Kamen Rider & Super Sentai Shows

The upshot of collecting data for the anime analysis that I had done was that I also have viewership rating data for ‘Kamen Rider’ and ‘Super Sentai’ shows. So just for a change from anime analysis stuffs, I am presenting the rundown of these two types of entertainment over the last decade based on their average daily rating. Again, all caveats about using the rating to equate to popularity still holds (Number should only be compared against shows of the same time slot. Comparison over time is a bit less accurate).

For those who may not be aware. Kamen rider shows are staple Japanese franchise that have been around since its debut in 1971, with 20+ series of sequels and spin-offs to date. The main story is the usual good guy in weird masked suits fights off aliens. More detailed description can be found here.

The reboot of the franchise can in 2000 with Kamen Rider Cougar. Each spin-offs ran weekly for nearly a year before the next one comes along. Here are the list in terms of popularity.

Title	Year	Average rating	Slots
Kamen Rider Agito	2001-2	11.7	47
Kamen Rider Cougar	2000-1	9.9	44
Kamen Rider Ryuuki	2002-3	9.4	50
Kamen Rider 555	2003-4	9.3	50
Kamen Rider Hibiki	2005-6	8.2	45
Kamen Rider W	2009	8.0	49
Kamen Rider Decade	2009	8.0	31
Kamen Rider Blade	2004-5	7.9	49
Kamen Rider OOO	2010-	7.8	16
Kamen Rider Kabuto	2006-7	7.7	49
Kamen Rider Den-O	2007-8	6.9	49
Kamen Rider Kiba	2008-9	6.2	48
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight	2010	1.3	14

Note:
1). Kamen rider shows monopolize the Sunday 8.00 slot of EX, since Burn!! Robocon (the reboot of Ganbare!! Robocon) ended its run on 30-Jul-00. The only Kamen rider shows that did not run in this time slot are the 29 episodes of reruns of Kamen Rider Decade at 6.30 Sunday in 2010 and Late night showings of Kamen Rider Dragon Night at 1.40, which of course explains its dead last rating number, both with pretty high rating of their own (9.9 and 66.7 respectively)

2). There are no animes running in at the same timeslot on another network. Ojamajo Doremi and Precure are the shows that follow the Kamen shows on EX at 8.30

3). There is a pretty strong correlation over time of the decreasing popularity of Kamen shows. After the peak in 2001, which averages 11.60 rating per episode, the rating has gone down at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.2% to 2010. It shows that there were really strong followings at the beginning of the restart (Cougar) and that peaks with the next show Agito. The shows then trends downward since towards the average of around 7.00 as interest is slowly waning.
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As for sentai, this is also a long-running once-a-week franchise with yearly spin-offs. The series is part of the tokusatsu genre, with a typical story of good guys fighting bad guys. The premise is always a group of 5, typically, people gain magical/technological power to transform themselves into super-being with different coloured outfit. Once they beat the enemies once, they then proceed to board a gigantic robot and beat the bigger version of the monsters again. Check wikipedia page for further detail of this

I used to watch Zyuuranger and Jetman quite religiously during the weekend when I was in primary school. The former is the series that spawned Power Rangers in America and also was one of the series that got me interested in dinosaurs. (Zyuuranger’s theme song is still among my most nostalgic memories! It’s so old-school and the puppet animation at the beginning is so fake but I remembered it being the best thing ever back then.)

For Sentai shows, the information is below:

Title	Year	Average rating	Slots
Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger	2001-2	8.9	47
Mahou Sentai Magiranger	2005-6	7.7	48
Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger	2002-3	7.5	51
Mirai Sentai Timeranger	2000-1	7.2	46
Bakuryu- Sentai Abaranger	2003-4	7.2	50
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger	2004-5	7.1	50
GoGo Sentai Boukenger	2006-7	6.7	49
Samurai Sentai Shinkenger	2007	5.9	49
Tensou Sentai Goseiger	2010	5.5	45
Juken Sentai Gekiranger	2009-10	5.2	49
Engine Sentai Go-Onger	2008-9	5.1	50
Kyuukyuu Sentai GoGoFive	2000	4.7	6

Note:

1). Super Sentai series certainly have a bit more histories than Kamen Rider, with one new show releasing every year for the past 30 years or so. Its popularity is also very steady, stabilizing at around. There seems to be a slightly higher rating number at the beginning of the decade but the difference is not as strong as for Kamen Rider

2). Similar to Kamen Rider, Super Sentai dominates the morning Sunday 7.30 timeslot with no competing animes.

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Interestingly, this decreasing trends are not only restricted to Kamen Riders and Super Sentai shows. Among the mainstream animes (think One Piece, Naruto, Sazae-san, Love Hina), there has also been a downward trend in average rating over the decade, to the tune of about 9% decrease per year. Unless I have sources for other non-anime program, I cannot say conclusively whether this is because of the diminishing popularity of anime or the rise of any other entertainment/information sources. One thing this piece of information may tell us is that fewer people are actually tuning in to watch live anime shows, preferring to download it from the internet or record it for later watch, both activities of which are not captured.

Any comment is most welcomed and let me know if there is anything in particular you are interested from this info:)

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