Different types of Production for Power Ranger seasons

The production of Power Rangers have been different from season to season throughout the years. Thus, fans have a different reaction to each of these types.

  

1. Overarching seasons

MMPR, Zeo, and Turbo were seasons that flowed from one season to the next. They never had any conclusion that the seasons were working towards. It was meant to go on forever (until Turbo forced the Production crew to end it with In Space). The only thing that these seasons had going on for them, was the changing in the status quote, and how all the characters would change as the settings and cast changed throughout the years. For some, this was lots of fun. For others, some of the changes weren't so great. To date, this style of production has yet to be tried again since the Zordon Era. Could it be due to there being less viewers? Or just the production crew still wanting to change the cast every year?

      

2. Translating Sentai

Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force, Wild Force, SPD, Mystic Force, OO, and Jungle Fury's method of production was to just translate Super Sentai's plots. Of course there were differences, but for the most part, it mostly just translated their Sentai counterparts. The only major element that these shows don't really imitate are the Sentai characters themselves (with a few exceptions). As evidenced when Lightspeed Rescue did not copy the family stories from GoGoFive. Some fans love this style, due to being faithful to their Sentai counterparts. Others don't like this style, as it shows how lazy the producers are being for not using their own ideas and just blatantly copying an already existing story.

My personal opinion, I used to not care much for this style, as it just copied a story I had already experienced. But recently, I thought it would be better to appreciate these seasons (not all of them. I'm looking at you OO. :P ) for doing a good job at translating their Sentai counterparts. Watching Lightspeed Rescue and Time Force in that way truly makes them something that's worth appreciating. After all, it can be quite hard to adapt Sentai. Of course, I can't really give the shows credit for story, due to them being ideas from Sentai's writers. So in my eyes, Time Force is just an "English translation to Timeranger." And did a good job at it too. Though if I'm to look for a season that stands on it's own, it would require more originality imo.

 

3. Completely Original

Dino Thunder and RPM. Both of these seasons have absolutely nothing in common with their Sentai counterparts. To some extent, both of these shows also parodied the franchise itself.



4. Parody

Unlike Dino Thunder and RPM, Ninja Storm was an all out parody style season. So it's kind of like the "American Carranger." Of course, Ninja Storm still had some serious stories. Most which were copied from Hurricaneger. Ninja Storm, being a comedy season will vary from person to person, depending on who finds what funny.

 

5. A mix of types

In Space and Lost Galaxy. In Space was a mix between "Type 1" and "Type 3." It picked itself up from Turbo. But it still had it's own season long contained stories. These stories were all original (except for the Psycho Rangers Arc), as well as having it's own original Space motif. Lost Galaxy was a mix of "Type 2," "Type 3," and a little bit of "Type 1." Lost Galaxy was partially connected to In Space, due to Alpha 6, the Megaship, Bulk and Phenomenus, Karone, and the Psycho Rangers. Lost Galaxy was also original for having it's own original Space Colony motif, and having a very different cast of villains. Despite this, Lost Galaxy mostly copied a lot of plots from Gingaman.

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers - Japanese Dub

MMPR Japanese: Day of the Dumpster - Part 1
MMPR Japanese: Day of the Dumpster - Part 2

No, it's not Zyuranger. It's Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers dubbed in Japanese. Found this on YouTube and thought I'd share with everyone. I believe the dub was done by Toei, not totally sure. The dub is pretty good, I like Jason's voice for the dub. Mixing Japanese voices with the epic background music makes it 100 times more epic than it already was! XD This proves that Toei actually likes Power Rangers. I think there were more dubs for the series, all the way up to Lightspeed I think? Someone wanna get a hold of Toei and ask them to do more dubs? RPM perhaps? And, -maybe- Jungle Fury? Lol

Happy 17th Anniversary Power Rangers

August 28th, 1993, was the beginning of Saban's Power Rangers. And today, August 28th, is the 17th anniversary, and also the end of Disney's run with Power Rangers. As of tomorrow, Power Rangers will be officially Saban's once more. 17 seasons, 17 years, 700 episodes, and 2 theatrical releases. Happy 17th Anniversary Power Rangers!



I just wanna say that this video makes me proud to be a fan of Power Rangers. Here's to the return of Power Rangers for it's 18th Season, and possibly even more. Power Rangers for life! =D

How I Felt About Katherine Hillard

I kind of have my thoughts on Katherine Hillard and how I ended up disliking her for some time, even if as a character she was a pretty likable person. So what's the big deal? First and foremost, she became the replacement of Kimberly Hart whose relationship with Tommy Oliver kept the show going for some time. Why Amy Jo Johnson left the show is something I'd like to know. So because of that, I felt like the whole show tumbled down, losing the famous match-up and it did happen.

When? In Zeo, thanks to some immediate bad writing, Kimberly Hart dumps Tommy Oliver for another guy with a Dear John letter, which really was a frustration (that just wasn't like Kimberly Hart for a start). It was probably due to the fact the actress Amy Jo Johnson didn't show up at all so the writers came up with a rush script. Still, they could have just kept Tommy Oliver and Kimberly Hart in a long distance relationship. I felt like her relationship with Tommy Oliver was a bit forced, plus I disliked the fact that one episode of Zeo featured her as Tommy Oliver's wife in the future and NO future episode contradicts it. In Turbo, the relationship continued but fans are left to assume the fate of it, when she left the set and the other four members found new successors.

So far, I believe that while her existence was necessary to keep the series going but that Dear John letter may have caused her to go underrated. However, jump the shark as it was with her kind of forced relationship with Tommy Oliver (sadly, Amy Jo Johnson never came back so my favorite couple disappeared), the events that happened here concerning a change in relationship can happen. After all, life isn't perfect at all and they were but teenagers back then. :-P

Poll Results - 8/27/10

Poll #1 - You have been attacked by.....

30 said Super Sentai Fanboys
31 said Power Rangers Fanboys

61 votes total. I've been attacked by both, mainly the Sentai fans about me loving Power Rangers more. But what can you do?

Poll #2 - As a Sentai fan, did you enjoy Power Rangers Turbo?

24 said Yes. It's very good.
14 said No. Carranger was better.
5 said Not at all.

43 votes total.

Poll #3 - As a Power Rangers fan, did you enjoy Power Rangers Turbo?

18 said Yes. It was an amazing series.
19 said It was alright, not my type though.
6 said Not at all.

43 votes total. I voted for the second choice. I did not like the first half of the season. I've only seen bits of Carranger and I liked it. I'm thinking about continuing with it.

Shinkenger unadaptable?

It has been said throughout the Sentai and PR fandom that Shinkenger is 'unadaptable' and 'too Japanese' for Power Rangers. Some make up silly rumors like it's the reason why Disney quit with the show, Toei is getting pay back for what Disney did to Power Rangers, etc. I laugh at the second one.

This is what I say, it was more difficult to adapt Carranger, Megaranger, Gingaman, and Go-Onger due to the tone, maturity level, and story Power Rangers was going for. I don't see anything wrong with Shinkenger except for the Kanji and Kuroko. That's the only problem really. People think that all Sentai footage has to be used. Kids won't care about Japanese symbols on the helmets, all they care about is seeing five adults in spandex kick some butt, the effects, and of course the Megazord. The White Ranger Zord cockpit footage in MMPR Season 2 had Chinese symbols everywhere. Once you remove all the civilian scenes, the fights that take place in typical areas of Japan, there's a lot of usable material left. The Kanji in the mech's cockpits can be easily hide with CGI. Hey, they might even keep it, who knows? And the footage with the Kuroko just won't be used if this is the case.

Anybody who tells you that Shinkenger is "unadaptable" is ignorant at best, and an idiot at worst. Shinkenger is perfectly adaptable, all it needs is a strong plot, great characters, good acting, and a totally epic theme song. Just because producers are lazy doesn't mean that it isn't. Yes Tzachor, I'm looking at you.

An Extended Thought on Reese for Power Rangers 2011

Looking at him, I'm sensing some of those moments in American films where an American guy gets interested with the world of martial arts and learns it's a HARD road but not impossible as he travels life's journey.

How am I seeing this? I think he may just be the opposite to Takeru in some ways. Maybe he'll be a more sociable, less aloof guy for the series. Maybe, he'll also be somebody who may end up being a fan of martial arts films before he becomes the red ranger. Looking at the symbol of fire, he may be a hot character but maybe not as fiery as Takeru.

Getting an Asian red ranger may actually cause Power Rangers to jump the shark. Maybe not. However I'm having a feeling Haim Saban may have spent some time watching films like American Ninja or Last Samurai, or any related movie where a white guy gets immersed into martial arts or any East meets West themed films. I think Reese will be an East meets West guy, maybe somebody who never expected himself to be the leader of the group. :-P

Or what if he's half-Asian? Hmmm... some Asian-Americans I've met look too American too.

Are Children The BIGGEST Source of Sentai Fans-PR Fans Wars?

Can't help but use a picture of Justin, hee hee.

As a co-author of this blog, I got this comment from its former administrator only known as DancingAlienDude (can't blame him for not fully showing his true identity like I am only using a pen name, I want privacy!):

I will tell you one thing, Sean. There are a lot more little kids where that came from. Whether they be Sentai or PR fanboys, we'll never stop them.

If we can all make blogs involving creating peace between the shows, we'll put an end to them soon.

Yup that's true. Based on my experience as a child, I can remember how I insist something is better and a fight starts because of it. Remember a little fire can destroy an entire forest. Super Sentai fans and Power Rangers fans who were usually children fought to which is better. Children are easily carried away into useless battles (that's why I call war freaks childish) like this and with children having Internet knowledge, I guess they're a major pain. And right, most of these are surrounded by cultural biases and colonial mentality.

Like how? For example, in the Philippines, Filipino children (REGARDLESS of ethnicity) tend to think that if its imported especially if its American it's better when it's NOT always true. Or another is biases against the West taught to Oriental children by their parents, which of course becomes another source of fanboy quarrels.

Another area of this can be explored with children judging everything by one's natural looks, not by the content. That is, a child can only choose to watch either of the other because of a pretier Sentai/PR babe. Hmmm... I have to admit I'm pretty childish to watch Power Rangers and Super Sentai for the pretty girls! Pretty characters DO NOT make a good script if they can't execute their parts properly.

Hmmm... reminds me of just how much like Takeru/Red Mask I was a child writing this!

Just Some Peaceful Comments on Youtube

Hee hee! I think these comments on Youtube should at least help kill the flames:

shaintheman

3 weeks ago

There is no better series, its just whichever you prefer. They all have their ups and downs but its just a show. Power rangers wouldn't have existed without sentai, and sentai wouldn't have gotten famous overseas if power rangers didn't introduce us to the franchise in the first place. It equals itself out.

sorryiamprimera25

2 months ago 14

What's the point of you guys arguing which is better at the end of the day both shows are about guys in tights fighting evil.

And by the way, I agree with these guys. I'll have to put away with my severity for good!

Some Power Rangers Fans Still Call Super Sentai "Power Rangers"

It's kind of something that there are Power Rangers fans who saw some episodes or even a complete season of a Super Sentai series yet... they still call it Power Rangers. These kinds of fanboys are the type to say "huh" when they hear the words "Super Sentai" and are the type to make comments like:

• Power Rangers is originally created by Toei and Saban franchised it for the American audience so Toei could make sales in America.
• Goranger was the first Power Rangers show.
• My favorite Power Rangers seasons would be Shinkenger, Dekaranger, Boukenger, Lost Galaxy, Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force and Timeranger.
• My favorite Power Rangers girls are Hikaru, Momoko, Haruna, Trini, Kimberly, Cassie, Jasmine, Sakura and Mako.
  
• The last Power Rangers series I saw was Shinkenger. Saban will make the American version by 2011.
  
• Power Rangers in Japan is more serious than Power Rangers in America. It's even more violent during its early stages.
• There's a Power Rangers conference in Japan going on and I'll be going there to see it so I can see the differences between Toei's original and Saban's adaptation.
  

Strange isn't it? Hee hee. I admit I've met some people who talk like that.

The terms "Power Rangers" and "Super Sentai" are almost alike. Super Sentai means "Super Task Force." A task force can mean a group of rangers. Power can be similarly used with super as well. So in short, Power Rangers is almost synonymous to the term Super Sentai.

I think it also has to do with the fact that although Super Sentai came first, the Power Rangers craze had managed to delete the word Super Sentai from common day to day fan conversation and calling every Super Sentai season as Power Rangers.

Some Thoughts on How Power Rangers 2011's Rangers Will Be

By looking at the fact that the red ranger is well... still American gives me the feeling that Haim Saban's new season may be inspired by the films "Forbidden Kingdom" and "The Monkey King" where an American guy gets involved in martial arts. So here's what I'm thinking will happen with some of the characters when they make their debut:

Reese- A white guy interested in Asian martial arts and gets it when he becomes the red ranger. I think he'll most likely be an enthusiast who learns the road ahead is not an easy one. Okay I'm a little disappointed in this but still, I think he'll do a good job. I wonder if he'll be a little like Jason in the movie "The Forbidden Kingdom" in terms of personality? I even have a feeling he might get pretty impatient at first until he realizes patience is necessary in learning martial arts.

Parry- Well maybe somebody who's not very enthusiastic with his duties.

Baron- I think he'll be the cool character because of the color blue. Nothing more.

Sadie- She may display plenty of positive Asian values. Since she is the Asian member, so I think she'll have some interesting back story. I kind of think about the typical Asian-American romance may be in for her. Maybe not. Hee hee.

Ava- I think she'll be a westernized version of her Shinkenger counterpart Kotoha. Honestly I wish she were the Asian one. :-P

Wesley- I think he'll be a little less funny than Genta and more organized as a fighter when he arrives.

So....I'm the new admin for this blog.

So.....yeah. This is KingdomRider, and I'm the new admin taking DancingAlienDude's place for this blog. I didn't really want this, but I'm gonna try to make something out of it. I'm most likely not going to be posting a lot like Fantasy Leader and Sean do. But I'll try my best to do a post every once in a while.

Erm...I guess I should explain about myself now? Well, uhh, I'm obviously a fan of Power Rangers. I've been a fan since 1997, the first season I watched being Turbo. I got into Sentai about 2005, and still watching. Sentai is good, but I like Power Rangers more. Hope that won't be a problem for anyone! ^_^

Over the next few days, expect to see some changes to this site. Changes as in, the design. Nothing major. The design right now is only temporary until I figure out which design suits this blog. I designed a new header for the blog, as seen above. But yeah, I hope this works out as much as I want it to be. And I hope Sean and Fantasy Leader will be by my side to help any means necessary! =D

Kingdom Rider is the new Administrator of the Power Rangers Union!

That's right, everyone. I've known him the longest and I know how truthful he is of a Power Rangers fan and Super Sentai fan. I hadn't logged on to Blogger for a long time because it was extremely difficult to decide which one of my authors would make the best author. I thought about Fantasy Leader's courtesy, Sean's vast knowledge of Super Sentai, but between the 3 of them, I thought that Kingdom Rider would make the best leader in this Union.

I looked at every Power Rangers and Super Sentai fan, I knew Kingdom Rider was the most passionate in stopping the war between the two franchises. Sean and Fantasy Leader, thanks for being great supporters of this blog. I have equal respect among the 3 of you, and I'm hoping you 3 will continue our work.

Kingdom Rider, feel free to do with whatever you wish with the blog. I know you didn't want to be the leader of this, but you're the one I trusted the most. Edit whatever you want and lead every Toku fan to peace. I'm passing the torch on now and forever.

Farewell everybody, be sure to keep in contact. :)

_________________________

(I'll edit anything in this blog if I gotta add stuff and all... Before I leave, I need to confirm if he really wants to or not.)

KingdomRider's list of underrated Power Rangers seasons

DancingAlienDude did a similar post, I agree with Lightspeed and SPD he covered, but I felt that there are more than just those seasons that are underrated.

Power Rangers Mystic Force

Surprised by this one, aren't you? I certainly am. I've underrated this season before, only because it focused on Nick too much. But I looked over the first ten episodes again and, it's okay. The plot and story for this season is a little more difficult to understand then previous seasons. One of the main reasons why this season is underrated because it's a Disney season and 'butchered' Magiranger, as fans like to put it. I think one of the reasons why Mystic Force is underrated because this season is a little difficult to understand because past Power Rangers seasons have been simple. You understood the story right from the beginning. Even Operation Overdrive was fairly simple to understand. This story has to be one of the most defined and also one of the most fun, especially if you are a fan of fantasy shows. I think one of the things that distinguishes this season from past seasons is that it is not really the most action filled season out of all of them. Mystic Force is very much based on mostly story.

One of the issues with this season is that the acting is really not that good. Firass Dirani, Nic Sampson, Melanie Vallejo, Angie Diaz, and Richard Brancatisano who play the main rangers are not really that talented in the acting department. They do have some moments of good acting especially in the season finale "Mystic Fate" but most of it is just hard to watch. Another issue is the Red Ranger focus. There was just too much revolving around Nick and for me, I didn't like it. But I learned that it doesn't bother me as much as it did before.

Power Rangers Ninja Storm

When I first heard about Ninja Storm I was very excited. I thought it would be dark, mysterious with action packed fight scenes. However when I started watching it i soon found that this wasn't the case. PRNS was too comical for my liking back then, the villains were to slapstick comedy funny and the rangers themselves seemed too laid back all the time, that's why it's underrated. Looking at Ninja Storm now, it's pretty good, actually. Because if you're a fan of MMPR or happen to like MMPR, you'll like this too. A villain with strong cynical intentions like Lord Zedd would have been great in this though.

Power Rangers Lost Galaxy

Lost Galaxy is probably one of the most underrated PR series due to it just coming off of Space and starting the standalone series. Despite plot holes it continued some stuff In Space started: teamups with past alumni, sympathetic villains, and the grand feeling of a space adventure. Sure it may not have that end all feeling that Space had, and no matter how many plot holes this season had, I LOVE this season. One of my favorites and made me continue watching the show today. I think there are a lot of reasons, but a big one would have to be Trakeena, who's pretty much my favorite non-MMPR villain. I was honestly kind of sad when she took a nosedive into crazyville; it's hard to imagine that she went from being a fairly background sort of villain to getting so good at swordplay that she could take down two monsters at once.

Power Rangers Jungle Fury

Surprised by this one too? I'm not. Because this is probably the best and my favorite season Kalish produced. Main reason why it's usually underreated is because it's a Disney season and 'butchered' Gekiranger. The writers strike is one reason why this season is underrated, there were a few episodes that just didn't seem to move things along, or tried to hard on the message. There was a rumor that Chip came back and wrote a few episodes, which makes the season a little more enjoyable. But the season was a success for me. In a few ways, it almost seemed to pay tribute to the old days of Power Rangers, with RJ inventing weapons or working on them, and the Rangers actually having to train and master skills before getting new levels or gear. The grouped story arcs played out very good. The Jarrod and Dai Shi conflict was handled well. I enjoyed that. All the characters were very relatable, and at times I found myself being just as interested in Jarrod and Camille as I was the Rangers. The season isn't bad, it's just people are biased.


So the next time you see a Power Rangers season that you think 'butchered' Sentai, don't complain about it, or how it doesn't work because of such and such a reason. Enjoy PR for what it is...it's own show with a very interesting over arcing tied story.

The Z-Putties

The thing is I can't help but think that Lord Zedd despite the fact he's one of the meanest and most powerful Power Rangers villains in history had one BIG problem- it was his replacement putties. I assume while he was conquering one planet after the other, he must just have been using the normal putties because he told Goldar that he had new ones. Yes he did and to think about it, they were stronger but they had one problem- one hit at the chest and poof!

Okay it's NOT easy to target the chest but the Power Rangers knew their secret that they didn't have to morph. Even a simple throw of a ball at their chests was enough to defeat them. Soon enough, these guys became easier than Rita's putties. One just hit- poof! Sadly many PR fans berated them for becoming too easy to defeat.

Funny that when Rita married Lord Zedd and the two were starting to like each other even when the potion was fading, that Rita didn't bother to redesign the putties even if Lord Zedd would have allowed her.

A Peek at Power Rangers 2011

The cast for Power Rangers 2011 are as follows:

Alex Heartman as Reese
Najee De Tiege as Baron
Hector David Jr. as Parry
Erika Fong as Sadie
Brittany Pirtle as Ava
Steven Skyler as Wesley

I don't know yet what it will be called but by the looks of this, can understand why the red ranger is still white- because of the target audience. The pink ranger's the only Asian? Hmmm I wonder what's really going on or what the story line is? So far, I think these are new ones. However I hope the script is well-written otherwise it may make the comeback bad. I just kind of wonder if an Asian will act as their sensei because it's been in some where an Asian guy trains white men in fighting. Could it be the case of the red ranger with the script? We'll just find out soon. I sense much of a "Forbibben Kingdom" style theme here.

Why I prefer Power Rangers over Super Sentai

Go ahead. Scream at me for using a remastered MMPR image.

People think it's kind of a shocker that I prefer Power Rangers over Super Sentai, but I think Super Sentai is a better franchise, and I like Power Rangers more....if that makes any sense?

Super Sentai has higher quality of writing, characterization, believable performances by the casts, and a bigger budget. Not to mention a better handle on what entertaining action looks like. Above is an image of Bioman, which I think is probably one of the BEST series I have ever seen! Thank you Fantasy Leader! XD

Power Rangers, on the other hand, is my childhood. I grew up with it. It's the thing that has stayed with me since I started watching it back in '97, and from that point on it's played a large part of my life. The key to continuing success for Power Rangers is always present something new and inventive, even knowing that most of the material comes from Sentai. Without originality, Power Rangers would be known as nothing more than an "English version" of Super Sentai. And no matter how bad the season may be, there is always at least one original thing that wasn't seen in the original material. Like for example, MMPR is about overbearing teenagers living their teenage life while fighting off a evil alien witch and her minions, where as Zyuranger is about ancient warriors from the past defending the planet from their sworn enemy.

Wild Force was an exact replica of Gaoranger, but watered down a little bit, and bad acting. The only thing that was new was Master Org, I think? Another example is Lost Galaxy. The setting was way different from Gingaman, took place in a Space Colony called Terra Venture. As well as added the Megaship, DECA, and Alpha from the previous season.

There was a thriving fandom for Power Rangers long before there was one for Sentai and Toku itself, and I knew people for years based purely on debates about how Astronema was Andros' sister, or why Goldar suddenly became lame in Season 3. You can't override those memories.

No matter how good Sentai is, it will NEVER take the place Power Rangers holds in my heart. I'll probably never grow out of Power Rangers, but I know for sure that I won't ever leave it for Super Sentai. I think both should just be enjoyed on their own merits.

One thing I do like about Sentai is how they let their heroes be their own comic relief. Even someone who's as much of a steadfast adventurer as BoukenRed has his silly side. It used to be with Power Rangers that they'd have the villains played for laughs or comic relief supporting characters like Bulk and Skull while the Rangers took themselves very seriously. The show's gotten better about that though.

These last few series of Sentai have been a let down for me. Last strong Sentai that I thought was really good was Gekiranger. Go-Onger was good, but RPM is amazing. Had a stronger plot, better characters, and a good tone, especially for a Disney season. Shinkenger is claimed as the best, it had a good start I'll admit, but I think it's greatly overrated...the story is too bland for me and episodes were boring. And Goseiger, like Shinkenger, the plot is bland for me. Had a good start until they started bringing in mecha that is really unnecessary and annoying. There's a plot for at least every mecha they introduce. There are a few good episodes here and there, but it's still not all that good. I'm hoping Saban won't let me down with Season 18, what I'm really looking forward to.

DancingAlienDude Announces Retirement from the Power Rangers Union.

It's that time now... Soon my AP classes this year will eat up my entire life and I'll have less and less time to spend on this blog. I'm now planning on leaving the Union in the hands of one of my three friends and followers who made my Blogger experience a great one. Special thanks to Sean, Kingdom Rider, and Fantasy Leader.

If you'd like to know why I've decided to quit? It all started 2 years ago when I had been introduced the the amazing world of Japanese Tokusatsu. My first Super Sentai ever being KyuKyu GoGoV, and I've been very fascinated with such action and sci-fi thrill. I began watching many other Sentai series' and I got the very same thrill just like the first one I had seen.

However, I had regret watching my favorite kids TV show, the Power Rangers. Eventually a small war within me had raged, whether I would choose Super Sentai or Power Rangers. At that point I decided not to choose, and created this blog. I didn't realize it didn't become the success I had hoped for, but it appears I won't see that day when this blog finally catches the hearts and minds of every Toku fan in the world who are at war with the Power Rangers.

Since I had too much on my shoulders, recently. I had to deeply shorten my time in watching Toku, Anime, and lots of other stuff I like. Soon I'm gonna re-enter that stage in less than a month, and sadly I can maintain the blog for perhaps forever.

The good news, however. I do have some little interest left in watching the next Shinkenger adaptation in production by Saban. Hopefully, it will bring my interest in Toku back up and strong. I am rather looking forward to what Saban will be doing with my first Sentai.

It's about time I move on with my life. I loved Power Rangers and Super Sentai for a short time, and it has even taught me a few good things I could use in real life, too. Once again, to the hundreds of Toku fans who supported this blog, thanks for helping make my Blogger experience an amazing time. I hope the new administrator of this Union will continue to prosper in making peace between Sentai and PR.

I ask everyone who vistis this blog for the next few days to vote who you think will be best to represent the Power Rangers Union. However, the last poll seemed a little rigged since I realized many Sentai fans had come onto this blog. It's not a popularity vote and neither am I choosing a favorite, so please be considerate and honest.

For these next few days, I'm going to do some last-minute renovating to the blog. Other than that though... Goodbye, everybody. Thanks for everything these few months. :)

For Sean, Kingdom Rider, and Fantasy Leader:

Please try to find a time with me to visit the following chat room. As for Sean, you may need to end up getting up early in the morning for this special meeting.

PR and Sentai haters: Is there any Justice in this?

As we all know, there are lots of Sentai haters and PR haters (while being fans of the opposite shows). And as shown on previous posts of this blog, we have talked about where their hate comes from. But I wanted to take a look at this topic in a different light. Do these haters have any justifiable reason to hate any of these shows? Do they have ANY good reasons to describe their hatred and think their reasons are okay? Well, lets take a look.



First, let's talk about the Sentai haters. What good reason is there to hate Sentai? Well, for a Power Rangers fan who finds themselves amongst a crowd of Sentai fans... it's not fun at all. No matter what anyone thinks, Sentai truly is the more better made franchise of the two, no question about it. It does not matter what your opinion is, Sentai is much better. That's a fact. And as a PR fan, putting up with Sentai is a nightmare. Of course, every PR season has something good to it. But compared to Sentai, only like two of PR's seasons can really compare to it. Many Sentai purists are so disgusted with PR's inferior quality, that's it no wonder that this stirred up hate from the PR fans. It's also true that a good number of Sentai fans tend to fail to see any of the good quality from PR, and thus, just choose to bandwagon in on Sentai, which also angers PR fans.

Another reason why PR purists can hate Sentai, is cause it crushed their nostalgia. Many of them felt like their childhood was just a lie. Though honestly, this could just be a bad reaction from some people.

Some PR purists go so far to even compare Dairanger (one of the most well made sentai) to MMPR season 2 (a season that's controversial to some). This also angers Sentai fans, as many agree that Dairanger should never be compared to a show like MMPR season 2. And thus, both sides back lash over and over again.

Next, let's talk about the PR Haters. What sort of good reason is there to hate Power Rangers? Well, many Sentai fans absolutely despise the fact that Power Rangers affected the tokusatsu genre in the worst way possible. And making the genre look very kiddy to the public. Thus, many toku fans blame Power Rangers for the reason why no toku will ever be properly released in the States.

All toku (even including Ultraman), especially Sentai, keep being called "kiddy Power Rangers" by people. As you can see, PR truly has affected the image of toku. And many toku fans have to put up with it all the time. Thus, making this another understandable source for the PR hate. And it makes things worse for them when it's a fact that PR is THE most popular toku worldwide, while the rest of toku pretty much only exists in just Japan. In other countries that used to air toku, it all got replaced with just PR.

I'm sure I missed some stuff here and there. But overall, there are many fans that have justifiable reasons for why they hate the opposing shows. And many of these fans just end up acting like jerks because of this. So what can they do to fix this? Well, I'd say for starters, to just forgive the opposing shows and just move on.

The PR and Sentai hate started when Sentai was discovered by many, starting with Dekaranger. And it got worse when PR entered it's four year Dork Age with the Bruce Kalish seasons. And things continued to be bad when Sentai now entered it's Dork Age with the Jun Hikasa seasons (except Shinkenger), which it is currently in the middle of right now. Both franchises will have it's bad seasons. There's really NO NEED to bash an entire franchise just for a few bad seasons! Because you can't just forget about any of the cool stuff that both franchises have done.

I understand that fans of both franchises have had long histories (including myself). But like I said up above, forgive the opposing franchises, and move on. And try to be as positive as you can. Cause hate is just not fun at all. So it's best not to cling on to it (I learned this from my own experience). Remember. PR is coming back from cancellation, under the hands of Saban! And Sentai is in a mess right now, but we know it can do better! And the anniversary is next year! If PR can get out of a horrible Dork Age and follow it up with something as awesome as RPM, then so can Sentai! So forgive the opposing franchises, move on, and root for the success of both shows! :D

PS: Sorry if I sounded overdramatic. But I didn't know how else to phrase what I was trying to say. xD

And I hope what I said in this post made sense. :)

Lost and Found in Translation

In the episode "Lost and Found in Translation" from Power Rangers Dino Thunder, the rangers were watching an episode of Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger. Here, it was just a Japanese TV show dubbed in English. And the episode just reminded me so much of the Power Rangers-Sentai flame war going on. That episode was good, seemed like a tribute to Super Sentai in my opinion. I laughed when Conner said "What would they know about Power Rangers in Japan." But there's a really good lesson in this episode that I think we can all learn.

The discussion between Conner and Kira is kind of a metaphor for the Power Rangers-Sentai flame war. I'm not involved in this constant Sentai vs. Power Rangers "piss and moan" fest that goes on every time someone opens their mouth and says something like "Power Rangers is crap. Sentai is better" or "Sentai is retarded, Power Rangers forever!" However I see it all the time. And every time Conner opened his mouth, it reminded me of each person who has either bashed Power Rangers or Sentai and say the other is better. And it seemed like the episode was a lesson to those that can never shut their mouths about this flame war Power Rangers and Sentai have. Granted, I prefer Power Rangers over Sentai and Sentai is starting to bore me now, but I don't bash it constantly. I'm not one of those Sentai bashers you'll see on Rangerboard.

According to Doug Sloan (EP at the time), this is what he had to say about the episode after it came out, direct quote from Rangerboard:

"If you think this was a slam on Sentai, you're wrong. We made very sure that it wasn't going to be insulting to them, by having Koichi check and re check to be certain that there was nothing that our Japanese partners would deem inappropriate. We have a partnership with them that goes back 12 years. Do you think for the sake of one episode we would throw that all away. Get a freeking clue.

I personally feel like the reason so many of you got so angry about this show is that you had some vision in your minds of how it was going to turn out, sort of a Sentai American team up and when it didn't you got angry. Well, guess what, life doesn' t always come out how you think it is going to. If you don't like it, do something to change it. Get on a plane come out to Hollywood and become a writer. It worked for Ahmit...sort of."

Whether intentional or not, I think this was Doug's commentary (and perhaps the commentary of many other PR insiders) on the state of adult PR fandom, particularly (but not limited to) Rangerboard. I think it goes beyond Sentai vs. PR. Many people are unnecessarily cruel about lots of things in the PR universe that they don't like when maybe they should give it a chance. That's what I did with Disney's Power Rangers - I couldn't get into them back then, specifically, Ninja Storm. But I happened to catch an episode of Dino Thunder and that's what brought me back to the show. Continued to watch Dino Thunder, loved it. And during that time, that's when I discovered Sentai and started to watch Dekaranger. I really liked it. Then SPD came along, I liked it more than Dekaranger. I'm rambling now. Anyways, the point I'm trying to make is that you should give chances to everything. And if you don't like something, have something to back up why you don't like it. This is lesson we got to follow, we can't hate both versions just because they are different or incorrect, just a different interpretation of the shows.

Why MMPR is so popular

MMPR was the most iconic and most famous because it was the first season. Kids loved it, a lot of parents hated it and the toy industry made a mint off it. When most non fans think of PR, they think of MMPR (unless maybe they have young children currently watching a new season of PR). But why is it so popular?

When you ask a non-fan about Power Rangers, it would be something about Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, and every Power Rangers parody is based on Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.

 

 

 

When Disney did a poll for the five most popular Rangers, the only non-MMPR to make the list was Andros. Not a single Disney Ranger charted. In this case, first production company wins. That's easy to explain. The original Power Rangers used the same characters and actors from year to year. This made them a lot more recognizable than when the cast changes from year to year as in the later seasons. Usually, it would either be:

1. MMPR is the best (First show).
2. MMPR-PRIS is the best (First era).
3. MMPR-PRWF is the best (First production crew).

Either way, it's a case of First wins.

 

 

(Someone's probably gonna shoot me because I used an image from the remastered MMPR.)

The first incarnation of anything that's wildly popular is usually the most memorable and ingrained into the public psyche, since it's what made it wildly popular in the first place. Then it lasts for two or three years and/or two or three incarnations that are of comparable success, then from then on it's diminishing returns, unless the franchise sticks around long enough to make a comeback (and even then it still remains in the shadow of the original). It's a pattern that works with almost any pop culture phenomenon you can think of, unless the second incarnation/second season is regarded as an abject failure.

 

The "big push" only exists with MMPR because it was the first of it's kind. Nobody had seen something of it's kind before. Once that became passe, it stopped being a big investment.

The franchise had sizably peaked by 1995 and was killed by "they changed it, now it sucks" with the cast and name changes, there's always backlash with an aging series that goes on without a break....there's more backlash to be had when that series jettisons it's entire cast of veterans.

 

From a marketing standpoint to the entire world, you couldn't go without knowing what MMPR was. It was a cultural revolution for our generation. EVERY child had watched the show, played with the toys, or pretended to morph at some point. Power Rangers hit the world just as hard as the Ninja Turtles, Pokemon, and Hannah Montana. It was the hottest ticket in existence. Once that fever subsided, there were a ton of kids who never knew anything about a "Zeo", let alone their parents. Furthermore, the majority of human beings have no idea Power Rangers still exists. There have been cast members who got calls from their agents to audition and replied "That show's still on?"

As far as people like us, however, people who never stopped loving or returned to loving Power Rangers hold MMPR in great nostalgic value, while not necessarily liking that iteration the best. I bet if there were a poll conducted over the most popular season amongst veteran fans, Zeo would probably take the title, with Space a possible contender. Even Time Force or Dino Thunder may slip in there.

 

 

Looking back, I can see why MMPR was what drew a lot of us in. The plot was simple: Bad guys are threatening Earth, and the Power Rangers have to stop them. Rita had no reason to be attacking the Earth besides conquering it. She wasn't looking for supplies for some huge diety. She wasn't serving anyone (initially - later seasons would build the evil side to the UAE of Space) and her whole army was either already released by those astronauts in the first 5 minutes of the first episode, or they were made from clay. All she wanted to do was defeat the Power Rangers, and that was IT. It's brilliance in its simplicity. Also, the blood-pumping theme song that says 'We're the Power Rangers! Shut up evil! BIZAM!' and, excuse my language here, the kick ass music of the Mighty Raw is about half the reason the original series is so great! It didn't act like a high drama like Lightspeed or Time Force, that's probably why fans are turned off by this. Like, if people wanted to watch a high drama, they shouldn't be watching Power Rangers. Because Power Rangers is a kids show, always have, always will. Granted, those seasons are amazing, but that's what people prefer.