This guy is a disgrace to such a noble organization that was meant to protect the very planet he's supposed to serve. Sure, the guy is a complete bastard, but is he truly evil though?...
Well, it's been a while since I last wrote my recent PE Proposal long before this, and I've been on a temporary break from writing these for a while in order to rebuild my motivational self-esteem to continue them with proper care. Anyways, I'm here on behalf of a certain candidate I've been meaning to discuss and it's come to my mind that it needs to be discussed.
After having to watch a Super Sentai series where an certain user I knew of other than Red Chevalier, who is into this installment where he most likely simped for a dastardly vicious aristocrat with a ton of Evil is Cool moments, it's come to bare in mind that no matter how much of a Hate Sink this man could get for his petty motives, he's still just a sack of potatoes compared to the actual villains of that installment.
Sure it is normally uncommon to showcase how vile some humans can be in other Super Sentai installments, but in the case of a certain commander from the heroes' side just doesn't cut off the breaks right here. The guy may have the heart of a PE, but in terms of actions, it's a no-go.
Anyways, I'm here to discuss what should've been re-evaluated at least two years ago, I give you all the one-shot Supreme Commander Akira Ichijou. Also, as the third Pure Evil Removal so far, make sure to give credit to AustinDR as permish was granted by him.
What's the Work?[]
Choujin Sentai Jetman is the 15th entry of the live-action tokusatsu franchise, Super Sentai.
This installment tells the story of five individuals becoming a driving force that would defend the Earth from an evil organization hauling all the way from space known as "Vyram" upon using a technological phenomenon known as "Birdonic Waves".
Who is He? What has He Done?[]
Supreme Commander Akira Ichijou is a minor antagonist in the Japanese tokusatsu series, Choujin Sentai Jetman. He is a high-ranking officer of the Sky Force and a superior of Commander Aya Odagiri, he is one of the few human villains within the franchise that has proven to be just as vile and detestable compared to the common villains of their respective installments.
Motivated by his own jealousy and pettiness with a complete disregard for the safety of the planet he's supposed to serve, Ichijou recruited and harshly trained five individuals to become the Neo Jetman, a task force that was meant to replace the original Jetman in order to get back at Odagiri for leading the organization and the project.
First debuting when sending out the Neo Jetman to fight off Meteor BEM, he immediately took over Odagiri's position and dismissed the Jetman as if they were "civilians" interfering with his work. When BEM started causing havoc across the city as the Neo Jetman took the Great Icarus, they were at a disadvantage as Ichijou refused to have the original Jetman save his team, calling them replaceable before being punched in the face by Ryu as they manage to save the Neo Jetman in time, at the cost of Jet Garuda as a result and berating his team for being saved by "civilians".
Later on, Ichijou would sabotage and withhold the analysis of the Jetman being capable of transforming again, using this as a means to finally disband their team to finally take recognition of having Odagiri work for him in order to humiliate her ruthlessly. When BEM infiltrated their organization's base, he had the Neo Jetman fight against the monster but to no avail as Odagiri was left to defend them. When she suggested retreating, Ichijou continued forcing them to fight against the monster regardless of the damage they dealt, especially when the original Jetman arrived to save them. When BEM got to the commander, he cowardly threw random objects and saying the organization is he to have before the Jetman stopped the monster once and for all.
It is then implied that Ichijou lost his position thanks to his inhuman actions, though implied as it was said to be.
Why He Doesn't Qualify?[]
Bruh, he's a complete scumbag with no positive redeeming qualities whatsoever, he even made Radiguet of all people look tamed in terms of nature whereas this piece of sh*t wanted recognition instead of the safety of the planet, even risked having Vyram take over if it meant having power just shows that he is just as vile as the Jetman's enemies as a much higher capacity.
However, there is one degree here that should make sense now... Ichijou, despite having to meet the criteria of absolutely no mitigations and being taken seriously at all costs, the one thing that remains a serious issue is by two words exact. Heinous. Standards.
There's no doubt about it, he shouldn't be compared to the likes of Radiguet, Tranza, and Juuza since Ichijou himself is only a supreme commander in position within the Sky Force organization. Unfortunately, given his resources relayed on a higher position he took hold upon, I think it says otherwise if such a position would allow him to have better access to controlling half of the organization, including the task force that is Jetman and his own team, Neo Jetman.
What I'm trying to say is that when I watched the episode, leaving his own team to die and the same on Jetman and their commander seems more of a "Kill the Heroes" act but instead, he goes beyond that as it would mean having Vyram take over the entire planet Earth. But that's the thing, while he does everything under the motivation of pettiness toward Odagiri and being unfaithful to the Jetman saving the day twice, that includes saving his life, the thing is that when he left the Neo Jetman to die on the battlefield, meaning there would be no help to save the entire city from being dismantled by BEM occurred something in my mind.
If you're an expert on Tokusatsu, it should be noted that this is a trope that leads to the question that every time a monster attacks the city, no one is seen dying from these attacks as this resumes to the generic case of simplistic Fridge Horror. While not necessarily Fridge Horror at best but nothing confirms if Ichijou himself was aware that his actions would result in the entire city being destroyed by BEM or how it would gain affect what would happen if Jetman was disbanded wrongfully which leads to Vyram taking on the useless Neo Jetman.
That's the debatable fact that has received my attention and from what I've seen from the episode, it's more likely that Ichijou seemed more focused on wanting power that he never realized his mistakes. While there are a few lines showcasing that he seems aware of how heartless he is but dismissed human feelings as a "weakness", which leads to the very fact that he has a complete disregard for protecting the city, I still believe his actions only amount to a certain "Kill the Heroes" scenario regardless of how personally unique the premise seemed.
Not only that, we aren't given much thought to how exactly harsh did it take for Ichijou to train the Neo Jetman. While we do see the abuse he bestowed on them when he berated them for failure and being saved by "civilians", the same goes for seeing them as "expendable", it does little to flesh out his "gaoling" against them. Although the details are minor, it does little nonetheless.
Aside from everything that is either dismissed as the "Kill the Heroes" degree with a unique effect or debatable Fridge Horror. If I were to suggest the primary source of all this, it's resources that are holding him back because again, he is a supreme commander, meaning he has other ways of achieving his goals and in a way, he should've used them to the full extent. Even if his crimes against the Jetman are personally vile and a bit unique, does he really compare to the other villains such as:
- Radiguet: A member of Vyram who killed his own lover simply because it would hold back his cruelty, a cliche-breaking trope from previous installments, and destroyed an entire planet's inhabitance with ease. Not to mention he brutally tortures Tranza, a potential PE, as payback and kills Juuza, another potential PE, when she was weak. Even his manga counterpart was just as awful as he was given he plotted to possess the daughter of Ryuu and Kaori personally.
- Emperor Tranza: The one ruling among the Vyram as he brainwashed a group of humans into becoming ravenous cannibals that devoured everything in sight, as well as animals. Let alone would he drain the lives of hundreds in order to activate the rebuilt Majin Veronica. So in so would he stand out is just being as bad as Radiguet.
- Empress Juuza: The overarching antagonist who led Vyram into destroying countless worlds through their conquest and tortures dozens of innocent people to have their skins forcibly grow crystals out of them till they became inanimate crystals themselves through the suffering they've gone through, all for the sake of recharging her energy. She even plotted to use Semimaru to decimate the whole world.
Now do I make a point? With the heinous standards out of the way, it's made clear that Ichijou doesn't have the actions of an actual PE except the personality, which he doesn't come close to meeting all the requirements in the criteria due to debatable Fridge Horror or his actions amounting to only focused on "Kill the Heroes" standards.
Final Verdict[]
He's already as monstrous as the other villains in the installment, but in terms of actions says otherwise. So as a result, I must say cut due to having to fail the Heinous Standards, though I wouldn't say he fails too likely in this case, but still, actions are actions after all.