

The cultural differences can be obvious here...













However I feel like talking about the cultural differences. Aside from the most obvious that Power Rangers is American and multi-racial and Super Sentai is usually an all-Japanese team (considering it it is from Japan), there are other aspects of culture aside from ethnicity that puts some differences. Last time, I wrote about the big deal about adapting Japanese shows .Now I feel like writing about the cultural differences between Super Sentai and Power Rangers. I was partly inspired by the Dino Thunder episode "Lost and Found in Translation" that while I am not a fan of the show, that episode still inspired me to write this entry. When I think about why I prefer Super Sentai over Power Rangers, I think it might be because of my Asian upbringing. I also think about Super Sentai (in my own view anyway) to have better scripts, musical score, humor and action scenes. In short, I feel like Super Sentai is better than Power Rangers in all those respects for many years though as of late, Super Sentai is missing more action scenes from its main cast based on Chris Cantada's interview with Kazunori Inaba (Red Mask) and Kei Shindachiya (Five Blue) However I feel like talking about the cultural differences. Aside from the most obvious that Power Rangers is American and multi-racial and Super Sentai is usually an all-Japanese team (considering it it is from Japan), there are other aspects of culture aside from ethnicity that puts some differences.





I. Aesthetics





Cutting across the galaxy with blades of light...





Americans tend to like buff and muscular heroes, Japanese may not care about them too much





I always felt like that Americans tend to prefer buff superheroes more and Japanese seem not to care about them. If you look at Ryoma, he is obviously not on the buff and muscular side compared to his American counterpart Leo. Super Sentai had some buff heroes like Geki from Zyuranger or Ryou from Dairanger but the franchise doesn't put too much importance on that. An example you may consider is Ryoma from Gingaman and Leo from Lost Galaxy. Ryoma can look pretty "wimpy" to some people but he actually does several rather impressive out of suit scenes. Leo is viewed as the typical American buff superhero. Remember, looks can be deceiving as some "wimpy looking" heroes can be pretty badass.



Now I don't deny that Super Sentai had shirtless muscular males like Ryou in Dairanger, Shirogane in Gaoranger and Gou Fukami in Gekiranger, and Takeru Shiba in Shinkenger. Power Rangers seems to have the habit of having shirtless males as fanservice like Leo ripping off his shirt before he fights Trakeena, Jason and Tommy had shirtless moments in Mighty Morphin' but I don't find it all that impressive, Ryan Mitchell the U.S. exclusive Titanium Ranger in Lightspeed Rescue, Cole Evans in Wild Force and Troy Burrows in Megaforce. Cole and Troy are muscular while their Power Rangers counterparts Kakeru Shishi in Gaoranger and Alata in Goseiger (you may also include Captain Marvelous in Gokaiger too) might look "wimpy" to American viewers.



What was funny was this was somewhat parodied in Akibaranger Season Tsuu Episode Five. If you remembered the episode called "Delusional Import" then you might notice that the comics called "Powerful Rangers" displayed an overly buff Tyrano Ranger/Red Powerful Ranger on its cover. I guess that episode was making fun of America's love for buff superheroes or two, to make fun of the fact that both Geki and Jason were pretty muscular characters.





Mei vs. Kimberly... one cutie and one hottie...





Japanese tend to prefer cuties, Americans tend to prefer hotties





I don't know how true this is but somehow, I observed that Japanese tend to prefer cuties and Americans tend to prefer hotties. My only evidence of that might be how women are usually drawn by artists. You may want to observe how Anime women look cute while most American cartoon women usually look hot. Likewise, I could see the same during the earlier start of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.





It's really my guilty pleasure to always be a broken record when it comes to the Rishiya Princess Mei vs. Kimberly Hart comparison. If you think about it, Mei is a cutie and Kimberly is a hottie. When thinking about how the two characters are, I guess people who find Mei prettier prefer cuties and since I prefer hotties, I find Kimberly prettier which can be subjective to one's preferences. Both characters have their own charm and I guess it's pretty much apples and oranges isn't it? But aside from that, I felt like Amy Jo Johnson acts better than Reiko Chiba considering that the former had experience in the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute prior to her acting career.





What I find also funny (which might be just subjective to my personal biases) is that I find most of the Super Sentai girls hotter than most Power Rangers girls. My favorite example might be is how I find Nanami Nono from Hurricanger more attractive than Tori Hanson from Power Rangers Ninja Storm. No matter how I invert it, I find Tori cute while Nanami is really distracting. Others may find Tori prettier than Nanami. Then again, this is pretty subjective to the eyes of the viewer.





Oh wait... Trini's counterpart in Japan is... a BOI?!





Yellow is considered to be a boy's or girl's color in Japan while Americans tend to think it's a feminine exclusive color





What might surprise some people is that Trini's counterpart in Zyuranger was a man named Boi. I remembered the interview in Karan Ashley's show where she asked Takumi Hashimoto about whati t felt that his counterpart in the U.S. was a man. The response was pretty much a good laugh. From what I heard, yellow is usually viewed as a feminine color in the West but in Japan, it is both a man's color and a woman's color just like blue. If you should know this, a lot of yellow rangers in the past were male. Bioman introduced the first female yellow ranger in Mika Koizumi but she was short-lived due to Yuki Yajima's abrupt departure (her character got killed off) and she was replaced by Sumiko Tanaka who played Jun Yabuki. Sad to say, Thuy Trang who I felt like was Saban's own version of Yuki Nagata (Yellow Mask in Maskman) died in real life last September 9, 2001.





I guess that's why Chojin Sentai Jetman never got adapted into Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers because of a female blue ranger (the first one was in Liveman) and a male yellow ranger (which was very common). I thought about how most of the male yellow rangers get female versions when the adaptation is made. Aside from Trini, you may also consider Maya from Lost Galaxy, Kelsey Winslow from Lightspeed Rescue, Katie Walker from Time Force and Taylor Eardhart from Wild Force were female yellow rangers with male counterparts. Later on, we would see male yellow rangers for Power Rangers first with the Alien Rangers mini-series, Dustin Brooks for Ninja Storm and Charlie Thorn for Mystic Force.





As of late, I have noticed that it's very hard to find a male yellow ranger after Timeranger except if you talk about Kouta Bitou from Hurricanger or Tsubasa Ozu from Magiranger. If you realize it, most of the yellow rangers for most entries today are female and female blue rangers aren't very common in Super Sentai.







Their outfits will tell you why Zonette's footage was never used...





Provocative clothing is okay with Japanese live TV shows aimed towards children but not in American live TV shows





This might be a very touchy subject considering that there are censorship issues. You might think about how Divatox's counterpart Lady Zonette in Carranger was really very sexy. While Divatox had some sexiness, I think Lady Zonette was the real distraction from face to body. In Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, we never saw Shelinda ever have a counterpart in that series and it had the Power Rangers exclusive villain Trakeena instead.





Now I could be wrong but there are some rules in American TV programming. If I'm not wrong, you can have cleavages, skimpy clothing or bikinis in some cartoons but not on live television. If you remember the 90s Batman The Animated series cartoon, you may notice Poison Ivy's cleavage is really showing or for Scooby Doo, Daphne Blake was in a bikini in some episodes where the gang goes to the beach. In Mighty Morphin', one episode had Kimberly in a bikini top but never in full bikini while in Megaranger, Chisato Jougasaki appeared in a bikini for at least two episodes during the summer broadcast.







Let the battle of the guitars begin!





Musical styles vary between both series



The musical styles between Super Sentai and Power Rangers also varies due to Japanese and American culture. One good example may be the chord progression based on this



I might start comparing how musical scores and execution vary. Most of Power Rangers' opening themes usually don't click with me as much as Super Sentai opening themes. The rest of the soundtrack can also be very different like the insert songs and background musical scores. My favorite example would be how I prefer the background music played in Bandora's Palace compared to the background music played in Rita's palace (which still has Bandra Palace written on it). Super Sentai also has an ending theme song which Power Rangers only plays the opening theme again in the ending. The musical styles between Super Sentai and Power Rangers also varies due to Japanese and American culture. One good example may be the chord progression based on this Youtube video but since I am not musically inclined, I won't bother to speak too much about it. Instead, I will rely on my rather limited knowledge to write on the musical style differences.I might start comparing how musical scores and execution vary. Most of Power Rangers' opening themes usually don't click with me as much as Super Sentai opening themes. The rest of the soundtrack can also be very different like the insert songs and background musical scores. My favorite example would be how I prefer the background music played in Bandora's Palace compared to the background music played in Rita's palace (which still has Bandra Palace written on it). Super Sentai also has an ending theme song which Power Rangers only plays the opening theme again in the ending.







Jason and Tommy must have been speechless watching this!





Not to mention, the use of violent scenes





I have noticed the degrees of violence between Super Sentai and Power Rangers can greatly vary because of cultural differences. In Japan, TV shows before allowed certain amounts of violence like blood and not to mention, on-screen deaths. If you have seen both Hundred Beast King Golion and Lion Voltron, you will notice how the latter is a very sanitized version of a really bloody Anime. Likewise, Zyuranger has a lot of violent scenes that are otherwise questionable for American standards especially during the "Green with Evil" arc involving Burai.



In Zyuranger, Burai himself is fully aware of his actions and he isn't under some spell. I would also think that Tommy never dared to attack Rita with the Sword of Darkness. In Burai's case he would dare attack Bandora so he could seize the world for himself. During the battle with Geki, you really have the two of them out of suit and using sharp objects in battle. You don't have Jason and Tommy duking it out like Geki and Burai. Dairanger is also a very bloody series featuring tons of bleeding of both heroes and villains alike





Later Power Rangers seasons do have an increased amount of violence but it was to reasonable levels like most of today's Super Sentai. What may be considered as violent scenes upgrade may be observed with post-Zordon series. You end up having more of the cast members actually getting into real badass fights or getting wounded from fighting out of suit. Super Sentai on the other hand still had violence and blood but it was minimized compared to old school Super Sentai. I guess Dairanger was so bloody parents complained. Boukenger may have that girls with guns episode but they were aiming at inorganic enemies and while bleeding happened, blood was greatly minimized.





II. Writing styles and execution