Four Years Later, My Opinion On Go-Onger VS. Go-Busters Shifted By Great Degrees

I remembered I wrote what I'd call a rather random rant on choosing Go-Onger over Go-Busters. I still think of the rather weird cycle that went on -- Go-Onger is the source material of the very different Power Rangers RPM which would somehow inspire Go-Busters. Okay, Go-Busters isn't a doomsday Super Sentai (and I guess doing it last 2012 with the obviously fake rumor) but you can't deny that it does take from RPM. I did give RPM a shot but it does share the problems of the Disney era of Power Rangers -- cutting corners to quickly wrap up a plot when you're dealing with a team of superheroes. I also found using the Go-Onger footage for a rather serious show just funny. I think Go-Busters actually does nearly fulfill RPM's potential except the people behind it were too afraid to make a doomsday Super Sentai out of it.

The rangers revisited

I remembered how I commented that the Go-Ongers were livelier. Heck, the ToQGers are also livelier. I remembered how I wrote that I'd watch Go-Busters over ToQGer. Then again, I thought about how my ranking of Yasuko Kobayashi's works goes for Super Sentai. I also admit that I do enjoy Kamen Rider OOO, I've somewhat lightened up on Kamen Rider Den-O (which I consider was a messy timestream), and I'd blame executives for Kamen Rider Ryuki's obviously forced reset button. Go-Onger had some livelier characters but I'd really think about the writing one way or another.

I could also bring up a few of my rankings of Super Sentai where Yasyko Kobayashi was the head writer. I used to put Shinkenger on top until I saw Timeranger. I would admit that I prefer Timeranger over Shinkenger. Shinkenger has more likable characters such as Mako. Timeranger has cold characters and some of them are downright unlikeable. Timeranger's Yuuri is too tsundere at times and she's pretty much the Head Bitch in Charge type of character. However, I think Timeranger has really good storytelling even if it does feel convoluted at times. I still think of Timeranger as her ultimate piece of work or Magnum Opus. Timeranger's cold characters somehow fits the atmosphere. I think Go-Busters does the same thing on more than one level.

So where do Go-Busters' characterization of the rangers finally kick in? Okay, I still think Hiromu's fear of chickens went nowhere though it's explained why it took place. I think the problem with Go-Onger is that people tend to lack any real development -- maybe except for the Go-On Wings. The characters in Go-Busters have this continuing motivation to find others. Go-Onger hardly has any motivation except the generic "we must save the world from pollution". I don't want to deny Go-Onger is teaching children about environmental preservation BUT it does get too kiddy at times. The weaving of the plots of the Go-Busters to the Vaglass may not be perfect but has potential.

The villains revisited

Sometimes, I ignore that quality beats quantity though I'd want both. It's like one reason why I prefer Super Sentai to Power Rangers is both quality and quantity. My beef with Power Rangers is the tendency to rush things when there's so much potential for some seasons. It's like how I felt Lightspeed Rescue and Time Force could've used five to ten more episodes to bring out the best in the cast! In the case of Go-Busters -- I think the Vaglass actually gets more development than the Gaiarc ever could.

A good example may be Enter and maybe Escape who came later. Enter actually does better than what the Gaiarc trio could ever do. Heck, I think he's possibly capable of taking them down by himself. Enter maybe just one person but he has caused a lot of trouble in the show. Also, Escape's arrival can be viewed as this. Escape would have probably taken out the Go-Ongers with her two guns in a zippy. I think both characters are badass in their own way. While I do feel the need for a few more villains but quality beats quantity here. The Gaiarc villains are probably just as stupid or even more stupid than the Crisis Empire villains in Kamen Rider Black RX.

Maybe, I could talk about the Messiah virus. I always found the arrival of Yogoschrimaten in Go-Onger way too random. Why add a suddenly overly serious Super Sentai villain in a show that's meant to be funny? Sure, the Messiah virus was finally aborted on his birthday but I do think he was at least more developed.



The storytelling revisited

I think Go-Onger for a 2000s Super Sentai shares one problem that was common in earlier Super Sentai namely lacking backstory. Go-Busters has a more background-oriented story with how the rangers escaped the power plant incident. The whole motivation is there with Vaglass getting the power plant while the three were escaping. They would later grow up to be Go-Busters. Also, the tension of Hiromu's older sister in the earlier episodes added some good drama. I also like the bond that the three rangers share. Also, I take my word back regarding Jin Masato's arrival. He does play an important role though you're left wondering (at first) at how he survived.

Go-Busters actually has fewer mood swings than Go-Onger ever has. Go-Onger gets too funny and too serious -- it's worse than what happened with Ohranger due to a real-life incident. The plot materials such as Messiah virus' first battle with them to the Messiah cards. The series may be stuck on the villains gathering Enetron. So why am I complaining about the Enetron stealing plot if Gingaman had the villains focusing too much on reviving Daitanix? I still think the whole deal of Enetron stealing is not as weak as the whole "pass the belt" gag in Kamen Rider Faiz. Heck, I'm even admitting that I do like Faiz to a certain extent! The whole Enetron gathering was to help the Messiah virus take over the world. He does get written off late in the series in favor of Enter though. Maybe, the producers decided Enter would make a more worthy final foe for the heroes.

I could also talk about the whole quality vs. quantity here. Go-Onger was having the mecha overload. Go-Busters was trying to be simpler by reducing the mecha count after Gokaiger. One of my problems with newer Super Sentai is the mecha overload but you gotta sell toys, right? Some of these are done right and others are done wrong. I may like certain post-Timeranger seasons but I still dislike the fact that there's the tendency to be OVERLOADED with Bandai merchandise. Heck, I may be a fan of Kyuranger (but not really a big one) but I don't want to deny that the toy overload can be overwhelming. Go-Busters gives the feel of having less mecha in favor of storylines.

Right now, I wouldn't say I completely hate Go-Onger now. In fact, I still don't but I've just had an opinion shift. I watch Go-Onger for laughs (though Seiun Machineman failed in that regard). Go-Busters really takes the cake in that area. It's not perfect but it's still a good series.