Shout! Factory Dialed up the Tokusatsu ♡ with 2 Complete Series this Month!

Shout! Factory

Before Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, there was Super Sentai! This original presentation consists of many series only a superfan of the Tokusatsu genre can make sense of. Not only do we have the (fill in this blank) type ranger titles, but also there’s Kamen Rider and Cyborg 009. They’re all part of the megaverse, a term I’d rather use than meta.

What’s offered started hitting Japanese airwaves in the mid-70s, and to know where everything crosses over means really remembering all that’s been broadcasted since. Thanks to Shout! Factory for providing me with the releases lately, and they’re definitely shows I’m proud to play for my young nieces and nephews in hopes they’ll become fellow otakus.

First, I’ll look at what’s released this week and work backwards:

Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger

This 28th entry in this specific series, and to jump into this world isn’t too hard. One aspect of this production that caught my attention is that it has a Patlabor vibe to it.  That’s mostly because the mecha has a lot of enforcer lights on it. In general, other series in this subset of Super Sentai works include the fact the heroes are guardians, cowboys or a knightly order. As for whether they serve a higher order, the individualisation is what makes these similiarly named series unique.

Here, the team reports to an Anubian Chief, named Doggie Kruger. If that’s not amusing enough with its vague Ancient Egyptian connection (I have yet to find the instalments concerning his past), then perhaps following the exploits of the newly minted member of Special Police Dekaranger (S.P.D.) will. Akaza is made the leader of a recently formed five-person squad, and where the story goes from there means spending at least a month to appreciate all the content.

Here, this specialised cosmic police force has to do their best to stop Agent Abrella. He looks bat-like, and the fact he wears an Egyptian styled crown suggests some kind of connection with that old world. In this series, he’s part of a species known as Alienizer; although the term is very vague, perhaps some offshoot race occupied the past to become who we know as the gods. No reference has been made in the episodes I’ve seen, but I’ll keep on looking!

Release Date: Feb 14, 2023