Super Sentai has always been known to have a team of five members with their own unique personalities. Among them, Yellow is always identified as the toughest and strongest, or if female, the tomboy in oppose to her more feminine female comrade. On special occasions, a few selective series has idenfitied Yellow as the feminine of the pair, while her female comrade ends up as the tougher, stronger one. Yellow has appeared in every series since its first run, with three exceptions, and has been portrayed by both male and female actors, adding to an equal amount of 16 male and 16 female Yellows.
In order to avoid this article from turning into Wikipedia, let’s just move on to the Top 5 list. We shall start off with one of the Yellows at No. 5…
#5 Shibata Kenji as GoYellow/Tatsumi Daimon
Born the youngest of four brothers and the only sibling not involved in the fire department, Daimon is a policeman trained in judo. After GingaYellow/Hikaru, Daimon is the second Yellow to introduce the “Reckless Yellow” personality, while inheriting his precessedors’ strongman image. Despite being impulsive and ill-tempered, he has proved himself worthy when he defeated a Saima Beast, untransformed, with the Banba Style Cow’s Killer Milk Tornado Drop, which he also taught to GaoBlue/Samezu Kai in the 25th Anniversary movie.
When I got back into watching Super Sentai in 2005, GoGoFive was my second series (after Jetman) which had a male Yellow in it, so I just had to mention Daimon. I wasn’t too sure if I would like a male Yellow, since I grew up watching Power Rangers where all the Yellows were female, but after watching GoGoFive, I had a rough idea of the concept of a male Yellow. Granted, Daimon isn’t the best Yellow, but how can you not love him for his humor and that awesome Banba Style Cow’s Killer Milk Tornado Drop of his?
#4 Naruse Tomihisa as Yellow Owl/Ooishi Raita
Raita, a farmer, was just another randomly chosen Jetman. Denying the fact that he was hit by the Birdonic Wave, he refused to fight Vyram out of fear and adamant, but when they start destroying nature to which he holds dear, he was determined to protect it. Unlike the other two guys on the team, Raita wasn’t really a skilled fighter, but his brute strength and large sized body help made up for it. He is also historically known to be the last “Fat Yellow” in the franchise.
I’m not too sure of what to say about Raita, but he was the first ”Fat Yellow” I’ve watched onscreen. I didn’t like him at first since as stated above, he was a coward and refused to fight, which is not how a typical Yellow would react. However, he did prove his determination in the end. Like most of his senior Yellows from the 70′s and 80′s, he’s the comical big guy of the group and I guess that was the reason why I find him likable.
#3 Hayase Keiko as Hoshikawa Remi/FiveYellow
Born as the fourth child and also the older twin sister of Fumiya, Remi is a music teacher trained in kungfu. She was separated from her parents during Zone’s attack on another planet at infancy, thus she constantly suffers from not remembering their faces. She once got drunk when she fell into a water-turned-alcohol and confronted a monster using the infamous Drunken Fist style. Above it all, she’s disastrous at house chores and often leaves it to Kazumi or Arthur.
Having just completed Fiveman, Remi quickly became one of my favourite Yellows. She’s strong, independant and very skilled at kungfu! Who wouldn’t say she’s great when she defeated the fake Fiveman untransformed?! There are also times where she fought untransformed, so she definitely deserves a mention!
#2 Nakamura Youko as Yellow Flash/Sara
On of the five infants who were kidnapped by Mess for their experimental purposes, but thanks to the Flash Aliens, Sara was rescued and raised on the cold planet of Yellow Star. She’s always seen with a cold exterior, but is geniunely nice to anybody she meets. It is eventually revealed that she’s the daughter of Dr. Tokimura. Unlike her senior Yellows, Sara is the first Yellow to introduce the “Brainy Yellow” image and instead, Green Flash ends up as the strongest member.
Sara was the first Sentai Yellow I’ve seen onscreen in the 90′s and she has always been my favourite since childhood. Dubbed as the first beautiful Yellow in Super Sentai, she’s both beautiful and competent when it comes to fighting, so that’s why I came to respecting her as a heroine. It’s a shame that the current beautiful Yellows can’t be both at the same time.
#1 Yajima Yuki as Yellow Four 1/Koizumi Mika and Tanaka Sumiko as Yellow Four 2/Yabuki Jun
The first two female Yellows in Super Sentai history, Mika and Jun were chosen by Peebo to become Yellow Four when it was discovered they had Bio Particles. Mika was a photographer before shouldering the burdens of a heroine, but was replaced by Jun shortly after dying in Episode 10. Jun was an archer training to compete in the Olympics before she was chosen to become the new Yellow Four and she stayed with the team since then. Both females have introduced the “Tough Tomboy Yellow” image in oppose to their feminine female comrade and have also started the dynamic female duo concept.
How can I not mention these two? If it weren’t for them, there wouldn’t be any female Yellows up to this day! Since I started out with Bioman’s theatrical release, I’m more of a fan of Jun’s than Mika’s, but it would be wrong of me if I didn’t mention the latter. Both have proven themselves as tough as their male comrades, as well as pulling their female comrade out of sticky situations most of the time, and since they’re tomboys, I find it very easy to relate to them as I’m a tomboy myself.
So, to those who are reading this, who are YOUR Top 5 Sentai Yellows?