Series / Juken Sentai Gekiranger

aka: Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger

"A martial art which grants the power of beasts through sensing one's own feral spirit: Juken.
Juken is split into two opposing styles.
One, a Juken of Justice: Geki Juken Beast Arts!
The other, a Juken of Evil: Rin Juken Akugata!
Martial artists destined to fight.
Every day they aim for the top.
They learn. They change."

Jūken Sentai Gekiranger (Beast Fist Squadron Gekiranger^note "Geki" translates in English as "Fierce Spirit") is the 31st program in the Super Sentai series, airing from 2007 to 2008. The Title Theme Tune was sung by Takayoshi Tanimoto.

SCRTC (pronounced "Scratch") is a sportswear company that acts as a front for a secret martial arts academy teaching the ancient art of "Juken"^note Beast Fist. The academy specialises in the "Geki Juken Beast Arts"^note Wild Fist Beast Arts school of Juken, teaching students to harness their inner spirit of justice to generate a powerful force called "Geki".

One day, a talented student of Geki Juken Beast Arts decides to defect from the academy in his pursuit of more power, reviving the opposing school of Rin Juken Akugata^note Predatory Fist Evil Arts, an evil style that reaps strength from the suffering of others, and resurrects an army of undead Rin Juken fighters.

Opposing him are the top three students of Geki Juken: the wild child Jan Kandou, the straightforward and honest Ran Uzaki, and the stylish Retsu Fukami. With their training and Gekichangers, they harness their Geki to transform into the heroes of Geki Juken Beast Arts: the Gekiranger.

While on the surface, Gekiranger focuses on Chinese martial arts, it more specifically takes its elements from the Wuxia genre: split sects, constant competition in martial arts, and Wire Fu techniques very prominent in Wuxia media, to name a few. And also, since a major standpoint of the series is how heroes and villains alike strive to improve and perfect their skill, it was a notable entry exhibiting Character Development to both sides.

Despite having some of the worst TV ratings and toy sales in Japan, it was met with good critical reception among adult fans, as well as good success in Korea and a sizeable fandom in English-speaking countries.

Partnered with the Kamen Rider series Kamen Rider Den-O before concluding its airing alongside the first episodes of Kamen Rider Kiva in the Super Hero Time block.

Note: The word "Ken" used throughout the page can mean either "Fist"/"Ken", alternatively "Kobushi", or "Martial arts"/"Kenpo", owing to the same Kanji.

Like most modern Super Sentai series, Gekiranger was adapted into a Power Rangers season, titled Power Rangers Jungle Fury.

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Recurring Super Sentai tropes:

• Animal Motifs: Done in several stages.
  • The core three have wildcats, strengthened by Shafu being a cat, Rio as primary antagonist and Miki's use of Leopard style.
  • Mele has reptiles.
  • Rhino Rampage: Ken has rhinos despite being one of the mellowest Rangers out there.
  • The three Kenma:
    • Maku has bears
    • Rageku has cephalopodes
    • Kata has birds of prey.
  • Gou has wolves
  • And finally Long and the Genju pantheon, all of whom combine mythical animals with the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.
• By the Power of Grayskull!:
  • "Tagire!^note Boil over! "Power of the beast!" for the core three,
  • "Hibike!^note Echo! "Cry of the beast!" for Gou,
  • "Togisumase!^note Sharpen! "Blade of the beast!" for Ken, followed by
  • "Beast On! by everyone.
  • Rio has "Rinki Gaisou!"^note Rinki Victory Song Equip!
• Cerebus Syndrome: Despite the campy beginnings, this is actually one of the darkest Super Sentai...it just doesn't get that way until we're at the last dozen or so episodes.
• Color Character: Another "[team prefix] [English color]" Sentai. Though the first four play this trope straight, it is subverted in the case of the fifth Ranger, the white-colored Geki Chopper. Jan even names Rio and Mele "Geki Black" and "Geki Green" after their Heel–Face Turn.
• Crossover: Gekiranger vs. Boukenger. Notable in that it was the last in the Vs. Series that was a straight-to-video release.
• Custom Uniform
• Eyecatch: Jan, Retsu, and Ran in Ranger form do a few katas, the title card appearing when Jan slashs at the screen. After the break, it is the same, only with the trio in civilian form.
• Humongous Mecha A bit simple compared to the previous series.
  • A Mech by Any Other Name: The Geki Beasts
  • Animal Mecha: The Geki Beasts of the main trio are based on felines, while the rest (including those of the extra heroes) are based on assorted animals.
  • Combining Mecha
    • Geki Tiger + Geki Cheetah + Geki Jaguar = Gekitohja
    • Geki Gorilla + Geki Penguin + Geki Gazelle = Geki Fire
  • Transforming Mecha: Saidain, Geki Chopper's rhino mecha, which transforms into Saidaioh.
  • Mecha Expansion Pack
    • Gekitohja + Geki Elephant = Geki Elephantohja
    • Gekitohja + Geki Bat = Geki Batohja
    • Gekitohja + Geki Shark = Geki Sharktohja
    • Geki Fire + Geki Shark = Geki Shark Fire
    • Geki Fire + Geki Elephant = Geki Elephant Fire
    • Geki Fire + Geki Bat = Geki Bat Fire
    • Gekitohja + Geki Wolf - Geki Cheetah = Gekitohja Wolf
    • Geki Fire + Geki Wolf + Saidain = Saidai Geki Fire
    • Gekitohja + Geki Wolf + Saidan = Saidai Gekitohja
    • Gekitohja + Rin Lion + Rin Chameleon = Geki Rintohja
    • Gekitohja + Rin Lion + Rin Chameleon - Geki Cheetah = Geki Rintohja Wolf
    • Gekitohja + Rin Lion + Rin Chameleon + Geki Wolf + Saidain = Saidai Geki Rintohja
• In the Name of the Moon - Large Ham : One of the longer roll calls in the history of Super Sentai. What's more, nearly every important character gets one.
  Jan: "This body swells with infinite energy! Unbreakable Body, GekiRed!"
  Ran: "With daily purification, polishing the heart! Honest Heart, GekiYellow!"
  Retsu: "Techniques color this grand flower! Fantastic Technique, GekiBlue!"
  Gou: "Excitement, my style, to the limit of my will! Iron Will, GekiViolet!"
  Ken: "Polishing the talent, I cut open my future! Amazing Ability, GekiChopper!"

  All: Our blazing Geki is our proof of justice! Juken Sentai Gekiranger!
  • Super Mode
  Jan: "Extreme Unbreakable Body, Super GekiRed!"
  Ran: "Extreme Honest Heart, Super GekiYellow!"
  Retsu: "Extreme Fantastic Technique, Super GekiBlue!"

  All: Our seething Kageki^note Savage Ki is for justice! Juken Sentai Gekiranger!
  • RinJuKen:
    Rio: "As purely fierce as a lion, as powerful as a lion. The one destined to rule the world/who will obliterate the Evil Dragon (after his Heel–Face Turn); my name is the Black Lion Rio!"
    Mele: "For Lord Rio's love I live, for Lord Rio's love I fight as his Love Warrior. Rin Ju Chameleon-Ken Mistress, Mele!"
  • GenJuKen:
  Rio: "Pure fierceness, pure power, leaving the world, one without equal; I am Gen Ju King Rio!"
  Mele: "For Rio-sama's love, an even more powerful-clad Love Warrior. Gen Ju Phoenix-Ken Mistress, Mele!"

  • The Kenma:
    Kata: "Hatred is power givingly born. Sky Kenma, Rin Ju Hawk-Ken's Kata!"
    Rageku: "Envy is power bestowed. Sea Kenma, Rin Ju Jelly-Ken's Rageku!"
    Maku: "Rage is the power to dominate. Land Kenma, Rin Ju Bear-Ken's Maku!"
  • The Kensei:
    Shafu: "There is training in one's livelihood. The Geki Juken well achieved on a daily basis. Felis-Ken, Shafu!"
    Elehung: "There is training while having fun. The worldly-loving Elephant-Ken, Elehung Gambou!"
    Bat Li: "There is training while in a trance. The performance mastering Bat-Ken, Bat Li!"
    Sharkie: "There is "Sharkin!" while training. The doing your best Shark-Ken, Sharkie Chan!"
    Gorie: "The Wild Wiseman. 'Raging Heart,' Gorie Yen!"
    Michelle: "The Splendid Fighting Goddess. 'Supreme Technique,' Michelle Peng!"
    Bion: "The Savanna Shortstop. 'Undying Body,' Bion Biao!"
• Make My Monster Grow: "Ringi! Jashin Gouten Hen!^note Wicked Heavenly Body Change" followed later by "Gengi! Genshin Gouten Hen!^note Phantom Heavenly Body Change"
  • To put this in context, Rinrinshi, and, later, followers of Genjuuken, are able to make themselves grow using martial arts! Now THAT's Serial Escalation!
    • Another Shout-Out to Wuxia media; martial arts can, depending on the tone of a series, vary between just practical self-defense to replacement for magic.
• Mini Dress Of Power: Part of Geki Yellow's costume.
• Monster of the Week: A variation this time around. The monsters are essentially Rinshi (this series' footsoldier mooks) that are stronger than the other Rinshi. Proven by passing through the Chamber of Trials, defeating all the other Rinshi inside single-handedly. Then they can remove their mask and the animal motif on their forehead appears. They also gain the ability to transform into the shows traditional monster form.
• The Movie: Gekiranger the Movie: Nei-Nei! Hou-Hou! The Decisive Battle in Hong Kong
• Narrator: Kei Grant narrates the series.
• Regular Caller: Jan himself. If he utters "Zowazowa^note Baddie bad!", there's a Monster of the Week wreaking havoc.
• Sixth Ranger: Subverted with Gou and Ken. Despite either of them having almost all the characteristics to be considered one, they are officially classified as the fourth and fifth members of Gekiranger respectively. Just like there was debate amongst fans regarding the sixth ranger status of AbareKiller, it was not until Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger that GekiViolet and GekiChopper were officially counted as main rangers.
  • Rio and Mele effectively become extra rangers when they switch sides.
• The Smurfette Principle: The Gekirangers themselves only have one female member, even when the roster is extended from three to five. However, when Mele switches sides, she essentially serves the role of a second heroine, even though she's technically not a Gekiranger.
• Super Mode: Literally and figuratively: "Super Gekiranger".
  • Rio and Mele can also become Mythical Beast King Rio and Mythical Beast Phoenix-Fist Mele respectively.
• Transformation Trinket:
  • Jan, Ran, & Retsu: Geki Changer
  • Gou: GongChanger
  • Ken: SaiBlade^note This is also his weapon
• Villains Act, Heroes React: As is the norm for Super Sentai, we generally have the Rin Juken sending out a MOTW with an Evil Plan Once an Episode, with our heroes then arriving on the scene to stop them.

Tropes specific to Juken Sentai Gekiranger:

• Actor Allusion:
  • Shafu's VA, Ichirō Nagai, also voiced Korin before, and he apparently isn't shy about having it known; the same tone, the same way of speech, and the same use of "-ja" after sentences. ^note Although, do note that "ja" is also an actual particle in Japanese language. Even the "Show respect to your elders" part is there in Training 2.
  • A Monster of the Week voiced by Tetsu Inada at one point shouts "We'll delete you!". He used to have the badge to back up his call as the SPD boss.
• And I Must Scream: Due to his immortality, Long couldn't be destroyed, so instead, the Gekirangers use the Kenma's Sealing Ball technique to imprison him in a small, golden ball. As Shafu notes, for a being like Long who seeks entertainment in his eternal life, that is truly a Fate Worse than Death.
• Animal Battle Aura: Juken largely consists of weaponising this trope.
• Artifact of Doom: Bracelet of the Kenma. Sure enough, it allowed the revival of three major antagonists.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Rio and Mele, at the end.
• Back from the Dead: Long, multiple times.
• Big "NO!": Maga does this in English in episode 7.
• Boobs-and-Butt Pose: No, really.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Ken. He spent much of his study period in JuKenGyo^note Beast Origin Village wooing girls in a nearby village instead of training. But even then, he's really powerful already.
• Breather Episode: Fittingly enough, the Christmas Episode. Episode 36 also counts, as it's a rather tame episode that falls between the destruction of the Three Kenma and the start of the Genjyuken arc.
• Broken Faceplate: Jan gets a hole punched in his visor during his final fight with Rio.
• Casting Gag:
  • Hiroya Ishimaru, the official Japanese dub voice of Jackie Chan, as Sharkie Chan, who's also based on Jackie Chan.
  • All three of the pre-Super Gekiranger Kensei's voices are the official Japanese dub voices for Chinese Kung Fu actors: Yuu Mizushima is Sammo Hung (Gambou) and Shūichi Ikeda is Jet Li.
  • In the Boukenger crossover, the Rin-Juken monster is a hippopotamus-themed monster that, due to the season's naming conventions, is named Baka, with the personality one would expect. His voice actor is Yuji Kishi, the Red Ranger in Gekisou Sentai Carranger, a season that ran on idiocy.
• Character Development: Very, very heavy in the series. This is one of the main reasons Gekiranger is a fan-favourite.
• Chekhov's Gun: The sealing technique the Kenma used on the Kensei. In the finale, Rio uses a special technique to download RinJyuKen into the Power Trio, Matrix-style, allowing them to get around Long's immortality by using it on him.
• Chinese Girl: Mele's outfit design.
• Chinese Vampire: The basis for the Rinshi. Also played straight in that they're undead.
• The Chosen One: Deconstructed with Jan and Rio. When Jan learns that his father declared that he would avenge his defeat at Rio's hands, he collapses under the pressure. Rio has a similar reaction upon learning that Long had been manipulating the entire course of his life, and ultimately both reject their fates.
• Christmas Episode: Episode 43.

• Crucified Hero Shot: As Rio takes Long's blast to protect Mele.
• Cute Little Fangs: Fukui Mina, Ran's actress, has two slightly prominent upper canines you can spot when she smiles.
• Cuteness Proximity: Watch what happens when Jan and later Natsuki during the Boukenger teamup meet Sha Fu for the first time.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Geki Juken's forbidden techniques turn the user into a half-animal form of their Fist style.
• Department of Redundancy Department: Most of the Gekiwaza Technique names have the first word doubled.
• Devil, but No God: Long
• Discard and Draw: Rio and Mele gain Gen Juken power and forms while giving up their Rinki. They eventually reverse it, though.
• Devour the Dragon: After changing into his Mugenryuu form, Long eats Sanyo.
• Don't Think, Feel: The motto of Brusa Ee, founder of Juken.
  • A variation of it also pops up in the lyrics of the Ending Theme: "Just feel it, don't think 'bout it!"
• Drunken Boxing: Retsu, probably unintentionally and beautifully, pulls it off in Training 36. No less from the Kenshi embodying "Technique", eh?
• Enemy Mine: In several instances, the Gekirangers are getting beaten up by some third party villain, and Rio and Mele have to bail them out.
  • Goetsu Doushuu Juken Gattai^note Strange Bedfellows Beast-Fist Combination is Enemy Mine in mecha form. Needless to say, since these are the only times Rio and Mele whip out their mecha, it's always a Moment of Awesome.
• Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting: Oh god, were they ever! You can count the total number of characters who can't fight, not counting Characters-of-the-Day, easily with one hand^note A total of 3..
• Expy: Gekitohja and Geki Fire are bestial versions of God Sigma.
  • Ken is Marshall Law and Luigi combined.
• Fanservice: Not just the obvious Ms. Fanservice Mele, but the female audience also gets some of this, namely Jan's occasional Shirtless Scenes as well as the Furo Scene in episode 12.
• For the Evulz: Long's reasoning is that being immortal is so boring and he just wanted to make his life more interesting.
• Fountain of Youth: An MoTD's technique turned Jan into a kid and Retsu into a baby. It leads to a Mama Bear moment for Ran, and to a Shout-Out to Fist of the North Star.
• Freudian Trio
  • Id: Jan
  • Ego: Ran
  • Superego: Retsu
• Funny Bruce Lee Noises: Nunchaku Banki in the teamup movie with Engine Sentai Go-onger just loved this trope. Regardless of whether he was attacking, jumping, getting hit, or painfully getting knocked across the battlefield by exceptionally powerful attacks, he still made these noises.
• Furo Scene: Episode 12 has Jan, Retsu and Ran being sent to a bathhouse to start their sentou training.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Miki does this to all three of the Power Trio after Rio pounds them and takes Shafu hostage. Jan does it to Rio after they learn the truth about Long.
• Glass Cannon: Retsu. He can use his skill for offense or defense, but lacks physical constitution.
• Gratuitous English: The fighting style of any character will be expressed with the English name of the animal; for example, Rio's style is "Rinju Lion-ken" instead of "Rinju Shishi-ken".
  • Retsu is also prone to more daily-conversation Gratuitous English (similar to another blue ranger 3 installments before him.)

• Hell-Bent for Leather: Rio and Mele: They look even better than the Gouma Trio.
• Heroic Sacrifice: In episode 48 after Rio and Mele become good, they sacrifice their lives to protect the Gekirangers.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The episodes are called "Lessons".
• Idiot Ball: The other team members carry it when an impostor from the Mirror World replaces Retsu whom they cannot tell from the original. They even invent handy excuses for the impostor, like for him being suddenly left-handed, which he didn't think of.
• If It Swims, It Flies: Quite arguable with GekiShark: It never floats through air, and jumps out of a small "pool" of Geki when summoned. But then another question pops up on how it approaches the base Mecha.
  • GekiPenguin, however, completely averts this by floating around on a small jet surf-board.
• Ki Manipulation: Spammed for all its worth: Geki Juken has "Gekiwaza", Rin Juken has "Ringi", Gen Juken has "Gengi". But they all boil down to "[School Name] Technique".
• Lampshade Hanging: When Ran lets being team captain go to her head, Elehung and Michelle refer to her as Moe and Tsundere respectively, even remarking that those tropes are popular lately.
• Language Barrier: In episode 43 (the Christmas special), Ken meets an English-speaking boy named Carl who he thinks is sad because he's poor on Christmas, but is actually sad because his mother died on Christmas. Hilarity Ensues as Ken continually misunderstands the boy throughout the episode.
  • The fact that Ken kept misunderstanding the English-speaking Carl while the others at SCRTC questioned his ability to communicate with the boy is even funnier when you consider that the actor who portrayed Ken (Sotaro Yasuda) is American. He was probably the ONLY member of the main cast who would have had any idea what the kid was saying!
  • Ken's escapades eventually lead to Miki translating for the boy.
• Love Redeems: Rio turns good when he realizes that he loves Mele.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: Jan turns out to be the son of "White Tiger" Dan, whom Rio "defeated" in a duel years ago.
• Magic Countdown: In episode 38, the monster says Retsu will be trapped forever if he's not out of the mirror world in one minute. It's almost 2 minutes later when Gou brings him out.
• Meaningful Name: One word: "SCRTC".
  • Ken Hisatsu. "Hissatsu" means "finisher" or "final strike", Ken means "fist". He's the last warrior to appear; so he's the "Finisher Fist".
  • The Rin Ju Den Kenshi, save Rio and Mele, have names based on the Japanese for their theme animal, but with the first Kana moved to the end^note Rin Ju Mantis-Ken - Makirika: "Kamakiri"/"Praying Mantis"; Rin Ju Jelly-Ken - Rageku: "Kurage"/"Jellyfish".
  • Brusa Ee, the grand founder of Juken, is named from Bruce Lee. Also, when written in Kana, his name his a combination of "Bruce" and "Sai/Rhino".
  • All of the GekiJyuKen masters' names are puns on famous Martial Arts movie stars.
  • Retsu, Gou, Ran, and Jan are named to say "Let's go run and jump."
  • Long is Chinese for dragon.
• Minion Manipulated into Villainy: Rio's entire Start of Darkness was orchestrated by Long to lead him down the path to becoming the Destroyer. While Rio is broken over the fact that his life's goal of becoming stronger was a lie, the Gekirangers are disgusted that Long would spend years to ruin Rio's life.
• My Juken Is Stronger Than Yours: THE core element of the series.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Heart, Technique, and body as the core elements to a Sentai? We also got that in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, where all three were the essence of Kakure Style Ninjutsu. It's relatively obscure, but worth mentioning regardless. What's more, just like Kakuranger, they had a female, who was not the Red Ranger, as the team's official leader.
  • Rio and Mele are a major villain pair, one male and one female, who get as much focus as the heroes and are heavily teased as a couple by the plot and redeem themselves by the end of the show. This also describes Yamimaru and Kirika. Rio's status as an Evil Former Friend with a deeply personal connection to the heroes also brings to mind the Volt trio.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: The Five Deadly Venoms, and later the Kenma, which literally translates into "fist demon". Corny, but nothing with the word "demon" in its name is bad, especially here. Later we get the Four Mythical Generals^note Shigenshō and the Mythical Beast King^note Genjūō. It's also revealed that Long's true identity is something called the Infinity Dragon^note Mugen Ryū.
• Not Worth Killing: Rio defeats the Rangers more than once, only to let them go.
• Oddly Named Sequel 2: Electric Boogaloo: Up until Uchu Sentai Kyuranger, this was the last series to have "ranger" in its title unabbreviated. All of the intervening series use the short form, "-ger"^note Except for Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, but that doesn't have any form of the word "ranger" in its title.
• One-Winged Angel: Long. Interestingly, he gets his butt kicked after transforming, and fights in his usual armored form in the finale. Then again, it's a giant dragon...
• Panthera Awesome: The three core Rangers use tiger, cheetah, and jaguar styles. Rio uses a lion style. Even Miki uses leopard style (which we get to see... once or twice).
• Perky Female Minion: Mele, Mele, Mele.
• Pet the Dog: Rio is mostly evil, but he is nice to Mele every once in a while.
• Pummel Duel: Ran in spades. Especially in Training 5, when this trope makes up the majority of the final normal-sized fight with Kademu.
• Redemption Equals Death: Leo and Mele.
• Resignations Not Accepted: After learning the truth about his heritage and the expectations his father placed upon him, Jan became demoralized by the pressure and wanted to quit Geki Juken. In response, Gou^note who was upset that Long didn't see him as his fated rival punched him in the gut and forcibly dragged him into battle. Unfortunately, this made him a liability to the team.
• Rhino Rampage: Ken, and Brusa Ee before him, hence the existence of SaiDain.
• Scenery Porn: The scenes of the rangers fighting in the opening (before they announce the title.)
• Sealed Evil in a Can: The three Kenma, and in the end, Long.
• Seeking Ultimate Strength: Rio's entire motivation throughout the series, as shaped by Long.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Ken and Gou.
• Shirtless Scene: Jan through most of episode 1 and Jan in at least 5 later episodes.
• Shout-Out: To an earlier fellow Sentai series; SaiDain, a giant white animal mecha, also a standalone giant, piloted by the White Sixth Ranger on its back with a curved saber. WonTiger, a giant white animal mecha, also a standalone giant, piloted by the White Sixth Ranger on its back with a curved saber. Hmm...

  • Speaking of Dairanger, the Ranger suit designs are very similar to Dairanger's, only solid-coloured.

  • The Kyoryuya Curry House is mentioned on one occasion.
  • Ken shares some key character traits with Kinnikuman. In one episode he even yells "Kajiba no Kuso Jikara"!
  • The not so quirky miniboss squad the Five Venom Fists are a reference to the Five Deadly Venoms.
  • Rio's Lion Armor has many similarities◊ to Lowemon.
  • At one point, Geki Yellow performs Hokuto Zankai Ken on an unfortunate Monster of the Week, complete with the beast apparently exploding.
  • At the end of Lesson 43, the Gekirangers pose like the Imagin from Kamen Rider Den-O, whose colors they parallel (Jan = Momotaros, Ran = Kintaros, Retsu = Urataros, Gou = Ryutaros, Ken = Sieg).
  • A Shout-Out to previous Sentai: Rio being mainly black-colored, learning Gryphon-ken, and later gets counted as a ranger (unofficially) whereas in Dengeki Sentai Changeman, we have a Black Ranger called Change Gryphon.
• Shout-Out Theme Naming:
  • The Kensei are named after various martial arts film stars: Elehung Gambou, Bat Li, Sharkie Chan, Gorie Yen, Byon Biao and Michelle Peng.
  • The founder of Juken is named Brusa Ee.
  • During the crossover with Engine Sentai Go-onger, the Tortoise-ken user Meka pulls himself into his shell and flies by shooting flames out of the limb holes.
• Significant Anagram: The Monster of the Week will typically have as its name the katakana of the Japanese name for the animal it represents, with the first kana shifted to the end (for example, a frog (kaeru)-themed enemy is called Eruka).
• Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Even the other two Kenma fear Maku and his Dorinki^note Raging Qi (as do the good guys—even when he was initially killed, his heart was removed to assure that he would never be resurrected. As is often the case, the impossible took a while.)
• Spell My Name With An S: An alternative spelling to Master Shafu's name is "Xia Fu". Considering the series take heavily from Chinese Wuxia, it makes sense.
  • Not to mention "Jyan", "Retu", and "Mere" from The Movie's opening sequence.
  • And Brusa Ee. A possible alternative on his name is a combination of "Bruce Lee" and "Sai"/"Rhinoceros", his Kenpo style, thus "Brusa I".
• Supernatural Martial Arts: One of the main themes of the series.
• The Four Gods: The Shigenshou are based on this trope. Sanyo the Basilisk (Genbu), Sūgu the Chimera (Byakko), Mele the Phoenix (Suzaku), Long the Dragon (Seiryū), and Rio the Griffin (Huáng​lóng​). Lampshaded with Sūgu, as his prior identity had white tiger powers and he was nicknamed "Byakko" because of it.
  • Interestingly, Long could also represent Huáng​lóng​ given his gold outfit and status as True Final Boss
• Theme Naming: All five of the Gekirangers' names contain two Kanji for Family Name, and two Kana for First Name. And the first syllables of the core group's names when combined spell "Kung Fu".^note "Kan-Fu-U"
  • Also, the aforementioned Significant Anagrams.
  • The Gekirangers' given names all sound like action words: Jump (Jan), Run (Ran), Let's (Retsu), Go (Gou), Can (Ken)
• Threatening Shark: Averted! Sharkie Chan is a really nice guy!
  • Double Subversion with GekiShark: One of the first things it does after it's summoned is attack GekiTohja. But it turned out to be jacked by Dokariya.
• Three Plus Two: A core team of three, which becomes four and then five.
• Took a Level in Badass: The powerful moments of the series are built on this.
  • The Rangers when they acquire their "Kageki"^note Extreme Fierce Ki powerup, and later Rio and Mele as they learn "Dorinki"^note Full Confrontation Ki.
  • Personality-wise, Jan took a level in badass over the course of the series. By the mid-30s, he's almost unrecognizable as the Idiot Hero he was in the early episodes.
  • Rio and Mele take another level in badass when they join up with Long and swap their Rinki for Genki. Alternatively, the real level in badass (or character growth) might be when they give up their Genki instead.
• Unflinching Walk: The first Super Gekiranger fight ends with Jan doing this as Rio collapses amidst explosions.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Sure, the Gekirangers and people associated with SCRTC are around the Kensei long enough to get used to their unusual appearances(Jan's even fascinated by them), but even ordinary people don't bat an eye at the sight of talking animal people who aren't wearing costumes!
• Unwitting Pawn: Rio, whose whole life turns out to have been masterminded by Long.
• Verbal Tic: Sanyo ends his sentences with "ayo."
• Villain Protagonist: Rio and Mele are probably the only Sentai villains to get as much focus and Character Development as the heroes. Justified as they are sort of a rival team and they perform a Heel–Face Turn near the end of the series, cementing their position as sixth and seventh rangers.
• Villainous BSoD: Rio, when he realizes that he is an Unwitting Pawn.
• Wax On, Wax Off: Shafu's all-time favourite, but other masters also employ this concept in their own ways.
• Weirdness Censor: The Boukengers are the only ones who notice anything odd about a bunch of anthropomorphic animals. They can happily walk around town and no-one bats an eyelid.
• Wham Episode: Training 40. After three relatively-lighthearted episodes spotlighting most of the characters' relationships with their families, all of which ended well, we get this episode. Jan finds out who his father is and what became of him. It's not pretty. At all. Jan has a Heroic BSoD. Gou flips out too, since Jan's father was a friend of his. Rio finally accepts Long's offer, gets an upgrade, and with the aid of his crew hands the Gekirangers their asses in a Curb-Stomp Battle. Then he issues Jan a challenge and the episode ends.

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