I don't know that Sentai aiming younger year after year is true. I mean, right after Go-Onger came Shinkenger and that's a polar opposite. It probably did appeal to kids in a "Holy crap these guys are SO cool!" way, but it strikes me as Toei trying to capture a broader audience. While Shinkenger averaged 11% in kids ratings compared to Go-Onger's 12.2%, it did have a larger average in teens and above.
Though I do find interesting that, before it was planned that Gokaiger would try to bring in as many guests as they could, Gekiranger was supposed to be the only series to have a tribute episode that didn't tie into the toy line, so I think they might have been appealing to older fans there. (or maybe someone on the staff just really likes the show)
I think it's true to some extent. That's why RPM is so popular - because it took itself way too seriously and tried too hard to be edgy. It's basically as close as such people are going to get to the "dark" PR or Sentai series they want to see.
See, the thing here is that RPM wasn't devoid of comedy. When RPM did comedy, it was actually pretty hilarious, and I'm not just talking about when it would poke fun at tokusatsu stereotypes. I think one of the reasons people liked the show so much isn't exactly because it was dark, but because it managed to bring a solid story to the game.
Goseiger gets constant hate for being "bland" and poorly acted, yet at least two of its cast members are doing well since it ended. Gokaiger is being frequently bashed now and all the main cast have got new roles since it ended. Fourze is on course to be the lowest-rated Rider series to date, but its cast has built up their profiles over the last year - they'll all be in dramas and stuff once it wraps. The quality of show doesn't seem to affect what the actors do later.
It's not so much the quality of the overall show I was talking about there but the acting. I don't like Gokaiger, but it had a pretty solid cast for the most part, though I do think the girls, especially Ahim, were the two weakest links in the cast.
And really, just how bad were the cast of Go-onger? Sosuke's no worse than the heroes of Magiranger or Gekiranger, both of which are popular on our side of the fandom. Renn and Hiroto were the only ones who showed any hint of seriousness. The girls aren't great, but no one cares about their performance because they were "hot." And at least they're not Houka and Natsuki who are still acting like five-year-olds when they're in their 20s. So that leaves ... Green and Black?
Just personally speaking, the Go-Onger cast ranks as one of my least favorites. Hiroki Suzuki is one of my favorite Sentai actors of the last decade, even if his character wasn't always the best. When I watched Go-Onger VS Gekiranger, it was like night and day whenever Sousuke and Jan had scenes together. I actually think Shinwa Kataoka is the weakest link the Go-Onger cast, he was pretty good in that beach episode, but other than that, he was a terrible actor. And I'll always think that Go-Onger's biggest fault was wasting Hidenori Tokuyama, not so much wasting as he was in the show and that's a waste, but that he had to play another super serious type. I used to follow his blog quite frequently after Kabuto and the guy is absolutely crazy, he probably would have been great in a different role for that show.
Carranger is far and away cleverer than Go-onger, it must be said. But Sazer X and Ryukendo were a while ago now, and I don't think Keitai Sousakan 7 is really comparable; it was more like a J-drama with toku elements and wasn't aimed at a pre-school audience. A better example might be Rescue Force, which aired at the same time as Go-onger. It's generally not popular with English-speaking fans, why? Because it was packed with wackiness to appeal to kids. It just seems to be what Japanese producers think very young kids will go for.
I don't remember Rescue Force being incredibly wacky, it had some cringe worthy moments, but in general, it's comedy wasn't that bad. (though that gender swap episode is the worst thing ever) Though I also tend to believe that the reason Rescue Force didn't take off with English fans is because it's not Rider or Sentai. If you're not grimdark Garo, people tend to avoid the other tokusatsu - it's why the discussion threads the shows have while they were on the air are so incredibly small. And for as wacky as it could be, Rescue Force (and even Rescue Fire) could be surprisingly mature with their content.
