I Felt It Was Difficult To Watch Super Sentai After Go-Busters

 

It doesn't matter how many times I can admit I don't like Power Rangers - I'll never say Super Sentai is perfect. There are also Super Sentai seasons that I feel aren't as good. I decided to give Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters a shot and I personally find it to be a decent attempt. It's almost like after I decided to re-evaluate Kamen Rider Faiz - there's potential but there's also a loss of charge. I felt Yasuko Kobayashi started losing her charge in Go-Busters (even if I use this series to derail Power Rangers RPM and not too much on Power Rangers Beast Morphers) and Toshiki Inoue lost some charge in Faiz. Well, both of them ended up in their weaker moments when Ressha Sentai ToQGer and Kamen Rider Kiva came to mind. I've learned to enjoy ToQGer for what it is just like I did with Kiva. Though, I felt like writing his post 10 years after Go-Busters came into the airwaves. 

Go-Busters felt like going back to simpler times while having the digital age. New filming techniques were one. The show tried to reduce the clutter of merchandise from last year's Gokaiger. If I blame anything for the low toy sales - I blame the economies of scale that Gokaiger had since the demand for the toys was rather high. I feel like Bandai kept producing more toys until demand was more than met. Go-Busters probably got into that problem. I feel the show also started to win older fans for the better. It's almost like Timeranger all over again - not too much mecha, darker atmosphere (which Kobayashi probably wanted after she was made to write a series of lighter series), and I feel there was decent character development. It was a good series for me but felt like a wrong move by Toei. Why should Toei care about my personal opinions, right?

What happened next was the dawn of Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger. Sure, Power Rangers Megaforce was mega-bad. I'll always say out loud that Megaforce or Megafail will always be the worst blot of Power Rangers' history. The show had a lot of eye candy but only got derailed even more. However, Kyoryuger IMHO was one huge noise fest and Daigo Kiryu gets too much spotlight. Riku Sanjo was good with Kamen Rider (and Kamen Rider Drive is one of my all-time favorites). However, I just felt Sanjo was MEH with Super Sentai. I'd only dare say it out loud that Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger had way better storytelling IMHO. Abaranger knew how to carry out character development. I really feel so stupid why I tend to attempt biting more than I can chew.

ToQGer came next--it was either just bad timing (taste fatigue) OR the series works better with the newer set of fans. I'm not afraid to criticize the show for its shortcomings. However, it had its praise moments too. It's like how I can still enjoy Chikyu Sentai Fiveman even if the show was Hirohisa Soda's worst entry as a head writer. ToQGer did get an award on Railroad Day. However, I feel like it's just not my favorite Super Sentai. A restaurant can get an award for "best this and that". However, an award isn't always the best indicator, right? 

Well, Shuriken Sentai Ninninger kicked in with rather lackluster fight scenes. Sure, the cast did their fight scenes and that BUT Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and Ninpou Sentai Hurricanger are far better in that department. A good example is how I'm notorious for praising Nao Nagasawa's badass fight scenes excessively making me wish she appeared in Hong Kong cinema. I feel Hurricanger is one masterpiece to watch though I'd say Choju Sentai Liveman is better. I must confess that it took Power Rangers Ninja Steel to make Ninninger "watchable". Though, both shows are worth throwing into the garbage dump. I really still hate both shows. Though I did finish Ninninger - it's just THAT MIND NUMBING. Though, Takaharu looks like a genius all thanks to Victor and Monty in Ninja Steel, right? Still, Ninninger nly gets vindicated because Ninja Steel is WAY WORSE. It's not worth the trip!

Zyuohger just ends up so-so in the long run. I pretended to enjoy it more than Gokaiger. Though, I tend to call it a beautifully pointless series. Sure, both Haruka Tateishi and Miki Yanagi look better than Ciara Hanna and Christina Marie Masterson. However, I feel the show just doesn't give me the hype I wanted. Haruka and Miki can be like Yuuka Yano and Kasumi Yamaya. They're attractive but the show doesn't meet the hype. It's like why I'll always prefer to watch Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger over Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers even if Kimberly is hotter than Mei. 

Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger came and I had low expectations. Nine rangers? Three more rangers? I felt that the show tends to focus on Lucky. The whole series tends to be a mix of Spaceballs and the Super Sentai franchise. Granted, Spaceballs celebrated its 30th anniversary last 2017. I ended up enjoying Kyuranger for its being highly ambitious. Though, I still want to challenge people to watch more space-themed Toku by Toei Ltd. Personally, I still think about how the 1980s space opera by Toei Ltd. really knew better character development. For instance, Choshinsei Flashman would be a heralding good example in that regard. 

Kaito Sentai Lupinranger vs. Keisatsu Sentai Patranger really was an interesting concept. I enjoyed how innovative the writing was with two teams beating each other up and temaing up when needed. Well, I love to use the series for my stupid habit of bashing Megaforce again with Kazusa Okuyama's presence. However, I'd say that head writer Junko Komura was placed in good hands unlike how I felt she handled Zyuohger or this year's Kikou Sentai Zenkaiger. Though, the show's finale was anything to be desired. I felt the show had weakened in the later quarter. Still, the more mature tone was welcome. However, it did also suffer from lower toy sales presumably from the economies of scale of last year's toys. 

Then comes another lowest point--Kishinryuu Sentai Ryusoulger. I was excited to think about dragons and possible Knights of Tir Na Nog. But no, it really ended up in a slump. Sure, I had issues with Kamen Rider Saber early on but it got more interesting. Ryusoulger had to end up in a slump with how Canalo really ruins the show even more. Canalo sure is a hopeless f***boy even in non-canon crossover movies. Canalo tried to hit on Tsukasa and Umika in the crossover with Lupinranger vs. Patranger. Canalo even got more absurd when he flirted with Yodonna (an obvious bad girl) and even Mabusheena in the Kiramager crossover. Ugh... Canalo ruins everything huh?

Kiramager was pretty much A-OK but not too much to be desired. I think it's even better than this year's Zenkaiger which I felt had potential but failed to meet it. Kiramager does seem to know how to cater to younger audiences without alienizing the older fans too much. Though, the series was plagued by the Legacy Virus pandemic in 2020. The show was good in itself but I still have better Super Sentai series to watch before it. Though, I feel everything went downward again.

I've lost enthusiasm for Zenkaiger. I do like the unorthodox team idea is similar to the now-discontinued Metal Hero franchise. Metal Hero feels like it was merged with Kamen Rider since the latter's revival. Sure, the idea of four robots and one human was a fun concept. You could see that as a variation of what Tokkei Winspector did with its traffic light-inspired rescue heroes. However, I feel that Zenkaiger just doesn't become the anniversary I expect it to be. Maybe, I have super high expectations again. It didn't help that Gokaiger even has that 10 years after movie came in as well. Yeah, I still feel it's not that good!

Right now, I don't even feel excited about Avatar Sentai Donbrothers either. I guess Netflix subscription and other forms of digital media will work its way through. I guess the digital age will make you see the best and the worst of old school and new school. Right now, I'm rewatching some older stuff and checking out newer stuff on Netflix. I don't know if I've reached the pinnacle when it's time for me to actually leave Super Sentai for good for other newer stuff.