[Sh Ranger]

I finished my Shinkenger rewatch yesterday. Pretty good! As others have mentioned, the final arc does a lot of the carrying for the actual plot. After Tenkuu Shinken Oh, the show relaxes in to more of a typical Sentai, which is fine, the episodes are mostly enjoyable. The plot just doesn't have the same momentum and intrigue as some of Kobayashi's other shows, like Gingaman where each new arc is significantly different in some way. However, I would attribute the safeness of Shinkenger to Utsunomiya, who I think has an overly rigid formula.

I want to address the PR Samurai comparison, as that is a commonly discussed topic. It's clear to me now that a lot of the nuances were simplified for the western audience. However, I do not think this is bad at all. After all, my original experience of Shinkenger was meh, I struggled to understand the whole lord and vassals stuff and everything that came with that, but I really loved PR Samurai, simply due to how it was easy to understand while still keeping the cool samurai flair. Shinkenger and PR Samurai are made to represent different cultures, so I wouldn't say either one is better, only different.

Other than having watched enough jidaigeki in the last 16 years to become more cultured, I think another factor of my increased appreciation might be Over-Time's subs. Now, I actually like TV-Nihon, their Ryusoulger subs are superior for sure. But in Shinkenger's case, a sub group that stays faithful to the Japanese in a show that is so heavily Japanese is unsurprisingly bad for anybody who isn't Japanese. Over-Time simply understood their demographic better here and brought the necessary clarity.

I also watched Shinkenger Returns for the first time, since I previously forgot it existed. Peak comedy!

The curtain shall close on this post anon, but first a promotion is in order, so here's my updated Complete Heisei Sentai Ranking:

1) Go-Onger
2) Kakuranger
3) Gekiranger
4) Jetman
5) Goseiger
6) Boukenger
7) Zyuohger
8) Abaranger
9) Dekaranger
10) GoGo V
11) Gobusters
12) Gingaman
13) Turboranger
14) Ryusoulger
15) Gaoranger
16) Ohranger
17) Shinkenger
18) Timeranger
19) Zyuranger
20) Lupinranger VS Patranger
21) CarRanger
22) Fiveman
23) Kyuranger
24) Ninninjer
25) Megaranger
26) Hurricanger
27) Gokaiger
28) Magiranger
29) Dairanger
30) Kyoryuger

I was thinking about another Sentai rewatch, but since I'll be watching Brand New Metal Hero next year , I guess I'll resume Showa with Maskman.