Ask John: What Exactly is Sentai?

Question:
What constitutes sentai? Don’t start me on that Power Rangers crap but if Voltron and most of the team of heroes genre constitutes sentai, are American productions like GI Joe and such indirectly sentai? In other words, could you define sentai for me.

Answer:
To basically clarify, “sentai,” meaning “task force” in Japanese, is a genre of live action film that features a team of masked heroes who fight to protect the earth from the clutches of evil monsters or aliens. The term “sentai” was actually introduced by an anime, the 1966 series Rainbow Sentai Robin, created by Cyborg 009 and Kamen Rider creator Shotaro Ishimori, which detailed the adventures of young hero Robin and his 6 robot companions in their attempt to protect the world from an alien invasion. But by loose definition, anime series like Rainbow Sentai Robin, Gatchaman and Go Lion are not considered sentai because they’re not live action. Even though Gatchaman premiered on Japanese television in 1972 and introduced the theme of a costumed hero team fighting evil, the Toei produced 1975 live action TV series Himitsu Sentai Goranger, also created by Shotaro Ishimori, is considered the first sentai series. Reportedly, in reaction to the massive success of Goranger and the 1977 series J.A.K.Q. Dengeki Tai, Toei copyrighted the term “sentai” to refer to only their productions of live action hero team adventure shows. In response, technically, live action hero shows, and more commonly just special effects laden live action adventure programs in general are now referred to as “tokusatsu” programs.

American productions like G.I. Joe aren’t really sentai (or tokusatsu) not only because they’re not live action, but also because they don’t feature masked, costumed super heroes. G.I. Joe specifically stars soldiers dressed in normal military uniforms, not masked “costumed” superheroes. American hero teams, in fact, may have actually influenced the origins of Japanese tokusatsu heroes rather than the other way around considering that the X-Men date back to 1963, three years before the Japanese debut of Ultraman on July 17, 1966. While it may be arbitrary, I think American hero teams including the X-Men and Teen Titans simply aren’t thought of as “sentai” series not only because they’re animated, but also because they’re simply not Japanese nor created in the same style, or with similar characteristics of Japanese live action hero team shows.

Thanks to “Digimansion02” for providing assistance.