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They wear helmets because no one can do this with a straight face.
A subtrope of the Asskicking Pose, performed by a team, usually involving a high degree of either synchronization or symmetry. Often both. As the name suggests, the Power Rangers and Super Sentai teams may be the ur-example. Tends to look strangely awesome, even if it should - by all rights - look silly. Generally speaking, you need at least 5 people to pull this off, though more is better - and some have managed to pull it off with as little as 3.
The trope originated with Sentai and is never played straight outside of a Sentai work; examples outside Sentai works are almost always Affectionate Parodies. Even within works, it's Lampshaded sometimes. For fun, is usually coupled with In the Name of the Moon.
Compare: Asskicking Pose, Angels Pose, V Formation Team Shot and Attack Pattern Alpha.
Examples:
Anime and Manga
Film
- In Kung Fu Panda, the Furious Five do this at the tournament to choose the Dragon Warrior. Accompanied by a gust of wind from Crane.
- In Vampires Suck, the werewolves do it in a very gay way.
Live-Action TV
- Trope Namer: Super Sentai, its American adaptation Power Rangers and all their countless variants, of course. At least Once an Episode.
- At the end of several Super Sentai series, the last episode inevitably involves the rangers having one last pose together out of uniform for one reason or another, (sometimes their powers are completely lost, sometimes they just feel like doing it out of uniform, sometimes they do it helmetless, etc.) and then finishing the Big Bad off for good. The feeling of Screw Destiny and Nakama in some of these cases is so powerful it's downright moving.
- Interestingly, when different teams of Rangers team up, they do their roll call poses but the final team shot is of all 10-12 with their arms at their sides (as there's a big explosion in the background, followed by Ranger-colorcoded smoke clouds. Well, PR gets the smoke clouds.)
- Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger arguably pokes fun at this with Gokai Green, who (as the Comic Relief) tends to do very odd poses like giving himself bunny ears. Even this was lampshaded in one episode where the team fought Evil Twins and, upon seeing his own role call pose, Green complains that it looks like he's wiping his hands on his pants after peeing; Yellow and Silver say that it's always looked like that.
- Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon did this alot once all the scouts were introduced. Each one in a group would start their In the Name of the Moon speech and pose, and then cut away to a group shot with them all finishing it in sync.
Video Games
- Among the many, many Shoutouts to classic Japanese series, Ralf and Clark from The King of Fighters used to have a special intro pose mirroring the Cross Changer from Chojin Sentai Jetman.
- The YuRiPa team of Final Fantasy X-2 engage in this a few times during the course of the game, most notably in the intro sequence, and often involving the Angels Pose.
- The Meatball Brigade does this in .hack//ROOTS.
- In Katamari Damacy, cousin Kuro regularly attempts a solo version of this. He's a huge Sentai fan and an Ineffectual Loner.
- The Prism Rangers of Disgaea, being a straight (except for Prism Violet) Super Sentai parody, made good use of this trope.
- Parodied in God Hand with the Mad Midget Five (a parody of sentai teams, of course). Their pose is to lie on the ground in a V-shaped formation... with their legs sticking up in the air in a V-shape.
- When defeated, they go into "Formation... C!" Which is turning to the side and grabbing each other's hips.
- "D- did you see that? A real Handsome Pose!"
- The main character of Suisei Tenshi Primaveil Zwei, the captain of a parody super sentai team, exults in the first ever defeat of the Magical Girl senshi parody, unconsciously strikes a Victory Pose as he cheers. His subordinates enthusiastically join him in turn. They never speak of this again.
- MOTHER 3 has the Barrier Trio, whose weakness depends on WHICH Super Sentai Stance they're in and which of the Trio is leading the Stance. When they're defeated, exhaused, they strike one last Barrier Pose. It was spectacular.
- One optional Quest in Divinity 2 has a group of people in rags approaching the PC, instantly switching into armor and weapons and striking such a pose. By the way the camera focuses on each one as their amor appears in a beam of light and they shout their names, you know it's a parody of this trope.
Web Comics
Western Animation
- Xiaolin Showdown uses this trope, in the form of 'Dragon Ex Kumai Formation'.
- Early episodes of Transformers Prime had the Autobots doing this almost every time they came through a ground bridge portal. They've since (mostly) gotten over it.
- The acclaimed Futurama episode "Godfellas" has a sect of four unassuming astronomy monks suddenly take on a Sentai Stance when Fry threatens to use their telescope without permission.
Real Life
- In circuses, at the beginning and the end, the members of an act usually come up and make a pose. (And if their act IS a difficult pose, then their starting pose is often a simple one, not related to the pose that is actually their act.)
- Michael Jackson incorporated these with his backup dancers in his live shows. It looks cool, and it's a good time for him to catch his breath.
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