My Shifting Views On Choriki Sentai Ohranger

It's no secret that I really find Power Rangers Zeo to be overrated. I still prefer Choriki Sentai Ohranger though I'd probably say that the series is now appreciated. But I wouldn't say it's overappreciated or underappreciated - just less appreciated! Why less appreciation? It doesn't mean that a person dislikes Zeo that Ohranger is automatically the masterpiece for them. I even want to think it's highly possible to still think other series do better.

What causes my shifting view? It would be when I finally decide not to think too much about Zeo and decide to let Ohranger defend itself against other Super Sentai series. There are many pros I can name about Ohranger against Zeo (such as Hiroshi Miyauchi's more welcome presence than Jason David Frank) or that it's pretty much a fresh start. However, on its own, I think there are some real problems that the show can be named.

There's a likable cast of heroes. I think about how the guys are tougher than nails because they are soldiers - not some random civilians getting the spandex powers. They're probably just as tough as the Changemen are out-of-suit. Rather, let's focus on the problems the show had on its own. This would probably be contributed to the late Noboru Sugimura's burnout as a head writer. Maybe, one can also see that Takeyuki Suzuki himself was also probably in need of a break after being the head producer from Goggle V to Ohranger can also be very stressful. Hmmm... did Shinichiro Shirakura partake in this too?

The show itself was intended to be very ambitious. Toei wanted to make the most serious Super Sentai that they could come up with during the 90s - as if the 80s weren't enough. One can consider Dengeki Sentai Changeman, Choshinsei Flashman, Hikari Sentai Maskman, Chojuu Sentai Liveman, and Chojin Sentai Jetman to be in that category. Dairanger was serious too with some rather weird humor at times. Ohranger started the show with the invasion of 1999 (probably retconned now to 1995) with some very brutal takeouts. However, one incident after the other caused the show to get a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde scenario with tones changing WAY TOO FAST. While the change of tone can be more tolerable than the stupid Dear John Letter from Zeo but on its own? I wouldn't say so because a sudden change of tone from serious to funny or funny to serious can be jarring. Can you imagine if you laughed your head off watching a show only to have a rather uncalled-for tragic ending?


The show had some great ambition for the villains. We get the first villain family which was drastically improved during Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive. The villans hated the aspect of human love but ironically display it themselves. Hysteria herself is a walking contradiction because she shows genuine love for her husband and son. The empire itself hates human feelings but can get as human as they can get in many episodes. Even Bacchushund in his final moments displayed the feelings he hated before passing out for good.

The villains do have a concept that could've fleshed out Chodenshi Bioman's Anti-Bio Alliance. All Bioman did with the Anti-Bio Alliance was bring in its final survivor Silver to introduce the concept. The Anti-Bio particles were introduced in episode 10 but were later forgotten until episode 37. The Baranoia Empire was pretty much the Anti-Bio Alliance in the war in Pangaea. Their actions caused the end of the Pangaean era. They even created the robot Bomber the Great who would later be a renegade rebel. For me, Bomber the Great nearly fleshed out Bioman's Silver because he wasn't just obsessed with ending the war - he had plans to take over the Universe. Too bad though Bomber the Great didn't get that much development except for being sent to his death. Would have been interesting if Bomber the Great had the power to neutralize the Ohrangers like Silver did with the Biomen. For me, Silver ended up more useful than Bomber the Great too. Silver was far more terrifying because he had the same power killed Mika way back in episode 10!


The arrival of Riki himself can be considered to have its pros and cons. I think of him of what if Joy from Bioman survived the Planet Bio's explosion, got into suspended animation, and helped the heroes fight in the present day. He's pretty much the last of his own kind along with Dorin. He appears to be the sixth hero with that badass mecha called King Pyramider. Though, I always felt he was probably my least favorite of the show. He comes in and sometimes ends up just as back-up. At least Burai had better reasons to be back-up than this guy. Kou as a child ranger in Dairanger still had way more development than this guy too.


Maybe, I could also talk about the massive toy commercial that it is. Okay, Super Sentai is a toy commercial. You gotta sell toys to make it Super Sentai, right? The whole show itself decided to nearly sum up the developments of Suzukis's era with the robots. First robot? Second robot that ran wildly out of control? Five humanoid robots becoming one robot that's no bigger than its parts? Sentient robot? Giant fortress-like robot to form the Ultrazord? A lot of it were there. Sometimes, they just pop out without a good story. Red Puncher had a reason for appearing but making it exclusively for the red ranger? I find that rather weak.

The show just popped on a lot of merchandise both mecha and weapons. Giant wheel? Combined blasters? The most unnecessary addition had to be the Ohre Bazooka because they didn't really need it. It just came in because we've got to sell lots of toys. At least previous shows had an explanation to why they made a team bazooka because monsters were getting stronger. Maskman's Jet Cannon had a good reason to exist - it was because Kiros destroyed the Shot Bomber. Ohranger just kept giving new Bandai merchandise which for me derailed the storyline. It seems to be that the show did it all in order to sell lots of toys to make up for lower ratings. Fortunately, there was enough cash from toy sales to bring us Gekisou Sentai Carranger - yet another year of lower ratings. It's nearly like the case of Kosoku Sentai Turboranger followed up by Chikyu Sentai Fiveman - both shows suffered low popularity too.

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I could still enjoy Ohranger (on its own ignoring Zeo) for the very good action scenes but the inconsistent tone can be jarring. Maybe, it's because there are plenty of old school and new school Super Sentai entries worth watching. A good example is that I still think Jetman to be better. I even think Zyuranger to be far more well-organized in introducing all its merchandise around. More fans have probably seen way better Super Sentai seasons than this? Yet, it's been vindicated by history in a way that it's not underappreciated. I still think the show gets some vindication eventually but it'll always be overshadowed by better Super Sentai seasons.

Overall, if you do enjoy Ohranger then go ahead. I do enjoy it but never as much as other better seasons.