The latest episode of The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World brings some fun and surprising ideas to the table. The cracks in its story structure are starting to show, though. What the series lacks in nuance it makes up for with creativity, but that can only carry it so far.
SPOILERS for episodes 7. Rated 14+ Nudity, Sexualized Imagery, Violence.
Into The Sun Forest
Surprisingly, the world building and history of the fantasy setting were more interesting than the presented story. Togo, Yihdra, Teltina, and Lowji investigate rumors of a mana seed in the Sun Forest, an elven sanctuary in the middle of a desert made from giant cacti. It’s a unique twist on the typical forest-bound elves and one I don’t think I’ve seen before.
The surprises continue when the elven champion Raniya confronts Lowji with her own Egypt-themed transformation equipment. Her design is top-notch and her powers are different enough from Togo’s to feel new and innovative. The action was also pretty enjoyable; Lowji had to keep adapting his fighting style to counter Raniya’s attacks. Her ferocity was fun to watch, which made it all the more amusing to see her personality switch from hardened warrior to shy introvert.
A Prophecy
After the fight, Raniya shows them a thousand-year-old prophecy, left behind by a party member of the first Otherworld Hero. Yihdra had referenced this particular Hero in episode 5, which reassured Togo of the likelihood of returning to his world. The idea of multiple Otherworlders has been done in several isekai anime, but the idea of the Hero’s legacy affecting the current protagonist, Togo, is intriguing. Togo also voices the possibility that he may know who left behind the prophecy. Again, another thought-provoking connection between past and present.
A New Villain
With the introduction of the elves comes a new villain, Lord Azir. He wants to invade the Sun Forest using the power of his mana seed, which turns anything he touches into sand. By the end of the episode, he’s accompanied by two other mana seed wielders. They all look pretty one-dimensional, though it’s hard to fault the show for that. The tokusatsu genre revels in its good-vs-evil formula and the setup between the elves and Azir fits that formula perfectly, for better or worse. It is annoying that it feels like a rehash of the Akalina conflict. It will probably end the same way, too.
Leave a Reply