My early thoughts on Power Rangers Samurai

A Power Rangers series that I have been anticipating since Saban bought back the franchise last May. For anyone that goes on HJU you probably notice that I've done quite a bit of the graphic design work for the Power Rangers Samurai thread and that I frequently post there as well, this is my first time following the production of a Power Rangers series so closely and it has been an exciting ride. Only 2 days away from airing in the States, and 6 days away from airing in Canada, here are my early thoughts:

Morphing:

I found it to be very nice and it was funny how Jayden didn't tell his team to duck when he was swinging his Fire Smasher and said to do it as a team but went in alone. I also like how since they are filming with HD cameras now it blends in with the source footage which in this case is Samurai Sentai Shinkenger which was also shot in HD.

Promos:

Simply fantastic, I think Saban and Nick have outdone themselves in the promotion department, the promotion in this season alone than Disney did for their 7 seasons of Power Rangers.

My favourite promo has been this one, feels like a movie trailer:

Even their toy commercials has that old Saban's Power Rangers vibe to it, glad to see his name above the Power Rangers logo again too:

 

Rangers:

During the casting I wanted an Asian red ranger since it was never done before and very fitting for a Samurai theme season but our current red Ranger Jayden has grown on me from the clip samples we have gotten from Saban and Nick as well as the media.

Kevin seems to be a nice counterpart to Ryunosuke (I might have spelled his name wrong) of Shinkenger, playing the disciplined warrior.

Mike I find to be a very good counterpart of Chiaki, both being rebels and somewhat slackers.

Emily is a lot like Kotoha, the Saban crew picked a good choice to be Kotoha's counterpart.

Erika makes a good counterpart to Mako as well, good pick on her too.

Originality:

I don't mind Power Rangers Samurai being pretty much a direct adaption from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger I do like how Saban has incorporated some new things into the show like the new cockpit, Mega Suits, and... BULK!

I think it's been a real treat from all the info and clips we be getting recently and hope this season will help bring the franchise back on it's feet again.

It's going to be hard for me to avoid HJU after Power Rangers Samurai airs in the States this coming Monday since I live in Canada and for me I want to wait till it airs in Canada to watch it. Re-runs of the old Power Rangers seasons will air on Nick Toons and Teletoon Retro in Canada which I'm happy to know since I do have that channel.

I also hope the toys will be in toy stores here in Canada this week since I been going into toy stores almost every week in search of the Samurai toys.

Power Rangers Samurai airs February 7th 8/7 C on Nick and February 11th 8 ET on Nick Canada.