is a tokusatsu series produced by the Toei Company that parodies their long-running Super Sentai franchise.
Main characters Akibarangers
The eponymous Akibarangers are three otakus and fans of an in-universe anime called who live in the Akihabara district of Tokyo and were given special technology by a scientist named Hiroyo Hakase to fight the Stema Otsu Corporation. Initially, the Akibarangers end up in a shared daydream state known as the , where they use the power of their imagination to fight Stema Otsu. After their enemies start appearing in the real world, the Akibarangers subsequently materialize their transformed alter-egos to combat them and eventually obtain the ability to transform directly in the real world.
The Akibarangers use and the multi-purpose figurine-like to transform, transfer their minds to the Delusion World, and maintain contact with each other and Hiroyo. While transformed, they can perform the and wield the MMZ-01 in its handgun mode, which allows them to perform the and the finisher. Additionally, with New Akiba Red, the team can perform the .
Nobuo Akagi is an average 29-year-old man and fan of the Super Sentai franchise who works as a deliveryman at , still lives with his mother, and is prone to daydreaming about being a hero. After being recruited into the Akibarangers, he becomes the team's leader using his vast knowledge of Super Sentai, such as its characters and tropes.Figure-Oh, No. 169
In Season Tsuu, Akagi manifests the figurine-like , which can transform into a knife and grants him the ability to transform into the armored . In this form, he gains increased attack power and the ability to perform the finisher. Additionally, he can combine the MMZ-02 with the MMZ-01 to form a bayonet-like cannon, with which he can perform the and the finishers.Figure-Oh, No. 181 After being enlarged during his fight with Prism Ace, Akagi becomes the golden and gains the ability to perform the finisher.
Nobuo Akagi is portrayed by as an adult and as a child.
Akiba Blue is a moniker utilized by its original user and her successor.
Mitsuki Aoyagi is a serious 18-year-old martial artist and closet fan of Z-Cune Aoi who joins the Akibarangers as Akiba Blue to improve her fighting skills. Despite her lack of knowledge of the Super Sentai franchise and discomfort with behaving like a traditional Sentai warrior, she soon warms up to the idea after spending a day watching GoGo Sentai Boukenger and meeting veteran action director Kazuo Niibori.
In Season Tsuu, due to the events of season one being retconned, Aoyagi was scouted to work for the Pentagon instead of Akagi, which led to her leaving for the United States following the Akibarangers' final battle with Stema Otsu.
Mitsuki Aoyagi is portrayed by .
Luna Iwashimizu is Mitsuki Aoyagi's replacement as Akiba Blue in Season Tsuu. An aspiring idol, Luna possesses extensive production knowledge of tokusatsu and various other genres. Due to Baros lol's monster, Chief Editor HVD, altering reality and replacing Gosei Sentai Dairanger with the Akibarangers, she is also a fan of the latter group. After noticing the kanji of her first name is written the same as Mitsuki's while her last name contains the kanji for "blue", Akagi and Hiroyo recruit Luna as a replacement, though she believes she is starring in an Akibaranger remake. When the Akibarangers restore Dairangers place in the Super Sentai franchise, Luna quits upon seeing being with them will not benefit her career goals until Hiroyo negotiates with the former's manager to let the Akibarangers "hire" her. In time, Luna becomes inspired to stay with the group permanently in the hopes that being an Akibaranger will eventually lead to her becoming a star.
Luna Iwashimizu is portrayed by .
Yumeria Moegi , also known by the alias of , is an immature 23-year-old cosplayer and fujoshi who daylights as an office worker and draws doujin manga to sell at Comiket on the side before she is recruited into the Akibarangers to serve as . Due to her experience as a cosplayer, she tends to stay in character, even while transformed, and speaks in an altered voice if her attire is compromised. Additionally, she also possesses knowledge of the Super Sentai franchise, second only to Akagi, and displays a tendency to "go moe" and lose consciousness over a homoerotic scene.
In Season Tsuu, she marries into the wealthy Yokoyama family and starts going by due to her new family disapproving of her otaku lifestyle, though she secretly maintains a manga collection hidden in her bedroom and eventually reconciles with her mother-in-law.
While transformed, Yumeria can use her MMZ-01, charged with her fellow Akibarangers' energies, to perform the finisher.
Yumeria Moegi is portrayed by .
Equipment : The Akibarangers' red Z-Cune Aoi-decorated itasha Toyota Prius that can transform into a robot called when a Z-Cune Aoi CD is played on the car stereo at full volume. Itashar Robo possesses a wotagei-inspired fighting style and is equipped with the and the . After ending up in the real world, Itashar Robo can convert Akihabara store signs into weapons using Delusion Power, such as the Signage Rifle, which can perform the attack, and the twin . : A smaller version of Itashar Robo that transforms from a toy replica of Machine Itashar. Despite its size, Itashar Boy is strong enough to lift a giant monster with ease.
Inordinate Powers The are varying weapons inspired by past Super Sentai groups and parodies of the Great Powers from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger that can be combined to form stronger weapons via , such as the .
: The combination of the following Inordinate Powers: Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger: The is a giant set of handcuffs inspired by the Dekarangers' D-Wapper that can be used as a two-handed melee weapon and to trap enemies. GoGo Sentai Boukenger: The is a giant shovel based on the Boukengers' mecha DaiBouken's Go Scooper that enables the user to burrow underground at high-speeds and perform the . Chōjin Sentai Jetman: The is a jet pack inspired by the Jetmen's Cross Changer that allows the user to perform a Jet Phoenix-esque finisher. : The combination of the following Inordinate Powers: Gosei Sentai Dairanger: The are twin hand-themed rifles inspired by the Dairangers' Dai Buster that can be combined into a rifle that resembles the Dairangers' hand positions while performing their Qi-Power Bomber attack. Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger: The is a giant belt buckle inspired by the Zyurangers' Dino Bucklers that allows the user to perform the . Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger: The is a mace and chain inspired by the Hurricanegers' Karakuri Ball.
Recurring characters Hiroyo Hakase , also known by her birth name of and acting alias , is the owner of the in Akihabara, the daughter of Takehiro Tsuzuki, and voice actor for , the protagonist of the in-universe anime Nijiyome Academy Z-Cune Aoi who serves as the Akibarangers' commander after personally recruiting them and supplying them with their MMZ-01 devices, which she received from her father at the Z-Cune Aoi series' wrap-up.
Hiroyo Hakase is portrayed by .
Stema Otsu Corporation The is an organization dedicated to destroying Akihabara's otaku culture and replacing it with the economy and lifestyle of a different district who were originally created by Takehiro Tsuzuki to serve as villains on Z-Cune Aoi. Later in the series, they are revealed to be a delusion that the Akibarangers created to explain a series of unrelated crimes occurring in Akihabara from their perspective. While Stema Otsu's battles with the Akibarangers originally take place in the Delusion World, Malseena finds a way into the real world to help Doctor Z destroy the barrier between them so their forces can invade reality, though he reorganizes the Stema Otsu Corporation into the Delusion Empire under Saburo Hatte's influence. After Doctor Z reforms, Malseena reestablishes the Stema Otsu Corporation in an attempt to prolong the series, but is forced to wait until Season Tsuu to do so properly due to Hatte ending and retconning certain events from season one.
Doctor Z is the Stema Otsu Corporation's head who was originally , Hiroyo's father and a brilliant scientist admired by his peers. Due to his undying love for anime, he became divorced and left his job to pursue a career as an anime character designer, eventually getting a job at Studio Bell Village. However, a combination of his increasingly surreal and violent concept sketches and several personal conflicts with the production staff and chief animator led to him being fired from the studio and ostracized from the industry. Returning to his former scientific profession to pay for child support, Takehiro discovered , which react to human brainwaves and convert delusional images into reality. Despite this major accomplishment, he became the villainous Doctor Z upon discovering Studio Bell Village reworked his character designs into what would become the anime Z-Cune Aoi and disowned his daughter Hiroyo after she secretly became Aoi's voice actress.
Initially disguised as a homeless man, Z oversees Malseena's scheme to tear down the barrier between reality and the Delusion World from afar before revealing himself to Hiroyo and the Akibarangers while taking over the operation. Due to Saburo Hatte's influence however, he puts a curse on Hiroyo meant to take her voice, converts the Stema Otsu Corporation into the , and betrays Malseena as his goals become warped. As the Akibarangers fight to stop Hatte from ending their series, Z reforms and reconciles with Hiroyo.
In Season Tsuu, due to the events of season one being retconned, Tsuzuki is stated to be working on a robot project at MIT instead of the Stema Otsu Corporation.
Doctor Z is portrayed by .
Malseena is the Akibarangers' reoccurring nemesis who is capable of shapeshifting. Initially believed to be a product of Nobuo Akagi's vision of an ideal enemy for the Akibarangers, she is later revealed to have originated from a rejected concept design for a Z-Cune Aoi villain that Takehiro Tsuzuki created before it was entrusted to Hiroyo.
Throughout season one, Malseena serves as the Stema Otsu Corporation's head of redevelopment and attempts to take over Akihabara until she finds one of Hiroyo's childhood drawings, which causes her to materialize in the real world. In light of this, she manipulates the Akibarangers into destroying the barrier between reality and the Delusion World until she learns of Saburo Hatte's control over them and helps the Akibarangers in their failed attempt to prolong their series until Hatte abruptly cancels them.
Refusing to accept this, an embittered Malseena traveled to Hatte's reality and convinced him to create Season Tsuu. While he retconned the ending of season one to have her as the Stema Otsu Corporation's leader, she is subsequently downgraded to being General Tsuu's subordinate. Despite being at odds with him, she pretends to serve him to take advantage of his schemes before eventually stealing his Super Sentai knowledge so she can create the Super Malseena franchise, in which she plays the lead antagonist in each entry and defeats the Super Sentai teams over the course of 37 years, only to be defeated by Prism Ace of Hatte's corporate rival Chigauyo Productions.
In Season Tsuu, Malseena acquires the , a dark version of the Akibarangers' MMZ-01 device that allows her to transform into her and perform the finisher.
Malseena is portrayed by .
Delu Knight is the Stema Otsu Corporation's executive director. Introduced as part of Saburo Hatte's attempts to rework Akibaranger, Delu Knight initially sees Takuma Tsuzuki as a rival before shifting his attention to Nobuo Akagi and piloting a giant robot called due to Hatte's attempts to end the series. Despite their best efforts, the Akibarangers accidentally kill Delu Knight.