How I would fix Lupinranger vs Patranger Part 2: Fixing the Villains

From Sentai Kamen Pretty Fan Tumblr

A good group of heroes need a good group of villains to play against. Thus, when the villains are as mediocre as the heroes, it really hurts the show. I have no regrets in saying that the Ganglers are some of the most disappointing villans I've seen in Power Rangers and Sentai. The main villain and leader of the Ganglers is Dogranio Yaboon. Dogranio is basically a monster mob boss. He's the leader of a gang of monsters consisting of his bodyguard Destra Majjo, Goche Ru Medou, a female monster scientist who is in charge of growing the monsters as well as doing experiments on the safes embedded in each Gangler's body, and Zamigo Delma, the monster responsible for killing the loved ones of the Lupinrangers as well as possibly giving human forms to his fellow Ganglers.

On paper, these seem fine. However, the problem with the Ganglers is that aside from the premise, there is nothing about them that really makes them distinct as characters. The idea is that Dogranio is about to retire and needs to name his successor. So he declares that the first Gangler to conquer Earth using a stolen Lupin Collection Piece will be named his successor. So, what do the Ganglers do? They fart around and do crimes that don't really lead anywhere close to World Domination. You want to know what one of the Ganglers did? Basically create a cult of aerobic jazzercising that involved using his Lupin Collection Piece to mind control people. Yes, world domination through JAZZERCISING. The villainous fiend!

In my opinion, the premise is weak to justify the Gangler's presence in this world. Thus, I have thought of an idea that I feel makes for more compelling villainy. Dogranio is still head of the Interdimensional Crime Group Gangler, but instead of trying to find a successor, he's trying to build an army to retake his home dimension from his rivals that have driven him and his lieutenants out. Thus, using some of the Lupin Collection Pieces he's stolen from collectors and museums, he creates more Ganglers from actual human criminals, turning them into monsters that reflect their crimes and their inner personality. For example, a fire based Gangler could be born from an Arsonist. Thus, not only would the police have ample reason to go after them, but it adds a human element to each monster.

I admit that I have always liked the idea of humans being turned into monsters. It was done well in series like Kamen Rider W, where the idea of humans being turned into monsters was basically the equivalent of drug use and addiction to the power being a monster gave them, and Kamen Rider Fourze, where being turned into a monster was reflective of the person's dark nature and their need for either vengeance or self-satisfaction. As they are now, the Ganglers are just boring monsters of the week.

I would also have Dogranio have more of a presence in the series in order for him to actually present the threat that a long time interdimensional monster mob boss should have. For most of the series, Dogranio hasn't done much aside from sit in his Don Chair and... Well, nothing else. His presence as a Big Bad is so small that it is laughable and the same goes for his bodyguard Destra.

Destra should have more of an impact on the series than he does now. He should be like Goldar from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Willing to leap into the fight alongside the monster of the week in order to prove himself a threat. As of late, he hasn't done much and that is disappointing to me. My version of Destra would not only be more active in fighting the Rangers, perhaps having a nemesis relationship with either Lupin Red or Pat Red, but also have ambition beyond what he is now. Maybe he could believe HE would be a better boss than Dogranio, seeing their exile as the sign that Dogranio has gone past his prime, thus he plans to steal Collection Pieces for himself in order to boost his own power so he can take over the Ganglers. This, of course, would lead to his downfall and destruction at the hands of his so-called, failure of a boss.

The only one of the Ganglers that shows any active presence in the series is Goche. Goche is the scientist of the team and has done more than her two compatriots. Her main job is to make the monsters grow as well as experiment with the body safes that each Gangler has. I would keep her role in the story about the same, though her experiments would become more and more monstrous, to the point where she tries experimenting on normal people. It would work as establishing her as a villain in her own right and not just a flunky.

Now we've come to the villain that has needed just as big a presence as his contemporaries: Zamigo. Zamigo is the villain that is responsible for the Lupinrangers being involved in the story and for the most part he has done two things: Jack and Shit and Jack left town. It's so annoying to see a villain with potential wasted like this. He hasn't appeared for many episodes over THIRTY EPISODES IN, only appearing in at least three. If you have read my previous article, then you can tell that the silver haired ice user Zamigo would be responsible for Keichirou's family business going down the drain. To improve his character, Zamigo would have more of a presence and a much more developed backstory. To fit with the new canon, Zamigo would have been a con man and a killer, one that took pleasure in taking lives both metaphorically and literally. When Dogranio arrived in the main dimension, he was one of the first people that was turned into a Gangler. With his new power, he went on a killing spree for the sheer pleasure of it. By the end of the series, he would be the final villain, having outlived his contemporaries, including Dogranio.

While these changes are simple, I feel that they would help the show in the long run. A series with monster fights doesn't just need to have basic monsters, it needs to have villains that have character. That give use reasons to hate them beyond the fact that they are bad and the good guys need to stop them. The Ganglers could have been so much more, but instead they are just generic baddies that are so dull, they couldn't cut butter.

Come back next time for part three of how I would fix Lupinranger vs Patranger by giving it an actual overarching story.