Super Sentai

The Wonderful 101‘s Enduring Superpower Is Its Focus on Teamwork and Community

In the world of The Wonderful 101, the recently remastered and re-released action-adventure game that originally launched in 2013 for the Nintendo Wii U, the planet’s best line of defense against an invading army of aliens is a massive squad of sentai-like superheroes who, in addition to having a variety of powers, are able to…

Games Charles Pulliam-Moore

I Can’t Stop Scrolling Through This Collection of Incredible Suits From Japanese Superhero Shows

Superheroes: they’re a fancy lot. But if a decade of the apex of cinematic superheroic shenanigans has taught us anything, our live-action heroes are barely just beginning to embrace the showy, colourful aesthetics of the comics, in favor of “realistic” design. So let this Twitter account remind you that at least some live-action superheroes are…

Television James Whitbrook

A Guide to Kamen Rider, the Masked Marvels of Japanese Superhero TV

If you love Power Rangers, you are probably at least aware of Super Sentai, the Spandex-clad Tokusatsu series it borrows its costumes, mechs, and action footage from. But Toei, the makers of Super Sentai, are also behind another of Japan’s most iconic superhero franchises: the legendary Henshin Heroes of Kamen Rider. Last week, Toei announced…

io9 James Whitbrook

For the First Time Ever, Toei Is Releasing Subtitled Classic Tokusatsu for Free Online

Himitsu Sentai Gorenger. Space Sheriff Gavan. Space Wolf Juspion. They’re all icons of Tokusatsu, the Japaneseeffects-driven genre that has given us iconic, cult sci-fi superheroes for decades. And, for the most part, impossible for people outside of Japan to experience in an official capacity. That’s about to change in a huge way. After this week’s…

io9 James Whitbrook

Kamen Rider Is Officially Coming Stateside, Thanks to a New Streaming Channel

Tokusatsu—the Japanese live-action filming genre that gives us Power Rangers, Godzilla, and series like Ultraman—has long been difficult to legally access outside of Japan. In recent years, there have been moves to bring more material out on DVD and Blu-Ray, with Godzilla collections and series of Ultraman and Super Sentaimaking their way to U.S. shores.…

Television James Whitbrook

Rebooting Power Rangers Again Means Losing Its Authentic Teens, and That Sucks

This week, Dacre Montgomery—of Stranger Things but, more importantly here, Power Rangers fame—seemingly confirmed something we’ve been expecting to happen for a while: Now that Hasbro owns the Power Rangers franchise in its entirety, the 2017 movie reboot is, uh, well…being rebooted itself. And I’m weirdly sad about it. If you go back into io9’s…

Movies James Whitbrook

When Being Attacked By Giant Monsters Becomes Everyday Life

If you lived in an episode of a tokusatsu show or a Godzilla movie, at some point you’d probably be as used to the sight of size-changing superheroes doing battle with towering kaiju just like the citizens in this charming little short. Created by a group of second-year students at the Gobelins, the famed Parisian…

Movies James Whitbrook

Sometimes the Best Superhero Crossovers Are the Simplest (and Silliest)

Next week, Avengers: Endgame finally hits theaters. Meticulous plans, endless teases, hushed whispers, and millions of dollars worth of moviemaking heft across a decade have gone into this grand coming together of Marvel’s mightiest. But sometimes a purer joy can found in having a superheroic mashup…just because? Earlier this year, ahead of the premiere of…

io9 James Whitbrook

Doc Ock Has Some Thoughts About Japan’s Giant Robot Tropes

Otto Octavius: Doctor. Wannabe superhero. Superior Spider-Man. Also: lowkey tokusatsu fan? Marvel’s ongoing Spider-Geddon crossover event has already given us some intriguing developments, mostly in how it’s shown us it can keep a renewed battle with the Inheritors from Spider-Verse feeling fresh by offering a moral divide to fracture our heroes’ reunion. The question now…

Books & Comics James Whitbrook

Watch How Japanese Superhero Shows Got Turned Into Power Rangers

Power Rangers turned 25 last month, but the series it owes its existence to—Toei’s tokustatsu icon Super Sentai—has been around since 1975. Ever wondered what it took to turn Spandex-clad Japanese heroes into all-American Power Rangers? Here’s a handy video guide to the secret behind every Power Rangers show. [Full disclosure: the Power Rangers franchise…

io9 James Whitbrook

The Original Power Rangers Movie Is a Glorious Tribute to ’90s Excess

Looking back on the Power Rangers' movie debut, it all its absurd, cheesy glory.

Movies James Whitbrook

The Power Rangers Comic is Getting a New Creative Team—and a Wild New Team of Rangers

Since it first began, Boom Studios’ excellent Power Rangers series has been masterminded by writer Kyle Higgins—but that’s about to change. A new creative team is on the way, and the currently-ongoing Ranger mashup event that is Shattered Grid means that some unfamiliar faces are going to be the new Power Rangers for a while.…

Books & Comics James Whitbrook

Happy 40th Anniversary to Hell’s Greatest Emissary, Spider-Man

Forty years ago today, on May 17, 1978, Tokyo Channel 12 aired the very first episode of a Marvel TV legend: Toei’s wonderfully weird Spider-Man. Forty years on, its legacy remains in some pretty bizarre ways, but we mostly remember it for giving us a take on the webslinger that’s unlike anything we’ve seen since.…

Television James Whitbrook

The Japanese Show That Saved the Power Rangers Is Coming to America

For the past few years, Shout Factory has been releasing English-subtitled series of Super Sentai, the Japanese shows that get turned into Power Rangers. But for the first time, they’re bringing over a series from before Power Rangers existed—and it’s the show that without which the gigantic, color-coded superhero franchise wouldn’t exist at all. [Full…

io9 James Whitbrook

Hasbro Just Bought the Power Rangers Franchise From Haim Saban for an Absurd Amount of Money

Earlier this year, Saban Brands made the surprise announcement that Hasbro was taking over the merchandising license for the Power Rangers franchise in western markets, but as it turns out, that was only the beginning. Today, Hasbro announced that it has agreed to purchase the rights to the entire Power Rangers licensing deal from Hasbro…

io9 Charles Pulliam-Moore

Toei’s Next Super Sentai Special Is Devoted to the Greatest Heroes of All: Moms

Specifically, moms with transforming spandex supersuits. Introducing Hero Mama League, an online special focusing on three major ladies from sentai shows past: Nanami, Hurricane Blue from the Hurricanagers (which was brought to America as Power Rangers Ninja Storm), played by Nao Nagasawa Jasmine, DekaYellow from the Dekarangers (Power Rangers SPD), played by Ayumi Kinoshita Houka,…

Television Julie Muncy

I Can’t Stop Scrolling Through This Collection of Incredible Gifs From Japanese Superhero Shows

RIP My productivity, 1991-2018. Cause of death? So many good gifs. In the vein of such wonderful Twitter accounts as Batman ‘66 Labels or Swear Trek, @Tokugifs is a delightful collection of very specific joys: gifs from oodles of Tokusatsu (essentially “special filming,” a reference to the FX-heavy nature of the series) shows, whether they…

io9 James Whitbrook

What the US Superhero Entertainment Industry Can Learn From Japan: Capes Are Rad

When you think of a superhero—not a specific character, just the idea of a superhero—chances are he or she is wearing a cape. Capes are one of, if not the, most iconic pieces of superhero iconography around. That is, unless you look at the glut of live-action superheroes we have on TV and film right…

io9 James Whitbrook

The Next Power Rangers Series Is Adapting Super Sentai’s Own Homage to… Power Rangers?

In the 25 years since Power Rangers first began, it’s only skipped adapting the current Super Sentai series three times. Now, for its 2019 season, Power Rangers is going back and bringing one of them to western audiences: Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters. Announced at Toy Fair today by Saban Brands (Full disclosure: Saban Brands founder Haim…

Television James Whitbrook

After 25-Year Run, Bandai America Gives Up Power Rangers Toys to Hasbro

Whenever you think about Power Rangers, chances are you think about the American adaptation of the Japanese live-action kids series Super Sentai, a show about brightly colored spandex superheroes dramatically flipping away from pyrotechnics. But the toys based on the various TV series are just as important to the franchise. And now, for the first…

Toys & Collectibles James Whitbrook

The Wonderful 101‘s Enduring Superpower Is Its Focus on Teamwork and Community

I Can’t Stop Scrolling Through This Collection of Incredible Suits From Japanese Superhero Shows

A Guide to Kamen Rider, the Masked Marvels of Japanese Superhero TV

For the First Time Ever, Toei Is Releasing Subtitled Classic Tokusatsu for Free Online

Kamen Rider Is Officially Coming Stateside, Thanks to a New Streaming Channel

Rebooting Power Rangers Again Means Losing Its Authentic Teens, and That Sucks

When Being Attacked By Giant Monsters Becomes Everyday Life

Sometimes the Best Superhero Crossovers Are the Simplest (and Silliest)

Doc Ock Has Some Thoughts About Japan’s Giant Robot Tropes

Watch How Japanese Superhero Shows Got Turned Into Power Rangers

The Original Power Rangers Movie Is a Glorious Tribute to ’90s Excess

The Power Rangers Comic is Getting a New Creative Team—and a Wild New Team of Rangers

Happy 40th Anniversary to Hell’s Greatest Emissary, Spider-Man

The Japanese Show That Saved the Power Rangers Is Coming to America

Hasbro Just Bought the Power Rangers Franchise From Haim Saban for an Absurd Amount of Money

Toei’s Next Super Sentai Special Is Devoted to the Greatest Heroes of All: Moms

I Can’t Stop Scrolling Through This Collection of Incredible Gifs From Japanese Superhero Shows

What the US Superhero Entertainment Industry Can Learn From Japan: Capes Are Rad

The Next Power Rangers Series Is Adapting Super Sentai’s Own Homage to… Power Rangers?

After 25-Year Run, Bandai America Gives Up Power Rangers Toys to Hasbro

AI Training Data Giant Mercor Is Reportedly Looking to Buy the Work You Did at Your Old Job

Utah Is Giving Dr. AI the Power to Renew Drug Prescriptions

Here’s the Perfect Excuse to See ‘Project Hail Mary’ Again

US Airlines Are Hiking Bag Fees Amid Iran War Oil Crisis

This Ridiculously Simple Trick Might Stop Gulls From Nabbing Your Lunch

‘Starfleet Academy’ Season 3 Could Have Done the ‘Voyager’ Sequel Episode of Robert Picardo’s Dreams

Judge Kills Lawsuit Against Infamous Study That Might Have Increased Teen Suicides

Artemis 2: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

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