The Energon Pub

Mon Jan 17, 2011 9:31 pm

I will admit I am a huge fan of Super Sentai/Power Rangers, since I love Giant Robots, Giant Mecha's, as well as a huge Transformers fan, and Voltron as well, and many other 80's and 90's pop-culture franchises. So anyone here also a Super Sentai/Power Rangers fan?

Tue Jan 18, 2011 3:45 pm

I hate Power Rangers but I love Super Sentai

Tue Jan 18, 2011 5:20 pm

I am a fan of PR up through Mystic Force. I know that Super Sentai is the original form and, in some of the series, I don't doubt that it is better, but I don't really see a need to sit down and watch it. Nothing against it, of course, since I haven't watched it. I just have so many other shows to watch (seeing as I am close to my goal of owning 200 tv shows on dvd) that I have never decided to watch it. Maybe one day I will?

Tue Jan 18, 2011 9:32 pm

personally I think Zyuranger is better than the original MMPR

Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:16 pm

giantrobotlover8806 wrote:personally I think Zyuranger is better than the original MMPR

I think so too

Tue Jan 18, 2011 10:24 pm

yeah, the Sentai shows were much more darker than their Westernized counterparts, they had depth.

News Credits: 2 · Wed Jan 19, 2011 7:24 pm

The only Super Sentai series I've watched to a significant degree is Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, which I've enjoyed so far. The only tokusatsu franchise I've watched a lot of is Kamen Rider.

I've never been much of a Power Ranger watcher. I couldn't get into MMPR when I was a kid and even as I got older, I never really got into the Super Sentai shows. Does anyone have any recommendations for any particular Super Sentai series to check out?

News Credits: 241 · Thu Jan 20, 2011 5:06 pm

Convotron wrote:The only Super Sentai series I've watched to a significant degree is Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, which I've enjoyed so far. The only tokusatsu franchise I've watched a lot of is Kamen Rider.

I've never been much of a Power Ranger watcher. I couldn't get into MMPR when I was a kid and even as I got older, I never really got into the Super Sentai shows. Does anyone have any recommendations for any particular Super Sentai series to check out?

Well, they say Choujin Sentai Jetman is one of the best, as it contains an usually high amount of drama. If you're into the anime Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman (adapted into Battle of the Planets) you really should watch it.

Another good one for you may be GouGou Sentai Boukenger. Especially since it's the 30th Anniversary series, almost every episode ends with a piece of Sentai history, with 29 dealing with the past shows of the series, including Himitsu Sentai Goranger and JAKQ Dengeki Tai which were omitted at first due to lack of a Mecha.

O, remember USA Network's Dynaman? If you do, you'll do good by watching Kagaku Sentai Dynaman

Fri Jan 21, 2011 5:35 am

what about Ultra Man? and the Metal Hero series franchise?

News Credits: 2 · Sat Jan 22, 2011 2:25 am

I followed Power Rangers like a religion up until the end of Wild Force. At that point, Fox Kids died and I was disillusioned with Saturday Morning kids shows. (Not because I grew up, it happened when I was 12) I've sampled bits of each series since then but nothing ever really clicked. Not even Tommy coming back in Dino Thunder.

Then, just last year, I read the TVtropes article on Power Rangers RPM which was, at the time, the series finale of Power Rangers. They put it like this:

Suppose your first ever exposure to the Batman franchise was the campy 60s television show. Then someone mentions to you, "Hey, did you know that they made a film version of this?" and hands you a DVD of The Dark Knight.

Yeah, that's kind of like how Power Rangers RPM compares to its Super Sentai source material and the Power Rangers franchise as a whole.

And to be perfectly honest, I had not been that drawn in to a Power Rangers series since I was a kid. It was really, really good. I watched the entire series in one weekend. They tried a lot of new stuff, made fun of some old stuff, the whole thing kind of felt like they had some of Terminator Salvation thrown in (To great effect, actually) and it was just fantastic.

News Credits: 1452 · Sat Jan 22, 2011 3:00 am

F-yea and with new Figuarts too.

Sat Jan 22, 2011 11:55 am

a big one right here!

Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:45 am

awesome, but I have to say that Super Sentai is much better than the Western counterparts, it was way more depth, it is more darker.

News Credits: 2 · Sun Jan 23, 2011 12:50 pm

giantrobotlover8806 wrote:awesome, but I have to say that Super Sentai is much better than the Western counterparts, it was way more depth, it is more darker.

An aversion to that is RPM vs. Go-onger. Go-onger featured cartoonish-looking Zords who talked, and the monsters would often sing and dance and give melodramatic monologues in the heat of battle. RPM did away with this, monster never sang or dance and, in fact, rarely ever spoke, (Battles were over quick as a result) and neither did the Zords. They also question why the Zords have "big googly anime eyes" at one point. Also, I'm not certain if Go-onger took place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Sun Jan 23, 2011 1:30 pm

Admittedly, I watched the Power Rangers sets for a good while even though I was well outside the target demographic. :-$

Watched from the beginning up through Turbo, dropped out after in space, but came back for Lost Galaxy and lightspeed rescue. Never really got back into it after that.

I have to look through my storage, but I do have the Thunderzord, NinjaZord, and ShogunZord sets in my possession.

News Credits: 241 · Sun Jan 23, 2011 3:21 pm

Shadowman wrote:They also question why the Zords have "big googly anime eyes" at one point. Also, I'm not certain if Go-onger took place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

Go-onger takes place on present-day day earth. A couple errors/freedoms were taken with Zords btw:

- The Shark Spinner is actually a killer whale or orca whale, as the tail fin is horizontal instead of vertical like on all fish, including sharks.
- The Falcon Copter is, get this, based on a chicken. This is referenced in the series, so it's probably intentional.

Not the first time different animals were used between Sentai and Power Rangers. Look at Dairanger and PR Season 2:

- The Unicorn Thunderzord is actually a Pegasus
- The Griffin Thunderzord is really a Kirin, or Chinese Unicorn, or Golden Dragon
- The Lion Thunderzord is more akin to a Shisa, guardian liondogs you often see in temples.
- To "top" it off, the Dragozord in Dino Thunder is a Tupuxuara.

Wed Feb 02, 2011 5:14 am

by the way, Bot-Con 2011 has not sold out yet has it?

News Credits: 1 · Wed Feb 02, 2011 3:34 pm

OH YEAH!

Caught the Dynaman series on USA, curious becuse it reminded me of Voltron, hooked because of how funny it was. When MMPR came out I thought it looked awfully familiar (and I developed an instant crush on Trini). Watched regularly until early Lost Galaxy, got regular again with Lightspeed Rescue through Dinothunder. Missed most of SPD because I could never find it on the TV. Watched Mystic Force and Operation Overdrive, missed a lot of Jungle Furry and RPM because it kept getting preempted on the local ABC station. Was throughly disgusted with the "re-imaging" Disney did with MMPR season one and glad the new series is back in Saban's hands and on a different network and that Bulk is back.

Started Super Sentai with Boukenger and have kept up pretty well, though I'm behind on Goseiger right now. Also went back and have seen all of Magiranger, some Megaranger, Zyuranger, Dairanger, Kakuranger, and a number of the team up movies.

The Hurricanger/Gaoranger team up was neat, the scene where the Gaoshark and Gaotiger form the arms of the Hurricanger mecha works with the toys, even the ones released in the U.S.

I'm hoping with Saban back in charge the toys will once again be straight imports of the Japanese counterparts instead of the watered down versions we've been getting since Operation Overdrive.

News Credits: 2 · Wed Feb 02, 2011 3:50 pm

Colinus Maximus wrote:and that Bulk is back.

Dude, you just made my day. I present you with the ceremonial Cookie given to bearers of good news. Be careful with it, though, it's nearly identical to the one we give to bearers of bad news, and I am horribly disorganized when it comes to cookies.

Also, why is it Xandred, the big bad for the season, looks almost exactly like a Dremora from Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion? Dare to compare.

Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:24 pm

I bought the 2009 or 2010 version of the original Mighty Morphin Megazord at this year's Anime Expo

News Credits: 12 · Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:58 pm

giantrobotlover8806 wrote:I bought the 2009 or 2010 version of the original Mighty Morphin Megazord at this year's Anime Expo

That figure is sweet. I bought it for sheer nostalgia. It's like my slimmed down original.

I own every single Megazord from the first season all the way to Space. I got out of the series though when they killed off Zordon.

I came back for Dino Thunder though cause my all time favorite Power Ranger Tommy Oliver came back.

Now I want to watch RPM Shadowman. If it's as good as you say then I will be all over it.