The power of love is a curious thing. Make a one sorceress crazy, make another red man fling himself at giant monsters. Huey Lewis & The News wrote “The Power of Love” for Back to the Future (1985), which is fitting since Kizuna Red is also, in his weird and lovable way, a love letter to the past. Get ready for Red Ranger if you’ve spent time watching Power Rangers. Nostalgia for old shows is seldom this satisfying.
Tōgo Asagaki (voiced by Tomoya Itō) is the Red Ranger. Or Kizuna Red. He’ll defeat the Big Bad Breakup King because Red Ranger arms himself with the power of friendship and heroic poses. Or Red will die trying.
Of course, this is a comedy Sentai show, so when Red is isekaied into another world (oops, I didn’t see that coming), he’ll fall back onto what he knows best: the power of misguided enthusiasm and heroic friendship. The busty sorceress, Yihdra Arvoln (voiced by Konomi Inagaki), disagrees with Red’s outlook but would love to know more about this warrior from another world. Awkward moments ensue in The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World. Don’t miss it.
Fact: Comedy Starts with a Zentai Suit
Super Sentai — and, by association, Power Rangers — are shows for older kids, so they’re wonderfully hammy and over the top. They’re ridiculous shows, and we love them for it. After all, you can’t take yourself too seriously when you’re in a zentai suit. The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World plays up the Sentai source material for hilarious comic effect. Why the unnecessary explosions? Or the unnatural poses? Yihdra wants to know! And you can bet she won’t get a meaningful answer.
You also don’t need to be a Super Sentai or Power Rangers fan to enjoy Red Ranger. I was old enough to call Mighty Morphin Power Rangers a “kid’s show” when it aired and skipped it. But Power Rangers and Super Sentai aren’t complicated dramas. If you’ve seen an episode, you’ll have a good idea of the tropes Red Ranger will rip into.
Red Ranger Will Make Romance Awkward
The ultra-positive friend-to-everyone type (usually wearing a t-shirt that spells out a teambuilding acronym like “Together Everyone Achieves More”) is splendid to have around. The world needs go-getters. But, overenthusiastic fireballs can also seem insincere because their high tempo might be a wall concealing their true, messy humanity. Red Ranger is all kinds of people-stupid, but his naivety and belief in the power of friendship is a refreshing spin on the dupe archetype.
Usually, we get an everyman or a weirdo from another world who can’t read the air. Red Ranger mixes up that trope by being a highly competent paladin of good. He’s lawful stupid (to quote the D&D meme) and has no clue that Yihdra thinks he’s coming on to her.
The comedy is particularly satisfying because Red Ranger is so darn good (darn it) at being a hero. He might have his life mostly figured out, but we’ll enjoy watching when he doesn’t.
Red Ranger Defends Culture. Watch It!
The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World is hilariously refreshing. Yihdra is enough of a badass that we’d be on her side even if she didn’t have other assets. Also, she’s the perfect foil to Red Ranger, much like Fern grounding Frieren. Furthermore, Red isn’t an annoying loser. Anime has enough of them. If Red Ranger and Yihdra could excite me about a Sentai show, I’m sure you’ll love it too.
Keiichiro Kawaguchi directed The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World on behalf of Satelight. Atsuhiro Tomioka wrote the anime, and Koichiro Kameyama composed the music. Red Ranger is based on the manga by Koyoshi Nakayoshi.
Kapow!
The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World smashes its way to four Chibi Megumis! Do you want to reminisce about the good old days, when friends relied on the power of friendship and combat gymnastics to defeat weird monsters? Sure, our memories are foggy, but we can still appreciate tight Lycra and animated practical effects! The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World streams on Crunchyroll. Only the first episode has, at the time of writing, been dubbed, but you can still enjoy a multitude of subtitle options.
Who was your favorite Power Ranger? My vote is for Rita Repulsa (played by Machiko Soga). Think about it! She kept the Power Rangers in business. But what’s your opinion? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
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