The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers is a beloved television show that children of multiple generations have grown up with. The series got its beginning in 1992 and has been running ever since, having nearly 30 different seasons so far. People of all ages have fallen in love with the show for its cool costume designs, action scenes, and the Rangers' megazords.
But over the years, anime has provided quite a few series that top the Power Rangers franchise. Since Power Rangers originates from the Japanese adaptation Super Sentai, there are multiple anime that are parodies or even straightforward takes on that same superhero ideal.
10 Tiger & Bunny Turns Being A Superhero Into A Career
Tiger & Bunny shows what happens when superheroes try to make hero work into a career, as the heroes all have to find ways to pay for their lives while continuing to help people. The show eschews a full team of fighters in favor of focusing on a pair of heroes: the veteran Kotetsu T. Kaburagi and the newbie Barnaby J. Brooks.
While the two of them don't agree on the best way to be a hero at first, they accomplish some amazing things together. This series was so popular that it was brought back over a decade later and it's still successful.
9 Ronin Warriors Sees Armored Heroes Battling An Ancient Warlord
In the distant past, an evil warlord known as Talpa attacked the planet. After being beaten, his power was taken and split into nine separate armors. Thousands of years later, Talpa has returned, corrupting four of the nine armors to serve as his generals.
The only ones that can stand in his way are the owners of the five remaining armors. This series contained all the action one would expect from a sentai series combined with a much better budget, since it was animated.
8 Concrete Revolutio Hops Between Past And Future To Tell A Powerful Story
In the distant past, Jiro Hitoyoshi is a member of the Super Population Research Laboratory, a group responsible for protecting both superhumans and humanity from one another. In the present, Jiro's own friends have turned against him and begun hunting him down.
The two different points in time allow Concrete Revolutio to tell a single narrative separated by five years. This makes following the storyline sometimes difficult but rewarding for everyone paying attention.
7 Double Decker: Doug & Kirill Is The Ultimate Buddy Cop Anime
A spin-off of Tiger & Bunny, Double Decker takes the focus off the heroes and places it onto to law enforcement. The protagonists of Double Decker are veteran detective Doug Billingham and newbie cop Kirill Vrubel. The two of them are members of SEVEN-O, an organization created to stop super-crime committed by users of a drug called Anthem.
Kirill dreams of becoming a hero while Doug wants nothing more than to be back home by 5:30. Though they aren't superheroes, their organization uncovers a secret conspiracy behind the Anthem users that changes everything they know about how their world works.
6 Samurai Flamenco Goes From Being A Parody To Being Serious
Meant to be a parody of Super Sentai and Kamen Rider, Samurai Flamenco eventually leans into its tokusatsu roots. The lead protagonist Masayoshi Hazama is a model who wants to become a hero, even going so far as dressing up as the hero Samurai Flamenco at night.
But the series becomes more serious over time, as certain enemies take notice of Masayoshi's actions and escalate the crime that Masayoshi has to fight. What starts as a joke turns into a very serious battle for the fate of the planet.
5 Love After World Domination Has A Red Ranger Fall In Love With A Villain
Love After World Domination has an amazing parody take on Super Sentai and Power Rangers. In this world, the protagonist is Fudou Aikawa, the leader of the Gelato 5. As Red Gelato, Fudou battles against Desumi Magahara and her evil army. There’s just one problem: Fudou has fallen in love with Desumi.
After challenging her to meet him, Fudou confesses his love for her, and convinces her to go on a date with him. Though it shouldn't work, the hero and villain begin their romance while trying to keep it a secret from everyone else.
4 SSSS.Gridman Brings Back A Beloved '90s Hero
SSSS.Gridman is an animated series based on the 1990s Tokusatsu series Denkou Choujin Gridman. But while the anime is a reference to that series, the show itself focuses on an entirely new protagonist.
This Gridman is Yuta Hibiki, a young man who's lost his memory but discovers the power of a giant known as Gridman hidden in an old computer belonging to his classmate Rikka. With the help of Gridman, Yuta and his friends battle against the massive monsters threatening their town. The Gridman series has been successful enough to garner two different sequel anime.
3 Bubblegum Crisis Inspired Many Cyberpunk Anime
Bubblegum Crisis is a key influence for much of the cyberpunk from the '90s. Its visual style and direction made it a standout anime of the late '80s and a series worthy of watching decades later. In the distant future, humanity struggles against rampaging Boomers, which are androids pretending to be human.
Boomer crime has become prevalent, and the only ones capable of stopping it are the Knight Sabers. As a group of women assembled by businesswoman Sylla Stingray, the Knight Sabers represent the last line of defense against Boomers.
2 Garo: Vanishing Line Features An Invincible Hero Protecting Humanity
The Garo franchise has been running since the mid-2000s and focuses on the owner of the Golden Armor of Garo, the only weapon capable of fighting back against monsters known as Horrors. In Vanishing Line, the Golden Knight owner is named Sword.
While battling against Horrors in the massive Russell City, Sword learns about a mythical location known as El Dorado, said to be a safe haven for humans. Vanishing Line is a great tokusatsu series as an anime that features the violence and themes fans who grew up with Power Rangers are likely looking for.
1 Ultraman Sees Humanity Rely On Ultraman's Power Against An Alien Invasion
The recent Ultraman is a Netflix anime adapting a popular manga series. Rather than being set in the existence Ultraman timeline, this series takes place in a timeline where only the original Ultraman happened. Decades after the original Ultraman went home, a new alien threat has arrived.
But Shinjiro Hayata, son of the original Ultraman, wields the power necessary to stop these new aliens. But Shinjiro's not alone, as other people gain the power to wield the Ultraman Suits to defend humanity. Originally running a single season, Netflix brought the show back for a second nine episode season to continue adapting the manga and building this massive Ultraman Universe.