got into the series when i was 10. it was a little excerpt in a freebie thing from scholastic that did it. had my parents buy the first couple books through scholastic... then read the third at my grandma's. she got me that copy.
people gravitate towards tobias for the same reason they gravitate towards peter parker. he's not a crazy scientist dude - he's somewhat of an outcast even among his friend group, who suddenly had some level of power. but tobias's is cut short and he's a constant reminder of what can go wrong. as a kid i would have dreams about being part of the power rangers, but i was always the helper - never one of the rangers themselves. tobias and his fate was something i identified with. #3 the encounter was an early favorite for that. the part where he has to race back to warn them about the time limit, or it they would be stuck, like him, and that it would be his fault is anxiety and depression manifested as body horror.
the rest of the run, i would look forward to the tobias books. for the most part, my brain treated the series like it was power rangers or ninja turtles - that these were more or less superheroes and even early in high school as the series was wrapping, i was more upset about the bleakness and ambiguity of the ending. looking back on it, there isn't any ambiguity. those kids all died moments later. and there isn't bleakness - just honesty about how absolutely fucked up war is and how it fucks everyone up. it's something i can really appreciate all these years later.
i have no intention of reading them again, but it's pretty clear in this thread that i missed a lot of the subtext, forgot most of the plots, and misread the context for the actions of several of the characters when i first read them.
it's a shame about the tv show, and that there isn't a bigger interest in the series in terms of a more serious revival or adaptation, but it's one of those stories probably best left for the 90s/early 00s.
