I don't know but I've noticed - the more I watch Super Sentai is that the more I think Power Rangers isn't my cup of tea. Again, most of my dislike for the Power Rangers franchise comes with the knowledge that it's NOT a bootleg or a fake. Calling the Power Rangers franchise as such is just dumb. However, I've had some issues with the Power Rangers franchise such as the whole Zordon era, the tendency to cut down the number of episodes (and several series failed to hit their potential IMHO), the Disney era, and the Nickelodeon era. Though one person seems to get overhyped and it's Judd Lynn. I feel like people talk too much about him (and Yasuko Kobayashi) that other writers such as Hirohisa Soda tend to get overshadowed for some time.
I feel like Lynn, unlike Kobayashi, is just overhyped. I felt Lynn did some cool stuff but we know cultural differences. I could agree that Engine Sentai Go-Onger is bad (though I initially enjoyed it). I'm now thinking about how Lynn himself is just overhyped even if Power Rangers in Space did save the franchise from cancellation - just like Chojin Sentai Jetman did during the 1990s. Hmmm... Denji Sentai Megaranger did also save Super Sentai ratings after a two-year slump with Choriki Sentai Ohranger and Gekisou Sentai Carranger. Both series didn't do much either.
So, what caused me to think Lynn is overhyped? I decided to watch from pre-Zyuranger Super Sentai series and Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters (which he's fascinated with) may prove why he's overhyped...
Warning: Spoilers ahead! Also, this is JUST my personal opinion!
Watching Dengeki Sentai Changeman totally made me think Space is an overrated Power Rangers series
I didn't think too much about Space while watching Megaranger. I just felt Megaranger was a nice tribute to Hirohisa Soda's era. However, it wasn't long until I watched Changeman that truly changed things. It's a very 1980s series but I felt Soda's writing was more solid than Lynn's. Okay, it's really stupid but I felt that almost everything about this series caused me to think Space is just overhyped in spite of the fact it saved the franchise, allowed Toei Ltd. to get more royalty fees, etc.
The very first episode brought memories of the United Alliance of Evil. The Great Space League Gozma is basically that EXCEPT that we didn't see various members of previous seasons. The reason has to be that EVERY SUPER SENTAI has a proper finale. So, we can't expect a messy meeting of villains. Instead, Star King Bazoo starts an entirely new crew of villains across the Universe. Well, I didn't really stop calling Bazoo the Dark Specter or maybe even Captain Giluke as Darkonda, Buuba as Ecliptor, Shiima as Astronema, and heck even called Ahames as Trakeena.
The series goes on with some drama. Sure, there's some lack of character background because it's the 1980s. I didn't expect Hiryu Tsurugi to have some background like Andros did. However, some plots really just started to make me think Space is overrated. It's the way the villains went off. I think I could talk about just how the villains have indeed made an impact.
Captain Giluke, like Darkonda, wouldn't hesitate to use EVEN HIS OWN COMRADES to accomplish a purpose. Like Darkonda, Giluke was also involved in a conspiracy against his boss. Meanwhile, Ahames appears to have more use than Trakeena did. True, Trakeena had more screentime. However, unlike Trakeena, Ahames didn't start out as some pampered princess but as the fearsome Queen of Amazo. Like Trakeena, both were soon transformed into beasts - something they dreaded. Trakeena would still give the Changemen a run for their money IMHO. I felt Trakeena's potential was good on paper, she's threatening, but she wasn't developed as well later on due to the TV-Y7-FV limitations.
I think the finale arc also had more impact than Space a couple of years later. I felt the redemption arc of Buuba was more well-written than Ecliptor. I felt Buuba causing the redemption of Shima was one. Another is where Buuba gets disgusted by Ahames' scheming personality. Later, Ahames gets her just desserts when Giluke forcibly mutates her. I felt Ahames going insane, splitting for her Space Beast Form, and DESTROYING the Changemen's base was truly better than Trakeena's initial defeat. I felt Ahames' insanity gave her more focus.
Watching Choshinsei Flashman just made me forget about Power Rangers Lost Galaxy
There's always the hype of Lost Galaxy to the point that a lie (later disproven) happened that it supposedly had better ratings than its source material Seijuu Sentai Gingaman. I just watched Gingaman without thinking about Lost Galaxy. However, Flashman gave me a lot of thoughts of series that came after it. Maybe, the most obvious is how Dr. Lee Keflen is prety much like Dr. Hinelar in some way - a mad geneticist with two loyal creations, both play some kind of synthesizer, and have betrayed their bosses. Though. Dr. Hinelar can also be compared to Dr. Man in Chodensh Bioman since both had a scientist friend turned foe or created one final mecha for their respective final battles.
Flashman's opening narrates that children were taken to the farthest reaches of space. The moment I saw Planet Flash - I instinctively called it Planet Mirinoi. Planet Flash is in some lost galaxy forgotten. Five children grew up in a lost galaxy to return to Earth one day. The Reconstructive Empire Mess has some stuff that made me think of Lost Galaxy too. I think one character is Ra Deus who I kept calling Scorpius. Another is that Ra Deus' footsoldiers are ALL INSECT THEMED. Lost Galaxy took the liberty to create its own footsoldiers that were insect-themed. I wonder why Lost Galaxy never bothered to create its own version of Dr. Lee Keflen instead? Would've been cool if they took the Dr. Hinelar attire and made a villain to serve Scorpius. I even called Dr. Lee Keflen as Dr. Hinelar. I even called Villamax (an honorable version of Sanbash), or Deviot.
The show even had its own version of Professor Phenomenus. Well, except that he wasn't just comic relief. Sure, Professor Tokimura (who I can't help calling him Phenomenus) was practically an eccentric weird scientist. However, Tokimura's obsession with aliens was all because he lost his eldest child to one. Tokimura does more than just work at the Comet Cafe. Instead, Tokimura ends up as a valuable ally to the Flashmen than just a mad scientist who gets screwed. It's a shame how Professor Phenomenus got reduced to comic relief in Lost Galaxy. Tokimura is later discovered to be Sara's very own father.
I think Mess has been more developed than Scorpius' army. Scorpius was written off for some reason. Was Trakeena more popular than her father resulting in the write-off all too soon? I think so to the point she even returned in Lightspeed Rescue with a different actress. Ra Deus proves himself to be a truly terrifying foe. I felt that Ra Deus is a more sinister version of Scorpius. I also felt Ra Deus was what if Scorpius worked with Dr. Hinelar. I find the whole plot of Mess' genetic experiments vs. the Flashmen valuing life an interesting conflict.
The ending ends up with a sad note, Unlike Lost Galaxy which actually had Mirinoi restored (and Gingaman restored the forest and EVERYONE in it in the end), Kendrix does return (in the same matter as Hayate's fiance who was supposedly dead) - the heroes had to leave. It's because being raised in the Planet Flash altered their biology. The heroes end up having to finish the fight with Mess. The heroes would later meet their hidden foe, Lee Keflen. I really LOVED how Yellow Flash made a declaration about the sufferings of the Universe. Yellow Flash was the only one to discover her parentage but not the rest. It was a sacrifice to shoot the Gene Synthesizer - the very device that caused sufferings in the galaxy. The team chose to abandon Earth and return to that lost galaxy than make a deal with the Devil in the form of Keflen.
Overall, I think Flashman knew better how to integrate the lost galaxy better than Lost Galaxy. The start has children raised in a lost galaxy. In the middle, they're on Earth and they later have to leave it for the lost galaxy.
I think Go-Busters proves it further that Power Rangers RPM is overhyped
I think the RPM hype is something since it's a serious version of its incredibly stupid source material, Go-Onger. Sure, I can go on and whine about why the doomsday plot wasn't done. I guess rumors of the world ending in 2012 A.D. prevented it so it's an executive problem. I guess Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive's finale responding to the rumor that the world will end in the 2000 A.D. may have caused too much backlash. I can't verify that and I'm just speculating.
I felt that Go-Busters truly had many advantages compared to RPM. One of the many things I dislike about RPM (aside from the licensed use of Super Sentai footage) is how it's only 32 freaking episodes. Kamen Rider Amazon was rushed with just 24 episodes (due to complaints of the brutality) Dengekitai JAKQ in 1977 was forcibly rushed to just 35 freaking episodes with an unsatisfactory ending that probably raised a lot of eyebrows. If only Disney took note of how badly JAKQ ended! I felt that Chojinki Metalder having only 39 episodes made it rushed and failed to meet its true potential. I felt the same happened with Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue and Power Rangers Time Force - failing to meet the mark like Metalder did. There was so much potential in some of these shows. I think RPM had potential but it ended up rushing to just 32 episodes - something that made me dislike the Disney era of Power Rangers. Other advantages for Go-Busters are more character focus, control over the aesthetics (because Toei Ltd.'s building something from scratch rather than localizing for the West with licensed use of footage), and how there's the right episode count. It didn't go rush so we got to see characters develop.
I think the lesser number of characters was another. I think one of the interesting things was to create a Venjix for Super Sentai. One could argue that Venjix may have also been inspired by the Great Leader of Kamen Rider from the Showa era. I felt the Messiah virus had some similarities to Venjix such as being a giant computer, having a combat body that was destroyed, and the third body. I think Enter himself would probably easily outsmart Venjix. I don't think I'd compare Tenaya-7 to Escape that much. Both are threatening in their own ways. Though, I still felt Enter would've probably beaten Venjix.
I heard RPM had a plot to kill Dillon but was rejected. Go-Busters reveals midseason that Masato's real body is in Hyperspace - something that only Ryuji knew but not the others. Later on, Enter proves himself more dangerous than both the Messiah Virus and the Venjix Virus. I still have my complaint though wishing that the virus was a result of Miho Nakamura's faulty programming. I mean, Miho is practically Dr. K in the show. Takeshi Kuroki is practically Colonel Truman. I felt Colonel Truman's potential got limited by 32 episodes. A shame since Truman is a COLONEL so he should be even with Takeshi in combat skills. Meanwhile, Takeshi was allowed to show more of how badass he is.
Though, Kobayashi, like Inoue and Lynn, tends to screw up in their finales. I felt that Lost Galaxy's finale wrap-up ended up rather anti-climatically. I think Go-Busters may have wrapped things better than RPM but I felt it was just passable. Quite similar to how Kamen Rider Agito and Kamen Rider OOO just had a backyard battle. Though, I can't deny how Kobayashi did create a better build-up than RPM ever will due to how much space she was given overall.
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So yeah, there's that! Right now, I even feel Power Rangers Beast Morphers even failed to meet its mark. I'll say that I think Lynn's just overhyped. Sure, he has interesting ideas but they just didn't meet their potential.
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