Dinaranger: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Dinaranger.jpg|framed|right|Looks like the cover to a typical shonen series, right? [[Covers Always Lie|Boy, are you in for a shock...]]]]
The leader of the
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*[[Action Girl]]: Maya, the de facto leader, consistently proves herself to be a very capable fighter, up until Chapter 13, where she totally loses her mojo. At that point in time, Shiori becomes the new sole [[Action Girl]]. She hasn't fallen or given up yet, but see Arc Fatigue below.
**[[Dark Action Girl]]: Saori gets one half-decent fight scene as a Dinaranger. She does a lot of fighting in Chapters 3 through 8, under the control of ZOFA. After that, she hardly does much of anything.
**[[Faux Action Girl]]: Miki gets one half-decent fight scene of her own. After that, she gets her ass handed to her in Chapter 7, has two subverted moments of Badass, and never fights at all while under ZOFA's control.
*[[After the End]]: Maybe...? It's hard to be sure, but in Chapter 18, we get one panel of a rotoscoped desert, and mention of how a certain substance could restore the Earth to its former glory. If the world population and number of cities has severely dwindled, it might explain how the general public ever expected three superheroines to save them all.
*[[A Glass of Chianti]]: General Benin partakes of one at the end of Chapter 11.
*[[Air Vent Passageway]]: Played unabashedly straight in Chapter 12. Chief Kamura decides to take the ventilation shafts to get to her objective without being detected. {{spoiler|She only gets noticed once she's outside the vent.}}
*[[Anatomically-Impossible Sex]]: [[Justified]] by the fact that the ZOFA cells make major changes to an infectee's biology. Whenever intercourse is shown, the parties involved are all either aliens, or humans in the late stages of infection.
*[[Arc Fatigue]]: From Chapter 12 to Chapter 18, {{spoiler|Shiori has been fighting General Sierra nonstop, with no clear sign of an upcoming resolution -- and the comic's sudden cancellation means there never will be one, either.}}.
*[[Art Evolution]]: This has become especially conspicuous with the release of a Chapter 2 remake. The newer version contains more detailed people and backgrounds, and fewer anatomical goofs.
*[[As You Know]]: {{spoiler|Lieutenant Commander Okabe}} spends at least one-third of Chapter 18 telling Ghana all about the history of ZOFA. He even starts with "I'm sure you know this already..." He eventually does reveal a piece of information that she didn't know, but was there any point in prefacing [[The Reveal]] with a superfluous [[Info Dump]], other than for the audience's benefit?
*[[Barbie Doll Anatomy]]: [[Zig-Zagging Trope|Kinda sorta]]. Nipples are always clearly visible, but crotches are often subject to this. In particular, if a female character is naked, but not corrupted, there won't be so much as a suggestion of genitalia; [[Unfortunate Implications|this almost seems to imply that uncorrupted women are sexless and pure]].
*[[Being Good Sucks]]: In order for The Virus to be effective on the DinaRangers, the villains have to convince them of this. The reason for this trope is elaborated on in Chapter 17.
*[[Beware My Stinger Tail]]: Ghana can use her scorpion tail to tranquilize her enemies, or as a makeshift penis as part of the transformation process. It's used in the first two chapters, only to disappear after that. It appears once again in Chapter 18, though only for a few pages, and only to coerce another character into talking.
*[[Big Bad]]: The enigmatic leader of the ZOFA.
*[[Black and White Morality]]: Every member of ZOFA, every ZOFA Soldier, and every human secretly affiliated with ZOFA, is evil, plain and simple. Any characters who don't fall in the above categories are good.
*[[By the Power of Grayskull]]: “DINA CHANGE!!!”
*[[Cancellation]]: The tragic ''true'' fate of the DinaRangers; not getting corrupted into ZOFA soldiers, but getting their entire book series canned with no resolution whatsoever.
*[[Cannon Fodder]]: The beginning of Chapter 7 shows two of the villains discussing their decision to distract the DinaRangers with a scattered attack force composed entirely of ZOFA soldiers. It is implied that the DinaRangers had to kill them.
*[[Chromatic Arrangement]]: Played with. The DinaRangers are color-coded by the three primary physical pigments, and the personalities that usually correspond to these colors are shifted around.
** DinaRed, Ayase Maya, is the unofficial leader of the DinA Rangers, but has the typical blue personality, being the most uptight and serious of the trio.
**DinaYellow, Fujiwara Miki, has the typical red personality, being the most combat-focused and [[Determinator|emotionally driven]].
**From what little we've seen of her, the original DinaBlue, Uchihara Saori, had the typical yellow/green personality, being more quiet and reserved than Maya and Miki.
**The current DinaBlue, Shiori, is more outspoken and easier to provoke than her sister Saori, but shares many of the same traits that make her more befitting of the yellow/green color.
* [[Cliffhanger|Cliff Hanger]]: The final issue ends with a massive one: {{Spoiler|Maya, after being repeatedly raped and altered by the ZOFA, has finally broken. She's about to emerge from her cocoon as a new, powerful ZOFA solider.}} Unfortunately, thanks to monmon canceling the comic, the cliffhanger is never resolved - we never get to see what this new solider even looks like.
*[[Clothes Make the Maniac]]: Invoked by the ZOFA.
*[[Compressed Hair]]: The ZOFA uniform is so tight that it manages to take the victim's long or poofy hairstyle, and compress it so tightly against her head that she appears bald.
*[[Continuity Drift]]: A master of consistency in story events, monmon is not. Most [[Egregious]]ly, for the first 11 chapters, we see that the Supreme Leader is an ugly mutant of a man. The Leader is absent for two chapters, and when he shows up again in Chapter 14, he is played by {{spoiler|Commander Zengo Fujiwara}}. No one ever mentions or wonders about the abrupt and blatantly obvious change.
*[[The Corruption]]: The infection process is not unlike how [[Spider-Man]]'s Venom invades its host.
*[[Cut Short]]: Thanks to monmon losing interest in continuing the story. Made all the more frustrating as it ends on a massive [[Cliff Hanger|Cliff hanger]] that will never be resolved.
*[[Dangerous Forbidden Technique]]:
**A DinaRanger's SuperMode bestows incredible strength and agility for a short time. It also temporarily immobilizes her afterward.
**General Sierra pops a strength-enhancing pill in order to keep up with {{spoiler|Shiori, who has just unleashed SG Mode for the first time}}. It's not long before she starts coughing up blood.
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*[[Determinator]]: Really, Maya has absolutely no reason to believe that her mother is still alive, after having been taken from her by ZOFA five years ago. Yet it is her desire to rescue her mother that spurs her on for the majority of the series.
*[[Deus Sex Machina]]: Narratively speaking, the four properties that ZOFA Cells ''need'' are a) a high infection success rate and high spreadability, b) the ability to make the body harder and stronger, c) a corruptive influence that induces psychological pleasure, and d) the power to reprogram the mind to induce total obedience. At no point is sexual intercourse necessary; in fact, some scenes show people being turned into ZOFA Soldiers without it.
*[[Developing Doomed Characters]]: A case of this trope done right. The characters are actually sympathetic, and you feel bad for them when they're transformed into ZOFA soldiers and cruelly robbed of all of their characterization.
*[[Dressed All in Rubber]]: ZOFA Soldiers.
*[[Dutch Angle]]: The artist is fond of drawing scenes at conspicuously slanted angles, especially when things are going, or are about to go, south for our heroes.
*[[Eldritch Location]]: ZOFA's Supervillain Lair, as seen at the very end of Chapter 4, is suitably sinister: A sleek outer wall; giant, haphazardly cut columns, several times the height of said wall, jutting out in every direction; chunks of floating rock scattered about; a cylindrical tower that stands above it all. And all of that is set in a strange, swirling void.
*[[Emotion Eater]]: It's outright stated in Chapter 17 that {{spoiler|the ZOFA Cells are fueled by human despair.}}
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*[[Evil Is Stylish]]: Why do the Supreme Leader and his Generals insist on constantly giving long-winded speeches, putting them in elaborate [[Death Trap|rape-traps]], and just generally dicking around instead of just chucking them into an open vat of ZOFA Cells or something? Well, in Chapter 17, [[Justified Trope|we get a reason.]] {{spoiler|Because ZOFA Cells are fueled by human despair, ZOFA has intentionally engineered situations to create a false sense of hope for those involved, before crushing it utterly.}}
*[[Exotic Equipment]]: See [[Beware My Stinger Tail]] above.
* [[Face Framed in Shadow]]: In some appearances, the Great Leader is depicted this way. In others, his face is visible. It seems to flip-flop.
*[[Face Heel Turn]]: Weaponized by the ZOFA.
*[[Faceless Goons]]: Becoming a ZOFA soldier involves being turned into one of these. The bodysuit includes a skintight covering of the face and head which leaves only the eyes exposed, and only two soldiers thus far have displayed the ability to remove it willingly (for certain values of the word "willingly").
*[[Fair Play Villain]]:
** In Chapter 13, Ghana promises to call off the invasion of Dina Headquarters if Maya can resist the effects of the ZOFA Cells. One chapter-long session of humiliation later, when Maya still shows defiance, Ghana makes good on her promise, and leaves. {{spoiler|Or starts to, rather; she comes back when Maya loses it and starts begging her to finish the job.}} But see [[Evil Is Stylish]] above.
**In Chapter 15, the Great Leader himself traps Maya and Miki in a room together, with the stated intention of letting them go if they manage to escape.
*[[The Fettered]]: All of the DinaRangers fight for someone else. Maya fights to rescue her mother. Miki fights for the respect of her father. Saori and Shiori both fight to protect their family. These motivations are the source of their strength, as well as their emotional weak points.
*[[Form-Fitting Wardrobe]]: Both the DinaRangers and the ZOFA Soldiers have these, though the ZOFA suits take it [[Up to Eleven]]- See [[Orifice Invasion]] below.
*[[Four Eyes, Zero Soul]]: {{spoiler|Yuzuki Aoi, and later Chief Kamura}}, once they become ZOFA Soldiers. Apparently, ZOFA Cells make you inhumanly strong, but they don't fix your eyesight.
*[[Genre Blindness]]: Most of the heroes' failures can be attributed to the fact that they are not aware that they are starring in a pornographic doujinshi.
*[[Genre Deconstruction]]: Of the [[Sentai]] genre.
**[[Clothes Make the Superman]]: If you require a super suit to battle evil, [[Brought Down to Normal|the next time you lose access to your suit]], you will learn the hard way that [[Determinator|raw determination and a pistol]] will not make up for it. Not even close.
** [[Heroic Willpower]]: It'll help you to resist the influence of Mind Control, but as long as the villains are keeping you on a short leash and deal with your resistance attempts as they come, it's not going to do you any good.
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**[[Sixth Ranger]]: A new recruit is going to be inexperienced and undisciplined, and as such will not provide nearly as much help against troublesome foes as a straight-up use of this trope would indicate.
*[[Half-Human Hybrid]] {{spoiler|Fujiwara Miki}} turns out to be this, which leads into [[I Have No Son|I Have No Daughter]] below.
*[[Hermaphrodite]]: From Chapter 3 onward, ZOFA soldiers can become these at will (which is a lot).
*[[The Hero]]: The red DinaRanger, Maya.
*[[Heroic BSOD]]: In Chapter 13, when a certain revelation proves to be too much to handle, {{spoiler|DinaRed, Ayase Maya}}, is hit with a case of this. As a result of this emotional trauma, {{spoiler|her suit robs her of the ability to move.}}
*[[Heroic Willpower]]: Deconstructed. Only those with the mental fortitude necessary can be DinaRangers, and there are only four known candidates who meet that requirement. Heroic Willpower is also the reason why it takes longer for a DinaRanger to be corrupted by ZOFA cells than most people.
*[[High Concept]]: [[Sentai]] meets Zentai in a [[Hentai]]. Snappy, no?<ref>OK, so technically speaking, a Zentai suit needs to cover the entire head, eyes included, but the ZOFA uniforms are 99% of the way there, and this summary is just too good to pass up.</ref>
*[[Horned Humanoid]]: General Sierra has a giant facial horn sticking out from between her eyes, as well as another, slightly smaller horn protruding from the back of her head. She is the only ZOFA to have prominent non-human features. {{spoiler|Though Chapter 18 reveals that the facial horn at least is just part of her mask}}
*[[Human Aliens]]: The ZOFA are an invading alien race, and aside from having unusual skin colors are indistinguishable from humans (with the exception of General Sierra; see above). It's even more pronounced in the black-and-white pages, where the only indication of a character's alignment is their manner of dress. (The ZOFA Generals, for instance, nearly always wear something that covers their eyes.)
*[[I Have No Son|I Have No Daughter]]: {{spoiler|The Commander}} disowns their daughter in the beginning of Chapter 15.
*[[Industrialized Evil]] The ZOFA Cells were initially developed as a means of utterly breaking the DinaRangers, after they foiled ZOFA's plans one time too many. They quickly saw the utility of their new bio-weapon, and began using it as an easy and self-sustainable method of generating obedient foot soldiers.
*[[The Immodest Orgasm]]: No [[Hentai]] would be complete without it. In this case it's [[Justified]], as ZOFA cells are capable of pushing humans to pleasure "thousands of times greater" than a normal orgasm.
*[[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: The ability of the ZOFA to control their brainwashed soldiers hinges on erasing their personality and their memories.
*[[Left Hanging]]: Issue 18 ends on perhaps the heroes' darkest hour; {{Spoiler|Dina has been all but annihilated, thanks to its Director being a double agent. Its staff have all been raped and corrupted into ZOFA soldiers. Miki likewise has been remodeled into a Chimera ZOFA. Shiori is still fighting, but the time limit on her Super Form is about to run out. The only sliver of hope is that Maya's real mother has been found, who holds the key to defeating ZOFA once and for all - but it may already be too late, for Maya, after being endlessly violated by her brainwashed former friends and teammates, has finally succumbed to the corruption, and is about to emerge as their most powerful solider.}}... and then the artist abandoned the story altoghter.
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*[[Loss of Identity]]: What happens to everyone brainwashed by ZOFA; everything they once knew is erased in exchange for loyalty to ZOFA.
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**[[Brainwashed]]: All the ZOFA soldiers are this, ordinary humans made into slave soldiers.
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**[[Not Brainwashed]]: After an attempt to cure her of the influence of ZOFA Cells fails, {{spoiler|General Ghana}} reveals that she was working for ZOFA of her own free will all along.
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*[[Orphaned Series]]: The artist suddenly packs it in after eighteen chapters, leaving absolutely ''none'' of its big questions or its plot threads resolved. Hell, some new plot threads were introduced in the ''very last issue.''
*[[Parental Betrayal]]
**Although it was revealed to the audience much earlier, in Chapter 9 {{spoiler|Ayase Maya is devastated to find out that her mother is General Ghana}}.
**A second instance occurs in Chapter 15, this time {{spoiler|the Commander, father of Fujiwara Miki}}.
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*** Her successor and sister Shiori is The Spunky Kid. The fact that she agrees to take Saori's place despite knowing of the danger shows her [[Plucky Girl|pluck]], and she is shown to be sufficiently spirited when she finally goes toe-to-toe with a General and holds her ground despite her inexperience.
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*[[Significant Green-Eyed Redhead]]: Maya.
*[[Spell My Name with an "S"]]: The transliterated title is "dainarenja," so the proper translation of the series name should be DynaRanger, not DinaRanger. Unfortunately, the author herself translates it as DinaRanger in the title logo, so the superheroines are referred to in the translations as DinaRangers for consistency.
*[[Super Mode]]: {{spoiler|Ayase Maya}} is the first DinaRanger to ever unleash SG Mode, as evidenced by mission control's reactions. Unfortunately, it also turns out to be a [[Dangerous Forbidden Technique]] (see above).
*[[Survivor Guilt]]: When Miki is brought back comatose in Chapter 10, her rival Emika feels that what happened to Miki was all her fault.
*[[Take Over the World]]: The Great Leader's goal is to take over the Earth. [[Despotism Justifies the Means|He doesn't seem to have any real motivation for it, though.]]
*[[Talking Is a Free Action]]: Played straight most of the time, but notably subverted and lampshaded by the Great Leader in Chapter 15; after he explains his evil plan to a DinaRanger, he mocks her for just standing around and listening instead of taking action.
*[[Techno Babble]]: Present in unusually high quantity for a pornographic work. Nearly the entirety of Chapters 10 and 11 are dedicated to expository dialogue explaining the technical details behind the ZOFA soldier transformation process... [[Distracted by the Sexy|although you probably won't be paying attention to the stuff in Chapter 11]].
*[[Theme Naming]]: The ZOFA Generals are named after equatorial African nations: Ghana, Benin, and Sierra (Leone).
*[[Tomato in the Mirror]]: In Chapter 15, {{spoiler|Ayase Maya}} wakes up, seemingly human, with memories of having been recently corrupted by the ZOFA Cells. She assumes that someone must have given her the [[Magic Antidote]] at the last minute. Over the course of the chapter, she starts to realize that something's wrong with her, but she's not prepared to accept the most obvious reason... until she looks at her own reflection. {{spoiler|She was right about being given the antidote, but it wasn't enough to actually cure her. She is still, at her core, a loyal ZOFA Soldier.}}
*[[Transformation Trinket]]: The bracelets that the DinaRangers wear while in civilian clothing. If one of these shatters, it's a clear sign that things are going horribly, horribly wrong.
*[[True Companions]]: In Chapter 16, Miki has a flashback to the formation of her original Nakama (back when Saori was on the team). She remembers how happy she was to be part of something greater than herself, and how being a DinaRanger saved her from being a shallow and self-absorbed shell of a person. {{spoiler|Which makes what happens next all the more tragic.}}
*[[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]]: Future Japan hardly seems more technologically advanced than present-day Japan, except for the DinaRanger technology.
*[[Unspoken Plan Guarantee]]: Inverted; in Chapter 12, when the heroes draw up a plan to fend off ZOFA's invasion force, the reader is privy to all the details. As a result, it all goes wrong.
*[[The Virus]]: ZOFA cells. And it's sexually-transmitted, to boot!
*[[White-Haired Pretty Girl]]: Saejima Emika is shown to be this on the cover of Chapters 9-11. Interestingly, in the black-and-white pages of the comic, her hair is a much darker shade.
*[[You Gotta Have Blue Hair]]:Of the ten characters with confirmed hair colors, the only ones with realistic hair colors are Miki (reddish brown) and her father (dark brown).
*[[Zombie Apocalypse|ZOFA Apocalypse]]: The apparent ultimate goal of the ZOFA is to turn all humans into mindless slaves.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Hentai]]
[[Category:Banned On TV Tropes]]
[[Category:Dinaranger]]
[[Category:Manga]]
[[Category:Manga of the 2010s]]
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