But...Hurricaneger got TWO episodes of Gokaiger, yet still was given the 10 Years After. Abaranger's portion of the Kyoryuger movie was nonexistent, especially compared to what the Hurricaneger got to do in Gokaiger. The Hurricaneger even managed to get more face time in Gokaiger than either Mikoto or Yukito did in two completely separate episodes.
Indeed; but when you look at the Kyoryuger vs Go-Busters, it had similar gimmicks seen in the Hurricanger 10 years after, the "Neo-former villain", the mooks, and, both them and Ryouga did get substantial screentime during the episode; so, "Abaranger derived stuff" was prominent in the movie.
However, you're right to say that Hurricanger (or, for that matter, every 00' sentai shows, including Gekiranger) has much more screentime in Gokaiger than Aba in Gokaiger and the dino movie together. And given the number of Aba alumni who can return (the Sharivan movie was a mini Aba cast reunion, but with the Aba cast being wasted), it's not that it's only because Hurri has more former actors willing to return.
I think however that Toei doesn't really what to do with Abaranger : it's very striking that among the sentai shows done during the similar era, Abaranger had the least Gokaichanges, the least screentime for the returning rangers, and that among dino sentai, Toei recently will do much more Zyuranger merch than Abaranger merch (no Abaranger FIgarts, while Zyu has plenty).
It's very striking that when Toei puts Aba in the spotlight, it's mostly the dino theme (actually I feel Aba was lucky to have another dino sentai airing during its 10 years anniversary, otherwise, there wouldn't have been even anything to celebrate its 10th anniversary), the silly comedy (Abarepink), or sometimes Abarekiller or Yatsudenwani. As such, the really interesting elements of Aba (the dynamics between the main heroes and the antagonists) are downplayed, notably because they don't fit the way Toei does sentai stories anymore.
Contrarywise, other sentai shows from the same era, like Hurricanger and Dekaranger, and in a lesser way Magiranger and Boukenger, have much more focus, much more recent merch ... one has to look at Akibaranger to see it.
While Aba has still more focus than a lot of older shows (notably the Soda era shows), it has much less than its surrounding shows, probably because its main gimmick is linked to its mechas, and not its heroes, and that it's overshadowed by Zyu in the dino theme.
I agree that Suke-san's absence would leave a hole, but I don't see the problem with catching up with an older Mai and Rije/Mikoto. That's the point with these reunion movies. The bigger problem is if Banno still even acts. And I think there's certainly more stories that could be told in the world of Abaranger. They're paying these writers to be creative, so create!
Given what Kobayashi did in Toqger, and the whole Super Hero Taisen franchise, I don't feel that creativity is Toei's main concern with its writers, because what counts isn't storytelling, but showy fanservice.
I know that at the time producer Jun Hikasa seemed to really love Abaranger. I feel like he loved it more than any of the other Sentai shows he produced at that point. I'm thinking that the Hurricaneger 10YA was just a matter of timing, everyone's schedules aligning, something that probably started out as friendly chatter that gathered traction. That they probably didn't intend for this to become a thing, so an Abaranger one wasn't even a consideration, and the Dekaranger one is happening just because of things working out and that, hey, they gotta promote those Blu-rays. Hurricaneger was able to get back everyone in the cast and the core crew, which says it was a labor of love. While Arakawa's returning to write the Dekaranger 10YA, it's not the main director or same action director, which smells of corporate machinery.
Both Hurricanger and Dekaranger benefited a lot from having a whole cast who is very ready to come back , as seen with all the main Hurricanger coming to guest star in Gokaiger in a pseudovs movie, and the Dekaranger who already were reunited for the Power rangers SPD dub, while the Abaranger cast are much less prominent, and Abareyellow retiring.
Indeed, Toei loves Deka, and while the Hurri 10 years after was mostly driven by the Hurricanger casr, the Dekaranger is more pulled by Toei, Toei benefiting from a very willing cast. When you look at Gokaiger, Akibaranger , Deka is very prominent, and it really fits a global Toei universe. Plus, Deka earned the Seiun award, which shows how much it has been praised.
Dekaranger has exactly all the gimmicks Toei loves, so it's no wonder they promote it as much as they can.
