Taking One for the Team

A Look at Sentai Shows

by Trisha L. Sebastian

One of the lasting notions of the Japanese culture is that the needs of the individual are submerged in favor of the good of the team. One area where this is very prevalent is in the creation of the sentai team. "Sentai" means "battle team" and in terms of entertainment, it is characterized by a group of individuals who team up to fight the bad guys. Sentai refers largely to live action shows; however, there have been several animated shows that have used the sentai concept to overwhelming success.

The formula for the sentai show is simple. There are four or five people who fit into these categories: the leader, the rebel, the child, the big guy, and the female. Each person has a color that is his or her theme color. This is for ease of identification (and/or ease of animation). Each person can fight individually, but when the four or five components work together, they are stronger and more efficient.

The first show to use this group concept was the anime called Science Ninja Team Gatchaman (aka G-Force or Battle of the Planets). Distributed in 1972 by Tatsunoko, the show popularized the idea of a team as the focus of the show, while also introducing the concept of robots as both a convenient villain and thematic device.

At the same time Gatchaman was being released, the live action version of sentai was also being produced. Following the success of Ultraman, Toei Company released Himitsu Sentai GoRanger in 1975, the very first live action sentai show. Many other series followed and since 1979, a sentai series has been on Japanese TV every single year.

Team shows were among the first to be exported to the United States and beyond in the 1980s. Many an anime fan (myself included!) remembers being able to watch shows like Voltron: Defender of the Universe (a combination of Hyaku Ju-Oh Go Lion and Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV) and Ronin Warriors (Yoroiden Samurai Troopers). While not technically sentai, they took many of the thematic elements that were common in sentai. The combination of strong team values and highly episodic stories also made these shows perfect for merchandise tie-ins and perfect for young kids.

The sentai genre lay dormant for a while in the American collective consciousness until 1992 when Saban began distributing Kyouruu Sentai Zyuranger (Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers). American actors were chosen for the framing story sequences and some of the action sequences were reshot using American stunt doubles. Most of the villains' scenes were from the original Japanese series, as were the robot/monster action sequences. As a result, a new series was born, creating its own continuity which borrowed from subsequent Zyuranger-type sentai. Saban quickly followed that success by releasing another sentai show for distribution: VR Troopers (a combination of Jikuu Senshi Spielban, Cho Jinki Metalder and Uchuu Keiji Shaider).

Another show released in 1992 was Bishojo Senshi Sailormoon (Sailor Moon). It took the sentai concept and combined it with the magical girl genre to create something entirely new: animated magical sentai. Girls flocked to the new genre and more shows were created and marketed for the new demographic, including Magic Knight Rayearth and Wedding Peach.

The sentai genre is still a fairly strong one. The most recent show to use the sentai concept is Tokuma Sentai Shinesman (Special Duty Combat Unit Shinesman), an anime that parodies the old sentai shows. Instead of using basic colors for their battle outfits, the Shinesman corps colors are sepia, gray, moss green, and salmon pink, with their code names reflecting as such.

Sentai will always be a part of Japanese and American culture because the stories focus on team efforts, rather than individual efforts. These shows prove that when we work together, we can overcome any obstacle, large or small.

Scratching your head over a word or phrase? Check out our glossary!






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