The Possible Impact Dekaranger Has On Power Rangers Fans Checking Out Super Sentai

 

Some time ago, I tackled the rumor that Power Rangers SPD was supposedly more popular than Tokosu Sentai Dekaranger. As Dekarangers turns 20 - I really feel I want to rant on this. Super Sentai was practically overshadowed in the West due to language and cultural barriers. The solution Toei had to cross the cultural barrier is Power Rangers. With Dekaranger having been the first fully fan-subbed (thanks to the TV-Nihon fansub group) Super Sentai - open-minded Power Rangers fans had the biggest chance to check out what couldn't make it past American censors or work for the majority of the Western market. It may be considered that entirely new experience for them.

Dekaranger and SPD had some differences in characterization. What I always keep in mind is that Power Rangers is geared mainly for the Western audience. There are some cultural differences here and there. Jack Landors is pretty much laid back and had an episode he skipped the obstacle course before he did it at the end. Meanwhile, Banban Akaza is portrayed to be pretty much dedicated to the job, wouldn't skip an obstacle course, and is given crazy antics. I wasn't really a fan of Ban at first due to his reckless personality as a flaw. I think Ban's fireball personality wouldn't appeal to the Western audience. I think the same can be said for Hoji Tomasu and Schuller "Sky" Tate. Sky was pretty much portrayed as the typical white know-it-all jerk before he got better. Hoji displays the flaw of the Asian perfectionist before he got better. I did like that crowning moment of awesome when Ban snapped Hoji out of his perfectionism. I guess it took getting used to but I guess it did work. 

Certainly, this caused more Super Sentai fansubs to fall into place. Most of the fansubs were post-Timeranger Super Sentai entries. Not so many older Super Sentai entries were fansubbed during that time. Sure, maybe fans started to check out older Super Sentai entries before Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. However, one can think that Dekaranger would serve as that portal opening to different possibilities. Right now, Dekaranger has a licensed DVD. However, one can't discount how the fansubs actually expanded the community. If anything, I feel Japan should stop being too exclusive and follow South Korea's aggressive participation in the world market! 

Chances are that Dekaranger may have set the preference scale 

Any Super Sentai after Mirai Sentai Timeranger is subject to stricter censorship. Sure, there are still drugs and alcohol in Dekaranger but they look rather fake. The amount of blood, drugs, alcohol, etc. is considerably a lot lower. The Dekarangers were presented as lively characters. A lot of episodes tend to lean on a lighter approach. Sure, there was that one episode where Hoji ended up deleting his lover's brother. However, it's very easy to count Dekaranger episodes that are dark vs. those that are not. There are times I even feel Abrella's not that believable compared to villains from the Rescue Police Trilogy. 

Maybe, one can compare Dekaranger to both Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive and Mirai Sentai Timeranger. I think Timeranger's one season that's kind of hard to swallow for some. Some say it's overly serious all throughout. Back to the topic, Dekaranger doesn't have too many heartaches or the gloomy characters of Timeranger. Sure, GoGoFive has good characters who are pretty lively and ready to greet children wherever they go. However, some GoGoFive episodes tend to raise eyebrows all the more. Dekaranger may be considered more fun than the two seasons. I'd say that I enjoyed both GoGoFive and Timeranger more than Dekaranger for having more intense moments than today's Super Sentai. 

This also makes me think of the Rescue Police Trilogy. These shows are Tokkei Winspector, Tokyu Solbrain, and Tokosou Exceedraft. These three shows were more focused on rescue operations and fighting crime. The heroes were given more vulnerability than the Super Sentai rangers. Winspector has Ryoma Kagawa donning his suit for only five minutes as it will wear his body down. Solbrain did fix the glitch by not making the suits too powerful. Exceedraft did try to let the heroes do a literal lightspeed rescue without giant mecha. These shows have a lot of shocking scenes like more bleeding than today's Super Sentai, the use of knives and guns, drug usage, alcohol drinking, and several stuff that make you wonder if Toei's making it for children. The same goes for my favorite Metal Hero namely Tokosou Robo Janperson - a show MORE VIOLENT than the Robocop TV series that came a year later. However, we never saw Janperson use his laser gun to shoot a sex offender's private part - something I think Toei wouldn't approve of. I think some Power Rangers fans are checking these series out. However, I doubt there could be an official DVD release for these classics soon. 

I do feel Dekaranger may have set the standard of preferring Lighter and Softer. I wouldn't be surprised if more Power Rangers fans would prefer Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger over Hikari Sentai Maskman and Gosei Sentai Dairanger. Sure, they may check out other older stuff and end up liking it. However, I think the scores they give will end up higher on anything after Timeranger. Right now, I feel that Lighter and Softer Super Sentai entries tend to be preferred over the Darker and Edgier ones. Dekaranger helped the Western fanbase understand via English subtitles.