Five Sentai Heroes I Would (Not) Take Home to Mother

 My mother is a pretty chill, laidback sort of lady. When I told her I spend a significant chunk of my time watching and writing about Japanese kid's shows she basically took it in her stride and shrugged (though she's getting old, so she might not actually have heard me). And she's mellow about who I date too. She'll welcome into her home and family whoever makes me happy, so long as whoever makes me happy is a tall, well-spoken type who makes six figures a year.

 Hot off the heels of my declaration that I'd never date a Kamen Rider, I started wondering if I'd date a nice Sentai hero instead. And maybe I would, but here are the ones I would probably (not) take home to meet my mother.

Five Sentai Teams I Think I Could Take in a Fight

 As I currently lack the ability to spontaneously clad bright coloured spandex armour at will, I probably wouldn't challenge most Super Sentai teams to a match. One small British person who considers writing a stern letter the height of aggression against five or more armoured soldiers with copious combat experience is probably going to turn out pretty badly for me.

 Having said that, I think there's a couple of Sentai teams I'd have a good chance of taking. I'm not saying I'd seek them out for a fight, but if for some reason we were to meet in a dark alley I'd be pretty confident about my chances.

Why Goseiger Failed

  As another Sentai season ends and we look forward to Kaizoku Sentai Goukaiger, very few of us seem sad to watch Goseiger go. Think back to last year, when we watched the hand-off from ShinkenRed to GoseiRed. So many people spoke about feeling sad as they watched the torch pass hands - I even spotted a couple of fanboys sheepishly admitting to shedding a manly tear. Even a year before that, when ShinkenRed clashed Comically Oversized Swords with Go-onRed, there were people getting misty-eyed at saying goodbye to the Go-ongers (who weren't even that popular with fandom in general).

 But as we say goodbye to Goseiger? Nobody, save for a handful of loyal fans, seems that bothered. This is the series that has aired every weekend for just over a year now, and as it came to a close most of us were dry-eyed and impatient for the Goukaiger preview afterwards - that is, if we even watched the finale.

 Where did Goseiger go wrong?

Past and Present: Gaoranger's Futaro

 Looking at the career of an actor post-tokusatsu can get pretty interesting. Naturally you've got the alumni we all know about, like Kamen Rider Kuuga's Joe Odagiri or Kamen Rider Den-O's Takeru Sato, both now so famous it's hard to miss them, but what about the alumni who take more unusual career paths post-tokusatsu? What about the ones who go on to do something other than act? Or even the ones who apparently just drop off the face of the planet?

Gaoranger's Futaro

 2001's Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger featured a young boy by the name of Futaro, a cute little guy who popped up towards the end of the series. As a rule it seems like starring in a Toei production as a kid gets you going places, so what happened to this particular child?

Nowadays

 Futaro was played by a young Daiki Arioka, all of ten years old at the time. He went on to join Johnny's Jimusho, Japan's best-known talent agency, in 2003, where he remains to this day. However now he's better known for being a member of boyband Hey! Say! JUMP, who released their first single in 2007. He continues to act in the occasional drama, most recently in 2008's Scrap Teacher.

Five Things Toei Loves

 Watch a handful of Sentai shows and a couple of Kamen Riders, and you'll start noticing similarities. It's not just you: there are just some tropes and plots that Toei uses again and again. Sure, at a glance the tragic melodrama of Kamen Rider 555 and the feel-good family hijinks of Mahou Sentai Magiranger have nothing in common, but there are some plots and themes that Toei just can't keep itself away from.