My PERSONAL Thoughts On That Crucial Difference With How Super Sentai And Power Rangers Handle Nostalgic Elements

 

I was thinking about how things are with Super Sentai's anniversary with Kikou Sentai Zenkaiger vs. the idiotic summer hiatus of Power Rangers Dino Fury. I confess that I did watch Power Rangers Beast Morphers to at least try and see how Hasbro would handle it. Apparently, interest in the Power Rangers franchise is still on and Toei's still getting paid royalties. Now, I decided to try and do a bit of PERSONAL analysis of the situation. It's because of the recent anniversary years such as the milestones of 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, and now it's 2021. 

 A good reason why I'm really provoked to write this was because of how Beast Morphers had its crossover episode with Power Rangers Dino Charge to be doing nostalgia. Then again, there was also the nostalgic throwback with the utterly messy (at least, for me) crossover of Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger and Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters when both Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger and Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger showed up. Then another good reason why I felt compelled to write this is because of how Dino Fury suddenly decided to return Lord Zedd as a fanservice. I really find it weird like if the Necromancer Minosaur from Kishinryu Sentai Ryusoulger decided to bring back Shadam (would be impossible) or even Black Cross Fuehrer for no apparent reason. 

Now let's get started with a discussion of how nostalgia was handled in both franchises and is one franchise truly guilty of overly relying on nostalgia...

The Pre-Zyuranger era

The pre-Zyuranger era or what I'd love to also dub as the pre-Power Rnagers era. Power Rangers wasn't conceived until a contractual agreement between Toei Ltd. and Saban Entertainment. I think a bit of a history lesson might do good. I could be making mistakes so feel free to type in comments of where I got it wrong. 

The first instance of a throwback for Super Sentai was in the special episode of Kosoku Sentai Turboranger. Chojuu Sentai Liveman was the 10th anniversary of Super Sentai before Himitsu Sentai Goranger and Dengekitai JAKQ were added in 1995. Turboranger didn't start off with its actual episode but a review of everything from Battle Fever J up to Liveman. The Turborangers (in this non-canon presentation) were given the blessing of the 10 other teams to battle the Hundred Beast Tribes Bouma - a sealed evil for 20,000 years that has finally returned to conquer Earth! 

It would be interesting to know that Turboranger was the first show to use teenagers with attitude - something that would be repeated with Denji Sentai Megaranger. Turboranger on its own didn't rely to much on nostalgia. For example, the late Takeshi Watabe was the voice of many villains such as the Creation King from Kamen Rider Black and God Neros from Chojinki Metalder. However, Ragorn and his minions were pretty much their own. True, Ragorn may remind you of Demon King Psycho and Don Horror from Space Sheriff Sharivan and Space Sheriff Gavan but he was pretty much his own. There were no connections with the other 10 previous series. It was unlike how Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan was a sequel to Denji Sentai Denjiman but the two NEVER had a crossover.

Reliving the first Saban era vs. the source materials

I was thinking about the post-Jetman years since Chojin Sentai Jetman was the last Super Sentai series not to get an American localization. 1993 became a champion year for Toei Ltd.'s bank account when it had both Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Tokosou Robo Janperson. It would be very important to make a contrast of the flow between Super Sentai and Power Rangers in that regard.

Super Sentai (after Jetman) started to move with newer ideas. In 1992, we had Zyuranger which was unfortunately overshadowed by Jetman and Dairanger. Zyuranger did work for the kiddos but seemed not to work with the older audiences. Also, it's common knowledge that Zyuranger was the very source material for Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. I might call it the era of the late Noboru Sugimura (who also worked with the Metal Hero franchise such as Keido Keji Jiban) when he was the head writer from Zyuranger up to Chorki Sentai Ohranger - a good portion of it was used what's commonly referred to as the Zordon Era of the Power Rangers franchise.

So, it's really assumed (most of the time) that most Super Sentai series are usually self-contained. Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger even verified that in the 18th episode. It's very amusing to think how several self-contained series got crammed into the Zordon Era of Power Rangers. Personally, I find it to be quite messy especially when how it would be necessary to watch Mighty Morphin' Season 1 up to Power Rangers Turbo before getting to understand Power Rangers in Space can be a chore. It would be very much unlike how I can watch Zyuranger up to Megaranger in any order I want and I won't even get lost along the way. 

On paper, it feels rather cool but the more I try to remember Mighty Morphin - I felt the addition of Lord Zedd plus his in-laws in the third season makes it a huge cluttered mess. For example, the arrival of Rito Revolto as Rita Repulsa's brother just made both Goldar and Rito the new comedic duo in the place of Squatt and Baboo. Later, in Power Rangers Zeo, I just felt that having Lord Zedd's army in the dumps just was an extra waste of space. Meanwhile, Ohranger was trying to be its own even to give us a decent final battle episode. That's why I tend to screw Zeo over more than once though Ohranger on its own can be a cluttered mess. Interestingly, Ohranger became the season that acknowledged Goranger and JAKQ to be part of the Super Sentai franchise. A lot of space was actually wasted IMHO. I even think that the finale of Space was really quite bloated IMHO. 

I think the nods of nostalgia with Super Sentai are a little more subtle. It's true that the late Soga Machiko was both Bandora and Pandora from Jikuu Senshi Spielban. However, Bandora was no way related to Pandora and it was more a subtle tribute. Dairanger may remind you of Hikari Sentai Maskman but it doesn't do that much of a throwback plus it isn't a direct sequel of Zyuranger. Kakuranger came in and Gashadokuro is NOT Bandora's brother. Ohranger may have the visors similar to Goranger (it was also that season's major anniversary in 1995), it may have a few references to Hirohisa Soda's era such as Dengeki Sentai Changeman and Chodenshi Bioman but it's more on similarities than linking the storylines to the point that you needed to watch all the old school in sequence. I think the way these nods are done gives a viewer more flexibility if they're trying to watch several Super Sentai and don't know when to start. In my case, I decided to focus first on older Super Sentai from 2013-2015 because there were so much I haven't watched yet.

Maybe, I need to mention both Carranger and Megaranger - two seasons that throw back to the Soda era in a way. It would be interesting to know how the Carranger era just started on its own with little to no reference to either Turboranger or Ohranger. Instead, Carranger was its very own series one way or another. Megaranger tried to do the teens with attitude theme all over again together with the science theme of Soda. However, the genius is that while the nostalgia is there - the younger audiences didn't need to watch a lot of the older series to understand both seasons. I felt that's where Power Rangers Turbo and Space really screwed up. Sure, Space was popular to the fans but I felt like it was a cluttered mess IMHO. 

Power Rangers Lost Galaxy eventually came and it was the post-Zordon era. Zordon was killed off eventually to mark the end of the era. Though, I can't imagine if Megaranger had us shatter Barza like that! For me, it's a good thing that Super Sentai doesn't have the Barza era and that the senile old man left for the Heavens in the ending of Zyuranger. Lost Galaxy felt cool though I ended up berating it while watching Flashman - a totally unrelated series! Lost Galaxy was still throwing back to Space rather than have a special VS. Movie like Super Sentai does. It made me think, "What if I had to watch Changeman and everything before it to understand Flashman?" I also feel like it'd be rather odd if Mag had to be known as "Peebo 2.0" instead of just Mag. 

The two Power Rangers series that tried to do less throwbacks were Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue and Power Rangers Time Force. At least, I didn't have to watch Lost Galaxy to make sense of Lightspeed Rescue like I didn't need to watch Gingaman to make sense of Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive. Or better, I didn't need to watch Chikyu Sentai Fiveman which unfortunately NEARLY killed Super Sentai to understand GoGoFive - the very series that corrected almost everything wrong with it. Mirai Sentai Timeranger though gave us a nostalgic throwback as a special final non-canon episode. Fortunately, I didn't have t watch al 23 series before making sense of Timeranger.

Now, it's time to think about Power Rangers Wild Force and its source material Hyajakuu Sentai Gaoranger. Wild Force had its rather rushed "Forever Red" TV episode while Goranger had its 45 minute (and I still dare say RUSHED) non-canon crossover in Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai. It could be understandable if nostalgia was donebecause it was an anniversary. We simply want to try and bring some older and newer fans, right? Though that seems not to be the case with Power Rangers during hte second Saban era up to the Hasbro era.

The Disney era's nostalgic throwbacks

One of the reasons why I prefer Abaranger over Dino Thunder is the lack of nostalgic throwback. Abaranger is pretty much its own season without having to throw back to Zyuranger. Meanwhile, Dino Thunder had the return of Tommy Oliver who I liked as a child but ended up loathing as an adult. I think the whole idea of trying to link everything back is just tedious. I mean, having to watch Zyuranger to understand Abaranger is just weird. At least, I can watch all the dinosaur Super Sentai in ANY ORDER. Tommy just ends up as an overrated prick and I think Jason David Frank is pretty much like Hercule in Dragon Ball Z IMHO. 

Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger is a show that's full of Metal Hero references. The narrator behaves like the Space Sheriff narrators - that is the person doesn't know when to STFU. There are other references like the Space Police organization is a reference to the Space Sheriffs. The rescue police team can be a reference to the Rescue Police Trilogy. Fortunately, Dekaranger was its very own and we didn't need to watch the older Toku to understand it. I felt that the Space Squad films were arranged only for the more mature fans who probably demanded a nostalgic throwback.

The second Saban era and the Hasbro era gets too much stuck on nostalgia most of the time

The Disney era of Power Rangers era didn't have the crossovers in other episodes. Now, we enter the second Saban era where things got worse since 2011 up to the present. It's time to enter the idiotic summer hiatus. Then, I could talk about how this era just keeps THROWING BACK to the 90s...

Power Rangers Samurai was obviously trying to milk back with Mighty Morphin'. The evidence is that Spike is Skull's son than his own character. Bulk even makes a pointless return. Samurai wasn't even trying to stand on its own - it was trying to be Mighty Morphin' all over again. Meanwhile, Samurai Sentai Shinkenger (as nostalgic as it gets for some) was simply trying to stand on its own keeping in mind that the target audience are children. No need to really watch all the other series before Shinkenger just to understand it!

Power Ranger Megaforce even had it worse. It was trying to be Mighty Morphin' all over again. It's like having a Morphine Hype. It's pretty much unlike how Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger handled its nostalgia. I mean, I didn't need to watch all the series before Gokaiger before it can make sense. Gokaiger knew how to do nostalgia without confusing the younger audience. It was more like urging younger fans to at least try viewing some older Super Sentai. I prefer a flexible path such as I could watch this old entry and then that older entry in any other before I watch the recent Super Sentai at my pace. Megaforce just probably didn't consider that and became the big disaster that it is. True, Gokaiger brought back the original Big Bad, Black Cross Fuehrer, but it was in a crossover movie. Later, they had a two-parter with Doubotsu Sentai Zyuohger - yet it was again handled better to avoid requiring the younger audiences to watch  way older seasons in a specific sequel! 

Maybe, I could talk about Beast Morphers too. Go-Busters had some nostalgic throwback too such as with the Gavan crossover but it was with a new hero. However, Go-Busters, for most of its run, didn't require me to check back everything WAY BACK to Goranger. Meanwhile, Beast Morphers' plot of the Morph-X really had to throw back to 1993 or even to Power Rangers RPM with Evox being (no surprise) Venjix all along. I can't imagine if the Messiah Virus had to be Yogoscrimaten reborn or something or having had to get the Go-Ongers into Go-Busters to be able to make more sense. 

One could also point out that Mashin Sentai Kiramager had SRCTC in one episode. True, but did I have to watch Gekiranger before I could understand that episode? At least Miki and her daughter were just there for fanservice and nothing more. I didn't have to rewatch Gekiranger to make complete sense of out of it. In fact, most of the episodes of Kiramager are more dependent on the current year. True, there are some references to Goranger with the monsters because it's the 45th anniversary of the same show that year. However, the show tries to keep a balance by keeping nostalgia to a minimum.

Eventually, one episode on Zenkaiger (sorry if I'm not making any episode reviews now, I'm caught up with other stuff in the digital age) exposed the problem of too much nostalgia. I think one reason why I ended up leaving Power Ranger (even if Toei Ltd. is also behind it) is how the American side of the fence is still trying to milk Mighty Morphin'. I guess that also draws the significant difference between the directions of both franchises too. Though, I would still note to myself that Super Sentai still has its flaws too even if I ended up disliking Power Rangers.

Now, for more comparison between the return of the two iconic villains decades later 

It's no doubt that both the Black Cross Fuehrer and Lord Zedd are the iconic villains against their respective heroes. The difference is Lord Zedd felt like an inconvenient plot twist since Rita Repulsa was practically running the show for 64 episodes before Lord Zedd arrived to reveal himself as the true main villain of Mighty Morphin'. Meanwhile, the Black Cross Fuehrer was already established as the main villain of Goranger since the first episode and eventually perished after the two-year-long broadcast of the said show. Lord Zedd is a fan favorite. I guess the same can be true for Black Cross Fuhrer too.

The Black Cross Fuehrer returned in the Hero 199 movie of Gokaiger. The villain didn't make quite an appearance for a long time since Goranger was scheduled to end with a real final battle. In the movie, the Black Cross Fuehrer becomes the main antagonist and shows his status as that villain you don't want to mess with. I felt that from the start of his quest to destroy ALL Super Sentai. Think about how that lackluster game Power Rangers Super Legends had Lord Zedd seeking to destroy all the Power Rangers. The movie has him revive some villains such as Dagon, Buredoran. and Yogoscrimaten. The power of the unified Super Sentai eventually got rid of Black Cross Fuehrer sending him back to Hell.

I think Lord Zedd's appearance in Dino Fury felt like too much fanservice. Lord Zedd was referred to in Beast Morphers. Now, Lord Zedd was brought back by Rheagoul (the counterpart of Necromancer Minosaur in Ryusoulger) though he was just for one episode. I felt like WTF were the writers thinking? I felt that the return of the icon wasn't even dealt with properly. Lord Zedd is reverted back to his evil form and placed on a compliance collar. I can't imagine f Necromancer Minosaur decided to do that to Black Cross Fuehrer from Goranger in an episode of Ryusoulger. For me, it seemed like an act of desperation to get back the older viewers. I felt that there was no real reason to bring Lord Zedd back since it's NOT even an anniversary. Sure, Lord Zedd could've been brought back during Megaforce but it seems things got too random TBH. 

In short, Gokaiger had a good reason to bring back Black Cross Fuehrer since it was an anniversary season. Other than that, Black Cross Fuehrer is already a junk villain with the other previously defeated villains. Bringing them back as a fanservice only makes sense if there's some milestone. It's like how the Great Leader that the Showa Riders fought is seldom brought back in a crossover but only if there's a milestone. Other than that, the Great Leader is basically just the Not-So-Great Leader now and better off not brought back without an anniversary. At least, the iconic villains were handled better in bringing them back during a milestone than just out of random IMHO.