With Hollywood’s writers taking an extended leave of absence, we’ve been left with little to no good television. Unless of course you believe “reality TV” is good television, in which case I must ask you to push that little red x on your top right hand corner.

Good, with them gone I can continue. Sure we’ve got a few shows still airing, but these writers have left quite the void in our television infused lives. What are we supposed to do with all this spare time? Go outside? Outside is over rated! Let me suggest something to keep you entertained until those pesky writers get back to work.

To feed your superhero/martial arts appetite I recommend a moderate serving of “Beast-Fist Squad Fierce-Ki Ranger”, or as its known in the land of the rising sun, “Jyuuken Sentai GekiRanja.” These days, it shouldn’t be too hard to find places to download episodes of GekiRanger on the net.

Some of you may recognize the term “Sentai”, and for those of you who don’t, let me take the time to briefly explain. Sentai is best described as a genre of television shows in Japan featuring a team of super heroes wearing brightly colored spandex outfits and helmets. These heroes have giant robots known as “mecha” to help them fight giant monsters. Yes, like the American Power Rangers, only better!! In fact, Power Rangers is actually a combination of censored Sentai footage dubbed with American voices and meshed with American written footage.

Jyuuken Sentai GekiRanja is this seasons Sentai series; each season starts anew with new costumes, characters, and mecha (aka “Zords” in the US.) This season is based around martial arts, Kenpo to be exact. The premise behind the entire show is that a group of legendary Kenpo warriors split into two distinct groups. One group fought to protect the innocent, and bring about peace and justice; this group was known as Geki Jyuuken. The other group fought only for power and personal gain, this group was known as the Rin Jyuuken. Still with me? Good.

The Geki Jyuuken users are able to transform into animal themed GekiRangers by using their Geki Changers, better known to us as “Morphers.” Rin Jyuuken users focus their power and transform into representations of their Kenpo style and inner Ki, usually some form of animal.

You all should know the formula by now, bad guys send evil monster to attack the city, the good guys show up and destroy said monster using flashy martial arts, and crazy looking weapons. Said monster is defeated but suddenly grows to humongous proportions and continues destroying the city. The rangers then summon their giant robots and defeat said monster. As old as that formula is, the Japanese writers always find ways of keeping it interesting by tossing in various levels of drama, comedy, and twists to keep us hooked.

Don’t come in expecting a silly children’s program just because I compared it to Power Rangers! Sentai is actually a show aimed at young adults in Japan. The show contains more serious subjects, and features more violent fights. The characters sometimes actually draw blood, and some of them even die on screen. Disney would not approve!

Like all good martial artists our team of heroes must rely on strength, heart, will power, abilities and techniques to attain victory. Each Ranger has one primary strength which is detailed in their introductory phrases.

“This body swells with infinite energy, Unbreakable Body! GekiRed!”
“With daily purification polishing the heart, Honest Heart! GekiYellow!”
“Techniques color this grand flower! Fantastic Technique! GekiBlue!”
“Excitement, my style, to the limit of my will! Iron Will! GekiViolet!”
“Polishing the talent, I cut open my future! Amazing Ability! GekiChopper!”

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