The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World Initial Review
Somewhere, somehow, a mangaka asked the following question: what if we put a super sentai protagonist in an Isekai story? How would these two different types of stories work together? What chaos would ensue from the clashing of genres? Apparently, not only did someone decide to find out, but it was enough to warrant the resulting manga an anime. This is The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World…and it might be one of the most ridiculous ideas of the year.
The Red Ranger Who Got Isekaied
Meet Asakagi Togo, AKA Red, AKA the Red Ranger of the Kizuna Five, his world’s version of the Super Sentai/Power Rangers. Right in the middle of their final battle against their nemesis, the (I’m not making this up) Breakup King, Red apparently sacrifices himself to end the fight for good. Instead of dying, though, Red wakes up to find himself in the middle of a world full of swords and sorcery. He got Isekaied.
Six months pass. Red has been trying to find a way home, only for its attempts to come up fruitless. However, after seeing all the hardships the people of this new world face, his sense of justice compels him to keep being a hero by becoming an adventurer. And, since he still has all his Sentai abilities, he can no-sell almost anything thrown at him. The people of this world don’t even understand what Red’s powers are!
Meet Yihdra Arvoln, the daughter and heir to a noble family of wizards. For generations, her family served their kingdom as, for lack of a better comparison, the Hands of the King, but with magic. Until her father lost the title to someone who wants to abuse magic for power and got exiled. Now, she’s trying to reclaim her family’s position by contributing to the study of magic. Sadly, every adventurer she hires to retrieve materials proves unfit for her high standards.
Then Red arrives and throws her for a loop with his powers, his ability to make enemies explode for no reason, and his constant talking about the importance of bonds. He talks so much about friendship and bonds, it would make Naruto proud!
This is a Satire. Don’t Take it Seriously
At this point, it should be apparent what kind of story The Red Ranger is meant to be: a satire. It’s deliberately playing up the more absurd aspects of the Sentai genre to make fun of how ridiculous the whole concept can seem to someone who doesn’t get it. However, the anime makes it evident that it’s meant to be playful ribbing rather than mean-spirited criticism. Despite how much Yihdra is thrown off-guard by Red’s personality, she realizes that he genuinely believes in what he says about the importance of friendship. Case in point, he takes the time to hear out her dream of using magic to help make the world a happier place. While she fully expects him to scoff or laugh at the idea, Red instead fully supports her goal because he’s just that nice.
At the end of the episode, Yihdra repays Red’s kindness by offering to form an adventuring party and work on finding a way to get him home. Red’s so moved by this act that he starts crying tears of joy!
Also, she doesn’t say it, but it’s pretty obvious from her expressions that Yihdra’s falling in love with Red. Opposites do attract, after all!
The Red Ranger is, by all accounts, a ridiculous show with a ridiculous premise. Yet, try as I might, I can’t help but want to watch it. With how prevalent the Isekai genre has become, people have had to get creative with their approach to it. So, why not have a Power Ranger get isekaied and see what happens? At the very least, it will make for some good laughs!
