Now more than ever, the most iconic part of the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver. Though the character would later wear white, red and black, he was most notable as the franchise’s first Green Ranger. His counterpart in the show’s source material, however, was a far more tragic figure.
Burai was the Green DragonRanger in Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger — a show that had its fight scene footage used to create the original Power Rangers. His equivalent to the “Green With Evil” storyline was much darker than anything Tommy went through, making the would-be villain the saddest part of the series. Here’s how the Sentai version of Tommy Oliver differed from his American counterpart.
The Green Ranger from Zyuranger Was Destined to Die
Burai was the sixth member of the Zyuranger team, though he didn’t exactly start off on the right foot with them. He was the biological brother of Geki, the Red Tyranno Ranger. Unbeknownst to Burai, however, the King and Queen had taken the two boys from their true father after he had disobeyed the king’s commands. Burai’s father would even challenge the king to the death, with his final words urging his oldest son to avenge him. Geki and his friends would later be put into cryogenic sleep when the time of the dinosaurs was at an end, with the vengeful Burai having the same done to himself.
Awakening in the present day after the main Zyuranger team, Burai discovered that he was already not long for the world. He had actually died during his gestational slumber, but Daizyuzin — the Zyuranger version of the Power Ranger’s Megazord — had him revived due to foreseeing his necessity in the future. Sadly, this solution was only temporary, with Burai living on borrowed time. He used this opportunity and his own morpher and his robot Dragon Caesar to completely ravage Zyuranger, even attempting to take the fight to Bandora, the sentai version of the maniacal witch Rita Repulsa.
Geki would make it clear that, despite his evil actions, he still cared for his misguided brother. This broke through Burai’s broken heart and made him finally ally with Zyuranger, though his limited mortality was still an issue. An elixir was found that might have prolonged and saved his fleeting life force, but he instead chose to use it on a dying child. Passing his weapons and power onto his once-hated brother, Burai died a hero.
Burai From Zyuranger Was More Tragic Than Jason David Frank’s Tommy
With Jason David Frank’s Tommy Oliver, his character was merely an ordinary teenager who was manipulated and mind-controlled by the magic of Rita Repulsa. He wasn’t truly evil, and once Rita’s spell was broken, he was warmly accepted by the other Power Rangers. Burai, on the other hand, had a heart full of vengeance and hatred, especially toward his brother. His backstory arguably justified this, giving him a level of tragedy that the original Power Rangers show could have never portrayed on-screen. The circumstances behind the two’s powers were also quite different.
Tommy’s ties to the Green Candle were the reason that his powers eventually diminished, leaving him a Ranger without any power. Thus, he left the team until returning down the road as the White Tiger Ranger. Burai’s draining powers were his own life force, however, and once they were gone, so was he. This adds much more pathos to the scene where he gives Geki his powers, and there’s even an episode following where the distraught Dragon Caesar refuses to fight following the death of his former master.
Given how goofy even Zyuranger could be at times, Burai’s depth made him a definite stand-out. The same, of course, went for Tommy Oliver, who was the breakout character in the first few seasons of Power Rangers. Even though Burai died on his show, his powered-up visage would become eternally iconic when it made its way to the United States via Haim Saban.
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