[Kamen Rider Lucha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwami

Can I just say that this show would be a lot more enjoyable without the forced Sentai-tropes?

You can... but without the tropes, the show wouldn't be "Sentai." Because more than any franchise I've ever seen, Sentai tropes are the show. And when you remove them, Sentai kinda stops being Sentai.

I, personally, would never want them to go away completely. The strict adherence to a recognizable structure is a major part of why I watch and love these shows. 1) Since every Sentai contains these tropes, it's fun to analyze and compare how their execution varies across different series. As such, they add a new metric by which you can judge the show's quality. 2) The formula forces me to enter a calming, meditative state that I appreciate. 3) The formula also means that shows are very consistent in quality -- they're rarely extremely extremely bad (nor, unfortunately, extremely good).

That said, certain shows implement the tropes in ways I like better than others. For example, Jetman is mostly comprised of very tropey episodes, but the writers shake up when in the episodes the tropes appear, which leads to some interesting variety. In a different way, Carranger is very tropey, but because of the show's satirical tone, the tropes are invigorated with new life.

Every piece of media must be engaged with on its own terms, and Sentai is no exception. If you can't embrace its tropes, which are so deeply ingrained, then I don't think you can watch or judge Sentai on its terms. At that point, you're judging the show based on criteria the creators never attempted to satisfy.