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Super Sentai Franchise Announces 50th Anniversary Series, No.1 Sentai Gozyuger

The official X (formerly Twitter) account for the Super Sentai franchise announced on Wednesday the No.1 Sentai Gozyuger series, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the franchise. The series will premiere on February 16. It will introduce the first ever Sentai Black member played by a woman in the regular cast.

The series will see the heroes face off against the "no.1 monsters" from the army of evil. (The "Gozyuger" in the title is a wordplay for the Japanese words for "50," "beast," and the first Super Sentai series, Himitsu Sentai Gorenger.) However, the five heroes also battle amongst themselves to collect all the Sentai Rings. Rivals, possessing powers of veteran Sentai Red members from throughout the franchise's long history, will start appearing in later episodes to extend the "Sentai vs. Sentai" motif. (The Sentai Rings, as seen in the poster visual above, feature symbols from past Super Sentai members.)

The heroes in this entry are the sharp-tongued but strong and good-hearted Red Gozyu Wolf, the eager-to-please Blue Gozyu Leon (lion), the powerful but naive Yellow Gozyu Tyranno (Tyrannosaurus), the fun-loving Green Gozyu Eagle, and the stoic but family-minded Black Gozyu Unicorn. Their transformation item, the Tega Sword, is not only a weapon in its own right, but it also transforms into a giant robot with five modes.

Akiko Inoue (Duel Masters, One Piece), who was the third generation in her family to work on the Kamen Rider franchise previously, 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 premiere on February 16 at 9:30 a.m. (February 15 at 7:30 p.m. EST) on TV Asahi and its 23 affiliates, with new episodes airing on Sundays.

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 franchise Power Rangers in 1993. Power Rangers marked its 30th anniversary last year, although this year will be the first year in its history without new or re-edited episodes. Both Super Sentai and Power Rangers used the concepts of returning veteran Red members to celebrate their respective anniversaries in the past.

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