[Sh Ranger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matrixbeast

Watched the Abare 20th special.
It's odd that it plays it so none of the other reunions were canon, so they haven't been rangers in 20 years.
Despite this, this special was super tongue in cheek. Poking fun at stuff like how long inspirational speeches take or how social attitudes have changed in the 20 years since Abaranger's original airing. I would've very much expected them to reference their past crossovers, but eh.

Watched it earlier this week.

Logically, none of their crossovers can be canon, except for Donbrothers which was a prequel to this. Abaranger VS Hurricanger had Rije at a time when she should've been Rijewel instead and Dekaranger VS Abaranger had a cameo from Hurricane Red who Ryouga canonically shouldn't have recognized. Nevertheless, I appreciated how we still got a Dekaranger VS reference, with Abarengecko reviving Abare Killer instead of Dezu. Even in canon, Nakadai is still the strongest man in hell!

As far as Sentai anniversary movies go, this was the only one I thought captured the flavor of the show and had something worthwhile to talk about. A story about the problem with dreaded moral guardians/cancel culture and the way that perceptions can become twisted and misinterpreted to the detriment of people like Aoi who carried that trauma in to adulthood. While violence is an essential part of every Sentai, the "kindness of rampaging" is a major selling point of Abaranger's aesthetic, so it's interesting to see how such a philosophy can be judged harshly in the overly sensitive world of modern social media. I appreciate how Aoi isn't just a strawman either, like, that would be easy, but we actually see where her hatred comes from and confronting that is how she becomes a better person.

I especially love how Yukito reacts to this situation, since it's fresh off the "DocHara" accusations that made him retire from his job. In the interview, he's the only member of his team who isn't meekly trying to apologize for their behavior, as he believes that the Abarangers haven't done anything wrong. While Ryouga and Asuka are stuck on defense, Yukito goes for the offense instead, pointing out all the flaws in Aoi's argument and pretty much telling her she's the one who needs to change. His backstory about getting blamed for grade school bullying is something I can totally relate to, as a fellow guy with limited emotional expression. Thanks to his investigation, Aoi sees the benefit her childhood rampage had on her friend and decides to atone by using her power as an influencer to help the Abarangers defeat Abarengecko. Easily the MVP of this movie.

I hope Dekaranger 20th will maintain this quality.