The is a

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

which debuted in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

from 2003 through 2006. The ''Chouseishin Series'' was produced by Toho Company, Ltd., in association with

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

, to emulate and rival the success of Toei's ''

Super Sentai is a Japanese superhero team metaseries and media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company, and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi ("Sentai" is the Japanese word for "task force" or "fighting squadron"). The sho ...

'' and ''

Kamen Rider The , also known as ''Masked Rider Series'' (until Decade), is a Japanese superhero media franchise consisting of tokusatsu television programs, films, manga, and anime, created by manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. ''Kamen Rider'' media generall ...

'' series.

The Chouseishin Series

* - 2003/2004
The first of the Chouseishin series, the Gransazers involves a group of 12 ordinary people who have the power to transform and don the Gransazer battle suits, that were created by an ancient race of

humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

, before an

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...

alliance wiped them out millions of years ago for being a threat to the universe. The Gransazers are divided into four tribes:

flame A flame (from Latin ''flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, and

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

. Each tribe has a mechanoid called a Chouseishin, which they can summon only when the three GranSazers of each tribe join together and use their Knuckle Risers. With their Chouseishin, the Cloud Dragon, and Guntras, the Gransazers combat alien threats from the alliance that intend to finish what they started. However, near the series finale, the GranSazers learn the truth of what occurred in the past and try to clear humanity of the charges placed against it by a devious member of the alliance. * - 2004/2005
The second of the Chouseishin series, the Justirisers involves a group of three people who were given the power to transform and don the Justiriser battle suits, powered by the Justicrystal which is sought by the forces of the Hadess Army under Kaiser Hadess. Eventually joined by their former enemy Demon Knight, the bearer of the Riser Stone, Riser-Shirogane defeats Kaiser Hadess and then the JustiRisers contend with Hadess older brother Majin Daruga who seeks both powers for his own use. * - 2005/2006
The last of the Chouseishin series, it opens to Earth in the year 2500 when it has been taken over by a group of space pirates known as Neo-Descal. The remaining members of the human resistance send their trump card weapons, the three Ryuuseishin warships to the past to try and change the future by defeating Neo-Descal's ancestors, the Descal fleet, when they invade Earth in 2005. Along with the Ryuuseishin comes Ad, captain of the Adle-Eagle squad and his right-hand man, Gordo; Kane, captain of the Beet-Vizor squad; the twin Sazers Ein and Zwein; and Remy, who pilots Great Lio. Ad and Kane are joined by Takuto Andou, whose grandfather met Captain Shark, leader of the resistance, as a young man and was left with a Knuckle Cross to allow his grandson in 2005 to become the third member of the team known as Sazer-X.

TV specials

* ''Chouseishin Gransazer: Super Battle Memory'' (2005) * ''Genseishin Justirisers: Super Battle Memory'' (2005)

Movie

* '' Chousei Kantai Sazer-X the Movie: Fight! Star Warriors'' - 2005

Trademark themes

* "Souchaku" (meaning "Equip") is the series' trademark henshin call, yet in the Philippine and English dubs of ''Gransazers'', they replaced it with "Transform" in

Cartoon Network Philippines Cartoon Network is a Filipino pay television channel operated by Warner Bros. Discovery under its International division, which primarily shows animated programming. The Philippine version is a branch of Cartoon Network Asia and broadcasts exc ...

, GMA, and

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

. There were ''Gransazers'' VCDs in the Philippines dubbed in English with the style used in

, except episodes 37-40. In ''Justirisers'', Filipino dubbers from Hero Channel and English dubbers from

used "Transform", while those from GMA had used both "Transform" and "Equip" for the whole series. Meanwhile, in ''Sazer-X'', Filipino dubbers discontinued the use of "Transform" and replaced it with "Equip" in Hero and "Gear Up" in GMA, while the dubbers in

used "Power Up". * "Dive In" is the series' trademark command for entering inside a particular Star God. * In ''Justirisers'', the Filipino dubbers of both Hero Channel and GMA used "Justiriser" instead of "Riser" to prefix the heroes' names so that Riser Glen was known as Justiriser Glen, Riser Kageri was known as Justiriser Kageri, and Riser Gant was known as Justiriser Gant, although they also used the prefix "Riser" in some episodes.

References to ''Godzilla''

* The Maser Cannons, usually seen in ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

'' films, are seen in the series. * Several Toho

daikaiju is a Japanese media genre that focuses on stories involving giant monsters. The word ''kaiju'' can also refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and battling either the military or other monster ...

, many of them from the ''Godzilla'' franchise, are lampooned in the series, including monster designs and monster roars; similar to what ''

Ultra Q is a tokusatsu science fiction kaiju series made in the tradition of Toho's many tokusatsu sci-fi/horror films. Produced in black and white by Tsuburaya Productions, this is actually the first of the long-running Ultra Series, and was broadcast ...

'' did in the past. *The Gotengo from the 1963 Toho film ''

Atragon is a 1963 Japanese tokusatsu science fiction film produced and distributed by Toho. It is based on ''The Undersea Warship: A Fantastic Tale of Island Adventure'' by Shunrō Oshikawa and ''The Undersea Kingdom'' by Shigeru Komatsuzaki. The film i ...

'' and the 2004 Toho film '' Godzilla: Final Wars'' appears in ''Sazer X the movie''.

Other media

* Riser Glen and Lio-Sazer featured in a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

match for HUSTLE with

Kenzo Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and in the United States with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion in the lat ...

and

Hiroko Suzuki , née , (born 1974) is a Japanese people, Japanese politician, professional wrestling Manager (professional wrestling), valet, occasional professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter best known in the United States for her work wi ...

, which they won.

External links

Toho website
{{ChouSeiShin Series Toho tokusatsu Mass media franchises introduced in 2003 Television franchises