Go Go Power Rangers!

“Go Go Power Rangers! “Is a phrase you would hear being chanted by many children in the 1990s. I, along with many of my friends, was a big fan of the average teenage characters that would transform into super human action heroes at the speed of light. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were definitely a cultural phenomenon throughout the 90’s, and created a fan base for many young boys to idolize.
Before the days of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, there existed another team of heroes that gave rise to the Power Rangers themselves: Super Sentai. Super Sentai was created in Japan under the two companies of Toei Co. Ltd and Bandai, and depicted a cast of five or less heroes that had colored costumes and martial arts skills who used advanced technological weaponry to fight the fictional forces of evil. When translated, Super Sentai literally means “super task force” and is composed of a group of action heroes who participate in spectacular and surreal fight scenes that include flashy special effects. One of the main attention grabbers, aside from the special effects and colorful costumes, was the Sentai’s ability to call out giant robotic “mechas” to aid them in their fight. These scenes were usually saved towards the end of the show to create anticipation and hype for the audience of children. The success of Super Sentai was replicated in other Japanese shows such as Sailor Moon and Voltron, where the same premises of the spectacular task force became the bases of the shows.

With its show being a huge success in Japan, Bandai decided to take a risk and bring the idea to America. Under the redefined name The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Bandai aired the show on August 28th, 1993 under the FOX Kids broadcast. Initially, the show received much criticism for being too violent in nature, especially because the show was primarily about beating down evil villains, but it was well received by its audience of children. The Power Rangers were such a hit that they catapulted the FOX Kids broadcasting block into popular culture and made it extremely successful. Merchandise such as figurine toys, posters, video cassettes was mass distributed to many toy stores and in most cases were sold out within the very first days of its release. One of the appeals to the Power Rangers was the fact that they were not super human, rather, they were average teenagers in high school that were purposely selected to take on the roles of fighting evil. Unlike Superman, the Rangers were identifiable by children and created a sense that they too could be heroes. The show’s success carried it through many seasons and is still running until this very day (although the costumes, weaponry, and story have evolved more radically).

It is interesting to note that Super Sentai and the Power Rangers represented Japan’s ability to rebuild itself technologically after World War II. Before the Atom bomb, Japan’s big focus was becoming a strong military power, but after the devastation that was released upon the country, they had a huge shift from military strength to rebuilding the country into being technologically advanced. Besides Japan’s advancement in the automotive and computer technologies fields, the Power Rangers success is evidence of the country’s ability to establish itself in American Pop Culture.