This is straight out of the Animerica issue. @_@ I'm just fixing my errors and updating this.

Character Spotlight
Samurai Troopers
By Nova Takaoka

The story of Samurai Troopers details the exploits of five young men (the Samurai Troopers, of course!) who were chosen to wield five sets of mystic armor. To put it briefly, the Troopers must use the power of their armor to fight the demon lord Arago, who intends to conquer Earth. Arago had made a previous attempt centuries before but had failed, mostly due to the intervention of the warrior-monk Kaos. It is with the help of this monk (who has somehow survived throughout the centuries, although in the Japanese tradition, his white hair implies strongly that he may be a ghost) that the Samurai Troopers receive the armor to carry on the fight in contemporary Japan.
Arago himself appears throughout much of the series as an other-dimensional, spectral figure--a ghostly, floating samurai helmet with a supernaturally spooky voice--and most of the actual combat is handled by mortal henchmen equipped with suits of armor much like that of the heroes. In fact, it is the nature and origin of both sets of armor--the heroes' and the villains'--that is one of the most important plot elements of the series.
Because the story does not feature an all-encompassing cosmology or the interventions of gods, Samurai Troopers' story is much more personal and intimate than that of Saint Seiya--character development often take precedence over action sequences. The battle lines are not clearly drawn from beginning to end, and combat tends to take a turn towards the psychological, with the dark warlord servants of Arago operating as distorted mirror images of the heroes themselves. Arago's realm, which first appears in the human world as a dark fortress, is a nightmare dimension populated by mists and ghosts--the people of Tokyo are the first victims to be absorbed by the dark fortress, which grows larger and more powerful as it draws energy from both the city and its inhabitants.
When the Samurai Troopers television series ended in March 1989, it was followed by three separate OAV series (as yet unreleased in the U.S.). The first OAV, 1989's Samurai Troopers Gaiden ("Samurai Troopers Side-Story"), is a two-part saga that places the Troopers in New York City, where they have to rescue one of their own members (Seiji) from a being named Shikaisen, who wishes to use the power of the Troopers' armor for his own purposes, with a little help from a mad scientist and a supercomputer. This was followed by four-volume OAV series entitled Yoroiden Samurai Troopers: The Legend of Kikotei (1989). In this series, the Troopers go as far as Africa in order to unravel the mystery behind the appearance of a man named Mukara and how he came into possession of his own suit of Trooper-like armor. Finally, a five-part series entitled Samurai Troopers Message (1991) details events after the Kikotei storyline. Message differs from the others in that it features radical changes in the Troopers' armor designs and is arguably the most serious in tone out of any the Samurai Troopers series, both on television and OAV.

Armor in America
In 1995, the 39 episodes of the Samurai Troopers television series were translated and dubbed into English for the North America market under the title Ronin Warriors. These episodes were broadcast on television stations across the U.S. in 1995, including later syndication on cable TV on the Sci-Fi Channel. Although certain aspects of the show were changed (mostly names of characters and special attacks), the premise of the show remained the same; five young men using their powers to save the world. The theme song of Ronin Warriors and its ringing chorus, "The Power's in the Armor!" may not have the elegance of the original Samurai Troopers theme music, but it nonetheless became a clarion call to the female fans in America, just as in Japan.

If it's that hard to see what the words say in the pictures, I've typed down the words... @_@ I'll have to re-scan them so they'll be readable.

Box #1: A Note on Names.....The character's Japanese names, as seen in Samurai Troopers, are listed first. The second listing are the character names as they appear in Ronin Warriors.

Box #2 (pointing to Ryo): Ryo Sanada (Ryo Sanada).... The leader of the Samurai Troopers, Ryo is an only child, as well as an orphan--both his parents have died before the beginning of the series. Ryo's favorite sports are soccer and mogura-tataki, aka "whack-a-mole"," the game where you hit mechanical gophers on the head with a mallet for points. His favorite hobby is nature trekking, and he dislikes snow cones and interviews. He later becomes able to use Hariel's armor of Kikotei, or Inferno, by drawing on the power of his comrades. (They misspelled the word "orphan". It was spelled "orhpan". ^^;)

Box #3 (pointing to Rowen): Toma Hashiba (Rowen).... The son of divorced parents, Toma's father is a very eccentric professor of physics and astronomy (think Emmett Brown in Back to the Future). Toma is an only child and is the most intelligent of the Troopers (I.Q. 250!). His favorite sports are baseball and archery, but he also enjoys brain teasers, playing go (a strategy game involving black and white chips) and shogi (Japanese chess) and studying history. A great baseball fan, he has his favorite and least favorite teams; he dislikes the Giants.

Box #4 (pointing to Kento): Shu Lei Fang (Kento).... Shu is of Chinese descent--his mother and father live in Yokohama's Chinatown, and both are kung fu experts. Shu himself practices both kung fu and judo. Of all the Troopers, Shu comes from the largest family (having two younger sisters as well as two younger brothers) and also the richest. Shu enjoys eating, arm wrestling, going to the arcade, and playing video games. Despite his fondness for eating, he doesn't like konyaku (noodles made from devil's tongue starch) and bird's nest soup.

Box #5 (pointing to Cye): Shin Mori (Cye).... Shin is a descendant of the famous Japanese general Mori Motonari. His surviving family consists of his mother (his father having died when Shin was young), who suffers from a weak heart, and an older sister, Sayoko Mori. His favorite sport is basketball, and he enjoys cooking as a hobby. He has also practiced the art of tea ceremony since childhood. He is extremely fond of the water, as suits the naval lineage in his family, but he dislikes being served fish with the head still on.  

Box #6 (pointing to Sage): Seiji Date (Sage).... Calm and even-tempered, Seiji is from the family of Date Masamune, one of the famous Japanese generals from the Momoyama and Edo periods (on his mother's side--it's her family name). Seiji's mother is a kendo teacher, while his father is a police officer. He also has both a younger sister and an older sister. However, the biggest influence on Seiji's life came from his grandfather's strict upbringing. Seiji was told by his grandfather that he didn't understand the concept of rei (spirit) and was made to practice bonsai (trimming miniature decorative trees) and the shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) to strength his spirit. Seiji's favorite sport is kendo, and he enjoys taking care of the wooden katana swords, playing the shakuhachi and practicing bonsai. He dislikes talking to women because he gets embarrassed. (Now why can't people figure it out that Seiji is NOT a flirt? -_-;)

Box #1 (pointing to Sekhmet): Naza (Sekhmet).... The first indication of Naza's power comes during his first real clash with Ryo. One of his primary weapons is that he is able to create a type of poison from his blades that causes blindness. He also has no qualms whatsoever about attacking his opponents once they are handicapped in this way--in fact, he seems to enjoy it. Naza's armor also resembles the orchi (the eight-headed serpent from Japanese legend).

Box #2 (pointing to Anubis): Shuten Doji (Anubis).... Shuten Doji is the first of Arago's subordinates to question the intentions of their Dark Master. Shuten Doji is eventually approached by Kaos, who reveals to him the secret behind the suits of armor. Because of this knowledge, Shuten Doji finds himself aiding the Troopers int heir struggle against Arago, and he takes Kao's place after the monk's death. (Don't confuse Shuten with Anubisu :P)

Box #3 (pointing to Dais): Rajura (Dais).... This one-eyed warrior possess the ability to confuse his opponents through illusion and mind games. What seems to complete the effect is his habit of appearing upside down to his enemies. Throwing off his opponents in this way seems to be his favorite tactic before striking. His armor resembles a spider, both in appearance and in power; the crest on his armor also resembles a spider.

Box #4 (pointing to Cale): Anubis (Cale).... Anubis is often matched against Seiji, probably because their powers are complete opposites--Seiji's power includes light, white Anubis possesses the power of darkness. This makes them almost ideal opponents for each other. Like Rajura, Anubis uses his power over darkness to his advantage to throw enemies off balance before dispatching his victims. (Uh... Kale? The box said Cale. I have no idea which one is the official name, btw.)

Box #5 (pointing to Kayura): Kayura .... Replacing Shuten Doji as one of Arago's warriors when he defected from Arago's forces to take Kao's place. Kayura is a beautiful, but very deadly opponent. However, her loyalty to Arago is not of her own will; she is controlled by a gold armor plate that hangs around her neck. Shuten Doji eventually sacrifices himself in order to free her from Arago's control and Kayura assumes his role on the side of good.


Box #1 (pointing to Talpa): Arago (Talpa).... Many centuries ago, Arago attempted to conquer earth but was forced back into the netherworld by Kaos. However, Arago's armor could not be destroyed. Through his armor, Arago still had the ability to return to Earth and complete his plans for conquest. Once his armor was separated into different suits, he regained possession of four of the nine sets of armor by bringing Rajura, Shuten Doji, Naza, and Anubis under his control. To regain his full power, all he needs are the final five sets--the ones that are currently in the possession of the Troopers.

Box #2 (pointing to Mia): Nasuti Yagyu (Mia Koji).... The daughter of a Japanese father and a French mother, Natsui cares for her grandfather and is instrumental in bringing the Samurai Troopers back together again when they are separated by Arago. After her grandfather's death, she continues to provide valuable background information to the Troopers. She also acts as an older sister to both the Troopers and Jun Yamano. (See, that's why it's mostly impossible to actually match Mia up with either Ryo or Sage because of the age difference. She's probably 18 or 20 years old since the required driving age for Japanese citizens is 18. Plus, it's not too popular in Japan for an older woman to date a younger guy.)

Box #3 (pointing to Ully): Jun Yamano (Ully).... The son of a Japanese businessman, Jun looks up to the Troopers and to Nasuti after his parents disappear in the first of Arago's attacks. He's an ordinary boy in almost every other way, including in his eagerness to help Nasuti and the Troopers when he can.

Box #4 (pointing to White Blaze): Byakuen (White Blaze).... A huge white tiger who initially makes contact with the troopers, starting with Ryo, Byakuen is extremely intelligent and acts a protector for Nasuti and Jun.

Box #5 (pointing to The Ancient): Kaos (Ancient One).... Kaos is the one who originally responsible for defeating Arago centuries ago. Once Arago was defeated, Kaos broke Arago's mystical armor into nine separate sets in order to prevent him from returning. When Arago returns to conquer Earth, Kaos guides the Troopers and eventually sacrifices his life in order to create a portal to Arago's domain.

These pictures below are enlarged so I don't have to type down the text.. their resolution are at 200 while my regular other pictures' resolution is at 72. Although, the loading time is PAINFUL. X.x;;; You can click on 'em for enlargement.



 [this image ACCIDENTALLY got erased, sorry, I'll have to rescan it.]

Since this magazine came out around the 2nd week of Aug, I grabbed it in time and a week later, Hebi complained that they were gone before she had a chance to get one. I'm starting to think to myself that there are a quite a bit too many Ronin Warriors fans in Wichita and I can't seem to find them all. (Somehow, this disturbs me a lot, why the (insert colorful language) didn't they put Ronin Warriors out on tape/dvd?! I mean, come on! >_< Gundam Wing already has tapes and dvds out, why not Ronin Warriors?!)