The End of Super Sentai: Why It Failed

Toei’s iconic Super Sentai series will reportedly end, with its current incarnation, No.1 Sentai Gozyuger, scheduled to conclude in early 2026. Perhaps best known to Western audiences as the basis for Power Rangers, the franchise defined the “brightly colored masked teams of superheroes battling giant monsters with giant robots” genre for nearly 50 years. But now Super Sentai is ending, while other tokusatsu staples, like Kamen Rider and Ultraman, are staying. Why? Why Super Sentai? What, exactly, went wrong?

Is It REALLY Over? (Probably, Yeah)

Longtime fans of Super Sentai were quick to point out that the series isn’t actually ending — just the specific IP. We’ll definitely have a new tokusatsu show about a team of superheroes, they say. And they’re right: Toei most likely will create a reboot/rebrand/spiritual successor to Super Sentai, already rumored to be titled Universe Heroes. But we don’t know if it will be basically the same show under a different name, or a completely original franchise with its own themes and lore.

There’s also a secret third option.

Not that long ago, Super Sentai was accompanied on TV by Metal Heroes (VR Troopers/ Beetleborgs for US fans), another Toei-produced show with Sentai vibes about police/military-themed cyborgs, robots or humans in tech-armor fighting evil. It first aired in 1982 and was canceled in 1999 … But literally the day this article was written, it was revived, with its latest installment, Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity, set to premiere in 2026. There is a very real possibility that THAT is what will replace Super Sentai. But, again, why? And more importantly, why now?

Why Now?

While we may never get an official reason why Super Sentai was canceled, it’s a safe bet that the cause is money. Kids are simply not buying enough Super Sentai toys to offset the show’s production costs. But this is ultimately the toy producers’ fault. Despite “giant robot shows” being treated as synonymous with Japanese entertainment, Super Sentai has actually been the ONLY live-action series on Japanese television doing giant mecha stories for a while. As a result, they’ve had a virtual monopoly on smaller toys that you could put together into a giant robot, with live-action TV shows providing an immersive backstory for it all.

Perhaps the lack of any real competition is why it felt like the toys weren’t trying as hard in recent years. It’s all ultimately subjective, but many parents whose children once collected all things Super Sentai almost religiously noticed that those same kids weren’t that excited about the post-2020 Super Sentai robots and vehicles. Many toys felt like a rehash of stuff we’d seen before, often with a nostalgic bent, like with Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger (2021–2022). But kids aren’t really that into nostalgia, and the adult fans buying the toys for themselves weren’t, apparently, a large enough demographic.

Kamen Rider Ryuki

The Wish-Fulfillment Factor

One advantage that Kamen Rider — which is staying on the air — seems to have over Super Sentai is the presence of a singular, main hero. There are exceptions to this, and there are, in fact, many other superpowered “Riders” in almost every Kamen Rider show. But there is typically only one titular character — the guy that all the kids want to become by buying the Rider’s official transformation belt and accessories. It’s much more difficult with Super Sentai because it features TEAMS of superheroes.

Putting out a full spread of toys for every single member of a Super Sentai team would not be economical. And with a smaller number of toys for each Ranger, and with kids typically having a favorite that is impossible to predict (it’s not always the Red Ranger), smaller profits are a given. With Kamen Rider, Toei can invest primarily in the main hero, with limited offerings for supporting characters, and still expect to earn big. Super Sentai seems to be aware of that, as they have been experimenting with shows that spotlight one particular Ranger, like in Avataro Sentai Donbrothers (2022–2023) and Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger. But it sadly seems to be a case of too little, too late.

Also, if Super Sentai can only survive by abandoning its massive cast premise — perfected with the small army of characters that made Uchu Sentai Kyuranger (2017–2018) such a cool show — then maybe it should end rather than become something it’s not.

For Whatever Comes Next

To make sure that Universe Heroes or Gavan Infinity or whatever comes next actually stays on the air, the show will need giant robots (because no other series will be filling that niche) together with more creative toys and, perhaps most importantly, a bigger presence at Japanese game centers.

One of the last Super Sentai arcade games was Super Sentai Battle: Dice-O, which ceased services in 2014, and another card collectible game based on Kaito Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger, which was discontinued in 2020. Kamen Rider, on the other hand, still has a presence in arcades with Kamen Rider Battle: Ganba Legends (formerly Ganbaride and Ganbarizing), another card-collecting game.

Before that, the now sadly discontinued Narerunda! Kamen Rider! arcade enjoyed massive popularity thanks to motion detection that replicated the kids’ battle moves on screen, allowing them to step into one of their favorite fictional worlds. Whatever replaces Super Sentai should offer something equally immersive at arcades to keep the show in the public consciousness. For now, though, all we can do is sit and wait to see what Toei does next.