As an adult, a lot of stuff either start to make me either cherish them or berate them. Ohranger became that massive toy commercial. The same goes as the Buu Saga went from 1994-1995. It could be explained that the Sarin Gas incident caused the ratings to lower down. However, it turns out that Ohranger wasn't the show that NEARLY killed Super Sentai -- it was Fiveman. Fiveman still got Vindicated by History even when GoGoFive is miles better. Ohranger was really trying to stay afloat. The show had to go on and it's safe to assume everyone was in panic mode.
The show starts off as normal. However, one could see that the show slowly gave tribute to the various Megazord combinations when the late Noboru Sugimura was the head writer. I couldn't help but point them out all the more when I discovered more of Super Sentai at 16 years old! I was fascinated by the Power Rangers Zeo toys for some time. Today, I'm going to think about how the toy overload affected Ohranger's narrative.
Ohranger deviated from Hirohisa Soda's introduction of the mecha ASAP. Ohranger had a two-episode Ohranger Robo introduction arc (episodes 5-6). It was similar to how Zyuranger introduced the mighty Daizyujin a few episodes later. I thought those episodes practically added the necessary tension to kick the show in. Of course, we know how the Sarin Gas incident forced the show to swing back and forth. The narrative was pretty good. The Megazord was given a decent backstory to back it up. I also found the Red Puncher introductory arc well-written. Soda was involved with introducing Red Puncher -- although it was clearly inspired by the Galaxy Robo arc in Maskman.
Sure, Super Sentai needs to sell toys. However, Ohranger had the tendency to say, "Hey kids! Here's a new toy!" like the Buu Saga did in Dragon Ball Z. Honestly, I always criticize how the Fusion concept in Dragon Ball Z did that -- both the canon and non-canon. Dragon Ball Z the Buu Saga just kept kicking in new stuff -- to the point that the storytelling was DERAILED!
What was the point of suddenly introducing the Ohre Bazooka? It's really as poorly introduced as to why the Zeo powers were *POOF* suddenly replaced with the Turbo powers! There was no reason that the Ohrangers needed a new weapon. It could've worked IF a new Baranoia monster was powerless against the Big Bang Buster. Nope, the weapon just CAME IN OUT OF NOWHERE! It made sense if Maskman replaced the Shot Bomber with the Jet Cannon. The Shot Bomber was destroyed when Kiros first showed up. However, there was really ZERO REASONS to add in a new weapon -- except to sell a shiny new toy to a child! Episode 25 was really funny. Sure, there's no Bulk and Skull BUT STILL. On its own, episode 25 was a major writing hiccup. It can be fun until I realize, "Like wut? A new toy so soon?"
The introduction of Kingranger and the storyline
It was hard not to watch
Ohranger without thinking about
Zeo. However, the other show that came into my mind MUCH LATER was
Bioman.
Bioman had the story of the Bio Alliance vs. Anti-Bio Alliance. The storyline of ancient mankind in Pangaea vs. the Baranoia. The two factions could be compared to the Bio vs. Anti-Bio. Bacchushund could've been easily written in as the head of the Anti-Bio Alliance. But we know
Super Sentai usually chooses self-contained stories. It would be a real hurdle if
Bioman had to be watched to understand
Ohranger. Instead, parallelism was given WITHOUT linking them.
The Baranoia Empire rebelled against Ancient Mankind, and they were banished. Talk about whether the Anti-Bio Alliance returned for that reason. However, the storyline somehow missed its potential. Later episodes involving Bomber the Great were like, "Well good riddance, he'll be gone soon." Bomber the Great was what I'd call a poor Expy of Silver from Bioman. Silver was 1,000x better IMHO! Maybe, it's just a nitpick. But now, for a bit of another nitpick.
King Pyramider was introduced with two combination methods. There was the Carrier Formation used for defeatng the guest villain Keris. There's the humanoid SUPER GIANT formation. The Carrier Formation was only used ONCE for the series. The Ohranger vs. Kakuranger movie had the formation used BUT it didn't work. I wonder why introduce two formations when the humanoid formation was going to be used MORE OFTEN THAN NOT. IMHO I do prefer the King Pyramider Battle Formation as an Ultrazord. It was really FUNNY to see the Baranoia monster panic at the sheer size! What was the point of the King Pyramider Carrier Formation? Was it to give tribute to the Heavenly Armor Chi Palace combination in Dairanger?
A probable explanation for the King Pyramider Battle Formation was this. Oh Blocker was able to substitute the Ohranger Robo in the Ultrazord formation. It was probably done because well, the Ohblocker, was going to be another "just another Megazord to buy". Which is something I could discuss...
The Ohblocker was introduced as a shiny new toy... only to get overshadowed
I don't think there was an official explanation for why Toei chose to write off Emperor Bacchushund midway. What made me LMAO though was that the Ohblocker used a twin crash VERTICAL slash but Bacchushund's head was revealed to be STILL INTACT. Like WUT? Sure, Tien's Kikoho was already been explained because he uses a DIAMOND SHAPE. But this? Toei probably wanted to screw logic harder than usual. I mean, how in the world do Super Sentai heroes repair Japan EVERY WEEK?! That's a similar question that could be asked in any superhero show!
Episodes 33-34 give a cool introduction for the Blockers and the Oh Blocker. Bacchushund gets defeated when he challenges the Ohrangers to one final battle. Bacchushund may hate human love, but he contradicts himself. The Baranoia family develops human emotions throughout the series. I could feel the emotional hurt as Empress Dowager Hysteria developed them. Seeing Hysteria cry when Bacchusund shuts down for good makes me feel sorry for them. These guys had some personality beyond Silver's "must destroy Bio Particles" mission. Although, I still think Bomber the Great doesn't hold a candle to Silver as a villain!
Episode 35 was the last when we saw Ohblocker use the Twin Blocken Crash. However, enter episode 35 and guess what? Tackle Boy was added! Jetman had a better job introducing Tetra Boy than Tackle Boy! Was the new toy necessary? I actually enjoyed the trial that the Ohrangers had to go through. The helm splitting sideplot could've been used in modern Super Sentai. Heck, I even wonder why Shinkenger never tried to have an episode with that side story! It was practically wondering, "Why introduce a new Zord so soon?!"
Gunmazin was Ninjaman in some way
Gunmazin was introduced as an Extra Hero. I found it funny that the Zeo toy catalogue introduced him as a ZORD instead. I was laughing my head off when I first saw Auric the Conqueror in Zeo. He's not a Zord! Or maybe he's a Zord! Back on track, Gunmazin was introduced as a late arrival -- similar to Ninjaman. Gunmazin was a wish granter. The key would end up in the hand of a Child of the Week -- something that might've worked better IF he were in Zyuranger.
I personally like Gunmazin's design better than Ninjaman's. It was also interesting to see Bomber the Great and Buldont aim to use Gunmazin's power for evil. The character was a fun mascot. However, it was also a blatant toy commercial. Was Gunmazin meant to be a hot toy that was hard to catch? Hmmm... I couldn't even tell if he was or he wasn't. But honestly, part of my inner child wishes to have a Gunmazin toy!
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Just my random thoughts!
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