Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger



"A tiny paradise amidst a sea of skyscrapers: Akihabara. There we find three warriors who believe that "pain is power", who fight battles that exist entirely within their heads. They are..."

Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger (literally, Unofficial Squadron Akibaranger ) is an "unofficial" installment in (and Affectionate Parody of) the Super Sentai franchise. It began airing in April 2012 and runs concurrent with the official 36th Super Sentai series, Tokumei Sentai Gobusters.

Nobuo Akagi is a twenty-nine year old loser. He is a Super Sentai fanatic, lives out delusions of grandeur in his head, and crushes horribly on the female protagonist of an animated television show.

One day he and two others- martial artist Mitsuki Aoyagi and Cosplay Otaku Girl Yumeria Moegi (Stage Name)- are scouted to become the Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger, tasked with defending the Otaku mecca of Akihabara from the "Blatantly Evil Guerilla Marketing Firm B", who wish to re-purpose the land into a generic business district devoid of Otaku culture.

Armed with an encyclopaedic knowledge of Super Sentai tropes and no shortage of misplaced enthusiasm, they fight to become officially recognised as a Super Sentai team, complete with merchandising line and Sunday morning television show.

Except it's All Just a Dream. Or is it...?

The Akibarangers:

 * Nobuo Akagi, Akiba Red: Eccentric Otaku deliveryman for Sasaki's Ponpoko Delivery Services who has dedicated much of his life to being a die-hard Super Sentai fan, although his faith has recently been slipping thanks to the Moe main character of Z-Cune Aoi. As the leader of the trio, his vast and intricate knowledge of Super Sentai tropes is vital to their success against Maruseena and her cronies.
 * Mitsuki Aoyagi, Akiba Blue: Reserved and sometimes Tsundere high-school student who aims to be a master martial artist, but secretly also loves Z-Cune Aoi. The straight woman of the group, she's really only in on it to hone her martial arts skills on Maruseena's mooks.
 * Yumeria Moegi (Stage Name) (Real name: ), Akiba Yellow: A bouncy, happy-go-lucky cosplayer (and closet Yaoi Fangirl) who joined the team simply because she thought it would be fun. Sometimes drifts into daydreams about her next adventure at Comiket, but she can easily handle herself when need be.

Recurring Super Sentai tropes:
"Nobuo: [states one of his personal Sentai superlatives]... Akiba Red!! Mitsuki: ...Akiba Blue. Yumeria: [goes off about her cosplay adventures & dances about before being interrupted] Nobuo: Pain is power! Ready! All: Hikonin Sentai... Akibaranger! [followed by the team reacting to the explosion in some way]"
 * By the Power of Greyskull: Jūmōsō!
 * Chest Insignia
 * Brought to You by The Letter "S": It's a mashup of the kanji for 'Hi' in Hikonin with the 'A' for Akibaranger.
 * Color Coded for Your Convenience: Pointed out by Nobuo in ep. 1.
 * Eyecatch: The eyecatch seems to vary per episode. Generally they involve the live actors or morphed Rangers (and maybe Hakase) messing around in the same black smoke-filled stage, and some involve running off to the left. So far, not a single eyecatch was reused.
 * As befitting the Wham Arc, the eyecatch is taken over by Marushina and the Mooks in #7.
 * Finishing Move: Moe Magnum
 * Home Base: the Sentai Cafe (complete with "Secret Base" on its logo in large red kanji)
 * Humongous Mecha: Well, yes and no. There is a Transforming Mecha, Itasshar Robo, but it's an Itasha with a ridiculous paint job; and it's not really humongous, being more of a...
 * Mini-Mecha: Itasshar Robo is extremely small by Sentai standards, transforming from a normal car and remaining the size of a normal car, but it's bigger than the Rangers, at least.
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: All the episode titles have the word 'ita' in them, in a case similar to Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger and their usage of 'abare'.
 * In the Name of the Moon: Their role call is part subversion, part played straight. It changes each episode, usually following the template:


 * In #7, Yumeria was cosplaying as Satomi from Nijiyome Gakuen Z Cune Aoi, instead of continuing her rant she remarked that they should be more worried about in the real world instead.
 * In #8, Yumeria forgets her place in her rant so she starts a new one.
 * #9 has.
 * Make My Monster Grow: Averted, the monsters stay dead rather than growing, much to Nobuo's surprise.
 * Finally played straight in #7 when the Chief Clerk turns into a Giant Spider monster. Though not nearly as big as the normal instance of this trope, being closer to the One-Winged Angel transformations seen in Kamen Rider.
 * The Merch: Averted, which initially seems surprising, but makes sense considering the nature of the show . That said, merchandising does exist, but it is limited to collector-oriented pieces like SH Figuarts.
 * Monster of the Week: The Chief Clerks.
 * Mooks: The Shatieeks ("Sacrificial Corporate Drones")
 * "On the Next Episode of..." Catchphrase: "Good little kids, don't watch."
 * Spandex, Latex, or Leather: Latex armor, unlike most Sentai (spandex) or the concurrent one (leather).
 * Strictly Formula: Parodied in that each episode so far is a take at a different kind of Super Sentai episode. Hilarity Ensues as Nobuo tries to figure out what kind of episode is currently playing out (sometimes crucial to defeating the MOTW).
 * #1 is the parody of a Pilot Episode.
 * #2 is the parody of a Ten-Minute Retirement Episode.
 * #3 is the parody of a Training Episode.
 * #4 is the parody of both a Brainwashed Ranger Episode and a Doppelganger Ranger Episode.
 * #5 is the parody of a Parental Reunion Episode.
 * #6 combines elements of a Training from a Swordmaster Episode and a Movie-making Monster episode, along with generally spoofing the editing tricks and suit acting skill that go into the making of a Super Sentai series.
 * #7 combines elements of a villain storming the heroes' base episode and a stolen Transformation Trinket episode.
 * #8 combines elements of a Training episode and befriending the MOTW episode.
 * #9 combines elements of a Disbanded Team episode and a penultimate episode.
 * #10 combines a power transfer episode with a evil new senshi episode.
 * Stock Footage: Averted, at least for Yumeria's transformation. Whenever she's in a different costume, the outfit in her transformation changes accordingly. Especially noticeable in episode 4, though it's blink-and-you'll-miss-it in 3.
 * Stuff Blowing Up: Nobuo expects them, but the girls (at first) clearly don't.
 * Super Sentai Stance: Blue especially has trouble with these. Red usually pulls off his role in them well enough.
 * Transformation Trinket: The Moe Moe Z-Cune (MMZ-01), an "officially licensed" figure of Aoi that also transforms into the team sidearm and also acts as the communication device. It only worked in the delusional word.
 * Transforming Mecha: Itasshar Robo.
 * Two Girls to a Team: Among the whole team, Red is the only male. And given there are 3 in a team...
 * Naturally, Nobuo points this out.
 * Naturally, Nobuo points this out.

Tropes specific to Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger:
""Adding some new blood and abandoning the taboos and restrictions of the sentai genre, this is a forbidden reverse sentai series meant for the adult core group.""
 * Seventh-Episode Twist:
 * Ten-Minute Retirement: Nobuo in #2, after Hiroyo revealed to him that his adventures as an Akibaranger is merely a delusion, until he is snapped out of it by a drop kick from Deka Red (actually a man in a suit hired by Hiroyo). Nobuo notes that that was the same drop kick Ban used to snap Hoji out of it in Dekaranger.
 * Abandoned Warehouse: Invoked and lampshaded in the first episode.
 * Acting for Two: Episode 9 reveals that
 * Actor Allusion: In #4, an Imagine Spot shows Marushina going into past villainess outfits (Shelinda and Kegalesia) that also belonged to former porn stars. And in #7, Marushina's focus ep, we see Hakase handling a diorama that features Zonette, who also falls under this group.
 * Adults Are Useless: Mitsuki thinks this when everyone is too drunk to fight properly in #3.
 * Affectionate Parody: Not only of Sentai, but of Otaku who would watch Sentai into adulthood.
 * All Just a Dream: The Akibaranger powers and their entire conflict with the (fictional) Blatantly Evil Guerilla Marketing Firm B are simply a shared hallucination brought on by the Moe Moe Z-Cune and the Akibarangers' own imaginations. This Handwaves things like why the location suddenly changes after their transformation, why two non-combatants suddenly know how to fight and why Villain Ball is in full effect.
 * Alternate History/Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: This Japanese news post states that Akibaranger exists in a world with a rather different cultural backdrop; while Super Sentai exists pretty much as we know it today (as does Power Rangers), other series, even ones owned by Toei, are altered from their original forms, while others seem to not exist at all. Kamen Rider and Metal Heroes seem to be affected by this, the latter apparently having been replaced with "recent" anime such as Gavian and B-Trooper. Pretty Cure and Sailor Moon also do not exist. The Tsuburaya-owned Ultra Series does not exist in the Akibaranger verse.
 * Angels Pose: Done at the end of the opening. Also done as part of the Moe Magnum finisher.
 * Anime Hair: Not on the characters themselves, but rather molded into their helmets.
 * Shonen Hair: Nobuo/Akiba Red
 * Tomboyish Ponytail: Mitsuki/Akiba Blue
 * Girlish Pigtails: Yumeria/Akiba Yellow
 * As Himself: Ryuuji Sainei cameos as himself in #2. (Though he does voice his DekaRed self in the delusion world.)
 * Suit Actor Kazuo Niibori appears as himself in #6.
 * Bait and Switch: This gets pulled off in-between #3 and #4. At the end of #3, Mitsuki says that
 * Background Music: In-universe example. At the Sentai Cafe, Super Sentai opening themes can be heard in the background, there seems to be a different theme each episode, and the theme is relevant to something going on in the cafe.
 * #1. Seijuu Sentai Gingaman: Upon arriving at the Sentai Cafe, Nobuo spotted a man-sized model of Gingaman's Gingaioh.
 * #2. Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger: Yumeria is eating multiple bowls of curry to emulate the curry-eating yellows. The Abarangers' base was the curry house between the worlds, Dino Curry.
 * #3 has several:
 * Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger when Hiroyo is pondering how Nobuo could have.
 * Choujin Sentai Jetman when Nobuo compares himself (a ranger drinking booze) to the Badass Gai Yuuki/Black Condor.
 * Rescue Sentai Go Go Five when Nobuo and Yumeria are looking at that team's weapons in a magazine.
 * #4. Choushinsei Flashman: When Hiroyo is bored and Kozkoz lays out red helmets on the cafe bar, starting with Flashman's and ending with Zyuranger's.
 * #7. It's not a Sentai theme, but the Z-Cune Aoi anime theme is heard twice. And again in #8
 * #8. Mahou Sentai Magiranger, Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger & Kagaku Sentai Dynaman
 * Berserk Button:
 * Beyond the Impossible: In episode #9,
 * Bland-Name Product: Hiroyo searches the Internet with "Ugle! Japan" in episode 5. The page itself looks like Google's, but the logo is fashioned after Yahoo's.
 * Any toku that aren't Super Sentai are vulnerable to this in the show - even Toei productions, so there's no real reason for Writing Around Trademarks. See Alternate History above.
 * The Cameo: In episode 7, while Yumeria and Mitsuki reenact a scene from Z-Cune Aoi, a patron in the cafe mouths the words to the scene. This patron is none other than Keiichi Sato who did the designs for Z-Cune Aoi!
 * Catch Phrase
 * Card-Carrying Villain: Literally - all the villains carry business cards that they toss to the Akibarangers.
 * Cerebus Syndrome: As a result of the Seventh-Episode Twist, there's a lot more drama in the show's second half.
 * Chekhov's Gun:
 * Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: In #4 Nobuo and Yumeria struggle to not have delusions while Mitsuki is away at "training camp at Izu" but they keep getting into situations that relates to either sentai or their other interests.
 * Comic Trio: Right on cue, Nobuo is the leader, Yumeria is the follower and Mitsuki the only sane one.
 * Content Warnings: The series announcement on the official website ended on the following:
 * Content Warnings: The series announcement on the official website ended on the following:

"Nobuo: ...And it's only 108,000 yen! So cheap... So expensively cheap."
 * There's also the fact that Akibaranger acknowledges that Super Sentai is a fictional series produced by a television company, so they don't want to "ruin the magic" for young kids.
 * Cosplay: It is Akihabara; there are several cosplay cafes and shops.
 * Mitsuki cosplayed as Aoi in #7.
 * Cosplay Otaku Girl: Yumeria wears a Catgirl costume on the first episode, complete with an appropriately bright blonde wig. In #4, Nobuo points out that she's surprisingly good at cosplaying female sentai villains after she dresses up as Mele and does a remarkable job at acting like her, remaining in character even after morphing to fight.
 * Kozkoz even moreso. She enjoys dressing up as past Sentai heroines.
 * Crack is Cheaper: This side of being a fan is portrayed in-universe. Nobuo intensely stares at a mint-in-box Great Five toy, but Aoi-tan also tempts him.

"Mitsuki: There's an Aoi manga? I didn't know about this! Nobuo: Don't. You don't wanna read that."
 * Daydream Surprise: Happens a lot with Nobuo- we see him acting cool or heroic in his head, then being a lot more awkward in reality.
 * Dead Unicorn Trope: The fact that all Sentai Yellows love curry, lampshaded in #2 when Yumeria orders four bowls of curry, Hiroyo tells her not to overdo it, reminding her that only two (Daita Oiwa and Asao Hyo) had it as their Trademark Favourite Food.
 * Designated Girl Fight: #3. Mitsuki only managed to beat Marushina with Yumeria's help.
 * Doujinshi: Yumeria draws it in her spare time.
 * This becomes Chekhov's Skill in #7 when.
 * In #5, the team members come across "Z-Cune Aoi's Doujin Corner" in a store. Mitsuki confuses one such work for the real one (that's actually being made):
 * In #5, the team members come across "Z-Cune Aoi's Doujin Corner" in a store. Mitsuki confuses one such work for the real one (that's actually being made):

""We must be the first superheroes to actually nearly die after the enemy says 'before you die, I'll tell you!'""
 * Do-It-Yourself Theme Tune: The Ending Theme, "Ashita wa Akiba no Kaze ga Fuku", is sung by Nobuo's actor Masato Wada.
 * Dream Land: The Delusion World they fight in.
 * Dream People: Marushina and the Chief Clerks.
 * Elite Mook: Averted in #7. Turns out the Mook is actually a symbiotic host to the Monster of the Week, who's really a spider about ten inches long.
 * Event Flag: Referenced a few times, such as in the theme song. Mostly, it involves the villains doing something (Like telling the heroes their master plan before killing them) which in a Sentai series usually results in the heroes turning things around.
 * #3: Nobuo finds out that . He thinks this is a love flag.
 * Fake-Out Opening: The show kicks off with a Deka Red walking towards us, theme song and sirens blaring... but it's just Nobuo being a fanboy.
 * #8 starts with the Z-Cune Aoi intro instead - it's just our heroes watching the show though. The real OP kicks in later.
 * Fan Service: Mostly provided by the main villainess' costume, which is more Shelinda-y than Insarn-y.
 * Turned Up to Eleven in episode 4, the cosplay episode. Let's see: Yumeria cosplays as Mele, then in Nobuo's delusion, we see Mitsuki as Kaze no Shizuka, and Jeanne, with Yumeria as Lije and Hakase as Lijewel, then Hakase as Swan, then Sayaka as Tetomu, Sayaka/Change Mermaid and Shelinda, followed by Malshina as Shelinda, Wendinu and Kegalesia. Whew!
 * Freudian Trio
 * Ego: Nobuo
 * Superego: Mitsuki
 * Id: Yumeria
 * Fun with Acronyms: Nobuo works for Sasaki Ponpoko Delivery. Being a Sentai fanboy, he exploits it to mean the other S.P.D..
 * Gag Censor: In #3, a Mook's face appears over Maruseena's mouth when she starts to swear.
 * Gainaxing: Happens with Yumeria (amusingly only her) during the henshin sequence.
 * Genre Savvy: Nobuo is as much an Ascended Fanboy as Gai Ikari, only, this being a parody, his attempts at heroism don't always work out. When it does though, well, see Event Flag.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: Thus, Nobuo is this at least half the time. More than once, he stares dumbfounded as the rules are being broken. Also, he thought the third Ranger (after learning he was red and Mitsuki was blue) might be a green or a pink, when we know all 3-member starting teams are red, blue, and yellow.
 * However, that last part might have just been him thinking that they were going to have the full 5 member team, and he wasn't sure which of them was going to be next.
 * He is surprised when the first monster doesn't grow after it is defeated even though in several series, most recently Goseiger and Gokaiger, the first monsters of the week didn't become giant either.
 * The heroes stop the Monster of the Week's movements so they can use Moe Magnum on the monster.
 * In the first episode they started the fight with their Finishing Move. The monster calls them out on it, saying that using their best move right at the beginning is unfair (and because he had to sacrifice his mooks to block it).
 * Hand Signals: Used in #2 by the fake Deka Red to give his message to Nobuo, as he was actually a man in a suit hired by Hiroyo and as such couldn't speak, he eventually resorts to giving Nobuo the same drop kick Ban used to snap Hoji out of it in Dekaranger.
 * Hard-Drinking Tropes: Episode #3 provides a few of these:
 * Drunken Master: .....Sort of. Hiroyo tells them that alcohol can help them become more delusional and, hopefully more powerful. This leads into a-
 * Drunken Montage: Most of the episode is spent on Akagi and Moegi getting sloshed in hopes of increasing their delusional power. It fails within the system as Akagi's Heroic Fantasies keep colliding with Moegi's Yaoi Fangirl fantasies creating a Running Gag loop of Akagi saving Marushina disguised as Sayaka from the Monster of the Week and then said MOTW getting a little too comfortable with Akagi which causes Moegi to pass out. Thankfully, Mitsuki is there and she leads us to-
 * Suddenly Sober: Mitsuki attacking Marushina directly and quoting lines from Boukenger is able to snap Akagi and Moegi from their drunken stupor and stops the loop allowing them to finish off the Monster. This is lampshaded by Nobuo.
 * Heroic BSOD: Nobuo goes through one in #2 after finding out that the team's battle from the previous episode was just a delusion. He snaps out of it thanks to "Deka Red" (actually someone in a Deka Red suit).
 * Hotter and Sexier: While not on the porno level that some suggested it would be, it still shows some mild TV-14 to very low TV-MA content.
 * "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Discussed in episode 4. Nobuo and Yumeria think Mitsuki has been brainwashed and try various methods to snap her out of it that have been used in various Sentai series.
 * Improvised Weapon: The "Akiba Rod" and "Akiba Pylon", a perfectly ordinary traffic barrier and cone used by the girls. Yumeria does use her pylon for an Ass Shove.
 * It Runs On Nonsensium: The Akibarangers are powered by delusions and have a henshin call of grand delusion, thus it literaly runs on nonsense.
 * Just Between You and Me: An Event Flag for villain failure, according to the rules.

""Super Sentai shows have a glorious tradition that has been going for 36 years. But in its shadow there's a pile of discarded material, wild delusions and ulterior motives, which have been supporting the toku series without ever having the chance to actually shine in the open. And now that tremendous chaotic power has finally burst out. Its name is 'Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger!""
 * Lampshade Hanging: To Better Than a Bare Bulb levels. The series announcement on the official website began (Translated):


 * Nearly half the common Sentai tropes are pointed out in the first episode alone. Most of the tropes get pointed out by Nobuo, also.
 * Lost in Translation: Akibaranger is chock-full of wordplay, Internet memes, cultural in-jokes and 2chan slang, not to mention all the Super Sentai and fandom references. All of this has made Akibaranger an incredibly tough show to translate into other languages. The English fansubs tend to come out much more slowly than the typical Sentai's.
 * Male Gaze: Mitsuki gets into a comical fight with Nobuo about this in the OP after he points out her skirt is ruffled after a fight, showing the large teddy bear face emblazoned on her suits backside.
 * Master of Disguise: Marushina, who can change her clothes, voice, and appearance instantly. In contrast with Enter, the primary villain of the official Sentai series Akibaranger airs alongside, who merely changes his clothes, retaining his appearance and even his signature sunglasses.
 * Mickey Mousing: Yumeria's actions, both in and out of suit, are frequently punctuated by sound effects for added Kawaisa.
 * Naked People Are Funny: The Monster of the Week in #2 takes the clothes of people away.
 * Name's the Same: Nobuo's love interest Sayaka shares the same name as Change Mermaid. It gets used as a reason for imagining the former cosplaying the latter.
 * Nerds Are Virgins: Nobuo is described this way. He tries to hide his being a Sentai fanboy for fear of instantly losing any chance with his would-be Love Interest.
 * New Powers as the Plot Demands: Depending on how delusional they are. The Inordinate Powers are an example.
 * In #2: They were deluded enough to cause the Machine Itassher to transform (but not enough for a cool battle with it yet); Nobuo was deluded enough for Deka Red to appear to help fight and give them the penultimate power of the Dekarangers, the Deka Cuffs, wielded by Akiba Red.
 * In #3: Nobuo was drunkenly delusional enough to call forth Bouken Red in his one episode silly outfit for the first battle; in the second battle, Nobuo and Yumeria were too drunk and their delusions interfered with one another; Later they received the penultimate power of the Boukengers, the Bouken Scooper, wielded by Akiba Blue.
 * In #5:
 * In #6: They were deluded enough to give the MOTW the movie episode runaround and call forth Red Hawk and receive the penultimate power of Jetman, the Jet Winger, wielded by Akiba Red.
 * In #7: They were deluded enough to change the delusional world and finally have a cool robot battle.
 * In #8: They were deluded enough to combine their Inordinate Powers (Deka Cuffs, Bouken Scooper, and Jet Winger) into the Inordinate Cannon.
 * In #9:
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In #9.
 * Oh Crap/Wham! Episode:
 * Older Than They Look: Nobuo is 29, although he looks more like he's in his early-to-mid 20s. Made even funnier by that fact that his actor, Masato Wada, is actually 32 in real life.
 * The One Guy: For the first time in Super Sentai history, girls outnumber boys when it comes to being a ranger. Nobuo/Akiba Red is The One Guy in a team of four, counting the Hot Scientist mentor Professor Hiroyo.
 * Only Sane Woman: Mitsuki is the only one who notices just how ridiculous the concept of, well, practically everything in the show, and is also the least Otaku of the bunch (she only likes Aoi for the fighting scenes).
 * Otaku: With all the repercussions to boot. Nobuo hides his fanboyism to both Aoi and Sentai from public in fears that his would-be girlfriend would reject him for being an Otaku.
 * Pettanko: Mitsuki/Akiba Blue, in contrast with Yumeria's Big Breasts, Big Deal. At least while in costume.
 * Panty Shot: Akiba Blue has a pair of polar bear print panties molded into her suit.
 * Power Trio: Two Girls and a Guy, in an inversion of the usual Sentai trio (the guy's still Red, though).
 * Rant-Inducing Slight: Mitsuki calls Boukenger "Boukenranger". Nobuo flips out.
 * Rule of Perception: #9.
 * Running Gag: Not only is Akiba Yellow's little story during her roll call getting constantly interrupted, so far she's been managing to pick it up where she had left it the previous episode.
 * Salaryman: The Mooks.
 * Scarf of Asskicking: The Rangers have white ones. Nobuo has a scarf as his civilian self to evoke the image, but he doesn't exactly kick much ass while wearing it.
 * Shout-Out:
 * So many regarding Super Sentai... arguably more than even Gokaiger! And many of them are--you guessed it--pointed out by Nobuo when they happen.
 * Even the show's logo recalls those of early Sentai, especially Goranger.
 * Immediately after the Title Scream, the OP sequence features each of the the 3 rangers jumping off a cliff.
 * Adding some Kamen Rider to an existing Sentai gimmick, our heroes can gain "Sentai Ultimate Powers" that actually function more like the Final Form Ride. And instead of Decade grabbing the past Riders from behind, the past Sentai Reds grab our heroes by the chest... including the ladies.
 * "Machine Itashar" follows the same naming scheme as recent Kamen Rider bikes and Dekaranger's police vehicles ("Machine X").
 * The monster from #3 looks like a cross between Buredoran and Dayuu.
 * When Yumeria says she's cosplaying as a schoolboy in #3, she does a finger point similar to another school student.
 * The bottles of booze seen in #3 are various references to past Sentai:.
 * The teaser for Episode 4 directly quotes Liveman's Opening Narration: "Why did you sell your soul to the devil?"
 * When Nobuo and Mitsuki are racing to the in #6, the Carranger theme is heard.
 * In #7, the Akibarangers "combine their powers" in Machine Itasha and enter a yellow-on-black grid world to chase down--then fight--the MOTW. This place resembles the "dimension" several past robos entered either when forming, or performing a Finishing Move.
 * Doctor Z, with his white suit and black cape, looks somewhat like Doctor Shinigami from the Kamen Rider series and other Showa-era villains.
 * Other Shout-Outs:
 * The A in the Akibaranger seal looks suspiciously like that of The Avengers' logo.
 * Z-Cune Aoi has a lot in common with the Busou Shinki girls, substituting 'always 8 inches tall' with 'always in 2D.'
 * Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Uta no Prince-sama merchandise can be seen in the cosplay shop in #4.
 * Yumeria's costume from the end of #7 is pretty much a Vocaloid, with a samurai helmet just because.
 * #8 has the monster quoting Amuro Ray's "Not even my father hit me!" after getting a "Get A Hold Yourself Man" Slap from Nobuo.
 * When the Monster of the Week in #9 breaks into reality, his pose and cry of "It's reality time!" mimic the hero of Kamen Rider Fourze, who shouts "It's space time!" when he transforms.
 * Show Within a Show: Nijiyome Gakuen Z-Cune Aoi, which is tied into the main show's plot; the Akibarangers' morphing devices are transforming action figures of Aoi-tan, and all 3 of them are fans of the show.
 * The Super Sentai franchise also exists as an in-universe show, which is another reason the children aren't supposed to watch Akibaranger, as it will break the illusion.
 * Power Rangers has also been mentioned - specifically, the Power Rangers SPD dub which is currently airing in Japan was referenced in episode 2.
 * Shrinking Violet: Subverted. Despite being described a virgin, Nobuo isn't exactly a shy guy, he's actually very passionate and occasionally boisterous about being a Sentai fanboy.
 * "Silly Me" Gesture: In #4, Hiyoro Hakase does this when Nobuo reminded her that she was the one who made both him and Yumeria drunk in the previous episode.
 * Spank the Cutie: Akiba Blue was the victim of this in #2.
 * Her civilian identity became victim to this in #9.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": An alternate spelling for Marushina's name is "©na."
 * Tradesnark™
 * Spot the Impostor: Discussed in episode 4. When the supposedly brainwashed Mitsuki turns out to be a fake, Nobuo thinks this situation is going to happen. Subverted when Marushina just reveals herself on her own, figuring there's no point in keeping up the disguise when the real Mitsuki has shown up.
 * Subverted Trope: Several Super Sentai tropes are subverted, much to Nobuo's dismay. For example in #1, where the Monster of the Week fails to grow after being defeated, Nobuo notes that "these bad guys are subverting all the tropes!"
 * Ironically, just before this, the Akibarangers subverted a trope of their own when the monster initally gave them a hard beating before Marushina decided to let him take it from here, spelling certain doom for the monster. Whereas in pretty much all modern Super Sentai series, the team's debut is a Curb Stomp Battle where they utterly obliterate the monster and its Mooks without difficulty.
 * Swiss Army Tears: Yumeria tries to invoke this to turn the supposedly evil Akiba Blue back to normal. It doesn't work when one is wearing a helmet.
 * Theme Naming: The three heroes all have their color in their surname. This is also lampshaded.
 * Meanwhile, the Chief Clerks are all given very long names that are combinations of areas in Tokyo and animals (usually insects). For example, Alpaca Tsukishima's main weapons are a set of monjayaki spatulas, Tsukishima being the district of Tokyo where monjayaki is thought to have originated.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Mitsuki and Yumeria.
 * Villain Exit Stage Left: Parodied in #6. Marushina raises her hand menacingly at our heroes... and hails a cab.
 * Played Straight in #9.
 * Vocal Dissonance:.
 * Under Crank: Frequently uses this in bursts for comedic effect.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Most of the monsters of the week actually have good intentions, or generally, intentions that aren't all that evil at all, such as remaking Akihabara into a second Shibuya, a hostess entertainment district, or just cleansing Akihabara of all impure desires. As with most of these tropes, this is played for laughs and most of these plans are played up to What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?
 * Wham! Episode: Episode 6 ends with Marushina
 * In #9,
 * What a Piece of Junk!: The Machine Itasshar is Exactly What It Says on the Tin; a normal two-door sedan (Specifically a Prius) with a garish Z-Cune Aoi paintjob. This is the team's Transforming Mecha.
 * X Meets Y: Super Sentai meets Sucker Punch meets Otaku
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Mitsuki & Yumeria's suits feature Rank A of this.