Toei's Defunct Super Robot Genre And How Super Sentai Became Its Replacement
Here's a classic illustratin by Andrew Leta. I remembered reading an article from Henshin Grid about Voltron and Power Rangers. Before Haim Saban localized Japanese content - there was also World Event Productions (WEP) that remade both Beast King Golion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV into the two Voltron series. In Japan, both series weren't linked together as Golion happened in 1999 when the Earth was destroyed in a nuclear war. Dairugger XV happened in 2200 A.D. and the Earth was still intact complete with the Galaxy Alliance. Both shows were in 1981 and 1982. I suspect that Golion was created to celebrate Combattler V's fifth anniversary and Dairugger XV to celebrate Voltes V's fifth anniversary. Just think about how the team formation of Combattler V was very similar with Golion. Before that, they also had the team formation of Tatsunuko's Science Ninja Team Gatchaman where Super Sentai would blatantly follow them. The Gatchaman team never used a giant robot into battle in contrast to the teams Toei made based on their formation.
It takes a lot of research to find out the long history of Toei. Sure, there were other companies that made their own Super Robot Anime like how Galaxy Cyclope Braiger was from Kokusai Eiga-sha and Dancouga - Super Beast Machine God was by Ashi Productions. Take note that WEP had a contract with Studio Pierrot to remake Star Musketeer Bismarck into Saber Rider and the Space Sheriffs. Today, I think a lot of these old school stuff remain underappreciated. The genre seems almost extinct such as how Toei refused to continue the Super Robot Genre as well as the Metal Hero franchise. Both shows are canceled but somehow, never forgotten, and are still referenced somewhat in the Super Sentai franchise.
Before Super Sentai and before Power Rangers - there was the "simpler times" of the Super Robot genre. There was a singular giant robot that saved the day. Either there was a team that combined into one giant robot OR there was a lone pilot backed up by friends in some other way. The late Tadao Nagahama directed the Robot Romance Trilogy in the 1970s with Combattler V, Voltes V, and Brave General Daimos (which is celebrating its 45th year alongside the Japanese Supaida-Man that brought us our very first Megazord). There were no combining robots or anything. Just that lone titular robot driven by many trope codifiers. In the case of a combining robots - you had your "red ranger" before the trope of the red ranger came to be.
It would be itneresting to know that Toei's Super Robot genre would be simultaneously aired with several Toku projects. Combattler V aired while Himitsu Sentai Goranger had its second year run. Goranger had a total of 84 episodes - one reason why I find it that hard to rewatch. It might've shocked some fans of Power Rangers when they found out, "What? Goranger has no Megazord?" Well, I may not like Power Rangers but I did get shocked that Goranger has no Megazord as well.
When the giant robot enters into Super Sentai
It wasn't until in 1979 (a year after Dengekitai JAKQ got hit by a forced rush pace) that Battle Fever J was born. I think Toei was still being conversative back then. I watched some episodes of Japanese Spider-Man. I wasn't too surprised at how short the Megazord battles were - even against Professor Monster (a clear imitation of Doctor Doom). Battle Fever J introduced its first giant Megazord hence it was the first Sentai to be called Super Sentai. I was more than glad that Choriki Sentai Ohranger retroactively added Goranger and JAKQ demoting Battle Fever J as the third Super Sentai. The giant Megazord battles were still at their infancy.
Toei did try several new ways to deal with the Megazords. They all went from the transforming robot in Denzi Sentai Denziman or the first combining robot in Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan. I'd say that those Megazords really looked rather clunky. What do you expect from the 1970s to early 1980s? It was a time when Toei experimented on whatever they could. They did have Getta Robo G in 1974 which could rearrange its combination sequence. Apparently, Toei didn't have the money to actually create better live-action robots aka Megazords for the television.
However, the 1980s did start to work out on more Super Robot designs. I think the good start was when Dai Sentai Goggle V (ironic that only three rangers pilot the Megazord). I still think Goggle Robo was a good design. Kagaku Sentai Dynaman did have a very weird Megazord design. Eventually, more breakthroughs happened as the 1980s went by.
Choshinsei Flashman was the first to introduce a secondary robot for the team to use. Hikari Sentai Maskman decided to introduce the concept that each and every ranger would have their zord to form the Megazord. The name Great Five carries a great meaning since it's made up of five different Zords, piloted by each different ranger, to form the Megazord. Before that, some Zords shared a common cockpit with the others. I think Denji Sentai Megaranger paid tribute to that when Galaxy Mega first came out then Mega Voyager was made of five different Zords. I wonder if it's a good thing for Toei that they didn't give the late Stan Lee the green light to remake Sun Vulcan for the American audience.
Ever since then, newer concepts kept getting into the scenes. Chojuu Sentai Liveman gave what I'd call fugly animal-looking Zords. Sure, I love the Liveman series but I didn't like the Zord designs. I still think Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger managed to improve the concept. What's noteworthy IMHO is that the lion in the chest design for Live Robo is clearly copied from Toei's very own Daltanias. You may have also seen that design years later in Hyajakuu Sentai Gaoranger.
Love it or hate it - I still think Kosoku Sentai Turboranger was also trying to innovate mecha. Sure, one can always argue that Gekisou Sentai Carranger is better but I think Turboranger deserves some praise. The feet of Turbo Robo resembles Dairugger XV's. I guess that's why the second robot got named Turbo Rugger. It was the first show to create the very first Ultrazord with Super Turbo Builder. The Super Turbo Builder was a giant base that could have a humanoid formation. I can't be sure but I feel it resembles some Super Robot anime titular robot or what? I'm not really sure. Turboranger was the last the 1980s and the 1990s would start to really revolutionize things later.
What was also interesting is that Toei Animation created the Japanese-exclusive Transformers Masterforce. It was in 1988-1989 which Toei blatantly ripped itself off (if that makese sense) by introducing morphing sequences for human characters. The human characters would also become robots. Toei Animation also provided the animation for Hasbro's 1980s The Transformers cartoon. I guess that's why Hasbro was more than okay for Toei to produce a Japanese-exclusive spin-off. Today, Hasbro pays Toei for the Power Rangers rights.
The 1980s and influence of the Super Robot genre into it
I believe Toei tends to look at its older scripts and modernize it. The moment Super Sentai came in - there were other dramatic elements clearly not its own but from other shows. Some elements got integrated early on but not the giant robots.
Dynaman did have the father-son villain team minus the villainous crush. Both Emperor Aton and his son Prince Megiddo do have a bad relationship. Later, Anton disowned his son Megiddo. Megiddo did become the Dark Knight to get even. Golion was in 1981 and Dynaman in 1983. Later, Megiddo would destroy his own father to take over the throne. What did amaze me though was how Aton was actually impressed by his son's betrayal. Like Sincline in Golion, Megiddo became the final foe for the heroes to face before the Earth is saved.
Maybe, not so many can notice the Daimos references in Maskman. There's the love story when the main hero meets the princess. We have Earth Emperor Zeba as the usurper of the family throne. Maybe, Prince(ss) Igam was too young to become the ruler at that time. Zeba was a charismatic, anonymous figure who sought to conquer the surface world. Igam plays the role of Richter and Ial as Erika. Takeru would be Kazuya. Heck, I think the Galaxy Robo (which has a very silly design hence I didn't like it much as a kid) was an obvious reference to the Daimos in its Tranzer mode.
How the 1990s-present may have eventually caused Toei to cancel the Super Robot genre
The 1990s had a bad start as Chikyu Sentai Fiveman nearly ended the Super Sentai franchise. I heard that ratings did get better when Chevalier returned as a charismatic villain. I guess nobody can get over how good Kihachiro Uemara is and he was previously a hero in Flashman. I think Fiveman's mecha are all bad-looking except for the Magmabase. Quite amazing, Magmabase' humanoid form as a head shaped like Daimos. I do like how Max Magma was cool but the rest of the robots in Fiveman are best considered MEH.
We would have Chojin Sentai Jetman which started to restore the five Zords combining into one Megazord. I laughed at how Fiveman was Fiveman yet the Five Robo was made of only three Zords. Jetman was also daring to add love story elements done by Toshiki Inoue. Yes, I'd dare say that Suzette Doctolero's attempt to insert a Jetman-style love triangle into Buntis Faib Legacy was badly done. It's because of the weeknight schedule that caused it. Later, Jetman had its new combination where Jet Icarus and Bird Garuda combined into Great Ikarus. The Great Ikarus' Bird Maser attack is a blatant reference to Mazinger Z. Sure, Turboranger had the Super Turbo Robot. I think it was perfected when the Bird Maser came into action.
On its own, Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger doesn't really have what it takes to be as good as Jetman or Gosei Sentai Dairanger. However, it did revolutionize a lot of stuff like introducing heroes from a distant past, the first regular sixth ranger, and better-looking animal mecha. It's no wonder the toys sold like hotcakes. The moment Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers came in - you had people wanting the toy and the toy lines were THAT LONG. Toei was counting the money pouring in since Saban Entertainment is required to pay royalties. It wasn't just Saban that got rich but also Toei. Saban as also dealing with Marvel-based properties at that time. Toei also used to have a history with Toei evidneced by the Japanese Spider-Man.
As a child, I did think the Dino Megazord looked cool. Zyuranger did take an extra step with the Megazord. Daizyuijin is the first Megazord to be more sentient than the Bio Robo. Daizyujin was also pretty much made of five different living mechas that aided the Zyurangers in fighting Bandora's forces. I guess Toei had a better budget for Zyuranger than they have for Liveman. I think the timing for the monster hit known as Power Rangers was never been more perfect. Sure, I don't like Power Rangers but I can understand now why Toei keeps it going. Toei even got greedy as Saban to produce the Zyu2 series. With this in mind, it's really easy to understand why Toei would eventually cancel the Super Robot series like the Metal Hero series. The focus has been Bandai merchandise!
I could imagine this and that. Which would be cooler betwen the 1980s Lion Voltron toys or the toyset of Mighty Morphin'? It's obvious that Power Rangers will sell more toys than the Voltron franchise. In Japan, one can argue that Super Sentai will sell more toys than the Super Robot genre. Golion and Dairugger XV didn't become popular either. It's safe to assume that Toei saw that the Super Robot genre was also becoming rather redunant. Why make titular giant robot heroes when the Megazords are selling like hotcakes?
Though, what was interesting to see that Tokosou Janperson's finale arc had Shuhei watching Combattler V. I wonder why would a child in the 1990s watch a 1970s cartoon? That's coming from me who also watched Voltes V because "Cool robot! Kiddie show!" during the 1990s. Shuhei did go violent and grabbed Gun Gibson's default gun going on a rampage. I have a feeling Toei caught wind of the news that Robocop was blamed over a child shooting his nanny. Sure, Toei did already cancel the Super Robot anime series because Megazords sell more. Interestingly, Janperson was in 1993 and August of that year was when Mighty Morphin' would cause Toei and Saban to start their Greeed Alliance. I even believe Cake Boss in Kamen Rider OOO is Toei's tribute to Haim Saban himself. Actor Takashi Ukaji looks like Saban too.
What became interesting was how more new Megazords kept coming. A secondary Megazord? A secondary combining Megazord? An Ultrazord cooler than what Turboranger offered? It was really geting more and more into the list. I still think the Choriki Sentai Ohranger toys are cool but the show is a convoluted mess on its own. Without Power Rangers Zeo, I doubt I'd even bother to finish Ohranger which had a fresh start and a definite end. Carranger did do better with the Megazords as a huge jump from Turboranger. A lot of older concepts soon got improved. Maybe, I'll never stop saying that Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive is way better than Fiveman in almost every way. I've learned to ignore Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue while watching GoGoFive. However, GoGoFive really rightfully overshadows Fiveman with the better Megazords and better writing.
I guess I can treat Metal Hero and Super Robot as obsolete items. Maybe, it was like that once delicious meal you enjoyed but it was no longer feasible. I could remember enjoying a particular meal but it wasn't popular to the general public. Eventually, the meal had to be removed because it was no longer feasible. I guess other companies produced better Super Robot anime than Toei could. Toei ended up finding out that Super Sentai (and Power Rangers, in extension) are where the money would be better. So, it was time to unplug anything that would just lead to a loss.
Comments
Post a Comment