Gokaiger's Shadow On Post-Gokaiger Anniversary Seasons

It feels kinda sad, really, to think that it's 2026 and it could've been the 50th entry for Super Sentai. Instead, we have Gavan Infinity, which may ultimately replace Super Sentai as the franchise had ran for too long. Super Sentai had its FIVE-YEAR CEREMONIAL FINALE, which started in 2021 with Kikou Sentai Zenkaiger and finally wrapped up with No. 1 Sentai Gozyuger. 

I had a feeling that there's an "anniversary curse" That didn't happen with Hyajakuu Sentai Gaoranger (which felt more like a REBOOT) for the 25th season. Neither did it happen with 30th season is Gougou Sentai Boukenger. Gaoranger had the Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai non-canon film but the main series was still self-contained. Boukenger vs. Super Sentai was obviously another what-if movie. The Super Sentai Encyclopedia in Boukenger was never meant to be part of the show canon. Boukenger carried over designs that mimicked past Zords in Super Sentai with various Monsters-of-the-Week (MOTWs) and the main villains. Both seasons can be fun to rewatch without thinking too much about watching all Super Sentai before them. 

However, Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger came and somehow, caused that INCREDIBLY TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW for anniversaries

I would like to call Gokaiger a very tough act to follow. In what way? You may need to look that Gokaiger was almost like a grand finale. I even had a nagging thought about how Gokaiger may have been the "best time" to end Super Sentai on a high note. However, that wasn't the case. It's because Gokaiger is a year-long crossover. You had a lot of alumni barging in. Come on, how cool was it that Toshihide Wakamatsu made Gai Yuuki a GHOST just for the Chojin Sentai Jetman episode written by TOSHIKI INOUE? Sady, Toei never thought of assigning Inoue as the secondary writer for Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters.

The whole series was just too GIGANTIC to be contained. You could think that almost every episode wasn't just a nostalgia trip. A newbie Super Sentai fan may discover the broad history of Super Sentai. Sure, newbies didn't need to watch everything from Himitsu Sentai Goranger up to Tensou Sentai Goseiger just to understand the show. It was nostalgic yet accessible. The show ended, and everyone went "reboot mode". Of course, one may think that a certain group of people still thought, "I watched Gokaiger therefore I know all of Super Sentai without watching the older shows!"

Trying to stay afloat during the post-Gokaiger era can be tough. The shows went for the rather diet Go-Busters, which was expected. I confess that I love Go-Busters' concept, no matter how flawed it was. Newer Super Sentai entries after Gokaiger can be a hit or miss. Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger is what I call a watchable mess on the 20th annivesary of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. It was also in 2013 when Power Rangers Megaforce came out. Yeah, that show was so bad it's worse. In fact, Gokaiger ended up STANDING OUT SOME MORE thanks to Megaforce ruining itself way too many times.

What truly became problematic was how to deal with the 40th and 45th Super Sentai entry

Gokaiger was a grand entry. The show went for a more conservative outlook. Zyuohger went for the cube design approach. I called the Zords there, and they were designed straight out of Minecraft. What became not-so-surprising for me was that the GOKAIGERS became the guest stars for Zyuohger. Was the whole event a bailout? The anniversary felt bland to me. Junko Komura just felt like she wasn't the right person to write anniversaries. It made me wonder why Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger didn't become the anniversary season despite it looking way more festive.

The next problem happened on the 45th. It was a bad time, especially with the LEGACY VIRUS PANDEMIC. Zenkaiger had an interesting concept, but rather FLAWED execution. I wanted to enjoy it, but Komura just SUCKS at anniversaries IMHO. The whole show yhad good ideas but just sucked. This made me think that 45th was still compared to 35th. Even worse, Gokaiger had a reunion movie that may have been necessary because Zenkaiger wasn't making the cut.

Toei probably realized, "We can't risk another Gokaiger comparison." That's probably why they chose to end Super Sentai at the 50th year of Goranger instead. It might feel empty now without a 50th entry. However, for me, it also became a good way to save money. Now Gavan Infinity may be what Toei needs to move forward for good.