Despite all the screen time Rio and Mele got, I never felt like they completely overshadowed the Gekiranger cast. And that's because I thought the cast did such a good job to maintain their presence.
I really love Jan. Like many, I hate screaming reds (Yousuke, Ban, Sosuke). But Jan was the one guy that did it right imo. He was a fun lovable character and his actor played him with such enthusiasm. And I felt like his childish nature was the most natural out of all of them. He was fun.
I know Ran and Retsu both get deprived of spotlight, but I still like them both. It's kind of like how I feel about both Haruka and Momoko in Maskman. Both of their actors were good and were fun characters to watch. I don't think either of them are bland.
Gou is easily the coolest of the bunch. Fans are always looking for old school homages in newer Sentai. Well, I think Gou is THE old school homage of newer sentai. The way the actor plays the character reminds me very much of the style of how it was done back in the late 80s. And his actor does a fantastic job at being a badass character.~
Ken is probably most people's least favorites. And this is due to how little impact he leaves on the story. But see, I'm not too bothered by that. I felt like he was just another fun character who was excellently added onto the show. And I am thankful for that. Many say Ken is just as annoying as any screaming red or even Genta, but I don't see that at all. Ken always came off as the cheerful lovable goof, in the styles of Kyousuke, Kenta (MegaRed), and Gai (GokaiSilver).
Actually, now that I think about it, did Rio and Mele really get THAT much more spotlight than the rest of the cast? Cause I feel like they got just about the equal amount as the other five. Even their number of focus eps. Perhaps it's more cause Rio and Mele's eps are a bit more plot heavy? Cause during the first like 20 eps, it feels like there's equal footing amongst the three Gekirangers and Rio and Mele. Gou and Ken get plenty of plot focus along with Rio and Mele for the next like 15 eps. And for the last 10 eps, it feels like a lot of the plot focus is on Jan, Rio, Mele, and even Gou. And we know how the ending stuff is usually what sticks to everyone's memory best when it comes to toku. But regardless, I still feel like Ran, Retsu, and Ken had plenty of presence throughout the show.
Judging by what many people are saying, Gekiranger to many is a show that was supposed to be the next installment of the 90s/early 2000s style of Sentai (Jetman-Dekaranger), but it got hampered by the crazy stuff of recent years. So this gets me wondering, would Gekiranger have been much better received, had it aired a few years earlier? Particularly before the Hibiki screwjob. Would it have been better for people if it had been done during the early 2000s? Would it have been as well received as how Abaranger fans love Abaranger? (Abaranger seems to be Gekiranger's most frequent comparison).