Ask John: What is a “Yusha” Series?

Question:
I heard about this series of anime shows called the “Yusha” series. I have also heard this term applied elsewhere. In general, can you tell me what kind of anime a “Yusha” series is?

Answer:
The word “yusha” itself means “brave” or “hero.” Yusha anime is a term given to a style of giant robot anime created by Sunrise and sponsored by toy company Takara, inspired by the Transformers anime series. There were 8 Yusha series broadcast annually on Japanese television between 1990 and 1998: Yusha Exkaiser, Taiyo no Yusha Fighbird, Densetsu no Yusha Da-Garn, Yusha Tokkyu Mightgaine, Yusha Keisatsu J-Decker, Ougon Yusha Goldran, Yusha Shirei Dagwon, and Yusha-0 Gaogaiger. None of the series were directly related to any other, but all of them had the word “Yusha” in their titles, and all of them maintained the same characteristic style. These series were generally aimed at children or younger audiences (not to say that adults can’t enjoy them also), and characteristically feature large, transforming robots and a heroic young boy pilot with a team of scientists or technical staff to back up and maintain the robot in its fight against alien invasion.