SUPER SENTAI No.18 ／ 1994
忍者戦隊カクレンジャー
The series' first female leader, and its first fully Japanese-themed entry.
Five ninja led by 15-year-old Tsuruhime fight to reseal yōkai released after 400 years. The first arc is comedic; from the second arc onward the tone turns serious.
WHY IT MATTERS / Why it’s remembered
No hype — just the facts: structure, firsts, and the people behind it.
Ninja White / Tsuruhime, heir to the Kakure ryū, leads the team — the first female team leader in the series.
Ninjaman / Samuraiman, disciple of the Three Godgenerals, was the first additional warrior with no human form.
The show was built in two parts — episodes through 24 as Part One, episode 25 onward as Part Two, "Seishun Gekitō-hen" (Youth Battle Arc). Part One ran on comedy, with the female leader Tsuruhime alongside a duty-shy male team; as the story advanced its battle-action side grew, and from Part Two the tone turned more serious, in step with the rangers' growth.
Each episode features a narrator called the Kōshakushi (a classical raconteur). Appearing with a ninja-like puff of smoke, he recaps the plot, explains the yōkai and previews what comes next, signing off each time with "See you next week — Kakuranger!" It turns the usual off-screen narration into an on-screen guide who brings the audience closer to the show's world.
The giant robots comprise three figures — Muteki Shogun, Tsubasamaru and Kakure Daishogun — set up as the "Three Godgenerals" governing mind, technique and body. Rather than collapsing into a single combining robot, this trio of deities forms the backbone of the show's giant-scale battles.
Hirohisa Soda, a former head writer, joined partway through and wrote twelve episodes. Meanwhile Kunio Fujii — a sub-writer on Sentai since Bioman (Zyuranger aside) — left the Super Sentai series for good after writing this show's episode 32.
On direction, Katsuya Watanabe — still in his twenties at the time — handled a career-high 14 episodes here. Hiroshi Butsuda, until then known for his special-effects (tokusatsu) direction, also made his debut directing the main unit on this show.
Character design carried over Yasushi Shinohara and Michael Harachoh from the previous year, joined by newcomers Hideo Okamoto and Osamu Abe. Abe would go on to design Sentai characters from this show through Mirai Sentai Timeranger, while Shinohara — in effect swapped out — left the series after this entry.
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 thoroughly Japanese Sentai built from yōkai and ninja iconography. The story opens on a comedic note. 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.
The blue giant Ninjaman is the "sixth". The leader is the 15-year-old Tsuruhime / Ninja White.
ROOTS / The yokai beneath the story
Nue, nine-tailed fox, earth-spider, kappa, rokurokubi: the yokai of ukiyo-e and old tales. The real folklore art behind the enemies, side by side. Images © Wikimedia Commons (PD / CC — credited per image)
Real DX toys shown via Rakuten / Yahoo! product photos; machines without a toy are shown as this site’s generated symbols, so every machine is listed.
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.
The overlord of the yōkai army, appearing from episode 31; draws its power from the hatred in human hearts.
Cast · 柴田秀勝（声） ↗
Daimaou's son, who unites the scattered yōkai; his true form is the folklore skeleton-spirit Gashadokuro.
Cast · 遠藤憲一 ↗
A mysterious swordsman who joins the yōkai army and works behind the scenes as its strategist.
Cast · 五代高之 ↗
A troupe of five flower-themed female ninja led by Ayame; in truth, the five cats Junior kept as pets.
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)
The giant robots you build yourself — mini-pla and model kits, a gateway since day one.
The leader wasn't Red — she was a girl in White (Tsuruhime). Everyone did a double-take at first.
A memory of this showSasuke descended from Sarutobi Sasuke, Saizou from Kirigakure Saizou — and when those names came up in history class, kids lit up.
A memory of this showThe villains were Japanese yōkai — long-necked specters, umbrella ghosts, kappa — and the nighttime trip to the toilet felt a little scarier.
A memory of this showYōkai sealed away 400 years ago are released, and five descendants of the ninja who sealed them take up the fight as Kakuranger.
A memory of this showThe yōkai army's overlord, Daimaou, first appears — the story's greatest enemy is revealed.
A memory of this showNinjaman, disciple of the Three Godgenerals, returns to Earth after 1,000 years and debuts as the additional warrior.
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 / 1994
Friday evening, 1994, half past five. Home from school, you flipped on the TV and ninja were tearing across the living-room screen before dinner — the hour the franchise's first all-Japanese world of ninja versus yōkai came alive.
We all remember
Theme song
「Secret Kakuranger」
Vocals: Tu Chi Chen / Lyrics: Kayoko Fuyumori / Music: Takashi Tsushimi
▶ 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, continuing from the previous year. No lyrics — only credits and a link to search for the official audio.
Vocals: Tu Chi Chen / Lyrics: Kayoko Fuyumori / Music: Takashi Tsushimi / Arr.: Kenji Yamamoto
Vocals: Tu Chi Chen / Lyrics: Kayoko Fuyumori / Music: Takashi Tsushimi / Arr.: Kenji Yamamoto
Vocals: Takayuki Miyauchi
The entrance theme for the giant robot Muteki Shogun.
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 / 1994–1995
Story turning points (red) interleaved with what was happening in the world (amber). · world events are placed at year resolution
Yōkai sealed away 400 years ago are released, and five descendants of the ninja who sealed them take up the fight as Kakuranger.
放送ライブラリー ↗Released Dec 3, just after the Sega Saturn (Nov 22), kicking off the "next-gen console war"
Wikipedia ↗Released June 1; #1 on Oricon's 1994 annual chart and winner of the Japan Record Award
Wikipedia ↗Launched aboard Space Shuttle Columbia on July 8
Wikipedia ↗Opened Sept 4 — Japan's first full-scale 24-hour international airport
Wikipedia ↗Announced Oct 13 — the second Japanese author to win, after Yasunari Kawabata
Wikipedia ↗The yōkai army's overlord, Daimaou, first appears — the story's greatest enemy is revealed.
Wikipedia 日本語版 ↗Ninjaman, disciple of the Three Godgenerals, returns to Earth after 1,000 years and debuts as the additional warrior.
Wikipedia 日本語版「忍者戦隊カクレンジャー」 ↗The finale. The last battle against Daimaou plays out and the Kakuranger story reaches its conclusion.
放送ライブラリー ↗All 53 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.
Four hundred years ago, ninja of the Kakure school sealed the yōkai behind the "Door of Seal." In the present Sasuke and the others mistakenly open it, releasing the yōkai, and Tsuruhime gathers the ninja descendants to form the Kakurangers. In episode 4 the three Godgenerals ninja-combine into Muteki Shogun.
The young noble Junior — in truth the skeleton-spirit Gashadokuro — appears, scheming to revive the overlord (ep.14). He unites the scattered yōkai and sends ever-stronger ones against the team.
The yōkai army's overlord Daimaou reveals himself (ep.31), and the new giant robo Kakure Daishogun joins the fight. In episode 36 Ninjaman, disciple of the three Godgenerals, returns to Earth after 1,000 years as the additional warrior.
The story enters its final stretch. Daimaou's power is revealed to be the embodiment of the hatred in human hearts, and in episode 53 the Kakuranger's battle reaches its conclusion.
Not show rips — creators’ own toy and model reviews. Open each on YouTube from the card. © each video belongs to its uploader
The yōkai strategist Hakumenrou is in fact Tsuruhime's father, Yoshiteru. After Daimaou's revival, it is revealed that Hakumenrou had been working from within to destroy him. The sacrifice of Tarō and Jirō restores Yoshiteru to his true form.
In the finale it is revealed that Daimaou is an incarnation born of human hatred — killing him risks reviving the yōkai — and that the only solution is to seal him within the "door of the heart".
This show served as the footage source for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 3 / Alien Rangers. Producer Jun Kaji has stated that, to increase usable footage for the overseas version, the later half reduced unmasked regular appearances and adopted a more conventional style.
Along the series, and across the sea.
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