How I Accepted That There's No Super Sentai Timeline

That moment I realized that... there is NO Super Sentai timeline!

Back then, I always thought that Super Sentai had its own timeline. Maybe I was just quite focused on Power Rangers where they would exist in one timeline. I always thought about this for once or twice anyway, or many times how I just kept forcing the idea of a Super Sentai timeline into Super Sentai. I always wanted to force them into one timeline when there is a huge difference between writing series with one single existent timeline vs. a self-contained series.

So at first, I just kept saying in my mind, "Like Power Rangers, Super Sentai must have a timeline!" Maybe it was because I was so used to Power Rangers having a timeline which again, I always thought that using one existent timeline can be a major creativity killer or two, it can produce a lot more plotholes than usual.

Timeranger did have a post-TV series special but like Turboranger's pre-TV show special, it does not include itself in the episode count as both are just clip shows. Now Ohranger can be retconned to the year 1995 from 1999 but that doesn't change one thing - the events of Ohranger can't coincidence with the events of other series. Also if there was one line, Gogo Five and Ohranger would have to exist at the same time. So I don't think Ohranger ever got retconned considering that when Tac was talking about the Super Sentai shows, they were by the year aired, not the year they took place. Timeranger took place in the year 2000 but Jetman's real year is only 199X, meaning it's unknown.


Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger

Some people including myself may appeal to Gokaiger but when you think about it, I wanted to use it as a justification for my theory that a Super Sentai timeline exists. The more I tried to fit them into one timeline, the more headaches I had. Yes, there's a single timeline but only for VS. Crossovers, not for the regular series. If you think about it, the crossover movies are already telling us they aren't in the same continuity with the movies.

Focusing on Gokaiger, a lot of events would NOT be in harmony with the series. Now the Legend War can have dead members appearing like Gai Yuki guested in Gokaiger or that we had Burai, Naoto and Mikoto meeting Gai Ikari. Now the dead soldiers stayed dead in Gokaiger's continuity which is non-contradictory but we must now face another fact with the Legend War. If you think about it, some heroes could not even show up at all. Even if the first episode had a teacher talk about Goranger, you have to remember Gokaiger is a yearlong massive crossover like Super Robot Wars, except that it happens in a timeline rather than, "Poof, you all exist at once!" type of scenario.

From what I can remember, certain heroes gave up their powers or left Earth. The Zyurangers left the Earth (they could still descend) but the Flashmen left for the solar system that raised them due to the Anti-Flash Phenomenon. The Kakurangers gave up their powers to seal Daimaou forever. The Jetmen no longer possessed their powers after the fall of Vyram. The Biomen and Changemen gave up their powers after the show ended. So how can we fit them all? Even Aka Red's existence is best left in the VS. Continuity than the actual continuity per show. He can exist in the VS. Continuity and Gokaiger but he doesn't exist in every other series.


Logic tells us VS. Movies are very out-of-continuity

Now let's talk about the VS. Movies. Many times as I said before, the events of the movies contradict the actual continuity of both shows. Now I haven't seen GogoFive vs. Timeranger and this time, I'll just talk about some instances I thought were events why I soon accepted there's no Super Sentai timeline.

If you notice the events of VS. Movies, many times, you'll see a lot of stuff that don't work out with the series that were mixed together. The very first major return of VS. Movies was Ohranger vs. Kakuranger. Some of its footage was used in Power Rangers Zeo. While it could work with Zeo but not with Kakuranger or Ohranger. You may consider that even if you see both Bacchushund and a young Buldont in the beginning, later in the movie you'll see Ohblocker and Tackleboy which appeared AFTER Bacchushund was shut down and Buldont became Kaiser Buldont. Plus, the Kakurangers (from a raw ending I saw) already gave up their powers to seal Daimaou in Kakuranger.

In VS. Movies, the characters may contradict themselves with actual continuity. They may be kept in character (got to keep that in mind in writing whatever massive crossover fics I have to avoid repeating the same mistakes from my first fanfiction.net story which I won't encourage my blog readers to read because of all the mistakes I made no thanks to my higher instability when I first wrote it) but you might notice some contradictions. In Megaranger vs. Carranger, as much as I try to put both series together but there were no appearances of the Neziranger. In Abaranger vs. Hurricanger, you may notice MaxRyuOh appears yet Lije is still a child. In short, I feel like whenever these contradictions are made, we are reminded that the movies do not take place in the same continuity.

Some may argue that the events of certain VS. Series feel "canon" to the series involved but I started to think about it. Sometimes whoever wrote the series may be fully aware that the VS. Movies are not in continuity with the series involved but, they want to make it feel like it. Carranger vs. Ohranger and Gingaman vs. Megaranger were among a few crossovers that felt like there was no contradiction. Other than that, I guess the producers love to troll the fan wars huh? I'm just having a WILD MASS GUESS okay? Other "trolling methods" I felt were used were during Gekiranger vs. Boukenger where it felt like a sequel to Boukenger even when it isn't, during Shinkenger vs. Go-onger when the Goseigers appeared and during Goseiger vs. Shinkenger as well as the rest of the VS. Movies. The events of Goseiger vs. Shinkenger do agree with Gokaiger but they don't agree with the events of every other Super Sentai.


Going back to my first Sentai, CHODENSHI BIOMAN!

I might actually go back to my first Super Sentai that I watched namely Chodenshi Bioman where I ought to have looked at. Do you remember Bioman's second episode where Peebo explained to Mika why they were chosen? The Biomen's ancestors met the Bio Robo five hundred years ago. When you think about it, Bio Robo chose the five warriors to defend Earth from any threat that your local authorities can't handle so... another test of common sense comes in when you realize the Bio Robo only activated when New Empire Gear made its attack because there was NO other threat before it. That means every other Super Sentai before Bioman did not exist with Bioman, except in the VS. Continuity but not in every series' separate continuity.

When I think of Bio Robo's activation, it was because the Earth was in danger beyond that it can handle. I don't think the local authorities can really take care of Dr. Man's forces and only the Bio Robo could take down the Mecha Giants sent by Gear to attack Tokyo. If they all took place in the same timeline, all I can say is why didn't it activate during the attack of Black Cross from Goranger up to the Jashinka of Dynaman? As said, simply because those organizations do not exist within Bioman's continuity. If they did, the show would already have a lot more mistakes than usual.

If a Super Sentai timeline did exist then why didn't the Shinkengers mention their predecessors seeing the Bio Robo shower the five brave warriors with Bio Particles? While I was watching Ohranger subs (six more to go... WOOHOO and I'll add it to my list of Super Sentai I've watched from start to end), then maybe I can also say that the Baranoia never mentioned anything about Silver and his giant mecha Balzion or the accursed Biomen. True that the war against Baranoia was similar to the Bio/Anti-Bio alliance but they do not happen in the same continuity. Both are separate events happening in separate continuities. I may have imagined Bioman's story getting mentioned here and there like in Gingaman (Elder Ohgi speaking about Bio Robo), in Ohranger (Miura mentioning Baranoia as part of the Anti-Bio Alliance in Bioman) or in Megaranger (Dr. Kubota comparing his relationship with Dr. Hinelar to that of Dr. Shibata/Shinichiro Gou and Dr. Man). But no, no such references are ever made.


So what happened to them dinosaurs?

I would later also try to use my common sense how dinosaur extinction may vary per series. Now not every show mentions them but the more I analyze them or in the recent with Kyoryuger (makes dinosaurs glad they're gone), Abaranger and Zyuranger the more I say, "Screw it! I've lost again! ONORE!" When I think about dinosaur extinction in Super Sentai, all the stories just CONTRADICT each other. Don't believe me? Try to reconcile them and you might get a real headache so don't attempt.

Let's go to the dinosaur extinction that happened in the three dinosaur series. In Zyuranger, we have Bandora's rage where she sold her soul to Dai Satan and started ravaging the Earth's dinosaurs. In Abaranger, it was a meteor that hit Earth and caused Earth to be split into two which would contradict Zyuranger's story... since Dino Earth has well, dinosaurs living with the Saurian race. In Kyoryuger, it was the fault of Deboss Army and the ice age. Even the way human evolution is handled per series is very different. Remember the Zyurangers CANNOT be the Saurians of Abaranger, both are radically so different!

Other Super Sentai seasons also tried to mention about dinosaur extinction. When I first saw the Boukenger movie, it was Hyde Gene's fault. Later when I saw Go-onger, dinosaur extinction was entirely Horonderthal's fault. No links to Bandora's gang or Evorian was ever mentioned. Try as you must to harmonize them, you cannot really get them to work together. The events are just like Land Before Time and Jurassic Park.


Let's blame Decade shall we?

So there's ONORE DIKEDO which Kamen Rider Decade's events also happened in Shinkenger as well as the first official Super Sentai vs. Kamen Rider crossover. Unlike Power Rangers and Saban's Masked Rider, I always assumed that both sides weren't even in one Universe. However Decade apparently takes place in the VS. Universe just like Gokaiger. So they entered the actual Shinkenger continuity and later, met the Shinkengers of the VS. Universe in Super Hero Taisen or the Gokaigers really have no self-continuity but they belong the the VS. Continuity. So every movie takes place in the VS. Timeline where events can happen much differently than the actual timeline.

With how the events unfolded in Kamen Rider Decade's crossover with Shinkenger, it may explain how the VS. Timeline exists. It was explained during the two parter special that the World of Shinkenger is a world without Kamen Riders. Because Tsukasa entered into it, the World of Shinkenger is doing its best to expel the Riders. In Super Hero Taisen when Marvelous (or at least it's another version of him in the Multiverse) mentioned that Kamen Riders and Super Sentai teams cannot coexist, it's probably the biggest hint of separate continuities. When he said that, it's pretty true considering a lot of events on both sides will just contradict each other.

The same problem actually happened in Ninninger vs. Drive. Unless the Ninningers move out from the world of Drive, the continuity imbalance was already set to happen one way or another. Only when the Ninningers moved out then time and space was restored to proper balance for both sides.

So, what's the final conclusion?

After several years of denial, I soon accepted the fact that no matter how I try to put them together, there's really no Super Sentai timeline. With all the events explained above, I really couldn't harmonize them and they were all written and most likely meant not to be linked. I believe that Toei had written them in such a way to give writers and producers more room for creativity. In the end, I can deny all I want but I might just as well accept it.