History YMMV / PowerRangersSamurai

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Yes, there is at least one instance of a feudal samurai that wasn't Japanese, as seen [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke here]]. Japan also had the Nanban Trade Period in the 16th and 17th century, where they traded a lot with the Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch.

** "Wow! He's so sparkly!" (Emily's [[DullSurprise line]] when Antonio first morphs. Also a very common top comment on Website/YouTube of videos about Antonio.

* MisBlamed: Many ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' fans blame the Samurai crossover movie Clash of the Red Rangers for putting RPM in an alternative dimension. The thing is Eddie Guzelian (the original Executive Producer behind ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'', before getting replaced by Judd Lynn) has said RPM took place in an alternate continuity from the rest of the series when RPM was in production.
** Some fans still blame Saban Brands for splitting Samurai into 2 20-episodes seasons even though that was Nick's decision. Saban also gets blamed for the third episode to air first even though that was also Nick's choice so they could air the first two episodes as an hour long special later on.
** In an odd example, some fans correctly blame Toei for the show having more roots in Japanese Culture, but for the wrong reasons. Some fans believe that Toei did so just because Disney tried to meddle with the Sentai footage and tone it down, in an act of retaliation. However, a more likely scenario is that Toei made ''Shinkenger'' under the then-correct assumption that the series wouldn't be adapted into ''Power Rangers''[[note]]if Disney had gotten their way, ''Jungle Fury'' would've been the last season; however, likely due to Disney's contract with Bandai being valid for one more season, ''RPM'' was produced[[/note]] (in fact, it's possible that this mindset may have continued into ''Goseiger'', which, although angel-themed, had episodes more entrenched in Japanese culture in comparison to, oh say, ''Dekaranger''), since it's evident that starting with ''Gokaiger'', they were filming footage in a more adaptable way[[note]]the majority of tribute episodes were to Sentai seasons that had been adapted into ''Power Rangers'', and the few to Sentai that weren't adapted didn't have the team gain a new mech (or if it did, it wasn't used much outside the episode it was gained in[[/note]], and it was just bad luck that Saban happened to regain the rights ''after'' Shinkenger had finished airing[[note]]ironically, [[Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters the one series]] that seemed like it was made entirely around being adapted into ''Power Rangers'' was initially skipped, [[Series/PowerRangersBeastMorphers until 2019]][[/note]].

* {{Narm}}: The MonsterOfTheWeek's big plan is... making a little boy give up baseball... Made even more narmy by Mia's line of "This is what you get for making Ryan sad!" (Then again, he [[{{Jerkass}} lied]] that by giving up on baseball, [[spoiler:the boy's father would return home from the army.]])[[note]]This made a lot more sense in Shinkenger where not only was the deal to bring back the boy's dead grandfather, but instead of just throwing out his equipment, the deal was to ''jump off a building and break his leg.''[[/note]]
** In episode 5, "A Fish Out of Water" (really episode 7, but Nickelodeon has skipped the first two), the new zord is a swordfish. When it combines with the Megazord in the obligatory boss battle, the final attack has the mech's usual katana attaching to the swordfish helmet which sticks straight up! Someone should dub it "Narwhal Mode" or take a clip of its head-sword-swinging FinishingMove and synch it to Willow Smith's [[MemeticMutation "Whip My Hair."]]
** "Forest for the Trees" features innocent bystanders {{wangst}}ing and actively lamenting with a passion usually reserved for the death of loved ones... the fact that its starting raining. It ''was'' caused by a Nighlok, but still... (Of course, it was supernatural rain ''made'' to cause wangst.)
** In one episode, a MonsterOfTheWeek tries to bring down Yellow Ranger's confidence, which such lines as "Everyone loves to tease you!" In his defense, he'd already tried half a dozen other insults on her with no effect.
** Octoroo's big plan in "The Blue and the Gold"? Stealing ''toys'', which from the looks of it, can pretty much all be easily replaced. Not that that's much comfort to kids who lost their favorite...[[note]]In the corresponding Shinkenger episode it was a human sacrifice instead.[[/note]]

* OneTruePairing: Jayden and Antonio is the most popular ship from the season. The two have been friends since childhood and share a huge amount of HoYay together. Antonio even becomes a Ranger specifically to help Jayden. They have the most fanfiction about them on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, topping even OfficialCouple Mike and Emily.

** In "The Blue and the Gold," the monster was in Bulk and Spike's house while they were asleep, completely unnoticed. Although the "unnoticed" part was partly due to the fact that it was Bulk and Spike it's not hard to imagine that this was how he stole the children's toys (aside from the ones we saw in the park). Let me repeat that: the monster snuck into houses ''with children in them'' without anyone noticing.

* ShipsThatPassInTheNight: Lauren/Mia is surprisingly popular, despite the fact that the two barely interact, mainly due to Mia being one of the few members on the team to be kind to Lauren from the start, Lauren being the only one to like Mia's cooking, and it falling into the long-standing tradition of shipping Red and Pink Rangers.

** In "Jayden's Challenge," and likely a few other places, when Kevin jumps into battle, it cuts to a second of [[http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w217/lightykd/10-JaydensChallenge480pavi_snapshot_1242_20110418_224756.jpg Kevin's (obvious) stunt actor.]] The stunt actor does a pretty good job of hiding his face; unfortunately, he does this with his hands. The problem being Kevin is black and the stunt actor is (likely) Japanese. Previous teams actually [[http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt130/Hikaru_Kushinada/Koshige3.jpg used makeup tricks]] to [[http://linearranger.com/RPMNews/BtS01.jpg match the stunties to the actors,]] with results that can be [[http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt130/Hikaru_Kushinada/Koshige2.jpg downright creepy,]] but that might lean a little too close to blackface for the current team (or they were short for time, who knows?)

** Interestingly, there had already been a Ranger called [[Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy Mike]] in a past season. Generally, the writers and producers avoid the repetition of names when casting actors/actresses for newer Rangers; in all likelihood, this was probably unintentional given that production for this season was very rushed so they probably had no time to think about this minor detail.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: ''Clash of the Red Rangers.'' Where do we even ''begin?'' Well, for one thing, at one point in the story the Samurai Rangers (barring Jayden) are sucked into the ''RPM''-verse by Professor Cog's portal. Now, the idea of a team of Samurai crashing into an AfterTheEnd setting where humanity is fighting for survival against a virus and its army of machines would make for a pretty good plot. And it would also have been great to see how the Samurai Rangers would work with the RPM Rangers. So, what do we get out of this possibly awesome plot thread? The Samurai Rangers return after being gone for a while, and Emily tells Scott "Your team says hi." ''That's all we get.''
** Scott's comment that he wasn't sure the air was breathable is a carry over from ''Go-Onger'' more than ''RPM''. The issue of not de-morphing could have been easily addressed by saying that he might not have enough power to morph again or perhaps have a point about a dwindling power supply for the suit. Either point would have given the loaned power disc in the third act greater significance.

** As noted under ArtisticLicenseHistory on the main page, [[spoiler: in real life, traditional Japanese clans would hand down leadership to the first born son of the family - meaning that regardless of how old Lauren was at the time Jayden had been born, he would have gotten priority over Lauren, unless either a), Lauren was Jayden's older '''Brother''', or b), Jayden was not biologically born a member of the Shiba clan]]. There are 2 possible plots wasted: [[spoiler: if Lauren had been made the red ranger first and Jayden came in to replace her instead of the other way around (what actually happened), this could have given us our first full-time female Red Ranger]]; the other plot is that [[spoiler: Jayden could have been ADOPTED, and the series could have delivered AnAesop about how being adopted does not make one any lesser than someone biologically born into a family]].

** One example: In "Sticks and Stones," Emily tells the team how she was bullied as a child, and was taught by her sister to ignore what the bullies said. This is a common part of Japanese culture, and, at first glance, seems fit in an American show. Then you realize that it seems to be implied that Emily apparently ''never told anyone about the bullies.'' The flashback seems to suggest that only her sister (a Power Ranger in training, mind) helped her out, whereas she could have told her parents, a teacher or some other ReasonableAuthorityFigure.

** Played straight now when people flocked to this season after '''Super/Megaforce''', many people citing this season actually had a story, though a carbon copy of Shinkenger that it admittedly diverged from, good budgeting that led to great sets and production, as well as acting that got noticeably better over time. The current opinion of the fandom is mostly SoOkayItsAverage these days, as there are things like Dekker and the return of Bulk that were liked.
* {{Wangst}}: A big portion of Jayden's characterization is his accepting that he's part of a team, [[IneffectualLoner since he doesn't want the others]] [[UnwittingInstigatorofDoom getting involved with the fight against Xandred]]. Unfortunately, [[CompressedAdaptation due to Saban replicating the ''Shinkenger'' script all but verbatim without accounting for detail]], he ends up [[AesopAmnesia learning the exact same teamwork moral under the exact same set of circumstances ''twice'']], each time using the "I want to fight alone" excuse, which somewhat dampens the whole arc. [[note]]In Shinkenger, Takeru brushes upon this moral, but doesn't really learn it until the end of the show, leaving him flawed enough to have to learn it again so that he can use it against Juzo. In Samurai, Jayden acknowledges the lesson and accepts it the first time it properly comes up, making the viewer wonder why the issue ever even comes up again.[[/note]]
* TheWoobie: Emily possibly became this in "Sticks and Stones." See ValuesDissonance on top for some details.
** Ryan from "Deal With A Nighlok" can be considered one, too.

* CriticalResearchFailure: Aside from the example listed under ArtisticLicenseHistory on the main page, there's one other example: Dayu's instrument[[note]]a shamisen[[/note]] is referred to as a Harmonium. However, a Harmonium is actually something like a cross between an organ and an accordion, meaning that unless Dayu nicknamed her guitar "Harmonium", the writer clearly didn't care enough to double check (and considering that the show also confuses ''Aversion'' Therapy with ''Immersion'' Therapy, the latter is more likely).
** As mentioned above, in one episode, Antonio gets a fear of fish, so the Rangers try to help them by what they call "Aversion Therapy". Aversion Therapy, however, is forcing some one in to having a trauma (think "A Clockwork Orange"), when what they actually mean is Immersion Therapy. Even then, Immersion Therapy works by letting the patient gradually ease their way in to the stimuli, increasing it in small amounts over time, while the Ranger's method is to force fish in front of Antonio.
** And there's Octoroo and Antonio's Octozord who are actually squids. It's especially egrigious in the latter's case since it's often called an octopus.

* FirstInstallmentWins: Many people believe that ''Samurai'' is playing on people's nostalgia for the original ''Mighty Morphin'' by returning to the original "Go Go Power Rangers!" theme song, the morphing call, and bringing back Bulk.

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Ricardo Medina. Okay, he's not Oscar-caliber or anything, but he's come quite a ways from ''Wild Force''.

** Dayu has it even worse, she lost her husband when trying to save his life after he was caught in their house's fire by making a deal with the Nighlok King [[spoiler:only for said husband to become a ruthless, amnesiac Nighlok, Deker, who left her in pursuit of a fight]], has to watch [[spoiler:Deker]] die and gives up hope on becoming a human again. Even when her final moments are [[spoiler:sacrificing herself to empower Xandred so he can bring about the end of the world since she no longer cares about anything due to Deker's death, it's all shown in a surprisingly sympathetic manner with even Mia showing horror at her end.]]
* LoveToHate: Serrator. One thing ''PR'' fans will all universally agree about ''Samurai'' is how [[EvilIsCool badass]] and [[CompleteMonster evil]] Serrator is.

* MemeticMutation: Emily and [[http://i53.tinypic.com/2d00tjl.gif those wacky arms]] from the episode "The Team Unites" (sort of).

* TheScrappy: Mentor Ji is considered the worst mentor for being a crappy teacher, his blatant favoritism towards Jayden, his self-righteous attitude, his [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment redundant name]], and his tendency to put down Antonio for not being born into a Samurai lineage.

* FanPreferredCouple:
** Jayden and Antonio is the most popular ship from the season. The two have been friends since childhood and share a huge amount of HoYay together. Antonio even becomes a Ranger specifically to help Jayden. They have the most fanfiction about them on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn. Topping even OfficialCouple Mike and Emily.
** It's also quite popular to ship Lauren and Mia together, with the pairing having plenty of fanfiction itself. Though they don't spend much time with each other in the show, they have a quick connection thanks to Mia being nice to Lauren from the start and Lauren being the only character who likes Mia's cooking. Not to mention it still falls into the common practice of shipping Red and Pink rangers together.

** The sword wielding villain, Deker, becomes this after his actor, Ricardo Medina Jr, having an altercation with his roommate ending with said roommate being killed with a sword and pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
** Jii being hard on the Rangers is this in light of Rene Naufahu being convicted of indecent assault and sentenced to house arrest.

* BetterThanCanon: Many fanfiction novelizations of the series have received better reception than the series itself.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** When Deker betrays Serrator, is it just a case of EvenEvilHasStandards, or did he have a more personal reason for it? While he doesn't remember Dayu at all, he does know he was cursed and once human, and he did learn that Serrator did create Uramasa and thus showed him a cursed existence. So it could be equally likely (perhaps even on a subconscious level) be payback for making him this way. Also in The Ultimate Duel, was Deker really going to attack random people if Jayden didn't show up to duel him or did he only say that to scare him into accepting? His later standards he showed when stopping Serrator's world-dooming plan suggests the latter.

** Jayden. He ''does'' have a sizable fanbase who like his [[TheStoic stoic]] personality, his leadership and having some sympathetic traits whilst others criticize him for having shreds of the CreatorsPet.

* UnfortunateImplications: [[http://awwman.com/nps/main/2010/05/power-rangers-2011-casting-sides/ This]] early casting call for the show. With the exception of the Red Ranger, every other character is listed under "Any Ethnicity," reflecting the franchise's history of colorblind casting. What's the Red Ranger's requirement? ''Caucasian.'' Yes, the head of a ''samurai family'' that has fought since ancient ''Japan'' was the guy who absolutely positively totally had to be whitest white guy who ever whited no matter what. This was fixed in more recent casting calls. To be fair, there may be a reason for specifying race, such as making sure Jayden and family members that show up don't look [[HollywoodGenetics blatantly unrelated to each other]]. [[spoiler: It also asks for an actress to play 'Princess Megan,' which appears to be Kaoru's counterpart.]]

* BetterThanCanon:
** Many fanfiction novelizations of the series have received better reception than the series itself.

* WhatAnIdiot: Octoroo in "Fight Fire With Fire." In order to finish off Jayden, he sends a fire-type Nighlok with a weapon that ignites the fire within a person (the explanation being that, since Jayden's family element is Fire, he will burn up from the inside). Apparently, it didn't occur to him that it was possible for said weapon to be turned against his monster, causing it to burn up instead.
** The Nighlok Vulpes in "Unexpected Arrival." The plan was to spy on Jayden so he and Octoroo could glean knowledge of the Sealing Symbol from him when he went to train. To accomplish this, Vulpes thinks that purposely making Jayden paranoid to the point that he's aware that he's being watched will get the job done. This means that to keep himself concealed, Vulpes voluntarily went out of his way to be noticed. Websters hasn't changed the definition of 'stealth' yet, has it?

* UncannyValley: Octoroo's American mouth actually made him ''more'' creepy.
** Not exactly "American"; we get to see Shitari's mouth in Act 46 of ''Shinkenger'' and it does look kind of like that. All they did in the adaptation was remove the front tentacles that hid it, but yeah, the results weren't any more pleasant.

** There's also some that feel this way about Amit Bhaumik's proposal for ''Samurai'' - of his 3 proposals[[note]]his other 2 proposals were for ''Hexagon'', an alternative to what eventually became ''Ninja Storm'', and ''Cyber Corps'', a proposal for adapting ''Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters''[[/note]], his ''Samurai'' adaptation is seen as the most feasible due to requiring the least amount of original footage[[note]]''Gobusters'' had relatively little fight scenes per episode, and while ''Series/NinpuuSentaiHurricaneger'' had more than enough footage per episode, the majority of footage for ''Hexagon'' would've needed to have been original; his ''Samurai'' proposal would still have required original footage, but the amount is far less than the amount ''Hexagon'' or ''Cyber Corps'' would've required; and that's not even getting into how many props that had been destroyed when Disney bought the series from Saban that would've needed to have been recreated for ''Hexagon''[[/note]], and the plot is seen as vastly superior to the end result. Said plot, found [[https://amitbhaumik.tumblr.com/post/59915514235/original-power-rangers-samurai-proposal here]] in case you're curious, would've focused on a rivalry between Mark Ozawa (the red of the season) and Keiji Ayakawa (a [[Series/PowerRangersJungleFury Jarrod-esque character]] who would've taken Deker's role and led the Ashura clan), would've still involved Mark's family having generations of samurai (but this generation would be the first generation of Samurai Rangers) and had Mark lead an international team of rangers (with Allison, his cousin, taking the place of Lauren later on). Notably, Bulk would've still been part of the cast, but Spike would've instead been replaced with Bulk's son Eugene (who would take Antonio's place as the Gold Ranger), and Bulk would've taken on a role similar to the kuroko in ''Shinkenger''. Ultimately, Mark would've been revealed to have been Keiji's long-lost brother, and after one final duel, Keiji and Mark would've put aside their differences and settle the feud between the Ozawa clan and the Ashura Clan for good.

* MagnificentBastard: [[BloodKnight Deker]] is a swordsman who was cursed to wander the earth as a Human-Nighlok hybrid. Seeking the "Ultimate Duel" to end his curse, Deker declares the Red Ranger Jayden Shiba his [[TheRival rival]], constantly saving him from Master Xandred's minions so that he can fight Jayden himself and threatens to harm innocent people should Jayden refuse. Though seemingly killed by Jayden, Deker returns and helps Serrator in his schemes only to betray the Nighlok King once he fixes Deker's sword, [[SpannerInTheWorks foiling his plans in the process]]. Decker then faces Jayden in one last duel before being killed, [[FaceDeathWithDignity accepting his death]] now that he's free from his curse.

** Dayu has it even worse, she lost her husband when trying to save his life after he was caught in their house's fire
by making a deal with the Nighlok King [[spoiler:only for said husband to become a ruthless, amnesiac Nighlok, Deker, who left her in pursuit of a fight]], has to watch [[spoiler:Deker]] die and gives up hope on becoming a human again. Even when her final moments are [[spoiler:sacrificing herself to empower Xandred so he can bring about the end of the world since she no longer cares about anything due to Deker's death, it's all shown in a surprisingly sympathetic manner with even Mia showing horror at her end.]]

** It's gradually been pushing away from ''Shinkenger'' as it's progressed. Among other things, [[spoiler:Deker's backstory has been changed drastically.]]
* JerkassWoobie: Deker, given that he's trapped in a cursed existence and ultimately wants to die.

** Played straight now when people flocked to this season after '''Super/Megaforce''', many people citing this season actually had a story, though a carbon copy of Shinkenger that it admittedly diverged from, good budgeting that led to great sets and production, as well as acting that got noticeably better over time.

* HoYay: [[HoYay/PowerRangersSamurai Jayden and Antonio]]

* TheScrappy: Mentor Ji is considered the worst mentor for being a crappy teacher, his blatant favoritism towards Jayden, his self-righteous attitude, his [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment redundant name]], and his tendency to put down Antonio for not being born into a Samurai lineage. His actor turning out to be a sexual predator didn't help matters.

** When Deker betrays Serrator, is is just a case of EvenEvilHasStandards, or did he have a more personal reason for it. While he doesn't remember Dayu at all, he does know he was cursed and once human, and he did learn that Serrator did create Uramasa and thus showed him a cursed existence. So it could be equally likely (perhaps even on a subconscious level) be payback for making him this way. Also in The Ultimate Duel, was Deker really going to attack random people if Jayden didn't show up to duel him or did he only say that to scare him into accepting? His later standards he showed when stopping Serrator's world-dooming plan suggests the latter.

* ContestedSequel: Coming after ''RPM'', this was inevitable. ''Samurai'' is often touted as a bad season by fans, and many older fans call it outright one of the worst seasons in the franchise (Tied with or rivaling ''Turbo'', ''Wild Force'', ''Series/PowerRangersOperationOverdrive Operation Overdrive'' and ''[[Series/PowerRangersMegaforce Megaforce]]'')- it's more often than not almost a direct adaptation of ''Shinkenger'' (Japanese values not translating well into American culture is a big complaint of this), and the acting of the Rangers at the start is [[DullSurprise often]] ''horrible'', with the general exception of the Green and Gold Rangers. For ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' fans, this season is bad because of a teamup named ''Clash of the Red Rangers'', where only the Red RPM Ranger was brought back (and doesn't even de-morph during the production).

** Deker, played by Rick Medina, also known as Cole from ''Wild Force'' is pretty much why people kept watching after he debuted. [[NobleDemon Wonder]] [[EvilIsCool why]]?

** Lauren, primarily due to being one of the ''very'' few female Red Rangers. So much so that she made it in to the Morphing Madness contest and several years later became a prominent figure in the [[ComicBook/MightyMorphinPowerRangersShatteredGrid Shattered Grid]] comic event. She's also the sole Ranger representative for both ''VideoGame/PowerRangersLegacyWars'' and ''VideoGame/PowerRangersBattleForTheGrid''.

** Deker is a swordsman whose NobleDemon personalty and badass moments have made him very popular

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: Some long-time fans are already criticizing ''Samurai'' for being too similar to ''Shinkenger''. [[Series/PowerRangersWildForce Not the first time]] [[Series/PowerRangersMysticForce this criticism has arose]], incidentally.

* ContestedSequel: Coming after ''RPM'', this was inevitable. ''Samurai'' is often touted as a bad season by fans, and many older fans call it outright one of the worst seasons in the franchise (Tied with or rivaling ''Turbo'', ''Wild Force'', ''Operation Overdrive'' and ''Megaforce'')- it's more often than not almost a direct adaptation of ''Shinkenger'' (Japanese values not translating well into American culture is a big complaint of this), and the acting of the Rangers at the start is [[DullSurprise often]] ''horrible'', with the general exception of the Green and Gold Rangers. For ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' fans, this season is bad because of a teamup named ''Clash of the Red Rangers'', where only the Red RPM Ranger was brought back (and doesn't even de-morph during the production).

** And now, ''Megaforce'' is considered even worse.

* UnfortunateImplications: [[http://awwman.com/nps/main/2010/05/power-rangers-2011-casting-sides/ This]] early casting call for the show. With the exception of the Red Ranger, every other character is listed under "Any Ethnicity," reflecting the franchise's history of colorblind casting. What's the Red Ranger's requirement? ''Caucasian.'' Yes, the head of a ''samurai family'' that has fought since ancient ''Japan'' was the guy who absolutely positively totally had to be whitest white guy who ever whited no matter white... I mean what. This was fixed in more recent casting calls. To be fair, there may be a reason for specifying race, such as making sure Jayden and family members that show up don't look [[HollywoodGenetics blatantly unrelated to each other]]. [[spoiler: It also asks for an actress to play 'Princess Megan,' which appears to be Kaoru's counterpart.]]