The 41st Super Sentai Series: Uchuu Sentai Kyuuranger (spoilers) · 11:38pm Feb 17th, 2017
Okay, so Uchuu Sentai Kyuuranger premiered this week. I finally found time to sit down and watch the first episode.
I had big hopes for this one, because it has a big premise and a big gimmick right out of the gate.
A little too big, as it turns out...
I've never actually outright hated a Super Sentai series from the first episode before.
Until now.
That isn't to say I haven't disliked Super Sentai enough early on to drop them. Goseiger's first episode was so boring I couldn't even finish it. Ninninger? It took me two and a half episodes before I wrote it off as a miss.
Kyuuranger, I knew I hated it before the first episode even ended.
But let's move past that and talk about the show itself.
So here's the story: The 88 Constellations have been taken over by the evil Space Shogunate Jark Matter, a blatant expy of the Galactic Empire. The Rebellion (they actually call it this straight out) basically consists of a single spaceship and a small but growing group of Kyuurangers. At the start of the first episode, there are only three Kyuurangers, but as we've been told repeatedly through trailers and promo images, there will be nine in all. By the end of the first episode, there are five, and the trailer for episode two shows the next two showing up.
So what we basically have here is Star Wars as a Super Sentai, except done really really badly. The effects are terrible, there are so many characters that they aren't introduced with any nuances beyond nuisance tics, and the action in the first episode is a pain in the ass to follow. It throws too much at you too fast all at once, and that in itself weakens an already weak and shaky Super Sentai.
And then Lucky/ShishiRed shows up. And he is ten times more annoying than Ninninger's Red Ranger. Every time he screams his catchphrase "YOSHA LUCKY!" (which is every ten seconds) I want to smash something.
Basically, once YOSHA LUCKY!! shows up, an already weak Super Sentai completely collapses in on itself and becomes painful to watch.
Which kinda sucks because the mecha are interesting, the premise is interesting, and the suit designs are pretty nice. It's just that there's too much too fast, the characters aren't given any room to BREATHE because the first episode has terrible pacing and really this first episode should've been spread out over four episodes. But the effects are REALLY bad, like distractingly bad, and the character tics introduced here are just annoying. Lucky is an Idiot Red with an annoying catchphrase and it's literally all there is to him, and then Hami (ChameleonGreen), her entire personality is a bitchy laugh and calling everyone "funny" in a condescending way that makes you want to slap her. Garou and the other two Kyuuranger in this episode (I honestly didn't even bother to remember their names) are basically just there, and Garou's entire contribution to this episode is "My entire species was wiped out by Jark Matter, I can't fight them...oh wait, this idiot with the annoying catchphrase is fighting them, I guess I can fight them too, now I'm a Kyuuranger."
Was really looking forward to this one. Now I'm...I don't even know if I'm gonna bother with episode two. Probably will, but...
Honestly? I seriously doubt I'll be following Kyuuranger. It's just...it's bad.
Ow, yeah that sounds like a waste of potential.
On a related note, what's the most dramatic quality turnaround you've seen between two episodes of something? I ask because I want to gauge how often miracles happen instead of just hoping for the best.
So.....why do you even try and watch Super Sentai anymore? It's obviously not for you.
Shame.
4426602 Yeah, because the four days I spent obsessively catching up on Zyuohger just three weeks ago mean I'm clearly not a Super Sentai fan.
Or let's talk about the fact that three entire chapters of Comes a Crossover are a Super Sentai/Power Rangers love letter. But yeah, Super Sentai clearly isn't for me.
Or, you know, the hours and hours AND HOURS I've spent fangasming over this, that, and the other Super Sentai series to Zef via IMs. But yeah, obviously Super Sentai isn't for me.
I really have to wonder why they keep using these overbearing Red Ranger characters. I can't speak for Sentai's target audience, obviously, but if you asked most US fans what they thought of Daigo from Kyoryuger and Takaharu from Ninninger, the vast majority would call them obnoxious gits. Even Right from ToQger skirted the obnoxious line more than once.
4426599 That's easy. Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. Ex-Aid was a write-off as just plain SUPER SILLY NONSENSE for the first 11 episodes or so. Then suddenly it went down the darker road and turned into some Gaim-level shit. Since then, it's been one bombshell after another.
4426609 It's been bothering me too, and a lot of people have pointed out that Yamato from Zyuohger was a welcome departure from the Hot-Blooded/Idiot Red trope that dominates Super Sentai. I've seen on discussion forums where between Takaharu and Lucky, Yamato is like...a breath of fresh air. Yamato is one of the better Reds in a LONG time, but sandwiched between two of the most obnoxious reds of all time? He's destined to be remembered as a LEGENDARY Red, right up there with Captain Marvelous.
So in other words, if people talk shit about The Force Awakens or Rogue One being the worst Star Wars movies, just show them this series right?
If it's worse than Episode II then I'll be impressed.
Personally I thought with nine rangers it was going to be worst. Yes I will admit I hated Lucky first time he yelled "Lucky" and that good luck gimmick he has is just as annoying as it seemed. But I do think the show will get better.
As for the other characters: Champ is a f*cking wrestling bull robot, that alone is awsome. Spada is basically the space virson of Sanji from one piece with out the womanizer element. I also think Stinger and Balance are going to be pretty interesting.
This is also Senti doing something it doesn't really do so I personally think you should give it at less three episodes before baling.
4426667 I'm giving it one more episode, but I'm doing so with reservations.
4426612
I know, right? Maybe Yamato got a few too many power-ups, and that "connection" stuff got a little old after awhile, but at least he knew how to conduct himself in public. God, I miss him already.
I honestly look forward to what this series might hold. I like any show with a space theme (I am thinking like a child would so have some mercy on me please). What are the odds it does something like Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, where it is silly at first, and with nine rangers to go through plus two (technically three) to introduce later, it is going to be what it is at first with a darker theme later on.
I at least hope so because I do agree that it will get annoying if Lucky is the way he is with no real improvement.
I'm interested in seeing what they will do when/if they adapt it into Power Rangers.
Hopefully, by then, they'll have stopped using "Go Go Power Rangers" as a base for the theme.
Did you just say that there was a female green ranger? Neat!
Also, Captain Marvelous really was awesome.
That theme song though is just awesome.