Could Sentai work without the Red Ranger?

[lazycoconut]

It seems to me that in the future most Sentai series will be more like Gekiranger, Shinkenger and Magiranger (where the entire series revolves around the Red and there is no story without him) than Timeranger, Gaoranger or Dekaranger (where all heroes drive the plot, there was a team before Red came along, and they would have been just fine without him.) I think that having more Red-centric seasons is a bad thing. So, could Sentai work without the Red Ranger as figurehead and de facto leader? What would happen if all the Rangers had equal importance and screen time, or a non-Red character were allowed to be the actual leader (instead of leader in name only like Timeranger?)

 

[KingRanger]

It'll never happen.

 

[lazycoconut]

It'll never happen.

I know it won't. I said, COULD it work?

 

[Wing Saber]

It would never work, since the Red Ranger is always seen as the figurehead of the team. Which has been established ever since Go Rangers. Even if they don't use a red anymore, a lot of hardcore Sentai fans will never accept it. To them, without a Red Ranger there is no Sentai team.

 

[Braver]

Doesn't Kakuranger qualify as a Sentai where Red was that much of a leader? Don't quote me, I haven't seen it.

 

[lazycoconut]

There'd probably still be a Red Ranger, he just wouldn't be the be-all and end-all. I think Gaoranger, Goseiger, Kakuranger and Megaranger in particular struck the best kind of balance with Red's importance vs the rest of the team's. If you make it all about Red, you basically make the show too much like Kamen Rider - Kamen Rider is the lone hero with background characters who help him out from the sidelines. Or you get something like Power Rangers Mystic Force aka "The Nick Show"

Doesn't Kakuranger qualify as a Sentai where Red was that much of a leader? Don't quote me, I haven't seen it.

He was still the main character, and the story mostly focused on his perspective. But White was the team leader, the others (including Red) obeyed her, and she drove a large part of the plot. Over the series Red got more development, he became less childish and more determined, and was her second in command. I'd like to see a Sentai like that again

 

[live jetabare]

In Abaranger,it looks like the Black ranger was more the driving force of the storyline than the Red ranger, and let's not even talk about Abarekiller

 

[Kivat]

It doesn't matter about the color. They need a leader. Now can any team function without a leader? No. Most of Sentai's leaders just happen to be Red, It's iconic.

So No they can't in reality, but technically they can, it just doesn't have to be the color Red.

 

[lazycoconut]

It doesn't matter about the color. They need a leader. Now can any team function without a leader? No. Most of Sentai's leaders just happen to be Red, It's iconic.

So No they can't in reality, but technically they can, it just doesn't have to be the color Red.

What about a leader who isn't one of the team? The closest the Dekarangers had to a leader was Doggie, who was DekaMaster, but he wasn't a full-time Ranger like the main five. I think something like that could work and not have Red be the protagonist

 

[live jetabare]

In a lot of series, the one who is the leader is often a non sentai warrior general (examples: Changeman, Maskman, Jetman, Ohranger); Doggie fills that role in Dekaranger; he just happens to be also a part time sentai warrior.