Blogmas 2023 Day 16: Choujuu Sentai Liveman's Unique Villian Structure
Coasterverse-Part 2
Welcome to the next part of my Coasterverse mini-arc within this larger Blogmas series. Yesterday, I talked about the “magic” of Koaster Kids/Thrills United and how it fit perfectly within the Power Rangers sphere. Today, I want to discuss a different, much older, series I greatly integrated into the villains side of the adaption, 1988’s Choujuu Sentai Liveman.
Choujuu Sentai Liveman tells the story of a rivalry between students of a STEM school where three turned on the university to serve Professor Bias where the other three (since two of them were killed in the trio’s departure) continue working on their arsenal, which was being prototyped at the time.
With each monster being an experiment of the three students (Madenza, Kemp, Oublar), it provides a unique aspect that I think we’ve only seen in Power Rangers Dino Thunder with monster creation in such a manor (even if Trent/White Ranger [clone], Schmitty/Zeltrax, Principal Randell/Elsa don’t cycle through like Bias and his “students”).
Later, two more “aliens”, Guildus and Butchy, join (and indirectly replace Oublar). Aliens in quote because, Spoiler for a 30+ year old kids show, Guildos and Butchy were creations of Bias just to challenge Mazenda and Kemp.
In the end, Mazenda completes her goal to become a cyborg, which defies Professor Bias’s plan of stealing brains of the smartest youths he comes across to “regenerate” back to a kid. Because of this, she is destroyed and Kemp ends up loosing his brain and turning into a mindless beast, the final monster of the series.
Mazenda in Liveman was a one time lover of the Red Ranger (Yusuke), which easily led to a paralell with Logan’s ex, Tessa. Ironically, her last appearance on the Koaster Kids Instagram was a Best Friends Day post.
For Mazenda, her desire came to become a cyborg was out of beauty, for Tessa/Doctor Asheera its for vitality as she was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had gained distrust towards the coaster enthusiasts and broke it off-which led Logan and Ben to restore their friendship and, ultimately, start dating Sophia (who was a fan of the channel prior). Asheera is ultimately treated like a daughter by Moonsault also.
Unlike Kemp, Tori Cellen/Doctor Kareem, was raised on the side of evil because he could never prove to his father he was worthy of continuing his father’s dynasty of crime. He also outlives King Moonsault (Bias’s counterpart) to serve as a squid-based monster (Ikergan from Kyuranger) as a new top general of the Shadon Clan, who the final generals in Ryusoulger got in trouble with-hence their late arrival compared to Vuela/Pricius (Moonsault’s daughter), ultimately falling in the final battle/team-up with the Chivalry Force Rangers (Ryusolgers) and all the members of Thrills United.
Finally is Max Elerbeck. A Bostonian kicked out for his sexuality was baited by Tessa that she can provide him a family. Like Oublar, he is not as witty as the others and most of his monsters are more all over the place (Magnet, Oven & Fridge concurrently, Time, and glue) than the other human generals.
Unlike Study Brain learning about fun (which I think has one of the top 10 funniest moments in all of Sentai), It’s Glue Phear who accidentally glues Tessa and Logan together that leads to his departure. He ends up finding Shoelien (Kleon/Muscus) in New Orleans.
Learning more about Koaster Kids and Thrills United, he attempts to transform alongside Logan and the others with the US-Exclusive Hornet Zord, but fails and dies alongside Sarapis, one of the “Talos Dimension Allies”.
The “Talos Dimension Allies” were played as being the children of Lokar and Scorpina, Drokar (suit from Ryusoulger) and Sarapis, were created by Moonsault apart of his actual plans that he actually hoped for his students and the rangers to unite against the Shadon Clan, despite his original plan to claim the crystals to win his wife’s affection (being Eras’s counterpart, but using Morc’s suit from TOQger), and later his aforementioned daughter.
With both killed off Manticore Squad/Chivalry Force Rangers, he looked to dealing with the all powerful clan who abducted children from war-torn worlds and aimed to corrupt them into bounty hunters to do their bidding in hopes of finding 25 members, whose forms align with constellations visible from their original home worlds (some we know from here on Earth, others being original and based on other things, with Tetryx [Shadon] being called the “World Turtle Hunter”).
Sarapis’s final episode closely follows Butchy’s final episode (minus the addition of Max being killed off at the same time) where the female rangers go after her (which could also pull elements from Kiramager episode 37) where Max and the guys try and capture Tessa’s zord, Cornwall Express (Smog Jouki), who also stole S-Bahn Bullet.
With a new big bad for the end game, Asheera goes rouge after becoming a cyborg. She uploads her essence into the Doom Winger (Turntable Gomoryu), a doomsday machine based on Satan Megazord (Projector Gomoryu). With the threat neutralized, she tells Logan to destroy the Megazord and that she should have trusted Logan as much as he did to her. Logan admits that she might be right, but that just meant he learned to be a better boyfriend and confider for all as he charges up the final attack and the last megazord fight of the series.
Akin to how Super Megaforce’s “Legendary Battle”, there is still one more episode left (well 2, but the last is a clip show celebrating Koaster Kids and Thrills United) as everyone returns to vanquish the remaining forces on earth via a final wish from the last of Moria’s essence that was freed by Moonsault’s defeat by Tetryx.
Tomorrow, we shift back to the thoosies, and who get to be special guests within this adaption.