Where Are They Now?: Juken Sentai Gekiranger Part 1

This installment of Where Are They Now? looks at the beast based martial art sentai series Juken Sentai Gekiranger. 

Since leaving the role of the Unbreakable Body, GekiRed/Jan Kandou, Hiroki Suzuki has been involved in several projects. He has remained an active member of D-Boys, an acting group within the Watanabe company family. Other members of this group include Yuki Yamada (Gokai Blue from Kazoku Sentai Gokaiger), and Syo Jinnai ( Enter from Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters). 

Suzuki plays Fumiya Hagimoto in Ju-On: White Ghost, the 6th title in the Ju-On series, this film focuses on what happens after a law student fails the bar exam and murders his family. He records a final message on a cassette, which becomes cursed, killing anyone who listens to it.

Suzuki also stars in Happiness written and directed by SABU. The film focuses on a man who arrives in a small Japanese town with a strange contraption that allows people to relive their happiest memories. But there are dark twists and turns involving this man and the device…

The Heroine with the Honest Heart, GekiYellow/ Ran Uzaki, was portrayed by Mina Fukui. There are times when researching for Where Are They Now where you will find actors who gave a big statement upon retirement (as you will see in the next entry in this article) and there are times were actors just fade away with no reason given.

She was active in the modeling scene until roughly 2009, when she released her last photobook. Since getting married in 2011 to Hara Tomohiro, Fukui has dropped off of the radar, not having updated her personal blog since 2010.

The azure hero with the Fantastic Technique, GekiBlue/ Retsu Fukami was played by Manpei Takagi. He was active in the acting scene until very recently, when he and his twin brother Shinpei announced their retirement from the entertainment industry.

Prior to this announcement, however, Manpei played Kido a high schooler in Kabadieen! Gekitotsu Dokuro Koko hen, a movie about a Mangaka researching Kabaddi, an Indian contact sport. Seeing that the high school’s girl Kabaddi team has disbanded, he pretends to be a student so he can join the male Kabaddi team.

 Manpei’s last acting appearance was in Showa Saikyo Koko Den Kokushi Sanjo!!. A dramatic movie about high school set in the 1970s. He starred alongside his brother Shinpei in this film.

Since playing the Iron Willed GekiViolet/Gou Fukami, Riki Miura has starred in a few projects including a return to tokusatsu. Miura portrayed Kai Hyuga / Space Sheriff Sharivan in Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie, and Kamen Rider X Super Sentai X Space Sheriff: Super Hero Taisen Z

Miura plays Satoshi Iwami in Tsuribaka Nisshi and Tsuribaka Nisshi Season 2. The shows focus on Densuke Hamasaki a construction worker who is working for a company gearing up for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. However, all he wants to do is fish, much to the chagrin of his fellow employees.

The Amazing Ability of GekiChopper/ Ken Hisatsu would not be wasted by actor Sotaro Yasuda (Mostly known just as Sotaro) Post- Gekiranger Sotaro has acted in a few projects, most notably he played Jabel, the Ganma warrior in Kamen Rider Ghost. 

He also played Heikichi Murota in Love Concierge. The show focuses on Ueno, a concierge at the Gotanda Kingdom Hotel. He helps those who come to him in need of romantic advice.

Finally, we get to Master Shafu’s voice actor, Ichiro Nagai. Nagai was the voice for several other tokusatsu shows. Most notably he was the voice of the iconic Baseball Mask from Himitsu Sentai Goranger.  He was the narrator of the Kamen Rider G special and the voice of Devil Batter in J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai

 Nagai had a long and prosperous career. He played  Isaac Netero in Hunter x Hunter, Alphose from the 1972 version of Devilman, The Japanese dub voice for Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movie franchise, among many many other voice rolls.

Tragically,  on January 27th, 2014, Nagai passed away from a heart attack. He was 82 years old at the time, having lived a full life, leaving behind so many iconic voices.

You can read part two here where we talk about the continuing careers of Rio, Mele, and more.