It’s been a quiet year for Power Rangers as a franchise, though there does seem to be a subtle ramping up for the property recently, thanks to the toyline rollout from Playmates Toys, a crossover with Fortnite, and reports of a movie and TV show in development. Whatever the future holds, it now looks as if it won’t be tied to Super Sentai any longer, and that’s prompted quite a bit of discussion amongst fans of the franchise on whether or not the series should be connected to Sentai and if it can survive without it. Power Rangers can absolutely survive without Super Sentai, but it’s complicated, and we’re going to explore exactly why that’s the case.
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A Long History
While Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was the debut of the Power Rangers franchise, the series is based on the Super Sentai franchise, with Mighty Morphin being based specifically on Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. Zyuranger is actually the 16th series in the Super Sentai franchise, which started with Himitsu Sentai Gorenger in 1975 and will continue with Yokai Sentai PhantomBuster, which will debut in 2026.
This is where Haim Saban enters the picture, who became a fan of the Super Sentai series during a visit to Japan. It took a while to get the deal done, but eventually he worked out a deal to purchase 50 episodes and worldwide rights for 10 years for half a million (via Television Academy Foundation). The only problem was that it took him 8 years to find a buyer, and eventually that turned out to be FOX Kids, and that created the phenomenon we know today as Power Rangers when it debuted in 1993.
The Good and the Bad
Part of the reason Saban had such a hard time selling the idea was that it had never really been done before. Power Rangers is a unique property in that it uses the original footage from Zyuranger and then adds in its own original footage when necessary, which is more often than not when characters aren’t morphed.
That’s a huge boon to the budget, since half of the show is already filmed, but it also creates unique hurdles, as you must build around the footage that you already have to take advantage of that perk. That’s continued to be one of the core elements of the show ever since, and that’s been a positive and negative throughout the franchise’s history.
Do you like the suit designs from Power Rangers: In Space? Then credit goes to Denji Sentai Megaranger, and if you loved the car and racing theme of Power Rangers RPM, then credit goes to Engine Sentai Go-Onger. That’s a double-edged sword though, because frequent criticisms of the show as time went on had to do with the dated enemies and overall formula of the series, which were consistely called out in entries like Power Rangers Ninja Steel, Super Ninja Steel, and Beast Morphers, and those are also pulled directly from Shuriken Sentai Ninninger and Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, respectively.
It’s always had its pros and cons, but many have pointed to the pros outweighing the cons simply based on visual identity alone. In a world of superheroes, Power Rangers stands out as something unique, including everything from the costumes and weapons to the enemies and Zords. You’re not going to get Power Rangers confused with Superman or Spider-Man and vice versa, and that’s a significant advantage in an already crowded landscape.
Power Rangers Will Still Be Perfectly Fine
While that is a key advantage, it doesn’t necessarily mean the show has to be based directly on a Super Sentai season to retain its uniqueness. The phase out of Sentai actually already started in the 30th Anniversary season, Power Rangers Cosmic Fury, which was the final season of the Hasbro and Netflix partnership.
Recent seasons of Power Rangers still utilized Super Sentai footage, but they also continued to add more original footage to the mix. Cosmic Fury took that a major step further, as while it was based on Uchu Sentai Kyuranger, the show only utilized the footage of the Zords from that previous series, with everything else being original footage.
This resulted in several changes from the original series, and while there are plenty of fans who might prefer Kyuranger’s number of Rangers or Ranger suits, the removal of some of those filming and story barriers allowed Cosmic Fury to forge its own identity, and that’s an immense positive. After seeing what Cosmic Fury did in being less beholden to its Sentai counterpart, the opportunity for an all-original series seems not just possible, but also like the logical next step for the franchise.
Power Rangers has enjoyed a lengthy history with Super Sentai, but just because that partnership appears to be done doesn’t mean the show should just stop, and it also shouldn’t mean that the series loses the visual flair that makes it special. People complained constantly that the show didn’t translate certain seasons of Sentai well enough anyway, so ditching the comparisons altogether with original treatments could be a positive overall.
As for the distinct look of the show, just because you’re not adapting Super Sentai directly doesn’t mean you can’t work Tokusatsu themes and elements into the show and its core designs, though it means you will need to get a team together that has a handle on bringing that vision to reality. If an all-original Power Rangers product fails without Sentai involved, that’s likely not going to be the reason it failed. With the right team involved, Power Rangers can not just survive without Super Sentai, but thrive, and as always, it will come down to the people at the helm and whether they can bring a unique vision to the table.
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