Shinichiro Shirakura Acknowledges Power Rangers' Role In Super Sentai's Longevity?

It's already known I don't like Power Rangers. I'm not GOING TO KEEP PRETENDING that I like it. However, Power Rangers was born out of a NEED because the American market is WAY DIFFERENT than the Japanese market. That's what I wrote in JEFusion before I decided to leave it while still endorsing it! It's like a certain group of people who talk like a certain cop (warning: LOTS OF CRAZY STUFF). I dare say Power Rangers has been getting worse, NOT because it's an adaptation (or localization, given the change of content for an AMERICAN audience) such as the SUMMER BREAK and the Mighty Morphin' nostalgia. I blame these two factors for Power Rangers' decline -- which may have caused a decline in revenue. 

Here are Shirakura's words, regardless of how I feel about Power Rangers:

Shirakura observed that he joined Toei in 1990, when the company was planning the 1992 series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. The staff back then thought that it might be the final Sentai entry. So, the younger staffers wanted to try something different, and introduced a sixth regular member mid-story for the first time in the franchise. Shirakura mused that Zyuranger becoming the loose basis for the global phenomenon Power Rangers was divine intervention (literally, "kamikaze") that led to Super Sentai lasting another three decades.

Asahi observed that even Kamen Rider and Ultraman had hiatuses, whereas only Super Sentai among the tokusatsu franchises has had a nearly continuous half-century broadcast run. Shirakura dryly noted that Super Sentai's success defies reason — its origin was a fluke, born from a failed attempt to make a project with five Kamen Riders assembling to fight together. That failure led Kamen Rider creator Shōtarō Ishinomori to develop Himitsu Sentai Gorenger — the first Super Sentai show. The franchise only added giant robots after the once-popular giant robot anime shows ended their continuous broadcast run in the 1970s. The third (or first, depending on who is counting) Super Sentai show, Battle Fever J, took over the Tōshō Daimos robot anime's timeslot after it was cut short.

Power Rangers as Toei's ticket to the Western market

The claim that Power Rangers is a parasite isn't true. If one studies contracts and obligations -- one must think of the arrangements done between Saban (the franchisee) and Toei (the franchisor). Whoever holds the Power Rangers brands bears the responsibilities of the contract. Saban, Disney, or Hasbro NEVER got anything for free. Back in the day, Saban's request for extra Zyuranger footage was granted by Toei Ltd. -- although I believe the latter could've recommended a much different approach so the Gosei Sentai Dairanger model could be sold next. 

That means whoever has the Power Rangers contract must abide by royalty fees used for stuff like:

• The right to use the costumes 
• The right to use the licensed footage that will be blended with American OG footage (Zyu2 existed as a request from Saban)
  
• The use of the form and substance 

Sure, I find the use of stock footage in Power Rangers to be strange. I always thought that the American-only, unmorphed fights getting replaced with the Super Sentai footage felt funny. It's a good thing I decided to watch the Toys That Made Us episode on Power Rangers to understand the international market. This is why I think Toei actually acknowledges Mighty Morphin's anniversary every 10 years -- such as Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger, Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger, and I want to put Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger. 

It was a good time when Power Rangers didn't have that stupid summer break. It was because the stock footage ran out, and a new batch of stock footage is immediately sent in. It meant that there was a steady stream of money. However, the two-year run for a SINGLE SERIES meant slowing things down. Even worse, Power Rangers Megaforce tried to forcibly fit Tensou Sentai Goseiger with Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger -- creating a really SH*TTY SHOW that's no fault of the cast but the script! The two-year run such as going with first half-second half and a summer break in-between -- IT'S A SUREFIRE REVENUE KILLER!

I might be annoyed at Power Rangers, but I realized my annoyance has to be with the implementation. Right now, the Minimal Continuity Approach could've worked. However, Super Sentai usually kept itself going before Power Rangers by using a self-contained approach. It's probably just a cultural difference that Power Rangers uses the continuity approach more than Super Sentai does. My bigger issues are usually with like how Mighty Morphin' got overextended up to Power Rangers Zeo, and how I had to watch Power Rangrs Turbo to make sense of the events in Power Rangers in Space. As a customer, I have the right to say that's another reason why I don't invest myself into Power Rangers.

Regardless of my PERSONAL FEELINGS -- we couldn't deny that Power Rangers played an important role in the financial bloodstream for Toei!