Yup, It's King-Ohger IN SPACE (And Giving My Wacky Thoughts)

Just when I thought that Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger wasn't milked enough with two VS short films -- another crossover movie is COMING OUT. It's titled Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger IN SPACE. Yes, the title has a strange mix of Japanese and English. I'd prefer it if the official Japanese title was simply spelled out in purely Japanese. However, Toei decided to spell it out in two languages. 

Here's the plot revealed by Orends Range:

The main cast of the series, namely: Taisei Sakai (Gira Husty/Kuwagata Ohger), Aoto Watanabe (Yanma Gast/Tombo Ohger), Erica Murakami (Hymeno Ran/Kamakiri Ohger), Yuzuki Hirakawa (Rita Kaniska/Papillon Ohger), So Kaku (Kaguragi Dybowski/Hachi Ohger), and Masashi Ikeda (Jeramie Brasieri/Spider Kumonos) will all reprise their respective roles. 

In this special, in order to protect peace not only in Chikyu, but throughout the universe, Hymeno met with Tsurugi Ohtori (role reprised by Keisuke Minami), the president of the Space Federation, and Rita cooperated with Doggie Kruger (role reprised by Tetsu Inada), the Chief of Earth's Space Police Branch. Meanwhile, Prince (role reprised by Rintaro Kawana), who is undergoing space training visits Gira in Chikyu, but an incident occurs! What the heck is happening?!

Written by Kaori Kaneko (Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger vs. Kyoryuger) and directed by Koichi Sakamoto (Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger vs. Space Squad), Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger IN SPACE is set to premiere this year, exclusively on the Toei Tokusatsu Fanclub. 

The plot drags two franchises together. These are Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger (which will have a 20-years-after movie but lost interest in Super Sentai reunion films) and Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger. It's confirmed that only Tsurugi and Doggie will represent both sides. We also have Prince from Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger who's undergoing space training. I'm still a fan of Kyuranger though I'd understand why some people dislike it. I still find Kaiju No Kami's negative review of it entertaining and enlightening. Dekaranger has been a fan favorite, the first Super Sentai series that got fully fan-subbed in English. Now, Dekaranger's got an official DVD release. 

It should be noted that 2023 had some milestones for Toei. It's the 30th anniversary of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers -- the same year that Toei entered the American market. Coincidentally (or not) -- it's also the 25th anniversary of Power Rangers in Space (which allowed Toei renewed access to the American market) and Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog. This year would mark the 25th anniversary of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. It's said that a second season for Mystic Knights was planned BUT the plan got canceled in favor of Lost Galaxy. Sadly, the show was left hanging with no official closure. Toei probably wants to celebrate that fact with this crossover. Toei receives royalties from the Power Rangers franchise. Adding "IN SPACE" to the title had my eyes popping out. What's Toei trying to accomplish here? 

Lost Galaxy tried to mix its source material Seijuu Sentai Gingaman with ideas from Star Trek. The claim that Lost Galaxy is more popular than Gingaman in Japan is FALSE. The claim that Lost Galaxy is preferred over Gingaman by the Western fanbase is TRUE. Both Lost Galaxy and King-Ohger have rangers with mystical swords. Chikyu was a planet in some distant galaxy. The Castle Shugoddom proves Megazords defeated NASA centuries ago. Lost Galaxy was a series that made me wish Toei would put Super Sentai into space. Kyuranger made it happen and it's also joining the mix. Kyuranger was more based on Star Wars, the Lucky Starr series, and I dare still say it -- SPACEBALLS! Lost Galaxy came out a year after Space. It was also the first series to have a crossover with the previous entry -- except Power Rangers crossovers are treated as regular episodes. It's because Power Rangers prefer to operate with a given timeline. Super Sentai chooses to operate with multiple continuities. Lost Galaxy is directly linked to Space with a crossover arc. Gingaman only had a non-canon crossover with Denji Sentai Megaranger. 

I have mixed feelings about how King-Ohger turned out as the series progressed. King-Ohger is part of the Kyoryuger continuity. I wanted King-Ohger to be as self-contained as most Super Sentai entries. Kikou Sentai Zenkaiger already established that most Super Sentai belong to different worlds. Some series are still connected though but most of them are self-contained. Most VS. Movies are obviously just What-if scenarios. Many of these VS. Films are meant to be out-of-continuity such as Choriki Senti Ohranger vs. Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. It's different from Power Rangers where the crossovers are integrated into the list of episodes. I wanted Chikyu to be Another Earth where Modern Japan doesn't exist. However, even the opening already calls Chikyu a planet in a DISTANT CORNER of the Universe. In short, it's really located in a lost galaxy. It may explain why this V-Cinema movie is happening.  

It might fit into the Space Squad continuity instead. It may not be canon to the actual show. Dekaranger 10 Years After and the 20 Years After film may not be canon to the original Dekaranger. Instead, they would be part of the V-Cinema series. That would include the Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger vs. Ucchu Keiji Gavan crossover and the Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger vs. Space Squad films. Hopefully, this will add to the series of V-Cinema movies -- as non-canon as they may be.