Falling Down the Rabbit Hole of Nostalgia

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Super Sentai series... 😌

Are you unfamiliar with that term? It is one of the most prominent and long-lasting Tokusatsu shows in Japan! 😲

What's that? You don't know what a Tokusatsu is, too? Oh, boy. Okay, to put it in simpler words: Japanese version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. There! That should make it easier to understand. Right? Hahaha... 😅

Although not technically the 50th team (the series that debuted it all, Himitsu Sentai Gorenger, came out in 1975, lasting for two years, ending in 1977), Super Sentai's 50th-anniversary title will debut next month on February 16. With such an on-the-nose title, No. 1 Sentai Gozyuger (to explain, "50" is "Go-Jyuu" in Japanese) is, without a doubt, set to celebrate the monumental achievement. It will feature patterns and tropes many of the franchise viewers have memorized throughout five decades while possibly introducing some new things to shake up the formula. Among them is the first official female Black-suited member, as previously only featured through the gender-flipped change gimmick of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, the 35th Anniversary show. ✋👌

Phewww, another jargon, eh? Hahaha. I could always do a vast deep dive into the franchise. But that would take hundreds of words more. And that's not even the purpose of this writing! 😜

Anyways...

The whole anniversary vibe probably has shoved, if not dragged, me into a rabbit hole of nostalgia. Unless you haven't figured it out by now? Yes, I am a fan of the franchise. Even though I do NOT dare call myself a super fan. That honor goes to the webmasters of Orends: Range, Heroshock, the long-time mods at RangerBoard, and many more prominent names who have covered Tokusatsu for years, if not decades. 😉

What kind of nostalgia blast(s) have I been blasted repeatedly lately? It came from Dai Sentai Google V, which was the 1982 release, the 6th team in the entire Super Sentai lineup.

Why Google V, in particular? It was the first Super Sentai I have ever experienced. In short, the gymnastic-themed team was my grand gateway to discovering a fondness for the franchise. 😃

I cannot really describe the appeals that totally captured my attention and eventually infatuation, leading to decades of fandom. Perhaps it was due to its uplifting, kick-ass theme song with such an iconic intro melody (that sparkling sound effect? Wow!), delivered with such energy by the legendary singer Ichirou Tomita (famously known as MoJo). Or was it because of how the actors were truly eye-catching? Maybe it was the five-tone rainbow-colored suits. 😕

Mind you, Google V is not considered among the biggest hits in Japan compared to other titles/teams. But if you ask any Gen-X and elder millennials in my country, they most likely will smile and at least affirm their knowledge of the series. Why? Because it gained such MASSIVE popularity here. A bit ironic, to be honest. After all, the series, which spread widely via VHS and Betamax video rental stores, only arrived 4 years after Google V concluded in Japan. Hikari Sentai Maskman was already the active Super Sentai Show at the time (likewise, it debuted on our TV station a few years later). 😁👍

My country even became the first in Super Sentai history to dub a Super Sentai theme song into a local language! A local promoter soon brought a smaller-scaled version of G-Rosso (stage play) to our country. Junichi Haruta, who portrayed Kanpei Kuroda/Google Black, came along as a special guest star. The fact that the 69-year-old Haruta-sensei is still active in showbiz now makes his visit even more memorable. Seeing him popping up in newer Super Sentai shows as a supporting character always made me grin. He reprised his role as Google Black in Go-kaiger theatrical movie, even though Haruta-sensei also starred as Dyna Black in Kagaku Sentai Dynaman, the next show released after Google V.

In short, Google V was our Power Rangers, almost a decade before Saban adapted Kyouryu Sentai Zyuranger into the US as the first Power Ranger series. And that fact has made me realize. Maybe the youthful camaraderie of heroes also appealed to my excitement. Unlike other heroes who stood alone, Super Sentai was always about teamwork, a combination of members from all walks of life. Choujin Sentai Jetman, Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger, and Mashin Sentai Kiramager, to name a few, are perfect examples of this trope. The only way to win a battle was by working together. 😊😌😁😎😉

This nostalgia blast unearthed more than mere fond memories. Looking back, it's not wrong to say that the show had such a massive influence on me. Some eye-opening revelations, as well. 😳

I can still remember fondly how my late Dad took me to that stage performance I mentioned above. I'm not gonna lie; I no longer remember the details of that show. Nevertheless, that entire trip with Dad is still so vivid in my mind. We went with a childhood buddy of mine (who, sadly, drifted away around junior high school). 

Until now, the stage show remains the most expensive (counting currency values and/or years of inflation) concerts I've ever attended in person. At that time, our city still had a double-deck bus. On the way home, which was quite late at night, my Dad opted to take that bus. He deliberately scouted for an empty one so that we could sit on the top story. On the front row! My friend and I were singing the Google V opening song nonstop as we cheered through the vivid neon lights along the roads while the view of the bright lights of billboards and active tall buildings passed us by. 🚍

A few days later, my late Dad took me to the busy marketplace near the nearest train station (to head to his work, he must take the train daily). There, he bought me an exclusive cassette set, released to commemorate the Google V show. I think it came with a cool poster and other merchandise. The details of that is fuzzy at best. But I know for sure I played that cassette almost daily afterward. The cassette still exists, somewhere amongst the boxes of our old stuff. Only the case has worn out due to repeated opening and closing, but I'm sure the magnetic tape itself will play just fine. Not that I need to hear it, though. As it turns out, the organizer only recorded the show's digest video and one of the early episodes. Both are already available online now. How time has flown by, right? 🖭

I know, I know! This whole fanboy experience may not seem like a big deal! But I can definitely say it was for me. Nope, it still is. 😅

You see, my late Dad was a super busy father who always worked all week, Monday to Sunday. Thus, the fact he made time to accompany me to the show? It was a genuine act of love. Growing up, especially in my adolescent years, I recall feeling that my late Dad loved his work more than family. A sense of being ignored kept weighing on my shoulders. I cannot believe it has taken me so long, many years later, especially today as I'm typing this, to realize how that dark idea lurking in my head was NEVER the entire truth. My late Dad cared enough, or even more than enough, to take me on exciting trips to explore the things I liked or was into. He always knew the small things that made me happy. And he went the extra mile to show it (despite his undeniable, at times dispiriting, devotion to his workplace). If that's not love, I don't know what that is. 😏😌

As surprising and, in some way, embarrassing as it is to admit today, the show made me quite famous in my neighborhood at the time. After all, I was the only boy who could sing the Google V theme song! Once again, this would not have been possible had my Dad not bought me that cassette containing the songs. 😋

Every childhood acquaintance, older or younger, asked me to perform the song before we proceeded to play pretend as the titular team. I had been an opening act before I knew what that phrase even meant. So, what was embarrassing about that? To be honest? I had ZERO knowledge of the Japanese language in those early years. I was very green in English, either. And the internet was not yet reachable in our hands; that is a limitation modern kids probably cannot imagine. Therefore, as you might have already guessed, I made up the lyrics in every performance based on the sounds I heard from the song. Or, as the cool kids would say nowadays... winging it? Faking it! Hahaha. 😝

To be fair, "Dai Sentai Goggle V" was not my starting point for Japanese songs and the language in general. That honor goes to "Chin Chin Pon Pon," also courtesy of my late Dad, who introduced it to me when I was a toddler, completely oblivious that it was an educational song about genitals (seriously, feel free to look it up!). Still, the Super Sentai theme song helped to further plant two key elements of my current self:

1. Singing! The joy of singing. 🎤

2. A desire to know more about the East Asian language and culture. 🗾

It became one of the driving forces for me to explore both. Now, not only can I sing the songs with actual Japanese pronunciation, but I also sing them while knowing linguistically what each line after another means. And this nostalgic trip still surprises me somehow. I cannot believe it took me this long to realize the word "Dai" in "Dai Sentai" had a double meaning all these times, hinting at the titular team's source of power on each of their foreheads. The theme song even made a fun tease of this, as the chorus sang "Dai-Dai-Daiya" during the instrumental interlude. "Daiya" is the shortened word for "Diamond" in Japanese. 😱

Thanks to the wonder of digital technology, all of Google V's main musical themes have been uploaded to stream for free on the tube. Much to my utter surprise, I still remember all the songs, some of their lyrics, and the progression of their melodies so clearly, as if I had only heard them yesterday! Even the battle insert songs, despite never knowing their titles until recently. To think I only heard them as background music for the dialogues and sound effects recorded in my old cassette. 😲

It's astounding how such vivid and detailed memories still reside inside me unconsciously. Nostalgia is THAT powerful, huh? 😄

I've seen people branding nostalgia as if it was a bad thing. They might have a point or reason behind that opinion, though. Especially if it is treated as a cash-grab scheme situation. So, I won't argue if their stance was correct or the opposite. But as I have just experienced and am currently enjoying, nostalgia can be a positive thing, indeed. 😌

Whether you agree or not, nostalgia helps remind us how far we have come. It CAN be a reflective catalyst that guides us forward to stay in our lanes, aim for higher grounds, or change our ways completely. So, while the idiom "Falling down the rabbit hole" may have a negative connotation (just try and look it up if you don't believe me), it also offers a positive aspect if we see it from a different perspective. Perhaps we can discover a treasure hidden away from plain sight by going down that rabbit hole. At the very least, in my case, the rabbit hole of nostalgia, that is truly the case. It has been a trip down memory lane, for sure. 😀

Through listening and singing the Google V songs, a melancholic wish has resurfaced inside my heart again and again. A desire for my late Dad, somewhere far in Heaven, to know that I'm grateful to be the receiver of his loving gestures. How much I love and miss him so. Then again, I realize that may not be necessary, too. Because, if these revelations unearthed through the wave of nostalgia are any indications? He had already known...