Category:Super Sentai

"We are the Super Sentai!"―roll call in unisonThe Super Sentai Series (スーパー戦隊シリーズ Sūpā Sentai Shirīzu) is the name given to the long running Japanese "superhero team" genre of shows produced by Toei and Bandai and aired by TV Asahi, that is used as the basis for Power Rangers. ("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 World War II.) 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. The first Sentai series, Himitsu Sentai Gorenger, in April 1975, was created by the late Shotaro Ishinomori, creator of Kamen Rider and Cyborg 009 in 1975. He did not create any further Sentai series after his second, J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai, was not received well. These two series were originally both just called Sentai and were not a part of the Super Sentai series until 1994 when Toei decided to include them with the series that followed. Following J.A.K.Q., Toei chose to work with Marvel Comics to produce the live action adaptation of Spider-Man (1978), which included the first giant robot in a Toei Superhero show. This concept was used in Toei and Marvel's project Battle Fever J (1979) and was deemed the first Super Sentai Series. The following production of Denshi Sentai Denziman was the first production solely by Toei and written by "Saburo Yatsude". 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. The first ever Sentai to be adapted into Power Rangers was Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (1992), utilizing footage from all 50 episodes. (Saban tried to adapt the previous Sentai into a Power Rangers show, with Zyuranger to be adapted into a second season, but they were unable to get the rights to the Jetman footage, so they used just Zyuranger instead.) When the series enters their anniversary, they use special logos to commemorate them. So far, only three of them is used to commemorate the series: The 25th anniversary logo is for Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger, the 30th for GoGo Sentai Boukenger, and the 35th for Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. On February 8th, 2015 (when the current Sentai, Ressha Sentai Tokkyuger, passes the torch to the new Sentai. Shuriken Sentai Ninninger), the franchise will have aired 1,925 episodes. The Sentai following Ninninger will be the 40th Anniversary Sentai.