Persona 5 is hailed for its music, presentation, and colorful characters, as well as tackling heavy subject matter through an upbeat and exciting adventure bolstered by fast-paced action and psychedelic imagery. While historical thieves and pirates are major influences on the Persona 5 cast's personalities and designs, so too is what is arguably their natural antithesis: the classic Japanese superhero shows, particularly those inspired by Super Sentai.

While having the pretense of being criminal burglars complete with calling cards, The Phantom Thieves actually have more in common with a lot of superhero tropes. Possessing secret identities, special powers, colorful costumes and an iconic team name as they fight off against a rogues' gallery of villains in Tokyo, the Phantom Thieves greatly resemble the typical Silver Age comic book superhero, even calling themselves as such. The over-the-top poses, wild special moves and near-constant spiels of the power of friendship are also greatly reminiscent of Japan's signature take on the superhero genre: tokusatsu shows such as Kamen Rider or Super Sentai.

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The Phantom Thieves chase a target in Persona 5 Strikers.

With the nature of the Persona series themed around teenagers summoning superpowers to fight supernatural monsters in modern-day Japan, the franchise's landmark fifth entry features a lot of similarities with American comic book superheroes. However, it also draws inspiration from the extremely popular Super Sentai mega-franchise (known famously as Power Rangers in Western territories). Invariably a Super Sentai series features young men and women (typically some being in high school) becoming super-powered heroes fighting against malevolent monsters-of-the-week that invade everyday society. The solidarity between a Persona 5's resident cast and their frequent battles against the often bizarre Shadows perfectly reflects the typical Super Sentai formula.

These similarities aren't a coincidence, either. Within the Persona series is the recurring in-universe TV Show Phoenix Ranger Featherman R, an obvious parody and homage to the Super Sentai series (specifically Chojin Sentai Jetman). The Feathermen are referenced frequently by characters throughout the series, but their presence is most overt in Persona 4 and its various spin-offs. The main cast can wear alternate costumes directly based on the Rangers. Yukari Takeba plays the current Pink Argus Ranger in the story of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, and Yu Narukami is explicitly stated to be based on the Blue Ranger archetype in the Persona 4 artbook.

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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Super Sentai is not the only superhero show that Persona 5 takes inspiration from, however. The Phantom Thieves in Persona 5 have stated various possible inspirations for their designs, notably Ann Takamaki Panther costume, which she states resembles "a female villain in an anime she used to watch," which could reference Fujiko Mine from Lupin the Third, Lady Doronjo from the superhero comedy Yatterman or even DC Comics' Catwoman from her Panther outfit. Kamen Rider, another popular tokusatsu show, is referenced heavily with Makoto's mask and her Persona Johanna being a motorcycle. There's also the superhero Zephyrman introduced in Persona 5 Strikers, which has strong Kamen Rider vibes.

The most obvious and epic reference to another tokusatsu show is with Satanael, the ultimate Persona of Joker powered by the bonds of his friends and the faith in the people of Tokyo in the Phantom Thieves. Satanael is not only a towering behemoth requiring unison between the members (much like a Sentai mecha or a Megazord) but its nature as a being of hope with an unstoppable finishing move is a reference to the original tokusatsu hero, Ultraman. This comparison is also somewhat ironic, as Ultraman is known as a being of light and is a messianic figure inspired by Eiji Tsuburaya's own faith, while Satanael is obviously modeled after Satan and provides the imagery of shooting God in the face, with the larger Megami Tensei franchise the Persona series is a part of often featuring dark takes on religion.

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