MMPR S1 Review

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (MMPR) (1993-94) was the first installment of Power Rangers to be adapted from the Super Sentai series, using Zyuranger and later, Zyu2 footage. Since Mighty Morphin was three seasons long, I'll review each three seasons separately instead of the series as a whole. Their powers were drawn from the spirits of the ancient Dinosaurs, which is technically only partly true, the Saber Tooth Tiger and Mastodon were NOT dinosaurs. The characters were teenagers based on teenage stereotypes (as well as their actors' characteristics) that eventually mature outside of their stereotypes. This season (and the first 4 1/2 seasons in general) differed somewhat from its Sentai counterpart in which it also had a martial arts theme to it. To make it work, Saban hired actors that were more skilled in martial arts than they were in acting. In fact, when Jason David Frank got the part for Tommy, Saban told him "we'll teach you how to act, you just keep kicking." This season was campy, the comedy relief characters Bulk and Skull, and the villains sans Goldar and Scorpina, were mainly comedic. MMPR is the most popular Power Rangers series with the biggest fanbase, with season 1 being the most popular season during MMPR. This season is remembered by many who grew up with the show (including myself :P). Fans like this series for its memorable cast, the catchy theme song, some of the cool zords and monster suits, and for being "old school." This is also the beginning of the Tommy Oliver's legacy, who was so popular on this show that fan demand Saban to bring him back. At this time, however, Saban had ran out of Zyuranger footage and had to request more footage to be made (now called Zyu2) which TOEI gladly gave to Saban. This season had some of the best out of suit fight scenes, particularly against the putties, which is mainly due to the martial arts skills that the actors and actresses possessed. At the same time, all three MMPR seasons had some of the worst American in-suit ranger fight scenes in the series history. While this season is very popular among many fans, it is often criticized for its campiness, a simplistic plot, and below par acting during the early stages of the season.

The Good

Well, I can't say enough about the cast. It's a very memorable cast that deserves its recognition. The music to this season and season 2 are still the best to date in Power Rangers. I actually think the Zyuranger and Zyu2 footage was used quite well in this season, which wouldn't be the case for season 2. I also love the fight scenes, particularly against the putties. The characters were also well developed and matured dramatically from their stereotypes by the end of the season. Theplot may have been simplistic but there were still plenty of good episodes and good subplots.

The Bad

It's true the acting wasn't the best early on, but it got better as the season progressed. Also, as mentioned earlier, the American ranger footage during this era was rather, bad.

The Ugly

The worst part was the American Green Ranger costume, particularly because of that soggy-looking cotton shield. Saban would have been better off importing the costumes from Japan instead of making his own.

My Rating

9.5/10 A. Despite the level of acting early on, this series has plenty of good, solid characters. IMO the best PR cast still.

My Favorite Episodes

Episode 1 (Day of the Dumpster)- Where it all began.

Episode 2 (High Five)- A good episode that gave Trini some character development.

Episode 4 (A Pressing Engagement)- Jason learns how much he needs his friends.

Episode 16 (Dark Warrior)- Technically a filler episode, but I like the family aspects with Trini and her uncle in this one. This episode also gave some very strong development to Billy, and was the start of him maturing from a nerd always being picked on to a very skilled martial artist.

Episodes 17-21 (Green with Evil arc)- Where Tommy's legend began, and it was pretty epic.

Episode 24 (The Spit Flower)- This is where the Tommy-Kimberly relationship starts to progress.

Episode 34-35 (The Green Candle)- Where Tommy loses his power the first time.

Episode 36 (Birds of a Feather)- Gives Zack some strong character development as well as a CMoA for Jason.

Episode 48 (Plague of the Mantis)- Another strong character development episode for Trini, in which she learns the value of honor.

Episodes 49-50 (Return of an Old Friend)- Involves Tommy's return and some good family aspects.

My Thoughts on the Shinkenger V-Cinema Movie

As terrible as the first Shinkenger movie was (lasting less than 20 minutes), I felt that the Sequal movie, titled Come Back! Samurai Sentai Shinkenger: Special Act more than made up up for the shortcomings of the first movie. To start off, it's given an appropriate length, unlike the first movie. The v-cinema movie also adds a new twist and shows Shinkenger in a new light. While the series is generally more serious-oriented, the V-cinema movie is more campy and comedic. The V-cinema movie has plenty of well-executed humor. My favorite scenes include the scene where the Shinkengers are protecting a forest, where Ryuunosuke imagines he's the leader, and the Shinkengers are dressed in animal outfits that are based off of their origami's (as pictured above). I also liked the scene before where all the Shinkengers are at an all-boys schools and their genders are completely switched, which was Kotoha's illusion. It makes me wonder if Kotoha had a crush on Mako. And then of course, the ending scene, where they tease Ryuunosuke about his illusion and then later Takeru about being the lord. If you haven't seen this movie, it's a must see and is now subbed by TV-Nihon, which you can get from here.

Jason David Frank to make his MMA Pro Debute

Many of you probably remember Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver (a.k.a. the Green Ranger), and all of his awesome fight scenes on Power Rangers back in the day. Now, Frank will be fighting for real. Exactly one week today (August 4th) will make his MMA pro debute in Houston, Texas against Jose Roberto Vasquez. Frank went 4-0 as an amateur in MMA matches. I'm not much of a fan of fighting sports, but this seems interesting and it would be interesting to see how he would do against real professional fighters.

Jason David Frank MMA promo video

Underrated Sentai Series

Among 2000's Sentai series, two seasons that I feel are very underrated are Hurricanger and Go-Onger. These two seasons are in the shadows of other very popular 2000's seasons such as Timeranger, Dekaranger, Boukenger, Gekiranger, and Shinkenger.

Hurricanger is in the middle of a three season period between Timeranger and Dekaranger. This three year period includes Gaoranger, Hurricanger, and Abaranger. As a result, Hurricanger doesn't get talked about much, other than Nanami/Hurricane Blue because of her looks, and occasionally Shuricanger. This series I feel is a very good series. It has an underrated cast, a good plot with intense drama and a dynamite final battle. To me, this series easily beats Boukenger and Gekiranger, two good series. It's a pitty though that much of the available Hurricanger footage on Youtube has terrible quality, with the words often not matching up with the lips.

Go-Onger is another heavily underrated series that to me beats both Boukenger and Gekiranger. This series falls between two very popular Sentai series, Gekiranger and Shinkenger. This show gets thrashed by Power Rangers RPM and Shinkenger fanboys for its comedic, campy, and even kiddy tone. To me, the humor in this season is what makes it fun. It's also not given credit for other good elements such as a likable cast, some very touchy moments, and some very serious moments, like Sousuke's supposed "death" and the apocalyptic final battle. Although the apocalyptic final battle gets ridiculed by some fans who liked the humor and felt that the ending was too dark for its otherwise comedic tone.

Boukenger Series Review

GoGo Sentai Boukenger (English translation Rumbling Squadron Adventurers) (2006-07) used an adventure motif, which seems to be somewhat inspired by the Indiana Jones movies. Boukenger focused a lot on folklore and mythology. Instead of every episode being about "the monster of the week," Boukenger episodes were more about the hidden treasure from the folktale or myth of the week. Although generally seen as a lighthearted, campy series, Boukenger is a series like Dekaranger, that I think is more of a middle ground between a comedic and serious season. This season was the 30th installment of Super Sentai, being an anniversary season. Being an anniversary season, Boukenger got a special team up (GoGo Sentai Boukenger vs Super Sentai) which saw the Boukengers team up with five Sentai warriors from the past (Nanami/Hurricane Blue, Asuka/Abareblack, Tetsu/DekaBreak, Tsubasa/Magiyellow, and Hikaru/Magishine). Also as a tribute to Sentai's anniversary season, the majority of all monster/evil mechas were modeled after Sentai mechas from previous seasons. This season also had the 30 Sentai Encyclopedia, which were clips at the end of each episode that paid tribute to Sentai's past seasons. This season is generally well praised by both newer and older fans alike. Older fans loved many of the elements in this season such as monster suits designed on past mechas, as well as a more traditional red ranger, in comparison to recent seasons. What was original to this season is that it had multiple villain groups (4 in total: Gordom Civilization, the Ashu/Questers, the Jayruu Tribe, and Dark Shadow), which was well liked by many fans. This season also had a likable cast as well.

The Good

Boukenger had a very good cast, with many likable characters that are well developed (such as Eiji, Sakura, Natsuki, and Masumi). Although the plot wasn't the best, Boukenger still had its good moments of excellent story writing and plot twists, especially with Eiji's background and the revelation of Natsuki's true identity. The special anniversary team-up lived up to this anniversary season. The intro and the outro were both good as well. It was also the first Sentai season to be produced in High Definition.

The Bad

The Boukenger's commander, Mr. Voice, was kind of irritating. The movie and the team-up with the Gekirangers were rather bland. While this series has many good episodes it also has a few boring ones as well. Also, the finale was rather, anti-climatic. This season also marked the first in a string of Sentai seasons to have mecha overload syndrom.

The Ugly

There was nothing too bad about this series to be called ugly.

My Rating

8/10 (Grade B). Boukenger is a good but not great series. Has an enjoyable cast and some good drama.

My Favorite Episodes

Episode 5- This episode begins Sakura's process of defrosting the ice queen. As we learn she's so stoic that she struggles to smile. She learns to smile by the end of this episode.

Episode 12- Nothing is more awesome in this series than watching the Bouken girls, Sakura and Natsuki, blast their way through an army of karths using machine guns. This episode really establishes Sakura as the Tomb-Raider action like character.

Episode 14- Develops the insecurities Natsuki has about her past and strengthens the brother-sister like relationship of Natsuki and Masumi.

Episodes 17-20. This 4 episode arc introduces the ashu/questers, Eiji as well as his background with them, his mom, and his father.

Episode 24- Provides a funny moment when Natsuki goes overkill with Ultimate DaiBouken.

Episode 25- A filler episode but also a rather heartwarming episode between Eiji and one of Dark Shadow's monsters.

Episode 27- A flat out hilarious episode where Satoru is cursed with badluck. He has to wear a bunch of good luck items over his Boukenger suit and looks ridiculous in it. It gets even better when those good luck items caught on fire after the explosion in the background that follows their rollcall.

Episode 33-34. Natsuki's identity is finally revealed, and it's a very interesting, heartwarming story.

Episode 40-42. A heartwarming arc involving Eiji, his mom, and the questers.

Episode 43. Boukenger's christmas episode, and IMO, this is Sentai's best christmas episode.

Some Reasons Why the Post-Zordon Era isn't as Popular as the Zordon Era

As is well known in Power Rangers fandom, the Zordon Era is much more popular than the Post-Zordon Era, even among fans who watched the show through RPM. Among the reasons why the Zordon Era is more popular include...

The post-Zordon Era broke away from traditional American and Power Ranger themes such as having a recurring past and storyline. This became very unpopular not so much in Lost Galaxy, but in Lightspeed Rescue which completely severed all connections to past seasons with the exception of the team up with the Lost Galaxy rangers.

While breaking away from recurring cast and storylines alienated some fans, its not the lone reason why Power Rangers lost its flavor in the post-Zordon Arc. Another reason is that 7 of the 11 post-Zordon era seasons, (8 if you include Wild Force) are Disney seasons. While there have been some popular seasons during the Disney Era, in particular Ninja Storm, Dino Thunder, RPM, and to an extent SPD, Disney's handling of the franchise has been very unpopular. Particularly the Bruce Kalish seasons.

Many of the post-Zordon Era seasons are virtual carbon copycats of their Sentai counterparts. While this is popular with some Sentai fans, it is for the most part, unpopular among the Power Ranger fandom. All of the Zordon Era seasons were completely original, with only a few episode plots being copied from Sentai material, the most obvious being the Psycho Rangers arc. This is evident in that many of the more popular seasons are virtually original in terms of plot, including MMPR, In Space, Dino Thunder, and RPM. Many of the more unpopular seasons such as Mystic Force, Jungle Fury, and Wild Force are virtual copycats of their Sentai counterparts.

Another reason that might be added is most seasons (save for Ninja Storm and Dino Thunder) either lacked or failed comic relief. The Zordon Era was truely Power Rangers at its campiest, which is one of the main reasons why it's loved by fans.

Three New Youtube Videos

I've recently completed three youtube videos, so set back and enjoy. :)

The first one is a Dekaranger team video, featuring the Dekaranger theme song by Psychic Lover.

The second video is a Ban (Dekared) music video. I used the song Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace because I felt that it fit Ban the most because of his crazy, reckless attitude :P

And the last one is a Sakura (Boukenpink) music video. This one I used a Japanese song, Bokutachi no Yukue, by Hitomi Takahashi. I thought about using Sakura's character song first, but decided against it because I felt that it was too slow for her character and this video. I hope everyone likes my videos :)

Female Leaders in Sentai & Power Rangers

Most of the time in both Super Sentai and Power Rangers the leader is male, and a red ranger. Today, I'll analyze all of the female leaders (including a wannabe leader :P) in Sentai and Power Ranger history.

Super Sentai

The first female leader in Sentai's 18th season was Tsuruhime (Ninja White) from Kakuranger (1994-95). Tsuruhime was the lone female in Kakuranger. I haven't seen Kakuranger, except for Super Sentai World, so I can't say too much about her. Although, I think among the reasons why it took a while for Sentai to have a woman leader was partly due to the series being aimed at boys, and also partly because of male-dominant society at the time, which is also why the majority of Sentai seasons before Kakuranger had only 1 female. Since Kakuranger, most Sentai seasons have had either 2 females or the lone female being the team leader.

The second female leader was Yuuri from Timeranger (2000-01). Yuuri is also the only legitimate Pink Ranger leader in Sentai history. Like Tsuruhime she was the only female on her team. Yuuri was serious, tough as nails, and had complete control over the Timerangers. She was a cop, and came from a family with a police background. Her family was killed by the Londarz family and she was driven by a desire to bring them to justice for their actions. At the end of the series when she goes back to the 30th century, she finds that her family was alive and well, and that her presence in the 20th century changed time for the better. To me, she got the appropriate amount of focus and attention as the team leader, unlike some other non-red or non-female leaders, like Ran from Gekiranger who didn't get enough focus.

For the sake of argument I decided to put Umeko (Dekapink) here. Umeko claimed to be the leader of the Dekarangers and tried to act as the leader. In reality, she was the wannabe leader. She would try to give orders even though the other Dekarangers already knew what to do. Hoji would often respond by saying "you don't give orders." In reality, the Dekarangers had no true field leader, although some fans argue that either Ban or Hoji was the field leader. The closest person they had to being the leader was Doggie Kruger, who was their commander.

Ran from Gekiranger (2007-08) was the third female leader in Sentai history. She was named team captain in episode 23 and immediately started to scold her teammates. After that episode, however, she didn't receive enough attention from the writers. After being named team captain, only one episode was truly about her (episode 37), and she rarely looked like she was actually leading the team, with the exception of episode 33 where they're stuck back in time during the Edo Era. As a result, Jan (Gekired) received way too much attention during this series.

The fourth female leader and first female red ranger in Sentai's history was Kaoru from Shinkenger (2009-10). While Takeru was disguising as the 18th head of the Shiba Clan, Kaoru, the true head of the Shiba Clan was working on perfecting the sealing character in order to defeat Doukoku. Later, she adopted Takeru as her son and as the 19th head of the Shiba Clan even though Takeru was older than Kaoru was. Kaoru, unfortunately, was present for only 6 episodes and didn't get enough character development either. It seems that she was used more as a test run by Sentai to see how fans would like the idea of a female red ranger. Perhaps in the future there will be a female red ranger that gets a full season and is the clear-cut leader of the team.

Power Rangers

Delphine was the first female leader in Power Rangers during the Alien Rangers arc in MMPR S3. She was the counterpart of Tsuruhime from Kakuranger. In MMPR S3, the earth is turned back in time and the Power Rangers are turned into kids. Their too young to fight, although strangely by the time Turbo comes around Justin was a kid and wasn't considered too young to fight. Thus, Zordon and Alpha summon the Alien Rangers from the planet Aquatar to fight in the rangers place until the earth was turned back to its normal time. Like most of the other Alien Rangers, Delphine received poor character development. The Alien Rangers arc in fact was used as a transition period from MMPR to Zeo. Most of the time the focus was on the Power Rangers searching for the remnants of the Zeo Crystal and if the Alien Rangers weren't fighting, they were busy re-hydrating in a lake since their powers and life force depended on water. This took attention and character development away from the Alien Rangers.

The second female leader in Power Rangers, and only Pink Ranger leader was Jen from power Rangers Time Force. Time Force was virtually a carbon-copy of Timeranger which meant Jen was similar to Yuuri. However, I think Jen's character was done better than Yuuri. Like Yuuri, Jen was tough, but she was much tougher than Yuuri and was a real hothead. Jen also had a kinder, gentler spot as well.

The third female leader during Power Rangers and the first Female Red Ranger was Charlie from SPD. She was the leader of the A-Squad rangers, who were good at the beginning of the series but turned evil at the end by free will because they wanted to be "on the winning side." The A-Squad rangers, like the Alien Rangers, received poor character development. The A-Squad were virtually absent during the whole series except the beginning and the end. Charlie was basically the only A-Squad character that received any attention.

My Top 5 Pink Power Rangers

Now it's time for my next top 5 list, my top 5 Pink Power Rangers :)

Honorable Mentions- Karone (Lost Galaxy), Rose (Operation Overdrive)

5. Kendrix (Lost Galaxy)

Kendrix to me was ok, but there's not really a lot of other options for Pink Rangers since its not a constant color like yellow, red, and blue are. She was smart and the level-headed ranger in Lost Galaxy. She deserves this spot over Karone and Rose from Overdrive for one reason, sacrificing her life to save another ranger.

4. Kat (MMPR-Turbo)

Kat originally was literally a cat and had an evil spell on her. When she was first introduced it seemed kinda like a recycled Green Ranger arc. Eventually the spell wore off and she replaced Kimberly as the Pink Ranger. Unlike Kimberly she wasn't a stereotypical valley girl. She was of Australian descent as was her actress (Catherine Sutherland).

3. Kimberly (MMPR)

Kimberly, although somewhat overrated, was still pretty cool. She was beautiful, nice, lovely, athletic, and just about everything you would want from a pink ranger.

2. Jen (Time Force)

Jen was a real badass. She's tough as nails, ultra-serious, and would kick anybody's ass that got in her way or pissed her off. If you messed with her you would be sorry. She was also the second female leader in Power Rangers and the only Pink Ranger in Power Rangers history. Nine years later there hasn't been a female leader (except if you count Charlie from the A-Squad rangers in SPD who were rarely present) since Jen.

1. Cassie (Turbo-In Space)

Cassie to me was super-cool. Like Jen she was tough as nails and wasn't afraid to stand up for herself against anyone or for anyone, including against the other rangers and even for monsters that were nice. She's beautiful, level-headed, carring, gentle-natured, yet if you pissed her off you would be sorry by the end of the day. She reminds me A LOT of Jasmine from Dekaranger.

Why Campy Seasons Can Be Good Seasons

Earlier this week, the Power Rangers Union blog discussed weather or not Power Rangers or Super Sentai should be more serious or more campy. This was also argued on my blog a while back in the comments section, when another user mentioned that he didn't like the 1990's Power Rangers seasons because they were "so campy." While there are many good dark, serious seasons in both Power Rangers and Super Sentai, the more campy seasons are good and often underrated as well.

Power Rangers

In Power Rangers during the Zordon Era, and especially from MMPR-Turbo (In Space was the most serious and darkest season during this era), Power Rangers was at its campiest. As well as having the comic relief of Bulk and Skull, these seasons had many comedy oriented villains such as Rita Repulsa and her brother Rito Revolto, Squat & Baboo, Elgar, Divatox, exc. With the exception of Turbo, these are also among the most popular Power Ranger seasons as well, and deservedly so. The Zordon Era is often referred to many as Power Rangers' "golden age." However, these seasons get ridiculed unfairly for their "campiness."

Two other rather campy, Power Ranger seasons that I would say are among the best are Ninja Storm and Dino Thunder. Ninja Storm had comedic villains such as Lothor and like Carranger in Super Sentai, Ninja Storm parodied Power Rangers' past. Dino Thunder brought back many MMPR elements such as stereotypical teenagers, and its two comic relief characters, Cassidy and Devin, were a tribute to Bulk and Skull. One of the reasons why Power Rangers lost its flavor during the Bruce Kalish era was the lack of comic relief available during his four year tenure.

Super Sentai

In Super Sentai among the most underrated and unappreciated seasons is Go-Onger. This season is often ridiculed by both Power Ranger and Super Sentai fanboys for its campiness and outright kiddy nature. Go-Onger is actually a very good series, one of the better 2000's Sentai's in my opinion. Go-Onger's campy and kiddy tone is what makes this series so fun to watch.

Even the more serious, darker seasons in Super Sentai such as Dekaranger and Shinkenger have their very campy and hilarious moments. Above are two of my favorite scenes from each season. The first is in Dekaranger, Tetsu had a bisexual, bug-like alien admirer that loved him relentlessly. That seen is from Episode 45 and one of the most hilarious scenes from that season. The second picture is from the recent V-Cinema, Shinkenger movie. In this scene the Shinkengers are in the dream world, switching from illusion to illusion that are based off of common movies/dramas. In this scene, the Shinkengers are dressed in costumes resembling their Origami's, and the funniest part of all is that instead of Takeru being the lord, Ryuunosuke is and he's the 18th head of the "Ikenami clan." Basically, Takeru and Ryuunosuke's rolls are reversed.

Two New Characters Revealed in 2011 Power Rangers Season.

I'm a little bit late on this, but according to Joe Rovang, it looks like Saban will add two Bulk and Skull like characters to their adaptation of Shinkenger. Their names are Skinny Mack and Big Jack.

Power Character Descriptions and Notes:
These two characters are similar to Laurel and Hardy or Bulk and Skull, both with over the top slap stick skills. They work as street cleaners and have an entertaining way of picking up trash alongside the streets by dancing their way through the streets with broom in hand. They are the comedic relief and the fun side of each story. They are constantly getting themselves in difficult but comedic situations.

Skinny Mack, 18 -23 year old all ethnicity male. He has a slim, lanky build with great comedic abilities. He is someone that you look at and he makes you laugh. Skinny Mack and his sidekick, Big Jack work as street cleaners and have an entertaining way of picking up trash alongside the streets by dancing their way through the streets with broom in hand. They are the comedic relief and the fun side of each story. They are constantly getting themselves in difficult but comedic situations. These two characters are similar to Laurel and Hardy or Bulk and Skull, both with over the top slap stick skills. Dance, street dancing or hip hop abilities are a big plus.

Big Jack, 18 -23 year old all ethnicity male. He is on the heavier side with great comedic abilities. He is also some who you look at and he can make you laugh. Dance or hip hop abilities are a big plus. Big Jack and his sidekick, Skinny Mack work as street cleaners and have an entertaining way of picking up trash alongside the streets by dancing their way through the streets with broom in hand. They are the comedic relief and the fun side of each story. They are constantly getting themselves in difficult but comedic situations. These two characters are similar to Laurel and Hardy or Bulk and Skull, both with over the top slap stick skills. Dance, street dancing or hip hop abilities are a big plus.

Overrated and Underrated Power Rangers

I've decided today that I'll talk about some of the most overrated and underrated Power Rangers. First I'll start off with rangers that are commonly called overrated by others, then I'll give my list of overrated rangers as well as underrated rangers.

Rangers commonly called overrated by the fandom.

The rangers that are most commonly labeled as "overrated" are Tommy, Jason, and Andros, which I tend to disagree with. Tommy and Jason are easy targets because of their popularity, while some fans on Power Ranger message boards have called Andros' leadership ability "overrated." Personally, I think these three have all earned their spots and popularity, thus imo, they're not overrated. I will say, however, that its unfortunate that Tommy does tend to overshadow an otherwise very good cast in Power Rangers Dino Thunder.

Rangers that I do see as overrated.

I'll start off with Kimberly. Kimberly is a pretty and lovely character, but to me she is overrated even by others who say she's overrated. Why? Well no offense Sean, but to start off Kimberly/Amy Jo Johnson is not hotter than every Sentai girl nor is she the hottest Power Ranger girl. Her fighting skills were rather, sub-par. All she could really do is kick and she was able to get by with her gymnastics skills. Her and Billy during season one were portrayed as the weak link on the team. Her actress, Amy Jo Johnson, however, is an excellent actress.

The other I would say is Billy. Billy was cool, and at times reminds me of myself growing up as a kid because I was always picked on, but to me he's somewhat overrated as well. The reason is because a lot of people choose him as their favorite blue ranger just because he's from MMPR, and often these fans choose ALL of the MMPR rangers as their favorites. While Billy matured dramatically by season 2 into a muscular, skilled fighter, he was the weak link along with Kimberly during season 1.

Rangers that I see as Underrated.

To me Cassie is the most underrated ranger of all-time. The reason is because she is overshadowed by other very popular pink rangers such as Kimberly and Jen. It also doesn't help that the cast of In Space tends to get overshadowed by Judd Lynn's story writing during this season.

Ashley is another In Space ranger that tends to get overshadowed by the series story writing. In particular I think her and Cassie get lost in all the drama between Andros and his sister Karone/Astronema, the search for Zordon, and the two part finale, Countdown to Destruction.

Ok while Kira and Trent are somewhat popular, I think both of them along with Ethan get overshadowed in this show by Tommy's presence. I actually felt that Doug Sloan did a good job developing the other characters around Tommy and didn't focus too much on Tommy, but Tommy is such a big ticket that his mere presence overshadowed the rest of the cast on Dino Thunder.

I think the cast of SPD is highly underrated, in particular Jack and Z. The cast and the series as a whole tends to get lost in the fact that it was both a Disney series and a Bruce Kalish written series. This series is actually ok, better than MMPR S3, Turbo, Lightspeed Rescue, Wild Force, Ninja Storm, and the other three Bruce Kalish seasons imo.

Common Misconceptions with Power Ranger Cast Changes

I think one of the rather biggest misconceptions about Power Ranger cast changes, especially during the Zordon Era, is that they're all unpopular. This is not always the case.

The first Power Ranger cast change during MMPR S2 saw the departure of Jason, Trini, and Zack because their respective actors all left the set because their salary demands were not met. All three of them were very popular rangers, but that did not stunt the show's popularity. In fact MMPR S2's ratings were higher than S1, which in turn led to the movie being released during the summer of 1995, which did quite well. Some of the new cast members, particularly Aisha and Rocky, aren't exactly popular characters. This is partly due to the poor character development that these two recieved, the fact that they were overshadowed by Jason and Trini, and also partly because for a long time the actor who played Rocky, Steve Cardenas, wanted nothing to do with Power Rangers. Cardenas would later change and has regularly been coming to Power Ranger conventions. Adam, on the other hand, is generally well liked by most PR fans from from all fan bases (MMPR, Zordon Era, Post Zordon Era, exc). In recent years, Adam has become more popular than Zack.

Power Rangers Turbo had one of the most unpopular cast changes as well as one of the most popular cast changes during Power Rangers history. Rocky, a rather so-so character was replaced by an even less popular ranger, Justin. At the time, Fox Kids basically forced Saban to cast a kid on the Power Rangers set because they wanted to appeal to Power Rangers' kid's fanbase. What Fox Kids didn't realize was that by this time, the show was already five years old and the fanbase was getting older. The majority of Power Ranger fans during Turbo and even now berate Justin not only because he was a kid, but because he acted like an immature kid. This went heavily against the show's tradition of teenagers with attitude.

On the other hand, the cast change during the second half of Turbo is misconceived by some to be unpopular and what ruined the show. The truth is that while some PR fans didn't like the cast change, most loved the cast change. Immediately after the cast change, Turbo's dwindling ratings went up which saved the show from cancellation. Ashley and Carlos were already present during the first half of the show, while TJ and Cassie were introduced just before the change and went on to become popular characters. The second half of Turbo was also helped by the change of writers with Judd Lynn taking control.

While not initially as unpopular during Lost Galaxy, because Lost Galaxy still had many Zordon Era connections, the cast change as well as the changing theme every year was rather unpopular in Lightspeed Rescue. It didn't help much in Lightspeed Rescue that it had a rather so-so cast. However, Power Rangers Time Force excited many fans with a rather likable cast, and by this time most PR fans understood more about Sentai and were over the continually changing cast from year to year.

American Cultural Biases Against Super Sentai and Japanese/Asian Cultural Biases Against Power Rangers

One of the big reasons why Sentai fans and Power Ranger fans tend to bash each other tends to be cultural differences and cultural biases. When talking about cultural biases, I'm not saying that its a culture war, just that the cultural differences in how each show is produced tends to lead to one fandom bashing the other. Here are a few examples.

"My series is better because its from my country."

This is one cultural bias that tends to go both ways. A lot of American Power Ranger fans will refuse to watch Super Sentai and sometimes ridicule the series because it's not American. While some Japanese/Asian Super Sentai fans have the same sentiment, and also at times criticize Power Rangers for "copying" their show as a "rip-off." These assertions from both sides are utterly ridiculous and indicate closed-mindedness.

"I don't like how long/short the other show's series or story arcs are."

This tends to be a fight between Zordon Era Power Ranger fans against both Sentai fans and Post-Zordon Era Power Ranger fans. In Japan and Asia in general, the most successful shows are the ones that have a one-year plot, and change cast, characters, suits, and themes every year, or are one year flings. This leads to Sentai and some Post-Zordon Era Power Ranger fans ridiculing the Zordon Era as too long and often ridiculing Power Rangers for having recurring characters that comeback year after year such as Tommy Oliver. This is also why many anime and jdorama's are no more than a year long in Japan.

In the United States, its the opposite. It is likely that if a show is successful one year, it will likely have a second and sometimes many many more seasons. Thus, a successful season in America is one that has continuity year after year or has a sequel. This is true for other American kid shows such as Ninja Turtles, Spider Man, X-Man, and Batman. Americans always want to see a good show continue. This often leads to Zordon Era Power Ranger fans ridiculing both Post-Zordon Era Power Ranger seasons and Super Sentai seasons as "too short," and is also the reason why it took Power Rangers a rather long time for it to adapt Sentai elements such as changing the cast, characters, themes, and stories every year. Thus when Lightspeed Rescue debuted it was unpopular at the time because it severed virtually all connections with the previous 7 seasons. This to me seems to be more of a misunderstanding of cultures than anything else. I think if both sides could get a grip on the cultural differences, this one wouldn't be much of an issue.

Dekaranger Series Review

I've decided that I'll do my own series/season review for each Power Rangers and Super Sentai seasons. They'll each follow a format with a short review, and my personal opinion and analysis. I'll start with my favorite Sentai, Dekaranger.

Review

Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger (2004-05) (in English literally Special Investigation Squadron Detective Ranger) had a unique, Space-Police motif that was similar to Timeranger in some ways. This was also the first season to be fully subbed in English, thanks to TV-Nihon. Most Sentai fans view Dekaranger as a more serious oriented series. I personally think its a mixture or a middle ground between a serious and a comical series. Among the Super Sentai fandom, this series is generally hit or miss. Many fans, especially newer fans, have called it the best Sentai series of the 2000's, while some older fans dislike the series. Ban (DekaRed), in particular is a hit or miss character. A lot of fans like Ban's reckless, crazy, yet heroic and badass attitude. Many older fans criticize Ban for differentiating widely from the traditional red ranger. A lot of these critics say that Ban is too much of a fiery guy to be a red ranger, with some fans even calling Ban "annoying." The series gets a lot of praise for its diverse and very likable cast, clever story writing, the police drama, and its humor. Others criticize the series for having a rash, fiery, and hyper active red ranger, for being untraditional compared to other Sentai's, the space-police motif (some saying it would be better off if it were a police-themed series and not a Sentai series), the amount of English catchphrases used, and for not having a "leading villain" or a villain group that works together like other Sentai series, whereas in Dekaranger each Alienizer that comes to earth is an independent contractor.

The Good

This series has probably the best cast out of any 2000's Sentai series, with 8 lovable characters. It has clever and diverse story writing that ranges from Jasmine's touching past, Hoji's tough decision making and ultimately having to delete his former best friend and his girlfriend's brother, and rather silly, humorous moments such as Tetsu having a secret, bug-like admirer and many classic, funny Umeko moments. I personally think the Space-Police motif was awesome, and this series has some of the best music in the entire series. It's also one of the few Sentai series that has both a good intro and a good outro, most usually have one or the other. The movie and the two team-ups are fun to watch. And last but certainly not least, the girls in this series (Jasmine, Umeko, Swan, even Marigold) are all likable, beautiful, and adorable.

The Bad

When we first meet Hoji and Tetsu, they both have rather arrogant, somewhat cocky, I'm better than everyone else attitudes. Fortunately, these two mature as the series goes on and become likable characters. Also, the narrorator is somewhat annoying and doesn't know when to shut up. For example, we don't need to know by Episode 50 that Jasmine is an ESPER, we already know that.

The Ugly

There's nothing I would really consider ugly about this show.

My Rating

9.7/10 A. Overall, awesome series. Nearly flawless, and my favorite series so far.

My Favorite Episodes

Episode 7/8- Jasmine's past is revealed and it's very heartwarming.

Episode 12- A funny and heart warming episode involving Umeko trying to be a mother to a giant alien baby.

Episode 13- Doggie's first episode as DekaMaster, and it's awesome

Episode 17- A funny episode with Umeko imitating Jasmine and Umeko doing some drunken boxing. This episode developed the two girls friendship and gave some strong character development to Umeko.

Episode 26- Hoji's crowning moment of awesome.

Episode 36- Gives good character development to Swan, and shows her transforming into DekaSwan for the first and only time in the series.

Episode 37- A strong character development episode for Hoji, in which he has to delete his girlfriend's brother.

Episode 39- Developed Jasmine and Umeko's friendship further, and has an awesome moment when Jasmine beats the MOTW at her own game.

Episode 43- Another heartwarming episode, establishing that deep down inside underneath the hardcore professionalism, Hoji does really care about Ban.

Episode 45- Tetsu cross-dresses for the second time and a bisexual alienizer falls for him. It's flat out hilarious.

I actually like a lot more episodes, but I decided to try to minimize it to a few.

Nai, Mea, Rio, and Mele, Heroes or not Heroes?

Constantly debated among Sentai fans is rather the characters of Nai & Mea from Magiranger and Rio & Mele from Gekiranger are actual heroes/heroine. All four of these characters were villains for about 95% of their respective series.



Nai & Mea (a play off of the word Nightmare) were the split personality of Vancuria, the Infershia's spy. They could combine into Vancuria or split into Nai & Mea. At the very end of Magiranger, after whitnessing Dagon killing Sphinx, they were shocked and had second thoughts about the Infershia. They would later revive Hikaru (Magishine), Isamu (Wolzard, who was the Magiranger's father and originally part of the Infershia), and Smokey the Cat.



Rio and Mele were the main villains in Gekiranger. Rio had revived Mele from the dead, and Mele loved Rio every since, following him in his footsteps. Rio's parents were killed when he was a kid. Master Shafu then adopted him and raised him. Rio would turn his back on Master Shafu and thought of nothing else but to become stronger by any means, even if it meant using the evil powers of the Rinjyuken school. However, little did Rio know that this was planned by another Villain, Long, who killed Rio's family and used Rio as a puppet in hopes that Rio would become the God of Destruction. After finding out that he was used as a puppet his entire life, Rio had seemed rather withdrawn from the world. Mele wanted revenge against Long but failed and was captured. After finally being convinced by Jan (GekiRed), Rio went to rescue Mele. Later, Rio and Mele burned down the Rinjyuken school and had actually planned to die in the Confrontational Beast Hall, where they were interrupted by Long. Rio and Mele then sacrificed their lives to save the Gekirangers from destruction. Later, in a dream, Rio, Mele, and some other villains that were previously defeated showed the Gekirangers how to defeat Long. When Long was revived from his seal in Go-Onger vs Gekiranger, Rio and Mele were breafly revived to defeat Long for good.

Sentai fans who argue that Nai, Mea, Rio, and Mele were heroes argue that they were heroic for their efforts (such as Nai and Mea reviving Hikaru, Isamu, and Smokey the Cat, and Rio and Mele for sacrificing themselves and helping the Gekirangers to defeat Long). Other Sentai fans argue that they're not heroes because they were villains for their respective series in its near entirity.

Personally, I would argue that Isamu is more of a hero than any of these four, since he was originally on the side of good before N Ma turned him evil. He would become good again by the near end of Magirangers. I wouldn't really consider Nai and Mea to be heroine because all they did was revive some of the Magirangers, and didn't really fight on their side. I wouldn't exactly consider Rio and Mele to be heroes either, since they were the two main villains for almost the entire Gekiranger series, but they're more closer to being true heroes than Nai and Mea. They teamed up with the Gekirangers during the movie, and their two team-ups, and actually did fight against Long who had manipulated Rio in the first place.

Summer (RPM Yellow) and Ran (Gekiyellow) comparison.

A lot of people seem to compare Summer from Power Rangers RPM to her Sentai counterpart, Saki of Go-Onger. It is indeed common for Power Ranger characters to be modeled and at times complete carbon copies of their Sentai counterparts. When they're not based on their Sentai counterparts, they're often based on either teenage stereotypes or on their actor's/actress' characteristics (for example, Kimberly's actress, Amy Jo Johnson was a gymnist and Zack's character Walter Jones was a good dancer). While there are some similarities between Summer and Saki (both being kind and welcoming to newcomers) the similarities really end there, as Summer is a very serious character and Saki is not. To me, it seems that Summer is based on a previous Sentai character, Ran (Gekiyellow). Like Ran, Summer is a very skilled martial artists, and both come from a rich family. Their respective parents both let them join their respective teams (for Summer to become a Power Ranger, and Ran joining SCRTC which became Gekirangers) in turn for both to get married later. Also, each of their respective parents wanted to arrange the marraige in which both Summer and Ran highly objected to. And they're both yellow rangers.