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Superheroes, Japanese style. The word can best be translated as "Task Force." Usually come in teams, with color-keyed uniforms and a range of personalities/roles that usually follows some variation on the FiveManBand. Known for their [[SuperSentaiStance synchronized posing]].

Not strictly limited to anime -- there have been innumerable live action {{Sentai}} series in Japan, most notably ''SuperSentai'', the series which was re-edited into ''PowerRangers'' in the United States, and 2003's ''PrettyGuardianSailorMoon''.

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!!Examples:

* ''SailorMoon'' is a hybrid {{Sentai}}[=/=]MagicalGirl show that started the MagicWarrior trope, which is basically a hybrid of these tropes.
* Even ''ShugoChara'' has done it with Kukai. ''Ore wa...GUARDIAN FIVE!'' That is definitely his CrowningMomentOfAwesome.
* ''BubblegumCrisis'' has {{Sentai}} elements as well -- note the individually colored hardsuits and the almost stereotyped set of personalities found among the Knight Sabers.
* ''ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'' (known in America as ''Battle of the Planets'' or ''G-Force'') is a classic {{Sentai}} anime.
* ''{{Moldiver}}'' both parodies and pays tribute to classic {{Sentai}} elements (not to mention {{Magical Girl}}s, too).
* ''MahouSenseiNegima:'' In an obvious parody of ''SuperSentai''/''PowerRangers'', the five girls from Negi's class with the lowest grades dub themselves the "{{Baka}} Rangers", complete with appropriate "hero names", like "Baka Pink" and "Baka Red".
* American animators have made their own version with a twist: ''SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo!'' features a {{Sentai}}-ish team of, well, robot monkeys, complete with different colors and personalities.
* ''{{TeenTitans}}'' also makes reference to sentai with the team colors (Beast Boy: Green, Robin: Red, etc) which are displayed at the end of its upbeat opening sequence, then of course there's all the team poses.
* ''KeroroGunsou'' does a few parodies of the {{Sentai}} genre. Episode 24 introduces Space Detective Kogoro, an explicit parody of Kenji Ooba in his role as the title character of the {{Toku}} series ''Space Sheriff Gavan''.
* Spoofed in ''{{Mai-HiME}}'', where Midori (the one who JumpedAtTheCall, thinking she's SailorMoon) proposes teaming up into the "[=HiME=] Rangers" to fight the [[MonsterOfTheWeek monsters of the week]] more effectively. The two [=HiMEs=] who dismiss the idea as ridiculous ([[spoiler: Natsuki and Nao]]) are tied up and dragged to the meeting place anyway.
* Also spoofed in ''{{Yumeria}}:'' once all the girls are active in the dream world, they look at their individually-colored outfits and their attacks, and decide they need [[CallingYourAttacks attack names]] and a victory pose.
* ''{{Lime-iro Senkitan}}'', with its five girl Lime unit, in five colours.
* ''{{Cosprayers}}'', an intentional parody of the genre with added {{Fanservice}}.
* ''RoninWarriors'' had {{Sentai}} on the sides of both the good guys and the bad guys.
* ''SchoolRumble'' briefly featured ''[[ShowWithinAShow Hatenkou Robo Dojibiron]]'' in one episode, whose five pilots (and mecha) were very much a homage to ''Super Sentai''. For bonus points, the Dojibiron team's names were [[{{TheDanza}} nearly the same as the five principle voice actresses]], the only difference being the color-coded ThemeNaming.
* ''[[ShowWithinAShow Chouken Sentai Blade Braver]]'' in ''BambooBlade''. Tama, the main girl in the show, considers herself an "ally of justice" like the Blade Bravers themselves, and in fact uses the motivation of fighting for right to join the kendo club. Later on, the show reveals that ''Braver'' is just one of many in the 31-year long "''Battle Hero''" series, making it an obvious LawyerFriendlyCameo of ''SuperSentai''
* The [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Ginyu Force]] of ''[[DragonBall Dragon Ball Z]]'' are a parody of this trope: there are five of them (instead of the [[{{FourIsDeath}} four]] which are traditional in villainous groups), and they constantly strike poses and throw group attacks. In fact, when recruiting new members for the team, Captain Ginyu is mostly concerned with their posing ability.
* ''MagicalPokaan'' has a singular, Sentai-based episode that becomes increasingly silly. Since the show only has [[FourTemperamentEnsemble four leading girls]], the fifth spot is filled by no one -- the green suit is an empty shell. On top of that, the team's SuperRobot never forms correctly, with mishaps ranging from a missing component to five copies of the same component attempting to fuse together. The end of the episode is a stream of random gags that would take too long to explain here.
** There actually is a fifth ranger. She just happens to be invisible.
* Spoofed in ''GodHand'' with the Mad Midget Five: a squad of five characters in colour-coded outfits with high-pitched voices, none of whom even reach the main character's waist, prentending they're super heroes and pulling flashy moves. Add to that their high speed and agility, and you have [[ThatOneBoss one of the most annoying boss encounters in the whole game]].
** "We are... [[TeamShot the Mad Midget FIVE!"]] ''[[CrowningMomentOfFunny "...Douchebags!"]]''
* ''ExcelSaga'' the manga is somewhere between a {{Deconstruction}} and [[TheParody Parody]] of this genre. The anime, meanwhile, throws out the serious elements and goes into full-blown parody with Municipal Team Daikenzan (based on an OldShame of Rikdo Koshi's).
* ''SchoolDays''' OVA ''Magical Heart Kokoro-chan'' has elements of this and MagicalGirl in it. In this particular instance, the team of powered heroines is working for low pay, using a ''vacuum cleaner'' as a weapon and has particularly kinky outfits for their battling.
* Parodied in ''MegasXLR'' with the [[LawyerFriendlyCameo S-Force]].
* The episode "Super Sooga Squad" of the ''{{Pucca}}'' TV series is an AffectionateParody of Sentai series.
* Parodied in ''{{Special Duty Combat Unit Shinesman}}.'' Their suit colors are the intentionally awful Red, Moss Green, Gray, Sepia, and Salmon Pink.
* The Axem Rangers from SuperMarioRPG are another Sentai parody.
* ''TransformersSuperGodMasterforce'' had a group of Autobots who pretty much acted as a sentai team.
* The Handsome Men in ''{{killer7}}'' are an antagonist version.
* [[{{Disgaea}} "Together...we are...the PRISM RANGERS!!]]"
** [[LampshadeHanging "But there are only three of you. That's not even enough for a rainbow."]]
* An audio drama of ''{{Neon Genesis Evangelion}}'' of all things, set post-series and [[AnimatedActors thoroughly destroying the fourth wall]] has the cast having to re-tool the show for new episodes; Asuka has the pilots (Rei, herself, Shinji, Toji, and Kaworu) try being super sentai. It's... special.
** In the name of everything holy on this planet, please, please tell me where you found it!
*** It's the audio drama on the "Addition" soundtrack (4th one, with four of them on the cover). There are plenty of translations floating about, including one with graphics.
* ''AstroFighterSunred'', a parody of these types of shows.
* Parodied and deconstructed in ''FrankenFran'': Takeshi, a sprinter with a bone disorder, goes to Fran and receives surgery to rebuild his body. Unfortunately, several other sprinters received the same surgery -- when they ''all'' break the world record, he's discredited and disgraced. The others beat the crap out of him, so he gets more surgery and becomes a sentai hero named Sentinel. Then he becomes a KnightTemplar, beating people up for littering, until finally [[spoiler:his victim's family members gun him down. He receives one more surgery, leaving him monstrous... and in his new form he is attacked and killed by ''more'' sentai. The end of the chapter shows the city in a riot of LetsYouAndHimFight battles, while Fran is complaining that everyone wants superpowers but nobody wants to ''pay'' for them.]]
* Most shows about CombiningMecha use the sentai style to some extent -- in fact there's even a CombiningMecha anime called ''ChojinSentaiBalatack'', which includes the FiveManBand with color-coded outfits. About the only thing these sorts of shows don't use is the SuperSentaiStance, since typically the heroes rarely fight outside their vehicles or robots, but even so, the combined robot will usually do plenty of posing upon combining.
* ''{{Bleach}}'' episodes 212 and 213 parody this like there's no tomorrow.
* One of the earliest strips in ''GAGeijutsukaArtDesignClass'' has the five lead girls becoming the "Color Rangers". Keeping with the art theme, they're yellow, magenta, cyan and monochrome. Except for Tomokane, who's red, because every good Sentai team needs a red leader.
* Another ShowWithinAShow example is the Star Rangers in ''MutekiKanbanMusume''. Akihito is a huge fan of them, to the point that when anyone so much as mentions the show, he starts to think he ''is'' Red Star. He seems equally convinced that the rest of the main cast are the other Star Rangers.
* The TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles, who already shared superficial similarities to Sentai, were turned into this outright for the Japanese OVA "Mutant Turtles: Superman Legend"--complete with the gigantic super-form "Turtle Saint".
* Parodied in [[TheWorldEndsWithYou The World Ends With You's]] bonus chapter, "Another Day." After everyone's pins get stolen at a Tin Pin Slammer tournament, Shooter brings Neku and his friends to his "secret base" (really Ramen Don) to form the Tin Pin Rangers and save the day. [[HotBlooded Shooter]] calls Red for himself as team leader, [[IdiotHero Beat]] gets Yellow because of his love of curry, [[DeadpanSnarker Neku]] gets assigned Black and Blue, much to his annoyance, and [[TheChick Shiki]] gets Green to match her boots... but only because [[HoYay Joshua]] called dibs on Pink. [[SixthRanger Rhyme]] joins the team later on and becomes Black, leaving Neku with only Blue, [[spoiler: until she leads them all into a trap and reveals herself as the SixthColumn.]]

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