Taking A U-Turn From Super Sentai Then Returning Back To the Franchise

Most of Super Sentai's run featured a lot of good seasons. If I'm going to compare it to food, there's been more delicious servings than non-delicious servings. But as of late, the latest servings don't click with me like it did before. Super Sentai may get better or worse depending on who's in charge. Next year may be better and next year maybe worse. As the franchise has already reached up to 40 seasons and it's Toei's longest-running Tokusatsu series with no breaks since Battle Fever J's debut (two years after the less popular JAKQ ended). The franchise has been there for so long that it's already suffered from brand fatigue (ex. Fiveman back in the 90s) every now and then. A yearly release happens because of the demand for the series. With or without its Americanized counterpart Power Rangers there was always a yearly release for Super Sentai.

Super Sentai really requires a lot of innovative changes to keep it going and not all of them work immediately. Producers, writers, and directors do play a major part in whether or not new ideas will work. A good idea can fail miserably if it's not implemented properly. A bad idea should always be rejected. Turboranger and Fiveman were the least popular of Hirohisa Soda's works due to his burnout. They had cool ideas but it wasn't until Megaranger and GoGoFive that these ideas started getting better. ToQGer could have been a good idea but Yasuko Kobayashi was no longer in top condition. Another is when you're modifying an idea too much. My favorite examples of theme overuse (which I think is a really bad idea) are Kyoryuger and Ninninger. Toei could have tried to reinvent other ideas that were only done once (ex. birds, space, video games, tree-hugging, rescue, time travel) or explore other ideas that haven't been done yet with Super Sentai.

It's just that I'm having that annoying event that I have taste fatigue with Super Sentai at certain points of my life. Try to eat too much of your favorite foods and you may not want to eat it for some time. That's what sometimes happens to me with Super Sentai. But it's also suffering from brand fatigue. Sometimes, your favorite restaurant may run out of fresh ingredients and the food they serve gets compromised after a long time of serving good food. When that happens it's time to take a u-turn and try something else. I gave a thought of what I'm doing right now when I get taste fatigue from Super Sentai. No, I'm not even thinking about watching Power Rangers but there is other stuff worth watching aside from some classic old-school Super Sentai series that really made a name. Take note it's not about old school or new school but it's all about giving a good show that anyone can enjoy. Some old school and new school shows can be very boring.


But just because I have a taste fatigue in Super Sentai doesn't mean I'm not going to check out some classics that I haven't seen. Usually my preference is usually old school Super Sentai after Sun Vulcan while I usually prefer new school Kamen Rider. Hopefully, Grown Ups In Spandex will be able to speed up with both Changeman and Flashman, and Over-Time will be able to speed up with Timeranger especially the episodes in pending are related to Naoto Takizawa or Time Fire's arrival. All the while Over-Time is still providing the badly needed Zyuohger subs. Zyuohger is somewhat a breath of fresh air (and I don't care about the low ratings either like I did with Go-Busters) and I'm glad some fans of ToQGer and Ninninger are willing to admit the show's low ratings but can defend their beloved show against the harsh reception of any reviewers like myself as well as the ratings. I can always say never be afraid to like a show that has had lower ratings than usual.


Watching some Tokusatsu classics that aren't Super Sentai (or Power Rangers) can be a good alternative aside from the classic Super Sentai series. Take for instance while Metal Hero may be good as canceled (probably due to feasibility reasons) but there are some shows that are actually worth watching. Take for instance, there's Winspector (now completely subbed by Sailor Otaku) and they're currently doing Solbrain. When I think of Winspector, I have had a lot more fun watching it than GoGoFive. Solbrain is also pretty fun with its complex plots that Dekaranger doesn't have since not all criminals in Solbrain are actually approved for deletion by Dekaranger standards. Some are just misguided people while others may deserve deletion for their offenses.

Others that may be good would be Gavan (now the subs are completed by Millionfold Curiosity and I just finished watching it) and hopefully, there would be Sharivan. There's also Juspion (which subs are now completed by Megabeast Empire and I may watch it soon but Zyuohger's keeping me occupied in some way and so is Kamen Rider EX-AID). Gavan was pretty entertaining though I didn't find the final battle with Don Horror all that amusing. I still want to see more of Janperson subbed by Megabeast Empire. IMO, Janperson for a fully mechanical hero managed to do better than its spiritual predecessor Robocop.


Time arrives when I usually prefer this year's Kamen Rider and choose not to like this year's Super Sentai. After Kamen Rider Decade, I'm glad that most of the series are pretty good in their own way regardless of how many flaws they have. I didn't really like the direction Kiriko took during Kamen Rider Drive (I was watching Winspector while Drive aired and Junko's been better than her) but I enjoyed the show miles more than Ninninger. Kamen Rider Gaim is a pretty good series while I really didn't like how ToQGer fell apart no thanks to a burnt out Kobayashi and not putting Naruhisa Arakawa to be its headwriter. Another alternative for ToQGer was that maybe, just maybe it should have been reserved for the anniversary and let Junko Komura be its head writer. Either way, I felt like ToQGer took its maiden voyage too early and a lack of proper planning killed a great concept. Ratings really have hit low since Go-Busters... sigh.

When it comes to Kamen Rider I actually choose more of the Heisei era than the Showa era. I think most of the Showa era Kamen Rider tends to bore me due to the generation gap. Watching both Kamen Rider Amazon and Kamen Rider Stronger was a "chore" compared to watching new school Kamen Rider. I don't even know if I'd intend to watch the first Kamen Rider because it's so 1971. What I also like about the Heisei era is that no matter how kiddie Kamen Rider got since Kamen Rider Den-O, there has always been something that makes both children and older audiences enjoy it. Kamen Rider EX-AID may look kiddie but it has some life lessons that the older audience can learn while having more "mature" writing with more dramatic storylines and plot twists. Speaking of dramatic storylines and plot twists that's what I liked a lot about the 80s to 90s Super Sentai series. But right now, it seems to work better with Kamen Rider than Super Sentai. Then again, some lighter and softer Super Sentai series have some well-done dramatic storylines and plot twists though I prefer the Heisei Riders' version of how to do them.

In the end, I don't think I can permanently sever Super Sentai from myself even if I prefer to watch Taiwanese, Korean or Japanese TV drama over Tokusatsu in general. Like as said, there are just some things that people can't outgrow even if they start to like it less. Just because a person takes a short break doesn't mean it's over or the person is necessarily against change. No, the person may just be experiencing taste fatigue for a certain period of time or maybe critical because some changes aren't doing it for the better. Right now, I think the taste fatigue is momentarily over as I'm watching Zyuohger while enjoying Kamen Rider EX-AID more than the former. I don't know what feelings I'll have coming in but this post is mostly based on my personal preferences okay?