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ship_manifestoTitle: Kotobukitaisha
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
capncosmo
Fandom: Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger
Pairing: Kodou "Umeko" Koume/Enari "Sen-chan" Senichi
Word Count: ~2,000
Spoilers: The series & Magi vs. Deka
Disclaimer: Dekaranger belongs to Toei. Also, this is simply my opinion.
Notes: Special thanks to all the fic authors,mariko_azrael for the inspiration, and viewers like you. Caps are taken by me, translations by me (although you can see the TV-Nihon subs on the bottom of some caps), and a magazine scan from chibi_hidaka.
Kotobukitaisha
Dakara, kaisha ja arimasen kara!
Introduction
Tokusatsu (lit. special effects) is a genre that involves some amount of dudes in rubber suits stomping around tiny buildings. The first Tokusatsu were Godzilla movies, but TV also started using them for hero shows. People in the United States best know the genre from the Super Sentai's series adaptation into Power Rangers, but there are many Toku franchises including Ultraman and Kamen Rider that enjoy large viewerships.
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger is a part of the Super Sentai series. Sentai, lit. fighting squad, is characterized by a group of fighters, typically five, who transform into high-powered multi-colored suits and save the world. They also have a giant robot that is made from a combination of individual vehicles. The show is aimed at 10 year old Japanese boys, so it can be shallow sometimes, but especially compared to its American counterpart it has deeper characterizations and more intricate plotlines. It also has a pretty good sense of humor.
Dekaranger was 2004's sentai, 28th in the series. The main characters are all elite detectives for the Space Police, who are able to utilize special suits and equipment to investigate incidents involving aliens. The name comes from the word "deka," slang for "detective" in Japan, but also a play on the ten (deca) rangers in the series. It was very faithfully adapted into Power Rangers: SPD.
The team consists of brash newbie Akaza "Ban" Banban (DekaRed), super-cool professional Tomasu "Hoji" Houji (DekaBlue), incredibly talented if very eccentric investigator Enari "Sen-chan" Senichi (DekaGreen), enigmatic ESPer Reimon "Jasmine" Marika (DekaYellow), and boisterous and sincere Kodou "Umeko" Koume (DekaPink). They work at DekaBase (also a robot) with their giant blue dog-like mentor Doggie "Boss" Kreuger (DekaMaster) and mechanical expert Shiratori Swan (DekaSwan). Later in the series they gain a new member, Aira "Tetsu" Tekkan (DekaBreak), who leaves his job as one of the super elite to learn from the Earth-branch team about fighting using emotion. Most of the series lacks a coherent Big Bad, instead focusing on various cases, but towards the end a large plan but the ruthless Agent Abrera to take over Earth is discovered.
The biggest theme on the show is that emotion and effort are what actually leads to success. Several times the team is able to win battles that from an objective assessment seemed impossible. Another theme is the importance of friendship, particularly embodied in the relationship of DekaRed and DekaBlue.
Investigating with futuristic science: Enari Senichi
Enari Senichi, nickname "Sen-chan," has the defining characteristic of being incredibly strange. He seems to have his head up in the clouds all the time and pursues nonsensical leads in cases that leave the rest of the team scratching their heads. As one quickly learns, however, Sen-chan is anything but the ditz he appears to be. His leads materialize into concrete results, often seeing clues and fitting together pieces the others missed. His strength isn't purely mental, either; when angered he can perform almost superhuman feats. Sen is arguably the strongest member of the team between his keen mind and brawn, but it's hidden behind his dreamy expressions and quirky behavior.
On a personal level, Sen is a little difficult to figure out. We know he comes from a very large, very poor family, He doesn't much care about his image, and people constantly underestimate him. That said, he is an extremely strange person, often napping with a cleaning cloth on his head. It is his kindness that really stands out, though, especially towards those others might easily write off. He also, interestingly enough, gets the most dates (and a marriage proposal) out of anyone in the series.
With all possible speed, eliminating evil: Kodou Koume
Kodou Koume, nickname "Umeko," is the energetic field-leader of the Dekarangers (although the others might disagree about that). She is loud and feminine and perky, leading with her heart rather than her head. Her intuition is perhaps her most valuable quality, combined with her enthusiasm that can give her power defying reason. On the team she often works with their robotic dog, Murphy, and also possesses masterful disguise powers.
Not much is known about Umeko beyond her life in the Space Police, however; her family is never mentioned, nor is any kind of past experience, good or bad. She does love baths, though, and spends time soaking with her three rubber ducks, Umeyo, Umegoro, and Umenosuke.
Their Relationship
This pairing has the advantage of being a canon pairing, but also has the drawback of where it falls specifically in canon. That is, it is established that Umeko actually falls in love or realizes her feelings for Sen four episodes from the end of the series, meaning there aren't many ship-y moments before that. Of course, Sen and Umeko are introduced as a combo and do a lot of their investigating together, letting the viewer see the foundations of the relationship before it turned romantic.
The best example of this would probably be Episode 34. Umeko and Sen are sent out together to investigate because she asks to go with him, and while she doesn't really understand his unorthodox methods or leaps of logic, Umeko definitely respects his skills and trusts his judgment. Their comfort level and ease as partners is very apparent while they're on this case.
Other tiny moments can be found in Episode 47, when Sen is crying with his broken coffee cup and Umeko enacts punishment on his behalf, or Episode 48, when Sen holds her back to keep her from beating on a teammate in a very emotional scene. These two scenes were both post the start of their relationship, though, in Episode 46.
Episode 46, "Proposal Panic," begins with Umeko preparing to go on a date with her boyfriend of three months, Hironobu, who may just be the most perfect guy who ever lived. They banter for a little bit, Sen saying he knows how Umeko's relationships usually go, Umeko asserting how different Hironobu is from Sen, and her casually mentioning she might quit the force to get married soon. Of course, today of all days, there's a smuggling incident to be dealt with. Umeko completely owns the smuggler before rushing off to her date. Sen is not surprised by this completely stunning turn of events, but the rest of the team is.
Umeko's boyfriend does actually propose to her, but she asks him to wait. Meanwhile, the others get the scoop out of Sen and learn what was being smuggled: mushrooms that allow people who eat them to deceive others into thinking they're completely perfect. They plan to have Murphy, their robotic dog, follow the scent, but he starts barking at Umeko as she comes back. The others rationalize this, but Sen begins to put some disturbing pieces together.
As the other four go with Murphy to follow the trail, Sen speaks to Umeko privately. He points out her boyfriend is an alien, finding it suspicious he hasn't told her. Further, he puts some other information together that suggests Hironobu is using the mushrooms to deceive her. Umeko doesn't take that well, and Sen and their Boss are distressed to find out 'Hironobu' seems to be a swindler who steals pure hearts, killing his victims in the process.
Sen quickly puts together a plan to lure out 'Hironobu,' and he confesses everything in a fit of bravado. Unfortunately, Umeko had seen the plan in action and was listening to the entire conversation. With his gun trained on 'Hironobu,' Sen decides to ask about Umeko. The swindler says some very hurtful things about her, including stamping on the handmade doll she had given him. At this point, Sen puts his gun away and carefully picks up the doll, before chastising 'Hironobu' for trampling on her feelings while showing great insight in seeing past the sunny exterior of Umeko's personality. By this point he's so anrgy he charges and gets into a fist fight with the alien. Sen intends to wrap things up without involving Umeko, but she steps in front of him and takes care of things herself.
Umeko tries to put on a brave face, but continuing with his insights, Sen tells her it's okay to be upset. He then comforts her as she cries. A few days later, she's back to her usual boisterous self, freaking out over her horoscope, which has informed her she will have a new love soon. Very suddenly, she realizes that new love might just might be Sen, leaving us on a hopeful note.
The part that really solidifies their relationship is the team-up special, Magiranger vs. Dekaranger. The movie *opens* with Sen being late for their date (resulting in an angry Umeko and punishment headlock). In the middle, Umeko does the usual narration to explain Sen's thinking pose. And at the end they kind of have a discussion about maybe getting married someday, before another character plays matchmaker and they're suitably flustered.
Why I Ship Them
Dekaranger is my favorite sentai series so far entirely because of the team itself. Even taking a larger focus, the team dynamics are interesting, and the characters seem to be more friends than co-workers. While this might be a drawback for an actual detective team, as a television show their strong bonds allow plots to oscillate between massive angst and off-the-wall humor while still remaining enjoyable and compelling.
I am typically inclined towards genfic and, beyond that, a dedicated multi-shipper, so you may have gathered I find Sen/Umeko to be a very special pairing for me to have written this manifesto. I won't lie; part of it is my love for canon pairings. But the other part of it is the deep, subtle connection Sen and Umeko have.
Sen needs someone who is not weirded out, or even phased, by his eccentricities. He needs someone who is more outgoing than he is, and who is able to understand what he's trying to say even when he's not saying it. And he needs someone very honest that won't take advantage of how nice he is. Umeko seems to be perfect.
Umeko, on the other hand, needs someone to be responsible. She needs a steady presence to balance the fact that she's so all over the place. And she needs someone who can intuit how she actually feels as opposed to what she shows everyone. Sen is also perfect.
Even though there were a lot of hard feelings about not fixing Sen up with the milder Jasmine, I don't think the pairing is outrageous at all. Moreover, in the series they seem to genuinely *like* each other and be good friends. They've worked together for a long time in a very demanding job that requires them to trust each other with their lives, and they actually spend more time together than with the others because they are paired up when on patrol.
Sen and Umeko have a quiet, steady kind of relationship that is built on the friendship and loyalty they had first, when they were just colleagues. It seems to be the time to be able to last, as opposed to something very passionate but ultimately without a lot of grounding.
Resources
These are resources for both Sen/Umeko and Tokusatsu in general in the English-speaking fandom. Despite most everyone in the fandom having seen Dekaranger, Sen/Umeko is somewhat of a rare pairing as far as fanworks are concerned. I've included my own links because, well, I'm a completeness nut :P
General
Sen/Umeko
In conclusion, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed my manifesto, and I hope you'll give the pairing a try!
Author:
capncosmo Fandom: Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger
Pairing: Kodou "Umeko" Koume/Enari "Sen-chan" Senichi
Word Count: ~2,000
Spoilers: The series & Magi vs. Deka
Disclaimer: Dekaranger belongs to Toei. Also, this is simply my opinion.
Notes: Special thanks to all the fic authors,
mariko_azrael for the inspiration, and viewers like you. Caps are taken by me, translations by me (although you can see the TV-Nihon subs on the bottom of some caps), and a magazine scan from chibi_hidaka. Kotobukitaisha
Dakara, kaisha ja arimasen kara!
Introduction
Tokusatsu (lit. special effects) is a genre that involves some amount of dudes in rubber suits stomping around tiny buildings. The first Tokusatsu were Godzilla movies, but TV also started using them for hero shows. People in the United States best know the genre from the Super Sentai's series adaptation into Power Rangers, but there are many Toku franchises including Ultraman and Kamen Rider that enjoy large viewerships.
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger is a part of the Super Sentai series. Sentai, lit. fighting squad, is characterized by a group of fighters, typically five, who transform into high-powered multi-colored suits and save the world. They also have a giant robot that is made from a combination of individual vehicles. The show is aimed at 10 year old Japanese boys, so it can be shallow sometimes, but especially compared to its American counterpart it has deeper characterizations and more intricate plotlines. It also has a pretty good sense of humor.
Dekaranger was 2004's sentai, 28th in the series. The main characters are all elite detectives for the Space Police, who are able to utilize special suits and equipment to investigate incidents involving aliens. The name comes from the word "deka," slang for "detective" in Japan, but also a play on the ten (deca) rangers in the series. It was very faithfully adapted into Power Rangers: SPD.
The team consists of brash newbie Akaza "Ban" Banban (DekaRed), super-cool professional Tomasu "Hoji" Houji (DekaBlue), incredibly talented if very eccentric investigator Enari "Sen-chan" Senichi (DekaGreen), enigmatic ESPer Reimon "Jasmine" Marika (DekaYellow), and boisterous and sincere Kodou "Umeko" Koume (DekaPink). They work at DekaBase (also a robot) with their giant blue dog-like mentor Doggie "Boss" Kreuger (DekaMaster) and mechanical expert Shiratori Swan (DekaSwan). Later in the series they gain a new member, Aira "Tetsu" Tekkan (DekaBreak), who leaves his job as one of the super elite to learn from the Earth-branch team about fighting using emotion. Most of the series lacks a coherent Big Bad, instead focusing on various cases, but towards the end a large plan but the ruthless Agent Abrera to take over Earth is discovered.
The biggest theme on the show is that emotion and effort are what actually leads to success. Several times the team is able to win battles that from an objective assessment seemed impossible. Another theme is the importance of friendship, particularly embodied in the relationship of DekaRed and DekaBlue.
Investigating with futuristic science: Enari Senichi
Enari Senichi, nickname "Sen-chan," has the defining characteristic of being incredibly strange. He seems to have his head up in the clouds all the time and pursues nonsensical leads in cases that leave the rest of the team scratching their heads. As one quickly learns, however, Sen-chan is anything but the ditz he appears to be. His leads materialize into concrete results, often seeing clues and fitting together pieces the others missed. His strength isn't purely mental, either; when angered he can perform almost superhuman feats. Sen is arguably the strongest member of the team between his keen mind and brawn, but it's hidden behind his dreamy expressions and quirky behavior.
On a personal level, Sen is a little difficult to figure out. We know he comes from a very large, very poor family, He doesn't much care about his image, and people constantly underestimate him. That said, he is an extremely strange person, often napping with a cleaning cloth on his head. It is his kindness that really stands out, though, especially towards those others might easily write off. He also, interestingly enough, gets the most dates (and a marriage proposal) out of anyone in the series.
With all possible speed, eliminating evil: Kodou Koume
Kodou Koume, nickname "Umeko," is the energetic field-leader of the Dekarangers (although the others might disagree about that). She is loud and feminine and perky, leading with her heart rather than her head. Her intuition is perhaps her most valuable quality, combined with her enthusiasm that can give her power defying reason. On the team she often works with their robotic dog, Murphy, and also possesses masterful disguise powers.
Not much is known about Umeko beyond her life in the Space Police, however; her family is never mentioned, nor is any kind of past experience, good or bad. She does love baths, though, and spends time soaking with her three rubber ducks, Umeyo, Umegoro, and Umenosuke.
Their Relationship
This pairing has the advantage of being a canon pairing, but also has the drawback of where it falls specifically in canon. That is, it is established that Umeko actually falls in love or realizes her feelings for Sen four episodes from the end of the series, meaning there aren't many ship-y moments before that. Of course, Sen and Umeko are introduced as a combo and do a lot of their investigating together, letting the viewer see the foundations of the relationship before it turned romantic.
The best example of this would probably be Episode 34. Umeko and Sen are sent out together to investigate because she asks to go with him, and while she doesn't really understand his unorthodox methods or leaps of logic, Umeko definitely respects his skills and trusts his judgment. Their comfort level and ease as partners is very apparent while they're on this case.
Other tiny moments can be found in Episode 47, when Sen is crying with his broken coffee cup and Umeko enacts punishment on his behalf, or Episode 48, when Sen holds her back to keep her from beating on a teammate in a very emotional scene. These two scenes were both post the start of their relationship, though, in Episode 46.
Episode 46, "Proposal Panic," begins with Umeko preparing to go on a date with her boyfriend of three months, Hironobu, who may just be the most perfect guy who ever lived. They banter for a little bit, Sen saying he knows how Umeko's relationships usually go, Umeko asserting how different Hironobu is from Sen, and her casually mentioning she might quit the force to get married soon. Of course, today of all days, there's a smuggling incident to be dealt with. Umeko completely owns the smuggler before rushing off to her date. Sen is not surprised by this completely stunning turn of events, but the rest of the team is.
Umeko's boyfriend does actually propose to her, but she asks him to wait. Meanwhile, the others get the scoop out of Sen and learn what was being smuggled: mushrooms that allow people who eat them to deceive others into thinking they're completely perfect. They plan to have Murphy, their robotic dog, follow the scent, but he starts barking at Umeko as she comes back. The others rationalize this, but Sen begins to put some disturbing pieces together.
As the other four go with Murphy to follow the trail, Sen speaks to Umeko privately. He points out her boyfriend is an alien, finding it suspicious he hasn't told her. Further, he puts some other information together that suggests Hironobu is using the mushrooms to deceive her. Umeko doesn't take that well, and Sen and their Boss are distressed to find out 'Hironobu' seems to be a swindler who steals pure hearts, killing his victims in the process.
Sen quickly puts together a plan to lure out 'Hironobu,' and he confesses everything in a fit of bravado. Unfortunately, Umeko had seen the plan in action and was listening to the entire conversation. With his gun trained on 'Hironobu,' Sen decides to ask about Umeko. The swindler says some very hurtful things about her, including stamping on the handmade doll she had given him. At this point, Sen puts his gun away and carefully picks up the doll, before chastising 'Hironobu' for trampling on her feelings while showing great insight in seeing past the sunny exterior of Umeko's personality. By this point he's so anrgy he charges and gets into a fist fight with the alien. Sen intends to wrap things up without involving Umeko, but she steps in front of him and takes care of things herself.
Umeko tries to put on a brave face, but continuing with his insights, Sen tells her it's okay to be upset. He then comforts her as she cries. A few days later, she's back to her usual boisterous self, freaking out over her horoscope, which has informed her she will have a new love soon. Very suddenly, she realizes that new love might just might be Sen, leaving us on a hopeful note.
The part that really solidifies their relationship is the team-up special, Magiranger vs. Dekaranger. The movie *opens* with Sen being late for their date (resulting in an angry Umeko and punishment headlock). In the middle, Umeko does the usual narration to explain Sen's thinking pose. And at the end they kind of have a discussion about maybe getting married someday, before another character plays matchmaker and they're suitably flustered.
Why I Ship Them
Dekaranger is my favorite sentai series so far entirely because of the team itself. Even taking a larger focus, the team dynamics are interesting, and the characters seem to be more friends than co-workers. While this might be a drawback for an actual detective team, as a television show their strong bonds allow plots to oscillate between massive angst and off-the-wall humor while still remaining enjoyable and compelling.
I am typically inclined towards genfic and, beyond that, a dedicated multi-shipper, so you may have gathered I find Sen/Umeko to be a very special pairing for me to have written this manifesto. I won't lie; part of it is my love for canon pairings. But the other part of it is the deep, subtle connection Sen and Umeko have.
Sen needs someone who is not weirded out, or even phased, by his eccentricities. He needs someone who is more outgoing than he is, and who is able to understand what he's trying to say even when he's not saying it. And he needs someone very honest that won't take advantage of how nice he is. Umeko seems to be perfect.
Umeko, on the other hand, needs someone to be responsible. She needs a steady presence to balance the fact that she's so all over the place. And she needs someone who can intuit how she actually feels as opposed to what she shows everyone. Sen is also perfect.
Even though there were a lot of hard feelings about not fixing Sen up with the milder Jasmine, I don't think the pairing is outrageous at all. Moreover, in the series they seem to genuinely *like* each other and be good friends. They've worked together for a long time in a very demanding job that requires them to trust each other with their lives, and they actually spend more time together than with the others because they are paired up when on patrol.
Sen and Umeko have a quiet, steady kind of relationship that is built on the friendship and loyalty they had first, when they were just colleagues. It seems to be the time to be able to last, as opposed to something very passionate but ultimately without a lot of grounding.
Resources
These are resources for both Sen/Umeko and Tokusatsu in general in the English-speaking fandom. Despite most everyone in the fandom having seen Dekaranger, Sen/Umeko is somewhat of a rare pairing as far as fanworks are concerned. I've included my own links because, well, I'm a completeness nut :P
General
- TV-Nihon - Fansubbing group that released Dekaranger
- Toku Sanctuary & TokuRiders - Bittorrent trackers for Tokusatsu RAWs
- Dekaranger on Wikipedia
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
finalauraburst - The daily Tokusatsu fandom newsletter- sentai - The Sentai LJ community
- sentai_ai & sentaislash - Fanfiction communities
- sentai_icons - The Tokusatsu Icon community
Sen/Umeko
In conclusion, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed my manifesto, and I hope you'll give the pairing a try!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 05:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 04:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-19 05:57 pm (UTC)I'm *really* glad you thought it was good because I know your sentiments are not favorable towards Sen/Umeko. Thank you for reading!!
no subject
Date: 2008-03-20 08:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-20 08:59 am (UTC)I'm glad you liked it (^^) Although, I'm with you, I like my joke drafts better :P