SUPER SENTAI No.17 ／ 1993
五星戦隊ダイレンジャー
A leaderless ensemble drama that broke the series' mold.
Five young descendants of the Dai tribe, wielders of "qi", rise against the Gorma tribe awakened after 6000 years. An ensemble drama with a unified oriental aesthetic, made amid the era's fighting-game boom.
WHY IT MATTERS / Why it’s remembered
No hype — just the facts: structure, firsts, and the people behind it.
Rather than the usual "Red = leader" structure, it was told as an ensemble piece — a bold departure for the series at the time.
Kiba Ranger / Kou, introduced from ep.17, is a boy of 9–10 — a rare case of a child as the additional warrior.
To break from earlier fantasy entries, the show unified its characters, world and music around oriental motifs — its score layering Chinese and Japanese percussion over electric instruments, a sound unlike any other in the franchise. The opening theme was composed by Katsuo Ohno.
Made when competitive fighting games were a social phenomenon, it built its premise around martial arts and "qi" — its move-and-stance choreography resonating with kids' arcade experiences of the time.
The kung-fu the five use draws on real Chinese martial arts, and even their roll-call poses reflect each character's style. Every suit actor cast for the transformed heroes was an experienced practitioner of Chinese martial arts — setting the show apart through its action.
Positioned at the time as the franchise's 15th-anniversary entry, the show repeatedly set out to break patterns it had long followed. The actor who played Shoji / Tenma Ranger has recalled that the five leads took it on with a determination to "play something different from before".
Noboru Sugimura laid down the main throughline while individual writers each took whole arcs — Kunio Fujii the "Peacock" arc, Toshiki Arakawa the "Gorma Three Kids" arc, Toshiki Inoue the "Fist-Sage Jin" arc. Assigning the story by writer this way is cited as the first, and so far only, such experiment in Super Sentai.
According to staff, the "Dai" simply comes from "big (dai) Ranger". An early working title was "Daikenja", and Tatsuya Nōmi (Daigo) has recounted that a name like "Chūka Sentai Chinaman" was also floated at the planning stage.
The score was written by Eiji Kawamura, already established on the Kamen Rider series, who that same year scored the film Kamen Rider ZO in parallel. Character design was handled by Yasushi Shinohara together with manga artist and illustrator Michael Harachoh, with lead director Yoshiaki Kobayashi's wishes heavily reflected in the Gorma officers and monsters.
CREW / The people behind it
Key crew of the original broadcast — not later reruns or sequels.
Full episodes, free on the official Toei Tokusatsu YouTube channel — play them right here (official embed, no autoplay).
© Each video belongs to Toei. Playback uses YouTube’s official embed (this site does not host the footage).
New to it?
A singular entry: martial-arts combat powered by "qi", born at the height of the fighting-game era. Stylised, deliberate choreography. Start with the official episode 1, free.
Availability changes over time — please check current listings on each service.
OWN IT / Keep the show on your shelf
Every episode, on your shelf — the official video releases.
Product data: Rakuten / Yahoo! Shopping (images provided unmodified by each mall). Price & stock vary.
White KibaRanger, Kou, is a young boy who joins the team late — the "sixth warrior".
ROOTS / The myths behind the power
Dragon, phoenix, lion, heavenly horse, qilin: the sacred beasts of classical Chinese and East Asian art. We trace the source of their qi through paintings and figures. Images © Wikimedia Commons (PD / CC — credited per image)
The real DX toys. Photos via Rakuten / Yahoo! (API); links go to product pages.
The original DX toys (mostly out of print, second-hand only) paired with Bandai’s recent Soul of Chogokin reissues, grouped by robot. Current items use Rakuten / Yahoo! (API) photos; out-of-print items use this site’s generated symbols.
Symbols for out-of-print items are generated art by this site (not official designs). Prices omitted (they change).
Crests are abstract symbols assigned by this site — not official designs.
A martial-arts tribe that warred with the Dai clan 6,000 years ago and has revived in the present.
The foremost of the three Gorma officers, who transforms via a silver iron mask; an ambitious schemer eyeing the throne.
Cast · 西凛太朗
A female officer with a golden iron mask — once of the Dai clan before turning to the Gorma.
Cast · 天祭揚子
One of the three officers, with a grey iron mask; wields brute strength and lightning, and hungers for promotion.
Cast · 田村円
The Gorma's leader, bearing a third eye on his brow; a secret about his true nature is revealed late in the series.
Cast · 幸田宗丸 ↗
The villains are documented in these official references. Covers via Rakuten / Yahoo! (API).
Blu-ray, DVD boxes, art books, S.H.Figuarts, soft vinyl, model kits, role-play gear and more — sorted by type. Photos via Rakuten / Yahoo! (API); links go to product pages. prices omitted (they change)
You could never settle who the leader was — all five stood nearly equal, and a different one took the spotlight each week.
A memory of this showA kid about your own age — nine-year-old Kou — fought as Kiba Ranger, and that was a shock.
A memory of this showAfter the henshin call, everyone struck kung-fu stances — of a piece with copying karate and Hong Kong action films.
A memory of this showFive descendants of the Dao-wielding Dai tribe are gathered by the master Kaku, and the fight against the Gorma — revived after 6,000 years — begins.
A memory of this showThe sixth warrior, Kiba Ranger, debuts — the boy Kou, chosen by the White Tiger sword, inherits its power.
A memory of this showThe finale. The battle between the Gorma and the Dairangers reaches its conclusion.
A memory of this showAlso search second-hand
Out-of-print and limited items often surface here. Opens a search on each site (links only).
The way back in / 1993
Friday, February 19, 1993, half past five. From the slot where Zyuranger had just ended, a new and distinctly oriental sound began to play.
We all remember
Theme song
「Gosei Sentai Dairanger」
Vocals: NEW JACK Takuro / Lyrics: Saburo Yatsude / Music: Katsuo Ohno / Arr.: Kenji Yamamoto
▶ Find the official audio (YouTube) Insert songs & score ↓· What happened in the world that year is woven into the Broadcast Chronicle below.
The sound / SOUNDTRACK
Score by Eiji Kawamura. Composed the series background score. No lyrics — only credits and a link to search for the official audio.
Vocals: NEW JACK Takuro / Lyrics: Saburo Yatsude / Music: Katsuo Ohno / Arr.: Kenji Yamamoto
Vocals: NEW JACK Takuro / Lyrics: Saburo Yatsude / Music: Katsuo Ohno / Arr.: Kenji Yamamoto
Vocals: Funky Y.K. / Lyrics: Saburo Yatsude / Music: Yasuo Kosugi / Arr.: Akihiko Yoshida
The entrance theme for the giant robot Dairenoh.
Vocals / Lyrics / Music / Arr.: Tsuno Gōji
Vocals / Lyrics / Music / Arr.: Tsuno Gōji
Vocals: Funky Y.K. / Lyrics: Yasuo Kosugi / Music & Arr.: Masato Mochizuki
Vocals: Tsuno Gōji, Pythagoras / Lyrics, Music & Arr.: Tsuno Gōji
A comic number themed on the enemy Gorma tribe.
Vocals: Yōko Ishida / Lyrics: Mitsuko Shiramine / Music: Nobuhiko Kashiwara / Arr.: Akihiko Yoshida
Vocals: Nobuhiko Kashiwara / Lyrics: Kazunori Sonobe / Music: Nobuhiko Kashiwara / Arr.: Akihiko Yoshida
Vocals: Funky Y.K. / Lyrics: Kazunori Sonobe / Music: Yasuo Kosugi / Arr.: Masato Mochizuki
Vocals: Nobuhiko Kashiwara / Lyrics: Saburo Yatsude / Music & Arr.: Nobuhiko Kashiwara
Theme for Won Tiger / Kiba Daioh, the sixth fighting force.
Links open search results (not a guarantee of a specific streamed track). The Amazon Music link is an affiliate link. · Rights info — JASRAC works database ↗
Source: Wikipedia 日本語版 ↗
Broadcast chronicle / 1993–1994
Story turning points (red) interleaved with what was happening in the world (amber). · world events are placed at year resolution
Five descendants of the Dao-wielding Dai tribe are gathered by the master Kaku, and the fight against the Gorma — revived after 6,000 years — begins.
放送ライブラリー ↗On May 15 Japan's first pro football league launched, igniting a soccer boom
Wikipedia ↗On June 9; networks broadcast the celebratory parade live
Wikipedia ↗On October 28, Japan conceded in stoppage time and missed their first-ever World Cup
Wikipedia ↗On August 9 the non-LDP, non-Communist coalition took office
Wikipedia ↗One of the worst postwar rice harvests led to an emergency rice import at year-end
Wikipedia ↗The sixth warrior, Kiba Ranger, debuts — the boy Kou, chosen by the White Tiger sword, inherits its power.
放送ライブラリー ↗The finale. The battle between the Gorma and the Dairangers reaches its conclusion.
放送ライブラリー ↗All 50 episodes / EPISODE GUIDE
Every episode by broadcast cours, with air date, writer and director. Each cours opens with a short summary of how the story moves in that stretch. Key turning points carry a one-line note on what happens. Source: Japanese Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Cours summaries adapt the article’s synopsis, kept to broadcast-order facts. Per-episode synopses are not in the source table, so only key episodes carry a note.
Around 6,000 BC the qi-wielding Dai clan warred with the sorcery-wielding Gorma. In the present the Gorma revive, and under the surviving Dai master Kaku five young people transform into the Dairangers. In episode 8 the five Mythical Qi Beasts unite into the giant warrior Dairen-Oh.
The nine-year-old boy Kou transforms via the White Tiger sword into the adult-bodied Kiba Ranger, joining as the sixth warrior (ep.17). In episode 22 Won Tiger combines with Tenku Qiden to form Kiba Daioh.
The super Qi Beast Daimugen appears and the seven-beast Heavy Armor Qiden is completed (ep.31). From episode 37 the Great Dragon, which permits no war between qi and sorcery, repeatedly descends and disrupts the conflict.
The fate surrounding Kou's mother resolves, and the master Kaku falls in the Gorma succession battle (eps.45–46). In the finale the Gorma officers' surprising true nature is revealed, ending the long war of qi and sorcery.
Not show rips — creators’ own toy and model reviews. Open each on YouTube from the card. © each video belongs to its uploader
Late in the series it is revealed that Shadam is the true emperor and that three Gorma officers were clay dolls.
The appearance of the cosmic guardian Daijinryu forces a truce. The finale avoids a clean resolution, ending with an epilogue 50 years later in which the Gorma revive and the grandchildren of the Dairangers begin a new battle.
Mecha and battle footage was reused in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2 (Dairen-Oh as the Thunder Megazord, Kiba Ranger as the White Ranger / White Tigerzord, etc.).
Along the series, and across the sea.
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