is a Japanese tokusatsu television series and the 24th series in Toei's Super Sentai metaseries. Footage from this series was used in the American production Power Rangers Time Force. It aired from February 13, 2000, to February 11, 2001, replacing Kyuukyuu Sentai GoGoFive, and was replaced by Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger. Timeranger was released on DVD by Shout! Factory in North America on July 31, 2018. This is the 9th Super Sentai Series to be released on Region 1 DVD in North America. The series debuted on February 13, 2000, when it replaced Kyuukyuu Sentai GoGoFive in TV Asahi's 7:30 JST time-slot, joining the recently debuted Kamen Rider Kuuga in what would three years later become the Super Hero Time programming block.
Plot In the 30th century, time travel becomes illegal after a time paradox crisis. The Time Protection Bureau (TPB) is established to watch for and stop time crimes. Four new enlistee cadets of the TPB are tricked by mafia leader Don Dolnero and his gang into letting them time-travel to the year 2000 to commit various crimes and, to protect history, the four cadets pursue them. They encounter a severe problem: the Timeranger program requires five members for the first operation. They coerce a present-day martial artist, Tatsuya Asami, to join them, and they become the Timerangers. Tatsuya rents a building for them to live in, and they start a small odd-jobs business called Tomorrow Research to financially support themselves.
Over time, the four cadets begin to realize that their presence would inevitably change the future in the form of the City Guardians, a security force under the employment of the Asami Corporation to protect the city from the Londerz. The City Guardians form a tenuous relationship with the Timerangers, especially when Tatsuya's college acquaintance Naoto becomes Time Fire and later also becomes the City Guardian's captain.
Characters
Timerangers
The primary members of the eponymous Timerangers each carry a bracelet, which grants the use of the ability, as their transformation device along with a pair of swords consisting of the minute hand-like and the hour hand-like , which can combine to form the double-bladed naginata, as their sidearms. While transformed, they wield firearm-like , which can combine to form the . They also ride the hoverjet for transportation. Later in the series, they acquire a set of attachments, which can combine with a Spark Vector to form the rifle.
Tatsuya Asami : The main protagonist of the series, Tatsuya is a 22-year-old martial artist who is "drafted" into the team. He refuses to accept fate and his heritage as future CEO of his father's company. He believes that people can control their own destiny, but only if they fight for a desirable future. After joining the Timerangers, Tatsuya decides to move out of his father's house and uses his savings to rent the building that would be the Timeranger's home. He works as a karate teacher at . Although Yuri is the team leader, Tatsuya is the driving force of the Timerangers, essentially acting as field commander during the battles. In the finale, one year after the final battle, Tatsuya continues to live freely by choosing his lifestyle until he feels that he is ready to join his father's company. At the end of the series, he runs into four individuals who resemble Yuri, Ayase, Domon and Sion, who may be their ancestors, as well as an individual who resembles Naoto.
As Time Red, Tatsuya wields the . When operating the formations, he is usually in charge of performing its finishers to recapture giant-sized Londerz prisoners by wielding a miniature version of the and/or the sword/rifle hybrid to mimic the movement pattern. After Naoto's death, Tatsuya inherits his powers.
Yuri : The female protagonist of the series and the leader of the Timerangers, Yuri is a 21-year-old police officer from the 30th century. Since the Inter-City Police are aware of Don Dolnero's plan, she goes undercover as a TDB cadet to stop him. She holds a personal grudge against Don Dolnero for sending an assassin to kill her family in 2988. Yuri is initially cold towards Tatsuya, but eventually warms up to him. She works as a detective at Tomorrow Research but is open to other jobs such as cleaning services. In the series finale, she confesses to Tatsuya that she loves him, but they cannot be together due to the large gap between their timelines. Therefore, she returns to her own time and finds that, due to the time change in the 30th century, Dolnero's hit on her family 10 years earlier had failed.
As Time Pink, Yuri wields the .
Ayase : A 22-year-old former racer who is the calm-headed second-in-command with a knack for high-speed battles and a deadpan sense of humor. However, said humor often puts Ayase at odds with Domon, which forces the other Timerangers to prevent a possible fistfight between the two. He is close friends with Tatsuya. As the only Timeranger with a driver's license, he works as a chauffeur at Tomorrow Research. It is soon revealed that Ayase has an incurable terminal illness called . When Tatsuya finds out about the disease, he is determined to help his friend. The other Timerangers are shocked when Tatsuya is forced to reveal Ayase's illness to them. After time is altered at the end of the series, a cure for Osiris Syndrome was found a year earlier and Ayase can be cured.
As Time Blue, Ayase wields the .
Domon : A 22-year-old womanizer, formerly a professional grappler, who tends to overdo it sometimes. Domon was banned from professional fighting for never being on time for a match because he would chase after girls. Despite this, he has great respect for the rules and, after learning that Sion is an orphan, sticks up for his youngest teammate and refuses to let anyone call him an alien. However, Domon, who comes from a large family, is the only one who truly misses the 30th century and harbors some resentment towards Ryuya for trapping them in the 20th century. This results in him taking his frustrations out on Tatsuya when the four cadets first meet him due to his resemblance to Ryuya. Although he works as the self-defense teacher at Tomorrow Research, Domon has no students. He argues with Ayase frequently due to the latter's humor towards his attitude on women. However, he does care about him deep down. An emotional Domon wanted Ayase to quit after learning about the latter's illness, though he reluctantly accepts Ayase's choice of not wanting to quit the team. Later on, he falls in love with camerawoman Honami Moriyama. After his secret identity is revealed to her, the two start dating and Domon eventually tells her that he comes from the 30th century. After the future is changed in the finale, Domon learns that his ban is reduced to a one-year suspension from the ring, which was up by the time he returns to the year 3001.
Domon reappears in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger where he learns that his love affair with Honami conceived her a son she would name , nicknamed by Tatsuya.
As Time Yellow, Domon wields the .
Sion : A 17-year-old alien from the planet , which was destroyed as the result of war, who was raised on Earth in a laboratory. Sion is agile and curious about everything around him. He is also fond of dyeing his hair, which he has done every so often since age 3. In episodes 1–10, as well as during the opening and ending sequences of the series, his hair was dyed blue/light blue/cyan (aqua)/sky blue, and in episodes 11–51 his hair was dyed brown/light brown/tan color to look like one of the normal people of the 20th century. Due to his alien physiology, Sion only needs to sleep once per year, but he must then spend a week in hibernation. He is the Timerangers' technical expert, capable of operating any machine, and in charge of Tomorrow Research computer repairs. In the finale, Sion learns that his history has not changed because he is not from Earth. However, as he leaves, he says he is happy that he met Tatsuya and, thanks to him, he will never feel alone anymore.
As Time Green, Sion wields the .
City Guardians Wataru Asami forms a security force under his Asami Corporation to protect the city from the Londerz. The gain a tenuous relationship with the Timerangers, especially when Tatsuya's college acquaintance Naoto becomes Time Fire and later the City Guardian's captain. The captain is required to wear a red beret. According to Ryuya, the City Guardians would later become the .
Naoto Takizawa : Tatsuya's 28-year-old rival and leader of the City Guardians established by the Asami Group. Unlike Tatsuya, Naoto came from the other side of the tracks, getting by on a scholarship as the two of them attended college. Naoto envied Tatsuya and wanted to be the better of the two. After Naoto becomes the red-colored Time Fire, the Asami Group attempts to analyze the technology for mass production, but cannot fully understand the 30th century technology. He finds out through Sion that the Londerz are just prisoners and only need to be recaptured. Eventually, he learns that the Timerangers came from the 30th century and, because of his desire for power, he chooses to find a way to use his new knowledge of the Timerangers to his advantage, despite aiding them in their battles and getting along with them, including Tatsuya. After Wataru is hospitalized, Naoto is able to use that knowledge to gain full control of the City Guardians. Naoto also owns two pet birds, Tora and Sakura, which he later gives to a little girl. After Naoto is injured during the battle against Neo-Crisis, he finds out that Wataru has forced Ibuki to resign and the City Guardians were able to remove the voice lock function on the bracelet, which means they no longer need him. However, Naoto flees with the V-Commander. The girl who Naoto gave his birds to is seen trying to rescue the birds. A Zenit would have killed her, but Naoto protects her and is shot in her stead. At an emergency shelter he is treated for his injuries. When the little girl comes to thank him, they see one of the bird outside. Unaware of how badly he is already injured, Naoto goes out to catch the bird. He succeeds, but is shot down by a Zenit, which mortally wounds him and causes him to lose his balance and fall over a high stairwell railing. Naoto relinquishes the V-Commander to Tatsuya, telling him to change the way he lives as he dies.
During the events of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, Naoto appears in a vision to Gai Ikari and grants him the Great Power of the Timerangers, which is the GouZyu Drill mode of GouZyuJin.
As Time Fire, Naoto utilizes the V-Commander to transform. He also wields the sidearm, which can switch between its and modes. When facing giant-sized Londerz prisoners, he summons and remote controls the Tyrannosaurus-themed mecha, which can assume a humanoid form known as .
Allies Captain Ryuya