Why I Find Ohranger's Earlier "Sudden Tone Shift" Episodes Better Than "There's No Business Like Snow Business"

Yeah, this was downright silly

Back then, there was the rumor that Choriki Sentai Ohranger almost killed Super Sentai. Instead, that "honor" went to Chikyu Sentai Fiveman -- a show that got Vindicated by History (eventually). I got skeptical when Fiveman got an official release -- because Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive is so much better. Discotek releasing Tokkei Winspector didn't affect things either. I confess I wanted to blog like Shogo B'Stard on the Dengeki Sentai Changeman episodes. Now, Shogo B'Stard is blogging on Ohranger. So yeah, I feel like responding to his posts in this way.

Ohranger was pretty much hit by Real Life Writes Plot. Shows that would've started off as more serious would tone down eventually. Who can remember how Power Rangers Time Force had a Downer Beginning, only for it to start to take things easy because of the September 11 attacks? Ohranger was hit by the Sarin Gas Incident in that same year. The earlier episodes were dark and gritty. The Downer Beginning showed the show's potential to be dark and gritty. However, retooling was just necessary, and it was time to create some episodes to "lift up viewer moods".

Continuity vs. fresh start

Back then, I simply watched Power Rangers Zeo since TV was some kind of escapism. Yeah, it was that time when I blamed Power Rangers when it's NOT the fault of the franchise. The Philippines is a former American colony, which would make Power Rangers more feasible than Super Sentai for TV airing. I remember watching the "There's No Business Like Snow Business". It was the Dear John Letter where Kimberly Hart broke up with Tommy Oliver. I confess I still find out OOC. The Tommy x Katherine Hillard pairing is WAY TOO RANDOM. I'd probably take Toshiki Inoue's Keisuke Nago x Megumi Aso pairing any day -- no matter how strange it is! 

One of the many reasons why I prefer Super Sentai over the licensed adaptation (or better called LOCALIZATION since we're talking about adjusting to cultural differences) is how most Super Sentai usually don't take place in some "solid continuity". Ohranger was written without thinking of Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger (which was the first Super Sentai series to be localized for American viewers) or even Himitsu Sentai Goranger. Yes, Hiroshi Miyauchi doesn't play any of his older characters. Instead, Hiroshi became Counselor Miura -- a totally different character! The show aired in 1995 but the episode happened in 1999 -- something that would make it IMPOSSIBLE to take in the same place as GoGoFive.

Ohranger would have a fresh story compared to Zeo. What I find so jarring about the Zordon Arc is the carried-over, recycled plot. Toei created special footage (called Zyu2) for Saban Entertainment's use when Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers became a hit. Power Rangers became such a hit in 1993 that cast recycling was probably the "only way" to do things. We had three seasons of Mighty Morphin'. We carried over several cast members (cast change happened a lot) to Zeo. Giving rangers new suits to wear just feels out of place. I feel that people who think Zeo >>>> Ohranger might just be feeding on familiarity. However, that can get pretty old, pretty fast!

Super Sentai has the habit of writing a fresh story -- usually ignoring the previous installment. However, that hasn't stopped some people from creating that timeline narrative. Trying to connect everything from Himitsu Sentai Goranger up to the recent No. 1 Sentai Gozyuger will reveal more continuity errors than Power Rangers ever will. The Z-Wave could already be viewed as a forever unresolved issue in Power Rangers in Space. However, Super Sentai would create even more unresolved plots if we assume all of them are in one timeline. Kikou Sentai Zenkaiger reveals that most Super Sentai series are in different worlds. 

As I recall Ohranger's shift in tone -- I tend to think how the show doesn't rely on previous installments! In fact, the way Ohranger vs. Kakuranger unwrapped showed that the crossover movies are nothing more than What If scenarios. 

Episode 11 had Hirohisa Soda return with a typical dumb plot. Soda was burned out during Fiveman. It's understandable if Soda wasn't involved in Chojin Sentai Jetman. Baranoia planned something that crazy to depopulate humanity. Make people fall in love with their appliances? Watching the episode made me think of the scene where Bulk and Skull fell in love with a motorcycle. This reminds me that I'd take the "Useless Family" or Kotaro Henna (that mad scientist who showed up for three episodes) over Bulk and Skull as "defective detectives". Then again, I still have that bias going on because of the Dear John Letter!

Episode 12 has the late Noboru Sugimura. The episode involving turning babies into Weapons of Mass Destruction was kinda weird. Well, it might actually be better than the Fiveman episode where Dongoros turned babies into eggs! The episode was kind of a typical super-villain stupid plot. The episode also has Hatsue Nishi -- the actress who played Doldora in Fiveman as a mother. Ironically, I kinda shipped Goro Hoshino and Momo Maruo -- even if the show NEVER established them as a couple. It was only because of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger episode 32. 

I'd never consider Ohranger to be a masterpiece. I've had some strange criticisms on the show's designs -- which were already fed while I saw Zeo. Ohranger Robo's cockpit is one strange decision for a Megazord cockpit. The Buster Ohranger Robo combination is one strange way to combine the primary Megazord with a secondary Zord. I still criticize the show for doing an Ass Pull with Bandai merchandise. Why did the Ohrangers need a new cannon out of the blue? Why did the Tackleboy arrive so soon after a new Megazord combination (Ohblocker) arrive? Hmmmm...