Rambling About My Long History With Super Sentai And Power Rangers

 

It can't be denied that I pretended to like Power Rangers, I pretty much wrote a bad fanfic which I deleted because I have no intention of continuing it (plus it's an Old Shame), and I've been thinking that if I don't like Power Rangers then I've got the right not to watch it. It's pretty much what Ukiyaseed mentions that you can dislike Power Rangers all you want - just remember it's still a LEGITIMATE production with contracts by Toei Ltd. Though its reliance on the licensed use of Super Sentai fight footage is just awkward. I felt that Haim Saban was probably looking for a quick buck even if he was involved in the Super Mario Bros. Super Show and the highly successful X-Men: The Animated Series. So, I always want to say that Saban and Toei Ltd. both created a quick money maker that's the Power Rangers franchise.

As I feel my Toku vibes are dangerously low - I think I feel like writing this nostalgic blog post. I felt Kikou Sentai Zenkaiger failed to meet its potential to completely redefine how Super Sentai is done. True, I was excited for its concept - I just felt that the writing isn't as good as some of series before it. Heck, I even wonder if Toshiki Inoue can really do something with Avatar Sentai Donbrothers since overworking a writer ain't good. Inoue was able to write a good tribute arc of Kamen Rider Kiva in Kamen RIder Zi-O. However, Kamen Rider Kiva is viewed as his lowest point as a head writer even if I'm a fan of the series. Hirohosa soda also screwed it up due to overwork in Kosoku Sentai Turboranger and Chikyu Sentai Fiveman. Right now, I feel like I might actually want to make a review of Kaiju No Kami's rather fun reviews even if I disagree with his negative assessments of my favorite series.

An ever innocent childhood in the non-digital age

I can miss the simpler times yet those are the times when you just don't have enough information. Dial-up Internet was slow and costly. I never had the Internet until I was late in my teenage years. I could think about how Super Sentai aired in the Philippines before Power Rangers took over. I refuse to blame Power Rangers for why Super Sentai isn't returning to the Philippines. I think the blame should go to Toei Ltd. and Bandai. All the while, I wonder if the fees to air Kamen Rider are considerably lower since it's still aired in the Philippines.

Back then, it was the time I could appreciate the BAD DUBS. There were some of my favorite shows that were aired on IBC-13. They were Chodenshi Bioman (my first Super Sentai), Hikari Sentai Maskman (dubbed as Laser Squadron Maskman), Kosoku Sentai Turboranger , Chikyu Sentai Fiveman (dubbed as Fiveman World Defense Force) and Chojin Sentai Jetman (dubbed as Air Fighter Squadron Jetman). There were also other Tokusatsu series aired on IBC-13 such as Seiuun Machineman, Kamen Rider Black (called as Masked Rider Black), Kidou Keiji Jiban, and Uchuu Keiji Shaider. There was also ABC-5 which aired Fiveman, Jetman, Ucchu Keiji Gavan (dubbed as Sky Ranger Gavan), and later we had Tokosou Janperson which was obviously inspired by the Robocop franchise except the hero was fully robotic. Though, I ended up cursing IBC-13 for its bad scheduling since I had to wait until my late college years to eve SEE THE FREAKING ENDINGS!

I could remember that rather innocent crush I had on Hikaru in Bioman who was called KIMBERLY in the bad dub. I could remember having a crush on Momoko in Maskman while she was called Mary Rose in that AWFUL DUB. I didn't have much of a crush on Haruna in Turboranger while she was called Haruna. Yet, nothing can ever be too obvious that I had too much of a bad crush on Kimberly from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. I had that weird habit of watching Mighty Morphin' because of how pretty Kimberly is. It was also that time I thought Mighty Morphin' was an all-American production. Heck, I didn't even notice that Scorpina was one of Dr. Giba's (dubbed as Professor Stevie in Tagalog) in Jiban and that Rita Repulsa was Baraba's (Dargan in Tagalog) mother. I didn't even notice Rita Repulsa was also an episode of Gavan. I simply called her as "Elizabeth Ramsey" (who died in the late 2010s) who looks like the late Soga Machiko who died in 2006. 

Though, there was all this BAD SCHEDULING. I mean, I never got to saw the final battles in IBC-13. I had to wait until I was a teenager to see the final episode of Jetman - the very first Super Sentai finale I watched! It took me some time to understand the differences between Japanese and American programming. For instance, the Transformers spin-off by Takara gave a definite final battle while the American cartoon series overextended to a third season. Eventually, Season 4 of the Hasbro cartoon just had a hanging ending and wasted the concept of the Headmasters. Transformers Victory gave an epic duel between the two Japanese-exclusive characters, Star Saber and Dezaras, in an epic way. Deszaras ends up drifting away into space in a final battle. I felt the 1980s Transformers cartoon should've ended with Optimus Prime defeating Megatron in a one-on-one battle. Instead, the overextension really made me feel weird. 

Entering the teenage years

Teenage years can be very frustrating. It was also at that time watching Jetman to try and escape reality was truly amusing. I ended up having an unrequited crush on a girl (two years my junior) who looks like Ako Hayasaka in Jetman! I remembered watching Janperson in high school to which I wondered why was he even in Big Bad Beetleborgs? I always called Beetleborgs as garbage but watched it anyway out of immaturity. I could remember also how I ditched Power Rangers Zeo because of that DUMB DEAR JOHN LETTER PLOT and didn't have any reason to hang around with Power Rangers. I even felt that Toei Ltd. should sue Saban or something - something not possible because Toei Ltd. had a legitimate transaction hence why I don't want to call Power Rangers as bootleg or fake no matter how I dislike the fraanchise.

That amazing moment was when I read Questor magazines and wasted my allowance and time on them. Yup, my grades in high school were anything to write home about especially with how I wish I had a more exciting life. I felt like Gai Yuki trying to hit on Yuuri from Mirai Sentai Timeranger, Ako from Jetman, Eri from Goseiger, Kimberly from Mighty Morphin', Natsumi from Gekisou Sentai Carranger, and I would say Sakura from Boukenger all at the same time during those "troubled times". Though, I had to deal with a guy who looks like Takeru from Maskman but was quite like another Gai Yuki. Questor gave me insights about how Saban went to Japan, retooled the show, and presented it as Mighty Morphin'. Personally, I disliked it since it's making it hard to watch the original. I guess it doesn't help with how Toei Ltd. might be trying to become more Japanese-exclusive.

I remembered how LIMITED Internet helped me find sources about Super Sentai. Many of them were fan sites like Sentai Forever and Joe Rovang's site. That's when I learned about American exclusive content such as Lord Zedd or the ever cheesy American Battlizers. It really just gave me some spoilers (which I don't mind) and the like. I would talk about Super Sentai as the source. It was also at that time I discovered that Lion Voltron was based on Hyajakuu Sentai Golion and Vehicle Voltron was based on a completely unrelated series Kikou Dairugger XV. It's just like how Robotech by Harmony Gold was a mixture of several series which one of them was Macross. I wasn't a fan of Robotech either.

College years started to be a big turning point

College was pretty much what I'd call a big break from the torture that's high school. I could remember how I talked about Super Sentai whenever Power Rangers was mentioned. It did build a spark of curiosity and some of my peers wondered why we never had any more of those shows. I told them about this and that and the differences between American and Japanese shows. Americans tend to overexpend their shows if it does well to the point it stales. It kinda reminds me of how I felt X-Men: The Animated Series could've ended with Apocalypse' defeat than having a dangler where he returns in Fabian Cortez'z body but it's all left dangling.

Though, college started to be where I had my big turnaround. I saw more fan Super Sentai sites and thought that multi-combining machines as "boring" and "inflated". I soon got to watch Taiwanese series such as Meteor Garden though I wasn't interested in Korean drama at first. I wanted to watch Japanese drama such as Gokusen because I had a silly crush on its main character. I did also watch some Mainland China programs such as when A Chinese Ghost Story aired on ABS-CBN after it aired Meteor Garden. I did enjoy reconnecting to my Chinese roots even if I had that American superiority mentality going on. Ironic though how I disliked Power Rangers in spite of my tendency to overpraise America. I did just enjoy them for a short time.

Then, I think about how Cartoon Network Philippines aired some Power Rangers seasons. My first return to Power Rangers was Power Rangers Wild Force followed by Power Rangers Ninja Storm. There was also a time that Power Rangers didn't air in the Philippines during the 1990s. That's why I was surprised to learn about Power Rangers in Space up to Power Rangers Time Force. I did remember how I enjoyed Wild Force like I enjoyed an average meal. Though, I felt Cole's that cool guy that I wanted to be like for a long time. Ninja Storm was okay though I stupidly wanted Ninpou Sentai Hurricanger because Nanami was more attractive than Tori. Ironic really that I should be berating Mighty Morphin' while saying that Kimberly is hotter than Mei or Rin from Gosei Sentai Dairranger. I did drop Power Rangers Dino Thunder too fast all the while I was unaware of the "Lost and Found" episode which gag-dubbed an episode of Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger. Until now, I still feel the gag-dub is heavily misunderstood. If Disney mocked Super Sentai then Toei Ltd. would've pulled the plug, right? 

Getting back to Super Sentai later in life

Some real life events can really suck when I think about it. Some of them can affect things. Something really absurd how I wanted to check out Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger because  I wasn't impressed with Power Rangers SPD. True, Sky Tate did eventually lighten up though I felt that the writers were intentionally making him initially unlikable. Though, I ended up disliking Jack in SPD a lot more saying Ban would NEVER skip an important obstacle course. Ban may be loud but I'm willing to work with him even if, like Hoji (my favorite Dekaranger), I'll be in denial. Although, I still had that DUMB EXCUSE such as Jasmine is hotter than Elizabeth. Yup, I could still think of how I thought Jasmine is so physically attractive that I decided to watch it for her. 

I already drifted away from Super Sentai for a long time. It was like learning to swim again after some time. Though, I had issues with newer Super Sentai such as that generation gap which is why I think watching Himitsu Sentai Goranger can be a CHORE. Though, my other complaints for newer Super Sentai is the tendency to get too cheesy, lesser intense action scenes, and the tendency to lack more serious seasons. I felt most Super Sentai series were nearly reaching the TV-Y7-FV levels of Power Rangers. Dekaranger may have some alcohol in a few episodes BUT the amout of blood and violence is significantly lower. Dekaranger lacks the intensity of shows like the Rescue Police series such as Winspector, the more intense atmosophere of Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive. Instead, I felt like comparing the intensity of Dekaranger to the levels that Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue and Time Force had. 

Trying to return to it wasn't easy. I did try to watch Gougou Sentai Boukenger and enjoyed it. Though, I don't think it's as great as I used to think it was all the while I can still enjoy their drunken adventures. I could remember watching Samurai Sentai Shinkenger complaining the show why wasn't dark (and yes, it's NOT DARK) compared to some series. I remembered how the first few episodes where I actually berated Rin Takanashi for not acting as good as Kanako Maeda. Though, it was quite a comfort IMHO that Rin herself was able to do the job. I can't forget how I called Mako as "another Kimberly" which I feared she would get sick during the Kamen Rider Decade crossover. Thankfully, Yasuko Kobayashi handled it so she didn't!

Later series started to get stale or better. For one, I still think Tensou Sentai Goseiger is a really weak entry. In fact, it took something as horrible as Power Rangers Megaforce to bail it out! Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger has to be the best anniversary series though I'll NEVER call it the best Super Sentai entry... EVER! Gokaiger really lives up with the hype with some good writing, good tributes, and some guest characters returning to pay tribute. I felt there was some missing potential that couldn't be met at all. Yet, it's still a good series. Then, there was Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters which I did pretend to dislike but now I admit I do like it. Though, trying to watch anything after Go-Busters felt like a challenge or not.

I felt some of the newer series after Go-Busters was bad. There were some Super Sentai series as well as Kamen Rider series I haven't watched yet. That's why I didn't give updates on the newer series back then for that reason. I wanted to focus some time on older series while enjoying other new stuff. I felt that watching Zyuranger was top priority as much as Abaranger. I did eventually finish Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger but I just don't find it my type of show. Watching a good chunk of older series I haven't watched it can be fun. I can recommend that some people should try doing so first then catch up on newer stuff later. Checking out the older stuff made me think of some of the mistakes (such as how Choriki Sentai Ohranger was merchandise-bloated) or how Denji Sentai Megaranger managed to normalize ratings. Though, I simply ignored Lost Galaxy while watching Seijuu Sentai Gingaman though not while I was watching Choshinsei Flashman. I decided to check out more Kamen Rider series to which I did eventually say that the Heisei era series are better than most Showa era Riders. I still think that most newer Kamen Rider are better than most newer Super Sentai. Again, the Kamen Rider franchise didn't know what to do much yet until much later on. 

Eventually, I decided to watch more of the series I decided to skip such as Kyoryuger. I still think Ressha Sentai ToQGer is the lowest point in Kobayashi's career even if it won the Railroad Day Award. It won an award and I'm fine it it but it doesn't mean I gotta adore it like it's the best Super Sentai ever. I still think Shuriken Sentai Ninninger is HARD TO WATCH with how the action scenes by the cast isn't as good as that of previous series. Doubotsu Sentai Zyuohger is just so-so and nearly ended up like Megaforce with two pretty ladies but not too much substance. I still enjoy both Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger and Kaito Sentai Lupinranger vs. Keisatsu Sentai Patranger because of the ambitious turn. Though, at this point, I practically just ended up deciding to simply dislike Power Rangers altogether. Then, I felt like that one day I'll end up leaving Super Sentai too since I'm just a casual fan of it. 

2019 was a bit of a turning point since I could enjoy neither Power Rangers Beast Morphers and Kishinryu Sentai Ryusoulger. Sure, I did check out Beast Morphers because Zoey is more attractive than Yoko BUT I still feel it's not all that special. I still feel Ryusoulger was a waste after Canalo kicked in and RUINED IT BIG TIME. I feel Zenkaiger wasn't even enjoyable so I stopped doing weekly reviews. Though, I'd probably say Netflix and other digital platforms are bringing in more stuff more interesting than Super Sentai. I just feel like my vibes for Super Sentai sank at a whole level of low because the digital age brings in more interesting stuff for me.