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[series]: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
[character]: Ikari Gai
[character history / background]:
The various Super Sentai teams have guarded and protected Earth for the past 35 years. Peace has reigned, and the world has remained safe. With the arrival of the Zangyack Empire, this peace was threatened and the heroes which have protected us time and time took up arms to protect us once again. In one final attack, every single Ranger transformed their power into a devastating attack to defeat the invasion by the Zangyack Empire at the cost of their own power. For several years, everything looked fine... until the Zangyack Empire returned for round two. Nobody expected space pirates to get involved, especially space pirates who happened to be the newest Sentai team, bearing the powers and forms of the previous 34 Sentai teams. These pirates are wanted by the Zangyack Empire, but the Pirates frankly don't care about the Zangyacks or the Earth to begin with. All they want to do is find the Greatest Treasure in the Universe... which is apparently on Earth.
Ikari Gai is simply put, a fanboy for Super Sentai at large. Someone who is knowledgeable about them and who wishes to become a hero just like them. This zeal leads to him getting very hurt saving a child from getting hit in a car accident. During the coma that he fell into after this accident, he is visited by the spirits of three fallen Rangers who grant him the necessary items to become a Ranger, to become Gokai Silver. He awakens to find that the dream he had of this wasn't a dream, and that has the Gokai Silver Ranger Key. With this, he seeks to find the other Gokaigers and to prove to them that he is worthy of being on their team. After revealing that he has a Gokaiger key to the crew, he is taken in, in order to see if he is worthy of becoming part of their crew as according to their Captain's belief. His desire to protect people from the Zangyack Empire even if he didn't have the ability to transform into a Gokaiger ultimately proves him to the crew. With his desire to ultimately defeat the Zangyack Empire so that Earth can be at peace, he joins the crew in their (mis)adventures.
[character abilities]:
- Using his Gokai Cellular and a Ranger Key, he can become Gokai Silver and/or can transform into any "Sixth" Ranger in Super Sentai history. Theoretically he can become any non-Gokaiger based Ranger but this has been yet to be seen. After his Ranger belt is connected to the Ranger Key Treasure Chest via Navi creating a Ranger Road between the two items, he can summon any Ranger Key it holds with some concentration, although some notable distance between the chest and his actual person may prevent this from working. Through his strange ability to inherently combine the Ranger Keys, he can combine keys in strange ways to create specialty keys such as Go-on Wings or most importantly create the Gold Anchor Key to transform in his Gold Mode, which combines the power of all (Previous) Secondary Ranger Keys into one form, gaining him armor and increased power. His Gokai Spear can transform between a Spear, Gun and Trident Form to allow him to fight a variety of enemy types. By using the correct Ranger Key, he can initiate finishing moves with his weapon. (While in alternate Ranger Forms, he gains all their inherent abilities, although this is again limited by which keys he has access to, also known as whatever keys he has on his person when he enters the City.)
- Through use of his mastery of the Timeranger, Zyuranger, and Abaranger Legendary Powers, he can summon his giant robo, Gojyu Drill via TimeFire's Ranger Key, and then further transform it to Gojyu Rex and Gojyujin with the Dragon Ranger and Abare Killer Keys respectfully.
- He seems to be a regular old human, with rather notable fighting skills. He may or may not have access to a hammerspace in order store items related to Super Sentai that he needs on a moment's notice to explain the details of a previous Super Sentai team. This ability may or may be related to him being an utter fanboy of extreme levels. Additionally, he is shown himself to be a competent cook, able to make a decent and delicious meal within a short period time.
[character personality]:
In a nutshell, Gai is the expy for the fanboy/girl in us all, which suddenly gets to live their dream and become a costumed superhero. That little fact is what drives a great deal of what Gai's about. He's a fanboy to begin with, and a fanboy who's been allowed to join something that he's dedicated to... which is potentially a dangerous combination. His fanboyishness makes him a bit geeky and silly, to the point that he knows little details that most others would probably forget. This geeky fanboyishness also makes him be able to suddenly pull necessary props out of hammerspace to explain the situation that only he can. It also makes him weak at the knees when he's confronted with the objects of his fanboyishness, to the point that he'll have an autograph book in his hands... then will start squeeing once he has an autograph.
In his drive to basically emulate what he considers the ideal nature of being a Ranger, he's adopted several qualities such as being overly idealistic and heroic. His idealism shows in ways such as how he imagines his (then future) shipmates to act a certain way because they are Rangers, even though that it's completely contradictory to their actual personalities. The idealism also drives him to become the ideal hero, to the point that his dream (outside of becoming a Ranger) is to protect the Earth by defeating the Zangyack Empire. He wants to follow the heroic tradition of saving the Earth. That seems to happen each year, every year... generally ending in February. In emulating the ideal of the hero, he's willing to go out of his way to save someone from being hit by a car accident, even at the risk of his own well-being. Being a Ranger means he's a part of a team, and he's loyal to them in many ways because of that. While he believes himself to be individually awesome, their collective sum makes them even more awesome. It is from their friendship and the loyalty to each other that year after year they are able to save the Earth from whatever is threatening them this time. He ultimately views the idea of being a hero as being a way of life, to the point that when given options which would defer power over to former Rangers so that they can basically take over the fight while he may consider their offer, he'll reject their help because he knows that this is his "trial". That this is his time to act and be the hero, and ultimately to become legendary like they have in the past. This is his responsibility now, not theirs because the torch has been ultimately passed. Since he's a part of team and a greater legacy, he's loyal to them and the ideals they ultimately stand for, but he knows that he must sometimes break the letter of the law in order to honor the spirit of their “law”.
While not necessarily a personality trait, he can ultimately be described as being adorkable. His fanboyishness for example shows a bit of awkwardness or even acting like a complete geek under the right situation. His behavior is silly at times because he's too caught up in the moment. This behavior frequently causes him to overact or even overreact. He's dedicated and earnest to everything he enjoys, the people he calls his friends, to the ideals he lives by... and quite often that makes him seem almost surreal because nobody could be that seemingly idealistic or simply because he just does act that way naturally.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: Episode 17, right before he transforms for the very first time.
[journal post]:
WAIT A SECOND!
[Gai can be seen in the middle of the Fountain, in a bit of a slouching position with both arms extended out, as if he's trying to stop a fight. He starts to then look up...]
I'll take care of... this?! Huh?! Where did they go? AGAIN?! Don't tell me they learned how to be ninjas too. No, they're pirates, not ninjas. They just disappeared way too quickly. Again. Waaaiit---
[He starts looking around frantically, before looking down to his feet submerged in the fountain.]
Why am I standing in the middle of a fountain? I wasn't here a minute ago. [He then slaps himself several times.] No. Have to focus. I need to prove myself to them. I just need to find them. Again. For the third time now.
[He starts looking around again, but much calmer this time.]
Huh.
[With that, Gai drops to his knees, and starts a scream to the sky.]
WHERE AM I?! WHERE DID EVERYONE GO?!?!
[third person / log sample]:
The Legendary War changed everything.
For Gai it was an end of a legacy. Of something he could always try to be and become. The truly super role models were suddenly human. It didn't mean they weren't heroes in Gai's eyes, but they no longer had the same level of mystique they had before. (It was a small lie technically for Gai. They had the same mystique, they just had lost one of the tools they had to maintain that mystique. It would take meeting the Black Knight himself to make him truly realize this. Their lack of powers didn't make them any less super.) The heroes had gone all out, to protect them from the invading Empire. They succeeded but their victory seemed pyrrhic. No more teams seemed to appear out of the crannies, but then again there seemed to be no more villains that the people needed protecting from. Gai aspired to become one of them, and with the Legendary War gone and past, there seemed to be no chance at all. Gai may have been an idealist who deep down realized he may never become one of these heroes, but before there was a chance at least. They were always developing to challenge the newest threat that arose. Now, these truly super heroes were a dying breed. There would be no more role models for him to aspire to become, or for future children. A small part of Gai was very afraid because of this, but a larger part of Gai wouldn't let this get him down.
The idea they stood for, the archetype that they had become for the people of the world, that wasn't something that could be easily forgotten. Gai may not have had the words to say this with any sense of elegance, but he believed in that. Gai truly loved what they stood for. For peace, justice and protecting the innocent everywhere. Gai aimed to become just like them when as a child because he saw what they did for the people of the world. He made them the archetype he'd follow. He would try to follow that pattern, even though his adoration of them bogged him down at time.
Time passed by and Gai continued to follow in the steps of the heroes of now apparent yore. Some may consider him a little overeager but he won't let that criticism hold him down. He was a scholar in what the heroes were in everything but having some actual credential on the matter. He was a polite well-behaved man who acted always for the good of others. Making sure to help little old ladies up the stairs or across the street because that feat was heroic in at least concept. Making sure children were paying attention when crossing the street because yes, there was team that was famous for their traffic safety lessons. He was a man who was on his way to becoming a hero... if only another team would appear. Earth was at peace finally as it looked, and while he wanted to become a hero, he wasn't selfish enough to wish trouble upon everyone else.
Then the pirates arrived. Not pirates in the most literal sense, but ones who held the name nonetheless. Their arrival changed everything. They weren't just pirates, but a new team of heroes. Heroes who could use all the powers of the heroes who had come before. Heroes who represented everything Gai had strived to emulate. Gai knew he had no chance to join, so he continued on being the man he was. Saving a little girl from certain peril was a step in the right direct for Gai, whether he knew it or not. He caught the attention of those who had fallen being heroes. He caught the attention of those who judged him as someone who could become a hero.
[character]: Ikari Gai
[character history / background]:
The various Super Sentai teams have guarded and protected Earth for the past 35 years. Peace has reigned, and the world has remained safe. With the arrival of the Zangyack Empire, this peace was threatened and the heroes which have protected us time and time took up arms to protect us once again. In one final attack, every single Ranger transformed their power into a devastating attack to defeat the invasion by the Zangyack Empire at the cost of their own power. For several years, everything looked fine... until the Zangyack Empire returned for round two. Nobody expected space pirates to get involved, especially space pirates who happened to be the newest Sentai team, bearing the powers and forms of the previous 34 Sentai teams. These pirates are wanted by the Zangyack Empire, but the Pirates frankly don't care about the Zangyacks or the Earth to begin with. All they want to do is find the Greatest Treasure in the Universe... which is apparently on Earth.
Ikari Gai is simply put, a fanboy for Super Sentai at large. Someone who is knowledgeable about them and who wishes to become a hero just like them. This zeal leads to him getting very hurt saving a child from getting hit in a car accident. During the coma that he fell into after this accident, he is visited by the spirits of three fallen Rangers who grant him the necessary items to become a Ranger, to become Gokai Silver. He awakens to find that the dream he had of this wasn't a dream, and that has the Gokai Silver Ranger Key. With this, he seeks to find the other Gokaigers and to prove to them that he is worthy of being on their team. After revealing that he has a Gokaiger key to the crew, he is taken in, in order to see if he is worthy of becoming part of their crew as according to their Captain's belief. His desire to protect people from the Zangyack Empire even if he didn't have the ability to transform into a Gokaiger ultimately proves him to the crew. With his desire to ultimately defeat the Zangyack Empire so that Earth can be at peace, he joins the crew in their (mis)adventures.
[character abilities]:
- Using his Gokai Cellular and a Ranger Key, he can become Gokai Silver and/or can transform into any "Sixth" Ranger in Super Sentai history. Theoretically he can become any non-Gokaiger based Ranger but this has been yet to be seen. After his Ranger belt is connected to the Ranger Key Treasure Chest via Navi creating a Ranger Road between the two items, he can summon any Ranger Key it holds with some concentration, although some notable distance between the chest and his actual person may prevent this from working. Through his strange ability to inherently combine the Ranger Keys, he can combine keys in strange ways to create specialty keys such as Go-on Wings or most importantly create the Gold Anchor Key to transform in his Gold Mode, which combines the power of all (Previous) Secondary Ranger Keys into one form, gaining him armor and increased power. His Gokai Spear can transform between a Spear, Gun and Trident Form to allow him to fight a variety of enemy types. By using the correct Ranger Key, he can initiate finishing moves with his weapon. (While in alternate Ranger Forms, he gains all their inherent abilities, although this is again limited by which keys he has access to, also known as whatever keys he has on his person when he enters the City.)
- Through use of his mastery of the Timeranger, Zyuranger, and Abaranger Legendary Powers, he can summon his giant robo, Gojyu Drill via TimeFire's Ranger Key, and then further transform it to Gojyu Rex and Gojyujin with the Dragon Ranger and Abare Killer Keys respectfully.
- He seems to be a regular old human, with rather notable fighting skills. He may or may not have access to a hammerspace in order store items related to Super Sentai that he needs on a moment's notice to explain the details of a previous Super Sentai team. This ability may or may be related to him being an utter fanboy of extreme levels. Additionally, he is shown himself to be a competent cook, able to make a decent and delicious meal within a short period time.
[character personality]:
In a nutshell, Gai is the expy for the fanboy/girl in us all, which suddenly gets to live their dream and become a costumed superhero. That little fact is what drives a great deal of what Gai's about. He's a fanboy to begin with, and a fanboy who's been allowed to join something that he's dedicated to... which is potentially a dangerous combination. His fanboyishness makes him a bit geeky and silly, to the point that he knows little details that most others would probably forget. This geeky fanboyishness also makes him be able to suddenly pull necessary props out of hammerspace to explain the situation that only he can. It also makes him weak at the knees when he's confronted with the objects of his fanboyishness, to the point that he'll have an autograph book in his hands... then will start squeeing once he has an autograph.
In his drive to basically emulate what he considers the ideal nature of being a Ranger, he's adopted several qualities such as being overly idealistic and heroic. His idealism shows in ways such as how he imagines his (then future) shipmates to act a certain way because they are Rangers, even though that it's completely contradictory to their actual personalities. The idealism also drives him to become the ideal hero, to the point that his dream (outside of becoming a Ranger) is to protect the Earth by defeating the Zangyack Empire. He wants to follow the heroic tradition of saving the Earth. That seems to happen each year, every year... generally ending in February. In emulating the ideal of the hero, he's willing to go out of his way to save someone from being hit by a car accident, even at the risk of his own well-being. Being a Ranger means he's a part of a team, and he's loyal to them in many ways because of that. While he believes himself to be individually awesome, their collective sum makes them even more awesome. It is from their friendship and the loyalty to each other that year after year they are able to save the Earth from whatever is threatening them this time. He ultimately views the idea of being a hero as being a way of life, to the point that when given options which would defer power over to former Rangers so that they can basically take over the fight while he may consider their offer, he'll reject their help because he knows that this is his "trial". That this is his time to act and be the hero, and ultimately to become legendary like they have in the past. This is his responsibility now, not theirs because the torch has been ultimately passed. Since he's a part of team and a greater legacy, he's loyal to them and the ideals they ultimately stand for, but he knows that he must sometimes break the letter of the law in order to honor the spirit of their “law”.
While not necessarily a personality trait, he can ultimately be described as being adorkable. His fanboyishness for example shows a bit of awkwardness or even acting like a complete geek under the right situation. His behavior is silly at times because he's too caught up in the moment. This behavior frequently causes him to overact or even overreact. He's dedicated and earnest to everything he enjoys, the people he calls his friends, to the ideals he lives by... and quite often that makes him seem almost surreal because nobody could be that seemingly idealistic or simply because he just does act that way naturally.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]: Episode 17, right before he transforms for the very first time.
[journal post]:
WAIT A SECOND!
[Gai can be seen in the middle of the Fountain, in a bit of a slouching position with both arms extended out, as if he's trying to stop a fight. He starts to then look up...]
I'll take care of... this?! Huh?! Where did they go? AGAIN?! Don't tell me they learned how to be ninjas too. No, they're pirates, not ninjas. They just disappeared way too quickly. Again. Waaaiit---
[He starts looking around frantically, before looking down to his feet submerged in the fountain.]
Why am I standing in the middle of a fountain? I wasn't here a minute ago. [He then slaps himself several times.] No. Have to focus. I need to prove myself to them. I just need to find them. Again. For the third time now.
[He starts looking around again, but much calmer this time.]
Huh.
[With that, Gai drops to his knees, and starts a scream to the sky.]
WHERE AM I?! WHERE DID EVERYONE GO?!?!
[third person / log sample]:
The Legendary War changed everything.
For Gai it was an end of a legacy. Of something he could always try to be and become. The truly super role models were suddenly human. It didn't mean they weren't heroes in Gai's eyes, but they no longer had the same level of mystique they had before. (It was a small lie technically for Gai. They had the same mystique, they just had lost one of the tools they had to maintain that mystique. It would take meeting the Black Knight himself to make him truly realize this. Their lack of powers didn't make them any less super.) The heroes had gone all out, to protect them from the invading Empire. They succeeded but their victory seemed pyrrhic. No more teams seemed to appear out of the crannies, but then again there seemed to be no more villains that the people needed protecting from. Gai aspired to become one of them, and with the Legendary War gone and past, there seemed to be no chance at all. Gai may have been an idealist who deep down realized he may never become one of these heroes, but before there was a chance at least. They were always developing to challenge the newest threat that arose. Now, these truly super heroes were a dying breed. There would be no more role models for him to aspire to become, or for future children. A small part of Gai was very afraid because of this, but a larger part of Gai wouldn't let this get him down.
The idea they stood for, the archetype that they had become for the people of the world, that wasn't something that could be easily forgotten. Gai may not have had the words to say this with any sense of elegance, but he believed in that. Gai truly loved what they stood for. For peace, justice and protecting the innocent everywhere. Gai aimed to become just like them when as a child because he saw what they did for the people of the world. He made them the archetype he'd follow. He would try to follow that pattern, even though his adoration of them bogged him down at time.
Time passed by and Gai continued to follow in the steps of the heroes of now apparent yore. Some may consider him a little overeager but he won't let that criticism hold him down. He was a scholar in what the heroes were in everything but having some actual credential on the matter. He was a polite well-behaved man who acted always for the good of others. Making sure to help little old ladies up the stairs or across the street because that feat was heroic in at least concept. Making sure children were paying attention when crossing the street because yes, there was team that was famous for their traffic safety lessons. He was a man who was on his way to becoming a hero... if only another team would appear. Earth was at peace finally as it looked, and while he wanted to become a hero, he wasn't selfish enough to wish trouble upon everyone else.
Then the pirates arrived. Not pirates in the most literal sense, but ones who held the name nonetheless. Their arrival changed everything. They weren't just pirates, but a new team of heroes. Heroes who could use all the powers of the heroes who had come before. Heroes who represented everything Gai had strived to emulate. Gai knew he had no chance to join, so he continued on being the man he was. Saving a little girl from certain peril was a step in the right direct for Gai, whether he knew it or not. He caught the attention of those who had fallen being heroes. He caught the attention of those who judged him as someone who could become a hero.