The thirty third installment in the Super Sentai franchise was titled Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. The series aired from February of 2009 until February of 2010 running for 49 episodes. Three hundred years prior to the main story brought about the appearance of the Gedoushu. The Gedoushu is a group made up of mystical beings ranging from demons, yokais and ayakashis. Their main objective like any malevolent group is to spread terror and mayhem to the people. The situation has gotten out of hand resulting to numerous casualties and problems. The Emperor of Japan declared to counterattack this threat. This is why he called upon five powerful clans to fight the threat of the Gedoushu.
The five clans were masters in the ways of the samurai hence they formed an elite unit of five members calling them the Shinkengers. They have the ability to use the Mojikara which transforms them into powerful fighters wielding different kinds of weapons although the Katana is their main arsenal. The Shinkengers fight the Gedoushu driving them back into their worlds. The five clans would go on to protect Japan from any threat of the Gedoushu should they accumulate a certain amount of power in any given time. Years have passed and the Gedoushu’s influence have been minimalize.
In the meantime the five clans have diminished into one but they still continue to train their successors and family members for any future encounters against the Gedoushu. The Gedoushu does make their powerful return in the events of the series. It is now this generation’s Shinkengers responsibility to take care of this threat using the powers and weapons handed down from their ancestors. The series follows the standard Sentai formula between the battle of good and evil with the eventual mecha battle climax. The series utilizes more on traditional Japanese culture specifically using the samurai motif as well as a throwback to mythical Japanese creatures such as yokais and ayakashis. The series had a good run in its own right based on the responses.
We’ll now get to know the characters that make up the series.
Takeru is the 18th head of the Shiba Clan the only surviving clan that fought the Gedoushu. It is now his responsibility to fight them off. Takeru is young to be a successor which is why he likes to fake his emotions and wants to show to his subordinates that he is tough and arrogant much fitting for a Lord. Then again deep inside he is kind and gentle but he just needs to act to get respected. He also cares for his underlings as he wants them not to fight for his sake but eventually he does let them. He is also responsible for forming the new Shinkenger team once the Gedoushu makes a full comeback in the series. He is the Samurai of Fire when he transforms into Shinken Red.
We’ll continue to the rest of the characters of the Samurai Sentai Shinkenger series.