People in Japan have been growing up with Super Sentai series since the 70’s. I even grew up with Power Rangers as a child as Super Sentai made its way to the West. It is as ingrained into Tokusatsu as Godzilla or Kamen Rider, and as such, you can find more than a few references to Super Sentai in anime.
However, while you can spot hundreds of off-handed references to near-50 Super Sentai series in various shows, anime that specifically parody the Super Sentai formula are not as common as you might think.
Super Sentai Parody Anime
Love After World Domination
The members of the Super Sentai are supposed to fight evil organizations and their various minions, but anyone is human and love at first sight can happen anytime – even on the battlefield!
Love After World Domination is a cute romantic comedy that follows the Red Ranger of a Super Sentai group who falls in love with a high-ranking female general of the evil organization.
So while they pretend to fight during the day, they spend time together and secretly go on dates outside of that while both try not to be discovered by their peers.
Samurai Flamenco
Samurai Flamenco starts off following a model who wants to be a super hero so badly that he creates a costume and starts fighting crime – badly.
The series is actually a pretty fun Super Sentai/Superhero parody right up until it isn’t. No, it doesn’t necessarily stop being fun, but instead it stops being parody, leaning into its premise quite seriously instead after a decent-sized tone shift. It led to some quite divisive opinions on the series as a whole.
Mr. Villain’s Day Off
You wouldn’t think it, but even villains in evil organizations get days off. If you are always working, that realization must feel pretty bad.
Anyway, Mr. Villain’s Day Off is exactly what it says on the label. While he is a high-ranking general in an evil organization most days, he does relatively cute things on his days off like going to see pandas at the zoo or shopping for groceries.
On occasion, he also crosses paths with members of the Super Sentai group that his organization fights. However, because it is his day off, usually he has a nice interaction with them instead of a fight.
While not a side-busting comedy, Mr. Villain’s Day Off is the sort of chill, enjoyable iyashikei comedy you didn’t know you wanted.
Excel Saga
Like many other Super Sentai parody, Excel Saga follows the evil organization as the main characters rather than the heroes. Furthermore, its Super Sentai parody isn’t super noticeable at first either, but it becomes more notable when the “good guy” organization does get involved.
While much of Excel Saga is about the members of the evil organization failing – often due to their own ineptitude and chaotic alignment – the Department of City Security in the series also has a plan to thwart them.
They dress their security workers in familiar color-coded uniforms and dispatch them to stop the evil organization to various degrees of success.
Excel Saga is legendary as a comedy and parodies a great number of things alongside Super Sentai.
Super HXEros
Well, it was bound to happen sometime, really. The premise of Super HXEros is best described as “what if Super Sentai, but horny”.
The series is about an alien invasion who hopes to cause humanity to go extinct by stealing their libidos. However, a special group recruits those with high libido to harness their eros energy to fight back.
As such, you get a Super Sentai group of very horny individuals who use the power of their own libido to save humanity’s horniness. It is truly a very stupid, very fun premise.
Astro Fighter Sunred
Astro Fight Sunred tells the standard Super Sentai story of good versus evil that happens in every Japanese city. However, our Super Sentai-styled hero is actually a rude asshole that leeches off his girlfriend while the super villain is a nice, polite guy that “tries to take over the world” with adorable, harmless creatures.
Essentially, Astro Fighter Sunred is what you expect. A cute little comedy that parodies, not just Super Sentai, but many superhero series and tropes in a very Gintama sort of way.
Gonna Be The Twintail
What if Super Sentai, but everything was weirdly twintail-themed?
I know that people that like the twintail can be a bit obsessive about the twintail, especially giving its growing rarity and still treasured status, but it takes real passion to make an anime about it. And you know what? Making that anime also a Super Sentai parody works gloriously.
Gonna Be The Twintail is about a boy who has a passion for twintails. So, naturally, when aliens come to claim the twintails as their own, her accepts an offer from a mysterious lady to fight them. Suddenly, he can transform into twin-tailed warrior, Tail Red, to fight back!
Of course, no one told him that Tail Red is a girl.
Action Heroine Cheer Fruits
While Action Heroine Cheer Fruits is more homage to Super Sentai than parody, no homage is without a little added fun for entertainment.
This series follow a girl who is a secret fangirl of a regional super heroine group that is used to promote products and locations in Japan. When she is asked by a friend to pretend to be a similar sort of local heroine for her little sister, she jumps at the chance to live out her Super Sentai dreams a little. However, when spotted, they get pulled into forming their own local super heroine group in hopes to rescue the town from a financial crisis.
Action Heroine Cheer Fruits is part Super Sentai, it has no small amount of magical girl elements, and it is all wrapped up in a tight fluffy blanket of idol anime appeal, which creates a pretty fun mix.
Go! Go! Loser Ranger!
With a fun English translated name that ensures that the Power Rangers theme is stuck in your head all day after every episode, Go Go Loser Ranger isn’t so much a parody on Super Sentai as it is a twist of one.
The series follows a pretty standard monster alien invasion that was thwarted by the Dragon Keepers, the Super Sentai protectors of the world, within the first year. However, to keep entertaining the crowd and making money, the monsters were forced to put on a humiliating show every Sunday where they show up to fight the rangers and get soundly beaten.
However, one monster peon, sick of losing, decides to defeat the Dragon Keepers from within by infiltrating their organization.
Do you have more anime that parody Super Sentai tokusatsu? Let fans know in the comments section below.
