Happy 30th Birthday Hikari Sentai Maskman

Since today is Maskman's 30th anniversary, I decided to write a Maskman post for the sake of writing it. Before I saw more Super Sentai whether it's old school or new school, I still can't forget my "love affair" with Maskman through the years and how I didn't immediately click with it and how I clicked with it. While I never consider myself a die hard fan of just anything (and that includes Super Sentai) but Maskman did play an important role to me. True, Jetman is my favorite childhood Super Sentai but Maskman somehow played an important role. In fact, it still rivals Jetman in my head until this very day!

I can't forget watching Maskman before (Tagalog-dubbed) and what it really felt watching it in its own Japanese audio subbed by Grown Ups In Spandex and the joke sub by CSCentrl. Back then, I had no choice or didn't care too much about the quality of the dub. Just like I watched Bioman in the rather odd English dub (and sometimes, both shows were aired back to back) or it was aired on Saturday evenings... I couldn't forget my affair with it. So when IBC-13 momentarily went missing I ended up watching Fiveman and Jetman on ABC-5 for the years to come. But what I hated about IBC-13 was that why didn't they show the ending? That was indeed frustrating to think how that network screwed up airing Tokusatsu in the long run.

Growing up with Maskman 

Back to my childhood I can't forget how I didn't immediately take a liking to the show. Was it too serious never mind I saw Mika Koizumi dubbed as Casey die in Bioman? Was it because of the more complex plot or what? I guess young minds in our day couldn't easily understand Maskman and that it took one to grow up to understand it. But I liked it anyway for the dumb reason that it was a "kiddie show" but not so kiddie isn't it? Who can't forget how Maskman had some blood and occasional alcohol drinking? Oh did I forget Bioman's first episode had those obviously fake gunshot scenes? It's just funny how Maskman never clicked with me immediately.


So what turning points did Maskman do? I couldn't forget how Ryuta Nanbara became my favorite Bioman. But for Maskman it's been the first time I ended up liking a red ranger in Super Sentai. Takeru himself who was called Michael Joe (but I refuse to call him that now) in the dub. I guess it was the whole love story he had with Ial or just how he was that badass. Maskman was also the very first Super Sentai to be red-centric. Takeru's story with Ial was the moving factor especially with his battles with Igam and Kiros. Igam felt like Takeru caused disgrace to the family (but look who's talking) and his rivalry with the stray villain Kiros. The first turning point I ended up liking a show's red ranger.

I can't deny that I really watched Maskman at first for the sake of watching it. Maybe it was because it was a "kiddie show" never mind it's not all that child friendly. There's been a lot of nightmare fuel that the show had to offer. I can't forget how Emperor Zeba intimidated me or maybe the number of times I cried watching it as an eight year old. Some of these scenes were seeing Ru's father die or the episode where Great Five sank. I can't remember feeling sorry for Momoko in that episode where she blamed herself. Oh those were silly memories that aside from hiding under my bed in some scenes (especially I was scared of Emperor Zeba as a child) that I cried over a few scenes. But I did manage to enjoy the show for what it was the more I watched it even if it never clicked with me immediately. For a bit of guilty pleasure I also developed a crush on Momoko making her my dumb reason to pick up the show and watch it but I would see it as a stupid and pitiful reason to watch the show.

Maskman in my later years

Entering teenagehood to adulthood had me discovering more about the Super Sentai series. I can't forget how I discovered more of pre-Zyuranger Super Sentai and more of post-Jetman Super Sentai. I can't forget how it shocked me to learn that Igam was a woman raised to be a man. I wonder why in the world was that plot left out in the Tagalog dub? A lot of stuff do get lost in translation. I can't remember how I was confused with why Igam got mad when her helmet flew off. I also was left baffled to how Igam managed to keep her masquerade fooling everyone but the audience. Sometimes, you just need to screw logic when you're watching any science fiction or fantasy show.


What also wasn't too surprising when I realized (and saw) that Takeru and Ial broke up after the events of the show. One of the events that somewhat didn't surprise me was Igam's decision to become a Buddhist nun to atone for her sins. I can't forget how I was left hanging to how the Igam twins would eventually play their role in Emperor Zeba's downfall. Sidenote, I wasn't too surprised to see Galaxy Robo finish the job instead of Great Five in the final episode. Maybe this didn't shock me too much because I saw Ryu's failure to save Rie in Jetman. Bittersweet endings were to be expected for a reason. I wasn't too surprised by it. Part of me felt bad but part of me wanted it. I tend to ship Takeru and Momoko even if they're not lovey dovey material. Takeru Shiba and Mako would probably work but not Takeru and Momoko.

I got into fan subs with Super Sentai after I got myself an external hard drive. I started watching other post-Timeranger Super Sentai like Boukenger, Dekaranger, Gekiranger, Shinkenger but I can't deny that I still missed Maskman that time. I watched it through Youtube until copyright took it down. Grown Ups In Spandex would later sub Maskman. It was pretty much nice to take nostalgia but at the same time it was a reeducation. Watching the original Japanese with subtitles felt like watching Maskman for the first time even if I saw it dubbed. I couldn't forget what I considered the mediocre Tagalog dub. That Tagalog dub lacked the true spirit of Super Sentai compared to the original Japanese audio. It just never got it and the original script intact was a better thing than what the dub had to offer to me as a child.


Perhaps what may have shocked me (or not) he's that he married a Filipino woman. I always felt that it's not too surprising either. Also, just looking at how the actor Kazunori Inaba now owns Miso Icchi Ramen is a surprise. It's just nice to know that one way or another fans still know something about some members. Hopefully, there will be a Maskman complete team reunion anytime soon.

Closing words

I could still look at Maskman as perhaps one of the most important stepping stones for improvising Super Sentai in the later years. I don't think that a lot of series later on would be what they are like Dairanger and Gekiranger improved the martial arts theme. I think Jetman, Carranger, Timranger and Abaranger improved the love story concept that Maskman started. Jetman and Zyuranger gave us Gai Yuki and Burai based on Maskman's X-1 Mask followed by several attempts to give us different types of sixth rangers. Plus don't forget Maskman also introduced the first five piece combining robot in Great Five which helped define how most succeeding mecha had given separate mecha for everyone.

I don't deny I miss the time that Super Sentai was less kid friendly and more serious or more violent. Gekiranger may be more serious than Boukenger but it's nowhere near as violent as Maskman or Dairanger. Dekaranger is a police series but the violence is considerably low to shows like Winspector, Solbrain and Janperson. Maskman had a lot of what I enjoyed like more serious plots, some blood and a lot of scenes that aren't so kid friendly. But again it doesn't mean I can't enjoy newer Super Sentai or Kamen Rider for being lighter and softer. It's never been a question of darker or lighter but a question of quality and implementation.

I'm seeing more new school Super Sentai now, I'm watching the current series Kyuranger and liking its rather atypical setting. I don't think I can really forget Maskman because I grew up with it and it's a pretty good show for my taste. It's just like how I prefer mostly new school Kamen Rider over old school Kamen Rider of the Showa era but I can't get Kamen Rider Black off my head. There's still a lot of Super Sentai better than Maskman but it can never leave my head. I still feel like telling newer Super Sentai fans to at least give it a shot and tell them what they think. While some could like it but not everyone can easily adjust to what I grew up with. It's probably a generation gap thing or not. But I still question whether or not generation gap is involved because I could still enjoy a lot of new school Kamen Rider and I'm currently enjoying Kyuranger.

In short, Maskman still has a special place even as I'm not growing any younger. Time flies so fast doesn't it? So what are your thoughts if you're a child who grew up on Maskman? 

Kyuranger Space 3: "GET OVER HERE!!!!!"

"GET OVER HERE!" is what comes into my mind with the latest Kyuranger episode. The episode takes place in the Planet Needle. The focus goes with the potential member of the Kyurangers namely Stinger. Stinger made his cameo in last week's episode and now it's his time to get his focus. Sidenote, we also learn that absorbing Planetium from countries would inevitably destroy the planet from where they're absorbed from. 

There's some progressive plot as unlike the other Kyurangers, this guy Stinger is pretty much a temperamental guy with some issues. Oh who does that remind me of? SCORPION from Mortal Kombat! Is he an assassin or what? A flashback hints or may not hint that he actually killed Doctor Anton who's Champ's creator. How will these two be reconciled when Stinger inevitably joins the crew? 

What reminds me of Scorpion is that we see Stinger getting manipulated by Eridron. Scorpion in Mortal Kombat had his motives before getting redeemed in Mortal Kombat X's storyline. Stinger also has his motives. Both Eridron and Quan Chi manipulate their respective scorpion-themed warriors. So how will Stinger join the Kyurangers? I can't wait to find out but I have to wait anyway. 

This episode also introduced us to the rebel commander Xiao Long Bao. It just makes me laugh to why the writer gave a name that literally means "small dragon dumpling". It's soup filled dumplings that was pointed out early on in the episode. How will he function as a rebel commander considering that he looks like he's happy go lucky? Hopefully, this will be fleshed out in episodes to come. 

So what's going to happen in the Kyuranger's fight to liberate the Universe from Jark Matter? 

My First Few Super Far-Fetched Wishes For Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger

It's no secret that 2017 would have another new Star Wars film this December and May 25, 1977 is the time when Star Wars: A New Hope premiered. Kyuranger pretty much a lot of American sci-fi influences considering that it has an American input. So what am I expecting for Kyuranger for the whole season? Here's some of my expectations which I don't expect to come true but wish they would.


I'm expecting a little more from Lucky than just being his namesake. Maybe add it that his happy-go-lucky cover lies underneath a tragic side of him. I'm just thinking of something like Luke Skywalker. Maybe have a plot where the Shishi system was ran down by the Jark Matter Shogunate. He's pretending to be happy go lucky to help him in his fight against Jark Matter. But I want to give him a situation similar to Luke Skywalker. I hope we'll get a Darth Vader type villain for the show to add some seriousness to balance the show. Just imagine if we had a villain who says, "Lucky I am your father!" and our hero screams "NOOOOO!!!!" like Luke.


The entire season should stay in space than go back to Earth. Juspion started out with space but ended up taking its battle to Earth after the first few episodes. It's time to try and improve the whole space concept since it's already 2017. The visual effects have been better due to better digital special effects. This time, get space, space and more space and not just keep the battles on Earth. They would seek to liberate different planets from the clutches of the Space Shogunate.


I feel that there's the need to expand the story of the Space Shogunate on how it ascended into power as well as its ruler Don Armage. I want Don Armage to have some kind of explanation of how he ascended into power in the first place. Maybe just modify Darth Sidious' story in Star Wars for the Super Sentai setting would be good. Maybe give Don Armage some cryptic background that he's restoring some ancient order and IMO, add the ancient secrets of the first Kyurangers though it's not necessary. I would want to have Don Armage desire to corrupt Lucky into becoming his personal servant aside from just having a Darth Vader villain. Also, he should give a real air of intimidation and fearsome presence whenever he appears.


Have some old school and new school Toku actors guest star as different characters if they took place in a space-themed Tokusatsu. For now, I'd want to have guest appearances by Hikaru Kurosaki (Juspion), Hiroshi Watari (Sharivan/Spielban), Junichi Haruta (due to his role as Mad Gallant in Juspion), Kihachiro Uemara (due to his role as Green Flash and Chevalier) or have the next generation of Space Sheriffs guest star as different characters. Hmmm... call me crazy but I want to have Hiroshi Watari or Junichi Haruta play my dream Darth Vader type villain for the series.

What wishes do you have for the series? COMMENT!

Kyuranger Space 2: An Emo Thief And His C3PO Android Join The Rebellion

Last week's Kyuranger featured a preview and we're on to Planet Jigama. Two thieves who seem to be a parody of some Star Trek or Star Wars alien named Naga and C3PO (?!) named Balance are the next Kyurangers. They get shock to know that they're part of the entire team.

So what's up with Jigama? Jigama's actually an industrialized planet and the Malistrate (the official name of the monster of the week) rules certain planets. Jigama is under the rule of Gammetsui a lizard-like alien. We learn that the Malistrates are the lowest ranking officials while Menasters rule the 88 constellations. It seems to be like the Galactic Empire of Star Wars with the military and political command under Darth Sidious. As of right now, it's highly possible that Eridron the first field commander might be equivalent to a Grand Moff in Star Wars. What's interesting is that May 27, 2017 is going to be Star Wars' 40th anniversary!

I mentioned last week that Lucky was indeed a far-fetch from Luke Skywalker. My reasons are that he's happy go lucky while Luke was always in doubt about his destiny. He easily runs into the Robin Hood duo. I was expecting Naga to be a Han Solo type but he's quite an emo. Naga is from the Ophicus system where they went to the extremes of becoming emotards to prevent wars. There's also a cool water battle against the Indaver soldiers (a play on Invader) as well as a lot of spy-type action. They must deal with the Malistrate Gammetsui. Balance tried to betray them for that special gem but made a Han Solo. In other words, he deviated from his original plan for the good of the galaxy.

We get more of a preview of how the Kyurangers will do their mecha. Right now, I don't think Toei will rush with the nine mecha combination. We see both the mecha of the new rangers create new arms for Kyuren-oh though no official name is given yet. They will all be acting as auxiliary mecha to the main five team. I'm still expecting more mecha though since I don't think the show wants to stop with nine or will it? You know how Super Sentai has always been meant to be a huge toy commercial. Innovation doesn't only focus on storylines but also on different gimmicks to sell more Bandai merchandise.

Next week will definitely be another episode. Stinger who'll become another orange ranger is coming out. Note that Battle Fever J, ToQGer and Zyuohger all have orange rangers in their inventory. How will this guy work out in the team? I can't wait to find out as the fight to destroy the Galactic Empire will be a long one. 

Closing notes:

What should you expect from this blog? Just expect weekly reviews of Kyuranger episodes. If you want to get updated with the merchandise or upcoming films then just read more from UkiyaSeed, Henshin Grid or JEFusion to get those updates. Also don't expect me to do chapter by chapter reviews of other old school Super Sentai. I may write something about them when more subs get released by Grown Ups In Spandex or Millionfold but they'll just pop out at random. I may do a review on the upcoming crossover involving Kyuranger so watch out for it. 

Kyuranger Episode 1: The Universe' New Hope For Freedom

Make no mistake. The Force awakened for Super Sentai last February 12, 2017. One may consider that it's been 31 years since Flashman aired last 1986 and 30 years since the series ended last 1987. Flashman was the very first space themed Super Sentai as Changeman was more military. So what do I think of this new series?


It's a breath of fresh air (but no air exists in space) to actually take Super Sentai to a whole new direction and venue. Like, hasn't Super Sentai's main events been stuck on Earth for let's say 40 seasons straight? The first fight happens on Planet Crotos where we see the Kyurangers are trying to save civilians from Jark Matter's attack. What one may want to take note is that the long-cancelled Metal Hero franchise had space themes. These shows are Gavan, Sharivan, Shaider, Spielban and Juspion.

The main hero Lucky as his name suggests is Happy Go Lucky. It's a big leap from Luke Skywalker in Star Wars which may be a good thing. He appeared at the beginning and crashed down at the Jark Matter troops. Speaking of Jark Matter troops I wished that they were resembling Storm Troopers. The Jark Matter had dominated much of the Universe like the Galactic Empire of Star Wars and would even destroy whole planets that defy them.

Jark Matter's shogun or ruler Don Almage seems to be a homage to Darth Sidious of the Star Wars franchise. He's got that intimidating voice and wants to make sure that rebels are crushed. But unlike Sidious who appears calm but deadly, he does seem to have a temper. Oh, and the ship that appeared in this episode looked like a modified Death Star. I hope that Kyuranger will eventually explain how Don Almage rose up to power and what he really is. Right now, he's just going to be a mysterious figure whose origins we're not sure of yet. Take note some Super Sentai villains didn't get much of a background story or none at all. It's not all the time we're told why certain villains operate the way they do like Bandora's hatred for children or Dr. Hinelar's quest to dominate the world with his brand of science.

The next episode will feature gathering two new Kyurangers from the planet Jagama. So it's going to go from one planet after the other. I want to see how these two will be recruited into the Rebellion that opposes Jark Matter. What's going to happen next? I can't wait to see how Kyuranger will be as a Super Sentai show that takes place in outer space. Also will Kyuranger and EX-AID get a crossover considering that it seems that Kyuranger takes place in a very futuristic timeline? That would be possible if and if a time machine happens and the cast of EX-AID get transported into a dystopian future.

Emperor Zeba's Possible Intended Backstory VS. God Neros' Actual Backstory?

I remembered Shogo B'Stard's blog featured a post called "Maskman: The Face of Zeba" and I wrote a similar post myself. So there was a plan to make Emperor Zeba have a human-like face (which still could have worked its way to him becoming Lethal Doggra) and I remembered his assumption which says:

I've always thought that maybe the original plan was to have Zeba be revealed to be a former friend of Sugata's, one who followed a dark path, and THAT is how Sugata knew about Tube; the show obviously planned to have Sugata do more, but actor Hayato Tani was an in-demand performer and there were scheduling conflicts. Early on, Zeba clouds the world in darkness with a maneuver called the "Dark Holon," which sounds like it could have been the opposite of Sugata's Aura Power. Zeba only used that move once, in episode 2, when Shinkai was still playing the character. Was writer Hirohisa Soda's plans to have had Zeba be secretly human, and a former colleague of Sugata's, and when all that fell through, he came up with the Lethal Dogler storyline?

While there's nothing at all to even confirm Shogo's speculation (or mine) on Emperor Zeba's supposed origins. I have a bizarre assumption with what happened that year. Remember Metalder aired on January 17, Maskman aired on February 28 and Kamen Rider Black aired on October 4. This brings me to one specific character from the Metalder series namely Emperor God Neros.

The philanthropist Gozo Kirihara would cover himself in darkness to transform into his cybernetic form as Emperor God Neros. While he appears to be a philanthropist but he's actually the evil emperor of the Neros Empire. Metalder's emperor of evil has a secret identity that the public doesn't know about. Everyone thinks that Gozo himself is a good person but he's actually stabbing everyone's backs in his alter ego. When Maskman and Metalder aired that year there might have been the fear of overlapping similar plots between Metalder and Maskman. Instead of making a similar plot why not make a new twist for Emperor Zeba's intended origin for something new? 

If Hirohisa Soda himself planned to make Zeba a secretly human character and former colleague of Director Sanjoru Sugata then that would be similar to God Neros' true identity as Kunio Muraki. Muraki himself used to work for Dr. Ryuichiro Koga. If Zeba were originally Dr. Sugata's colleague then that would be redundant wouldn't it? I think early on maybe before Flashman ended we had Soda planning that Zeba should be secretly human. Maybe the plan was to make Emperor Zeba more or less like Emperor God Neros. As Shogo had said it might be too redundant to have a scientist vs. scientist conflict for Soda. Sure it was repeated in Megaranger but I didn't think he wanted to do a full season conflict. Bioman had Dr. Shibata vs. Dr. Man and in Megaranger had Dr. Kubota and Dr. Hinelar. God Neros was also an unscrupulous mad scientist and if Soda decided to pursue that with Emperor Zeba then he thought it would be redundant and decided to drop it for good. 

What are your thoughts on this speculation? 

The Long Awaited Final Zyuohger Arc Update

After four weeks without a Zyuohger update, I'm back as I said and I'm giving a longer than usual update. This is the finale arc which had me mixed. So how does Junko Komura stand out on my own point of view? This will cover episodes 45-48 with my thoughts on each plot. As promised, here it is and enjoy my thoughts on the finale arc. 

Episodes 45-46 features the truth about Azald. Azald's indestructible or is it? He turns out to be the cosmic god of destruction that Cetas sealed long ago. He was sealed away into space but was rescued by Genis. Is it me or are ancient warriors really that F*CKING STUPID not to kill off the ancient foes and just leaves the rest of the work to modern day heroes? Then again most of them may have not the technology to do so which may be an bit of an excuse or if it wasn't for their stupidity we won't get more Super Sentai series.

The way Cube Whale reacted to Azald made sense with the whole plot that the latter is actually a destruction god. He's almost indestructible but they all found out how to destroy him. There's that weird core that managed to rebuild Azald over and over again. I guess most heroes can't find that whole weakness in past Super Sentai. I can't blame them for that lapse. Nobody ever thinks about that so often and I don't think I'd easily find it myself either. They manage to exploit that weakness and win but there's still some bit more of the story.

Sidenote, there's been that misunderstanding on the part of Yamato and his father. Yamato's father wasn't a heartless guy. He had a struggle and while he wanted to see his wife's dying moments but he had a patient to take care off. Now only if Yamato's father was a bit more open and that problem woudn't happen. Fortunately the misunderstanding has been resolved between both father and son.

The two part finale features Genis' plan to take over the Earth with his cells. What I liked about the final confrontation was that everyone had to put their priorities straight to prevent Genis' ultimate plan to take over the Earth. The Zyuohgers battle their way through to pick out the Genis Tower. It just felt a bit of a "rip off" of the Satan Tower from Zyuranger. They get rid of it but Genis like every typical villain never goes down without a fight.

The final episode sort of had a rip from the Space Sheriffs. Genis creates a pocket space to trap the Zyuohgers. Yamato discovers that Genis is simply made up of composite Moebas that somehow gained a united consciousness. Genis kills Naria and shows he's pretty cruel and uncaring towards everyone and only sought his own benefit! The power of the Earth caused the Zyuohgers to recover from their predicament of temporarily losing their powers. Atypical final battle ensues which I thought wasn't that good.

The ending's kind of funny. After the Zyuohgers sought to return to their world to talk to their stupid superiors the two worlds merge. It's been hinted that both Zyuoh World and the human world are two separate spaces. So really if and if Zyuohger isn't self-contained (because Kamen Rider Ghost made an appearance as a guest in it rather than in a crossover movie and so did the Gokaigers) so how can Toei explain the events in the Dinosaur Sentai Trilogy or Go-onger's concept of multiple worlds into Zyuohger? These events contradict each other so I guess one has to assume a Super Sentai Multiverse or leave viewers to decide for themselves. Meanwhile, I'll just brace myself for the Zyuohger OVA to see how a united human world and Zyuoh World will be.

So how as the Zyuohger finale?

The Force Awakens With Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger This February 12, 2017!

I'm calling this post "The Force Awakens" because that was the title of the first Star Wars film that was made by Disney Entertainment. Kyuranger is a space-themed Super Sentai series where its' set in a distant future ruled by the Jark Matter organization. From what I read from Ukiyaseed's Blog, head of the organization is known as Shogun Don Armage who is assisted by Minister Eridron. They steal Planesium and why they do it is yet to be revealed.

Here's a bit of Star Wars shade. We have the rebellion is led by Shou Lonpou with his nine Kyurangers. The Kyurangers come from different systems. Star Wars' first three movies focused on the rebellion's battle against the Galactic Empire. I guess Shogun Don Armage might be the show's tribute to Darth Sidious and maybe Minister Eridron would be a tribute to either Darth Vader or Grand Moff Tarkin. According to Den of Geek, Greg Mitchell of Bandai America acknowledges that Star Wars and Marvel are both competitors with Power Rangers are Star Wars and Marvel (both under Disney). I guess this may explain why Power Rangers Ninja Steel now has the Galactic Games storyline. Coincidence or not Galvanax is also a space shogun and so will be Kyuranger's main villain.

My concern is how will new staff members keep up with what was left behind by the great innovators of Super Sentai in the past? A lot of the fan favorites have burned out after some time. Hirohisa Soda, Yasuko Kobayashi, Toshiki Inoue and we have Naruhisa Arakawa waiting for his turn. Judd Lynn has also showed signs of burning out in later episodes of Power Rangers Dino Charge and may flunk big time with Ninja Steel. There have been some experiment with new head writers every now and then. Kyoryuger had Riku Sanjo giving it a shot. Ninninger had new head writer Kento Shimoyama. The current head writer Nobohiru Mori was involved as a secondary writer for Kamen Rider OOO and Kamen Rider Gaim. I'm a fan of OOO and Gaim. Hopefully, Gen Urobutchi will also get involved with the series as a sub-writer.


Not to mention, this year we also have the upcoming Dekaranger vs. Gavan film which will premiere on June 17, 2017. Although it's already the next generation Gavan but it's nice to see how time passed. Funny we're having a lot of space theme inserted into Tokusatsu this year. As I mentioned earlier, Power Rangers Ninja Steel has the Galactic Games plot. Kyuranger is a space themed Super Sentai. Then Dekaranger and Gavan are both galactic police organizations. The difference is Dekaranger tends to be more like Winspector, Solbrain and Exceedraft where there's no real main villain. It's nice to have the Dekarangers again though I'm still WTFed at Jasmine marrying that child she saved. I believe Arakawa's hitting burnout ville anytime soon because of that!

It's probably best to give lower expectations as of right now. Super Sentai has been suffering from a rating drop since Go-Busters and Zyuohger wasn't spared from the backlash. It's upsetting to think of how Kyoryuger even had lower ratings than Go-Busters (but toy sales backed it up) and ToQGer wasn't so fortunate even with the award. So what happened? What's causing ratings to drop in Japan? But I could still enjoy Super Sentai overall even if there are bad seasons. No Super Sentai is perfect but there's always a lesson to learn on how to make Super Sentai better. If you've got bad seasons then there's a lesson to learn. The path of innovation has never been an easy road but a road of trial and error.

What are your thoughts as you await for the Force to awaken this February 12, 2017?

Sentai Rambling: Which Super Sentai Series Is Better? Darker And Edgier Or Lighter And Softer?

The two Overlords now argue whether darker or edgier or lighter and softer is better!

It's too early (for now) to determine whether or not whether this year's Kyuranger will be darker and edgier or will it be lighter and softer. In my case I haven't seen all of them but in case you're curious you may take a look at these Super Sentai series I've watched from start to end. Meanwhile, I want to start rambling on Super Sentai's tones namely darker and edgier vs. lighter and softer. When it comes to Super Sentai just expect that there's going to be a change of tone every now and then.

Now let the two Overlords namely Light and Darkness debate which tone is better!

There's always a preference shift depending on one's mood. I couldn't forget that one of the reasons why I bashed Power Rangers was my conceived utter lack of seriousness or that Super Sentai was darker and edgier. That's really ignoring a lot of facts that Super Sentai isn't always that serious. Some are pretty lighthearted. One instance of the reverse is the more serious Power Rangers RPM in contrast to the comedic Go-onger. Most Super Sentai series are more or less on the well-balanced side where seriousness and comedy aren't excessively used. Now I'd like to talk about the two sides of the coin. I won't do too much of a Super Sentai and Power Rangers comparison but on the side of Super Sentai.

I can remember how a lot of Super Sentai series in the past were usually that serious. There were instances of heavy bleeding, the use of alcohol, brutal character deaths, drug use and really cruel villains just to name a few stuff that I miss whenever I'm watching newer Super Sentai. A good example I could give would be the following series more or less the same motif for analysis in this post where one is considerably more darker and edgier than the other:

• Chikyu Sentai Fiveman vs. Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive
• Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger vs. Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger
• Gosei Sentai Dairanger vs. Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger

Chikyu Sentai Fiveman vs. Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive

It's no secret anymore that Fiveman nearly canceled Super Sentai. I was really shocked to learn about that since it's part of my childhood. Not only was Hirohisa Soda really burning out that time but he was also in the verge of collapse. Turboranger was already that start. Fiveman was back to the tone of lighter and softer but that's not the reason why it was doing poorly. Soda was not only worn out but also toy sales were pretty low. There was nothing to back it up like Ohranger and Carranger had in spite of slump ratings. Fiveman may be considered a mess of Soda's previous ideas.

Fiveman gave the innovative idea of a sibling family but it wasn't implemented properly. Then came GoGoFive which I consider as the superior version of Fiveman. I can't resist making Fiveman throwbacks whenever I talk about GoGoFive. I wouldn't say GoGoFive is better than Fiveman because it's more serious. You can still get less serious and still be better. GoGoFive has better character execution (though somebody should tell Matoi to tone down that voice of his) and Fiveman though it had a likable cast had no idea on what to do with its villains. GoGoFive knew how to deal with both sides to balance things out.

My pick for the better series: GoGoFive

Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger vs. Bakuryu Sentai Abaranger

I keep hearing Zyuranger was considered "too kiddie". It may have been considered "too kiddie" during its time but that show's just way too serious compared to Mighty Morphin'. Let's face it you can't have scenes of Billy and Kimberly wrecking the whole town or Tommy dying in Jason's hands can you? Back to Zyuranger it's pretty serious for most of its run even in the comical episodes. There's a lot of nightmare fuel moments like when Bandora wanted to eat children turned into apples or when a little girl hallucinates her vampire is a vampire. Stuff like that isn't so kiddie to me.

On 2003 which would be 20 years after Zyuranger ended, Zyuranger's 21st anniversary and you might consider it Mighty Morphin's 20th anniversary as well we have Abaranger. It looks so kiddie and toned down compared to Zyuranger. Talking dinosaurs, dance numbers, Anime style humor... it just looks "pale" compared to Zyuranger but don't that fool you. In terms of writing, I think it beats Zyuranger by miles. Zyuranger tends to get focused on the child of the week while this show doesn't. Also, it has a more understandable plot. Zyuranger had some confusing plots like Daizyujin still remains an enigma to why the Zyurangers are needed to form him if he's a freaking god? Overall, it's an amazing dinosaur themed Super Sentai series.

Sidenote, I dare say that Abaranger's probably an example of what I'd call darker and edgier doesn't always mean it's better. Toning down Super Sentai to a certain extent isn't always a bad idea. Sure Abaranger feels more cartoony and Zyuranger's always more intense but the former improved the dinosaur theme of Zyuranger. Kyoryuger more or less has the same tone as Abaranger. For a full comparison please read my entry on the Dinosaur Trilogy.

My pick for the better series: Abaranger

Gosei Sentai Dairanger vs. Jyuken Sentai Gekiranger

Dairanger was pretty much hailed by Super Sentai fans. I think the whole idea that Jetman is that serious is an overstatement. I wonder if its fans and some critics have ever bothered to watch Flashman, Maskman or Liveman before Jetman. It had a lot of blood, alcoholism, brutal deaths, betrayals and a whole load of conflict. I think it even exceeded the seriousness of Jetman. Some people may consider Shadam to be Radiguet 2.0. A lot of sad plots happen in this series with a lot of well-written plots. While I thought the Three Stooges plot wasn't so good but most of them kept me interested. Kou wasn't even just a gimmick but he was really plot material.

Gekiranger might be considered as more serious than its predecessor Boukenger. It's a lot more serious than every other series starting from Gaoranger up to Boukenger. It may be considered darker and edgier but the plots aren't all that serious. Maybe you can call it to be more well-balanced in both darker and lighter themes. Sure there's some serious plots typical to Super Sentai but it's a lot tame compared to Dairanger. The deaths involved aren't as brutal as to that of Dairanger. Rio and Mele may be serious villains and Long's one incredible bastard but the series' violence is considerably low compared to Dairanger. There's more humor in this series than Dairanger.

I find it really that hard to determine which of the two Wuxia themed series is better. Sure Dairanger had a lot of good plots but Gekiranger theoretically dwells deeper into the world of Chinese martial arts. Dairanger felt more mythologically focused while Gekiranger explored a lot of martial arts legends and concepts. While Gekiranger's action scenes are less intense but it's easy to see how it has a deep story on its own. Dairanger felt like an introduction to Chinese martial arts while Gekiranger may be another chapter for advanced students in terms of writing. Gekiranger's considerably less serious than Dairanger.

My pick for the better series: Just got too lazy to pick, time to play spin the bottle anyone? My preferences between the two shift a lot. I watch Dairanger for stupid reasons (the eye candy, Rin) and for its plot while I watch Gekiranger for its plot alone since I don't find anyone attractive for my taste in that show. If I'm to put Rin aside then I can't really decide which series appeals to me better. I guess it's time to let readers comment!

Closing words 

In the end, it's not a question of darker and edgier vs. lighter and softer. It's a question of which series did it better. Whether this year's Kyuranger will be darker and edgier or lighter and softer is not the question. It's all about whether or not it will be handled properly and we get a good show. Also, I'm just sharing my own views here of which is better so no offense if my opinion clashes with yours okay? At the same time, please watch out for my planned "massive" Zyuohger finale arc review anytime soon.

Also, I'll do some Kyuranger short posts (weekly if possible) though expect less posts about other series since I'm pursuing other new school stuff like Wuxia series, Korean series and other East Asian stuff and not just Tokusatsu.