Turboranger Episode 2 & In Defense of Shiron

This episode takes its time and wisely uses every second of its run-time. What I like about it is that we're thrown into the action and as taken by surprise as the five heroes are; we're right there with them.

When dockers loosen a mysterious stone hand, it flies to a destination only it knows. This catches the attention of the fairy Shiron, who begins her search for anyone to help what's about to go down... We hear only her voice pleading to numerous people for help, but she goes unheard. She's finally heard by five high-schoolers, who are perplexed, but even moreso once they're whisked from their school to a vacant site where they witness an ancient evil being reborn...

Now, people have often acted like Turboranger was a comedic show. I'll see comments like "it started off goofy, but got retooled." And that's not really the case. It has lighter moments, but that's only really a reflection of having a team so young. Several Sentai prior to this had a teenage member, but this was the first team that was entirely teenager. The show wants to display the vibrancy of youth, it wants to show a group of close classmates as they're thrown into some strange and unusual circumstances while on the road to adulthood. This episode is about the oddity of the situation; just one second they're in class, business as usual -- sneaking a snack, struggling to stay awake -- and, BAM, they're pulled into this adventure by Shiron. There are things that might play funny or not age well to a younger viewer's eyes -- the invisible Shiron tugging Haruna by her hair or stabbing Youhei in the bum with a pencil -- but it's meant to be strange and amusing, not HA-HA, it's a comedy. More examples will pop up.

Despite hearing Shiron, they can't see her. They witness the three Bouma generals being unsealed. They're given the Turbo Braces, but they do nothing. When the Bouma sniff them out and attack, things could have easily been over right then and there, but Professor Dazai arrives in a jeep and takes them to his place, explaining everything.

He shows them a brief history of humans and fairies in ancient times, united in fighting and sealing the Bouma. It was a brutal war in which many lives -- human, fairy, magical creatures -- died. Things were peaceful until modern civilization; advancements in civilization led to scientific breakthroughs, but through those came things like pollution, a disconnect with nature and a loss in belief of magic. Shiron is the last surviving fairy and together with Dazai, they combined her magic with his technology to create the Turboranger and their arsenal, knowing it would be needed. I like this history between Dazai and Shiron; you really get the sense that they've known each other for a while, especially with the conviction Fujita Okamoto plays the professor. (I'm always saying Toei's missing a big opportunity to have Sentai novels or comics, and here's one topic they could cover: Shiron's seeking out Dazai and Dazai's first interaction with her. There's a story!) But I also like the footage we see from the ancient times, which we'll get more glimpses of in later episodes and the movie. But it goes a long way into building the world and history and getting you curious and invested in the show.

And this, smart-asses, is why a fairy/magic theme is set with a car theme... The theme is ancient, make-believe fairy power combining forces with today's cold, technological science to combat ancient evil let loose by modern society's ills. What is so hard about this idea for people to grasp? "OMG, what does fairies have to do with cars?" Symbolism, big dummy turds. Several shots of Dazai linger on the model cars decorating his place; he's a car freak and basing the suits on cars is his design contribution. I've seen many people worship Kamen Rider Gaim, giving that show's stupid design choices a pass -- magical fruits that turn into padlocks that power singing belts -- because the show tries to wave them off as ideas by kooky scientist Ryoma Sengoku. But the combined magic of fairy power with a car nerd's vehicular-themed arsenal is so hard to swallow? People get so hung up on it that they dismiss Turboranger entirely. But, please, enjoy your stupid teen dancers who fight each other with fruit and ride flower bikes.

I like that even the Turboranger are affected by modern society; they can hear Shiron, but can't transform immediately. And they're unable to transform until they actually lay eyes on Shiron and are instantly fascinated and drawn in by her. Seeing is believing, and soon after that, they're on their way to their first fight as Turboranger. But it also kinda plays into the youth and the vibrancy of youth theme -- teenagers aren't kids, but they aren't adults. So they'll have remains of that child-like openness that allows them to be dreamers or believe, but they have the strength and ability to fight, unlike a child. And, of course, there's what cars represent to teenagers, which is the sign of independence and adulthood. (A view which, even if the Japanese don't share, will at least recognize from pop-culture and emulate.)

Look, it's obvious that if you look at it logically, Turboranger came about like this: Transformers was a juggernaut in the '80s, so vehicular-based toys were thought to be a slam dunk. Fantasy was enjoying a resurgence in pop-culture at the time, so they thought they'd throw some of that in the show, which was a first for Sentai. (Just as the high-school theme was new; Turboranger was trying to introduce new elements.) Main writer Hirohisa Soda has always favored science-based shows -- it's the common link to all of his Sentai shows -- so he worked that angle in, too. But I think he finds a way to make it all work and gives it a logic and symbolism that's severely unnoticed and unappreciated.

The scene with Shiron is just done so well -- from the way they're directed to how the actors play the scene to the music that plays. Mayumi Ohmura is just such great casting, she's so good in this role, she just has a special, unique quality and emits such a genuine warmth and kindheartedness. I think she's such a find for the show and it's unbelievable she's so good when she's so young (she's around 12 at the start of the show!) and that such a bond between Shiron and the others are felt when she's not even working with the actors! That Shiron works so well, in this scene and throughout the whole series, is pretty damn impressive and all of the actors deserve praise in making it all work. Ohmura's not even interacting with the cast, and the Turboranger interact with either a puppet or nothing. But it all connects and she's such a important piece of the show, its heart and soul. She's such a sweet character, representing purity and innocence, and I don't know why there's so much hatred for her out there in the fandom. Blackhearted bastards.

And, like Liveman, I love that the Turboranger don't have a handle on everything immediately in their first battle. They take quite a few hits. They're victorious against the monster, but get beaten by the generals. (Reida, Jarmine and Jinba have taken a lot of criticism from viewers, and while they don't immediately make as much of an impression as the villains Soda gave us in shows like Changeman, Flashman or Liveman, I like that they're all just pretty pissed off. They mean business.) And after the five students' strange, strange day, the episode ends with mysterious, bestial howls. The Turboranger look scared, but it's actually the Holy Beast Rakia, who we sadly won't be seeing much of...

Damn, the Turboranger OP is awesome. You could set a thumb-wrestling match to that song and it would be a bad-ass action scene.