"Evidences" For A "Super Sentai Expanding Universe"

I visited some old ideas because of how King-Ohger went and how it decided to be connected to the World of Kyoryuger. Yes, this is really going to be a peculiar post. It's known that Power Rangers' entries usually belong to what might be called an "expanding universe" (unless said series is said to take place in "some other dimension") - similar to many American pop culture heroes. Toei Ltd. also copied some American pop culture references into their shows like the creation of Japanese Spider-Man or using Robocop in the creation of Jiban and Janperson. Some Power Rangers fans probably still believe that Super Sentai is part of an "expanding universe". I may not like Power Rangers but there was a time I actually believed in a Super Sentai timeline. Hence, we have the guilty pleasure of trying to create a Super Sentai timeline no matter how absurd it gets. Doing so Crates more plotholes than Power Rangers BECAUSE Super Sentai has been around much longer. Most Super Sentai series are written without thinking of the older series. 

The first two Super Sentai series

Maybe, some fans were shocked to learn that Goranger and JAKQ weren't counted as part of Super Sentai until 1995. That would be the 20th anniversary of Goranger. The two shows weren't always part of the timeline and retroactive continuities (retcon) are VERY COMMON in superhero fiction. Just think of the many times parentage, superhero origins, etc. changes in several comics. That's why I don't buy comics anymore. 

Goranger was overextended up to 84 episodes. JAKQ was rushed into only 35 episodes. There was also the Goranger vs. JAKQ movie which was part of an expanding Universe. At the end of the movie, many of the late Shotaro Ishimori's creations were featured. It was probably at that time that Goranger and JAKQ were probably conceived to be part of an expanding Universe. I think Kamen Rider was even supposed to be part of that expanding universe until several retcons later. Just remember that Kamen Rider BLACK was supposedly a reboot then Kamen Rider BLACK RX retconned it. 

The evidence here is flimsy at best. Just think about it no mention of Goranger or JAKQ was ever made in Ohranger. Ohranger may have aired in 1995 but the show's setting was in 1999. GoGoFive takes place in 1999 and is aired in 1999. One can always use the "retcon excuse" but Toei has never changed the title of Ohranger's first episode. 

Denziman and Sun Vulcan were sequels to each other 

I watched both Denziman and Sun Vulcan. Sadly, Asao Kobayashi might be evidence of a curse in the franchise. Asao molested a woman young enough to be his daughter in 2013. Back on the topic, Sun Vulcan brought back the villain Queen Hedrian into the series. I was wondering why Hedrian was brought back. Was it because fans were so impressed by the late Soga Machiko's performance? American fans may remember Soga more as Bandora from Zyuranger. The earlier fanbase may forever associate her with Hedrian. I think Hedrian was a very popular villain.

Sun Vulcan made some references to Denziman. It was also this show that the late Stan Lee wanted to use for Power Rangers. However, the timing was way too off and Toei didn't get the right timing yet. Funny enough that both Zyuranger and Sun Vulcan both had Soga's memorable performances. Soga's footage was dubbed over for Mighty Morphin' before an actual actress played Rita Repulsa. 

However, this might be best evidence that unless stated otherwise, most Super Sentai shows are from a different continuity. 

The Turboranger clip show 

It would be very stupid to use the Turboranger clip show. It's obviously a CLIP SHOW and not an episode! I feel it's a mistake to call it episode 1 and it's created a confusing order for the episode numbers. I watched this clip show and this was when Battle Fever J was counted as number 1 before it was retroactively made number 3.

Obviously, the events here plainly CAN'T FIT IN to the actual episodes of Turboranger. There would be too many contradictions left and right. The Turborangers only showed up IN SUIT. The Turborangers only got their powers in the actual first episode. Every Turboranger episode was obviously written without the clip show in mind. 

Unlike Mighty Morphin' - Turboranger is obviously self-contained. There's no expanding universe to talk about. Carranger never even bothered to mention Turboranger as a plot point. You don't get dialogues of Exhaus mentioning Ragorn as an old bitter rival or Dappu talking about Seelon. Carranger episodes just kept popping in with no references to Turboranger. 

The Timeranger clip show AFTER the show ended

I always found this one to be a real treat. Timeranger felt like it was designed to really end an era. I even wondered if Super Sentai was scheduled to end with Timeranger with every episode it went. Instead, it was ending an era with a very finale-like series. Timeranger ended and we had a special clip show. It was recalling each and every Super Sentai from 1975 up to 1999. Timeranger was also the 25th anniversary of Goranger. 

One could easily try and weasel in the idea that maybe the other four did return for a clip show. However, the sequence of events makes it as non-canon as the Turboranger Ranger History Lesson episode. The Timerangers were given a spin-off episode that clearly doesn't fit into the regular episodes. They went on to discuss the 23 other Super Sentai teams but that's the ONLY time Timeranger mentions it. Other than that, it gets too obvious that you can SKIP THIS CLIP SHOW and still understand the show. 

The anniversary Super Sentai series can do many types of crossovers

Where do I even begin with this? We had an anniversary series with Gaoranger, Boukenger, Gokaiger, Zyuohger, and Zenkaiger. The anniversary series had some crossovers such as Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai and Boukenger vs. Super Sentai. Gokaiger has the Hero 199 Crossover. Zyuohger has the two-parter crossover with Gokaiger. Zenkaiger did however reveal that each Super Sentai belonged to its own world. These might be "mighty pieces" of evidence but I'd like to show how it doesn't work.

The events of Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai are obviously not canon. None of the events in the actual series could fit right into it. Instead, Gaoranger never made the crossover movie that Wild Force did with "Forever Red". No dialogue within the actual Gaoranger continuity made references. The finale itself could've used the help of the other Super Sentai to give them the courage to defeat Org Highness Senki. Instead, none of that happened. 

The events in Gokaiger surely could prove it, right? If one tried to forcibly cram everything in then be ready to be disappointed. Gokaiger can be considered a huge continuity error if you're going to look at events in EACH AND EVERY SERIES. For example, dinosaur extinction can be VERY DIFFERENT per entry. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it'd create a huge continuity error. In short, Gokaiger belongs to what I might call the VS. Universe. The VS. Universe is what I'd call that continuity in Super Sentai with alternate versions per character. Instead, it's best to think of Super Sentai entries taking place in their own Universe instead. That means Zyuohger pretty much takes place in the VS. Continuity too.

Super Sentai seasons that took place during Goranger's 40th anniversary and 45th anniversary

Some Super Sentai shows took place on the 40th and 45th anniversaries of Goranger. These shows are namely Ninninger and Kirameiger. These shows may not be self-contained but belong to the VS. Universe. 

I still think Ninninger is a low-tier season in terms of writing. The show may be trying to ride on the glory that would be Kakuranger and Hurricanger. The show had past visitors showing up every now and then. Just think it over that even Hiroya Matsumoto resumed his rule as Tsubasa from Magiranger. The show was really riding on nostalgia. If it was meant to celebrate Goranger then I can really understand why there are some Ranger History Lessons. However, a rewatch of both Kakuranger and Hurricanger will tell us why the two shows are meant to be independent of each other's continuity.

Kiramager had SCTRC's Miki and her daughter Natsume showing up. Michiko Yokote even wrote the episode! I still think it's rather oddly placed since the events of Kiramager unfold as a self-contained series. I think it'd be better if the actress Kazue Itoh showed up as a completely different character. Given the Goranger anniversary then I think it's excusable that there's this Ranger History Lesson episode. Ranger History Lessons can be good if not overdone. 

The continuity of King-Ohger connects to Kyoryuger 

What was Toei thinking when they decided to link King-Ohger to the World of Kyoryuger? I guess it's because King-Ohger is a celebratory season after all. That's why I have the guilty pleasure of thinking that Rita Kaniska is named after Rita Repulsa. This Sunday's episode would even reestablish the connection.

Using this can still pose a series of problems. Kyoryuger's episodes obviously aren't linked to Zyuranger or Abaranger. Each of the three shows presented different reasons why dinosaurs went extinct. Zyuranger had Bandora's magical spells given to her by Dai Satan.  Abaranger created the Dino Earth. Kyoryuger gave us the Zetsu-Mates. I was glad that that two-part crossover NEVER put Zyuranger and Abaranger into it. Otherwise, it'd be a huge mess like the Kyoryuger vs. Go-Busters crossover with it.  

Sure, the cavalry of people can still use this to justify the idea as fact. Some Power Rangers fans may point out the already jarring contradictions in the timeline and say, "Well, it can work for Super Sentai too." Trying to explain some events in King-Ohger would require lots of funny stuff. How can we fit some people moving into space in 23 A.D. and let that fit into the timeline since 1975? I might get slammed and say, "Hey, don't take it too seriously! It's just a child's show." 

With Super Sentai being around A  LOT LONGER, just be ready for more jarring errors if a timeline is ever created. Trying to create that timeline might cause one to LMAO harder than noticing the already jarring errors in Power Rangers. For example, you might want to think about these continuity errors in Super Sentai if a timeline was ever-present aside from the dinosaur extinction:

• The continuities of Goranger and JAKQ seem to be part of the Ishinomori continuity. How can we even reconcile Goranger vs. JAKQ if most of the Kamen Rider series are separate worlds from Super Sentai? That's already been verified in Decade as the World of Shinkenger is a world without Kamen Riders. Ninninger vs. Drive further verifies that the World of Drive is a world without Super Sentai. In the case of ToQGer vs. Gaim  - it was pretty much a bridge for the Heisei vs. Showa movie. Donbrothers further verifies that Kamen Rider is actually a Fiction Within Fiction for that continuity. That means the Super Hero Taisen movies are just spin-offs.  
• The events of several VS Movies are obviously contradictory. The best example has to be Ohranger vs. Kakuranger. The events in Carranger vs. Ohranger also ignore the significant time jump that happened before the finale. Good luck trying to fit all the VS. Movies' contradictory events into the actual series!
• In GoGoFive vs. Gingaman, it's mentioned that Grandienne did have a firstborn son named Darkness King Gills. Yet, Gills is NEVER mentioned in GoGoFive even once in the series proper.
• Both Dekaranger and Timeranger have similar themes. Both arrest alien criminals and have humans and aliens living together. Why don't we see the Timeranger characters ever getting referenced or mentioned? 
• Many events trigger a great power only if the Earth is in danger. Why didn't Bio Robo awaken in 1975 when the Black Cross Army showed up? Why didn't the Earth Force trigger at the same time in 1975? Both Bioman and Changeman were written without thinking of the older series.
• The events of Carranger obviously ignore Turboranger. Dappu never mentioned he also took part in sealing away the Hundred Bouma Tribes. The Car Magic was never meant to be the same energy as the Fairy Magic from Turboranger. 
• Megaranger may be chock full of Hirohisa Soda references BUT the show never made a SINGLE REFERENCE to those shows. The events in Megaranger vs. Carranger might seem to fit in BUT the power-up was left only for the movie.
• GoGoFive was written as a sibling Super Sentai yet the Hoshikawa family was never mentioned. Okay, maybe it's for the best since it's really hard for me to watch GoGoFive without pointing out everything that went wrong with Fiveman.
• In short, Gokaiger has to accumulate EVERY CONTINUITY ERROR if was supposed to be part of a timeline. It might be way better-written than Megaforce but one must admit that it's still a continuity error if ever a timeline was used.
• Go-Busters started to operate at a very independent pace. Sure, I still believe Toei owes us an explanation as to how the Gavan crossover happened. Enetron, however, was never meant to be part of some Morphin' Grid concept. 
• Kyuranger takes place 300 years in an unspecified future. However, the events of the show really show it was meant to take place in another dimension.
• There are two Kaitos that are obviously not each other. Donbros Kaito and Zenkaiger Kaito are both obviously not the same Kaito. That alone would already create a continuity error. 

What's my point? It's best to think that every Super Sentai entry is usually self-contained unless specified. Still, some people probably enjoy the idea of Super Sentai as a franchise belonging to some expanding universe. I guess some people just do it for fun than anything else. If it's just done for fun then I don't really mind. I still enjoy imagining Super Sentai as part of an expanding universe even when evidence says otherwise!