Super Sentai VS. Movies, Power Rangers' Crossover Episodes And Possible Narrative Impacts

 

Super Sentai has its legacy and it's on its 50th birthday for Himitsu Sentai Goranger. So far, there may be no plans yet for the 50th entry of the series. I like ot nitpick a lot of stuff. I may not like Power Rangers, but I've had a nasty habit of criticizing the Super Sentai VS. Movies for their lack of canonicity. I nitpicked the Super Hero Taisen games to the point I could no longer enjoy it. I had a huge shock when I realized that a lot of the Dragon Ball movies couldn't fit in. I also nitpicked the Dragon Ball movie called Mystical Adventure -- which had Chiaotzu as a young emperor and Tien KILLING Master Shen with a Kikoho. The Dragon Ball Z movies followed, and I realized that most of them couldn't be canon. That's why I wrote an entry comparing the Dragon Ball Z movies to the Super Sentai crossover movies.

However, the same couldn't be said for Power Rangers. Power Rangers chose to deliberately have that "solid continuity" -- except for a few entries that took place in a different Universe. A few of them, such as Power Rangers Dino Charge and Power Rangers RPM, took place in a different Universe. However, most Power Rangers entries were always meant to share a continuity -- even if the show decides to cater to a fresh audience. For instance, Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue and Power Rangers Time Force could've broken free of the continuity. Lightspeed Rescue didn't really need last year's show and could've skipped licensed use of footage from GoGoFive vs. Gingaman. Instead, the shows went for the all-out, almost yearly crossover. Some Power Rangers entries didn't have a crossover during the Disney era. RPM never bothered to have a crossover with Power Rangers Jungle Fury.

I. Now, let's look at the pre-Power Rangers era or what I call the unadapted era

I decided to watch both Himitsu Sentai Goranger and Dengekitai JAKQ. There was also the bonus crossover movie between them. However, a close analysis of events would reveal several contradictions. Instead, it was meant to play out like a Marvel Comics What If comic book. Pretty much, one might call that a Non-Serial Movie since it's a movie and not a comic book. Marvel Comics' What If comic book series established a SERIES of alternate tellings of events from the main continuity. They can come out pretty funny or dark -- depending on the writer. 

The events of JAKQ vs. Goranger ended up playing as:

• What if Soikichi Banba never left the JAKQ team
• What if Iron Claw survived his defeat at the end of JAKQ
• What if four villains worked with Iron Claw to try and get his revenge
• What if the Gorangers (and sadly, only Peggy was unmorphed) teamed up to defeat what could easily be a bigger threat

One could see that canon was never put in mind. In fact, one could think that TV Tropes' definition goes as:

Non-Serial Movie is when The Movie not only has nothing to do with the Myth Arc but is so divorced from the ongoing work that it practically comes across as an Alternate Continuity.

Very common with popular anime series, as they often spawn not only OVAs but also shorter theatrical movies. A reason why this happens is that often the movie is being made while the series is still in production. Many of these films, especially in anime, serve less as self-contained narratives and more as an advertisement for their current slate of properties, often being screened at festivals or conventions. While they generally have enough sense not to ignore anything that's happened up to that point, due to Production Lead Time a show may have had the story developed into something quite different since the movie began production. This is an especially big concern with a Long Runner that relies on a Driving Question or story-ending MacGuffin. While it is possible to set up a prequel this runs counter to promoting the work as it currently is, resulting in the movie feeling grossly outdated because they are using elements that are So Last Season.

The easy way out of this is to make sure the movie is officially out of continuity. Nonetheless fans sometimes establish a general sense of when a movie should logically take place, with various degrees of shoehorning. The only real rule is Non-Serial Movies usually have a "feel" for whatever season they were closely released in but nothing concrete, which allows casual viewing for those who don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of the characters and plot points. Often, the storyline in progress in the series will begin with a certain status quo and end with a new status quo, but the movie will use the status quo during the middle of the storyline. If the series is on the episodic side of Season Fluidity,note  it could be considered Loose Canon so long as there are no contradictory elements. Otherwise, it's as if the characters went on a side-quest during an end-of-the-world crisis.

However, after that, the crossover movies never happened. It could be seen that Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan and Denshi Sentai Denziman share continuity. However, no crossover event happened between them -- for some reason! After that, we never had a crossover for some time!

The Hirohisa Soda era NEVER had crossovers in mind. Soda started writing from Dai Sentai Goggle V (his start) and he experimented with new ideas. Instead, Goggle V up to Fiveman never had a continuity in mind -- based on how events unfold making a huge Continuity Error if they were forcibly united. For example:

• Chodenshi Bioman and Dengeki Sentai Changeman have events that have a great awakening. The Bio Robo would only awaken when the Earth is in danger, BUT it never woke up in 1975. The Earth Force would only awaken if the Earth was in danger -- why didn't it wake up 10 years ago?
• Chikyu Sentai Fiveman wrote in the Silver Imperial Army Zone while making NO REFERENCE to the Gozma from Changeman. 
• Hikari Sentai Maskman made no references to the Jashinka when Tube was mentioned. No story of Jashinka and Tube at war was ever made.
• Kosoku Sentai Turboranger could've mentioned Volt but again, that would derail the narrative. Hasn't the world had enough pollution that would forcibly unseal the Bouma Tribe one day?

Obviously, the writers and producers didn't think of that. That also meant the same thing would happen during the late Noboru Sugimura's era.

II. The Power Rangers era and how continuity was dealt with

The entries during Noboru Sugimura's run in Super Sentai NEVER had continuity in mind. Fiveman almost killed Super Sentai. Toshiki Inoue was involved with Chojin Sentai Jetman. Inoue was what was needed at that time. It's sad (REALLY) that Inoue got stuck with Kamen Rider too much. Some episodes Inoue wrote in Kamen Rider Blade would've been better with Super Sentai. I even felt Inoue's cooking battle in Blade should've been in Samurai Sentai Shinkenger instead. Back on topic, Power Rangers was born because of cultural differences. Anybody who's done some research on international marketing would know why. 

Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger unfolded as it did -- ignoring the events of Jetman. Zyuranger began its rather atypical narrative. The rangers had to look for their weapons -- something that's NOT DONE AGAIN for some reason. Did Bandai have a toy sale schedule? Did the design team spent so much time making the designs that the delay happened. Ignoring Mighty Morphin', my inner child would still think that the Zyuranger merchanise are better than the Jetman merchandise. Toei's and Saban's timing could've have been better in making a huge hit. However, the big difference was that Zyuranger ended with a hanging ending. I confess that Zyuranger's ending isn't all too satisfying either but I'd take it over Mighty Morphin' getting overextended to two more seasons. Toei even gave in to Saban Entertainment's request for American-use only footage. 

The differences were already in contrast. For example, the difference between Sugimura's run and Saban's run was this:

• Zyuranger ended, and the show was gone. The whole cast left as intended. Reiko Chiba was free to pursue a different path. Amy Jo Johnson got stuck with Mighty Morphin' for some time and had a hard time leaving the show. 
• Gosei Sentai Dairanger was written as an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT CONTINUITY. That means Gorma XV wasn't Bandora's hidden boss (the timeline wouldn't allow it) and that Chi Beasts weren't upgrades to the Guardian Beasts. They were BOTH entirely different continuities. Funny enough, the child actor Hisashi Sakai was both the CHILD Burai in Zyuranger before coming Kou the child ranger in Dairanger. It kinda shocked people when I told them that the white ranger was ONLY A KID. So yeah, I believe Kou was better implemented than Justin Stewart was in Power Rangers Turbo.
• Footage from Dairanger was used in Mighty Morphin' Season 2. Lord Zedd as an OG villain played differently from Gorma XV or Shadam. Lord Zedd was revealed to be Rita's hidden boss can have me mixed. The Mighty Morphin' team took control of the Thunderzords. The Dairangers were an entirely different team piloting the Chi Beasts. That means no Zord upgrade was ever done between Zyuranger and Dairanger. Dairanger had that muddy ending (which was probably meant to provoke fan speculation) and the team, as usual, dissipated at the end.
• Ninja Sentai Kakuranger was written without continuity in mind. That meant Prince Junior could never be Bandora's comically evil younger brother nor was Daimaou her father. The whole show even had Reiko Chiba and Ami Kawaii play DIFFERENT GUEST CHARACTERS. 
• The short clip Super Sentai World should only be viewed as a fun clip show, nothing more.
• Choriki Sentai Ohranger took place in 1999. I find it funny that Toei did the same thing with Tokkei Winspector. Ohranger was the last of Sugimura's entries.

A famous example would be how Ohranger vs. Kakuranger was written. The events here are a series of What Ifs. In fact, one can take a look at it like:

• What if Bacchushund didn't die midseason, never got overthrown, and Buldont wasn't accelerated?
• What if the Youkai had a remnant monster who was a pervert that wasn't safe for TV-Y7-FV standards but wasn't perverted enough to be kicked out?
• What if the Ohrangers had to deal with supernatural foes that they needed the Kakurangers?

However, Power Rangers Zeo did some tweaks. It was probably pre-planned, judging by the results. Gasket in Zeo was actually based on Buldont's older form. Gasket and Sprocket are two versions of the  character Buldont. That's probably why Hysteria never got her elderly form used for Zeo. The show had both Gasket and Archerina written off -- never to be seen again. However, Ohranger got rid of both Buldont and Maruchiwa for the finale. Ohranger had a finale that concluded the series. It would get another blatantly non-canon crossover with Gekisou Sentai Carranger -- the only Super Sentai series written by Yoshio Urasawa. After that, we had Junki Takegami step in during Denji Sentai Megaranger.

The different narrative that went on during the 1990s

Ohranger ended, and Carranger came into the picture. I use Carranger not just to batter up Power Rangers Turbo but also point out Turboranger's flaws. Carranger made me think that Exhaus was probably a better-written villain than Ragorn in Turboranger. Exhaus had absurd plans and didn't show up until later. What I always argued was that Exhaus was OP that he had to be defeated in the most absurd way. Exhaus was pretty much the balancing factor for Carranger's comedy. Exhaus was directing the idiotic Bowzock to do GENOCIDAL STUFF FOR HIM. Now, we could easily take another point on. 

The Comics Books Resources actually lists a series of unresolved Power Rangers plot points. They can commonly happen in every superhero show. Super Sentai would have some nagging questions that will never get answers. I could agree with this:

The first few seasons of Power Rangers, which followed the same team with members individually switching out as the series progressed, there was always a natural explanation as to why the Rangers were given new powers. The Rangers losing their powers at the end of Mighty Morphin' in order for the series to switch to Power Rangers Zeo was very well handled, but the next power upgrade left a lot of questions unanswered.

In Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, the Rangers are given the Turbo powers from Zordon for no reason at all. The team never lost their Zeo powers, so many fans wondered why they switched to the new suits at all. From a production standpoint, it was done so that the series could move on to the next Super Sentai adaptation, but from a narrative perspective, there was no explanation given for why the Rangers stopped using the Zeo powers.

That alone caused me to think WTF just happened? Power Rangers Turbo soon had a midseason cast change. What made me think about it is that, "Couldn't the midseason characters just have been introduced early on?" I felt a lot of characters, especially Tommy Oliver, overstayed their welcome. Yes, I've had issues with how Tommy got wasted overtime with becoming too many rangers. Tommy should've just left the scene like Soikichi did years ago in JAKQ. The difference was that the late Jason David Frank was overused with ONE CHARACTER. Hiroshi Miyauchi returned playing different characters. Overusing a character is a BAD DECISION. That meant footage from Carranger vs. Ohranger was never used. 

Power Rangers in Space carried 4/5 characters from Turbo and gave them the space powers. Space was able to do what might be cooler on paper. Bring a huge alliance of villains. It was presumably because the Legion of Doom trope was often used in American superhero fiction. The term comes from the DC Comics. However, the execution can come out clunky. Watching Megaranger and later Changeman gave me a reason why I thought the United Alliance of Evil -- WAS A MESS! One would have to juggle writing so many characters at once. I've tried that approach only to find myself lost in the process. Sure, they're professional writers, and I'm not. However, while Space SAVED the franchise, the whole series can be a huge, clunky mess. Changeman's Gozma conclusion showed how focusing on quality matters more than quantity. That's a weakness that was highlighted in Fiveman's huge crew with the Zone. Was it even necessary that Zone introduce the Galaxy Men (while they were called Ginga Sentai Gingaman in the original) too soon? 

The post-Zordon era isn't exactly cut away from the Mighty Morphin' narrative

The Megaranger series actually saved Super Sentai ratings. However, Ohranger didn't cause the near cancellation despite lower ratings. Megaranger had what I'd call a focused finale where Dr. Hinelar faces them off for good. Seijuu Sentai Gingaman came out -- a show that's often regarded as So Okay It's Average by the Power Rangers fanbase. The Power Rangers Lost Galaxy RUMOR is FALSE. However, Lost Galaxy is preferred by the Western fanbase and understandably so! 

Lost Galaxy tried to integrate the plot from Space. Heck, Lost Galaxy even brought back the Psycho Rangers, while Gingaman vs. Megaranger only created a What-If scenario if Captain Zahab had a brother and Shibolena had a "sister." The Lost Galaxy version even wrote off Kendrix Morgan temporarily. Kendrix received the same treatment as Hayate's fiancée, Miharu. Both of them were brought back together with an entire dead place. Mirinoi got revived, resurrecting Kendrix. The Ginga Forest was resurrected bringing back Miharu. Coincidence? Moak may have been a typical talking tree but he might've been meant to be a Zordon Expy after that. 

Lightspeed Rescue and GoGoFive also play straight the differences. GoGoFive played on WITHOUT even mentioning the Hoshikawas of Fiveman. Isn't that funny? Lightspeed Rescue had a crossover with Lost Galaxy and brought back Trakeena (with a different actress). Triskull was based on Darkness King Gill from GoGoFive vs. Gingaman. Darkness King Gill was a What If scenario for Grandienne. Gill was also TOO EVIL for regular use IMHO. Gill would've potentially tipped off the scales like Cooler and Broly would -- if both Dragon Ball Z movies were canon. Instead, the Super Sentai VS. Movies continued to play off as What If scenarios -- like the Dragon Ball Z films. Funny enough, Saban also dubbed the Dragon Ball Z: Tree of Might film in 1997. Did the staff at Saban realize that Super Sentai VS. Movies played a similar role as Dragon Ball Z movies?!

Power Rangers would be granted permission to use footage from the Super Sentai VS. Movies -- as long as they paid for it! The crossover episodes mixed American-only footage with the Japanese footage. Certain events played differently for a different audience. Darkness King Gill's counterpart Triskull was made less evil for obvious reasons. Darkness King Gill carried out a blood-drawing operation -- something that wouldn't be allowed in Power Rangers or in modern Super Sentai series.

Power Rangers Wild Force still maintained that "sold continuity". A big difference is that "Forever Red" was a REGULAR TV episode. Meanwhile, Hyajakuu Sentai Gaoranger's crossover special Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai WASN'T. Wild Force was written with continuity in mind in many ways. The all-American footage crossover with Time Force was just one. After all, Gaoranger and Timeranger NEVER had a formal crossover -- for some reason! Gaoranger simply wrote itself like the whole franchise was rebooted. Timeranger felt like a huge finale in 2000. Gaoranger didn't even mention the events of Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai within the show canon. As always, the Super Sentai VS. Movies kept writing a series of What Ifs.

The Disney era and how it dealt with crossovers compared to the source material

The Disney era came, and there were some noticeable differences. Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger had a crossover with Gaoranger. However, Power Rangers Ninja Storm NEVER featured a crossover episode with Wild Force. The whole Ninja Storm series felt like it was meant to be self-contained. However, that wasn't the case as the introductory episodes of Power Rangers Dino Thunder had the Ninja Storm Rangers involved. After that, Dino Thunder would play itself as part of the whole continuity. Whether or not Ninja Storm was meant to be self-contained -- isn't certain. The evidence was in bringing Tommy back and giving him another suit. I felt that why in the world wasn't Tommy retired like Banba?

What could be noticed is the IMPOSSIBILITY of fitting Abaranger to Zyuranger. Abaranger presents a different story of what happened a million years ago. Zyuranger explains that Bandora led the great genocide. However, Abaranger makes ZERO mention of Bandora and wrote an entirely new story. Abaranger has Dino Earth as a completely different version of Earth -- where DINOSAURS LIVE. So yeah, good luck TRYING to reconcile that! In fact, many more Super Sentai series would even explain a DIFFERENT REASON why dinosaurs died. Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger would also create a much different story.

Power Rangers SPD takes place 25 years later -- a TIME JUMP. The difference is SPD was still able to have crossover episodes with Dino Thunder. However, Tokosou Sentai Dekaranger might've already had issues with continuity in the later years. However, early on, Dekaranger episodes kept unfolding without Abaranger in mind. Apparently, Dekaranger: 10 Years After might just be meant to set-up for crossover films. For one, having a crossover movie with Ucchu Keiji Gavan obviously doesn't fit into canon. The Space Squad movies (and it's not certain if they will return) are also meant to be nothing more than a series of non-canon films. 

It could be noted that the Disney era of Power Rangers had some series without crossovers. These are Power Rangers Mystic Force, Power Rangers Jungle Fury, and Power Rangers RPM. Super Sentai still continued to release the VS. Movies, presumably out of fan demand. Meanwhile, Power Rangers Operation Overdrive had crossover episodes in "Once a Ranger" -- something that probably still raises eyebrows to this day. Gougou Sentai Boukenger's anniversary team-up movie Boukenger vs. Super Sentai was definitely NOT meant to be canon. Boukenger's summer movie revealed that a monster called Hyde Gene destroyed the dinosaurs. That means every movie would always be WHAT IF -- even if they seem to connec to the show's finales. 

The Neo-Saban era to Hasbro era, dealing with crossovers compared to the source material

Saban Entertainment managed to buy back Power Rangers from Disney. Sadly, it was all "Back to Mighty Morphin'" hype all over again. The big differences play out again. Samurai Sentai Shinkenger had opportunities to link back to older series but CHOSE NOT TO. Anybody (not necessarily a Power Rangers fan watching Super Sentai) could argue about the way Go-Onger ended. However, the events would show that this would be as problematic as forcing Android 13, Cooler, and Broly into the Android Saga and the Cell Saga. Well, I tried to force the narrative back then and found myself in the most awkward situation. The same could go in trying to fit Goseiger vs. Shinkenger.

Now, for a bit of debate. Some people tend to use Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger to justify the existence of a timeline. Honestly, I still have the GUILTY PLEASURE of trying to force in the narrative. However, one should view Gokaiger as a huge What If crossover. It would be What If all 34 Super Sentai series existed in one expanding Universe instead of the norm? Gokaiger gives that crowded fun answer. The fact that it goes into Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger (which I felt was beautifully pointless) expands the whole What If continuity. This is why I have a bizarre theory that Dekaranger 10 Years After isn't canon to Dekaranger but meant to kickstart a series of crossovers!

However, one might look into the contrast of Power Rangers Megaforce and Gokaiger in terms of execution. Gokaiger was pretty much, "Let's just disregard continuity and create a whole What If scenario." Megaforce was really meant to CONNECT all the way to Mighty Morphin'. Speaking of which, I ended up assuming that Shinkenger had a deleted scene where Mako joked about her hair, Kimberly style. It was because Emma Goodall did the joke. I feel Megaforce was a MEGA-DISAPPOINTMENT that I'm glad I DROPPED IT. 

Theoretically, Gokaiger is a season-long continuity error. Can you even try to reconcile all the DIFFERENT dinosaur deaths is JUST ONE PROBLEM. Throwing back all the way to Goranger will contain a bigger mess than Power Rangers. Just think of the room for error between 1975-2011 vs. 1993-2013. However, I've seen too many Troy Burrow awkward reactions. I speculate that Andrew Michael Gray wasn't enjoying his part. However, the same might not be said about Ryota Ozawa's performance. Ryota apparently had a much better time. There are times I feel Andrew's "forced crying scene" was actually him like, "WTF WHEN IT IS GOING TO END?!" reaction. The real problem would actually be Megaforce's BAD WRITING. It's understandable IF I write a lot of bad fan fics. However, the issue is that Megaforce is supposedly handled by PROFESSIONALS!

Gokaiger ended, and the movies were still What If scenarios. The crossover with Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters also had some inconsistencies. Go-Busters may have a plot hole with the Gavan crossover (which might've been explained by a black hole leading to it). Apparently, the problem was "fixed" during Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger's 18th episode. However, I still feel the Super Sentai narrative trying to retcon too many things wouldn't work well in the long run. 

Power Rangers Dino Charge soon took place in its own world. Koda even verifies it during the crossover with Power Rangers Beast Morphers. However, Beast Morphers takes place in the mainline universe for Power Rangers instead of the RPM dimension. What should also be interesting is that Super Sentai Strongest Battle supposedly featured cameos from Kishinryu Sentai Ryusoulger. However, Ryusoulger NEVER made a single mention of the event WITHIN THE SERIES. The cameos done during the VS. Movies are all about PROMOTION. The evidence that they're NEVER MEANT TO BE CANON TO THE TV is that the crossover movies aren't mentioned. It's like Dragon Ball Z series never bothers to mention villains like Broly or Cooler -- since they're What If villains only. TBH I've had issues with how Beast Morphers kept throwing Ranger History Lessons when it's NOT an anniversary.

The interesting case of the in-show narrative of Kyoryuger into Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger

As mentioned, some Super Sentai series have been meant to be connected when specified. I mentioned how Sun Vulcan was a direct sequel to Denziman. It's amazing how Toei was able to secure the late Soga Machiko for a LOT of parts. Machiko even got to play a villain SO VILE in Jiku Senshi Spielban. Spielban sucks. However, by the time Machiko landed on other roles, she was definitely playing other characters. Machiko's iconic role as Queen Hedrian in Denziman and Sun Vulcan gets overshadowed by Bandora. Bandora is a completely different person from Hedrian and the overly cruel Pandora. Everything else continued to be self-contained and the VS. Movies continue to be always What If scenarios.

Kyoryuger had its 10th anniversary in 2023. The move to connect the two shows into one can have me mixed. On one hand, I felt it was like a WTF move. I wasn't a fan of Kyoryuger back in 2013. However, I now view Kyoryuger as a watchable mess -- after watching B-Fighter Kabuto. Kyoryuger would also have been the 20th anniversary of Mighty Morphin'. King-Ohger was on the 30th anniversary. I feel the name Rita Kaniska was definitely meant to troll the viewers. Interestingly, Kyoryuger's pink ranger is named AMY Yuzuki -- sharing the same name as the actress AMY Jo Johnson. Funny? Well, that's really not so funny since Go-Busters called every machine as a MEGAZORD. 

However, events in the DISAPPOINTINGLY SHORT King-Ohger vs. Donbrothers was again, BLATANTLY NOT CANON. Even Avatar Sentai Donbrothers' continuity reveals Donbros Kaito couldn't be the same as Zenkaiger Kaito! Come on, even Kikou Sentai Donbrothers verifies the existence of various Super Sentai worlds! I think the current No. 1 Sentai Gozyuger would simply be part of the expanding What If continuity started by Gokaiger, too.

So basically, the rule is simply on Toei's discretion. That means they're basically in a "Schrödinger's continuity -- according to fans. Basically, the BIGGEST PIECE OF ADVICE might be, "You can have fun making the Super Sentai timeline BUT never force it down the narrative!"