My Thoughts On The Current "Super Hero Senki" Updates

Sorry really for not updating this blog as much. As said, the blog is just a hobby and I find myself slowly withdrawing from Super Sentai (while I want to check out the upcoming Kamen Rider Revice - the first dinosaur-themed Kamen Rider) so be ready for this blog to get outdated again. Just think I even miss out on writing about this one. The upcoming crossover between Kamen Rider Saber and Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger is called Super Hero Senki (Super Hero Chronicle) which Shinichiro Shirakura stated that the crossover is the last crossover between the two franchises. Maybe not, but I hope Shirakura brings the idea to Banpresto and please Japan - STOP MAKING STUFF EXCLUSIVE ONLY FOR JAPAN!

Moving on... certain characters are indeed returning for the movie. Recent updates from Nihonhero reveal that Fumiya Takahashi (Aruto Hiden in Kamen Rider Zero One), So Okuno (from last year's Mashin Sentai Kiramager), and Shogo Suzuki (Chiaki Tani from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger) are returning. Other cool stuff revealed is that Naoya Okamoto will voice Akaranger, the Imagin Voice actors will reprise their roles, Tetsu Inada will reprise his voice as Doggie Kruger, Mao Ichimichi and Hiroshi Kamiya will reprise their voice roles as Raptor and Shou Ronpou, Kenji Ishimaru will reprise his role as Owner from Kamen Rider Den-O, and not surprisingly, Takashi Ukaji will reprise his role as Haim Saban Kosei Kougami AKA the Cake Boss from Kamen Rider OOO. 

Sidenote, I find it interesting that Ukaji will reprise his role as "Saban" based on a certain string of events. Haim Saban sold the rights of Power Rangers to Disney somewhere in 2002 during Power Rangers Wild Force's run. Eventually, Saban reacquired the Power Rangers license from Toei in 2011 during the year of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. However, it has been a downward slope for Power Rangers ever since. Eventually, Saban sold the rights of Power Rangers to Hasbro Studios - a company that also had Toei Ltd.'s partnership as an animation studio. In case you didn't know, Toei Animation provided the animation for both the Sunbow seasons of G.I.Joe and the 1980s Transformers animated series - both also owned by Hasbro. Toei Animation was also involved in the Japanese Transformers series. Think of how "Saban" returns into the scene 10 years after he reacquired Power Rangers and gave up the rights in 2019 to Hasbro Studios. Funny!

Back on track, I do have mixed feelings that a good idea can crash badly if not properly implemented. NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY should forget about how the first Super Hero Taisen movie felt more like a fanfic than professional work on more than one level. Well, at least I wasn't the writer (who obviously tried to bite more than he could chew and created a list of Old Shames), right? It seemed that the first Super Hero Taisen movie was a product of Spongebob and Patrick arguing over which franchise is better than a real movie. Worse, it was so full of annoying sob stories. Super Hero Taisen Z was "decent" while Chou Super Hero Taisen ends up forgettable IMHO. Though, I'm going to dare say that Gavan vs. Dekaranger, as well as Kyuranger vs. Space Squad, are pretty decent crossovers. Meanwhile, I can never say the same about the Super Hero Taisen series which should be focused as a video game series instead. 

The history of the crossovers between Super Sentai and Kamen Rider can have its ups and downs. Until now, I do still feel the Ressha Sentai ToQGer vs. Kamen Rider Gaim crossover isn't as good as Samurai Sentai Shinkenger's crossover with Kamen Rider Decade IMHO. Meanwhile, the crossover between Kamen Rider Drive and Shuriken Sentai Ninninger was actually pretty fun for me. Though, all of them will still continue to put the crossover between Mighty Morphin' and Mashed Rider to shame. Saban's Mashed Rider was so bad it became an old shame. I don't blame the late Shotaro Ishimori for not reacting well towards it because of how uninspired it was.  

My concerns for the crossover is that will it deliver or will it just be full of fanservice? But I'd still praise the effort of getting some people to reprise their roles. However, it seems that Gokaiger will probably still get the better praise even after a decade since it first aired. It's best for me to keep an open mind. Just note that I'm still watching Zenkaiger but at a very irregular rate. That's why I no longer write episode reviews.  At least I do have a valid reason (such as real life) in contrast to the idiocy of Power Rangers' summer hiatuses since 2011. Think about it, it's been 10 years since Power Rangers made that idiotic summer break tradition which has no real good excuse whatsoever! I just need to sit back, wait, and see how it'll turn out then!