Template:Short description Template:Infobox television Template:Nihongo is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. Gorenger, created by Shotaro Ishinomori, was the first in the long-running Super Sentai metaseries of tokusatsu programming.[1] The series aired on NET (now TV Asahi) from April 5, 1975, to March 26, 1977, and was itself replaced by J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai after 84 episodes.[1] Toei distributes the series internationally under the title Five Rangers.[2] The series was released in the Philippines under the title Star Rangers.
Plot
When world peace is threatened by the emergence of a terrorist group called the Black Cross Army, EAGLE (The Earth Guard League[3]) is formed to combat the threat. The Black Cross Army sends five operatives to destroy each EAGLE branch in Japan, killing all but five members. These surviving members are summoned to a secret base located underneath the snack shop "Gon", where they are recruited by EAGLE Japan's commander, Gonpachi Edogawa. They become the Himitsu Sentai Gorengers and are given electronic battlesuits that endow them with superhuman strength and speed. The five dedicate themselves to stopping the Black Cross Army and its leader, the Black Cross Führer.
Characters
Gorengers
- Template:Nihongo:[4] The 24-year-old younger brother of the Kantō EAGLE base captain, Tsuyoshi and his teammates were playing soccer when the Black Cross Army launched the attack that killed his brother. Tsuyoshi is trained in combat planning and strategy. As the red-colored Template:Nihongo, he is the team leader and coordinates group attacks such as the Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo. He is armed with the Template:Nihongo, a multipurpose whip that can transform into other weapons such as the Template:Nihongo or the Template:Nihongo. He also carries the Template:Nihongo tranquilizer gun. Tsuyoshi appeared in the final episode of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, receiving his powers back in the form of the Akarenger Key as the Gokaigers left Earth.
- Template:Nihongo:[5] 25-years-old and the oldest member of the Gorenger team. Akira was training in the snowy region of Tōhoku when the Black Cross Army attacked. He is a marksmanship instructor, skilled in archery and piloting. He wants to become a racing driver. As the blue-colored Template:Nihongo, he is the second-in-command. He pilots the Variblune, and later the Varidorin. He is armed with the Template:Nihongo and later the Template:Nihongo, a bow that can fire specially designed arrows known as Blue Arrows and Blue Arrow Rockets.
- Template:Nihongo: The yellow-colored member of the Gorengers who is armed with the Template:Nihongo, a polearm whose head can be outfitted with various attachments such as a punching fist, and the Template:Nihongo, a radio that can jam electronic circuitry. The moniker of Kirenger was used by its original user and his temporary successor.
- Template:Nihongo[6] (1–54 & 67–84): 23-years-old. Called Dai-chan by Akira, Peggy, and Yoko, Daita is a jovial engineering recruit at EAGLE's Kyushu branch who was training with his comrades when the Black Cross Army attacked. Adept in mechanics and mathematics, he has difficulty solving simple word puzzles and riddles. As a judo champion, Daita is physically strong. Daita was later promoted to Chief of EAGLE's Kyushu branch but soon returned to active duty with the Gorengers after his replacement is killed by the Black Cross Army.
- Template:Nihongo (55–67): After Daita became the commander of the Kyushu branch for a time, Daigoro replaced him. Daigoro was killed by a flying blade from Can Opener Mask.
- Template:Nihongo: 18-years-old. Peggy worked at EAGLE's Hokkaido branch as a chemical analyst and weapons engineer specializing in explosives. Fashion-conscious, Peggy often wears go-go boots and short hip-hugging hot pants. As the pink-colored Template:Nihongo, she is armed with the Template:Nihongo, a jamming device that can confuse and confound her opponents. She also carries the Template:Nihongo throwing shuriken and the high impact Template:Nihongo.
- Template:Nihongo: 17-years-old, Kenji is the youngest member of the team. Kenji was tending to pigeons on a rooftop at EAGLE's Kansai branch when the Black Cross Army attacked, thus saving him from the poison gas used in the attack. He has a happy-go-lucky temperament. As the green-colored Template:Nihongo, he is armed with the Template:Nihongo, a razor-sharp boomerang that can be either flung at his opponents or used as a handheld weapon for cutting and slashing. He also carries the Template:Nihongo, an updated slingshot that can be used to fire pachinko pellets and sometimes explosives.
Other EAGLE characters
- Template:Nihongo: Commander of EAGLE's Japan branch. When operating in public, Gonpachi disguises himself as the cook at the snack shop Template:Nihongo, which is the secret entrance to the Gorengers' headquarters. The shop later becomes the fruit parlor Gon.
- Template:Nihongo: A trio of secretaries and secret agents who assists Commander Edogawa: Template:Nihongo (a.k.a. Agent 007), Template:Nihongo (a.k.a. Agent 008), and Template:Nihongo (a.k.a. Agent 009). They act behind the scenes but occasionally help the Gorengers in the field.
Black Cross Army
The Template:Nihongo is a terrorist group led by the Black Cross Führer whose goal is the eradication of the human race and the absolute domination of the world. They use advanced technology and magic to create an army of superhuman operatives to attack EAGLE and the Gorengers. Most of the Black Cross operatives are humans who have been enhanced through surgery. They had various secret bases across the globe. The main headquarters was the flying Template:Nihongo, which orbited high above the ground.
- Template:Nihongo: The leader of the Black Cross Army, often referred to as the "Machine Monster", and a highly intelligent being with supernatural powers who hides his identity even from his generals, occasionally disguising himself as a human. He is eventually revealed as the Black Cross Castle itself, controlled by a sentient alien AI, and defeated by the Gorengers' Five-Star Cassiopea Attack.
- Template:Nihongo: The so-called Template:Nihongo. A ruthless tyrant renowned for his successive victories in Africa, he is called to Japan to eliminate the Gorengers, but his plans are frequently hampered by his own cowardice.
- Template:Nihongo: The so-called Template:Nihongo. A cold and sadistic, yet overly prideful recruit from the Black Cross Army's Gobi Desert operations, he is a master tactician who leads his own army in the Template:Nihongo.
- Template:Nihongo: Hailing from the Eldgjá region in Iceland, he is the leader of the ruthless Template:Nihongo and commander of his own mobile battle station, the Template:Nihongo. He is able to fire napalm missiles from the top of his mask, and is impervious to the Gorengers' weapons.
- Template:Nihongo: Black Cross Army's top general, a supernatural entity awoken through black magic and the Black Cross Führer's powers. A well-versed sorcerer with an interest in astrology, Golden Mask takes command of Black Cross Army's elite Template:Nihongo. He can repel most of the Gorengers' attacks.
- Template:Nihongo: A rogue Black Cross Army operative who was imprisoned for reckless and rebellious behavior, but later freed by Black Cross Führer in exchange for his help in destroying the Gorengers. He is a strong and highly-resistant fighter wielding a dao that can break almost any object.
- Template:Nihongo: The Black Cross Army's field agents, who cause chaos and disorder wherever they go. They are mainly humanoid machines with strange masks that represent their ability and skills in the field, with the ability to continuously upgrade themselves through the continued research and developments of the Black Cross Army. These humanoids can have abilities to change into other objects to help with infiltration or investigations or to assist in their chaos-causing objectives.
- Template:Nihongo: The Black Cross Army's faceless leather-suited foot soldiers, altered with enhanced strength and speed and brainwashed to be absolutely loyal. They carry a variety of weapons including machine guns, bazookas, and iron swords. Specialized divisions include the Template:Nihongo and a squad of mystics who served Black Cross Führer. The Zolders pilot air fighters called Template:Nihongo (small) and Template:Nihongo (large). They shout "Hoi" when attacking their victims.
Episodes
Episodes aired on Saturdays at 7:30 pm JST.
Films
- Template:Nihongo: Released on July 26, 1975. The movie version of episode 6.[7]
- Template:Nihongo: Released on December 20, 1975. The movie version of episode 15.[8]
- Template:Nihongo: Released on March 20, 1976. The movie version of episode 36.[9]
- Template:Nihongo: Released on December 19, 1976. The movie version of episode 54.[10]
- Template:Nihongo: Released on July 18, 1976.[11]
- Template:Nihongo: Released on March 18, 1978.[12]
Manga
The series was adapted into a manga written and drawn by Ishinomori and published in Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine from May 4, 1975, to August 17, 1975.[1] Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga outside Japan for North American territories.[13]
Cast
- Tsuyoshi Kaijo: Template:Nihongo
- Akira Shinmei: Template:Nihongo
- Daita Oiwa: Template:Nihongo
- Daigoro Kumano: Template:Nihongo
- Peggy Matsuyama: Template:Nihongo
- Kenji Asuka: Template:Nihongo
- Yoko Kato: Template:Nihongo
- Tomoko Hayashi: Template:Nihongo
- Haruko Nakamura: Template:Nihongo
- Template:Nihongo: Template:Nihongo
- Black Cross Führer: Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo (Voicing the role in episodes 54 & 55)
- Gonpachi Edogawa: Template:Nihongo
Voice actors
- Template:Nihongo: Template:Nihongo
- Template:Nihongo: Template:Nihongo
- Template:Nihongo: Template:Nihongo
- Template:Nihongo: Template:Nihongo, Shōzō Iizuka (45–54)
- Template:Nihongo: Shōzō Iizuka
- Narrator: Template:Nihongo: Template:Nihongo
Songs
- Opening theme
- Template:Nihongo
- Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori
- Composition & arrangement: Chumei Watanabe
- Artists: Isao Sasaki, Mitsuko Horie, & Columbia Yurikago Kai
- Ending themes
- Template:Nihongo
- Lyrics: Saburo Yatsude
- Composition & Arrangement: Chumei Watanabe
- Artist: Isao Sasaki & Koorogi '73
- Episodes: 1–63
- Template:Nihongo
- Lyrics: Shotaro Ishinomori
- Composition & Arrangement: Chumei Watanabe
- Artists: Isao Sasaki, Koorogi '73, & Wilbees
- Episodes: 64–84
International broadcast and home video
- In its home country of Japan, Toei Video released the series on VHS and was spread throughout 20 volumes for both sale and rental releases from May 25, 1986 to May 24, 1991. Each tape contains three episodes and there was also a release of one of the movies. Only 59 out of 84 episodes were released on this format. The jacket for Volume 19 of the series used an image of Red Falcon from Choujyu Sentai Liveman by mistake. Then from November 21, 1998 to May 21, 1999, the series was released on a Laserdisc boxset and this was the first time that the series had all 84 episodes released on home video. From April 21, 2003 to August 8, 2003, the series was released on DVD throughout a span of 14 volumes. Each volume contains six episodes reach and volumes 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13 and 14 were simultaneously released. The first episode is also included in the "Shotaro Ishinomori 70th Anniversary DVD-BOX" released on July 21, 2008. The first episode is also included in the "Super Sentai 1st Episode Collection I" DVD released in April 2011, and the movie version "Bakudan Hurricane!" was also viewed on pay-per-view. The series was then released on Blu-Ray for the first time from February 8, 2017 to October 4, 2017 in five boxset volumes. Each volume holds three discs with 17 episodes included. In addition, 8 select episodes are also included in the "Super Sentai Ichimi Blu-ray 1975-1981" release which came out on April 14, 2021.
- In the United States, the original Japanese version was broadcast in Hawaii on Honolulu's KIKU-TV with English subtitles from 1975 through 1976, and the actors made personal appearances to promote the series. An unsubtitled version was also broadcast in California, on Sacramento's KMUV-TV in 1976, San Francisco's KEMO-TV in 1977.
- In the Philippines, Gorenger was dubbed into English and aired as Star Rangers in 1978 and shown on Saturday afternoon on RPN-9.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". In this version, aside from their color designations, the Gorengers also had numeric designations, in order of their introduction to the enemy prior to battle:
- Akarenger = Star 1
- Aorenger = Star 2
- Kirenger = Star 3
- Momorenger = Star 4
- Midorenger = Star 5
- In Hong Kong, the series aired on the now-defunct Commercial Television station with a Cantonese Chinese dub from July 1, 1978, until August 19, 1978. But the channel ceased operations, causing the series to be cut short.
- In Thailand, the series aired on Channel 7 originally with a Thai dub and is currently licensed by Rose Media Entertainment. It later aired on Channel 5 and also the Gang Cartoon Channel around 2009 with its license currently owned by TIGA Company.