This article is about a/an series entry (the 18th) in the Power Rangers franchise. |
- "Samurai" redirects here. For the S.P.D. episode, see Samurai (episode).
Power Rangers: Samurai (often abbreviated as PRS or Samurai) is the eighteenth series entry of the Power Rangers franchise. It is an adaption of the 33rd Super Sentai season, Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. The second set of 20 episodes finished airing in 2012 and was called "Super Samurai".[1]
After the cancellation of the series by Disney after RPM, the show was reacquired by Haim Saban's company, Saban Brands. Samurai premiered on its new network, Nickelodeon and Nicktoons, on February 7, 2011 in the US and May 7, 2011 in the UK. The season is the first to be shot and broadcast in HD and the second series to be split into more than one season without the changes made common in Turbo's second half since Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Produced by SCG Power Rangers, the production's aim with the tone of Samurai is a "brighter tone and gets an infusion of fun and comedy that wasn't present in Jungle Fury and RPM.[2]
In 2012, the show had an average of 2 million viewers on Nickelodeon.[3] Ratings in 2011 were higher, close to or slighter more than 3 million [4] [5] [6] but were down starting in October[7] The highest rated episode was May 15th 2011's "The Blue and the Gold", with 3.7 million viewers. [8]
The series also marked a return of Power Rangers dubs in Japan as it was released in fall of 2013. [9]
Synopsis
- "Centuries ago in Japan, Nighlok monsters invaded our world, but samurai warriors defeated them with power symbols, passed down from parent to child. Today the evil Nighlok have risen once again and plan to flood the earth. Luckily, a new generation of heroes stand in their way. They are the Power Rangers Samurai."
- ―Narrator[src]
Several centuries ago in Ancient Japan, monsters known as the Nighloks began to attack the human world, only to face opposition from humans who could harness Symbol Power and become the Samurai Power Rangers. The Nighlok leader, Master Xandred was eventually sealed away by a previous generation, but he has arisen once again to exact his revenge. Jayden Shiba, the 18th Head of the Shiba Clan and descendant of the former Red Ranger that defeated Xandred years ago, gathers: Kevin, Mike, Emily, and Mia Watanabe to take up the mantle as the 18th generation of Samurai Power Rangers.
Along the way, Jayden's childhood best friend, Antonio Garcia returns to town with his own Ranger powers, the Gold Ranger. With his technical expertise, he was able to reverse engineer his own morpher as well as repair a thought-to-be beyond damaged zord that Jayden gave him years ago. In time, Antonio proves himself to be a valuable asset to the team, and is formally indoctrinated as the 6th Samurai Ranger.
Slogan
Rangers Together! Samurai Forever!
Characters
Rangers
Color | Role | Actor |
---|---|---|
Red Samurai Ranger | Jayden Shiba | Alex Heartman |
Blue Samurai Ranger | Kevin | Najee De-Tiege |
Pink Samurai Ranger | Mia Watanabe | Erika Fong |
Green Samurai Ranger | Mike | Hector David, Jr. |
Yellow Samurai Ranger | Emily | Brittany Anne Pirtle |
Gold Samurai Ranger | Antonio Garcia | Steven Skyler |
Allies
- Mentor Ji - The Rangers' all-knowing mentor. He is portrayed by Rene Naufahu.
- Farkas Bulkmeier - One half of the comedy relief duo of this season. Paul Schrier reprises his role from the original series.[10]
- Spike Skullovitch[11] - The other half of this season's comic relief. He's the son of Eugene Skullovitch, Bulk's childhood friend. He refers to Bulk as "Uncle Bulk," implying that Skull either married someone in Bulk's family or that he considers Bulk as family because of brotherly bond between Bulk and Skull. He is portrayed by Felix Ryan.
- Matthew - Mike's friend portrayed by Leand Macadaan.
- Reece - Mike's friend portrayed by Chris Campbell.
- Serena - Emily's sister portrayed by Jacinda Stevens.
- Kevin's father portrayed by Steven Smith.
- Jayden's father portrayed by Steven A. Davis.
- Ryan portrayed by Daniel Sewell.
- Fisherman portrayed by John Leigh
- Daisuke portrayed by Grant McFarland
Villains
Nighlok (Reoccurring)
Nighlok (Featured)
- Tooya
- Scorpionic
- Rofer
- Doubletone
- Dreadhead
- Negatron
- Yamiror
- Madimot
- Desperaino
- Robtish
- Vulpes
- Steeleto
- Antberry
- Splitface
- Rhinosnorus
Arsenal
Morphers
- Samuraizer - core rangers' morpher
- Samurai Morpher - Gold Ranger's morpher
- Black Box - Super mode morpher
Zords
- Legend:◆ piloted zord, ❖ aux zord, ★ battlezord
- Battlewing Megazord ◆◆◆◆◆❖❖❖
- Claw Battlezord North ❖★
- OctoZord ❖
- Samurai ClawZord / Claw Battlezord (East / West / South) ★
Additional Formations
- Beetle Blaster Megazord ◆◆◆◆◆❖
- Swordfish Fencer Megazord ◆◆◆◆◆❖
- Tiger Drill Megazord ◆◆◆◆◆❖
- Octo Spear Megazord ◆◆◆◆◆❖
Episodes
- Origins, Part 1
- Origins, Part 2
- The Team Unites
- Deal With a Nighlok
- Day Off
- Sticks and Stones
- A Fish Out of Water
- There Go the Brides
- I've Got a Spell on Blue
- Forest for the Trees
- Test of the Leader
- Jayden's Challenge
- Unexpected Arrival
- Room for One More
- The Blue and the Gold
- Team Spirit
- The Tengen Gate
- Boxed In
- Broken Dreams
- The Ultimate Duel
- Party Monsters
- Christmas Together, Friends Forever
DVD Release
- Power Rangers Samurai Volume 1: The Team Unites
- Power Rangers Samurai Volume 2: A New Enemy
- Power Rangers Samurai Volume 3: A Team Divided
- Power Rangers Samurai Volume 4: The Sixth Ranger
- Power Rangers Samurai Volume 5: The Ultimate Duel
- Power Rangers Samurai: Monster Bash
- Power Rangers Samurai: Christmas Together, Friends Forever
- パワーレンジャー SAMURAI VOL.1
Games
- Power Rangers Samurai (video game) - Wii and DS
- Power Rangers Samurai Smash - iOS
- Power Rangers Samurai Steel - iOS
Notes
- This is the first season since Ninja Storm to follow the traditional six hero format, as Dino Thunder featured only 5 heroes, while S.P.D., Mystic Force, Operation Overdrive, Jungle Fury and RPM all featured at least 7 heroes.
- It is the first season in which all Rangers are Samurai and the second group of Rangers to have Samurai powers, preceded by Ninja Storm's Cameron Watanabe. Cameron's Green Samurai Ranger title is used by Mike as well.
- Production is still set in New Zealand and maintains an American, Canadian, New Zealander, and Australian cast.
- It is the first season broadcast on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons.
- Originally Antonio Garcia was to be named "Wesley", the name of the Red Time Force Ranger from Time Force. Jayden's name was originally "Reese"; The name was instead used for one of Mike's friends in The Team Unites.[Citation needed]
- Some portions of the first season were aired out of chronological order. The first two episodes, Origins, were aired in October, acting as a faux-prequel for the original five Rangers' inductions.
- This is the first season to have a Pink Ranger since Operation Overdrive and the first since Operation Overdrive to have three three males and two females in the main team.
- This is the first season to employ its Enemy Foot Soldiers in a fight against a Megazord in giant form.
- This if also the first season to do this on a regular basis.
- Zeo did this as well with the Cogs in the episode Good as Gold but the footsoldiers didn't fight against a Megazord and instead fought against giant Rangers.
- This if also the first season to do this on a regular basis.
- Samurai (and Super Samurai) lasted two years, making it the first series since Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers to last more than one year (this is because Saban had to divide the Samurai series into two parts because of episode limitations on Nickelodeon). However, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers has 112 episodes in its first two seasons, 69 more episodes than Samurai and Super Samurai's planned combination of 43.
- With the exception of Antonio Garcia, Jayden Shiba and Mia Watanabe[12], this is the first time the last names of Rangers from Earth are unknown (all previous Rangers with unknown surnames hailed from other planets).
- It is the first season since Power Rangers Zeo and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to have a Christmas and Halloween special, entitled Christmas Together, Friends Forever and Party Monsters respectively.
- This is the first season since Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to feature a gold lightning bolt on the logo.
- Depending on the episode, the Megazord cockpit footage tends to be wildly inconsistent. Rangers will often appear to be using an incorrect console for their zord. This can be noticed by looking at the animal ornament on each console. Sometimes there will be several console changes in a single episode. Antonio ends up the most frequent victim of this, as the Clawzord console, which normally has a lobster on it, would have a star instead.
- This is the first instance where a Power Rangers season does not air the year following its respective Super Sentai counterpart.
- This is the first season to using cold opening sequences since Wild Force.
- This is the first season to clearly specify that other Power Rangers teams existed before Mighty Morphin'.
- The Shiba house (Base of the Rangers) has been protected by power symbols. This is the first time the base of the Rangers has been protected since the original command center and power chamber.
- This is the first series in which the Rangers are destined to become Rangers from their family heritage.
- This is the first season of Power Rangers since Dino Thunder to revert back to a more light-hearted theme, consisting of lessons to learn, and more frequent jokes and insults during fights.
- This is the first Power Rangers series to be aired in widescreen and also the first Power Rangers series to be presented in 5.1 surround sound.
- This is the first series where a Ranger has the same name as a previous Ranger. "Mike" is the name of the Green Samurai Ranger as well as Lost Galaxy's second Magna Defender, Mike Corbett.
- This is the first series that features no physical fights, all fights are done only with weapons
See also
- Samurai Sentai Shinkenger - Super Sentai counterpart . See comparison page.
- Power Rangers Samurai Steel- iOS game
- Samurai (Toyline)
- Green Samurai Ranger- previous Samurai-themed Ranger
External links
- Power Rangers Samurai at Wikipedia.
References
- ↑ The Licensing Book, October 2011
- ↑ Saban reveals new Samurai theme for Power Rangers
- ↑ Harris, Jim (2011-12-19). Saban. Retail-merchandiser.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-11.
- ↑ Nick And More: "“Power Rangers Samurai” Hits Series High Ratings, “Supah Ninjas” Hits Series Low" (May 4 2011)
- ↑ Nick and More: "Cable Ratings March 21-27 2011"
- ↑ Nick and More: "Cable Ratings May 2-8 2011"
- ↑ Nick and More: "Cable Ratings October 17-23 2011"
- ↑ TV By The Numbers: Cable Top 25 (May 17th)
- ↑ http://www.toei.co.jp/release/tv/1201985_963.html Power Rangers Samurai dubbed
- ↑ IGN Article
- ↑ Felix Ryan's character's name changed from Skinny Mack to Spike
- ↑ As heard in Room for One More
Footnotes