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Saturday, April 8, 2017

Power Rangers


Late.

Late, late late late late, sssuper late. I hate how I've always had the intentions to write, but I kept holding myself back from starting that the next thing I know, poof, I lost the momentum. Like this one I'm going to talk about. Although, for this case's sake, I cannot NOT talk about it.

You know how I've always pointed out things I like from my childhood in this blog, eh? Do you remember that once I mentioned that there is one childhood stuff which, I claimed, "made me what I am today"? Yep, Digimon. It did play an important role of my early life, really, but, here's the part where I want to admit something, I lied a little.

Because there was something else.
That actually made me what I am today.
Something that lasted from my preschool ages,
All the way to the early junior high school stage.

You know from the title, it's

The Power Rangers

Pic's from here.

They were the core of my life—I was all about Power Rangers, thoroughly. The casts became my idols. The figures and zords became my toys. And don't forget about the characters distribution: I had always been red. My brother had always been blue, my two older boy cousins had always been black and white, and my two girl cousins had always be pink and yellow -I didn't make this thing up. Before my youngest brother was born, there were the six of us: four boys, two girls, WHAT ARE THE ODDS??? These colors then became my favorites, even for daily life, non-Power-Ranger things.

Then when it comes to the watching routines, those binge-watching years, oh, Lord, I'd kill to go back in time and pat myself for being such a maniac. I remember how I always stick to the TV screen every Sunday morning, waiting for the Mighty Morphins to come. And how I always finish my homework earlier after school, so I could catch the Turbos to shift. All my life, once again, was all about them.

And then there were the movie version. Covering the squad I adored the most. I went head over heels for this. Had the laser disk -OMG I'm so proud of being awesomely retro, got the script memorized, bought the zords and reenact the storyline, imitated all the catchy poses with my brothers and friends, fvck, I was a weirdo!

Teenage-hood and all its endless activities separated me from the franchise, but when internet broke out and YouTube ruled, I began to relive my memories. The episodes, the opening credits, the morphing scenes and of course, the movie. From then on up til today, I slowly regained the excitement I always felt when I was younger. Until finally, a big news hit us about last year.

Yep, the reason why I'm writing this: the remake.

Pic's from here.

With all the trends of movie remakes and how people got disappointed at any of those things, at first I didn't expect much about this movie. Because, well, to begin with, these new five are not the ones I grew up with. Then Billy is black instead of white, Trini is Latina instead of Asian, and Zach is Asian instead of black. Plus, and this instantly became the major turnoff for me: the suits and the zords, plus Zordon and Alpha, all of those things I really loved most from the original version of Power Rangers, appeared to be much too absurd. Like the Iron Man. Or Transformers. Whatever it is, I hate it. So much.

But then, as the worshiper of Power Rangers, I wouldn't miss this for life. So I went to cinema with some coworkers, whom apparently were fans of Power Rangers too -although I'm sure they're not as freaks as I am, to see if the classic childhood chills would still rush into my vein.

And it did, rush into my vein.

No, not because it was good. But because once the new movie played before my eyes, I had the original version playing in the back of my mind.

I saw the old Jason I had this mancrush on, and the old Kimberly I had the real crush on. I saw the original toy-like, non-DI zords, I saw the original low-quality, bald-headed Zordon, the fat Alpha, the clown-like Rita Repulsa and birdy Goldar—I saw the retro side of Power Rangers instead of the high tech ones. And when it reached the part where the zords were out, and that original "Go Go Power Rangers" anthem played, God Almighty, I cried.

Because no matter how much they ruined the essence,
How much they altered what once was called "classic"

Still,

It bears the name Power Rangers,
And as I said, I wouldn't miss the thing that
Made me who I am today

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