I never would’ve believed that there would be so much interest in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers here in 2014. We’re here twenty years after the fact talking about the ironic greatness of the feature film, a brand new feature film reboot, and now a brand new release of the original Japanese series that spawned Power Rangers here in the U.S.
ZyuRanger was the 16th iteration of Japan’s Super Sentai series that had its start back in the mid-70s. It premiered in 1992 and was eventually brought to English audiences as the first few seasons of Mighty Morphin Power rangers. We’ve never had the chance to see the original version until now. From Escapist Magazine:
While many of the visuals, villains and even entire action sequences will be familiar to U.S. Power Rangers fans, ZyuRanger features an entirely different storyline and set of characters. The heroes are the last survivors of an ancient humanoid civilization that coexisted with dinosaurs. They are reawakened in the present when their arch-nemesis Bandora (aka “Rita Repulsa” to MMPR fans), an evil witch responsible for the extinction of their race and the dinosaurs, is accidentally released from imprisonment on Planet Nemesis. The defend Earth from Bandora’s attacks with the aid of a wizard and sentient prehistoric robots called Guardian Beasts.
No announcements have been made as to features, release date, pricing or release plans for any of the other 37 existing Super Sentai series.
Thirty-seven series. That’s impressive, even if the newest one revolves around trains and train robots. Why bust up a proven formula?
If you’re unfamiliar with what to expect, check out the introduction to the original series below. It’s certainly not the Power Rangers you grew up with, but what do you know. You were probably a kid or less when it came out.
(Via Escapist / Shout Factory)
