Zyuohger 36: Tusk's The Prince Of Halloween

So far, this is the first Halloween Super Sentai episode. In the past, I remembered that Power Rangers had a few Halloween specials namely in Mighty Morphin Season 1, Mighty Morphin Season 2 and Power Rangers Zeo which I saw way back in the 90s. There was also Power Rangers Samurai, Power Rangers Megaforce and Power Rangers Dino Charge which I intend to skip. I don't find this episode to be that memorable either but it was fun in its own way.

I guess this episode is a Public Service Announcement in how immature children are and that they don't really know much. This episode involved Tusk saving a girl who suddenly developed a crush on him. The Zyuohgers also go dressed up in costumes to which Leo and Amu take it too far by dressing up as a maid and as a magician. I don't know what jokes are being implicated as some crossdressing tends to happen in Super Sentai.

The monster of the week is called Sambaba with the flame dancing. I wish that Azald had a Halloween related player instead. We get to see Tusk and Amu team up which was to make the child forget abut Tusk. In the end, I guess the child mistook Amu for a guy. Nothing special, just a filler. But next week will be a pretty exciting chapter of Zyuohger as the Birdman shows up yet again.

I'm Now Trying To Watch Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger From Start To End

There's a set of complete Hurricanger subs and they're not those really bad quality Hong Kong subs. It's no secret that I had a lot of bad vibes and I mean super bad vibes with Ninninger. Ninninger's crossover with Kamen Rider Drive was pretty decent. Just that, Kamen Rider Drive kept me occupied and hooked while Ninninger made me drop it and watch it and eventually I dropped it. I don't even know if the fault is Kento Shimoyama's, Naomi Takebe's or is Super Sentai suffering from franchise fatigue considering that it's Toei's longest running Tokusatsu series.

I could mention a lot and I mean a lot of stuff. One too many times the more I watch Super Sentai the more I choose not to watch most of Power Rangers unless I want to make a better comparison between the original and the localized version for the American audience. I don't want to deny that one side can always do better or worse than the other depending on who's in charge. I could think about Power Rangers Ninja Storm. I watched it because well... there was not much to watch. While watching Hurricanger I'm already thinking that Ninja Storm just doesn't match. I feel that most of the Disney era doesn't match up to what Super Sentai offered last decade. I know Power Rangers SPD's been dubbed in Japan (by the Dekaranger main cast nonetheless) but I really can't enjoy SPD at all. I'm not anti-American but I really don't like most American shows.

Even the first few episodes, Hurricanger shows better choreography, writing and acting over Ninja Storm. No stupid Mara and Kapri (okay, I'm going overboard again) to ever annoy me. I can't forget how many times I really thought of turning off the TV because of Mara and Kapri. Wendinu and Furaibijou aren't the best villains but they're not annoying or irritating to my ears. Maybe I'm just biased due to personal preferences. But again I wonder if a lot of people really found Mara and Kapri annoying. Putting Ninja Storm aside what will I eventually think of Hurricanger standing on its own merits? Only time will tell when I'm done with the show. So far, I find the show interesting and I'm hooked with it. It may not be the best but I think I like it nonetheless.

Meanwhile, just check this list of Super Sentai series I've watched from start to end which will be updated but at a very slow pace.

What I Think Of Zyuohger Getting The Worst Ratings As Of Late

It's really upsetting whenever I find out that I'm a fan of a less popular Super Sentai season. I'm a fan of Turboranger, Fiveman, Ohranger, Carranger and Go-Busters which all had lower than 5% ratings. I'm a fan of Kamen Rider Black RX which wasn't as popular as Kamen Rider Black. I'm also a fan of Kamen Rider Kiva which may be considered as Toshiki Inoue's era of burning out to the maximum. It's time to talk about how Zyuohger is now getting the worst ratings as of late. I don't even know what to think about this one but I hope it can recover.

From Digital Ranger's blog, here's some interesting information that I got on Zyuohger's ratings:

Above is a picture of Zyuohger's episode ratings. Here's what Digital Ranger said about it:

I mean just WOW that's bad like REALLY BAD! And for extra salt in the wounds the toy Sales for Ninninger were garbage as well (we don't know anything about the Zyuohger toy sales yet but just word of mouth it's doing OK). I don't get it honestly like this show is fantastic since like this show has fantastic writing in it (and also a red who I love and don't think is dumb and hogs the center of attention from the other rangers). BUT for SOME REASON we this show is like now the worst then Go-Busters? I don't know what's going on people I really don't that's all I can say. and If Kyuuranger does not pull in the ratings or even toy sales I don't know is the thing I just do not know.

Franchise fatigue

Super Sentai may have hit franchise fatigue big time. While there was a rest period in between JAKQ and Battle Fever J, there wasn't a year long rest period for the rest of the series. Super Sentai became a yearly phenomenon due to fan demand even before Toei and Saban both started the Power Rangers phenomenon last 1993. Modern methods of production may mass produce quality products but there's always a limit to how many can be produced at one time to avoid compromising with quality. It seems Super Sentai may have already hit franchise fatigue as of late. After all, isn't Super Sentai Toei's longest running franchise? Kamen Rider may be chronologically older but Super Sentai has had more releases than any other of Toei's properties.

Like every franchise, Super Sentai is never exempt from the product life cycle of introduction, growth, maturity and decline. I even feel certain Super Sentai series were meant to end one era and another introduced another era. Like Fiveman ended the Hirohisa Soda era. Some can view Jetman as the finale of the pre-Power Rangers era. Zyuranger started a new era. Timeranger ended the 20th century era and Gaoranger started the 21st century Super Sentai. Then we're currently in the post-Gokaiger era where we're seeing ratings drop down since Go-Busters. I guess Gokaiger was that good that every Super Sentai series after it may just be under its shadow.

Here's an important excerpt about franchise fatigue from Game Rant:

More importantly, though, an annualized release schedule reduces development time from a marathon to a sprint. Instead of taking the time to ensure every facet of a game is right and then releasing it, developers for annualized series are typically bound by immovable release dates. Some publishers try to give devs extra time by bringing on more teams or alternating teams for releases, but the perception is still that these games are rushed.

The demand for a yearly release of a Super Sentai season may also apply to why it's hit franchise fatigue. Next year's Super Sentai series may get better or get worse depending on who's in charge as well as internal and external circumstances. There may not be enough time to decide on the best producer and writer tandem or to polish new innovative ideas to get the franchise afloat. Good ideas may go down the drain with poor implementation. It's like how Super Sentai to get better almost every eyar started to get better with Soda's innovative writing or the influence of producer Takeyuki Suzuki but it also met decline during that time. We also had other producers like Shigenori Takatera, Jun Hikasa and Takaaki Utsunomiya who were responsible for huge hits but also became responsible for some weaker seasons of Kamen Rider and Super Sentai. Toei's other writers like Yasuko Kobayashi, Toshiki Inoue and Junki Takegami also hit  really bad. As said, nobody's ever exempt from heading towards burnout zone.

Not to mention, Toei's contractual agreement with Saban may have further contributed to Super Sentai's franchise fatigue. Power Rangers is also suffering from franchise fatigue right now. From the Disney era to the Neo-Saban era a lot of the entries just got worse for most of the run. Super short seasons (Disney era), splitting one show into two (Neo-Saban era), a lot of bad acting, a lot of bad writing and lately Nickelodeon isn't the best place for Power Rangers. Toei and Saban still think about letting Power Rangers continue so they can both sell more Bandai merchandise. I guess Power Rangers also contributes to the franchise fatigue because a yearly demand of Power Rangers means Super Sentai must also comply with its yearly demand.

Post-Gokaiger decline

After Gokaiger ended, things started to fall apart with Super Sentai's ratings from Go-Busters up to Zyuohger. Kyoryuger did manage to sell a lot of toys but it doesn't change the fact that ratings were dropping. ToQGer had its award of recognition but it wasn't enough to boost overall ratings as it only had 3.8% in average ratings for Super Sentai. Then Ninninger just really came and started hitting. I thought that Zyuohger would be the recovery point but I could be very dead wrong. Kyoryuger and Ninninger may fall under theme repetition: we've already had two dinosaur Super Sentai seasons (Zyuranger and Abaranger) and two ninja seasons (Kakuranger and Hurricanger) before they appeared. I even feel dinosaurs and ninjas should have been used in the Heisei era of Kamen Rider instead of repeating them a third time in Super Sentai.

There's also the possibility of other competitors within Japanese pop culture as of late. I don't really know much of Japanese pop culture but it's possible that newer video games, Anime series or just anything in the huge spectrum of pop culture is competing with the top spot for Super Sentai. People can get bored sooner or later and may be seeking something else aside from Super Sentai. Right now, there's no telling what Toei can do to let Super Sentai survive in the face of intense competition within the huge spectrum of Japanese pop culture. I guess no amount of gimmicks would do anything as of right now but the right gimmick would still get Super Sentai back on its feet. Hopefully, Toei will figure out what to do in the midst of this decline.

So what are your thoughts on Zyuohger's low ratings?

Zyuohger 35: Bangray No Saigo Or... The End Of Bangray!

It's sad to see a cool villain die. I know how it felt losing some really cruel adversaries get written off so soon like Prince Junior in Kakuranger and Gurail in Megaranger. I felt that Bangray should remain like Basco did but I guess the producer Takaaki Utsunomiya no longer wanted to do anything with him. 

It follows up with Yamato's capture last episode. Bangray really knew how to play his cards well. He could detect that it was a fake Cube Whale. He wanted Cube Whale. The Zyuohgers came up with some plan that was expected. They managed to fake their deaths and spring back into action to defeat Bangray. The action scenes were pretty cool for both the main cast and the stuntmen. 

It was nice to have Cube Whale combine with everyone to form Wild Tousai Dodekai King. Are the designers running out of imagination or are they trying out something new? Can't decide really since some new school shows try to improve retro look but I think this one is weirder than the other combinations. Not even some of 80s Super Sentai, Go-onger's, Shinkenger's orToQGer's later combinations looked this awkward. The feet could have used a little redesign but it had a cool finish. But again, I think the mecha could use a little work on with the feet if you ask me!

90s Old School Super Sentai Mecha Designs That May Have Went Ahead Of Their Time!

If there are new school Super Sentai designs that have the retro look, one can take a look at Super Sentai designs that "went ahead of its time". It's amazing that there are times certain old school entries would outdo themselves in the time period they're in.


Zyuranger's Guardian Beasts

I could consider Zyuranger as the start of innovative designs that made mecha look better than usual. One can argue that there's some cool old school mecha but I think some of them were simply more or less consistent with the timeframe. But Zyuranger showed more badass looking mecha than what Battle Fever J up to Jetman had to offer. Sure, it's not the best series ever but I think the mecha designs in Zyuranger look better than the simpler looking mecha of Abaranger and Kyoryuger. Funny how Abaranger and Kyoryuger while being more "high-tech" has simpler designs. Again, some newer stuff today look simpler but perform better.


Dairanger's Kiden Beasts

I could remember how I was a fan of the Thunder Megazord when I was young. Later on, I'd only know the robot as Dairenou. The designs were really badass in several levels. They look better than the badass mecha of Gekiranger.


Carranger's RV and VRV Mecha

Carranger took Turboranger's super 80s mecha design to a whole new level of design. RV Robo looks like a completely revamped Turbo Robo. VRV Robo and Victory Trailer are also badass designs.


Megaranger's INET mecha

These mecha looked more like they should have been used for space exploration than a video game theme Super Sentai. While the designs in Kamen Rider EX-AID looks more fitting for a video game Super Sentai, Megaranger's designs felt like they should have been used in a space themed show.


Gingaman's Star Beasts

The Starbeasts in their metallic form really look advanced for a 90s Super Sentai. For a group of mecha that actually came from 132 generations of Gingaman how in the world do they look so modern?


GoGoFive's rescue vehicles

There's no secret that GoGoFive's rescue vehicles are indeed ahead of their time. Timeranger may be futuristic but the mecha had a more retro look. GoGoFive ended up having more super cool mecha that made it look like they should have been kept for until later. I could think of it that GoGoFive's Grand Liner looks way better than ToGGer's ToQ-Oh.

Post-Timeranger Super Sentai Seasons That Have Retro Designs!

If one takes a look at Super Sentai mecha up to present, a lot of the designs may not easily click with newer fans. Some of the mecha back in the 70s to 80s tend to have absurd designs or mechanisms. Goggle Robo, Dyna Robo and Change Robo have cone heads. Dyna Robo's probably the weirdest mecha design in the 80s. Maskman's Galaxy Robo had tit guns which is that funny. Let's take a look at some post-Timeranger school mecha that had that retro feel. They may look like they were designed for the 70s to 80s but they are for the 21st Century. They end up having better colors and they're accompanied by better CGI effects not available during the past.


Engine Sentai Go-onger

While Carranger managed to produce better-looking vehicle mecha, Go-onger started a bit more of a retro-look. The mecha look like they would only be driven by children in contrast to the mature-looking cars of Turboranger and Carranger.


Samurai Sentai Shinkenger

Shinkenger may have taken place in 2009 but it has the retro feel. They decided to combine the Origami design with animals. Instead of getting the more futuristic looking animal mecha we had in the 90s or pre-Shinkenger shows, we got origami-like mecha. Granted, this is a samurai Super Sentai series so I guess it can be understood with why origami was used. Also, Shinken-Oh nearly looks like an upgraded version of Battle Fever Robo.


Ressha Sentai ToQGer

ToQGer's train mecha has a simpler, retro feel compared to the Go Liner from GoGoFive which looked like it was beyond its time. With the simpler designs, it looks like ToQGer make the trains look a little more "real" than what GoGoFive's super futuristic looking train. I guess an imagination themed Super Sentai can be complemented by less badass designs. GoGoFive is a serious show but not ToQGer. ToQGer's more child friendly atmosphere and simpler looking mecha could work.


Doubotsu Sentai Zyuohger

Zyuohger may be the 40th anniversary but the designs feel like a tribute to 8-Bit or 16-Bit graphics from video games during the 80s to 90s. The use of cubes in Zyuohger may be partly based on Meso-American architecture but it has a modern twist. What's interesting is that most of the shows in this list are produced by Takaaki Utsunomiya. While Gokaiger had a lot of more futuristic looking mecha, the rest of Utsunomiya's Super Sentai didn't get that treatment.

Zyuohger 34: Something's Whaly With Bangray's Plan!

Bangray's back and nobody knows when he's going to show up next. Bangray wanted to get Cube Whale and the decoy plan doesn't work. What I like about Bangray is how genuinely threatening he is... from manipulating memories to actually finding out the obvious trick. He planned to bait out Cube Whale with his latest attacks.

I still can't wait to find out what's the exact connection between Kubar and Bangray. Bangray used Kubar's memories to create the clones. He countered all the attempts to attack him. Now only if the show can give us a little more detail on what this past was.

Sidenote, I'm just hoping Bangray comes up with an even deadlier scheme. The Zyuohgers are in a pickle yet again. Yamato got caught and Bangray demanded Cube Whale in exchange for Yamato's life. How the crisis will be solved is still due next week.

Them Tsundere, Head Bitch In Charge Pink Rangers!

Super Sentai usually creates likable characters for most of its run. But there are times Super Sentai has its flaws of creating characters that aren't likable. Some of them can be overly idiotic, whiny or just plain cold or super cold. I guess it's all part of trying to create some "badly needed conflict" with the show. This time, I'd talk about these two pink rangers who I noticed are indeed... head bitches in charge. These are namely Yuuri from Timeranger and Sakura from Boukenger. They may be eye candy but they're not as sweet as they look. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Remember, spoilers ahead so read at your own risk!


Yuuri/Time Pink

I'm personally a fan of Timeranger's writing over Power Rangers Time Force's writing but I do agree with what some fans have to say about the former's weaknesses. Timeranger has a lot of good writing and it's not your typical Super Sentai. It's simply the Magnum Opus or the Kamen Rider Agito of Yasuko Kobayashi's tenure as head writer. But I could agree with that its cast can be that cold and perhaps unlikable to some people. Yuuri herself is presented to be a very tsundere character who also grabs the scene as a Head Bitch in Charge.

Her backstory started out that she saw her whole family killed by Hitman Mad Blast, a criminal hired by Don Dolnero. This traumatized her and I guess due to her folks not helping her cope up, she became a cold bitch. The long-term trauma may be more of a burden than Jen had in Time Force seeing Alex "die" before her eyes. This resulting in her growing up pretty cold and distant. During the first episode, it's easy to simply say WTF to a lot of her actions. From coldly ignoring Domon when they first met (he tried to ask her out) and how she was towards Tatsuya, I just felt like it's just uncalled for. In later episodes, she slapped Tatsuya after he hugged her when he was worried about her. Like WTF... I'm wondering what Kobayashi ate when she wrote that scene?!

I wonder is her being cold part of the "badly needed necessary conflict" or is it part of attempting something new for characters to see if they worked? I think it's both. Yuuri's conflict with the group is that she must choose between her personal feelings (her desire to turn Dolnero in to avenge her family) vs. her duty as a copy. She nearly killed Hitman Mad Blast and the mere thought of seeing him made her blood boil. Towards the finale, she nearly harmed the whole team in her quest to get Dolnero. She threw a fit of rage when she saw Dolnero die as her purpose in life to arrest the latter is gone. I wish Tatsuya slapped her face to get her back to her senses.

So what's with her being cold in Timeranger? I guess it's all been intended to be like that. Timeranger was meant to be dark and edgy. Maybe, it's not as dark and edgy as Dairanger but I think it's darker and edgier than Jetman. Again, Rin in Dairanger is pretty sweet compared to Yuuri. I guess it's all about trying a new formula. A lot of Sentai pinks knew how to fight but they were usually sweet. But no, not Yuuri. She's just not sweet which is a nice break from the usual trend. But she just got too cold.


Sakura Nishihori/Bouken Pink

I'm a fan of Sakura herself but there are weaknesses in the writing that need to be addressed. She's almost the perfect woman. She's a Mary Sue for Super Sentai. She's attractive (to some anyway), she can fight and she's gotten too much of the spotlight. She's second-in-command even if her team number is five and not number two. Even team bad boy Masumi Inou is scared of her even if it seems he has a crush on her in earlier episodes. Maybe Shou Hayate and Gai Yuki may think twice before they think about trying to woo her in any non-canon crossovers.

Yasuko Kobayashi was actually involved as a major contributor for Boukenger as she wrote episodes 12, 15-16, 23-24, 31-32, 35-36 and 39-40. It's in episode 31 we see why Sakura's the way she is. Kobayashi wrote her in as the sole heiress of the Nishihori financial group and she joined the army to find purpose. It's shades of Jetman's Kaori but with with a modern twist. She was trained to be unemotional. If Boukenger and Timeranger belonged to the same continuity, maybe she may have been pre-arranged to marry Tatsuya Asami. All these may contribute the way she is. I guess that's why Masumi sort of had a crush on her but was afraid of her. I wonder if Gai Yuki would still be intimidated by her gutsy character.

I guess her head bitch in charge attitude was given because she's the almost perfect lady. She's pretty, she can fight and she's almost everything I could want in a girl. In episode 12 (which was written by Kobayashi) also showed her bossy attitude towards the others. Drawing out that rifle and shooting like crazy is probably one of the best scenes in Boukenger. Almost every episode makes Sakura "too perfect" and the hard girl to catch. So I guess that explains why she's that high strung.

I feel like Sakura's a little bit more balanced on the cold side though. She's shown earlier signs of defrosting over Yuuri. Earlier on, she's shown that she could actually smile or be sweet. Although she got angry over Eiji's injury done by the Questers, she doesn't get as reckless as Yuuri does. She hasn't slapped anyone either. Did Jen from Time Force having a little more balanced with the tsundere side inspire Sakura's personality? Maybe, maybe not and it's probably just a huge coincidence since the two are their own characters.

Zyuohger 33: Sumo Wrestling Felines!

This week's Zyuohger has both Leo and Amu fascinated by sumo wrestling. A new technique known as the Cat's Trick is practiced by two sumo wrestlers. With the Zyuohgers put in an incapacitated state where they can't stop doing sumo, it's up to Leo and Amu to save the day!

The new monster Sumotron (almost sounds like Sumatra) makes people do sumo so he could ascend to become stronger. Unlike Sumo Bouma in Turboranger, he's not an honorable opponent. It's still nice to see another sumo monster though I may have missed other sumo-based monsters. 

Leo is his second to the last opponent. I guess Sumotron is too dishonorable so... Leo transforms into Zyuoh Lion as a precaution. I wished that Leo did the fight out of suit but this is an actual match, not training. It was nice to see Leo do some sumo practice out of suit though. He defeated Sumotron then Azald intervenes. Azald allowed himself to be defeated so Sumotron can go to the highest level.

Strength isn't all that there is as Amu showed it. I agree... Amu does have that kawaii factor that caused Sumotron's defeat. The technique she unleashed just made my mind boggle. That's probably one preposterously crazy attack that's been unleashed in the show.

Next week, be ready for another Bangray appearance.

Why Having High Toy Sales Really Matters For Super Sentai!

With Super Sentai currently airing its 40th season (and it's not as big as an anniversary as Gokaiger), I want to also talk about why toy sales may really matter for the franchise. For the past 39 seasons, with the current 40th season and we're getting a 41st season (which is said to be Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger), I want to look at the toy sales. New innovations for Super Sentai keep translating into toy sales and collectibles. The gimmicks can be seen with the use of transforming gadgets, individual weapons (for some series), adding various new mecha designs and more new characters for the series. All these because we've got to sell more toys.

Let's take a look at how toys sales really do matter. While most of the time, Super Sentai does have good to very good ratings with high toy sales but there are times ratings do drop with either low or high toy sales. Let's get started shall we?

Low ratings accompanied by low toy sales

From the Tokusatsu News Network, here's something that triggered my mind:

During the 80’s era of Sentai, there was one major writer: Hirohisa Soda. He was considered head writer from Goggle V to Fiveman, writing around 70% of each series. Sentai was on a ratings and toy sale decline during this period. Flashman had an average rating of 12.3%, and 4 years later, this dropped to 6.5% with Fiveman. Fans thought the show and format had grown stale and mixed reports stated that Fiveman’s toy sales were very low, commenting that shelves brimmed of unsold Max Magma toys; maybe because it appeared in two episodes and got destroyed in its second appearance.

Until now, I always feel like I want to be in disbelief when I heard Fiveman wasn't doing well during its time. I grew up with it. So it turned out that Fiveman could have nearly cancelled Super Sentai and then Jetman renewed everyone's interest in it. But the problem wasn't really over with Fiveman. While a lot of Super Sentai series had good to better ratings, there were times that the next series was good but as good but you can't deny how innovations related to toys knew what they were doing.

That was until Go-Busters. I personally like the series but I can't consider myself a huge fan of it. I want something dark, gritty and it's a real masterpiece? I could go back to Maskman, Liveman, Jetman, Dairanger or Timeranger for that one. Go-Busters' lack of collectibles and trying to go back to super old school isn't a good marketing move. Gekiranger may have had lower ratings than Boukenger (maybe due to its overly serious nature) but collectibles may have made up for it.

So really, this could be the worst disaster that could happen to any Super Sentai season.

Lower ratings with a lot of merchandise to offer

With all of Super Sentai's ups and downs, it's also highly possible to have lower ratings but have high toy sales. From @Wiki, here's the ratings for Super Sentai with ratings below 5% but had a lot of cool toys to offer:

Ohranger: 4.5%

Carranger: 4.8%

Kyoryuger: 3.9%

ToQGer: 3.8%

It just reminded me of the rumor that Ohranger nearly killed Super Sentai and Carranger saved it. From what I heard, Ohranger didn't nearly cancel it. The problem was that Ohranger had its potential but two major disasters (sarin gas and earthquake) caused a major retool in the show. I may prefer Ohranger over to Power Rangers Zeo (and because their commander Hiroshi Miyauchi's the real legend, not Jason David Frank) but I can't deny that the show had some inconsistencies. On the other hand, Ohranger really had a lot of cool toys to sell. The toys look really good and I guess toy sales kept Super Sentai going.

Carranger didn't really restore the ratings above 5% but it improved Turboranger's mecha and brought in a lot of cool new toys. If I were to choose the better designs, it would be Carranger. Carranger knew how to do its automobile designs better than Turboranger. I could enjoy Turboranger but Carranger is my pick over that show. But still, it doesn't mean that I point out the weaknesses of certain seasons that I'm already in bash mode.

After Go-Busters, the whole lash of having low toy sales and low ratings hit Toei yet again. This was after they were done celebrating with Gokaiger as a huge party. Fortunately, shows after Go-Busters did do their best to sell more toys. I may not be a fan of Kyoryuger, ToQGer and Ninninger but I don't deny that there were some cool toys to offer. Kyoryuger may have had a rating lower than that of Go-Busters (3.8% as opposed to 4.1%) but there were cool toys and gimmicks to keep the franchise afloat. ToQGer had its safety recognition award so I guess that encouraged more toy sales for children. Ninninger may not be my cup of tea compared to the recent Zyuohger but the ninja toys are cool. I think they have better toys than Zyuohger.

These seasons have a load of merchandise to sell. When there's cool merchandise for the children then there's bound to be some good profit. Even when ratings are below 5%, I think that high toy sales do back it up.

Sometimes, a not so popular series may be selling better toys than the more popular series

I just thought about some instances some series that may not be as good may have. I admit that some of my favorite series do have weaker mecha designs. I think that Zyuranger's merchandise looks cooler than what Jetman had to offer. On the other hand, I still think Jetman is better than Zyuranger in the writing department. But you can't deny that Zyuranger produced better mecha than Jetman. Another example for me might be Carranger and Megaranger. Megaranger brought the ratings back to normal but I think Carranger had better toys. I felt as much as I think Megaranger's the better series but I think Carranger had better toys.

In the end, it may be safe to assume that toy sales are indeed important. Toei and Bandai can't ignore the importance of toy sales. Without these toy sales, I don't think Toei can keep itself going. Hopefully, Toei will be able to produce better toys for the 41st Super Sentai season. 

Zyuohger 31: Pancakes And... THE DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE?!

After four episodes of epic action, we're back to typical Super Sentai episodes with villains launching their necessary to keep the show going half-brained schemes. In this episode, the monster of the week Omoteura flips everyone's darker side and amplifies it.

I don't know if the pancakes were intentional or not. If you cook pancakes you must flip it at both sides. The Zyuohgers were having pancakes in this episode prior to the battle with Omoteura. The end also had them eating pancakes. But I guess it's a gag for the flipside.

The whole plot was to raise conflict and the Zyuohgers got the first taste. The Deathgaliens may have already been planning to turn the nations of the world against each other as evidenced by this episode. I'm glad that Misao is starting to get some development than the whiny guy he was after he was set freed from his mind control. Hopefully, we'll see Misao mature for the better since he tends to become the show's weakest link.