Why I Usually Don't Think Highly Of Post-Timeranger Super Sentai Seasons
Okay, this could be a very controversial post which will contain A LOT of my PERSONAL VIEWS. This would be something I would have some courage to compose or admit that I was already starting to feel negative about Super Sentai since 2001. If you disagree with me then go ahead. I'm just sharing my views and remember this has shifted way too many times.
I was on a break from Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider was still shown in the Philippines (via bad dubbing) but I wasn't keen on it either. The early 2000s was a turning point for me as there was more new school stuff that caught my attention. I caught the Taiwanovela and Koreanovela fever for some time. I was getting into Chinese entertainment where it'd be from China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan (the place that gave the craze to Filipino audiences). However, that break wasn't exactly a break. I would tell people about Super Sentai whenever they talked about Power Rangers. I remembered talking about the Japanese sources to Power Rangers fans in COLLEGE though they were casual fans themselves. I realized I just wanted to see more Super Sentai. Then I discovered the world of fansubs though I did watch some Super Sentai raw and didn't understand a word.
The late 2000s came and it was that turning point. I bought an external hard drive, discovered TV-Nihon, grabbed a DSL upgrade, and the digital age was already evolving. I got into TV-Nihon (which I no longer use now) to check out a couple of shows. I did have bad reasons to check out the newer shows which involved the attractive heroines and some shows I didn't immediately check out didn't have one. It's pretty much like how I didn't check out Gekiranger immediately because Ran is unattractive compared to Boukenger's Sakura who's attractive. I just decided to enjoy newer Super Sentai only because I dislike Power Rangers. However, how do these shows stand up on its own when I don't think about Power Rangers? It's almost pretty much like how I can overpraise Zyuranger when I think about Mighty Morphin' then the show starts to look less spectacular when I try to watch it on its own.
Watching a lot of older Super Sentai and newer Super Sentai can be a struggle. I even believe that there's the blurry line between eras of Super Sentai. I could remember what I liked about older Super Sentai and what I dislike about newer Super Sentai. I could also think of the reverse namely what I dislike about older Super Sentai and what I like about newer Super Sentai. Though I also have my tendencies to have preconceived biases that made me do stuff like pre-judge Abaranger without seeing it all because I saw some Zyuranger raw episodes (which are now taken down). I even had a preconceived bias towards Carranger because I was more familiar with Turboranger. So I had a long journey of watching both shows. There was a time I decided to focus more on the older Super Sentai series first (because I didn't see them before) watching the newer ones. It's like how I decided to focus on watching Abaranger because I didn't see it then watch Kyoryuger later. I decided to later watch most of the post-Go-Busters show though most of them didn't appeal to me as much except for Kyuranger and Lupinranger vs. Patranger. I may have warmed up to ToQGer eventually (because Yasuko Kobayashi) but I'd be treating it in the same category as Kamen Rider Kiva.
I think about a lot of stuff that made the pre-Timeranger era special - at least for me! I was thinking of most of the acting quality was actually better though not everyone there was all that good. For example, Kotaro Tanaka in Jetman gets the job done but there's nothing special about him. I could also think of the quality of out-of-suit fight scenes that were a lot more intense. Dairanger was practically notorious for its high levels of violence and risky stunts. GoGoFive also gave a lot of dangerous scenes similar to that of the Rescue Police Trilogy (Winspector, Solbrain, and Exceedraft). Should I mention that there were some series that just bled the heroes more than usual?
So what made me think the post-Timeranger scenes are "less special" for me? I could start with the acting first. I even remembered where I thought the best of Super Sentai acting post-Timeranger is comparable to the best of Power Rangers acting. Cast members still perform some of their stunts though the out-of-suit fight scenes are good but not as good. Most of the fight scenes in Super Sentai today aren't as good as those in the pre-Timeranger era. Consider how Gekiranger may be a martial arts-based show that doesn't do their scenes as intense as Dairanger's. Also, most of the seasons are now less serious (though it can be a welcome retreat) such as how Gekiranger and Go-Busters are still considerably lighter and softer in contrast to Dairanger and Timeranger.
However, just because I'm thinking less of newer Super Sentai doesn't mean I can't enjoy newer entries or be open to new ideas. It doesn't mean that I'm against modernization. It's just that I think that Super Sentai can do better but may no longer have its spark or atmosphere that I enjoyed in most of the older ones. Possibly, circumstances would have led to Super Sentai making major changes or it would perish. It's pretty much like the servings before and now. Maybe, I preferred the servings before because they had a more intense flavor. However, the current servings were made less intense in flavor yet it worked to rake in more customers. I could still enjoy a good story. I'm just ranting my personal preferences on what I think made Super Sentai more special before (at least for me) than today's standard. Then again, I guess it's a result of other new school stuff that has been getting my interest a lot more throughout the years.
I was on a break from Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. Kamen Rider was still shown in the Philippines (via bad dubbing) but I wasn't keen on it either. The early 2000s was a turning point for me as there was more new school stuff that caught my attention. I caught the Taiwanovela and Koreanovela fever for some time. I was getting into Chinese entertainment where it'd be from China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan (the place that gave the craze to Filipino audiences). However, that break wasn't exactly a break. I would tell people about Super Sentai whenever they talked about Power Rangers. I remembered talking about the Japanese sources to Power Rangers fans in COLLEGE though they were casual fans themselves. I realized I just wanted to see more Super Sentai. Then I discovered the world of fansubs though I did watch some Super Sentai raw and didn't understand a word.
The late 2000s came and it was that turning point. I bought an external hard drive, discovered TV-Nihon, grabbed a DSL upgrade, and the digital age was already evolving. I got into TV-Nihon (which I no longer use now) to check out a couple of shows. I did have bad reasons to check out the newer shows which involved the attractive heroines and some shows I didn't immediately check out didn't have one. It's pretty much like how I didn't check out Gekiranger immediately because Ran is unattractive compared to Boukenger's Sakura who's attractive. I just decided to enjoy newer Super Sentai only because I dislike Power Rangers. However, how do these shows stand up on its own when I don't think about Power Rangers? It's almost pretty much like how I can overpraise Zyuranger when I think about Mighty Morphin' then the show starts to look less spectacular when I try to watch it on its own.
Watching a lot of older Super Sentai and newer Super Sentai can be a struggle. I even believe that there's the blurry line between eras of Super Sentai. I could remember what I liked about older Super Sentai and what I dislike about newer Super Sentai. I could also think of the reverse namely what I dislike about older Super Sentai and what I like about newer Super Sentai. Though I also have my tendencies to have preconceived biases that made me do stuff like pre-judge Abaranger without seeing it all because I saw some Zyuranger raw episodes (which are now taken down). I even had a preconceived bias towards Carranger because I was more familiar with Turboranger. So I had a long journey of watching both shows. There was a time I decided to focus more on the older Super Sentai series first (because I didn't see them before) watching the newer ones. It's like how I decided to focus on watching Abaranger because I didn't see it then watch Kyoryuger later. I decided to later watch most of the post-Go-Busters show though most of them didn't appeal to me as much except for Kyuranger and Lupinranger vs. Patranger. I may have warmed up to ToQGer eventually (because Yasuko Kobayashi) but I'd be treating it in the same category as Kamen Rider Kiva.
I think about a lot of stuff that made the pre-Timeranger era special - at least for me! I was thinking of most of the acting quality was actually better though not everyone there was all that good. For example, Kotaro Tanaka in Jetman gets the job done but there's nothing special about him. I could also think of the quality of out-of-suit fight scenes that were a lot more intense. Dairanger was practically notorious for its high levels of violence and risky stunts. GoGoFive also gave a lot of dangerous scenes similar to that of the Rescue Police Trilogy (Winspector, Solbrain, and Exceedraft). Should I mention that there were some series that just bled the heroes more than usual?
So what made me think the post-Timeranger scenes are "less special" for me? I could start with the acting first. I even remembered where I thought the best of Super Sentai acting post-Timeranger is comparable to the best of Power Rangers acting. Cast members still perform some of their stunts though the out-of-suit fight scenes are good but not as good. Most of the fight scenes in Super Sentai today aren't as good as those in the pre-Timeranger era. Consider how Gekiranger may be a martial arts-based show that doesn't do their scenes as intense as Dairanger's. Also, most of the seasons are now less serious (though it can be a welcome retreat) such as how Gekiranger and Go-Busters are still considerably lighter and softer in contrast to Dairanger and Timeranger.
However, just because I'm thinking less of newer Super Sentai doesn't mean I can't enjoy newer entries or be open to new ideas. It doesn't mean that I'm against modernization. It's just that I think that Super Sentai can do better but may no longer have its spark or atmosphere that I enjoyed in most of the older ones. Possibly, circumstances would have led to Super Sentai making major changes or it would perish. It's pretty much like the servings before and now. Maybe, I preferred the servings before because they had a more intense flavor. However, the current servings were made less intense in flavor yet it worked to rake in more customers. I could still enjoy a good story. I'm just ranting my personal preferences on what I think made Super Sentai more special before (at least for me) than today's standard. Then again, I guess it's a result of other new school stuff that has been getting my interest a lot more throughout the years.
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