Zyuranger: how is it?
 

With the release of the new Zyurangers dvd on the horizon I've been thinking a bunch about picking it up. Mostly to support a North American Toku release, with the hopes that they will eventually put out more series. But I was wondering to anyone who can answer my question: is Zyuranger any good? Like is it worth getting on its own merits as opposed to just supporting this release. If anyone could give me a breakdown on its quality I would much appreciate it

I definitely think it's worth getting. Having seen the show it has many tropes of the late 80's/early 90's for sure. But it's one of the better sentai from that era.

I am one of those that really really like Zyuranger. You have to understand though that Zyuranger is unlike any other Super Sentai that have come before and after it. Zyuranger was the first time in Super Sentai that they did a show that was completely based on the concept of magic and fantasy. Before that Sentai was a militaristic sci-fi setting for most of the shows that were produced. Alot of shows after Zyuranger adopted the fantasy setting but Zyuranger is the only one that completely went with it.

Zyuranger lives primarily through the way its presented. It wants to be taken as a modern Fairytale with clear cut heroes and villains. Children are always in the focus of the conflict with every episode focusing on a child that needs the help of the Zyurangers. All of the Zyurangers are very well rounded characters but you shouldnt expect gigantic development since thats not what the show is going for. And that doesnt mean that the characters are bland or boring. Just that the characters you have at the start of the show pretty much end up being the same at the end of it with the difference that they lived through alot of happy but also sad times that had impact on their characters but not in the sense that they learn to be different it just solidifies there already established personalities.
Same with the villains. They all have very specific personalitys they keep during the show but you get some really nice story bits with them especially with Bandora.

And taking alot of advantage of the Fairytale settings the show can get kinda weird at times but with Zyuranger the atmosphere really profits from that and makes this a very unique entry in the franchise.

Zyuranger for me is a pretty meh show. Personally I was bored a lot of the time and even the main story bits aren't that great. The characters are kind of dull in terms of development save for Burai and Geki, but I still like them (hell I like them enough to be collecting the full team in SHF form). Honestly out of all of the Sentai I have seen Zyuranger ranks the lowest for me.

However I still plan on getting the DVD, mainly to support Sentai getting an official release in America. Zyuranger is by no means the greatest Sentai or all that great in my book, but for the parts I did enjoy and for liking the characters I'll pick it up.

I personally like Zyuranger a lot. Sure Jetman is a better written show but I still think Zyuranger is a good show overall. A lot of older fans in Japan have very mixed feelings to Zyuranger since it came out after Jetman and most of them had high hopes for it being just as good as Jetman, if not better.

What I like about Zyuranger is that I dig the magical fantasy theme going for the show and the characters are pretty well done. Unlike MMPR, they have depth to them and there development for them too. I really like Witch Bandora as a villain seeing that she has motivation on why she hates the Zyurangers and why she kidnaps children while Rita in MMPR never did. I do think Zyuranger is worth the pick up on DVD. I know some people will call me a Sentai purist but I do think Zyuranger is a much better written show then MMPR on a critical level. Every time I watch MMPR, I find myself liking it less over the years. MMPR has age like rotten milk.

It'll come down to personal tastes weather you like it or not. I personally enjoyed the show a lot, but it would be in the middle somewhere if I rated all of Sentai. It is at least worth the asking price. If you have the money, you want to take the chance, and support the release, then I say go for it. If nothing else, if you are an old MMPR fan it's neat to see the original context of all those scenes.

I'll go with what Convoy said, Zyuranger is a really fun and overall enjoyable show- if you care for fantasy-themed shows, at least. And Mochizuki Yuuta, the actor who played Geki/ Tyrannoranger is amazing.

Well the first few eps are really hard to get through but then it gets a bit better and then it just gets boring. I could get past 10 episodes or the Burai arc before giving up.

i loved zyuranger. the element s it had in that show made me respect sentai source footage more when MMPR was using them.

I still say watch the show for yourself to make judgement on it. I notice Western Sentai fans have mixed feelings on it too. Rider, Rangers and Rambles seem to dislike anything before Gaoranger.

yea i noticed that. it seem they jus tlike gimmick sentai seasons.

It's ok, it's not perfect, ok nothing made by human beings is 100% perfect, but it's one of the last sentai seasons to have some darkness in it.

Sentai still has darkness in it, the level of which it is present simply has lowered in recent years.

ToQger's whole villain team are powered by darkness :)

One caveat, it's really hard at times to remember you're not watching MMPR. Not impossible, but you will at time think "Okay, what's Rita up to this time?" or "AWESOME ITS THE MEGA DRAGONZORD!"

Bandora is much cooler though. Nightly song and dance routines are fun.

Don't be spoiling the single best surprise of the show now :p

Either way, Bandora is a good reason to watch Zyuranger. Machiko Soga is always great and this maybe her best role.

While I heavily disagree Zyuranger being one of "the last" seasons to have darkness, I really wonder: Does a show NEED "darkness" to be good? Honestly, I like a happy, light season if it entertains me and has a story I can enjoy and think a bit about it.

And Zyuranger is not a dark show. Its a very lighthearted show that has dark elements to it. But so do Timeranger, Gekiranger and many other Sentais that came after it.

one time i literally went "wait so bill's flying beetle was not an american creation?????"

that was the most shocking thing for me LOL

Regardless of what your final verdict for the show may be, I say go watch it to see where MMPR originated from. Personally I think it is an awesome sentai show.

Yeah, there's no reason why you shouldn't watch it what with the DVD coming out next month and all.

ZyuRanger is my third favorite Sentai series. I tend to watch it every other year and enjoy it immensely. It has its horrible moments and episodes, especially in the early teens, but as a whole, the show is excellent. The first 8 episodes kick ass and then everything goes uphill when Dragon Ranger comes in. The fights and choreography are well done and the soundtrack to the show is incredible. It does have a child of the week, so that could get on your nerves, but that also seemed to be a thing back then as even Kamen Rider Black did that. The villains are interesting, the Monsters of the Week rock, especially in the design department. They aren't the most complex villains, but as the show goes on you do start to realize there is more between the lines with them than the show actually reveals. Like most Sentai series, only half of the team is really given any sort of development, which is saddening since the whole team is great.

Also this is one of Takaiwa Seiji's early work as a suit actor (He was Dragonranger at one point during the show.)

Zyuranger is a good season, but the "troubled child of the week" schtick got old pretty quick for me. Regardless, it is definitely worth watching.

It's easily the worst Heisei era series in my opinion. Most of the episodes seem like a PBS Kids show, and Burai seems like a wimp compared to Tommy in Mighty Morphin'. It's the only show I actually dislike more than its American counterpart.

I could just be sentimental, but I love it. I really enjoyed a lot of the minor details, such as the villains being stationed on the moon (or wherever it was) and having the monsters of the week made out of clay (instead of simply appearing like in most other series). There were also some other aspects that really set it apart, such as the fantasy theme (legendary heroes as opposed to normal people enhanced by technology), sentient mecha, and the fact that it spent a few episodes setting up things, instead of just giving them to us all at once. The opening theme is fantastic, in a nostalgic sort of way, and Burai is a very interesting character. The suit design is great, the monsters are very well-made, and the effects are all great - these aspects all make it look less dated than other series from around the same time.

The only negatives I can think of are 1. I've always thought DaiZyuJin looked a bit weird and 2. there isn't much plot going on other than saving kids every week until Burai shows up, but after he shows up we go back to saving kids.