Could Sentai work without the Red Ranger?

[Bigdog]

I don't see why everything always has to be all about the Red, basically. A story that can't function without the Red is imbalanced - that's why I like series like Gaoranger and Dekaranger where the team existed before Red arrived and would have been just fine without him. If the Red is taking up the whole spotlight, it doesn't really matter if it's a male or female Red

Sure its a tradition, but sometimes they need to be brokenin order to freshen things up. That's what they did with Kamen Rdier and that is what they should do for this franchise.

A Red female wouldn't be that bad , in fact if she is wirtten just like any other no one would really notice unless they made it obvious. But any leader that is not Red would freshen it and maybe make him/her like a later addition to the team that tries to usurp the other leader .

 

[KingRanger]

The fact is this. Girl toku toys don't sell in Japan. Red is a male because he can sell toys. And I say HE because he HE toys sell.

 

[KingRanger]

I don't see why everything always has to be all about the Red, basically. A story that can't function without the Red is imbalanced - that's why I like series like Gaoranger and Dekaranger where the team existed before Red arrived and would have been just fine without him. If the Red is taking up the whole spotlight, it doesn't really matter if it's a male or female Red

Sentai could work with out blue, pink, green, etc etc. That point really doesn't matter.

And if you think that Gao would have been just fine had red not showed up, then you either don't know the first thing about gaoranger as a series, or you didn't pay any attention to the series.

 

[lazycoconut]

The fact is this. Girl toku toys don't sell in Japan. Red is a male because he can sell toys. And I say HE because he HE toys sell.

That's why Sentai teams are 3-4 guys to only one or two girls, and why female Rangers tend to be very poorly written. But you could still keep the existing ratio of male to female characters and not have Red hog the limelight all the time

 

[KingRanger]

That's why Sentai teams are 3-4 guys to only one or two girls, and why female Rangers tend to be very poorly written. But you could still keep the existing ratio of male to female characters and not have Red hog the limelight all the time

The poorly written thing IMO, is just in your head. You are so against men and males that you look for reasons to bash the females in a male led series.

 

[KouAidou]

That's why Sentai teams are 3-4 guys to only one or two girls, and why female Rangers tend to be very poorly written. But you could still keep the existing ratio of male to female characters and not have Red hog the limelight all the time

I'm a little confused by your arguments. You keep talking about Red "hogging the spotlight all the time" or wanting stories with teams that "can function without the red." But you also repeatedly name series (Gao, Gosei, Deka, Time) where you feel Red is present but the show doesn't revolve around him.

So when you invoke those series and then say that you'd like to see a show without a Red, are you saying that the aforementioned series don't go far enough in being ensemble series? Or are you saying that shows like Gosei and Deka could have worked without their Reds and their existence is proof that a series could function just as well without them?

 

[Painted_Outlaw]

Or are you saying that shows like Gosei and Deka could have worked without their Reds and their existence is proof that a series could function just as well without them?

I think this' what she's trying to say.

 

[Wing Saber]

I haven't seen Gao Rangers, but from what heard the group wasn't able to destroy even one Org, until Gao Red joined up.

 

[lazycoconut]

Or are you saying that shows like Gosei and Deka could have worked without their Reds and their existence is proof that a series could function just as well without them?

Yes, this, sorry. Basically, why must Red always be the main character?

 

[KouAidou]

Yes, this, sorry. Basically, why must Red always be the main character?

I think it's just a useful visual shorthand, and has become symbol that's taken on meaning in and of itself.

I think you could do a show without a Red, but you'd need to do it conscious of the fact that the franchise has a formula and "Red" means something important in it. You'd need to recognize the expectations that people have about Reds and consciously subvert or deconstruct them.

This is a bit of a clunky metaphor, but it would have to be a little like Janet Leigh in Psycho-- you set up the audience's expectations about what having a big-name actress, billed first, means in a horror movie, then twist that to give the audience a big shock.

Outside of such a conscious deconstruction, or a dissatisfaction with the kinds of characters who tend to be Reds (ie, tall, assertive, conventionally attractive men), I'm not sure what the point would be. In the latter case, I'd rather just see more types of people get to be Red than to just eliminate Red as a color entirely.