How A Power Rangers Fan May Navigate Super Sentai

 

Well, the 30th anniversary of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers is on the way, right? Well, I'd say that 1993 was the champion year for Toei's bank account. It was that time when Toei Ltd. gave the green light to Saban Entertainment to launch Mighty Morphin' into America and the world. Yes, the international market though I still find it funny how Malaysia almost banned the show for STUPID REASONS. Sure, I dislike Power Rangers but morphin ain't morphine meaning the DRUG. Super Sentai did have a few episodes where drug use was a plot. With that in mind, think of how Shout! Factory DVDs are now back on track with Hasbro. Hopefully, it can be easily available especially in Asian countries. Pretty much, I still believe that if it wasn't for Power Rangers then Toei Ltd. wouldn't have hit the American market. So, the blame isn't solely on Saban's hands but also on Toei's hands as well. Yes, I'm going to blame Toei as well. That's why I refuse to call Power Rangers a bootleg no matter how much I end up not enjoying it. Besides, I also hate some shows Toei Ltd. produced due to how even the best companies have their rotten eggs.  

Checking out the source material first before anything before Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger

There are some people who still choose to enjoy both the source material and the adaptation. In my case, I decided to think of Power Rangers as a food item that I DISLIKE. Pretending to like something I dislike was just plain stupid. Toei's that restaurant. Power Rangers is that food item that I don't get fond of. Super Sentai is Japanese sushi. Power Rangers is the California roll which I dislike. Still, I realized some people can enjoy both even when I end up not doing so. I've had issues with Power Rangers such as the overextended Zordon arc, the tendency to rush things instead of making it a year-long show, Nickelodeon's dumb scheduling, and the tendency to have TOO MANY THROWBACKS is my latest issue. Power Rangers Beast Morphers could've been better if it just cut off throwbacks and be its own thing. Just because Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters is almost like a sequel to Power Rangers RPM doesn't mean Beast Morphers should. 

Granted, there are a lot of series that took place before Zyuranger even began. 1975 was when Super Sentai was born (that's based on the retcon). We had Himitsu Sentai Goranger. Goranger ran for two years (and a total of 84 episodes) then Dengekitai JAKQ somewhat predicted the rushed pacing. Yeah, JAKQ's so rushed because of the lack of ratings. I don't find it anything alarming if ever these older series don't get that much appreciation. There's a generation gap already between the 1970s children and the 1990s children. Some people may have quit Super Sentai altogether due to age. 

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers was based on Zyuranger. I get it. Soon enough, the Internet was there and people did some Google. It can become more ad more obvious that Mighty Morphin's first season was too full of stock footage including the suited fight scenes. Later seasons filmed their own suit fights. Granted, Mighty Morphin' granted that familiarity so checking out Zyuranger and beyond might be the first and most logical thing, right? Zyuranger gets checked out, the enjoyment factor is there, but the Power Rangers fan may want to check out Gosei Sentai Dairanger next instead of Chojin Sentai Jetman. Shout! Factory did release Zyuranger as the first official DVD release, after all.

Where do things go from there? It could affect one's mind when checking out anything before Zyuranger. Just watching Kaiju No Kami's review on Kosoku Sentai Turboranger was fun. Sure, I disagree with his really negative assessment (except for the original set of villains as poor personifications of wickedness). Kaiju even mentioned Denji Sentai Megaranger and he's given a good score to Gekisou Sentai Carranger. Right now, I even feel Carranger has been more consistent and better-written than Turboranger. I guess that's why the now-disproven rumor that Carranger saved Super Sentai existed. Did the same person who lied about Power Rangers Lost Galaxy being "more popular" in Japan also pass that rumor too?! 

Pretty much, a lot of stuff after Zyuranger can be more colorful and more fun. A good example is Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive. Chikyu Sentai Fiveman NEARLY ended Super Sentai. GoGoFive provided tons of cool new zords to play with. That gave Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue much to work with and Toei Ltd. a lot of money from royalties paid by Saban Entertainment.

This can also be preferring anything after Timeranger

 Mirai Sentai Timeranger was an ambitious attempt to go back to being too serious. Yeah, I don't blame it when Power Rangers fans are bound to call it "overly serious" and prefer anything after it better. I mean, it's not really surprising for me to find a Power Rangers fan who thinks either Samurai Sentai Shinkenger or Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters is Yasuko Kobayashi's Magnum Opus. Anything after that seems to be too easily acceptable. For example, Hyajakuu Sentai Gaoranger is considerably lighter. Power Rangers Wild Force did have its own case of darker stories. Though, Viktor Adler or the Second Master Org seems to be the case of Vile Villain, Saccharine show. 

Anything after Timeranger is basically Lighter and Softer. However, a few attempts were made to return to Darker and Edgier to usually no avail. Even if certain series were Darker and Edgier, you can expect that they just don't dare to be that serious. Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger can be a good example since it didn't make its massacre as disturbing as Chojuu Sentai Liveman would. Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger pretty much doesn't contain the heaviness of Hikari Sentai Maskman and Dairanger. Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters might be serious but it's not serious for the sake of it. These series may be considerably milder than a lot of stuff before Gaoranger.

Later on, I'd say the post-anniversary seasons such as Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger and Avatar Sentai Donbrothers lack such seriousness. Kyuranger's Don Armage is pretty much another case of Vile Villain, Saccharine Show. Why Armage was NEVER made into like President Skroob in Spaceballs is just beyond me. Donbrothers may be written by Toshiki Inoue but it's pretty lighthearted. Inoue was more known for serious stuff such as his earlier Super Sentai episodes, Jetman, Kamen Rider Agito, and Kamen Rider Faiz. Well, Inoue did end up dabbling with comedy during Kamen Rider Kiva which fans think is his lowest moment. I may enjoy Kiva but like Kamen Rider BLACK RX - it's just a guilty pleasure because I acknowledge how the two shows aren't good. Kiva would later give way to the "sequel" of Saban's Mashed RIder namely Kamen Rider Decade.

I'd say I almost wanted to leave Super Sentai because the newer shows lack seriousness, the fight scenes are less intense, there's less of those, "Do they show this to kids?" scenes, and many more. Then again I'd say made it easier to digest. It doesn't Power Rangers fans checking out Super Sentai will choose to get stuck up. Just that some of them may prefer anything after Timeranger better for being Lighter and Softer. It's like preferring a less spicy mix over a more spicy mix.

Checking out anything before Zyuranger might pose a bigger challenge though may curiousity kick in

So it's almost like one already checked Zyuranger up to this show. Maybe, they've already been saying that Engine Sentai Go-onger sucks (and I AGREE). Maybe, some of them prefer Power Rangers Time Force over Timeranger then saying Kobayashi's Magnum Opus came after it. Maybe, they're now ignoring the BLATANT LIE that Lost Galaxy did better in Japan while preferring it over Seijuu Sentai Gingaman. Then there's the curiosity that can hit them if ever they still get more interested. 

I could imagine a Power Rangers fan may notice the tropes in the pre-Zyuranger era. They might feel it could be a chore to check out Goranger and JAKQ. They may want to check out Battle Fever J so they can observe how the first Megazord went. They may want to check out Denzi Sentai Denziman because they want to see the late Soga Machiko's performance before she became Rita Repulsa aka Witch Bandora. They may want to check out Kosoku Sentai Turboranger (which I think can have very mixed results) because they want to see the first Recruit Teenagers With Attitude. However, it can be hard for some to appreciate Turboranger if they've watched Carranger and Megaranger. They may want to check out Chodenshi Bioman maybe only because it's the first Super Sentai series with the first female yellow ranger and Peebo sounds like Alpha Five They may want to check out Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan whose red ranger was replaced halfway. They may want to check out Choshinsei Flashman because of having a plot of a Lost Galaxy.  They may want to check out Hikari Sentai Maskman to check out the roots of the martial arts Super Sentai. The list can go on and on.

Some of the pre-Zyuranger era can be considered to have aged badly. Maybe, one might think Dai Sentai Goggle V was "too generic" and that Kagaku Sentai Dynaman does better. I did get bonkers to learn not everyone piloted the Goggle Robo and it was supposedly called GOGGLE FIVE. Some people may always think of Turboranger as a bad show (but I'm not one of them) because of Carranger and Megaranger. Some might even have been WTFed that Fiveman had a DVD release because GoGoFive is so much better. I think Sun Vulcan can be too basic and generic as well. Not to mention, Sun Vulcan's Asao Kobayashi has done something that should bar him from events like the Power Morphicon. 

I think there's actually no one-size-fits-all all. I think it can be a mixed bag It could end up like they'll prefer mostly anything AFTER Timeranger because the shows are usually less serious. Meanwhile, they'll still check anything BEFORE Zyuranger and Timeranger to at least get a glimpse. Maybe, it's to check out more of the show out of curiosity. Then, they can end up having a preference like enjouing the pre-Zyuranger shows but not as much as anything after Timeranger. Some may even choose to leave Power Rangers because of how things are going. In this case, these are merely preferences and in the end, Toei Ltd. still co-owns the rights of Power Rangers regardless.