Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger Opening Theme Out Now!

That's right, the opening theme of the newest Sentai series - Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger - has been released! 

Someone has uploaded the song to Youtube (that can be seen in the video below)











If you would like to own it on CD and / or support the release, you can order it from CDJapan

Hikonin Sentai Akiba Ranger

Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger Episode 6 - Take Flight Leader! The Painful Trap of Deluded Photography - Review / Thoughts

After the rather depressing tone at the end of the last episode, I was unsure what to expect from Akibaranger episode 6. This time it moved away from sadness though, although it certainly did get very interesting at the end.

Before I go in to that though, I have to give a mention to the appearance of Red Hawk from Jetman. Admittedly I haven't watched Jetman (yet anyway), but I do love the theme and the designs etc so was really glad to see him make an appeance. He came in near the end and gave Akagi the power to fly so that he could chase after and destroy this week's villain, who just happened to be flying away himself.

It just seemed really cool and awesome seeing Akagi soaring through the sky to destroy the monster, all the while the Jetman theme playing in the background.

On to the interesting point from the end, it seems like Malshina is now able to leave the world of delusions, and can now appear in reality as well. This is a really interesting development, as now it's not just the 3 making themselves look silly by entering in to these delusions, but instead could perhaps actually have to save the real world.

Obviously more will be explained in the next episode, but I thought that it was one heck of an ending, and has certainly got me excited for the next episode!

On a different note, it was pretty funny seeing Akagi getting all excited while visiting the studios where the Sentai series are filmed. As usual he was being a huge fanboy and getting really worked up even over just pieces of scenery that were used in a couple of the series. I really liked Yumeria in this episode too, I like the way she changes outfit and character each week as it's a good way to keep her fresh without becoming annoying.

Speaking of which, I am sure a lot of fans were annoyed by Akagi rushing in at the start and spoiling the Yuri scene which Yumeria was having filmed to give her inspiration haha.

But yes, this was another fine episode for Akibaranger, and the ending has certainly left me wanting more. I can't wait to see just what happens next!

Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger Episode 5 - Our Pain ☆ Yellow Mama - Review / Thoughts

Although this wasn't as good as the previous episode (which would have been hard to live up to in all honesty), Akibaranger continues to be thoroughly enjoyable and also hilarious here in episode 5.

Though what started out as something funny and what appeared to be a comedic episode, by the end the tone had changed considerably, and to be honest I felt really bad for Yumeria. I am not going to go too much in to it because it would ruin the episode for anyone who is yet to watch it, but just be aware that it does shift a fair bit at the end.

Moving along, for the most part the episode was really funny. Akagi actually gets to go in to a girl's bedroom (Yumeria's), after she had announced that her mother would be coming over, and Akagi and Mitsuki go to her apartment to get things cleaned up. Akagi makes a big deal out of it and again says it's a pattern from the other Sentai series, with the mother coming to visit and trying to get their daughter to stop risking their lives and instead get married to someone. The two standout moments of the bedroom part being Akagi getting upset thinking about how his mother threw away his old Sentai toys without regard, and how only the day before she threw away a Dakimakura similar to the one he is hugging in the picture above.

Of course Yumeria's bedroom is full of Otaku stuff, and the other really funny part came when Akagi opening the door of a cupboard to hide things in, only to come face to face with Yumeria's Yaoi collection!

When Yumeria's mother does show up, Akagi's fears about her thoughts on the weird ways of Yumeria were soon put at ease when she shows up at the apartment in the same cosplay as Yumeria herself is wearing. We find out that in the past she was a famous cosplayer, and that Yumeria actually got a lot of her interests etc from being around her mother.

The villain of the week is the same one who was essentially trying to, erm, rape Akagi earlier in the series. Initially it's only Akagi and Mitsuki fighting him since Yumeria was celebrating her birthday with her mother somewhere else, but eventually she joins the battle too, though is quickly beaten pretty badly. As luck would have it though, her mother appears in the delusion, and borrowing the Moe morpher, becomes Akibayellow herself and actually does really well at fighting. At the end, she gives it back to Yumeria so she can finish things off, which of course she does.

As I said earlier, I won't go any further or else it would spoil the ending of the episode, but it was pretty sad. Actually, I guess bittersweet is a perfect term here for it.

The earlier parts of the episode did what Akibaranger does best, and that's present the crazy and silly Otaku ways of Akagi and the Akibarangers in a hilarious manner, and it really never does fail to make me laugh. Akagi himself is simply hilarious, and Yumeria is also funny, while at the same time very cute too.

There is a lot to like about Akibaranger, and this episode is certainly no exception. I am now curious as to what the next episode will hold, as admittedly the ending kind of surprised me since until that point pretty much everything in the series had / has been played for laughs. Overall another great episode though, and I highly recommend checking this series out if you haven't already.

Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger Figuarts Available to Preorder Now!

That's right! Some good news for fans of the new Sentai series Akibaranger - You can now preorder all 3 Akibarangers made by Figuarts!

As you probably know, this isn't the first Sentai figures Figuarts have produced. They also made ones for Shinkenger and Gokaiger, and the quality is brilliant. I got really excited when I saw these, and definitely hope to get them myself in the very near future.


If you're interested in getting them, then I advise you get your order in soon. AmiAmi have already stopped taking preorders for them, though luckily CDJapan still have them available for preorder up until the 15th of May (according to their site).

These figures look amazing, and I definitely recommend you get your order in asap before they all sell out and you are left at the mercy of eBay sellers or auction sites who charge extortionate amounts for them.


*Preorder figures at CDJapan now:  Akibared , Akibayellow , Akibablue *

Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger Episode 2 - The Activation of a Bizarrely Decorated Vehicle Summons a Full Blast of Red Delusion - Review / Thoughts

As those of you who read my previous review will know, I had a lot of praise and good things to say about episode 1 of Akibaranger, and while not quite as enjoyable as that, episode 2 was still a lot of fun.

This episode focuses a lot on Akagi (aka Akibared), who, when he finds out that they are not really Sentai heroes but are really just having delusions of fighting the villains etc, decides that it's a waste of time and that he doesn't want to do it anymore.

Despite Akagi walking away, Moegi and Mizuki continue to be Akibarangers, as Mizuki thinks it's a good way of practicing her martial art skills even if it is fake, while Moegi just agrees to keep doing it because she thinks it's really fun. Later, they both take on the newest villain created to cause trouble, this time by using his powers to remove other people's clothes. Despite their best efforts however, they both take a beating from the monster, despite him triggering his flag that would usually be the sign he was about to lose.

They realise that they need Akagi back, and so the doctor decides to get someone to dress as one of his heroes - Dekared - to convince him. Akagi is moping about and is just about to throw his morpher in to a river, when all of a sudden he notices Dekared across the street from him. Akagi follows him, and eventually, after taking a drop kick from the guy to "bring him back to his senses" like Dekared actually did to his real partner in the Dekaranger series, Akagi decides that he will continue to be Akibared afterall after being inspired by the actions of a former red Sentai hero like Dekared.

We also get to see the new mecha for the Akibarangers in this episode, which is a car with some Aoi-Tan decals on it. The car looks pretty awesome, and it of course transforms in to a robot much like the official Sentai teams would. However, they don't get to use it because it runs away from them as soon as they get near the enemy as apparently "they aren't deluded enough yet". The Akibarangers end up taking on the monster anyway, but even with Akibared now involved are having a tough time of it. Luckily for them though, Dekared appears and helps them defeat the monster.

The only thing is, the person who pretended to be Dekared earlier was still in the cafe, so it wasn't him or anyone they actually knew for it to be a setup, so the doctor is naturally wondering just what on earth happened and what is real and what isn't now after seeing Dekared appear from nowhere like that.

This was another fun episode, albeit not quite as much as the first episode. Moegi (Akiba Yellow) always makes me laugh with the way she adds "nya" on to loads of words, and when the cat ears fell off and she started talking in the deep voice it was hilarious.

Akagi is definitely my favourite character at the moment though, his fanboy ways and reactions are always awesome and often hilarious, and so it's always good when he's on screen. I don't know what's going to end up happening with all the delusion stuff, as it does seem pretty silly for none of it to be real, but at the same time that's kind of what the show is aiming for, so it would definitely fit with it.

While there weren't as many laughs as the first episode, by normal standards this was pretty hilarious and it was a really fun way to spend 24 minutes or so. Judging from the next episode preview that looks like it has the potential to be really funny too, so Akibaranger overall has so far definitely delivered when it comes to the comedy aspect it's trying to get across all the time.

Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger Episode 1 – Pain is Power – Review / Thoughts

For this post as you can see, I am reviewing the first episode of the new Super Sentai series – Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger.

I have actually been looking forward to this for a while now, pretty much ever since I saw a short 30 second clip a month or two back someone showed me. For those unaware, Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger (translated as Unofficial Squadron Akibaranger) is the latest in the long line of Super Sentai shows. However, as the name suggests, Akibaranger isn’t considered a true Sentai series, so it is not technically classed as what would have been the 37th series.


But yes, after waiting a long time for this to come out (and again having to wait for the good folks over at Over-Time to sub it), Akibaranger is finally here, and I can say that it was awesome. This unofficial Sentai series is focused around the 3 new heroes, dubbed Akibarangers, with Akibared (Akagi Nobuo) in particular being an Otaku. Akagi loves Super Sentai, and at the same time loves the Anime character Aoi-Tan.  The picture at the top is one example of this, where Akagi is initially excited when he notices a rare Sentai mecha for sale in a shop window. Despite the ridiculous price, he goes in to purchase it, only to see his beloved Aoi-Tan at the front of the store as part of an advertisement for her new movie coming out. In the end, Akagi resists buying the Sentai merchandise and apologises to them, and then, well, you can see the quote above haha.

Anyway, this first episode unsurprisingly is about him and two other people becoming super heroes by gaining the Akibaranger powers. The episode is hilarious from start to finish, and I think whether you’re an Otaku yourself, or indeed just a huge Sentai fan, you will love it too. Super Sentai obviously doesn’t make much sense and has numerous tropes, and it’s hilarious seeing super fan Akagi telling his two fellow Akibarangers all about them as the episode progresses. An example being at the end when they defeat the monster by using their blasters, but when the other two Akibarangers are about to walk away, Akagi tells them that it’s not over yet, as it’s a rule in Sentai that whenever you first defeat a monster, they have to come back in giant form so you can battle them in your mecha.

It’s all very funny and I really like the way this series pokes fun at itself and the other Sentai series, with Akagi himself doing a great job of pulling it off while remaining likeable. The other two Akibarangers are Mizuki Aoyagi (Akiba Blue) and Yumeria Moegi (Akiba Yellow). While they have at least some knowledge of the old Sentai teams, they certainly don’t have the same enthusiasm for it as Akagi does, and it’s pretty amusing watching him telling them about the old teams and trying to get them to strike poses and act like a regular Sentai team would.

There are plenty of hilarious moments throughout, and as I said, for both Otaku and Sentai fans there is definitely a lot here to like and to keep you happy. I still don’t really feel as if I have scratched the surface on this, but it truly is best you just watch for yourself so that you can enjoy and appreciate it for yourself, as words can’t really describe why it’s so great, it’s something each individual needs to experience for themselves.

Overall I think this was a brilliant start to Akibaranger, full of hilarious moments and never afraid to make fun of itself. If the rest of the series keeps to this standard, it truly will be a must watch series.