Power Rangers & General Sentai Related Shows

[Spark Of Spirit]

I don't care how cheesy it is, I really do enjoy these types of shows. Even when it was deemed uncool to like them as a kid, I've always found them highly entertaining. I kind of fell off the boat around Zeo (so boring) but was glad that Turbo (niggles aside) managed to wrap everything up well enough. I've caught a few seasons now and then since, but never a whole season until the newest show- Samurai. The first Power Rangers show in a long time and it managed to nail the original style and spirit from back in the day. It's a fun show to watch.

Does anyone else have any experiences with Power Rangers or other types of shows in this vein?




... PS: You guys are awfully lucky to have them on Netflix.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I've been told I should watch Shinkenger, but I can't find any damn streams of the show for some reason.

As for PR, really loved In Space as a kid. Started to peter out when Mystic Force aired, though only because the ABC in my state didn't air it.

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

Does this make me the resident toku guy?

Just like you, I kept watching far past the point of it being cool. I didn't start at MMPR though, I watched a couple of episodes from those early seasons plus a few Zeo, but I became a fan during the Turbo days. I was actually a much bigger fan of Beetleborgs at that point, but the shows were always paired up on Fox Kids weekdays so I started watching Turbo out of habit. I have dipped in interest at times, such as when Wild Force moved to ABC or when they moved the whole series to Toon Disney, but I never stopped following it.

So glad its on Netflix too. Theres so many episodes I barely remember or some I've never even seen, and this keeps it much more handy than DVD releases could be. I'm rewatching Time Force right now, and I saw all of Jungle Fury and Zeo here. Operation Overdrive has been a complete chore to watch when I have tried to marathon it.

I think we're in the minority that likes Samurai, but I'm okay with it. Production was rushed in the first half, and it shows, but the 2 post-season 1 specials that have aired show a big improvement on all fronts. I'm pretty anxious to see how move away from Shinkenger plot points, which they started doing since Antonio arrived. The Goseiger adaptation sounds very promising too, and the heavily rumored Kamen Rider adaptation could probably blend in with the current show, given its supposed to be based off Fourze which is a high school comedy. All in all, I think Samurai is a great first step to reestablish this kind of series in the US, and Saban Brands isn't just going to let it fall off the radar again.

I've been told I should watch Shinkenger, but I can't find any damn streams of the show for some reason.

Did you try Tv-Nihon? They're the go-to guys for Sentai subs, at least until OverTime stole their thunder this year. Nevertheless, they have Shinkenger in HD and SD, as well as every recent series after Dekaranger fully subbed.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I think the reason why I couldn't get into Samurai was how punny the Nighlok were. You can only take so many puns before you just drown in your groans.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Heh, I dunno. I just started watching it from episode 1 and whenever I catch it I really enjoy it. It's been awhile since I've really watched the show (so I don't know about the quality of most of the Disney seasons) to compare it to older seasons, but I think they have their heart in the right place and it shines through any issues I might have with it.

[Dr. Insomniac]

So I finished Shinkenger. Loved it. Made me feel like a little kid again, while still entertaining the adult now. Jii was awesome. Genta was awesome. Mako was awesome. Chiaki was awesome. Juuzou was awesome. All of them made me adore this show.

Though when it gets filler-y, it definitely shows.

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

I watched the Samurai Christmas special this morning because I had yet to watch it and the holiday is already over.

Lemme just say its infinitely better than their attempts during the early Saban Entertainment days. It was clearly a clip show with a winter theme, but at least I didn't have to sit through Alpha singing Christmas carols or Tommy throwing snowballs at Rito and Goldar to save Santa from them.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Oh, they just put up the original series here on Netflix. I think I saw Zeo and Samurai as well, but that's all. Hopefully they get around to adding the rest sooner than later.

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

When they do, you should check out Dino Thunder and Ninja Storm. They were directed by former writers of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, so a lot of the first 3 seasons influence is present in both seasons structure. Teenagers for Rangers, hip hangout spots, comedy relief duos, and some really bizarre monsters. Just be prepared to be assaulted with some slightly dated lingo and references in the early parts of the seasons.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Okay, the kid who plays Jason's cousin "Jeremy" in that episode... Who is that? His voice sounds EXTREMELY familiar.

All in all, I'm still in season 1 but it's easy to see why kids loved this at the time. There was really nothing else remotely like it. While I could easily trash it for not being a high budget tour-du-force or something, I can't help but enjoy it for what it is. And the addition of the Green Ranger still remains a genius touch.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I was a huge fan of Power Rangers back when the original series was airing up until the end of Turbo (at least I believe it was called Turbo; to be specific it was the season where they had that annoying little kid as the new Blue Ranger). It was around the time that Power Rangers in Space was airing that I stopped watching it and never came back to it, mostly because I felt like I was growing too old for it by that time. That said I watched Linkara's retrospective videos, A History of Power Rangers, and that got back some of my nostalgic love for the series, but I haven't watched any of his videos beyond Turbo, which incidentally is where I left off with the series.

Anyways, I've never watched any of the original Sentai shows, but I've always considered anime like Seint Seiya to be very Sentai-esque in terms of concept, in that its basically a shonen with teenage fighters who can morph into battle mode by getting into their fighting costumes, and then they proceed to fight bad guys. Its as basic of a concept as you can get but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I had a thing for that kind of set-up, as long as the costumes and abilities that come with the transformation are cool. In that regard, whether the characters were good or not, that's also a big factor of what I kind of looked for in Power Rangers. I wanted to see the unique powers, abilities, and skill-set that each colored member ranger brought to the team.

Anyways, I haven't watched any of these shows in ages so I don't know how they hold up, but maybe I'll try checking out some Sentai stuff if I ever have the time....though to be honest I doubt that I'll ever have enough time to delve into any of these shows ever again.

[Spark Of Spirit]

In my opinion, everyone who grew up with Power Rangers should at least check out In Space. Most people (including me) stopped around Turbo, but In Space is really a great finale for the original series and should satisfy anyone who watched the original show as a kid. I didn't catch most of it back in the day, but my friend and I managed to catch the finale and it was pretty great.

After that, I really don't know short of recommendations from others. The show went all over the place in Canada, though I have enjoyed Samurai from what I've seen.

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

In Space is the reason I've been a lifelong fan. It was the culmination of 5 years of running storylines, plus an injection of a bit more maturity to make an awesome space adventure complete. It's too focused on the Red ranger, but his storyline was incredibly well done and you end up feeling some kind of sympathy for every character, except for maybe Darkonda.

As for sentai, I always recommend Dekaranger and Gekiranger. Deka's whole motif is a throwback to 70s cop shows and movies, and it has a really likeable cast. Geki's got a great set of villains and heroes that really balance out one another. Plus its themed around martial arts.

[Rosalinas Spare Wand]

So Shout Factory recently announced they will be the distributor for past Power Ranger series. Excellent news, since Shout is incredibly fan-friendly and I have no doubt they'l put out the best possible product for us. In that regard, a Shout rep has already surfaced in this thread and is taking suggestions for what to include with the releases.

I'm personally pushing for the promos and music videos that were produced for the show, but I'm definitely behind what appears to be the number 1 priority for people so far: completely uncut Time Force. That series was hit particularly hard with retroactive censorship since it aired in 2001 and received some very heavy censorship post 9/11. Here's a good example.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Shout Factory! Man, they really do get it when it comes to the fans. Aren't they also getting stuff like Beetleborgs? Ever since Home Movies I've been a fan of these guys.