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Say The Go!note 

"When the universe falls into the clutches of evil, and its inhabitants are engulfed in sorrow, then, chosen by the power of the Kyutama, nine ultimate saviors will appear!"

Uchu Sentai Kyuranger (Space Squadron Kyunote -Ranger) is the 41st entry in the Super Sentai franchise. It airs alongside Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, and later, Kamen Rider Build in the Super Hero Time block, having a crossover with the former in episodes 24 of Ex-Aid and 7 of Kyuranger. The Theme Tune was performed by Tomohiro Hatano.

Sometime in the distant future, the eighty-eight constellations of the universe suffer under the tyrannical "Jark Matter" shogunate. When all hope seems lost, nine magical globes bearing the power of galactic constellations appear and find their way to nine chosen heroes from all across the universe. Travelling aboard a Cool Starship called the Orion, these eclectic warriors unite under the flag of "Rebellion" to liberate the cosmos as Kyuranger!

Although there were signs that it would be adapted as the season to follow Power Rangers Ninja Steel, Saban caught the majority of the fandom off-guard by instead announcing that they had sold the franchise to Hasbro, who chose instead to adapt Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters —which had previously been passed over in favor of Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger— as Power Rangers Beast Morphers.note  Six years after Kyuranger ended, Hasbro would adapt the show's mecha for the franchise's 30th installment, Power Rangers Cosmic Fury.


Recurring Super Sentai tropes:

  • Animal-Themed Superbeing: The Kyurangers motifs are the constellations, which are all animals. Tenbin Gold is the exception, being based on Libra the Scales.note 
  • Arm Cannon: In addition to being transformation devices, the Seiza Blaster doubles as a ranged weapon too.
  • Boss Subtitles: Every major character gets these when they first appear. The Kyurangers themselves even get their names in color, with a star next to them.
  • By the Power of Grayskull!: The Seiza Blaster announces "Say The Change!" ("Say" in English, with "Say-Za" punning off of "seiza"/constellation). The following transformation phrase is "Star Change!" Shou says "Wish upon a star!" as Ryu Violet and later, as Ryu Commander, he uses Garyou Tensei!note  Tsurugi's gear says "Come On The Change!", but he himself says "Star Change!" like the others.
  • Clip Show: Space 27, albeit one that's awkwardly shoehorned into two current plots.
  • Color Character: Kyuranger codenames mostly go by "[constellation] [English color]", the exceptions being Ryu Commander, the permanent upgrade of Ryu Violet, and Houou Soldier, the unique Twelfth Ranger and second Red Ranger.
  • Color-Coded Characters: Notable for having nine colors to start off with, including silver and gold, which are often reserved for sixth rangers. It also has the franchise's fourth Orange Ranger.
  • Combining Mecha: The Voyagers, based on each ranger's constellation. Uniquely, however, is that the majority of Voyagers can all form either an arm or a leg rather than having a single set position, something that hasn't been seen since Mirai Sentai Timeranger and never to this degree. This makes them a literal Mix and Match variety.
    • Shishi Voyager + 4 limb Voyagers = KyurenOh. Washi Voyager can also optionally attach to its back to give it a flight mode.
    • Ryu Voyager + 2 limb Voyagers = RyuteiOh
    • KyurenOh + RyuteiOh = Ryutei KyurenOh
    • Houou Voyager + Houou Station = Gigant Houou
    • Gigant Houou + Houhou Base + Shishi Voyager + the other 10 Kyurangers' Kyutama = Kyutamajin
    • BattleOrionShip + Orion Voyager = Orion Battler
    • Kojishi Voyager + Shishi Voyager or KyurenOh = Super Shishi Voyager or Super KyurenOh
    • Exclusive to the summer movie: Cerberus Voyager + 4 limb Voyagers = Cerberios
  • Evolving Credits: Unlike series before it, there is more frequency with this as the Kyurangers are slowly being added rather than being complete at the start, so this is much more evident. There are even things like characters who only recently joined the team changing into their uniforms the next episode (for example, Lucky and Garu appear in their default outfit in the opening for the premiere, but after that episode they appear in their Rebellion uniforms). Also, when a character does not appear in the episode, they are shown in the opening credits without the actor's credit (for example, in the more recent episodes when Kotaro is away on training, Shota Taguchi's name does not appear on the credits even though he does, unless he has at least a bit part, such as in Space 17) This is most apparent during the ending as, while all the Kyurangers are present, their unmorphed forms are only added after they join the team. There are even large gaps in the final pose where the non-recruited Kyurangers are clearly meant to go.
    • After Space 12, the Kyutama dance itself has evolved to replace the pelvic thrusts with arm pumping motions. Probably to account for the fact that there's a Kid Hero on the team now.
    • Character's aren't added to the group transformation shot of the opening until they officially join the team, which means Stinger isn't added for a while even after he first transforms. In the first episode this even means Lucky isn't even there as the only members of the team at the beginning of the first episode are Hammie Champ and Spada and Lucky and Garu wouldn't be added till episode 2.
  • Fashionable Asymmetry:
    • The basic design of the team's uniform has a large star emblem on the chest that favors toward the left side with a half-oval belt buckle. Several members also have helmets with details that are asymmetrical.
    • Most of the Voyagers have a small detail of some kind, like stripes or highlights, that only appear on one side. Ryu Voyager has completely different details on is sides due to how it transforms into Ryuteioh, and the Orion Battler has an entirely different left and right arm due to one being formed from the Orion Voyager ship. The only exceptions are Kojishi and Houou Voyagers, which are actually just symmetrical. However, Kojishi's combination with Kyurenoh makes the silver ring on its chest half gold and adds a cannon to its right arm.
  • The Flatwoods Monster: The Tsuyoindaver class are the medium-to-high level combatants of the Space Shogunate Jark Matter. They're designed after the Flatwoods Monster, sporting the same spade-shaped collar, glowing yellow eyes, and dress-like outfit. Nine of the Tsuyoindavers have been promoted to Daikaan and given their own distinct look, six of which keeping the spade-shaped collar.
  • Heroes Act, Villains Hinder: A reversal of the typical Villains Act, Heroes React; the Kyurangers' objective is to liberate the universe from Jark Matter rule. To that end, they travel the constellations, going from planet to planet collecting Kyutamas, destroying the Moraimarz draining the essential Planetium of occupied worlds, bringing our heroes into conflict with the Daikaans and the Karos.
  • Humongous Mecha: KyurenOh, RyuteiOh, Gigant Houou, and Orion Battler; the former two of which have multiple versions based on which Kyurangers combine with Shishi or Ryu Voyager.
  • In the Name of the Moon: As with the last season but simpler, this time with each member naming their constellation and color along with their "Star" nicknames.
    Lucky: Super Star! Shishi Red!
    Super Modes:
    Dancing Star! Pegasus Shishi Red!
    Shining Star! Taiyonote  Shishi Red!
    Moody Star! Shishi Red Moon!
    Miracle Star! Shishi Red Orion!
    Stinger: Poison Star! Sasori Orange (with Ikkakuju Arm)!
    Garu: Beast Star! Ookami Blue!
    Balance: Trick Star! Tenbin Gold!
    Champ: Ring Star! Oushi Black!
    Naga Ray: Silent Star! Hebitsukai Silver/Metal!
    Hammie: Shinobi Star! Chameleon Green!
    Super Mode:
    Shining Shinobi Star! Taiyo Chameleon Green!
    Raptor 283: Speed Star! Washi Pink!
    Spada: Food Mei-Star! Kajiki Yellow!
    Super Mode:
    Dancing Mei-Star! Pegasus Kajiki Yellow!
    Shou Ronpo: Dragon Ma-Star! Ryu Commander!
    Kotaro Sakuma: Big Star! Koguma Skyblue!
    Super Mode:
    Big Surprise Star! Ooguma Skyblue!
    Tsurugi Ohtori: Space Bu-Star! Houou Soldier!
    Lucky: The ultimate saviors...
    All: Uchu Sentai Kyuranger!
  • Law of Chromatic Superiority: In addition to the usual, Lucky is the only Kyuranger who always gets picked on the Kyulette the Chance. While it may be chalked up to his luck (even though this is subverted soon enough), it's undeniable that the writers do this just so there won't be an active team without a Red Ranger.
  • Make My Monster Grow: Zigzagged. Each Daikaan has an Enlarge Inrou note that automatically revives and grows them if they die, but it's a one-time use item as they burst apart upon usage. However, some don't get to use them, instead opting to use Moraimarz in fighting mode. Vice-Shoguns get special treatment in this regard - a golden idol on their right shoulders that allow them to do this repeatedly. Deathworms naturally have the ability to change size at will.
    • An unusual variant happens when two of the Kyurangers shrink down to fight against a tiny size monster called Microtsuyoindaver inside of somebody's brain. The first time he is killed, he grows to the size of a normal monster. The second time he is killed, instead of growing a second time to giant size, he manifests a giant copy of the person he was controlling with his dying breath.
  • Mini Dress Of Power: Part of the Kyuranger girls' suits.
  • Mook Mobile: Moaiders are moai-themed one-man space fighters mostly piloted by Indavers.
  • Non-Uniform Uniform: Beyond usual things such as the suit colors and helmet designs, each Kyuranger also has additional features. Taking Shishi Red as the default, we have:
    • Sasori Orange has a scorpion tail.
    • Ookami Blue has a fur ruff around his collar as though it was sticking out from his helmet. His gloves and boots also have claws. His uniform also has furry fuzz, most visible on the shoulders and thighs. The mouth part of the helmet also has fangs.
    • Tenbin Gold has a more armored form than the others, and looks somewhat mechanical.
    • Oushi Black has a much bulkier body than the others, as well as the horns of his visor extending past the helmet. He actually keeps most of his untransformed look intact. The uniform's belt even goes over his champion belt.
    • Hebitsukai Silver has a scale pattern going down his suit.
    • Chameleon Green's helmet has the chameleon's head facing upward with the eyes popped out, and the mouth acts as the visor.
    • Washi Pink has a pair of small wings on her back.
    • Kajiki Yellow has the front of his visor extend forward, much like a swordfish's bill.
    • Ryu Violet has black shoulder armor. The change into Ryu Commander adds a flowing trenchcoat-like cape.
    • Koguma Skyblue wears a scarf around his neck and a pair of mittens that conceal bear claws inside.
    • Houou Soldier has a drastically different designed suit than the others, swapping most of the colors for black but the black parts for red accents, and most notably his helmet has a headset microphone-like projection.
    • Similarly, Champ and Balance have their own spin on the (untransformed) team jacket. Champ wears it on his arm like a matador's cape while Balance repaints his body to a similar color scheme.
  • Sixth Ranger: Shou Ronpo as Ryu Commander and Tsurugi Ootori as Houou Soldier. Koguma Skyblue also qualifies, with Kotaro joining the team shortly after Shou, though he doesn't have the usual trappings of one (unique Transformation Trinket, weapon, mecha, etc.) while Shou and Tsurugi do.
  • Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Jark Matter has a well-defined hierarchy, which gets more and more fleshed out as the Kyurangers go through those who were thought to be the most powerful ones after Don Armage himself: there are the Indavers, then the Tsuyoindavers, the Daikaan, the Karo (who later get demoted to MotWs), then the Vice-Generals, and finally the General, Don Armage himself.
  • Super Mode: Lucky gets several enhanced modes:
    • The Pegasus Kyutama summons "Pega-san", who acts as a chestplate and can fight by controlling Lucky's body.
    • The Hikari Kyutama can be used in either Taiyou (Sun) or Tsuki (Moon) mode. Both forms also power up a second Kyuranger, with the Sun giving Balance a bunch of extra energy while the Moon strengthens Garu, making him more poised and controlled.
    • The Saikonote  Kyutama turns him into Shishi Red Orion, changing his suit completely white and giving him access to all of his team's weapons.
      • According to Space 44 some of them are transferable - the Hikari Kyutama is borrowed by Hammy, while Pega-san, who latched himself to Spada then, is more of an Equippable Ally who can choose his own target (regardless of their opinion).
  • Swiss-Army Weapon: Kyu The Weapon, in practice anyway. It's actually a weapon with many forms, but each ranger has their preferred form.
  • Transformation Trinket: The wrist-worn Seiza Blaster, and the Kyutama, collectible trinkets modeled after globes and gyroscopes. Shou transforms with his Ryutsueder staff. Tsurugi similarly uses his weapons to transform, the Houou Blade and Houou Shield.
  • Transforming Mecha: Unusually for this trope, it's Jark Matter who has more of these, the Moraimarz which changes from spaceship to Planetium rig to giant robot and back, while the Kyurangers use mostly Combining Mecha.
  • Two Girls to a Team: Pink and Green.
  • Utility Belt: The Rangers' Kyu Buckle is where the Kyutama are stored and taken from if they need to use them, much like how the collectibles of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger are pulled from their Rangers' belt buckle.

Tropes Present in Uchu Sentai Kyuranger

  • Academy of Evil: There's a Malistrate University in Space 22 on the grounds that once had the Tsurugi Ohtori Science Laboratory.
  • Actor Allusion:
  • Alternate Universe: Space 18 cements the thesis that Kyuranger takes place in one, as five of the Kyurangers and Madako meet Gavan and the Dekarangers after travelling through a wormhole. The Kyurangers, in particular, are amazed at finding a peaceful universe protected by a Space Police.
    • Previously, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, who clearly hails from an alternate Jark Matter-less Earth, was summoned to help the Kyurangers with his very own Kyutama in Space 6, with Lucky returning the favor in his twenty-fourth episode, then they all come together in Chou Super Hero Taisen.
  • All Myths Are True: The Kyurangers being chosen to save the universe in the time of need was a legend. Later, Shou starts the search for the globes to find the Argo because it has what's needed to defeat Jark Matter. When questioned about it, he says the Argo is a legend, but so were the Kyurangers.
  • All Planets Are Earthlike: Played straight to the point of being too realistic, with one planet touted as Beach Episode material revealed to be severely polluted by the time our heroes get there.
  • Artifact Title: The "Kyu" in "Kyuranger" can be interpreted as the Japanese word for the number 9 (kyuu) as there are nine of them. This pun is lost once Shou Ronpo, Kotaro Sakuma, and Tsurugi Ohtori join the team fulltime raising the number of Kyurangers to 12
  • Artistic License – Physics: Space 10. The Orion would need to travel at half the speed of light to reach the sun in 15 minutes. The fastest manmade object ever moves at only 0.00023% the speed of light, and the fastest known object larger than a particle rotates at 0.0006% the speed of light.
  • Ascended Extra: Normally, robotic allies are either mascots, assistants, or Sixth Rangers/Extra Heroes. This time around, three of them are a part of the core team to begin with.
  • Aside Comment:
    • Twice in Space 6, Naga looks at the camera and tells us that he thinks Shou Ronpo is lying.
    • The joke is repeated in Space 33 and Space 38.
  • Baseball Episode: Space 40, featuring a baseball battle against Jark Matter.
  • BBC Quarry: The alien planets are really just various familiar Toei tokusatsu places but with props, civilians with costumes and make-up, or filter!
  • Beach Episode: Space 15 with a twist taking place in a mostly oceanic planet. Then subverted as Jark Matter has already polluted the ocean and beaches to a horrific level, and the team never got to relax in the scenery. Onscreen, anyway; the next episode implies they got to enjoy the surf after they kicked Jark Matter out.
  • Birthday Episode: Space 7 is about a monster that steals birthdays. He even ruins Balance's 300th birthday!
  • Book Ends: The first and last episodes have Lucky on his space scooter listening to the 88 Constellation Lottery, then crash landing on a planet, but bragging "Talk about lucky! A safe landing!".
  • Breaking Old Trends: Instead of three or five Rangers at the start, the series starts with nine, the largest there ever was. This also marks the first time Silver and Gold Rangers are on the team without being Sixth Rangers.
  • Brick Joke:
    • Space 22 has Balance picked by Kyulette to find Eris again, and Balance thinks it'll be piss-easy - except that episode had Eris not only rejecting him but going from Spada to Lucky by the end of it. Amusingly, the payoff is in Space 23 (Eris just slaps Balance across the face, twice).
    • In Space 10, Shou orders Raptor to fire the "Orion Cannon", only for her to tell him that the Orion doesn't have any weapons. Space 33 marks the debut of the Orion's successor, the Orion Battle Ship, which does have an Orion Cannon and gets to use it, too. Since Shou oversaw its construction, it's easy to imagine he insisted upon adding one for this very reason.
  • The Cameo: Luka Millfy shows up in a credits scene in Kyuranger vs. Space Squad where she takes a macaron off of Raptor's plate and the two get into an argument. Hammie remarks that for some reason the two of them sound kind of similar to her, a suggestion that offends both of them.
  • The Caper: The real premise of Space 7. Ignoring the rather ridiculous Monster of the Week gimmick and the Crossover with Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, they have a rare case of coordinating all the Kyurangers' skills to break into the enemy stronghold and get something out, complete with "Mission: Impossible" Cable Drop courtesy of Naga!
  • Casting Gag:
    • Yuki Kubota previously played Takatora Kureshima, an elder brother betrayed by the younger. This time, the roles are reversed, and he's the betrayer.
    • The actress who plays Kotaro's mother actually appeared in Gogo Sentai Boukenger (over 10 years ago!) as the cat turned into a schoolgirl who gets close to the Blue Ranger of that series. Now she's the mother of another (light) Blue Ranger. Really makes you wonder…
    • Hoshi Minato's skin is gold… the same color as his actor's role from the last ranger suit the actor wore.
  • Cerebus Retcon: Indaver helmets are revealed at one point to be restraining bolts that prevent them from even getting lines - then darker implications arise when it's shown that putting them on humans' heads makes them behave like Indavers, shedding some light on how Jark Matter's conquest of the universe went down.
  • Close-Enough Timeline: Created as a result of half of the Kyurangers (Tsurugi, Stinger, Champ, Raptor, Spada and Shou) traveling back in time to discover Don Armage's secret, with Lucky later making his own trip from the present to join them after seeing the aged wreckage of the spaceship Orion. Orion, the man responsible for spreading the legend of the Kyurangers, is prematurely killed in battle by Don Armage, overwriting the original timeline which lasted up to Space 29. As it was the pursuit of the legend which ultimately led to the Kyurangers manifesting in the present day, Shou stays behind to spread the legend in Orion's stead while Champ also remains to search for his creator Doctor Anton, with Shou proceeding to take the The Slow Path by cyrogenically freezing himself once his work is done (unnecessary for Champ since he is an unaging robot) while the others return to the present. As a result of this change to history, the Kyurangers (Garu, Balance, Hammy, Kotaro, Naga) who remained in the present are technically of a whole new timeline now despite being essentially the same right down to the events they experienced while the time travellers were busy in the past. The one notable divergence in this new timeline is that Eris, a guest character who recalled having met Orion in Space 19, now met Shou instead as becomes apparent when the team meet her again in Space 33.
  • Common Tongue: Implied to be the oral form of the Cypher Language appearing in signs and posters around the show. Notably, the Earthlings' picket signs in Space 20 are written in this language rather than Japanese.
  • Continuity Cavalcade: Space 25 attempts this by bringing back a whole bunch of past characters as solidified memories from the Kyurangers, going as far back as Eridoron.
  • Crossover:
    • The Kyurangers join with Kamen Rider Ex-Aid and the greater Super Sentai Kamen Rider pantheons in Chou Super Hero Taisen, promoted by Shishi Red and Ex-Aid making guest appearances in their respective series.
    • Space 18 had the Kyurangers meeting the Dekarangersnote  and Gavannote  as a way to promote Space Squad: Dekaranger vs. Gavan.
    • Come the finale, it was announced that the annual Vs. movie would not be with Zyuohger, but with Space Squad, which also includes a few previous Sentai villains teaming up. note 
    • And then comes Lupinranger VS Patranger VS Kyuranger.
  • Cypher Language: The alien language used in the show. Fans have taken time to translate it too.
  • Darker and Edgier: Despite the general quirkiness of the cast (and the comedic episodes throughout), the series still starts with one of the most brutal Downer Beginnings in Super Sentai history, with evil having conquered the universe, and actually showing citizens getting killed by the enemy. Kyuranger is shaping up to be a rather dark series.
    • It also features a Sentai Ranger death, courtesy of Scorpio blowing Champ to bits with his finisher. What's jarring here compared to other notable Ranger deaths (Sentai or PR) is that it happened in episode 16; unlike the others which happened at either two-thirds of the storynote , near/during the final arc/episodenote , post-finalenote , or before the series begannote . Only Mika's death happened earlier than Champ, with her dying on episode 10 of her series. Although it should be considered that Champ underwent repairs at the Rebellion HQ and came back at Space 20.
    • The otherwise adventurous Space 18 reveals there is no police whatsoever in the Kyurangers' home universe, which puts Jark Matter's conquering campaign into perspective.
    • Episode of Stinger manages to go even further with this, realistically depicting the survivors of Jark Matter's tyranny, and that's before we get into The Corrupter turning the lone Monoceros native and the other Human Aliens against each other, noting that Stinger was out to redeem her and outright shoving her down the slippery slope in retaliation, leading to an outright Downer Ending.
  • Death is Cheap: Madako will always come back when killed, as long as even a small piece of her remains. When Doctor Anton turns her into Mecha-Madako near the end of the series, however, it's at the cost of this ability, so dying once more means bye-bye for her.
  • Debut Queue: The first episode introduces Champ, Hammie and Spada as the Kyurangers before being joined by Lucky and Garu, and Raptor 283 being the pilot of Orion but not a Kyuranger. The second episode introduces Balance and Naga Ray. The third episode introduces Stinger and the team commander Shou Ronpo.
  • Demoted to Extra: Most works involving the constellations like Saint Seiya or Kamen Rider Fourze will give special priority to the twelve signs of the Zodiac, emphasising the completed lineup, but here we have some of them like Cancer and Pisces relegated to attack powerups while lesser-known ones like Aquila, Dorado, and Chamaeleon are turned into Rangers alongside known ones like Libra, Taurus, and Leo. It helps avoid Small Reference Pools in a way.
  • Diabolus ex Nihilo: The deathworm the team encounters in Space 11; it's a wild, irrational creature which no one knows how ended up on Earth and can feed off the living things in an entire city, all by itself. The Kyurangers give it top priority (especially after Kotaro and Stinger go missing while fending it off) while Ikagen and Madako have the good sense of pulling back while it's running amok, proving that Jark Matter doesn't even have a hand in its rampage. Though, later on its revealed that Jark Matter brought it to Earth hundreds of years ago.
  • Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: Stinger plays a portion of the theme tune during Space 39.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: At the end of Space 17, Madako rises up to her feet next to Scorpio from a rather compromising position. Keep in mind that she was going with the flirty personality.
  • Downer Ending:
    • Ep 11. Because Lucky starts having a run of bad luck, the first of the three Kyutama needed to revive the Argo falls into Ikagen's hands and Lucky's confidence and happy-go-lucky nature are shattered, causing him to start recalling his Mysterious Dark and Troubled Past.
    • By the end of Ep 16, Champ is destroyed, having been killed by Scorpio. Downplayed that since Champ is a robot, he is temporally sent to the HQ to be rebuilt, but there's a chance he might not have his old memories...
    • Episode of Stinger is this in spades. Not only is Mika dead, so are many other innocents that could've probably been saved if it wasn't for her rampage. While he did defeat Thunderbird, Stinger can never get those lives back, which only serves to make the outcome even more of a downer than it is.
  • Earth Is the Center of the Universe: Played with. On the one hand, none of the Kyurangers are from Earth; Hammie had never heard of it and Champ confirms that it's "in the middle of nowhere". On the other hand, Earth has some sort of secret to it that leads Jark Matter to station an absurd number of their forces there, and one of the Kyurangers' main goals is to discover that secret and liberate the planet. They also recruit an Earth-born Kyuranger in Koguma Skyblue, and one of the three Kyutama that summon the Argo happens to be found on Earth by chance. It turns out that Earth's secret is that it's where the Argo itself was hidden, which holds another Earthling Kyuranger.
    • Late in the series we get a clearer reason for Jark Matter's interest in Earth: it has so much Planetium that if it were all converted into Dark Planetium, the Earth would become a bomb powerful enough to destroy the entire universe — which is Don Armage's ultimate goal.
  • Earth-Shattering Kaboom: Space 28. Our heroes learn that the supposed final battle between Tsurugi's old team and Don Armage led to one of these.
    • Don Armage's ultimate plan is destroying the entire universe starting with one of these. While it happens to Planet Vera in Space 43, the plan is prevented from coming to fruition thanks to the Black Hole Kyutama. He then decides to do it to Earth itself, but this one too is foiled in Space 47.
  • Enhance Button: Done in Space 16 by Balance, using a widescreen TV that he uses to broadcast footage sneaked out of Jark Matter's own CCTV network.
  • "Eureka!" Moment: Played for Laughs in Space 14, when Shou attempts to spin whatever Raptor just said into his next move to aid the Kyurangers - which only sends them through one shenanigan after another until Raptor has freaking had it.
    "WILL YOU STOP TWISTING MY WORDS INTO INSPIRATION?!?!?"
  • Eye Lights Out: Happens to Balance in Space 47 when he's exhausted fighting a horde of Indavers.
  • "Fantastic Voyage" Plot: Space 31. Balance figures out how to use the Microscopium Kyutama to shrink himself and Lucky to physically infiltrate Naga and battle the microscopic Indaver invasion that's apparently made him Brainwashed and Crazy. They do it again in Space 34 to retrieve any deep-seated memories in Naga, specifically the location of Don Armage.
  • Fashions Never Change: The visuals accompanying Tsurugi's stories imply that fashions have gone nowhere AFTER 300 YEARS.
  • Fish-Eye Lens: Used in the ending theme to simulate a spherical shot.
  • Forgot About His Powers: Despite two members of the team (Stinger and Naga) having the ability to completely paralyze their foes which is shown to be able to work against any humanoid and any defense they almost never use this when it would immediately make things easier for the group. The two either never use it, or they do only in situations where it's easily thwarted or otherwise doesn't work. Naturally it's only completely effective when they're figthing against the team for various reasons.
  • The Future: It is stated that this series takes place in the distant future.
  • Fun with Acronyms: The Orion, the Kyurangers' mothership, is apparently an acronym for "Offensive Resistance Interstellar Orbiter of REBELLION".
  • Fun with Homophones: The series loves to pun on different meanings for "kyu". Some major ones:
    • Lucky declares the team the "ultimate saviors" at the end of the roll call, using the words "kyukyoku" (ultimate) and "kyuseishu" (savior).
    • Although it never made it into the show or toyline, a "Chi Kyutama" was programmed into the Seiza Blaster and Ryutsueder toys. "Chi" on its own means "life energy", but together it could be "Chikyu-tama"; "Chikyu" is the Japanese word for the planet Earth.
  • Funny Afro: In Space 40, Tsurugi has a afro for a few seconds after being hit by the Monster Of The Week's fiery baseball, coupled with an Ash Face.
  • Gratuitous English: Starts being used as of Space 4. When the Kyurangers are first surveying Earth, we see a Jark Matter pamphlet that clearly reads "SURRENDER, YOU LOST", and Raptor posts in her blog in English (which, while technically correct, is funny to read - "It's the importance a dream is believed, isn't it?"). In fact, the Orion's computers all display information in English.
  • Human Aliens: Half of the background aliens are people with strange clothing.
  • Human Popsicle: Tsurugi in Space 21 and Shou in Space 33 both wake up from cryogenic freezing chambers.
  • Ironic Echo: Stinger has to deal with an evolved Tsuyoindaver that survived an actual battle during one of the Transformation Lessons - it was Played for Laughs at the time, but then Scorpio does the same thing in Space 13, and it's not meant to be funny at all.
  • It Can Think: The Orion, as shown at the end of Space 4. He is apparently an artificial intelligence like Raptor.
    • The Orion is definitely proven to think at the end of Space 32.
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Space 25. The 12 keys all over Planet Tokei have to be turned within 30 minutes of each other or the entire mission will be for naught. The main reason it isn't is because that's literally the same length as the show. (well, technically it's 22 minutes long, but counting commercial breaks...)
  • Locked Room Mystery: Invoked for Space 10. When the Orion starts flying out of control and Naga is found collapsed on the floor, Shou immediately declares it as one. Turns out the Orion was being controlled by the Monster of the Week's microbes, which followed the Voyagers onto the ship and fortunately work like a Keystone Army, while Naga's accident was his own damn fault.
  • Meaningful Name: Overlapping with Punny Name, obfuscated by Japanese Ranguage and pronunciation: Orion doubles as Olion. As in "Oh-lion". "King Lion".
  • Mythical Motifs: The show incorporates some aspects of Greco-Roman mythology, largely because most constellations and some characters are based on that mythology in the first place.
  • The Narrator: Subaru Kimura serves as this.
  • Noodle Incident: Shou's whole quest to collect the Kyutamas from across the universe, assembling the majority of them before the series. In Space 6, Shou recalls a notable incident, accompanied by an illustration, in which he wielded Pega-san to face the Giant Monster of Planet Babangi, the authenticity of which is disputed by Naga.
    • Then there's Shou's exploits in the past as he works to spread the legend of the Kyurangers following Orion's premature death. In Space 33, he presents a drawing almost identical to the first, featuring Shou facing off against the same giant monster only without Pega-san. Naga also disputes this account.
  • Odd Name Out: All of the members have an animal theme to them... except for Tenbin Gold, who's themed after balancing scales.
  • Oddly Named Sequel: This is the first series since Juken Sentai Gekiranger to not abbreviate the "-ranger" suffix in its title as "-ger".
  • One Extra Member: The "Nine-rangers" have more than nine members. Lampshaded when Shou becomes the tenth and suggests they change the team name to match; but the others reject it.
  • Orange/Blue Contrast: Stinger and Kotaro, the Orange and Sky Blue Kyuangers, are considered a two-man team within the show.
  • Painting the Medium: Space 27. Tsurugi realises at some point that the Indavers are just matching up their past appearances with episode footage that just happens to have Indavers in the same color suits as them, then gets bored and starts pushing it aside.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: Champ as "Yagyu Jubeef" in Space 34.
  • Planet of Hats: Naga's homeworld takes this up to eleven by being a Planet Of One Guy.
  • Produce Pelting: The Earthlings pelt pebbles and various bottles and cans to the active Kyuranger Team in Space 20 after being informed by Scorpio that the reason Earth's imminent destruction by a horde of Moraimarz is due to the Kyurangers' presence.
  • Psycho Rangers: Space 27 gives us Jark Sentai Indaver, who have their own roll call and everything. However, unlike Jaden Sentai Nejiranger, they turn out to be joke characters, as the only time the heroes need to transform against them is to use their finishing move - and even then, it's only Tsurugi who transforms.
  • Pun: Part of their catchphrase involves the phrase "say the" (e.g. "Say the Change!"), which is phonetically similar to "seiza" ("constellation")
  • Pun-Based Title: The word "kyu" can apply in many ways here. It can mean "nine" and there are nine core Kyurangers. It can also mean "sphere" or "globe", which part of their design revolves around, particularly the collectibles. "Kyu" also ties into the word for "starsign"note . The Japanese words for "ultimate"note  and "savior"note  begin with kyu, so the Kyurangers are sometimes referred to as "the ultimate saviors"note  or "the nine saviors"note  as puns on their name.
  • Put on a Bus: Space 13 does this to three Kyurangers all at once: Kotaro is sent to Resistance HQ for basic training while Stinger and Champ leave the Orion (with Shou's permission) in order to investigate Stinger's brother Scorpio.
  • Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Lampshaded by Tsurugi in #22, as he really isn't impressed that the rest of the team aren't warriors. He describes the other Kyurangers active in the episode as a man who relies on luck, an assistant, a chef, an emotional blank slate, a teenager, a kid, and a dog.
  • Recap Episode: The first part of Space 44 has this, as it was the first episode of the year, and to explain to Mr. Pegasus what he has missed since he was last seen in Space 6.
  • Reverse Psychology: Lucky and Naga do this on Balance, Hammy, and Spada after their personalities get twisted by a monster in Space 33.
  • Ridiculously Human Robot: All three robots in the team are capable of feeling emotions, pain and dreaming. Balance even gets poisoned by Stinger's attack in Space 3!
  • Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Space 28. It might be the Kyutama at work, but all our heroes are proven to benefit from this after Team Tsurugi's time travel mission went tits up centuries ago. Confirmed in Space 30 when Lucky retrieves all our heroes except Shou and Champ and returns to the present, where Hammie clearly remembers them despite the present day having gone From Bad to Worse.
  • RPG Episode: Space 39, featuring Lucky, Spada, Stinger and Kotaro forming a party to track down another Kyutama. And to show off Yosuke Kishi's singing.
  • Rubber-Forehead Aliens: The other half of the background alien extras are people with props attached to them or have make-up. Some are full suits.
  • Running Gag: Every evolved Tsuyoindaver tends to wind up with an Overly Long Name. Which doesn't help much.
  • Scary Dogmatic Aliens: Anyone from Jark Matter could count, but there's also the matter of Naga's countrymen from the Ophiuchus system. When they learn that Naga is now expressing his repressed emotions, they send someone to eliminate him.
  • Second Episode Introduction: Stinger shows up at the very end of episode 2.
  • Serial Escalation: Most Sentai teams are fighting to save the Earth. The Kyurangers? They're fighting to save the universe. Also, in most Sentai series, the Evil Overlord ruling a planet with an iron fist would be the Big Bad. Here? They're ''Monsters of the Week''. The real big bad is the Evil Overlord of the entire universe. The fact that they come to Earth not too long after the start of the series, though, might mean that Toei hasn't strayed too far from the formula, although they do go on off-Earth adventures now and then.
  • Ship Tease: In #22, Spada flips out when he sees Tsurugi seemingly doing a Wall Pin of Love to Raptor; later on he claims that his concern was completely paternal.
  • Shirtless Scene: Tsurugi in Space 21 and Space 30.
  • Shout-Out: here.
  • Signature Style: Episode of Stinger features a Dark Action Girl and plenty of combat rolling with angled camera shots. If the first words you thought of were "Koichi Sakamoto" you're in the right place.
  • The Slow Path: Invoked first in Space 28. The Orion's mission to 300 years in the past failed, resulting in its wreckage having been left to rot for just that long by the time our heroes find it in the present. After the warrior Orion is prematurely killed, Shou stays behind to spread the legend of the Kyurangers in his stead, cyrogenically freezing himself once his work is done. Champ also stays behind to search for Doctor Anton and, being an unaging robot, lives through the whole time.
  • Solar and Lunar: The Hikari Kyutama, which Lucky can use for sun and moon power-up forms.
  • Space Cossacks: The titular rangers are a Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits who, like almost every inhabitant of the constellations, found themselves on the wrong end of the Jak Matter Shogunate's tyranny. Together, they jump from one planet to another stirring trouble and accomplishing strategic goals such as collecting the magical Kyutamas and destroying Moraimarz, planet-draining space drills.
  • Space Is Cold: In Space 1, when Lucky gets thrown into space by Jark Matter.
  • Space Opera: Super Sentai style. The series ticks off most of the requirement. From The Saving the World plot, the larger than life hero and heroines, the alien and exotic creatures, etc.
  • Spiritual Successor: In many ways, the series feels like one to Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger - the core team are all aliens, the series starts off with an invasion of Earth, the villains are evil empires, the team can all be compared to the Gokaigers in some waynote , the team all have bounties placed on their head, and the team gain an Earthling Sixth Ranger.
  • Spoiler Opening: The openings show a few clips from the episode, so they're bound to have a spoiler scene therein sometimes.
  • Start of Darkness: When revealing himself to be Don Armage, Kuervo explains he accepted to be possessed by Don Armage as he lay dying because he craved a power like the one Tsurugi had and he could never match.
  • Stock Ness Monster: Space 15 has one of the fake monster variety. Aside from being the Monster of the Week as well. To wit, it's a real monster masquerading as a fake monster based on an actual real monster...
  • Superpowered Evil Side: Naga gains one with the Dark Kyutama, becoming Hebitsukai Metal.
  • Villain Decay: Deathworms very quickly go from planet-devouring menaces to Elite Mooks.
  • Villain Forgot to Level Grind: Invoked in Space 25 when our heroes wind up facing solidified memories of some of their worst foes (and some Monsters of the Week to pad out the numbers). It's done and over with much faster, not because of time constraints, but because the villains as they were then can never beat the heroes as they are now.
  • Villain World: Jark Matter managed to conquer the entire universe.
  • Visual Pun: Impracticality aside, the way how the people in Orion send extra Kyutama to the Kyurangers on the field involve playing billiards in a pool, with the Kyutama being set to be hit by the other balls or the cue ball... or a kyu ball.
  • Wham Episode:
    • At the end of Space 16, Scorpio blew Champ into bits.
    • Space 22 reveals that Don Armage should have been dead a long time ago, as Houhou Soldier had personally slain him before going to sleep.
    • Space 29 reveals that Don Armage really is alive and survived Houou Soldier's attack in the past and first full physical appearance from under the hood had him shooting Lucky, gravely wounding him.
    • Space 30 manages to escalate things as Don Armage is apparently destroyed by ShishiRed Orion, and Shou and Champ get Put on a Bus while everyone else returns to the present - only to learn that not only has Naga joined the Co-Dragons, but Don Armage is still active.
    • Space 44 reveals that the true mastermind behind Jark Matter is Tsurugi's old friend, Kuervo.
    • In Space 46 the Kyurangers manage to take out Kuervo, but then Don Armage simply possesses Tsurugi before absorbing Shou Ronpo into his body, seemingly killing him. 47 escalates things even further with Tsurugi!Don Armage similarly absorbing all other Kyurangers save for Lucky.
  • Wham Shot: Space 28. The Orion's mission to travel back in time not only failed, but the Orion wreckage that our heroes see has been there for centuries.
    • Toward the end of Space 46, Don Armage possessing Tsurugi.
  • "What Do They Fear?" Episode: Downplayed in Space 41. While the Monster of the Week can make the Rangers see their fears, we can only see two of them (Tsurugi's Survivor Guilt and Lucky seeing that his father was Evil All Along). With Naga it's implied to involve Balance (likely replaying the events from when he was under Akyanba's control, except this time he goes through with destroying his buddy), while for Stinger it's implied to be killing Scorpio with his own hands.
  • "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Two years after the fall of Don Armage...
    • Lucky is continuing his travels through space with Garu at his side.
    • Balance and Naga have reformed the BN Thieves, dedicating themselves to salvaging treasures stolen by Jark Matter.
    • Champ has returned to the robot wrestling circuit, regaining his championship belt and going on to have a 99-win streak.
    • Hammie is attending a university to become a school teacher.
    • The Space Federation has been restored, with Tsurugi serving as President once again.
    • The Rebellion is still active, patrolling through space as the constellations rebuild. Shou has been promoted to Supreme Commander with Stinger installed as Commander, leading the patrol aboard the Battle Orion Ship with Raptor and Kotaro.
    • Spada has fulfilled his dream of opening a restaurant, named Grazie!, where all 12 Kyurangers reunite.
  • Written by the Winners: According to Tsurugi, Jark Matter has used their control to cover up everything that happened 300 years ago, including his own existence and Don Armage's death.
  • You Said You Would Let Them Go: Almost played straight but avoided in episode 20. Despite Scorpio saying he'll spare the Earth if they give him the final Kyutama to find the Argo, when the Kyurangers show up at the exchange site they call him out that they know he's full of it and isn't going to follow through on his word (which he admits is correct) and attack him without handing the Kyutama over first.
  • Zerg Rush: Don Armage use his army this way near the end. This is work surprisingly well

 
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Alternative Title(s): Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger, Kyuranger

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Garu's Bad Luck

Garu is not having the best of days. He is meant to be pressing a button to open the cell doors for a group of prisoners, but accidentally keeps dropping Lucky and Spada down trap doors. The third time, they both see it coming, only for Spada to get conked in the skull by a washtub out of nowhere, sending them back to the start again.

How well does it match the trope?

5 (8 votes)

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Main / DropTheWashtub

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