is a Japanese television tokusatsu series broadcast by TV Asahi. The series is the seventeenth installment of Super Sentai. Directed by Yoshiaki Kobayashi, Taro Sakamoto, Takeshi Ogasawara and Katsuya Watanabe, it stars Keiichi Wada, Tatsuya Nōmi, Ei Hamura, Keisuke Tsuchiya, Natsuki Takahashi, Hisashi Sakai, Koji Naka, Rintaro Nishi, Maroshi Tamura and Akiko Amamatsuri. It aired from February 19, 1993 to February 11, 1994, replacing Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger and was replaced by Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. Toei gave this series the name Star Rangers for international distribution.
Elements from Dairanger were adapted into the second season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, specifically the action sequences between the giant robots (which became the Power Rangers' Thunderzords) and some of the monsters. None of the Dairanger costumes were used in Power Rangers, except Kiba Ranger, which was adapted into the White Ranger's costume for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for the remainder of Season 2 and throughout Season 3, while the suits from the previous season, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger were instead used for the other Rangers in that show (the end credits listed the show as titled Dai Rangers). Although the Aura Changer was adapted as the Magna Morpher in “Power Rangers Lost Galaxy”, the core Dairanger costumes in the footage were not used in Power Rangers until Power Rangers Super Megaforce.
In July 2015, Shout! Factory announced that they would release "Gosei Sentai Dairanger: The Complete Series" on DVD in North America. On November 10, 2015, Dairanger was released on DVD in North America. This is the second Super Sentai series to be released in North America. In addition on May 23, 2016, Shout! streamed the series on their website.
Story Eight thousand years ago, the , also known as the , flourished in Southern China. The empire consisted of three separate tribes: the Dai, the (the ancestors of today's humanity) and the Gorma (the military tribe); which lived in harmony. However, one day, the Gorma Tribe decided to take over the Daos Empire and the world, beginning the war between the Gorma and Dai tribes. The war between the Gorma, led by the Gorma Triumvarate, and the Dai continued for 5,000 years until the Mythical Qi Beasts appeared to oppose the Gorma, whose qi powers had increased to the point that they could turn themselves into monsters. Five Dai warriors' Qi-Powers had increased to the point where they could control the Mythical Qi Beasts. The war ended with the disappearance of both the Dai and Gorma tribes and the Shura scattered around the world. In the present day, the Gorma Tribe, one of the Daos' two missing branches, arose to take over the world. To counter them, Master Kaku assembled a team of five youths with high levels of qi, who became the Dairangers.
Characters
Dairangers
The eponymous Dairangers are human practitioners of Chinese martial arts who possess high levels of against the Gorma Tribe. As a group, the primary members perform the finisher by gathering their qi and firing it towards the enemy. After their final battle, the Dairangers separated, with the last scene of the series showing them fifty years in the future in which their grandchildren follow the Dairangers' legacy and fight against the last remnants of the Gorma Tribe.
Ryo is the team leader who is the son of Choryo and a human woman. Initially, he was completely unaware of his Dai heritage as his mother died prior to the series' beginning leaving him to raise his younger sister, Yōko, by himself. He aspires to become the best gyoza cook in Japan and works in Yokohama Chinatown. Ryo became a Dairanger after he was captured by Baron String, only to be saved by the Mythical Qi Beast RyuseiOh and taken to Master Kaku. Ryo deeply trusts his teammates.
As the red-colored , Ryo specializes in Dragon Kung Fu with the power to control fire and lightning. His signature attack is the .
Daigo is the second-in-command who is the gentlest and most serious member of the team. He works at a pet shop and becomes romantically involved with Kujaku. Daigo was recruited as a Dairanger after Kaku discovered his qi connection with Kujaku.
As the green-colored , Daigo specializes in Hung Ga Kuen with the power to cast illusions. His signature attack is the .
Shoji is a former delinquent who dreams of becoming a world boxing champion after reforming from his past as a member of a violent street gang. He has a strong sense of fair play and competitiveness, only applicable with Kazu. He is strong, balanced, playful and loving. Boss Kamikaze, of the Three Gorma Stooges, sees him as his greatest rival.
As the blue-colored , Shoji specializes in Chang Quan with the power to manipulate gravitational forces around him to increase his strength and speed. His signature attack is the .
Kazu is a stylish beautician and dancer. He left home at the age of 15 and traveled to Tokyo. He has a tendency to go rushing into battle without thinking. He helped an old lady who sheltered him when he ran away from his home.
As the yellow-colored , Kazu specializes in Drunken Boxing with the power to freeze and reverse the flow of time to prevent mishaps. His signature attack is the .
Rin is Master Kaku's niece and the only member of the team capable of qi control when not transformed. She came to Japan to be a Dairanger in the guise of an exchange student from China. She hates living with Kou, as he tends to dab in front of her, but later befriends him. She once fell in love with photographer Shōichiro Takamura, the alter ego of Gorma agent .
As the pink-colored , Rin specializes in Ying Zhao Pai with the power to control wind. Her signature attack is the .
Kou is a 10-year-old boy who is the "Child of Fate" for drawing the sentient from his resting place, becoming the adult-like, white-colored . He lived with his adoptive grandparents prior to moving into Lin's apartment. A somewhat perverted boy, he is infatuated with Lin and "playfully" harasses her much to her chagrin. New to fighting, he is not particularly strong. Kou initially kept his identity a secret from the other Dairangers, with Byakko Shinken speaking in his stead to appear more grown up. After the other Dairangers learned of his identity, he began to speak on his own and joined the team. Shadam eventually learned Kou was his son and Akomaru's twin brother, although Kou himself was never aware of this. As a result of this knowledge, Shadam tried to recruit Kou into the Gorma on his tenth birthday, but his mother's baptism purified him of his Gorma lineage.
As Kiba Ranger, Kou specializes in the fictional White Tiger Fist style with the power to control sound. His signature attack is the .
Allies Kaku Originally a member of Gorma, formed the Dairangers to oppose Gorma; his human alias is . But when Daizinryu returned to Earth, Kaku returned to the Gorma in his metallic red Cyclops-like armor and fought Shadam for the right to the throne to become the 16th Gorma Emperor and end the fighting, using the and the as boosters. Once Gara and Zydos destroyed the towers, Kaku was defeated and mortally wounded in the battle against Shadam, and later died in the arms of the Dairangers. He later appeared in spirit form to the Dairangers and told them that Gorma must be thwarted rather than be destroyed.
Choryo was the previous Ryu Ranger who joined the Gorma and became immortal as a result. 20 years prior to the events of the series, he fell in love with a human who gave birth to his son Ryo and daughter . After Yoko was born, Choryo was summoned back to the Gorma by his master, Archbishop Riju, to fight the Dairangers after the Triumvirate failed to do so, but stopped upon hearing his son is the new Ryu Ranger. Choryo eventually saw the error of his ways and turned on his master. During the ensuing fight, he received a fatal blow and collapsed. Dying in Ryo's arms, the four spirits of the other original Dairangers appeared to Choryo to tell him they forgave him. He then passed on the knowledge of DairenOh to the new Dairangers before he died.
Choryo is portrayed by .
Kujaku is a follower of Mahamayuri Vidyaraja, the Peacock Wisdom Queen and a master of kenpo. A member of the , she became the Peacock Wisdom Queen's follower to restore Gara by finding the , an ancient artifact said to heal whoever drinks from it. Gara joined the Gorma and through deception, trapped Kujaku in Mirror Make-Up Artist, causing Kujaku to swore revenge, resulting in her losing her compassion and love during her 6,000 years of imprisonment. Kujaku was freed by Daigo and attempted to murder Gara in revenge for her imprisonment until Daigo's perseverance and a little girl's kindness caused her to have a change of heart. Kujaku then resumed looking for the Sacred Peacock's Tears, realizing that she was dying from the Earth's pollutants and evil. Unfortunately, Kujaku realized that she would sicken and die even if she drank the Sacred Peacock's Tears, causing her to use the artifact to restore Gara's beauty instead. Kujaku then died with the real Gara at her side. Kujaku would later reappear in spirit form to restore Daigo's faith and plead with him not to take revenge.
Guhon is Lin's great-granduncle and Kaku's mentor, who tends to be bizarre at times and often cracks his neck. Despite his appearance, Guhon was the inventor of the Aura Changers and later provided the Dairangers with their blades and the . Prior to the Kabuki Boy incident, Guhon entrusted his fiancé Shokyo with Byakko Shinken which he placed within a stone until the rightful owner (Kou) could claim the weapon. Guhon later revealed to Kameo his true identity as Daimugen.
Shokyo is Guhon's 29-year-old fiancé, a Chinese Opera writer whom he entrusted with Byakko Shinken. Her profession caught the eye of Kabuki Boy, who abducted her, although Guhon won her back. After returning Byakko Shinken to Guhon, Shokyo marries him as she returns to China.
Shokyo is portrayed by .
Kou's mother Kou's mother is married to Shadam and is a member of the Dai Tribe. She possessed a strong qi. She placed a tiger tattoo on Kou at birth to suppress his Gorma-inherited powers and had him adopted after his birth to prevent the Gorma from tracking him down. Kou's mother was taken captive by an elderly Gorma and Akōmaru. She escaped when Shadam broke into her prison to discover the source of Akōmaru's information. She later used Byakoshinken to save a wounded Kou and to purge the Gorma powers from him. She died in a cave collapse along with Akōmaru.
The Gorma Tribe The are the antagonists of the series. Eight thousand years ago they were the military of the three tribes but decided to take the world for themselves and destroy the other two. The Gorma are humans who have mastered and gained the ability to become monsters. Their leader is the Gorma Emperor with many other divisions under him. However, it was revealed that most of the higher aristocracy had been killed centuries before the series even began. It was thought that Shadam had secretly made clay versions of them all in a bid to be emperor himself. However, as he himself turned out to be clay, it's debatable who created the clay copies. While the You Power the Gorma uses gives them great power, it also has damaged their mental stability, as the most powerful Gorma are almost completely insane as seen with the Gorma Emperor and those before him due to the
Gorma XV