Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger

Wherever there is life, there is a roar of justice!

Hyakujū Sentai Gaoranger ("Hundred Beasts Squadron Gaoranger" [1]) is the twenty-fifth installment in the Super Sentai, airing from 2001 to 2002.

A thousand years ago the evil Org spirits were fought by warriors backed by the Power Animals, but in the modern day Orgs begin to show up again. From the Animarium in the sky, the Power Animals choose five new warriors to fight them, and they're mentored by Animarium caretaker Tetomu and joined by one of the original warriors who was frozen in time.

Refer to Power Rangers Wild Force for the Westernized version.

The GaoRangers:

The Ogre Tribe, Orgs:

Tropes used in Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger include:

Recurring Super Sentai tropes

  • All Your Powers Combined: The HajaHyakujuuken [2]. Notably the first melee weapon for a Team Finisher.
    • Near the end of the show all the Org leaders are merged into one super Org. There's also a Monster of the Week formed from a bunch of stolen Power Animals.
  • By the Power of Greyskull: "Gao Access! Summon, spirit of the Earth!"
  • Calling Your Attacks
  • Combination Attack
  • Cool Bike: Gao Silver's Wolf Roader
  • Crossover: Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai. In lieu of the traditional crossover with the previous team, this one involves a Dream Team consisting of various rangers from assorted teams, particularly Soukichi Banba/Big One, Yuusuke Amamiya/Red Falcon, Miku Imamura/Mega Pink, Gouki/Ginga Blue and Daimon Tatsumi/Go Yellow. All the other former red warriors also appear in the movie, albeit in costume only.
  • Custom Uniform: The first full-blown example
  • Finishing Move
  • Five-Man Band:
  • Home Base: Gao's Rock, a flying turtle-like edifice that transports the Gaorangers. Also has a conduit to Sky Island as well as a sacred spring that, among other functions, detects the presence of an Org by bubbling.
  • Humongous Mecha: The first Super Sentai to feature extensive use of upgrades. In fact, it was the first to introduce multiple peripheral mecha, imply their compatibility out of the default formations and put the potential to good use. Super Sentai used this concept on and off for several years, before adopting it consistently with Go Go Sentai Boukenger.
    • A Mech by Any Other Name: The Power Animals and the later God Power Animals that form Gao God.
    • Combining Mecha
      • Gao Lion + Gao Eagle + Gao Bison + Gao Shark + Gao Tiger = Gao King
      • Gao Gorilla + Gao Eagle + Gao Bison + Gao Polar + Gao Bear = Gao Muscle
      • Gao Falcon + Gao Madillo + Gao Rhinos + Gao Deer + Gao Giraffe = Gao Icarus
      • Gao Falcon + Gao Lion + Gao Shark + Gao Tiger + Gao Elephant = Gao Centaurus
      • Gao Wolf + Gao Hammerhead + Gao Ligator = Gao Hunter
      • Gao Kong + Gao Eagle + Gao Bison + Gao Shark + Gao Tiger = Gao Knight
      • Gao Leon + Gao Condor + Gao Swordshark + Gao Jaguar + Gao Buffalo = Gao God
    • Mecha Expansion Pack: The other Power Animals served as upgrades to the Gao King by replacing the Gao Shark and Tiger (which formed the right and left arms respectively) or the Gao Bison (which formed the waist and legs). The Shark and Tiger also served as alternate parts for the Gao Muscle and Gao Icarus (along with the Bison for the latter). Since the Power Animals were interchangable, there were combined forms that were never used on the show or never had official names.
      • Gao King + Gao Elephant = Gao King with Sword & Shield
      • Gao King - Gao Shark + Gao Giraffe = Gao King Spear
      • Gao King - Gao Tiger + Gao Deer = Gao King Cross Horn
      • Gao King - Gao Shark - Gao Tiger + Gao Polar + Gao Bear = Gao King Double Knuckles
      • Gao King - Gao Bison + Gao Madillo + Gao Rhinos = Gao King Striker
      • Gao Muscle - Gao Bison + Gao Madillo + Gao Rhinos = Gao Muscle Striker
      • Other Power Animals includes the Soul Bird (which serves as a power-up to any of the robots) and the rare Gao Panda (which never appeared on the show and was only available as a giveaway along with a bonus CD offered by Terebi-kun magazine in Japan). There was also a blue version of the Gao Ligator and a black version of the Gao Elephant, as well as several Power Animals that were never made into toys.
  • Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Episodes are called "Quests".
  • In the Name of the Moon

Red: The Blazing Lion, Gao Red!
Yellow: The Noble Eagle, Gao Yellow!
Blue: The Surging Shark, Gao Blue!
Black: The Iron Bison, Gao Black!
White: The Belle Tiger, Gao White!
Silver: The Sparking Wolf, Gao Silver!
Red: Where there is life, there is a roar of justice! Hyakujuu Sentai!
All: Gaoranger!

Tropes specific to Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger:

  • Actor Allusion: Hidekatsu Shibata once more voices the male half of a villain with male and female nature.
  • Airplane Arms
  • Alien Blood: Orgs tend to bleed green--the fact that Rouki bleeds red is a hint as to his true nature.
  • All There in the Manual: The Super Sentai Art Collection: Sentai Robo Edition illustration book includes a list of all the Power Animals that appeared in the show, including movie-only Gao Kong, audio drama-only Gao Panda, the animals that had cameos in the finale, and lots of unused picks, some of which were also illustrated and associated to formations.
  • Animal Mecha: In spades, and one of the instances where it's crucial to the plot.
  • The Atoner: Silver, once he's freed from the thousand-year evil.
  • Back From the Dead: Blue is killed in episode 30; Black, Yellow, and White follow suit in episode 31. They don't stay dead for long; after a short quest in the afterlife, they come back by the end of the episode thanks to a literal Deus Ex Machina.
    • Tsuetsue and the three High Dukes also get revived in episode 47.
  • Bad Guys Play Pool: Silver is often seen playing in the bar he hangs out at. Justified as his weapon includes a pool cue configuration.
  • Berserk Button: Whenever somebody calls Tsuetsue Oba-san.
  • Body Horror: the three High Dukes are especially guilty of this.
  • Break Out the Museum Piece: In the finale, after the Gaorangers are Brought Down to Normal, they bring out their last weapon against Senki: an old sword dating to the Heian era. Needless to say, it doesn't work.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: In the beginning of episode 15, Red starts taking off his pants and everyone tries to stop him. Black then turns to the screen and puts his hand over it saying, "Don't look!"
  • Catch Phrase: "Nebaa Gibaapu!"[6]
  • Chromatic Arrangement: The three High Dukes have colors corresponding to the RGB scheme: Shuten is red, Ura is green, and Rasetsu is blue.
  • Climb Slip Hang Climb: Happens to Gao Black in episode 4.
  • Clip Show/Breather Episode: Episode 45. Features, apart from the Gaorangers (and Yabaiba) reminiscing about the series so far, GaoKing dancing and the episode ending with everyone in a hot spring.
    • Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai, while including plenty of new action scenes, doubles as a clip show for the entire franchise, as the veteran rangers tell the Gaorangers about Super Sentai history.
  • Code Name: In a strange departure from previous series, the Gaorangers refer to each other by color and have no knowledge of their comrades' true names, and so the audience only learns of them by the last episode (though the names are shown in the opening and a few moments throughout the series). Even Gao Silver's apparently real name turns out to be either a nickname or a codename.
    • Their names are occasionally given in the show itself, but only on a few occasions prior to the finale.
  • Curb Stomp Battle: The Gaorangers' battles with Rouki. When he brings out Gao Hunter you can generally be sure that some Power Animals are going to be taken.
  • Dinosaurs Are Dragons: The episode with Clock Org showed us what appeared to be a fire-breathing t-rex.
  • Disguised in Drag: Henshin, what henshin? All Black needs to wear to kick ass is a wedding dress.
  • Fan Service: Tsuetsue "accidentally" reveals her leg in Gaoranger vs Super Sentai.
  • Floating Continent
  • Goldfish Poop Gang: Tsuetsue and Yabaiba after the first act.
  • Golem: The Power Animals are more like this than actual mecha. They're spirit animals who inhabit material aspects created from the Earth itself. Their robot-like appearance is due to using metal ore deposits to make their skins.
  • Gratuitous English: As seen here.

Yellow: Jesus.

    • Blue and Black have their own Gratuitous English: "Never give up!"
    • Even Red gets in on it. "Open the vulcan!"
    • The entire team's henshin call: "Samon! Supiritsu obu ji aasu!"
  • Heel Face Turn: When Silver first showed up, he was possessed by the demon Loki and became a good guy after the other Gaorangers beat him. His mecha, the Gao Hunter, also does a literal heel face turn, as his face changed from an "Evil Mode" to a "Justice Mode".
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: Gao God is Master Roshi and Sun Mask
  • I Let You Win: Ura pulls one in the Rangers by letting them win against Orgs powered by the thousand-year evil spirit, then using its matured power to power himself up.
  • If It Swims, It Flies: Gaoshark, and it's various modifications, fits this perfectly.
    • Forget the mecha, GAOBLUE can fly on occasion.
  • Improbable Weapon User: Almost all the Orgs. Rasetsu has a giant fork and spoon for chrissakes.
  • King of Beasts
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: Red suffers from this in episode 8. He doesn't forget everything, just his time as a Gaoranger.
  • Meaningful Name: The Gaorangers' civilian names all contain the names of their animal.
  • Mega Neko: While all the feline Power Animals count, this trope goes solely to the Super GaoLion, bigger than most of the combined mecha.
  • Mid-Season Upgrade: Not only do the Gaorangers get new Power Animals as the series progresses, Yabaiba and Tsuetsue also get upgrades of their own... for a while at least.
  • Miko: Tetomu.
  • Milestone Celebration: To mark the series' 25th anniversary the Gaorangers join forces with a bunch of veteran Sentai members.
  • Mons: There's a reason they're called Hyakujuu "[8] Sentai. Several episodes revolve around receiving new Power Animals. And then it's revealed at the end that There are literally 100 Power Animals, most of which were still dormant. This includes Gao Peafowl and Gao Wallaby, which are as awesome as they sound.
  • Mood Whiplash: Pretty big-time. Episodes can typically begin rather light - then end up rather serious. Such as Quest 38, where Lion Tamer Org "tames" the Gaorangers and the Power Animals, showing off various combinations of the latter along the way; but ending with Futaro showing his true powers, and that he isn't merely a child.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Shirogane / Tsukumaro Oogami aka Gao Silver.
  • Mythology Gag: In the list of Power Animals above-mentioned, there were two sets intended to pay homage to earlier series: one set consisted of a hawk, a vulture, an owl, a swallow, and a swan; the other included an ape, a frog, a wolf, a bear, and a crane. Amusingly, all of these teams have the same color configuration with Gaoranger (red, blue, yellow, black, and white).
    • Then there's a Zyuranger nod, an elephant whose head becomes a shield for GaoKing (homage to Guardian Beast Zyumammoth's head being Daizyujin's shield) while the rest becomes a sword with which GaoKing performs a lightning-charged slash to finish the monster (homaging Daizyujin's Dinosaur Sword Godhorn and his Super Legendary Lightning Cut).
    • GaoKing is a nod to Ohranger Robo. Avian forming back and head, leonine torso, bovine pelvis and legs, with blue and white mecha forming limbs. The main design difference is that GaoKing has the last two mecha as arms and the bovine mecha forms complete legs, whereas Ohranger Robo's leonine mecha is torso and arms, and the last two mecha are lower legs.
    • Gao Red is a lion-themed hero who uses a Power Fist and a BFG, just as Yellow Lion was.
    • A minor one: In the 3rd episode, one of the few victims of the week, who were dating, are named 'Gai' and 'Kaori' after Black Condor and White Swan (those two were also dating at a time)
  • Not What It Looks Like: White chances upon Red's wallet in episode 8 and assume the girl in the picture is his girlfriend. Turns out she's the wife of Red's boss when he was a veterinarian.
  • The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Played for laughs between Yabaiba and Yellow.
  • Palette Swap: Many Power Animals are slightly modified recolors of others, most notably Gao God's components being retools of Gao King's components. Thanks to the stacked retools, Gao God avoids being a blatant example.
  • Panthera Awesome: Usually, animal-themed Sentai have at least one large cat ranger in the mix. Here, we have two, Gao Red for a lion, Gao White for a tiger. Additionally, we have the Leon and Jaguar mecha for Gao God.
  • Psycho Rangers: Done in Quest 12 by an Org based on a photocopy machine. And later, a specialty of Duke Org Dorodoro - he made the Gaorangers fight their shadows, which they could not defeat without hurting themselves.
  • Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Also see link to Gratuitous English above.
  • Punctuated Pounding: See link to Gratuitous English above.
  • Really Seven Hundred Years Old: Lampshaded when White points out that Tsuetsue is the oldest woman in the show.
    • Played straight by Tetomu in episode 5.
  • Recursive Import: Korea had already dubbed Power Rangers Wild Force, the American adaptation, and is now dubbing Gaoranger itself as well.
  • Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You: In the second Eyecatch, GaoRed fires the Gao Mane Buster.
  • Shout-Out: In episode 30, Tsuetsue and Yabaiba do a Shout-Out to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Tsuetsue: Well, which one?
Yabaiba: Hmm... no. 3!
Tsuetsue: Final answer?
Yabaiba: Yes, final answer!
Tsuetsue: ......correct!
Yabaiba: I did it! Yes!

  1. ↑ gao is the Japanese word for roar.
  2. ↑ Evil Crushing Hundred Beast Sword
  3. ↑ Notable for being the first series to have cell phone Transformation Trinkets for the main team.
  4. ↑ Beast King Sword
  5. ↑ Sabre, Sniper, and Break modes.
  6. ↑ "Never give up!"
  7. ↑ "Oni wa uchi, fuku wa soto!" This one is a pun on a traditional Japanese saying which is recited during New Year's time to attract good fortune, which is the exact reverse of Tsutsue's quote: "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!" (Oni out, luck in!)
  8. ↑ Hundred-Beast
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