How Carranger Tends To Make Me Think Go-Onger Is A Messy Grand Prix

Right now, I'm doing some Kosoku Sentai Turboranger rewatching after Wandering Moonbeams finished the subbing before Shout! Factory could ever grab the license. I was thinking that while it's difficult not to think about Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers while watching Turboranger - Gekisou Sentai Carranger also comes to my mind! Carranger eventually brings in Engine Sentai Go-Onger to my mind as well. I usually love the slapstick of Go-Onger but Carranger just makes the former look like it's a bloated mess. Just because I don't like Power Rangers doesn't mean I'm going to spare Super Sentai from some of my own personal opinions. Carranger was a show that actually didn't save Super Sentai - it was Denji Sentai Megaranger that did the job of saving Super Sentai after two years of low ratings! Carranger is a show that you probably can't easily absorb though the DVD sales were a success.

So, I saw Go-Onger first...

Granted, I saw Go-Onger first and decided to give it a shot because of how much hate it received from other bloggers. Then I decided to watch the Carranger fan subs long before the official DVD came in. What I thought was that I didn't expect myself to actually chew out Go-Onger while watching Carranger. I didn't see much of Power Rangers Turbo (and only saw a few episodes and DROPPED IT). However, I've seen both Carranger and Go-Onger to really make a better comparison between the two series.

Go-Onger as a series was fun on its own. I could remember how watching it during downer times helped me cope up with them. Go-Onger was so criticized that I thought I wanted to check out what's wrong with it. I could remember how Sentai Bandicoot held it in low regard while Mr. Smith had an unpopular opinion about it. I was looking at how the series is a mess but a fun mess. There were some crazy moments such as how Sosuke is basically a screaming, hyper red or how the Go-On Wings, Hiroto and Miu, are the anti-thesis of the wacky group. I felt Sosuke was probably my favorite though I also like both Renn (for being the team scientist) and Gunpei for being the most sound of the group. The series also had some fun villains and some crazy plans.

So, what did I like about Go-Onger? There was the environmental message going on. The team was basically trying to do a Captain Planet with its shows. Though, some episodes are focused on rather silly plots like turning humans into balloons or other serious stuff such as when a more threatening villain shows up such as Hiramechimedes and Cleaning Minister Kireizky. I just felt the the emergence of the true villain, Yogoshimacritein, was actually not that well-planned. 

Then I saw Carranger next...

Watching Carranger would start to shake what I thought about Go-Onger slowly but surely. At first, I just watched it blah blah, I don't like Power Rangers. However, Carranger started to really pick up on me with the crazy action scenes, cool-looking toys (yes, and even cooler than Go-Onger IMHO, and may I dare say a little more organized than Go-Onger could ever dream of? 

Granted, Carranger was in the 90s so the mecha overload wasn't much of an issue. However, I'd still dare say that Ohranger was THAT BLOATED in the merchandise division. Ohranger had cool characters but really just didn't know what to do with excess merchandise. Go-Onger does highlight the problem of mecha overload (which is something that I tend to criticize newer Super Sentai for even when I can still enjoy it) while Carranger knew how to give a plot to most of the mecha. Go-Onger does have its moments of giving plot to the mecha though most of them tend to be just "Buy more toys." Carranger was doing a better toy commercial promotion IMHO. 

What I enjoy about Carranger was the time when there wasn't much censorship with violence yet. Go-Onger was a victim of the stricter censorship era which came after Mirai Sentai Timeranger. So, Carranger did have some crazy fight scene that Go-Onger wasn't able to do both civilian and in-suit. Sure, the villains in Carranger are THAT STUPID (which they're proud to be as the "main antagonist" Gynamo says) but they sure make amazing fight scenes. 

I would say Carranger knew how to handle its villains better. I felt that the arrival of Yogoshimacritein in Go-Onger late in the series was too sudden. I compare it to adding spicy vinegar to where it shouldn't be. In Carranger, the arrival of Emperor Exhaus midseason fit better which explained why the Bowzocks were doing what they did. It was too good to be true that Gynamo was the "main villain". Exhaus was the true mastermind behind the events and his arrival midseason was expected. What made Exhaus a cool villain was that he was the mysterious shadow that emerged to destroy everything. For me, Exhaus was a more developed version of Emperor Ragorn from Turboranger. Exhaus also managed to do more than Yogoshimacritein did who just came in much later. 

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Pretty much, this is why I really end up thinking Carranger is better than Go-Onger!