I’m writing this from the perspective of someone who had no idea this series had anything to do with super sentai, tokusatsu, Kamen Rider, or local heroes. Hell I didn’t even know what any of that was until after finishing the show. So I ended up learning something from a show I thought I could otherwise turn my brain off while watching. And with that said, you don’t even need to know any of that stuff either to enjoy this show. Would it help further your enjoyment? Yeah sure, especially with the last episode and all the narrators/cameos for each episode, but not necessary in the slightest. In short this show pays tribute, homage, and respect to shows of the tokusatsu genre, featuring live action characters and colorful special effects, and are aimed at children. Super Sentai airs alongside the Kamen Rider series in the Super Hero Time programming block on Sunday mornings. In North America, the Super Sentai series is best known as the source material for the Power Rangers series. Got that? K, good. Now local heroes are fictional Japanese superheroes created to represent a particular region of Japan, such as a prefecture or city. They are typically themed after the locale of their creators, and often perform in special martial arts stage shows, and serve to teach children about certain things such as road traffic and food safety.

This show builds its identity and theme around those concepts. Again, all of which were foreign to me before starting the series. So my first impression was that this was going to be a comedy series that relies on being a monster of the week sort of deal, in the most literal sense. And I would’ve been content with that, as the first episode left me in stitches at a time I was really down on my luck. And also in an otherwise mostly sol, isekai/fantasy, romantic filled season. Now sure there were other comedies airing around the same time too, but I wanted something that was more comedically barebones and didn’t rely on the romance or fantasy aspect for the source of its comedy. So I picked up this series solely based on the poster and positive but small reception it was getting on /a/. And boy am I glad I did, this show was the highlight of my week. It was unpredictable but not lol so random, it had critiques of the japanese work environment without getting its head stuck up its ass, and it did the impossible and got me to genuinely fall head over heels for an idol character.

Speaking of which, all characters in this series are a riot. Wolf-kun, Kuroitsu-san, Canon(a badass bird who can defeat just about anyone except for blader, despite his non-intimidating and feathered exterior), long ranged uncle, the jobber friends, mummy-chan, the magical ‘girl’ duo, and possibly the most awesome of all, Megustas! I could go on and on about the characters and what they bring to the table in terms of jokes and variety. I wish the series focused on certain characters more like spider-chan and the leader, with her room of maidenly conditioned love. But I admire how the series is able to have a large cast, yet retain its focus on the handful that matter. And it’s a good thing that these characters are as likable as they are.

The story usually pertains to how they’ll be able to defeat their rival, local hero Blader! But will sometimes divert from the main plot to focus on other tasks such as job interviews, going to the beach, getting approval from other higher up executives to create a new monster, and even discussing work with other evil companies. The plot is interesting and more than serviceable as a means for the jokes. And while the animation is never stellar, there is a noticeable dip in the quality around the last few episodes, save for the last bit of the final episode. But the show isn’t trying to win you over with its beautiful and articulate backgrounds or animation, it just wants to make your day brighter and give props to all the heroes old and new. This series didn’t nearly get the credit it deserved and was probably my personal highlight of the season even if others seem to disagree, and if there were objectively more well made shows. If you liked Samurai Flamenco, you just might also fall in love with Kuroitsu San.>