Ohranger's Final Bosses: Kaiser Buldont And Maruchiwa (Spoilers)

Bomber the Great was nothing more than a PLOT DEVICE. Bomber the Great only had seven episodes -- only to be a set-up device for Prince Buldont to become Kaiser Buldont. What amuses me more often is how the Baranoia Royfal Family showed detest for human emotions. However, Emperor Bacchushund showed that he was CAPABLE OF LOVE for both his wife and son. Bacchushund has a PERMANENT SHUTDOWN compared to King Mondo in Power Rangers Zeo. Buldont becomes Kaiser Buldont -- he's forced grown and he marries his cousin Maruchiwa. It gets even funnier to think these robots are operating LIKE HUMANS! Added is the royal incest -- something that screwed up many royal families into their own demise!

Bomber the Great was nowhere near as great as Bio Hunter Silver from Chodenshi Bioman. Silver proved to be a REALLY CREDIBLE THREAT that worked his way to the finale. Rewatching some Bioman episodes made me say Bomber the Great was a plot device. Bio Hunter Silver was a robot programmed to destroy anything with Bio Particles. Bio Hunter Silver's powers showed the true destructive power of the Anti-Bio Particles. Bomber the Great deserved to be mutilated and forced to a final battle by Buldont and Maruchiwa. Added extra is that Hysteria gives her power to Maruchiwa -- resulting in her losing significant amounts of her own power. Hysteria's old woman form was never used in Zeo either.

Power Rangers is known for mixing licensed use of Super Sentai footage AND filming its own footage. I couldn't determine the exact reason WHY Kaiser Buldont was split into two characters -- basically a Decomposite Character. It happens a lot in any superhero show. For example, those who watched the Conan the Adventurer cartoon may notice both Wrath-Amon and Ram-Amon are BOTH based on the snake wizard Thoth-Amon. Gasket was the older brother of Sprocket. However, Ohranger had Kaiser Buldont in two forms -- presumably with the need to avoid more overcrowding than the show already has. Just think how the Megazord Mayhem Ohranger has one way or another!

The 40+ episodes would lead towards the finale. Kaiser Buldont shows that he's actually even more dangerous than his father AND Bomber the Great. Bomber the Great lacks the focus Bio Hunter Silver has. Bomber the Great's last stand was pretty much, "Well, he's just another MOTW!" It's no big loss to write off Bomber the Great since he wasn't any different. Kaiser Buldont and his cousin-wife Maruchiwa both started their all-out attack without mercy. Bomber the Great's MUTILATION (which was understandably cut out from Zeo and you'll NEVER see those kinds of scenes in today's Super Sentai) was just DISTURBING. The fact that Kaiser Buldont was willing to BLOW UP THE SUN proved he wasn't joking. Talk about a Cosmic Temper Tantrum at epic levels of STUPID.

The finale wasn't all that spectacular, but...

I don't easily get tired of mentioning that another reason why I prefer Super Sentai over the licensed adaptation Power Rangers is how the finales went. As a child, I remember panicking at the prospect that "Doomsday Part 1 and 2" would end Mighty Morphin'. Children probably had that panic mode since they wanted more of it. Toei Ltd. complied with Saban Entertainment's request for extra footage -- all before Gosei Sentai Dairanger footage came in. Power Rangers is subjected to American TV shows standards and I'm not exactly a huge fan of American TV shows! Zeo chose to have some hanging finale -- which would lead towards the POORLY EXPLAINED events of Power Rangers Turbo.

However, Ohranger had a more proper finale than Zeo. Sure, it wasn't all that spectacular. I could think about how Buldont and Maruchiwa had a few stupid plans. It's back to DEPRESSING MOMENTS again. That's where Ohranger gets hit by a real-life disaster called the Sarin Gas Incident -- we had some crazy episodes after the Sarin Gas Incident. I couldn't determine which feels more stupid between Baranoia's plans to make babies into weapons of mass distraction OR Ransik demanding Lucas take Nadira on a date in Power Rangers Time Force. Superhero shows somehow benefit from some form of idiotic villain plots. 

One of my complaints in Zeo was how overcrowded it got. Villains like Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa should've been done away with for good. Instead, Zeo began with Lord Zedd and Rita evacuating the Moonbase and then TRYING to reclaim control more than once. Lord Zedd and Rita created Louie Kaboom but only for Rito and Goldar to screw it up. I decided to watch the Zeo final episode and MEH. Sure, I found it satisfying that Lord Zedd and Rita FINALLY got even with the Machine Empire. However, it was pretty much, "WUT?" overall.

I confess I'm writing this because of Shougo B'Stard's Ohranger rants. I don't agree with Shougo B'Stard all the time. I look into the finale and thought that no matter how average it may get -- it's still better than what Zeo did with the final episode. The Ohrangers lose their powers (temporarily) which may have been another excuse for unmorphed fights. There are times unmorphed fights feel pretty forced if not done right. I felt some unmorphed fights in Himitsu Sentai Goranger were nothing more than to show off the main cast's prowess. It seems to be the same way here in some way. They can be cool to look at. We're talking about an ERA where Super Sentai was significantly WAY MORE VIOLENT. Today's Super Sentai is usually focused on fun -- even with series like Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger and Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. Not even Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger's darker flashbacks make it comparable to the more violent era. I guess Mirai Sentai Timeranger's Serious for the Sake of Serious might've backfired on Toei's face!

This trope plays Tokyo is the Center of the Universe to a T. Most villains attempt to take over Japan and F-A-I-L. I could remember that scene in Kamen Rider BLACK RX where Maribaron demanded the Japanese Diet to surrender to the Crisis Empire. The Japanese Diet said NO to the Crisis Empire's demands. The Baranoia finally took over Japan and presumably ruled the Earth from Japan. If not, the Baranoia may have been slowly planning their conquests. There's really no budget to show them taking over America or Canada? Well, I'll just have to deal with it!

The finale plays some strange notes to me. Hysteria was shown to be more cruel early on. However, the finale showed the series of contradictions. Buldont and Maruchiwa detest humanity but they show romantic affections LIKE ANY HUMAN. Shougo B'Stard might think that it was too random for Hysteria to suddenly develop human feelings. Come on, Hysteria had shown her ability to LOVE even more when Bacchushund finally had his permanent shutdown, or when Buldont was defeated by Bomber the Great. Hysteria even gives her own life force to her niece (and future daughter-in-law) -- even if it made her a gray and weaker robot. Eventually, Hysteria started to develop a conscience when she was holding her infant grandson Buldont Jr. in her arms. Hysteria would later sacrifice herself as to spare her grandchild! In the finale, both Acha and Kocha reformed but shouldn't they at least serve a sentence? 

There was really this moral dilemma. Could the Ohrangers shoot a HELPLESS BABY? It might feel forced for some but not for me. I thought it was a strong villain plot. The Ohrangers couldn't shoot a helpless infant. Hysteria offered to pay for her crimes and destroyed herself once and for all. It proved that Hysteria became the biggest contradiction of all. Hysteria had all the talk with her family how humans were weak. In the end, Hysteria showed the biggest degree of humanity. Hysteria soon showed disgust at how Buldont and Maruchiwa used a helpless human baby as bait. Hysteria was genuinely crushed to see her family DESTROYED. 

Now, for some extra details...

One of the biggest differences between Super Sentai and Power Rangers is the use of continuity. I wrote about how it could be because of CULTURAL DIFFERENCES. Power Rangers tries to put most of its entries into ONE TIMELINE -- with the exemption of a few like Power Rangers RPM and Power Rangers Dino Charge. However, Super Sentai tends to create one entry after the other without much regard for previous shows. Even Ohranger's title "Invasion 1999!" shows why it couldn't happen in the same continuity as Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive. Meanwhile, it can be a bit more understandable for Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue to take place in the same continuity as Power Rangers Zeo. However, Power Rangers still suffers from some continuity errors. However, take Super Sentai and create a timeline from Goranger up to Gozyuger -- be ready for even more LMAO than the Zordon Wave or Gosei's plot hole in Power Rangers Megaforce!

One thing worth noting is how Super Sentai handles VS. Movies vs. how Power Rangers does the crossovers. Power Rangers Lost Galaxy had a crossover with Power Rangers in Space WITHIN THE TV SERIES. However, Gingaman vs. Megaranger was nothing more than a What-If scenario. Super Sentai VS. Movies have the same treatment as Dragon Ball Z movies -- they're NEVER meant to be canonical! If I'm not mistaken -- Super Sentai VS. Movies are shown during festivals like Dragon Ball Z movies. They create various what-if characters. 

Ohranger returned the tradition of VS. Movies. Sorry, but I LOVE to nitpick on what's canon and not canon. I'd nitpick on Broly not being canon because I felt he should've been canon. I may be a Frieza fanboy but I thought the two movies featuring Cooler should've canon. I could even remember nitpicking Turles in Tree of Might. However, these movies were never meant to be canon. It was probably so writers could animate their own fanfics -- without otherwise destroying the actual canon. The same might be true as to why Super Sentai VS. Movies don't write with canon in mind.

Zeo integrated footage from Ohranger vs. Kakuranger. It can be hypothesized that Gasket and Sprocket were created as two separate characters so the plot can be put into Zeo. King Mondo was later reconstructed unlike Bacchushund. The Zeo version had Lord Zedd and Rita create the Impursonator -- based on the non-canon Onbu-Okabe. The what-if scenario had all the Zords that came AFTER Bacchushund was destroyed. Both father and son had a petty quarrel. Buldont released Onbu-Okabe while Mondo had a Machine Beast. A sidenote is that Onbu Okabe was MALE while the Impursonator was female. Onbu Okabe also lusts after beautiful women. Poor Tsurihime got targeted by Onbu Okabe's LUST. 

However, some people still like to push the Super Sentai timeline -- myself included! Come on, it's obvious that most Super Sentai series have events that CAN NEVER COEXIST. Dinosaur extinction can vary from show to show. The Bio Robo in Chodenshi Bioman only awakens when the Earth is in danger -- why did it not awaken sooner? The Earth Force in Dengeki Sentai Changeman had a similar function. Pretty much, trying to force the timeline in actuality can create really terribly hilarious results. Some shows can be connected while others shouldn't. Come on, why force the narrative when Kikou Sentai Zenkaiger actually shows most Super Sentai to be DIFFERENT WORLDS?!

For whatever weakness Ohranger had -- it certainly still was an interesting experiment. A show that might've tried to find the right balance between Megazords vs. Narrative. A show that was hit by a bad disaster but still able to finish a year. Some shows weren't so lucky as they had to conclude in less than a year. Take Dengekitai Sentai JAKQ is pretty much RUSHED with just 35 episodes! I felt JAKQ rushed things because it was overshadowed by Goranger. Right now, Goranger vs. JAKQ might be best viewed as no longer canon to both shows. Most Super Sentai VS. Movies are pretty much meant to be What If stories. However, that has NEVER stopped me from nitpicking even within my own mind!