Nepedia
Back to Discover
Advanced Reader
🎨

Super Sentai

arts Maturity 11-13 Next article →

Super Sentai is a major Japanese media franchise featuring superhero teams.

These series belong to the tokusatsu genre. This genre uses live-action actors combined with colorful special effects. Produced by Toei Company, these shows often air on TV Asahi. For many years, they aired in a Sunday morning block called Super Hero Time. This block also included the Kamen Rider series. In North America, the franchise is famous as the source for Power Rangers.

Each series follows a specific mechanical process of transformation. The protagonists are a group of people who fight otherworldly supervillains. To battle these threats, the heroes use wrist-worn or hand-held devices. These tools allow them to transform into superheroes. This process grants them superpowers, signature weapons, and color-coded uniforms.

A typical episode follows a clear sequence of events. First, the heroes thwart the villains' plans. They defeat an army of soldiers and a "monster of the week." If the monster grows to a giant size, the heroes deploy mecha. These are large robots used to defeat the enlarged enemy.

While most teams exist in their own fictional universes, there are exceptions. The fourth series, Denshi Sentai Denjiman, and the fifth, Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan, share a universe. However, only one cast member appears in both shows. On special occasions, the series breaks these rules. For example, the Super Sentai VS series features two teams together. Memorial year projects also allow previous teams to appear. In these cases, the creators do not worry about keeping the settings consistent.

A famous tradition in these shows is the "roll call." This is when the team announces their names and titles. This ritual usually happens both before and after they transform. This practice was inspired by a kabuki play called Shiranami Gonin Otoko. That play was first performed in 1862. Elements of kabuki also influenced the jidaigeki genre of 20th-century television. Kazutoshi Takahashi, a stunt coordinator, introduced the roll call to the first series. He worked on Himitsu Sentai Gorenger.

The history of the franchise began with creator Shotaro Ishinomori. He developed the first two series, Himitsu Sentai Gorenger and J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai. Gorenger aired from 1975 to 1977. After a hiatus in 1978, Toei collaborated with Marvel Comics on a live-action Spider-Man series. This collaboration introduced giant robots to tokusatsu hero shows. This concept moved into the series Battle Fever J in 1979. That show was originally planned as a Captain America series. Later shows like Denjiman and Sun Vulcan were also co-productions.

Naming the franchise has changed over several decades. One of the earliest uses of "Super Sentai" appeared in a 1981 encyclopedia called Super Sentai Zukan. In 1993, the name Super Century All Sentai was used during Gosei Sentai Dairanger. By the year 2000, during Mirai Sentai Timeranger, it was officially rebranded. It is now known as the Super Sentai Series. The franchise has reached a massive scale over time. It has produced 49 seasons of television. The 49th season is titled No.1 Sentai Gozyuger.

The franchise is currently preparing for a major transition. TV Asahi announced on November 23, 2025, that the series would go on hiatus. This hiatus follows the conclusion of No.1 Sentai Gozyuger in 2026. A new tokusatsu franchise called Project R.E.D. will take its place. Project R.E.D. stands for Records of Extraordinary Dimensions. It will begin airing in the same time slot in February 2026. This marks a new chapter for the programming block on TV Asahi.

591 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.