I think a good place to start would be a series that doesn't stray too far from the norm, has a good setup that explains how Sentai works, and has a lot of tropes on display.

From what I've heard, Magiranger and Shinkenger both have these qualities. Zyuranger has a very nice set-up as well, but Zyuranger is different enough from the norm that it threw me off when I tried to find which series to watch next.

I wouldn't suggest something like Liveman or Dairanger, where they just kind of throw you into the action. Liveman starts off explosively, but it really just consists of a tragedy happening, and then 2(?) years later, these dudes transform and call on these vehicles to fight that turn into a giant robot. In Dairanger, they're like "hey you're a team now" and everybody says "cool" and starts fighting like they've been doing it forever. Not that these make the shows BAD, just that I would suggest something that explains the transformations and mecha better.


I can't really recommend STARTING off by buying the official releases. Who knows if you'll actually like it or not? I personally don't have a ton of money to spend on hobbies, so I try to limit my purchases to stuff I know I'll like. I still haven't bought any of the series, and I absolutely love Zyuranger and early 90s Sentai. Sure, supporting is always great, but you should find out if you actually enjoy it enough to want to spend the money first.

Did you only watch the first two episodes? You forgot about the whole not working as a team and arguing that occurs in the next few episodes.

Now you are right about one thing, Shinkenger does make a good gateway show. I'm sure my feelings on it would be a lot stronger if it was the first Sentai I had ever watched. Gaoranger was my first, and for a while, that show was in my top 5.

Actually, yes. It was the second series I tried to watch (first was Zyuranger) and the way they set things up in the first two episodes almost turned me away from Sentai in general. I hated it. After I watched a couple of other shows and was familiar with the tropes of the series, I figured I'd give it another shot...and then Shout! Factory announced their release. I haven't actually gotten around to getting the DVDs yet because I've been saving up for other things, but based on what I've heard of the plot and clips I've seen of the action, I'm confident I'll absolutely love it.

However, because of my reaction to the first two episodes, I cannot recommend it to anybody as a means of getting into Sentai.

That's funny because I got two friends into Sentai by introducing them through Dairanger.

Welp...

I still personally wouldn't do it lol.

Personally, I think the most surprising instance of violence I've ever seen in a Sentai is probably Bioman's first episode. It showed people getting shot in a way that was pretty graphic for it's kind of show.

Everybody's got their own taste.

Dekaranger, Shinkenger, Gekiranger, Gokaiger, and Jetman are my favs.

While Dairanger is my personal favorite, I would suggest starting with Shinkenger, as many others on here have said. I feel it covers most everything you will find in any given season while having a solid story of its own. What I mean by that is, there are serious moments and quite goofy ones as well. Plus, the Samurai aesthetic is very cool. Dekaranger does this quite well too.