Was Yasuko Kobayashi Planned To Become King-Ohger's Main Writer? (Spoilers Ahead)

 

This is an idea that came to mind but I was hesitant to write it. I'm still stuck with Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger and not too excited about Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger -- even NOW! It's probably because King-Ohger felt so different it's more than just something new. I felt King-Ohger's innovation was highly ambitious! It felt more like a serialized Anime series than a Super Sentai. Toshiki Inoue made a comeback in Avatar Sentai Donbrothers -- something I enjoyed more than Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger. With Inoue's return -- I was excited and worried at the same time. Inoue is among the writers who got overused. I even remember a rumor that Kamen Rider Zi-O's head writer would be Yasuko Kobayashi. 

As I did more research on Kobayashi -- she also wrote for Attack of Titan -- something I only discovered by researching about her! What I never realized was that some Super Sentai fans have compared it to Attack on Titan. I wonder if Toei actually planned Kobayashi to be the head writer. If so, what could she have done? Kobayashi did mellow down in the later years evidenced by how anything after Mirai Sentai Timeranger wasn't overly serious. Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters is also serious but it's not exacty criticized for that. Timeranger is understandably less appreciated. Go-Busters? Well, I must admit some Power Rangers fans checking out Super Sentai may have overrated it!

Inoue's return as a head writer to Super Sentai was rather surprising. Inoue was assigned to mostly Kamen Rider. Even Inoue's weakest moment as a head writer was in Kamen Rider -- namely Kamen Rider Kiva. Inoue was later given lesser roles (presumably due to stress). Sure, Inoue did a few Super Sentai episodes but I felt they didn't mean much. However, I wished that Inoue served as Go-Busters' secondary writer with Kobayashi as the head writer. I wonder why it took some time before Inoue did something big for Super Sentai. Inoue made me speculate on who might be the writer after Donbrothers. My speculations ranged from possibly Naruhisa Arakawa, Junki Takegami, and then Kobayashi. Kobayashi is also known to have some similarities with Inoue as well! 

If one looks at King-Ohger -- there are certain stuff that Kobayashi could've worked with. These are... 

Two reds/anti-red

Some of Kobayashi's head writing works focus on two reds and an anti-red. Who can remember how Seijuu Sentai Gingaman had Ryoma take over as the red ranger because Hyuga was thought dead? Timeranger had Time Red and Time Fire. Later, Timeranger reveals Captain Ryuuya as the true anti-red in many ways. Samurai Sentai Shinkenger had a shadow warrior and the true red ranger with Kaoru Shiba and Takeru Shiba. King-Ohger had Racules and Gira. Gira was the red ranger and Racules was the anti-red. Racules was pretty much an anti-red himself. However, Racules ends up in a redemption arc compared to Ryuuya. How would Kobayashi would've handled Racules if she wrote him?  

Certain amounts of foreshadowing

Racules is Captain Ryuuya at the beginning. However, certain events like Gira's saying, "Racules could've killed me but didn't." Certain flashbacks by Racules prove that he wasn't always the nincompoop king who occupied Shugoddom. In fact, it's revealed that Racules got corrupted in the process. Suzume was probably the only thing that kept him sane. Events between Racules and Kaguragi seem to foreshadow something. Racules' actions can be massive spoilers BUT they also foreshadow something. Racules could've killed Gira but didn't. That alone was pretty much leaving people to speculate, "Looks like someone else was controlling Racules!" 

There's also the foreshadowing that Kamejim was disguising as Boshimar. Maybe, not everyone saw that the real Boshimar died before the series began. Aside from Racules -- it seems to suggest that Racules was actually corrupted. Racules confesses having been corrupted by power at some point in his career. Did those events insinuate that Racules was corrupted by some outside force? Later, the revelation that Kamejim worked for Dugded -- may not be too surprising for some! 

Massive amounts of science

N'Kosopa is one kingdom devoted to scientific advancement! It's the technological hub of Chikyu! Kobayashi used a lot of science in some areas of her writing. Sure, Kobayashi started off with Seijuu Sentai Gingaman (and the series was nature-themed though). However, Kobayashi got into science fiction when was assigned with Timeranger and Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. When Kobayashi was assigned to Kamen Rider -- there was some science even in the oddball series Kamen Rider OOO. I'd imagine Kobayashi would've probably shown excessive favoritism for Yanma!

Memorable characters

Kobayashi was fond of character-driven episodes -- something King-Ohger did. It was nice not to see Gira steal all the spotlight like some other red rangers. Racules can be memorable for his Big Ham performance. Gira's naivety is another. Rita's keeps her gender secret until she reveals herself to be a woman all along. Himeno is seemingly selfish but she's not. Kaguragi is an anti-hero of sorts. Jeramie is a half-breed. I enjoyed Takano's writing but I wonder how Kobayashi would've handled them. 

A look back at how Kobayashi wrote other series -- there are plenty of character-driven moments. Timeranger might focus on the Asamis but each and every character has a development. The Timerangers may have started out as unlikable jerks but they got development. Yuuri's cold personality was due to her trauma. Shinkenger seemed to focus on Takeru a lot. However, careful observation will show the Shinkengers all had their time to shine. ToQGer had created quite a likable atmosphere -- even when Kobayashi reached burnout point. 

Time travel

This plot wasn't really used much in King-Ohger. Time travel wasn't used much in the other series. The only time Shinkenger had a time travel was when Mako saw Dayu's past. However, it's always noted that Kobayashi wrote Timeranger -- a series criticized or praised for its overly serious tones! Minongan was also revealed to control time to a certain extent. Chances are these time travel schemes might involve Dugded trying to delete the monarchs, Racules trying to correct his plan to get rid of Dugded, or Gira trying to save Racules from corruption. 

Important relatives 

King-Ohger was chock full of those. However, many of them died before the series began. Take for example Himeno's parents. Sure, Himeno's parents have long died but they all played important parts. Jeramie's mother was a Bugnarok woman -- establishing the Star-Crossed Lovers story. The Husty Household's previous king and queen were long dead but they're still part of the plot. The flashbacks ultimately help establish the characters. Racules' past was later shown to how he got corrupted. After all, Racules was just a puppet king. How Racules became a puppet king was later revealed. These relatives play a huge part in King-Ohger.  

Kobayashi had done the important relatives thing -- A LOT! Go-Busters had killed off most of the loved ones of the rangers. I saw that as rather unusually cold given that Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger is a festive season. Himeno's parents dying in such a way is something Kobayashi would pull off. Shinkenger may have been a fun season but there's still some posthumous deaths. Timeranger focuses on the Asamis and Captain Ryuuya is a descendant of the said family too! ToQGer has the rangers trying to find their parents and their identities. 

Villains with "human" ambitions

Dugded is truly a vile piece of scum who wants nothing but power. However, the first half doesn't focus on that. The Bugnaroks were manipulated into a war with the humans at Chikyu. Desnarak VIII's actions tend to focus on settling an old grudge. Sure, Desnarak VIII planned to blow up Chikyu but it's all because of some grudge. Desnarak VIII might've started out villainous but he had "human" ambitions. 

Kobayashi had a few villains who weren't all too focused on world or universal domination. The Londarz Family only wanted more money. Emperor Zetto in Ressha Sentai ToQger got bored with his life of darkness. Besides, Zetto (or Ed, I'm sorry, it's Zed) was too young to sit on the throne or to become the new Emperor of Evil. Captain Ryuuya wanted to save his life without otherwise completely changing the era he lives in. Enter later simply wants to become the perfect human. 

Moral dilemma

King-Ohger had some moral dilemmas such as Gira vs. Racules. Racules' moral dilemma was about becoming so evil that he could get rid of Racules. Iroki's moral dilemma was if she was willing to be labeled as a tyrant to save Toufu's reputation. I wonder how Kobayashi would've handled them? Just looking at Iroki's suicide and Racules' moral descent -- these are quite similar to Kobayashi's way of writing!

Kobayashi added some moral dilemmas in her writing. Who can remember the moral dilemma laced Kamen Rider Ryuki? I always felt that Ryuki's Reset Button ending was anything but what Kobayashi would've wanted. Come on, it's so obvious that Shinji's death before Renn's was meant to KILL EVERYONE! 

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My hunch was that Toei would've wanted Kobayashi to be King-Ohger's head writer. I remember panicking at the rumor that Kobayashi was to be Kamen Rider Zi-O's head writer. Unfortunately, people had to settle with Kento Shimoyama -- the head writer of that awful Shuriken Sentai Ninninger. Overusing writers have created not-so-good results. That's why I was still skeptical about Inoue for Donbrothers. I had a nagging thought of, "Is Inoue well-rested or not?" It might've been stranger if Kobayashi became the main writer and Inoue the secondary writer. The two are infamous for a lot of heart-wrenching plots. Maybe, King-Ohger would be ore heart-wrenching if the two were assigned to it.

Instead, we have Takano. I feel it may be a good thing not to put Kobayashi wasn't put as the main writer. Super Senai needs to focus on fresh new ideas. Instead, I'm glad that Super Sentai is getting newer writers every now and then. Relying too much on older writers can be a bad idea. Takano has done a good job. Kobayashi's still working with Thus Spoke Rohan Kishibe -- which may have given a new writer the chance to do something. Kobayashi may have the experience but being overworked is being overworked.