Why I Even Wrote An IBC-Rant Post In The Super Sentai Blog

Yes, I did it and wrote an IBC-13 rant post. Super Sentai's hiatus, IMHO, may end up in permanent retirement. If that's true, then Project RED may be what Toei needs as a new business model. Gavan Infinity ended as a 23-episode TV series instead -- like several shows by Toei back in the 1970s to 1980s that never went a full year, like Kamen Rider Amazon. Gavan Infinity's announcement and Super Sentai's possible retirement sent several shocks into my body systems. I was remidned of how my childhood was defined by IBC-13. It was also how IBC-13 was a LIE. 

The 1990s were probably the "simpler times". I confess I didn't care too much about the looping schedule. TV was escapism. TV was "life". I thought about how every Jollibee jingle screamed "KIDDIE SHOW SUNDAY!" I remember the time when Kamen Rider BLACK (back then, aired as MASK RIDER BLACK) and Seiiun Machineman were aired back to back on Sundays. I remember the hysteria when IBC-13 went off air and the "joy" when IBC-13 went back. I remember spending weekday afternoons watching the really bad schedules where shows were shuffled during summer vacation. It became a predictable routine.

Sure, I don't like Power Rangers, and I still have the sentiment of "ONORE SABAN". However, I also keep in mind that Toei allowed Saban to use the footage for a price. Power Rangers got sensational nearly overnight, and Toei hit a pot of gold. I took IBC-13 as that "last great refuge" since I didn't like Power Rangers. However, the fact that they would replay the same show over and over again for a ridiculous number of times got annoying. Thankfully, TV stations like ABiaS-CBN and GMA-7 actually did us all a favor. The Chinovela craze actually gave me a different thought.

I remember the Toku jokes I threw back then. I discovered more of Super Sentai on the Internet, and my dislike for Power Rangers was something I tried to hide. It was also at this time that I could respect or praise Meteor Garden (which was based on Hana Yori Dango) while disliking Power Rangers. My reason is that Meteor Garden only remade the concept in Taiwan. Power Rangers gets dependent on the fight footage of the parent show, Super Sentai. I thought Meteor Garden was a Japanese show until I realized it was Taiwanese. Funny enough, I actually joked that Vanness Wu looks like Kazunori Inaba (the one who played Takeru in Hikari Sentai Maskman) and Jerry Yan looks like Tetsuji Tamayama (the one who played Shirogane in Hyajakuu Sentai Gaoranger). I even felt like Barbie Xu looks like retired actress Mika Katsumura -- the one who played Time Pink in Mirai Sentai Timeranger. 

Watching Meteor Garden replays was better than the Maskman loops. The feeling that Vanness looks like Kazunori may have contributed to it. The two Meteor Garden seasons were played from start to end with no loops. GMA-7 also had its own fair share of shows. That's way better than annoying loops. It doesn't help that GMA-7 and back then, Solar TV, bothered to show the finale of the shows that IBC-13 denied the finale.

So yeah, IBC-13's loop model is a childhood based on a lie. LOL.