The cultural differences can be obvious here...
Last time, I wrote about the big deal about adapting Japanese shows.Now I feel like writing about the cultural differences between Super Sentai and Power Rangers. I was partly inspired by the Dino Thunder episode "Lost and Found in Translation" that while I am not a fan of the show, that episode still inspired me to write this entry.
When I think about why I prefer Super Sentai over Power Rangers, I think it might be because of my Asian upbringing. I also think about Super Sentai (in my own view anyway) to have better scripts, musical score, humor and action scenes. In short, I feel like Super Sentai is better than Power Rangers in all those respects for many years though as of late, Super Sentai is missing more action scenes from its main cast based on Chris Cantada's interview with Kazunori Inaba (Red Mask) and Kei Shindachiya (Five Blue).
However I feel like talking about the cultural differences. Aside from the most obvious that Power Rangers is American and multi-racial and Super Sentai is usually an all-Japanese team (considering it it is from Japan), there are other aspects of culture aside from ethnicity that puts some differences.
When I think about why I prefer Super Sentai over Power Rangers, I think it might be because of my Asian upbringing. I also think about Super Sentai (in my own view anyway) to have better scripts, musical score, humor and action scenes. In short, I feel like Super Sentai is better than Power Rangers in all those respects for many years though as of late, Super Sentai is missing more action scenes from its main cast based on Chris Cantada's interview with Kazunori Inaba (Red Mask) and Kei Shindachiya (Five Blue).
However I feel like talking about the cultural differences. Aside from the most obvious that Power Rangers is American and multi-racial and Super Sentai is usually an all-Japanese team (considering it it is from Japan), there are other aspects of culture aside from ethnicity that puts some differences.
I. Aesthetics
Cutting across the galaxy with blades of light...
Americans tend to like buff and muscular heroes, Japanese may not care about them too much
I always felt like that Americans tend to prefer buff superheroes more and Japanese seem not to care about them. If you look at Ryoma, he is obviously not on the buff and muscular side compared to his American counterpart Leo. Super Sentai had some buff heroes like Geki from Zyuranger or Ryou from Dairanger but the franchise doesn't put too much importance on that. An example you may consider is Ryoma from Gingaman and Leo from Lost Galaxy. Ryoma can look pretty "wimpy" to some people but he actually does several rather impressive out of suit scenes. Leo is viewed as the typical American buff superhero. Remember, looks can be deceiving as some "wimpy looking" heroes can be pretty badass.
Now I don't deny that Super Sentai had shirtless muscular males like Ryou in Dairanger, Shirogane in Gaoranger and Gou Fukami in Gekiranger, and Takeru Shiba in Shinkenger. Power Rangers seems to have the habit of having shirtless males as fanservice like Leo ripping off his shirt before he fights Trakeena, Jason and Tommy had shirtless moments in Mighty Morphin' but I don't find it all that impressive, Ryan Mitchell the U.S. exclusive Titanium Ranger in Lightspeed Rescue, Cole Evans in Wild Force and Troy Burrows in Megaforce. Cole and Troy are muscular while their Power Rangers counterparts Kakeru Shishi in Gaoranger and Alata in Goseiger (you may also include Captain Marvelous in Gokaiger too) might look "wimpy" to American viewers.
What was funny was this was somewhat parodied in Akibaranger Season Tsuu Episode Five. If you remembered the episode called "Delusional Import" then you might notice that the comics called "Powerful Rangers" displayed an overly buff Tyrano Ranger/Red Powerful Ranger on its cover. I guess that episode was making fun of America's love for buff superheroes or two, to make fun of the fact that both Geki and Jason were pretty muscular characters.
Now I don't deny that Super Sentai had shirtless muscular males like Ryou in Dairanger, Shirogane in Gaoranger and Gou Fukami in Gekiranger, and Takeru Shiba in Shinkenger. Power Rangers seems to have the habit of having shirtless males as fanservice like Leo ripping off his shirt before he fights Trakeena, Jason and Tommy had shirtless moments in Mighty Morphin' but I don't find it all that impressive, Ryan Mitchell the U.S. exclusive Titanium Ranger in Lightspeed Rescue, Cole Evans in Wild Force and Troy Burrows in Megaforce. Cole and Troy are muscular while their Power Rangers counterparts Kakeru Shishi in Gaoranger and Alata in Goseiger (you may also include Captain Marvelous in Gokaiger too) might look "wimpy" to American viewers.
What was funny was this was somewhat parodied in Akibaranger Season Tsuu Episode Five. If you remembered the episode called "Delusional Import" then you might notice that the comics called "Powerful Rangers" displayed an overly buff Tyrano Ranger/Red Powerful Ranger on its cover. I guess that episode was making fun of America's love for buff superheroes or two, to make fun of the fact that both Geki and Jason were pretty muscular characters.
Mei vs. Kimberly... one cutie and one hottie...
Japanese tend to prefer cuties, Americans tend to prefer hotties
I don't know how true this is but somehow, I observed that Japanese tend to prefer cuties and Americans tend to prefer hotties. My only evidence of that might be how women are usually drawn by artists. You may want to observe how Anime women look cute while most American cartoon women usually look hot. Likewise, I could see the same during the earlier start of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.
It's really my guilty pleasure to always be a broken record when it comes to the Rishiya Princess Mei vs. Kimberly Hart comparison. If you think about it, Mei is a cutie and Kimberly is a hottie. When thinking about how the two characters are, I guess people who find Mei prettier prefer cuties and since I prefer hotties, I find Kimberly prettier which can be subjective to one's preferences. Both characters have their own charm and I guess it's pretty much apples and oranges isn't it? But aside from that, I felt like Amy Jo Johnson acts better than Reiko Chiba considering that the former had experience in the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute prior to her acting career.
What I find also funny (which might be just subjective to my personal biases) is that I find most of the Super Sentai girls hotter than most Power Rangers girls. My favorite example might be is how I find Nanami Nono from Hurricanger more attractive than Tori Hanson from Power Rangers Ninja Storm. No matter how I invert it, I find Tori cute while Nanami is really distracting. Others may find Tori prettier than Nanami. Then again, this is pretty subjective to the eyes of the viewer.
Oh wait... Trini's counterpart in Japan is... a BOI?!
Yellow is considered to be a boy's or girl's color in Japan while Americans tend to think it's a feminine exclusive color
What might surprise some people is that Trini's counterpart in Zyuranger was a man named Boi. I remembered the interview in Karan Ashley's show where she asked Takumi Hashimoto about whati t felt that his counterpart in the U.S. was a man. The response was pretty much a good laugh. From what I heard, yellow is usually viewed as a feminine color in the West but in Japan, it is both a man's color and a woman's color just like blue. If you should know this, a lot of yellow rangers in the past were male. Bioman introduced the first female yellow ranger in Mika Koizumi but she was short-lived due to Yuki Yajima's abrupt departure (her character got killed off) and she was replaced by Sumiko Tanaka who played Jun Yabuki. Sad to say, Thuy Trang who I felt like was Saban's own version of Yuki Nagata (Yellow Mask in Maskman) died in real life last September 9, 2001.
I guess that's why Chojin Sentai Jetman never got adapted into Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers because of a female blue ranger (the first one was in Liveman) and a male yellow ranger (which was very common). I thought about how most of the male yellow rangers get female versions when the adaptation is made. Aside from Trini, you may also consider Maya from Lost Galaxy, Kelsey Winslow from Lightspeed Rescue, Katie Walker from Time Force and Taylor Eardhart from Wild Force were female yellow rangers with male counterparts. Later on, we would see male yellow rangers for Power Rangers first with the Alien Rangers mini-series, Dustin Brooks for Ninja Storm and Charlie Thorn for Mystic Force.
As of late, I have noticed that it's very hard to find a male yellow ranger after Timeranger except if you talk about Kouta Bitou from Hurricanger or Tsubasa Ozu from Magiranger. If you realize it, most of the yellow rangers for most entries today are female and female blue rangers aren't very common in Super Sentai.
Their outfits will tell you why Zonette's footage was never used...
Provocative clothing is okay with Japanese live TV shows aimed towards children but not in American live TV shows
This might be a very touchy subject considering that there are censorship issues. You might think about how Divatox's counterpart Lady Zonette in Carranger was really very sexy. While Divatox had some sexiness, I think Lady Zonette was the real distraction from face to body. In Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, we never saw Shelinda ever have a counterpart in that series and it had the Power Rangers exclusive villain Trakeena instead.
Now I could be wrong but there are some rules in American TV programming. If I'm not wrong, you can have cleavages, skimpy clothing or bikinis in some cartoons but not on live television. If you remember the 90s Batman The Animated series cartoon, you may notice Poison Ivy's cleavage is really showing or for Scooby Doo, Daphne Blake was in a bikini in some episodes where the gang goes to the beach. In Mighty Morphin', one episode had Kimberly in a bikini top but never in full bikini while in Megaranger, Chisato Jougasaki appeared in a bikini for at least two episodes during the summer broadcast.
Let the battle of the guitars begin!
Musical styles vary between both series
The musical styles between Super Sentai and Power Rangers also varies due to Japanese and American culture. One good example may be the chord progression based on this Youtube videobut since I am not musically inclined, I won't bother to speak too much about it. Instead, I will rely on my rather limited knowledge to write on the musical style differences.
I might start comparing how musical scores and execution vary. Most of Power Rangers' opening themes usually don't click with me as much as Super Sentai opening themes. The rest of the soundtrack can also be very different like the insert songs and background musical scores. My favorite example would be how I prefer the background music played in Bandora's Palace compared to the background music played in Rita's palace (which still has Bandra Palace written on it). Super Sentai also has an ending theme song which Power Rangers only plays the opening theme again in the ending.
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Jason and Tommy must have been speechless watching this!
Not to mention, the use of violent scenes
I have noticed the degrees of violence between Super Sentai and Power Rangers can greatly vary because of cultural differences. In Japan, TV shows before allowed certain amounts of violence like blood and not to mention, on-screen deaths. If you have seen both Hundred Beast King Golion and Lion Voltron, you will notice how the latter is a very sanitized version of a really bloody Anime. Likewise, Zyuranger has a lot of violent scenes that are otherwise questionable for American standards especially during the "Green with Evil" arc involving Burai.
In Zyuranger, Burai himself is fully aware of his actions and he isn't under some spell. I would also think that Tommy never dared to attack Rita with the Sword of Darkness. In Burai's case he would dare attack Bandora so he could seize the world for himself. During the battle with Geki, you really have the two of them out of suit and using sharp objects in battle. You don't have Jason and Tommy duking it out like Geki and Burai. Dairanger is also a very bloody series featuring tons of bleeding of both heroes and villains alike
In Zyuranger, Burai himself is fully aware of his actions and he isn't under some spell. I would also think that Tommy never dared to attack Rita with the Sword of Darkness. In Burai's case he would dare attack Bandora so he could seize the world for himself. During the battle with Geki, you really have the two of them out of suit and using sharp objects in battle. You don't have Jason and Tommy duking it out like Geki and Burai. Dairanger is also a very bloody series featuring tons of bleeding of both heroes and villains alike
Later Power Rangers seasons do have an increased amount of violence but it was to reasonable levels like most of today's Super Sentai. What may be considered as violent scenes upgrade may be observed with post-Zordon series. You end up having more of the cast members actually getting into real badass fights or getting wounded from fighting out of suit. Super Sentai on the other hand still had violence and blood but it was minimized compared to old school Super Sentai. I guess Dairanger was so bloody parents complained. Boukenger may have that girls with guns episode but they were aiming at inorganic enemies and while bleeding happened, blood was greatly minimized.
II. Writing styles and execution
Beyond all space and Timeranger, beyond all space and Time Force...
Darker, more serious tones vs. lighter, less serious tones
Timeranger and Time Force are both serious seasons but you can notice that the latter isn't as serious as Timeranger like you don't have Lucas suffering the same disease as Ayase or having betrayal within the Time Protection Agency. However you may end up considering how Super Sentai in the past tend to be darker and edgier than usual. While Zyuranger may be lighter by Japanese standards but the way most of it is written is considerably darker than Mighty Morphin'. Zyuranger itself isn't all fun and games as you will see some really hard nightmare fuel, Bandora may feel hammy but she cannot be taken lightly or Burai's backstory may hardly be passable to TV-Y7-FV standards.
I observed how a lot of Super Sentai back then had lots of darker, more serious tones. Power Rangers back then usually stuck with lighter, less serious tones. However the events of 1995 such as the Sarin gas attack and the Tokyo earthquake forced Ohranger to retool from its intended darker, more serious plot to something lighter yet it's still darker compared to Power Rangers Zeo. Carranger eventually became a comedy Super Sentai series which was pretty new for the franchise considering that most Super Sentai were still darker and more serious by American standards. Power Rangers would try to be more serious like how Time Force actually has some effort in writing a serious series but a less dramatic one at that. As of late, both Super Sentai and Power Rangers have tried to balance both sides while in the past, some Super Sentai fans may criticize Power Rangers for being a toned down version of Super Sentai which isn't always so.
During the Disney era of Power Rangers, a reversal also happened with adapting Go-onger. Rather than do Go-onger's wacky and lighthearted theme, Power Rangers RPM went as far as to actually create a standalone, post-apocalyptic series taking place where the Earth had been overtaken by the Venjix Virus. Super Sentai would later try to return to darker, more serious roots with Go-Busters which I felt was partly inspired by Power Rangers RPM minus the doomsday plot.
During the Disney era of Power Rangers, a reversal also happened with adapting Go-onger. Rather than do Go-onger's wacky and lighthearted theme, Power Rangers RPM went as far as to actually create a standalone, post-apocalyptic series taking place where the Earth had been overtaken by the Venjix Virus. Super Sentai would later try to return to darker, more serious roots with Go-Busters which I felt was partly inspired by Power Rangers RPM minus the doomsday plot.
WTF? Dino Thunder Rangers with wigs? Nope it's Abaranger!
American humor and Japanese humor tend vary in styles
I noticed how Super Sentai humor and Power Rangers humor can vary in more than one level. What may be obvious is how Power Rangers tends to add who I feel are useless characters like Bulk, Skull, Professor Phenomeus, Cassidy, Devin and Spike. When I remember Mighty Morphin' as a child, I used to find Bulk and Skull entertaining but I got bored of them pretty quickly. I always felt characters like them tend not to contribute anything useful but to annoy people.
From what I observed, Super Sentai humor relies on genuine mistakes causing embarrassment while Power Rangers relies on repeated stupidity and humiliation (which you can observe is common in American cartoons like how Spongebob never passes his driving test, even if in real life, that's too much).Abaranger and Dino Thunder might be a good example of showing two different types of humor.If you observe the comedy of Abaranger, it usually focuses on the mistakes of people from the good guys to the bad guys. In Dino Thunder, most of the comedy is focused on Cassidy and Devin whom I find to be very annoying. Also the episode "Lost in Translation" in Dino Thunder sort of tries to differ between Japanese humor (the Abarangers' genuine mistakes causing embarrassment) and American humor (Connor's frequent annoyance).
What may also be observed is how comic relief characters are also carried out in terms of relevance. In Super Sentai, the comic relief characters are either important allies that back up the heroes or a fellow ranger. In Zyuranger, the comic relief duo namely Dan and Boi also among the five protagonists. In Mighty Morphin', Bulk and Skull were just local high school wannabe bullies who always failed in whatever stupid schemes they have like Skull's advances towards Kimberly or trying to figure out the identity of the Power Rangers for money. In Dino Thunder, Cassidy and Devin are nothing more than irritations while in Abaranger, Emiri is actually Yukito's secretary and the old man Ryunosuke runs the Dino Curry where the heroes hang out as their secret base. In Shinkenger, you have Ryunosuke and later Genta as comic relief characters who also fight with the team. In Power Rangers Samurai, all Spike does is does something stupid and he never does anything relevant at all.
What may also be observed is how comic relief characters are also carried out in terms of relevance. In Super Sentai, the comic relief characters are either important allies that back up the heroes or a fellow ranger. In Zyuranger, the comic relief duo namely Dan and Boi also among the five protagonists. In Mighty Morphin', Bulk and Skull were just local high school wannabe bullies who always failed in whatever stupid schemes they have like Skull's advances towards Kimberly or trying to figure out the identity of the Power Rangers for money. In Dino Thunder, Cassidy and Devin are nothing more than irritations while in Abaranger, Emiri is actually Yukito's secretary and the old man Ryunosuke runs the Dino Curry where the heroes hang out as their secret base. In Shinkenger, you have Ryunosuke and later Genta as comic relief characters who also fight with the team. In Power Rangers Samurai, all Spike does is does something stupid and he never does anything relevant at all.
Rita Repulsa? Nope it's Witch Bandora!
Degrees in villainy may also vary a lot, I mean a lot for most of the time
I think a lot more people may recognize the picture above to be "Rita Repulsa" rather than the original footage that was Witch Bandora. Looking at how Zyuranger and Mighty Morphin' handle both characters, I always thought that while both witches were always hatching something stupid but the degrees of villain differ. In Mighty Morphin', you may notice all Rita wants is to conquer Earth, she's evil for evil's sake. In Zyuranger, Bandora herself may hatch typical half-brained Super Sentai villain plans but they trigger nightmare fuel like when she sought to eat children as apples, when she poisoned Mei into a horrible nightmare or when she kidnapped children to use as a threat against the Zyurangers.
Later seasons of Power Rangers would eventually write villains which I believe are indeed worthy of Super Sentai standards. Trakeena in Lost Galaxy was one ruthless and cunning villain who was doing everything to achieve victory even if it meant destroying her own comrades. Queen Bansheera of Lightspeed Rescue was also uncaring towards her own children like Grand Witch Grandienne was to hers in GogoFive. Ransik in Time Force may have hammy moments but his actions make one wish he really died at the end of the series. Master Org of Wild Force went as far as to manipulate everyone around him for the sake of power. Lothor of Hurricanger may have hammy moments but he is still a competitive villain. For the villains of Power Rangers RPM, they can be viewed as non-comedic villains as well.
What might also be observable is that Power Rangers also has the Power Rangers exclusive villains which I believe were also written for cultural reasons. Trakeena in Lost Galaxy can be viewed as a replacement for Shelinda in Gingaman. Ransik had no Timeranger counterpart since the recurring villain was Don Dolnero, Gluto's Timeranger counterpart. Don Dolnero is no pushover compared to Gluto considering the former can do a lot of badass stunts. I guess in America, Dolnero being a fat villain wouldn't make so much of an appeal so his Time Force counterpart, Gluto was turned into a joke character. Master Org was added into Wild Force which I felt like producers felt the need to add in a main villain since Gaoranger had no real main villain but instead, you have a hew Org Highness stepping in when the previous Org Highness got destroyed. Emperor Grumm (who strangely resembles Vulgar in the Dekaranger movie) was also added into SPD since Abrella in Dekaranger felt more like he was just a "side salesman" which may have felt awkward for some viewers.
Later seasons of Power Rangers would eventually write villains which I believe are indeed worthy of Super Sentai standards. Trakeena in Lost Galaxy was one ruthless and cunning villain who was doing everything to achieve victory even if it meant destroying her own comrades. Queen Bansheera of Lightspeed Rescue was also uncaring towards her own children like Grand Witch Grandienne was to hers in GogoFive. Ransik in Time Force may have hammy moments but his actions make one wish he really died at the end of the series. Master Org of Wild Force went as far as to manipulate everyone around him for the sake of power. Lothor of Hurricanger may have hammy moments but he is still a competitive villain. For the villains of Power Rangers RPM, they can be viewed as non-comedic villains as well.
What might also be observable is that Power Rangers also has the Power Rangers exclusive villains which I believe were also written for cultural reasons. Trakeena in Lost Galaxy can be viewed as a replacement for Shelinda in Gingaman. Ransik had no Timeranger counterpart since the recurring villain was Don Dolnero, Gluto's Timeranger counterpart. Don Dolnero is no pushover compared to Gluto considering the former can do a lot of badass stunts. I guess in America, Dolnero being a fat villain wouldn't make so much of an appeal so his Time Force counterpart, Gluto was turned into a joke character. Master Org was added into Wild Force which I felt like producers felt the need to add in a main villain since Gaoranger had no real main villain but instead, you have a hew Org Highness stepping in when the previous Org Highness got destroyed. Emperor Grumm (who strangely resembles Vulgar in the Dekaranger movie) was also added into SPD since Abrella in Dekaranger felt more like he was just a "side salesman" which may have felt awkward for some viewers.
Tommy and Burai... where both of them are different from each other!
The way heroic departures tend to be handled
I wonder how many Mighty Morphin' fans were shocked to find out that Burai had a different story from Tommy. I have noticed that a lot of times in earlier Tokusatsu, most of the time the writers ended up killing characters whenever a cast member leaves the set. Sun Vulcan had the first Vul Eagle leave for NASA but the rest weren't so fortunate. When it comes to Tommy and Burai that aside from the fact that the latter does not have a romantic relationship with the pink ranger, you may consider how their departures were handled. Tommy only lost his powers but Burai himself wasn't so lucky. Burai's green candle was not what drains him of his powers but it symbolizes how much life he has left. Personally, I don't like Tommy and I like Burai better.
In Lost Galaxy, I thought that series dared to do something different. The series itself carried over the death of Bullblack into Magna Defender. Later on, we would see Kendrix have a sacrificial death scene which happened because the actress Valerie Vernon got sick with leukemia although she did come back to life at the end of the series. For Power Rangers Time Force, I guess Judd Lynn couldn't get to have Eric Myers die a heroic death because the executives wouldn't want it. In Timeranger, Naoto really died from a sneak attack from a faraway Zenitto.
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The Zyurangers bid farewell... but wait MMPR got extended?
In Lost Galaxy, I thought that series dared to do something different. The series itself carried over the death of Bullblack into Magna Defender. Later on, we would see Kendrix have a sacrificial death scene which happened because the actress Valerie Vernon got sick with leukemia although she did come back to life at the end of the series. For Power Rangers Time Force, I guess Judd Lynn couldn't get to have Eric Myers die a heroic death because the executives wouldn't want it. In Timeranger, Naoto really died from a sneak attack from a faraway Zenitto.
The Zyurangers bid farewell... but wait MMPR got extended?
How shows are handled between America and Japan may vary
I have noticed how American shows usually get overextended due to popularity. In the case of Power Rangers, we are led to the Zordon Arc which really lasted for six episodes. Not much cast change was done during Mighty Morphin' which lasted for three seasons. Zeo had very little cast change either. It wasn't until Power Rangers Turbo that a cast change was done midseason. Power Rangers in Space ended the Zordon era. Ever since then, Power Rangers started having a yearly cast change with proper finales starting with Lost Galaxy up to present.
For Mighty Morphin' I heard from somewhere that the show was supposed to end by forty episodes where footage from Zyuranger's finale were used. Part of what i heard was that a character named Buba (based on Prince Kai of Zyuranger) was going to appear and the Power Rangers would defeat Cyclopsis. Later on, we would see Rita and her minions sealed away sent off to permanent exile. Due to Power Rangers becoming a monster hit, overextension eventually happened where I felt like nothing fresh got pumped into the series, maybe except for Lord Zedd's introduction but for me, the rest of Mighty Morphin' was going nowhere like Kimberly becoming a helpless damsel in distress or how Bulk and Skull continue to tick me off eventually.
For Mighty Morphin' I heard from somewhere that the show was supposed to end by forty episodes where footage from Zyuranger's finale were used. Part of what i heard was that a character named Buba (based on Prince Kai of Zyuranger) was going to appear and the Power Rangers would defeat Cyclopsis. Later on, we would see Rita and her minions sealed away sent off to permanent exile. Due to Power Rangers becoming a monster hit, overextension eventually happened where I felt like nothing fresh got pumped into the series, maybe except for Lord Zedd's introduction but for me, the rest of Mighty Morphin' was going nowhere like Kimberly becoming a helpless damsel in distress or how Bulk and Skull continue to tick me off eventually.
What might also be noticeable is that some American entertainment companies tend to cram in all their creations into one universe. It's not really so with Toei as whether you like it or not, Super Sentai like the Super Robot franchise has no timeline and instead, each season is independent from each other. You might ask about the VS Movies but common sense will tell you that they belong to different continuity. Gokaiger is a huge crossover movie belonging to the VS Movies continuity. I always found myself having a hard time accepting the non-existence of a Super Sentai timeline but now I accept it.
As of late, Power Rangers under Nickelodeon ends up having a two season split like a lot of American shows. You might notice how children's shows from America tend to split the show into several seasons before the series ends. My favorite example might be Danny Phantom (due to the fact that the next Kamen Rider is called Kamen Rider Ghost) to how before a finale was set for the show, it was split into three seasons. You don't have that with Kamen Rider Kiva.
Well it's MORPHIN TIME!!!! No it's... DINOBUCKLER!!!!
Closing thoughts
While I couldn't really warm up to Dino Thunder's "Lost in Translation" but I thought about the final statement that Connor wrote in his social studies report called "Japanese vs. American Culture: Closer Than We Think". Both sides have similarities, differences and yet there is always an exchange of ideas. While Power Rangers originally copied from Super Sentai, they also introduced original ideas that would later be copied into Power Rangers. Like you may consider you had "A Friend in Need" in Mighty Morphin' but later, Shinkenger would have a crossover with Kamen Rider Decade.
Whether you like it or not, there's no "pure culture" these days as almost every culture around the world had really borrowed something foreign from each other. You might notice that you have Eastern influence in the West and Western influence in the East. Paper, slippers and umbrellas are Eastern ideas but they got westernized versions. A lot of modern clothing, computers and the Internet are Western in origin but they also got used by the East.
As of late, we have Yuuta Mochizuki meeting Austin St. John at the Power Morphicon. Later we have Reiko Chiba, Takumi Hasimoto and Aohisa Takayaku in the Anime convention where they were interviewed by Karan Ashley together with Austin St. John. Based on this video by Karan Ashley, I can see that there was clearly a warm reception between both groups.
Once again, while I may no longer be that much of a fan of either Super Sentai or Power Rangers (it might be due to my age or due to my other greater interests), but again... GO GO SUPER SENTAI AND POWER RANGERS!
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Good article bro. Pls make article about Kamen Rider. *supporting
The Writing is Great, this would be one of the only times I would actually read.The history of Super Sentai and other various Tokusatsu are really interesting.
I don't like power rangers,but I just try and avoid it. I see it like this: the suit actors and SPX guys probably are very happy that their art(yes,toku is an art) can be enjoyed by millions of people all over the world,in stead of just in Japan,and other surrounding East Asia countries.
wow some xenophobic folks on here.
Please tell me you're just playing around.
Please tell me you're joking.
I haven't watched Power Rangers since PR Super Samurai. And I've been watching Super Sentai since Gosiger. I enjoy both. So long as there are heroic good guys saving the world a d defeating the forces of evil I'm happy. So I don't understand why there needs to be animosity between the two.
I mean maybe PR and SS were drastically different back in the day. But for a while before PR Mega force they were honestly 90% identical. I haven't seen PR Mega force but I've been given the impression Saban just wants to push the sale of toys and the quality of the show just doesn't matter. Which is a shame. Regardless of what any Sentai elitist says. Power rangers for a while was really good and pure outstanding for a few seasons.
I'm sick of prejudice against Power Rangers and prejudice against anime dubs.
Interesting to point out, female yellow rangers actually existed long before Zyuranger came out (Bioman, Flashman, Maskman).
So it's not just Americans who see yellow as feminine.
Well, the main prejudice stems from 2 sources.
1. Japanophiles
2. The fact that dubs and PR are so piss poorly done.
Let's be honest. There's very little effort made to find decent voice actors that suit characters in anime dubs.
The censor the hell out of things, and usually lower the whole tone of the show.
And as the arrival explains PR tends to set everything to the American ideal, but it's not a show watched only by Americans.
This generally tends to piss people off by default.
As for me, I don't watch either dubs or PR. But that's because I dislike American culture in general.
Really? Retsu Fukami is buff? Takeru too?!
If the americans wants to have their own "Toku" shows, no problem for me, but they must realize it at 100% and stop to pervert the japanese series !
And Saban must stop to block the Super Sentai series for the worldwide !!!
He make money with his fake Toku, ok, but let the choice to the spectators !!!
But maybe he's afraid, if the people start to compare the two shows, it will maybe more complicated for him to sell his bootleg series... (and his bootleg quality toys!)
You know they have the dvd of zyuranger and dairengers in the USA?
Saban doesn't make toys. If you want to blame the quality of toys on some one blame on Bandai America hell even Bandai in general.
Anonymous August 17, 2015 at !2:02 AM, It's not a bootleg, Power Rangers is an adaptation of Super Sentai and Saban is not trying to ruin the series.
Great article!!!!
@Ramior take pity on these anti-Saban (or anti-PR) folks. don't use confusing words like xenophobia as they're too much of simpletons to know such terms.
@ Anonymous August 17, 2015 at 12:02 AM http://www.amazon.com/Super-Sentai-Zyuranger-Yuuta-Mochizuki/dp/B00P9UVC0I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1439758083&sr=8-1&keywords=zyuranger
@Anon#3
Things to consider:
-They already have 'toku' shows back then, but because the genre wasn't mainstream and non-existent, they were done horribly instead. (e.g. Ninja Turtles The Next Mutation, Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters, etc.) In other words, the concept won't work and it will just lead to flame wars from obnoxious jerks (like a few here) in order to insult the USA for making its own Armor Hero.
-Lies. Zyuranger and Dairanger were released in the US by Shout Factory. And since Toei AND Saban are the co-owners of the Power Rangers franchise, they are released with no problems whatsoever; in LEGAL terms. Unlike Tsuburaya, which they waste their money on legal battles with Chaiyo Productions and it's really disheartening.
-Another set of lies. Toei also made money thru Power Rangers, i.e. LICENSING FEES. So both sides won since they're making money as well. Saban had a CONTRACT with Toei when it comes to these things. The contract with Saban doesn't expire. It continues as long as 1) Toei is satisfied with the product and 2) whoever holds the contract keeps producing new Power Rangers material yearly. And "beautiful Japanese source"? I like tokusatsu. But it's not beautiful. It's not art. It's not a cultural exhibition for GLORIOUS NIPPON'S heritage. It's a half-hour toy commercial made solely to sell toys to Japanese children, by using what Japanese children think is cool. Toei is not an arthouse of naive, wide-eyed Japanese who were exploited by the EVIL GAIJIN. Saban has a contract with Toei to adapt their shows, so that Bandai can sell them to American children, and so that Toei can double their investment on every season of Sentai they produce from the advertisement revenue alone. Cash rules everything around me, CREAM, get the money, dollar dollar bill ya'll.
-Nice assumption right there, son. And stop with the 'bootleg' nonsense due to the points I raised here. If you want a definition of 'bootleg', you're just barking on the wrong tree. Chaiyo Productions fits that description. If Power Rangers is 'bootleg', then Toei would sue the heck out of Saban Brands. Plain and simple. Now where are the lawsuits? Oh wait, there is NONE. As long as they were making money, BOTH sides are in a win-win situation.
And next time, stop speaking English. You're insulting the language due to horrible grammar. In other words, you just went FULL RETARD with what you wrote. ;)
Weaboo pricks. Weaboo pricks everywhere.
First of all, sorry for my poor english...
I'm belgian, so if you prefer converse with me correctly in a grammatically perfect french, no problem.
But maybe your french is worse than my english ? ;)
I am absolutely not "racist", and trust me, if americans broadcasts one day their own "Toku" show (as many other countries like China, Indonesia...) I will be the first interested to watch it !
I dream to a worldwide cross over between all the international heroes, really.
I'm agree about the contract between Saban and Toei, it's financially interesting for each others.
BUT if Toei is culprit for making money, Saban is culprit of a cultural erase, and for me this is a true form of "racism" : "white rules superiors, yellow rules inferiors" as can say Devastator in the Transformers cartoon.
When I was a child in the 80's, we had many japanese Tokusatsu dubbed programs (firstly broadcasted by french TV), and all the children had no problem with japanese heroes.
But after the broadcast of Jetman, all was over with the coming of Power Rangers licence...
So if you are agree with the fact that Saban can erase a culture for another one, and impose his point of view all around the world, ok.
Me not.
I'm afraid that you can't see where is the true "racism"...
@Anon#3:
-Nope. We just don't agree with your outrageous and ridiculous claim of 'cultural erasure' thru the Power Rangers franchise. Frankly, if they were going to bring the Sentai to America, Power Rangers (an adaptation of Sentai) is the only decent way to do it. Dubbing a live action show or movie doesn't usually turn out that great. Want proof of that? Try watching one of the Godzilla movies dubbed. If you're actually stubborn, I'm very sure you will gouge your eyes out if you watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6VpUKyXrow
-Also, what you're claiming is retardation on your part. It was Saban who brought Japanese tokusatsu in France and other countries in Europe, but what worked there doesn't mean that it can work in the US. But unfortunately, it wasn't the case. Saban tried to bring Sentai in the US by dubbing Bioman but it didn't even worked. That was in the 80s. Ted Turner tried to bring Ultraman by dubbing UltraSeven in English and aired it on TBS. Still, same thing: it didn't work. The US tend to localize things in order to attract their audiences. That worked for Power Rangers. You connect the dots...
So yeah, I'm fine with Super Sentai and Power Rangers. I'm just treating them as different entities. I'm fine as long as I enjoy BOTH sides, unlike your one-sided BIAS, which is pure stupidity. You're not fine with that? That's your opinion. But what you did is plain whining, moaning and bitching. And I'm afraid that you have a HUGE misunderstanding of what "racism" is. What I saw from you... is what I can call "true racism". And the correct term from that... is weabooism.
-I'm also like you as well. I grew up watching Bioman, Maskman, Shaider, Gavan, Jetman and other dubbed toku shows in my country. But when MMPR aired back afterwards, I still enjoy watching it. And I just want to remind you that Power Rangers was also aired in Japan (mostly from the Saban era). Japanese children and fans have no problems with American adaptations of their shows; they even dubbed it in their own language! Heck, there is a Japanese dub of Power Rangers Samurai, PR Mystic Force and SPD (interestingly, the 5 Main Rangers in SPD were voiced by none other than the Dekaranger cast!)
@Anon#3 a.k.a. Belgian Weaboo:
"I dream to a worldwide cross over between all the international heroes, really."
Unless there is an agreement between ALL the companies involved, that would not happen.
But I wanna ask: you're complaining about Power Rangers but never complained about Japanese versions of any American properties, shows and movies? Powerpuff Girls Z is an anime spin-off of the Powerpuff Girls but unlike the original which it kicks ass, the anime is more childish. If the original creator Craig McCracken would've been involved in the show, that would've rocked.
You complain about Power Rangers yet you never complain about Toei's version of Spider-Man. It was a Japanese toku show, but unlike the Spider-Man that we know, he's a Japanese guy with a watch that it houses his Spidey suit, rides a car, and has a giant robot (Leopardon). And guess what, Stan Lee himself loved it! He even cited in an interview that he will be gladly to work with Toei for a sequel, with him writing the story. Whether you like it or not, that had laid the foundation of the "Super Sentai" genre. And there comes Battle Fever J, which is not only a Sentai show but it's also the Japanese adaptation of Captain America. So without Marvel's involvement, there will be no "Super Sentai" and furthermore, no "Power Rangers".
I'm all for a collaboration, but unless tokusatsu became mainstream worldwide, including the US, that is impossible.
"I am absolutely not "racist", and trust me, if americans broadcasts one day their own "Toku" show (as many other countries like China, Indonesia...) I will be the first interested to watch it !"
Nope. As the other guy said, you will just watch it... and then you will bash it! No joke.
You cite China and Indonesia but you never realized the fact that they were able to do that because tokusatsu is mainstream in those countries with big fanbases. In the US? It's pretty much non-existent, no matter how hard you try to argue. We got Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters, we got Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation. You will gouge your eyes out if you see those two, particularly Ninja Turtles because it pissed off a LOT of TMNT fans out there. And it's also a Saban-produced show! Mystic Knights of Tir na Nog didn't even last long and it was cancelled during the production of Season 2 because of one thing: low toy sales.
Actually, your idea has one big flaw: toku should spread like wildfire for MAINSTREAM in order to cash in. And the target demographic of these kinds of shows are KIDS. Do you think every toku lives in production ALONE? Hello, merchandising, toys and tie-ins! In the case of Sentai and Power Rangers, they are corporate.
Bottom line: the concept won't work and it will just lead to flame wars from guys like yourself in order to insult the USA for making its own Armor Hero. You connect the dots...
Anon#3 a.k.a. Belgian Weaboo:
Let's be real here...
The issue isn't the ability to make an original American tokusatsu show. The issue is that Tokusatsu fanbase is pretty nonexistent in America, with Saban's Black RX holding partial responsibility for that. Whats the use of putting more time and money for new footage when the original show absolutely has no real hype to it? If you can get a similarly good production by cutting corners (ala what MMPR did and succeeded in the 90's) why not?
@BelgianAnon:
Seems that you have no idea what's the definition of 'racism'. I think what you're doing is a true form of 'racism' itself.
From the looks of it, seems you're trying to tell that "Japanese is superior, American is inferior" type of thing. Your form of 'cultural erasure' called 'weabooism'. Frankly speaking, I agree with the other guys who stated that distributing Sentai in other countries worked very well, but not in America. So if we follow your logic:
-We can safely say that the live-action Attack on Titan film is a fine example of this so-called 'cultural erasure' on the Japanese side because it totally deviates from the source material. The film itself has a totally Japanese setting as opposed to the Western-inspired setting as depicted from the manga and anime. In addition, the movie version of Eren Jaeger is much better than the original because he's Japanese as opposed to the original being an European descent.
-We can also safely say that the 2014 American Godzilla film, directed by Gareth Edwards, is also a form of this so-called 'cultural erasure' despite of being faithful and true to the original Godzilla concept that creator Eiji Tsuburaya envisioned; without even realizing that Toho praised the American version that it inspired them to make a new Japanese Godzilla reboot, which will hit theatres next year.
-We can also safely say that "Kamen Rider Dragon Knight", the American adaptation of Kamen Rider Ryuki, is also a form of this so-called 'cultural erasure because it's American... without even realizing that the directors (Steve and Mike Wang) are Kamen Rider fans, or the fact that the show was funded by Toei and Adness Entertainment (which are Japanese companies), or the fact that the storyline is original that it was akin to creator Shotaro Ishinomori's original vision with the intent of re-introducing Kamen Rider in America; opposed to the original Ryuki which it has an American concept known as Highlander, which its inspired stories are overrated and unoriginal.
-We can also safely say that every Japanese anime, TV show or film based on American properties, etc. can be considered as 'cultural erasure' and vice versa.
-We can also safely say that the new Fantastic Four film is good because it features a black Human Torch without even realizing that many people have slammed the film due to poor storytelling...
And so on.
So there. This is the whole 'truth' of this form of'racism'. Those who cry and whine about 'racism' are actual racist themselves. Deal with it.
Honestly speaking, weaboos are more like 'racist'.
Because all they do is to contradict themselves. Fine examples:
-Complaining about PR toys and keeps on saying Sentai toys are much better because PR toys are 'bootleg'. Wut? 0_0
Ehem. Bandai of America (heck, even Bandai itself) should be blamed for the quality of the toys. As I share this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhkORqDMHvE
Just wanna ask: what kind of parent would buy a 60$ toy so his children can broke it up the thing next day?
-And also, I LOL'D on how RIDICULOUS this was:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPytLGR8ReQ
Sad.
Purists need to remember...Power Rangers is helping Sentai in a way and Sentai is helping Power Rangers..It's a contract people need to remember that.. Purists I swear
Juste to correct à few things, Saban didn't bring Sentais or any Japanese shows in France, he only worked on the music on some of those shows. The guys who brought tokusatsu in France were René Bruno Huchez during the early eighties and Jean Luc Azoulay for AB production.
I find this thread of comments highly enjoyable to read, all of which have very justified points with a few things I had a giggle at.
Giant robots and monsters people in brightly colored costumes bonding over getting in fights 13 times a day awesome in any language. Tomy vs burai one paid the ultimate price the other wouldnt quit two good lessons. I like the original content more but enjoy both. Giant robots and monsters yes all day long. Great article.
Your definition is wrong in this case.
By American culture I refer to the flag loving, America can do no wrong, America fuck yeah!! Mentality and America is hardly multicultural throughout history! That's a joke.
The whole African American, Asian American, etc. was brought in to try and force a sense of unity into what is gradually become a multicultural country, by keeping it (American)
But I digress. I have many American friends, I simply don't enjoy American culture.
Here's what I think: Power Rangers could EASILY be as good as its Super Sentai counterparts if it wanted to be, but it doesn't and this mostly has to do with Haim Saban being a total cunt. He's simply not concerned with quality, only toy sales. I hate Saban with the fire of a thousand suns.
HOWEVER...you can't say everything about Sentai is superior to the Americanized version. You can't disagree that Zeo's Gold Ranger was better than OhRanger's King Ranger by a country mile. It's a rare example, but it's an example.
thank you
I watched MMPR from its debut in 1994-95 all the way till 2004-05 which was when Wild Force aired. After that i hot disinterested but i did watch Ninja Storm which loved and Dino Thunder which was eh!. However by the time Mystic Force aired i was able to watch Magiranger on YouTube. My first time being exposed to Super Sentai and by then I watched every season of Sentai thereafter. I also watched other tokusatu shows like Kamen Rider Kiva, Decade, Gransazer, Garo, and Ryukendo to name a few.
I then realized how terrible PR was and how cheesy it was, then and now. The first seasob was great, for it was able to balance good story, character development, action, and hammy moments well. However season 2 is where it lost its charm because the poor editing and splicing of footage had become very noticeable. The decision not to use the Dairanger suits was a terrible one, simply because it wasted the use of very cool suits. Nevertheless Saban and Toei cared only about money.
The reason I enjoy tokusatsu so much because of the great stories, action and the ability to get alittle mature with certain themes. Saban still hasn't found the right balance of mature themes+humor+action. Till then PR will always be silly and just for kids. Adult fans need to accept it
I was huge fan of power rangers as a kid but now I have grown up and i can't watch a show which uses footages from original different show! I've seen super megaforce and it was huge disappointment with many mistakes so then I've decided hey I'll watch gokaiher instead! And i loved gokaiger! In my opinion super sentai is much more darker, serious and realistic! There are blood, death sometimes even naked people and really good story! i can't watch power rangers because they are really stupid! Basically i think that power rangers is for kids while super sentai is for Young adults! I think by worldwide standards