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Just because it's popular doesn't mean that I should like it. Just because something is unpopular doesn't meant that I should hate it. I'll admit that I hate Megaman X7 with all my heart. However, I'm one to defend Megaman 7 and Megaman X6 to be at least decent games. I still feel that some things are just overhyped. I still think Conan the Adventurer is pretty much an overhyped cartoon after seeing Conan the Barbarian (1982). This post will be controversial (but this is just MY OPINION so if you like the show, okay) since Power Rangers in Space is widely praised. I was able to not think about the show while watching Denji Sentai Megaranger (its source material) but ended up thinking about it while watching Dengeki Sentai Changeman. Strange but true!
I decided to try and watch the "important episodes" of Power Rangers Turbo which includes the finale. The finale had the Command Center destroyed by Divatox. It was pretty much where four out of five rangers were to go into space in pursuit of Divatox. The ending was pretty much a cliffhanger (and it's worse than Kamen Rider Decade - a show I still DISLIKE) and ended up continued in the beginning of Space. It's pretty different from what Gekisou Sentai Carranger did by having a definite finale (and I feel the zords should've remained destroyed and not repaired without explanation). It was nice to see how Carranger gave a definite finale. That means I could watch Megaranger first and Carranger next without getting lost. Yeah, you know the problem of TOO MANY THROWBACKS?! It also reminds me of why I tend to find the Showa-era Kamen Rider series to be hard to watch too. The most notorious one was Kamen Rider Skyrider which did the most throwbacks until how Kamen Rider Stronger and Kamen Rider Black RX only brought the veteran Kamen Riders for the FINALE ARC. Oh yeah, Kamen Rider V3 also had its early episodes directly linked to The First Kamen Rider - something that I felt can be a bad idea. Everyone knows also how much I really dislike Power Rangers Dino Thunder because Tommy.
Power Rangers was supposed to end in 1998? 1998 was also the year when Robotack aired and it was the FINAL METAL HERO SERIES. Talk about how Power Rangers was saved and Metal Hero finally got unplugged by Toei Ltd. Space pretty much brought back villains from the first season up to the recent point. It sounds cool on paper but as I learned the hard way in my Old Shame writing - writing with LOTS AND LOTS OF CHARACTERS can get one lost. The series had the "grand finale" feel as the United Alliance of Evil had a huge league. The other four rangers from the previous season got their powers to finish what they (or another, the people in the set) didn't finish in the previous installment. I even wonder why TJ went from red to blue. Rocky's change of color from red to blue wasn't even fully explained either. It's just FUNNY if you ask me.
The hype is all there for the series. After all, it SAVED Power Rangers from cancellation. In 1997, we also had Megaranger which also saved the franchise' ratings. Even weirder is how Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger renewed interest in Super Sentai after Doubotsu Sentai Zyuohger had lower ratings. I feel that Kyuranger was a franchise savior. I also ended up checking Changeman - the very series that made me realize how overhyped Space is.
Warning! MORE SPOILERS AHEAD!
How I felt Changeman was the start of that seeing through the hype
True, Changeman pretty much took place in 1985 so it's a very unfair comparison. The series was pretty much ahead of its time for an 1980s show. The designs were obviously set in space but the military became a last minute. Pretty much, it's a space x military theme going on. Watching this show made me think of Space in more than one occasion.
I felt it was a breath of fresh air whenever Super Sentai refuses to link things too often. Sure, we had Queen Hedrian return in Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan (which I heard didn't get so popular, not helping one of its cast members is blacklisted by Toei Ltd.) but the show focused more on its present than the previous show Denzi Sentai Denziman. Here, Changeman doesn't link back to Chodenshi Bioman at one bit. That means Peebo doesn't act like some kind of Alpha Five robot. The series couldn't bring back the villains from previous installments and put them under Star King Bazoo (the One True Dark Specter) and his leadership. The Great Star League Gozma is pretty much its own while maintaining it status quo as a united alliance of evil.
Some moments in the show tend to bring back Space to my head. For example, we have the plot of Buuba having his rivalry with Hiryu Tsurugi. Buuba is a close friend of Princess Shima from Amanga. The story can parallel that of Astronema and Ecliptor. I was looking at how Shiima's dilemma was played in some episodes and worked its way to the finale. Buuba later feels the agony of Shiima leading him to decide how to end his fate. I felt that Buuba's "killing" of Shima, Shima awakening from her false self, and how Buuba died in a duel with Change Dragon were better than how Ecliptor got written off. I felt Ecliptor should've been purified and not destroyed by the Zordon Wave. Hiryu later offered flowered to Buuba's landmark where his sword was last seen. I even felt that Buuba developing disgust towards his employers was something.
Though, Changeman made me think of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy in part when Ahames arrived. True, Ahames didn't have as much screentime as Trakeena had. Trakeena was pretty much a manipulative woman and would still make the Changemen suffer crushing blows. Ahames had her developed from the time she arrived to the time she betrayed Giluke for power. I think the way Trakeena was written off (only to return in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue presumably due to her popularity) was not that good. Ahames herself showed that she was pretty manipulative as well. Trakeena did manipulate the generals against each other. Ahames also did such as trying to use the monster Daryl to release Anti-Amanga energy with Shima around. Later, Ahames refused to shed her human beauty like Trakeena. I felt Ahames' fits of insanity in the finale were better written than Trakeena's mindless rampage.
The finale was even more focused when Bazoo's generals all fall down. I felt Bazoo himself was a bigger threat than the Dark Specter. I did compare Giluke to Darkonda at some point, Like Darkonda, Giluke had no qualms (later) in sacrificing other comrades to achieve the goal. Bazoo showed he wasn't to be messed with. Bazoo's true origins as a living planet like Ego in Marvel Comics was something. The finale was focused on Bazoo himself. Bazoo would've obliterated Darkonda already by destroying that ship with the missile. Bazoo would've probably scared the United Alliance of Evil into submission or destroyed several of its members before a grand rally can begin. I felt the finale of Space was a fine mess that saved the franchise.
Years later, I felt Kyuranger also helped me see how Space is overhyped
Sure, one can go ahead and rant that Lucky and Shou Ronpou are idiots. However, I felt the whole series was more organized than Space could be. Need I mention how I felt randomly putting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was funny or how Justin Stewart's return was weird. I felt Kotaro Sakuma's addition into the team was even more welcome than Justin having his guest appearances. Yeah, I felt Justin was just fanservice in contrast to what Gosei Sentai Dairanger had with Kou. Kou was far more developed than what the writers did with Justin in Turbo.
The beauty of Kyuranger is how the series wasn't even meant to connect with previous installments. Instead, we have a very different universe where Kyuranger takes place. It's the year 2,300 A.D. (?) since we had a plot where Tsurugi Ootori was pretty much in hibernation for too long. Tsurugi woke up to a very different era where their Universe was taken over by the Jark Matter. I'm sure glad that the Jark Matter NEVER had villains from previous groups. Though, it seems it was planned since we did get an obvious homage to the Black Cross Fuehrer as a We Hardly Knew Ye villain. So, moving on...
The story itself focuses on just a singular present. It may ride on some nostalgia. Maybe, one can think it's got references to Star Wars or to other older series. Maybe, one can think of Eto Ranger because the whole team doesn't always disperse but members are chosen at random. However, in terms of timeline, it's pretty much self-contained as proven by "another Universe". So there's no United Alliance of Past Stupid Sentai Villains to ever be a threat. Instead, Don Armage (the show's Dark Specter as he's indeed a dark specter) holds his own organization that conquered the Universe before the show began.
I still think Kyuranger's 12 main characters (when it started with just nine) can be messy. I still agree that Lucky tends to steal the show more often than not. That's why I called Lucky and Garu as "Lone Starr and Barf in spandex". I still think Kyuranger really been more focused than what Space could hope to achieve. I mean, I didn't even need to watch Zyuohger in order to understand this show. I could miss Zyuohger, watch Kyuranger first, and then watch Zyuohger later. That's the beauty of not making too many past references - you can watch a show without having to watch the previous installment first.
The finale battle can also be where I felt there was more focus. There were some good points in the finale of Space. I still think the rangers finally revealing their identities or the people rallying was a good point. What I felt though was that the whole finale can lose focus with too many villains. Zordon's wave nearly felt like a copout. What I liked about Kyuranger's own take on "Countdown to Destruction" is how focused things are. The battle gets more personal as Don Armage did what the Dark Specter wasn't allowed by the writers to do - fight the heroes! Don Armage even goes as far as to absorb almost everyone before he's finally defeated.
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Pretty much just another unpopular opinion!
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