Super Sentai Franchise Announces 50th Anniversary Series

The official X (formerly Twitter) account for the Super Sentai franchise announced on Wednesday the series No.1 Sentai Gozyuger, which commemorates the franchise's 50th anniversary. The series will premiere on February 16. For the first time, a female actor will play a member of Sentai Black in the regular cast.

In the series, the heroes will face off against the "No.1 Monsters" of the Evil Army. (The "Gozyuger" in the title is a play on the Japanese words for "50," "Beast," and the first Super Sentai series, Himitsu Sentai Gorenger.) The five heroes will also fight each other to collect all the Sentai Rings. In later episodes, rivals possessing the powers of veteran Sentai Red members from the series' long history will appear, expanding on the "Sentai vs. Sentai" motif. (The Sentai Rings, which can be seen on the poster above, bear the symbols of past Super Sentai members.)

The heroes in this installment are the sharp-tongued but strong and kind-hearted Red Gozyu Wolf, the eager Blue Gozyu Leon (Lion), the powerful but naive Yellow Gozyu Tyranno (Tyrannosaurus), the fun-loving Green Gozyu Adler (Eagle), and the stoic but family-oriented Black Gozyu Unicorn. Their transformation item, the Tega Sword, is not only a standalone weapon, but also transforms into a giant robot with five modes.

Akiko Inoue (Duel Masters, One Piece), a third-generation contributor to the Kamen Rider franchise, is writing the scripts for No.1 Sentai Gozyuger. Ryūta Tasaki (Kamen Rider Agito: Project G4, Kamen Rider 555, Kamen Rider Agito) is directing the project, and Kan Sawada (Yowamushi Pedal, Grave of the Fireflies, Pikachu's Rescue Adventure) is composing the music.

The series will air on TV Asahi and its 23 affiliated stations on February 16 at 9:30 a.m. (February 15 at 7:30 p.m. EST), with new episodes airing every Sunday.

Manga creator Shōtarō Ishinomori (Cyborg 009, Kamen Rider) developed the first two Super Sentai series, Himitsu Sentai Gorenger (1975) and J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai (1977), with Toei, and Toei co-produced the next two series with Marvel Comics. The Super Sentai franchise spawned the overseas adaptation and remake Power Rangers in 1993. Power Rangers celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, though this year will be the first in its history without new or re-edited episodes. Both Super Sentai and Power Rangers have historically used the concept of returning veteran Red members to celebrate their respective anniversaries.

Sources: Super Sentai's X/Twitter account, Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web