Power Rangershas been a long-standing titan of popular culture since its original series aired in 1993.Mighty Morphin Power Rangersis still a nostalgic series for many who grew up in the 90s, but some may not know about thePower Rangersseries’ roots in the Japanese show,Super Sentai.
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Super Sentaiis responsible for the majority ofPR’s content. Costumes, villains, and even many story elements are adapted fromSentai, butPRdoes things differently enough to set itself apart. ForPRfans, making the jump toSentaican be a fun and enlightening experience, but with over 40 seasons so far, there are some places that are a bit better to start with.
8Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger
The aforementioned 90s kids will no doubt findZyurangerfamiliar. It is the season ofSentaithat was adapted into the originalMighty Morphin Power Rangers, meaning the costumes, powers, and many of the antagonists will be recognizable toPRfans.
UnlikeMMPRhowever,Zyurangerdoesn’t focus on teenagers. It actually follows a team of humans who have been released from suspended animation to facethe sworn enemyof their dinosaur-descended civilization. The difference between these two series is a good indicator of the kind of variationsPRfans can expect in the variousSentaiseries.
7Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters
A fairly modernSentaiseason,Go-Busterswas recently adapted intoPower Rangers Beast Morphers. WhileBMsaw its cast taking on an organized, protector role in their city,GBis actually a spy show, with the main team being sent out on their fair share of espionage missions as well as the typical monster fighting.
This season actually contains some olive branches to thePRseries. The most obvious of these is the use of the classicPRcatchphrase “It’s morphin time” as part of the transformation sequences.
6Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger
While the previous twoSentaiseries vary heavily from theirPRcounterparts,Dekarangeris nearly identical in premise to its counterpart,Power Rangers SPD, both focusing on a police force. The “SPD” organization even retains its name between both series, although standing for different things.
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AsSPDis one of the more popularPRseasons, a lot of the fanbase will findDekarangera gentle transition. Although, due to the several-year gaps betweenSentaiseasons and theirPRadaptations,Dekarangerhas lower production values thanSPDfans may be used to.
5Mahō Sentai Magiranger
Similarly to itsPRcounterpart,Mystic Force,Magirangeris a season all about magic and the mystical. Being the only season to focus heavily on magic, it’s quite unique within theSentailibrary. Another unique aspect of this season is the way its main cast is set up.
Unlike most seasons of both shows,Magiranger’s team are actually all siblings. Due to this, sibling rivalry and familial relationships are common topics in the show, making it one of the more relatable seasons, despite all the mysticism present.
4Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger
With the seemingly endless pop culture star power of ninjas, it’s no surprise thatSuper Sentaihas 3 ninja-themed seasons under its belt. Of these,Hurricanegermight be the easiest for newcomers to get into. Partially due to its close similarities toPower Rangers Ninja Storm, even down to thevillain designs.
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With only 3 members in its starting team, the cast is a lot more manageable than the series’ standard 5.Hurricanegeralso has a rather light tone compared to otherSentaiseasons. The starting team is a fun-loving group of losers, who end up providing their fair share of comedy, and are easy to get behind.
3Samurai Sentai Shinkenger
This season’s adaptation,Power Rangers Samurai, paid a lot of homage to Japanese history and culture due to its subject matter, butShinkengertakes that to another level. In many ways,ShinkengerisSamuraiwith the added drama of an old samurai movie.
Its core cast is centered around the team’s leader, who is an heir to a long-standing samurai clan. They share a lot of similarities to theirPRcounterparts, with bothred rangerseven being Shiba clan heirs.Shinkengeris often touted as one of the betterSentaiseasons, so is a promising one to jump into.
2Mashin Sentai Kiramager
While there have been 2 more seasons released sinceKiramangerin 2020, they have both taken huge deviations from theSentaiformula, and are thus too experimental to be recommended for newcomers. Due to this,Kiramangeris the most modern season that new fans can have an easy time getting into.
Being more modern means it has higher quality visuals and more contemporary subject matter, but the story and cast are also quite fun and loveable.Kiramangerdoesn’t have aPRcounterpart yet, so could work as a teaser fora possible futurePRseason.
1Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
Anniversary seasons can be quite intimidating for some, but they also offer a way for newcomers to sample various parts of a long-running franchise to see what resonates with them. For this purpose, noSentaiis better thanGokaiger.
As the 35th anniversary celebration forSuper Sentai,Gokaiger’s cast have the power to turn into any of the previous teams at will. This means they show off a little bit of what every season has to offer, as well as meetprevious team membersfrom week to week.
This season’s counterpart,Power Rangers Super Megaforceis shy about the obvious pirate motif, butGokaigerfully commits to its cast of anti-hero space pirates and is still considered by many as the bestSentaiseason ever, even over a decade since its conclusion.
