Reviving One's Super Sentai Spirit Like A Phoenix?

There are times I thought about how I felt like "giving up" on Super Sentai without realizing I just needed a short break from stuff I like and "move on" with other new school stuff like I did in the past. After moving on with other new school stuff I eventually missed Super Sentai and start watching more new school entries. I found that event weird considering how I tend to prefer new school Kamen Rider over old school Kamen Rider. There's always many ways that a person can be weird and somehow, I always admit that I'm a weird guy myself.

Tsurugi Ootori is played by a 32 year old actor Keisuke Minami and that should give me a reason to still like Super Sentai even if there's a lot of new school stuff that I like these days. It's given me the urge to turn into Nobuo Akagi whenever I feel like it. The arrival of Phoenix Warrior made me wish I could enter into a cryogenic stasis like he did though that means I'd miss a lot of good stuff new school has to offer and a lot of old school quality stuff getting digitally mastered. His age made me think that while I may like Tokusatsu less these days because I want to enjoy other new school stuff but I don't need to give up on new school Super Sentai just to be an adult. I could start looking at the changes that happen every now and then as part of a huge marketing gimmick that keeps the money rolling in thanks to Bandai merchandise. I have the urge to buy some Kyuranger merchandise as a collection (because a lot of them look REALLY GOOD) with my own money right now because they look much better than last year's Zyuohger merchandise though I'm more interested in other new school stuff. I mean, there's a lot of stuff new school has to offer right?


So how revived is my Super Sentai spirit this 2017? I can't say it's fully revived nor is it like a phoenix. I like Kyuranger but there's more new school stuff worth checking out than just the latest Tokusatsu. Did it just revive because of the Gavan vs. Dekaranger film or the fact it was bridged in Kyuranger episode 18? It's been more than a decade since I took a short break from everything I like in alternate order. Then I find myself watching K-Drama, J-Drama, Taiwanese drama, a few American shows (though I've given up on Power Rangers long ago because of the number of times that franchise keeps shooting itself at the foot) though I hardly watch American shows these days together with Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. While it does help to take a break from one to fully enjoy another but I don't think it's always necessary. Sometimes, I just need to slow things down as I focus on real life affairs. I could still enjoy the best of everything and reject the worst of everything. But as said, Tsurugi Ootori is reviving my spirit to never give up in the struggles of life especially against the stupidity of society itself.


So what superficial reasons do I seldom have for disliking some new school stuff while I like other new school stuff? My most stupid reason why I seldom drop a show is the lack of eye candy never mind some quality shows I enjoyed for the plot have very little of it. You could talk about not me having unfair biases towards Kyoryuger all the while enjoying the K-Drama series Kang Chi: Gu Family Book not because of the story but because of Suzy Bae. I remembered watching Megafailed for the eye candy only and had to rinse it off with Shinkenger (because it's a good show with loads of eye candy), Gokaiger (because it'll always be the huge anniversary that Megafail will never be) and Megaranger (which is always the the true Mega series).

But right now I'm watching Super Sentai and Kamen Rider without minding too much about the women. Sure I find some of them cute but I think I'm about to break my superficial shell for the nth time. I admit that I don't find all the girls in Changeman, Flashman, Dynaman or some of the 80s to 90s classics all that attractive but I watch it for the plot. Yet, I always find myself in superficiality in more than one occasion. Right now, I'm watching Kyuranger but I don't watch it for Hammy in contrast to me watching Akibaranger (first time round) all because I developed a crush on Hiroyo Hakase or that I returned to watching Super Sentai last decade all because of Nanami Nono, Ranru Itsuki, Marika "Jasmine" Reimon, Sakura Nishihori and Mako Shiraishi which makes me overrate the shows they're in. All the while I still end up enjoying a good plot even when there's less eye candy which is just weird.


Right now, I'm excited for what Kamen Rider Build (and I was still liking Kamen Rider's latest entries for some time) will bring to the audience. Although it does look like a modified version of the Kamen Rider W suit but the plot of a genius physicist fighting in a Japan turned into three sections thanks to the "Sky Wall" should be interesting. While it's sad that Kamen Rider EX-AID will have to wrap up earlier than expected but I hope Build will bring in a whole new level of fresh content for Kamen Rider. I guess the change of schedule is because of the TV ratings have been dropping down for Tokusatsu or to avoid directly competing with Pokemon. I didn't immediately embrace the Heisei era Kamen Rider formula immediately either until I felt it was more "mature" than the Showa era Kamen Rider IMO. I thought that Kamen Rider seems to appeal more to adults.

I mean, this is what Japan Info has to say about Kamen Rider and I can relate to it:

With different themes for every installment, Toei made the story line quite dramatic with unexpected events and plot twists to cater to older audiences, while at the same time making the series as educational as possible so that the kids in the audience will learn something after watching the series. Taking latest Kamen Rider GHOST as an example, the theme of Rider power-ups (a Rider’s special abilities) have been based on famous historical beings (eg. Newton, Edison, Robin Hood, Nobunaga, etc.) Audiences can also easily fantasize to be one of them by purchasing the rider’s belt and buckle from their neighborhood toy store. Many hardcore fans (especially the older ones!) also like to purchase them as a collection item.

The Rider series is suitable for all age groups due to its dramatic story lines. It is also cool, colorful and has fun computer generated images that can entertain anyone. The creativity of the writers and directors with plot twists and their ability to incorporate different aspects while sticking to the original theme makes the series a success, and one to look forward to every year.
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I accept there's always the need to go forward while there's the chance what's new can fail the first time. Think of how many times innovative thinking may subject itself many times to modification before any idea finally worked. Some good ideas can fail if the implementation is done wrong. There's also the lesson of learning what went wrong and how to do things right before something new creates something so good. I have to keep that in mind that even roses have thorns. The best innovators fail at times before they bring something so good to the table or that people can undo themselves when overworked or when they get overconfident. There's always a struggle before a victory is attained and a victory means another struggle is coming anytime soon. That's the cycle of life and there's always the need to keep one's spirits up in the face of adversity. Innovation will never be an easy path but it's a path to take, accept failures and successes, learning from them and continuously learning as life goes on and on. There's no stopping to the learning process.