Super Sentai, the original series that went on to inspire Power Rangers, has officially come to an end after 50 long years of different shows, and thankfully there are a few anime projects that have tapped into what made Super Sentai so special. Toei’s series had been going on for such a long time that it has popped up through all sorts of parodies and full call outs in many anime releases over the years, but there are a select few that have gone the extra mile in their takes on the Tokusatsu show.
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With Super Sentai coming to an end after 50 years, there are a few anime that have managed to take some of the show’s coolest ideas and bring them to life in a pretty unique way. If you’re into various colorful heroes taking on monsters to save the world each week, these anime are ones you’re going to want to check out. Some play it straight, and some twist it, but all in all these Super Sentai inspired anime are just good fun. Read on for our picks of cool anime to watch if you miss Super Sentai.
5). Samurai Troopers (Crunchyroll, Tubi, Pluto TV)
Samurai Troopers has been really on everyone’s minds lately thanks to the brand new anime sequel picking up the original 1980s show story, but it really is a great example of a Super Sentai team turned anime. It’s not a direct one to one in translation, but Samurai Troopers sees five special teenagers donning magical armor to take on various demon threats. And funny enough, both eras of the franchise also call back to multiple Super Sentai eras.
The classic version of the anime from the 1980s fits right in line with the cornier, less edgy adventures of earlier Super Sentai shows. While this newest version of the anime airing this Winter is a much darker take on the franchise with character deaths, and bigger consequences. It scratches that itch of watching a big weekly fight, so you’ll want to check it out.
4). Love After World Domination (Crunchyroll)
Hiroshi Noda and Takahiro Wakamatsu’s Love After World Domination is firmly planted in the world of Super Sentai, however. It’s a series that sparks a romance between its Red Ranger, and one of the villain group’s big commanders. It’s a much funnier kind of show that uses multiple Tokusatsu tropes to tell its jokes, but the majority of the series is about how the two of them are hiding their relationship from their respective friends.
This means going as far as fake fighting one another during battles too (leading to some very cute moments between the couple in many of the episodes). It’s unfortunately only a single season, and is criminally short, but it’s a fun one to experience if you can.
3). The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World (Crunchyroll)
Koyoshi Nakayoshi’s The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World puts a different kind of spin on it by turning its Red Ranger into an Isekai hero. Pulling him into a new fantasy world, the Red Ranger hilariously is able to bring all of his powers, weapons, and even mecha into this new world together alongside of him. So the anime then sees how a Ranger can basically upend an entire world with powers and abilities that are much greater than anything else around him.
All the while, he’s inspiring others in the way the leader of a Super Sentai team would in their series. It’s just a fun show with lots of even more hilarious action for Tokusatsu fans (even getting a shout out to Kamen Rider in there for good measure), and hits even better for those Isekai anime fans who know all of those tropes too.
2). Samurai Flamenco (Crunchyroll)
Unfortunately listing it here gives away one of the show’s big twists, but Samurai Flamenco is one of those hidden gems that anime fans need to watch. It starts off small as it follows Masayoshi, who dreams of being a hero like he worshipped as a kid. Putting on a suit and fighting crime around the neighborhood, the second half of the anime takes a turn for the absurd and Masayoshi soon sees just how much the world needs a hero like him.
Things become very real with a Super Sentai team branching off of Masayoshi, very ridiculous monsters that lead to brutal deaths of random citizens, and just a wild story that reveals what Super Sentai would really do to Japan if it had to deal with all those troubles. It’s just such a small and unassuming show that you really wouldn’t see it later wildness coming. Make sure to join the ride.
1). Go! Go! Loser Ranger! (Hulu)
Negi Haruba’s Go! Go! Loser Ranger! is likely going to be most prominent, and closest example of Super Sentai being translated to the anime world. But instead of its main team of heroes defeating monsters to save the world every week, it’s revealed that the heroes in question have been forcing the villains’ grunts to fake all of these attacks (having defeated all of the leaders pretty much instantly) to maintain their popularity and control over the populace.
The series instead follows one of these monster grunts as he’s now trying to work his way into the Super Sentai squad’s good graces to get close enough to kill them. Each Ranger comes with a dark or intriguing past, and has no qualms about killing others to keep their easy lives going. It’s a cool new take on the ideas seen in the Tokusatsu original, and is a good flip of what you may know. It’s not going to completely match the vibes of Super Sentai, but instead uses it as a springboard for an intense take on heroes overall.
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Image Courtesy of Toei Animation -
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
