Dynaman Brings Forth The Power Of Spandex

Kagaku Sentai Dynaman hits its 40th anniversary this year, right? It was in 1983 when Dynaman made a hit. Blink and you may miss one feature - it was the first Super Sentai entry that used spandex for the clothing design. Previous seasons used cotton-based suits. For some reason, Toei used cloth since 1975. Heck, that suit used for Japanese Spider-Man was obviously made of cotton. It wasn't until 1983 when Super Sentai started to use that one element - yes it's spandex but remember that it's NOT spandex in-script!

The invention of spandex is older than Super Sentai. In fact, it was invented by chemist Joseph Shivers at DuPont. Eventually, spandex was used for sports. I was wondering if the supply-demand gap for spandex was still low in Japan until 1982. From Himitsu Sentai Goranger up to Dai Sentai Goggle V - we can easily see how the usage of cotton fabric was the thing. However, Dynaman decided to go with spandex and I think it's because Toei was able to either get a reliable supply, the supply of spandex caused the prices to decrease eventually, or Toei finally had more money at their disposal. If spandex can be used for sports then why not use it for Super Sentai? I guess more and more companies before Toei did decide to use spandex. 

I researched about 10 advantages of using sports clothes made of spandex. If one must look at the advantages then here's what's listed would benefit the stunt doubles:

1. Better strength so it's not easily damaged (which would withstand better during fight scenes)
2. High elasticity (which may greatly lessen embarrassing ripping moments)
3. Not easily tangled
4. Smooth and soft fabric texture
5. Better body shape flow 
6. Doesn't limit the range of motion as much (and fight scenes were getting more intense)
7. Colors don't easily fade (and Super Sentai is a multicolored team)
8. Easy maintenance (after all, it's running stuff for an entire year)
9. Dries faster (which would be advantageous during the schedules)
10. Non-transparent material

I think the villain cast too benefited from spandex if they ever needed it. I think one of the greatest tests of spandex was Dark Knight. Most of the Dynaman villains are action-type so having more durable and flexible material can help. It's not just the stunt doubles in their doing the more dangerous scenes or when the cast members wear their spandex. It does help especially when fight scenes can be rather intense.

I believe that Dark Knight himself (and the plot twist for me wasn't all that surprising) shows the superior power of spandex usage. One can argue that the late Masashi Ishibashi himself is the strongest member of the Jashinka actors. Maybe, I will always say Mari Kono herself can be no less jarring than Kaya Hirasawa was in Kyukyu Sentai GoGoFive or Jennifer Yen was in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue. Since Super Sentai villains are usually played by better and more experienced cast members - I think spandex allowed better action scenes when they're wearing their costumes.

Did the use of spandex also help in monster designs? I think that using spandex as part of the rubber suits may have made monsters more vicious. I could be wrong but I think spandex wasn't used with monsters until Dynaman. I guess they wanted the monsters to be able to menace the rangers more. If anything, I think having spandex parts in the rubber suits can totally help mobility. Wearing those monster suits isn't a walk in the park.

Later Super Sentai showed how spandex can create better fight scenes for almost every side who wears the spandex suits. I can't get over that fight scene between Red Flash and Sir Kaura near the end of Choshinsei Flashman. I think it showed how it wasn't easy to damage the spandex suits worn by the two characters. I guess Joji Nakata and Kazuo Niibori must've been amazed at how durable spandex was in that fight scene. Sure, we haven't seen fight scenes these intense these days after Mirai Sentai Timeranger ended. We've had broken visors but none could be as intense as what the pre-Gaoranger days had. Today, most of the action scenes are almost like PG-7 levels meant for Fox Kids except it's in Japan. 

Still, we can't deny that spandex has done its part. It's made better-looking suits with better advantages. Sure, Super Sentai went toned down since Hyajakuu Sentai Gaoranger. The benefits of using spandex or going back to the older designs may not be the best thing.