Dora Minotaur (ドーラミノタウロス Dōra Minotaurosu)

NAME:
Dora Minotaur (ドーラミノタウロス, Dōra Minotaurosu)

FIRST APPEARS IN:
Kyouryu Sentai Zyuranger, Episode 3:
Fight in the Land of Despair

DESIGN FEATURES:
– permanent furrowed brow
– a lovely man-skirt
– soulless emerald eyes

SKILLS AND QUIRKS:
– giant club and shield
– zooming about underground like some kind of sand shark
– shooting lasers out of his massive horns

LASER HORN SOUND:

I’ve started watching Kyouryu Sentai Zyuranger — the first Super Sentai series to have its footage poached for the American-made Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. As someone who grew up loving the original incarnation of Power Rangers (and having no clue that it was made up of mostly recycled clips from another show), it’s a real mind fuck to see familiar footage in its true setting. Familiar footage like Mighty Minotaur, or, as he was known in Kyouryu Sentai Zyuranger, Dora Minotaur.

Dora Minotaur is one of the Rangers’ earliest foes, and he is pretty exciting. He spends most of his first episode, “Fight in the Land of Despair”, at regular human height and does a fairly excellent job of kicking Ranger ass. It all falls apart when Witch Bandora (or Rita Repulsa as child-me knew her), makes the demons of the underground grant Dora Minotaur extra powers. He balloons out to skyscraper height, but is quickly defeated by the Howling Cannon — the combination move of all the Rangers’ weapons (known as the Power Blaster in the American version). Not even his impressive leaping powers can save him.

Dora Minotaur sets the bar pretty high for the giant monsters to come. His design, though not particularly original or surprising, is detailed and impressive. Dora Minotaur perhaps works better as a regular-sized monster. At normal height, he is somehow more imposing. At giant height, stomping around and smashing stuff, he just comes across as a bit of a buffoon. His laser horns are awesome though.

I’m pretty excited to see other characters from my childhood favourite show pop up in Kyouryu Sentai Zyuranger. Only watching a couple of episodes, it’s impossible to imagine how I could have ever not noticed the jarring mix of Japanese footage and American footage in the show. Still, the distant familiarity and nostalgia makes me love Kyouryu Sentai Zyuranger even more.