Timeranger As A Sprawling, Ambitious Super Sentai Series

I think there's probably still some debate over which Super Sentai series (or maybe, even Kamen Rider series) would be Yasuko Kobayashi's Magnum Opus. Some may name it with Shinkenger (which I beg to disagree even if I'm a fan), maybe others would even say it's ToQGer, or others would probably name Gingaman or Go-Busters. Sure, these series I just mentioned have their merits in some way. ToQGer itself can also have an ambitious concept which I think will be further refined with Kiramager (hopefully). Go-Busters itself was an ambitious series that sought to return to darker and edgier roots but didn't bother to carry over the whole post-apocalyptic setting of Power Rangers RPM. Personally, Go-Busters' finale really that well-written as Yasuko Kobayashi (as well as Toshiki Inoue) aren't known for writing good finales either. Gingaman itself, well, I admit I just rode on Sentai Bandicoot's opinion a lot during that time. I was also part of the bandwagon on Shinkenger. Though, I'd probably say that Kobayashi's Magnum Opus is Timeranger. Sure, it can get into a large area in an irregular way but it's also highly ambitious with complexity.

The regular cast members

The heroes in Timeranger are quite atypical or somewhat an odd bunch. Put one alien (Sion) who is pretty naive due to his status as the last of his kind. You also have the barely-there Osiris Disease for Ayase - something that he tries to hide from everyone except Tatsuya. Domon, well, he's probably my least favorite due to how dull he can get or how he wrecked the past by impregnating Honami. Yuuri herself is someone who tries to act cold and unlikable (which is a far fetch from Mako's sweet girl personality) but there's a reason behind it. Just think Yuuri is using her coldness as a defense mechanism but she can be pretty nice when you get to know her. Tatsuya becomes the oddball in some way. Remember how Ryu was a professional red ranger working with four non-professionals? Tatsuya is a non-professional red ranger who must work with four professional time cops to stop the Londarz.

There's much of family drama that's inserted. The whole theme of the Timerangers? They're all about fighting against fate itself. Yuuri herself really wants to be the one to beat Don Dolnero up and fate's not been too kind to her. Yuuri lost her family at only EIGHT YEARS OLD causing her to become the bitchy lady she is. Tatsuya is a man who believes his destiny can be changed but is under the controlling Asami family. It's also later revealed that Tatsuya's father Wataru tried to make a name for himself but only ended up returning back to the ship. The Asami family's dysfunctionality is really there now, isn't it? Ayase's Osiris Disease has him believing that while he can't change his fate (which is death) but he certainly can change it for others. Sion is also by fate the last Hubbardian and joins the Timerangers for some reason. As for Domon, I seem to find him not too interesting and his relationship with Honami for me is a weak point of the show.

I'm actually a fan of Tatsuya x Yuuri in many ways. A good example is how was with the broken trust arc. Tatsuya reveals he still has trust issues and Yuuri reveals just how fate has been unkind to her. I still think of Yuuri who still has regrets of not playing leapfrog with her younger sister named Mei. It was also nice to see how the two got the best out of each other. They're certainly a dirty finger (in some way) to the whole Domon x Honami relationship. I always found it stupid that Domon ended up leaving a child 1,000 years back. Really, I'd probably rather take the whole Gai Yuki died on the bench and the Jetmen didn't notice anything wrong! Was Kobayashi looking for shock value when she wrote in that Domon had a child with Honami? Tatsuya and Yuuri did have their last-minute confession which for me was way more touching.

The sixth ranger

One common thing I love to nitpick between Time Force and Timeranger is the pacing with the sixth ranger. Yup, I thought Time Force rushed to bring in Eric Myers. Meanwhile, I'd also like to bring in the fact that Timeranger doesn't do a really good job of bringing in Naoto Takizawa either. Then Time Force suffers the same pacing issues Metalder has due to a lower by 10-11 episodes count. I wonder did the show really just add Time Fire as a desperate attempt to sell toys? Sorry to say but I think Timeranger's merchandise doesn't match up to GoGoFive! GoGoFive has had way more interesting merchandise that it could survive without a sixth ranger! Not for Timeranger - it seems Naoto was really just added as a "mandatory" sixth ranger of sorts. They ended up bringing Naoto in the 28th episode and we had to wait a little bit before Time Fire is launched.

I do have some issues with Time Fire's development because of how late I think he arrived. While he's my second favorite character but it doesn't mean he doesn't have any flaws. It's just like I could yap all day how Burai is better than Tommy from Mighty Morphin' while I still think he could've been written off much later. He appears as Tatsuya's rival and foil. Naoto himself was probably meant to be unlikable like how he wants more power but you pity him because he started out poor. He also plays the trope Jerk With A Heart of Gold in many ways. I do agree with Yuuri with her speech about how ambition might be corrupting him in the process. Tatsuya tries to befriend him yet he always turns it down many times.

Personally, I thought Timeranger could've tried to bring Naoto in maybe in episodes 20 or late 10s. Burai did appear in the late 10s and had a badass six-parter. Just imagine if Naoto appeared early on rather than later on. I think that one is one of the areas of Kobayashi's irregular spreading of plot points. I also felt that writing him off dying at the hands of a Zenitto bullet just comes out as "uninspired" as Toshihide Wakamatsu's idea to kill Gai Yuki in an unexpected way. Hmmm... did actor Shinji Kasahara secretly meet Kobayashi (and I used to think Toshiki Inoue wrote his death) for that? Probably, probably not and I can't claim to know if he did. Regardless, I thought that the potential Naoto had wasn't that met. He had a lot of interesting stories but it wasn't all that met.

The recurring villains themselves happen to be less typical. The Londarz Family are acting more like everyday criminals even if they have resources to take over the world. They came from the Year 3000 A.D. with hopes to make a fortune in 2000 A.D. Don Dolnero has his jail full of criminals yet for some reason - he doesn't thaw them all out at once. Is Don Dolnero somebody who's supposedly sentenced to 1,000 years in freeze compress that stupid? Though no one can deny that Don Dolnero pulled out the prison break and beat up the guards. Don Dolnero proves himself to be a big monster you can't really mess up. For Lila, she's just there to be there and isn't much.

However, the one plot of the Londarz that really tries to add complexity is with Dolnero and Gien. Gien was once an illiterate guy whom Dolnero befriended. Dolnero a man (or alien) who's supposedly public enemy numero uno has a soft side. Much of the character development gets into Dolnero and Gien that Lila does get left out of it. Gien himself is one who has ever-growing insanity - something that concerns Dolnero himself. Though, I have to admit that much development could've been given to Dolnero like what he is or who he is. Sadly, Dolnero does come out not-so-developed. I think his death at the hands of the insane Gien and him trying to redeem himself in some way was interesting. However, it could've been better. I may dislike Power Rangers but I found Ransik's backstory in Time Force with Frax a little more fun to watch. Ransik did have a "valid excuse" to do inexcusable acts of brutality though he later suffered character decay similar to Garoa from Fiveman. 

For me, the Londarz was a good concept to try. However, I'd probably take Abrella from the less serious and more lighthearted Dekaranger over Dolnero. I'd also think that the Alienizers in Dekaranger are better than the alien criminals in Timeranger. Most of Timeranger's alien criminals were released either to make Don Dolnero stack up on cash from 1,000 years ago or because Gien himself loves the carnage. Some of the criminals did have interesting stories like with Baron (with Ayase) or Able who had an unhealthy obsession with Yuuri. Others are well just there to commit crime. Though I can't dismiss the effort and the potential there!

The walking spoiler Captain Ryuuya

I wonder if I should even agree or could even agree with Shogo B'Stard's assessment of him as a messy character. I think there was potential but underused. Okay, I like to compare the guy to Masato Kusaka from Kamen Rider Faiz. Faiz did manage to do better. For Timeranger - I think I do have a mixed bag with Captain Ryuuya's existence. Sure, some good guys will eventually have villainous descendants too so I can embrace this plot. Meanwhile, I could talk about the morally gray shades that Captain Ryuuya tends to become.

So it's later revealed to the Timerangers nonetheless that he allowed certain things to happen. What was his plan? Why would he neglect to capture Dolnero who he knows his public enemy number one? Why would he later tamper with Tock's memory circuit? He was already showing signs of being a bad guy when he arrived later on. Personally, I'm glad there's really no Ryuuya x Yuuri shipping or even him as her former fiance. I can't really decide which is messier between Alex realizing Jen has fallen for his ancestor or the way Ryuuya is placed in as the Bigger Bad? Ryuuya's aim was to save his life without otherwise altering the future. But why did he allow that massive destruction? Wouldn't that destruction actually well prevent the 31st Century from existing? Wouldn't Tatsuya's death well, kill him, too? The show is rather ambiguous why he would allow it to happen according to plan. I think the whole idea was somewhat improved in Kamen Rider Agito's finale with the Overlord of Darkness trying to restart humanity to save it. Did Ryuuya also want to do that? Plus, the way he was defeated was more like a cop movie than the fancy ways villains get defeated.

I also consider the whole plot of Naoto's involvement in his game. I think it's sort of random (in some way) that Ryuuya was actually Time Fire and was destined to die in battle. Was Ryuuya too afraid of dying as a hero that he ended up dying as a villain instead? I always thought that while him warning of the great disaster that will happen in the early 21st Century can raise suspicions. I don't think it was last minute to what happened to him since he was already showing signs of villainy when he got into action. Though I think him as the original Time Fire was too random. Wasn't he actually supposed to be the red ranger of his era then? 

Not to mention, one can argue that he did try to mitigate some bloodshed. If Ryuya didn't send in the mecha (or Bandai merchandise) then things could've been worse. I think they wanted a much more different villain than they did. If one sees Solbrain - the final villain Ryuichi Takaoka was a man who hates society itself and wants to punish humanity for his suffering. Was Captain Ryuuya also meant to be that kind of villain too? 

Timeranger does also get overshadowed in a way

Timeranger itself is a series with high ambition. However, just because you aim that high doesn't mean you always succeed. In business, you may be taking a project that will give you high returns but the risks are also very high at the same time. I heard Timeranger is a series loved by the older audience but didn't work too well with the younger ones. The series has had a more mature, serious approach (which I heard was why Maskman didn't immediately click in contrast to Flashman) which I like. The question is did the target audience (namely children) immediately like it? The atmosphere of Timeranger and Gaoranger are too different. Just think most of Gaoranger is pretty much lighter and softer except for some intense episodes. Gaoranger has had much less serious moments than Timeranger ever will have. 

There are also other shows in Super Sentai entries that I believe overshadow Timeranger in some way. Some people who started out with Power Rangers may want a lighter and softer Super Sentai series for a start. There's also the language barrier and the availability of fansubs for those willing to read subs. Timeranger itself had a bad subtitle, the now taken-down TV Nihon subtitle, and the Shout! Factory DVD. Some pre-Zyuranger Super Sentai entries get subtitled and one of them is Jetman. There's also other Super Sentai series (serious or lighthearted) that could be considered better than Timeranger. I think Shinkenger and probably Go-Busters plays a part in overshadowing Timeranger in some way. I hear that some Power Rangers fans enjoy Go-Busters. Also, Judd Lynn is a fan of Go-Busters which may have created a bandwagon. Well, thanks a lot and I mean it if it got me out of my closet. Timeranger may be getting recognition but I don't think it will get all that. I think Timeranger, like Zyuranger, gets the appreciation it deserves. However, I don't think it will really get that much recognition, unlike other series. 

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With this in mind, I just try to think that just because I prefer Super Sentai over to Power Rangers doesn't mean the latter has no mistakes. Sure, I've had issues with Power Rangers due to stuff like the licensed use of Japanese stock footage, the Disney era rushes things too much, and Nickelodeon's really idiotic summer break. Then again I should never expect a perfect Super Sentai season nor the franchise to get better all the time. Rather, pursuing innovation may also mean making a lot of mistakes before making a lot of good stuff happen. Even the best Super Sentai series (at least for me) will still have mistakes. Timeranger is no different and I believe some of these mistakes were improved overtime in later Super Sentai seasons. While I consider it to be Kobayashi's best but I'm not going to pretend nothing's wrong with it either.

Then again, my opinions are well, still opinions, and shouldn't be a source of conflict, okay?