Why I Think Kyoryuger Can Be That Enjoyable, Watchable Mess Of A Series (SPOILERS)

 

After the anniversary of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers hit a few days ago - I think I can visit a show that people know I dislike. Yes, it's ZYUDEN SENTAI KYORYUGER. I was actually able to finish watching the show, unlike the much bigger disaster Power Rangers Megaforce. Yes, Megaforce even hit it worse because it just doesn't know what it wanted. I dropped Megaforce AND checked the finale. The finale of Megaforce was really badly wrapped up! Meanwhile, I still feel the hyperactive characters of Kyoryuger can get overboard. Maybe, I can rant on and on about Daigo Kiryu stealing the spotlight of the show. Maybe, I can talk on and on about why the show wasn't my cup of tea. Still, I don't deny that I find 2013 as a year called Nightmare in Spandex. I don't deny I almost dropped Super Sentai because of this. I didn't want to admit that I was a huge fan of Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. 

The messy part of the show

Reading Them's Fightin' Words, I think Shogo B'Stard did get the words out of my mouth about the series:

Someone needs to tell Daigo to dial it way down. He's trying so hard to be energetic, and it just comes across as bogus and obnoxious -- he's a good representation of Kyoryuger as a whole. Dude can't even read the Bandai/sponsor lines without just yelling it all and spazzin' out. You ain't fun, man. You ain't cool. Pipe down, before you make me stick up for Akaza Banban. And comb your hair!

It's sad that Ian is what passes off for "cool" these days. Could you imagine that sparkly Sailor Moon wink sound-effect when Hayate or Gai was trying to impress a girl? Geez...

I wanted to like Blue, but a) he looks like one of the lesser known Sweathogs, and b) what could have been an interesting storyline takes the backseat -- no, takes the car being towed -- to all of the cartoon dinosaurs and noisy lipstick-powered weapons they have.

Green and Pink look like a-holes.

And the villains! Holy shit, the villains! How stupid are those designs? They make the Gaiark look like they were designed by Yutaka Izubuchi! Did Toei accept design submissions from kids? Don't they look like the drawings some kids will do to seem like they're creative, and the parent has to be polite and be like "Good job! Very interesting to give the Statue of Liberty a robot face!" But deep down, the parent is thinking "My God, what is wrong with this kid? Do I have to worry? Did we drop them on their head?" I'd like to fake optimism that the show will improve, but I don't care how good the storylines could end up being, because you can't do anything good with these villains. They're even dumber looking than the Baranoia. They make H.R. Pufnstuf look like H. R. Giger. Who OK'd these designs? Demote 'em.

What's most annoying, though? How badly Kyoryuger wants to be an anime -- even moreso than a lot of modern tokusatsu. It's easy to watch it and picture it as an animated series, like, Dinosaur Captor Yugi-ball. Noids should not act like doodles. Your country is littered with anime, Japan -- tokusatsu is unique in that it's, you know, LIVE-ACTION. That creative writers, directors, actors, designers, prop makers put their skills to the test in trying to make the fantastical come to life, all on a very small budget. And the abuse of CGI just makes things worse, because all CGI is capable of is to make things look cartoonish. (It's a complaint I have about new comic book-based movies, too. Like, what's the point of making a live-action Hulk movie when he's just a giant green cartoon? Why make Watchmen when it's all going to be done on a green soundstage, awash in CGI? It defeats the purpose of making it live-action, you know? Just go make an animated movie instead.)

I could say that Kyoryuger really was trying to be an Anime instead of a live-action. What I keep in mind is that I do have some disagreements with Shogo B'Stard. Shogo isn't afraid to admit he dislikes certain shows. I'm a fan of Kamen Rider BLACK RX which in itself is an enjoyable, watchable mess. I managed to survive watching B-Fighter Kabuto which Sentai Bandicoot calls a mess. Yet, B-Fighter Kabuto is a watchable mess. I've enjoyed some lesser popular shows like Kamen Rider Kiva. I still enjoy playing some lesser popular games such as Megaman X6 even if I do enjoy critics hitting hard on it. I enjoy Kosoku Sentai Turboranger even when fans think it's that bad. 

I think one of the weakest aspects of the show has to be DAIGO himself. Idiot red rangers aren't really a problem IF they're done right. For example, I still think that Jan Kandou from Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger and Banban Akaza from Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger are well-written. I think my issue with the show is how Daigo ends up as a Gary Stu of sorts. Some people may find it weird that I'm a fan of Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger because Lucky himself was like a Daigo Kiryu. However, Lucky didn't beat Don Armage single-handedly and the team still gets to work out. For Daigo, I guess writer Riku Sanjo had no idea what he wanted. I guess Sanjo wanted to test things out with Daigo himself.

I may not like Power Rangers but I think I'll use some entries that I watched to defend things. Maybe, one can remember how Power Rangers Wild Force wasn't given much of a positive reception. However, I think it's just unfairly maligned. There are times I feel like Daigo is trying to create Cole Evans 2.0 but more hyper. Okay, sorry if it's really forced but I want to say it. Like Cole, Daigo ends up as Mr. Fanservice in many ways. Cole and Daigo both tend to display their upper bodies a lot. Sure, it can attract females but it can be a huge distraction. I admit that I tend to watch shows for the attractive actress. However, you know how I hate Megaforce and some of my favorite Super Sentai series lack the attractive female character. 

The problem with Daigo is that he gets TOO MUCH RED RANGER FOCUS. Sure, there are other character episodes but it's worse than that Kyuranger did. At least Lucky gets to fight with the others. One of my biggest problems was how Daigo ended up defeating the Big Bad, Deboss, himself. Like WUT? Cole in Wild Force may have faced off against the Second Master Org but it was only midseason. Cole NEVER beat the Second Master Org himself and he had the help of the others. Lucky and his fellow Kyurangers all teamed up to defeat Don Armage for good. I think Daigo defeating Deboss himself was a bad plot IMHO. Isn't the essence of a superhero team that unity is strength? 

The show still had its own positive effects

I could keep talking about how the show gets hyper and what. What I don't want to deny is the decent amount of fight scenes the show really has. I guess Koichi Sakamoto, a man who goes back and forth between Japan and America, was really helpful. I could remember how I actually said that both Kyoryuger and Power Rangers Dino Charge have some positive things in common. Both shows tend to spend effort with the main cast fight scenes AND being self-contained. It's confirmed that Dino Charge takes place in another dimension or Universe. 

Kyoryuger starts off with a totally fresh start. Sure, I was getting bored of dinosaurs. However, I think Kishinryu Sentai Ryusoulger made me realize that Kyoryuger may not be as bad as I was painting it to be. Sure, Ryusoulger is also self-contained but it's OH SO BORING after some time. I wonder why did I even bother to finish it? Was it because I was also checking on Power Rangers Beast Morphers to see how Hasbro would handle things? The whole setting of Kyoryuger doesn't even bring up a lot of the previous series. Instead, it really builds its own world which is refreshing. Again, kudos to both Kyoryuger and Dino Charge for taking place in their own dimensions!

I still hate the whole Kyoryuger vs. Go-Busters TV special. I'm not going to shy away from bashing it because I could and I want to hit it DOUBLE TIME. Fortunately, the messy TV special was obviously not canon. Dinosaurs died differently in Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger and Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger. Kyoryuger never shied away from saying that it was the Zetsu-Mates. Yes, that was totally nice not to give some random Ranger History lesson since it's NOT an anniversary season. Sure, I believe that Toei Ltd. does celebrate Mighty Morphin'. However, Super Sentai is rather very sparse when it comes to giving Ranger History lessons in regular seasons. The Zetsu-Mates caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

What I could say was how Kyoryuger managed to provide good fight scenes. Sure, I've been b*tching that Super Sentai's recent fight scenes are almost PG-7 levels since Hyajakuu Sentai Gaoranger. I even think that both Kyoryuger and Dino Charge have more or less the same quality of main cast fight scenes. What I can't deny is how the cast themselves have been devoted to great effort to keep up the tradition. The main cast still needs to know how to fight even when the stunt actors take over. I enjoyed a lot of the suitless fight scenes while I watched this show. It was still an entertaining trip.

I realized that there are some messy shows and video games that I enjoy. I still enjoy playing games like Megaman 6 and Megaman X6 even if they're messy in some way. I watched B-Fighter Kabuto and I think it's an enjoyable mess. I still find Kamen Rider BLACK RX an enjoyable mess. Some Super Sentai series are considered messy. I really understand why some people don't like Kosoku Sentai Turboranger (and raise up Gekisou Sentai Carranger and Denji Sentai Megaranger which is understandable). However, I'm not going to shy away this time to admit I enjoy Turboranger as a watchable mess. 

For all the times Daigo does tend to get the focus - there was still some good focus. I think Ian Yorkland himself is probably my favorite character. Ian himself does add more personal issues with the Deboth since he lost a friend. I think he was a nice reference to Ian Malcolm of Jurassic Park. I guess Toei and Saban owe Jurassic Park for their success. If it wasn't for Jurassic Park - I think Power Rangers would've never set foot in the Western market. Sure, I dislike Power Rangers out of personal reasons but I understand why it had to exist. I think Jurassic Park made it easy to hit America and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers was loosely based on Zyuranger. 

Right now, I understand why some people still like the show. I think the show was watchable and enjoyable to a certain extent. Sure, I really don't like Daigo getting so much focus. There are times when the cast gets so hyperactive. I think Daigo beating Deboss himself is a huge mistake since it's a teamwork-based show. I also don't like the mecha designs in contrast to Abaranger and Zyuranger. Still, I can get it why people would like it. I could care less if people like the show. I have the right to dislike it as much as people have the right to like it.