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| Promotional still from Sentai × Sentai × Sentai: Return of the Dark Riders; Retsu as Dark Rider Revenger, sans helmet. |
Name: Retsu Nakadai
Player: Bassist159
Aliases: El-Gold (Maho Sentai El-Ranger), Hunter Tiewaz (Juukou Akuma Hunters), RokuBlack (Gakushi Sentai Rokuger), Dark Rider Revenger (Dark Rider SX)
Gender: Male
Height: 178cm (5'10")
Weight: 73kg (160 lbs)
Eyes: Brown (White when possessed by Infinity Annihilator during Gakushi Sentai Rokuger vs. Prism Rangers: Encore Never Ends!)
Hair: Black (Gold Streak during Sentai × Sentai × Sentai: Return Of The Dark Riders)
Age: 17 (Born February 16)
Bloodtype: B
Favorite Color: Dark Blue
Likes: Playing the guitar, riding his motorcycle, serendipitious timing, his old teammates, gyudon, mangos.
Dislikes: The number six, arguments with teammates, rabid fangirls, cryptic oneliners, squid, natto.
Blog: 月も見えない夜 - On The Moonless Night
Personality
As one would naturally expect of someone who's lived the life he has, Retsu is something of a jerk at times. He's standoffish when others are happy, he's outright cold when things are less than copacetic or he thinks someone is trying to get in good with him, and he has a tendency to stay hurt and carry grudges after arguments and fights, and it will take the other person's apology to get him to stop. Something of a type-B tsundere.
That said, in his own messed up way, he is a good friend. His loyalty is second to none, regardless of what the occasional possession, corruption, or mind control plot might say. When he officially considers someone his friend, he has no qualms in meddling with their lives, though it is always well-intentioned and often works out either in their favor, or as an unintentional bonding exercise. And if a friend is in trouble, he will be there. Doesn't matter if it's a few extra bucks for a bowl of ramen, a long late-night phone call, a cross-francise team-up, or kicking in the gates to the underworld and carving a path of ectoplasm and tears: Retsu will do his best to get things done.
In short, for a guy who hates the idea of being considered one, he's a classic lone wolf anti-hero.
Background
Every little boy wants to be a super hero, and Retsu was no exception. He stayed in shape, he told teachers it's what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he owned every piece of Prism Ranger merchandise he could get his hands on, even the crossovers with the magical girl shows that his friends called teased him for owning. He was a fanboy, but he was at that age where he could be one. A boy has a right to dream, after all.
And at thirteen, about the age when most boys are about to give up and realize dreams of being a salary-man or Yakuza kobun are far more likely, the Pure Gold driver landed in Retsu's backyard, offering to bond with the boy to become El-Gold, the sixth member of the El-Rangers. This was a monumentally rare occurrence: on average, only something between seven and thirteen henshin devices are discovered per year. Still, he took up the mantle, becoming one of the youngest full-fledged members of a sentai in history.
Of course, it couldn't last. In addition to learning the ropes, Retsu had two problems. One, El-Gold was a suit too powerful for normal people, let alone a child. Secondly, he was now a sensation as a child hero, and if he wanted to get that label off, he was going to have to work hard and think laterally. He worked with the El-Rangers for two years, as long and as hard as he could, and it took quite the toll on his body. Even now, doctors are fairly certain Retsu's maximum lifespan would be somewhere in his mid-forties, and that was if he gave up the business entirely. Instead, Retsu gave over his belt to newcomer Kojiro Nakagami, and instead joined anti-hero team Juukou Akuma Hunters, taking the place of the recently deceased Hunter Tiewaz.
It was a brilliant move at the time, letting the child hero darken his image by joining a darker team. He certainly had no small amount of angst to draw on: his dead father, arguments with his mother, and the health complications that came from the use of the Pure Gold driver. His new suit was less intensive, but to use it at full power was too much. Even with Retsu's body being adapted to high-strain suits, Light of Victory mode would kill him if active for longer than ten seconds. Retsu was back in black, and even had an anti-hero magical girl girlfriend to show for his efforts.
Of course, that all ended disastrously. Hunter Mannaz was killed in the climatic final battle with L.O.K.I. and the attempts to save him from the underworld not only failed but rather publicly ruined Retsu's relationship with Rei. In-fighting began with Hunter Sowilo, and in the end Retsu left the team to let Sowilo and Ur train replacements for himself and Mannaz. It had only lasted a year.
And almost immediately, Retsu found himself tapped for another team, the music-based sentai Rokuger. Rokuger were a more standard team like El-Rangers had been, and represented a breath of fresh air for his career. Of course, he practically stumbled into the team: he had been called to their secret headquarters to discuss replacing RokuBlue and instead found the entire team under attack and that his best friend had followed him. The two wound up stealing the forbidden Rokuger Instruments and becoming RokuBlack and RokuViolet. In short, despite his best efforts, Retsu had fallen right back into the anti-hero trap.
He did a good job of it. He and RokuRed had a famous rivalry-into-friendship, and he got along with the rest of his team. Having one of his only remaining childhood friends as a member of the team gave him hope that maybe he'd be able to work the redeemed anti-hero angle, though that plan was sadly struck down in the specials. Having powers based on the metaphysical concept of the void makes one exceptionally easy to possess, it turns out, and Retsu became Infinity Annihilator for awhile, losing his status as RokuBlack and his place on the team.
As it turned out, normalcy was exactly what the doctor ordered. Being able to mostly go out in public and only have to worry about fangirls instead of fangirls and the possibility of having to save the world was awesome. Retsu had realized that, at this point, his entire teenage years had been overtaken with saving the world, fighting kaijin, and piloting giant robots. He'd finished middle school barely, and his entire high school knew who he was. He was going to have to transfer. He could start anew, for the most part somewhere. He and Rei had patched things up somewhat, now that she no longer had to worry about an ex-boyfriend with powers roughly equivalent to hers. He might even make it to his mid-thirties, at this rate, so college and a career was a possibility.
And then Retsu suddenly found himself having to help his old teammates, despite his lack of powers. The new El-Gold had to be shown the ropes by somebody in his trial by fire, and the Infinity Annihilator was back somehow, probably because his name was Annihilator and it's really hard to kill something meant only to destroy things. And in the end, Retsu found himself not only back in the sentai business, but with the task of redeeming one of the three antagonist-only Dark Rider suits. His old teams knew. His now-furious still-and-probbaly-now-forever ex-girlfriend knew. And his new school knew. Retsu was back in black.
Classes started the next week.
Convictions
Help his old teammates out: Once a member, always a member. Retsu goes out of his way to help out all of his fellow sentai brothers and sisters, but especially the members of El-Ranger, Akuma Hunters, and Rokuger. 3
Get his band off the ground: Sure, they might not have things like "a name" or "a full lineup" but music is what he's really starting to enjoy, and what he wants to do with his life. Someone else can save the world. 3
Try living a more normal life: Retsu would like to live a normal life, even if he only has a vague idea of what that actually constitutes. 3
Serve justice in his personal life: This is just a no-brainer. I mean, who wouldn't want their best friend with superpowers to occasionally use said super powers to get them out of a bind? He's got the righteous streak going pretty hard, but mess with his friends and you'll get the worst end of it. 4
Important People
Kaori Nakadai: Retsu's mother. After the death of his father, Kaori and Retsu grew somewhat distant. Retsu and her began bonding after he was unmasked in Maho Sentai El-Ranger, when the young Retsu found out his mother had once worked for the Inter-Dimensional Science Police during her high-school years as a secretary. Since then, his mother has been nearly unwavering in support of him, and the two have bonded together very well. She currently works for Akiyama Industries as a researcher.
Takuma Masaru: The original El-Green, and the first senpai that Retsu ever really had. The two initially hated each other, though after awhile Takuma recognized Retsu's potential and Retsu began to think of him like an older brother, with the lack of father figures in his life. Takuma is now retired and working as a lawyer that represents cases involving damages from daikaijin attacks.
Yasu Hibiki: Current and third El-Gold, after Kojiro Nakagami tragically passed away. Yasu and Retsu met during Sentai x Sentai x Sentai, when the then-powerless Retsu had to protect Yasu while he sorted out his ability to attune to the Pure Gold belt. After the battle, Retsu and Yasu have a pleasant working relationship: Yasu serves as a reminder for Retsu not to give into the corrupting urges of his suit, and Retsu keenly understands the strain that the Pure Gold puts on it's user.
Jiro Katsurou: Previously Hunter Sowilo, one of the three surviving members of the first generation of Akuma Hunters team. Jiro is currently in possession of one of the Dark Rider belts, allowing him to become Dark Rider Destroyer. He and Retsu have a very strained working relationship, as Jiro still can't help but hold Retsu responsible for the death of Yusuke Yoshida, the original Mannaz, something Retsu resents having blamed on him.
Rei Sakurako: AKA, Ghostly Emerald Sorceress Rei, magical girl of the spooky goth-loli variety. Retsu's first girlfriend, back when he was a member of Akuma Hunters. Rei and Retsu were arranged initially as a couple by executives to enhance both their angles, and it sparked into an actual relationship, then kind of exploded violently when Retsu and Jiro tried unsuccessfully to carve their way through the underworld's population to save Yusuke. Obviously his ex-girlfriend, they have something of a lust-hate relationship with eachother, but seem to have settled into the occasional professional team-up. She's a student in class 3-A. They share class notes out of a mutual sense of wanting a normal life.
Kenji Youta: The current RokuRed, and leader of the Rokugers. Kenji and Retsu could not stand one another, but the two have become fast friends after having several near-death calls together. These days, the two basically spend time hanging out on their off-time, with Retsu jokingly being considered the "eighth Rokuger" and the two often competing with each other to see who is the better guitarist.
Emi Tsubame: The current RokuViolet. Emi was Retsu's only normal friend through most of his growing up, and when he took up the Abyss Soloer to become RokuBlack, she took up the Turntablism Ouroboros, to become the other part of the forbidden set of Rokuger. Unlike the somewhat taciturn Retsu, Emi is living up her status as an anti-hero and badass action girl, though the two remain good friends. She is currently dating Kenji Youta, upsetting the current RokuPink. Emi and Retsu have been trying to get their band off the ground… and named… and more members.
Tomiko Kimura: The current RokuBlack. Tomiko took up the mantle when Retsu was possessed by Infinity Annihilator and was rejected by the Abyss Soloer, a role that Retsu does not regret. While she is inexperienced, he has endorsed her as a better RokuBlack than he ever was; both as a better musician, and more of a team player than he ever was. Tomiko and Retsu have a strained relationship outside of professional work: she has made it blatantly clear that she was a huge fan of his beforehand and would jump his bones if he showed the slightest interest, and with the rather… troubling nightmare-prophesy effects of RokuBlack, she's starting to ping his Yandere Radar.
Complications
Typecast: Outside of his initial role as El-Gold, the obligatory precocious child hero, Retsu has been stuck as the anti-hero, loner, and group lancer as long as he could remember. While this was fine when he was full-on angst mode as Hunter Tiewaz, it got grating as RokuBlack, and now that he's got a full-on antagonist suit he's been tasked with redeeming, he's pretty sure he's never going to get that label off. As cool as it is to be the badass on the team, it'd be nice to maybe wear a suit that isn't black and be listened to for a reason beyond his teammates being intimidated by him. Which leads to his second problem…
Existential Crisis: Retsu's all but given up on high school, but he wants to lead a normal college life, with a girlfriend who's questionably faithful though she proves her love by the end of their tale, an overweight friend who's got impeccable comedic timing and uncharacteristic luck with ladies, and maybe even a petty, more-popular rival who's his upperclassmen and has his eye on the aforementioned girlfriend. He thinks. He also doesn't want to admit to himself that he fucking loves fighting with giant monsters in mecha and not-so-giant monsters in power armor and doing crossovers with every other person who's ever uttered "Henshin" in all seriousness. And then there's the fact that he's been trying to get a high-profile rock band off the ground with similar minded people from the industry. And all of this feeds into his utterances of…
"Oh God The Fangirls!": Bitches love the tall dark and haunted type, even if there's a taller person on campus, he's kind of pale from fighting in shadow dimensions, parking garages, and space, and the only thing that haunts him is inter-team dynamics. It's all about the image, and frankly as iron-clad as Retsu's is, he's never going to convince them that he isn't a tormented soul looking for the right girl to get him to see the light. He's never going to get that questionably-faithful, relatively-normal-yet-spunky college girlfriend at this point.
Sakura Sakura: "Who are you and why do you keep following me? :|"
Tropes
Anti Hero: Played straight during his time on Akuma Hunters, partially subverted in Rokugers, and played straight again as a Dark Rider.
Badass: If you're going to be constantly cast as the badass late-season member, you're eventually going to start living like it.
Cursed With Awesome: Who thought you'd get stuck in a rut so hard being a literal contractual badass?
Deadly Upgrade: El-Gold actively took years off his life, Hunter Tiewaz's Light Of Victory power would kill him if active for more than ten seconds, and RokuBlack gave him twisted prophetic nightmares. It's to the point that by this point, all the drawbacks to Revenger aren't even worth mechanical representation.
I Just Want To Be Normal: Retsu wants this. He /thinks/.
Sixth Ranger: In full-effect, from repeated Heel Face Turns, Curb Stomp Battles, Worf Effects, and with the Akuma Hunters, he was even the Token Evil Teammate. He often doubles as the Lancer, and had a Red Oni Blue Oni pairing with Hunter Mannaz and RokuRed.
Mechanics
Stats
Body 4d
Coordination 3d
Sense 4d
Mind 3d
Charm 3d
Command 2d
Base Will 13
Willpower 14
Skills
Sixth Ranger (B/F/I) 3d
Badass (B/F/I) 3d
Student (B/F/-) 3d
Student Council Member (-/-/I) 3d Command
Guitarist (-/-/I) 3d Charm
Athletics (B/-/-) 3d Body
Brawling (B/-/-) 3d Body
Motorcycling (-/-/-) 3d Coordination
Fanservice (-/-/-) 3d Charm
Social Networking (-/-/-) 3d Mind
Powers
Source: Technological
Permission: Power Theme (Tokusatsu)
Henshin Belt: Useful - Transforms Into Dark Rider Revenger (2hd Speed, Endless, Self-Only)
Dark Rider Suit: Defends - 4hd LAR, (Capacity: Self, Armored Defense, Attached: Henshin Belt, Permanent)
Useful - 4hd Extra Tough, (Attached: Henshin Belt, Automatic, Engulf, Permanent, Self-Only)
REVENGER KICK: Attacks - 5d+5wd (Attached: Henshin Belt, Burn, Exhausted, Penetration, Speeding Bullet)
Martial Arts Badass: Attacks - 2hd (Augment, If/Then (Must Announce in the Declare Phase))
Useful - Multiple Actions 5hd
