More Mecha May Mean Less Intense Action Scenes?

Only one Takeru truly dominates the scene with better action scenes

By observing some old school and new school Super Sentai, I tend to notice that there seems to be this trend that if there's more mecha into the show then you might as well expect lower quality or less intense action scenes. I'm writing this considering Zyuohger has brought in back the badly needed DYI stunts from the main cast (with ToQGer and Ninninger really lacked), now it's time to go backward and forward with Super Sentai. As said, just because a series is newer doesn't mean it's always better. Sometimes, you get a good season succeeded by a bad season and a bad season succeeded by a good season.

Remembering some old school Super Sentai maybe I'll set the distance up to Ohranger, there seems to be the trend that when there's more mecha, there's less intense action scenes in Super Sentai. Granted, Ohranger was rumored to have nearly cancelled Super Sentai as there was some budget for more toys and some really badass action scenes. After Ohranger, it seems action scenes started to really die out. I could just try to do some side to side comparison between two or three shows with related themes with one with less mecha vs. another show with much more mecha. Both main cast and stuntmen did much better than the post-Ohranger era IMO.


Bioman vs. Megaranger

As a child who watched Bioman, I really remembered how impressed I was and until now with the cast doing a lot of really "OH WOW!" action scenes. Perhaps the most notable in Bioman were Sumiko Tanaka (Jun/Second Yellow 4) and Yukari Oshima (Farrah Cat) though everyone had their own fair share of DYI stunts. I guess it was because there was only one fighting robot (Bio Robo) so the people behind Bioman could keep focusing on the action fight scenes. As much as I like Megaranger as a series and yes, it's got a lot of good writing but I felt like the series' action scenes aren't as good. Considering it's a post-Ohranger series, some of the DYI scenes in Megaranger don't really impress me that much. We've got teenagers with attitude actually fighting but I thought Bioman for an electronics-based Super Sentai had way better action scenes.


Liveman vs. Hurricanger

So maybe the mecha count of Hurricanger is just slightly higher than Liveman. But I thought about it that Liveman only had five, Hurricanger had seven unless you count the Kakuri Balls involved. Action-wise, Liveman really beats a group of ninja-inspired versions of them. Hurricanger may be a ninja show but I feel like it doesn't live up as much with its action scenes. After seeing more of Liveman, it really offers not only more solid writing but also better action scenes. Hurricanger may have some action scenes but it's too gimmicky. Then again Hurricanger already exists in the post-Ohranger era.


Turboranger vs. Carranger

Comparing the fight scenes between Turboranger and Carranger, it's easy to see which show really had a budget for action scenes. Now I do like Riki and Kyousuke from both their shows, both shows have their merits, I personally think (for now) Carranger has been more consistent than Turboranger can ever be. The side of Turboranger is that there have been better budget for action scenes. The Turborangers can be seen doing a lot more intense action scenes which sometimes makes you think, "Are these guys really teenagers with attitude?" while Megaranger may feel a little or "realistic" to some extent with how action scenes are carried out with the main cast doing their stunts. Carranger had some nice action scenes but somehow, Turboranger really wins in that department when it comes to action scenes. Sure Kyousuke is badass but Riki has done more intense action scenes.


Fiveman vs. GoGoV vs. Magiranger

Now for the Sentai sibling trilogy anyone? Considering both GoGoFive and Magiranger came after Ohranger and Fiveman came before the Ohranger era, there's been a difference in action scenes. Writing-wise, GoGoFive is better than Fiveman for me but I still felt something's missing. As many great members GoGoFive has to offer but Fiveman still had a better budget for action scenes. Stuff like Gaku's swordsmanship, Remi's kung fu, Ken's raw prowess that allowed him to beat a monster out-of-suit and a lot more fight scenes in Fiveman IMO are better than most of the fight scenes in GoGoFive and Magiranger. GoGoFive and Magiranger had DYI stunts for the cast members but it's not that impressive for me. Still, you can't deny the family that fights together stays together. GoGoFive may win storywise but Fiveman beats it in terms of action scenes.


Zyuranger vs. Abaranger vs. Kyoryuger

Concerning the dinosaur Super Sentai trilogy, Abaranger is personally my favorite among them but I don't think highly of Kyoryuger and Zyuranger is good but not all that good for me. When it comes to action scenes, I'll pick Zyuranger to having really good ones. Zyuranger had a lot more intense action scenes than the rest of the dinosaur trilogy both in-suit and out-of-suit. I felt like Burai's fights with Geki have been better choreographed than Ryoga's fights with Mikoto. As badass Mikoto is as a game-changing villain but I felt like his choreography isn't that good. Daigo in Kyoryuger may have his moves but he's not as badass as Geki in terms of choreography. Zyuranger wins in terms of action scenes.


Dairanger vs. Gekiranger

Both martial arts oriented series after Hikari Sentai Maskman came during the late 80s. Dairanger really beat off Maskman in the martial arts chart. There's been a lot more intense action scenes in Dairanger that Maskman wasn't able to carry out during its run. Dairanger really showed a lot of great moments that makes me flaunt how good the series is. Last decade, Gekiranger also came in. No doubt I'm also a Gekiranger fan. As intense Gekiranger gets but I don't really think the action scenes are all as good as Dairanger's. Gekiranger's doesn't impress me as much. Although Gekiranger has given tribute to martial arts legends but Dairanger wins big time in both action and storyline.

Conclusion

Based on this rather limited observation, I still feel like that when there's more mecha introduced then more time has to be devoted in selling the toys than doing action scenes. This is unlike the action cinema where the main focus is doing intense action scenes.