Line #37 Series/ChouSeiShinSeries


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chou_sei_shin.jpg]]
2
3	The ''Chou Sei Shin Series'' (Ultra Star God Series) is a trilogy of {{tokusatsu}} shows aired from 2003-2006. Created by Creator/{{Toho}} (who famously produced the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' movies) and Creator/{{Konami}}, it was their attempt to break into the HenshinHero market that was -- at the time -- dominated by Creator/{{Toei\|Company}} and their two major franchises, ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' and ''Franchise/KamenRider'', with Tsuburaya's ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' for good measure. The shows revolve around the title Ultra Star Gods: HumongousMecha that are used by the protagonists to protect the Earth from an extraterrestrial threat.
4
5	The first entry was ''Series/ChouSeiShinGransazer'', aired in 2003. The Earth was once a [[{{Precursors}} highly advanced civilization]] until it was attacked by the Alien Alliance. The Earth built giant mecha known as Ultra Star Gods to defend themselves, but even with their power the Earth was eventually defeated. Millions of years later, the LostTechnology of that ancient civilization is stirring, [[SuperpowerfulGenetics awakening the ancient DNA]] lying dormant in twelve chosen warriors that calls them to fight a new alien threat once more.
6
7	The twelve heroes- the Gransazer- were each named after a starsign and arranged into four elemental Tribes: Fire, Wind, Earth and Water. The main protagonists are the Fire Tribe, and the three other Tribes originally enter as antagonists to them, either directly or indirectly. When all three members of a Tribe gather, they can awaken and summon their respective Ultra Star Gods.
8
9	The second entry was ''Series/GenSeiShinJustiriser'', aired in 2004, which reduced the number of core heroes from twelve to [[PowerTrio three]]. Long ago, a champion of the Earth called Noulan defeated and [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]] the evil Kaiser Hades, and entrusted her power- [=JustiPower=]- to a future generation. In the present day, a scientist named Doctor Zora aims to free Kaiser Hades, and in response the [=JustiPower=] awakens three chosen humans as warriors known as the Justirisers. Each one can summon a mecha known as a Star God Beast, and when it combines with another mecha called [=RiseRoss=] they can create a Phantom Star God.
10
11	The third entry was ''Series/ChouSeiKantaiSazerX'', aired in 2005. In the year 3000, the Earth is consumed by darkness and conquered by SpacePirates. As humanity's last hope, they send three ships (and their pilots) back in time to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong by preventing the SpacePirates' initial conquest of Earth. In the present day, Takuto Ando is recruited by the time travellers to become the third member of Sazer X, their elite fighting team. To save the Earth, they have to find twelve mysterious {{McGuffin}}s called Cosmo Capsules which, when brought together, will grant one wish. [[Franchise/{{Dragonball}} Sadly, they do not summon a dragon to do this]]. Each member of Sazer X has their own ship and support team, and when a ship combines with a mecha known as a Core-Calibur, they transform into a Shooting Star God.
12
13	The three series were generally praised for the high quality of their giant mecha fights, which were fast and innovative, helped by the actual [[PeopleInRubberSuits mecha costumes]] allowing for ''far'' more flexibility than the bulky suits that ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' usually employs. Unfortunately, the ''Chou Sei Shin Series'' just wasn't popular enough to compete with Creator/{{Toei\|Company}}'s established franchises, and the final installment would end with 38 episodes and a BatFamilyCrossover movie, ''Film/ChouseiKantaiSazerXTheMovieFightStarWarriors''. Though the franchise's legacy can be seen carried over into Konami's later media such as ''Anime/SkyGirls'' and ''VideoGame/{{Otomedius}}''.
14
15	-----
16	!! This series contains examples of:
17
18	* AllYourPowersCombined: Each series has at least one moment where the heroes have to combine their powers.
19	* AndKnowingIsHalfTheBattle: Each episode of ''Sazer X'' ends with AnAesop being delivered by Remy.
20	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Commander Shark being erased from time as a result of the heroes' success]] at the end of ''Sazer X''.
21	* ContinuityCameo:
22	** Mika Shidou from ''Gransazers'' returns in ''Justirisers'', executing the same reverse kick on Shouta that she did with Tenma when they first met. Akira and Naoto also make cameo appearances in ''Justiriser'', the former to give Mio a check up after she visits the doctor's office and the latter to give Shouta a pep talk after he loses his In Loader.
23	** The only overt references to a past Chou Sei Shin series in ''Sazer X'' (besides the film) is the appearance of a Gadaru Seijin, the Gig Fighters and the Megarion mecha in the final arc.
24	* CoolVsAwesome: The series could best be summed up as {{Sentai}} versus {{Kaiju}}.
25	* CrisisCrossover: ''Film/ChouseiKantaiSazerXTheMovieFightStarWarriors'' brings all three sets of heroes together to do battle against a newly unsealed Bosquito.
26	* DancingTheme: The end credits for ''Sazer X'' have Takuto and Remy dancing (later joined by the other Sazers) to the outro music.
27	* DarkestHour: In each series there comes a moment, usually right before or during the finale, where all hope seems lost and the villains look on the verge of victory.
28	* DefectorFromDecadence: Blaird's defection in ''Sazer-X'' comes partly because he can't stand Neo Descal or his fellow Shoguns.
29	* DiabolusExNihilo: ''Sazer X'' has a tendency to have a new complication for the heroes come out of nowhere whenever things seem to be going well.
30	* DiscOneFinalBoss: An example in ''Justiriser'' -- [[spoiler:The heroes kill BigBad Kaiser Hades at the end of the second act of the series, and then his brother appears from nowhere to pick up where he left off]].
31	* EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: Earth in the ''Chouseishin'' universe is...
32	** The home of an [[AdvancedAncientHumans ancient advanced civilization]] which developed their own HumongousMecha and were capable of communing with an EnergyBeing representing the will of the universe (''Gransazer'').
33	** The place where an intergalactic EvilOverlord was [[SealedEvilInACan sealed in a can]] (''Justirisers'').
34	** A "sibling world" to Planet Riser and one of two planets bearing powers that threatened the above EvilOverlord's galactic conquest (also ''Justirisers'').
35	** The hiding place of the wish-granting [[MineralMacguffin Cosmo-Capsules]] (''Sazer-X'').
36	** The capital planet of a galactic empire that threatened the whole universe in the future (also ''Sazer-X'').
37	* ElementalPowers: The four Gransazer tribes each embody a different element -- Fire, Wind, Earth and Water. This motif pops up again in ''Sazer-X'', except with Earth swapped out for Lightning.
38	* EvilCounterpart: Each series has one
39	** The Impactors and [[spoiler:Bosquito]] to the Gransazers in ''Gransazer''. The former are a team of robotic aliens who resemble [[DarkIsEvil dark]] Gransazers]], the latter [[spoiler:is an alien which can copy and use powers from all the Gransazers.]]
40	** Demon Knight in ''Justiriser'', who transforms using similar powers to the Justirisers and acts as their rival on the Hades Army side. [[spoiler:And later Majin Daruga after stealing Demon Knight's powers and using them to become Kurogane, a dark version of Riser Glen's SuperMode.]]
41	** Jackall in ''Sazer X'' is basically an evil Sazer, using similar powers to them to transform and piloting his own Ryuuseishin mecha. In the finale, [[spoiler:a dark variant of Lio-Sazer appears called Black-Lio.]]
42	* TheFourGods: Used as the motif for the Star God Beasts in ''Justiriser'', although interestingly enough the White Tiger-themed Ranga and Azure Dragon-themed Ryuto have their colors switched.
43	* FinishingMove: Unlike in ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', each hero usually has their own finisher attack.
44	* GalacticSuperpower: The ''Chouseishin'' galaxy has several big players.
45	** Warp Monarch in ''Chouseishin Gransazer'' are a "cosmic alliance" of various alien races formed to enforce peace throughout the universe.
46	** The Daruga Imperial Army in ''Genseishin Justiriser'' are an interplanetary empire that seeks to conquer the entire universe. The BigBad and his army are just one subsection of their much larger military.
47	** The [[SpacePirates Descal Fleet]] become this after conquering the Earth. Their descendants formed the Neo Descal, an intergalactic empire that conquered and ravaged dozens of planets, to the point where other alien races in the universe formed an alliance to oppose them.
48	* GoldColoredSuperiority: Interestingly, this trope shows up mostly in the villains instead of the heroes. All three {{Big Bad}}s ([[spoiler:Belzeus, Majin Daruga and King Neo Descal]]) have gold as a dominant color in their palette.
49	* GottaCatchEmAll
50	** The Steller Plates in ''Justiriser'' which need to be destroyed to unseal [[SealedEvilInACan Kaiser Hades]].
51	** The Cosmo Capsules in ''Sazer X''. The Descal SpacePirates want to collect them to take over Earth, Sazer-X wants to collect them to stop Descal.
52	* GreaterScopeVillain: Present in all three series.
53	** ''Chouseishin Gransazer'' has [[spoiler:[[OmnicidalManiac the Bosquito]], an ancient and destructive evil that the Warp Monarch sought to eradicate by wiping all life off of Earth. Belzeus later unseals one as part of his plan to get the Warp Monarch to attack the Earth.]]
54	** [[spoiler:Majin Daruga, Kaiser Hades' older brother, for the first half of ''Justiriser''. While his younger brother's Hades Army are a sect of his Daruga Imperial Army, he and his forces remain distant from the story until receiving word of Hades' death.]]
55	** [[spoiler:The ancient Biyodo aliens in ''Sazer-X'', who drove Earth's original inhabitants off of it long ago, leading them to form the Descal and try to retake the planet millions of years later.]]
56	* {{Kaiju}}: The Space Beasts in ''Justirisers'' and Terror Beasts in ''Sazer-X'', both of which are giant monsters used to facilitate the mecha battles.
57	* LighterAndSofter: ''Sazer X'' had [[LaughablyEvil less serious]] villains and more comedic moments than its predecessors, at least at first. ''Justiriser'' also has relatively more lighthearted tone compared to ''Gransazer''.
58	* MakeMyMonsterGrow: Averted for the most part, as the villains would usually send down an already giant {{kaiju}} rather than enlarge a defeated one. Although this trope does get played straight a few times.
59	** The Akelon and Omega both assumed giant {{kaiju}} forms to facilitate their mecha battles in ''Gransazer''. Impactors Radia and Lucia could also grow themselves larger in order to fight the Gransazers in their Chouseishin.
60	** Several of Doctor Zora's Cyber Knights in ''Justirisers'' could transform into kaiju forms for battle against the Ryuuseishin, as could [[BigBad Kaiser Hades]] [[spoiler:and his big brother.]] The finale also had [[spoiler:the heroes pulling this by merging into a giant version of [[SuperMode Shirogane]].]]
61	** Almost entirely absent from ''Sazer-X'' apart from episode 12 where Blaird gets grown into a giant monster using the Cosmo Capsules and the finale, which exaggerates this trope by having [[spoiler:an already huge kaiju get grown even bigger to the point where it towers over the Ryuuseishin.]]
62	* MilitariesAreUseless: Averted in the first two series, both of which have the heroes being backed up by the JSDF.
63	* MirrorMatch -- [[spoiler:Takuto's fight against Black-Lio]] in the finale of ''Sazer X'' has the two able to counter each others attacks.
64	* MonsterOfTheWeek:
65	** ''Gransazer'' subverts this at first, featuring the Gransazers first having to fight each other in a ''[[Series/KamenRiderRyuki Ryuki]]''-style melee and then doing battle against a set of {{Arc Villain}}s. It isn't until the third quarter that single-episode aliens of the week start to appear.
66	** ''Justirisers'' plays this straighter, alternating between Cyber Knight of the week and Kaiju of the week plots.
67	** ''Sazer-X'' also plays this mostly straight, although the monsters of the week in that series usually aren't the focus of their episodes, which are instead all about collecting the Cosmo Capsules.
68	* MookCarryover: The Gig Fighters used by Warp Monarch in ''Chouseishin Gransazer'' appear again in ''Sazer X'' as the {{Mooks}} of the Space Pirate Fleet Descal. Megarion from ''Justiriser'' also pops up in ''Sazer-X'' as mass-produced {{Giant Mook}}s for Neo Descal. Descal also make use of a Bulgario from the same series in TheMovie.
69	* PeopleInRubberSuits: As with most {{Toku}} series, the monsters are all rubber-suited, albeit ones designed to look incredibly realistic and grounded in the setting.
70	* PowerTrio:
71	** The four tribes in ''Gransazer'' are each comprised of three people.
72	** The Justirisers are also a trio of heroes.
73	** Same with ''Sazer-X'', at least until Shark-Sazer joins the team.. They technically have seven members at the start of the series, but only three are {{Henshin Hero}}es.
74	* QuirkyMinibossSquad -- The Three Shogun of ''Sazer X''. Quite possibly the most plot-integral QuirkyMinibossSquad ever.
75	* {{Robeast}}:
76	** Omega in ''Gransazer'' is a RobotSoldier who [[MakeMyMonsterGrow grows himself]] by transforming into a more organic looking kaiju form.
77	** The Genseishin in ''Justirisers'' are heroic variants, each being a mecha themed after one of TheFourGods.
78	* SealedEvilInACan:
79	** [[spoiler:The Bosquito]] in ''Gransazer''. [[spoiler:And there's more of it.]]
80	** Kaiser Hades is sealed in a metal prison for the first quarter of ''Justiriser''.
81	* SharedUniverse: All three ''Chouseishin'' installments take place in the same universe, as confirmed by various {{Continuity Cameo}}s in each series and TheMovie bringing all three sets of heroes together.
82	* SixthRanger:
83	** The Water Tribe in ''Gransazer'' are the last of the four tribes to be assembled and join the Gransazers.
84	** Demon Knight in ''Justiriser'', who after [[SixthRangerTraitor pretending to be one]] joins the Justirisers for real after regaining his memories.
85	** Shark-Sazer in ''Sazer X''. He's technically with the team at the beginning, but he gets separated from them when they go through time and doesn't rejoin them until later.
86	* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: Each series has the heroes having to fight stronger and stronger villains as it goes on, with each arc usually culminating in a ClimaxBoss whom the heroes have to unlock a new power to defeat.
87	* StrictlyFormula: Averted. ''Chouseishin'' likes to play with the standard {{Sentai}} formula a lot. An episode may only consist of mecha battles or feature none at all and only be focused on battles against human-sized monsters.
88	* StoryArc: Each series is usually divided into three to four arcs consisting of 12-16 episodes.
89	* SuperMode: Riser Shirogane in ''Justiriser'' is the result of Riser Glen being charged with Justi Power by Mio.
90	* TakeAThirdOption -- A rare villainous example in ''Sazer X'': [[spoiler:TheManBehindTheMan King Neo Descal appears from the future to ensure that the Earth is conquered. Instead of adhering to history and conquering the Earth by capturing all twelve Cosmo Capsules (which his minions have thus far tried and failed at) he decides to build a DoomsdayDevice on the moon that will essentially conquer Earth for him]].
91	* TheManBehindTheMan: Used in all three series to some degree.
92	** [[spoiler:The Warp Monarch turn out to have been manipulated by [[TheChessmaster Belzeus]] in ''Chouseishin Gransazer'' into attacking Earth, so he can use it as a foothold as part of his plan to become a GalacticConqueror.]]
93	** [[spoiler:In ''Genseishin Justiriser'', the Hades Army turns out to be a section of the [[TheEmpire Daruga Imperial Army]].]]
94	** [[spoiler:King Neo Descal turns out to have been behind both of the [[SpacePirates Descal]] fleets in ''Chousei Kantai Sazer-X''.]]
95	* TimeTravel: Forms the crux of the plot in ''Sazer X''.
96	* TransformingMecha: All the Sei Shin can shift from vehicle modes to fighting modes.
97	* WireFu: Particularly in ''Gransazer'', where the ways in which the heroes performed attacks and were knocked backward were accomplished through wirework.
98	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Subverted in ''Sazer X'', where the Neo Descal have to keep the useless Three Shoguns around since they're their ancestors and they need to stay alive for the future to stay as is.
99

Context Series / ChouSeiShinSeries