Toei Ltd. Seems To Have Made Some Unofficial Sequels For Saban Entertainment

I may not like Power Rangers for preferential reasons and ranted it some time ago. I'm still going to acknowledge that Toei Ltd. has a hand in it, that the blame (if ever) should also go to Toei (not Power Rangers as a franchise) as to why Super Sentai hasn't aired anymore in the Philippines (and ironic that Kamen Rider has been easier to air) or for the licensing fees. Who gave Haim Saban the green light if not Toei? Just watch The Toys That Made Us and see the whole story rather than miss the point. As the 30th anniversary of Power Rangers approaches - I felt like writing this weird rant. It's asking whether or not Toei Ltd. has really been making what almost feels like "unofficial sequels" for Saban Entertainment. Take note that Power Rangers RPM was under the Disney era before Saban bought it back. I still want to call Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters an unofficial sequel to RPM.

Since there's no Super Hero Time this week - I felt like writing this mindless rant to bring in the New Year!

When Saban's Mashed Rider gets a so-called sequel in Kamen Rider Decade

It's no secret that Saban's Mashed Rider was so terrible that in one episode of Power Rangers Time Force - it became a fiction within a fiction. I guess it's safe to conclude that the three-parter in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers got the retcon treatment because it was so bad. I guess everybody has their own Creator Backlash toward any of their older works, right? Well, I wonder what Toei Ltd. was thinking when Decade came into the picture. However, Masahiro Inoue, unlike Ted Jan Roberts, managed to still get vindicated over time. Decade has appeared in some crossovers and is still referenced. Though, Super Hero Taisen was just as F***ING MIND-NUMBING as that Power Rangers (2017) movie IMHO.

Decade pretty much feels almost like Dex finally had a son, made him assume the name of Tsukasa Kadoya, and one day, Edenoi is under a much bigger threat than before. Decade is practically the destroyer of worlds. Almost every episode was really boring. I'd rather re-watch BLACK RX over Decade any time! Though, I'd watch Decade over Saban's Mashed Rider if left with just two terrible choices. 

Later episodes would truly cement the "legacy" of Decade as a loose sequel to Mashed Rider. Decade felt like it was a friend in need of a popularity boost. Samurai Sentai Shinkenger was airing that same year. Before that, Mashed Rider had a crossover in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. True, Decade's crossover with Shinkenger was the much better slice. I still feel letting Yasuko Kobayashi handle it was very good. Kobayashi was smart enough not to get Mako sick with the flu. Also, Chinomaraki was better utilized than Repellator. I was amazed by it though the next episodes just felt so flat. 

The BLACK/BLACK RX arc would further cement it. After Shinkenger, we had the heroes travel into the World of BLACK RX. The painting had the Crisis Empire ship to signify where they were heading next. The two episodes also featured the return of Tetsuo Kurata playing BLACK Kotaro and BLACK RX Kotaro. Those are two versions of Kotaro that somehow are separate from the actual Kotaro Minami that donned the two powers. One version never became BLACK RX (which is considered a bad sequel) and the other remained as the ever-popular BLACK. 

Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger feels like an indirect sequel to Power Rangers in Space even with blatant "can't be" signs

I was wishing for a space-themed Super Sentai and this is what I get. I did watch Kaiju No Kami's reviews and I think he should've given it a three out of five instead of two out of five. Okay, I do respect Kaiju's opinions and I found his Kosoku Sentai Turboranger negative review hilarious. IMHO, I think Kyuranger managed to fix some problems that Power Rangers in Space had such as having too many throwbacks. Instead, Lucky doesn't pick up the Zyuohgers who must travel into space to rescue someone. Nope, it's pretty much its own continuity, it's practically a distant future (and a lot of the heroes would be gone by then), and Jark Matter is practically a United Alliance of Evil in its own rights.

I think Don Armage is a very composite villain. I think of Emperor Palpatine then his Doombots all look like a missing child of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa. Don Armage feels like the show's version of the Dark Specter and never became The Unfought. I felt like Dark Specter's status as The Unfought was pretty much because Javious I (and I feel he was a LAME villain in a great show) was also The Unfought in Denji Sentai Megaranger. Don Armage practically dominates the Universe. In Space, the United Alliance of Evil dominates the Universe to a certain extent. However, Don Armage did take over the Earth as well before the show started. 

A lot of stuff from the show seems to reference Space. There's a red ranger not from Earth. There's a kid ranger. There's an alliance of evil across the Universe. Don Armage is practically the Dark Specter of the show. It's almost like a resurgence of the United Alliance of Evil centuries after it was first destroyed. It's almost like the Dark Specter returned Badder Than Ever to resume his reign of terror. Fortunately, the show just doesn't have all the throwbacks to ruin it. That's why I felt Space was overrated due to how many throwbacks it kept making. 

Amazingly, the show was also during Denji Sentai Megaranger's 20th anniversary. Space's footage also used some from Megaranger. Coincidence or blatantly done on purpose? 

Kamen Rider Saber felt like Knights of Tir Na Nog's unofficial sequel

I used to put Kishinryu Sentai Ryusoulger in that category. However, I'd like to state that it's another bad entry for Super Sentai. Just because I call something new bad doesn't mean I'm against innovation. Rather, I question results, and learning from failure is part of innovative thinking. I had issues with Saber back in the earlier episodes. Everything felt too focused on selling Bandai merchandise. However, I felt it almost feel like a What If scenario. What if the heroes of Tir Na Nog managed to pass on their legacy to modern times? 

That's what came into my head while watching Saber. I felt the stories such as Megiddo and the fallen Isaac (the current Master Logos) have. It's almost like Queen Maeve's curse hit down the succeeding generations. Meanwhile, the Kamen Riders in this show are somehow carrying the legacy of Tir Na Nog. It's almost very easy to re-imagine it as a sequel to Tir Na Nog even when the show is blatantly NOT one. It's because of how the show uses mystical elements in many of its adventures.

Also, it seems that Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger might have Tir Na Nog in mind. I think Saber did a good job (but not so good) in trying to become Tir Na Nog's unofficial sequel. I wonder has Haim Saban been going to Japan every now and then? Sure, I dislike the Power Rangers franchise but I did enjoy Saban's Marvel-based adaptations and the Super Mario Bros. Super Show. 

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Just another weird rant!