Ninja Sentai Kakuranger

Plot

Four hundred years ago, the ninja and the Youkai had a great war. The legendary Sarutobi Sasuke and four other ninjas sealed the Youkai Commander Nurarihyon and all his Youkai's energies away in a cave protected by the "Seal Door". In the present, one of the few remaining Youkai, Kappa, tricks Sarutobi Sasuke and Kirigakure Saizo's descendants, Sasuke and Saizou, into releasing the Youkai by opening the Seal Door. Now these two, joined by three other descendants of great ninjas, become the Kakurangers to fight the reinvigorated Youkai with the aid of the Three God Generals. However, the Kakurangers have their work cut out for them as the Youkai are slowly being united under one banner.

Characters

Kakurangers

The eponymous Kakurangers are each named after a legendary ninja and master of the Kakure Style (隠流, Kakure-ryū) ninjutsu. Outside of battle, they run a mobile crepe shop with the sentient Nekomaru (ネコマル) food truck. Their special team attack is the Kakure Shoot (カクレシュート, Kakure Shūto) via the Kakuranger Ball (カクレンジャーボール, Kakurenjā Bōru).

The team utilizes Kakure Medal (カクレメダル, Kakure Medaru) coins in conjunction with inro-like Doron Changer (ドロンチェンジャー, Doron Chenjā) devices to transform. While transformed, each member carries a Kakuremaru (カクレマル) ninjatō, while allows them to perform the Lightning Wave (雷光波, Raikō Nami) finisher, a Kaku Laser (カクレイザー, Kaku Reizā) handgun, which can be reconfigured into the Laser Knife (レイザーナイフ, Reizā Naifu) dagger, and a Shinobi Knuckle (シノビナックル, Shinobi Nakkuru), which can combine with either their personal weapons or a grappling device, as their sidearms. By combining their Shark Machine (シャークマシン, Shaāku Mashin) motorcycles, they form the Shark Driver (シャークドライバー, Shāku Doraibā) to destroy human-sized Youkai.

Sasuke (サスケ)/Ninja Red (ニンジャレッド, Ninja Reddo)

The 26 year old descendant of Sarutobi Sasuke and the team's agile second-in-command. He is a dirty-minded, reckless hothead whose faults are outweighed by being good-hearted and loyal. While looking for his Shinobi Scroll, Sasuke's time with Reika allows him to gain a resolve to protect all life on Earth from the Youkai. He has a little cousin named Kosuke. He corresponds to Sun Wukong.

During the events of the web-exclusive anniversary special Ninja Sentai Kakuranger: Act Three - Middle-Aged Struggles, Sasuke travels all over Japan to help good Youkai live in human society.

As Ninja Red, Sasuke wields the Red Slicer (レッドスライサー, Reddo Suraisā) shuriken. He also rides the thresher shark-themed Shark Bleeder (シャークブリッダー, Shaāku Buriddā), which forms the Shark Driver's projectile. Later in the series, he acquires the Hikarimaru (ヒカリマル) short sword.

Tsuruhime XXIV (鶴姫)/Ninja White (ニンジャホワイト, Ninja Howaito)

The 15 year old (16 during Part 2 of the series) team leader and the twenty-fourth protector of the Seal Door. She descended from the feudal lords who eagerly answered the call to fight the Youkai, and was named after Ōhōri Tsuruhime. She comes off a strong girl with a displeasure of her upbringing as a rich girl. She is looking for her missing father Hakumenro. She once fought alongside two other girls, Yukiyo and Tsukiyo Yamazaki, as a member of the Punishment Sailor Sisters. While looking for her Shinobi Scroll, Tsuruhime underwent a test of her character to understand her position as team leader. She corresponds to Xuanzang.

Allies

Ninjaman (ニンジャマン), despite being a bit of a high-strong klutz, is the blue-colored pupil of the Three God Generals who battles the Youkai a millennium ago. However, after being tricked by Daimaou into hurting humans on the notion that they were Youkai in disguise, he gets sent into space within a Jar of Seals that only those of the Tsuruhime line can shatter. Upon returning to Earth, Ninjaman is found by Junichi and his sister Mitsuko before the three find themselves attacked by the Youkai Bakuki under orders from Daimaou to capture Ninjaman to become the Youkai leader's retainer. Luckily, once freed by Tsuruhime, Ninjaman becomes an ally to the Kakurangers. After Daimaou's defeat, he departs with his masters and says goodbye to the Kakurangers. However, this time resulting from not holding back, Ninjaman is sealed again for a few decades before being freed by the Gokaigers and helping them receive the Greater power of his Kakuranger friends.

As a ninja master, Ninjaman wields the Ninja Sword (ニンジャソード, Ninja Sōdo) katana and possesses a wide array of Ninja Arts at his command, including the Art of Fire Escape (火とんの術, Katon no Jutsu), and size manipulation to aid his mentors and the Kakurangers in their fights. He can also ride on the Kinto Cloud (きんと雲, Kinto Kumo).

Whenever a Youkai calls him a "novice" (青二才, Aonisai), Ninjaman gets angry enough to change into his true form, Samuraiman (サムライマン), via the command "Anger Explosion!" (怒り爆発, Ikari Bakuhatsu). In this form, he combines the Ninja Sword and its sheath to form the Samurai Javelin (サムライジャベリン, Samurai Jaberin). His finishers is this form are the Samurai Rage Bomber (サムライ激怒ボンバー, Samurai Gekido Bonbā) via explosive energy spheres formed from his rage and the Samurai Rage Slash (サムライ激怒斬り, Samurai Gekido Giri) via the Samurai Javelin.

During the events of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, Ninjaman was freed from a pot by the Gokaigers. Once freed, he decided to observe the Gokaigers to see if the team was worthy of the Greater Power of the Kakurangers. Eventually they impressed him enough to grant them the Greater Power, which turned out to be himself.

The Kōshakushi (講釈師) is a kimono-wearing anchorman who served as the series narrator. During episode 39, the Kōshakushi and his news crew wanted to know more about the Kakurangers, getting into their personal lives. But they followed a pair of Dorodoro to Junior's mansion, learning of Nopperabou's revival ability until Daimou sensed them and sicced the Dorodoro on them. While the others escaped, the Kōshakushi was caught and thrown off a bridge, though he managed to survive.

Youkai Army Corps

The Youkai Army Corps (妖怪軍団, Yōkai Gundan; "Strange Apparition Army Corps") were sealed away 400 years ago by the Kakurangers' ancestors and have now changed their forms to keep up with the times. Most Youkai have a human form and use the Ninja Arts themselves. When defeated, they summon lightning made of human despair and misery to strike them, causing them to grow into giants.

Daimaou (大魔王, Daimaō; "Great Demon King") is a 1,199-year-old Youkai born from the amassed hatred of humans who originally led the Youkai Army Corps before being sealed in the Demon Seal Gate long ago by the Three God Generals in their original human forms. He also played a role in Ninjaman's sealing and exile a thousand years prior by tricking the hero into attacking humans. In present day, Daimaou has his son Gashadokuro set up preparations for his coming into the human world by gathering children's souls to begin a ritual to resurrect him within a month's time. Though Super Kakure Daishogun destroyed it, the Seal Door reformed itself and Daimaou emerges, turning the altar into his base of operations. When Ninjaman returns, Daimaou employs Bakuki to capture the ninja to make him into his retainer for his own agenda. But as Kakurangers got to free Ninjaman, Daimaou decides to let his target be at the moment though he briefly battles the Kakurangers when they ruined his 1,200th birthday party prior to falling back after being overwhelmed by Super Muteki Shogun.

After his 1,200th birthday, Daimaou gained the power to spawn clones of himself as he created Daradara to aid him in wiping out the Three God Generals by putting them in a predicament through Daradara siphoning the powers of Ninjaman and four of the Kakurangers. However, due to Hakumenro giving Ninja Red the means to ruin his scheme with Junior's manor destroyed in the process and managing to escape after being wounded by a combination of Super Muteki Shogun's Muteki Cannon Full Discharge and Super Kakure Daishogun's Iron Fist Flying Finish, Daimaou turns the human into stone before establishing himself in a new base of operations: The flying skull fortress Skull Castle (ガイコツ城, Gaikotsujō) with plans to build the Youkai Kingdom on Earth and destroy the Kakurangers. After the death of younger brother Daidarabotchi, having severed his ties to him and their sister long ago so he can focus on establishing the Youkai Kingdom, Daimaou decides to employ his sister in a scheme to have Tsuruhime fall into despair. But when the plan failed, crashing the Skull Castle on them, Daimaou provokes the Kakurangers into killing him so the evil comprising his body would consume humanity to renew the Youkai. But when the Three God Generals instructs the Kakurangers to capture him without transforming, Daimaou ups the ante before the ninja realize the Seal Door is the collective heart of humanity. Though he attempted to escape capture, Daimaou is gravely weakened by the Three God Generals and Ninjaman before being entombed behind the Seal Door where the Youkai are reconstituted.

Movie

The movie version of Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, directed by Shōhei Tōjō and written by Noboru Sugimura, premiered in Japan on April 16, 1994, at Toei Super Hero Fair '94. It was originally shown as a triple feature alongside Kamen Rider J and the feature film version of Blue SWAT. The villains in the movie consisted of the Hitotsume-kozō Brothers and Oonyuudou. The movie was filmed between episodes 7 and 8, but is actually set between episodes 8 and 9.

Crossovers

The Kakuranger team was the main focus in the 1994 3D featurette Super Sentai World, which features them teaming up with the four previous Super Sentai teams (Fiveman, Jetman, Zyuranger, and Dairanger).

A second crossover film was released in the form of Chouriki Sentai Ohranger: Olé vs. Kakuranger (超力戦隊オーレンジャー オーレVSカクレンジャー, Chōriki Sentai Ōrenjā Ōre Tai Kakurenjā), a 1996 direct-to-video movie which features the Kakurangers working together with the Ohrangers to defeat a common adversary.

Special

Ninja Sentai Kakuranger: Act Three - Middle-Aged Struggles (忍者戦隊カクレンジャー 第三部・中年奮闘編, Ninja Sentai Kakurenjā Dai-san-bu Chūnen Funtō-hen) is a web-exclusive special released on Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club on August 4, 2024, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the conclusion of the series. Mrs. Green Apple frontman Motoki Ohmori appeared as a special guest. In the ending sequence, Nao Nagasawa, Kōhei Yamamoto, and Hideya Tawada reprised their respective roles as Nanami Nono and Kota Bito from Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger and Kinji Takigawa from Shuriken Sentai Ninninger.

Cast

Sasuke: Teruaki Ogawa (小川 輝晃, Ogawa Teruaki)

Tsuruhime: Satomi Hirose (広瀬 仁美, Hirose Satomi)

Saizou: Hiroshi Tsuchida (土田 大, Tsuchida Hiroshi)

Seikai: Shu Kawai (河合 秀, Kawai Shū)

Jiraiya: Kane Kosugi (ケイン・コスギ, Kein Kosugi)

Hakumenro: Takayuki Godai (五代 高之, Godai Takayuki)

Sandayu Momochi: Akira Sakamoto (坂本 あきら, Sakamoto Akira)

Junior: Kenichi Endō (遠藤 憲一, Endō Ken'ichi)

Dr. Yugami: Noboru Akima (秋間 登, Akima Noboru)

Ayame (アヤメ): Maho Suzuki (鈴木 真帆, Suzuki Maho; 15–20), Miki Ikuma (生間 美紀, Ikuma Miki; 35–53)

Sakura (サクラ): Keiko Hayase (早瀬 恵子, Hayase Keiko)

Suiren (スイレン): Junko Honda (本田 順子, Honda Junko)

Yuri (ユリ): Ritsuko Noguchi (野口 律子, Noguchi Ritsuko)

Ran (ラン): Chie Tanabe (田邊 智恵, Tanabe Chie)

Kōshakushi: Sanyūtei Enjō (三遊亭 圓丈), Kanda Hakuzan (神田 伯山; Act Three - Middle-Aged Struggles)

Voice cast

Ninjaman: Kazuki Yao (矢尾 一樹, Yao Kazuki)

Muteki Shogun (無敵将軍, Muteki Shōgun): Tomoyuki Horita (堀田智之, Horita Tomoyuki)

Kakure Daishogun (隠大将軍, Kakure Daishōgun), Tsubasamaru (ツバサマル): Dai Matsumoto (松本 大, Matsumoto Dai)

Daimaou: Hidekatsu Shibata (柴田 秀勝, Shibata Hidekatsu)

Songs

Opening theme

"Secret Kakuranger" (シークレット カクレンジャー, Shīkuretto Kakurenjā)

Lyrics: Kayoko Fuyumori (冬杜 花代子, Fuyumori Kayoko)

Composition: Takashi Tsushimi (都志見 隆, Tsushimi Takeshi)

Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto (山本 健司, Yamamoto Kenji)

Artist: Tu Chee Chen (トゥー・チー・チェン, Tū Chī Chen)

Takashi Tsushimi performed under the name "Tu Chee Chen", which is the Japanese approximation of his surname as read in Mandarin Chinese: Dōu Zhì Jiàn.

Ending theme

"Ninja! Matenrō Kids" (ニンジャ！摩天楼キッズ, Ninja! Mantenrō Kizzu; "Ninja! Skyscraper Kids")

Lyrics: Hanadaiko Fuyamori

Composition: Takeshi Tsushimi

Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto

Artist: Tu Chee Chen