And the reason why they brought him back was because that he's the captain of all the red sentai senshi's, as
that was a much
bigger role to fill.
Aka Red was just kind of like a booby-prize. It was like Toei couldn't decide on (or wasn't able to get back) a former Red actor for 2006's Sentai Dream Team, so their (cost-saving) answer was to just use a suit that could "become," supposedly, "any" Red. (I remember Japanese fans were expecting Noboru Kaneko to reprise his role as Shishi/Gao Red in Boukenger VS Super Sentai. Why else is Tsuetsue in the movie? I have to wonder if that was the plan, and it fell through.)
Am I the only one who thinks he's a rather insignificant character? I just find it surprising that he's been given a big part of Gokaiger. (So much so that Toru Furuya's been added to the main cast on Toei's site.) I feel like cases could be made for other extra heroes who have been lost in the shuffle, why they're important -- X1 Mask was shocking, the female Juuma Hunter was a GoGoFive regular fulfilling their dream of being a hero, Bright served as a view of what Tetsu would be like if not for befriending the Dekaranger, etc. Aka Red's gimmick, the one thing that set him apart, doesn't matter at all in Gokaiger, when the five of them are able to become every and any Sentai hero.
A character that's a manifestation of Super Sentai Spirit is a kinda neat idea, but I just think Aka Red wasn't the right execution.