YMMV / Uchu Sentai Kyuranger

• Accidental Innuendo: When Champ was kidnapped DID-style in Space 39, he's referred to as the big, black cow princess.
• Adorkable:
  • Sasori's tough persona hides an awkward dork. Second half of the story (post Space 26) doesn't deny itself lighthearted pokes at him to show this.
    • He suggested making a welcome back party for Champ, made the team plushies and was completely shy in front of his friends. They even say he has a cute side.
    • He finally shares Champ's 1-2-3-MOO! with everyone in Space 39.
  • Raptor provides a stand out example in that her first reaction to both becoming a Kyuranger and calling her Voyager was fangirlish glee. Despite being made as an adult pilot and secretary, her personality is more like that of a little girl. Even during the mecha fight, her first instinct is to happily shout "I did it! I hit him!" when striking her target.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: Kukulga was either lying that he murdered Lucky's father Aslan or he was completely unaware that he was alive.
• Anti-Climax Boss: The final battle is a very slow Curb-Stomp Battle, made worse by the fact that Don Armage does NOTHING to retaliate against the Kyurangers. He just stands there and takes all of the attacks. The mech battle is no better. It's nothing more than a very long beam struggle.
• Awesome Ego: Houou Soldier has a gigantic ego, but he's also a One-Man Army and can back up his bragging big time.
• Awesome Music:
  • The show's opening theme, LUCKYSTAR, is an adventurous and futuristic tune with a tone that's optimistic even by Super Sentai standards. The lyrics seem to revolve around someone who wants to journey through the cosmos, most likely Lucky.
  • PSYCHIC LOVER IS BACK. Say The Kyuranger ~ Uchu o Torimodose is as amazing as all of their other works!
  • After almost a decade-long absence, Shinichi Ishihara makes a triumphant return to Super Sentai with Densetsu no Houou Soldier.
• Badass Decay:
  • Stinger, in the beginning, he had some of the coolest fighting scenes of the show, with skill, power and agility. Also, his poisonous attacks were a great source of damage. Nowadays, he's just around to be jobbed just like all the other Un-Lucky characters.
  • Madako gets a pretty rough one. She goes from being (alongside Ikagen) a genuine threat that killed Big Bear, to being alone against a battalion of Kyurangers (thanks to repeated defeats), and then finally gets reduced to fangirling over the Kyurangers. Her appearance AFTER that however...
• Broken Base: There is constant debate between fans as to whether Ryu Commander or Houou Soldier is the Sixth Ranger of the team (which continues to this day even after the series has ended). The debate was recently put to rest after Hiroshi Kamiya^note  Shou Ronpo's voice actor and Keisuke Minami^note Tsurugi Ohtori's actor have both gone on record during separate interviews declaring Houou Soldier as the sixth Ranger. Further solidified by the Twokaiser x Gokaiger crossover special, where Houou Soldier is among the post-Gokaiger Sixths on the add-on piece for Gokai Silver's Gokai Cellular.
• Complete Monster: In a series where the heroes must battle the evil empire who ruled the world, these villains prove that they're among the worst of them:
  • Kuervo/Quervo, the ex-best friend of Tsurugi Ohtori, supposedly died blocking an attack from Don Armage for Tsurugi. Secretly, Kuervo only sacrificed himself so he would be known as a hero throughout the universe. After Armage was apparently defeated, a dying Kuervo allowed Armage's essence to possess him so he could become more powerful. Unlike Armage's other hosts, Kuervo maintained his complete identity, allowing Armage to use him as a host to take over and subjugate the universe. Once they've conquered most of the universe, Kuervo and Armage began construction on a bomb made of Planetium, which Kuervo intended to use to destroy the entire universe so he could recreate it from scratch. After having Armage purged from him in his final battle with the Kyurangers, Kuervo is given a chance to redeem himself by Tsurugi, only for Kuervo to attempt one last attack on him, revealing that he never considered Tsurugi a true friend and was always resentful of Tsurugi for being more powerful than him.
  • Episode of Stinger V-Cinema: Thunderbird is the Daikaan of Earth who manipulated a village into lynching a half-alien girl named Mika Retsu so he could convince her to join Jark Matter. Though feigning care for her, Thunderbird views her as expendable and attempts to sacrifice her to kill the Kyurangers. After having her slaughter everyone in her village to prove herself to Jark Matter, Thunderbird "rewards" her by painfully mutating her with the power of Don Armage, leading her to beg Stinger to Mercy Kill her. After Mika fails to defeat Stinger, Thunderbird shows up to finish her off, coldly telling her she is no longer useful to him.
• Contested Sequel: Several fans has considered this to be an Even Better Sequel than its predecessor Dobutsu Sentai Zyuohger thanks to its premise. On the other hand, some fans consider this a step down from Zyuohger, in large part due to the focus on the Red and the impression that he is an Idiot Hero.
• Fan Nickname:
  • Dangerous Hammie: Hammie when she gets turned into a zombie in episode 13. Named after the Dangerous Zombie Gashat.
  • Scorpio Kick: Scorpio's finisher move, as it looks similar to a Rider Kick (especially Kiva's Rider Kick). Bonus points for having his actor being a former Rider himself.
  • Uchu Sentai Kyuranger: Civil War: The post-series V-Cinema special Uchu Sentai Kyuranger vs. Space Squad, which has the Kyurangers divided into two sides over whether or not to believe in Hammie after her supposedly going rogue.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The last series Yuki Kubota was in, Takatora was the one character that was not willing to even attempting to kill anyone, leaving most of the dirty work to his fellow Yggdrasill comrades^note Having Sid kill Hase instead of him, sparing Touka only for Ryoma to kill her, sparing Micchy which results in him being in coma for months... Heck, even Kouta and Zack, the two nicest Riders in Gaim, ended up resorting to attempting to kill Kaito once he became an Overlord in the final arc. This time, Scorpio was far more willing to murder anyone, including accepting Stinger's wishes for Scorpio to kill him only for Champ to sacrifice himself on episode 16.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • When Saban received promotional materials for the series that would be adapted into Power Rangers in Space, they saw a team fighting an alien empire in space, with space themed designs...but the sentai that they ended up getting, Denji Sentai Megaranger, was a video game and device themed sentai. If Saban had just waited 20 years...
    • Becomes even funnier when you realize that it'll be airing alongside the video game themed Kamen Rider Ex-Aid.
    • Madako's regeneration ability is reminiscent of Darkonda and his nine lives.
    • The dystopian distant future setting is also reminiscent of Power Rangers RPM^note Along with it being set in a parallel universe from the other hero teams[[/note[[.
  • Speaking of Kamen Rider, it seems that having constellation-themed powers isn't just for villains anymore.
    • Speaking of Fourze, Stinger's origin story borrows a godawful lot from that of Tatsugami Kou/Leo Horoscopes, with Shou Ronpou finding him on the streets and hurting people in an aimless fashion, and convincing him to seek purpose in a somewhat physical fashion.
  • Garu was actually once a blue dog for another series. His profile makes it sound like he is going to act like Lucky's Canine Companion makes it even more hilarious.
  • This isn't the first time we've had a lion ranger and a dragon ranger on the same team, nor is it the first time a lion has been on the same team as a chameleon.
  • Eridoron is yet another Sagittarius themed Toei villain. The first was the Big Bad of Kamen Rider Fourze and the second was the motif for Genis's ship in the previous show.
  • Lucky uses a Kyutama that makes a copy of himself and immediately springs back into action, working alongside the clone with no problems. While Emu's first use of Mighty Brothers XX immediately ran into problems. Maybe it's the luck rating.
  • So in Space 5 we learn of Scorpio, Stinger's brother and top assassin of Jark Matter. He sold his race and planet to Jark Matter. Then you realize his actor also played Takatora who also had sibling issues.
    • And then fans point out the hilarity of the scene. "WHY DID YOU BETRAY US?!"
  • Ninja Captor, a toku series created after Himitsu Sentai Gorenger, had seven people in their team for the start. One of the reasons why the show wasn't considered a (Super) Sentai series. Now we have this series.
  • A common complaint about Lucky early on was how often he used his catchphrase. Come episode 12, and Lucky uses the Gemini Kyutama to create over 500 clones of himself...who all say his catchphrase at the same time!
    • Also, one can't help but wonder how Tsurugi Ohtori's catchphrase will go over, considering how many times he used it in the first battle alone.
  • Episode 13 has quite a lot of people (including Hammy and Jark Matter monsters themselves) turned into zombies by Scorpio. Episode 13 of Kyuranger is aired alongside episode 30 of Ex-Aid, in which Kuroto Dan (Kamen Rider Genm) is revived in that episode. Given that Kuroto has zombie/undead-like powers as Genm Zombie Gamer Level X and he's quite a madman himself, naturally quite a lot people (jokingly) blamed Kuroto for this.
    • Also, the last series he was in, Scorpio was trying to stop an Eldritch Location capable of turning people into monster. This time around he's doing the turning.
  • One well-known Translation Train Wreck to come out of Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger had a monster with a whipping attack that was somehow translated as "Scorpion Penis". Guess which part of the infected Mondomuyoindaver stood out the most before his episode aired?
  • Space 17 debuts the Shining Kyutama, which has Solar and Lunar modes. It aired the same week as the announcement of Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
  • Space 18 features the Kyurangers entering a wormhole in order to team up with the Dekarangers. Dekaranger's cross-ocean counterparts did a wormhole-based teamup twelve years before they did. Similarly, placing the series in an Alternate Universe in order to avoid continuity issues surrounding the Earth being conquered was previously done by Power Rangers RPM (though not acknowledged as such in-series until Power Rangers Samurai).
  • Apparently, playing roles in the musical for The Prince of Tennis gets you the role of a red-colored hero in Toei Tokusatsu, since Yutaka Kobayashi/Kamen Rider Baron[[note]]who was almost Captain Marvelous, had he not turned down the role previously played Hajime, while Tsurugi Ohtori/Houou Soldier is played by Keisuke Minami, who played Kunimitsu from the same series.
  • The voice actor for Balance, Yuki Ono, previously voiced Taiga Kagami, whose last name and role as the titular character's best friend are the same as Gattack. Apparently, the producers took note of this when creating Houou Soldier, whose first name and choice of weapon, a sword, brings Sasword to mind, whereas his ego and color, red, are similar to that of Tendou.
  • The Star Wars influences were apparently noticed by Disney, since Star Wars is currently one of the sponsors for the show!
    • After Tsurugi's shirtless scenes became a Running Gag, a certain other black-and-red-themed swordsman had a highly memetic Shirtless Scene of his own.
  • Continuing the trend of Pretty Cure voice actresses voicing Sentai villains, Eri Kitamura will be voicing a Sentai villain who is themed after what Miki is afraid of: an octopus.
  • Previously in Bakemonogatari, the character voiced by Eri Kitamura (Karen Araragi) referenced Dekamaster's catchphrase while talking with the character voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya (Koyomi Araragi). Now, not only did Hiroshi Kamiya's character here (Shou Ronpou) interact with DekaMaster himself here, a character voiced by Eri Kitamura also appeared in the same episode as the main villain!
  • Gorenger and JAKQ was aired on TV on an episode of Doraemon. Which character from Doraemon is in the series? Here are some clues, he's the big bully of the gang and sings horribly.
• Ho Yay:
  • The BN Thieves are practically close together that the fans often make the two love each other.
  • Then there's Lucky and Garu. While the series tries to portray them as having an A Boy and his Dog dynamic, it gets complicated by the fact that the "dog" in this case is an intelligent humanoid alien. Thus Garu's Undying Loyalty^note To the point where his official character profile has several entries along the lines of "I like whatever Lucky likes" and "Lucky's dream is my dream" and displays of affection towards Lucky verge on this territory, especially in the eyes of the Western Furry Fandom. When Kyuranger vs. Space Squad came along and showed Garu with a wife and child, they were not happy.
  • Stinger and Champ are often placed together due to their story arc, and there's this◊ picture from the twitter of Stinger's actor. Some joke that Stinger and Champ are a married couple with Kotaro being their adopted son. Stinger's musical number during his "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight with Champ in Space 39 has only fanned the flames.
• I Knew It!:
  • Several fans have correctly predicted that Shou Ronpo would be a Violet Ranger, based on his skin color and toyetic staff.
  • Same goes for Kotaro becoming Skyblue. Toei did little to hide it.
• Iron Woobie:
  • Pun notwithstanding, Champ is a Large Ham Boisterous Bruiser who raises his teammates spirits with his passionate speeches and belief in Justice. He also is like that because his creator and father figure was fatally poisoned and died before his eyes, but not before he begged Champ to save the universe from the grip of Jark Matter.
  • Garu's had to witness his entire race die, with the exception of him, left all alone. For a while, he's unwilling to fight what seems like an unstoppable empire, until Lucky restores his will and helps him get up to fight, even if he has none of his Wolfman companions left.
  • A minor case with Balance, who's just learning that finding a friend in Naga, as well as his conscience, is ultimately causing him the most grief he's ever been through in his 300 years, after losing Naga to Jark Matter, but 300 years of being eternally upbeat means there's very little to prevent him from just getting back up again. You're never gonna keep him down.
• Memetic Mutation: See this page for examples.
• Moral Event Horizon: See examples here.
• Narm:
  • The Kyutama dance is hard to take seriously when it's literally a pelvic thrust. From Episode 12 onwards, the pelvic thrust is replaced with some arm-pumping motions.
  • In the final episode, when the Kyurangers are doing their out-of-suit roll call, Spada's voice cracks when he yells "Kajiki Yellow!".
• Narm Charm: The editing of the ending sequence makes everyone look incredibly goofy, but the song is so damn catchy and fitting to the goofy visuals that it becomes really fun to watch.
• Older Than They Think:
  • While this is the first time Sentai has used a Space theme, the idea of a space-themed sentai was actually proposed as early as 1985 - as noted on the Trivia page for Dengeki Sentai Changeman, the original plan for that series was to have it be called Uchu Sentai Cosmoman and have it be themed around space exploration. Additionally, Power Rangers beat Sentai to the punch when they adapted Denji Sentai Megaranger.
  • A nine-member team might seem like a bit much, but it wasn't in 1964.
• Popular with Furries: While Super Sentai is no stranger to anthropomorphic or animal-themed characters, this one has quite the kemono/furry/scalie following thanks to Garu and Shou Ronpo. A good-looking bipedal wolf being from the Lupus System and a draconic alien commander that's also rather good-looking.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Lucky started off extremely unpopular because he was seen as an example of the worst kind of Sentai Reds: a cheerful idiot whose only skills seemed to be unfathomably good luck and the ability to bellow his Catchphrase at the top of his lungs several times per episode. However, Episodes 11 and 12 put him through the wringer and delved into his backstory, making him more sympathetic and showing that he's something of a Stepford Smiler. After this arc Lucky's character evolved, keeping his optimism but dialing down his worse traits (like doing away with his Idiot Hero characterization) in favor of better traits like nobility and Undying Loyalty to the team.
• Slow-Paced Beginning: The beginning arc involves a ton of Lucky-centric episodes and were set on Earth, having people convinced that Lucky would be a member of the Spotlight-Stealing Squad and that, despite the name, the Sentai would take place mostly on Earth. This turned off some people, though it managed to remedy itself by spreading the focus to the other characters in later episodes and having adventures take place on planets other than Earth.
• Special Effects Failure: The Pega-San prop is made of such cheap foam that it was already starting to fall apart after its first fight scene. This is probably why Pega-San hasn't been seen since his debut, save for archive footage in episode 27 and a triumphant return in episode 44.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Since his introduction in episode 1, Garu is established as the last of his kind, a race driven to extinction by Jark Matter. This could’ve set up some serious character mythos and development along the line. However, this ends up lasting all but one episode, as Lucky helps him get over his grief and motivates him to fight. For the rest of the season, Garu gets no development and his only focus episode since the premier is about him sadden that he’s yet to get his turn in the Kyutama Roulette. His only defining characteristic is his friendship with Lucky, earning him the fan nickname “Lucky’s Lapdog”.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The season barely takes advantage of its space opera setting. By episode 6, they already arrive on Earth and the season takes place predominantly on the planet. Even when they do go to other planets, they make no attempt to create the illusion that they're alien worlds. There are no built sets, no props laying around, not even a color palette change. It's just quarries, forests, beaches and downtown Tokyo, made worse by the fact that Toei reuses the same locations every season.
• Unfortunate Character Design: Mondomuyoindaver, the Daikan of the Week in Space 13, has a very... unfortunately placed purple-colored appendage.
• The Woobie: Stinger had it rough. He is the lone survivor of an attack on his people. Said attack was lead by his older brother that he loved and admired greatly, which left Stinger roaming the universe angry and confused. After coming face to face with Scorpio in Space 15, Scorpio tells Stinger that he was going to kill Don Armage so that he can save the universe. Wanting to believe that his brother is a good person, Stinger reveals the Kyuranger's plan to find the pieces of the Argo so that they will be strong enough to defeat Jark Matter. Once Stinger had spilt the beans, Scorpio attacked him revealing that he wants to kill Don Armage so that he will become Shogun and rule the universe, even going so far as to say he has no problem with killing his own brother if necessary. Scorpio even goes as far as to mock Stinger for being easy for him to manuipulate and betray. Heartbroken Stinger asks his brother to kill him feeling that he has nothing left to lose. However, Champ intervenes and takes the final blow for Stinger. When Stinger asks the dying Champ why he would sacrifice himself for him, Champ says that Stinger dose have something to live for and encourages his partner to fight on. The way Stinger cries out in emotional pain makes you want to reach through your screen and hug the guy.