My Emotional Rollercoaster With Ryusoulger Because Of A Failed Expectation, A Tongue Twister And Two Riders

Right now, I do have mixed feelings towards Ryusoulger. I tend to be negative towards newer Super Sentai which I feel "lack spirit" (insert Matoi's face) over it. Just because I don't like something new doesn't mean I'm against change - the problem is all about the quality that comes out. I even had my extreme negativity in the Zyuohger vs. Ninninger crossover when a child said, "The history of Super Sentai - it's over!" Fortunately, it wasn't true though Super Sentai's lifespan is still uncertain. Sooner or later, new stuff will be born and who knows, maybe Toei will come up with something to even replace the franchise.

I was thinking about Ryusoulger right now. I do remember the excitement that I had with the title KishinRYU Sentai RYUsoulger which Ryu means dragon. I was already expecting knights and dragons. Instead, we got knights and dinosaurs. Toei has had a love affair with dinosaurs since Zyuranger, Abaranger, and Kyoryuger. Why Toei ended up using dinosaurs instead of dragons is something. Did the 2018 movie Jurassic World - Fallen Kingdom well knee-jerk at them to use dinosaurs? I tend to be supportive of many of the new Kamen Rider series though I tend to like older Super Sentai better. Then again I did enjoy newer Super Sentai if they come up with something interesting. I still think Kyuranger and Lupinranger vs. Patranger (Lupato) are pretty much revolutionary. Then we find Toei probably relying on past successes. As said, I'm tired of dinosaur teams but I'd be open to a dinosaur-themed Kamen Rider series.


I have to admit that I'm recently stuck in two hypes (or three if you count the number of teams) with Kyuranger and Lupato. Kyuranger had me excited with the return of the space theme because we're getting HD and the digital age is here. That means it' time to revive space themes with new technology though I was critical about the huge size roster. Kyuranger itself seems to be a homage to the Star Wars and in part, I still think it pays tribute to Spaceballs. Lupato is based on the Arsene Lupin mythologies. These two shows also had me challenging readers to see how many old-school Lupin-related media they've gotten into and how many space-themed shows have you seen.

Kyuranger itself may be viewed as a silly show. I mean, Lucky and Garu are pretty much Lone Starr and Barf in spandex. The only real Luke Skywalker came in the middle (minus the twin) with Tsurugi. I think Tsurugi brought out the best in Lucky. I still think Lucky tends to be the focus though there was some focus on the others. I think it managed to refine Kyoryuger's hyperactive vibes. It's an alternate universe where the Jark Matter seized control of it years ago. I still felt that maybe Jark Matter should've been led a President Skroob type of villain rather than the intimidating Don Armage. What's interesting is that it's the 40th anniversary of Star Wars IV: A New Hope and the 30th anniversary of Spaceballs last 2017.

Lupato itself is a huge challenge. It's because it's a trio vs. trio show where you've got the Lupinrangers and Patrangers frequently at a clash with each other. I heard the show got tons of praise from the grown-up audiences but not so much from younger audiences. What's also important to know was that this season suffered from low toy sales - which I blame on Kyuranger surplus. While I do find the ending to be really weird (because both sides clash again) but there was a lot of character development going on. I still think about how the show somehow consistently kept up with, "They can never work together." The ending seemed to throw character development out. However, I'd rather view it as the same way that Tom and Jerry: The Movie ended with Tom chasing Jerry once more. Trolling the audience anyone?


Maybe, I can also attribute it to my mixed preferences with Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. Recently, I enjoy new school Kamen Rider more than new school Super Sentai. I tend not to like the Showa era Kamen Riders a lot - maybe because Black was way different though its successor Black RX didn't do well. I did try watching some more old school Kamen Rider series but only a few appealed to me. I watched Skyrider and Super-1 but neither series did well for my taste. Most of the Heisei era watches have been enjoyable - maybe except for Hibiki, Decade, Wizard, and Ghost. I would admit that I'd still watch Zi-O over Decade any time because I still freaking dislike the latter.

I know I've had the whole Shirakura-Shimoyama tandem hate going on because of how bad it can be. I still think Zi-O's finale is anything but spectacular. But at least the hero kept his memories of their adventures - seeking to restart it. Though I think the whole reset button was meant to be saying, "Kamen Rider is getting rebooted again! Deal with it!" The series was forced to migrate to the Reiwa era by the circumstances beyond its control. I feel like the reboot thing was done to acknowledge the first true Reiwa era rider was coming in. Then I can let that ending slide in contrast to Ryuki's rather stupid ending - an ending that was clearly a result of executives kicking in!

Then, we've got Kamen Rider Zero-One. I do admit that I tend to watch it for stupid reasons (Yua Yaiba) but the series somehow keeps me going. I've had more fun watching its latest episodes (though I think the show is rushing on selling Bandai merchandise for a reason) than Ryusoulger's latest episodes. I guess it's because the build-up of drama that newer Kamen Rider has which I think newer Super Sentai isn't that good in building it. But that's just my opinion about the amount of development between the two sister franchises. Right now, I'd even dare say that I'm more open to a Ghost rewatch over a Zyuohger rewatch. I'd even dare say that I'd rewatch Wizard over Kyoryuger.


This results in me into thinking that maybe, just maybe, 18-year old Ichika Osaki is just being used to bail the show out with eye candy. There's a lot of cutey posts from her and I'm not wrong - it's getting excessive. I even feel the show can turn beautifully pointless because of that. But this is just my feeling, okay?

____

If you enjoy Ryusoulger then chill. If not, I can also respect that. Right now, my emotions regarding the show aren't completely fixed. I'm just rambling off for now! Ciao!