50 Years of Super Sentai Appreciation Thread
 

Folks, it's farewell to our favorite multi-colored superhero teams for the time being. Gozyuger is nearing its end, and a new era begins with Project R.E.D. Personal observation, Kamen Rider went through it, Metal Heroes went through it, so I think it's safe to say Super Sentai is just away for a much-needed vacation. We won't know how long it will be, but let's keep the hope alive.

I thought it would be nice to just share fun moments and good times we've had with the Super Sentai series. No format in particular, if you wanna talk about your favorite ranger of a specific color, go ahead. Wanna talk about a blooper only you've noticed to this day and no other person hasn't pointed out yet on another thread? Do tell! Super Sentai trivia? SHARE THE WISDOM!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbuEg2v9Arg

It's cool how each of the Maskmen specialize in a different martial art. Feels like watching Tekken Sentai.

As someone who watches Goranger and admires the birth of the Super Sentai trope that would last for half a century, I want to point out that I especially appreciate the change of generals in the very first Sentai. It's not just a change of a weirdo reporting to the main villain, but a genuinely transformative factor.
I can really see how Iron Man Mask General Temujin's approach differs from Sun Halo Mask's, and it's really cool. It's a shame most other shows can't do that.

we will meet super sentai again?

Personally, I am confident that the franchise will make its presence felt more than once in the next 50 years.

I think both Donbrothers and Gozyuger having an ED/Preview theme is really great and something I'd like more shows to adopt. Specifically Rider given it doesn't have the usual credits sequence that both Sentai and Ultraman have.

As someone who loves Episode Previews in general, the way the song flows from the ending of the episode into the next episode preview via the music is really fun. It also just helps give the previews more of a unique vibe too.

but shirakura says 10 years.

I also appreciate when a change in factions or generals is more than cosmetic and actually forces the heroes to adapt to the new evil strategies.

Personally, I want more previews like Abaranger, where the ED builds suspense for the episode's resolution. I think the dramatic twists hit harder when the cheerful music comes before, instead of after.

Hence why Mesnick said "more than once".

that doesn't make sense to us but sentai will return in a future not far away.

What the... :lolol
For those not in the know, the original photo is Grant Gustin, who played Barry Allen/Flash, posing in front of Green Arrow's tombstone while on set for one of the DC Berlantiverse shows.

Back to business, I remember having my mind blown when the Gouraigers debuted. It was already mind-blowing for me as a Liveman fan that they'd somewhat reimagine the premise as Liveman with ninjas, but seeing a pair of red and blue rangers in a darker hue and with insect motifs replacing Black Bison and Green Sai was insane for me back in 2002.

I missed out on my chance to watch Sentai live as it aired, I just never got around to it. On the other hand I think I have 28 full length Sentai shows to go before I will have seen them all (if I counted correctly). That's a lot of multicolored superheroes to enjoy! All the new favorite shows and characters surely waiting for me means I'll be enjoying the series for a long while yet!

Go-Busters was the first sentai I ever watched, and to this day that first "Busters, ready goooo!!!" of the opening theme still gets my heart racing

I've really enjoyed how having an established tradition has allowed sentai to then play around with it in different ways, like a larger team in Kyuranger or two teams competing in Lupinranger VS Patranger. That's likely what I'll miss most about moving to Project RED, but I'm excited to see what new traditions it starts for itself.

Coming up with my own sentai ideas is a kind of thought experiment I really enjoy, and I've had so much fun creating teams for the color people give in my "pick some colors and I'll make a sentai team" thread. So thank you so much to everyone who's taken part in that, and more are always welcome <3

shinkenger was the first sentai i saw.

Since we're talking about first shows, my was Liveman. Someone made a subtitle translation into my native language of the first five episodes, either on order or to show the difference with PR. I had to work hard to watch the whole show, but it was definitely worth it. Just like the rest of the 48.

Kyuranger was my first show. I watched it as it aired and it was amazing!

The following show was a letdown though...

My first Sentai series is Zyuranger back when we can actually watch episodes of an entire season on YouTube.

I've shared this a number of times, but since it's sentai-related, here it goes.

When Tori Matsuzaka, aka Takeru/Shinken Red, went on Masaki Suda's (who was Philip in Kamen Rider W) late-night radio show, he confessed how he is either asleep or plays the Yugioh mobile game during late nights, and that he is ranked King in the Yugioh mobile game. Shortly after, the listener's mailbox was flooded with Yugioh references, and Matsuzaka hardly talked about his upcoming movie that he came to promote. The very next week, he came back to try and promote his movie, but more Yugioh shenanigans ensued, if I recall. :lolol

people are refused that super sentai is ending.

what?

As my username implies, i'm more of a Kamen Rider fan.
Though i grew up with Power Rangers, Sentai never tickled me as KR did.
Until a few years ago, when i went to Japan.

Standing inside TV Asahi's building, drooling over the Geats stuff, i saw something else.
Something weird, colorfull, something Avataro Changed in me.
I have never religiously watched a show like Donbrothers. (Outside of KR seasons that is)

Something about that show "clicked".
And it ignited my interest to watch other Sentai shows.
I finally "got" it. Maybe a bit late, but i get Sentai now.

And i truly hope it will return ala Kamen Rider when it had it's hiatus.

but it's already done.

I'm not a big Sentai fan. I like some of the older shows, but most of the times I've tried to watch a modern series I ended up bouncing off of it at some point, either due to boredom, frustration, or just forgetting to keep watching it.

I am still a huge fan of Gokaiger and Dekaranger, though, and I'll always turn up when those characters come back.

I'm kind of in the same boat.

I watch Dekaranger, Gokaiger, and Go-Buster all the way through. But they didn't hit quite like Kamen Rider. KR Faize and Blade were my introduction to the bug-theme hero.

But Donbrothers? I actually teared up at the end.

Without any reproach, but simply as a curious fact, I admit I was a bit caught up in this comment. The words "old Sentai" made me think of a Bioman, so the mention of police officers and pirates in the second paragraph made my imaginary crickets chirp.

the time in this series came to an end and like the cycle of the seasons the cycle of the tokusatsu began anew.

Mostly 90s stuff, actually. Which Deka is closer to than it is to now, in fairness.

My favorite period is from Dekaranger to Gokaiger. But this year, I really fell in love with Showa Super Sentai.

Well, now you have all the time you need to catch up!

I like this analogy. While Sentai prepares to hibernate through the cold of low profits, the sakurahana blooms once more for Metal Heroes.

Mine is similar but more precisely, Boukenger to Goseiger. I like Abaranger and Dekaranger as well though.

My least favorite is Kyoryuger to LupinPatren. Except for Zyuohger which I'm a big fan of.

Random sentai ramblings for the day.

* Favorite period of sentai for me would be from Turboranger to Timeranger. Dare I say, those first batch of Heisei shows were peak sentai. Not to say that shows after it weren't peak, but that period was something.

* I wonder what it would've been like had they gotten Kenta Sato to play Burai or another character who would donned the Dragonranger suit. Because people apparently speculated he'd be the one for the role since he was singing the theme song but not play the red ranger. Thankfully, the great Mr. Shiro Izumi crushed it by showing a totally different character from his previous work back in 1985. But hey, I suppose in an alternate reality Mr. Sato played the man with thirty-something hours to live.

* Boonboomger suits are still my favorite. I love them, tire-faced helmets and all. :rock:

* If y'all were given the power to make an anime adaptation that is a re-imagining/sequel/spin-off (something along the lines of SSSS Gridman, the GARO anime shows, or Futo PI) of JUST ONE SENTAI SHOW, which would it be and why? And if you have any details, like who would voice who, who'd be the key character designer, or which studio would animate it, feel free to share.

I'd go for a Lupinranger VS Patranger interquel set after most of the series but before the ending. Spoilers for that show: After the final battle, the Lupinrangers were trapped in Dogranio Yaboon's safe, until the loved ones they'd been fighting the whole time to rescue became phantom thieves themselves, broke into the prison where Dogranio was kept, and set the Lupinrangers free. So what I want is an anime movie or miniseries focused on their loved ones and that mission, like a heist movie with a sentai twist, including them temporarily becoming replacement Lupinrangers!

Personal observation, LuPat is more than likely to grab the attention of Persona 5 fans when introduced because of the phantom thief element.

True! I watched it not long after playing Persona 5, and the combination got me briefly obsessed with phantom thieves XD But the obsession faded when I had trouble finding anything else with phantom thief protagonists (I still think it's a really cool concept, I'm just not as focused on it as I was back then)

I think I'll stay true to myself and choose Liveman again, just like I did for my April Fools' Day post: https://www.tokunation.com/forums/sh...d.php?p=870012
Also, speaking of Liveman now, watching Goranger, I realized that giving Green Sai boomerangs is very lazy. Especially considering that his name suggests a very popular Japanese weapon.

From a Sentai Introduction standpoint, the first for me was probably that special that aired one time with Austin and Walter after the Lost Galaxy episode "Redemption Day". It mentioned "Goranger" in conjunction with Zyuranger footage and (unintentionally) confused an entire generation.

It wasn't until the early 2000s when the Internet became more and more of a power player and print magazines were using these resources to keep up. The famous (and probably infamous) ToyFare included a little something-something which firmly cemented that Sentai would go up in appeal (albeit slowly). A two page blurb which was sourced from the now-legendary fansites which defined the early years of American Tokusatsu fandom.

I did this hastily with my old copy that was obtained more than 20 years ago!

Years later (but a good 17 years or so before now), I learned that CBS may have beaten everyone to the punch when I found a video narrated by Cronkite himself in which the network explored the popularity of Power Rangers in its heyday, commented on the controversy some felt over its fantasy violence, and even briefly touched on the fact that Rita is overdubbed footage! I was well aware of Sentai by that point, but the fact that network news latched onto it is both surprising and not because people have been comparing Power Rangers to Godzilla for years.

I don't have a link to the Cronkite report, but enjoy crude and blurry ToyFare photos of a write-up that still holds merit even today.

That's the entire 90s!

I'm only an anime casual, but if I was going to make an adaption, I'd probably go for something niche that would otherwise be difficult or expensive to do in Tokusatsu.

• Shinkenger x Rurouni Kenshin crossover.
• King-Ohger sequel that explores more of Terra.
• Minase Inori cast as Hymeno Ran.

Rhi-know what you mean. :p

My first Sentai was Abaranger! At the time I had only seen Kamen Rider shows, being a rare tokusatsu fan from the US who wasn't introduced to the genre via Power Rangers or Godzilla. I remember I fished for some opinions on a good starter Sentai on here and went with Abaranger because it had the most people recommend it. I honestly didn't love it at the time, but I rewatched it several years after that and with more Sentai experience under my belt. I appreciated all the unique things it did a lot more the second time and consider it a good entry in the series now.

It took quite a few Sentai shows before I finally watched an entry that made the series finally click with me. Kakuranger was the one that did it, it was silly in all the right ways but also had some good dramatic moments. Sasuke, Tsuruhime, and Jiraiya are all delightful and I like Sekai and Saizou well enough too. It's my second favorite Sentai even now and I watch the ridiculous Christmas episode almost every December. :p

Well, there is Magic Kaito, which stars supporting character Kid from Detective Conan, if you're interested. And while Lupin the 3rd isn't all tuxedos and top hats, he's technically one as well. As for female phantom thieves, Saint Tail and Phantom Thief Jeanne come to mind.

If Yusuke Muraeda does the character design for it, yes, please. :rock:

Ain't it so beautiful? :lolol

Myself, I would love to see a Dekaranger sequel of another team of Dekarangers stationed on another planet consisting of a human narrator and four other alien beings by Trigger. And since this is Trigger, we show love to Power Rangers: SPD by making the Earthling narrator who dreamed of being Deka Red get assigned to the team as Deka Blue. :lolol

yes the world believes the heroes are gone if they ever existed at all but know otherwise and we will guard our memories and nostalgia until the time comes when super sentai can return to us.

I've never exactly made it a secret that I have beef with Sentai and, more specifically, its online fanbase.

And I won't lie, that recent interview with Shirakura that essentially validated many of the things I'd been saying about both Super Sentai and Power Rangers for years did bring a smile to my face.

But the fact remains that, if not for the original Sentai, one of my most beloved franchises in Rangers wouldn't even exist in the first place. And a show running for nearly 50 years nonstop is just impressive, plain and simple. If it wasn't something so many people cared about, it wouldn't have lasted nearly as long.

Will I ever give the franchise a new, fair shake? I dunno, but I can atleast thank it for all it's done over the decades, as its influence over other stories and media is undeniable.