Aight its the 50th anniversary of Super Sentai, so lets talk about something I've been mulling around for a while. This actually started out as a rant because I'm just tired of seeing Zyuranger discourse on my feed every couple months. I was intending to tear into the western fandom's perception of the show. However, after mulling it over and talking with a friend, I decided to go a calmer more upbeat route. Also I'm just kinda done with being outright angry about stuff these days. So screw it...this show doesn't need to be defended anymore. Instead, Imma tell you what it has to offer.
So first off, I want to address one specific complaint I see a lot in general: That the characters are too bland and lack character development. This is either a misconception (well thats putting it nicely) or its people not noticing or even ignoring something about the show. That being that Zyuranger is a fairytale. Its playing off fairytale setups and mythological tropes. You've got princes, a princess, and knights. You've even got a disgraced prince with a chip on his should who thinks he should've been the one sitting on the throne. On top of that, you've got a witch and her minions who absolutely just love to make children miserable for seemingly no reason. You've got fairytale plots and classic references peppered throughout the show. Hell, even the opening shot of the intro practically tells you its a fairytale because the first shot is a book opening. I dunno it just feels like a lot of the discussion I see from the western toku fandom just gets bogged down on the character development angle. It irks me to see the show being written off because of that.
Now that that stuff is out of the way, lets talk about what Zyuranger has to offer other than character development. Honestly, its got a lot. Its got atmosphere out the ass. No really, the show can go from happy-go-lucky to some of the scariest shit you've seen in like a second. And admittedly yet lot of that is frankly because of Bandora. She is without a doubt one of the most terrifying villains in Sentai imo. She makes a weird sneezing powder plot engaging and even menacing. Do you know how hard that is to pull off? I mean the lady even has a pretty up beat song and dance number about just how much fun she is gonna have messing with kids and wrecking the planet. Zyuranger's ability to shift between those two tones and still feel like they belong in the same show is amazing! Hell even the average episode plot is interesting. A lot of it is some straight up fairy tale/dream shit.
So the other prince...Burai's entire arc is so damn good! He is a pissed off prince out for revenge believing he has every right to the throne. This man is goddamn terrifying to the point where I was genuinely engaged and caught off guard even though I knew he was in the show and what his deal was already. He is so goddamn dangerous that Daizyujin himself wants him fcking dead! And the only reason he survives and gets redeemed is because Geki says no. That one moment of mercy showed him just badly misplaced his anger was. And then the show reveals that uhhh..he is gonna die. Specifically...he is straight up dead already due to a cave collapsing on him his sleep. The other part of the arc is him coming to terms with that. Its just gripping seeing him realize that he won't get much time to get to know his brother Geki. In fact: Do you guys wanna know what the most fantastic moment in Zyuranger is for me? Its one of the episodes after Burai dies. Geki is coming to terms with things and mourning the brother he never got to know. And at the end, he realizes that he isn't the only one mourning. Dragon Caesar is too. Thats right, the giant godzilla mech misses his partner just as much as Geki misses his brother. Its such a sweet moment because Geki vows that he'll be there for Dragon Caesar just like his brother was.
The things I just typed are why I take issue with the western fandom saying that the only things that matter in this show are Bandora and Burai. Its the things around them that always seem to get overlooked. Its the "why" that always seems to get glossed over. Zyuranger is not the best Sentai, but its not the worst either. Its a solid show that gets a lot of shit for no real reason imo. Its got a lot of interesting neat little parts that make the show what it is and make it at the very least an enjoyable and fairly engaging show. It annoys me to see it boiled down to three blanket statements and it does a disservice to the show. I'd also say its probably convinced a lot of people to not even give it a try. And thats really all I have to say about Zyuranger. It just really fcking sucks to see a genuinely entertaining show be written off like this from folks who come into it with this mindset.
