Super Sentai in the context of "Kamen Rider"

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⭐ Core Definition: Super Sentai

The Super Sentai Series (スーパー戦隊シリーズ, Sūpā Sentai Shirīzu; lit.'Super Squadron Series') is a Japanese superhero team media franchise consisting of multiple television series and films produced by Toei Company and aired by TV Asahi. The shows are of the tokusatsu genre, featuring live action characters and colorful special effects. Super Sentai airs alongside the Kamen Rider series in the Super Hero Time programming block on Sunday mornings on TV Asahi. In North America, the Super Sentai series is best known as the source material for the Power Rangers series.

The series is set to go on hiatus following the conclusion of the 49th season, No.1 Sentai Gozyuger, with a new Toei tokusatsu franchise, Project R.E.D. (Records of Extraordinary Dimensions), set to take its timeslot in 2026.

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Super Sentai in the context of Tokusatsu

Tokusatsu (特撮とくさつ; lit.'special filming') is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, tokusatsu mainly refers to science fiction, superhero, fantasy, or horror media featuring such technology but is also occasionally dubbed a genre itself. Its contemporary use originated in the Japanese mass media around 1958 to explain special effects in an easy-to-understand manner and was popularized during the "first monster boom" (1966–1968). Prior to the monster boom, it was known in Japan as tokushu gijutsu (特殊技術; lit.'special technology') or shortened tokugi (特技; lit.'special technique').

Subgenres of tokusatsu include kaiju such as the Godzilla and Gamera series; superhero such as the Kamen Rider and Metal Hero series; Kyodai Hero like Ultraman and Denkou Choujin Gridman; and mecha like Giant Robo and Super Robot Red Baron. Some tokusatsu television programs combine several of these subgenres, for example, the Super Sentai series.

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Super Sentai in the context of Toei Company

Toei Company, Ltd. (東映株式会社, Tōei Kabushiki-gaisha; an acronym for Tōkyō Eiga Haikyū (東京映画配給) lit.'Tokyo Film Distribution'; /ˈt./), simply known as Toei Company or Toei, is a Japanese entertainment company. Headquartered in Kyōbashi, Chūō, Tokyo, it is involved in film and television production, distribution, video game development, publishing, and ownership of 34 movie theaters. Toei also owns and operates studios in Tokyo and Kyoto and holds shares in several television companies. The company is renowned for its production of anime and live-action dramas known as tokusatsu, which incorporate special visual effects. It is also known for producing period dramas. Toei is the majority shareholder of Toei Animation and is recognized for its franchises such as Kamen Rider, Super Sentai and Power Rangers.

Toei is one of the four members of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ 日本映画製作者連盟), and is therefore one of Japan's Big Four film studios, alongside Kadokawa, Shochiku and Toho.

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Super Sentai in the context of Battle Fever J

Battle Fever J (バトルフィーバーJジェー, Batoru Fībā Jei) is a live-action tokusatsu TV series. The third entry of the Super Sentai series franchise, Battle Fever J was produced by Toei Company in partnership with American comic book publisher Marvel Comics. A total of 52 episodes aired on TV Asahi from February 3, 1979, to January 26, 1980, following J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai and being followed by Denshi Sentai Denjiman.

The team have codenames named for countries around the world, also respectively named in their theme song: Battle France, Battle Cossack (Soviet Union), Battle Kenya, Miss America (United States) and Battle Japan. It marks the first appearance of a Black and Orange Ranger in the franchise. It was also the first series in the Super Sentai franchise where the heroes must control giant robots to defeat a monster who itself has grown to a gigantic size. Toei's tokusatsu adaptation of Spider-Man was the first to introduce this format and was also the inspiration for this and the subsequent entries in the Super Sentai series. The series was also partially inspired by the Marvel Comics character Captain America.

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Super Sentai in the context of Spider-Man (Japanese TV series)

Spider-Man (Japanese: スパイダーマン, Hepburn: Supaidāman), also referred to as Japanese Spider-Man or Toei Spider-Man, is a Japanese live-action tokusatsu superhero television series produced by Toei Company, loosely based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name through a contract negotiated by producer Gene Pelc. The series aired for 41 episodes on Tokyo Channel 12 from May 17, 1978, to March 14, 1979. A theatrical episode aired at the Toei Manga Matsuri film festival on July 22, 1978. From March 5 to December 24, 2009, Marvel uploaded English subtitled versions of the episodes to their website.

While Toei's version of the character, Takuya Yamashiro/Spider-Man (portrayed by Kōsuke Kayama (Shinji Tōdō), wore the same costume as his Marvel Comics counterpart and had similar powers, the series' storyline and the origin of his powers differed from the source material. In addition to fighting, he piloted the giant mecha Leopardon, which he would summon to fight off enlarged versions of the show's monsters; the giant robot concept would later be used in Toei's Super Sentai franchise. Yamashiro later appeared in the comic storylines Spider-Verse and Spider-Geddon.

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