First Impressions: No.1 Sentai Gozyuger

Although both Kamen Rider and Ultraman may have celebrated their 50th anniversaries a few years ago, in terms of overall achievement neither are quite as impressive as Super Sentai finally reaching that milestone. Of the three, it is the only franchise to have run consistently without any significant breaks since the premiere of Himitsu Sentai Gorenger on April 5th 1975. While previously Super Sentai has celebrated its anniversaries by series number rather than year (Gorenger's run having spanned across two years), 2025 will now see that change. Despite being the 49th instalment in the franchise, No.1 Sentai Gozyuger slots in rather nicely as the 50th Super Sentai team thanks to the two-team gimmick of Lupinranger vs Patranger. The series is written by Akiko Inoue (daughter of tokusatsu legend Toshiki Inoue) in her Sentai debut, with veteran Ryuta Tasaki on board as the main director.

The "Universe War" saw Super Sentai Universe Robots gathered from various universe battle against a dark force known only as the Calamity. Despite their strength, the Robots were overwhelmed and swallowed by the darkness. Tega Sword, the "final titan" brought light to the darkness, with the Universe Robots entrusting the last of their power to its rings. As the history of all Sentai met its end, Tega Sword waits in the graveyard of robots for the coming of a saviour...

Hoeru Tono is a man with no friends, family, or even dreams. After losing his job, he is caught in the crossfire of an attack by King Candelor - a giant robot piloted by the Unbeatable Fire Candle of the No One World Buridan. Fire Candle's aim is to find a special ring with the ability to grant wishes. During the attack, Hoeru also sees his former colleague Natsume transform in a costumed hero using a ring of his own.

Suddenly Hoeru is sucked into a mysterious portal and finds himself in the Graveyard of Robots. Taking the ring Buridan were searching for, Tega Sword appears before Hoeru and offers to grant the desire of whoever gathers all of the rings. Though he has no wish, Tega Sword tells Hoeru to go forth and battle to the top and become Number One. Making a contract, Hoeru becomes Gozyu Wolf - facing down Buridan as the battle for the rings begins.

Prior to the release of Gozyuger's first full episode, a special prequel episode was released via the Toei Tokusatasu Fan Club. At only two minutes long this "Episode Zero" doesn't really warrant its own separate review, but certainly with mentioning when it comes to building an overall first impression of the 50th anniversary series. Gokaiger's Legendary War is a tough act to follow when it comes to potentially world-ending conflicts, but the Universe War is certainly a worthy successor. Featuring the mecha as the participants in the battle rather than the heroes themselves was a great move, as not only does it help differentiate these two great battles but also means Bandai can continue the promotion of the DX Robo Universe line they began over in Boonboomger (it'll be interesting to see if "Universe Robots" becomes the official term for Super Sentai mecha going forwards). It also allows for some incredible visuals of the 50 years' of robots working together to stop the Calamity, as well Tega Sword standing triumphantly atop their lifeless bodies. Whereas Episode Zero shows us these events more dynamically in full CGI, the first full episode briefly recaps to perhaps even greater effect using the suits themselves.

This first episode is quite a lot to take in, even beyond this initial set up. It's clear that the landscape of the Super Sentai universe(s) has changed once more, however how is not quite as immediately clear as it was in either Gokaiger or Zenkaiger. The robots remain defeated and lying in their graveyard, whilst the powers themselves have been scattered and presumably taken by anyone looking to gather the rings up and have their wish granted. What this means for the actual teams is unknown, particularly as it also seems that the show is once again taking a multi-versal approach toward the franchise as a whole. With much of this left unanswered for now, it's a great debut for Gozyuger that primarily focus on both the characters and set up - leaving plenty to be revealed further as the full team gathers and the plot develops.

Though it isn't unusual for the team to slowly come together over the course of the first few episodes, it does feel quite out of the ordinary to have the first episode focus solely on a single member with little to no input from any of the others. It serves as great introduction to Hoeru, with the emphasis being on the character himself rather than the act of him becoming Gozyu Wolf. An outcast with a distant personality, Hoeru certainly doesn't fit the typical Super Sentai Red template and that just makes him all the more interesting. The show is already setting up some mystery with flashbacks as to why he is a man without dreams, but even without that his no-nonsense attitude and ability to take a punch without flinching make him a character to keep an eye on. While Akiko Inoue has expressed a desire for her work to stand out on its own merits (initially working under a pseudonym to distance herself from her father), there is one comparison that should definitely be made - she clearly has the same penchant for less than perfect protagonists. The focus may be squarely on Hoeru but that isn't to say the other characters that make up the team aren't present - already in possession of their rings and dropping a few cryptic clues to their motivations and the battles to come.

The episode also gives us an introduction to our villains for the series, focusing on what will be recurring characters rather than a monster-of-the-week for Gozyu Red to despatch in an appropriately flashy debut. For now their goal, much like the goal of everyone else participating in the show, seems simple - snatch all the rings and claim the ultimate prize. While perhaps not the most original of ideas, having everyone working toward the same end goal should make for both interesting dynamics and power struggles. Though we are very briefly introduced to Buraidan technical commander Bouquet here, this episode very much belongs to Fire Candle and in turn he very much lives up to his name in regards to personality. He immediately sets up a nice little rivalry with Gozyu Wolf, highlighted through the over the top theatrics of their "Number One Fight" mecha battle. The fight itself feels very reminiscent of Mobile Fighter G Gundam, from the mannerisms of the the robots themselves to the fast-paced blows they exchange in the ring. Expect this to be a particularly prevalent theme in the series, with even the mooks getting in on the action with their bell-shaped heads.

It also manages to make waves with how Gozyuger is potentially going to handle the Sentai Rings being spread across the world, not only with who will be wielding them in-show but also who could potentially be playing these characters. Natsume transforms into Kuwagata Ohger but is portrayed by Haruhi Iuchi, aka Taiya/Bun Red in Boonboomger. The idea of having Super Sentai alumni back to play different characters is an interesting idea in itself (and again helps separates Gozyuger from the way Gokaiger handled returning cast members), but having them also play completely different Reds opens things up to all kinds of fun. As well as just simply defying expectations like Iuchi did here, there's the possibility of more interesting match-ups that range from dream casting to deep-cut homages. With the Gozyugers having to defeat these users a big part of the storyline, it'll also mean the fights can flow a little more naturally without the show (or its fanbase) having to get too heavily invested in power-scaling when it comes to match-ups. Toei in general has a habit of recycling ideas and gimmicks across both Kamen Rider and Super Sentai when it comes to anniversaries, so any way to make individual series stand out more whilst keeping that anniversary spirit is nothing but a good thing.

This final point tends to go without saying for Super Sentai series premieres, but Gozyuger is positively brimming with a style that feels befitting of the Number One Sentai. Much like they did with Kamen Rider Gavv, Toei began production of this series much earlier than they previously have - presumably easing the schedule a lot more for the production staff and providing more time to refine some of the finer elements. Visually there are plenty of eye-catching moments, ranging from the Universe War and King Canderlor's attack to the arrival of Tega Sword and Hoeru's video game combo-inspired first fight as Gozyu Wolf. But that same praise can also be given to some of the less plot-specific moments of the episode, such as Hoeru's takedown of armed robbers during his brief stint as a convenience store attendant. Even the format of the episode feels like it's turning things on it's head, with the main event being the mecha battle rather than on Gozyu Wolf himself - so much so that Hoeru does the whole thing untransformed, complete with a fancy little costume change. Though it's common for the production to pour everything into the first few episodes to make them particularly memorable, hopefully this change in scheduling will allow for more consistency. If there's any series that deserves to look especially good, then it's the 50th anniversary one.

A 50th anniversary is arguably one of the biggest anniversaries a franchise can hope to achieve, and No.1 Sentai Gozyuger has come out of the gate swinging. Despite Super Sentai having celebrated previous milestones in a way that felt hard to top, Gozyuger matches that energy with its own earth-shattering premise that could shake the foundations of Super Sentai forever. The focus on Hoeru makes for a particularly strong first episode, presenting our newest Red as an interesting hero to follow while plenty of mysteries about the rest of the team, setting and villains are yet to be revealed. Whatever happens, it seems 2025 is going to be a big year for Super Sentai and hopefully an anniversary to remember for years to come.