Series REVIEW: Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger

There are some themes and motifs that Super Sentai will always come back to. In 2013 the long-running franchise turned to dinosaurs for a third time with Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger, and more recently it also did ninjas for a third time with Shuriken Sentai Ninninger. With that in mind, it seems almost fitting that the 40th anniversary Toei would revisit yet another popular (but usually secondary) motif – animals. 2016-2017 was the year of Doubutsu Sentai Zyohger, the 40th team in the Super Sentai series and released as part of Toei’s “Super Hero Year” anniversary celebrations.

First Impressions: Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger

Another year gone by, another Super Sentai series over and done with. However the wonderful thing about this franchise is that Toei never leave fans with too long to mourn (or celebrate, depending on how things have gone) the loss of the previous team as the next one is ready to immediately make their debut the following week. For its 40th anniversary celebrations the franchise has opted to put a new spin on the ever-prevalent animal theme with Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger, combining it with Rubik's cube puzzles and a pixellated video game-esque motif (perhaps inspired by retro gaming titles or the likes of the ever-popular Minecraft). 2016 is going to be the year of cubes - lots and lots of cubes.