Sean Akizuki's Fantasy Critic

I remember the good old 1990s. Okay, maybe NOT so good old anymore after I wrote that might be the "farewell post" for my Super Sentai blog. It was a post where I attacked IBC-13's bad scheduling of its Anime and Tokusatsu . Just in, the news that Kenji Ohba had passed away at 71 years old hit hard. It's another part of my childhood gone. It should be noted that Ucchu Keiji Gavan started its airing on March 5, 1982 -- another show that may have never made it to the Philippines thanks to the rule of the late Emperor Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Gavan aired during the 1990s. I can't pinpoint the exact time it aired on ABC-5, but I think it was before Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers aired. I felt it was the "carefree times" and times when I tried to escape reality via television. I'd say Gavan was definitely THAT imaginary friend. Basically, the Philippines was behind with Tokusatsu especially it was the 1990s and Gavan was aired in 1982. I could say it was m...

We are introduced to three big baddies who were the main enemies of Gavan, Sharivan, and Shaider.  They have different methods in their quest to take over the Universe. It's unknown whether or not they battled for some time, but here they are, those stuck in the wall villains: Don Horror of Ucchu Keiji Gavan Gavan's foe was the Space Crime Organization Makuu. Don Horror was pretty much well... WALLPAPER! He was the background character that kept barking orders. It's never explained how Don Horror became the way he is. Did Don Horror get paralyzed or what? Is he a Dark Lord Under Life Support? It's a typical 1980s show, so don't expect too much from this Orcus on the Throne! He's pretty much like Horde Prime in She-Ra: Princess of Power in some way.  I found Hunter Killer to be rather generic. Instead, things got better when San Dorva and his wife, Witch Kiba came along. Witch Kiba is an old hag -- suggesting that Don Horror is also an OLD MAN. However, I must wo...

I still have memories of how Gavan was aired as "Sky Ranger Gavan" or just "Sky Ranger" (the Tagalog dub) when in reality, it was really Space Sheriff Gavan. So it only had 44 episodes in contrast to its successors Sharivan and Shaider. Its main character Retsu Ichijouji (the dub used Gavan as his civilian name which may have confused viewers) was played by legendary Kenji Ohba. After watching the subs by Millionfold Curiosity , I feel like I'm getting reeducated with Tokusatsu as I always do.  The series' main antagonist Don Horror existed as an immobile stone statue that gave orders from Makuu Fortress. The show doesn't even give any background story leaving us to decide what in the world happened to him. I remembered comparing his appearance or situation to Turboranger's Emperor Ragorn. I always found it stupid how he actually had a son named San Dorva (who's a pitiless warlord but later, he ends up as a brat but still... he was the mos...

The Space Sheriff Trilogy (Gavan, Sharivan and Shaider) took place from 1982 to 1985. All three series had a common theme of heroes wearing some kind of metallic armor. It seems Toei was partly inspired by Iron Man during the Metal Hero saga's Space Sheriffs. Later, there were "spin offs" like Juspion and Spielban which may have not bee direct sequels or operated independently from the Space Sheriff Trilogy.  After that huge travesty of a TV drama known as Zaidorks, I'm more than glad that Toei decided to release their true successors. Zaido was a terrible joke with its slow pacing, bad acting, bad writing and it's just that stupid. Too many fillers, too many stereotypes of Filipino telebasuras, etc. made it a bad show. It wasn't bad because it was a localization or because Filipinos made it. No, it was horrible because it wasn't done properly. It had the potential but it ended up badly. For a "sequel" it didn't do justice to the leg...