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Ninja Sentai Kakuranger Cast Reunite for New 30th Anniversary Episode

The history of the Super Sentai (popularly known as Power Rangers in Western countries) franchise is full of firsts. From the first series, Himitsu Sentai Goranger, in 1977 to the first appearance of a sixth ranger in 1987's Hikari Sentai Maskman, then the first regular sixth ranger in 1992's Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, and the first series of the new millennium in 2001's Hyakyujyu Sentai Gyoranger. The series with arguably the most firsts is 1994's Ninja Sentai Kakurenger. The series was the first all ninja team, with the first non-red ranger as a leader, and the first series to have a woman be the team leader. These are all seminal moments in Super Sentai history. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, the cast of Kakurenger has come together once more for a massive 30th anniversary celebration.

The official X (formerly Twitter) account for the Super Sentai series announced te 30th anniversary reunion between Kakuranger's cast on February 7 . The official website revealed on the same day there would be a meetup on May 11. The Kakuranger 30th anniversary website released the full information about the Kakuranger fan meeting on March 30.

The event took place at the Theater G Rosso by the Tokyo Dome on May 11 with two appearances at 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The guests includedthe five principle cast members, Teruaki Ogawa (Sasuke/Ninja Red), Mao Inoue (Tsuruhime/Ninja White), Hiroshi Tsuchida (Saizo/Ninja Blue), Shu Kawai (Seikai/Ninja Yellow), and Kane Kosugi (Jiraiya/Ninja Black), hosted by their junior Super Sentai cast mate and ninja, Kohei Yamamoto (Ninpu Sentai Hurricanger Kouta Bito/Hurricane Yellow). Additionally, guests at the event received mini-script of the first episode and a poster of the former Korakuen Theme Park Kakurenger Hero Show for the 4:30 appearance, alonng with a mini-script of the 25th episode and a poster of the fan meeting.

Along with the 30th anniversary fan meeting, the Super Sentai X account revealed on May 11 a 30th anniversary version of their transformation item, the Doron Changer, from Premium Bandai. According to Premium Bandai's website, the Changer will come with each Kakurangers medal, and several audio tracks by the cast members. Presales of the Doron Changer ends on August 30 and will ship in early February 2025 and cost 11,000 yen (about US$70.57). Unfortunately, Premium Bandai does not ship overseas.

However, the most exciting news from the Kakuranger 30th Anniversary website and Super Sentai X account is a new episode of Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. The new episode, titled “Ninja Sentai Kakuranger Dai San-bu: Chu-nen Funto-hen” (Ninja Sentai Kakuranger Part 3 Middle Age Battle Arc), is set for release sometime in summer 2024 on the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club streaming service. The principle cast members are set to reprise their roles along with appearances from Motoki Ōmori (vocalist from Mr. GREEN APPLE) and rakugo performer Kanda Hakuzan.

For fans of the series, the Ninja Sentai Kakuranger 30th anniversary is turning into a spectacle. Not only is there a fan meeting and new episode, but also a DVD release of the series and videos about the series on Toei Tokusatsu's YouTube channel. While the fan meeting is now over, there's still the new episode to look forward to.

Sources: Ninja Sentai Kakuranger series' website (link 2, link 3) and X/Twitter account (link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5, link 6), Toei Tokusatsu YouTube channel (link 2), Premium Bandai, Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web