It's been ten years since Go-Busters actually aired. I don't know what Hasbro was thinking when they decided to adapt Go-Busters and make Beast Morphers out of it. Toei Ltd. gave the blessing (and right now, I think I've got issues with Toei which is trying to go Japanese-exclusive) and we get this show. The show's still subjected to the idiotic summer break (something Super Sentai thankfully doesn't do) and the 44 episodes run in total. Right now, I want to look at what could be the missing potential of this show. I'll try not to be biased since I usually end up disliking Power Rangers even if I'm aware Toei Ltd. is also part of it. It's pretty much I also dislike some of Toei's releases, I also dislike some Super Sentai seasons and I feel Super Sentai isn't as good as it used to be.
The setting of Beast Morphers itself is Coral Harbor. A new form of energy called Morph-X is created as new green alternative energy - straight from the Morphin' Grid. Unlike Power Rangers RPM which tried to operate in a totally different dimension - Beast Morphers launches itself back into where it all started. The Grid Battleforce is assembled as a peacekeeping force. So far, it's a good thing that they didn't try to copy everyone from Go-Busters though one could argue that Commander Masaki is pretty much Colonel Truman from RPM . Miho Nakamura is pretty much Dr. K minus the big blunder of the Venjix. Well, the Messiah Virus is pretty much Super Sentai's own version of Venjix as well. Didn't Go-Busters call every mecha a Megazord?
How the good guys actually fare in some way
There are a few times (if ever) I think a Power Rangers counterpart is better than their Super Sentai counterpart. I did make the mistake of making the Power Rangers characters look down on themselves. Now, I could talk about how I felt that the series' characters were good on their own. I felt it was a good thing not to include the loss 13 years ago that Hiromu had. Weak points are still carried over in some way. I think Devon, Robby, and Zoey are pretty decent characters. Nate himself becomes a ranger later removing the whole darker side of Jin Masato's plot. However, I heard RPM was supposed to have one of its characters finally die off to destroy Venjix. Did Jin Masato become THAT person when Power Rangers dumped the plot because of how not child-friendly it was? Well, Time Force was supposed to kill Eric but they thankfully didn't to avoid copying Naoto's death which was as nearly as ironic as Gai Yuki's in Jetman.
For Power Rangers characters I felt were better than their original counterparts - I could name some. I think Carter from Lightspeed Rescue appears to have a better personality than Matoi who is pretty much a Sergeant Slaughter-type of character. Carter has the Metal Hero appeal though the TV-Y7-FV doesn't work too well IMHO. I think most of the Time Force cast have better personalities than the Timeranger cast such as Jen doesn't get as easily irritated as Yuuri. Jen didn't go full crazy to slap Wesley. I still think that the characters of Dino Charge were better than the wildly done characters of Kyoryuger though I ended up not liking either. I think I've got a bit more reason to say Zoey is better than Yoko - she has a more lively personality. I think Go-Busters actually has the downside of having stiffer characters even if I did enjoy the series.
I think General Shaw herself was a good deviation. Shaw starts out pretty strict, especially on her son Ravi. I think Shaw herself is one character you have fun watching develop from an inflexible commander to one who learns from her mistakes. Shaw doesn't want Ravi to enter into art but lets him when she sees the error of her ways. Another is when she realizes that Rangers can date after both Nate and Zoey did better. I think these flaws made her human. It was a good thing she wasn't meant to be a gender flip of Kuroki in Go-Busters. Even Ben and Betty who are comic relief characters play themselves into the plot rather than just there to annoy older comic relief characters such as Bulk and Skull.
The villains themselves
I think the villains can be hit or miss. It's a good thing that Beast Morphers tried to reduce Japanese footage use as much as possible - though there was some blatant editing in some areas. Having Robo Blaze, Robo Roxy, and the original Scrozzle can be a good thing. There was less reliance on Super Sentai villain footage in many areas. Enter did have his closest counterpart in Dino Charge in the person of Heckyl but he was no robot and got reformed. I can't help but still praise how the crew members were determined to cut down footage use. Some Power Rangers seasons had a different set of footsoldiers such as how Lost Galaxy used insectoid footsoldier for a change.
I wonder if I should call this a flaw or what? Some praise the fact that Evox is none other than Venjix. Venjix was contained at the end of RPM with a hint he was indeed returning. Though, I think this is a return overdue since it was 2009 when RPM took place and it's 2019 when Beast Morphers took place. Too big a gap, huh? Venjix was able to cross the RPM dimension into the main dimension to become Evox. I think this was probably intentional since the Messiah Virus in Go-Busters was pretty much like Venjix. Maybe, I need to mention that Kamen Rider Zero-One also had a Venjix-like enemy known as The Ark lurking sometime. I guess the producers were aware of what was happening on the other side of the world and decided to try it. Hmmm... it would be interesting that Moak's sacrifice in Gingaman happened months after Zordon's sacrifice in Space. Though Moak did return though unlike Zordon who may not return at all. I guess that's one time Power Rangers decided to kill off a character for good. I felt Zordon overstayed his welcome and should've just left ASAP like any Super Sentai mentor.
The bad scheduling and throwbacks can be the real potential killer
I think the summer break is just ridiculous. Heck, it happened even DURING SEASON ONE. Really, I can't imagine if I had to wait for an ENTIRE SUMMER before I get the next episodes. Yes, freaking FOUR MONTHS between episodes 8 and 9 in the first season. The same stupidity happens again in the second season. That will kill my interest in the show. I should be invested to watch a show that's meant to be just for a year. Why is this practice still going on? I feel this is another reason why I end up disliking the franchise. Toei Ltd. should really, really try to stop this nonsense of idiotic summer breaks. Though it seems Toei Ltd. could care less as long as Hasbro pays them, huh? Hmmm I guess that's why Toei Ltd. teamed up with Haim Saban - they just want the money!
I could keep yapping at how I felt the Gavan crossover in Go-Busters was out of place. Now, I could also rant about why it was even placed on the American side. I still feel the need to talk about what I thought killed its potential - it was throwing back all the way to Mighty Morphin'. I still felt that the throwbacks were really unnecessary. I can't imagine if Go-Busters had to do a throwback to Goranger. Mayor Daniels had to mention Rita Repulsa. I can't imagine if Go-Busters had to mention Black Cross Fuehrer in the first episode. I felt that linking the Morph-X to the Morphin' Grid - a very powerful power that holds the Power Rangers universe together. There's no such concept in Super Sentai which actually allows more creative writing IMHO.
I think one of my problems would be how several episodes had to be thrown back AGAIN to previous seasons. I did mention Evox being Venjix. I think the whole idea of Jason returning as an occasional guest feels weird. I mean, it would be cool if Geki from Zyuranger or Tyuyoshi from Goranger made a guest appearance. However, I feel it would defeat the purpose of a whole new season. I think Geki's return along with Ryoga's return in that messy crossover Kyoryuger vs. Go-Busters was nothing more than bloated fanservice. The crossover episodes with Dino Charge are no less bloated. I hate that messy crossover movie for being bloated. One lesson I learned is that too many characters make a bad story like several of my deleted old shame fanfics. Why Power Rangers still keeps milking on Mighty Morphin' just feels silly. Imagine if Super Sentai kept milking on either Goranger or Zyuranger for almost every season.
I felt using the legendary weapons of past rangers just felt out of place. It sounds cool on paper but during an ANNIVERSARY SEASON - it would work. We know how Megaforce ended up as the worst anniversary without a plot. I still feel the cast probably hated what they had to do. I don't hate the cast - I hate the script they're in! The show did show that lighter and softer can be good. However, I still feel that trying to throw back again to older seasons too many times was a potential killer.
Comments
Post a Comment