The Power Rangers are a group of five young individuals who are trained to fight evil. While they are supposedly just normal human beings, they morph into people who have supernatural abilities when they go to battle against the bad guys.
On the other hand, there is also a Japanese version of the Power Rangers, known as the Super Sentai. The Super Sentai series is one of the most popular and authentic superhero series on TV in Japan.
Superheroes are regarded as strong and mighty beings with superpowers that are more than willing to help anyone in need. A lot of people read about superheroes in comics and also watch them in movies and on TV.
These superheroes either have supernatural strength or have the means to create machines that would enable them to have “powers” that would help victims of crime.
A Brief History of Super Sentai Series
Before delving into what the Super Sentai series is all about, one must get to know the people behind this popular TV series.
Produced by Toei Company, Ltd. and Bandai Co., Ltd., the Super Sentai series is aired by TV Asahi. Also known as Toei Kabushiki-gaisha in Japanese, Toei Company, Ltd. is a corporation focused on film and TV production and distribution in Japan.
The company is actually an owner and also an operator of thirty-four movie theaters across the country. It is well-known for producing anime, historical dramas or jidaigeki in Japanese, and live action dramas or tokusatsu in Japanese, where the Super Sentai series is a part of. For those who are wondering, the term Toei was taken from the former name of the corporation, known as Tokyo Eiga Haikyu.
On the other hand, Bandai Co., Ltd., also known as Kabushiki-gaisha Bandai in Japanese, is a company that specializes in Japanese toy making. Previously a video game company, Bandai Co., Ltd. also produces a huge amount of plastic model kits.
Worldwide, the company is among the top 5 producers of toys, along with Mattel, the LEGO Group, and Hasbro. Just the same as Toei Company, Ltd., Bandai Co., Ltd. also has its headquarters located in Tokyo. As for TV Asahi, also called Kabushiki-gaisha Terebi Asahi in Japanese, it is a television network based in Japan where the Super Sentai Series has been airing since its first episode.
These companies all work together in order to produce the long-running show that is the Super Sentai series. Also known as Supa Sentai Shirizu in Japanese, the Super Sentai series is a superhero team franchise of TV series that is based in Japan. This show is actually the basis for the famous Power Rangers.
The term “super” refers to the characters’ utilization of mecha while “sentai” translates to “task force” or “fighting squadron.” This series is one of the most popular tokusatsu programs in the Land of the Sun, along with the Metal Hero series, the Kamen Rider series, and the Ultra series. It has also teamed up with other shows such as the Super Hero Taisen film series.
Played by live action characters, the series is produced with colorful and vibrant special effects. The target audience of the series are families who watch together at home. This is why the show airs in the Super Hero Time programming block, which is shown every Sunday of the week.
The main characters of the show are the people who form a team and fight battles against a group of evil creatures who want to rule over Earth. Coupled with costumes that are color-coded, signature weapons, and fighting skills, these individuals aim to defeat the monster of the week.
Usually, a normal episode consists of this team of heroes trying to fight evil by stopping their evil plans and destroying a plethora of enemy soldiers. A typical occurrence in the series is the monster would usually grow into an enlarged version to try and defeat the heroes.
As the monster would be too big to be defeated by five small individuals, the heroes then fight the monster with large robotic machines that are able to attach to one another to form a bigger machine called the mecha.
The first Sentai series ever produced was the Himitsu Sentai Gorenger. Created by Shotaro Ishinomori, Himitsu Sentai Gorenger was made in the month of April in the year 1975. It was then not part of the Super Sentai series until the year 1994 when the Toei Company decided to incorporate this along with the second episode also created by Ishinomori. After the first two episodes, Ishinomori no longer created more episodes for the Super Sentai series.
