My Shifting Views On ToQGer

ToQGer seems to be that show where there's hardly any middle ground or is it? How do I expect to arrive at a middle ground or at least a more fair assessment of the show five years later? Personally, I still think about Fiveman and it being Hirohisa Soda's lowest point in his career. Fiveman could've ended Super Sentai if it wasn't for Jetman. Carranger didn't improve ratings either after Ohranger either but I enjoy its zany scripts. Heck, I'm even somebody who doesn't hate Go-Onger. But I do still like those shows to a certain extent so why can't I do the same for ToQGer? Besides, ToQGer is still way more watchable than Megafail (the most uninspired Power Rangers season to date) and Ninja Steel (or Ninja Sh*t if you want to get nastier). Kobayashi was already burnt out like Soda. What happened to her is no different than what happened to Soda with Fiveman or should I say Toshiki Inoue with Kamen Rider Kiva. So why can't I give the same allowance to ToQGer?

My initial biases maybe because of Kobayashi's other series. Personally, I think her best work has to be Timeranger. Gingaman is a fun series but I may have a shifting opinion now -- I don't want to keep following Sentai Bandicoot's rankings. What made me like Kobayashi (at first) was because of Shinkenger which I think gets too much credit -- its cast is probably still adored even after they've moved on with their real lives. I'm glad there's no Shinkenger ten years movie though. Then there's Go-Busters -- a series that I was afraid to admit that I liked. Go-Busters still has that much plot potential that nearly perfected the formula from Power Rangers RPM. RPM had potential but I think the sloppy execution is my biggest issue with it. I thought of ToQGer having been the bottom of that list in terms of Kobayashi's writing. However, just because it's my least favorite of Kobayashi's works as the main writer (for Super Sentai) doesn't mean I'm putting it at the least favorite zone now!

If I can enjoy Kiva's weird humor with ghouls and ghosts then why not ToQGer? They all start off having no memories of who they are and they are simply seeking to find their identities. Them going into various towns to prevent whatever half-brained disaster there is can be fun to watch. Both Right and Wataru are both naive heroes who grow into better persons. Then there's Emperor Zetto who is a deviant from the main villains. I think trying to attempt a Big Bad whose radically different was a brave move. Unlike his fellow villains, all Emperor Zetto cares is about gathering things that sparkle instead of spread his darkness. He's a fun, hammy villain with high entertainment value. He may not have the intensity of previous Kobayashi villains but it's fun to try something new. Just think that Kiva does have some rather weird fellows like Rook Fangire or the Bishop Fangire. Rook Fangire is an amnesiac idiot. You also have the previous Fangire King who can be very hammy even if there are some serious plots. I know I've criticized Akira's causing rain plot but he's definitely nowhere near the level of Misao from Zyuohger. I guess Akira is still unable to fully understand the others since he's not human.

The other part is if I can enjoy Fiveman then ToQGer should be easy to pick up eventually. Fiveman is probably just a bias based on my childhood. Recently, I've seen why Fiveman is considered the lowest part of Soda's career. Fiveman was becoming more of a random mess due to Soda's burnout. Yet, Fiveman can't be denied that it taught many important life lessons because the rangers are a team of sibling teachers. I may tend to ignore Lightspeed Rescue while watching GoGoFive but not Fiveman. I still think of Fiveman's glaring weaknesses (due to Soda's burnout) in contrast to Fiveman. Yet, I still enjoy a Fiveman rewatch. I don't see any reason why I can't enjoy ToQGer like I enjoyed Fiveman. That is, considering that both Soda and Kobayashi are among my favorite writers.

How do I think later Super Sentai seasons also affected my opinion on ToQGer? For me, Ninninger still remains an uninspired season that was too focused on toy sales. Man, I do hate Kento Shimoyama A LOT! I still feel Shimoyama screwed over how Kamen Rider Zi-O turned out in the end! Worse, it took something as incredibly stupid as Ninja Steel to actually make it look better! Ninninger is only "better" because there's no summer break, Takaharu is nowhere near as stupid as Victor and Monty, or my favorite "good reason" has to be that the girls are hotter. Zyuohger was fun at first until Mondo Misao's constant cringing well made me cringe. I nearly wanted to drop Super Sentai after Zyuohger but Kyuranger gave me my request for a space-themed Super Sentai. For me, Zyuohger just got uninspired. I even thought that ToQGer's concepts should've been saved until the 40th season. I still think Zyuohger vs. Ninninger nearly delivered the worst fears of the fans saying, "The history of Super Sentai -- it's almost over!" I think ToQGer is still Kobayashi still trying her best even when she was burnt out. I still think Ninninger is Shimoyama not doing anything inspired. Zyuohger ends up so-so in my watch -- am I still putting it at the shadow of Gokaiger? I would dare to say yes though I still don't like fans who give Gokaiger too much praise.

I admit that I do have my problem of riding on other people's opinions rather than making my stand. Just because somebody thinks ToQGer is so good doesn't mean I should like it that much. Just because somebody calls it terrible doesn't mean I should hate it with a passion. My opinion? I can't call it terrible but I won't call it a masterpiece either. For me, I end up liking it (eventually) to a certain extent. It's due to its main cast of characters that make up for Kobayashi's burning out. I can still like it like I do with Fiveman and Kiva -- both shows that were a result of writers burning out!