Fighter D finds out he has a roommate, meets Sakurama’s Ranger peers and does his best to act like he’s the real deal. Read more in our Loser Ranger episode 5 review.
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The Loser Ranger episode 5 review
Loser Ranger episode 5 picks up right after Fighter D takes Sakurama’s place in the Ranger organization, with the real Sakurama moving to hide out in the forest. This episode is dedicated to D adjusting to Sakurama’s life as he comes into contact with Sakurama’s fellow trainees and his sister, Sesera, as well as someone who may be an ally to the alien. We also get to learn a bit more about Sesera, specifically that she’s more dangerous than one would believe.
Once D returns to “his” room in the White Dragon hideout for Ranger cadets, he thinks back on the chat he had with Sakurama in episode 4. The Ranger reveals that it was the Blue Keeper who saved him and his sister from the monster calling itself “God” and that he raised the two once he retired. He goes on to say that he attempted to expose how corrupt the Dragon Keepers were by meeting up with a news agency, but he was instead attacked by unknown assailants. He then asks what the Duster will do once the war is over and D does not have an answer for him.
After breaking a laptop containing information regarding Sakurama’s fellow cadets and taking it to Blue Ranger to repair it, the imposter is forced to hand out ID cards with the names of his peers on them to put names to faces, some friendly and others not-so-friendly. He then discovers something crucial that Sakurama left out: there’s another Fighter that’s living inside his closet.
This new monster complicates matters as Sesera wants to chat with “Sakurama” and encourage him to leave the Ranger organization. “Sakurama” decides that instead of doing that, he’ll stay and fight. Once she leaves, D tells the other Fighter that they’ll win their war and Sesera reveals that she’s got some skill when it comes to fighting multiple opponents.
The “new” guy on the team
Part of this episode works because it’s amusing to see Fighter D trying to fit in as Sakurama and not exactly doing a stellar job of blending in. D breaking a laptop filled with information about the real cadet’s peers and attempting to recall something “he” said to other cadets by saying he was talking about “righteousness and stuff” is funny because of how he blunders his way through things, yet still manages to keep his cover.
The scene where D discovers another Fighter living in Sakurama’s closet also makes things interesting when Sesera comes to visit him. This new Fighter is all about going in guns blazing and carving humans up without really thinking about any strategy, forcing the main character to keep a lid on her existence from “his” sister. This is done by D coming up with lies and literally cutting off the other alien’s head and locking it in a box to stop her from interfering.
The dynamic between the two Fighters adds some more spice since they don’t get along very well. Whereas the other alien fought with her comrades until the end, D and the rest of his group ended up being cowardly (in her eyes, at least) and followed the “deal” the Dragon Keepers established. It’s not how I expected them to act towards one another, but I’m happy they aren’t chummy with one another since it’s more fun to see them come into conflict.
Her inclusion was quite a surprise but made sense, given how Sakurama mentioned he wanted a world where monsters and humans co-existed. The female Fighter’s existence spiced things up in what would’ve been a rather dull scene if she wasn’t there. She also doesn’t like D very much and refers to him as a “Remnant” when he says he just came to the surface and doesn’t know how things work.
She raises a few questions that I’d like to have answered in the future and I’m eager to hear the answers to those queries. The addition of enigmatic individuals trying to keep Sakurama’s mouth shut is another topic that I hope gets discussed more in the future. Both the female Fighter and the attackers make things more intriguing and I’m glad they’re included.
A not-so-helpless big sister and dealing with colleagues
Sesera doesn’t get to do much here. She meets with her “little brother” to try and convince him to leave the Ranger organization and that the Keepers aren’t exactly morally good people. D rebuffs her request and says he came here to fight, performing well enough to both fool Sesera and ensure his new alien friend doesn’t attack him when he releases her. If it wasn’t for the final scene in the episode showing us that there’s more to her than meets the eye, I would’ve written her off as an uninteresting addition to the cast.
What holds things back is not much happening in this episode. Besides the female Fighter and the unknown assailants who attacked Sakurama when he tried exposing the Ranger organization, it’s basically just D getting used to his new life. The part where he has to give out ID cards to the other cadets is a dull way of introducing them and we don’t get to learn much about them.
A decent number of characters (seven, I think) are introduced in a short period and they either like or hate Sakurama. I hope future episodes flesh them out a bit more and make them more interesting since their debut here doesn’t do them any favors. There’s not much to write about these newly introduced characters other than their surface-level personality traits like being funny, arrogant, soft-spoken, etc.
If it wasn’t for D being a fish out of water (alien out of outer space?), the flashback where Sakurama got attacked, the female Fighter, and the ending where we learn a bit more about Sesera, I would’ve called this episode unexciting. Nothing much happens in this installment and I hope that changes with Loser Ranger episode 6 next week.
Final score: 5/10
Go! Go! Loser Ranger! can now be streamed through Disney Plus and Hulu.
