentai series and the essayist for teaching them about manga that they reference in the series. The manga mentioned are , , , , , , and others. They also thank Sammo Hung, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, and Yuen Biao for allowing them to use their names. ==Episodes==
Episodes
At the end of each , from the first 38 episodes and resuming at the 46-48th episodes, there is a short Beast Arts Academy segment that explains the many pieces of the Gekiranger arsenal, such as the capabilities of the Geki Changers or the performing of Geki Waza. ==Specials==
Specials
Nei-Nei! Hou-Hou! Hong Kong Decisive Battle aired alongside ''Kamen Rider Den-O: I'm Born!'' starting August 4, 2007. The plot revolves on the Gekirangers, Rio, and Mele fighting the school of to prevent them from destroying Hong Kong. The events of the movie take place between Lessons 9 and 10. Gekiranger vs. Boukenger In , the Gekiranger team meets up with the team from GoGo Sentai Boukenger. The DVD was released on March 14, 2008, for rental and March 21, 2008, for purchase. This is the first team-up to be in wide-screen, appropriate as Boukenger and Gekiranger were the first Sentai series to be themselves shown in wide-screen. The events of the movie take place between Lessons 35 and 36. The film is dedicated to Machiko Soga who died in 2006 Go-onger vs. Gekiranger Initially scheduled for DVD release on March 21, 2009, features the return of Hiroki Suzuki, Mina Fukui, Manpei Takagi, Riki Miura, Sotaro, Hirofumi Araki, Yuka Hirata, Naoki Kawano, and Kazue Itoh reprising their roles as Jan Kandou, Ran Uzaki, Retu Fukami, Gou Fukami, Ken Hisatsu, Rio, Mele, Long, and Miki Masaki from Juken Sentai Gekiranger. The story features the Three Gaiark Ministers and their teaming up with the last remaining member of the , , practicer of the who is after the golden orb that Long was sealed in. To defeat their common foes, the Go-ongers, the Go-on Wings, and the Gekirangers team up with the revived Rio and Mele to fight the new evil team and stop them from releasing Long. On December 6, 2008, several of the cast members of Go-onger announced on their blogs that there is going to be a second Go-onger movie. The next day, Toei announced on its Go-onger website that the film was going to be Go-onger vs. Gekiranger, and that it was to commemorate the 15th of the Super Sentai V-Cinema VS Series, having started initially with J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai vs. Gorenger in 1978 and revived annually with Chouriki Sentai Ohranger vs. Kakuranger in 1996. The film was released to theaters on January 24, 2009. Kyuranger vs. Space Squad is a V-Cinema special released on August 8, 2018 that features a crossover between Uchu Sentai Kyuranger and Space Squad. Aside from the main cast of Kyuranger, Yuma Ishigaki and Hiroaki Iwanaga (Geki Jumonji and Shu Karasuma in Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie), Yuka Hirata (Mele), Mitsuru Karahashi (Fuwa Juzo in Samurai Sentai Shinkenger), Kei Hosogai (Basco ta Jolokia in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger) and Ayame Misaki (Escape in Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters) return to reprise their respective roles. ==Cast==
Cast
• : , • : • : • : • : • : • Rio (Young; 1, 12, 46–47), Jan's Hong Kong Student (49): • : • : • : • : • : • : • : Voice actors • : • : • : • : • : • : • : • : • : • : • : • : • Narration: Guest cast • Fake Retsu (38): ==Songs==
Songs
Opening theme • • Lyrics: Neko Oikawa • Composition: Takafumi Iwasaki • Arrangement: Seiichi Kyōda • Artist: Takayoshi Tanimoto with Young Fresh on chorus Ending theme • • Lyrics: Shoko Fujibayashi • Composition: • Arrangement: • Artist: Ichirou Mizuki with Young Fresh (Chorus) Character songs Beginning with Lesson 39 and ending with Lesson 45, the Character Songs replaced the Jūken Academy segments and "Tao" as the ending theme. The Juken Sentai Gekiranger Character Song Album was released on December 19, 2007, and includes the following songs and karaoke versions of each song. • performed by • "Run" performed by • "Just make it out!" performed by • "Wandering Wolf" performed by • performed by • performed by • performed by ==Notes==
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