Adapting and Summarizing Morals: Gekiranger to Jungle Fury

I thought since many (and by many, I mean two people) liked my comparisons of Super Sentai and Power Rangers, I thought I would do some more, but in storylines and plots. Many times, Super Sentai stories are simplified or made light of in Power Rangers. Such simplifications can be considered culture differences or just stacked for time and squeezing in footage into one episode because the low episode count (the later seasons of PR have been 32 episodes and Sentai have remained at 49). Didactic means to intended to teach. When I talk about morals, I don't mean the didactic forms. A lot of these differences have to do with Mele and Camille. I will be Operation Overdrive and other seasons next.

There were three rings to get the Kenma and in the first episode, a Rinshi stole it from the good guys at SCRTC. The Kenma spoke to Rio through the rings. But instead in PRJF, Dai Shi merely had the rings locked in a case in storage and Camille had to fetch it.


And of course, with the squeezing of episodes from 2 episodes into 1, we loose most of the lessons the Gekiranger had to do. While Lily only had to convince a whiny old gruff to change his ways, Ran had to deal with a pervert and with fishing, she learned how to use her mace. And Retsu had to learn how to dance on water.


While Rio had to eat his fear, eat his past. Carnisoar had Jarrod deplete his humanity by going into his past. They both dealt with the past. And how Rio dealt with Kata (Carnisoar's counterpart) was much more violent. Kata put Rio's body in a trance and he was frozen to the outside world. And Kata also (as above) spilled black blood out of him.


Now how Bae became a fly was very different to how Flit became a fly. Yes, both of them got a flashback with Mele/Camille, but Camille had 'cursed' him with her 'powers.' Flit was a victim. Whereas, Mele did nothing to Bae. Bae did it to himself, he made himself into a fly. Also, Bae couldn't live without Mele, he was living off her Rinki, because she had swallowed him and died and he was living in her stomach. But Flit didn't need Camille to live.


That is why he bonded with Gou because Gou made himself into a werewolf, they tried a forbidden type of chi. RJ, on the other hand, didn't use a forbidden chi, his wolf spirit was tampered by Dai Shi. And Flit helped RJ -- in a similar way Bae did it, but it was revealed that Bae's talking was like a special 'ki.' Flit had an unexplained sonic power.


A lot of things were pushed back, such as Jan having to make a choice between saving a girl or getting the key to arising Maku (Grizzaka), but this choice came later on for Casey, between a Professor and the Phantom Crystal Eyes.

In Episode 30 of Gekiranger, Ron put Mele to the task to steal the Soujyuto from Ken to save Rio. She had 'fair and square' standards and had a personal moral quarrel to steal it underhandedly. She made a treaty with Ken to fight for it 'fair and square' when she kidnaps his sister. But she double-crosses him. And by double-crossing him, Mele earned her Dorinki. And also very important for me to mention, Mele, herself, a woman, broke Rio, a man, out of a prison with the jail cell. But on the other hand in Jungle Fury's "Dash for the Dagger," Camille merely stole the Control Dagger from Dommick underhandedly and did not earn no Phantom power. Camille, then, a woman, handed the weapon to Jarrod/Dai Shi so he breaks himself out. Now, it could be that the Jungle Fury producers did not take this into consideration and had to rush to write this. But I think it is interesting to mention, the difference.


Would it be fair to consider it a cultural difference? That because of cultural gender binary (the rules our American culture have built for women and men), that Camille being a woman, she would have to hand the weapon to the man. Or maybe, it had nothing to do with gender and because Dai Shi is supposed to be feared and Camille's 'master' that she had to hand it to him because she, not because she was a woman, but just that the fact that she is a subordinate. But Gekiranger, it isn't questioned that Mele was considered by Rio as a subordinate, but because she had struggled for her love and made a sacrifice of her own rules, that she deserved to break him out and show off her Dorinki.


Now, how Camille never got Zocato, which was the equivalent of Dorinki. Camille did get her Rinzin, which was the equivalent of the Genjyuken, but later on that Mele got it. Mele got her Genjyuken before Rio got his. While, Dai Shi got his Rinzin before Camille did. Mele had to mix her energy with Ron's Genki, in a blood oath ceremony to become a Phantom Beast General. Camille just complained, pleaded and begged to get Rinzi and Dai Shi simply appointed her a general shortly after he became king and the three generals made her into one. She didn't have to make a sacrifice or have earned it.


Whereas when Rio and Mele went to the Beast Origin Village to get the Rhino, they were confronted by the seven Kensei. But when Camille and Dai Shi arrived to the Rhino Nexus valley area, they are confronted by a ground booby-trap and Camille gets sucked in the ground and Dai Shi has to pull her out. And then the Overlords (Kenma) confront them and they fight. Even though, the Kenma had a brief scuffle with Rio and Mele.


And obviously, Rio and Mele died. Camille got bitten by Dai Shi/dragon but when Mele got bitten by the Ron dragon, she died. And when Jarrod attacked the Dai Shi dragon, he was okay but when Rio did it, it was a kamikaze effect and died.

And that is just a few differences, there are many many more and I am sure many people will post comments with these differences. But these are the differences that stand out to me the most that deal with morals and sacrifice and earning things. Most times in Power Rangers, the characters don't go through a journey like the Super Sentai characters have to and magically get things.

Related Topic: Super Sentai to Power Rangers: HD Full Screen to NTSC squish screen