My favorite television show as a little kid was 'The Kakurangers', the 18th season of Japan's 'Super Sentai' series. It was the last of three seasons I watched. American readers are likely familiar with the 'Power Rangers', an adaptation based on the protagonists from the 16th season of 'Super Sentai', the Zyurangers - the Kakurangers was basically the same thing except in Japan (and therefore, much better).
A remarkable bit of trivia about the Kakurangers was how its leader, Tsuruhime, was the first female leader in the history of the series. Or, at least, that's what you'll learn if you read about the show on Wikipedia or ask the barely informed about the series. Though I was only six years old at the time, I can tell you, reader, that when I moved to America I knew one thing about Tsuruhime: she wasn't the leader!
I should note that although I wasn't quite the world's sharpest six-year old at the time, I did understand a few simple things. I knew that she was supposed to be the leader. Hell, all I remember about anytime I watched was hearing about how Tsuruhime was the leader. There was even an episode where she passed a 'test' by allowing hyper-realistic wind-up dolls of her fellows ninjas to 'die' for the sake of the mission (1).
But as a six-year old, I also noticed other clues. Color, for one. Traditionally, the leader of the group always wore red. Guess who wore red among the Kakurangers? (Hint: one of the four dudes.)
Another was position. Throughout the series, the leader always stood in the center whenever the group posed together (which was often). The other four group members would flank the leader, two to a side. Guess where Tsuruhime stood? (Hint: ask Beyonce.)
But the big one for me at the time was super powers. Super powers - what else matters to a six-year old, right? I've listed the five super powers below - have a look, reader, and then guess which one belonged to The Great Leader, Tsuruhime:
-The ability to multiply at will and bring clones into a fight
-The ability to run underground
-The ability to run on water
-The ability to enlarge
-The ability to turn into a paper crane and fly around
I mean, we all know the answer, right? Right? RIGHT??
(Let's just take a moment to watch the opening sequence and get on the same page... and pay attention the order they come out, which further... oh, never mind.)
Now, all of the above is kind of suspect to my memory. And since I was six, it's a spotty recollection. Still, I think my point is clear - if you are going to have token leadership, you might as well not have it at all. If the series wanted to make a point about having a female leader, they should have just done the simple thing and had a female leader. Have her wear RED, give her a useful super power, and make sure she stands in the middle anytime they take a selfie. Easy, right?
The half-baked approach 'Super Sentai' went with might have been able to fool a four or even five-year old version of me, granted, but that's probably not a great benchmark to go by, is it?
Footnotes / do I have anything else to add about the Power Rangers...?
0. Like, who is this idiot Sasuke?
The
ridiculous decision making employed by The Not Leader But Wears Red And
Stands Centrally, Sasuke, is worth noting. The guy is completely inept!
He can turn into literally hundreds of multiples of himself at any time.
But what does he do in battle? Uh, usually something else, something
not involving turning into a 100x stronger version of himself. Go get
'em, Lone (Power) Ranger...
I think this brings me to a realization about why I liked the Animorphs
series so much. After the initial suspension of disbelief - that kids
can turn into any animal they touch so they can fight aliens who control
people by slithering into their brains - author K.A. Applegate doesn't
ask for much more from us readers. Jake, the leader, and may I say The
Leader, has a tiger morph. What morph does he use in every land battle?
The tiger morph. Every time. Why? Because it's his best f'ing morph. If Sasuke
was the leader of the Animorphs, he would probably turn into a golden
retriever for a decisive battle and bark like a fool while getting everyone eaten by Visser Three.
1. I bet this was never required of the previous seventeen male leaders in the series...
Apparently, proving you would allow the rest of the team to die was a condition of leadership - great lesson to teach the youth of Japan if you ask me.
