Super Sentai Totally Explained

Everything about Super Sentai totally explained

The is the name given to the long running Japanese superhero team genre of shows produced by Toei Company Ltd., Toei Agency and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi ("Super" refers to their use of mecha, and "sentai" is the Japanese word for "task force" or, literally, "fighting squadron" and was also a term used for Japanese squadrons in WWII). The shows are of the tokusatsu genre, featuring live action characters and colorful special effects, and are aimed mainly at families. This series is one of the most prominent tokusatsu productions in Japan, alongside the Ultra Series, the Kamen Rider Series, and the Metal Hero Series and was adapted in the United States as Power Rangers.

Series overview

In every Sentai series, the fight between good and evil is illustrated, with the good side winning most of the time. The basic premise of the series is that a group of five (in some cases fewer) people gain special powers (magical or technological), wear colored outfits, and use advanced weapons and martial arts skills to battle powerful beings from other planets and/or dimensions threatening to take over the Earth. In most of the episodes, after the team has beaten an army of evil creatures ("grunts") and the "monster of the week", they call for huge robotic vehicles/animals ("mechas") that can combine to form one giant robot to fight an enlarged version of the monster. Sentai series with the giant robot element are specifically known as Super Sentai. Each Sentai series is set in a different fictional universe, with the exception of specials that feature a teaming up with the previous Sentai.
   The first Sentai series, Himitsu Sentai Goranger, was created by the late Shotaro Ishinomori, creator of Kamen Rider and Cyborg 009 in 1975. He didn't create any further Sentai series after his second, J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai, wasn't received well. These two series were not a part of the Super Sentai series until 1994 when Toei decided to include them with the series that followed.
   The third Sentai series, Battle Fever J (1979), is the first Super Sentai show (on account of it being the first to have a giant robot that the heroes pilot - the past two shows only had vehicles).
   The term sentai is also occasionally used to describe shows with similar premises, such as Voltron, or even the magical girl team in Sailor Moon, as Naoko Takeuchi deliberately used sentai ideas. In 2003, Sailor Moon was retold in a fashion somewhat similar to Sentai shows in the form of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon. While not officially Sentai, some fans of the genre have accepted it as such.

Distribution

Although the series originated in Japan, they were imported and dubbed in several other countries. Choudenshi Bioman and Hikari Sentai Maskman were very popular in France and in the Philippines in the 1980s, and multiple Sentai shows aired in Hawaii, due in large part to the success of Kikaida, Kamen Rider V3, Himitsu Sentai Goranger, and many other series broadcast by Honolulu's KIKU-TV in the 1970s (all broadcast in Japanese with English subtitles). Additionally, Choudenshi Bioman and Kousoku Sentai Turboranger were aired in Spain and Portugal. Denshi Sentai Denziman and Dai Sentai Goggle V were aired in Italy. In Brazil, the first Super Sentai series to air was Dengeki Sentai Changeman, in 1988, and made a tremendous impact at the time, being considered a cult classic. Due to the success of Changeman, other series were imported, such as Choushinsei Flashman, Hikari Sentai Maskman and the unsuccessful Dai Sentai Goggle V. There were also plans to import newer series, but were cancelled due to reduced popularity of recent series. Various sentai series were also broadcast in Malaysia sometime in the 1990s.

Super Sentai in the U.S.

Himitsu Sentai Goranger was also aired on Japanese-language stations in Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles, California in 1976–77. J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai was also aired in Los Angeles, California following Himitsu Sentai Goranger. Kagaku Sentai Dynaman was dubbed and aired as a parody on the USA Network television show Night Flight in 1987. In 1993, Haim Saban produced the first installment of the Power Rangers franchise by dubbing the action sequences from 1992's Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger and filming new footage with American actors for the story sequences. This trend has continued, with each successive Sentai show contributing the action sequences to the Power Rangers series the following year.

Super Sentai in Korea

Super Sentai has also been broadcast in South Korea dubbed from Japanese to Korean, starting as early as Choushinsei Flashman titled Earth Protector Flashman. Recently, Tooniverse, JEI-TV, and CHAMP TV/ANIONE TV has broadcast Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger, Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, Mahou Sentai Magiranger, and GoGo Sentai Boukenger under the titles of Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, S.P.D., Magic Force, and Treasure Force, respectively.

The series of Super Sentai

Each of the series of Super Sentai has their own unique values and themes.

, aired from 1975-1977, was the first Sentai. They were a super-technology spy team that fought against a secret terrorist monster force. The motif was "variable technology."

aired in 1977. It featured a team of cyborgs based on a playing card motif - Jack, Ace, King and Queen. It had the first non-red leader (although he was the leader until later in the story), and it was the first Sentai series to team-up with the previous Sentai team (J.A.K.Q. vs. Goranger), a special feature that wouldn't repeat until Ohranger vs. Kakuranger, when it became an annual tradition.

aired in 1979. Its theme was that of national countries (Japan, Soviet Union, Kenya, France and the United States) and a dance style motif. The series also featured a regular and active member getting killed in battle. The female character, Miss America, was designed by reference in Marvel's Miss America; in addition, her male counterparts vaguely resembled Marvel's Captain America. This fact is influenced by the cooperative relation built when Marvel and Toei made the tokusatsu Spider-Man. All other characters were designed as original by Toei.

aired in 1980. The theme is electricity. It was the first Sentai series to have opaque visors, and a transforming giant robot.

aired in 1981. It was the only series to be a sequel to the previous one. Each of the team members represented a different part of the Earth; land, sea, and air. It was also the first Sentai series to feature an all-male team, and the first to have a combining robot with two units forming into one. San, the Japanese pronunciation for "sun", also means "three," since there are three Sun Vulcans (it is also in the series' second ending theme: One [Ichi] + Two [Ni] + Three [San] Vulcans).

aired in 1982. Its theme was the jewels of ancient civilizations and on rhythmic gymnastics.

aired in 1983. It was the first Sentai series to feature heroes wearing spandex and to forgo wearing scarves. The theme was scientist inventors. Several episodes of this series were later dubbed into English as the comedic parody series Dynaman, which was briefly seen on the USA Network's Night Flight programming block.

aired in 1984. The theme was power of the "Bio Particles" being passed on to new generations. It was the first Sentai series to have two female members as well as the first female in yellow. The yellow female died, making Bioman the first series to feature a regular and active female member getting killed in action. The character was immediately replaced later on in the series.

aired in 1985. Its theme was European mythological animals: dragon (red), griffin (black), pegasus (blue), mermaid (white) and phoenix (pink). It was the first Sentai series to feature the use of a team cannon.

aired in 1986. Its theme was colored crystals on different planets. It was the first Sentai series to have a second robot.

aired in 1987. Its theme based on different martial arts techniques and mystical "aura power" energy. It was the first Sentai series to have a sixth team member (albeit for one episode only), and the first to have a five-piece component robot.

aired in 1988. Its theme was animals (falcon, lion, dolphin, bison, and rhino). It was the first Sentai series to have a female in blue, and the first to initially have three members, with two members joining later on. It was also the first series to have animal-based mecha and the first to have two giant robots combine to form one powerful robot. The show aired in Peru.

aired in 1989. Its theme was automobiles. This was the 10th anniversary series (by Toei's official count until Goranger & J.A.K.Q. were re-included) and the first to feature a reunion with previous Sentai teams. It was the first series to have a command base that could be combined with other giant robots to create a more powerful robot. It was also the first to kill of the main villains in the middle of the series and feature half-human enemies.

aired in 1990. Its theme was academic subjects; (science, athletics, language, music and mathematics) and martial arts styles. It was the first all-sibling team. It was also the first Sentai series to hide the real enemy until near the finale. It was also the first to feature an Evil Sentai group to contend with the heroes. Also the first Sentai to start the tradition of having the team receive a "super mode" or "power up" in which their suits transform or have attachments in order to increase their abilities.

aired in 1991. Its theme was various birds. This series brought intense drama to the Sentai franchise, making it one of the more popular Super Sentai series. It was based on the '70s anime Gatchaman. It was the first series to have a third giant robot, and a female mentor. It was the first Sentai series with a member apparently getting killed after the war by a random incident, and a new character introduced in a manga.

aired in 1992. Its theme was prehistoric beasts. It was the first Super Sentai to introduce sentient mecha and feature the first regular sixth team member. It was also the first Sentai series to be adapted as an installment of the American Power Rangers franchise as the first season of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. First series not to kill its main villains.

aired in 1993. Its theme was Chinese mythological animals (the Chinese dragon, Shishi, Pegasus, Qilin, and Fenghuang) and martial arts styles spanning generations of combatants fighting over the centuries. It was the first Sentai series to feature a growing child member and feature a puppet emperor getting killed by the enemy forces.

aired in 1994. Its theme was the art of ninjutsu and based on five legendary ninjas. The series officially featured the first non-red leader. This series saw the first multi-Sentai team-up; Super Sentai World, where the previous four teams joined in the action. It was also the first Sentai series to have a second five-piece giant robot, as well as the first set of non-combining separate mecha.

aired in 1995. Its theme was five geometric symbols and ancient mystical technology. Ohranger began the annual tradition of a team-up movie with the heroes of the show seen the previous year with Chouriki Sentai Ohranger vs. Kakuranger ("vs." in the Sentai context does not, for whatever reason, indicate animosity or rivalry between the two teams but rather the joining/team-up of the two forces).

aired in 1996. Its theme is based on cars. It was the 20th anniversary Sentai with the helmets closely resembling those of Turboranger's except that there were two females and they fought against aliens instead of demons. This season was a parody of the Super Sentai series while being an actual series itself. It lacked the seriousness present in previous series.

aired in 1997. Its theme was various electronic equipment, with Toei capitalizing on the growing popularity of the internet, cell phones, and computers, and also on space exploration. It was the first Sentai series to have a member in silver.

aired in 1998. Its theme was both benevolent "Star Beasts" that aided mankind through the centuries, and nature/elements (Fire, Water, Wind, Electricity and Flowers). It was the first Sentai series to have only one combining robot with assisting robots not driven by the original five.

aired in 1999. Its theme was various rescue services (hazardous rescue, firefighter, helicopter pilot, police officer, and paramedic). It featured the second sibling team. For the first time since Jetman, the series featured only five heroes, with additional heroes appearing in its movie.

aired in 2000. Its theme was time-travelling police officers from the year 3000. It was the first Sentai series to have the sixth team member's costume color the same as a regular team member (red).

aired in 2001. Its theme was wild animals of with a total of one-hundred different sentient animal mecha (only 22 were featured in the series, with another one appearing on a drama CD, another exclusive to the series' movie, and four that only appeared in the final episode). It was the 25th anniversary Sentai, which had the honor of teaming up with past Super Sentai members in a special production entitled Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai. It was the first Sentai series to present multiple mecha combinations.

aired in 2002. The series combined elements from Kakuranger, (with its theme being variations of the art of ninjutsu), and Liveman, (Red falcon, Yellow lion and Blue dolphin costume designs). The second Sentai series to start with three members. Hurricaneger also featured a unique mecha weapon system in which semi-sentient animal-themed weapons were used.

aired in 2003. Its theme was dinosaurs, closely resembling 1992's Zyuranger. It was the first Sentai series to feature a member (Red) having an alternative form. It was also the first series to feature the first sole evil sentai warrior (White) and the first evil warrior to later join the main heroes.

aired in 2004. Its theme was an intergalactic police force division stationed on Earth to handle extraterrestrial criminals who enter Earth illegally and wreak havoc. It was the first Sentai series to have a regular seventh team member, with three more Rangers who appear once throughout the series: DekaSwan (36), DekaBright (40), and DekaGold (Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger the Movie: Full Blast Action), although DekaGold wasn't a member of Earth's Dekarangers. Deka is Japanese slang for detective.

aired in 2005. Its theme was magic and elemental powers, with Toei capitalizing on the popularity of the Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings film franchises as well as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Toei's own adaptation of the Sailor Moon franchise. It was the first Sentai series to feature married couples serving as team members (MagiMother & Wolzard Fire as well as MagiBlue & MagiShine), making Magiranger the first Sentai family, and the third series to feature an all-sibling team.

aired in 2006. Its theme was adventure and treasure hunting. It is the thirtieth anniversary of Super Sentai. At the end of each episode (Task), starting with the fourth, Boukenger had a short featurette at the end to commemorate the previous 30 years of Super Sentai entitled the 30 Sentai Encyclopedia. It was the first Sentai series to be filmed and broadcast in widescreen HDTV. As an anniversary series, it had a special in which the Boukenger team met with members of the past five Super Sentai teams to fight villains of the past five Super Sentai teams in GoGo Sentai Boukenger vs. Super Sentai.

aired in 2007. This series' theme is that of both martial arts and wild animals, beginning with large cats such as the tiger, cheetah, and jaguar. The mecha of Gekiranger are unique in that they're manifestations of the Gekirangers' . It was the first Sentai series where the story covers both the heroes, the Gekirangers, and the villains, Rio and Mele. Gekiranger also contains the first Sentai team to have a new color (violet) in ten years.

is the title of the current series for 2008. Its theme is that of ecology and the motor vehicle industry. Go-onger is also the first Sentai series to have its theme song single reach the top-ten of the Oricon charts at #4, after selling 22,000 records in its first week of being released.

Colors

The color palette for Super Sentai has grown over the years, beginning with Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink, and Green in Goranger. The leader of the team is traditionally Red, although there have been some exceptions. Red and Blue are the only colors to appear in all the series.

#	Series	Red	Blue	Yellow	Green	Pink	Black	White	Violet	Metal	Other
1	Himitsu Sentai Goranger	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
2	J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai	✔	✔		✔	✔					✔
3	Battle Fever J	✔	✔			✔	✔				✔
4	Denshi Sentai Denziman	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
5	Taiyou Sentai Sun Vulcan	✔	✔	✔
6	Dai Sentai Goggle V	✔	✔	✔		✔	✔
7	Kagaku Sentai Dynaman	✔	✔	✔		✔	✔
8	Choudenshi Bioman	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
9	Dengeki Sentai Changeman	✔	✔			✔	✔	✔
10	Choushinsei Flashman	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
11	Hikari Sentai Maskman	✔	✔	✔		✔	✔
12	Choujuu Sentai Liveman	✔	✔	✔	✔		✔
13	Kousoku Sentai Turboranger	✔	✔	✔		✔	✔
14	Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman	✔	✔	✔		✔	✔
15	Choujin Sentai Jetman	✔	✔	✔			✔	✔
16	Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
17	Gosei Sentai Dairanger	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔		✔
18	Ninja Sentai Kakuranger	✔	✔	✔			✔	✔
19	Chouriki Sentai Ohranger	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
20	Gekisou Sentai Carranger	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
21	Denji Sentai Megaranger	✔	✔	✔		✔	✔			✔
22	Seijuu Sentai Gingaman	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
23	Kyuukyuu Sentai GoGo-V	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
24	Mirai Sentai Timeranger	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
25	Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger	✔	✔	✔			✔	✔		✔
26	Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger	✔	✔	✔	✔						✔
27	Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger	✔	✔	✔			✔	✔
28	Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔			✔
29	Mahou Sentai Magiranger	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔		✔		✔
30	GoGo Sentai Boukenger	✔	✔	✔		✔	✔			✔
31	Juken Sentai Gekiranger	✔	✔	✔				✔	✔
32	Engine Sentai Go-onger	✔	✔	✔	✔		✔			✔

J.A.K.Q.s Battle Cossack has an orange suit. Maskman has the first sixth team member, X-1 Mask. However, he appears only in one episode. Jetman also has a sixth member, Green Eagle, in a non-canon manga epilogue. Timeranger is unique in that there are six warriors, but the sixth warrior, TimeFire, has a red-colored suit that's only distinguishable from TimeRed's suit by its black accents and jagged arrows. Hurricaneger has the Kabuto and Kuwaga Raigers who wear suits of maroon and navy, respectively. Dekaranger has five additional warriors, a final count of ten warriors. Both DekaBreak (who wears a white suit) and DekaMaster (who wears a primarily black suit with metallic blue accents) are regular characters. DekaSwan (wearing a primarily orange suit with white accents) and DekaBright (wearing a silver suit) are only seen for one episode each and DekaGold is exclusive to Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger The Movie: Full Blast Action where she's only seen for a split second in her suit before having her transformation disrupted by a hostile attack. Magiranger has two additional warriors who don't fall under the basic color schemes. MagiShine wears gold armor over navy blue spandex and Wolzard Fire wears dark red armor. Go-onger has two metallic colored warriors, Go-on Gold and Go-on Silver.

Mecha

The main theme that makes a Super Sentai series are the various mecha that the teams use. The two original teams, Goranger and J.A.K.Q. solely had vehicles, which is what designated them originally as "Sentai." What originally denoted a "Sentai" from a "Super Sentai" was the use of a giant robot. The first series to have such was Battle Fever J with its Battle Fever Robo. This was followed by the first giant robot that transformed from a vehicle, Denshi Sentai Denziman and its DaiDenjin, and then by the first combining, or robot, Sun Vulcan Robo. The first time a team had a second robot occurred in Choushinsei Flashman with Flash King and Flash Titan. The first combination of two robots, or occurred in Choujuu Sentai Liveman with Live Robo and Live Boxer combining into Super Live Robo. Kousoku Sentai Turboranger featured the first transforming base robot, Turbo Builder. The first third robot was Tetraboy in Choujin Sentai Jetman alongside JetIcarus and JetGaruda. The first seven-piece combination was Ultimate DaiZyujin in Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger, a number only recently surpassed by Super DaiBouken and Ultimate DaiBouken in GoGo Sentai Boukenger, which are comprised of nine and ten mecha, respectively (a twelve mecha formation was shown in the series as well, though non-canonically). The first multiple combination mecha appeared in Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger, with all of the Power Animals being interchangeable with each other in the main combinations.

Homages and parodies in popular culture

The Super Sentai series have been airing in Japan for the past thirty years, and have been parodied as well as emulated in various ways throughout the world. Some of the anime and video games that reference or parody are:

Bleach

(NijiRanger/Prism Rangers)

Dragon Ball Z (the )

Excel Saga

, dubbed the "Dummy Force" in the English dub.

There have also been direct parody series such as the Filipino movies Biokids and Kabayokids, the French series Bioumen, and the Japanese series . There have been many tribute series that pay homage to the long running franchise, starting with the Japanese series created by what is now Gainax. The most recent series is the French online series Jushi Sentai France Five (now Shin Kenjushi France Five) which became so popular in Japan that Akira Kushida sang an opening theme for it.
Toei has also parodied their work by using it in a series of short features on various spas and onsen around Japan as . This series features tokusatsu and drama actors Takashi Hagino (Changéríon of Choukou Senshi Changéríon and Kamen Rider Ouja of Kamen Rider Ryuki) as, Kento Handa (Kamen Rider Faiz of Kamen Rider 555) as, Kengo Ohkuchi (Kunimitsu Tezuka in The Prince of Tennis Musical: More Than Limit: St. Rudolph Gakuin) as, Masashi Mikami (BoukenBlue in GoGo Sentai Boukenger) as, and Kohei Murakami (Kamen Rider Kaixa in Kamen Rider 555) as .

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