Zyuohger 27: It's Time For A "Who's The Fake" Game Show And Next Week's Crossover With... THE GOKAIGERS!

This week's Zyuohger is just a prelude to the more exciting return of the whole Gokaiger cast. It's been five years. Gokaiger was last 2011 and it's 2016. I felt like this game show episode was a huge improvement from that silly Boukenger episode where they dealt with the Prometheus Stone precious. The Boukenger clip show may have been revisited and improvised after a period of ten years!


Bunglay shows he's a real sadist by now playing with the memories of Tusk and Sela. He clones them using their memories which leads to a wacky game show. But in the midst of that wacky game show, a 30-minute deadline's been set that if they can't find the fakes the the bombs will blow them up. It becomes a review or clip-show, Naruhisa Arakawa style. Watching this episode just feeds my urge to bitch to why in the world didn't Arakawa become ToQGer's head writer or at least a major contributor due to Yasuko Kobayashi running out of good ideas?!


There's a human side that shows with the fakes created from the memory of the real ones. When they see that the Zyuohgers value friendship, the fakes sacrifice themselves saving the real ones. This really shows that Bunglay may be that "badly needed" nightmare fuel. Though Toei may want to keep nightmare fuels to a low and focus on making better lighter and softer shows.

Next week, the Gokaigers are showing up and it's going to be a two-part crossover so the hype's probably going to be that high. Why didn't they just let Kamen Rider Ghost have a two-episode crossover as part of Zyuohger's episode count instead of guesting in each other's show? I can't be too certain on that one but there's one thing I could really say is that I guess the producers learned from a few of their successes and mistakes. Shinkenger had a two-episode guest role in Kamen Rider Decade though having a TV movie like Ressha Setai ToQGer vs. Gaim (which I still dislike) and Shuriken Sentai Ninninger vs. Kamen Rider Drive (which I actually like even if Ninninger happens to be not my cup of tea) isn't a bad idea either.

At this point, Toei may be trying something new and there's bound to be curves along the way. So why aren't they making a Zyuohger vs. Gokaiger TV movie but they decided to put the Gokaigers as part of the episode count? My wild guess is that due to Kamen Rider Ghost appearing as a guest some time ago and that Zyuohger isn't meant to operate in its own continuity like most Super Sentai seasons, then having a two-part crossover with the Gokaiger would help clear things up. Of course, don't forget that Doggie Kruger, Sha Fu and Torin made guest roles in the Zyuohger movie. Although I don't expect a Zyuohger VS. Super Sentai (since Gokaiger didn't get one) but the Gokaigers reappearing as themselves after five years should be a good milestone. 

This also reminds me of how Gokaiger is indeed a huge year long crossover. While children are Super Sentai's primary market but some teenagers and adults may want to relive their childhood moments. Some Super Sentai fans in their childhood may want to have something to share with their children who are the current audience. A seven year old last 1991 would be 27 years old by 2011 and a seven year old last 2001 would be 17 years old by 2011. Gokaiger was a "huge gathering" and I feel like Zyuohger is trying to be a huge gathering. Good thing that it has Junko Komura and Naruhisa Arakawa instead of Shoji Yonemura or let's just say forcing worn out innovative writers such asHirohisa Soda, Toshiki Inoue and Yasuko Kobayashi to write more than they can isn't a great idea either. 

Great ideas can end up falling apart due to improper execution. Fiveman's sibling theme is a great idea but having Hirohisa Soda burn himself out even further caused it to fail. I even felt like Toei could have already assigned Fiveman to Junki Takegami as the head writer after I saw how GoGoFive is miles better than Fiveman. Kamen Rider Decade could have become the great celebration for the Heisei era after nine consecutive Heisei era seasons but it got ruined by Shoji "Patrick Star" Yonemura as its headwriter. ToQGer's imagination theme is a great idea, it had its recognition award but it ended up as a high quality train running on defective rail tracks to the point it fell off the cliff because they forced an already burnt out Yasuko Kobayashi to write it. It's all about going back to learning from the five management mistakes that Toei may have made every now and then.

Zyuohger 26: The Zyuohgers Attend A Friend's Wedding!

In this episode, we learn more of Yamato's past. When I think of this episode, I feel like that Gaoranger didn't have much exploration of Kakeru's life prior to becoming a vet. We get to see Yamato's life prior to becoming a zoologist. So at least, we're seeing Kakeru's concept getting improved 15 years after Gaoranger. 

In this episode, we're seeing Bulgay isn't someone you should mess up with. He's planning to kill Yamato's friend to further hurt our hero. I'm wondering is Genis a freaking idiot not to keep an eye on this guy and think it's just making the game "more interesting"? I feel like anytime soon, Genis might get temporarily overthrown like what happened to Sledge in Power Rangers Dino Charge. We might even see Yamato do more dangerous out of suit scenes than just him doing some jump kicks.

Speaking of wedding whacking episodes, I feel like a lot of times there was always a plot to ruin love. In this episode, Bulgay is more concerned about hurting Yamato than it is a Dr. Evil type of scheme. I think I really like Bulgay as a villain since he hatches more plans against the Gokaiger than the typical Dr. Evil type of schemes that Super Sentai villains are known for.

A bit of sidenote, I admit that everyone was trying to look as well-dressed but the Leo and Tusk look too retro and not so formal for the year 2016. I guess the other Zyuohgers minus Misao still have a lot to learn about our world huh?

Zyuohger, Post Gokaiger Era Struggles And Gokaiger's Triumphant Return For Super Sentai's Upcoming 2000th Episode!

Dino Charge celebrated Power Rangers' overall 800th episode. Kamen Rider OOO celebrated the 1000th episode of Kamen Rider. Soon, Super Sentai will celebrate its 2000th episode. Even more, the cast of Gokaigers five years ago are returning for the 2000th episode produced for Super Sentai. It's not too surprising since Gokaiger is only five years old so the cast members couldn't have gone that far. Getting all the Gokaigers to resume their role is no easy task.

I can't deny that after Gokaiger, the hype was really there. I guess back then, a lot of fans dreamed of one massive season long crossover then it happened. Gokaiger fulfilled what Kamen Rider Decade failed to do. It brought a lot of old cast members back though not everyone agreed. Some of them may have declined due to other issues. I think Tori Matsuzaka may have turned down which in turn gave Runa Natsui's character Kaoru Shiba the attention she deserves. We had some tribute episodes for 90s fans though not so much on the 80s. But still, you can't deny Gokaiger was a huge party and I don't think everyone has gotten over it leading to the struggles of the post-Gokaiger era. Gokaiger was so good it's easy to have high expectations but may have not gotten it.

I may be a Go-Busters fan at a personal level but it can be argued that trying to return to darker and edgier after a huge fun party isn't a good move. I still think that Gokaiger is better than Go-Busters. I could enjoy Go-Busters but it doesn't provide as much fun. Kyoryuger tried to use dinosaurs to earn ratings but it struggled during its earlier episodes. Fortunately, Kyoryuger had a decent amount of toys and gimmicks for children. I think ToQGer could have been a major hit but a burnt out Yasuko Kobayashi wasn't doing anything to meet that potential. Ninninger was so-so and I think Naomi Takebe should just stick to Kamen Rider instead. Is it me or is the Gokaiger hype that hot that it's hard for older fans to appreciate any post-Gokaiger Super Sentai season that much? I don't blame the fans because Gokaiger can be viewed as a huge dream come true for many Super Sentai fans. That alone can create a unique feeling.

I'm having fun with Zyuohger after three seasons of what I call a constant letdown after Go-Busters. IMO, I think the villains have better personalities than the Zangyack. Are the heroes necessarily better than the Gokaigers? Not really but they have their own charm. Junko Komura is filling in the slot that a burned out Yasuko Kobayashi left behind after ToQGer. After watching Zyuohger for a couple of episodes now, I even thought that Komura herself should have been ToQGer's headwriter aside from my wish Naruhisa Arakawa were its headwriter. As of late, the villains are showing they're no-nonsense even if most of the show is meant to be a fun show. As of late, the season is more on the "well-balanced" side where it's fun without relying on a heavy dose of comedy. 

As a closing note, here's some interesting trivia or facts that some fans may have missed. Gaoranger was the 25th anniversary and Power Rangers Wild Force was the tenth anniversary. Boukenger was the 30th anniversary and Power Rangers Operation Overdrive was the 15th anniversary. One may also take note of the Dinosaur Trilogy. Abaranger ended up as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' 10th anniversary instead of Zyuranger's 10th anniversary. Kyoryuger ended up as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' 20th anniversary instead of Zyuranger's 20th anniversary.   

So We're Having A Case Of The Super Sentai Series Hangover?

There's no doubt that there's always "that series" that creates more impact than the others. Depending on the seven possible factors namely writers, producers, cast members, musical score, action scenes, aesthetics and circumstances you may get that, "WOW! THAT SENTAI SERIES IS SOOOOO GOOD!" effect. So I could discuss some shows that I thought created some hangovers and how other Super Sentai series would have a hard time competing with them. These hangovers happen because a certain Super Sentai series is really that good during its time that it's hard to beat it out after that. It's like how innovation creates something so cool that others try to imitate it but don't even come as close. In short, it's one of a kind series that would be very hard to replicate.

Gokaiger itself was really a huge massive crossover that may have been dreamed of by every Super Sentai fan. Maybe a lot wish that it would happen and it happened so it got a hugely positive reception. After Gokaiger, I was feeling negative about what may come. Go-Busters was fine for me but it could have been better. I have a soft spot for Go-Busters but I feel like it's suffered from a similar effect when Toshiki Inoue penned all of Kamen Rider Faiz's episodes. Then after Go-Busters, I really started to feel what could be that "generation gap" with Kyoryuger, ToQGer and Ninniger (and ratings from Go-Busters to ToQGer have been going down). Sure ToQGer had its award for building awareness but I can't deny that Yasuko Kobayashi was overworked. There's also the possibility that a lot of people haven't gotten over the Gokaiger hype either.

I don't think Gokaiger is the first time that a case of Super Sentai series hangover happened to fans. I can't be too sure but I'd like to name other series that could have caused it. After Hirohisa Soda burnt out, Fiveman's ratings went down the drain. Jetman saved Super Sentai the following year and the franchise continued. Jetman can still be viewed as a "finale" for the pre-Zyuranger era or an introduction to a new era of Super Sentai. After Jetman, there were a couple of series with new style writing but some fans were probably still too stuck with Jetman during the 20th century Super Sentai. Other series that could have also caused hangovers were Dairanger, Megaranger, Gingaman and Timeranger.

For the post-Timeranger era, I think Gaoranger and Boukenger also caused a case of hangover after they were shown. I can't blame fans for the hangover especially both are fun seasons in their own right. When something really new gets introduced and it works then the hype is really hard to surpass. Gaoranger was a new stage of mecha innovation and new toys were coming out. Boukenger was a big 30th anniversary. I also think Abaranger, Dekaranger and Shinkenger also caused hangovers to a certain extent. But it seems anniversaries in Super Sentai tend to cause the longest case of hangovers. Gaoranger, Boukenger and Gokaiger may be getting a lot more credit than they deserve. I would say they are good anniversary crossovers but there are still better Super Sentai seasons before and after. I still think it's possible to outdo Gokaiger with the right writers but it's not likely it'll happen that fast either. After all, didn't Toei's assigned staff pour in more effort during anniversaries than during non-anniversaries?


With Zyuohger as the 40th anniversary for Super Sentai and the show's doing a lot of fun gimmicks (and you've got old schoolers dancing in the last episode's credits), we may actually be getting closer to another post-anniversary hangover. Will Zyuohger also create another hangover when it's done? While I don't think the series may outdo Gokaiger but it seems to be outdoing Gaoranger and Boukenger in some areas. I think it will cause a hangover was because post-Gokaiger series weren't that good and this series seems to be getting more people hooked than usual. Let's just wait and see how things will turn out after this series ends. We'd probably get another case of "Zyuohger was so much better." or will Toei find ways to outdo the hype? Hopefully, they find ways to outdo the hype to keep themselves going with their primary target market. Then again, hypes are so hard to replicate because a huge celebration is easier to remember than a smaller celebration.

Zyuohger Episode 25: Camera Capture Anyone?

After Yamato gets really hurt from the last episode, everyone tries to cheer him up. Misao buys this "happy camera" unaware it's some kind of scheme. I find this to be a rehash of the Jetman plot where Maria sought to capture people and collect her in her album. Unlike the Jetman episode, a seemingly harmless camera is used to play the game instead of turning all cameras into a deadly tool. 

Meanwhile, Kubald has some conflict with Bulgay. There's really something going on to keep the plot interesting. I'm wondering who in the world or who in the universe or what in the universe destroyed Kubald's planet? I'm suspecting something that Bulgay may be planning to overthrow Genis and may temporarily succeed. That's just my hunch.

It's time to try and develop both Leo and Misao in this episode. I could still remember four episodes ago, we had Misao and Tusk in some conflict. I have to admit I wish Misao will mature from his self-pity state soon. It could turn annoying and may end up as failed comedy.

For the end credits, I'm glad to see some Super Sentai seniors participate in the dance. Sorry for the lower quality picture.