Seiki Ninja Jiraiya: It's One Strange, Action-Oriented Series (Some Spoilers)

I've finally finished Seiki Ninja Jiraiya which translates into World Ninja War Jiraiya. I'd like to say it's one weird series because Japanese is hardly spoken. It's full of strange executions such as when non-Japanese characters are played by JAPANESE actors. I can easily accept the Yamaji family (and Takumi Hashimoto was there as Manabu). Takumi was only 16 years old when he played Boi in Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger - making him only 12 years old when he played Manabu. 

It can explain why some people never got unmasked at all! It would be awkward especially since some of the ninjas are descendants of Western characters such as Billy the Kid or a descendant of the Crusaders. There's also Turkish ninjas and it's one strange series. Sure, I'm already used to defying logic in Tokusatsu such as dealing with Super Sentai having giant Megazord battles every week, how often the MOTWs explode in the city (and Dimensional Warrior Spielban introduced the one-shot wonder Bypass Slip), how weapons can just show up from Hammerspace, and villains always coming up with really absurd plans that waste a lot of good cash. So yeah, I guess Toei didn't watch to stretch logic too far when Japanese celebrities play non-Japanese characters. 

Toei got overly ambitious in 1988. 1987 presented the CULT HIT Superhuman Machine Metalder which lasted for only 39 episodes. Yes, Metalder got forcibly rushed. Jiraiya ended up completing an entire year run despite the show's strangeness. I wonder if children ever questioned why characters like Baron Owl, Lightning Ninja Wild, Rocketman, and Alamsa never showed their full faces. Some characters also get Put On The Boss such as Ryu Asuka (Issei Hirota from Hikari Sentai Maskman) and Habarumaru get written off and nothing's known about what happened. Yes, call that the Chuck Cunningham Syndrome when certain characters are written off and never heard of again. There could've been a lot of potential but I suspect there's a limited budget for such an ambitious show.

The show doesn't really have the MOTW formula. Metalder fought any warriors of Emperor God Neros' evil army. Metalder spared human MOTWs. In this case, Jiraiya ends up KILLING some dangerous criminals. The show doesn't need to tell you they're all wanted DEAD OR ALIVE. I wonder what Toei was going with the feel that Jiraiya would kill off criminals too dangerous to live. For example, Chang Fu and Black Thorn (played by Kazuoki Takahashi) get killed by vanishing into thin air. Was this show making fun of the American censorship of sending people to another dimension? Except here, they're not sent off but they dissolve and the body is never recovered. Meanwhile, Shohei Kusaka (who'd later play Naoto Tamura in Mobile Cop Jiban) guest-starred as Oruha who only showed up for three episodes, and wasn't killed off during the first encounter. Killing off human characters here is a big NO NO for TV-Y7-FV standards. What's with Toei killing off human villains here? It's a daring formula when the MOTWs are humans. It's not every week Jiraiya gets to kill off a rogue ninja either. It's only when this rogue ninja becomes too dangerous to live that Jiraiya kills one off. 

The villains are an interesting bunch. The Sorcerers Clan is the main antagonist of the series. Org Ninja Dokusai and his daughter Benibaka are the lead villains. Nothing is explained about what happened to Dokusai's wife for some reason. Both Benibaka and Retsukiba are henchmen and end up also becoming What Happened to the Mouse. Madam Spider  Midseason, episode 37 features the Space Ninja known as Demost. Demost has a 2,300-year-old grudge and everything about the mysterious treasure known as Paco is really there. I kinda laugh at Kaiji No Kami comparing Demost's head to Alpha Five from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Weird enough, Mighty Morphin' would end up airing on the year of Jiraiya's fifth anniversary. The late Jun Tatara also played a guest role before playing Barza in Zyuranger. 

It should be interesting that some not-so-surprising plot twists happened. It's revealed that the hero Toha Yamaji Rei Yagyu are ALIENS. Both Space Sheriff Gavan and Space Sheriff Sharivan have people who have alien heritage. Toha was a descendant of the alien who brought Pako to Earth. Pako was a sentient being who escaped the Planet Dark. Planet Dark wanted to invade the Earth but Pako saw no reason to attack it. It's because Pako was given some kindness. I love how everything unfolds with the alien heritage. I guess the Aliens Speaking English (in this case Aliens SPEAKING Japanese) trope is played with the trope Tokyo is the Center of the Universe. Still, why am I still making unnecessary noise by pointing out with Japanese actors playing non-Japanese characters then?! Speaking of aliens - I guess that's why Power Rangers Ninja Steel localized Jiraiya as Space Sheriff Skyfire for that particular episode. I may have developed a dislike for Power Rangers throughout the years (personal preferences) but I acknowledge Toei allowed it to happen. 

The character ends up making non-canon appearances and plots. Shuriken Sentai Ninninger even bothered to return the actor Takumi Tsutsui for an obviously non-canon appearance. Space Squad (which is most likely discontinued for some reason, probably too expensive to maintain) also gave Touha a successor named Touma Amagi but the person was never unmasked. Okay, I guess Toei bit off more than they could chew with the Space Squad series. I wanted Space Squad to continue but I guess the budget was too ambitious. I'd also say that much of the budget got poured into King-Ohger and later episodes seem to prove a budget cut happened. 

I'd say that the series can take some Suspension of Disbelief. I probably watched it after my hype with Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger where Japanese actors were playing as characters that would've been better off played by Caucasian actors. Yeah, it can't happen because the language barrier between Japan and America is vast. Just think how the Japanese guests attending the Power Morphicon event are sure to think, "I wish I could directly speak to him/her." The interview of the Zyuranger cast in Power Morphich required an interpreter for every question. I still feel that Yuuta Mochizuki had a strange feeling when he shook hands with Austin St. John (whose fraud case is still pending and may be innocent unlike Shunsuke Takasugi). My guess is because "How am I going to talk to this guy?" was in each others' minds.

It gets stranger when one thinks about why Toei decided to pull this strange series. On paper and execution, it shows the level of maturity that Super Sentai may never reach. I'm a fan of Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and Ninpou Sentai Hurricanger. However, Hurricanger belongs to what I call the post-Timeranger era. Anything after Mirai Sentai Timeranger was toned down presumably due to Japan's newer censorship laws. Before that, Super Sentai had more room to do several eyebrow-raising moments that can't be allowed in Power Rangers. Kakuranger also ends up holding more comical moments such as how Prince Junior is simultaneously crueler (he actually used a chainsaw and even murdered someone on-screen) and FUNNIER than Rito Revolto. Super Sentai's emphasis on Megazords and MOTWs may be why the more mature formula isn't that well-received. Timeranger may be my favorite Yasuko Kobayashi work. However, I don't blame fans who think otherwise. Timeranger tends to be serious for the sake of it while Megazord battles and MOTWs may feel out of place. 

After that, Mobile Cop Jiban came into action with the MOTW formula. Jiban also had a loose continuity to Jiraiya. Manabu had a guest role in Jiban episode 31. Shohei played two different characters in a series that's directly connected. Funny enough, Manabu never confused Naoto with Ohura. Jiban was also a later candidate for the Space Squad alongside Janperson. Sidenote: Toei should allow Space Squad turned into a video game series instead of a movie series. That way, Toei will get royalty fees from Banpresto (who developed the Super Robot Wars games) like they got royalty fees for whoever holds the Power Rangers brand.

It can get rather strange. However, if you think about it, it somehow worked and created a legacy. Maybe, it left an outstanding legacy. Maybe, it also inspired Power Rangers to have a multiracial team since America is a very multiracial place. The show can be a strange trip in many ways. I'd say that even after the Metal Hero series was unplugged - Jiraiya may still hold a special place in Toei's heart.