Super Sentai's Mostly Japanese Cast And Power Rangers' Multiracial American Cast Compared

It's a good thing that Super Sentai is getting more recognized thanks to the Power Morphicon events. I may not like Power Rangers but to call it an act of cultural erasure, credit grabbing, etc. is a very business-illiterate statement! I wrote an article at JEFusion discussing the cultural differences between the two shows. I was still in the closet about disliking Power Rangers but now I'm out of it. It might be best to say I DISLIKE IT but I refuse to join that crew. It was a great deal trying to compose that post -- which in turn helped explain why I don't like Power Rangers. However, I refuse to blame Power Rangers since it's been more of a MARKETING DECISION by Bandai and Toei!

Super Sentai has its limitations as a franchise too. If Power Rangers is established as an AMERICAN franchise -- Super Sentai is established as a Japanese franchise. In short, both franchises are set to reflect the values of each country. Power Rangers tries to imitate the Marvel/DC superhero team format in a way. Haim Saban already adapted X-Men into X-Men: The Animated Series in 1992 -- which spanned several seasons like any American superhero show. Super Sentai has lots of strange logic going on. Japanese superhero shows tend to focus on Tokyo as the Center of the Universe. Sure, Anime manages to create a show that goes from one country or era. However, Super Sentai is probably on some kind of strict budget. Time travel in Anime might be much cheaper than time travel in Super Sentai. No wonder Mirai Sentai Timeranger never traveled to different periods!

Battle Fever J introduced different countries to a mostly Japanese team. Diane Martin was the only WHITE PERSON here. Lisa Komaki voiced Diane Martin and later guest-starred for one episode of the same show. Dengekitai JAKQ had Mitchi Love who is half-white. Did this idea inspire the multiracial teams in Power Rangers? The USA is a culturally diverse country. Americans have diverse racial groups from Native Americans, White Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans of different types (ex. Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Indian Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Japanese Americans, Korean Americans). Japan is hardly racially diverse. That would explain why Super Sentai is mostly a JAPANESE TEAM. I bet Diane left for personal issues. It may also be because the language barriers made it difficult for her to work. The actress of the same name may have been better off doing something else!

The American side has no problem because Americans are so racially diverse. Power Rangers ends up operating as a multiracial American cast. Saban probably took some inspiration from the X-Men with its racially diverse cast. Storm is an African American and Jubilee is a Chinese American. Saban probably thought it'd be cooler if the Power Rangers side used multiracial forces. It would show that being American isn't about skin color but one's love for America. Power Rangers is an American franchise. The non-white cast members are usually actors of AMERICAN citizenship -- either by birth or by naturalization. It shows that being an American isn't about skin color but NATIONALITY. 

There's a language barrier to think about. English proficiency isn't good in Japan. That may further limit as to how Super Sentai hardly has a racially diverse team. The Power Rangers multiracial team is composed of mostly AMERICAN ENGLISH SPEAKERS and AMERICAN CITIZENS. The Morphicon events aren't without limits. Interpreters were needed and meeting someone who doesn't speak your language is awkward. Shaking hands and a friendly welcome are there. However, I'm sure that a moment of awkwardness can't be avoided. One could say, "How can I speak to this person?" Watching Karan Ashley ask questions to the Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger cast reflects that. Neither understood each other without a good interpreter! I'd probably prefer to talk to the Power Rangers cast first because I speak their language!

Super Sentai was as limited as it could get with multiracial diversity. Ghanian actor Samuel Pop Aning (I wonder if he's also American) played as Pop in Denji Sentai Megaranger and Bucky Bonds in Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger -- but more as a GUEST character. Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger had Robert Baldwin (who I heard is half-Japanese) working as Ramirez -- another guest character. Ike Nwala an AMERICAN African actor became Commissioner Hilltop. I almost feel like Hilltop represents the wealth of FDI in Japan. The Patrangers are still all Japanese though. 

It reminds me of how awkward Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger can get for me. That's why I've been throwing in jokes that the cast should've been white people. However, shipping white people and training them to speak Japanese can be THAT COSTLY! I doubt Hasbro would agree to that kind of scheme with Toei! The only "authentic" article there is Erica Murakami -- who's half-white and she's a CANADIAN citizen. I love to say that Jacqueline Scislowski looks more authentic for the part. However, Jacqueline may not speak Japanese and she'd probably need an interpreter talking with the King-Ohger cast. Erica can be that interpreter though! The rest were still Japanese as they can get. It reminds me of the awkwardness of Faerie Tale Theatre when it adapted "The Nightingale". Mick Jagger of Rolling Stones acting as the CHINESE EMPEROR was pretty awkward. The cast didn't care and they did their roles like a school play assigned to them. After all, who hasn't idolized a superhero outside one's ethnicity? 

This reminds me of how Toei should be more open to the world market. Americans are now getting a taste of Asian culture through Korean shows. Super Sentai official DVDs with subtitles may increase at a faster rate. I don't expect Super Sentai to get shown dubbed. However, it's nice to see both sides of the world meet each other. Hopefully, Toei will see the beauty of becoming less exclusive in the world market. South Korea has become a model for the world market. Hopefully, Japan will follow that model too!