Choriki Sentai Ohranger: It's A Mixed Bag But Somehow, It Got Vindicated By History (Some Spoilers)

 

Choriki Sentai Ohranger is often considered "too awful" or a near-Franchise Killer. It's amazing how Chikyu Sentai Fiveman had that label and five years later -- this show got the label too! The rumors that Gekisou Sentai Carranger were also disproven. I've met some people who still hold Power Rangers Zeo to be "better" (possibly due to nostalgia sauce) than anything else. However, comparing the main rangers to each other is apples and oranges. Zeo continued from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Season 3.  The Ohranger cast are meant to be MILITARY members. Come on, the Himitsu Sentai Goranger vibes could be there. Shouldn't even the existence of Chief Counselor Naoyuki Miura be a hint? Casting Hiroshi Miyauchi as Miura might be because he was in Himitsu Sentai Goranger as Akira Shinmei or Aoranger.

I remember watching Zeo on Studio 23 (part of ABiaS-CBN) and getting fascinated by the huge merchandise. It's pretty much familiarity breeds contempt. I confess I wasn't immediately a fan of the Megazords where the left foot doesn't match the right foot or the left leg didn't match the right leg. I also found the Zeo Megazord cockpit to be so suffocating to look at -- back when I saw Zeo. So yeah, I just "accepted" it when I discovered more about Super Sentai when I was a teenager. I didn't even know the term until I was 16 years old! I discovered that there were license agreements. However, none of the license agreements could make me like American adaptations. I'm not a fan of American adaptations of Japanese shows TBH.

Ohranger can be described to be an unstable show. It was supposed to be all Darker and Edgier. But we know about the the late Aum Shinrikyo cult leader -- a guy who spent a LONG AMOUNT OF TIME in the Japanese death row! The terrorist attack and the Kobe earthquake were why the show started to tone down. It's also noteworthy that Power Rangers Time Force was hit with such issues too. The 9/11 attacks might be the show started to soften down. Time Force had a Downer Beginning despite its TV-Y7-FV compliance. 

It's actually the flow of the plot that made me think Zeo was only "better" due to familiarity

Super Sentai has a yearly cast change and most seasons are practically self-contained. Maybe, except for a few like Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan actually brought in Queen Hedrian and linked it to Denji Sentai Denjiman. Most of the older school Kamen Rider series were linked in some way -- during the Showa Era. Kamen Rider BLACK RX was the direct, inferior sequel to Kamen Rider BLACK -- I enjoy both but BLACK was still better! Maybe, the only reason why I'm now able to enjoy BLACK RX was because Saban's Masked Rider was a terrible flop! 

Zeo was pretty much where I'd call "familiarity breeds contempt" situation. One of the reasons why I find Ohranger to be better is the fresh start. There's no any direct connection towards Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger or even Goranger. There's no mention in the show's dialogues. Miura was pretty much another character. Hiroshi already played several different heroes during his career. Hiroshi would later do mentor roles such as in Tokkei Winspector and Shirei Solbrain. Hiroshi's character as Miura was meant to be a different character. However, Zeo continued off with the Zordon storyline. Mighty Morphin' became a hit and we know Toei created the Zyu2 footage for Saban's exclusive usage. 

After rewatching some Zeo epsidoes -- I thought it got annoying to see the Evil Space Aliens still there. Like WUT? Shouldn't these guys have been disposed off some time ago? Super Sentai has the trend of ending the villains once and for all PER ENTRY. That means there's no room for past villains to loiter around in ACTUAL ENTRY (though some people prefer to use season) compared to a non-canon crossover movie. I used to find seeing Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa reduced to homeless villains funny. However, it's actually that annoying. I confess I found Lord Zedd more dangerous when he married Rita Repulsa. Both Lord Zedd and Rita started to make the Power Rangers suffer more together -- despite Lord Zedd losing his dark appeal. However, I felt that Mighty Morphin' was becoming overcrowded. I'd also say the beloved Power Rangers in Space was so overcrowded -- it had to end with a bang! Space saved the franchise -- allowing Toei to rake in more money from the American market!

Ohranger had a fresh start like all Super Sentai entries. It was interesting that the show took place in 1995 but the show takes place in 1999. Okay, was this to reference Winspector was a show that took place in 1990 but took place in 1999? Hiroshi was involved in both shows as a mentor figure. However, there were are times Hiroshi could steal the show from older audiences. Fortunately, Hiroshi played two different characters. The show has a fresh narrative without bringing up rangers and villains from past entries. Everything was fresh as it got. 

Pretty much, I could say I was able to enjoy Ohranger more than Zeo for not being that crowded. The focus was kept to a T between the Earth and its struggle against the Baranoia Family. It was nice for me to see the Baranoia Family not having to deal with villains from previous entries. The Baranoia family dynamic was interesting IMHO. Hysteria started to show more human-like feelings as the series progresses. Heck, even the finale had Hysteria with huge developments. It was a very dark scene especially when the Ohrangers thought of finishing off the Baranoia infant Buldont Jr.. Hysteria paying for her crimes to save her infant grandson, is something that newer Super Sentai would be allowed to do!

However, Ohranger also had its problem of quantity over quality with the Bandai merchandise 

I remember the 1990s Zeo toy commercial and toy catalogue. I could sing the Toys R Us song all over again. Ohranger was pretty much a big toy commercial. The toys were fascinating but how did they do plotwise? IMHO we barely got to see it do much and a new Zord comes. Ninja Sentai Kakuranger was the first Super Sentai with two combining Megazords. However, Ohranger brought in much of almost everything from Zyuranger to Kakuranger. A standard combining Megazord, a secondary humanoid Zord that would combine with the Megazord, the Ultrazord combination, and a Megazord made from five humanoid robots? I feel these ideas got recycled. Heck, I even feel like Gunmazin was practically like, "Hey let's return the Ninjaman concept from Kakuranger so soon!" Yeesh! The toy catalogue was exploding like the Buu Saga of Dragon Ball Z!

Did how TV ratings actually force the massive toy sales? TBH the Ohranger toys are mostly cool-looking. However, I'm still WTFed at how Ohranger Robo and Red Puncher combined into Buster Ohranger Robo. I'm a fan of King Pyramider's design. However, I wish they used the King Pyramider Carrier Formation more often. Oh well, the King Pyramider Battle Formation was so huge it's intimidating. However, I feel it was too overpowered. King Pyramider Battle Formation saved the day in the finale. The high toy sales is probably why none of the Zords here were ever destroyed. A big contrast to what Chiky Sentai Fiveman did with the Magmabase -- in the finale! Vulgyre's the only Super Sentai Big Bad to overpower an Ultrazord. Dai Satan was eventually destroyed by Kyukyoku Daizyujin in Zyuranger. 

The massive toy commercial apparently gave enough profits for the year. Carranger's ratings weren't any higher either. There was only a slight difference of ratings. However, I could appreciate Carranger for its better-implemented toy catalog. Carranger was in many ways, better than Kosoku Sentai Turboranger. It's not just one Turbo but TWO TURBOS that Carranger owned. Carranger managed to go with quality over quantity -- selling as many toys as possible without bloating the show. 

Ohranger may not be that crowded in terms of characters. I could appreciate the lack of villains from previous entries loitering around. However, the toy sales can be, "Hey kid! We've got more toys than ever!" If the Buu Saga in Dragon Ball Z kept introducing too many toys then Ohranger did too. It was just WTF IMHO when we had the Big Bang Blaster, the Giant Roller, and the Ohre Bazooka getting thrown in our faces. Was there even a reason to have the Ohre Bazooka other than for an extra buck? It was possibly to keep kiddies interested and the show running. 

Yeah, but I'm still actually chucking (more than once) whenever Zyuohger vs. Ninninger had that line, "The history of Super Sentai! It's over!" 

Interestingly, Ohranger also introduced the yearly crossover with Super Sentai vs. Super Sentai 

The VS is used in comparison and distinction. Ohranger finally had a crossover movie -- the first in so many years! It's amazing how Super Sentai crossovers were shelved after JAKQ vs. Goranger. Ohranger was aired during the 20th anniversary of Goranger. The crossover was with last year's Super Sentai series Kakuranger. However, there were going to be some distinctions.

The VS. Series are meant to play out like the Dragon Ball Z movies. It always nags my mind why Toei has this "weaknes" (if ever) of creating spin-off non-canon material. It probably followed how Marvel Comics has its "What If" comic book series -- events that are clearly NOT meant to be part of the 616 storyline. The Dragon Ball Z movies play in such a way. For example, GoGoFive vs. Gingaman showed a scenario on what if the Saima Clan actually had an older son, older than Zylpheeza. It's pretty much like how Cooler was a What If brother to Frieza. The Cooler movies could fit with a few adjustments. However, Frieza is canonically an only child. Cooler was probably meant to be, "What if Frieza had an older brother." 

The case of Ohranger vs. Kakuranger can be more interesting. The show had all the mecha that were there AFTER Bacchushund's defeat at Ohblocker Robo. Buldont was also just a child during the crossover. The way this plays out is truly as how Turles in Tree of Might played out in the Dragon Ball Z movies. The events were 100% impossible to fit into the show. Interestingly, Zeo managed to fix this by making Kaiser Buldont into two characters -- Gasket and Sprocket. 

The first crossover movie after many years may have given a standard formula. The VS. Movies were never meant to be canon. Instead, they're practically played in a What If scenario. The What If scenarios were created to presumably test an idea, without otherwise ruining the main canon. It's probably like how characters like Turles, Cooler, and Broly were meant to be non-canon. Otherwise, narratives like Frieza having an older brother could contradict established canon. 

In short, unless specified, most Super Sentai entries are standalone. After all, events like dinosaur extinction differ. However, that hasn't stopped some fans from still trying to force a Super Sentai timeline. Trying to reconcile ALL EVENTS from Goranger up to No. 1 Sentai Gozyuger would create more plotholes than the Z-Wave from Space could. The Z-Wave is still hard to reconcile despite explanations. Super Sentai reimagined into one timeline would even be more complicated than trying to explain why the Z-Wave didn't work on other villains.