The Not So Age-Restricted Yodonna Spin-Off

 
I confess that I'm finding Zenkaiger not as appealing as last year's Kiramager or some of the past post-Zyuohger series. Kyuranger was a fun new spin and Lupinranger vs. Patranger was an interesting twist. Though, I felt really bad after finishing Ryusoulger. I decided to watch this new age-restricted spin-off which was worth two parts. Apparently, Yodonna got so popular probably because of Nashiko Momotsuki's performance. Heck, Canalo even tried to hit on Yodonna in the Kiramager vs. Ryusoulger movie. Now, I'd like to talk about this age-restricted film (minor spoilers ahead). It takes place some time after Kiramager ended and Yodonna is in the Yodon Afterlife - something nearly reminds me of how Dragon Ball Z has Yamma separating the righteous from the wicked in the afterlife. Yodonna then starts to attempt to return to life while she was told about the need for emotions.

How is the movie actually age-restricted? Not too much so don't expect any nudity or the like. Instead, it has the classic moderated violence of the older Toei Tokusatsu such as how pre-Gaoranger Super Sentai and some older Kamen Rider series of the Showa and Heisei era have them. That is, you may see smoking, alcohol, and some amounts of blood. Dairanger was notoriously violent. The gunshots here are akin to that of the Rescue Police series such as in Winspector up to Janperson. The gunshots were inflicted by Yodonna in the body of Mizuki so she could revive. Along the way, Yodonna starts experiencing emotions. 

It was interesting to have a throwback to the Rescue Police series. Shosuke is a police officer who is tracking down a criminal organization. It would be interesting how gangsters are involved in this movie. This reminds me of the time when Toei Ltd. actually put much of their heart into their work. I still think of how the Rescue Police Trilogy and Janperson offered a more mature take with heroes who aren't overpowered and villains who aren't overpowered. Yodonna does start o have a change of heart along the way when she ends up beating up the gangsters.

For me, I think about is how Japanese censorship changed over time. One may notice how Gaoranger is significantly less violent than Timeranger. Maybe, one could think about how Zyuranger was actually more violent than Mighty Morphin' for a start. Today, Super Sentai tends to be a lot tamer with violence. I even feel Super Sentai's level of violence is nearly as tame as that of Power Rangers. It made me think maybe that's why some Power Rangers fans may prefer post-Timeranger series better in that regard and I don't blame them. Go-Busters (which was considerably serious) couldn't match up to the seriousness of Timeranger. Lupinranger vs. Patranger did replace some bullets with lasers which also had much less violence than the gun violence in the classic Metal Hero series. 

For me, the spin-off makes me feel what I missed about older Super Sentai. It's no secret that I did bash Super Sentai too during the early 2000s, calling it soft, and then ended up enjoying it. I may dislike Power Rangers (which is preferential and not part of some dumb rule) but I'd still point out what I think went wrong with Super Sentai too. This serious spinoff is more of a nostalgic feel even when Kiramager was actually a pretty light series.