Speculation: Where Bioman Possibly Stand Among Power Ranger Fans (Some Spoilers)

 

I've speculated on the different preferences of Power Rangers fans who check out the source material. Some may actually prefer anything after Mirai Sentai Timeranger better. Some Power Rangers fans are checking out what's called the pre-Zyuranger era. It can be a challenge since Power Rangers was born in the 1990s. Checking out anything 1970s-1980s means adjusting to different trends. Where does Chodenshi Bioman fit it? Bioman being 40 years old can be a challenge. 

Bioman was also considered for Power Rangers and a failed pilot was created I guess Toei and Saban had their timing wrong. Before that, there was the late Stan Lee. 1978 became the time when Toei actually made their own Spider-Man with Marvel's permission. Lee even allowed his voice to be used in the eye-catch. One can wonder how much Toei paid for that. I guess that's why Toei was willing to let Saban adapt (or as prefer to say, localize, because it's tailored for the American audience) Super Sentai for the American audience. The pilot failed and they had to wait until 1993. That's why I still feel Jurassic Park was the key for Toei and Saban to finally succeed. The hype with dinosaurs is something that's very hard not to ride on.

On the side of good...

Bioman would be the start of new stuff. All the yellow rangers before the show were MALE. However, the show decided to add new stuff. I guess there was a demand for a second female ranger. The formula was shaken up. They decided to add the first female yellow ranger named Mika Koizumi. Sadly, some real-life issues caused the actress Yuki Yajima to leave (and she had a few TV roles before that) to leave. Hence, that's what caused that hurriedly-written episode where Mika died and was only in suit (voiced by Mayumi Tanaka). I always felt Mika was wasted potential that was only realized in Gekisou Sentai Carranger's Natsumi Shinohara. 

Fortunately, Sumiko Tanaka came in by episode 11 to fill the void until the very end. I still think Jun Yabuki's a great character. I can't blame Kaiju No Kami for giving a lot of praise to Jun's performance as Yellow 4 II. Jun did her special signature weapon called the Bio Arrow. In short, Jun was the first female archer and she was given a backstory in episode 13. 

As a child, I remember comparing Peebo to Alpha Five from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Even Peebo's actual voice still sounds like Alpha Five! Peebo's programming was pretty much like Alpha Five - both had the mental programming of a child. Rewatching Bioman in Japanese - I really felt that Peebo was more utilized than Alpha Five. Peebo discussed some plot details in certain episodes. Peebo discussed more about the history of Planet Bio when Silver first arrived. Both Peebo and Alpha Five tend to overreact when things get out of hand. 

What was also amazing was that Hikaru Katsuragi (played by Michiko Makino) was dubbed KIMBERLY. Years later, the first pink ranger in Mighty Morphin' was named Kimberly Hart. It's known that Hikaru's my first pink ranger crush. Was it a coincidence or not? Granted, Toei and Saban have been working together for some time. Toei was probably aware of Telesuccess Productions' dub names. 

Before the dawn of several Megazords, Bioman was among those with only one Megazord. Choshinsei Flashman was the first to introduce a secondary robot aside from the Megazord. Bioman has a very simplistic approach with a Megazord made only from two zords. Bio Jet 1 and Bio Jet 2 were carried by the Bio Dragon. Carrier mechas aren't a thing anymore except for a very few post-Jetman seasons. For example, Carranger had the Victory Trailer. 

The villains probably caused a mixed reception

Bioman not only shook things with having two females. It also tried to do something with a lack of giant monsters. It was also trying to shake things up by giving the New Empire Gear a backstory. Okay, is it me or there are times when the villain gets more development than the heroes? Super Sentai entries before Bioman never told us any reasons why the villains went evil. It's almost like, "Bwahahahaha! I want to conquer the world!" 

One of the many things that Bioman did was give its main villain, Doctor Man (played by the late Hideo Kageyama), a reason why he turned evil. He was once known as Doctor Hideo Kageyama before becoming Doctor Man. I admit that I did dream of becoming the world's greatest genius when I was 7-8 years old. I got frustrated when I couldn't maintain the dream. I would dream of converting myself into a cyborg. Doctor Man's backstory was that he experimented on himself, trying to become the world's greatest genius, and ended up converting himself into a cyborg to extend his life. Later on, Doctor Man went as far as to convert himself using sci-fi technology. IRL, it would be impossible for anybody to do what Doctor Man did to himself. 

The New Empire Gear had its Big Three namely Mason (Hirohisa Nakata), Farrah (the late Yuko Asuka), and Monster (the late Strong Kobayashi). Farrah was accompanied by Farrah Cat (Cynthia Luster, real name Yukari Oshima). The three of them had different personalities. I think Monster himself was the most entertaining one. Doctor Man would even later tell the Prince that Monster was created simply for power. Mason tends to focus on sadistic tactics but also thinks of that absurdly stupid balloon bomb plan. Farrah was focused on subtle tactics. Monster was responsible for a lot of comedic episodes. The only time Monster wasn't funny was his final battle. 

Love them or hate them - Bioman tried something new with the Beastnoids. This was a quirky mini-boss squad that accompanied the Big Three member of the week. Only Zyuoh was assigned to Monster. Monster did work with Messerjuu and Aquagaiger (both died mid-season while the other three survived) at one point. Mason started to work with Mettzler but later preferred Psygorn. Farrah started to work with Psygorn but later preferred Mettlzer. This was a huge stretch in logic. How in the world did these clowns keep surviving being hit by Bio Electrons? It's just very funny indeed!

I guess the formula was never tried again due to bad reception. The idea of two females in a team worked like a charm. However, the Beastnoids just ended up getting on the wrong end of the stick. One episode had Aquagaiger returning to the base, requesting Doctor Man to repair him. Another episode had Psygorn return to the base with some damage. Some Beastnoids went for more than one episode. It's really poorly explained. I guess Power Rangers fans weren't really too keen on this idea. Maybe, they said, "Good riddance the idea was never repeated!"  Both Messerjuu and Aquagaiger were later destroyed midseason. I felt it was a breath of fresh air for them to be written off for good. 

After the Beastnoids were defeated, the Mecha Giant was sent as a last resort. The Mecha Giants were first programmed without a personality. Later, the General of the week piloted the Megas model. 

I wonder how Silver is received. Silver was very single-minded and obsessed with eliminating Bio Particles. Peebo tried to reason out with him but never worked. Instead, all Silver does is simply cry, "Destroy! Destroy!" Silver's really nightmare fuel as he carries the very power that killed Mika. Even more, Silver demonstrates how destructive the Anti-Bio Particles can be by being a threat to BOTH the Biomen and Gear. Even members of Gear could be severely weakened by Silver's Bio-Buster. Silver was also looking for a robot called Balzion. Balzion would be that very first evil Zord in Super Sentai. Balzion could fire that dangerous Anti-Bio Cannon. 

It should be mentioned the unusual way the finale played out. Both the Biomen and Gear wanted to stop Silver from getting reunited with his Zord. Silver ended up being the reason why most of the Geat Empire fell down. Both Zyuoh and Mettlzer were severely damaged by him - leading to their demise when the Super Electron hit them. Only Psygorn's demise was pretty rushed. Think that the Big Three all bit the dust because of Silver. It's a very ironic way to write off the villains. 

Overall thoughts

Bioman might be in the So Okay It's Average standing for most Power Rangers fans. There can be many factors that can affect their preferences. Most Power Rangers fans probably tend to choose anything from Hyajakuu Sentai Gaoranger up to the present. The probable reason is that anything from Gaoranger are much less serious. Sure, some of the seasons can be more serious but none of them might watch the notoriously depressing vibes of Mirai Sentai Timeranger. That might be why the older Super Sentai entries are less appreciated.

There may be other pre-Zyuranger series that would be worth watching. Some of the older series are pretty much basic bare minimum because of the decade it was in. The 1980s still tried to find ways to develop characters. Maybe, they've checked out more of the Hirohisa Soda era. I could imagine that Bioman would be overshadowed so easily by better entries.

I could say that Bioman still gets some fans. I don't think it'll be recognized as some masterpiece. I believe it's going to be treated more like a Ranger History lesson than anything. I'm pretty fine with it. For one, I also enjoy less popular stuff or even some messy shows Toei came out with. Sure, I still hate Seiun Machineman but I never expected to enjoy the messy B-Fighter Kabuto. I think the generation gap is another issue. Bioman's going 40 that's a considerable time jump if you ask me!