Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve reviewed a Sentai series for this blog, huh? Almost as long as reviewing a recently airing series, the last of which was Kamen Rider Build- as far as live-action was concerned anyway. I couldn’t give a pinpoint overall reason, just that there hasn’t been a lot of modern stuff that’s interested me. As far as Sentai is concerned, I gave both LuPat and Ryusoulger chances, but neither really grasped me despite some intriguing dynamics in Lupat and wonderful action is Ryusoul. I’ve heard great things about Kiramager, which was written by Kuuga and Gokaiger writer, Naruhisa Arakawa. That greatly piques my interest, but this review isn’t about that.
Since this series just recently ended, I do want to give a brief summary of my thoughts before diving into spoilers. The short and to the point version is that I overall enjoyed my time with Zenkaiger. For as wonderfully comedic and over the top the show is, there is a surprising amount of heart with a very strong theme of family. As overplayed as that often is with Sentai, there’s no denying Zenkaiger does a wonderful job of integrating it from every angle. The core team bounces wonderfully off one another, each with their own (sometimes conflicting) personalities that are put to good use throughout the show with a decent amount of focus. Although it may be disappointing that the substantial character arcs are still relegated to the leader, sixth, and dark ranger. But I can hardly complain, all things considered, it’s some of the best parts of the show.
There are still some issues. The villains aren’t that interesting and it suffers from being a bit cramped at times, such as introducing the dark ranger and sixth back. And there is the sad reality of the insistence on the number of toys is becoming an ever-increasing issue that at times can bog down the pacing or feel really tacked on.
Regardless, this was the first time in a very long time that I really enjoyed Sentai and would recommend you at least watch six episodes to see what you think.
But, if you don’t mind spoilers and want to get into the details of the whole story, what I love, what I have issues with, and so forth, hit the jump.
