Song Collection: Choriki Sentai Ohranger

Welcome to the other half of my 1995 double-feature. In addition to looking at the song collection from Jukou B-Fighter, I am here to talk about the song collection from Choriki Sentai Ohranger.

I've kinda talked *around* this song collection quite a bit in the past, but this is my first time talking about it proper. There is the first time that I took a look at the abandoned ending theme song. Then the other time I talked about it. There is a ton of weird history behind Ohranger songs...and yet I've never talked about the CD known as Choriki Sentai Ohranger Hit Songs.

So here it is. I'll be using my copy of Ohranger Hit Songs for this review...which I had to dig up for photos since I didn't have any in the archive.

Choriki Sentai Ohranger Hit Songs
COCC-12884
1995.09.21

Ohpink being layered in front of Ohred has ALWAYS bugged me...

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01. Ohre! Ohranger / Kentaro Hayami

The series theme song...and a fantastic theme song it is. While it's always been speculated that Niji iro Crystal Sky was the intended theme song of the series, there is no denying that this is great way to start every episode of Ohranger. Those early episode with the narration that lead into the theme song were really the best.

Over on my B-Fighter review I mentioned that that series had a textbook Tokusatsu theme song. So does Ohranger...

It may not be as sterile as the B-Fighter OP, but it certainly makes up for it in sheer force. When these series theme songs are created, these are the songs that everyone at Toei and Bandai have to put up with for an entire year. They can't suck... This is the type of song they need to make.

I might not think this is the best, but it's damn fine.

02. Niji iro Crystal Sky / Kentaro Hayami

Legendary song.

Not only was it used as the ending song in the final episode, but it was also used as the episode preview music fairly often. It (allegedly) was meant to be the opening theme song, and it shows. It also had KYOKO (again, check out the previous post about this song) all over it. The structure of the lyrics is 100% her style.

While it never made it as a regular theme song, it certainly left a lasting impression on fans.

03. Choriki Gattai! Ohrangerrobo / Kentaro Hayami, Mori no kijido gassho-dan

As mecha-heavy as Ohranger is, it only managed to have two mecha theme songs. This is one of the two themes...and something of a dud.

The thing is, I actually like Ohrangerrobo when they weren't doing those fever-dream training montages with Red Puncher. This song is the epitome of generic filler songs. It's peppy, but never really goes anywhere. Wasted potential, for sure.

04. Kagayaki no mai / Mari Sasaki

I've previously talked about my love of this song in the past. This is the theme song for Juri and Momo.

The slick music track complements the great vocal track by Mari Sasaki. Sasaki previously performed Tsuruhime's theme song on the Kakuranger Song Collection. I definitely prefer this track as it is a much more solid production all the way around. The vocal effects are used sparingly and with expert timing. Plus there is that great music track.

05. Action! Ohranger / Kentaro Hayami

As the name would suggest, this is an action song for the series. I dig it, but can't get over uber-generic lyrics like "Action Action! Go Go Go!" sometimes. Haha.

The rest of the lyrics contain roll calls of all of the toys you can buy the Ohranger weapon arsenal, etc. Generic, but perfectly serviceable and decent.

06. Acha Kocha ChaChaCha / Kaneta Kimotsuki, Shinobu Adachi

I really don't like this type of song, but it certainly has it's fans. This is the character song for Acha & Kocha. Much like the Bandora song from Zyuranger, this track managed to make it into the series.

I will give it credit where it's due...these two aren't bad singers. This song is tolerable as a result, but I generally skip over it.

One of the strangest single pages I've ever come across in any Columbia CD booklet.

07. Makka na toukon! Red Puncher!! / Hironobu Kageyama

One of my all-time favorite mecha theme songs. This is the version to get, by the way. The Super Hero Chronicle version cuts out the "In the Red corner..." intro that makes this song so magical.

Not only is this one of my favorite mecha songs, I think it may be my favorite Kageyama tokusatsu song. Yeah, even better than any of his series theme songs. This is when he was at his finest.

Kageyama isn't the sole thing great about this song, either. The music is wonderfully upbeat with it's horns and frantic energy. Nevermind the fact that this is the theme song for a robot that killed it's test pilot and later played hopscotch with Ohrangerrobo.

CHAMPION DA ZEEEeeee!

08. Ohranger Spirit / Kentaro Hayami

I think this song is an understated gem. It really isn't a full-on action song or anything, but it is a nice little motivational track. OK, it may be a little bit cheesy, but I like it. Especially the little change-up for the outro.

It's just a sweet little 90s song.

09. VICTORY FIGHT ~Shori wo tsukame! Ohranger~

The second of two Kageyema tracks on this song collection. While it's not as sharp as the Red Puncher theme, and let's face it...nothing is..., I still dig the action song-ness of this one. It's pretty catchy.

10. Kinkyuu Hasshin!! Ohranger / Kentaro Hayami

While the series ending song we got is much different from the one we didn't, the one we did get was excellent. Do you follow??

I've always had a soft spot for this ending song. This decade gave us a lot of variety when it came to closing out Sentai series, but there wasn't a single stinker. Yeah, even the Fiveman ending song isn't bad.

The measure of a great ending song is the imagery that comes along with it. I can't not think of the montage-y ending of the series when I hear this.

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While I don't think this song collection is for everyone, I've always been a big fan of it. It's fairly consistent, which is something that seems to be elusive when it comes to these song collections. It also has juuust the right amount of variety. There are only a handful of singers, a single character song, and the super-popular song with Niji iro Crystal Sky.

I definitely recommend this song collection. The behind-the-scenes weirdness somehow lead to one of the most decently normal song collection. It's very good though, even if it's a bit scant at only ten tracks.

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Don't forget to check out the B-Fighter Song Collection while you're here.

See ya!

-CC

Previously...

The Toys That Made Us: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Blue SWAT Song Collection
Ninja Sentai Kakuranger Song Collection
The CD Collection