The Original Power Rangers Samurai: Rise of the Shogun Ranger… That Never Happened.

[Artist Credit]

Amit Bhaumik is back again to tell us an incredible tale of what could have be with Power Rangers Samurai. If you were a fan of his treatment of Power Rangers: THE HEXAGON that would have been the crossover finale series we all dreamed of, now he’s back to show you how he’d approach Power Rangers Samurai if it was a new creative sword slinging vision instead of a adaptation of the Shinkenger storyline.

I know there are a lot of us out there that weren’t favorable to how Power Ranger Samurai went down. For myself it wasn’t just the execution, but my problem with Power Rangers mostly is that if you’re a “hardcore” fan you’ve already seen the story they’re telling. In a world that isn’t as locked down by region when it comes to entertainment, I’ve already seen Shinkenger almost do the same story aaaannd… with better acting, cohesive storytelling, and deeper severity to the actions taken in that story. Sitting through Power Rangers Samurai is too close to experiencing the story the same way, but in a style that more panders to children in its acting tone. That’s just not compelling to a fan like myself.

With the likes of MMPR, Power Rangers Lost Galaxy and RPM, all bets were off. You saw the creative vision of teams fronted by Judd Lynn, Worth Keeter and Amit Bhaumik who brought to life new worlds of imagination populated by all new characters that would rise in those world and not be analogs to a Japanese counterpart. At least for myself I cared much, much less how much that Power Ranger season lived up to it’s Japanese counter-part because it was a whole new world with different characters, versus seeing how the American adaptation lived up to the already told story in Japan.

And in another world where Saban Entertainment zigged instead of zagged.. where they went left instead of right.. where they chose Coke isntead of Pepsi, Amit gives us a look at a vastly different Power Rangers Samurai that could have been. Click on to see the story of Mark Ozawa and his rise to becoming… the Shogun Ranger.

“Today from the archives comes my unused early rough plan for how to adapt the Samurai Sentai Shinkenger season of the Japanese Sentai series for US television as Power Rangers Samurai. Created independently and prior to the official production of the show its fate until now has been just to gather virtual dust in a virtual file. It is presented here for educational purposes and a glimpse into a world of “what if?”
While Shinkenger had many elements that appeal universally it was also a distinctly Japanese story involving elements from Japanese history and culture which might limit its appeal to western audiences without some skillful adaptation and smoothing over. In the summer of 2010, the original producers were back in control of the Power Rangers franchise and looking to adapt Shinkenger for American and international audiences. Luckily for them they knew a writer they could call who spoke Japanese, had a degree in East Asian Languages & Cultures, grew up watching the show as a fan, and had even worked on the show as its head writer. So after getting the call, I shaved my beard and left my mountain refuge for civilization again to find a computer or TV to binge through the 50 or so episodes of Shinkenger in a couple days and come up with a rough plan on how this could be adapted for the US before meeting with the producers.
However I soon discovered the Executive Producer had other plans (one might even say a lack thereof) that he wanted to pursue. Faced with stark creative differences and as this outline was created independently and not commissioned, we parted ways again and I filed this away before returning to the Sierra Madres to once again Wolverine it up, occasionally coming back down to help out him and the show.
With the show now complete and in the history books here is a look at what that original plan was. Hopefully this will give you a sense of how to plan out a long form serialized story and help spark some ideas on how there is more than one way to adapt a show.”

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