[Fish Sandwich]

~Fish's Zenkai Tour!~

Case File.24 – Mirai Sentai Timeranger



Awwww yeah! Time for, uh, Timeranger! Right, that one! I promise not to spend the *entire* post on an ambiguously on-topic nostalgic rant this week, but if Lightspeed Rescue played an indescribably huge role in making me love tokusatsu, then Power Rangers Time Force might've honestly done the same for storytelling in general. I was enthralled by that series simply on a dramatic level. The complexity of the themes and the humanity of the characters was frankly unreal considered within the context of its target audience, and to this day, I still love it to bits. I consider myself blessed to have grown up with it, and ever since getting into the wider world of toku through shows like Kamen Rider Ryuki and OOO, it's been something of a point of pride for me that Time Force is in part notable because of how much of that great drama stems from it faithfully adapting a Sentai series written by Yasuko Kobayashi. No wonder she's my favorite, right? Ironically enough for a pair of shows with fate as a central theme, this may have all been inevitable!

But that's my story, and apparently for a lot of little kids in Japan at the turn of the millennium, Timeranger didn't hold much appeal. Merchandise sales for the show greatly underperformed, which could be attributed to a number of different factors. Kamen Rider Kuuga proving to be a smash hit the same year definitely wouldn't have helped, and it's easy to imagine Timeranger's unusually complicated style turning off younger viewers, something perhaps exemplified by an anecdote about how the theme song was given subtitles for the lyrics partway into the show's run after complaints about them being hard to understand due to the heavy use of English. That being said, I'm not sure if it can be that simple when, as mentioned, Kuuga was a runaway success, despite being every bit as unusual. Kuuga tells you what time everything is taking place; Timeranger tells you what date. Kuuga never has anyone say "Kamen Rider"; Timeranger never has anyone say "Mirai Sentai". There are some surprising similarities there! Who knows, maybe having the theme song also be unusual really made all the difference, but it's kind of a shame to think anyone would reject a theme song as epic as Timeranger's.

For as similar as it might to be to Kuuga, though, I've always seen Timeranger as sort of a Jetman for a new generation? Not only are there superficial similarities like the transformation schemes of their primary giant robots, the overall mission statement for both shows is undeniably close, with both making an effort to focus on heavier, more "real" drama than usual. The setup of the heroes is different, and yet it's because they made it the exact opposite that I get the feeling they had to be doing it on purpose. Jetman was about four random ordinary people and a Red specifically chosen and trained for the job, while Timeranger is about four people chosen and trained for the job and a Red who is just some ordinary guy. And just like with Jetman's premise, I find Timeranger's idea of four people from the year 3000 meeting one man from the modern day to be an instantly strong concept to get some drama going, so let's talk about that first episode already.

I thought Timeranger had a really good premiere. I don't find it as striking as some others, especially considering Timeranger on the whole was actively trying to stand out, but it still establishes everything in a very competent manner. Like, for how much I'm talking up the complexity of this show, the premise couldn't be more straightforward, and that's entirely by design, since they are still keeping the target audience in mind. The plot from the outset is as simple as follows – the future is totally cool and awesome, but some very bad people go back in time to do bad things, and now the heroes have to go and arrest them before they mess stuff up. It's kept super approachable. (The whole law enforcement angle also led to this being a Sentai that did their job without killing a single monster, something I naturally approve of.)

The Kobayashi factor is what starts to truly elevate the episode, though, as I feel like you get a great grip on four out of five of the team members right away. I mean, Ayase is hard to get a read on, sure (which probably just means he's the usual "cool Blue"), but like: Domon is the frivolous one; Sion is smart and sweet; Yuuri is someone you probably shouldn't mess with; and Tatsuya? Well he's just barely hanging in there, isn't he? Really, Tatsuya brings the entire group dynamic to life as soon as he shows up, lending a grounded energy to all this serious sci-fi nonsense he's dragged into. One of my favorite moments in the whole episode is just a simple bit of suit acting from Time Red where, after the battle ends, he immediately plops himself right down on the ground, as if to unwind from all the excitement. It's such a human thing to do, and also not something you'd expect from most Sentai heroes, which is why it's an amazing thing to end the premiere on. (Having it both start and close on birds flying by was also a great touch.)

All in all, it's a strong start for yet another show I probably should've watched by now! Once again, a lack of subs back when I was first getting into Super Sentai is probably to blame here, but, once again, that excuse can only carry me so far. I feel such an inherent connection to Timeranger it's sort of insane this project was the first I've watched even a single episode of it. Perhaps it's also ironic that I've yet to find the time to watch Timeranger? Definitely a tomorrow worth changing... some day!