I just finished watching ZYURANGER! I had a topic of my own where I share my thoughts, but I guess I can post them here...
In some ways, the series is played in a very standard way. In other ways, there are great ideas here. For the first Dinosaur Squad, it really does lay the ground work for future Dinosaur Squads to follow. And as history tells us, indeed they have.
I did shed a little bit of a tear for Burai. Not only was he and Geki able to reconcile their differences after all, but I was sad to see him go. With as little involvement as he had in the show, it almost feels like we were robbed. I guess I'm too use to how things are now. Today, the 6th and additional Rangers hardly EVER die! Some appear early, and we can't get rid of them, no matter how we may feel about them.
There are also times I like the subtle nods to the atmosphere of the show. I thought it was great when the citizens of Japan started taking an active response to the stuff the ZyuRangers were doing. It's almost like the makers of the show remembered that you can't just go stomping through a heavily populated city in a giant robot without some repercussions.
However, there are times where things seem a little too ridiculous even for me. I know it can practically be par for the course, there are times when the children seem way too irrational (like that one kid who didn't want to get healthy unless dinosaurs came back), when the ZyuRangers entrusted the care of 2 baby dinosaurs to children, when the citizens forgive the ZyuRangers for past transgressions a bit too quickly, etc. Minor nit picks in the grand scheme of things, but it still could have been done better. If anything, the only thing worth complaining about is the lack of ZyuRanger movie or any ZyuRanger VS specials.
However, surprisingly, I ended up liking Bandora the most. She treats her crew pretty well, she likes to sing and dance when she's having fun... She's the kind of villain that becomes a guilty pleasure because you just wanna have fun with her! But at the same time, she became kind of a sympathetic villain too, right? She was never fully evil, she just had a really tragic backstory. And because of all the tragedy, she ends up transferring her anger on the ZyuRangers, the people of Earth, and most of all the children. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen by now, but there is a scene where Bandora actually cries, and I wanted to hug her! Machiko Soga was one talented actress. The world of tokusatsu will always be a little sadder without her.
I guess the final question is...
Should I go back, watch MMPR Season 1, and compare?
I grew up with MMPR! But I'm an adult now. I may have missed an episode or two without knowing it. I may have remembered things differently; rose tinted glasses and all that. But from what I can remember just off the top of my head... I'd say Rita does inherit the essence of Bandora. The backstory may have been axed, and Satan will never be a thing in Power Rangers, but the dynamic is interesting. Both of them had a son, but in different ways. Kai was a reflection of what Bandora use to be, and Thrax kind of represents what could have been if Bandora had a child while being evil. And finally, both ended being resealed and thrown back into space. Very interesting. I still prefer ZyuRanger, but it's nice to know that influences from Super Sentai were not completely forgotten when MMPR was made.