History Series / NinjaSentaiKakuranger

''Ninja Sentai Kakuranger'' (Ninja Squadron Kakuranger[[note]]Kakuranger is a portmanteau of ''Kakure'', which means "hidden", and Ranger[[/note]]) is the eighteenth installment in the ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' franchise, airing from 1994 to 1995. The TitleThemeTune was performed by Takashi Tsushimi.

''Ninja Sentai Kakuranger'' (Ninja Squadron Kakuranger[[note]]Kakuranger is a portmanteau of ''Kakure'', which means "hidden", and Ranger[[/note]]) is the eighteenth installment in the ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' franchise, airing from 1994 to 1995.

** The line [[MemeticMutation Today is]] [[BeamMeUpScotty Fine Day]] [[MemeticMutation in California]] is a reference to ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', which takes place in [[NoCommunitiesWereHarmed Angel Grove]], a town in California.

** The wolf for Saizō's HumongousMecha.

* AnimalMotifs: The wolf is the basis for Saizō's HumongousMecha.

* ShoutOut: When the Kappa is brought back to life as a cyborg he has [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam the legs of a Zaku and the right arm of a Zakrello]].

%%** Saizō: [[KillItWithWater Blue Shot]]. As Blue Rogan, he gets the [[BladeOnAStick Rogan Shaft]].

%%*** Samuraiman: [[BladeOnAStick Samurai Javelin]]

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: The Kakurangers are this ''in spades''. To boot, we have a highly-trained ninja who just so happens to be a [[spoiler: [[BlueBlood wealthy heiress]]]], a HotBlooded, childish [[TheSlacker slacker]], a bumbling fool who's [[FriendToAllChildren great with kids]], a ButtMonkey who's a notorious BigEater, and a FunnyForeigner whose badassery is tempered by his bad Japanese (but don't worry though, his [[SurprisinglyGoodEnglish English is amazing]]). Then they get joined by a VoluntaryShapeshifting robot ninja/samurai who was stuck in a blue vase for around 1000 years. They somehow still manage to work together to defeat and seal away the Youkai Army Corps and run a crepe shop, though it wasn't without its difficulties in the beginning.

* TheStoic: Jiraiya doesn't talk much since [[SurprisinglyGoodEnglish "He can't speak Japanese!"]] (He gets better later on).
* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Jiraiya is played by American-born Kane Kosugi who was not exactly bilingual in Japanese. His debut episode has him speaking many of his lines in his native English. This is even evident in the team's roll call where he pronounces "Ninja Black" in an American accent (specifically, in a Californian accent).

-->''"Hiding from people and slashing evil! Ninja Sentai! Kakuranger, revealed!"''

* FunnyForeigner: Jiraiya combines being this and a badass. {{Justified}} as how his actor didn't really know Japanese in the beginning and had to learn throughout filming of the show.
* FunWithSubtitles: The subtitles that name the Youkai will ''always'' be accompanied by an arrow pointing towards the Youkai. "This guy" -->, because ''clearly there is a possibility that they will be mistaken for someone else''.

* HeroicLineage: The modern Kakurangers are descendents of the originals, some 24 generations down the line (in Tsuruhime's case). The modern ones all get to meet their ancestors when they get their Doron Changers - and we find out that the ancestors aren't exactly thrilled with how their descendants turned out.

* KnightOfCerebus: Young Noble Junior. While the show still maintains plenty of comedy, and Junior has his quirks and silliness (just watch him jam out on his "guitar"), it's with his appearance that things begin to take a more serious turn. Junior's Youkai prove to be more formidable than those previously encountered, he displays a serious streak of ruthlessness, and his schemes see the Kakurangers come close to defeat on a few occasions. And when the Kakurangers try to directly confront him, he's absolutely no slouch in battle (as Jiraiya and Sasuke both learn the hard way). While the show would still maintain plenty of comedy, even after Junior's arrival [[spoiler: and eventual defeat]], his time on the show certainly represented a slant in a more serious direction.

* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: "Super Sentai World," which stars the Kakurangers and all-four of the previous Super Sentai.

* NewPowersAsThePlotDemands: Second only to Magiranger in this, especially in the early episodes. Most any hopeless situation will be quickly resolved with an all new ninjutsu technique.
* NeverSayDie: You can probably count on one hand the number of times the Youkai directly say they're going to kill someone. They're usually content just to send someone to hell, or defeat them, etc. (Justified on a meta level by how they themselves don't necessarily 'die'.)

* PerpetualPoverty: Averted. They're hardly middle-class, but working a crepe stand through Nekomaru apparently provides enough money for five adults to survive day-to-day on. The key word there being 'survive', as Saizo buying a Kei-car or Seikai selling off a change of their clothes at a flea market is a clear source of concern for them.
** Outright discussed and justified by The Narrator at one point, who notes that as a traveling band of Youkai hunters, they can't just stop and work normal jobs for money.

* {{Portmantitle}}: ''Kakuranger'' is a combination of ''kakure'' (the Japanese word for "hiding") and ''renja'' ("ranger"). For an extra layer, throw in that ''kaku'' is what you call the angles in a polygon in Japanese, which explains the symbols each of the heroes have on their headbands.

* StockNinjaWeaponry: Shuriken show up, wielded by all of the rangers. Most are of them are small. Each ranger has unique shuriken which resemble their ranger symbol. [=NinjaRed=] also has a FuumaShuriken, with his first HumongousMecha wielding a bigger version (it can double as a shield) that it rolls at enemies to kill them. The rangers also use {{Caltrops}} on a few occasions. Each of them has a wakizashi in Ranger form, and finally [=NinjaRed=]'s third Humongous Mecha wields a pair of ninja-to.

* TokenGoodTeammate: EXTREMELY downplayed in the case of Karakasa, a late season youkai who had a personality more befitting that of those early in the season, evil but more comic relief than most of the late season youkai. Played straight with Oboroguruma who just wanted to be a cab driver. If people would have treated him fairly, he wouldn't have snapped and the Kakurangers wouldn't have had to intervene.

* WanderingTheEarth: Unlike most ''Super Sentai'' where the battles take place in a CityOfAdventure, the Kakuranger actually travel across ''all of Japan'', finding and stopping Youkai.

* {{Youkai}}: The villains are all these. Every major one of them, sans Yugami and the Flower Kunoichi Gang, refers to a creature of Japanese myth.

* BoundAndGagged: Happens ''oh so many times'' to the heroes, sometimes with the gag too. Daimaou's Youkai Gang is a rather kinky group. Sasuke ''always'' avoids this, because he's based on the guy who's never caught: [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Sun Wukong]], and [[LawOfChromaticSuperiority he's the red one.]]

%%** Seikai: [[WolverineClaws Yellow Claw]]

* WorstNewsJudgmentEver: Mokumokuren and Nurikabe's purchasing expensive jewelry with ''potatoes'' temporarily turned into cash, makes the paper. However, the show takes it a few steps further, by making it Jiraiya's ''English-language'' newspaper[[note]]AluminumChristmasTrees is at work here - foreign newspapers aren't difficult to find in Tokyo[[/note]] and putting the article in the world news section.

* WeaponOfChoice
** KatanasAreJustBetter: The Kakuremarus, the first use of katanas as sidearms.
** SwissArmyWeapon: The Kakulasers, the other sidearm.[[note]]Gun and Dagger Modes.[[/note]]
** PowerFist: The Shinobi Knuckles, the Rangers' weapons are attachments to them. As the [=JuuShou=], they get better versions of these weapons.
** ImprobableWeaponUser: The Kakurangers later gain the Kakuranger Ball, a mighty football to finish off Yōkai with. [[ShoutOut Now where have I]] [[Series/HimitsuSentaiGoranger heard that one before?]]
** FlamingSword: Muteki Shogun allows Sasuke to use the Blazing Shogun Sword in ep. 20, when he was outnumbered and at a significant disadvantage besides.
** Sasuke: [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe Red]] [[PrecisionGuidedBoomerang Sli]][[FuumaShuriken cer]]. Later, he gains the [[CoolSword Hikarimaru]].
** Tsuruhime: [[DeviousDaggers White Beak]]
** Saizō: [[KillItWithWater Blue Shot]]. As Blue Rogan, he gets the [[BladeOnAStick Rogan Shaft]].
** Seikai: [[WolverineClaws Yellow Claw]]
** Jiraiya: [[TheStraightAndArrowPath Black Bow]]
** Ninjaman: [[KatanasAreJustBetter Ninja Sword]]
*** Samuraiman: [[BladeOnAStick Samurai Javelin]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/release_kakure_9709.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"Kakuranger! Ninja! Ninja!"]]

** SwissArmyWeapon: The Kakulasers, the other sidearm.[[note]][[CoolGuns/{{Handguns}} Gun]] and Dagger Modes.[[/note]]

* {{Portmantitle}}: ''Kakuranger'' is a combination of ''kakure'' (the Japanese word for "hiding") and ''renja'' ("ranger").

--> '''(YOU CALLED ME) BLUE SQUIRT???!!! EXPLOSION OF ANGER!!!'''

** Tsuruhime: White Beak

** SwissArmyWeapon: The Kakulasers, the other sidearm.[[note]][[CoolGuns/{{Handguns}} Gun]] and [[KnifeNut Dagger]] Modes.[[/note]]

** Tsuruhime: [[KnifeNut White Beak]]

* BornUnlucky: Poor Saizou. Whether it's getting duped (along with Sasuke) into opening the Seal Door, getting his car and clothes sliced apart (with a kid photographing the whole incident), he and Seikai getting turned into kappas, or getting a "Great Curse" out of a fortune cookie, it seems the world has it out for him, especially whenever he's the focus character.

* BornUnlucky: Poor Saizou. Whether it's getting duped (along with Sasuke) into opening the Seal Door, getting his car and clothes sliced apart (and having a kid photograph the whole thing), he and Seikai getting turned into kappas, or getting a "Great Curse" out of a fortune cookie, it seems the world has it out for him, especially whenever he's the focus character.

* BornUnlucky: Poor Saizou. Whether it's getting duped (along with Sasuke) into opening the Seal Door, getting his car (and clothes) sliced apart, he and Seikai getting turned into kappas, or getting a "Great Curse" out of a fortune cookie, it seems the world has it out for him, especially whenever he's the focus character.