แกะกล่องสัปดาห์นี้ ขอหนีความจำเจจากหุ่นหน้าตาเดิมๆ มาเป็นหุ่นเหล็กหน้าเข้ม Battle Fever SOC GX-30กันครับ หุ่นตัวนี้เป็นหุ่นตัวแรกที่ปรากฏในขบวนการ 5 สี เป็นตัวที่ต่อยอดมาจาก Chogokin รุ่นแรกที่ทำออกมาเป็นเหล็ก ลองไปดูแกะกล่องร่วมกันเลยดีกว่า

เริ่มที่ภาพประกอบกล่องหน้าและหลัง ด้านซ้ายและขวาเหมือนกัน ด้านบนและล่างก็เหมือนกัน

มาดูของภายในกล่องกัน

ประกอบด้วย คู่มือ กล่องบรรจุอาวุธหลากหลายแบบ

กล่องบรรจุอาวุธ เมื่อเปิดฝาครอบกระดาษออกมา จะเป็นพลาสติกใสบรรจุอาวุธ และรูปแบบมือต่างๆ

ในกล่องโฟม ก็ตามรูปเลยครับ

ประกอบด้วยตัวหุ่น และฐานวางโชว์

GokaiRed ขบวนการรุ่นน้องขอลองบังคับหุ่นขบวนการรุ่นพี่สักหน่อยนะ (สเกลมันควรจะต่างกัน ทำให้หุ่นกับคนบังคับไซด์เดียวกันเลย)

เมื่อหุ่น Battle Fever ได้สติ ก็ขอเอาคืน แต่ยังดีที่ Gokai Red จับอาวุธที่ซัดมาไว้ได้ทัน

ขอโพสต์ท่าพร้อมอาวุธหน่อยครับ

อาวุธที่ให้มา มันมากเหลือเกิน ขอเอามาวางโชว์รวมเลยละกัน

แกะกล่องครั้งนี้ ก็เลยขอลองเอาฐานมาประกอบเพื่อวางโชว์อาวุธ โอ้พระเจ้า ชิ้นส่วนทุกชิ้นสามารถเอาออกมาวางโชว์บนฐานได้หมด แต่ผมว่ารุ่นหลังๆมันโชว์ได้ไม่หมดแล้วนะ

ฐานประกอบเรียนร้อย ก็อัญเชิญ Battle Fever มายืนตรงเคารพธงชาติอยู่บนฐานเป็นตัวแรกของผม มันก็ดูดีไปอีกแบบนะ

สรุปกันครับ หุ่น Battle Fever ตัวนี้ลุงบัน ให้อาวุธมาเยอะมาก ดังนั้น ถ้าไม่เอามันออกมาโชว์ให้หมด ก็คงไม่เท่ห์แน่ รูปร่างของหุ่นสวยงาม น่าเก็บอย่างยิ่ง ใจจริงอยากให้มันมาแบบตัวใหญ่กว่านี้ อาวุธบางชิ้นเป็นเหล็กล้วนๆ พอเอามาให้หุ่นถือโพสต์ แทบจะล้มทั้งยืนถ้าตั้งท่าไว้ไม่มั่นคง ซื้อโล้ด….

This is my first ‘Power Rankings’ entry. The topic for today: Super Sentai opening themes!

I recently heard a sample version of Go-Buster’s opening song and I think it’s pretty good.

We are all very much aware that what makes Sentai so special is its storytelling, actors, unbelievable action and toy sales generated by an endless collection of mechs. But a Sentai series won’t be complete without some good music to go with it. A life without music is like having no sauce on pasta: it’s bland, dull and lifeless. So here are the ten Sentai openings I consider my personal favorites:

10. Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman

Nostalgia aside (the series aired in the Philippines between 1993 and 1994), Fiveman had one the better opening songs during the 90s. Just listen to all Sentai openings from 1990-1999 and you just might realize what I mean. It definitely deserves a spot on my top ten list.

9. Battle Fever J

The oldest entry in the list. Mainly due to the presence of awesome pyrometrics and some epic posing, watching the clip above for the first time really made me think that this became the template for most succeeding Sentai openings (probably because it was considered the first Sentai series for a brief period of time). This opening sequence also gave fans back then a preview of what it would be like to have a giant robot to help a Sentai defeat their enemies. Classic, groundbreaking and funny are surely the 3 best words to describe Battle Fever’s opening.

8. Chouriki Sentai Ohranger

Is it just me or does Tamao Sato looks like Vilma Santos in this video?

The year 1995 was not a good one for Japan thanks to this and this. As a result, Ohranger was a season that didn’t enjoy a lot of positives. But one thing it had going was a nicely-executed and fiery opening sequence. It really leaves a lot of fans like me wondering how Ohranger would have turned out if the events during that year did not take place. Moving on…

7. Choujin Sentai Jetman

How can I not include this? Listening to the opening song not only makes you want to sing along, but gives you an idea of how awesome Jetman is. Imagine how awesome it would be to see those 5 jets flying over skyscrapers in real life!

6. KyuKyu Sentai GoGoFive

This probably has to be one of the most one-of-a-kind Sentai openings to date. Instead of seeing spandex-clad warriors doing aerial acrobatics, battling enemy foot soldiers or making their surroundings explode by posing (?), we see the heroes doing rescue operations to save lives for a change. Not to mention putting on display probably one of the coolest mechs Sentai ever had. Put all those elements together and you get one heck of an opening!

5. Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger

Not only did it have a fantastic song for an equally-fantastic season, but Dekaranger’s opening theme paid tribute to old-school Sentai. Why? As you can see, it did not rely too heavily on CGI which makes mecha sequences look silly when overdone. I also like the bit where the Dekarangers run as fast as they can during opening credits in their respective civilian forms. Now that’s a good way to stay fit while on the set!

4. Tensou Sentai Goseiger

For such a disappointing and underwhelming series, Goseiger’s opening does deserve a lot praise. I honestly started downloading Goseiger episodes immediately after watching the video above. It’s really that good! Any Sentai fan with no prior knowledge about Goseiger would definitely be enticed to watch the series judging from it’s opening sequence alone. After watching it, can anyone possibly blame them? I don’t think so.

3. Gosei Sentai Dairanger

The funny thing about this opening is that RyuSeiOh gets most of the spotlight. Did Noboru Sugimura invite some Chinese writers to help him with this masterpiece?

A no-brainer here. This opening sequence is indeed like no other. I’m honestly at a loss for words in trying to describe it. So Dairanger fans, all together now: TENSHIN DAAAAAAA!!!! (WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH) KIRYOKU DAAAAAAA!!!! (WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH).

What’s not to love?

2. Juken Sentai Gekiranger

Like Goseiger’s, this opening sequence was what sold me on downloading and watching Gekiranger. The only difference was I wasn’t disappointed at all with the show this time around. The song, IMO, deserves to be in the Sentai Music Hall of Fame. Gekiranger’s opening has it all: epic posing, awesome martial arts, wonderfully weird costumes and giant cats – all of which I really love! Just hit play and you’ll find it hard to disagree with me.

This was supposed to be my favorite Super Sentai opening if not for this next one…

1. Mirai Sentai Timeranger

I can’t even begin to describe how badass and addicting this song is for me. It perfectly defines what Timeranger is; a dark and gritty series loaded with lots of tearjerking and dramatic episodes. The female vocalist (first and only in Super Sentai history thus far) really did a masterful job of singing the song that would, IMO, beat the crap out of any past and future Sentai opening songs ever made. To put it simply, it was Legendary.

Enough said.

Note that these are My personal top ten sentai opening themes.  Obviously not everyone will agree.  To clarify, I based this on the songs – actual awesomeness of the opening sequence is second.  They also don’t necessarily reflect my favorite sentai.  Timeranger and Bioman are not present in this list.

10 NINPUU SENTAI HURRICANGER (2002)

Hurricanger’s theme has this lightheartedness that simply captures my imagination.  I also enjoy the use of traditional Japanese percussions in the background.  Between this and 1994′s Kakuranger, I prefer this one because I think the song is livelier and easier to choreograph a fight to.  A similar song that I considered for this list is Gekiranger (2007).

9 CHOJIN SENTAI JETMAN (1991)

Hironobu Kageyama sang a lot of sentai songs, and I know some fans will be offended that I left out Changeman (1985) from this post.  I can’t say why, I just like this song…  Perhaps as with Hurricanger it lifts my spirits every time I hear it.

8 BATTLE FEVER J (1979)

Oh the spanky seventies!  This song is old school but not tacky.  The percussions at the beginning hooked me. Mojo’s vocals are superb, and this song definitely captures the spirit of the show.

7 MAHOU SENTAI MAGIRANGER (2005)

I have to admit, Magiranger made this list not only because the song itself is great, but because I first heard it and saw this sequence during a special time in my life – my first few days in Nanjing, preparing to begin my studies in Chinese medicine.  I guess it’s a bridge to one of the best epochs of my existence.

6 SAMURAI SENTAI SHINKENGER (2009)

This show is probably my favorite, or in my top three favorite shows in this list.  The song, just like Hurricanger before it, does a good job of blending traditional sounds and modern songwriting to form an awesome theme.

5 KYUKYU SENTAI GO GO FIVE (1999)

Shinichi Ishihara.  Nuff said.

4 KAGAKU SENTAI DYNAMAN (1983)

Explosions! MoJo! Explosions! One of the greatest old school sentai songs. Don’t you want to headbang to this?  It’s just too bad that the song sounds to English speakers like “Die! Die! Die! Die! Dynaman”…

3 HIMITSU SENTAI GORANGER (1975)

The first, and almost the greatest.  Isao Sasaki and Mitsuko Horie sing one of the greatest theme songs EVER. It’s got just the right mix of kiddie fun and adventurous feel. Too bad it’s always overshadowed by Goranger’s first ending theme…

2 HIKARI SENTAI MASKMAN (1987)

Epic, fast paced and sung by Hironobu Kageyama.  Yes, he also sang Dragonball Z’s song.

1 TAIYOU SENTAI SUN VULCAN (1981)

This song is evil.  It hooks you, it penetrates the recesses of your brain, and curses you to last song syndrome.  Follow the Sun! Catch the Sun!  Yup, my all time favorite sentai song…