![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theglorioblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/gozyu01title.jpg?w=700\")
<\/a>Premise<\/h3>\nIt\u2019s the fiftieth anniversary of the Super Sentai <\/em>series and they\u2019re going to celebrate the only way they know how \u2013 by blowing up even more stuff than usual.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theglorioblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/gozyu0101.jpg?w=700\")
<\/a>Zigg\u2019s<\/span> verdict: We Are Number One<\/h3>\nFifty years is a hell of a long time for anything to exist, let alone something as fleeting and ephemeral as a children\u2019s television show, so it\u2019s genuinely worthy of celebration that Super Sentai<\/em> has made it, more or less unscathed, from 1975 all the way to the present day. In recent years Toei has tended to focus its anniversary celebrations more on the \u20185\u2019 anniversaries than the round numbers, as evidenced by\u00a0Gokaiger<\/em> (35th anniversary) and Zenkaiger<\/em> (45th anniversary), but they\u2019ve decided to go all out for the big five-oh this time.<\/p>\nThis opening episode certainly does a good job of attempting to convey a scale and weightiness beyond your average Sentai<\/em> opener. It\u2019s been a while since we\u2019ve had a show where the robot was the main McGuffin, and the appropriately solemn narration\/voicework by Yuki Kaji has pleasing overtones of classic 70\u2019s super robot shows, what with the focus on the mech as a legendary figure guiding the hero to self-actualization. It\u2019s a real treat to see a ton of the old robots together on screen too, the kind of fun, fanservicey gesture which whets your appetite for more to come.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theglorioblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/gozyu0102.jpg?w=700\")
<\/a>Visually, the opener is anchored by the spectacular mech fight that acts as its centrepiece, with a magnificent array of suits and practical effects front-and-centre, particularly the repeated use of real pyrotechnics. It\u2019s a guarantee that it won\u2019t look this good every week of course, but as a statement of intent it\u2019s hard to ignore. I like a lot of the less obvious aesthetics too, like the bell-themed mooks and Fire Candle and Bouquet\u2019s outrageous costumes. The wacky cheerleading squad and associated visual insanity might be a little much however.<\/p>\nIn terms of narrative, it\u2019s hard to read too much from the stock openeing episode tropes, but I don\u2019t immediately hate our hero Hoeru, generally a good sign when it comes to \u2018too cool for school\u2019 red rangers. By far the most intriguing twist wrinkle is the presence of Tsutsumi Natsume<\/span>, who played Boon Red in the just concluded Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger<\/em>, as a completely different character who transforms into a completely different red ranger. It\u2019s a pretty odd move honestly, but as I\u2019ve said before anything which adds unexpected intrigue to the generally formulaic early period of a\u00a0Sentai<\/em> show is to be cautiously commended, so I\u2019m interested to see where they take the idea.<\/p>\nOverall, this was one of the stronger debut episodes I\u2019ve seen for a Sentai<\/em> series and I\u2019m excited for what lies ahead for the show. As I said, 50 years of airing is a huge achievement and I\u2019d very much like Gozyuger<\/em> to be a show worthy of the celebration. Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theglorioblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/gozyu0103.jpg?w=700\" "\\"\"It")
<\/a>Iro\u2019s<\/span> verdict: Sentai Fight, All Set! Ready, Go!<\/h3>\nAnniversary series always feel like a toss-up, and Sentai<\/em> is a particularly fraught subject.\u00a0Gozyuger<\/em> is celebrating a whopping 50 years and 50 sentai, enough that they wouldn\u2019t even be able to cover one team per episode! The solution to this seems<\/em> to be a battle royale of sorts where various teams are fighting to see who gets to become Number One. As my verdict references, the focus on (so far) one-on-one fights complete with spectral wrestling rings and fighting game trappings brings Mobile Fighter G Gundam<\/em><\/a> to mind; we even get a not-quite Shining Finger. It\u2019s a good-enough premise with some potential for fun, Gozyuger\u2019s<\/em> premiere pulls it off with plenty of verve and pyrotechnics. There\u2019s no way we\u2019ll keep up this level of prop tomfoolery going forth but I\u2019m feeling optimistic.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Zigg\u2019s<\/span> verdict: We Are Number One<\/h3>\nFifty years is a hell of a long time for anything to exist, let alone something as fleeting and ephemeral as a children\u2019s television show, so it\u2019s genuinely worthy of celebration that Super Sentai<\/em> has made it, more or less unscathed, from 1975 all the way to the present day. In recent years Toei has tended to focus its anniversary celebrations more on the \u20185\u2019 anniversaries than the round numbers, as evidenced by\u00a0Gokaiger<\/em> (35th anniversary) and Zenkaiger<\/em> (45th anniversary), but they\u2019ve decided to go all out for the big five-oh this time.<\/p>\nThis opening episode certainly does a good job of attempting to convey a scale and weightiness beyond your average Sentai<\/em> opener. It\u2019s been a while since we\u2019ve had a show where the robot was the main McGuffin, and the appropriately solemn narration\/voicework by Yuki Kaji has pleasing overtones of classic 70\u2019s super robot shows, what with the focus on the mech as a legendary figure guiding the hero to self-actualization. It\u2019s a real treat to see a ton of the old robots together on screen too, the kind of fun, fanservicey gesture which whets your appetite for more to come.<\/p>\n<\/a>Visually, the opener is anchored by the spectacular mech fight that acts as its centrepiece, with a magnificent array of suits and practical effects front-and-centre, particularly the repeated use of real pyrotechnics. It\u2019s a guarantee that it won\u2019t look this good every week of course, but as a statement of intent it\u2019s hard to ignore. I like a lot of the less obvious aesthetics too, like the bell-themed mooks and Fire Candle and Bouquet\u2019s outrageous costumes. The wacky cheerleading squad and associated visual insanity might be a little much however.<\/p>\nIn terms of narrative, it\u2019s hard to read too much from the stock openeing episode tropes, but I don\u2019t immediately hate our hero Hoeru, generally a good sign when it comes to \u2018too cool for school\u2019 red rangers. By far the most intriguing twist wrinkle is the presence of Tsutsumi Natsume<\/span>, who played Boon Red in the just concluded Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger<\/em>, as a completely different character who transforms into a completely different red ranger. It\u2019s a pretty odd move honestly, but as I\u2019ve said before anything which adds unexpected intrigue to the generally formulaic early period of a\u00a0Sentai<\/em> show is to be cautiously commended, so I\u2019m interested to see where they take the idea.<\/p>\nOverall, this was one of the stronger debut episodes I\u2019ve seen for a Sentai<\/em> series and I\u2019m excited for what lies ahead for the show. As I said, 50 years of airing is a huge achievement and I\u2019d very much like Gozyuger<\/em> to be a show worthy of the celebration. Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n<\/a>Iro\u2019s<\/span> verdict: Sentai Fight, All Set! Ready, Go!<\/h3>\nAnniversary series always feel like a toss-up, and Sentai<\/em> is a particularly fraught subject.\u00a0Gozyuger<\/em> is celebrating a whopping 50 years and 50 sentai, enough that they wouldn\u2019t even be able to cover one team per episode! The solution to this seems<\/em> to be a battle royale of sorts where various teams are fighting to see who gets to become Number One. As my verdict references, the focus on (so far) one-on-one fights complete with spectral wrestling rings and fighting game trappings brings Mobile Fighter G Gundam<\/em><\/a> to mind; we even get a not-quite Shining Finger. It\u2019s a good-enough premise with some potential for fun, Gozyuger\u2019s<\/em> premiere pulls it off with plenty of verve and pyrotechnics. There\u2019s no way we\u2019ll keep up this level of prop tomfoolery going forth but I\u2019m feeling optimistic.<\/p>\n
This opening episode certainly does a good job of attempting to convey a scale and weightiness beyond your average Sentai<\/em> opener. It\u2019s been a while since we\u2019ve had a show where the robot was the main McGuffin, and the appropriately solemn narration\/voicework by Yuki Kaji has pleasing overtones of classic 70\u2019s super robot shows, what with the focus on the mech as a legendary figure guiding the hero to self-actualization. It\u2019s a real treat to see a ton of the old robots together on screen too, the kind of fun, fanservicey gesture which whets your appetite for more to come.<\/p>\n In terms of narrative, it\u2019s hard to read too much from the stock openeing episode tropes, but I don\u2019t immediately hate our hero Hoeru, generally a good sign when it comes to \u2018too cool for school\u2019 red rangers. By far the most intriguing twist wrinkle is the presence of Tsutsumi Natsume<\/span>, who played Boon Red in the just concluded Bakuage Sentai Boonboomger<\/em>, as a completely different character who transforms into a completely different red ranger. It\u2019s a pretty odd move honestly, but as I\u2019ve said before anything which adds unexpected intrigue to the generally formulaic early period of a\u00a0Sentai<\/em> show is to be cautiously commended, so I\u2019m interested to see where they take the idea.<\/p>\n Overall, this was one of the stronger debut episodes I\u2019ve seen for a Sentai<\/em> series and I\u2019m excited for what lies ahead for the show. As I said, 50 years of airing is a huge achievement and I\u2019d very much like Gozyuger<\/em> to be a show worthy of the celebration. Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n Anniversary series always feel like a toss-up, and Sentai<\/em> is a particularly fraught subject.\u00a0Gozyuger<\/em> is celebrating a whopping 50 years and 50 sentai, enough that they wouldn\u2019t even be able to cover one team per episode! The solution to this seems<\/em> to be a battle royale of sorts where various teams are fighting to see who gets to become Number One. As my verdict references, the focus on (so far) one-on-one fights complete with spectral wrestling rings and fighting game trappings brings Mobile Fighter G Gundam<\/em><\/a> to mind; we even get a not-quite Shining Finger. It\u2019s a good-enough premise with some potential for fun, Gozyuger\u2019s<\/em> premiere pulls it off with plenty of verve and pyrotechnics. There\u2019s no way we\u2019ll keep up this level of prop tomfoolery going forth but I\u2019m feeling optimistic.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theglorioblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/gozyu01title.jpg\")
<\/a>Visually, the opener is anchored by the spectacular mech fight that acts as its centrepiece, with a magnificent array of suits and practical effects front-and-centre, particularly the repeated use of real pyrotechnics. It\u2019s a guarantee that it won\u2019t look this good every week of course, but as a statement of intent it\u2019s hard to ignore. I like a lot of the less obvious aesthetics too, like the bell-themed mooks and Fire Candle and Bouquet\u2019s outrageous costumes. The wacky cheerleading squad and associated visual insanity might be a little much however.<\/p>\n<\/a>Iro\u2019s<\/span> verdict: Sentai Fight, All Set! Ready, Go!<\/h3>\n