Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is the latest anime this season that has sentai fans excited for more.
13 years ago, a sky fortress suddenly appeared. From it, an army of shapeshifters descended to rage havoc on the Earth. However, the army was destroyed by the Dragon Keepers, rangers who wield the power of legendary dragons to protect the Earth. After defeating the leaders of the shapeshifting army, the Dragon Keepers shove the remaining army into a circus act to fool the public into believing the battle is ongoing to fuel the pockets of the Dragon Keepers. Every week, the remaining footsoldiers are forced to devise weekly villains that the Dragon Keepers will defeat in a coliseum to a live audience.
The series follows D, a footsoldier, who detests his current living situation as a weekly punching bag for the Dragon Keepers. In retaliation, he infiltrates Dragon Keeper HQ to bring it down from the inside. In his quest, D teams up with unexpected allies who share his goal.
The Boys x Sentai
The hit show, The Boys follows a group of vigilantes who want to take down corrupt superheroes and Vought International, the corporation that markets and monetizes on their appeal and heroics. The show is gritty, violent, and complex with blurred lines between good and evil.
Sentai is known to be an overall positive viewer experience where the lines of good and evil are well-defined. However, sentai has a history of being dark. Death, corruption, and war have all been parts of many sentai shows since the beginning of the genre. However, the main focus remains on the heroes as they successfully navigate life and extraterrestrial dangers weekly.
Go Go Loser Ranger’s foundation is in sentai from its troupes and overall positive viewer experience. It also takes from the brutal narrative of The Boys, putting a much darker spin on the sentai narrative through its more blatant acts of violence and cruelty.
Justice?
Morally grey premises showcase the good, bad, and ugly sides of a conflict.
Go! Go! Loser Ranger! highlights the struggle between picking the lesser of two evils. D’s kind invaded Earth first, and the Dragon Keepers retaliated appropriately. However, the Dragon Keeper’s post-war actions towards D’s kind raise eyebrows.
Led by the narcissistic Red Keeper, the rest of the Dragon Keepers defer to him when it comes to their image in public and the oppression of D’s kind in private. While the Red Ranger being a jerk isn’t a new concept, this Red Keeper ramps it up to levels similar to Homelander in terms of violence. After years of this treatment, D grows tired of it and flees, vowing to destroy the Dragon Keepers despite being extremely fragile.
It’s impossible to say who is right or wrong in this case, but that’s where the appeal lies. It is remarkably easy to cheer D and his allies on because the Dragon Keepers are narcissistic bullies. It may seem lazy to cheer on the “bad guys” because the “good guys” are jerks, but it doesn’t feel out of line for this genre.
Overall, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is a treat for anyone who enjoys the superhero genre for its campy humor, action, and murky grey narrative.
Sunday, Funday
The show pokes fun at the weekly episode format in the first episode. The weekly beatdowns in the Go! Go! Loser Ranger! universe takes place on Sundays, the same day it airs on Hulu in America and Disney+ everywhere else.
