Why is this episode one of the best?
Maybe it's my love of Abaranger. Maybe it's my love of the film that the title of this episode is referencing. Maybe I just love when a show can be meta without apologizing for it. Lost & Found in Translation sees the Power Ranger team (Connor/Red, Ethan/Blue and Kira/Yellow) sitting down for a night of hanging out by the TV in their usual hangout/cafe. Eager to finish his report on cultural differences (Connor being a slacker, so it sounds like he waited till the night before to do it) the teens find themselves watching a horribly-dubbed Japanese television based on their lives on the Power Rangers.
So to summarize- the episode is about a Japanese television show based on American superheroes on an American television show adapted from a Japanese television show about Japanese superheroes. That's a level of meta few shows dare to reach.
Essentially the episode is about cultural differences, and how we're all pretty much the same. It also gets to poke fun at the following things:
-Bad Dubs of Japanese TV (both the way they are dubbed and the localized names)
-Elitist Power Rangers fans VS Elitist Super Sentai fans
-The ridiculous situations and monsters Power Rangers deals with on a weekly basis
-Sensationalism in media + America's image in other countries
So yeah, it's a deep episode, if however goofy. And really, if you play the Abaranger theme song in something, I'm going to like it regardless.
Why is this episode not higher on the list?
While it's pulled off very well, the episode is really just an advanced form of footage burning. They took the most ridiculous episode of Abaranger (a show that often parodies itself and the greater Super Sentai mythos) and used it for that ridiculousness, mostly because there would be no other way to fit it in without re-filming everything.
One other thing that's a sticking point for me is that they tease that the Bakuryuu (the zords) speak in Abaranger, but they never show it past Yukito's DinoBrace. (My two main problems with Dino Thunder as a season are that they dumbed down AbareKiller and that the zords don't speak.) It doesn't feel properly explained, nor do the rangers comment/make a joke about it when it happens.
How does this episode influence the new movie?
One of the selling points of the new film is its incredibly diverse cast. Another is that the movie is not afraid to poke fun at itself. It is Power Rangers after all.
NOTE: TICKETS ARE OFFICIALLY ON SALE FOR THE POWER RANGERS MOVIE! THE MOVIE OPENS NEXT FRIDAY, MARCH 24th, with THURSDAY SHOWINGS AVAILABLE IN SOME AREAS.
Head to Fandango and check for theaters in your area!
We are officially in Premier Week! Today, (March 21st), Naomi Scott will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Check your local listings for times!
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