tokusatsu thoughts
& shiplist
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1. Kamen Rider Kuuga
Japanese Drama - 2000, 49 episodes
the agenda of thumbs up and protecting people’s smiles have never been stronger. yusuke will always figure out a way for it to be okay. the grongi just want to play a murder game where the rules keep changing, and it’s up to the police (with the help of godai yusuke) to figure it out! i want to stay at the pole pole cafe forever.
otps: jean/hikari, any combo of kaoru/sakurako/yusuke, sakurako/tsubaki, ichijo/la balva de
bffs: any combo of cafe pole pole staff and regulars, ichijo&sakurai&sugita, ichijo&tsubaki, jean&sakurako, kanzaki&yusuke, mika&nana -
2. Kamen Rider Agito
Japanese Drama - 2001, 51 episodes
everything keeps coming back to the akatsuki incident. a good mystery that slowly unravels and immaculately connects by the end. shouichi loves food the best and isn’t afraid to punch god in the face. hikawa is a darling and earnest but not the brightest or most graceful. ryou just wants some peace and quiet and als has the best suit.
otps: hikawa/ozawa, hikawa/shouichi
bffs: any combo of hikawa&kino&ryou&shouichi, any combo of hikawa&houjou&omuro&ozawa, mana&shouichi
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3. Kamen Rider Ryuki
Japanese Drama - 2002, 50 episodes
caring is what matters. shinji is the best and brightest. asakura was such an evil delight. one of the best uses of reset endings imo. i really liked the long-lived riders suit design.
otps: ren/shinji, any combo of goro/kitaoka/shinji, megumi/shimada
bffs: any combo of ren&shinji&yui, shinji&tezuka, asakura&shinji, kitaoka&ren -
4. Kamen Rider 555
Japanese Drama - 2003, 50 episodes
a good dual story between foils takumi and yuji. takkun is the grumpiest and best. yuka and yuji deserved happiness, not death. honestly didn’t mind the miscommunication as much as i loathed literal devil kusaka.
otps: takumi/yuji, keitaro/yuka, mari/yuka
bffs: any combo between the laundry trio and/or orphenoch fam but especially takumi&yuka, yuji&yuka, kaido&keitaro -
5. Kamen Rider Blade
Japanese Drama - 2004, 49 episodes
suits and card collecting is everything! kenzaki is the most precious. tachibana is a disaster but i love him anyway. the villains keep changing but the real villain is inevitable conflict. the ending upsets me despite being the best possible ending a series like this can get. fab suits.
otps: hajime/kenzaki, kenzaki/shiori, nozomi/mutsuki, sayoko/tachibana
bffs: amane&hajime, any combo of kenzaki&koutarou&shiori, kenzaki&tachibana, mutsuki&tachibana, mutsuki&tiger undead -
6. Kamen Rider Hibiki
Japanese Drama - 2005, 48 episodes
hit the beat, keep your beat. hibiki is the best dad, asumu and akira should have been oni, not kiriya. slow paced but cozy. how you experience life and find your own path is what matters most. fight with instruments. fab soundtrack. fab suit designs.
otps: any combo of akira/asumu/hitomi, ibuki/kasumi, hinaka/todoroki, todoroki/zanki
bffs: asumu&hibiki, akira&ibuki, any combo of ibuki&hibiki&todoroki&zanki -
7. Kamen Rider Kabuto
Japanese Drama - 2006, 49 episodes
bugs, bugs, bugs! tendou souji is the sun. kagami is the only normal character in the entire show, everyone else is a real weirdo. character arcs are wild. it starts off insane and gets more so, so eventually there’s no choice but to embrace the madness and the plot twists and the characters.
otps: tendou/kagami, misaki/tsurugi
bffs: daisuke&gon, daisuke&tendou, jiiya&tsurugi, any combo of kagami&misaki&tadakoro, kagami&tsurugi, kagayama&yaguruma, renge&kagami, renge&tendou, tendou&tsurugi -
8. Kamen Rider Den-O
Japanese Drama - 2007, 49 episodes
imagin are goofballs. ryoutaro is unlucky, but is fantastic at being possessed by the imagin and portraying their distinctive personalities. ryutaros is the most precious. yuuto is my favourite secondary rider. best suits designs. lovely soundtrack.
otps: momotaros/ryoutaro, airi/yuuto
bffs: any combo of ryoutaro & his imagins, deneb&yuuto, naomi&ryutaros, hana&kintaros, ryoutaro&yuuto, kotaro&teddy -
9. Kamen Rider Kiva
Japanese Drama - 2008, 48 episodes
back and forth, dual storylines between father and son, in a strangely compelling mystery. wataru is darling. ridiculously loved the melodrama, deeply hated the misogyny. nothing really gets explained, but i kinda love that decision, things just happen in this show. violins bgm is rad.
otps: mio/wataru, megumi/nago
bffs: kengo&wataru, kivat&wataru, megumi&nago, megumi&wataru, nago&wataru -
10. Kamen Rider Decade
Japanese Drama - 2009, 31 episodes
travelling through parallel worlds and getting the gist of things. tsukasa just wants to take a decent photo. extremely cute ot4.
otps: any combo of daiki/natsumi/tsukasa/yusuke
bffs: eichirou&kivala, daiki&asumu, tsukasa&riders
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11. Kamen Rider W
Japanese Drama - 2009, 49 episodes
crime and the city! noir and fluff! shoutarou loves being a hard-boiled detective. sonozaki family run this town and their little cat too! extremely cute dual partnership of shoutarou and philip as they make criminals count their sin together! lovely jazzy ost.
otps: akiko/terui, kirihiko/saeko
bffs: any combo of akiko&philip&shoutarou&terui, any combo of sonozaki fam but especially saeko&wakana and raito&wakana, kirihiko&shoutarou, jinno&shoutarou
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12. Kamen Rider OOO
Japanese Drama - 2010, 48 episodes
medal collecting is surprisingly fun! eiji is a broke vagabond king. ankh is grumpy and angry but adorable. best suit designs. lovely soundtrack.
otps: ankh/eiji, ankh/kazari, eiji/hina, date/gotou
bffs: any combo of ankh&eiji&hina, ankh&gotou, any combo of date&eiji&gotou, any combo of date&gotou&satonaka, gamel&mezool, kazari&maki -
13. Kamen Rider Fourze
Japanese Drama - 2011, 48 episodes
space is awesome. gentarou is a perfect protagonist. gamou just wanted a buddy to travel space with, sadly too impatient for a silly thing like safety protocols, which honestly: what a cool motive for villainy. jk is my fave.
otps: any combo of gentarou/yuuki/kengo, ryusei/gentarou, ryusei/tomoko, shun/miu, inga/ryusei
bffs: gentarou&everyone but especially gentarou&jk, any combo of the kamen rider club -
14. Kamen Rider Wizard
Japanese Drama - 2012, 53 episodes
it’s really magic! despair can be overcome with hope! haruto loves donuts, nitou loves mayonnaise. super sweet interactions between friends. sora is terrible but i love him. worst dad ever who plays both sides. fab soundtrack. great suit designs.
otps: haruto/koyomi, haruto/nitou, medusa/phoenix
bffs: any combo of haruto&koyomi&nitou&rinko&shunpei, any combo of haruto&kizaki&rinko, any combo of haruto&mayu&nitou, haruto&sora, nitou&yuzuru, any combo of gremlin&medusa&phoenix -
15. Choudenshi Bioman
Japanese Drama - 1984, 51 episodes
constantly inventing feminism! doctor man keeps on making mecha humans with hearts. silva is constantly on the look out for bio particles. peebo is the cutest. best yellow. best blue. fab ost.
otps: hikaru/jun, hikaru/mika, hikaru/shiro, juo/monster
bffs: any combo of the five but especially ryuuta&shingo&shiro, hikaru&peebo, farrah&mason -
16. Chojin Sentai Jetman
Japanese Drama - 1991, 51 episodes
even warriors have hearts that burn for love! feelings are a battlefield as these accidental heroes become accustomed to the job and learn to get along with each other. the vyram are most terrible and despicable and can’t stand working together. both maria and grey deserve better. odagiri aya is the best mentor. best blue. rad ost.
otps: any combo of gai/kaori/ryuu, grey/maria, ryuu/rie
bffs: any combo of the core five but especially ako&kaori, ako&raita, kaori&jiiya, odagiri&ryuu
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17. Gekisou Sentai Carranger
Japanese Drama - 1996, 48 episodes
traffic safety is no joke! the carrangers are losers but all of them are dear to me because they’re so silly. zonette is the best rebellious princess. kind of love the fact that it’s a biker gang vs car racers, and the fact the big bad wants to destroy earth because it’s in the way of wanting to build a motorway. dapp is an adorable mentor. best red.
otp: kyousuke/zonette
bffs: signalman&ichitarou, natsumi&youko -
18. Mirai Sentai Timeranger
Japanese Drama - 2000, 51 episodes
tomorrow can be changed! perpetually broke heroes living together and struggling to eat is incredibly cute. I adored all the villains and their goals, even as they became more wretched and dangerous. broke my heart in the best possible way. best reds. best ost.
otps: domon/honami, tatsuya/naoto, tatsuya/yuuri
bffs: any combo of the core five but especially: ayase&domon, ayase&tatsuya, domon&shion, ayase&naoto, dolnero&gien -
19. Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger
Japanese Drama - 2001, 51 episodes
actual names are for losers, they go by colour assignments because they are warriors! i love these idiots who constantly want to do karaoke. i love the narrator so much. tsuetsue and yabaiba stole the show as always, just like their pr counterparts. best white. fab music.
otps: black/blue, red/yellow, silver/tetom, tsuetsue/yabaiba
bffs: any combo of the six plus tetom, but especially blue&white, red&white, red&silver, silver&white, tetom&yellow, gaogod&silver, yabaiba&yellow -
20. Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger
Japanese Drama - 2004, 50 episodes
judgement time! these detectives can and will kill if it’s been approved by the galaxy space court. the narrator continues to be awesome. agent abrera wants to cause war and strife and has succeeded across the galaxies multiple times. best yellow. best green.
otps: ban/hoji, ban/jasmine, doggie/swan, hoji/jasmine, jasmine/umeko, sen/umeko
bffs: any combo of the core eight but especially ban&sen, ban&tetsu, doggie&sen, jasmine&sen, murphy&umeko
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21. Mahou Sentai Magiranger
Japanese Drama - 2005, 49 episodes
best most adorable magic family. courage is everywhere. vancuria splitting into nai and mare is the closest depiction of zorn and thorn I’ve ever seen. best yellow. rad ost.
otps: hikaru/urara, kai/yamazaki
bffs: any combo of the five siblings but especially houka&kai, houka&tsubasa, kai&tsubasa, kai&rin -
22. GoGo Sentai Boukenger
Japanese Drama - 2006, 49 episodes
adventurers are amazing. extremely warm and affectionate team. multiple villains ahoy competing with and against each other. zubaan is the cutest. makino is a man of many disguises. best pink. best silver.
otps: any combo of the six, but especially: akashi/eiji, akashi/masumi, akashi/sakura, akashi/zubaan, natsuki/sakura
bffs: eiji&masumi, masumi&natsuki -
23. Juuken Sentai Gekiranger
Japanese Drama - 2007, 49 episodes
learning is everywhere and everything. rio and mele were darlings. rby triangle rights! best red.
otps: any combo of jan/ran/retsu, mele/rio
bffs: jan&rio, jan&ken, gou&rio, any combo of mele&ran&retsu -
24. Engine Sentai Go-Onger
Japanese Drama - 2008, 50 episodes
mach speed! the go ongers are extremely silly but oh so lovable, warming up the hearts of the cold go on wings. the trio of pollution ministers are very cute. everyone will find a reason to sing. bomper is super cute. best black. best gold. adorable ost.
otps: any combo of the core seven (excluding the siblings with each other) but especially: hant/gunpei, hiroto/sousuke, miu/saki, saki/sousuke, hiramechimedes/yogostein, kegalesia/kitaneidas
bffs: hant&ren, hant&saki, any combo of ren&saki&sousuke, engines&partners, any combo of kegalesia&kitaneidas&yogostein, any combo of kegalesia&miu&saki -
25. Kaizoku Sentai Goukaiger
Japanese Drama - 2011, 51 episodes
super cute space pirates. basco is awesome. best pink.
otps: any combo with the six, but especially ahim/joe, luka/ahim
imo, either use this anniversary season as a starting point to get a rough overview of previous sentai (from 1970s - 2010) and then pick which one you like the look of, or watch the prior sentai before this one, as you will get spoiled for certain events. -
26. Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters
Japanese Drama - 2012, 50 episodes
buddyroids are darling. enter is magnifique. escape is tragique. the cutest rby trio. best blue. i will always be sad about jin.
otps: jin/kuroki, hiromu/yoko, hiromu/reika, any combo of escape/ryuuji/enter
bffs: buddyroids&kids, j&jin, ryuuji&yoko, jin&ryuuji -
27. Ressha Sentai ToQger
Japanese Drama - 2014, 47 episodes
best kid rangers. adored zett as a villain. best blue. most lovable orange.
otps: any combo of core five, but especially tokatti/mio, hikari/kagura
bffs: akira&everyone but especially akira&tokatti, right&zett -
28. Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patoranger
Japanese Drama - 2018, 51 episodes
unfortunately, i stan cops over thieves, because i prefer their personalities more. gauche was a cute mad scientist, and zamigo was fun chomping on ice but wasted on the show tbh. best (cop) red.
otps: keiichiro/tsukasa, keiichiro/noel
bffs: kairi&umika, kairi&keiichiro, kairi&tsukasa, tsukasa&umika, tooma&tsukasa -
29. Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger
Japanese Drama - 2012, 13 episodes
mediocre risqué parody of an actual super sentai. i mostly enjoyed them pointing out the standard tropes of a super sentai and the cameos of actual actors and footage. it’s pretty bad imo, but an okay way to pass the time. might have helped had i watched more sentai, tho?
bffs: nobuo&yumeria