Wayback Series - Juuni Senshi Bakuretsu Eto Ranger

Twelve warriors, one fantastic mission...

This could be the longest blog post that Ii have ever written in my 26 year-old life... BUT I'M HAPPY FOR SOME NOSTALGIC FEELS!!

Nobody could be really better ever since Chinese New Year have concluded earlier this year, and thus this anime, in which all twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac have turned into heroes. And thus I am talking about the most-wanted anime I have ever watch during my childhood, and that was Juuni Senshi Bakuretsu Eto Ranger (aka Twelve Warrior Explosive Eto Rangers).

This fantasy comedy series is produced by SHAFT (the studio who brought Maria Holic and Pani Poni Dash! And of course long before Mekakucity Actors, Bakemonogatari and Puella Magi Madoka Magica have become popular), and directed by Kunitoshi Okajima. It was aired on NHK from April 7th, 1995 to January 26, 1996 with a total of 39 episodes. A bit trivia for you, the anime is dubbed in Tagalog wayback many years ago, and aired on CTV ch. 31 (now Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media aka BEAM Channel). Eto Rangers is the first anime that is produced by the studio.

The story of Eto Rangers is just quite simple. The twelve warriors ride in a Qilin-like mecha called the Space-Time Transmitting Machine Kirinda in order to repair Mugen's Novel Worlds. All of twelve were of course, anthropomorphic animals, each of them representing one of the 12 animals from the Chinese Zodiac (as well as Buddhism's Twelve Branches). They are known as the Eto animals in Japan. As you can see through your thoughts, the Novel Worlds are some stories created by the human imagination, such as fairy tales (e.g. Peter Pan, Red Riding Hood), folk tales (some are Japanese folk tales) and more, as well as newer books. These worlds have been played out repeatedly, and are necessary for the good of humanity. The ruler of Mugen is Princess Aura, in which is a island continent hanging over an ocean from the skybound called the Novel Pole. The Great God Goal (aka the Oversoul of Mugen) gives her the power, but she may never leave the small palace island area. The forgotten Spirit of Cats named Nyanma is their nemesis, who was excluded from the choice of the twelve by being disqualified from the race (there are many versions of this story in actual legend), and thus her ultimate mission is to have revenge, by distorting the Novel Worlds with evil creatures called the Jarei Monsters.

Here's a close procedure for this. Just when a Jarei Monster enters the Novel World, and it could be resulted in alteration of the story, turning it to a different story, although sometimes a parody of itself (e.g. the story of Frankenstein is a tennis love story). The Spirit of the Rat (or Mice), Bakumaru, must use a device called the Genmakyou Mirror to reveal the evil spirit once the clues are well enough that could be lead to its identity (thus shout the command 'Jarei Shouran!') Often just for kicks, the Eto Rangers must play out some of the story in order to find out who or what it is, sometimes even taking on a roles of one of the characters in the tale (e.g. Monk as Sun Wukong). After defeating the Jarei Monster, Bakumaru called out Kirinda while he holds up his hand with one of Princess Aura's 12 gems (located on his glove) on it, and thus he shout the command, 'Daikourin Kirinda!'. Then, Kirinda is summoned through the thunderous skies and descend from the dimensional slit, and then purifies it with a beam-like weapon, calling out the command 'Jouka!'.

The roulette selection area inside Kirinda. 

Although most of the episodes involve up to five Eto Rangers, that is chosen by the computer's roulette member selection, going into the Novel Worlds to repair them, and yet there's another story going on as well. The Jarei Monsters are under the banner of the Queen of the Evil-Spirited Monsters named Nyanma, sitting on her dark throne located in the giant shell fortress in the ravine of the seafloor. She is watching the progress of the Eto Rangers that foil her plans throughout the series, and of course she had a grudge with Princess Aura for a perceived slight years ago. And thus Nyanma sends out four cat warriors that is created by herself.

The rat, the bull, the tiger and the rabbit...

Bakumaru (PH Dub name: Powell): Known to everyone as the leader of the Eto Rangers. He originally had a fear of cats (Ailurophobia), but he eventually overcame it with the help of Gaō. He wields a Jedi-like saber in which he uses it to kill the enemy, and his secondary weapon called the Genmakyou Mirror, in which it plays two roles; revealing a hidden Jarei Monster and summoning a teammate. Bakumaru has a hidden affection for Cream (did you ever imagine a rat is in love with a rabbit?). He gave his mirror to Souffle just in case they need to summon him in one mission where he's not included. Bakumaru's seiyuu, Chika Sakamoto, is known for her roles in many of some popular series including Cat's Eye, Urusei Yatsura, Princess Sarah, City Hunter and Digimon Adventure (in which she plays Agumon and Natsuko Takaishi).

Hols (PH Dub name: Bukuh): He is known as the Spirit of the Ox (or Bull). Although slow and not easily excited, but however if he sees something red (or a red hue), he turns into a bull, and very powerful while charging through the enemy. This is partially deprived from the red capes that matadors use during bullfights in Spain. In one particular episode, Hols looks female, but only because he has assumed the form of the character, and the others are amused. The legendary seiyuu, Toshiyuki Morikawa, is known for his roles in D.Gray-man, Berserk, Bakumatsu Rock, Brave 10, Buddy Complex and Captain Earth. He also voiced Pochiro.

Gaō (PH Dub name: Delacao): This man of a tiger (or he is the Spirit of the Tiger) has a special pair of shades in which he turned himself into a giant tiger by putting it on and shout the command 'Tora Tora Hai!' (or 'Tiger Tiger Equip!'), but that really sounded awkward, so the creative licensing was exercised to it 'Tiger Tiger Transformation'. Gaō is a noble and a reliable spirit, and he always looks out for Bakumaru when he needed. Guess what, he had a soft spot when it comes to girls in need of rescue or friendship, and yes he's sentimental. He is also the one who is responsible to help Bakumaru overcome his fear of cats. Gaō's seiyuu, Mitsuaki Hoshino, is famously known for his roles in Brave Police J-Decker (as Dumpson), the 2011 anime adaptation of The IDOLM@STER (as the reporter Yoshizawa), Kamichu! (as Kenkichi Hitotsubashi), and finally the currently aired Plastic Memories (as Tetsuguro Mikijiro).

Cream (PH Dub name: Kelly): She is cute and she had a kind soul from her heart, and she likes Bakumaru (I KNEW IT). Although she is the Spirit of the Rabbit, she had excellent hearing. She is prone to unnecessary Pretty Change transformations (like a mahou shoujo show in others using her Disguising Carrot Stick). Also, she can turn into an older and taller bunny girl. The legendary Kyoko Hikami is known for her roles throughout her career including Di Gi Charat series, Burst Angel, Final Fantasy: Unlimited, Girl's High (as Kyoko Himeji), and her famous role that is Momoko Hanasaki in Wedding Peach.

A dragon, a snake, a horse and a goat...

Drago (PH Dub name: Paccalachi): Loner, calm and quiet. He was known as the Spirit of the Dragon. He uses a white cloud for personal transportation (nope that cloud's not for Goku!) in which he can expand for others to travel on as well and, he can transformed into a winged dragon (the method was to count to three in Mandarin) to activate his special crystal ball that is acted as a ninja smoke bomb. Drago's also very intelligent, and he can command the weather in normal or in his giant dragon form, and while he is in form he can use his wings to conjure hurricane and has various fire breathing powers like fire and a purple breath that is similar to convexity breath by Spyro. Among the twelve, he is the most powerful. His seiyuu, Jim Yamanoi, is known for his roles in Resident Evil: Degeneration (as Leon S. Kennedy) and Transformers: Armada (as Starscream and Shockwave).

Nyorori (PH Dub name: Wannie-Wannie): Known as the Spirit of the Snakes, he has telekinetic capabilities that basically function for the existence of his invisible arms, as such, he had two white gloves that serves as his hands, and thus he can levitate a bit above the ground rather than slither. Nyorori's the group's knowledgeable one, and giving ideas about situations. He is quite cunning, persistent and wise, just like the snake. Nyorori's seiyuu, the late Rokuro Naya, is known for his legendary roles including in Black Cat (as Maison Ordrosso), Crayon Shin-chan (as Enchou-Sensei), Eureka Seven AO (as Christophe Blanc), and Super Doll Licca-chan (as the evil Dr. Scarecrow).

Pakaracchi (PH Dub name: Yaboo): He is the Spirit of the Horse, and wields a Horse Shoe Boomerang while in battle. He is enthusiastic most of the time, and he often makes comments on youth, should or should be. He is competitive, motivated, very athletic, foolishly optimistic, and a positive thinker. His seiyuu, Takashi Nagasako, is known for his incredible resume in Armored Trooper Votoms (as Nol Barkov), Blood+ (as Lewis), Excel Saga (as Pedro), and SD Gundam Sangokuden Brave Battle Warriors (as Sonken Zephyranthes).

Souffle (PH Dub name: Cesley): She's proper and clean and she's a city girl. For sometimes, she has trouble coping and when she gets messy, she gets upset. However for her, she has it within her to take charge. Known as the Spirit of the Goat (or Sheep), she has a magical compact that she can able to automatically detect any metallic object in the area (OH MY GOD A MINI METAL DETECTOR NICE!). In another mission, Souffle devoted the story and decides not to let the Little Mermaid from being dissolved into a sea foam and protects her from harm in anyways, but although is very hard for her to accept the story's sad ending. She can be estimated that she has a secret crush on Monk, despite a love interest that she had developed in episode three. Yuko Miyamura, her seiyuu, is known for her roles in Street Fighter (as Chun-Li), Neon Genesis Evangelion (as Asuka Langley Soryu), and My-HiME (as Alyssa Searrs).

A monkey, a rooster, a dog, and a boar (without the tusks)...

Monk (PH Dub name: Mencue): As the Spirit of the Monkey, Monk's fun loving, and silly. He can be hard to get along with, and partially clashes with Pochiro. Armed with his device called the Monkey See Monkey Do Voice Recorder, he is good at imitating voices while using it. He is a very good climber and can scratch. Yoshiko Kamei, another one of the popular seiyuus, is known for her roles in Di Gi Charat (as Gema), Soar High! Isami (as Tsukikage Toshi) and Hero Hero-kun (as Bari Bari).

Tart (PH Dub name: Chickee): As the Spirit of the Rooster (or Chicken), Tart's strong-willed and helpful. She has a partial temper and she can come off as boyish. Tart's gets easily annoyed with Bakumaru and Pochiro. In one episode (based on The Ugly Duckling), she uses a chicklet timer that could turned from her rooster form to a more human form, in which is a parallel to the 'beautiful swan transformation' story. She always makes use of her Mechanical Chick Messengers. Maria Kawamura is known for her roles such as Chum Huau in Aura Battler Dunbine, Jung Freud in Gunbuster OAV, Naga the Serpent in The Slayers, and Watoko Yamato in Sins of the Sisters OAV.

Pochiro (PH Dub name: Yalung): As the Spirit of the Dog, he has keen senses. He always competing and arguing with Monk. He ends his sentences with 'de-gozaru'. He wields a bone-stretching stick in battle. Pochiro values honor and is a bit hot-headed at times.

Burii (PH Dub name: Vivi): The team's youngest member, and he is the Spirit of the Boar. He always feels left out. Bakumaru is his hero, and he believes in him no matter what it takes. When he cries, he fires energy beams from his chest jewel. Yoko Soumi, is known for her career and her roles in Captain Earth (as Tsubaki Yomatsuri), Coyote Ragtime Show (as Marciano), Erotic Temptress (as Maya Thor Calvin), and Vandread (as Buzam A. "B.C." Calessa). Soumi also plays the evil Nyanma.

Other voice actors starred in the series including Ikuko Tani, Tamio Ohki, Narumi Tsunoda... and in one episode (based on the Three Little Pigs), Nobuyuki Hiyama (as the Big Bad Wolf).

It's time to relieve their adventures to save the Novel Worlds, and you could be invited too with the Eto Rangers!