This may be me personally but I very much see Gekiranger as this mid link between abaranger and toQger, which I didn’t previously link to each other despite being my two favourite sentai. Gekiranger picks up a lot of the elements from Abaranger, starting with a main trio of rangers, however it does a lot to make our redeemable villains seem actually redeemable. It’s another soft red who is willing to welcome even the worst but we see put through circumstances that they aren’t prepared for. There’s a lot that can be analysed into the influence of abaranger on this and this on ToQger, though there’s probably other seasons in between that will also have had influences.
While of the three this is my least favourite, know that that’s only because the other two are the absolute top of my list, this is far far from my least favourite and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
In life, there is training
Jyan follows my 50 bajillion mentions of Abaren and ToQ. Like Ryoga and Right, he's our soft protagonist who's maybe a little lacking on the braincell department but genuinely loves people, and wants to believe the best in others. He's sensitive to the feelings of others, allowing him to recognise how Leo and Mele falter in their ambition and like the others it makes for a good protagonist and influence to children.
In fun, there is training
OOF, Poor Ran spent her life dealing with Elehung being an absolute creep. The main upset of this series is Elehung's existence and position in training Ran. Ran is strong in her own right, a powerful and skilled geki user. She's a leader to this team in the way the others aren't and it does feel she maintains an important part of the balance.
In a trance, there is training
Retsu is gay for Bat Li, I support you you weird furry.
Retsu is primarily here to absorb our female character plots and whine about what an idiot Jyan is. He acts as the counter to Jyan in the triangle in a way as he's so serious, majestic, and has no interest in forgiving Leo.
In becoming your fursona, there is training
We severely under used the fact that Woofcat is in fact a were-woofcat. Gou is a gay disaster that decided to face his problems by becoming his fursona. We also get to see him dealing with facing the fact his baby brother has grown up and in his absence followed a dangerous path. It's good to see him coming to terms with the situation.
In being a non-functioning adult, there is training
Ken to me was kind of the one that got the short end character-wise. However, he's an endearing idiot so he's still good. He loves his sister, isn't a functional adult, sells important items for money, and tries to win everyone over with food. He's a good boy.
In a battle to the death, there is trai- hey wait what
Leo is this nice bit where he's not as awful as Mikoto, though it would be hard to be. He plays his part as a villain well, but it's made clear that he's still got some good in his heart. He is a good lion with a great pout. Never has a man attracted so many suitors in a sentai. I love Leo and it's interesting to learn the backstory leading up to who he is now and why he still has a heart.
We are right to trust this one. However, I feel the move in ToQger to have us see Zett change in the actual series was a bit more compelling in how it brought us to know he wasn't a bad person deep down.
In jealousy, there is training
Mele you deserved so much. It's so funny to me that her and Leo are meant to be a canon couple but all we can show is a hug so I GUESS! I do really like Mele and just want good things for her. She's not even actually evil, she just follows Leo in his ambition which is sweet though the framing can be a bit... well Toei isn't known for handling female characters well anyway.
In conclusion, hell yea watch Gekiranger. But also know that it’s got all the good fart jokes.
