I intend to keep my manga streak going in this new year, so let's start off strong for the first read of 2024. BACKGROUND:
I learned of this manga through some article I stumbled upon online, and as someone who developed an affinity for Super Sentai-style tokusatsu after a childhood of watching Power Rangers, I was super interested in reading it. I also learned that this is from the creator of Quintessential Quintuplets, and given I enjoyed that book a lot, I had high hopes for this one. SUMMARY: The book starts out like any other Sentai/Power Rangers story: an evil army invades Earth in hopes of conquering it, establishing a floating fortress above Amanogawa City. In a rare twist, however, this invasion force is defeated within a year, thanks in no small part to the Dragon Keepers, the ranger equivalent of this world. Off the bat, things feel different compared to the Power Rangers series I watch, as the plot starts after the bad guys have been defeated. Our story begins proper thirteen years after the initial invasion. The evil army has been reduced to nothing more than the stereotypical jobber enemies (the Putties, if you want to use an original Power Rangers term), and the Dragon Keepers have expanded their operations with a whole Ranger Squadron handling various aspects of defense and public service. Battles have been reduced to a weekly spectacle, as the Keepers forced the army into an agreement to stage fights for the public in exchange for their survival. Regular folk are enthralled by these battles, which are framed exactly like the Sentai series with their over-the-top narration and villain-of-the-week formula. In yet another twist, we actually get to look at things through the lens of the nameless foot soldiers who, in any regular Sentai show, would be nothing more than punching bags for the heroes. We see that their arrangement with the Dragon Keepers has become monotonous, as they struggle week after week coming up with material for their scripted encounters (even with the resources the Keepers provided in order to help with the charade). It's an interesting spin on what is usually a cut-and-dry formula, as the "bad guys" are made sympathetic characters stuck in indentured servitude, while the supposed defenders of justice appear to be perpetuating a potentially corrupt system. One foot soldier, simply known as Fighter D, has become completely sick of this farce, and intends to actually defeat the Keepers. This is met with ridicule when he brings it up to his comrades, and when he actually attempts to defy the Dragon Keepers publicly, he is put in his place by his more powerful opponents. Despite this, Fighter D is determined to see his plan through, break his comrades free of their oppression, and maybe even do what they set out to do in the first place and conquer Earth. While the foot soldiers overall aren't very strong, they are functionally immortal and have the ability to shapeshift. Fighter D decides to leverage his limited abilities to disguise himself as a human, which he uses to try and infiltrate the Ranger Squadron's operations. He decides to enlist as part of the squadron in the hopes of finding and killing the Keepers when they least suspect it, and he attempts to use multiple disguises to accomplish the goal. Unfortunately, Fighter D doesn't blend in with humans as well as he thinks he does in terms of behavior, and he's found out multiple times throughout the volume. First, Yumeko Suzuriki (a young woman from the Yellow Squadron) discovers his identity, but surprisingly, she shares his desire to dismantle the Dragon Keepers and their entire system, (although the reasons behind it are a mystery as of now). Next, Hibiki Sakurama figures out Fighter D is a monster in disguise shortly after, but we get the polar opposite reaction in that he is somewhat aware that the current status quo is broken, and he wishes to reform the Ranger Squadron from within. Fighter D is weirded out completely by these two young rangers, but he decides to work with Suzuriki for the time being after she points out one of the Dragon Keepers' weaknesses. In the last chapter, Fighter D attempts to steal one of the Divine Artifacts, extremely powerful weapons that the Keepers used to wipe out the evil army's generals, permanently kill the typically immortal foot soldiers, and grant them immense power. In his attempted heist, Fighter D is caught more than once, but just when it seems like he's about to be destroyed, the story throws a curveball that hints at an interesting direction for the later volumes. As a character, Fighter D is mostly just hellbent on revenge after years of discontent, so I'm interested to see how his character changes after interacting with Suzukiri (a human who, for whatever strange reason, shares his goals) and Sakurama (who envisions a world where the humans and monsters coexist after the status quo is changed from the inside. He's also an interesting contrast to his fellow jobbers, who are resigned to their fate (save for one compelling moment where one of his comrades manages to understand his perspective). You don't really get to know any of the Dragon Keepers in this volume (save for the Red Keeper Sousei Akabane, who himself is only featured a little bit), but their duplicity is put on full display as you see a bit of their behavior when the cameras aren't rolling. They have their over-the-top heroic speeches and flair for the dramatic every week, but in moments where no one's watching, they show some of their cruel side by looking down on the monsters they've managed to subjugate. I'm interested to see more of their true nature, as well as learn what exactly it is they get out of perpetuating this lie that everyone else appears to be buying into. I'm also curious about other characters who work as part of the Ranger Squadron, as they only introduce one aside from Suzukiri and Sakurama: the ambitious Shun Tokita who hopes to rise up the ranks of the Red Squadron in hopes of one day becoming the Red Keeper himself. It would be interesting to see the perspectives of people working within the system but are unaware of the truth, and I'm quite curious as to what each color squadron actually does in this world (they only explain Red Squadron's duties in this volume). A lot of what I enjoyed art-wise in Quintessential Quintuplets is alive and well in this book, with a great level of detail overall and well-drawn characters. What makes this stand out in particular is that it features a ton more action, so there are a fair number of panels that depict the dynamic and explosive action I come to expect from any tokusatsu property. I also particularly enjoyed seeing common tropes in Sentai shows depicted in print, like the classic "pose as an explosion goes off in the background" or the use of insanely flashy weapons (including another classic: the big cannon the entire team has to hold to take out the bad guy), as well as how the action overall has a touch more edge than what is permitted in Sentai shows (which are made for young audiences). VERDICT: I loved how Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is essentially a satirical spin on the Super Sentai genre, taking tropes that have existed for nearly 50 years and exploring them from a completely different angle. Like I said at the start, I grew up enjoying (and still enjoy) the camp and the cheese that Sentai/Power Rangers delivers with every new series, and it was fun to see a story that subverted the usual formula, focused on the "villains" (who are made more than just goons with no personality), and made the rangers more morally questionable. On top of that, the story itself has many interesting facets I want to explore, so this is definitely a manga I intend to continue. I feel that Super Sentai/Power Rangers has had enough of an impact on pop culture that most people will have some surface-level understanding of its tropes, so if you're interested in seeing those tropes turned on their head, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! may be a manga you'll enjoy. Perhaps being a fan or having nostalgia for the series may play a factor in a deeper appreciation of what the story does, but I don't feel like you really need that to get what the book is going for. - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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