YMMV / Samurai Sentai Shinkenger

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Takeru can be very cold and uncaring early in the series, especially in episode 2 where he told the others to leave behind an injured Kotoha, but was it him truly not caring what happened to the others or was it a wake-up call for them to take their duty seriously? This gets further muddled as the series goes on, culminating in the reveal that he's a Body Double for Kaoru, the true 18th head of the Shiba Clan. How much of his personality was actually his own and how much of it was an act so that they wouldn't get attached to him when Kaoru returned?
  • Was the Nanashi really faking his kindness towards Genta and his Heel-Face Turn in the Special Episode, or did he actually commit Suicide by Cop?
• Award Snub: Alongside Kamen Rider Double (which aired together with Shinkenger for some time no less), it was nominated for the 2011 Seiun Award, but lost to District 9.
• Awesome Music:
  • The show's theme song is a rockin' tune mixed perfectly well with the Japanese tone that Shinkenger establishes.
  • The henshin theme, which is a remixed traditional Japanese tune. Starts with the henshin call, "Ippitsu Soujou!".
  • The Gedoshu Sanzu River Shamisen theme, perfectly setting the mood for the scenes on the Junk.
  • "Samurai Gattai ShinkenOh", the theme song for the eponymous Humongous Mecha, has to be one of, if not the, catchiest mecha theme songs in the history of Super Sentai.
  • Don't pick a fight with the Samurai, especially when Tatakae! Shinkenger is at work.
  • Genta has his own theme song, aptly named Ikkan Kenjou! Shinken Gold. Not highly upbeat but it fits his character well, mainly because a good part of the lyrics is lots of vocabularies directly related to him^note "Electronic Mojikara", "Ikkan Kenjo", "The Clap of Victory",..., and it was especially cool while playing during his first battle in Act 17.
  • And the grandly Hot-Blooded theme song of SamuraiHaOh: "The Ultimate SamuraiHaOh Descends!". Give it a go here. ^Warning Audiences may be subjected to godly levels of heat, shouting and epicness.
    "Unfazed by fist(blow)s, he swings the sword with great skill.
    The absolute grandiose (icon of) invincibility!
    ZEN SAMURAI GATTAI!"
  • For whenever someone is at the utmost seriousness: "Bushido Icchokusen", a.k.a: "that little tune".
  • How about ShinkenRed kicking Nanashi ass right on Act 1, to the tune of the main theme? Granted, it was a kind of a replacement to the standard opening sequence (maybe because the other four core Shinkengers were still about to be introduced), but it still looked and sounded cool like heck.
  • The ending theme to Shinkenger VS Go-onger: "Samurai First Rap ~Ginmaku BANG!!~", basically the Shinkenger version of Go-onger's Dancing Theme ending. What adds to the music is all six Shinkengers dancing in the ending credits. It's slightly surreal, to say the least; especially Takeru dancing.
  • Then there's To e! Shinkenger which plays whenever one of the Shinkengers is about to kick some serious ass.
• Complete Monster:
  • Sujigarano Akumaro stands out among the Gedōshū as one of the darkest threats to humanity. Using his own Ayakashi to spread misery at several locations, going so far as to kill them for his own ends, Akumaro plans to rip open a portal to Hell, which would destroy both Earth and the Sanzu River, just so he can enjoy human suffering. To achieve this goal, Akumaro murdered Fuwa Juzo's parents and created his sword Uramasa from their souls, cruelly revealing this to Juzo in an attempt to make him open the portal to Hell.
  • The aformentioned Fuwa Juzo is a remorseless Gedōshū who hides his monstrous personality under a friendly façade. In the past, Juzo was a bloodthirsty swordsman, willingly becoming a Gedōshū to continue killing when he fell ill. Becoming fixated on Takeru Shiba as his desired opponent, Juzo betrays his master Dokoku to keep Takeru alive so they can battle one another. When Akumaro reveals that his sword was created from the souls of his parents, Juzo revealed that he already knew and didn't care and attacks Akumaro. Juzo then opens the gates to Hell, uncaring of the destruction this would cause, forces a tired and injured Takeru to battle him, and attempts to goad him into becoming a Gedōshū so their battle can continue forever.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Kaoru doesn't appear until near the end of the series, but she's popular for being the first female red in Sentai. Not to mention subverting every trope of the Replacement Scrappy by being a genuine good person and a Reasonable Authority Figure, who understands that the other Shinkengers have trouble with her replacing Takeru.
• Fan-Preferred Couple:
  • Takeru and Mako. There were some episodes where Mako conversed with Takeru about things and helped him out (such as the episode visiting the island full of brainwashed people), and ALSO the episode where Mako posed as a bride for Takeru. But otherwise, Mako pretty much treats him like either a Lord or her being the Cool Big Sis figure. Of course, since when did that stop the shippers?
  • And not to mention there's JUST as much of fans that prefer the Takeru and Kotoha pair, because of just how... dedicated Kotoha is to Takeru, and how Takeru seemed to either appreciate her presence, 'borrows' her Shinkenmaru a lot if he needs a spare, and he once played butler to her. Again, since when did this stop the shippers?
  • And compounding that... are the Mako-Kotoha shippers. Let's also not forget how the guys act around Takeru as well, from Ryuunosuke's utter devotion to Chiaki's Tsundere-ness and Genta's Childhood Friend Romance appeal... Y'know what, just let the Ship-to-Ship Combat begin...
• Harsher in Hindsight: The Sanzu River flooding into Japan in Act 48 after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • In the first Act, Ryunosuke mistook Mako as his lord saying "I had no idea you were a lady, my lord!" While Ryunosuke was wrong about Mako, we skip ahead to Act 44 when it is revealed that Takeru is a stand-in and that the real lord, Shiba Kaoru, is a lady!
  • Two Kamen Rider Decade movies would use the phrase "ika (squid) de beer" as a pun for the Showa-era MotW IkaDevil. What are Dokoku and Shitari best known for? One's a squid and one's an alcoholic, of course. This point would get hammered home in the Shinkenger V-Cinema as Dokoku and Shitari's voice actors appear in person, holding a sake cup and dried squid respectively.
  • It's debatable whether this goes into Harsher or Hilarious but here goes: In episode 40 "The Sent Words", Kotoha thinks she's a substitute for her older sister until Hikoma points out the word "substitute" was never mentioned and that her sister and him thought she was the true and only Shiken Yellow. The 'Hilarious in Hindsight' part comes a little over a year later when Luka becomes Shinken Yellow. 'Harsher' comes in when you realize/remember how Luka got the Shinken Yellow power, but 'Hilarious' returns because Gokaiger's finale and the Super Hero Taisen film (Super Sentai with Kamen Rider) make it obvious that Kotoha got her powers back, making Luka Kotoha's substitute.
  • Remember episode two when Ryunosuke/Shinken Blue tried to combine the Origami into a combined mecha by stacking them on top of each other? Well, guess how the Zyuohgers combine their Cube Animals into a combined mecha? And then consider how Kotoha mentioned that their gattai looks like an oden skewer, when the Zyuoh King completes its transformation by having a spear skewer the cubes!
  • The Bolinoak Sammahn mobile suit from Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam was given the Fan Nickname "Mori No Kuma-san" (forest bear) because of its odd name and vaguely ursine appearance. The Kuma Origami fits that nickname better.
  • One memorable scene of Genta was him saying "Kamen Rider?! What the heck is that?!" Over a decade later, his actor would return to tokusatsu in Kamen Rider Saber and become a Rider himself!
• It Was His Sled: Being a huge twist near the end of the series, the existence of another Shinken Red is pretty common knowledge.
• Launcher of a Thousand Ships:
  • Takeru must be the Lord of Black Dresses here. He has unique relationships with all his servants, which is very much Shipping fuel, not to mention quite a bit of tension with Juuzou.
  • The entire cast is shippable, even if not with every single character. Observe this excerpt from TV-Nihon forums.
    User A: "...every 2 episodes it seems like everyone's being paired with someone else."
    User B: "Now it's Ryunosuke X Chiaki. What's next? Hikoma X Kuroko?"
• Les Yay: Mako's Onee-sama tendencies are interpreted by some as Ship Tease with Kotoha.
• Memetic Badass: Takeru Shiba.
• Memetic Mutation: See this page for examples.
• Moe: Kotoha
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • In Act 34, the Nanashi attack an elementary school, kidnap the kids that study there, and then they are tricked into piling rocks under the promise that, if the pile is high enough, the children will be allowed to see their parents again. As if that wasn't enough, Akumaro puts some Nanashi there with the little kiddies just to knock their rock piles down over and over again (if you read it all attentively, you'll see that this last part doesn't fall under Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking). Yep, Akumaro's that brand of dick. It gets "better" - the scene is a re-enactment of the afterlife in Japanese folklore. Specifically, the punishment given to stillborn children in purgatory. And you thought it couldn't get worse.
  • Any hopes of Juzo's redemption gets slashed when he made it clear that even if his the souls of his family sealed in Uramasa want him to stop being a Blood Knight, he doesn't give a shit - all he wants to do is kill with Uramasa!
• Narm: SamuraiHaoh's Daishinken Daikaiten Giri in Act 41, which is likened to a brick spinning in mid-air thanks to its terribly massive size.
• Nightmare Fuel: Has its own page.
• Older Than They Think: Power Rangers S.P.D. had a female red ranger four years before Shinkenger.
• One-Scene Wonder: Richard Brown's role is just one of the most surprising part to Americans who watched Super Sentai. This video proves it even more that just one part of the music video makes him one of the most commented character.
• Replacement Scrappy: Initial thoughts on Kaoru were mixed due to seemingly coming out of nowhere and replacing Takeru. Other aspects of her character from her debut like the fact that seemingly needed the Kuroko to draw her sword for her made it difficult to like her. It was very likely intentional so that the audience would be just as reluctant to accept her as the other Shinkengers.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap:
  • Early impressions of Ryuunosuke just kinda irritate people off. He develops from it and now, people are okay with him.
  • Kaoru. Her replacing Takeru and bringing in the very abrasive Tanba with her, made her initial reception mixed. Opinions began to shift when she starts punishing Tanba for his actions and remarks. Later episodes showing her realize how much her appearance has actually been hurting their cause and reinstating Takeru as the Shiba head had completely won over anyone else put off by her debut. As such, fans were quite happy when she returned in Gokaiger and Go-Busters.
  • The final three Acts soften Tanba up enough to make him more of a Jerkass Butt-Monkey rather than a complete Jerkass, at least for some. There's also the finale where he finally acknowledges Takeru as a true lord and gives him Kaoru's sealing character disc and a mojikara disc he made on his own, a disc that allows Takeru to dual wield his signature BFS, the Rekka Daizanto.
• The Scrappy: Tanba. At least Kaoru's rescue from the heap was successful as she was welcomed warmly when she returned in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger and has had some fan following on her own. Tanba reverts back to his Jerkass persona and throws himself back in. In his defense though, he lightened up with Takeru's generation because he grew to respect them. The Gokaigers are nothing more than pirates that just took the Shinkenger's power, defaming generations of Shinkengers.
• Ship-to-Ship Combat: Takeru/Mako shippers and Chiaki/Kotoha shippers versus Takeru/Kotoha shippers. Plagued many forums; reached its zenith around Act 39.
• Shocking Moments:
  • Actually takes place during episode 24 of Kamen Rider Decade, the ''Decade''/''Shinkenger'' crossover. Chinomanako, the Monster of the Week, steals Kaito's Diendriver. His contact with device not only gives him a powerful new weapon to use, but also removes his Power Limiter. The true Shocking Moment, though, is he when uses the Diendriver to transform into a monstrous version of Kamen Rider Diend and then summons a mob of Nanashi from the gaps in his Rider armor. HOLY SHIT!
  • A subtle but effective one in Act 25: Playing the Jidaigeki elements completely straight has the effect of turning Dayu's origin story into an outright period tragedy.
  • In Act 40, Dokoku actually getting off his ass after 40 episodes of doing nothing. That alone would qualify as Oh, Crap! but this goes straight into Shocking Moments when he gives Akumaro and the Shinkengers the beating of their lives and fixes Dayu's Shamisen all while drying up to the point where he nearly becomes a statue.
  • Act 42: The entirety of Akumaro's Evil Plan to create Hell on Earth. The episode ends with the sites on which Shinkengers fought the Ayakashi commanded by Akumaro being nuked and the Shinkengers caught in the blast.
  • Act 43: Juzo appears to go along with Akumaro's plan, but at the last second, he turns and reverse-blade slashes Akumaro, then shatters the breaking point bewteen Earth and Hell, denying forever the one thing Akumaro has ever wanted. And the reason why his entire Evil Plan failed? Because he cares more about killing people than about Akumaro's Hell on Earth or the soul of his former lover.
  • If what Dayu pulls at the end of Act 47 doesn't double the HSQ for the entire series...
    • Forget Dayu. Uramasa stabbing Juzo in the foot, taking the form of his former lover, and then erupting into flames not only qualifies as a Shocking Moment, but as one of the most spectacular deaths of any Sentai villain.
  • And Act 48 beats all of the above with the Rokumon Junk sailing out of a crevice as the Sanzu River floods Japan.
• Spiritual Adaptation: At its most basic core, it's a Live Action adaptation of Ronin Warriors.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: During the Decade crossover, Chinomako steals the Diendriver, and becomes a monstrous version of Diend. However, doing so results in him giving up his second life, and by extension, the chance for Shinken-Oh vs Giant Kamen Rider. Interestingly enough, Toei themselves seem to realize this, since in the next two crossovers, they had monsters from the Kamen Rider series grow giant-sized and fight the Sentai team's robo.
• What Do You Mean, It's for Kids?: The series can get pretty high-octane with its mythos and overall themes, rarely shying away from implied violence and death (hell, going so far as to show the death of Takeru's father) and being pretty straightforward when it comes to the implications of the villains' plans (such as Akumaro's plan to unleash Hell on Earth).
• The Woobie: Kotoha.
• Woolseyism: Some of of Shinkenger's naming conventions and puns don't translate well into English, so Over-Time's subs substitute those names for these. Expect to see both versions used by editors.
  • Gedoshu = Corrupt Ones
  • Ayakashi = Wraiths
  • Mojikara = Scriptomancy

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