Endless Super Sentai Spirit

 

Fifty years. 49 shows. Thousands of episodes. An adaptation that became a worldwide phenomenon. So many memorable characters, performers, soundtracks. So many unforgettable action scenes on your television every week. So much varied creativity and imagination. So many cool toys.

Super Sentai has always been my favorite of the tokusatsu franchises. From the moment I was gripped by the Changeman my mom accidentally stumbled across while channel surfing -- I was a Sentai Kid. I loved Spielban, but other Metal Heroes I saw didn't capture my attention or interest the way Sentai did. Same for Kamen Rider.

I like superhero teams. The Justice League, the Justice Society, the X-Men, the Ghostbusters, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I could wax philosophical about it -- the importance of conveying the message of characters who have to put aside their differences, coming together as one for the greater good. That it teaches teamwork, open-mindedness, tolerance, fairness. Sentai provided the big, fantastic superhero action that most American hero shows at that time lacked, and that's part of what caught my attention -- and probably why I find so many American superhero shows so lacking.

Through its longevity, through its set-up depicting the various heroes, a Sentai show had more room to play and be varied. Kamen Rider and Ultraman need very key ingredients to retain their identity. Sentai can be more flexible, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its own identity. Super Sentai can easily and successfully tackle different genres more than the other franchises. And its variety in types of stories, types of heroes, makes it accessible -- there's something for everyone, the entire family could enjoy it. Sentai's also really the only franchise to emphasize the importance of heroines -- it's a show that appeals to boys and girls without alienating one or the other. While Kamen Rider has slowly -- SLOWLY -- introduced transforming heroines, they're treated with a "You're lucky to even be here" kind of attitude. The female characters in Ultraman are almost always the love interest for the main character or the team's secretary, like it's perpetually locked in the world of 1930s comic books. Of 15 actual Metal Heroes, only six had transforming heroes, but only two true greats. (Yuku ze, Diana! And Sarah from Blue Swat.) Sentai treated its heroines as equals -- an essential part of the team, the fifth finger needed to make a fist punching out evildoers.

There's something magical and enthralling about Super Sentai. Notice how long it swept the world through Power Rangers, when attempts to bring adaptations of Kamen Rider or Ultraman wouldn't last. Besides my obsession with it, I remember coming back from Japan and showing friends episodes of Sentai I had on VHS and they'd be into it, transfixed, even without knowing the language. (And this was before Power Rangers. Also -- I always suspected one of my friends of stealing my Liveman tape, which kinda became my Maltese Falcon.)

"But Shougo, how can you claim to love Sentai so much when you've been so damn critical -- to put it mildly -- of recent stuff? You haven't liked a Sentai in 20 years!" I'm critical BECAUSE I love it. I know it can be more; I know it HAS been more. Even a lot of the recent entries I don't like, I'll see the potential that's there but ignored because Toei stopped caring and Bandai became too demanding. There's a lot of Kamen Rider shows where I'll be like "That premise could have worked, but the show needs completely retooled." With a lot of Sentai, I saw the ingredients were there, and it would have taken just some tweaks to be better, not a total rehaul. Maybe I'm biased, but I feel like Sentai's had a better batting average than the other franchises. I've watched countless Riders, Ultras, Metal Heroes, '70s randos...Super Sentai's the one that I vibe with the most. None of the others do it for me the way Sentai does, even when they're trying to emulate Sentai, like Ninja Captor or B-Fighter or Gransazer.

I'm going to repost something I previously posted, when ranking all of the Sentai:

"...if you think I'm somehow a bad fan for being harsh on a lot of those later entries, well...I love Super Sentai, dammit. I'll give a lot of those shows I don't like more chances than I would a show from another franchise. (Meaning...I'd be more likely to pop in something like Go-onger than I would something like OOO. Yeesh.) And I'd probably fight for those shows over something from another franchise, too. (Meaning...I'd make an argument for why ToQger has more depth over something like Ex-Aid. Yeesh.) But you can't like everything, and anyone who says they do or seems like they do are just full of it. Especially with something as long-running as Super Sentai.

It's like I've said before...I look at Super Sentai the way I do any long-running franchise, or a longtime band or author or director -- not everything's going to be a winner. They're going to turn out something you won't like and don't recognize as being the same thing you loved in the first place. But does that mean you hate them? Of course not. You just hope they get their shit back together for the next one."

And now...there is no "next one." People have taken almost a schadenfreude-like delight in Sentai fans' upset. But Sentai's ending isn't a loss. It isn't a failure. The show was on the air constantly for 46 years. FORTY-SIX. A new episode, nearly every week. Nonstop, uninterrupted. In American television, Gunsmoke is considered impressive for running for 20 seasons. Dick Wolf wanted to beat that with his Law & Order shows, which have been on and off the air. We talk about The Simpsons running for 35 years. People act like the Berman era of Star Trek is crazy, for there being four overlapping shows in a period of 18 years. All of these shows ran for the typical American television season -- 22 or so episodes before a summer hiatus. Or then look at something like Doctor Who, with its sporadic schedule. Soap operas are the only things with a similarly nonstop production schedule, but those aren't exactly ambitious productions, are they? Dismiss Sentai as being a kids show, but it's not easy work to do an episode EVERY WEEK, nonstop, 46 years with the scale and imagination required for it -- coming up with all of those premises, all the different costumes that needed making, the work and risk that goes into the action scenes. All of the original ideas, nothing taken from or adapted from a previously existing work. You know how dedicated the Japanese staff are to the level of work and detail that goes into these things. I'd dare to say that it's probably five times the work they put into Gunsmoke back in the day.

Sentai's been a nonstop presence in television, and it wasn't kept on the air out of the kindness of Toei's heart. It was popular, it was loved, it was successful. It made its impact on pop culture. The other franchises lacked that versatility which led to that longevity. Kamen Rider and Ultraman had long dry spells, Metal Heroes were a blip -- while Sentai kept on. Yet Sentai was kind of taken for granted, kind of underestimated, kind of the underdog franchise, despite its victories. Later Toei regimes (*cough* Sneaky Shirakura *cough*) didn't respect it, ignored it, actively wanted to see its end. Super Sentai didn't end because it was a flop but because Toei thinks only Kamen Rider matters, and they have misplaced faith in the Metal Hero franchise. Super Sentai was there for them in the years Kamen Rider spent off the air. It was there for them when Metal Heroes died. And now it won't be there for them...unless they need to make some quick cash, like with an anniversary to prop up or a Premium Bandai thing to sell. (BTW, they needed to attach the Metal Heroes to Sentai to try and make their last Metal Hero revival work. How do they think they can sacrifice Sentai and get a new Metal Hero to stand on its own?)

One negative of Sentai's nonstop rule is that I feel like the franchise might have become too daunting to people. Because of their hiatuses, there's certain shows from Ultra or Rider that are considered the giants, the absolute classics. While the die-hard fans have carved out the biggies of Sentai, I feel like, as time went on, they started to get buried by all the shows coming down the pike, leading to this idea that Sentai doesn't have its classics. Ideally, Sentai going on hiatus could possibly mean a reevaluation of certain shows, and the important entries can be highlighted. Sentai's time away can get the people who have taken it for granted time to miss it and realize how special it is.

Gozyuger might have failed in being a decent, respectful anniversary series, but there were at least some bright spots in the 50th celebration: cast reunions for shows like Goranger and Ohranger; the big NHK poll; Sentai teaming up with pro baseball teams; and the Super Sentai exhibition, which saw dozens of former cast and staff members turn out to show their continued love for the franchise. And then there were all of the former cast and staff members who voiced their shock at the leaked news of Sentai's ending, before writing love-filled notes for the franchise.

Sentai as we know it might be ending, and that's sad. When I decided to look these shows up on the internet in the late '90s -- spurred on by my school beginning to teach Japanese -- I was surprised THEN that it was still going. It's a bit surreal to think there won't be a new show debuting. But Sentai's left us with 49 shows. (50 if you count Akibaranger. And why wouldn't you when it's one of the best shows Toei's put out?) You can go and give an older show a chance; you can go and finish a show you might not have. It's not a time of sorrow -- it's a time of exploration, a time of rediscovery. Watch 'em, rewatch 'em, re-enjoy 'em, reevaluate 'em. Celebrate them. Celebrate Super Sentai. The five-colored flame of Super Sentai can't be so easily extinguished.

And don't forget! There might not have been a show airing in '78, but Goranger vs JAKQ hit theaters that year. So Sentai HAS actually run nonstop for 50 years. (I don't know why people are quick to "correct" someone who says Sentai's been on for 50 years by pointing out there wasn't a show in '78, but they're just fine celebrating Rider or Ultra anniversaries which, to use these people's criteria, shouldn't count since they each spent long periods of time off the air.) So...GO, GO SUPER SENTAI! Shine on, Super Sentai Spirit!

-Shougo B'Stard, a Sentai Senshi since 1985