Juuni Senshi Bakuretsu Eto Ranger (十二戦支 爆烈エトレンジャー) is a 1995 Japanese anime television series by Shaft.
Plot
The series takes place on the continent of Mugen, a floating island ruled by Princess Aura, who derives her power from the Great God Goal, but is forbidden from leaving the island. Mugen is located over an ocean and connected to the sky by the Novel Pole, which contains the Novel Worlds; worlds based on stories created by the human imagination, such as folk tales, fairy tales, and literature. The protagonists are the Eto Rangers, anthropomorphic animals who represent the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. Their nemesis is the forgotten Spirit of the Cats, Nyanma, who was once known as Chocolat. She resents Aura from excluding her from the role of Ranger after she was disqualified from the race and seeks revenge by distorting Novel Worlds with Jyarei Monsters.
To return the Novel Worlds to normal and prevent them from collapsing, the Rangers travel to the Worlds in Kirinda to uncover the Jyarei Monster and purify it with Bakumaru's mirror, sometimes assuming the role of the story's characters.
Characters
Eto Rangers
Bakumaru (バク丸) (Rat)
The Spirit of the Mice and leader of the Rangers, who has a crush on Cream. He is afraid of cats, which he eventually overcomes with help from Gaō. He wields a saber, which he receives while in Momotaro's world, and the revealing mirror, which can summon a teammate who is not involved in a mission and reveal Jyarei Monsters.
Hols (ホルス) (Ox)
The Spirit of the Bulls, who transforms into a fierce bull when he sees anything red.
Gaō (ガオウ) (Tiger)
The Spirit of the Tigers, who can transform into a giant tiger by putting on his special pair of shades and shouting "Tora Tora Hai!". He helps Bakumaru overcome his fear of cats. He was in a relationship with Chocolat prior to becoming an Eto Ranger.
Cream (クリーム) (Rabbit)
The Spirit of the Rabbits, who has a crush on Bakumaru. She has enhanced hearing, and her magical carrot-shaped wand can change her or her teammate's costumes.
Drago (ドラゴ) (Dragon)
The Spirit of the Dragons. He rides on a white cloud and can transform into a giant dragon by counting to three in Mandarin and activating his crystal ball; while in this form, he can conjure hurricanes with his wings. He can also command weather and has various breath powers.
Nyorori (ニョロリ) (Snake)
The Spirit of the Snakes, who has telekinetic powers. He is wise and cunning.
Pakaracchi (パカラッチ) (Horse)
The Spirit of the Horses, who wields the Horse Shoe Boomerang. He is enthusiastic and is implied to have a crush on Souffle.
Souffle (スフレ) (Goat)
The Spirit of the Sheep, whose magical compact can detect metallic materials. She is implied to have a crush on Pakaracchi.
Monk (モンク) (Monkey)
The Spirit of the Monkey, who is fun-loving and silly, but does not get along with Pochiro. He is agile and skilled at imitating voices and scratching his enemies. He owns the Monkey See Monkey Do Voice Recorder.
Tart (タルト) (Rooster)
The Spirit of the Chickens, whose chicklet timer allows her to transform into a more human form. After Gaō sacrifices himself for her, she develops feelings for him.
Pochirō (ポチ郎) (Dog)
The Spirit of the Dogs. He values honor, but can be hot-headed, which causes fights between him and Monk. He wields a bone-shaped stick that can stretch.
Urii (ウリィ) (Pig)
The Spirit of the Pigs, who is the youngest member of the Rangers. He releases a powerful energy burst whenever he cries.
Others
Princess Aura (オーラ姫)
The ruler of Mugen and mentor of the Eto Rangers. She has light powers, which she derives from her master, the Great God Goal and speaks for him.
Lydia (リディア)
A photojournalist and reporter of Mugen Times, who is a friend of Aura. After witnessing Chocolat's transformation into Nyanma, she attacked and mortally injured him, after which his soul was transferred into Kirinda.
Kirinda (キリンダー)
A giant mechanical pegasus, which the Rangers use as their transport. When the Rangers defeat a Jyarei Monster, Bakumaru summons him to "purify" the monster and return a Novel World to normal.
Great God Goal (大霊神ゴール)
Evil-Spirited Monsters
Nyanma (ニャンマー)
The queen of the Jyarei Monsters. She was once Chocolat (ショコラ), the Spirit of the Cats, who was excluded from the role of Ranger after being disqualified from the race. Afterwards, she became Nyanma after Bagi exploited her grudge against Aura to manipulate her. She seeks revenge by using Jarei Monsters to destroy the Novel Worlds. As Chocolat, she was in a relationship with Gaō.
Gōsen (ゴウセン)
Gen'en (ゲンエン)
Rōran (ロウラン)
Juken (珠献)
Jarei God Bagi (邪霊神バギ)
Nyanma's master and the Jarei Monsters' leader. It is the true antagonist of the series, who manipulated her into becoming Nyanma. It attempts to destroy the Novel Worlds, but is destroyed by the Rangers.
Production
The series was produced by Shaft, with Kunitoshi Okajima as chief director, Mayori Sekijima as series composition writer, Takeshi Ike and Osamu Totsuka as composers, and Noritaka Suzuki as character designer.Several episodes were outsourced outside of Shaft: Big Bang handled episodes 3, 7, 15, and 21;[1] Office AO handled episodes 9, 14, 20, 25, 31, 36;[2] San Kikaku handled episodes 11 and 17;[3] and Samtack handled episodes 24, 29, 35.[4]
Episodes
Legacy
In 2020, the Eto Rangers appeared in a collaboration with Korean mobile RPG Crusaders Quest.[5][6]
