Power Rangers/Super Sentai Villain Comparison: MMPR/Kakuranger

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 3 [1996] / Ninja Sentai Kaku Ranger (Ninja Squadron Hidden Rangers) [1994]

Rito Repulso / Gasha Skull
Gasha takes on the guise of Young Noble Junior, a bleached blonde leather punk with a guitar. He was killed mid-way in the series. Rito was incorporated into the Rita mythology as Rita and Zedd were still the head villains. Rito was Rita's obnoxious brother who hilariously called Zedd 'ed.' He became more of comic relief, along with Goldar. He was presumed to be destroyed but never seen again.

Master Vile / Daimaou
Daimaou, like Master Vile is Rito/Gasha Skull's father. Gasha had to revive his father, while Vile just arrived to Rita/Zedd's palace. They were both evil and serious, only difference Daimaou actually sacrificed his son. Both had no mention of a mother. Daimaou was ultimately sealed by the Kakuranger, while Master Vile went back home and was received Rita and her clan at his home when Machine Empire attacked. He was destroyed by Zordon's wave by the end of Power Rangers in Space.

Power Rangers/Super Sentai Villain Comparison: MMPR/Zyuranger

In the spirit of comparing the good guys as they were converted from Japanese to American, I decided to cover the baddies.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993) and Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger - 1992 (Zyu is pronounced 'Juu', it means 'Beast').

Rita Replusa / Bandora
Ahh, the infamous Rita Replusa. By using the original Japanese footage, we were served a woman whose voice didn't match her lips. After Season 1, this was not done again. We know the basic story of Rita: a evil witch who trapped Zordon in his big head state and was trapped in a 'space dumpster' on the 'moon' and then released. She kidnapped Tommy and made him evil. Once he became good, she made a candle from the time he was under her care. So, she stripped him from his powers as the candle decreased.

Bandora, on the other hand, was a peaceful queen living in age of the dinosaurs. Her mischievous son, who she loved dearly squished some dino eggs and in turn was killed by the dinosaur mother. Bandora swore revenge on the dinosaurs and allied herself with Satan and became a witch. She and her goons were imprisoned on the planet Nemesis by the Shogozyu (the zords) and when the planet came in the orbit close to the Earth, they were released. She allied and betrayed Burai. Bandora constructed a tower to summon Satan from hell. She had to gather thirteen children to be sacrificed. Satan was thwarted but when he returned, he brought her son back to life and they sunk the Shogozyus into the Earth. Eventually, she was defeated and placed in a bin once again and hurled through space.

That wasn't the end of Rita though, in season 2 all American footage was used as Lord Zedd took over and imprisoned her in the dumpster, hurling her into space. She came back and sent once again by the Rangers. The dumpster made its way back, but this time to the palace on the moon. Finster made her look young and restored her size, she married Zedd with a love potion. Once the potion wore off, she discovered he really did love her. Her brother Rito and father Master Vile came by season 3 and she was turned good at the end of Power Rangers in Space. By Mystic Force, it was discovered she was the Mystic Mother (same actress, different character in Magiranger).

Goldar / Grifforzer

Goldar started as Grifforzer, deadly and evil. Grifforzer went on to have a baby boy with his wife Lami, while Goldar betrayed Rita and became Lord Zedd's right hand man. For some reason, his wings were gone and not explained why but Zedd 'returned' them. Goldar became more of a comically lacky when Rito came along in Season 3 and he was killed by the Zordon wave in Power Rangers in Space.

Scorpina / Lami
Scorpina was also primarily Japanese footage in Season 1, only once she was played by an American actress in Season 2 but since Saban couldn't hold on to the actress, she magically 'disappeared' and was never heard of again. Lami was actually Grifforzer's wife. Both had a human form and a scorpion form when giant. Lami was deadly and playful, also was a master of disguises. Scorpina appeared in the episode where Lord Zedd arrived--via footage of when Bandora was captured at the end of Zyuranger--but then disappeared since they didn't have an actress yet. Lami had a human-like child that was captured along with all of them.


UPDATED 11/22/09 7:30 PM EST
Lokar / Dai Satan
I can't believe I forgot about this guy! Okay, this guy was a major Difference. Lokar was a big head in the sky that Rita would call upon for help to power up her monsters. He is compared to fans as a opposite of Zordon. In Zyuranger, he had nothing to do with Zordon as Zordon wasn't in the show and his counterpart Burai was not a big head. Anyway, Dai Satan was a devil, Bandora worshiped him and turned to the dark side when her son died. He was destroyed, where Lokar just ran away and never seen again.

Cyclopsis / Dora Tolas
While it is Goldar's zord in Power Rangers (footage of him in the cockpit was American-made), it was a robot for Bandora's son Kai to pilot with two hypnotized children. In Zyuranger, Kai was killed by a dinosaur and drove Bandora to evil. Kai was resurrected near finale. Originally when MMPR was to end with "Doomsday part 1 & 2," Kai was to be adapted into Rita' son Bubba but that was discarded.

There was not much difference between Baboo/Tottobatto , Squatt/Bukkubakku, and Finster/Puripurikan, only that Tottobatto was a vampire.

Power Rangers/Super Sentai Character Conversion: Operation Overdrive / Boukenger

I am comparing how the good guy characters were converted from the original Japanese source for American audiences. I will do Jungle Fury/Gekiranger some other time.

Power Rangers Operation Overdrive / Gougou Sentai Boukenger (Rumbling Squadron Adventure Ranger)
Team of adventurers seeking the ultimate treasure against four sects of baddies.

Mack Hartford / Satoru Akashi (Bouken Red)
Akashi was a refreshment for many fans tired of reckless and obnoxious leaders, he was stable, resourceful, smart and dependable. He genuinely cared about his teammates. He was a great legendary adventurer and was all torn up about his loosing two former teammates (buried alive in a cave). To his teammates, he was a fuddy-duddy. He was okay with poking fun at himself. He took consideration of his other teammate's feelings and always knew things before them and always followed what their bosses wanted. Mack is a different story, albeit brave and caring. He was also a rich boy who aspired to be an adventurer like his father, but little did he know he was an android with memories implanted him. He went against his father's wishes. By the end, of course, he was turned into a 'real boy' like fans already figured out.

Rose Ortiz / Sakura Nishibori (Bouken Pink)
Sakura was considered to be cold and up-tight, she was forced to be so for images purposes for her rich family to so no emotion. She joined a special forces troop to escape. She searched for her treasure... her smile. In truthfulness, she was quite shy amongst her true love Akashi and never told him (in the series anyway). Rose is a Mensa-level egg head who expects everyone to know what she knows and is just as up-tight. She never had fun a day of her life.

Will Anton / Masumi Inou (Bouken Black)
Masumi is a rash 'play by my own rules,' 'too cool for school' kind of guy, he wanted to usurp Akashi as the best adventurer. Masumi's heart came for Natsuki, he felt sorry for her at first but really cared for her and couldn't imagine going on without her. Eventually he learned to be a team player and team leader. He didn't want to admit it either, but he needed Akashi too, to compete with. Will was a extremely extremely watered down version of Masumi, he didn't want to be a team player either, but rather quickly changed. He was used to working on his own. He is a master thief. Will once 'switched sides' and went against the Rangers, but it was all a plan by their boss Andrew Hartford.

Dax Lo / Shouta Mogami (Bouken Blue)
Shouta is a sly ex-spy that constantly finds things funny and always chasing women, well he is very gentleman-like with them. He never lets anything bug him. He can find himself out of any situation. Dax on the other hand, got involved and tricked a villain, spending all his time with her and then betrayed. Dax was a stunt man who aspired to be a real actor. He was the comic relief but sometimes quite dumb.

Veronica "Ronny" Robinson / Natsuki Mamiya (Bouken Yellow)
Natsuki is the most popular character in the series, child-like cheery bubbly and always in a good mood. Other than in being very curious, Natsuki sought her past, because she doesn't remember anything before Masumi saved her. Turned out she is the last survivor of an ancient civilization that was essential to the series. She decided it didn't matter who she was before, but who she is now and continue being happy and having adventures. Ronny is child-like too, but the bad kind, selfish, self-involved, ignorant and jittery. She is a race car driver champion.

Tyzonn (Mercury Ranger) / Eiji Takaoka (Bouken Silver)
Eiji has a very complicated life. His father was a demon hunter and his mother was a demon. They are both dead, he continued hunting demons, but one of the demon wanted him dead so his mother could leave a purgatory-like place. He resented his mother but eventually learned to accept her as she watched over him and guided him. Eiji was a traveling monk who ate vegetables raw, he eventually learned not only chase the demons but be part of the team.

Tyzonn was very different in that he was an alien from a planet where his people could turn into mercury. His story was a mesh of three different characters, some from Akashi (his former team mates were buried in a cave as well), he was turned into a lizard-like creature (like one of the episode characters), and a bit from Eiji. Tyzonn was weary of joining another team. His fiance was lost in the cave, so he thought. An enemy pretended to be her and he vanished the enemy but later was reunited with his lady love.

Sentinel Knight/Zuuban
Zuuban was a legendary sword that could turn into a warrior that only could say his name. He would turn aggressive when everyone was sad or angry. He would only work properly when everyone was happy. He was basically like a pet, did the gang's dirty work. Sentinel Knight on the other hand was the guardian of the Corona Aurora, a crown of power the Rangers were racing to complete before the baddies did. S.K. had the power to restore 0ther ranger's powers. He got Zuuban's form, when a magical sword was retrieved. He got his true form back at the end when the crown was restored.

Power Rangers/Super Sentai Character Conversion: Mystic Force / Magiranger

UPDATED APRIL 18

Power Rangers Mystic Force (2006) / Mahou (Magic) Sentai Magiranger (2005)

The underworld was sealed long ago but now they are unleashed and are trying to take over the world. Five young magicians are chosen to save the world. Major difference is that the Magiranger were siblings and the White Mage was their mother and the evil Wolzard was their father. In PR, their counterparts were the parents of the Red Ranger.

Nick / Kai (MagiRed)
Nick was adopted and sought his true parents, he initially didn't believe in magic and was skeptical. He is brave, quick, smart and kind. Kai was the youngest of his siblings and the leader, initially his mother didn't think he had the heart to be a hero but he proved himself worthy. They were very different in that Kai was younger and more naive and frivolous with magic and acted before thinking.

Chip / Tsubasa (MagiYellow)
Chip is just a fanboy, likes role playing in magic and knights, he was also brave and eager. Tsubasa was critical of his brother Kai, he is brave, unyielding, clever, sensitive, and caring. He always saw beyond what the eye could see. He wasn't afraid of showing his gentle side. He was also an aspiring boxer, he appeared in Boukenger as a boxer. Tsubasa was much more serious than Chip, he dabbled in dark magic when warned not to--to help a dear friend whose soul was stolen. He did pay for it. Chip was trained to be a knight. He was also a blabber mouth, Tsubasa would never do so.

Madison / Urara (MagiBlue)
Urara and Madison were both sweet and gentle souls, bit of worry worts. Urara was much more inclined to bop her brothers in the heads when they were acting dumb. Madison was criticized for not taking chances, while Urara was understood for being withdrawn. Also, Urara got married to Hikaru.

Vida / Haruka (MagiPink)
Haruka is cheery and a bit of a ditz, also flirty and stylish. She loved going out at clubs and concerts, so did Vida who was a DJ. Vida is much more head-strong and didn't like the feminine color of pink. She would wear a different colored streak that differed from blue, yellow, red, gold, white, green, and pink. In the end, she dyed her entire hair to pink.

Xander / Makito (MagiGreen)
Xander is a smooth-talking guy who thinks he can solve a problem by 'talking' about it and knows he is handsome. He can be a bit stuck up and prone to get jealous or overreact, of course has a good heart. Makito is the big brother, he is protective of all his siblings, he also has the hidden talent of speaking a bit of English. He also uses super strong attacks.

Udonna (White Mystic Ranger) / Miyuki (MagiMother)
Both women transformed before the main team and was the first warrior seen in both series. Both lost their powers early on and got them back later on. Major difference is that Miyuki was killed in the second episode and not seen until she was revived later in series. Udonna simply lost her powers but remained in the entire series. They are the first female 'sixth' ranger. Miyuki was a sweet and somewhat strict mother. Udonna was a bit of a granola earth mother, but also strong and resilient. Both powerful sorceresses. They were similar, I guess difference was acting and cultural tweaks.

Daggeron (Solaris Knight) / Hikaru (MagiShine)
Both had three forms: human, ranger, and 'ancient mystic'/sky saint form. Both were teachers of the main five and did tough love on their students. Both fought against traitor, turned into a frog and kissed back to normal by the blue warrior and were temporarily killed. Hikaru was a bit harsher since the series was darker. Hikaru was young and attractive and got married to Urara. Magiranger was the first series to have two married couples by the end of the series.

Leanbow/Koragg (Knight Wolf/Wolf Warrior) / Issamu (Wolzard/Wolzard Fire)
Both were brave good warriors turned evil by the main villain and fought against the heroes, turned back to good, revealed the were daddy and their warrior form changed from purple to red. Difference was basically culturally and acting. Issamu is the father of the main five and Leanbow is father to only Nick. They are both the husband to the white mage.

Clare (Shining Moon Warrior/Gatekeeper) / Lunajel "Rin"
Lunajel is the Moon Shadow Elemental SkySaint who forgot who she was and went by the name of Rin. She didn't want the Magiranger to get in her way, she is the gatekeeper of the gate holding the underworld at bay. She was tortured by Wolzard and saved by the Magiranger. She then became a powerful ally. She interrupted Hikaru and Urara's wedding to warn Magitopia being attacked. Lunajel was the one to warn Magijel (Mystic Mother) Clare is Udonna's bumbling apprentice and niece, also Nick's cousin. Clare meant well, very different from the capable Lunajel. Clare's mother was the gatekeeper and she temporarily took her place for two eps and took on a Ancient Mystic form. By the end of the series, Clare was a full-fledge sorceress.

Snowjiel / Snow Prince
Snowjiel had both forms shown above, she was female, while Snow Prince was male. Snowjiel had an infant form but she spoke like a mature woman. She was not sure about the Magiranger, she was stern but fair. She gave them their Legend powers. She fired Sunjel as their mentor but ultimately came around. She believe he had to take a lesson from Kai. Snow Prince on the other hand, came out of nowhere to judge Daggeron and took him down as mentor and told him to take a lesson from Nick. He came around but he was pompous, out of line and humorless. He was the one who went to the Mystic Mother when the Master started attacking the Mystical Realm.

Mystic Mother / Magiel
She was played by Machiko Soga, who played Bandora in Zyuranger and that footage was used as Rita Replusa in MMPR. this was one of the few good roles she played. She died at age 68 of cancer. Magijel was stern magical witch of all the magical creatures, she tricked evil and won at the end. She was initially harsh to Kai. She provided them with Unigolon (Brightstar). To honor Machiko, Disney connected these two characters together, because Magijel had NOTHING to do with Bandora. Since Rita was already turned good in Power Rangers In Space, they said she became the Mystic Mother. She has a brief appearance but was more or less treated as a sweet good motherly-figure.

Jenji / Smoky
Both were mischievous cat genies. Only differences was Smoky was much more crass (he once filled the Magiranger's entire headquarters with his yellow toxic fart) and was a real bad boy--he was the one that put in Tsubasa's head to dab into dark magic. Smoky also sang... he did a Aladdin-like song. Jenji spoke with a regular man voice and was extremely watered down.

Power Rangers/Super Sentai Character Conversion: S.P.D. / Dekaranger

Power Rangers S.P.D. (Space Patrol Delta) [2006] / Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger (Investigation Team Dectetive Ranger) [2005]

'Deka' also means 'ten,' they did indeed have Ten rangers in the range of the series. In Dekaranger, SPD stands for Special Police Dekaraner, while in Power Rangers, it was 'Space Patrol Delta.' Both were about police against aliens, except SPD for some reason was set in the year 2025 and on top of that kept going further into the future (2040).

Jack Landors / Ban Akaza (DekaRed)
Ban was the most hated character among fans, mainly because he is an obnoxious self-centered delinquent. Jack was also a bit self-centered but more tolerable, he sometimes was an opportunist but it was mostly because he didn't know what the heck he was doing. He longed for a purpose. Jack could walk through walls and is the second African-American leader of Power Rangers.

Sky Tate / Hoji Tomasu (DekaBlue)
Both Hoji and Sky both didn't tolerate their Red leader, Hoji was formerly the leader and Sky wanted to be the Red Ranger like his father. Hoji was serious and seemed arrogant. Sky was serious, strict, stern and didn't smile much. I guess culturally and acting styles differed. Sky did get to be the Red Ranger at the end when Jack left and once when he let him. Sky could create force-fields.

Bridge Carson / Senichi "Sen-chan" Enari (Deka Green)
Very similar in the respect that they both had the habit of standing on their heads to think better. Sen is absolute in his decisions once his mind is made up, unlike Bridge which was in middle in decisiveness. Sen's eccentricity was accepted as business as usual, while Bridge was not often understood. Sen was claustrophobic, but Bridge wasn't. Sen also loved Umeko. Bridge had gloves like Jasmine, he had a extrasensory power but not psychic, he could read if there was something strange.

Elizabeth "Z" Delgado / Marika "Jasmine" Reimon (DekaYellow)
Jasmine has extrasensory perception, physic abilities that assist her partners and sometimes lead somewhere else. She kept her hands gloved. Jasmine was teased for being psychic, Z was teased for having the ability to multiply herself. Z was a perceptive and emotional individual, while Jasmine sometimes came off as cold and stern.

Sydney 'Syd' Drew / Koume 'Umeko' Kodou (DekaPink)
Umeko is bubbly and cheery, she is infamous of loving bubble baths and bathing with rubber duckies. Umeko can sometimes be ditzy, I personally believe Syd is a parody of Umeko. While Umeko is considered 'cute' and 'fun' by the Japanese, such girly-ness and bubbleness is seen as a negative to Americans, so Syd was portrayed as a spoiled materialistic princess. Syd is rich and doesn't take the job seriously. Syd able to turn her hands into any element that she touches.

Sam (Omega Ranger)/ Tetsu Aira (DekaBreak)
Tetsu, even though appearing seventh, is considered a traditional sixth ranger for Super Sentai. Tetsu was a special detective, higher class than the others. He was originally cold because he was taught to be emotionally-detached. Sam, because the budget was over, they didn't hire a psychical actor, so they only had a voice actor. He was a kid they met in 2025 and he came from 2040, a full fledge ranger. Because of the time flux, he was a ball of light. He originally believed the newest gear was the best. Both were changed by the five.

Anubis 'Doggie' Cruger (Shadow Ranger) / Doggy 'Boss' Kruger (Deka Master)
Doggy was a stern, serious, and caring chief of the team, they called him 'boss.' He is from the planet Anubis. He is furry and had feelings for Swan. Doggie is from the planet Sirius, he is strict, but much more juvenile and prone to spazz attacks. Anubis also had a long-lost wife believed to be dead and he later rescued her.

Kat Manx (S.P.D. Kat Ranger/ Swan-San Shiratori (Deka Swan)
Swan was sweet and was understanding to the five younglings. Kat was tough and often rolled her eyes at the five. Kat was level-headed and intelligent, similar to Swan. Both are the tech girls, in charge of making the weapons, vehicles, etc. Swan wanted to become an officer, she got the promotion to be Deka Swan. She appeared as Deka Swan in two episodes. Her ranger outfit in fact is her jumpsuit she always wears. As for Kat, she never wanted to fight even though she is capable, she was given a morpher that would work only temporarily. She only became a ranger for 1 episode. Fans made a big to-do that Kat is the first character to have the exact name as a past Ranger: Katherine Hillard (MMPR season 3 - Turbo) The ranger outfit looks like a cat and a swan.

Nova Ranger / Lisa (Deka Bright)
Lisa appeared in one episode, she is Tetsu's higher-up and teacher. Lisa believed in being cold and detached, she was upset when Tetsu was not following what she taught him. She wanted to returned him back to their base to re-train. After being saved by him and his friends, she let him stay. Her ranger outfit is counterpart to Deka Break/Omega Ranger. Nova Ranger's true identity was never mentioned, she was simply referred to as 'Nova.' She appeared in the last episode to retrieve Sam the Omega Ranger to take him back to the future. The picture above is of the person they had in her place for a few seconds. Her voice actress was someone else.

Boom (Orange Ranger) / Emri (Abaranger, Abare Pink)
Boom from SPD dreamed of being a ranger, it was a bit based on Emri from Abaranger, which was adapted into Dino Thunder. Emri dreamed of being Abare Pink, she once made her own outfit and dressed up and tried to fight a monster. One time she wished with a wish-granting thing to be AbarePink but said AbarePig and became a pig. Boom made a suit to fight evil too, but he also had his own dream, in which there was a better outfit, the suit was based on the B-Squad uniforms but with a Zero and the helmet was the Yellow Space Ranger helmet. You can play Boom as a playable character in the Nintendo DS version of the Power Rangers: Super Legends game.

The tenth Dekaranger (DekaGold) was not used for SPD, but five other special-made rangers--the A-Squad Rangers (not from the footage but from old ranger costumes) appeared.

Power Rangers/Super Sentai Character Conversion: Dino Thunder / Abaranger

Power Rangers Dino Thunder / BakuRyuu Sentai Abaranger (Blast Dragon Squadron Outburst Ranger)

Abaranger was about a warrior and villains from a parallel dimension where all the dinosaurs went and evolved into the Bakuryuu. Three ordinary humans were chosen by the Bakuryuu to fight and the Bakuryuu spoke. On Power Rangers Dino Thunder, Tommy recruited three high school students with the Dino Gems to fight Messogog, who wanted to bring the pre-historic age back.

Connor McKnight (Red Ranger/Triassic Ranger) / Ryouga Hakua (Abared/Abaremax)
Ryouga always saw the bright side of the situation and even though a bit of a pushover, he got the job done. Unfortunately, Connor wasn't loved by fans. He was arrogant, ignorant, sexist, and loud mouth ethnocentric jock. Disney stressed they have other abilities other than when they were Rangers, so he had super quick speed. They both had a power-up: Abaremax/Triassic Ranger.

Ethan James / Yukito Sanjyou (AbareBlue)
Yukito was a cold and sly Chiropractor. Ethan was completely different, he is into computers and is a bit geeky, he even had a bully problem. He is also charismatic and more fun-loving than Yukito. Ethan had the ability to have strong arms.

Kira Ford / Ranru Itsuki (AbareYellow)
Ranru knows alot about mechanics and bomb technology and had a German motorcycle. Kira is an aspiring singer among the lines of Avril Lavigne or Ashley Simpson. Kira also had a thing for Trent, reminding Tommy of him and Kim. She was also sarcastic and a bit more open to things Ethan liked. Kira had the redundant screeching ability.

DR. Tommy Oliver / Asuka (AbareBlack)
Both were very different. Asuka was from another dimension. Tommy was a bit retconned, in which he became a doctor and archaeologist. He was tied in with the plot, in which he used to work for Dr. Mercer and lead to creating the technology Mercer's alter-ego Messogog's evil. Tommy was the kid's high school science teacher and wore glasses and was much more 'come on guys this is educational' and serious. Asuka, was unaware of our world and was a fish out of water, also a serious warrior. He had to deal with that his former love was the enemy and his daughter was also brainwashed (his seed was used in a rape by the main villain). Tommy could become invisible and was once stuck in amber, then in his ranger uniform, and then invisible for a while.

Trent Fernandez (White Dino Ranger) / Mikoto (Abare Killer)

Mikoto was psycho and much more serious than the Power Rangers counterpart, since his name was 'Killer.' He lead the villains for a while and even had a romantic link with Asuka's daughter, who was grown into a woman. Mikoto joined the team near the end and then died. Trent was way more watered down, a normal well-meaning artistic kid. He was brainwashed into being evil for a while by the White Dino Gem. Trent could camouflage himself into any environment. He was turned good and joined the team. Because of the footage of Killer, they made a 'evil clone' of the White Ranger to excuse the footage.